Bruce Confession Short Story P11:
"He's a prick!" You called back, the words doing little for the anger that began to bubble up again. You were so going to slap him when you saw him. You were a woman of your word. You walked up to your room and sat on your suitcase, the lower platform letting you dig your feet into the ground. You hummed to yourself as the dial tone rang on, muttering for him to pick up.
"I thought you'd be quicker." The voice you knew spoke. The same sarcastic, annoying tone was there and at that moment you wouldn't have changed it for the world.
"Hello Fury." You smiled as you spoke the words. "Have a plan?" You ask nonchalantly as if this happened every day. In fairness, it had been happening a lot recently.
"Of course, but my contacts are being a bit stubborn." Fury confided his frustration in you as you smiled, glad to be of use.
"I'll make my way down there immediately. But where is 'there' exactly?" You ask, not having any details to go on.
"I'll text them, Ultron could've easily hacked GDHQ to listen in. Well if he is he can go in a melting pot." Fury muttered, his anger taking over as you smiled, whole-heartedly agreeing with the words.
"Ok, I'll see you there." You settle, about to get off the phone when Fury's voice interrupts you.
"Oh (Y/N)? Good job with the Avengers." He sincerely spoke, making you swallow as you tried to speak, your voice thick with emotion.
"Thanks." You say, the words laced with all emotion you had been bottling up. The click told you that he had gone and you paced the room, waiting for him to text you. It took less than a minute but it felt like eternity. In the wait, you phoned for a taxi, knowing the car was gone and you didn't want to drive either. It was a win-win situation and you couldn't wait to gloat to Tony about it, knowing you had just ruined his fun.
You saw it and immediately went to say good bye to Laura. She was sitting and resting with a cup of hot chocolate. It was a hot day but you both felt the emptiness of loved ones. Only something like hot chocolate could help that. "Laura?" You asked, bringing her attention to you, standing there with your suitcases and hair pinned up in the business bun she knew so well. She seemed to age years as she got up to smile and walk over.
"You're going as well?" She asked sadly, getting a nod in response. "I'm glad. You can bring them back. I am supportive of his Avenging but, it doesn't make it any easier. Now you're going as well. What am I going to do all alone in this big house?" She asked, taking your hands in hers. She looked at you as you swallowed, trying not to cry.
"I don't know. But you won't have to wait long, I'll bring them back before you know it." You say supportively. But then a thought pops into your head. "Actually, you are going to do what you've always done Laura Barton. You are going to look after your children, bringing them up to be wonderful human beings and looking after little Nathaniel in your stomach there." You say, leaning down to whisper to Nathaniel. She smiles at your movement, the words giving her some strength for the days ahead.
"Well, when you put it like that…" She smiled as you got back up laughing along with her. You leant in for a hug and smiled when it was gladly reciprocated. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Cooper and Lila? They'll be heartbroken if you leave without a goodbye." Laura protested, wanting some company for a little longer.
"Don't worry, they'll get a special visit." You say, winking as you move back, picking up your suitcases again.
"When's my special visit?" Laura asked, her emotion getting the best of her.
"Soon, I promise. Soon." You spoke, looking into her eyes intently. You loved Laura like a sister and it broke your heart to think of how she had to stay and look after these children alone.
"It better be." She conditioned. After a pause she pressed on. "Goodbye (Y/N), come back soon and bring my husband with you." She ordered, making you smile and nod, trying to hold back the tears. "And get yourself a husband as well." She smiled, winking as you rolled your eyes. She would never let go of that would she?
"Never! I'm going to stay single forever!" You say, stressing certain words as you played about with them. It was Laura's turn to roll her eyes as she waved goodbye. You didn't have the hands to so you simply kept looking back as you made your way out to the taxi waiting for you. You packed the suitcases first and then got in, waving to her and the house all the way. "Excuse me? Could you take me to the village school first?" She asked, the driver taking a turn at her words. She relaxed in the back seat, fingering the suitcase you'd packed the letters in.
He pulled up and you signalled for him to wait as you ran inside to the receptionist who seemed very startled at your entrance. "Excuse me? Could I see Cooper Barton? He's my nephew." You explained as she started to call up the class, terrified of you. "Don't tell him it's me." You added to the lady who looked like she needed to take a moment to breathe.
Cooper came moments later, running down the stairs as he looked around worried before latching his eyes onto you and starting to smile. "Auntie!" He shouted, running towards you and giving you a huge hug. You picked him up and twirled him around as he hugged you. "What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at you as he pulled away.
"Cooper, I have to go now." You broke the news and swallowed as his smile dropped. "I have to go help the Avengers, but I've got something here for you. Don't open it until I'm gone and don't eat it all at once." You hint, giving him the bag as you didn't want to waste Laura's wrapping paper.
"Thank you Auntie! When am I going to see you again?" He asked, his manners simply built into him as a natural response to a gesture like yours. But then he asked the real questions.
"I don't have an exact date, but I know for sure I am coming back with your Dad, straight after we defeat the robot yeah?" You say, trying to get his hopes up and it worked. He visibly perked up and nodded eagerly. "I am going to see Lila now. Do you know where her playgroup is?" You ask, just realising how unprepared you were. It was a lovely thought but you hadn't gotten any details about where to go to give the presents.
"It's just next door. They have a playgroup that is only a half day and that mean I get to see Mum when she picks up Lila." Cooper informed as he walked out looking to the teacher for confirmation which readily came as she had heard the conversation. He led you through the empty carpark and you followed, not knowing what to expect. He walked into the playgroup room and knocked on the door alerting the leader to their arrival. The minute they saw Cooper all the leaders lit up.
"Ah Cooper! How are you?" They asked, making their way over to him and then noticing you.
"I'm fine Miss Andrew, how are you?" Cooper asked, firing the question back.
"Oh I'm fine dear. Who have you got with you?" She asked obviously suspicious of you and it probably didn't help that you had a mysterious package in a bag with you. You mentally face palmed and wished you had more common sense so you could've thought of situations like these.
"This is my Auntie (Y/N), she's come to visit Lila because she has to go now." Cooper explained, gesturing to you as you simply waved and then shook yourself mentally before holding out a hand for her to shake.
"Hello, I'm Miss Andrew." She introduced herself as you tried not to say the sarcastic comment that was brewing in your mind.
"I'm (Y/N) (L/N). Pleasure to meet you." You spoke politely as you shook hands. She smiled at your polite manner and you didn't want to give her the chance to ask questions so you carried on. "Um, is it possible that I could speak to Lila? It's just that I have to leave and I didn't want to go without saying goodbye. Emergency you know?" You told her, hoping she's leave it at that. She didn't.
"Oh dear, what kind of emergency?" She asked, leaving you to try and think of a suitable answer.
"Um, just my husband. He got himself into a little accident at work." You spoke, your mind instantly straying to Bruce instead of a faceless person. You tried to shake the images out of your head but seeing Miss Andrew's worried expression, you knew you'd have to elaborate. "He's just broken his leg, but he needs my help now so I have to cut my visit short. Nothing too bad, he'll be fine but I can't just leave him alone." You ask rhetorically, hoping Cooper wouldn't blow your story but he'd gotten distracted and gone to play with some other children who also seemed to recognise him.
"Of course you can't dear. It's at times like these that you remember what marriage is for." She spoke, offering words of wisdom as you walked along. "I remember my own wedding day, it was a very large hall. I had to walk down the entire aisle without tripping and I cannot tell you how nervous I was. But then I saw my dear Jim's face and I knew it would be fine. I just focused on him and smiled." She recounted, making you mentally curse. Although it was a sweet story, you weren't actually married nor had any desire to at that particular moment.
She carried on like that and you just zoned out, muttering the occasional "Yeah" and "Hmm." You found the room where Lila was playing and no introduction was needed as she recognised you and ran up to you, giving you a huge hug like Cooper did. You twirled her as well and all eyes were on you as Lila shrieked with joy. "Hey Lila! How are you?" You asked, setting her down as she regained her breath.
"I'm fine Auntie, why are you here?" She asked, looking up at you with those big brown eyes that resembled Clint so much.
"I'm just here to give you a present, and tell you something." You added as she gasped at the thought of a present. You led her outside, still holding the bag and knelt down beside her. "Lils, I have to go now." You say, using her nickname. "I have to go help the Avengers fight that robot I told you about. But I promise I'll be back and with your Dad as well." You saying, rushing as you don't want her to start to cry or moan because you had not much time left. It was already a stretch doing this in the first place, if you stayed any longer you wouldn't be able to get there on time and Fury would leave without you.
"You promise you'll come back?" Lila asked uncertainly.
"I promise." You say, stressing the words as you smiled at her. She seemed to be comforted by that and you carried on. "But I also want to give you this present." You say, passing her the bag. "But," You interrupt as she starts to eagerly open it. "You have to open it when I'm gone ok? You can do it now or with Cooper at home. Your choice." You say, getting up from knee level. Lila looks solemnly up at you and nods.
"Of course Auntie." She confirms as you smile and wave goodbye, walking away. You take Cooper back and wave goodbye to him as well as you get into the car and the driver drives off. You sigh, a huge weight off your chest as you relax in the back seat. The drive is mostly spent in silence and as he stops at a petrol station, you take the chance to stretch your legs and get some chocolate for yourself. You buy with your own money and check to see if you have enough to pay for the drive. It would definitely be stretching it but you know that Fury can cover the cost and you can pay him back. Plus it was technically the Avenger's fault for taking the car.
You fall asleep in the back after having finished your food and sleep peacefully, knowing you told the driver where to go and you weren't the one who had to stay awake. The hours passed and you woke up to see the driver listening to music on low volume to keep him awake and not wake you. You appreciated the sentiment but it wasn't needed. You were tired and still a little drugged, you could've slept through a song. The fact that you still felt weary only fuelled your anger and you could've easily powered New York with your emotions only. "Um, excuse me? How long is it until we get there?" You ask politely to the driver who seems startled at your consciousness.
"Not too long now Miss, an hour or so at most." He spoke cheerily as he regained his composure. You smiled gratefully before settling for looking out of the window. You didn't have much else to do and you weren't going to go for a walk in a car. You sat there, simply watching as the street lamps flashed past, the repeated pattern hypnotising you into a daze where you sat with your thoughts. What was the plan? When you got there, what were you even going to do?
First was obviously helping to persuade Fury's stubborn contacts by using her knowledge and if it came to it, crocodile tears. Second was getting all the information on the Ultron situation. Would you enter the fight? Yes. Even if it was mainly just to annoy Bruce who tried to stop you from doing exactly that then yes. Also, you liked the idea of being able to slap each and every one of them for their conduct. How dare they even think about drugging you and then leaving you behind again? Every time you thought about it, you felt the anger rise up inside you and you had to force it back down.
The hour flew by as you thought about your feelings for Bruce and decided they were irrelevant and not to be pondered on. They weren't worth it and if you ever got back to something of a friendship with Bruce it would be wondrous. You pushed them out of the way, knowing for sure, you liked him but it wasn't important now or ever.
You thought about how you would fight and smiled at a few fantastical thoughts you had of frying pans like Rapunzel or swords like Esmerelda but knew that you would have to use a gun. It didn't bother you so much as you knew you could always punch them, let out your anger on robots and save the world at the same time. It was a win-win situation. You thought of all the times you'd spent with Bruce and if the thought ever crossed your mind that he would be capable of drugging you. You forgot that, knowing the naïve you would never have thought something like that. You then went to the thoughts of Liv and Jason and Harry and the baby on the way.
Would you visit them like Bruce had said? Would you listen? Your anger flared at the words and your stubbornness wouldn't let you think such things. You weren't listening to Bruce, you were fulfilling your greatest wish. You were doing this for you and nobody else. You chanted the words in your mind, over and over again until they were stuck in your mind but you knew deep down you didn't actually believe it no matter how much you chanted it. You also knew that you didn't know what you thought on the whole thing.
It all became mixed and whatever you thought you had sorted out and knew for sure was blurred again as the lines changed and you got lost in thought. You didn't get the chance to ponder again as the driver kindly notified you that you'd be pulling up shortly like on a flight and you had the chance to make sure you had everything as you undid your seatbelt early. The driver made a funny comment about it that lifted your spirits. It was so nice to know that others could still be happy even when the world might be ending. You didn't know for sure what was happening but you knew it was something along those lines.
"(Y/N), you took your time." Fury remarked as you stepped out of the car.
"Why is it that whenever I talk to you it is always because I am late or someone else is?" You ask, the pattern linking in your mind.
"Because we don't have time. Ultron is going to try and destroy the world and I personally don't want that to happen. Do you?" Fury spoke, raising an eyebrow at your attempt at light-heartedness. You sobered up as he showed you to your quarters and you had a quick shower and tied your hair up in a messy bun to ease the pressure on your scalp.
You walked out and made your way to where Fury's contact would be. You saw a young woman and she instantly perked up at seeing you, her smart business suit showing a lot and her trainers contradicting everything one might think about her. You made sure to document this in your mind as you smiled kindly at her. Walking to her wasn't necessary as she met you halfway and shook your other hand as the brace was still on.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled at you as you wondered what Fury had told her about you.
"Likewise. Now, I hear that Fury has something he needs to procure from you but is having some difficulties. Is it you or someone else?" You asked, getting right to the point.
"I am in possession of the object he needs." She confirmed and you shook your head.
"That's not what I meant." You say, sitting opposite her on the table. "Is it yours to lend or not? Or is there someone behind the scenes because I can help with any of those. I am very flexible." You tell her, startling her with your insightful observations.
"How did you know?" She asked, only curiosity lining her features.
"Easily. I noticed a few things but mostly I knew the situation. Stubborn is just another word for more than one person. Whether that means more than one aspect of a personality or another person, it means exactly that in this business." You explained, smiling as she nodded with respect.
"Well you are right as I am sure you already know." She smiled, inclining her head towards you. "It is my partner. Technically we both own it and he's proving to be hard to persuade. He doesn't understand how much I owe Fury and I don't know how to work around this." She confided and you nodded thoughtfully as you digested the information.
"What is his name?" You ask only needing that information to rectify the situation.
"Chen, that's his business name but his real name is John." She confided, smiling at your raised eyebrow. Pretending to be Asian, that was new for you but probably not for the world you thought with an amused smile. The world would never cease to amaze and disappoint and confuse you.
"Right, well. Leave it to me. May I take your number, for any details I might need at a later date?" You explain briefly before taking her phone and inputting her number into your phone and sending her a text to establish the link. Once you were sure it was there, you passed it back, smiling as she caressed the case gently with her fingers. You stood up, shook her hand and retreated to your room to do some research. Your computer was brought along and you caressed the case gently like she had moments ago. Chen, the word was typed rapidly into the search engine and you pressed enter triumphantly before finding out all about this Chen guy.
A normal businessman, polished in every way but then you got to the important bits. He was the lady from earlier (Evonne Bradley)'s business partner. Nothing more than that, just business partners and you could use this. You texted Fury and arranged a meeting with him tomorrow as you texted Evonne all night, readying your case and planning what to say. The morning came and you woke with the beep of your phone, the alarm on, thankfully you had remembered in the car to turn it on, and you woke up, half of you falling off the bed and the other spread over whatever you could as you lifted your head, trying to reach your phone to turn it off.
You had to get out of the bed to turn it off and you groaned trying to pull yourself up as you half crawled and limped towards the phone on the desk. You turned it off and began to shiver in the cold as you walked to the bathroom and rubbed your bare arms as goose bumps began to appear on them. Water splashed on your face and eyes open and not crusty, you smiled at yourself in the mirror, trying to make it convincing as you woke up. The business suit was folded neatly on your bed as you brushed your hair into a ponytail before changing and finishing it up into a high bun, topped professionally on top of your head as you tucked the stray hairs away behind your ears.
Your high heeled shoes were a bit uncomfortable but you knew that pain was gain in this case and as Liv would say, "They aren't even that high!" The words made you smile as you remembered them in Liv's voice. You checked your phone for the time and saw that it was an hour until the meeting and you smiled, getting everything together in a pile on your desk, ready to collect when the time came but for now, you were happy to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. You walked down and saw no one you knew so you spent breakfast on your phone, trying not to think of Avengers Tower and what you would normally be doing at this time and how much better it was compared to this.
You had a simple breakfast bar but realised your hunger was worse as you started to snack on many different things, your pattern too messed up to eat properly. You took a few bars for later and walked back to your room, still snacking as you walked. You chucked the wrapper in the bin and brushed yourself down before picking up the small stack of paper on your desk and made your way to the meeting room where you waited. He was one minute late and you made sure to document it in your mind. "Hello Mr Chen." You say politely as you hold out a hand to shake as he walks into the room.
"Hello, Miss…" He trails off, obviously asking for a name which you mentally raise an eyebrow at but keep a calm façade on the outside. One would've thought he would research on the person trying to persuade him to give up the thing he didn't want to do.
"(L/N)." You tell him filling in the blank.
"Ah yes, I remember now." He said, making you bristle but he didn't seem to notice. You hated it when people did that, acting so badly but you couldn't say a thing about it. "So, what is the aim of this meeting?" He asked, looking around for someone to tell him and it all clicked. He didn't know why he was there and you mentally cursed Fury for making your job a lot harder.
"The aim of this meeting is for me to try and persuade you to donate an object vital to saving the world." You summarise, happy with how that sounded. He frowned for a moment before he remembered and just sighed.
"This again? I've already told Miss Bradley, not for any other use." He finished, obviously thinking that his word was law and you would give up.
"Not even saving the world?" You asked, counteracting his argument. He sighed at that and you continued. "You may not like it Mr Chen, no one is asking you to but we simply need to use your object to help us." You say, the man seeming to look slightly more interested at your phrasing.
"Do you know what it is they want me to donate?" He asked, curiously.
"No, it hasn't been specified to me." You answer truthfully, still holding your head up high.
"Hmm, they want me to donate an entire new type of Helicarrier I have been working on." He tells you as you watch him with interest.
"And why is that such a problem?" You ask, visibly raising your eyebrows now as you walk around each other doing circles of the room, seeing who wins the power play.
"Because it's mine? I don't need it publicised as the Avenger's nor do I need it publicised in the first place." He spoke like a true businessman.
"I don't think that anyone will be focusing on the machine used to save the day mainly that the day has been saved. Like it or not Mr Chen, we live in a world of superheroes and supervillains and we need to work together to stop them. And by 'we', I mean the world. I don't know what his plan is but I know it isn't good. The Helicarrier could save millions and even if it does get credited, which the chance of it being so is quite slim anyway, there are resources we can use to change that if it is an issue." You say, offering a solution as you kept circling.
"Is that supposed to be a motivational speech? It's very good I must say but you cannot guarantee anything you are saying, can you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at you as you tried not to break the calm mask.
"Of course I can't. Nobody ever can, can they?" You say, playing up to his argument. "But I am saying I will do this to the best of my abilities and the best is quite good. My achievements and manipulation skills are refined and they can be used in any situation. I'm sure you can relate can't you Mr Chen?" You ask, showing yourself off, knowing he would see through that to your actual intentions and would pride himself on that.
"Yes I can, but you aren't the type to show off are you? This is all a fake, a mask, a façade to get me to sign the dotted line." He mocked, showing his intelligence stretched further than Helicarriers.
"I'm not the type to show off no, but this isn't all to get you to 'sign the dotted line' as you so eloquently put it." You say, mocking him back. "It's to save the world." You confirmed, determination in your eyes as you held your head up and looked him in the eye.
"Hmm, fine. Pass the contract." He said, startling you as you didn't think it would be so easy. You fumbled with the stack of papers on your hip and flicked through them and passed the contract to him. He scanned through it and brought a pen out from his pocket and signed, writing every detail they needed on the back of it and passing it back to her. "You're wondering why I signed it." He stated as you didn't nod or shake your head but confirmed with your eyes.
"Because I believe you. You want to save the world and I haven't met someone like that in a long time but you actually seem capable of something like that." He complimented, the words not sounding like it from his mouth but it was obviously meant like that. "Here's my business card if you ever need a job." He pulled a card from his breast pocket and you took it politely and saw the neat, professional look before pocketing it yourself.
"Thank you." You say, not really knowing what else to say.
"It's no bother. But, know this Miss (L/N), I'm not an idiot and…" He spoke, walking closer while you froze. "I know there is something else you need it for. Or should I say, someone?" He asked, right next to you as he spoke in a whisper, to keep everyone from hearing. You swallowed, trying to think of a response but nothing came to mind. "Am I right?" He asks and only one word comes to mind.
"Yes." You breathe, not being able to raise your voice even if you wanted to. He nodded and walked off, leaving you to calm yourself alone in the room with everyone and thing vacated. You took a few breaths, placing a hand over your heart to try and calm its fast rhythm. Your other hand, reached into your pocket to occupy itself and found something small and with sharp edges. You blink repeatedly and retain a calm manner, or façade in this case, and walk out to find Fury, your hand still playing with the business card and holding the contract in the other.
It didn't take long, he was waiting outside your room and you wordlessly handed him the contract, keeping the business card. He nodded and walked away, leaving you to enter your room and pack what you had unpacked in the short time of occupying the room. You can't stop thinking about what Mr Chen said and how he knew. Obviously you were more than a little creeped out but it was unnerving how easily he saw the truth.
You picked up your suitcases, still in your business suit with your hair tied up but with more comfortable shoes on. A pair of trainers, easy to run and walk in and most importantly, comfortable. Although they may have stuck out with the suit, it was safe to say, there was a very low percentage someone would be focusing on your shoes. You smiled at the thought of the report and made your way to the Helicarrier parked outside. You'd received the text whilst walking and found the timing impeccable. A car was parked next to it, taking all of the luggage with it and you gratefully threw your clothes in and kept the suitcase with other important stuff, wheeling it onto the deck.
The Helicarrier truly was a remarkable achievement and you understood Mr Chen's reluctance to give it up. You parked the suitcase to the side and found Fury at the wheel, commanding the beast with Maria Hill at his side. You walked up towards them and was given a nod of acknowledgement from Agent Hill while the Director paid you little to no attention whatsoever. You cleared you throat loudly and earned a glance in your direction but he quickly focused back on the window and directing a course.
"So, you did it." Fury stated with appreciation, shown in true Fury style. "Well done." He spoke gruffly, without much emotion shown as you rolled your eyes and moved on.
"Thank you. What are the new details?" You ask, wanting to know everything the Avengers had failed to tell you, you thought bitterly.
"The Maximoff kids are on our side, they switched." Fury told you as you stood there proudly, not much surprise accompanying it. "That Ultron git has a million of him scattered all over Sokovia and he wants to make a vibranium version of himself so-" Fury begins but you know the rest.
"Yeah, I know that bit. I was there remember?" You ask, trying not to let your voice shake as you remembered the event. Fury didn't say anything but moved on.
"That's it then. You're up to speed. Currently, Ultron is making his way to Sokovia for something and the Avengers are probably already there, doing whatever the hell they want because apparently they're too busy to notify us when something happens." Fury ended, muttering his annoyance as you once more whole-heartedly agreed but said nothing. You sat down in a chair and sighed, before getting up again. You were restless, nothing would work to calm you down. Your hands consequently needed something to do but typing wouldn't work because you didn't know what you would type.
Eventually, Fury noticed, only by the nudge of Maria but he noticed. "(Y/N), why don't you train or something?" He offered, knowing sleep, food, water, a shower, the basics wouldn't work when someone was restless. Most of the time, they needed to let out energy and although, you had never done it before, he knew some of that energy would be invaluable if used against the right people. When she took the Avengers job, she could be trained by Steve and he had no doubt Steve would be able to train you well but there was no harm in starting a little early, was there?
"Sure, um where is the training room?" You ask, picking up your suitcase and making your way to the exit before you turned and thought of the question.
"Down the hall on the right. The estimated time to get to Sokovia is about 3 or 4 hours so you have time but don't tire yourself out. Practise with guns or punching but be careful." Maria warned, knowing how little practise you'd had with anything that wasn't defence weapons and how much you loved to learn new things so you'd probably be practicing for a long time.
"Of course not. Got to save some strength for those stupid ass robots am I right Fury?" You ask, joking with him as you disappeared round the corner but not before you heard his reply.
"She's right about that." Fury muttered as you smiled, making your way to the training room and finding everything you needed right there. You saw the guns laid out first, then the punching bag and naturally gravitated to the guns, holding them and weighing them in your hand, seeing how heavy they were.
"Hmm," You hummed, finding they weren't as heavy as you thought and were moulded to fit a hand comfortably. You held it up in a threatening manner towards the shooting target and found the trigger, curling your fingers around it and pressing down. You felt the backlash almost immediately and stumbled a few steps before regaining your balance and looking up to see it had hit the target even if it was a bit off from the centre you thought it was quite good for a first time and silently commended yourself.
You tried again, this time more focused and ready for the backlash. It did make you take a step back again although not as many as before. You saw the shot had gone very close to the centre but not quite. You kept practicing, using as many different guns as you could, trying to hit the bullseye at least once with all of them.
By the time you'd gotten to the last one, you'd gotten used to the backlash although each gun's was different. You trained the entire 2 hours, switching from gun to punching bag and vice versa, the excitement of managing to get a punch just right or hitting the bullseyes spurring you on. You'd changed into a legging and vest combo, both of them making it easier for you to move around. The trainers were kept and you weren't going to take them off unless it was a foot kick but you didn't focus on those. You were mainly thinking about attack. You thought you could defend well as a human being as well as being trained for a few lessons when you were younger.
The memories came flooding back as you kicked and punched, shot bullet after bullet and trained as much as you could to get it just right until you hit 3 hour mark. You'd set an alarm on your phone and put the volume to the highest setting it could go to so you could hear it when it rang. When it did, you sighed and started to pack away, that using strength in itself as you changed back into the suit after showering. You didn't have any other clothes and you weren't staying in slightly more dirty clothes than before.
You made sure to get a holster for as many guns as you could fit and repulsion blaster gloves as you had. Working with Tony had its pros and you made sure to always protection with you even if it was just your own fists. It was what you packed in your suitcase to be safe and you wished you had it with you a lot more times. The attempted robbery, the robot attack, the creep at the party all came to your mind as examples.
You walked to a room you right there and then adopted as your own, setting your suitcase in there before finding the room was almost completely bare. It had a bed, a wardrobe and a tiny bedside table. No desk or chair, you found much to your annoyance. Call you posh and snotty but you'd had a desk since 5 years old and it had helped you immensely. You liked it and didn't want to have a room without one but you gave in and reasoned that you weren't going to be using the room much and you would survive without one.
You sat down on the bed, not sure what else to do. If Maria was right, you had about half an hour until you got there, leaving 15 minutes for you to occupy your time with. Leaving would be crazy and you would be swarmed by robots trying to kill you. Lucky, you had training with guns then, you smirked to yourself knowing there would be an endless supply somewhere on the ship. You didn't know what you were going to do when you docked, leave and fight or help the wounded or protect the Doctors helping the wounded.
You thought about it, sitting there and slowly regaining your energy as you snacked some more and before you knew it, Maria was on intercoms calling everyone to the main deck which you readily ran to. You heard voices and their words made you smile. "Where else am I going to get a view like this?" Natasha asked, obviously talking about her death. The one that wasn't happening, you thought.
You got there in time to hear Fury start to talk to them. "Glad you like the view Romanoff. It's about to get better." He said, before the Helicarrier began to pull up to the rock hanging in the air. You stiffened at that, there were definitely details missed there. "Nice right? Pulled her out of the mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty but she'll do." He spoke, turning to you as you ran in, breathless and as you heard what he said you walked up.
"More like one friend. Guess who it is?" You ask, narrowing your eyes as you gave them death glares they could feel over the comms.
"(Y/N)?" Steve questioned, hearing your voice and you smiled, not answering as Maria began to give Fury the stats.
"Altitude is 18 thousand and climbing." She spoke, tapping at the computer.
Another spoke, "Lifeboats ready to deploy. Disengage in 3…2… Take them out." He finished, the words ended with a triumphant tap at the keyboard.
"This is SHIELD?" Quicksilver asked, impressed and reviewing everything he thought he knew about the organisation. You smiled at his words.
"This is what SHIELD is supposed to be." Steve answered, leaving you with many thoughts to collect but you just forgot them for the moment, preoccupied with helping as the lifeboats were deployed.
"This is not so bad." Pietro decided in his accent, making you wonder whether he might become an Avenger. Maybe you and the Maximoffs could join together. The lifeboats got to the rock and Steve, always the leader, got into action.
"Let's load them up." He ordered, before running off himself to find people. Robots came for the main Helicarrier, which was currently the place you were. You fiddled with your holster to get a gun or some form of defence before a robot burst through the glass, making everyone gasp or scream. It got up from its crash and launched itself at you, almost knocking you to the ground with its force. You held it up and began to punch and kick and do whatever you could to get out from under it so Maria could shoot it down. She had her gun pointed at it but it was obvious she couldn't do anything until you were out of the firing line.
You kneed it where it would usually hurt the most for a guy but all it did was make him go backwards a bit. You kept doing it, pushing, kicking and shoving. Everything and anything you could think of to make him go backwards. He was off you and on the floor as Maria started to shoot at it with everything she had. It didn't seem to make a difference as it locked its eyes on your and looked ready to launch again before Fury used a piece of metal to knock its head off. You ducked as it smashed into the wall and swallowed, holding out a hand for Fury to get up smiling gratefully at his timing.