A man's tense voice emanating from the Quinjet's radio caught Natasha's attention. She pushed the button that reset her seat from inclined to normal, focusing on the cockpit where Clint was giving Steve flying instructions on their way back to Manhattan.
"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. Calling New York Center, New York Center, AAL-102 enroute to JFK, repeat, AAL-102, Boeing 777-300ER, enroute to JFK, but are aborting our descent. Under attack by a dragon, repeat, under attack by a dragon, sixty miles east of New York City, Flight Level 260. 100 minutes of fuel, 402 souls on board. Over."
She heard a new voice from the radio, a little incredulous despite the professional tones. "Roger that, AAL-102, this is New York Center. American, repeat the nature of your emergency. Again, repeat the nature of your emergency. Over."
"Tasha? Come swap seats with Cap?" Clint called back to her. She jumped up and ran forward, swiping her hand through Stark's calculations that were hanging in the air in front of his nose.
"Hey!" Tony yelled at her.
Steve ran back towards Tony as she buckled herself in the co-pilots seat. She watched her teammates in the monitor that took in the passenger and cargo section of the jet.
"Suit up, Tony," Steve said, stripping off his flight jacket and shirt as he skidded to a stop in front of the alcove that held his Captain America suit.
Tony was out of his seat, arms held wide, as he stepped on the metal briefcase that held his traveling suit.
She split her attention between monitoring her teammates, the cockpit readings, and the radio's new message. The pilot sounded grim but controlled. "New York Center, New York Center, this is AAL-102. Repeat. We are under attack by a dragon. I'm not kidding, it's huge and it keeps dive bombing us. I think it's trying to force us to land. Over."
Clint flicked a switch and announced, "New York Center, AAL-102, this is Quinjet-03, responding to your Mayday. I repeat, this is Quinjet-03 responding to your Mayday. ETA approximately five minutes. New York Center, S.H.I.E.L.D. is monitoring and will also send assistance and will coordinate with the Air Force. Over."
There were undertones of disbelief in the air traffic controller's voice. "New York Center to Quinjet-03. What assistance can you render? Assuming that AAL-102's pilot isn't hallucinating. Over."
"Quinjet-03 to New York Center and AAL-102. Send us what you've got on the American's co-ordinates. And we're the Avengers. We'll figure it out when we get there. Over." Clint grinned at her. "Take over for me, Nat."
Natasha made a course adjustment as Clint slid back into his seat, his quiver and bow stashed in nearby reach.
Behind the pilots seats, Steve was standing next to Tony. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him lay a hand on Tony's red and gold suit shoulder. "We'll be close enough for visual confirmation in about thirty seconds, Cap," she reported.
Tony announced, "I networked JARVIS to your comms and all the monitors, guys. He can send you whatever I'm seeing or hearing – cause I'm going out to play bait, right? And he's going to research dragons and shoot you the good intel."
Steve said, "Orders, people. Assuming there's a real object out there attacking the airliner, yes, then Tony, you get its attention away from that plane. If it continues to be aggressive, then Natasha, when we're in range, you're up on weapons fire. Clint, try to herd it away from populated areas."
Just then, Clint whistled. "Take a look. If anybody at New York Center was betting that the pilot was fruit loops, they just lost a bundle."
Natasha changed course so they were flying parallel to the American Airliner, but not too close to it. She raised an eyebrow at what she saw swooping and diving near the other jet, but really, after aliens and gods descending on Manhattan, she wasn't about to be awestruck because a mythical creature had appeared.
Clint, though, looked utterly fascinated. He mouthed, "Holy shit," to her, before donning his professional persona again and speaking into the radio. "New York Center, New York Center, this is Quinjet-03, we have confirmed that there is a large dragon looking critter attacking AAL-102. Repeat, there is a large dragon looking critter attacking AAL-102. We're gonna try to get its attention away from the American. Over."
The New York Center answered. "Quinjet-03, Roger that. We're re-routing air traffic so the skies are clear. Good luck, Avengers. Over."
Clint said, "AAL-102, AAL-102, this is Quinjet-03. Be ready to get the hell out of Dodge when we sting that thing's tail. Over."
The pilot responded, relief in his voice, and Steve strapped himself in, his shield secured on his arm. Tony ran to the back of the Quinjet into the cargo area, and Clint locked down the passenger area. He nodded to her, and she glanced meaningfully at the radio.
Clint busied himself with reporting in to S.H.I.E.L.D., then updated the team. "Everybody, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sending backup from Manhattan and from the helicarrier. War Machine's coming in from Hanscom."
"On your mark, Clint." Steve called from his seat.
Fidgeting by the cargo door, Tony crowed, "Rhodey's invited to the party? All right! Fireworks coming up for everyone."
Natasha glanced at Clint and they shared a look of amusement as he took over piloting. She remembered Stark's party comment when he'd led a leviathan to them during the fight against the Chitauri. She arched an eyebrow and said dryly, "Let's hope this party ends on a better note than your birthday ones."
"Hey," Tony objected. "I'm reformed now. No more crazy antics."
"Tony," Steve said crisply.
"Yeah, Cap?"
"We could use some crazy antics. Go wild." She could hear the smile in Steve's voice.
Clint hollered, "Go, Tony. Get'em, Tiger," and opened the wide cargo doors.
They were blasted with stirring classical music, horns announcing a confrontation as Tony ran out the open back of the plane.
The doors closed after Tony had plummeted away, heading straight for the American. Clint grinned. "JARVIS, what's he playing?"
"Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch, recorded in 1956. What Sir requested was Siegfried slaying the dragon Fafner, Clint."
Steve smiled and shook his head. Wagner's Ring Cycle. No one could ever say that Tony Stark didn't have his own brand of style.
The music came to a crescendo and abruptly cut off. Clint called out, "He's there."
Steve said, "JARVIS, let's get some closeups." The image of the dragon filled the screen, its hide mottled patches of greens and blues and purples overlayed with a metallic sheen.
They watched as Tony fired his hand repulsors at the dragon, angling his shot so the airliner was in no danger of becoming collateral damage.
The dragon whipped its long snake-like head around and shrieked. The dragon's scream made Natasha want to cover her ears, a headache blooming at the sound.
"That thing's the size of three city buses," Clint announced. "And ow. Man, it's giving me a headache."
Steve grimaced. "Me too. JARVIS, what can you tell us?"
"Captain, the dragon is emitting sounds not only within normal human hearing range but also high into the ultrasound range, which cannot be heard but will still effect most people with nausea and headaches."
"Iron Man, report," Steve barked.
"I've got Puff's attention, Cap. It goes for me and then it tries to swing back to the airliner. I'm going to throw something stronger at it."
Steve answered, "It's broadcasting in ultrasound-"
"I'm on it." Tony interrupted. "JARVIS, give us a two second buffer of anything from Puff's way and delete everything in the ultrasound range before transmitting it to me and the gang. I doubt you guys are close enough for the ultrasound to effect you without Jarvis transmitting."
"Iron Man, are you experiencing any adverse effects from the ultrasound?" Steve asked.
"Hang on." They watched on the screen as Tony not only used his hands, but his suit arc reactor to blast the dragon. The dragon shrieked again and chased after Tony, who was twisting and turning and firing and leading it away from the airliner.
Natasha glanced at Steve, and he answered her unspoken question. "I noticed, Widow."
Tony Stark, she thought to herself, made you want to kick his ass and hug him at the same time. Well, she'd kick his ass for not reporting his status. Steve could handle the hugs. On second thought, he'd want to kick Tony's ass, too.
Steve said briskly, "Clint, you ready?"
"Yep," Clint drawled. "Nat, light the bastard up," and he maneuvered their aircraft so that it was between the dragon and the airliner.
"AAL-102, repeat, AAL-102, this is Quinjet-03. We're ready to fire. Fly like a bat outta hell when we shoot it. Over." The airliner acknowledged Clint and she targeted the dragon, her finger poised over the canon control button.
"Stark, heads up. Firing in five, four, three, two, and one," Natasha announced and fired the laser cannon. The dragon's hind leg was hit. There was an explosion of light and a squeal from the dragon. It turned towards the Quinjet and she fired at it again. This time she hit it in the side, but again, the expected reaction of devastating fire didn't happen. It screamed at them and began descending. The American Airliner veered off and was soon safely out of sight.
"Ah, Widow, we're only smacking it," Tony reported. "Whatever Puff's skin is made of, it's deflecting about ninety percent of what we're throwing at it. And Puff's still descending."
"I think it wants to go to ground," Clint said. "And we're currently flying over Albany."
"Tony, did you copy that? And report your status." Steve glanced at her and she gave a small shrug. Stark. Honestly.
"You're such a worrywart," Tony responded, sounding chiding. Then his voice softened. "I'm okay. And I'm on this. I'll get below and make it uncomfortable for it to go lower: Clint's gonna keep herding it towards?"
"Canada. Way out in the boonies, and then we'll let it land?" Clint asked.
"Yes. Maybe it's more hurt than we think. Natasha, don't fire directly at it, just warning shots to herd it along," Steve said.
"Well, thanks for not frying my ass along with Puff's," Tony quipped, and dove down below the dragon, firing a plasma burst from his hand. The dragon gave another high-pitched squeal and flew higher. Clint blocked it from heading East, and it flew towards the Northwest.
Clint nodded toward the instrumentation panel, catching her eye. He said, "Cap, we've got company coming for supper."
"Quinjet, this is War Machine. I'm coming up on your six."
"War Machine, this is Quinjet-03, welcome to this shindig," Clint said.
Natasha listened to Steve updating Colonel Rhodes on their plan and what they'd learned about the dragon, and War Machine flew off to assist Tony. JARVIS networked him to filter out the ultrasound.
Two other Quinjets from the helicarrier and one from their Manhattan office also joined them, flying high and wide around them to form a perimeter in case the dragon broke free.
Once they'd crossed into Ontario Province, well away from any small cities, Tony and Rhodes changed positions to fly parallel with the dragon. It began a rapid descent, and Clint began to descend also. The other three Quinjets stayed high, circling the area, ready to fire on the dragon if it tried to escape to the skies again.
"JARVIS," Steve asked, "Tony said you'd compiled information on dragons. Can you brief us on anything that in legend helped to control or defeat them?"
"Yes, Captain. From legends, dragons could be appeased by giving them treasure or sacrifices. The tribute could be animals to eat or humans. Virgins were thought to especially please the dragon and keep it from destroying cities or villages."
"No virgins around here," Tony broke in, "unless? Cap?"
Natasha could see Steve roll his eyes. "I'm not eligible, Iron Man. Can we let JARVIS continue now?"
"Really? You're not as pure as the driven snow? I want details. Lots of details," Tony threw out, and Natasha smiled to herself.
"Not a chance, Tony. JARVIS?" Steve said.
"Heroes have defeated dragons with swords or spears, sometimes enchanted. A mixture of sulfur and tar that a dragon ingested made it so thirsty it drank too much water and exploded. A shiny shield reflected the mesmerizing effect of one dragon's eyes back onto itself, rendering it helpless to defend itself. Some were killed by piercing the thinner hide under wing and leg joints. A trap was set so that an overfed dragon was unable to jump over barrels that held stakes in them. The dragon impaled itself when it fell on the barrels. One hero slew a fearsome dragon by shooting an arrow up its anus."
Laughing so hard he could barely speak, Tony said, "Hawkeye, there's your plan. Just wait until it takes a dump and then zing it with an arrow."
Clint yelled back, "If I do, then I'm swearing you all to secrecy. I'm not gonna be known as Hawkeye, the up your butt dragon slayer." Natasha gave a sigh. Grown men, and they were acting like they were ten-year-olds.
Clint still sounded amused when he updated Steve. "Cap, it's almost on the ground. I'm gonna land, okay?"
Nodding, Steve said, "Roger that. Widow, you monitor from the plane, keep it flight ready and keep the dragon targeted. Hawkeye, you and I will go out in an ATV, give Iron Man and War Machine a hand."
Tony said, "JARVIS, show us the scans." A display of the creature appeared in front of them. Natasha studied the areas designated with thinner hide. As in the legends, the joints between the neck and the shoulder, under the large leathery wings, and in between the legs and body were more vulnerable.
Clint asked, "Cap, are we killing it?"
Steve said, "I don't know if it's sentient or not. If it makes gestures of submission, hold off and we'll re-evaluate. But if it attacks, use lethal force. Iron Man and War Machine, please acknowledge."
Tony and Rhodes rogered Steve's orders, and Natasha took over flying from Clint. He grabbed his bow and quiver and he and Steve wheeled out an ATV from a storage unit. She called S.H.I.E.L.D. to update their status and had JARVIS send the visuals. The corner of her mouth quirked up a tiny bit when she pictured Fury's patented look of irritation at the situation, and Coulson's implacable manner broken occasionally by the slightest hint of awe that the Avengers had fought a dragon.
Opening the cargo doors while landing the plane, Natasha could see the dragon on the ground. As soon the plane skidded to a stop, Steve and Clint gunned the ATV towards it as it screamed and flapped its wings, circling between Tony and Rhodes hovering above the ground.
Then it started running fast at Rhodes, its four clawed feet leaving impressions in the torn up ground. Rhodes shot up in the air and fired plasma from his boots at the dragon's head. It shivered and readied itself to leap after Rhodes.
Tony blasted it in the tail. It turned to see this new annoyance and Clint drew out an arrow. He aimed for where shoulder met neck, and let it fly.
It stuck in the creature's hide like a porcupine needle. Clint rapidly shot three more arrows into the joint, but they remained embedded until the dragon used its long neck and plucked them out.
Cap tried his shield, hurling it at where the wing met its body. The sharp edge left a gash and bright turquoise blood welled up and started dripping down the dragon's side.
The dragon tried to fly straight up, but fell back to the ground.
Clint readied a new arrow. "Okay, that hurt it. Cap, I'm gonna try and hit where you gashed it. I'll use a vibranium head. Crap, Tony!"
Natasha, watching, frowned. Tony was being reckless; he was too close to the creature. Hovering in front of its triangle head, Tony held up his hands in an "I'm backing off" gesture. Thanks to the camera in Tony's suit she could see the thick scales on its head and body in detail. They were beautiful but overall the creature was ugly, with its long neck and short legs. It seemed ungainly.
Tony said, in a placating tone, "Hey, Puff. If you just lay down, we'll let bygones be bygones. Do you understand me? Lay down and we won't hurt you. What are you anyway, an alien? Can you read my mind?"
The dragon spit a long stream of liquid from its mouth at Tony. A good bit of it landed on his suit even though he flew rapidly backwards.
"Stay back from it, Iron Man. You gave it a chance to give up, but it's clearly hostile," Steve ordered.
Tony was swearing and suddenly he was on the ground and the suit was unfolding. "Watch out. That was acid he spit, and it's strong enough to dissolve a Titanium alloy. It's not Nitric or Chromic Acid. It's something new to me."
"Are you all right, any on your skin, any fumes bothering your lungs or eyes?!" Steve snapped out.
"I'm okay, but I need to get the suit into an acid proof container. There's some on the Quinjet," Tony said. "I want to get this stuff analyzed. It's an incredible solvent."
Steve drove quickly over to where Tony was standing, Rhodes between him and the dragon. "Get in. You're too vulnerable without the suit."
Tony stripped off his long-sleeved T-shirt and dropped it near the smoking suitcase. He clambered into the ATV, and Steve moved them back to a safer distance.
Tony sighed and plucked at his white sleeveless undershirt. "We're gonna have to treat the ground here as a hazmat spill."
Clint frowned. "Tony, you should take a shower right now. Standard first aid for an acid spill."
Tony looked himself over. "I don't have any on me. But I'll do that after we handle Puff. I wish Bruce was here. The Hulk could hogtie Puff like a calf getting branded."
"What about the acid?" Clint pointed out.
Tony waved off his concern. "Hulk's skin is pretty resistant to acid. Ross tried that with him. Even Hydrofluoric Acid – and that stuff is pretty deadly – didn't really damage him. It just made him madder."
The dragon was keening now, continuously giving out that high-pitched wail.
Tony said, "Ow. My head. JARVIS can't help with the ultrasound now." He pointed at the dragon, "You know, maybe Puff's mostly scared. I mean, where the hell did he come from? Maybe he's just reacting to a new strange world."
"Tony," Clint said. "He's not a stray you can take home. He's dangerous. He could have crashed that airliner."
Steve said, "For now, we'll just keep an eye on the creature. S.H.I.E.L.D. might have some way to cage it."
Natasha had been monitoring their conversations while in contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. and keeping the laser canon aimed at the creature. She toggled her comm. "I've kept Fury updated. They're working on something."
Tony said, "Puff's too big to fit into Bruce's cage."
Steve said, "Hawkeye, be ready to take the shot if it makes another aggressive move. War Machine, fly Tony to the Quinjet and bring back the container Tony mentioned. Tony, you can borrow some of my clothes if you need to after that shower. I've got a satchel stowed away."
Rhodes zipped over to them and held out his hands to Tony, his faceplate up. "C'mon, Trouble. Want to dance?"
Tony stood on Rhodes' feet, and wrapped his arms around Rhodes' waist.
"Trouble? You haven't called me that since M.I.T." Tony said.
Rhodes carefully lifted off. "Actually, I did after we plucked you out of the desert in Afghanistan."
"Huh," Tony said. "I don't remember that."
"You were pretty out of it," Rhodes said. Natasha had seen the pictures of Tony after he'd been found in the desert. He'd looked half dead.
Before Rhodes had gotten even a tenth of the way back to the Quinjet, a deep thrumming began.
The Quinjet started moving to the beat of the noise, like someone was shaking it. The longer it went on the sicker she started to feel.
"Status check," Natasha said, with difficulty. No one responded to her.
Clint had fallen out of the ATV. Rhodes and Tony were on the ground, too, Tony on his hands and knees, his hand pressing hard on his chest. Steve slowly climbed out of the ATV, and knelt down next to Clint.
"JARVIS, analysis!" Tony whispered. Natasha felt like her very bones were throbbing and her eyes hurt. The headache that she had from the ultrasound increased ten times.
"There are strong infrasound waves originating near the dragon, Sir. I strongly suggest that-"
There was a loud boom, and the dragon disappeared. Thankfully, the throbbing feeling stopped and she dropped her head back against the pilot's seat in relief.
Cap helped Clint back into the ATV, then drove over to Tony and Rhodes. Rhodes had his face plate open, and he and Tony seemed to be holding each other up.
"Man, what happened?" Rhodes said.
Tony was breathing harshly. "JARVIS? How are Tony's vitals?" Natasha asked, concerned. She didn't like how Tony had been pressing on the arc reactor.
"Checking his pulse and BP monitor now, Agent Romanoff, and they are... returning to normal parameters," JARVIS said.
JARVIS explained about the effects of infrasound waves to the team while Tony and Rhodes climbed into the ATV. "Thanks for the lift, Cap," Tony groaned. "I don't think we're quite cleared for take off. And owwww. Rhodey, I haven't had this bad of a headache since sophomore year at MIT. You remember the party I'm thinking of?"
"The one where your underaged ass had to be carried out of by yours truly, once I'd figured out where the hell you'd gone, and I had to babysit you all the damn night so you didn't choke on your own puke and die? That one? The one you still owe me for?" Rhodes said loudly, causing Clint to snicker.
"Ah, sweet pea, it's good to know how much you cared," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "But yeah, this headache rivals the one I woke up with back then."
"Where'd the dragon go?" Clint asked, scanning the area.
"I was watching," Tony said. "I think Puff went back to the Land of Honah Lee."
"By that you mean wherever he came from," Steve said.
"Yes," Tony sighed. "Damn, I wish Thor was with us. He might know where Dragon Land is, because I'm thinking some kind of a rip between our worlds."
"Those legends might be based on fact, then," Clint said. "In ancient times dragons slipped through to Earth."
Rhodes shrugged. "Looks like it."
Tony said mournfully, "I think I'm going to miss Puff. I mean, wow, a real dragon. He would've warmed up to me. Eventually."
Clint draped an arm around Tony's shoulders as the ATV rolled up into the Quinjet. "Little Jackie Paper, you're totally nuts. That critter didn't want to play with you. Maybe eat you, though."
Rhodes snorted. "Let's hope neither he nor his kinfolk show back up here. Between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Air Force, we're gonna have to start patrolling the area your pal stumbled into, Tony."
The four of them climbed out and moved to the passenger area. Steve got down his satchel and tossed it to Tony.
Steve said, mildly, "Puff? The Land of Honah Lee? And Tony is Jackie Paper? What are you guys talking about?" He turned and winked at Natasha.
As if on cue, Tony and Clint started bellowing out, "Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea." They sang off-key as they struggled through the song, obviously mangling the lyrics. Despite her headache, Natasha felt her lips twitching into a small smile.
Rhodes just shook his head. Natasha asked quietly, "JARVIS, you are recording this?"
"Yes, Agent Romanoff," JARVIS replied just as quietly. "Shall I send you a copy?"
"Definitively. And also send a copy to Pepper Potts, please."
"It will be my pleasure, Agent Romanoff."
x x x
Entering the theater room Tony had put together for the team movie nights, Natasha settled herself on the love seat and ran her hand appreciatively across the soft, full grain dark leather, touched with one finger the wood frame. She thought it was walnut, but wasn't sure. Whatever the wood was, she knew it would be expensive as well as beautiful. Tony Stark appreciated style and comfort.
Steve came in, and pointed to the extravagant looking popcorn machine. It hadn't been there last week for team dinner-and-movie night. Except for the two times they'd had to assemble to stop idiots with delusions of world domination, they'd kept to their schedule on Thursday nights. They'd have a team meeting, then eat, taking turns to either cook or order out, and then watch a movie. Tonight it was Tony's turn again and she was curious about what he would choose. She had a theory, based on his last selection.
Steve whistled. "The last time I saw one of these, it was on the other side of the counter at a movie theater, right before I went overseas on tour with the USO. I suppose Tony knows how to use it, but I'll see if I can figure it out. If it's from the 40's it can't be too complicated."
He studied it for a minute, then began flipping switches and rummaging in a nearby cabinet. When the popcorn he poured in started popping, she stopped paying attention. Clint had walked into the room.
She gave a slight, upward tilt of her chin and he came to her as if she'd pulled him in on a line. She pressed her leg against his as he sat next to her. He pressed back, their shorthand for how they felt about each other. She knew that other agents thought they slept together. But lovers was an inadequate word for the relationship between them. It didn't begin to touch the complicated bond between them. And yet, it was so very simple, too. He stood with her, and she stood with him.
He knew all of her secrets. Clint hated that he'd spilled them to Loki. She hadn't been successful yet in getting him to stop blaming himself, but she would keep at him until he let that go. In the end, what Clint had told Loki had proved useful since hearing Loki speak about her darkest moments had let her read him more deeply, feeding her intuition on how to play him.
Over the seven weeks since Bruce Banner had quietly left Manhattan, Clint had been improving. He said he hated his mandatory therapy sessions, but she thought they were helping him. Also, spending time with Coulson had settled him, brought his usual sense of humor back into play. God help them all.
She wondered when Coulson would finally make a move on Clint. For now, she was letting them fumble around on their own. Coulson would either sit down and have a serious talk with Clint about being his handler and sleeping with him, or Clint would work up the nerve to just kiss him and force the issue.
Coulson had broken up with a lover shortly before Loki had arrived on Earth, but they hadn't been that serious. Clint hadn't had any serious relationships since becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but he'd always flirted with Coulson. Only, Clint didn't know that was what he was doing. Coulson did, but he didn't slap Clint down. He hadn't accepted the overtures, though. But since living through Loki's attack, she had sensed he'd re-evaluated Clint's interest.
And finally, Clint was figuring out that he wanted Coulson for a lover. She could have told him a long time ago, but it had amused her to watch him puzzle it out for himself. Still, if they didn't take any action soon, she would handcuff them together and shove them in a closet until they talked. Or kissed, at least.
"Wonder how Thor's doing and how close he is to coming back." Clint said. "I miss the big lug."
Natasha quirked an eyebrow up slightly. Clint shrugged his shoulders and gave her a thumbs up. He hadn't spent much time with Thor, true, but she trusted Clint's talent. If Clint accepted him, then she would, too.
Clint said, "Yeah, Thor'd be a riot to watch movies with, since he would be in the dark about most of them as much as Steve is, but he'd say what he was thinking, unlike our captain over there."
Steve just smiled at Clint as he shoveled popcorn into several bowls. "You could ask Tony. I believe he's keeping in touch with Doctor Foster and her work on these, ah, wormholes? The way between our world and his? And to Puff the Magic Dragon's home world?"
"Yeah, I'll ask him, but I probably won't be able to decipher what he's actually saying if he goes into science babble. Bruce was the only one of us who talked the same language," Clint said, making gimme motions with his hands for the popcorn.
"Ask me what?" Tony had come into the room alone. Sometimes Pepper joined them but she was in California, handling some delicate negations with renewing contracts with business allies. Natasha thought Pepper Potts was doing an admirable job as C.E.O. of Stark Industries, and that it had been one of Tony's wiser decisions to turn the reins of his company over to her. It wasn't that Tony wasn't capable of doing the job. He was, certainly. But his passions led him away from those responsibilities, and Pepper Potts running the company gave him the time to be Iron Man and to turn his genius loose in his workshops and labs. Lots of people could handle being C.E.O.; very few could think and design on Tony's level. She would not tell him, but she agreed with the news stories that named him the Leonardo Da Vinci of our times.
"When's the god of thunder gonna show his cape around here again?" Clint took a bowl of popcorn from Steve and picked out a fluffy kernel, flicked it high into the air and waited for it to descend right into his mouth, without his moving a muscle.
Tony opened his mouth, looked at Clint, and she could read his decision to greatly simplify his answer. "Jane's making great progress. She's working on building a bridge, a rainbow, sparkly highway to heaven. Well, to Asgard. The woman's a genius; I'd love to have her working for me. Her, me, and Bruce. Wow. If we were evil types, our combined brain power could take over the world."
Clint laughed. "Jane's kinda feisty, you know, in a crackpot scientist kind of way. She might give you a hard time. I wonder if she still has that college kid working with her. She was an intern or something. Boy, she was a firecracker. Did you know she tased Thor, when he first showed up In New Mexico?"
"Jane did that?" Tony asked, a grin breaking out on his face.
"Nah, her Girl Friday did. Debbie, Deana?" Clint wrinkled up his forehead, thinking. "No, her name was Darcy, that was it. But Jane ran him over with a truck. Twice. I think Thor must love the rough stuff."
Tony laughed. "Maybe. I'm not going to ask him, or maybe I will, but I think I'll wait until I'm suited up first. So, ready to watch "The Fugitive?' The movie, not the old TV show or the re-make of it."
Natasha made a small sound of discovery. Tony noticed and said, "What?"
"We're not going to forget him," she said quietly.
"I don't know what you mean. I just happen to have a huge crush on Tommy Lee Jones and Han Solo," Tony lied, badly.
Natasha gave him a level stare and Tony flushed, his eyebrows rising upwards in a nonverbal message that she'd nailed him. Last time it had been his turn, Tony had picked North by Northwest. She'd realized after the hero had to go on the run that Tony had chosen it because of Bruce.
That had been after they'd learned Bruce had been identified twice in the South. Clint had sent out false reports of sightings in directions away from where Bruce's image had been confirmed by JARVIS on a couple of security cameras. The two people who'd recognized him had reported seeing Bruce to the police, but Clint's distraction reports had worked. The true sightings were initially considered as bogus as the other ones.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had not been fooled for long, though, and had recently tracked Bruce to Guatemala. They had lost him there according to the spy program Tony had installed in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers. The agents were authorized to take Bruce into custody, not just watch his movements. Natasha didn't think that he would allow himself to be talked into coming voluntarily like he had with her. Fury had agreed. He'd given different orders this time. Bruce wouldn't be asked, or persuaded. Agents would trick him and render him unconscious, keep him sedated until he was in a Hulk proof cage.
She knew that Fury considered doing that to Bruce to be a form of tough love, although of course, love had nothing to do with it. Politics did. Fury was determined that S.H.I.E.L.D. not lose an asset like the Hulk or Bruce to the Army's custody or to any of their enemies. Both facets of Doctor Banner were valuable, especially since Bruce had gained more control over himself after he transformed.
Fury wouldn't hurt Bruce at least. Natasha was mostly sure about that. He wouldn't allow new gamma monsters to be made from blood and flesh taken from Bruce's body.
After Bruce was caged, Fury would try to persuade him that he was safer being in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tolerant custody rather than being an Army prisoner.
Hydra was another matter all together. Her contacts had given her a name, someone new on the scene who was behind the push to capture Banner. He called himself "The Leader," and he'd persuaded Hydra to join forces with him.
All she knew about him was that he was very intelligent, and that something was wrong with him physically. And that he hungered for Bruce like an art collector would for a rare painting by Van Gogh. There was a price on Bruce's head and every would be villain wanting to make a name for himself would make capturing the Hulk a challenge.
S.H.I.E.L.D. knew this. It was just more fodder for Fury's decision to bring Bruce into S.H.I.E.L.D.
At least Fury hadn't re-instated domestic terrorist charges against Bruce, like Ross would if he took back the authority to arrest Bruce. But Fury had quietly gotten a court order placing Bruce under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority, with himself and Maria Hill named as guardians. Bruce was deemed to be a danger to himself and others, according to the court documents, although not appropriate for any mental institution. Due to his transformations, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lawyers had argued that Bruce was incompetent to care for himself. His running away had convinced the judge in the closed hearing of the necessity of stripping Bruce's legal rights from him. In the eyes of the justice system, Bruce Banner had just entered foster care with S.H.I.E.L.D.
That was how Clint had looked at it, at any rate, when the team had discussed it. Clint had been a foster child, and he hadn't had good experiences. He still would become tense when he mentally revisited those times.
The team had expressed their outrage to Fury and Hill, of course. Bruce wasn't a child and he wasn't in a state of mind that meant he couldn't care for himself, like somebody's elderly granny.
It was, of course, more complicated than that. But essentially, the court had given S.H.I.E.L.D. the authority to make decisions for Bruce. Tony was looking into possible appeals, but without Bruce there to argue for his own autonomy, there wasn't much chance of another hearing.
Natasha wondered if Bruce knew about the court's decision. He was quite good at hacking, so it was possible.
"Nat?" Clint nudged her. "We're waiting on you."
It was somewhat astounding to her that she trusted the three other people in this room enough to allow herself to wool gather and not pay close attention to their actions.
She gently nudged Clint back, and glanced at Steve and then Tony, who was holding a remote in his hand. He sometimes let JARVIS handle the controls , just asking his AI to stop or start the movie. Tonight, though, it looked like he wanted to be hands on.
"You can start the movie, Tony. I was just lost in my thoughts for a few moments about emour/em fugitive."
Tony nodded sharply, and pressed play. The movie began and she let herself watch the tragedy of Richard Kimble's life.
x x x
Two weeks later, after they'd had yet another round with the Serpent Society, they'd gathered in Tony's living room.
Tony had taken off his armor. He looked sweaty, his dark hair sticking up in all directions. Wincing, he stretched as he poured himself a scotch and offered one to Clint.
Clint gave him a thumbs up and joined Tony at the small bar. Natasha was tempted to drink with them, but instead sat down on a couch and put her head back against the comfortable cushions.
"Kretins," she muttered, putting a Russian inflection on the word.
"Who Tasha?" Clint asked tiredly. "Those slippery, slidey snakes who got away again tonight, or me and Tony?"
She sighed. "Those idiots. I hate going into the sewers. At least we stopped them from robbing the box office at the Garden. I will give them points for trying to do it when the circus was playing there. The staff thought they were just another act."
Tony knocked back his drink in one smooth gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I can't believe we didn't take down that bunch of mooks. I'm embarrassed, I'm actually embarrassed for us to have only caught half of them."
Clint made a face."I know. It's ridiculous-"
"They're crazy-ass ridiculous," Tony mumbled.
"Yeah, I feel like we're fighting cartoons, or something," Clint groused. Natasha agreed. But it was good to see Clint commiserating with Stark. Clint griping to the team was a good sign. Natasha became concerned when he was too quiet. He still had days when he hardly said a word and his eyes looked lost.
Tony moved from behind the bar to Clint's side and punched him lightly on the arm. "Cartoon or not, Sidewinder is running a criminal labor union. A criminal labor union! Can you believe that? I can't hardly believe it."
"Believe it," Clint muttered.
"I swear," Tony said, "I think Sidewinder's written a manual on 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Criminals.' They've even got retirement plans, and other perks." He grinned delightedly at Clint, "Since I brought up perks, that one girl, Diamondback? She totally was flirting with Cap."
"I heard that," Steve said as he trudged into the room. "She was not." He came and sat next to her, pulling down his cowl and she scrutinized him before wiping off a smudge of oily dirt from his jaw. He gave her a look of surprise, but didn't say anything. Clint saw her do it, though, and grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows. She gave him an inscrutable look back.
"JARVIS, play the video from my suit when Captain America and Diamondback were exchanging blows," Tony ordered, a laugh in his voice.
JARVIS obliged, and a large monitor flicked on. Tony and Clint cackled like hyenas when Diamondback, a pretty brown-haired girl in a pink and black costume, definitely winked and smiled flirtatiously at Steve before she acted like a demented acrobat and made her escape.
Natasha patted Steve on the arm comfortingly. "Maybe you can turn her someday, Steve. She's very pretty."
He looked deeply uncomfortable. "I don't think I'm cut out for that kind of James Bond stuff, Widow."
Clint had picked 007 movies for them to watch last movie and team night. It had been a change from his usual taste in terrible films. She had mocked the spy maneuvers mercilessly until the rest of them had thrown popcorn at her.
She yawned. It had been a very long day, and thanks to Sidewinder's teleportation cloak, half of the Serpent Society that they'd chased into alleys and down sewers had been rescued by him. Tony was dying to get his hands on it to figure out how Sidewinder was making it work. Tony's current theory was that the man had stumbled on some sort of alien tech.
She would make the rounds of her informants and find out where the Serpent Society had gone to ground. A secret hideout wouldn't keep them safe for long.
She looked up at Steve and smiled. Not at all nicely. "If you like, I can teach you some tricks for seducing the enemy."
Steve shook his head. "I don't think I could do that, but thank you for the offer. If I do meet with Diamondback, it won't be to trick her. I'll just try to convince her to give up her life of crime and become a decent citizen."
And now Tony was yawning. "Spoken like the Cap we've come to know and love."
Clint knocked back his scotch, then turned the empty glass upside down on the bar counter.
He stared at Tony, who looked exhausted. "Don't you have an interview scheduled tomorrow?"
Tony groaned. "Crap. Why did I do that again?"
Clint scratched his nose. "Isn't it the one where you're going to talk about Bruce after you dazzle them with your new tech?"
"Oh, that's right. I'm doing it for Brucie."
Natasha rolled her eyes. Stark and his nicknames. Banner wouldn't get angry at being called Brucie, but she could just picture the way his eyebrows would lift, questioning Tony's sanity.
Clint pointed at Tony. "You'd better go to bed. I'm pretty sure you didn't sleep last night, right?"
"Uh," Tony floundered.
"You were in the Chitauri lab, weren't you?"
"Barton, if you've been in the ceiling vents spying on me..." Tony interrupted himself with another huge yawn.
"Nah. Your system wouldn't support my weight; that's only a rumor that I'm always in the vents. I'm just observant. Go to bed. I'm calling it a day. What about you, Tasha?"
She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go soak in my tub." She walked over to Clint and pulled him off to the side and whispered, "Come and join me, if you want."
He brightened. He loved her huge tub and they were comfortable being naked with each other. She wanted to talk to him about Coulson, anyway. Medical was releasing him tomorrow, and it was time that Clint manned up and did something to let Coulson know he was interested. Of course, she knew that Coulson was interested back, but Clint didn't. The whole situation had been quite entertaining so far.
Tony had found a couch and was sprawled out on it on his back, already lost to sleep. Steve was standing over him and had that fondly exasperated look that hardly ever left his face when he was dealing with Tony being Tony. That changed when Tony started panting in his sleep, his face twisting up. Steve's brows drew together and he set his lips firmly together, his stance alert.
Ah. Another nightmare. Tony slept poorly, and this wasn't the first time his exhaustion had taken him down in their midst. After what Stane had done to him, Tony falling asleep like this with them in the room showed just how much he did trust them.
Tony started to make garbled sounds, but they all knew better than to wake up teammates in the throes of nightmares by shaking them.
Steve called Tony's name several times and the last time he added the inflection that meant Captain America meant business. Tony's eyes flew open and he sat up, looked around at them.
"What? What's happening?" He glanced around the room. "JARVIS?" He scrubbed his eyes with his hands.
"I believe you had another nightmare, Sir, but the tower is secure, and Miss Potts is safe and asleep."
"What were you dreaming about?" Clint asked.
Tony just waved off the question.
"C'mon, Stark. I'll show you mine, if you show me yours," Clint said, the words so heavy with innuendo that he sounded absolutely absurd.
Tony stared at him and then snorted. The wildness in his eyes was fading, though.
Clint nudged her with his elbow and moved towards Tony. She followed his lead and when Clint plopped himself down on Stark's left, she did the same on his right. They both were touching Tony, their thighs and sides pressed into his rigid body.
"Hey! Personal bubble invasion," Tony grumbled, but she could feel the tenseness easing out of him.
Clint slung an arm around Tony's shoulders. "I'll go first, since you're being a wuss about sharing with the class. Umm... I wake up ready to climb the walls because I've just dreamed that Loki is touching me with the scepter and I can feel myself becoming his puppet again."
Natasha reached behind Tony and touched Clint on the arm. He threw a quick smile her way. She hoped Stark and Steve realized the trust Clint was showing by admitting he was still affected by what Loki had done to him.
Tony pursed his lips and then glanced around at all of them. "I, uh, have that one, too. Where Loki pokes me with his stick o' doom but the arc reactor doesn't stop him this time. And he makes me... "
"Hurt people. Even people you care about." Clint finished for him, matter of factually.
Tony blew out a breath. "And sometimes I'm falling back to Earth, space and stars all around me and the Chitauri mothership blown to pieces, and I have no control. I know I'm going to die this time."
Clint added, "Me, I'm jumping off a building with only the barest chance of my grappling arrow actually working." He polished his fingernails on his chest and then blew on them.
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Being sucked into the helicarrier's fans of mightiness and being turned into Stark jelly."
Steve looked guilty. Natasha had read their reports and knew Steve hadn't pulled the switch on Tony's signal because he'd had to fight his way clear of Loki's men. Tony had been sucked into the fans, but the suit had protected him.
Tony noticed Steve's expression, too. "Cut it out, Cap. It wasn't your fault."
"Shooting at Fury," Clint said, a sly tone to his voice.
"Wait. That's a nightmare?" Tony asked, and the snarky tone to his voice meant he'd recovered enough. Clint winked at her and they both stood up.
Tony smiled at them and it was a real one, not the million dollar grin he showed sometimes to the public or the smirk he was fond of bestowing on people who had seriously annoyed him.
Then he yawned again, and slid back down on the couch. "I'mma gonna stay right here." He closed his eyes again, another yawn escaping.
"No you're not, soldier," Cap said, amusement in his voice. "You're going up to a real bed."
"Mmmm. Pepper," Tony agreed, but he made no effort to get up.
Cap shook his head, hauled Tony up with one hand, and started towing him out of the room. Ignoring Tony's grumbling that he was being Cap-napped, Steve said goodnight to her and Clint.
Steve stopped, though, when JARVIS asked for their attention.
"Sir, Captain, Widow, Hawkeye, I believe this is information is high priority. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been ordered by the Council to turn over Doctor Banner's files to General Ross and his staff. As of ten minutes ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer has the authority to bring in Doctor Banner or act in any way on his behalf. General Ross has charged Doctor Banner with being a domestic terrorist; he will be remanded into the Army's custody when he is arrested."
Tony looked furious. "God, Bruce. You'd better be keeping your head down. Who's up for taking potshots at Ross?"
JARVIS added, "Sir, the files sent to General Ross appear to be somewhat incomplete. They don't include that Doctor Banner was last seen in Guatemala. Also, the effects of gamma radiation upon him as shown by Loki's scepter have been... misplaced, apparently."
"I guess we owe Fury for that," Tony said, flatly.
Steve shifted so that his arm was around Tony. "Thank you, JARVIS. If you would route any new updates to me, I'll screen them for the team. I'll see everybody at breakfast and we'll discuss how to handle General Ross and any negative publicity that he releases. It might be time for that video from Willowdale to be made public. Good night, everyone."
He steered Tony out the door, and Clint took Natasha's hand. "Ever wish upon a star, Nat? It's something kids do, when they see one at night or when one falls from the sky. Let's go up to the roof and wish for Bruce to stay safe. It's corny, but right now I don't feel like acting like a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"I haven't done that before, this star wishing." No one had taught her such a sweet gesture, to mimic an innocent child at play. She didn't dwell on the thought. The Red Room was behind her now.
She would indulge Clint in this, but she wouldn't rely on a superstition to keep Bruce free from harm. She would gather as much intelligence on the Leader as she could instead.
Clint grinned at her. "Bruce would think we're both nuts, but if he was here I'd drag him out there, too. Maybe he'd have another Zen saying about sending out good intentions into the universe, or maybe he'd just like staring at the stars."
She nudged him with her shoulder and let him pull her out of the room.
It wasn't easy to see stars through the lights of New York City, but Clint wished for Bruce's safety on every star he could find and she stood beside him.
x x x