Natasha slammed a sheaf of papers and printed photos on the conference room table in front of Nick Fury.
"You want to explain this to me?" she demanded angrily.
Fury did not look down at photos. Instead, he fixed Natasha in his gaze with his one unblinking eye.
"Explain what?" he answered calmly.
"You knew," she seethed. "You knew what that film was, the moment you saw it. And you sat there, through our entire briefing, pretending you had no idea what was going on."
Maria Hill hurried into the room, and quietly closed the door behind her. Natasha stood next to Fury, trembling with cold rage.
After a long moment, Fury took his eye off Natasha and picked up the first photo on the top of the pile. It was an aerial surveillance photo, with GPS coordinates printed in red beneath the image. He suddenly realized what he was looking at, and groaned with dismay.
"Oh, God damn it," he swore in a soft murmur.
"You held out on me, Nick," Natasha said accusingly. "You held out on me, just like you held out on Steve, just like you held out on -"
"Hey!" Fury barked sharply. "Did you come here to get some answers? Or would you rather just stand there and bitch about how you weren't personally looped on every confidential S.H.I.E.L.D. op that took place above your pay grade?"
He immediately regretted his harsh words and gave her a placating look.
"I'm sorry, Natasha," he apologized contritely. "That was out of line."
Natasha was momentarily speechless with anger. Maria reached across the table, picked up the first photograph, and instantly recognized it.
"Nick, is this where we're going to find Bruce Banner?" she asked, in a far gentler tone than her red-headed colleague.
"I don't know, Maria, and that's the truth." All the life seemed to have gone out of Fury's voice. "Why don't the two of you sit down. Please," he added.
After a moment's hesitation, both Maria and Natasha seated themselves in the chairs closest to them.
Fury sighed deeply. "No, Natasha, I did not know what was going on," he protested. "I had my suspicions, but that was all. And I didn't make the connection between the video and this op, until you put this photo in front of me."
"This was the old CA2 site, wasn't it?" Maria sought to confirm.
"Yes, Maria, it was."
"Nick, anything you could tell us would be helpful."
"I'll tell you all I know. And that's a promise."
He settled himself in his chair and sighed again. "The CA2 facility got started a few months before the Avengers Initiative was activated," he began. "The purpose of the facility was to further the SSS research first conducted by Dr. Abraham Erskine, and, later, the work of Dr. Bruce Banner, with regard to human cell mutation by gamma radiation. The mission of the researchers was to find a way to reliably duplicate the results seen with Steve Rogers and Dr. Banner on larger groups of test subjects."
"Oh, my God," Maria breathed. "You were trying to create super-soldiers."
"Second-biggest arms race there is," Fury noted sadly.
Natasha was still seething with rage. "And you allowed it."
"Not only did I allow it, I had the full backing of the United States government, and complete cooperation from all branches of the military," Fury answered calmly. "The top brass were far more keen to see a breakthrough in this field, than they were for success with any other type of conventional weaponry. They didn't want just one Captain America. They wanted a whole corps' worth of him."
"But that facility was entirely shut down, long before I joined you," Maria frowned. "What went wrong?"
"The CA2 project failed because, frankly, what the scientists were trying to achieve can't be done. The goal is literally impossible." Fury picked up one of the photographs scattered on the table, stared at it for a moment, and let it slip from his fingers with a resigned sigh. "The researchers were trying to find some way to take a normal, healthy human body at the first stage of adulthood - someone in, say, their early 20s - and completely transform them into something else. Rework their chemical makeup. Accelerate their cellular growth. Enhance their intellects, physical strength, visual acuity, reaction times, the mass of their bodies. And on and on. And what they found, over and over, is that it doesn't work. The chances of someone like a Steve Rogers or a Bruce Banner surviving a sudden, total transformation of their physical bodies is literally one in millions. There was no feasible or practical way to make such a transformation safe and reliable for large groups of soldiers."
"So, the project was terminated?"
"This particular project was. But the long-term work was never abandoned. The United States is one of at least six nations that is still actively involved in military research with the express aim of creating super-soldiers. The only difference now is, that research is carried out under the aegis of the DoD, and they're trying to do everything from scratch. Literally trying to grow soldiers in test tubes and decant them in bottles."
"That's obscene," Natasha declared angrily.
"It's war," Fury shrugged indifferently.
"So, assuming that project was completely shut down, and all research materials turned over to the US government... what happened then?" Maria asked. "Are they still using the site?"
"I don't know for certain. But my guess would be, no. Any ongoing project like this would now be conducted within a nation's sovereign borders. The risk of carrying out such research outside the country is just too great. And the site itself had become a... liability."
"You mean, the local government wasn't too thrilled about having a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility inside their borders."
"The organization was never the problem. The work was. Not everyone wants to be in the business of war," Fury pointed out. "And the DoD was pushing very hard to bring all research in house, meaning, inside US borders, with only previously vetted military contractors."
"And so both sides got what they wanted."
"The only reason S.H.I.E.L.D. was even using that site at the time was because we had a presence all over the world, and this was one of the most remote areas where we had a facility. The enemy can't easily spy on someplace they can't easily reach. Improvements in satellite technology have rendered that advantage useless, of course."
"So, if S.H.I.E.L.D.'s not there, and the US military isn't there, then who is?" Maria asked.
"It could be a HYDRA cell," Fury opined. "We know that they had successfully infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., so it's possible they have copies of Erskine's and Banner's research. Or it could be the work of some rogue terrorist group. But there's also a chance it might be the legitimate defense operation of some nation's military." He paused. "There is still the remotest possibility that it's just Banner, having himself an off day in some far-flung corner of the world. But frankly, I'm not betting my money on that."
Maria frowned. "And since when was Banner working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"He was given a lab, and told to find himself a cure," Fury answered. "And there was an entire division of doctors and research specialists standing by, ready to reverse-engineer any results he might achieve."
"You used him," Natasha said accusingly.
"Hell. I was hoping he would find a cure," Fury protested. "Banner could have his life back, and the military could have that magic serum they've spent decades searching for. It could have been a win-win for everybody. But so few things ever turn out the way we hope," he concluded sadly. "Banner never had a chance to anything more than complete some preliminary research before he dropped out of sight. Someone might be trying to carry on his work, though."
"Looks like someone succeeded," Maria said grimly.
"Our people were nowhere close to a breakthrough," Fury insisted. "Whatever work S.H.I.E.L.D. did on this project, Erskine's or Banner's, it was a dead end. They had nothing that could produce another Captain America - or another Hulk. Not even as a one-off."
Natasha's rage began to cool, slightly. "So, this is a dead op."
"Dead and buried, as far as S.H.I.E.L.D. is concerned," Fury nodded. "But as I said, there were no shortage of players wanting to pick up that ball after we dropped it."
Natasha mulled that over. "Why couldn't you tell me this?" she asked finally. "Why couldn't you have said something earlier?"
"What could I have said to you, Natasha?" Fury countered. "We still don't know for certain what we're dealing with. The only connection we have between this Hulk wannabe and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old research is a vague suspicion. That's not enough to go on."
"No. But the circumstantial evidence seems pretty damning to me."
Maria tossed a glance over to Natasha. "There's only one way to know for certain. Put boots on the ground, and get some answers."
Natasha nodded slowly. "Agreed." She looked back at Fury, still trying to assuage some ill-defined sense of betrayal.
"Go," Fury said simply. "Go do what you need to do. If you do find Banner, sing him a lullaby and bring him home. If you find just another bunch of idiot bad guys trying to take over the world, then kick their worthless asses, and be sure to give 'em one extra kick from me."
Natasha nodded again. Her expression finally softened, and while it was not quite a smile, at least it was no longer an enraged glare. The two of them did need to have a long talk - but it needed to wait until her emotions had cooled down enough to avoid more angry words, recriminations and bitterness.
"This discussion isn't over, Nick," she said quietly. "We'll finish it when I get back."
"I'll be here," Fury promised solemnly.
As they stepped out into the hallway and walked towards the elevator, Natasha turned to Maria.
"Maria, I need a favor."
"Sure. Anything."
"I want you to lead the away team."
"You want me to take full charge of the op?" Maria seemed surprised.
"Yeah." Natasha hesitated. "I think... I might be a little too close to this one," she admitted after an awkward pause. "I'm not sure I trust my own judgment right now."
"Do want to sit this one out?"
"No, no, I'm coming with you," Natasha confirmed. "But... it might be better if a cooler head was calling the shots."
Maria regarded her friend with concern. "Are you sure that's what you want?"
"There's no one I trust more than you," Natasha managed a weak smile. "To make sure I color inside the lines."
"Okay. Sure. I can lead the away team."
Natasha sighed with relief. "Thank you."
Maria paused for a moment, and then added with a completely straight face, "You do realize, if you screw this assignment up, I'm gonna bust you all the way down to probationary field agent."
Natasha stared at Maria incredulously for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"You're a good friend, Maria," she declared, as they stepped into the elevator.
As Natasha and Maria entered the garage a few moments later, Sam, Sharon and Wanda were standing near one of the Sandies, and looked over at their team leaders expectantly.
"Okay, everyone. Saddle up," Maria announced as she strode across the still mostly empty garage. "Grab anything you need, and get your gear stowed. Sam, you're with me in Sandy One. Sharon, Wanda, you ride with Natasha in Sandy Two. Let's move it, people. We're in the air in three minutes."
As everyone hurried away to complete their last minute tasks, Natasha shot Maria a puzzled look. "You want to take both Sandies?"
"Yeah." For the briefest moment, Maria's eyes flickered downward to stare at her boots. Then she gave her friend a shy smile. "Look. I really have no idea how this is going to play out," she admitted in a quiet voice. "But on the off chance we do find Bruce, then... I wanted the two of you to have the option of some privacy on the way home. You know. Without the entire team staring at you, pretending they can't see or hear anything."
Natasha's mouth fell open in surprise. She started to protest, then thought better of it, and simply replied with a grateful, "Thank you."
"You have to promise me one thing," Maria added.
"What's that?"
"If you and Banner decide to disappear for a while, that's fine." An almost wistful look crossed Maria's face. "Just promise me you'll come back."
Natasha's face broke out into a wide smile. "I promise," she vowed emphatically.
Maria smiled back, and the relief on her face was obvious. "Okay," she said. "Let's go save the world... partner."