Pauly ran and ran, not knowing or exactly caring where she was going. "Spider Monkey to Eagle! Do you have visual? Over!" she shouted into her radio as she ran headlong through the forest, but, at the same time, not as loudly as the thing chasing her.
"Visual is fuzzy, but we have it for the moment," replied Eagle, voice crackling.
"Well then, drop a rope in here and help me GET THE HECK OUT! Over," she said, tearing through vines at high speed.
"You're going too fast! I'll try to turn a bit, then you follow me and by then I'll have a rope down. What do you say?"
"I say that's a crazy idea, but seeing as the creature's gaining, I'll do whatever to get away! Over." Pauly crashed through, listening to directions over the radio until a rope hit her in the head and she grabbed it, soaring upwards as the rope was hauled into the copter.
"You know, you don't have to say 'over' at the end of every sentence on the radio, right?" said Natasha Romanoff, also known as the Black Widow, as she helped Pauly unload her backpack.
"Yes, but just give me this one thing, okay?" Pauly unbuckled the last buckle on her backpack and peeled off the straps, massaging her shoulders. "Gosh dang that was heavy."
"What did you go in to get? And what was chasing you?" said Hawkeye. Clint Barton, Pauly had to admit, was, in her mind, her most attractive coworker, although she would never admit it to anyone.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure. They just told me to go in and get it from that old Aztec temple. So I did, then that crazy money-bear thing jumped out and started chasing me!"
"Well, whatever it is, it must be pretty important or SHIELD wouldn't sent their top three operatives in to get it," said Clint from the cockpit.
Pauly suddenly got very shy and looked at her mud-caked boots. "Oh, I'm not sure about that," she said, scuffing her feet against the floor of the helicopter.
"Oh come on, give yourself some credit!" Natasha said, slapping Pauly in the shoulder nicely.
"You may have gotten in to the agency just because of who your father is," said Clint, steering the copter over the jungle.
"But you have proven yourself capable, more than once, of being a more than competent agent and going above and beyond your duties as an agent!" Natasha continued.
"You are amazing, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, or I'll go after them and smack them so hard. Also, don't you ever think that, or I'm gonna have to smack you!" Clint balled up one hand and punched it into his other hand.
"Hands on the wheel, Clint," Natasha reminded him. "But he's right! You are one of the most amazing, upbeat, and caring person I have ever met." She moved in to hug Pauly, who was feeling overwhelmed by the sudden flow of affection and had started sobbing.
Suddenly the video screen in the copilot area flickered on. Agent Phil Coulson appeared on screen. "Hello? Anyone there?"
Natasha hurried to the copilot seat, Pauly right behind her with tears still running down her cheeks, albeit not as quickly as they had been.
"We're all here, present and accounted for, along with the 084." Nat smiled.
Coulson did not. "Well, it took you long enough. No more detours. Make the trip as quick as possible. Oh, and Pauly?" he said.
"Yes?" she answered, wiping her nose.
"Stop crying. There's no reason to cry." His voice was softer, not as firm as usual.
"Yes, Dad," she muttered, again wiping her nose, as his video flickered out.