Keep in mind that all delays in updates are simply for me to insure I'm giving you the best possible chapters I can, that and I broke another laptop, but I prefer to go with the first explanation. Welcome back, SweetChi! You rock.
Fun fact for today? Don't wear something strappy and low cut in a convertible, the tan line from your seat belt will be absolutely horrendous.
Chapter 6:
"Rise up when all hope has fallen,
Rise up and side by side we'll face this thing."
"Boss, the satellite imaging threat system you created for SHIELD has picked up unusual activity," FRIDAY informed him.
Tony glanced up in baffled curiosity, "What sort of unusual activity?"
"This sort," FRIDAY answered as the screen appeared in front of him. The satellite images were actually quite surprisingly good quality, though he had never had use to look at them since he actually made the system for SHIELD. Then nearly dozen helicopters flying through the air certainly was 'unusual' no matter where in the world they were flying, though he knew they were flying over somewhere familiar to him, "Where is that?"
"Bahir, India."
"Shit..." he mumbled out, "FRIDAY, hack those satellites. I want images of any movement from Bruce's home there, too."
There as silence for several minutes and he knew that was simply because FRIDAY was hard at work on his request. "Sir... the satellites are unable to pick up human movement."
"I'm sensing a but."
"But they did just pick up on something else you put the system on alert for."
"And that would be?" Tony questioned.
"The Hulk, boss."
Tony frowned in an instant and he watched as the image appeared. It was still quite a distant image. "Zoom that satellite in, FRIDAY, give me a better view."
"It might be difficult boss, The Hulk is on the move."
Tony rubbed at his eyes almost immediately. "Tell me he's not about to trample that town to play a game of whack-a-mole with those choppers..."
"On the contrary, he appears to be running away from the town and the helicopters."
That was unexpected. "Anything, FRIDAY, get me anyth—" and a closer image of The Hulk, though a bit blurry, appeared on the screen. He almost missed the most revealing tell for why The Big Guy was running from the fight and not toward it. The redhead that was tucked against his chest was only noticeable because of that fiery mane. Seeing Natasha actually stunned him in more ways than one and the words mumbled from his lips without him actually meaning for them to, "Well...that's just about the last place I would have thought to look for her."
"That's probably why you aren't the one dating her, boss."
"Hilarious, FRIDAY. I see you've finally picked up Jarvis' witty repartee with your new vocabulary upgrade..." he grumbled with a bemused shake of his head. "Call Rogers. Tell him I'm about to make good on that kidnapping I promised him, and given the small army we just bore witness to, we may want to include the rest of his little team as added victims."
"Right away, boss."
"And don't lose sight of those choppers if they manage to actually survive this fight. Considering that Natasha can take down two choppers with a pistol, I'd hate to see what The Hulk can do."
FRIDAY didn't miss a beat, "I don't imagine it will go well for the helicopters, boss."
Natasha stared in almost a stupor. She took a step back on instinct as Bruce's skin went green and he transformed almost flawlessly into The Hulk. She knew no matter how quick and effortless it looked, it certainly had to hurt, there was no denying that. People simply weren't meant to do that and before she could even comprehend that he was planning to Hulk out, the Big Guy himself was staring down at her, big brown eyes a mixture of anger and quite a few other emotions that didn't usually settle onto his features. The enlarged green index fingertip of one hand reached out and ghosted over those darkened veins where the poison had clearly made its way up and onto her cheek. She patted his large finger with her hand and gave him a pensive smile, "I missed you too, Big Guy...but I really hope this ride isn't going to be as bumpy as the last one."
He gave a grim yet somewhat amused nod at her comment before he used a single arm to lift her into an almost cradle against his chest before she could say or do anything. It wasn't exactly the ride she was expecting and he took off faster than she actually knew he could move. His grip was loose yet tight all at once as he kept her tucked against his chest almost protectively. At least this time she didn't quite want to vomit her insides to the outside and then when she glanced up at him he was looking right back down at her.
There was some irony in the fact that her two most meaningful relationships in her entire life, the first being with Clint and now the second with Bruce, was that both of them tried to kill her early on in their meetings. Neither was actually personal. Clint's attempt to murder her had just been him following orders, and The Hulk, well...he just sort of wanted to kill everybody at that time.
And both of them hadn't done it. Both of them hesitated. Clint made a different call, he saved her life instead of ending it. Bruce and his other half, well, there was no telling if that small hesitation would have led to him simply smearing her against the wall or actually walking away and letting her live. Personally, she was perfectly content not knowing the truth of how that would have turned out. This, here and now, this she wasn't okay with no matter how she tried to play it off. It seemed unfair to find something she had never known she wanted only to have death waiting for her just around the corner. The reality was that she knew it was probably just karma finally biting her in the ass for everything she had done in her past, for all the red in her ledger, and that this was her just desserts.
Happiness had never been in the cards for Natasha. Madame B had been right, she had no place in the world and trying to find a place for herself in it had only led to pain and suffering. She could care less that she had done this to herself but she had dragged more anguish into Bruce's life and he hadn't deserved that. Her torment would end soon and yet Bruce would be left with the aftermath. The man who had just declared his love for her, though she knew he hadn't meant to let the words slip out, likely out of fear of her reaction. It certainly wasn't the first time a man told her he loved her, she had spent many missions convincing men to feel that way for her, but it was the first time someone said it and she enjoyed it. No matter how many times she told him this wasn't his fault, she knew that he was never going to believe it.
There wasn't time to reflect on it, not as the Hulk skidded to a stop in the dirt and she listened to the overly loud whirring of the helicopters right behind them. One circled around in front of them and she watched the significantly large machine gun strapped to the side, manned by one of the men inside. The Hulk noticed it too as it was aimed down towards them. She knew it wasn't actually to kill her or him, it was to distract them, to give the other choppers time to unload. It worked because The Hulk put his other arm around her and hunched over, trapping her between him and the ground, impressively doing so without crushing her or putting any weight on her at all. She could hear the bullets hitting his back and his arms, and he was doing a stand-up job of not letting a single one through to her, something that these men had been counting on.
In her opinion, they were staking a hell of a lot on faith, faith that he would protect her, or maybe now that they had him in their sights they simply no longer needed her. None of it particularly mattered given that she would be dead soon anyways. At least if they shot her she wouldn't suffer when the toxin went to her brain, of course, Bruce would blame himself for that too. She felt eyes on her and she shifted slightly to meet those enraged and worry filled brown eyes. She reached up and placed her hand on his large and gruff face, giving him a halfhearted little smile. "Don't worry, Big Guy, I'm okay..." she assured him over all the noise, "are you?" She supposed it wasn't something that needed to be asked. He always seemed to be okay and he gave a snort and a nod in response to her question. She gave a chuckle and shrugged a little in her shelter beneath him, "Right, stupid question."
The bullets stopped, leading The Hulk to slowly and cautiously stand up and turn around towards the new threat. Natasha got on her own feet but before she could move to his side, his arm reached back and he had her effectively trapped behind him in a protective gesture, one that she did somewhat appreciate but she also found equally frustrating and annoying. She also knew better than to try and get out of it because that would probably just piss him off. She did manage to barely gaze around his side and see the dozens of men in front of him and she said the only plausible thing she could, "Let's show them how unfair this fight is for them, Big Guy."
He glanced back at her with a smirk and a half nod before he ran towards the men. The smart ones dove aside, though a few idiots stood their ground as they fired their guns, and they were trounced in an instant.
Natasha didn't dwell on it as she ran forward to where the Big Guy was currently beating a few of the men with the body of another man. He glanced back at her and seemed to understand what she was about to do because he hunched over just enough to make her next move easier. She clambered up his back, onto his shoulder and launched herself over top of him. She was impressed that he not only allowed her to use him like a springboard but that he actually made the maneuver easier for her to accomplish. She got her legs around the neck of one of the men, swinging her body down and around the back of him with enough momentum to send him careening into three other men with little to no effort on her part. The Hulk looked fascinated by her attack, though she figured that was because it was the first time they were fighting together and not just participating in the same fight. She landed on her hands, pushing herself backwards as her feet planted against the chest of another man and launched him directly into the Hulk's awaiting hand. He snatched the man midair by his foot and once more used a human body as a weapon against the others men.
It was an entirely new experience to actually fight with him just a few feet away. He was taking care not to throw or knock around bodies haphazardly, at least not in her direction. It was the most care he had ever taken in the midst of a fight and she knew that was likely for her sake. She caught sight of the ridiculously large gun aiming down from one of the choppers, though it wasn't like any gun she had seen before. She realized why when it actually fired. The giant net came down at a speed she almost couldn't comprehend and it took The Hulk down, throwing spikes into the ground and locking him in place. She doubted it would keep him trapped for long but she saw no reason to let it last longer than necessary.
Natasha ran towards him, diving through the legs of one of the HYDRA men in her way as she slid right up to the net. It only took her seconds to slice clean through one of the four ropes spiked into the ground and that was enough. She rolled aside and watched him rip the other three spikes straight from the ground with ease now that the fourth was no longer there. Much to the chagrin of the men attacking them, The Big Guy had only gotten taken down by that effort for a measly thirty seconds and he was already back to decimating their forces.
She heard the gun fire again from above them but before she could even see that this time that net was instead coming down at her, she was snatched by a large green hand and tossed back a few feet. He hadn't done it too roughly and she easily landed on her hands and feet in a crouch. Less than a second later she heard the small thud of boots hitting the ground behind her. She turned in an instant and grabbed the hand of Nikolao Constantin just as he tried to jab a needle into her neck, then she planted her boot into his chest and knocked him a few steps back.
"You don't know when to give up, Natalia," Niko commented with a chuckle, "you never did."
She gave him no response as she ran forward and swung at him, though he easily caught it now that he was expecting the move and this time it was his boot in her side, the side with the stitches. The pain flared all through her body immediately and she dropped to the ground, barely able to catch her breath. That probably wasn't the best of signs, it likely meant that she was getting dangerously closer to the brink of death.
"So that is why Stark is not dead," Niko stated with a laugh, "you took the bullet for that arrogant fool." She pushed through the nausea and watched as he crouched down beside her. He pushed her head to the side, staring at the marks that the toxin marred her with. "So this is the life you chose rather than the greatness you were always meant for...kissing a monstrosity and making friends with little boys who think themselves heroes?"
He was too busy staring at her neck to pay attention to what her hands were doing and she slipped the butterfly knife from where it rested between her breasts. He shifted, but not in time to completely avoid it as she jabbed it into his waist. He ignored it rather stoically, nothing more than a grimace in reaction, as his hands wrapped around her throat and slammed the back of her head into the dirt. The only effective way to stop him was to kick her foot up right between his legs, and enhanced or not, it worked like a charm. Niko doubled over and she stood, ramming her shoulder into his hunched over form and taking him to the ground.
Natasha landed on top of him and she careened one fist into his face followed by the other. The Hulk was still plowing through men even as jeeps drove towards them with more for him to beat up and he seemed to trust her to handle herself. A few more hits and Niko seemed out cold. She was about to drive home the knife from her boot into his heart when bullets pelted the ground beside her. Beside her. They were still trying to take her in alive, likely to continue to use her against Bruce, and she pulled out her own gun. Each bullet needed to count, especially when there were only seven shots total. She fired the first and it went straight through the forehead of one man. That made the other five men rush towards her rather than bother with the show of firing bullets near her position.
She took out two more with the same precision before the other three managed to reach her. She gripped the hand of her first man who swung at her and swung her body around him, bringing his arm with her until it snapped. She got her ankles around the neck of the second guy and dipped her upper body through the gap in his legs. The momentum of the move was enough to flip him over completely as he landed on the ground. The third man was on top of her in seconds and she tucked the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger, shoving his dead body to the side. The first man with the broken arm got his one good hand around her neck and she tucked the gun under his chin too, pulling the trigger just as she had before.
Two bullets left in the gun and then the last of the group of men alive, the one she had flipped over using her feet, was back up. The problem with him getting up was that Niko got up behind her as well. The toxin was definitely inching closer because her reaction was too sluggish when Niko hooked his arm around her from behind and slammed her onto the ground on her back with little to no effort. There was a moment where she couldn't quite suck in the much needed air to fill her lungs with and it was enough time that she couldn't quite make out what Niko said over the comm device, just broken up bits of a sentence, "Toxin—infected—bring it." The ringing in her ears finally faded as she managed to get some oxygen to fill her lungs again and this time she heard what he said to the HYDRA soldier, "Hold her down you imbecile."
The grumbling survivor of the group of men she had slaughtered reached down to hold her shoulders against the ground and she had to admit surprise when the body of another man flew from nowhere and collided into her would-be captors. Niko and the survivor of her group both got taken out by one flying body and she glanced over and saw The Hulk staring back at her. She just gave him the barest nod of appreciation before she pushed aside the breathlessness and pain, both of which were becoming increasingly worse, and she managed to get back to her feet.
Niko was the first of the two to get back up and she took aim with the gun, firing the shot straight for his head. He had a better reaction time than the other man because he dropped back to the ground to avoid it and instead her bullet went through the head of his little helper who had been getting up behind him. She didn't hesitate to aim the gun to where Niko had dropped and she fired in an instant, but the click said the gun misfired and before she knew it, she was on the defensive again. Niko bolted up and ran towards her and she dropped the gun, raising her arm to block his fist and her knee to block the kick he aimed next.
It was frustratingly annoying how for minutes they continued a battle of blocked attacks, one after another, him slowed by the knife wound in his side and her slowed from the toxin in her blood. They were evenly matched up until the mind blowing pain seared through her head, throbbing very many excruciating waves of pain throughout the rest of her body to match it. Somebody screamed and given the stunned expression on Niko's face as she dropped to the ground, Natasha supposed it must have come from her own mouth. She barely saw the blur of green that knocked Niko away from her within seconds before giant arms encased her within a firm but gentle hold. Her breath caught in her throat at every wave of piercing pain that went through her body.
Enraged certainly seemed like a word that paled in comparison to the way the Big Guy let out bellowing growls towards anyone who dared to try and come closer, swatting anyone who got within range like a fly. She barely contained the moans of agony as she writhed and she could only just make out Ross as he exited a jeep nearby with an injector in hand.
He was twirling it between his fingertips with a smirk as Niko got on unsteady feet and moved beside him. Then Ross spoke, "I can save her." And that must have been what she hadn't been able to make out when Niko spoke into his comm before. He had been alerting Ross to her condition.
It seemed to stop The Hulk's bellowing at least because he went eerily silent at the comment. She looked up at him through squinted eyes and he was, as usual, near impossible to read through the eternally angry expression on his face. Clearly though, Ross had gotten his attention with those four simple words, and Natasha wasn't thrilled by it.
"This here," Ross told them, holding the injector out, "will stall the toxin, and I have the anti-toxin at my facility. The question here though, is can the beast stop fighting and surrender simply to save one woman?"
Natasha frowned and saw the Big Guy glance down at her and she shook her head agonizingly slow. "He's lying, Big Guy...don't..." she mumbled out. Unfortunately she couldn't contain the next groan that left her lips when the pain rippled through her again. Thirty-one years. Never once had she felt anything this insufferable. She could see that the Big Guy had already seemed to make up his mind when she continued writhing in his arms.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Ross commented with a chuckle, "in which case I'll be needing Banner and not his beast."
The Hulk snarled at the man, clearly unhappy with the not just being told to transform back into his human counterpart, but likely that it had come from one person that both he and Bruce despised. The more impressive thing was that he sat down on the ground, still cradling her with the greatest of care, and then suddenly she could feel him changing. It wasn't the painful and unwelcomed return to Bruce that usually came accompanied with him holding his head and falling to the ground. Instead the arms around her got smaller without managing to increase her pain by squeezing her, the body she was held against to shrunk in much the same way, and green skin slowly became Bruce's normal pallor. It was his first seamless transformation, perhaps because both halves of him were in tune for the first time.
"Natasha..." it was Bruce's voice that made her meet his eyes. Worried, pained, terrified were all mixed into the deep brown that looked down at her.
She shook her head slightly, trying to ignore the way to pain was only increasing. "Don't, Bruce..." she tried again, raising her hand slowly as she placed it on the side of his face. She knew it wasn't going to work. If she couldn't convince his angrier other half not to surrender to save her then she had a fat chance in hell at convincing Bruce himself to do the same thing.
"Banner, I suppose I'll need to rehash this—" Ross began.
"Don't bother," Bruce answered without letting the General finish, "I remember your offer to the Other Guy...it's fairly obvious we accept."
"Bruce..." she mumbled out again, "do not give him what he wants...I'm not worth this..."
The pain in her head became even more excruciating and it felt like every muscle was contracting, every bone in her body felt like they were on the verge of snapping. She must have made a face even if she managed to contain any possible noises because as her hand slid from his face, Bruce's knuckles came to rest on her cheekbone before he spoke softly, "You're worth it all..." She couldn't find it in her to feel like she deserved to have someone think that much of her or feel that much for her. She certainly didn't deserve to have someone give up everything for her that way Bruce was doing here and now. "What are you waiting for?" he questioned to Ross, "I already agreed. She's in pain, save her!"
She really wanted to speak up against the idea once again but her voice failed her as pain continually wracked her body.
"Hideous little toxin, isn't it?" Ross questioned. She saw him walking towards them and she clenched her fingers around Bruce's wrist before Ross was speaking again, "I'm impressed she's still alive. That toxin is meant to kill within twenty-four hours. I suppose being genetically superior to the rest of the human race did her and me a few favors here." She knew he meant that he was lucky she had lived long enough to even still be a viable tool of leverage against Bruce. If her hands were cooperating then she would have put a knife right through his smarmy face. Now Niko was stepping up to them too and Ross finally spoke one more time, "Hand her to Constantin. I don't want any funny business when I give this to her."
That got her moving. She held tighter onto Bruce when Niko reached to take her, grimacing and groaning all the while.
"Natasha, just let them save you. I can't lose you..."
"Adorable," Niko commented with a roll of his eyes. Before she had time to think about it, her male Russian counterpart snatched the injector from Ross and then jabbed it into her neck before anyone could react. For a few seconds she could hardly breathe. Everything inside her felt like it was on fire. "Like he said, this just stalls the symptoms, so hand her over or take her on the jeep yourself. Either way, the only way you save Natalia completely is to cooperate."
"Fine..." that was Bruce, it definitely sounded like Bruce, but her vision blurred and blackened while the pain slowly abated and she then she couldn't make heads or tales of anything further that was said. It was the last thing she remembered before everything faded completely.
Between getting on a jeep and then onto a helicopter, Bruce never once released Natasha from his grasp. They had admitted that the anti-toxin was back wherever they would be going and that meant he wasn't giving her up until then. Ross was seated across from him looking smug in the most annoying and frustrating of ways while Natasha's nemesis, Nikolao Constantin, sat next to him wearing a rather Natasha-esque expression of neutrality. He supposed both of them learned it from the same place. Still, it was hard to figure out just what stake the Russian held in all of this.
He didn't know a whole lot about him, just that he was the one to have pulled a rather brainwashed 'Natalia Romanova' from Red Room, where Clint came across the rattled and drugged young woman just over a week later. The man had thought he was 'saving' her, so what was he trying to accomplish now?
"She is a hard woman to resist, is she not, Doctor Banner?" The words came from the man he had just been trying to determine the motives of and Bruce ignored his comment, acknowledging them for the taunt he knew they would turn into. That didn't exactly stop Niko from continuing, "I am impressed, however. You have clearly tickled her fancy."
Bruce ignored that, too.
"Shut up, Constantin."
That would probably be the only time Bruce would ever be grateful to Ross and that certainly didn't last long when the unbearably uncomfortable trip came to an end. He watched as Niko yanked the door open and a woman stood there. She was older than himself, blonde hair with wisps of gray, and the coldest looking of blue eyes that he had ever seen. Those eyes, wrinkles formed at their sides, shifted without emotion towards Natasha's face and only remained there for a moment before they drifted to his own face with much the same non-expression.
"Meet Stasia Balshovich," Ross introduced as he stepped off the helicopter and waved someone else over.
A man with a gurney wheeled it over and Bruce eyed it with disdain, still uncertain about releasing Natasha given that there was no guarantee they would save her. Even more worrisome, there was no guarantee that saving her wouldn't lead to a worse situation.
"Give her to us," Stasia ordered. He recognized the accent as Russian and that perturbed him further. "Give her to us or she dies," she stated next. Unsteady and warm puffs of air hit his neck from Natasha's lips and he did as she said, laying Natasha down on the gurney and already hating the fact that he did it. Everything about the way no emotion came from Stasia's voice and the veil of neutrality that enveloped her face was just like—like Natasha. The realization hit him a moment too late and the man with the gurney was gone before he could take the decision back. He looked from Ross to Stasia and the horror hit him in seconds as two words left his lips, "Red Room..."
"He is smart," Stasia commented with a chuckle. "I would suggest keeping your temper in check, Doctor. Natasha is still dying for the moment," she reminded him, "and you can relax. My plan doesn't include erasing her memories."
That did help him relax at least a little bit. "Why do you want her then?" he dared to ask, "it can't just be because of me."
"You are a main factor," she answered with a nonchalant shrug before she turned on her heel and left them.
It seemed that was all he would get. But being a 'main factor' certainly didn't mean he was the 'only' factor. All of them wanted Natasha for reasons other than leverage against him and that worried him more than anything. He had unwittingly handed her over to the very people who had turned her into a human weapon for nearly two-third's of her life. She thought she wasn't worth saving but he disagreed. Now he had a feeling that saving her might just lead to her hating him. He glanced over when Ross motioned for him to move and he followed after him with Niko behind him. "What exactly do you want, Ross?" he finally dared to ask.
"You'll see soon enough," Ross informed him, "cooperation is key, Banner. You'll wish you didn't agree to have us save her life if you decide to go back on that agreement."
"I'm not going to do that..." Bruce assured him with disdain.
Ross snickered, "Here's your room."
Bruce watched as glass, likely nearly the same that encased his own Hulk tank in the tower, slid open. The entire room was encased in it and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair before stepping inside and not bothering to turn around as the glass slid to a close behind him. Lights came from the glass wall to his right and he turned to look. There was no one there, but it was another room. All it contained was a bed and a door that was left open, leading into the world's smallest bathroom. He glanced around and determined that his own abode held much the same in the way of little to no accommodations.
When he looked back to where he entered, Ross and Niko were already gone and he frowned. He had imagined to get more than 'you'll see soon enough' from the man and that left him with a nervous feeling. If Ross wasn't starting whatever he had planned right off the bat than Bruce could only assume that meant that whatever he had planned also involved Natasha.
Minutes ticked by into an hour before more lights came on in the room next to his own. He turned his head to look from where he was sitting on the floor and then he was on his feet. Niko walked in with Natasha hanging over his shoulder. He dropped her onto the bed even as the blonde woman, Stasia, stepped in as well. Bruce frowned when she attached a set of handcuffs to each of Natasha's wrists and then attached the other sides to the bedposts. Both Niko and Stasia were speaking Russian, not a lick of it being anything that he understood, then they walked out and shut Natasha in without ever looking towards him.
"Natasha!" he called out, banging on the glass. She never moved a muscle. The only indicator that she was even still breathing was the rise and fall of her chest, a chest that was now in a tank top rather than his purple shirt. She was also finally out of her tattered jeans, donning a pair of black sweatpants. They were at least true to their word though because those blackish-gray veins were gone and her normal pallor had returned, though she had several mottled bruises marring her arms. The relief was only minor given what he knew now; that he had put Natasha back into the hands of people who could erase everything that she had become, though Stasia had insisted that wasn't going to happen. Still, the handcuffs didn't make a lot of sense to him. He couldn't imagine that after all of her training that handcuffs would keep Natasha Romanoff trapped on a bed even if he wasn't sure how she might actually accomplish it.
Bruce just needed her to wake up, to see that she really was alright, so he sat down and leaned against the glass to keep a close eye on her. Banging on the glass was as ineffective as calling her name. Natasha was about as far into unconsciousness as it got it would seem and he supposed he was just left to wait it out.
Each steady rise and fall of her chest was like a balm for him and he kept his focus on that.
Just like when he had sat in the room waiting before, minutes flew by, turning into nearly two hours before the redhead moved. But Natasha didn't just merely move, she jerked upward, her hands clanging the cuffs against the metal bedposts roughly. That only seemed to make it worse as she angled sideways and pulled harder, her eyes still closed as her mind plagued her and the handcuffs only worsened the situation.
"Natasha! Natasha, wake up!" he called out, getting back onto his feet and banging on the glass. Nothing. She didn't wake, she only pulled her hands harder as her body jerked and he could see her eyes rapidly moving behind her eyelids. The latest yank was hard enough that he saw them cut into skin and he banged on the glass harder, hard enough it seemed because Natasha's eyes shot open at once. She didn't move for two minutes, didn't blink once and hell, she didn't even pull at her hands. "Natasha...?" he questioned with worry.
The incessant banging woke her and she stayed her body even as her eyes opened in an instant. The metal around her wrists, her hands pulled back and hanging above her head...both were far too familiar and left her mind back in a place it hadn't been in for well over a decade. It took what felt like ages before the fog in her mind began to clear and then she heard the voice to go along with the noise.
"Natasha...?"
The familiarity of his voice seeped in and brought with it an unexpected calmness. She blinked several times before she turned her head and met Bruce's deeply concerned brown ones. His hands were pressed against the glass that separated them and after that she let her eyes shift around the tiny room she was in, then to the handcuffs trapping her to the bedposts. The first coherent thing she could truly think was that she was alive. It was the first time since that day Clint found her that she accepted that she was about to die. At least this time her death would have meant something. It would have been for something. Yet here she was, still alive once again, and for no other reason except that someone once more thought she was someone worth saving.
She could only assume that Niko was clearly attempting to disorient her by torturing her mind with the past. It had been effective for a few minutes at least before she wriggled her wrists to begin to try and slip the cuffs. She barely grimaced as the metal dug a little further into the skin of her wrists and then she realized they were far too tight to do it the simple or easy way. Getting out would require the painful breaking of fingers, not that she hadn't ever had to do the same before, but even that might not completely be enough to get out of them.
The door to her room swung open before she could make a decision and who entered ruined her false mask of indifference. For several moments she forgot to breathe as icy eyes stared back at her. It was practically never ending as green eyes stared into blue, neither of them faltering by blinking. Finally the blonde woman in the door way let one corner of her lips quirk upward just slightly in what Natasha remembered as a way she showed pride.
"Hello, Natasha."
She was surprised that the woman used the name she went by now and not her given one, but she supposed it was just to remind both of them that she was no longer that person, especially given the last year. From the corner of her eye she could see the look of guilt on Bruce's face and Natasha could only assume that he had some idea of who this woman was, though she doubted he understood exactly who she was.
"I tried to tell you there would never be a place for you in the world," she continued, "yet you tried to find one for yourself."
The words were ones she was told and had repeated many times, words she had said to Bruce in Bahir when Ross' men had found them, and she could see the recognition dawn in his eyes as he heard them again.
Natasha wondered if her lack of a verbal response would ruffle the woman's feathers for the first time since she had known her, though she sincerely doubted it, it was worth a shot. She was right to the effect that it didn't bother her in the least, instead she merely got chastised, much like one would do to a child acting petulant, "That's no way to treat someone who took care of you."
Perhaps it was being around Tony Stark far too often that the sarcastic retort left her lips, or perhaps she had always wanted to actually say something along the lines, but she shrugged as nonchalantly as one could while handcuffed to bedposts while the words escaped no matter what the reason was, "Most people would have called that child abuse but if that's the way you'd like to word it then by all means, call it whatever you want, Madame."
Madame B was someone she hardly ever talked about, not even to Clint, though she had mentioned her once or twice to Bruce without any real detail. Natasha didn't react when the woman placed her hand on her cheek in an almost endearing manner, something she had never done before. "What did you think you would find when you rejoined the world?" she questioned, "what did you hope to accomplish?"
Natasha gave the obvious answer, "I wasn't the one who escaped."
"No, that was Nikolao, but he did that under orders," came the answer, "it was a test for you. A SHIELD assassin wasn't entirely unexpected, but one that would show mercy and then actually recruit you? That was never something anyone could have seen coming."
"Guess you should have made a better contingency plan."
"Perhaps you're right," she agreed, "but it's of little to no consequence. You still did precisely what you were made for."
Natasha actually narrowed her eyes slightly at that.
"You tamed the beast," she emphasized.
"I suppose you somehow want to take credit for the fact that I trust him and he trusts me," Natasha stated with an exaggerated eye roll. She could see Bruce through the glass as he quirked an eyebrow up at her comment.
Madame B chuckled before Natasha watched her remove her hand from her face, then she smiled again. "You have no idea, do you?" and then she glanced at the glass, over at Bruce, "neither of you do."
"About what?" Bruce was the one to ask though it had been on the tip of her tongue.
"Gamma radiation wasn't the one and only factor for The Hulk being created, Doctor Banner," she informed him, "in fact, your initial thought that so much radiation should have killed you was correct. The reason it didn't is because there was a sample of our Super Soldier serum in the lab. The same serum the courses through Natasha's body. This 'connection' isn't based off of trust between her and your beast, it's based off the fact that he knows you two share that commonality."
Bruce was silent at the answer and even Natasha was unsure what to say in response. It seemed that neither of them had known that small fact.
"The two of you were created for each other," Madame B informed them and Natasha frowned at the comment as the older woman twirled her red strands of hair around her index finger. "I'll let the two of you think about that for a while," she tacked on before she left.
Natasha stayed silent, not meeting Bruce's eyes. She had told him that though she didn't believe in 'love' she did believe that he was the 'one person' who made her feel almost whole again. Was that because they had literally and scientifically been 'made for each other'? If that was true then did Bruce even believe her own feelings for him or would he now think she was part of some long-term ploy to gain his trust, or as he had more recently affirmed, his love?
"Natasha..." Bruce's voice broke her thoughts and she finally looked over at him, "maybe she's right, even if it's about the Other Guy...but that serum didn't make our feelings."
She gave him the smallest of smiles. At least that eased her initial thoughts. "I suppose it didn't," she agreed.
"Are you alright?"
Natasha nodded at that, "I'm okay, Bruce. Are you?"
"Well, you're alive, so yes."
And it was just so Bruce to say that being trapped in a cage was 'okay' simply because she had lived. She shifted her eyes back to her cuffed wrists, taking a better look. Even broken fingers weren't going to get her out of these. Enough leverage and a good angle and she could probably break the chain link, though that wasn't going to be a fun feat it certainly didn't stop her, just like it never stopped her before. She angled to the side, braced herself, then pulled her own shoulder out of the socket when she turned back roughly.
"Shit! Natasha, what the hell?!"
She groaned at the never ending jabbing pain that coursed through her shoulder but now she could get the angle she needed. She swung her feet above her head and onto the metal rimmed posts. She was seriously testing the limits of her flexibility with this. With one shoulder out of its socket she could maneuver further to the other side and it was enough to twist the chain the way that she needed to, getting it twisted once around the metal post. She dug her foot into it but that wasn't quite enough and instead she pulled her foot back and slammed it into the chain and the post. It was hard enough it would seem because the links snapped. That was one hand down and she lowered her legs back onto the bed before she sat up and reached to her injured arm. It was much more simple to get the chain around the bed post now and maneuver to find the weak spot to break it without two cuffed wrists. The entire ordeal took about five minutes, but she was free and she didn't have to break a finger, so she supposed she could be grateful for small favors.
She was rubbing at her torn wrists, metal bracelets from the cuffs still attached, and debating the best way to put her shoulder back in place when Bruce's voice interrupted her thoughts, "You're clinically insane, you know that don't you?"
Natasha actually chuckled at the comment despite the circumstances, "You aren't the first person to tell me that."
"I doubt I'll be the last, either. Are you—" and she assumed he was about to say 'alright' again, but before he could she leaned over and rammed her shoulder into the bed post. It was effective enough because her shoulder popped back into place and she grimaced slightly until his words once again amused her, "You know...that was extremely impressive in a self-destructive sort of way..."
"One of my master skills," Natasha informed him with a wry smile before she got off the bed and moved towards the glass.
"Self-destructive impressionism, I always thought that was my thing," he retorted with a shake of his head.
It wasn't as though there was a reason to hide her affection for Bruce. Everyone and their mother seemed to know. She pressed her hand, still with it's new metal bracelet attached from her broken cuffs, against his on the glass. "You shouldn't have done this, not for me, not for anybody," she told him quietly, "but thank you..."
"You're worth it," and Bruce really seemed to believe that was true. "I didn't know it was Red Room until it was too late though, I swear..." he added on.
She gave a nod to that, "I know."
"I wouldn't have—"
"Bruce, it's okay. None of this was your fault, I meant that before and I still mean it," she insisted.
"So...she was Madame B?" he questioned, "Ross introduced her as Stasia Balshovich." Natasha blinked several times, the reality being that it was the only response she could think to give. She had never actually known Madame B's real name, at least she didn't think she did. Bruce seemed to notice because he didn't hesitate to ask, "What's wrong?"
She shook her head a little with a frown, "That name just sounds familiar."
Bruce looked more than a little confused and just slightly unsettled by her response. "Can't remember?"
Again she shook her head before giving a verbal response, "No. I mean it's there...somewhere, I just can't pick out how I know the name."
"From Red Room?" and she knew he was just trying to be helpful, but she must have made a face because he looked apologetic, "but I'm sure that was your first thought and you've already disputed it in your head."
It was accurate enough but she didn't get a chance to answer when the glass between them when dark. Suddenly Bruce was gone from her sight and she assumed she was gone from his. "Bruce?" she questioned.
Nothing.
Apparently their voices no longer carried through to each other either. There had to be a reason for it and she removed her hand from the glass and instead watched the door. She wasn't left waiting for long because a woman with brown hair walked into the room wearing a white lab coat. First instinct had Natasha in a defensive stance, about to shift into offense when she realized why they would allow a scientist of all people to enter her room alone. She recognized the woman even if it was only from pictures and SHIELD files.
Natasha lowered her hands back to her side, watching as the warm blue eyes of the other woman shifted from her hands to her face. Her voice was just as warm as her eyes, and though the brunette might be working in a lab here, Natasha didn't think she had known about any of this before she was thrust into it, "I thought you looked familiar when those men brought you into the lab earlier...but I couldn't get a good look at you. You're Natasha Romanoff, aren't you? The Avenger?"
'Natasha Romanoff the Avenger'. That wasn't the way people typically worded that, not using her first name anyways, but she nodded to the brunette nonetheless.
"I'm—"
"I know who you are," Natasha assured her, "Elizabeth Ross."
She received a timid little smile from the woman. "Betty," came her insistent reply. "May I?" the woman questioned, motioning towards Natasha's wrists. She supposed there was no reason not to so she held her hands out to her, watching as Betty stepped into her personal space before she carefully and gently took them into her own soft hands. She was studying the cuts caused from the handcuffs before she spoke, "I'll get something to get those off and clean these next time." Still, Natasha didn't say a word as she studied Betty's face. She wasn't one to typically compare herself to another woman, or to feel jealousy, but she could understand why Bruce had loved Betty Ross. Just on appearance alone she wasn't just beautiful, she gave off a 'homely' vibe, one that said 'wife' or 'mother' material. Those were things that Natasha could never be. Betty's next words were spoken more quietly and given their substance, she understood it was so that she couldn't be overheard by whoever might be listening, "My father has Bruce too, doesn't he?"
Lying didn't seem fair. She didn't get that feeling that Betty had wanted anything to do with this, which meant they might just have an ally in all of this. "Yes," she finally answered.
"He used you to get him." That wasn't a question but Natasha still hesitated with a response nonetheless. "It's alright," Betty insisted, "I mean...I've seen the videos of you and The Hulk. Not a lot of people would show him that level of trust, most won't even show it to Bruce once they know who he is."
"He's never given me a reason not to," Natasha answered with a shrug.
Betty still had her hands in her own, still scrutinizing the cuts, and she imagined that was for the sake of the cameras. "Still...he needed people to believe in him, and he found that with The Avengers. With you," she emphasized. It left Natasha a bit at a loss for words. All she could think to do was stare blankly at her before Betty spoke again, "I'll come back, but I'm supposed to take a blood sample."
Well, that at least made a bit more sense for why she was in Natasha's room and why nobody was stopping her. She wondered if the blacked out wall was to hide Bruce from Betty or Betty from Bruce. Natasha was willing to bet it was both. It didn't matter, she held her arm out and let the brunette take the blood sample.
"People said you have a version of the Super Soldier serum in you...is that what my father is after?" Betty questioned as she filled the vial.
"I honestly don't know," Natasha answered, "but I doubt that's all it is. He didn't need Bruce for that, just me."
Betty nodded a little at the answer and she didn't look at all relieved. "I'll see what I can find out for you..."
Natasha watched her go but she didn't say anything further to Betty. It was honestly one of the strangest circumstances she had ever found herself in. Locked in a room, surrounded by HYDRA, Red Room, and General Ross...and then needing to converse with Bruce's ex. Physical torture would have been more comfortable than that.
Apologies to my very persistent guest reviewer, sorry for any heart palpitations I've caused with the delay. Also, sorry for any errors that were missed. With a broken labtop, I'm writing this on a tablet. Writing this much on a touch screen? Not the easiest feat.
