"So this is where all the magic happens," Celia murmured as she glanced around the inside of the quinjet. It looked a lot smaller from the outside, but it was actually pretty spacious. The flight hadn't been cramped at all, even though it had been a bit awkward.

The rest of the Avengers hadn't been as eager about her joining them as Steve was. Tony in particular was against the idea, claiming that bring your girlfriend to work day was a month ago. Steve turned red and insisted that she would be staying on the jet and there wasn't really much time to argue further before they had to go. Celia definitely wasn't planning on getting out to fight anything, especially with her lack of training and weapons. And some random woman in a t-shirt and jeans wasn't really what anyone needed to see in the middle of an Avengers battle. Something to cover her face at the very least would be necessary before she ever thought of joining them in a fight.

"Very exciting," Bruce agreed from his spot next to the monitors. They were fighting some sort of robots in Canada. Celia didn't know all of the details, since the word classified was thrown around a bunch, but that was fine by her. They were in an open space with no people around for miles, so Steve decided that Bruce could hang back for this one and be on standby in case he was needed. Celia was about to argue that she didn't need a babysitter, but Bruce looked relieved at the decision, so she kept quiet. And she had to admit that she missed hanging out with Bruce recently.

"Less chit chat, more observing what we do. That was the whole point of this, right?" Tony snarked through the line. The jet was connected to all of the team's comms, so she and Bruce could keep up with how things were going.

"As if you don't talk the most out of anyone," Clint laughed.

"Focus everyone. We can't afford to let our guard down," Steve commanded. Celia couldn't stop the small smile from ghosting across her face. She didn't usually get to see this side of Steve, but it was pretty sexy. He was so confident and brave. But she also had a soft spot for the man she'd spent the day with as well. The one who got kind of nervous around her.

Celia wasn't stupid. She'd seen where things were going with Steve that day and she was actively talking herself out of stopping him from following through with his plans. Part of her wanted to tell him that it wasn't a good idea, because she was a mess that he didn't need to deal with. But the bigger part of her wanted it to happen so badly. Celia had fallen hard for the man and she ached to just let herself have something exciting. Steve gave her a feeling in her stomach like no one else had and she longed to give in to it.

"What was that?" Bruce asked her, pressing a button so the rest of the team couldn't hear their conversation.

"What was what?"

"That look you just had on your face," Bruce said with a smirk. "Something interesting happen today?"

"Just ran some errands. Nothing major," Celia shrugged. Bruce was staring at her like he was about to call her out on her bullshit, but he refrained. She couldn't gossip and giggle like a schoolgirl with Bruce. And until things were actually official with Steve, she wasn't going to say anything. If she'd read the signs wrong and all he wanted to do was talk to her about switching up what they were going to eat for dinner, she'd die of embarrassment. But after they got back to the tower, they were going to need to talk without interruption. Even if she had to figure out a way to disable Jarvis' speakers.

"Nothing major," Bruce chuckled, plucking at his uniform around his collar.

"How does your suit work anyway?" Celia asked.

"I'm not sure I'd ever be able to fully explain it to you."

"I'll try not to take offense to that," Celia snorted.

"It took Tony and me a long time to figure this out."

"And it stays intact, even through you shifting?"

"Yep."

"I bet the testing phase was pretty awkward," Celia teased. Bruce groaned and covered his face.

"Don't remind me."

"So, does that mean you'll be the one making my superhero uniform if I end up making the cut? And will I get design input?"

"I don't know. How picky are you planning on being?"

"Well, I don't need it to be bulletproof, so that takes a lot of the fuss out of it. And I don't see myself carrying a bunch of weapons. You could pretty much toss a ski mask on me and I'm good to go," Celia shrugged.

"People usually feel better about people helping them if they don't look like they are about to murder them actually," Bruce pointed out.

"So we'll get a ski mask that's pink or has flowers?" Celia suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Bruce agreed.

"What the hell?" Tony said suddenly over the speakers.

"Iron Man, report," Steve demanded.

"My robots just took off, like they are trying to escape instead of attack."

"Shit, mine are too," Clint muttered, panting as he chased after them.

"Do you need me out there?" Bruce asked, pressing the button to communicate again.

"Not yet, but I'll let you know if that changes," Steve replied.

"Copy," Bruce sighed, flipping the microphone back off.

"You think they'll be okay?" Celia asked, trying to hide her nerves.

"Robots are usually the easier threats to deal with," Bruce assured her.

"Better than aliens?"

"Definitely." Celia paced the length of the jet, wishing she had something to do. This was of course better than being left behind at the tower, but she was still completely useless. She knew that Bruce hated turning into the Hulk, but she didn't know how he could stand being on the outside while the others were fighting. Celia didn't hold it against him at all though. Until she knew what it was like to shift into something like that, she couldn't judge.

"They probably won't be gone long. We'll be able to consider my first Avengers ride along a success," Celia joked, turning to face Bruce from where she'd walked to the front of the plane. She was about to ask if they had any post-mission rituals when something strange caught her eye. "Are you opening the back hatch?"

"What?" Bruce asked in confusion, spinning in his chair. He stood up just as quiet blowing noises whipped through the air. Celia opened her mouth to ask if Bruce heard it when she looked over at him and her blood ran cold. There were three darts embedded in his chest.

"Bruce!" Celia gasped, rushing over and grabbing him as his knees gave out. She gently lowered him to the floor as he stared at her with wide, panicked eyes. What was happening? Celia was about to pull the darts out when a threatening voice growled at her.

"Don't."

She turned her head toward the voice, watching in horror as armed men in all black climbed into the quinjet. What was she supposed to do here? She could try to lunge for the controls and open the line so the others could hear what was going on. But that could make them angry and would leave Bruce unprotected. Was she even protecting him now? Could he die? Why wasn't he turning into the Hulk?

Before she could do anything, one of the men grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from an unconscious Bruce. Celia squirmed, not knowing if she should show her full strength or bide her time. The choice was taken out of her hands when they slammed her into the side of the jet and pressed the barrel of a gun against her forehead.

Celia's mind blanked out. She wasn't wondering if this was the sort of wound she could survive now. She was thinking of how upset Steve was going to be when he came back and saw the aftermath.

"Wait!" a different voice called out. The man in front of her carefully took his finger off the trigger, but never took his eyes off her. A new man stepped up, staring at her curiously. "Who are you?"

And what was she supposed to say to that? Definitely not the truth. Was there anything she could say that wouldn't result in an immediate bullet in her skull? Celia decided to take some inspiration from something she saw on a TV show. If this worked for Dr. Bailey, maybe it would work for her.

"I'm a nurse," Celia whispered, trying desperately to keep her voice steady.

"Well, shift's over," the first man sneered. Celia braced herself for impact, but the second man put his hand on the first man's shoulder.

"We could use her."

"For what? This wasn't part of the plan!"

"Plans change. If the boss has a problem with it, I'll talk to him. He likes me more."

"Whatever," the first man grunted, finally pulling the gun away. Celia barely had a chance to breathe before her wrists were grabbed and secured with zip ties in front of her. Bruce was getting the same treatment, with multiple sets.

Now was the time for the rest of the team to come back and save the day. Steve would have his lips pressed together as he checked her over and Tony would be making some sort of quip about not being able to leave them alone for a second. And they'd know what Bruce was injected with and have a fix for it at the ready. They'd go back to the tower and she and Steve could finish their conversation from earlier. Any second now they would be back.

But they weren't.