Aj POV
After tricking pretty boy into revealing his plan Natasha headed somehwere that probably had something to with briefing o warning or whatever. I decided to check on Snarky Starky and Dr.B.
"What the heck are you guys doing?" I asked. They were obviously hacking into the computer system to find out what Fury was planning.
"We wer-"
"Nevermind I don't want to know. If your discovered its your head on chopping block, not mine." I am not involved and not seeing any of this. All I see is Stark playing some wacked out computer game.
The door opened, and a very angry Fury shouted, "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" He moved his eye down slightly to see me siiting on the desk not to far from Stark. "Aj."
"Patchy," I smiled sweetly. He is so funny when he's angry.
"Kind of been wondering the same thing about you," Tony answered, moving away from the monitor to stand behind me and glare at Fury. He was using me as a human shield. Why am I not surprised?
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract."
"We are," Bruce piped up. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."
"And you'll get your cube back," Tony shrugged. "No muss, no fuss."
"What's Phase Two?" I tilted my head and feigning innocence. Time to spill your guts Fury before I spill them for you.
Fury glared furiously at me as the door opened behind him and Steve walked in, dropping a huge… gun… thing?... on the table by the door. "Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D uses the cube to make weapons."
"Rogers," Fury turned from me to speak to Steve, "we gathered everything related to the Tesseract." Tony's computer blipped again, and I looked it over before scoffing loudly. "That does not mean we-"
"Save it, Patchy," I cut him off and turned the screen so he could see it, even though he knew damn well what was on it. "Beep Beep. That answer is incorrect. Please try again."
"I was wrong, Director," Steve shook his head. "The world hasn't changed a bit."No shit, Cappy."
Thor and Natasha came into the lab then, both looking pissed as they stood to the right of Fury. "Did you know about this?" Banner asked Natasha.
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."
"Loki's manipulating you."
"And you've been doing what, exactly?"
Natasha scoffed at that. "You didn't come here because Aj and I batted our eyelashes at you."
"Yeah, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you're a little twitchy."
"What I want to know," I cut in, taking a step away from Tony as all eyes turned to me, "is why the hell S.H.I.E.L.D is using the Tesseract to build fucking weapons? Because I didn't sign up for that."
Fury pointed to Thor and me. "Because of them!"
3rd POV
"Me?" Thor and Aj seemed stunned.
"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. There was also a unknown person discovered to have dangerously strong powers that could level a large compound facility. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly,hilariously outgunned even by people native to our planet."
"Didn't he end up saving everyone though?" Aj pointed out quick to draw the attention off her. Thor pointed at Aj then Fury with a nod.
"I did! My people want nothing but peace with your planet!"
"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat." Fury said. "The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."
"People aren't able to be controlled," Aj growled out her eyes flashing blue with energy. That was a sore spot for her. "The last time you tried to control 'someone', you threw him in a giant glass cage after he de-eyeballed a guy in room full of people."
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it," Thor pulled Fury's attention away from her, "and his allies. "It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."
"A higher form?" Steven almost stepped back, wondering what could be worse.
"You forced our hand," Fury spat. "We had to come up with something-"
"Nuclear deterrent!" Tony said. "'Cause that always calms everything right down." Everyone became hostile and began cutting each other off.
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asked.
"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-" Steve started.
"Wait-Wait! Hold on! How is this nowabout me?" Tony asked.
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve asked.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor said. Everyone began arguing over each other. Fury turned to Thor.
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" He asked.
"You treat your champions with such intrust." Thor said.
"You're not my champion!" Fury said.
"You furious? I'm furious." Tony said to Steve.
"Are you all really that naïve?" Natasha asked, looking around the room. "S.H.I.E.L.D monitors potential threats."
He pointed to Steve. "He's on that list? Is he above or below angry bees?"
Aj stepped back towards Bruce, pissed. Pissed at Fury for keeping secrets, pissed at Loki for calling her flat, pissed at Tony for being a perv, pissed that S.H.I.E.L.D wanted to control people… The list went on, and it was all making Aj's energy flare up. She beginning to become unstable.
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos!"
"Exactly!" Aj shoted, throwing my arms in the air and smiling like a psycho. "S.H.I.E.L.D likes to pretend what their doing is for the greater good with their agents and their gadgets and their fucking flying ship, when really they're not any better than that sick sociopath Loki!"
"HEY!" Thor and Fury shouted at Aj.
"Don't try to act like its not true!"
"It's his MO, isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're- we're a time bomb." Bruce said.
"You just figured that out right fucking now, Dr.B!"
"You need to step away." Fury said.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked.
"Yeah!" Aj defended.
"You damn well know why!" Steve said. "Back off!"
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony said.
"Would you two shut it?!" Aj growled.
"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve asked Tony.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony listed.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."
"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony said.
"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
"A hero, like you? You're a laboratory experiment, special about you came out of a bottle."
"Who the fuck cares!? Both of you guys are being stupid!"
"Great comeback, sweetheart." Tony said with a small smirk.
"I will pound you into next week, Stark." Aj snarled, her arms flashing with blue energy.
"Highly unlikely." Tony said to her. He looked at Steve. "Got a chick fighting your battles for you now?" Aj's eyes were almost completely. Steve smirked.
"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Steve said. Thor laughed.
"You people are so petty..." He looked at Aj. "...and tiny."
"You wanna go, Blondie. I will kick your ass back to that alien star you hail from." Aj said as she turned to Thor. Thor scoffed. "According to Patchy all of this is your fault so don't say we're petty!"
"You were on my side a moment ago." Thor said. "I was never a threat to your world."
"But you being here caused the whole threat in the first place!" Aj pointed out. "Getting people like him to take goddamn action!" She pointed to Fury.
"People like me?" He asked.
"He's the one who decided to act." Thor said. "I didn't intentionally bring a threat to your world."
"You came and it fucking followed!? How is that not your fault?!"
"I didn't want to come here!"
"Oh that's right, daddy kicked your bratty ass out. So, if anything its the All-fucking-Father's fault."
"Watch your tongue." Thor said with a glare, pointing at her. "Do not disrespect my father."
"Then don't fucking judge us, you're no better than we are." Aj said. By now her eyes were almost completely blue and energy surged from her clenched fists.
"I beg to differ." Thor said crossing his arms. Aj was about to punch him.
"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce said.
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" Fury started.
"Where? You rented my room!" Bruce said cynically.
"Bruce…" Aj said softly reaching her hand out to him slightly. He looked at her.
"The cell was just-" Fury started but Bruce's head snapped back to him as he cut him off.
"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't, I know, I tried!" Everyone looked at Bruce in shock. "I got low. I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth and the Other Guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" He asked looking at her. "You wanna know how I stay calm?" Everyone was watching Bruce, Fury and Natasha reached for their guns, Aj froze her energy still fizzling around her.
"Doctor Banner, put down the scepter." Steve said. Banner looked down, surprised, to see the spear was in his hand. The monitor made a noise, signaling the Tesseract had been located. Banner put the scepter back on the table and walked over to the screen on the other side of the room.
"Got it!" Fury said.
"Sorry, kids." Bruce said. "You don't get to see my party trick after all."
"Located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.
"I can get there faster." Tony said.
"Look all of us-" Steve started.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard; no human is a match for it." Thor said. Tony turned to leave but Steve held him back.
"You're not going alone!" Steve said. Tony smacked his hand.
"You gonna stop me?" He asked.
"Put on the suit, let's find out!"
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."
"Put on the suit."
"Knock it off, both of you!" Aj snapped stepping between the two and putting her hands up towards each of them.
"Oh my god." Bruce said looking up from the computer.
"What is it?" Aj asked about to walk over. Everyone in the lab suddenly went flying in different directions as one of the engines blew up. Fury and Thor fell to the ground behind a table. Tony and Steve were blown to the entry way while Bruce, Aj and Natasha flew out the lab and into the lower equipment room. Tony and Steve sat up.
"Put on the suit." Steve said.
"Yeah." Steve helped Tony up and they ran out of the lab.
People were running around, yelling and grabbing guns while the monitors were beeping wildly. S.H.I.E.L.D. Techs were panicking. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were gearing up and running to their stations.
"All hands engaged." The intercom said. The place was hectic.
Fury sat up, groaning.
"Hill!" He said into his earpiece. Hill was standing her command area. She was looking at a screen.
"Number Three engine is down." She said.
"We've been hit." A female tech said. Hill ran over to a bridge tech's station.
"Did we get a run in? Talk to me."
"We got a fire in Engine Three." He said. "The line looks mostly in tact but it's impossible to get out there to make repairs while we're in the air."
"We lose one more engine we won't be." Hill said. She turned on her earpiece. "Somebody's gotta get outside and patch that engine."
"Stark, you copy that?" Fury asked.
"I'm on it." Tony said.
"Coulson, initiate defensive lock down in the contingent center. Then get to the armory." Fury said. "Romanoff!"
Natasha's leg was trapped under a very large pipe. She tired pulling herself painfully free. She groaned in pain and gave up. Bruce was in the corner; he was fine but was breathing heavily.
"Look agent Romanoff, right now angry man is our priority. If Bruce Banner Hulks out I need you and Aj there to hold him off cause you're the only one that can survive against the Hulk".
"Okay." Natasha said into her earpiece.
She looked at Aj who sat up holding her head. She looked just fine but her eyes kept switching from blue to red to brown probably absording the force of the explosion. She looked at Natasha and gave a weak thumbs up. Nat saw Bruce starting to turn green and while trying to get herself from under the wreckage she tried to calm Bruce telling him "Fight it Bruce I know you can" but it was to no avail as his muscles began bulging through his shirt. "We're gonna be okay. Right? I swear we will get you out of this, you will walk away".
At that point Bruce turned and growled "You swear!"
His voice had the change in it - the bitter amusement was morphing to a growled threat. Bruce began to transform into the Hulk, shirt tearing, he threw himself away from Natasha and Aj, who looked shaken, then he turned to look at them. He locked eyes with Aj before transforming - just as the lights went out.
"Natty!" Aj got up, carrying Natasha with her. The Hulk looked at them. Aj ran up the catwalk stairs as the Hulk chased after them.
"Keep him busy." Natasha said to Aj as she set Natasha down. Natasha swung over the catwalk and rolled under a turbine, Aj doing the same, as the Hulk tore down the stairs. The two women jumped through small places as the Hulk grabbed after them, roaring loudly. Natasha fired her gun at a pipe over his head and gas shot out. She and Aj ran along a narrow passage, the Hulk crashing through behind them. He came up on them fast. He caught up to them just as Natasha got off the passage and because he was swinging his arms as he ran he ended up slamming Natasha into the wall.
"You bastard!" Aj snarled as she jumped on to Hulk's shoulders. She cupped his chin and pulled his face back as he was about to backhand Nat. "You are not bitchslapping her! Got it!"
The Hulk began to reach towards her when he was suddenly tackled through a wall by Thor, Aj going with them.
Hulk, Aj, and Thor crashed through the wall. Thor lay on the ground, he looked up, staring down Hulk.
"We are not your enemies, Banner! Try to think!" The Hulk leaps out into the fight bringing his fist down which Thor catches and counters with a strike to the jaw sending the god flying back. Aj gets up and tackles Hulk, knocking both them backwards.
"Scarlet of Letters, buy me a moments time." Thor yells out. He holds out his arm calling Mjolnir to him and Aj distracts Hulk blasting him with energy bolts. She was about to send an energy charged punch, but he grabbed her body and squeezed hard. Aj struggled to get out of the grip, eye and hands glowing brighter and brighter.
"Knock it off." Aj hissed. "You can't crush me, idiot!"
Hulk keeps his grip on Aj, waving her around like a weapon. The Hulk runs right at Thor and at the last second, mjolnir flies into his hand and Thor uppercuts Hulk, who crashes into a fighter jet making him release Aj. Hulk stands up, shaking his head like `what the fuck just happened'. He shakes it off and angrily rips off the back of the jet, and chucks it at Thor, who dodges.
Thor slides and ducks under the tail. Jumping up, he throws Mjölnir with all his strength, knocking the Hulk head over heels. Hulk falls down, hammer in hand. He tries to lift it, but can't. Mjölnir rests atop his hand. Struggle as he may, Hulk wraps his hand around the hammer. The hammer doesn't move. To no avail - he strains with all his might, screams from the effort.
"The hammer ain't gonna move!" Aj jumps up again, kneeing Hulk in the face, he latches onto her arms bringing them face to face.
Aj stares back and says "Hey jolly green, how about a kiss!" She wraps her legs around his neck and plants a quick kiss on his lips. He grabbed Aj off and kept her head clutched in his giant green hand. Thor grabs his hammer, jumps on him, using the hammer as a lock for his chokehold. Hulk tries to pull him off.
"Mmmm phrrr thrrrrr" Aj muffled as she burned Hulk with her energized hands. Hulk's hand clamped harder down on her head and hit Thor with her. Knocking the thunder god off. Hulk continued to beat Thor with Aj, who just continued to fight. Hulk finally released Aj's head when she bit down as hard as he could into his hand and burned his arm with her hands.
"Blegh...that...was...nasty!" Aj gasped out as oxygen filled her lungs as Hulk and Thor continued to fight. A S.H.I.E.L.D. jet flew to where Hulk, Aj and Thor were fighting, seemingly evenly matched.
"Target acquired. Target engaged." The pilot said. He fired his guns toward Hulk. The barrage of bullets bounced off of Hulk.
"Crap! Stop your going to make him madder!" Aj shouts. The pilot pays no attention and keeps shooting then as the bullets draw closer to the Hulk, Aj steps in blocking the Hulk from the high calibre rounds. He roared, running at the window. Hulk crashed through it, leaping at the jet. "Target angry. Target angry!" Hulk landed on the nose of the jet and tore at the metal as it swerved in the air. The jet explodes after the pilot parachutes out. The Hulk plummets to Earth, roaring his swan song.
"Crap! Fuck! Shit! ARGHHH!" Aj screamed in frustration as she kicked the air. They had just lost one of the strongest teammates. When she finally calmed she turned to the blonde god of thunder. "Thor, you okay?"
"Tired but I shall live. I feel that we should find my brother with haste." Thor said as he dusted himself and called his hammer back.
"Crap! I forgot! Hurry let's go!" Thor and Aj raced out to the containment room.
