Disclaimer: I do not own XX
It was time for the Avengers to return to the Tower. Clint stayed behind for a little longer to enjoy his family some more before going back. As much as they enjoyed the vacation, the team was happy to be back together again. The girls cooed over Sasha. Tony wasn't happy. "Another animal?" Heidi then remembered that she'd forgotten Alexi. "Oh nooo.." she says with a teasing smile. "Alexi is going to be jealous..." "Good," Bucky remarks as he passes by her with a smile.
(Together- The XX)
Heidi went to Bruce's office to greet him and to see if he had received her gift. He wasn't in his office but it looked like he was in the middle of something so she waited for him to return. She browsed around the lab, being careful not to touch anything. Most of the stuff on the boards and papers were just random numbers and mumbo jumbo to her. Heidi passes by the microscope she and Bruce used together once and peered inside to see if there's a slide inside. It looked like a blood sample but she wasn't familiar with it. Heidi looks at the label on the slide.
Steve R.
'Steve?' Feeling curious Heidi peered at the notes, that were hand written, laid out next to the microscope.
Virility is strong.
Norm possibility…17%
S.S. possibility…83%
Curious, Heidi read through the notes and began to piece together what they all mean. A shiver went down her spine. Holy shit! Heidi backs away from the table and grabs her cell phone. Her fingers punched a few buttons to send a text: Come to the lab. Now.
Completely shocked by what she discovered, Heidi's heart began to pound. Her body started to shake. The blond paced around the lab for a good ten minutes before Steve and Bucky came in. "What is it?" Steve asks. Heidi bit her lip before showing them what she has found.
Tony and Bruce returned to the lab after having a quick bite to eat. "So did you get the numbers for Barnes yet?"
"I was in the middle of working on them but haven't finished yet," Bruce responds.
They look up and saw the two super soldiers staring down at them. "Hey, what's up Cap?" Tony asks with a smile. "Have something to share with us?" Steve said coldly. "What do you mean?"
SMACK!
Heidi had come up behind Stark and hit him hard on the head with the side of her handgun. He staggers to his knees and groans from the pain. She turns and aims the gun at Bruce's face. "Oh no, you really don't want to do that," Bruce said nervously. "At this point I could give two shits," she responds. Tony pulls himself up and leaned against a table. His ear is bleeding. "What the hell Hendricks?" Steve makes two long steps toward Tony and punches him in the gut. Bucky approaches Heidi and reaches for the gun.
"Not like this," he said in a low voice. Gold eyes glance at him before lowering her gun and putting it away. She tosses the notes at Banner violently. "Explain what exactly you two have been up to." Tony grimaces and he leans over with his arms crossed against his chest, counting his ribs making sure they weren't broken.
"I know it looks bad but we can explain."
"Then start talking!" Steve roars.
Bruce nervously plays with his hands. "It just started out as a random train of thought…'What will the Avengers look like in the future?'" He walks a few steps away and presses a few buttons on a computer. A screen appeared in midair. Random numbers and scribbles and gibberish to the super soldiers. "What is all this?" Heidi asks, her eyes never leaving Bruce. "These are equations we have come up with to determine…the possibilities."
"Of what?"
"With the help of Dr. D'orsey-"
"Dr. D'orsey?" Heidi interrupts, "The GENETICS specialist?"
"So you've met her?" Tony questions.
"Briefly when I left your Christmas gift," she responds while glaring at Bruce. The man smiles for a moment. "Thank you. I loved it." "Look, it all comes down to this," Tony starts, "We are not going to be here forever. You guys…perhaps a little longer than the rest of us. But who is going to watch over the Earth when we are gone?" The super soldiers glanced at one another, still confused. "We have to think about the next generation," Tony adds, "There's the Parker kid and maybe some more weirdos out there. But what if…"
Unsure of how to say it Tony stopped talking. Bruce filled in the gap. "Just from looking at you three alone, we were curious what the outcome would be." "Get to the point Bruce. What are you talking about!?" Heidi demands.
"Conception," he said in a small voice.
The trio was taken back by the word. Heidi steps closer to Bruce to get up in his face. "Are you saying…you've been studying us…to find out if we can have kids?" "And the possibility of them being super soldiers…if the genetics can be passed down to them," Bruce adds in. Heidi was shocked. She stepped away from him. "So why hide this from us?" Steve questions. "We wanted to have all the possible results at hand. We promised we did want to share it with you guys…" "This is personal!" Heidi snaps. Her golden eyes shot daggers at Bruce and he could see that she was hurt. "What made you think…it was okay to run experiments without my knowledge? You of all people should know how that feels…" Bruce tried to reach out for her, to comfort her, but she pulls away. "I know and I'm sorry. I should've said something earlier. We just got so wrapped up in it." "And bringing in a third party is risky, Tony. Who is this Dr. D'orsey?" Steve questions. "She's a genetic specialist and a damn good one too. She's worked through S.H.I.E.L.D. before but when that didn't work out she did her own research and we contacted her for her help," Tony explains.
Ignoring their conversation, Heidi crosses her arms over her chest while trying not to freak out on Banner. "So tell me Dr. Banner, what are my chances?" she asks in a stoic expression. Her reverting back to his last name made his stomach drop. Bruce gestures her to follow him to a computer screen. He pulls up her results before saying, "I don't know how to tell you this but…your chances of conception…is very small…1 in 134…even with," he gestures awkwardly at Steve and Bucky, "…them the possibilities are small. Even if you do get pregnant…there's a good chance the Formula might not accept it." Seeing her tear up, Bruce looks away. "I'm sorry Heidi." Without another word the girl swiftly walks past him and disappears from the lab.
Finding solace on the roof, Heidi went up and the first thing she did after seeing she was alone was scream. She howled in frustration and pain. She falls to her knees and smacks the floor with her hands. After the princess was born, Heidi fell in love with the girl. She knew then that she wanted to have kids; she fell in love with the idea of being a mother. But now…
She lies down and rolls over on to her back to stare at the stars, suddenly tired from screaming. Hot tears trickled past her cheeks to her ears and down to her neck. But now, she's not sure if she would want a child. With a strong possibility of her baby being a super soldier like herself, Heidi wasn't sure she would want to place that burden on her baby. She would want a normal life for them. But Stark made a good point at the same time. Who else would protect the Earth? She covers her face with her hands and sighs heavily. There are so many mixed feelings rushing through her brain. It was making her head spin.
Heidi woke up and realized she had fallen asleep on the roof. She gets up and looks at the sky. It was still dark but the sun was starting to come up. 'It's a new day,' she thought to herself. 'Time to go to work.' She makes her way back down to her suite and takes a long hot shower to melt away the aches in her bones and her heart. For the next couple of months, Heidi worked on finding Hydra and avoided Bruce for a while. It was even a bit awkward with Bucky too. The subject of kids felt strange and weird to discuss when they're still working out their current relationship. Until one night after making love during a lightning storm he held her close to him and said, "I love you." She was surprised at first since this was the first time either of them said it but she knew she felt the same. Heidi kisses him and says, "I love you too," in return. They still weren't sure what to call their relationship but at least they are aware of how they feel about each other.