It's strange, my favourite parts of this story to write are the boring scientific explanations that probably don't even make sense in the real world.

Jay X


As If I Was Human

Chapter Eleven - Secrets

Carter flumped down onto her bed, face first, with a massive sigh. She had never been so exhausted. Bruce's tests had been incredibly vigorous, both physically and mentally draining. Carter had lifted weights, ran miles, taken blows, dodged bullets, and then ran a course involving all of the tests one after another. After all that, Bruce then proceeded to run some sort of scanner over her body, muttering something about static. Carter had nearly collapsed then and there, but it still wasn't over. Fitting her with an electronic visor, Bruce then ran her through a simulator, sending wave after wave of obstacles her way, recording the results as she mentally overcame them.

Finally, after hours and hours, he let her go. And here she was, verging on unconscious, sprawled across her bed. Which is exactly when Clint showed up.

"Carter?" He asked, peering round the door.

"Piss off," came a rather muffled reply, Carter's face pressed into her pillows. "I'm still mad at you."

"Yeah, I know," Clint sighed, entering the cell, the door locking behind him. "I just wanted to…explain, I guess. Can we talk?"

"You can talk," Carter mumbled, Clint's ears straining to make out the words. "I won't be listening though."

"Carter, come on," Clint pleaded, sitting down next to her form on the edge of the bed. "Just hear me out. Please?" Carter groaned loudly, rolling onto her back wearily.

"Clint, I'm tired," she said. "Really, properly exhausted. Make it quick." Clint nodded with a sigh.

"Look," he began. "My job was to bring you in, not to be your friend-"

"Then why did you pretend to be?" Carter interrupted.

"I wasn't pretending," Clint answered quietly. "I like you, I just…the job comes first, you know. And earlier, with the drugs…I couldn't risk you hurting someone. I'm sorry it happened like that, but I had to-"

"Stab me in the back," once again Carter cut him off. "Sorry, neck."

"You're not making this easy, Carter," Clint groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead.

"Good," she retorted angrily. "It shouldn't be easy. I thought I could trust you. You said I wouldn't get locked up-"

"That was Fury, not me."

"-and look around you. You said if I cooperated-"

"Once again; Fury."

"-I'd be treated fair, have another look around. You said…" Carter trailed off, biting her lower lip as she stared at the ceiling. "You said it'd be alright, that it'd be okay. It's not, Clint. Nothing is okay."

"It'll get better," Clint insisted, reaching out to grasp Carter's hand. He squeezed it tight. "I swear, Carter, I know this sucks, but you have to give it time. Besides," he then said, watching Carter's expressions closely. "It's not S.H.I.E.L.D. you've been running from all these years. Maybe, just maybe, you're safer here." Carter's eyes flickered up to him. She pulled her hand out of his, sitting upright.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can't save me," she said quietly, remorsefully. "I've always known, always, N-GES will find me. S.H.I.E.L.D.'S just a stepping stone to them. When they come for me, and they will, Clint, I swear they will, nothing Fury can do will save me."

"Then I'll save you."

He sounded so sure, Carter thought. Before she realised it, she was leaning over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her onto his lap, holding her close.

"I'll save you, Carter," he repeated, burying his face in her hair. "I swear, I'll save you." Carter just hugged him tighter.

You can't, she thought to herself, closing her eyes as she began to drift off in his arms, the gentle rhythm of his breathing soothing her. But, thank you, Clint.


"How's it going, doctor?" Bruce smiled, hardly surprised at the appearance of Tony Stark in his lab. "The girl as interesting as they're saying?"

"You know it," Bruce replied, still pouring over the test results from his day with Carter.

"Ah," Tony said, pulling open a packet of blueberries and tossing a few into his mouth. "But is she as cute as they're saying?" Bruce chuckled, shaking his head.

"A little young for me," he replied, accepting some berries as Tony held the packet out to him. "And a little young for you too," he then added with a smile.

"I've got Pepper," Tony shrugged. "I was jut curious; I hear the hawk has the hots for her."

"I hear the same," Bruce agreed. "But I have a feeling it's a little more complicated than that. I can't imagine Director Fury would approve."

"Didn't stop Barton and Romanov before," Tony pointed out, causing Bruce to choke on his food. "Oh, you didn't know. Yeah, they went at it like-"

"Tony," came a stern voice from behind them. Both men whipped round to see Natasha herself standing in the door way, her arms folded across her chest.

"Tash!" Tony greeted her. "We were just talking about you. Tell me, how did Fury react when you and Clint-"

"Stop it," Natasha warned him. Tony wasn't deterred so easily.

"I'm just wondering," he pressed on. "You see, Clint's crushing on the new kid, and I'm rooting for him, really, I am, but if he's gonna get his heartbroken…well, I'd just hate to see it."

"Enough," Natasha said, closing the subject. "Doctor Banner," she then said, stepping over to Bruce. "The director wants to know if he can expect a report on Miss Thomas tonight." Bruce shook his head, sliding his glasses from his face.

"Not tonight," he admitted. "It's going to take at least a few hours just to make sense of the data, not to mention cross referencing it with the files on her father. It'll take a couple of days at least."

"What kind of readings did you get?" Tony asked, suddenly becoming interested in the science. He walked over to the wall terminal, tapping away on the keypad as he read through the screens. "Static interference," he murmured. "That's fascinating. The nanotech itself wouldn't have been passed on, but the altered DNA clearly was."

"Her bloodstream seems to hold a static charge," Bruce explained to Natasha. "A simple by-product of her father's nanotechnology, but-"

"It could be harnessed," Tony finished, his eyes excited as he skimmed through the data in front of him. "This is brilliant," he continued, looking over at Bruce. "She might even be able to-"

"Power something," Bruce agreed, nodding. "Like your arc reactor. Nowhere near as powerful though," he admitted, tapping the light on Tony's chest. "But still…"

"It could be useful," Tony nodded. "It could be dangerous." He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, rereading the information in front of him. "She doesn't know, does she?" He then mused. Bruce shook his head.

"How can she not know?" Natasha asked, leaning her back against the desk as Bruce tried to explain.

"Her files say she escaped from N-GES-"

"N-GES," Natasha questioned, frowning.

"Next Generation Experimental Soldiers," Tony filled in. "A bunch of mad scientists trying to recreate the Super Soldier Programme."

"She escaped when she was five or six," Bruce continued. "Too young, I think, to fully understand what they wanted with her. All she seems to know is that it's her blood they were interested in, not her capabilities, but not why."

"Does Fury plan on letting her know?" Tony asked, looking over to Bruce.

"I don't know," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "He still hasn't told me what he wants with her."

"He hasn't told anyone," Natasha said, pursing her lips in thought. "And he's yet to explain why it was Clint he sent to bring her in."

"Our beloved Director is full of secrets," Tony grinned, pulling out his sidekick. "Luckily, I remember just how to get a hold of them." Bruce smiled, shaking his head in disbelief as he slid on his glasses. Natasha rolled her eyes, leaving the two men to it. "I'm taking your silence as an agreement!" Tony called after her. "Don't worry, Natasha, I'll get to the bottom of this, my hacking has gotten a lot better!"