Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. The Avengers belong to its respective owners. I just own my OC. Writing for fun, and not for profit.
Chapter 4: The Hellicarrier
"Welcome to the airstrip, Captain," Agent Coulson said, as they stepped off the quinjet. "Agent Romanoff? Agent Sawyer, and Captain Rogers," Coulson greeted the woman with short red curly hair.
Standing on the other side of Coulson, Zoe gazed at the Black Widow warily. She's heard the stories rumored around Shield. She was aware of what she could do.
"Ma'am," Captain Rogers nodded at her.
"Hi," she said dryly, and looked over at Coulson, not even batting an eyelash toward Zoe. "We need you on the bridge, they're starting the phase trace."
Coulson nodded. "Romanoff, this is your new partner," he motioned a quick nod to Zoe.
Zoe looked at Romanoff and gulped. "Hello," she said, waving a tentative small hand at Romanoff.
Romanoff's eyes darted up her small frame and into Zoe's cautious, and yet fearful eyes.
"You want me to baby-sit?" Romanoff questioned Coulson before he headed toward the bridge.
"No," Coulson said. "I want you to train her for level seven. It's part of her job. Barton was supposed to do it, but things went horribly wrong. You understand."
Coulson said, and without another word to Romanoff, he left Zoe with her newest partner.
Zoe glanced around her surroundings on the airstrip of the Hellicarrier and held her hands behind her back, nervously.
Romanoff let out a sigh. "I don't bite," she said.
Zoe turned to face the woman with the striking red hair flying in the wind.
Steve glanced between the two women awkwardly, hands folded in front of him. He glanced around his surroundings, staring at the huge air jets and men who jogged in two lines. This all seemed familiar to Steve, like he was back at home, training for the war.
"Okay," Romanoff drawled. "Whatever you heard, fine. I'm mysterious. Let's go with that. But I do know that we both have something in common here, and that we can work together, and work towards Barton"
Zoe arched an eyebrow at her, and she couldn't help but blush. She definitely wasn't expecting to hear that from Romanoff.
"As far as I know," Romanoff said. "He's endgame for you, right?"
Zoe chewed her bottom lip. "He saved my life if that's what you mean."
"And you have a crush on him," she said.
Zoe widened her eyes, totally mortified at her.
"It's okay, you're secret is safe with me," Romanoff said, noticing her cheeks grow crimson of embarrassment.
"Um," Zoe pointed twice toward Steve.
"I won't tell," Steve said, zipping his lips with an invisible key.
"Great," Romanoff said. "We're all in favor of keeping secrets. Awesome. So, now that that is settled." Romanoff said, leading the way.
Steve and Zoe eyed one another and followed Romanoff down the airstrip.
"You're quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. Thought Coulson was going to swim," Romanoff commented lightly to Steve. "Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"
"He missed the moment," Zoe said, glancing at her.
Romanoff nodded and looked at Steve's confused look. "Trading cards?"
"They're vintage," Romanoff said. "He's very proud."
The three of them stopped toward a man wearing a gray suit, who seemed to be in awe of the jet in front of him.
"Dr. Banner!" Steve greeted, offering his hand to shake.
"Oh yeah, hi," Dr. Banner said, shaking Steve's hand. "They told me you would be coming,"
Steve smiled, and nodded his head toward Zoe. "She told me you were coming."
Dr. Banner looked over at Zoe, who stepped up and shook his hand. "Agent Zoe Sawyer," she said. "It's nice to meet you, doctor."
"Bruce works too you know," he said, glancing at her with a small smile.
"I like Agent Sawyer," Zoe said, smiling at him.
Bruce chuckled. "I'll make a note of that."
She smiled and stepped back, folding her hands in front of her, as she tried to be formal like Romanoff even though she didn't think she'd ever pull off formal like her.
"Word is you can find the cube," Steve said.
"Is that the only word on me?" Bruce asked, glancing around cautiously, as he wrung his hands together.
"Only word I care about," Steve said.
"Must be strange for you, all of this," Bruce said.
"Well," Steve said, glancing at the men marching in order to their leader. "This is actually kind of familiar."
"So," Bruce said, glancing at Agent Sawyer. "What can you do?"
Zoe grinned. "I'm a trainee actually," she said. "But I do have my own set of skills yet to be revealed in due time."
"You like theatrics don't you?" Bruce asked, noticing her mysterious and playful tone of voice.
Zoe smiled. "I am an information specialist, among other things. I keep it all in here," she tapped the side of her temple.
"And it's about to get blown off the airstrip if you don't go back to your room where I've already put a level seven package for you waiting to read," Romanoff said, pulling her back away from Steve and Bruce to her side.
Zoe gawked at her. "Seriously? Reading material?"
"Do you want to finish your assignment?" Romanoff asked seriously. "Or do you want to get killed?"
Zoe frowned at the idea of getting killed on her assignment. No, she didn't want to get killed, and she definitely wanted to finish her assignment. She needed answers.
"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside for a minute," Romanoff said. "It's gunna get a little hard to breathe."
Steve and Bruce watched at the sudden movement of the ship they were on, or thought they were on.
It started to move beneath her feet, and she gripped onto Romanoff's shoulder, which made the woman glare at her. Zoe gulped and dusted her shoulder off, smiling at her nervously as the ship started to climb out of the water and rise into the air.
"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked.
"Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized container?" Bruce asked, as the two gentlemen walked further toward the edge.
Zoe smiled, relishing in the feel and the power of the Hellicarrier as it lifted out of the water. She inhaled the salty air and smiled, glancing at Romanoff. "It never get's old, does it?" she asked, loving every minute of it. Romanoff gave her a very subtle smile.
"Oh, no, no, this is much worse!" Bruce said.
The four of them walked from the top of the airstrip to inside the Hellicarrier as Zoe animatedly started to explain in detail to Steve and Bruce as they walked downstairs, leading them toward the bridge.
Steve and Bruce followed the two women inside the window glass-cased bridge.
It was incredible and huge, and every time Zoe entered she felt right at home. Desk filled computers in which everyone took part in to make the Hellicarrier afloat. It was really quite something how Fury could operate something so amazing in Zoe's eyes that she couldn't help but love.
"All engines operating," Hill announced. "S.H.I.E.L.D. emergency call 193.6 in effect. We're at level sir," Hill turned to Director Fury who stood at his post.
"Good," Director Fury said. "Let's vanish."
Zoe walked down into the middle of the bridge and couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around Hill, catching her by surprise. Hill chuckled. "Hi," she said, pulling the woman off of her. "It's nice to see you in one piece," she said, eyeing Zoe up and down. "There's a uniform waiting for you back in your room."
"It's good to be home," Zoe said, smiling, and taking everything in.
Agent Maria Hill smiled at the young agent, and handed her a badge to clear her in for the Hellicarrier. Zoe took it in her hands, grinning happily. Maria admired her and how much she loved S.H.I.E.L.D. It was home to a lot of people, but she seemed to take it truly to the bottom of her heart, and Maria often worried if she should have trained her a bit better on emotional attachments. But Zoe told her she was fine, and that she could handle it, so Maria never pried and just continued to train her.
"Why can't you train me level seven?" Zoe frowned, leaning against the clear screen.
"You know my priorities are here," Hill said, motioning a quick nod to the bridge. "Besides, she's very good at her job. Did she tell you about the debriefing package?"
"Yes," Zoe sighed. "Level seven is waiting for me in my room. I got it, yadayada."
"Good, she'll get you up to speed, I promise," Hill said, and glanced over at Steve and Director Fury, as Steve handed the director a ten dollar bill.
Zoe's curious eyes traveled to Steve, as he walked by the middle of the bridge, and stared in awe the Hellicarrier's sleek interior design that wrapped around them. She couldn't help but smile. She stepped by him.
"This is your home?" Steve asked.
Zoe nodded. "For now," she said, tacking her badge to the front of her pocket. It read trainee for level seven.
"Doctor, thank you for coming," Fury said, shaking Bruce's hand.
"Thank you for asking nicely, so, uh," Bruce glanced down at the floor cautiously before he looked up at him. "How long am I staying?"
"Once we get our hands on the Teseeract," Fury shrugged.
"Where are you with that?" Bruce asked.
Fury turned to point downstairs as Coulson joined them, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're sweeping every wireless camera on the planet, cell phones, laptops, if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."
"Still not going to find them in time," Romanoff said.
Zoe looked at her with wide eyes. "What do you mean we won't find them in time?" she asked.
Romanoff looked back at her trainee and motioned a quick nod toward the glass doors that would lead her out of the main deck. "Go," she said.
"Okay, okay, I'm going, but I still want in," Zoe sighed. She glanced at Fury, then the others before she left for her room on the Hellicarrier.
"Oh you'll be in," Romanoff said. "And maybe if you're lucky, I'll teach you how to fly the quinjet. If you've read the entire package."
Zoe glanced at her with questionable eyes. "If?"
"Didn't say I was going to make this easy on you did I?" Romanoff asked.
Zoe shook her head.
"Agent Romanoff?" Fury asked, breaking the conversation between her and Zoe. Romanoff looked up at Fury. "Would you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory please?"
"You'd love it doc," Romanoff said, walking up the stairs, and over towards Dr. Banner. "We got all the toys." Romanoff said, walking toward the doors with Bruce and Zoe following after her.