The director of SHIELD is snooping through work files. His current right hand, Maria Hill, has a few out on her desk to dig through.
With his one eye alternating between the files and door he's trying to move quickly to piece together his information.
Usually, he can outsmart just about anyone currently in the office but right now, the bond Maria's creating with the higher ups is leaving Fury out of the loop.
Ever since her promotion there's been a wedge between them, meetings usually end in her favor and suddenly Nick Fury's input is irrelevant.
A page on Izabella Mikhailov catches his eye so he lifts to skim through. He digs further over new names, locating an outline for a new initiative of child soldiers.
Emil Blonsky's detailed record of the children he experimented on back in Russia, along with the serums used are spelled out and listed with scrambled noted enhancements all over the pages…
"I thought it was your day off, Sir."
He looks up to spot a stern faced Maria Hill in her uniform.
Fury lifts a page, hoping to speak with her as a friend, "We support child-soldiers now?"
She answers matter-of-factly, "They can't stay on the bench forever-."
"They're children!"
"If there is a crisis-."
"We have an initiative of trained adults."
She tightens her jaw and moves to take her organized file from his hands, "I do what I'm told."
"Told by who?"
She lowers her head and locks her papers into a file with the turn of a key, "You don't want to make yourself the enemy around here. Things are changing."
He holds his eye contact, hand on his pistol with nothing but suspicion for the woman he used to confide in;
"My morals do not."
"It's not about morals, it's about following the protocol. I followed you even when you sounded insane."
He shakes his head, "This is not the same thing."
"You shouldn't have come in here."
"I wish I didn't have to."
She sighs with a thought, "I'm sorry."
"Me too."
Maria takes her weapon out to shoot the lights out first, swinging her elbow with the intent of knocking him unconscious. The skillful director manages to escape the room, not wanting to fire back until he has to.
Hill makes a call to have him followed, walking through the hall when she is contacted by her higher ups to track the director and to 'remove him from the equation.'
She holds her com with a stern voice, "I copy. He won't get far."
Fury dials frantically as he makes his escape, trying to get a hold of his 'daughter' for help…
He's tazed moments later by an unrelenting Hill who immediately reports to the higher ups.
Natasha sits on the table in the lab, her feet swinging and just barely missing the floor. She might not understand what's wrong, she just has an uneasy feeling over what's about to come across Banner's screen as he runs her blood.
She's done her own secret research for months and everything she's found leaves Natasha somewhere she doesn't want to be. There is a part of her that hopes the past year is just a nightmare she can sleep off, forget this is happening and have it all evaporate.
Having the man she absolutely adores see the results first somehow feels one hundred times worse than going to a clinic, leaving her with anxiety.
Whatever is happening, it's for sure internal. Natasha knows the second he finds out it will be a fight to go on missions.
Romanoff breathes a little easier as the lights flicker and suddenly go out. Bruce mumbles. He opens the lab door with a yell for Tony, hoping to get back sooner than later.
Natasha leaps from her table. She has a chance to escape so she tries to take it;
"You can text me the results."
He narrows his focus, "That wasn't our deal."
"Technically; You have my blood. I took the test, now you sign my clearance form."
"What is this for, again? What's your mission?"
"In and out. I swear. Maria said even stopping at H.Q is unnecessary. And Barton's coming."
He shakes his head, out of options if she's going to insist. It's her job, her passion, the thing she wakes up every morning to do and does it well.
Against his better judgement, Bruce forces an, "Okay."
She grins and leans to peck his lips once he signs, "I'll be back soon."
Natasha lifts her STARK device to find a black screen, tapping it against her palm.
"Bruce? Can you take a look at my phone? I have my SHIELD communicator if you need to reach me."
He nods, fixating on her problematic device to avoid giving her an overly concerned look he'll regret later.
"Be safe," he whispers.
"I will," she mumbles back.
Steve swings his arms, exchanging places with Romanoff in the lab.
He and Banner greet each other awkwardly, Rogers smiles, unsure of how to start his conversation;
"So, the power's out."
"Tony isn't home, is he? I'll check the power in a minute," Bruce asks, carefully pulling apart Natasha's device.
"That's not why I'm here. It's…Natasha."
Bruce doesn't move, fully prepared to hear more people voice their concerns about her health. First Clint, now Steve;
"What about her…"
"Are you okay? You seem angry."
Banner drops the device onto the table, trying to remain calm.
Natasha has thrown up twice this morning and he's walked in on her secretly searching for painkillers.
His comfort comes from knowing Clint is with her...unless she's lied about that;
"Did she faint on you too?"
"No. Why do you ask? Is she okay?"
"She's…working. She's fine, what's up."
"I wanted to talk with you about something personal so I'm hoping I can confide in you, man to man."
"Uh huh. Yeah of course."
Steve drops his expression, somewhat embarrassed, "Natasha keeps setting me up on these dates and while I appreciate the thought- She has great friends, they're amazing people- I don't really have, interest in dating right now."
He stares, barely blinking, "...she did what, exactly?"
"The thing is…hmm…"
Steve continues and Bruce sincerely wishes he'll stop. Rogers pulls up a chair instead, "The truth is I'm perfectly content. But I don't want to come across rude or ungrateful, I can tell she's put a lot of thought into these."
"...Mmkay."
"She set me up with a guy from work this weekend and he has some amazing stories, we really 'hit it off' as the kids say, but I think she misunderstood the situation. I'm hoping you can clarify that I'm just not interested in order to avoid any more of these awkward brunches,' he clears his throat, 'that would be great."
"..Yeah, sure."
"Thanks,' Steve frowns, 'I need to bring up a few things in Miss Mikhailov's sketchbook-."
"Like what," Bruce looks over his glasses.
"I think I'm telling too many war stories and traumatizing the children-."
Tony enters, "That sound about right. What'd you do to the power Brucie! I'm gone for one hour and the place gets destroyed. Might be smarter to leave Antonia in charge. Do you want to be the boss?"
Antonia nods.
"Cool. Lead Grandpa Steve out. It's daddy's time to screw around with Uncle Bruce uninterrupted," Tony slowly shifts his focus onto Steve who is still at the door, "Do I trust you to take my most valuable, precious, beloved creation down to Pepper…"
Rogers is thoroughly confused, hands in his pockets, "Is that, rhetorical."
"No,' his voice softens for her, 'Antonia Vivian Stark, you're going to go on a nice walk with Great-Grandpa Relic and he's going to take you to mommy, okay?"
Steve panics, unsure of how to handle Antonia and nods for her to follow, "Come now, little miss. I guess we're walking this way."
"Capsicle! She needs her hand held- oh forget it. I don't trust you. I'll take her down!"
"I've got it, Tony," Steve calls back defensively, while taking Antonia's small hand in his.
Lucy is back to spinning in her new favorite chair at the Center's lab. She has her phone to her ear and a lollipop in her cheek while she gossips with her mother.
Brody has his glasses split open, reworking a few wires in the same way that Stark's pdf tells him to.
Izabella sits comfortably on the floor, reading a borrowed book on physics. Her adopted brother calls from the table over a dropped a wire that's quickly rolling toward her;
"Izzy? Can you zap that back up here-."
The green energy circles it from a safe distance, Izabella's fingers wiggling to send the item back onto the desk.
Brody resumes his work, "Thanks Sis!"
Lucy kicks off the wall to send her chair flying across to the opposite end of the lab, "Mom says 'hey'."
Brody lifts a hand and waves without shifting an eye from off his glasses, "Hi 'Lucy's mom'."
Lucy looks over Izabella's shoulder, "What am I looking at?"
Izabella proudly lifts her book to share, "Electroweak Interactions-."
"Yeah- nope,' Lucy hacks dramatically and spins another rotation, 'I don't have patience for things I'm never going to use."
Brody looks up and gestures with his screwdriver;
"The stuff she reads looks like, I don't even know. Flip the book Izzy,' she complies, 'A snowflake. That's what that is. A snowflake with hyroglifics."
Izabella huffs and holds her book higher, reading aloud to both practice her English and to annoy her company, "Fundamental interactions between two protons-."
"Let it go! Let it gooo!," Lucy spins in the opposite direction, hitting every note in perfect pitch.
Brody covers his ears in a panic, "No! Stop!"
"You sing too?," Garrett tiptoes inside of the lab.
Lucy snorts, "I'm that annoying loud-mouth theater kid surfer dudes like you love to pick on."
"We'll I wouldn't, pick on you," half impressed and half offended as he brushes his floppy hair, "Is there anything you can't do?"
"English, science,' she shoots herself back to the other end of the room, 'turn into a cool green hero person."
"I heard you're working with my dad and I tomorrow on the archery course. Was supposed to be today but a mission came up."
Lucy freezes excitedly, "Wait! Really?! Do I get my own bow?"
Garrett shrugs, "Maybe you'll share mine? Not that I care!"
"Smooth," Brody chokes.
Riley coughs as she enters, her arms crossing, "I'll be there too in case anyone cares. You obviously don't."
Izabella tilts her head, "Aww, we do! You be nice to you self."
"Yourself," Lucy corrects.
"Yourself? Yourself...yourself. Be nice to yourself."
"Now you're speaking English! Clap clap. Good job. Now teach me Czech or Russian or whatever so I can participate in like, all the gossip."
Violet zooms in next, on top of the table when she reaches for a vial. Izabella scrambles, dropping her book to catch the falling display.
Lucy kicks off for another spin with a whine;
"Where are the adults, man?! We've been in here for FOREVER. Where'd Uncle B go? He said he'd be gone for two minutes...Where's your 'Vrach' ? What the she-hulk does that even mean?"
Riley snickers on the inside over trying to set up Lucy, "It means 'moron'. Bruce loves it in English too so make sure you use it all the time if you wanna get special attention."
Lucy hits the arm of the chair, genuinely smirking, "You're funny, I still like you even though you hate the fact that we share oxygen."
"I don't. I was kidding. So laugh or something…"
"Riley Park. You lie too much," Izabella sighs.
"Izzy! Trust fall!"
She reaches to catch Violet when the girl yells and drops backward with little warning.
"I think we should hug it out,' Lucy offers and stands in front of Riley, 'I've been told my hugs rock and I can get any back to crack. Wanna see?"
"No," Riley is unimpressed and somewhat terrified.
"Yes! Group Huh," Izabella intervenes, wrapping one arm around Lucy and the other around Riley to aid a forced hug no one enjoys.
"Izzy! You're choking me," Riley whines.
Lucy shouts when a timer goes off. Bruce comes dashing back in a hurry, eager to check Natasha's blood work someplace that still has power.
He focuses on the screen and the kids hover quietly. He appears far too fixated to be disturbed.
"Soooo, doc,' Lucy tries, 'are those my test results?"
"Natasha's," he answers quickly, his eyes still never moving from off the screen.
"Wait. Like, why-?"
"-Tower power is down."
"What about training me? That's like, why I'm here?"
"Where is Natasha?," Izabella asks.
Brjce stands, heart rate increasing steadily when he moves to evict the mob from his space;
"Mentor training's been canceled. I need a minute... or fifty…"
Izabella instantly picks up on his agitation and quickly moves to hold the door, urging everyone to follow.
Lucy lingers, cautious over the tears in his eyes, "Hey Doc? Are you okay?"
"I need a minute," he repeats.
"We can chat if you need, mom says I'm a great therapist-."
"Not right now, Lucy."
"Uncle B, like, come on-."
"Get out, Lucy!"
The girl nods and bites nervously at her cheek with an arm swing. For someone her mother has raved so much about, someone she's watched proudly in the news, she finds him dull and grumpy.
She sighs disappointedly. The door slams shut behind them with a lock.
All eyes fall on Izabella for an explanation. She pivots wide eyed over his yell;
" Vrach is…stressed."
Riley shrugs, "I'm going to my room. Coming Vi?"
"Wait,' Lucy calls out, 'we could hit the town. Go see a show- I have my moms credit card. Hamilton mom? Anyone? Anyone?!"
"No," Riley snaps,
"I'll run training. How hard can it be? Like I bet I could do it. It's in my DNA to be a leader-."
"You don't even know what's in your DNA."
Izabella works for control the room, cautious over the hovering guards "Natasha want us to be prezvat- …Riley?"
"Productive," Riley translates numbly.
" Bal'shoye spasiba."
"You're welcome."
Brody retorts, "I ain't practicing my laser vision without an adult present."
Izabella shrugs and takes out her phone with its lavender case, "We can call Stark? He help Vrach too."
Riley scoffs, "Your 'Vrach' has a stick so far up his butt I don't think Tony Stark has the tech to pull it out."
Izabella snaps furiously at Riley, her eyes wide, " Nel'yza tak govorit' o Vrach! On samyy priyatnyy, samyy dobryy chelovek-!"
Brody takes her hands with a grin, "-Sis! Breathe! It's chill, it's cool. No one's going to insult your mentor anymore, right guys?!"
Garrett lifts his thumb, "Right!"
Lucy picks at the chipped black paint on her nail, "I wanna be his friend but he's, like, always mad at me. It's like he hates me…Riley can you tell me if he hates me? Would the hulk like me better?"
" Vrach hates nobody," Izabella is still offended as she dials for Pepper.
Riley checks her own black nails, "Lucy's talking really put him over the edge in there...But that's something I can relate to."
Lucy snarls over Riley's nonstop remarks, her eyes flickering gold though no one seems to notice.
She turns away from the group in avoidance, humming quietly to herself and tugs the banister, " …I am not throwing away my shot."
Violet looks up at her best friend, blinking twice, "Is Miss Natasha okay?"
Riley shrugs, "I don't know…Bruce is hard for me to read sometimes, Vi. Right now I'm sensing anger and sadness…He can feel me prodding-I've gotta stop. I'll try again later for you."
Pepper answers over Izabella's speaker phone, 'Hi hon, what's going on?'
"Mrs Stark, um, we need you for mentor."
'Is everything okay?'
"No, the doc locked himself in the lab and kicked us out," Riley cuts in.
"He canceled training,' Garrett interrupts, 'And my pops is away on mission so I can't get a ride home until 6 when Laura- I mean, when mom is off work."
"If you and Tony could come I won't wrestle with Michael this time," Brody pleads.
Pepper laughs, 'Let me figure out what to do with Anna-.'
"Bring her," Izabella grins, eager to see Antonia.
'Do you kids mind?'
Garrett groans, Riley rolls her eyes. They look at each other, far too desperate to say 'yes'.
"No, we don't."
'Okay, great! We will be right over, Izabella. Tony wants to know if you can talk with doc?'
"No. He kicks me out and gets loud. He tests Natasha blood and I'z making him mad."
"There's no Z in 'its' there friend," Lucy corrects, jumping up on the bannister in boredom.
Pepper sighs, trying to get all of the facts, 'Natasha's blood?'
"Yes," Izabella answers.
"He's mad ever since what- seeing the results…?"
"Yes."
Pepper takes a breath, 'Okay. We'll meet you kids out on the courtyard for training games. Round everyone up. How many guards are around today, Tony wants to know.'
"Three."
'Okay sweetie, see you in a bit.'