CHAPTER 8

Natasha eventually falls asleep next to Steve on the sofa, being relaxed enough to stop thinking about the strenuous talk she had with the super soldier that very evening and the building of her devises and machines, about fighting super villains with technology far beyond their capabilities and running away from Pepper. When she wakes up though the soft morning light is falling in through the half-dimmed windows, Natasha knows she is in her own bed.

Third time in a week, she tells herself. Personal record. Ever since New York she had spend most of her nights on the cod in the workshop or not sleeping at all. She is surprised though that no nightmares had plagued her the past few nights, neither of space nor of her arc reactor being ripped out of her chest, probably because she had been tired out of her mind each time before going to bed.

Jarvis greets her with time, weather and news as she scrambles out of bed. Nat's hand drifts to the arc reactor, scratching at the scarred skin surrounding it and tapping the surface repeatedly as she stands in front of the window, looking over the city of her birth lost in thoughts.

Even after all these years Natasha Stark isn't used to the devise embedded in her chest right over her heart. The glow is visible in the reflection of the glass, the bright blue glow she does everything to hide. She stares at the reflection, reminiscing the time when it hadn't been there, when she was still the happy-go-lucky playgirl, billionaire, genius, philanthropist who didn't care about anyone or anything.

Then the Ten Rings had to destroy her carefree life and tossed her into this super hero life with the Avengers. If it wouldn't have made her a more responsible and better person, she might still hold a grudge for keeping her hostage in a cave in Afghanistan and attacking her with a grenade which had forced her to build the arc in the first place. It had changed her life for the better.

Still, the blue circle of light is visible through almost all her clothes, advertising her biggest weakness out to the world. Fancy dresses are impossible to wear and look good in with the arc shining through every single slightly thinner cloth. No surprise then that Natasha doesn't party as much as she had back in her days.

With a sigh Nat turns away from the windows and walks to the bathroom, getting ready for the day. After a shower so that Bruce and Jack wouldn't complain, she rummages through the lower cupboard, pulling out a white round patch, approximately the size of her palm. Thoughtfully she stares at it for some moments before meeting her own gaze in the mirror.

She had let Jarvis design and find a factory for her to produce these patches shortly after the incident in question. The patches are like bigger band-aids which she can put on the reactor to cover the light. It had taken some experimenting because her skin would get irritated when the patches were attached on it but with smaller patches everything had worked out in the end. Fortunately her greatest invention doesn't grow hot.

The miniaturized arc reactor is a far better investment than any weapons SI could ever build. Her father had thought it a dead end but being forced to come up with a solution for living despite shrapnel trying to pierce her heart, had brought this new technology into her hands. She has to thank the blue circle of light for a new life and SI thank her for a new direction. No more people will die because she doesn't care what she builds and whom it's sold to.

After putting a patch on the blue circle of light, Natasha leaves to continue working on her projects from last night before Steve had interrupted her. For a moment she wonders why she didn't mind and still, doesn't.

The talk with him had been very insightful and, to be honest, surprising. She had not expected him to actually not just ignore her presence but to enjoy it. Natasha shakes her head as Jarvis takes her down with the elevator. This is just crazy but a welcome change. Her childhood hero likes her. That's a strange thought. For half of her life she had adored the figure of Captain America, then he turned out to be a dick to her. The apology felt good since she never got one from Howard in his lifetime because he had never gotten over the fact that she wasn't a boy and not like his late friend, the Captain.

She fixes a few things for her company before Rogers calls her to fix a date for training with the team. Strange, indeed.

XXXXX

Turns out, the team wouldn't have needed the training. The Graviton's working is pretty self explanatory and the team reacts in just the right ways. On Saturday morning the team gets ready, just waiting in camouflage around the Mall for the arrival of the Cabal. They don't want to give away their advantage. Until the last minute Natasha, who sits with her sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled down deeply into her face in a cafe, doubts that they will show up and believes (hopes) that Doom had lied about this attack. When suddenly a black hover craft zooms down the street and Leader shows up at the edge, a grin on his face, Nat finds her hopes shattered. She jumps up and directs Jarvis over her earpiece to bring in the suit. The Avengers decided to not bring in the counter devise immediately so they won't give away that they were warned and will be able to catch all the villains.

'Dear citizens of New York.', he addresses the people on the streets who had already noticed the arrival of the Cabal. His voice is sounding over the speakers of the hideous and ridiculous vehicle. All of the Cabal are all known villains to the city so there is no doubt in the people what this is about. There is a certain panic but also resignation in the air which impresses Natasha. There aren't as many cries and yells as there had been during the first attacks on the city. What follows is one of the many times rehearsed, annoying speeches of demands the Cabal dictates to the city less it wreaks havoc on it. Pathetic.

Natasha rolls her eyes but still is relieved when Jay brings her suit in position for her. Some people turn around when the whooshing of her armor cuts through the air, some cheer when she takes off just as Leader ends his demonstration of levitating some parked cars to frighten the citizens. How impressive can it be though when the people know the Avengers are close by?

Natasha flies up to the hovering vehicle. Jarvis shows her the location about her teammates and the counter devise. She brushes the information aside and flies up to be in the line of vision of the super villain who thought it a good idea to threaten her city. Why can't those super villains never learn?

'Stark.' Leader snarls. Nat can spot the insecurity in him as to how she had gotten here so quickly and if that means her teammates are close by as well. It fills her with satisfaction, although Leader tries to gloss over it.

'Hey, ugly, what's up?', she greets him with a hidden smile. That doesn't do so she flips her face plate up.

He looks around, looking for the rest of the team. 'Alone?', he asks.

Natasha shrugs. 'Your bad luck. You just had to ruin my free day. Now I have to ruin yours. One could almost be sorry.', she muses. She doesn't feel sorry at all.

A satisfied grin spreads on Leader's face. 'Actually, it's good. You can be the first to fall.', he promises.

'Yeah? We'll see about that.', she retorts. Leader doesn't pull out the Graviton but a gun, pointing it at her. She easily dodges the energy blast. 'Gotta try a little harder than that.' The face plate snaps shut again, Jarvis readying the suit for battle.

Before he can fire again though, a red, white and blue shield comes flying in, knocking the gun from his hand and returns to the hand of Captain America who stands on a near rooftop.

'Where are the others?', Leader asks. A roar of Hulk splits the momentary silence. 'Oh, I think he has found Attuma.' Somehow this doesn't worry Leader. MODOK has already engaged Agents Romanov and Barton in a fight as she can hear over the com. 'I trust you will find this most interesting, Stark. You might be the only apart from Banner of your little team to appreciate our new weapon.' Almost loving he caresses the Graviton which he pulls out from under him. Suddenly he looks up and points the weapon at her. 'Such a shame you'll never be able to do that.'

Natasha raises her hand to shoot him and his vehicle down with a repulsor blast. Leader, without losing eye contact with her, turns the weapon on Steve and activates it. The soldier hovers in the air. She can hear his displeasure though Steve tries not to show it. 'One move and he'll quicker reach the ground than you can shoot me. So, what's it gonna be? Saving New York or your friend?'

Her eyes flit between them. 'How 'bout both?', she quips, her mind running a mile a minute. Fortunately her voice stays as calm and as lighthearted as ever.

Leader flips the devise off. Natasha turns away and dives after Cap. There is no time for a thought and none is needed. She pulls out of her dive just soon enough to catch Steve in midair without hurting him too much, one arm wrapped around his waist, then pulls up again so they wouldn't crash into the ground.

'Thanks.' He seems to have doubted she would chose save her teammate. Of course it might have been the best decision to take Leader down and let Steve die but that's not her style.

Nat grins. 'Any time, gorgeous.'

'I'm not a damsel in distress, Stark.', Steve complains, probably rolling his eyes.

'Since I am a knight in shining armor and I just saved you, that makes you by default my damsel in distress.', Natasha teases. With a grin she which he can't see, she puts him down on the street. 'You'll be fine here, I trust? Don't get hurt, princess.'

Steve grins back as she flies off, already on his way back to the fight.

'Status?', she asks as she approaches the hovering vehicle again. Leader had tried to bring a little distance between himself and a possibly angry Iron Woman.

'I have registered three Graviton devises in the vicinity. MODOK, Attuma and Leader appear to have one. All are currently engaged in fights with the Avengers. Attuma attempts to flood the Hulk out of the city.', Jarvis supplies.

That's not very surprising. Hulk is the only one who can challenge Attuma's strength. 'Does any of them need help?'

'It would appear not, Miss. Hulk is holding his ground, Agents Romanov and Barton managed to draw MODOK away from the crowd.'

Good. 'Calculate the reach of our counter devise.', she instructs Jarvis. They had believed that the Cabal only owns one Graviton, not three. Where had they gotten the other parts from? Maybe there is another, easier way to build these devises, Nat muses, her mind circling around that part especially. Plus, will they be close enough to their machine to counteract the Gravitons? It's hidden near the Mall, they didn't think the fight would spread over the city.

'Calculating.' She almost reaches Leader's car which now flies to reunite with one of his allies. 'Radius approximately 1.2 miles. All Graviton devises are in vicinity to be rendered useless.'

'Good. On my command.' On the ground Natasha notices the rising water the closer she gets to Hulk's location where Leader is heading. It's at least three inch high by now and that throughout this part of the city.

'Where are you?', Steve asks over the com.

She passes through her location. MODOK, according to Tasha and Barton, also heads towards where Hulk and Antman fight Attuma. It surprised them all to see what a good team those two make. The Cabal tries to rejoin their forces to fight the Avengers using the Graviton.

Nat tries to bring Leader's craft down but he dodges most blows. Attuma is too busy not being squashed by Hulk who doesn't like the water at all. MODOK reaches the scene at the same time, Hawkeye and Black Widow close behind him on their hover bikes. Leader pulls up the Graviton again as he stops the vehicle next to MODOK and right over Attuma. They point their weapons at the surrounding buildings. At the highest setting the Graviton would easily be able to lift it up and destroy this part of the city in seconds. The Avengers bottle them up, waiting for their next move. Clint and Tasha look worn but pleased with themselves for being able to fight off MODOK. Leader grins, hoping the rest of the plan would work out.

'Give up the city and fulfill our claims or we will destroy the city!', Leader demands, confident they would give in immediately when he uses the Graviton to lift up a car and let it crash into an empty shop.

Clint's bike hovers close to his vehicle. 'Never.', he declares proudly, his shield ready to be thrown.

Leader snarls. MODOK isn't sorry and Attuma is still a little busy with calming Hulk enough to not be killed though all the water does little to cool Bruce's temper. 'As you wish, Captain.'

'Activate.', Nat instructs Jarvis, not audible for the Cabal.

Leader grins as he presses the button. The grin fades slowly when nothing happens. 'What?' Angrily he presses the button again.

'Do something!' Attuma insists, propelling himself from the ground to get away from Hulk. The villains panic, facing the assembled might of the Avengers without their special devise. MODOK looks ready to make a run for it. Leader apparently agrees secretly. He stares at her with unveiled insecurity.

Natasha feels her repulsors shiver. She ignores the strange sensation and raises her hand. 'Run.', she whispers as much as her speakers allow it. Just when she wants to destroy the engine of the vehicle, her armor gives another jolt. The Cabal starts to flee just when her thrusters give out. Natasha yelps when the ground suddenly comes closer rather quickly. She flails her arms and legs but it's of no use. 'Jarvis!', she yells but the AI is offline as well as the suit.

Her coms are offline when she hits the street not as hard as she expected. Fortunately the floor was less than 80 feet away. She feels herself being supported by two arms who softly lower her to the ground. Given that her suit is still offline, she can't see anything yet nor can she orientate herself. Cap's 'Stark!' is clearly audible despite the layer of steel mesh separating the source of the call from Nat's ear. The armor is too heavy to stand up just yet with her ears still ringing from the fall. There is some pain in her back from the fall but she had taken worse.

The counter devise goes offline seconds later and Jarvis opens up the suit. 'Nat!' Steve looms over her, panic and worry in his eyes. She can't hold back the laugh. She is alive after all and barely hurt. No need to fuss like this.

'Did you see his face?', Natasha forces out. She lets herself being helped up by Steve and tumbles against him, laughing. Steve keeps her up. 'Jarvis, have you recorded that? Oh god, that was priceless.' She can't help but laugh even more.

'You're bleeding.' Steve looks a little flustered by her reaction, his eyes are fixed on her hairline.

'What?' Nat tries to get a grip on herself. Her laughter subsides slowly. She raises a hand to her forehead, finding a tiny bit of blood. 'Oh. It's nothing.' She waves it off. She barely feels it. Her mind is already racing around the fact that the devise shouldn't have done a thing to her armor and still plucked her out of the sky. She would need to reevaluate the situation. The Cabal fortunately hadn't seen the effect this has had on her. The rest of the team assembles around the pair with the exception of Hulk who is busy calming down now that the threat is gone.

'I don't know about you but I am starving.', Natasha announces. Fury can wait for his report until tomorrow, or Monday for all she cares.

Barton agrees and Romanov isn't complaining either. Steve looks like he might disagree but eventually he accepts that she is fine and ready to get some food.

Dinner is short and Bruce tries to evade it but they drag him along. He and Scott had made a good team. Later that night they are back home, celebrating with a sulking Jack Hart.

'Scotch?', she asks when she enters her empty and dark apartment.

'Yes, please.', is the drawled, royal, answer. She flips on the light and makes her way to the bar without looking at the brunet man.

'Why am I not surprised?', Natasha asks more herself than von Doom.

'Because you have more sense than your friends.', he states with a smirk. 'You doubted me, didn't you?', Doom asks again.

'Would you have?'

'Guess not. It was fun working with you again though.' Victor, Doom, damn it, says. He comes closer to the bar and sits down on the stool in front of Natasha.

'No, it was not. We aren't friends and we aren't working together. This is a thank you scotch for warning us but this doesn't mean we are buddies now nor that we team up.'

'Oh, Stark, now you wound me.' He accepts the glass she slides over the counter. Natasha decides not to drink something because she's still drunken on their victory over the Cabal. 'We would make great friends.', Doom insists.

'I don't think so.' She crosses her arms.

Doom seems very surprised. 'You didn't seem to mind my help. So am I supposed to not warn you anymore when I happen to know of a threat you are unaware of?' He asks with a tilt of his head.

Natasha scowls. 'You know what I mean. I cannot just allow you to come and go as you please.', she insists. Her team doesn't deserve to be called upstairs. Somehow her resolution of shunning Doom is gone in a poof. She blames it on the grandiose victory today and her good mood. What he has about himself that makes her forget all her irritation, Natasha can't tell.

Doom raises his eyebrows but doesn't seem fazed. He shrugs as if she just told him that she could just offer him her best scotch instead of her best whiskey. 'I will knock if you insist.'

She groans in frustration. 'Not what I meant!'

He rolls his eyes, then downs his drink. 'Then I thank you for the drink and congratulate you to defeating the Cabal. Even without my help I am sure that you would have managed just fine.' It sounds genuine enough.

Natasha hums when he stands up, ignoring the pang of disappointment.

'I am just sorry you fell. That had not been my intention.' He comes around the counter. Natasha instinctively backs away, considering to call in her armor. But before she can activate her wristlet, Doom reaches her. He doesn't look intimidating (at least not more than usual). He smiles a little about her reaction. 'Let me.' There is a green wisp of magic dancing around the tips of his fingers as he reaches up to touch the small wound on her forehead. The tingling is the only indication that indeed something is happening.

Von Doom smiles at her as Natasha glances up suspiciously. 'Good night, Miss Stark. Till we meet again.'

Before she can even blink, Doom is gone.