Disclaimer: I have nor own anything to do with Marvel except to occasionally borrow their marvelous characters
I could sadly delete bushwhacking with a broken wrist while following a pissy demigod off my list of things I never wanted to do. It was right after going on an undercover mission with Stark, and just before going to the zoo again. I was thinking of reordering that list. You would think I would have known better than to have come off the Helicarrier in the first place, argued my position that my personal set of skills would have done no good on this mission. Sadly, Furry's word was not one to be questioned, so when he said he wanted a level headed person to go with the powerhouses, I hadn't seen the need to argue at the time.
The worst part was I didn't have anyone to blame for this mess but myself. When Steve had suggested I back up Thor, it had seemed like the best move. My stealth and his strength should have made an intimidating position to any sane person, until the stupid bomb went off. Thor might have found me quick enough, he hadn't even fallen unconscious, but he had to dig me out of a bit of rubble with a particularly large chunk of wall across my arm. While I'd had worse injuries, and experiences being blown up for that matter, I was not taking kindly to relying on the God of Noise.
Clint and I had been working together for so long, that communication was no longer needed between the two of us. A slight twitch of my foot, and an arrow would sail at 3 O'clock. Tugging on his shirt tail and we both hit the dirt and made it to cover before whoever was watching us could finish blinking. Now I was stuck with a guy who didn't know the difference between a grenade and a handgun as a weapon. There was also that little matter that I could hear his boots stomping through the Earth like a herd of elephants.
The golden rule was that if you could hear it, so could your enemy. Yet how to tell this to Thor, who's only goal in mind was to make it back to the compound that had blown up, that stealth was a key in this. No matter which way I tried to explain it, he seemed determined to stick with his plan, and I was forced to follow just to make sure he didn't get himself blown up again. This is why the brains and bronze thing only works in movies.
A soft rustle coming from my right put all my nagging out of mind as a knife was thrown into the victim's gut. Thor managed to stop on a dime, while snapping a tree branch with a sound of a gunshot, and turned on his heel, weapon raised. Only to see me hovering over the guy, fist planted in his mouth and the hilt of my knife slowly digging downwards.
"When my hand moves," I hissed in his face, "you're going to tell me what you were doing out here. If you don't you're no longer going to be referred to as a man," and I even let the blade dip a few inches lower, to prove my point. He wasn't going to live long, and he knew that so even without the added incentive he spilled his guts from his mouth before I released the blade and his real guts splattered about the ground.
Regaining my feet and meticulously wiping clean my blade, I glanced about me for the first time to take in my temporary partner. Thor, unbelievably, had not made a sound during this, nor did he seem particularly perturbed by what he'd seen. If he had seen me do it at all. He stood stock still, eyes glancing in every direction just as my backup always had, keeping an eye where mine couldn't be while I was busy.
Loudly clearing my throat, I raised my brows at him curiously as I realized he had a sheepish expression on his face once he did turn around. "I continue to underestimate you Lady Natasha. Despite how many times I see you in battle, I never imagined you so capable, perhaps I still see my Lady Jane when I lay my eyes upon you. Never the less, I am now willing to hear of your 'stealth plan.'"
AAA
"Put her over there with the other one." The ringleader of this mini operation stated, tossing his hand lazily over his shoulder to indicate where Steve was. I was marched over to him, gun pressed firmly to the back of my head, and to anyone who knew me much too complacent. Steve watched me closely, waiting for some sort of signal of what my plan was. Cuffed and sitting upon the ground with a gun pointed at his head, with blood still dripping from a sizable cut upon his forehead, he clearly understood his options were a smidgen limited.
"Wasn't that all of them?" The one holding the gun to my head asked.
"Does it matter?" the second one mumbled as he quickly tied off my hands. "We're already making plenty off of these two. Can you imagine the money we'd get for selling two of The Avengers?"
"I thought there was a third with them, " the guy holding a gun to Steve's head stated, while his eyes flitted from side to side nervously.
"We wait here for further orders and capture anyone we come across, just like the boss said. It doesn't matter how many there are, our radars will detect any human." The last man called over, messing with a phone in his hand with a look of agitation on his face. I imagined reception wasn't too good out here for him now.
I leaned back comfortably on my trussed up hands, humming a soft tune to myself and waiting patiently. Steve's eyes continued to get wider, probably beginning to wonder if I'd had a blow to my head recently. He didn't have to wait to long for his answer, because storm clouds were already beginning to gather in the distance.
What had once been a mildly warm and sunny day was quickly becoming overcast, the dark gray clouds in the distance making all present hair stand on end. A small malicious smile began to creep upon my face as our captors continued to survey the area, clearly fighting the impulse to run while they still had the chance.
"H-hey Blake! Didn't the boss say something about a Thunder Guy?" The guy holding the gun to Steve's head called out, his voice reaching just an octave higher than usual.
Before 'Blake' could answer, a roll of thunder, then a crack of lightning split the ground right at my feet. I quickly used their momentary distraction to launch my feet up and subdue the two closest would be captors.
Deciding on flight rather than fight, the remaining coward turned tail and began to run away, only to slam face into the solid brick wall that was Thor's chest. The man then promptly fainted on the spot.
"What a pathetic human. Quite the waste I'd say," he grumbled, bending down and hefting the useless lump across his shoulder as if picking up a small dog. I quickly escaped my own bindings, released Steve, and scooped up the dropped phone to call in the extraction team and let them know that mission was complete, before turning to smile at my partner.
"You were right friend Natasha," Thor said humbly, while dropping his load next to his unconscious companions like one would a sack of potatoes. "They did not detect my presence because of my 'alien nature' as you so put it. There was no fight at all, perhaps you could teach me more of these stealth tactics?"
"Sure Thor, anytime," I promised as the helicopter's blades began to sound. Thor glanced up and about warily for them, and I smiled to myself. There was hope for him yet.
You know when I first started this, I thought Thor's were going to be the hardest to do. I now realize I'm enjoying his the most. Now I only have three left for him. If you have any ideas or pairings I haven't gotten to yet, let me know.