Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera :)
Banner seemed to like the silence as much as I did. I was simply there to help him find things and babysit. I hated babysitting. But Dr. Banner was not my father. He didn't need supervision in case he made something dangerous.
"So, Stark, huh?" He said, looking uncomfortable with small talk.
"Yes, you've been off the grid, so to speak. My mother and Tony were a thing before he took over Stark Industries. We only found out two years ago. My mother never told me who he was, but I put two and two together when I was undercover at SI," I said, giving him a small smile in reassurance, that I wasn't annoyed.
"If you don't mind me asking, how mad was Tony at your mother for not telling him?" He said, typing something into the computer.
"My mother told him she was going to abort me and didn't. But Tony never got to be mad at her. She had died two years before he found out," I said, tinkering with a spare comm.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." He said, looking very uncomfortable again.
"Dr. Banner, as a fellow scientist, I hope you understand what I'm trying to say to you. I, in no way, could have prevented my mother's death or predicted it. I accepted, grieved and moved on. Focused myself on work and eventually found my Dad. I'm not saying that her dying led me to a better life, but it's made me realize that every day is precious. I make the most out of my life, and my time now. I really don't like living in the past. I live in the moment," I said, opening up a file on my holographic board.
"That I understand. Not focusing on one thing," He said, a small smile gracing his lips.
"You should smile more often. No offense, but the Other Guy won't throw a fit over you laughing." I said softly. He nodded, in understanding, and we didn't say anything for the next few hours.
"You never told me you had Katanas! Or that your codename is Siren. What the hell kind of codename is that?" My father said, dragging me out of the lab when he arrived. Bruce had left earlier when Loki passed by, wanting more information on the Tesseract.
"It's only Level 7 and up that know that, apart from some rumors Phil started amongst the lower level agents. You never get to choose your name. Someone thinks it, and you are stuck for life," I said, as he pulled me towards Phil.
"You had her taught to wield Katanas?" He asked, knowing my file listed Coulson as my original SO. It changed a few times between Natasha, Coulson and May.
"Each Agent's picks their choice weapons. She excelled in swords. And martial arts," Coulson said, as I rolled my eyes and walked towards the bridge.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner asked as the screens showing Loki faded out. I laid a hand on Natasha's shoulder in a show of comfort, as I glanced at Steve.
"Loki's gonna drag this out. So Thor," Steve began. "What's his play?"
The god was silent for a couple seconds before sharing his knowledge. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
"An army," Steve asked clearly not believing. "From outer space."
"Yeah, this is pretty high on the weirdest things SHIELD has encountered," I mumbled.
"So he's building another portal," Banner enlightened. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."
"Selvig?" Thor asked.
"He's an astrophysicist," Banner explained.
"He's a friend," Thor countered.
"He's under Loki's spell," Natasha told him, "Along with one of our own."
"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading any armies from here," Steve said, leaning forward.
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner insisted. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."
"Have care how you speak!" Thor demanded. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."
Natasha looked up from her seat. "He killed 80 people in two days."
A second passed before Thor said, "He's adopted," in a tone that clearly was unsure of the excuse himself.
"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce agreed. "Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?"
"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony said before I could, "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD. No hard feelings Point Break," Tony said moving up to Thor and giving his arm a light hit. "You've got a mean swing."
"The anti-protons in the iridium would open the portal as wide and however long Loki would need it." I said, recalling what I knew of the element.
"Exactly," Tony said moving to what was generally Fury's spot. "By the way, sorry about the whole 'protective Dad' thing."
"No you're not," I replied bored, sitting down and crossing my legs.
"No I'm not," Tony agreed. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." The entire room turned to face him, questioning looks on their faces. "That man is playing Galaga!" He declared. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."
"When did you become an expert in Thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked, looking annoyed at my father. I shot her a look of apology, before glancing down at my tablet. My heart leapt to my throat as I saw that He had been spotted again. Natasha quickly snatched it away, to which I was thankful.
"Last night. The packet? Selvig's notes? The Extraction Theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?" I raised my hand that I did without looking up, and he smirked, "That's my girl."
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.
"He would have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Banner said.
Tony nodded. "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect."
"Well if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Banner replied.
"Finally! Someone who speaks English," Tony said moving over to Banner.
"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked aloud. Snorting, I covered my mouth as my father playfully narrowed his eyes at me.
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner." Tony expressed. "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."
"Dad!" I scolded.
"Thanks," Banner answered unsure.
"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," Fury said walking in. "I was hoping you might join him. You too, Miss. Stark." I sighed, knowing I was only there to keep an eye on my father.
"I would start with that stick of his," Steve suggested. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."
"I don't know about that," Fury answered. "But it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest people I know into his personal flying monkeys."
I chuckled softly as Thor questioned his words.
"I do!" Steve declared proudly. "I understood that reference."
I couldn't help but hide my smile behind my hand.
"Shall we play Doctor?" My father said, as I took my tablet back from Natasha.
"Miss Stark?" Fury asked, reminding me to follow. Sighing, I slipped behind my father and Dr. Banner silently.
"Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract, but it's gonna take weeks to process."
"If we bypass their Mainframe, and reroute to the homing cluster, we could probably clock this at, 60 teraflops." My father said to which Bruce chuckled.
"All I packed was a toothbrush," Bruce said, which made my father laugh in return.
"You should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors all R&D. You'd love it, it's Candyland."
"Thanks but the last time I was in New York, I kind of… broke Harlem." Dr. Banner said shyly.
"Well, I promise a stress free environment. Not tension, no surprises." He said before zapping Dr. Banner in the side.
"Dad!" I reprimanded, throwing my stress ball at his head.
"Hey!" I heard Steve say as my Dad rubbed the side of his head, while watching Dr. Banner's reaction.
"Nothing?"
"Are you nuts?"
"Jury's out. You've really got a lid on it. What's your secret? Mello jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"
"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked my father, who had the mentality of a 15 year old some days.
"Funny things are."
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense doctor," Steve said looking at Bruce.
"Stark, meet me next to the detention center." I heard my comm say.
"On my way," I repeated back to Natasha. I had a feeling I knew what she was planning.
"Gentlemen, don't kill each other while I'm gone. You don't want to see me when I'm angry." I said, taking my tablet from off of the table and leaving the room. I could still hear a distant bickering as I left, to which I shook my head.
"Fury is going to be upset that I left my post," I said, realizing Natasha was preparing herself.
"That doesn't matter right now. You know I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think I needed it." She said emotionless. Sighing, I nodded.
"Focus." I said calmly, to which she closed her eyes.
"Barton is your way in. Give him the impression that he means more in very few words. He'll be expecting someone to beg for his life. He'll build up to his threat, remember they are just words." I said softly, rubbing over my pendant with my thumb.
"I hate him with every cell in my body," Natasha said, her form shaking slightly in rage.
"Focus." I said, helping her center her thoughts. Her shaking stopped and I told her to keep her comm line to me open.
"Go break him down," I said, making sure my comm was securely in my ear.
A/N: One more chapter coming up next, and then I will update soon.
