I sit beside Tony as he flies to the landing pad on the Avengers tower, Dr Cho and her team rushing off with Clint as soon as the wheels touch down. Nat and Banner hurry off, Thor carrying the sceptre off the jet as Maria walks on.
"Lab's all set up, boss," she says, looking to Tony.
"Uh, actually he's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler," Tony says, pointing to Steve as I scoff at him, standing and walking to stand beside Steve.
"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asks.
"NATO's got him," Maria answers.
"The two enhanced?" Steve asks, and Maria hands him a tablet with an image of the two that attacked in the forest.
"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed on their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special," Maria explains.
"Their abilities?" Steve asks, as we enter the tower.
"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation," Maria answers, pausing when Steve looks at her in confusion.
"He's fast and she's weird," I say, and he nods, impressed at my knowledge. "When you spend as much time with Tony and Bruce as I do, you pick up on a few things."
"Well, they're going to show up again," Steve states, looking up as the lift dings.
"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts," Maria comments.
"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Steve asks dryly.
"We're not at war, Captain," Maria points out.
"They are," Steve says firmly, as the doors shut on him. I turn to look at Maria, the both of us sighing.
"Do you think he practices in the mirror, or is just blessed with being serious all the time?" I ask her, and she laughs as we head to the stairs down to Bruce's lab. I part ways with Maria, smiling at the sight of Bruce looking a lot less shaken up.
"How's he doing?" Bruce asks, passing Tony who has just left Clint.
"Oh unfortunately, he's still Barton," Tony answers, and I smack his arm as I pass him.
"That's terrible," Bruce replies.
"Don't make me hit you, Bruce, I'm not scared of the other guy," I warned with a smile.
"He's fine. He's thirsty," Tony says, Bruce and I heading into the lab where Clint, Nat and Dr Cho are.
"You sure he's going to be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together," Nat says, and Clint smirks at her, his face only slightly contorted in pain.
"There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum," Dr Cho answers.
"She's creating tissue," Bruce puts simply, looking in awe at the device.
"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes," Dr Cho said proudly.
"Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?" Tony said, carrying a tray of drinks into the lab.
"No, no. I'm going to live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic," Clint says, Tony handing him a drink as he moves to stand next to me and Nat.
"Here's your beverage," Tony says, smiling slightly.
"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference," Dr Cho tells him.
"Well, I don't have a girlfriend," Clint says.
"That I can't fix. This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust," Dr Cho says.
"Well, that is exactly the plan. And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday," Tony tells her.
"Unlike you, I don't have time for parties," Dr Cho says, pausing before speaking again. "Will Thor be there?"
"Yes, but Jane unfortunately won't be. Have you met his girlfriend, Dr Cho?" I ask, folding my arms as Clint snorts at the question, Dr Cho blushing in embarrassment as she turns back to her work.