"Thank you, agent Romanoff, for showing me to my room."
Natasha scanned Bruce, then nodded.
"Thanks for helping. Sorry about what happened in Calcutta. It's just..."
"You don't trust me, I know. It's alright, I don't even trust myself."
"Well, no, I just trust many people either."
Bruce snorted. "That's obvious."
Natasha gave him a glare, but Bruce didn't catch it. He was already examining the equipment he had to work with.
"So, Agent Romanoff, what's it like working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Natasha looked slightly puzzled, shocked by this unexpected question.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you do? What is your life like? Do you always go after poor innocent scientists who are trying to stay hidden?"
Natasha laughed.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
Bruce paused, then put down a dangerous looking device.
"Yeah, I would. That's why I asked."
Many thoughts ran through her mind, but she couldn't help but think about how Bruce's straightforward attitude differed from Clint's sly, sarcastic remarks. The next thought she had was whether or not to lie. She really didn't trust him, but what could she lose?
"It's alright. I don't really do much, but most of my jobs are a lot more interesting than picking up explosive scientists."
"Now why don't I believe you?" Bruce laughed.
Natasha grinned and shrugged.
"Well, mostly it's simple spy work. Standard investigation." Natasha moved and sat down on the edge of a desk. "You spend most of your time traveling around from base to base, mission to mission."
Bruce nodded, preoccupied once again by some contraption.
"So you don't have a home either? I kind of got that vibe from you, except you deal with it by shutting everyone out."
"Not everyone," Natasha whispered, too quiet for Bruce to hear. She shook her head, then focused on what he had just said. Worrying about Clint wasn't helping her make friends.
"How do you deal with having no home?"
"I put my mind on something else. I help people, try to be good."
Natasha flicked her eyes to the ground, then back to Bruce, wondering if she should ask the question.
"And how do you deal with your unique situation?"
Something flashed in Bruce's eyes, but he took a deep breath and looked up.
"I try to forget about what I did in the past, and focus on what I can do in the future."
"How do you keep yourself under control?"
"You mean the other guy?" Bruce laughed, making Natasha slightly uneasy. "I-"
He paused, for Nick Fury had just entered the room. Natasha looked at him questioningly, sliding off the desk and on to her feet.
"Romanoff, we found our little Asgardian diva. He's in Stuttgart, Germany. Just thought I'd give you an update."
Natasha took a step forward. "And Clint?"
Fury looked suddenly uneasy. "We believe that he's there as well, but-"
Natasha stood up, and stormed out of the room, with Fury behind her, yelling.
"Romanoff, this is not your mission! You're too involved! You could compromise everything. Do NOT make me get Coulson down here."
Natasha paused, her hands balled in fists. She turned slowly around, fixing her icy glare onto Fury. He was standing a few feet behind her, his hands on his hips.
"Thank you. Now, Romanoff what the hell are you doing?"
Natasha had stepped forward, and grabbed the front of Fury's shirt.
"Listen to me, sir, I will be on that quinjet that goes to Stuttgart, and I will be there to help contain Barton, as well as the Asgardian, so do not tell me otherwise. I'm not just going to sit here playing it safe. By all means, run to Coulson, but he won't be able to stop me. In fact, he might even try to help me. So please, save yourself the trouble, and tell me what jet we're taking, and when."
Fury glanced down at Natasha's hand still clamped near his throat, then sighed.
"Loading deck four. Rodgers is suiting up, then meeting Agent Rockwell there. You are to accompany them to Stuttgart, but you are not to leave the plane, understood?"
Natasha didn't move, but her glare intensified.
"Understood?"
Natasha saw something move of the corner of her eye, and looked over to find Bruce watching her, his head poking out of the lab door.
"Yes sir." She dropped her hand, and turned away, making sure her heels sounded a little louder than they should have.
"He's, well, he's kind of-"
"Obsessed?"
"Yeah, a little. It's flattering though, just, weird."
"Well, that's Coulson for you."
Natasha listened mildly to the friendly conversation between Steve Rogers and Agent Rockwell, focusing on the location they had just been sent. They were being sent to some building where a gala was being held. Bruce hadn't yet figured out why the Asgardian would want to go there, but facial recognition had confirmed it, so that's where they were headed.
"Agent Romanoff? This is just my own curiosity, but why did you want to come? Fury told me it was just going to be me and Cap."
Natasha looked to her left at Agent Rockwell. He was piloting the quinjet, staring ahead, but even from the side Natasha could see the glint in his eyes. He knew who Agent Barton was and what he meant to her. If Natasha wasn't worried about getting to Stuttgart on time, she would have punched him right there and then. Stupid specialists.
"I didn't want to sit around while you all had all the fun. I look forward to kicking some Asgardian ass."
Rockwell snickered, while Steve looked slightly uncomfortable.
"You sure that's it?" said Rockwell as he regained his breath. Natasha kicked him when Steve wasn't looking.
"So, Agent Romanoff, who is this Clint Barton everyone seems to be talking about?" asked Steve as they came within thirty minutes of their destination.
Rockwell burst out laughing, but was silenced with a sharp blow to the ribs.
"He's an assassin, one of our best. He'd been turned by Loki's scepter, just like Dr. Selvig."
"So he's a threat?"
"Define threat."
"A hazard to our mission of bringing Loki in?"
Natasha took a deep breath and stared straight ahead.
"If he shows up, let me handle him. He's not a threat on purpose. He's in there somewhere."
"You sure about that?"
Natasha closed her eyes.
"He's got to be."
"Rogers, you need to get down on the ground. He's cornered at least a hundred people."
"I'm on it." Steve hit a button, opening up the back hatch, jumping out without a parachute.
Rockwell stared on with fascination, his mouth gaping wide. Natasha just shook her head, and scanned the surrounding area for thermal imaging. Clint was nowhere to be seen. She focused in on the battle below.
"Loki, drop your weapon and stand down!"
The Asgardian responded by launching a jet of blue energy straight at the quinjet. Natasha avoided it at the last second, and Rockwell nearly fell out of his seat.
"The guy's all over the place," she mumbled to herself. Suddenly, loud music blasted over the speakers. ACDC, Shoot To Thrill. Natasha held back a smile.
"Agent Romanoff. You miss me?"
Tony Stark, dressed in his Iron Man suit, flew out of nowhere, blasting Loki in the chest, then landing heavily next to Captain America, while he trained every weapon in his suit on the Asgardian.
"Make your moves reindeer games."
Loki lowered his staff, shimmering as he dropped his god-like look.
"Good move."
Captain America walked over to Tony.
"Mr. Stark."
"Cap."
Natasha rolled her eyes. They were wasting time. Rockwell began landing the plane, while Natasha watched the camera feed from inside the offices. Something moved in the lab, and she zoomed in on it as Tony and Steve loaded their prisoner onto the plane. She saw three men, moving about in the lab. They were taking some mineral out of a container, and as the drawer opened, the light illuminated the man's face that was taking the substance out.
Natasha stopped breathing. Her eyes narrowed as she stood, pushing Rockwell out of the way as he told her that she was to stay in her seat. Steve and Tony looked up, and made half-hearted attempts to stop her, but she gave them such a look that they were trembling against the wall. She left the quinjet, breaking into a run towards the lab.
Once she got there, the men were just leaving. One with a quiver of arrows and a bow stopped in his tracks, glaring at the redhead in his path. He handed the iridium to the two men accompanying him.
"Go. We need to meet up Dr. Selvig immediately. He wants it completed by tomorrow morning. Go!"
The two men ran off, but Natasha didn't give them another thought. Her argument was with the archer.
"Clint. Snap out of it. This isn't you. Come on Clint. We need you."
Clint cocked his head to the side, like a curious little puppy.
"Yeah? And how do you know that. How do you know this isn't me? You don't know me. You're nothing but a pretty little face." He sneered at her.
Natasha tried to hide the hurt, but didn't have much time to collect herself. Clint sent an arrow right at her heart. She turned to dodge it, and she heard it stick into the wall behind her. She whipped back to where he had been standing, but Clint was gone.
"I gave you direct orders Natasha! This is why I can't trust you! I told you to STAY IN THE JET. But did you listen? Hell no!"
Natasha sighed as she listened to Fury chew her out over the intercom. Rockwell sat silent beside her, while Tony and Steve kept watch on their prisoner.
"Sir, Barton-"
"I don't give a damn about Barton, do you understand me? I care about the safety of mankind! In case you haven't noticed, there is a very real possibility of mankind being destroyed by a powerful cube that is not in our possession. That is your mission, Romanoff, to save the world. It's not your usual standard go in and cross someone off, but I expect you to GET. IT. DONE."
Natasha held her breath, then slowly let it out. A painful silence settled throughout the quinjet as what Fury had said settled around them. Tony and Steve didn't really understand, but Rockwell lowered his eyes, sneaking a glance at Natasha. Fury seemed to realize what he had said, and backtracked.
"I'm sorry Romanoff, I care about Barton. Heck, who else would keep the rookies in check? But Natasha, there is a greater good at stake here. We'll get Barton back, but don't forget your main mission."
They heard the Director sigh.
"Is he saying anything?"
"Not a word."
"Just get him here. We're low on time."
Natasha clicked off the com link with the Director, then snuck a glance at Tony and Steve standing beside each other in the back.
"I don't like it."
Tony turned and looked at Steve.
"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"
"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."
"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?"
"What?" Steve turned to him, confused.
"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Tony could barely hold back a laugh.
Steve's eyes narrowed. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."
"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."
Lightning streaked across the sky, and Natasha felt Rockwell tense up beside her.
"Where did this come from?"
Tony, however, was focused on the 'Rock of Ages.'
"What? Scared of a little lightning?"
With a look of pure terror, Loki said "I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Suddenly, something big landed on the roof. Tony and Steve jumped, and the back hatch suddenly opened. A man with long, golden brown hair, wearing full Asgardian garb flew in, grabbed Loki, then took off again, swinging a hammer in his right hand.
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha yelled over the roaring wind.
"Think this guy's a friendly?" asked Steve.
"It doesn't matter. If he kills Loki or frees him, the tesseract's lost." Tony slipped on his facemask as Steve did the same.
"Stark, we need a plan of attack!"
"I have a plan. Attack."
As Natasha watched Tony jump out of the plane, she was reminded forcefully as to why she trusted no one. SHe shook her head, and saw Steve preparing to jump out.
"I'd sit this one out, Cap," she told him.
"I don't see how I can," he replied.
"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods."
"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."
Natasha rolled her eyes as Steve too jumped out of the plane. These people were really testing her patience. Rockwell angled the plane back around so that they could pick up the now battling superheroes. Suddenly someone called through the coms, and Natasha flicked the link back on.
"How're you doing Natasha?"
Natasha sighed, shaking her head and smiling.
"Not so well Phil."