When she finally finds Riley, alone, Lucy takes a breath and walks up to the girl with bruised eyelids and cloudy pupils;
"I know you know what I'm about to say because of your cool super powers and you probably don't want to hear it, and less from me. But I'm sorry."
Riley squirms a bit, uncomfortable in such close proximity to Lucy who continues to spew her words a mile a minute;
"I never ever meant to hurt anybody... I just snapped. I know it's not an excuse, but I wasn't trying to hurt you and I wasn't trying to make you go blind I swear. You don't have to forgive me and like. It's impossible to forgive that, I know..just..tell me you're going to be okay?"
"I'm blind,' Riley takes a deep breath and finally musters a response, 'I can't see."
"And you hate me, you absolutely hate me!"
It's annoying for Riley to need to hear instead of feel through Lucy's incessant self loathing, blaming herself for something that was ultimately her own mistake. If only her powers worked on the Jameson girl so she could judge Lucy's sincerity.
Riley decides to keep her response vague, long dark black strands moving with the slight cool breeze in front of her face;
"I'm never going to see the way I could before. And I'm mad. Because finding a family when you're a disabled teenager is basically impossible. But if you think I hate you, then you don't know me at all."
"You don't hate me?" Lucy questions with hope in her eyes.
Riley reaches with her hands to pull her knees in closer to herself. She tilts her head back slowly until it hits the wall;
"I don't hate anyone."
"I'm sorry," Lucy doesn't know what to say, looking back down and swinging her feet nervously on the bench.
Riley closes her eyes, still unable to breach Lucy's mind and judge her feelings.
The Jameson girl stays silent, surprisingly, while Riley mumbles the confession she's yet to tell a soul;
"I lifted the turf. I made Vi trip so that we'd win and you'd stay."
Lucy looks shocked, leaning forward with her eyes wide, "Why?! Why would you cheat for me?!"
Riley shrugs and makes her confession, "Izzy trusts you. And she's been here the longest, so I trust her. She's, emotional but she's good. Brody seems to like you and Garrett…-And if Vi got there first, we would've lost."
Lucy sinks into the bench, her shoulders slumping forward, "When I turned around- I thought you were Michael, he kept poking and when he pushed me-."
"He punched you, actually. Really hard and everyone heard it. that's why I intervened. I thought he hurt you."
Seeing that the girl with 'no emotion' has a ton, defending her teammate with a full confession leaves Lucy feeling even worse. She is trying to process- as much as she can for her age. Riley is tough and let's no one in. Someone content to keep all emotion and feeling to herself is opening up a little.
Lucy sniffles a shaky inhale, "I'm so sorry I couldn't stop."
Riley tucks her chin, a strain in her temple she feels the need to address with both of her pointer fingers, one for each, "It still hurts. Snapping both retinas will, I guess."
"I'm so sorry, Riley."
"I don't- I can't- forgive you, but I know that like- you know."
Lucy nods, gnawing at her lip while the tears flow down her cheek, "I think I know."
Bruce is pacing Elizabeth's lab, suddenly stops and lifts a green vial he can't help but recognize in her display section. The contents are something they created together- a Russian newspaper clipping containing a photo of the Hulk and the Abomination underneath as if to prove it.
"What happened to, what was his name, Lebedov? Lebedev?"
Elizabeth laughs lightly, glasses on her face while she runs a sample of Izabella's blood, "He is now a world renowned conservationist living in Botswana. Apparently dating me for a year scared him out of his own field."
Bruce lifts a cautious eyebrow, "Oh?"
She cringes with a dip in her knee as if to curtsy, "It turns out I don't share my space well…They buried your friend in Moscow."
He puts the vial back to its place and addresses her current project to move on from the topic of Blonsky, "Do you need help with that?"
"Can you reset my screen?"
Banner nods and gets to work, tapping away at his numbers.
The woman pivots, "What is it like? To have a giant inside of you?"
Bruce lifts a shoulder, fully aware of the fact that she's seen a flash of green on his neck;
"It's a defense mechanism. Nowadays he only cares if he's in danger. Some people grab a frying pan, I turn big…and green."
"Do you feel unsafe here?"
"I'm stressed out over Tasha, but that's nothing new," they both share a small laugh.
She tries her best to understand better, "He's more active inside of you than the last time we met."
"Yep."
"..I don't believe he's inherently evil."
Bruce shivers over a twinge of green down his arm when the scientists pass each other, accidentally dropping a small glass bowl. He groans with a sigh, letting his head drop, a roar in the back of his mind every time she approaches him.
"Sorry," he mutters.
She smiles and crouches down to help him pick up the glass, "It's okay. I'm sorry if I've triggered anything-."
"It's not your fault."
Banner is struggling to settle his alter ego. It gets worse when she's close.
Elizabeth sighs, "He must not like me very much. Can he hear me?"
Bruce checks his palm after slapping his neck, "Yeah."
"He knows I'm not a threat, right?"
"He's mad at me- ow! Cut it out," the hulk growls in reply, clearly not getting his point across.
Elizabeth jumps over his twitch.
Bruce forces a laugh and lifts his hands to gesture at his head, "Not you. Him."
"Maybe if you were a little nicer to him. Have you tried acupuncture?"
Bruce gives her a frustrated sigh. They've had a million 'fix it' conversations before, usually ending in a quick spat- how she's always butting in, how he doesn't want to listen- of course, Elizabeth doesn't know that…
"I've tried everything," he answers as calmly as possible.
Romanoff doesn't need to talk as she enters, taking in the scene. Hulk is displeased with Betty 2.0 and has been since they've arrived.
Natasha steps forward and rubs at Banner's shoulder, tracing the green down the top of his exposed neck with her fingertips. She's gently rubbing the base of his skull over a pressure point which in turns soothes the hulk.
"Hi," she whispers.
Bruce kisses her forehead as the green subsides.
Her hand trails over his shoulder blade to address a knot, "Stop stressing."
He laughs and lifts his eyebrows, "You're kidding right?"
"Here comes the future biologist," Elizabeth announces Izabella's arrival into the office.
The youngest member is smiling from ear to ear when she sits at the desk and folds her hands, "I fix hypothesis for your coworker."
Ross smiles proudly, "You truly have a bright future. Biology comes naturally to you-."
"Physics too," Bruce chimes in.
Izabella takes an inhale with a distant focus, "I love science. My tetya prefer nursing for job."
Elizabeth lifts a shoulder and holds it up, "Well. Ultimately, it's your life. And you should follow your heart. I'm not saying to defy your aunt's wishes, just to clear the air."
Natasha shifts stoically, "Svetlana would come kill you that's for sure."
Elizabeth lifts a brow and exhales heavily, refocusing on her project;
"Let me show you our cure, Izabella. It's incredible."
The girl leaps out of the chair and hurries to Elizabeth's side with eager anticipation for a narrating explanation for every displayed detail.
Tony enters last, carrying a massive bucket of potato wedges;
"You've got to try these."
"In a minute,' Natasha spews, 'Dr. Ross was just about to elaborate on the cure."
Elizabeth has a hand on her hip, "One dose of this and will jumpstart her incredible immune system. Voila, problem solved, the new cells will fight the old radiated ones, and before you get your hopes up, Bruce, this wouldn't work on you. I am sorry-…"
Before Bruce can say anything else, he needs answers, hands shoved deep into his pockets to avoid wringing them, "
"Will it last, though, for Natasha?"
"Of course," Elizabeth kindly attempts reassurance.
She can't finish her statement before he's already asking another question;
"Am I a threat to her? Am I the one causing this…how have I hurt her?"
The biologist hugs her arms around herself tightly, "With this compound, her immune system should reboot into something much stronger. It'll give her just enough of a diluted radiation, widow formula boost and defend from any harmful radioactive exposures."
Natasha reaches to hug Banner's arm while Elizabeth talks to him directly;
"Radiation makes up a good fraction of who you are. It's affected you on a molecular level. It's in your blood, it's a part of your skin, your tears, your abnormal body heat- that doesn't make you dangerous. Our technology gives off the same amount of toxicity so-."
Natasha chimes in and squeezes his arm to get his attention, "It doesn't matter now, Vrach . We're okay. We're going to be okay."
He nods and frees his arm to wrap it around her, "And this compound protects her from…all of it?"
Ross grins softly as she explains, "You're radiation won't be a threat to her anymore."
"What about everyone else around me?"
Elizabeth shrugs and stumbles over her words, "I, highly doubt you kiss, touch, and hold, everyone in your circle the way you do your wife. You are fine, Dr. Banner. And your friends will be too."
Tony chews slowly, "Sooo, Nat won't die? Mission accomplished. Now that that's settled we need to talk about soundproofing your apartment. If you two can go back to your marital bliss as per usual, I need to get some earplugs for me and for the baby-Don't look at me like that-! You know what I'm talking about! You guys aren't quiet when you're playing hide the cucumber-."
A knife flies by and just misses his head, a small black widow symbol etched in the corner of the handle.
Tony coughs, "Excuse you! I was about to say we should have Dr. Ross check Banner's anti hulk serum that you hate so much."
Natasha pivots with large eyes, "For once, I agree with the moron."
"No," Bruce blushes and protests, "We've taken up enough of her time."
Ross laughs lightly and points to Izabella, "If we can convince her to stay, I'll make as many serums as you'd like."
Bruce crosses his arms and attempts to suppress his instinctual need to protect her, guard her and treat Izabella as his own;
"What do you think Izzy? Could you live here? Work here?"
Natasha smiles quietly and looks on.
Izabella swallows, splitting her focus between both of her mentors, "You are my family. And I could never be apart from family."
Tony sniffles dramatically, earning a warning glare from the red headed spy.
"I'm proud of you, kid," Bruce offers.
"We both are. It just means more coming from him, doesn't it? I get it, the father-daughter bond can be real I suppose. You're both emotional dorks," Natasha states while Bruce shakes his head.
Izabella answers with sass, " Spasibo ."
The biologist smiles, "Shall we load up our syringe for Natasha and prepare to send you home?"
"Yep," Bruce leaps forward, eager to help.
Natasha feels fortunate to have a family who love her unconditionally. And Elizabeth isn't all that terrible either...
The doors open with a bang, the walls practically shaking when a swarm of SHIELD soldiers invade and freeze at the entrance to the center. A woman leads them through with a cold retort directed at Steve Rogers who stops abruptly sketching on the staircase to look at the intruders;
"SHIELD is here to collect the child metas. Hand them over and we avoid conflict."
Steve tries to open a discussion with the primary woman in charge, "Who made this order, what is it for?"
"The meta recruits belong to SHIELD now, they are required to report at headquarters immediately."
"No one notified us about the transfer-."
Barton arrives, completely suspicious over hearing the request;
"Neither Steve nor I really run this place, Chic. And unfortunately the Mister and Misses are out for the evening so you'll have to come back later-."
"Are you not Clint Barton?"
"Who's asking?"
"You hold enough authority to be able to identify and hand over the metas without further provocation-."
"If you're my new boss, I quit."
"It is your duty to comply with the protocol, Agent Barton, as per the orders of the late Director Nick Fury as decided upon your hire-."
"What do you mean 'late Director'?" Steve questions.
"I am your new Director, Captain and I've given you an order. Agent Fury retired two months ago."
Steve's frown deepens..
Clint has had enough, eyeing a quiet Maria Hill, "And YOU couldn't call us?!"
"Agent Romanoff wasn't picking up," It's a lame excuse that doesn't fly past Clint's radar.
Or Steve's. He narrows his focus and makes a subtle move to usher any lingering children upstairs while he reaches for his shield hidden behind a tall vase;
"You won't be getting anything from us."
Steve takes his stance, making his decision loud and clear while Clint moves for his bow and gives Garrett a subtle emergency signal.
The boy hurries up the stairs and inches before he can reach the alarm, the woman in charge makes a call for a malicia to swarm the facility. Maria aims her weapon and takes a shot for Clint, slicing his bicep.
"Dad!" Garrett screams and Lucy drags him away.
"Are you crazy?! They got my dad! I'm gonna kill them!"
Lucy locks the door to her and Riley's room, "He's fine, trust me! GARRETT! Think! We need to find everyone else- come on!"
The boy sighs, pained to know that she's right. Amelia whistles from outside the window and they quickly follow. Climbing down through the window and straight for their emergency bunker.
Alex is barking at the door inside of the hidden room that could survive a nuclear bombing. His tail down, soothed by Riley who feels for his head.
Lucy is too ambitious for her own good, looking over her shoulder once they lock themselves inside, "Guys, we have to come up with a plan to help."
Kat narrows her focus, "And do what Lucy?! Call my backup ghost friends?!"
Violet is shaking and crying in the corner, worried for her parents.
Brody mumbles, defeated, "We can't Lucy. We're just kids."
Lucy growls and looks at Garrett, "Come on…"
He sighs, "I know Aunt Nat's code to get her emergency pistol but I don't think- I mean I can't-."
She looks at Riley and it's almost like the girl can feel it, on her hands and knees to feel the vibration of the bullets and chaos when she whispers simply, "I'm blind and useless."
"You're not useless-!" Garrett snaps
Riley bites back, "I read minds, I can't change them!"
"That doesn't make you useless. You are the smartest, bravest girl I know! So stop being mean to yourself all the time."
If she could find Garrett's eyes she would, jaw open slightly as she takes her lecture.
Lucy pants hard, her chest collapsing when she realizes she's the only one even considering fighting back, "Guys, I can't do this by myself."
Amelia points with wide eyes, "You wanna fight them?! They're top SHIELD agents! We don't know what they want-."
Brody snaps, ripping his glasses off and holds his head, "They want my sister! They're here for my sister and I can't do anything…she's not even here!"
"This isn't about Izzy, this is bigger you guys,' Lucy starts, 'You're not safe just hiding down here because Maria knows about the bunker."
"I sent out the alarm," Garrett offers.
Amelia shakes her head, "Thor is NEVER going to get here in time!"
"…we're down a Hulk," Kat grumbles fearfully.
"And Miss Natasha," Violet trembles.
Lucy takes control of the group that are far too desperate for answers to argue with her, "Guys, shush! I have an idea…but you need to trust me!"
Amelia nods. Her eyes wide and desperate for answers, "What do you need Lucy? Michael can smash your skull again."
Micheal cringes, "I am sorry I did that."
"-I'm not going out there alone,' Lucy jumps over another shot overheard from the main facility, 'This is your home. I need everybody to be willing to break a few rules here or else like! We're screwed! You've been training for this right?! They think we're a bunch of incompetent kids."
"Or weapons…" Someone calls out.
Lucy snaps, "Are you?! Do they own you too?! I need you guys to back me up here! Or else, Clint and Cap are toast...and you can kill me after! We need to fight back."
"This feels wrong," Garrett takes a breath and hovers over the lockbox.
"Violet?' Lucy pivots, 'It's time to run as fast as you can and take down the agents by targeting the back of their knees."
She nods, scared out of her mind.
"Riley," Lucy calls next.
The girl swallows hard and sits back on her heels, "Yeah I know, stay out of the way."
"Are you kidding?!,' Lucy would laugh if she wasn't terrified, 'No! We need the best mind reader on the planet right now! We need to know their every move before they make it. Keep Alex by you and you'll be fine, he's been in battles before. What do you do, Jelena?"
The girl looks like she's never been asked a question, pushing the glasses further up her face, "I shake things? Earthquakes and stuff."
Lucy picks at her bow, thumb against the wood, "I want an 8.0 on this sucker! Vadim and Molly?! Cover eachother. And Garrett?"
"Yeah?," he looks terrified.
Lucy can't help but finally break a smirk and smacks his shoulder, "Don't shoot us?"
He nods, handing the gun to Brody, "Here."
Brody laughs, "Right! Because blasting people with my eyes won't be enough."
The kids finalize their plans, a cautious Riley determined to kick the invaders from her turf, protect Violet and stays behind Garrett, Lucy and Natasha's dog.
"Seriously, I can't thank you enough. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask," Bruce is lingering, delaying the goodbye.
They are reunited at the parking lot, the nearest empty big space, ready for time/space travel.
Elizabeth smiles kindly at them, "Well. I still have that transportation vial. If I ever need-."
Izabella smiles and hugs the biologist, "Thank you."
"Yes, sweetheart. It was so great to meet you. Bylo priyatno poznakomit'sya s toboy."
Natasha's much brighter and vibrant eyes light up over a possibility, finally realizing now that Elizabeth speaks enough Russian to get by.
Elizabeth opens her arms for a hug. Natasha's kind voice quickly turns threatening when she whispers in Elizabeth's ear;
"... yesli ty kogda-nibud' potseluyesh' yego snova …do I have to finish that statement?"
Elizabeth nods with a blush, "No! I..understand. I respect you both."
Natasha gently squeezes her arm, "And I you. You're brilliant."
"Thank you," she answers gratefully.
When Bruce moves in for a final hug she's completely awkward about it, afraid to touch him with Natasha's eyes fixated on hers.
Tony lifts his bag, somehow larger now with all the tech he's purchased and trying to bring back with him, "Okay! This is a direct trip, right?"
Bruce cringes and gestures with pleading hands, "Please. Nonstop this time."
Izabella watches her team line up and extends her hands, straining further to focus on their trip.
When the green mist fades, they're in dust and debris, shots firing continuously. The group look startled, seeing their courtyard in flames.
Natasha turns wide eyed, Bruce growls to hear the children screaming. Tony taps his wrist, ready for battle, "Uh...is this the right dimension, Izzy?"
The girl points to her telltale signs, "Yes."
"Get down," Natasha forces the girl to duck over flying debris.
The kids are positioned well enough, divided in the most logical way possible and completely ready to wreck shop as best they can.
Lucy has her arrow aimed at Rogers' potential attacker thanks to Riley's intuition telling her that he is in the most immediate trouble.
Clint takes the opportunity the kids give him to call for backup, realizing the two Avengers can't handle this battle alone as more agents show up.
The kids do what they can, leaving enough damage to distract.
By the time Pepper arrives in her own suit, Brock and Amelia are hurt.
Steve defends Violet until Riley pokes Brody to go and help them. With Brody's distracting laser vision Lucy has a chance to scoop in with Riley and remove Violet from the situation. She heads for the lab to lock her friends inside, taking on their incoming attacker head on.
"No!" Riley feels for the door and knocks on it, frustrated when she recognizes Lucy has defended her this time.
She can feel Violet trembling as she holds onto her sister and Alex barking beside them.
Lucy covers her eyes with her forearms and a squeal over the incoming swing outside the door. Her cheeks are red over the hold on her collar and the way the man pulls her upright.
The woman in charge steps forward for a name, "You're new. Who are you."
"Wait, wait!" Lucy is shocked when the man listens and lowers her down momentarily, "I'll go with you. I know you want the kids but you can take me instead. I...have...something you want!"
The woman laughs, "And what is that? Are you the meta? What is your name?"
"I'm a meta. I have hulk DNA and...I have the super serum,' she makes it up as she goes, 'I'm numb to vibranium. I- go green and get super tall- I'm an awesome shot- I have everything you could possibly want!"
"Lucy stop! Don't do that!" Riley yells from behind the door.
"Lucy?," the woman questions, ordering her minion to drop her.
Lucy falls over her knees with a cough, "Izabella isn't here, she's gone. I'm the second best because...you can use my blood the same as hers...I swear. Just! You have to leave them alone, okay? Leave my friends alone and-and I'll go with you. I won't she hulk out-."
The woman growls, "Who are you, Lucy?"
"Lucile...Banner. I'm the closest you'll get to hulk blood," she confesses, wondering if her head will explode from the pounding.
"…we'll take her."
The man points to the door.
The woman waves, "Leave them. I keep my promises."
Lucy shuts her eyes and cringes over an incoming cloth held over her mouth. She squirms with subtle fear before her word goes dark.
Riley has no idea what is happening from inside the lab, her world dark, though, she can hear a final scream before the room goes quiet again. She can still feel the echo of darker emotions from Lucy's presumed kidnappers. She huddles closer with Violet and embraces the darkness and the unexpected, suddenly aware of a familiar roar that isn't so threatening.
"They're back," she answers bravely and reopens the door, "We need to find Natasha."
Riley is trying to sneak by, urging Violet to run ahead with Alex while she waits at the staircase. She senses a presence and moves to scream, her mouth immediately covered by a hand.
Garrett is in trouble in the lobby of the center, aiming his weapon with a shaky hand, "I'll shoot! Don't touch me!"
His attacker moves in so Garrett cringes and fires his weapon. The man falls to the ground and he jumps, checking his weapon that's missed completely and looks over his shoulder to see Natasha Romanoff's smoking gun.
"Auntie! You look alive again!"
She grabs his elbow and leads him out, "Go look after your friends. Get them off the damn field and back in the bunker! Whose idea was this?!"
. * . * . * . * . * . * .
"Pep! You look great!" Iron Man flies around the perimeter and meets his wife circling the opposite end in her own suit.
She hovers, "You're back! Pivot left."
"What is happening?!"
"SHIELD invaded."
"SHIELD?! Tell me you left the baby home-!"
"I'm not an idiot Tony- duck!"
"Goose."
She rolls her eyes underneath her purple helmet, "Moron."
"I'm your moron."
. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *
Izabella runs for the entry, watching the hulk wreck the incoming vehicles. She aims her hands on the opposite side and helps Steve to defend a few of her friends. She fights hard, focused even when she's afraid. Steve coaches well despite his desire for her to return someplace safer.
Alex catches up to Natasha when she whistles for him and has her dog bite an oncoming attacker with a short command.
"Miss Natasha-!"
Violet's mother scoops the child in an intervention and leads her away from the field.
"We weren't away for that long!" Natasha spats.
"We had it under control," Steve lifts his shield.
"I can tell. Where's Clint?" She asks as the hulk roars behind her.
. * . * . * . * . * . *
Clint's charging onto the field is cut off by a black van. The passenger door swings open to reveal Maria Hill in the driver's seat;
"Get in."
Barton scoffs with a hand over his bloody shoulder, "You expect me to trust you?!"
Maria rolls down a back window to expose Riley in the backseat.
Clint climbs in and the threesome drive off, speeding down the busy New York highway.
He shifts, ready to stab Maria if he needs to;
"You have three seconds to talk!"
"I'm not here to hurt anyone. Talk, child."
Riley grumbles, long hair in front of her unimpressed scowl, "She's not lying."
Clint is still suspicious, "Did Maria hurt you?"
Riley releases a guttural moan, "It hurts my self esteem knowing I've been dragged around without being able to see where."
Maria checks the rear view, "Ugh! I brought the kid because I knew you wouldn't trust me without her. And neither will Fury...which is where we're going."
"To un-retire Fury."
"He's not retired, I shot him-."
"Like you shot me."
"-And locked him inside of his summer home."
"And...your reason for shooting people is what? Other than insanity…"
"It was the only way to get on the inside."
It's a bumpy ride, now that they're being shot at. Clint yells for Riley to duck and she obeys, aiming his arrow out of the back window.
Maria snaps with concern, "Stay down, Riley."
Riley obeys with her hands over her ears.
. * . * . * . * . * . * .
Back on the field, Steve is handling the lingering agents alone.
With Natasha and the hulk pressing the agents away, Izabella's instinct to protect Steve with a green misted force field leads to a bullet grazing the palms of both her hands.
She falls back with a yelp, and her green shield protecting Rogers from the opposite side collapses with her.
Steve catches her shoulders, a dining his own shield;
"Izabella!"
"I not feel my hands…! Ya istekayu krov'yu …!"
He moves to pull her away from danger, trying not to gasp when she turns to show him her bloodied hands. Steady steady tears stream down her cheeks.
He moves frantically, tearing the end of his shirt to wrap tight makeshift bandages around each hand.
He's searching for Banner, locating a roaring hulk instead…
Not helpful .
Clint?
Can't be found .
Tony? Well Tony is being Tony, threatening to blast everyone overhead.
Steve refocuses on the girl with a bit of PTSD, and treats her as if they're stuck in a trench mid World War;
"It'll be okay. Just stay awake. I'm going to take you back to the base. Alright, soldier?"
She nods over his words, shaking and covered in her own blood, "...Okay."