A/N: Hiya! We progress the plot a bit in this chapter. Skip the second border for a brutal murder by the infamous assassin. As always, thanks for reading! please review. :)

"Morning Uncle B!"

The doctor's expression breaks into a smirk as Lucy enters his mini office, claiming the corner chair. As Alex runs to greet the teen, Bruce returns to his work;

"How'd you sleep."

She shrugs, noisily lifting a paper from the nearby coffee;

"Fine."

He reaches to steal back the page with a firm yet gentle tug;

"What time does school start?"

Lucy lifts her foot up onto the chair and hugs her knee;

"Why? You driving me?"

He chuckles, "I don't drive in New York..."

"Oh. Road rage?"

"I'm a potential hazard around too many people."

Lucy leans forward curiously, "How come mom can control it better?"

He lifts off his lenses with the realization that she would prefer his attention. Pulling up a chair with the back of his foot he settles thoughtfully;

"You want a real answer or a quick one."

She shrugs, "I have A.D.H.D so..."

He nods, resting his chin over his hands;

"She has less radiation in her bloodstream."

Lucy narrows her focus;

"Why don't you like yourself."

He scoffs nervously, "You don't beat around the bush."

She shrugs, "Being big and green is awesome."

"Not when you can't remember what happened,' he sighs, 'Or who you hurt."

"Why can't you remember."

He chuckles, "The short answer? Because it's not me."

"It's not you...how."

"I'm not myself, I'm not in control when...he shows up."

"When you're raging..."

"Yeah, when I'm raging."

"What about when you're green?"

"They're not interchangeable for me like they are for your mother."

She sits back with a hum, scanning the room as and searching his stack of papers. Banner brushes Alex's head, standing up to head to the kitchen and address the shepherd;

"I need to feed Alex. You want anything Lucy?"

With a blank face she continues her search;

"No thanks, I don't eat dog food."

She can hear him grumble under his breath, "Wow...ok Jennifer Junior."

Lucy stands up abruptly to snatch up the device left on his desk. Seeing Natasha's name come across she swipes open his message;

"Aunt Nat texted! She said she'll be home Thursday maybe Friday."

Lucy steps into the small kitchen area, seeing the doctor frozen quietly up against the counter with his arms crossed. He pauses his teeth grinding over the sight of the teen and forces a nod, "Ok."

She step forward and settles beside him with her hands behind her back;

"You need to rage?"

He scoffs. She chuckles over the crack in his frustrated expression;

"Can I text her back?"

He lifts a shoulder and heads back for his office, "I'd rather you didn't."

Lucy takes it upon herself to format a response, channeling her best Banner impression;

"Sent."

"Of course you did."

"What are you working on?"

"Testing Tony's theory filter for cleaner air...Are you watching the clock. You have a ride to school?"

"I asked Pepper."

"Ok."

"Nat texted back."

He looks up curiously from his desk, knee bouncing anxiously. Lucy boldly rests her elbow over his shoulder;

"She says 'Don't worry about me' cause I told her to be careful and all cause like you're a worrier and I was pretending to be you, so..."

"Wow."

"She says 'Don't worry about me, I'm going off the grid for the next few hours. Don't try to reach me.' And that's it...should I ask her what for?"

He mumbles, eager to get back to work, "No."

"Sent."

"Why?"

She lifts a shoulder, "I was curious about the spy stuff."

"I mean, I asked you not to...?"

"Why did you go through her private logs?"

"Why the what-?"

"Just reading your texts," she states matter-of-faculty.

"Lucy!"

He pauses when she jumps;

"Sorry..."

"What did you see?!"

"...uh...stuff."

Bruce tilts his head empathetically over the fear in her eyes. Her eyes lower, not frequently startled by anything;

"I'm sorry."

She shrugs somewhat defeated, "Mom wants us to bond so, just like, tryna bond."

He takes his device back, voice kind in it's softer tone, "Can you keep those messages to yourself."

"Well. Tony meddles and intrudes and you don't get mad at him."

He lowers his head, pen shifting within his fingers, "I do, actually. Frequently. Did you hear me?"

"You're in a mood. You should rage. I wanna meet the hulk."

"Lucy, please."

"Okay. Point taken."

Bruce glances toward her with his lenses lowered to fixate on hers;

"Natasha has information that can't get into the wrong ears, got it?"

The teen nods honestly. She returns to her searching through his stack of papers;

"I didn't see anything, just like, that you read her logs and her yelling."

"Okay."

Lucy swallows her questions. His firm response gives no leeway for a joke. With an eagerness to return to a happier conversation she smirks;

"Mom says you're a world traveler."

Bruce sighs heavily, snatching up an image of his mother that has made it's way toward the top of his pile. He shoves it within a borrowed book to avoid her impending questions;

"Is that how she references my fugitive days."

Lucy pauses, "Wait. Fugitive as in...run away criminal?!"

With his glasses replaced Bruce grins over her gleeful expression;

"Oh boy. That made you way too happy...You have school missy."

She snap her fingers, reaching for her backpack upon confirming the time;

"And you have cool secrets...to be continued? Or should I ask the Starks for the dirt?"

"Oh. Lucy..."

"I can take a hint. I'm out."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Natasha enters the complex, her hair tied tightly behind her head. With an eye on her target she presses forward.

She adds smile and a pep in her step as she heads for the desk. Her voice suites to match her current cheetah printed cat eye lenses and dark brunette updo. In full character she speaks through her nose with an arm over the desk;

"Mornin'. I really need to ta'wk with ya boss about the renovations in the club."

A gruff man sucks on his teeth behind the counter;

"You'll have to wait. The boss is busy."

"It's really an emergency we're on a tight sheshdule? Shedual, what's the ward?"

"Listen lady, you're gonna have to come back."

Dramatically she shifts her eyes, reaching a teasing hand across the counter;

"Oh but'cha look like a nice man. Couldn't ya help poor newbie like me outta bit,' she glances toward her folder, 'I got the contracta's notes right he'e. I'm he'e now, let's make a deal. I don't wanna lose my job."

Her tag at the end accompanies a pout with her eyes wide. The sucker opposite the counter falls hard, glancing over his shoulder;

"One minute."

Left alone in the underground lounge she takes in her surroundings, waving with her fingers flexing toward a nearby waiter with a forced chuckle. Gagging to herself, she adjusts her glasses with her fingers decorated with fake nails.

"What do you want?!"

Natasha forces herself not to panic, swallowing hard over the familiar face that now stands in front of her. The presumable ghost in his tall muscular frame makes the same connection.

She stammers through her act, her eyes ready to aggressively shred the flesh from his bones. She feels anger. Confusion. A hallucination perhaps? Clenching her jaw she waits for him to speak first. His voice sends a shiver down her spine as he addresses her;

"Let's discuss this in my office Miss..."

She swallows as she removes her glasses. He knows her name, "Rushman."

With a hand on her hidden pistol she follows him into the back. Natasha plots her steps, calculating the exact distance to the exit. Judging from the thickness of the walls it would take 10 seconds for the echo of a firing gun to reach the entrance.

She walks in as he holds the door, making her way to the back of the room. In the time it takes for him to close the door she flips, facing him with her weapon drawn. Her left hand steadies her right, eyes narrowed. Her trembling gives her away. He lifts his hands;

"Natalia..."

"The only reason I haven't shot you is because you have information."

"Bud' blagorazumen..."

Romanoff holds her stance and her expression;

"How are you connected to Olga."

"She is the reason I'm alive."

Natasha grits her teeth, "You won't be for much longer, I'll make sure of that. I don't even know if you're real considering my hallucinations."

With a rotation he removes his own weapon and aims it toward the assassin;

"I don't want to shoot you."

"Do they know what you are."

He pivots as she moves closer;

"All too well."

With a lunge he dodges her familiar attack. She moves in closer, keeping the pistol high;

"Where are Black Ops headquarters."

"Why would I tell you that."

"Kyle Murphy..."

"Some of us are pawns, he is not."

She grits her teeth, "You're no pawn."

The tall man takes a stance, eager to remove the weapon from her grasp. She swings her leg forward, weight presses into her hands as she pushes from the desk. With a foot into his face he catches her ankle and twists in the opposite direction. She cringes from the pain and follows through, lifting to kick her opposite leg into his neck. He grabs her fist and pulls her closer. With her eyes wide she whispers;

"Give me a reason not to shoot you and I'll consider it."

The two Russians circle as he dodges her second attack;

"Because everyone you've ever loved and cared about are currently falling for on of the biggest ploys I've ever seen. Even your beloved meta children are in danger."

Natasha presses, kneeing her ex husband in the gut and taking a swing against his jaw;

"Keep talking."

He doubles over, pressed up on his hands and knees. He looks up at her from the ground. She kicks him down;

"I'm in no mood Alexei."

"If you kill me you'll blow your cover."

Aggressively she reaches for his throat, her teeth clenching tightly;

"Talk. Now."

He tightens his own jaw, expression difficult to read through Natasha's rage. He coughs upon her release;

"All empowered parties are a threat. You will all be eradicated if you let them succeed. Quite frankly, I am surprised to see you still alive."

She makes the connection. His silhouette not easy to forget. Her jaw tightens;

"You need to practice your aim."

"You and your metas won't be easy."

"Why take out children..."

"They're not naturally gifted, are they?"

Natasha swallows, "Because of Blonsky."

"His program created them. A monster creating more monsters."

"They are children! Not all metas are monsters."

"You would know,' he grins almost evilly, 'How is your large green pet?"

She clenches a fist and knocks his opposite cheek, reaching to aim her pistol. Stepping over his shoulder she focuses on her target;

"I'd stay useful if I were you. Help me stop this plan from moving any further."

He exhales with a narrowing focus, uninterested in fighting back;

"You can't. You've already let them in."

"The center?"

"Olga is onto you. She knows you know.

"What is the plan!"

He grits his teeth, eyes flicking upward. She mistaking takes the hint, glancing up for a split second. Alexei knocks her off her feet, pinning her into the ground;

"I'm sorry, but you made your choice when you joined SHIELD. You turned your back on your country and your family. You've encouraged nothing but chaos in training the meta students. You've done the hard work in collecting them. And now, they will all be terminated. Both past and present. Each of the Avengers will be ripped out one by one and your monster will be the destruction of it all."

She waits, squirming ever so slightly as she listens to his every word meant to provide the spy with the information she needs;

"Then make it stop. Do something right, for once in your life!"

Alexei forces her down with pleading eyes;

"I needed to do all I could to survive. I have to. You should've done the same."

Natasha cringes in disgust. Even with his attempt at being helpful she can see the selfishness. She narrows her focus and makes her plan through his false pretense. His fear of the security camera far outweighing anything she can do;

"You haven't changed."

"Do you still think you're hallucinating."

She throws her head back and pushes her torso upward, dark brunette hair falling from his tie to her shoulders. She draws her weapon and takes aim between his eyes. The fear in them dictates her response, her dark side eager for revenge;

"I guess we'll find out."

Natasha pulls the trigger without a second thought, holding her stance until she confirms his movement ceases completely.

Glancing over her shoulder she can hear the footsteps racing in her direction. Making an abrupt decision she chooses to linger. Clutch her earpiece she calls for Fury;

"We need to get home. Set a course for New York. Meet me around the back in ten minutes."

He retorts aggressively;

"The mob is growing, you need to get out now!"

She throws her head back to the wall behind her, eyes on her fallen enemy;

"I can catch their leader just give me more time-"

"Get out now Romanoff! That's an order!"

Natasha turns her head away from the body, a sudden small sense of regret pooling in her gut. She feels red. Blood splattered over her dark gray pantsuit. To put him out of his misery would be better then leaving it for a less then friendly face. After all, it is only one more to her body count. Her heart feels it's blackening from the inside out. How many more friends will meet the end of her pistol? How far is she willing to push herself for the sake of SHEILD? Her team? Her Vrach...

Closing her eyes she can vividly see Banner's disappointment. Hear his sigh as she recounts the event...

Numbing up, she heads for the exit.

Covering her own back she charges forward and makes her way out of the building.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .