Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Again, I'm so happy that so many people are enjoying this story. In one night, I've gotten so many reviews and alerts, I have been encouraged to keep writing this in my spare time, instead of moving onto another chapter of another story, like I had originally planned. Just remember: keep reviewing, and I'll keep updating sooner!
This chapter has a lot of Bruce/Dahlia getting to know each other in close quarters. Sadly, I was unable to fit any of my hoped Steve/Dahlia and Natasha/Dahlia moments so they'll probably take up the next chapter. I can also promise a call from Calista! Until then, please enjoy!
Hopefully this chapter has all 'S.H.I.E.L.D' typos corrected :)
Chapter Four
Natasha led them through identical looking corridors until they reached what appeared to be the front of the aircraft. Lines and lines of computers were evenly spaced out, each machine with an S.H.I.E.L.D agent sitting comfortably behind it. They were completely engrossed in whatever they were working on, not even raising their heads to acknowledge the new arrivals. The platform they stood upon looked over their heads, and it had a direct view of the ocean the aircraft was taking off from. Nick Fury stood at the far edge of the platform, turned towards them.
"Gentleman, Miss. Griffiths," he nodded in greeting, "I'm pleased you could join us. As I'm sure you've been told we've got a situation on our hands." He turned to the screen beside him, clicking and enlarging an image of a small blue cube that appeared to be glowing. "This is the Tesseract. We were investigating the energy it contains and how it could be harnessed, when it was taken from us."
"How it could be harnessed?" Bruce repeated curiously.
"Yes, it was believed it could be used as an infinite source of clean energy," Nick explained simply, "However, it is not of this world and in the wrong hands…it could be used to bring about the end of the world."
"Why does it always bring about the end of the world?" Dahlia wondered, mostly to herself, raising her head slightly to peer into the ceiling as if she was talking to a higher being.
"You mentioned before we lost some men during the attack," Steve pushed.
"Yes, Agent Barton and Dr. Eric Selvig," Nick stated. The image of the Cosmic Cube was brushed away and a film clip appeared. There was no sound, just a cracking noise in the background, and the images were in high definition – clearly S.H.I.E.L.D's high-tech CCTV system.
In silence, she watched as the agents rushed around the cube, as scientists took notes on the changes. She watched Nick being called in, demanding to know what was happening and what was causing it, and Barton landing from his nest in the rafters. She watched the cube spark and brighten before a figure appeared – a familiar face, dressed in green and cold leather, a spear in hand.
Dahlia sucked in a breath, and glanced up towards the agent, her handler. "Phil is he…"
Coulson nodded once sharply. "New Mexico," he confirmed simply.
She returned her gaze to the screen and was almost unsurprised when scientists and agents were attacked – she remembered well the destruction of that one small town, after all. She was surprised however to see how easily he managed to pull Clint and Eric under his influence – the end of the spear touched their chests and suddenly, they weren't fighting anymore, they were helping.
Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't resist stealing a glance of Natasha. The redhead stood behind them silently, arms folded across her chest. Her face was expressionless, as it usual was when it came to S.H.I.E.L.D business. Even though she was used to it, Dahlia wondered how she was really feeling. She'd always assumed there was something more than just a work colleague relationship between Natasha and Clint, but maybe she was mistaken…
Natasha caught her gaze and offered a small smile. For a moment, her façade cracked, revealing the pure worry she was truly feeling and the tight control she had on the feeling. She almost smirked triumphantly – well, she wasn't mistaken at least. Silently, she hoped the other man was alright, for Natasha's sake if not her own.
"What is that, a sceptre?" Bruce wondered, leaning forward for a closer look.
"It appears to be, yes," Nick clicked off the footage, leaving only a blank screen, "As you can see, this is an urgent matter. The Tesseract needs to return to S.H.I.E.L.D, as well as the taken agents, and Loki – the perpetrator - needs to be put in custody."
"What do we need to do?" Steve questioned.
"For now, we were hoping Dr. Banner would be able to trace the Tesseract's location," Nick turned his gaze to the good doctor, "We have a lab set up for you to work from. Miss. Griffiths will assist you where needed."
"I'll take you there now," Natasha inclined her head.
As Dahlia went to follow, she paused with enough time to whisper darkly, "You could have told me it was like New Mexico."
"You might not have come if I told you," Phil rationalised, with a small smile.
The lab was towards the back of the aircraft, with one glass wall that over looked the platform they had been originally led to. It housed all types of tracking and other high-tech software that, honestly, Dahlia wouldn't even know what they did, let along what they were called. There were glass computer screens, large and two sided, where a login box could be seen, the cursor blinking periodically. It was impressive, although she hadn't expected S.H.I.E.L.D to offer anything but the best, especially when it came to something as important as finding the Tesseract.
Bruce seemed to make himself at home as soon as Natasha had disappeared around a corner, the door sliding closed behind her. He removed his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves to just above his elbows, claiming one of the chairs at the far end of the room. Dahlia watched through the transparent screen as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his noses and nosily typed his name – a clear 'DOCTOR BRUCE BANNER' into the slot provided. She paid little attending to the information that appeared – obviously prepared reports on what S.H.I.E.L.D had discovered about the Tesseract – and instead found herself completely distracted by the way his eyes narrowed slightly, the skin wrinkling around his eyes, as he read the small print on the page; by the way he absentmindedly licked his lips in thought. Her mouth felt suitably dry and she mimicked the gesture nervously.
Bruce looked away from the information; raising his eyes to meet her gaze through the glass. She flushed and shifted awkwardly. Clearing her throat, she stammered out the question of, "so, um, h-how are we s-suppose to track this, uh, c-cosmic cube?"
He continued to stare at her for a moment, a thoughtfully look in his gaze. She wondered what he was thinking about so intently. Before she could ask, he shook his head firmly and cleared his throat loudly, a pink flush seeming to make its way up his neck from behind his collar. "Track it? Oh, um, according to these, ah, files Fury left me, it seems the Tesseract is just like a cube of pure energy, pure radiation."
"Gamma rays," Dahlia nodded in acceptance. She took a half a step forward, "So um, we ask every laboratory on the face of the earth to start their detectors, to look for this massive concentration of raw energy…"
"And it can be fed back here, so we can pinpoint an exact location," Bruce grinned crookedly, tapping the top of the computer screen, "We find the Tesseract…"
"We find Loki," Dahlia finished, "That sounds oddly easy."
"Hmm, probably, but it's hard to hide something that powerful without anyone finding out about it," Bruce stated, "And to even harness that much power, you need to find a reactor that could sustain that much energy without collapsing in on itself – and there's not that many. And it would take a genius to create a reactor from scratch. I don't think this Loki guys that clever."
Her lips twitched upwards. "Maybe not," she conceded, "But he did manage to take control of Dr. Selvig – Eric may not be a genius, but he's bloody close, especially when it concerns the working of that cube. He's been the top scientist on that mission since it was first placed in S.H.I.E.L.D's possession. If there's anyone who could find a way to create a reactor specifically for the Tesseract, it would be him."
"You have a lot of confidence in this guy," Bruce commented, returning his gaze to the screen.
"Eric Selvig is…an old friend I guess," Dahlia paused as she tried to figure out how to explain her relationship, "There was an situation, a couple of years ago, that Loki was involved in – S.H.E.L.D had showed up because of some weapon that had fallen from the sky, set off their radars, and Clint and I, we joined Coulson in trying to figure out what it was – and that was from another world apparently. Selvig was there, along with this scientist, Jane Foster and her assistant Darcy, and they were investigating the same energy the Tesseract possesses, only in a different medium. In fact, they're probably the ones that conduct most of the research Fury has given you."
"Ah, New Mexico," Bruce echoed the two words with a small smile.
Dahlia returned the grin, moving around to take a seat at one of the other desks. She typed in her name as required and saw the same information arise on her screen. She emailed over the request to Coulson to do his magic and get the detectors online, and to let them know when it was done.
"Coulson said he'd work on getting the radiation detectors working for us," she said after a moment of silence. Bruce nodded in acceptance, too engrossed in his reading to really pay attention to her.
Seeing this as good opportunity, she examined him closely, wondering exactly what it was that would make Fury want to enlist Banner in his creation of the super team. He's smart, a doctor would have to be, right? So maybe it was something mental, like mind control, or telepathy? Hmm, she pressed her lips together, not sure this place could handle two of those. Maybe he had Mr. Fantastic's stretching ability, or could set himself on fire, like Johnny Storm, or turn invisible? All very possible options, but still, it just didn't sound right…
She bit her bottom lip, briefly wondering whether it would be too much of a personal question to ask, before pushing forward anyway. She spun her chair to the side, so she was facing him, and leant forward slightly. "Bruce…" she waited until he looked at her questioningly before continuing, "…can I ask what your 'talent' is?"
"My talent?" he repeated dumbly, as if he wasn't sure what she meant.
"You know, that one thing that makes you different from everyone else," Dahlia elaborated, "Fury said he only wanted human 2.0 to come in for this…"
"You don't know?" Bruce appeared surprised.
Her face drew into an expression of confusion. "Know what?"
"Ah, um, d-didn't you read my file?"
"I haven't read anyone's file. I'd rather hear it in person – it doesn't feel like an invasion of privacy that way." Dahlia stated wisely, "So, what does your file say about you?"
"…Um, I guess it says I have…anger management issues," he explained slowly, nervously even, with an uneasy smile on his face, "It's like I become…a whole different person…"
"Hmm, I can understand that," she commented dryly, her lips pulled into a thin line, "Sometimes I feel like a different person too."
They shared a smile, a slightly vulnerable expression; neither really revealing their secrets, but forming a connection through the vague empathy shared. Dahlia slid her bangs back behind her ear shyly and spun slightly in her chair.
"So, um, do you control it?" she questioned curiously.
"Hmm, kind of, I guess," Bruce shrugged, "I've been working on my control for a while but, really, I haven't had enough contact with people for...a good few years now actually, to test that theory. That's why I'm not getting involved in the fight – I'm going to help S.H.I.E.L.D get there precious cube back and then I'm going to go back to helping people, like I was doing before." His voice lowered, in a way that showed he didn't really want her to hear although she did, "It's saver that way…"
"…Well, I'm glad you agreed to join S.H.I.E.L.D, even if it's just temporary," Dahlia found herself saying nervously. She turned her eyes onto the screen in front of her, pretending to focus on the words on the screen and not the embarrassed pounding of her heart, or the colour in her cheeks.
She hadn't really expected an answer – honestly, it was possible she had imagined it, but the whisper seemed to carry around the large room, in an almost echoing sort of way.
"I'm glad too…"
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