UPDATE: 07-23-2017
Still here! Still crying over my horrendous writing skillz from 2011. Still don't use a beta though, so there's probably some errors here anyway.
Chapter 6 – Banner
The 'bait' waited until the good doctor stepped inside the hut, and then bolted for her escape hatch through the far window. Banner stopped abruptly and realized his position.
He sighed. "Should have gotten paid upfront, Banner."
Dr. Bruce Banner was unusually chill for a guy on the run. Toni couldn't see him very well from her position, but he sounded defeated, not panicked. She leaned back in her chair, letting the agent approach him first.
Romanoff's venomous glare towards Toni had nothing to do with that decision.
"You know, for a man that's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle." The agent was using her sexy voice. Toni bit down hard on her tongue before she jokingly accused Romanoff of stealing her idea because it would probably get her shot by the lovely assassin. Just because Romanoff wasn't wearing her catsuit didn't mean she wasn't armed. Toni was pretty sure there was a pistol taped under the table.
"... Avoiding stress isn't the secret." Banner replied, his voice slow and thoughtful. Perhaps a little shakier than usual, unused to English and, well, Romanoff. He set something on the floor, presumably medical supplies.
"Then what is it?" The agent asked. "Yoga?" she suggested teasingly. Romanoff moved away casually, and Banner followed, giving Toni a clear view of the man.
Being on the run had changed Bruce Banner. His hair was coated with a fine layer of dust that everything in India seemed to come with, but under it, there was gray at his temples. He wore clothes so faded he seemed to shrink into his surroundings. He slouched a little, wrung his hands subconsciously, and shuffled his feet aimlessly. It was like he was doing everything he could to disappear right before their eyes.
He's been reduced to a survivalist, Toni noted, sadness creeping up on her. Bruce Banner didn't trust anyone. Now, who does that sound like?
At the same time, Banner noted Toni's presence, but he clearly didn't recognize her at all by the way he gave her a once over, found nothing important about the jeans and Blue Swede t-shirt she wore, and then moved on.
Toni was a little offended, to be honest. Couldn't people recognize her without plunging necklines and stilettos? Then again, Toni had crafted a very public persona for years before Afghanistan, and part of keeping Iron Man a (very obvious) secret was maintaining the status quo—oh, wait.
Toni mentally kicked herself. Of course Banner didn't recognize her, he'd been on the run for over two years. It was strange not to be immediately noticed. Toni almost wanted to blurt it out, just so she could see what Banner really thought of her.
That thought was instantly filed as a bad idea. She was trying to follow Romanoff's lead, after all, as annoying as Agent Ariel's routine was. So, Toni kept her mouth shut and focused on balancing on the two hind legs of her wooden chair.
"Whatever you do, it's working. It's hard to track you down when there hasn't been an incident in months," Romanoff went on demurely.
"That was smart, you brought me to the edge of the city." Banner said offhandedly, rather than respond to her comment. He peeked out a window to check for movement in the dark. "I suppose you have the place surrounded?"
His voice was so detached, so casually cynical about it all….
Fuck it, Toni wanted to talk.
"They're here for appearances, doc," Toni answered him impulsively. "But come on, Banner. I certainly didn't come along to be smashed. At least, not in the literal sense." She flashed him her celebrity grin, and Banner stepped closer.
Her grin widened when Banner took a second look at her, putting the pieces together. "Oh. Toni Stark? I didn't recognize you," he murmured, and—to Toni's shock—he seemed… calmer, somehow, now that he knew she was here.
Toni raised her eyebrows.
"You wouldn't be here if they were just trying to bring me in," he pointed out lightly. "Because you don't want to get 'smashed'."
Huh. That's one way of looking at it. He's forgotten about Iron Man, though.
Bruce watched her, not wary or disturbed by her presence, but pensive. It made Toni smile again, a slow and genuine smile because she liked his style.
"Though I do have to wonder: why is Toni Stark endorsing a faceless government agency?"
Toni nodded, and her eyes flickered to Romanoff. "I recommend you ask the faceless government agency instead of me."
Banner looked at Romanoff again, clasping and unclasping his hands.
The agent's smile was measured. "My name is Natasha Romanoff. We're here on behalf of SHIELD."
Banner scoffed and began to walk around the room. Toni could tell it was a nervous, absentminded walk. It used to happen to her a lot when she first started submitting her ideas for review.
"SHIELD... How'd they find me?"
"We never lost you," Romanoff answered. "We've kept our distance. Even kept a few interested parties off your scent."
What was Romanoff thinking? You don't stalk someone, get rid of their other stalkers, and then expect them to appreciate you. That was psycho-boyfriend logic.
Toni could smell SHIELD overcompensating from a mile away. She was familiar with Fury's no-nonsense, macho intimidation tactics, and this script had his scent all over it.
Banner didn't seem too pleased either. "Why?" he asked pointedly.
Romanoff was gonna dig herself a hole if she answered that. "You're a hell of a lot more useful than Blonsky," Toni cut in, pulling Banner's attention. "Good, smart people are much harder to come by these days, especially at SHIELD."
Toni knew how to flatter. She knew how to flirt, boost egos, and motivate others to get what she wanted. Maybe that's why Romanoff wanted her on this recruitment trip. But that's not what she was doing. Bruce Banner didn't need to be flattered or tricked into this.
She tapped a few buttons on her phone and tossed it at Banner. He caught it, bewildered. "I don't support SHIELD. I'm here because of that. I'd take a look at it if I were you."
Banner took off his glasses and peered at the screen, skeptical. "What is it?"
Romanoff gave Toni a severe look from behind Banner before she could answer.
"It's called a Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet." The assassin coolly walked back to the table, occupying one of two available chairs and inviting Banner to sit down as well. He only wandered a little closer.
"What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?"
"We want you to find it—"
"They want you and me to find it before shit hits the fan," Toni piped up, prickling with irritation when Romanoff scoffed quietly at her again. Whatever game Romanoff was playing, Toni wouldn't be a part of it. If Banner was going to offer his help, Toni wasn't going to let him work with SHIELD under false pretenses. "Because they lost their toy and now some guy wants to use it to rule the world."
Banner looked up from the phone, glancing between Romanoff and Toni.
She felt the redhead's glare on the back of her head, but Toni had built up an immunity to angry redheads over the years with Pepper and was also incredibly reckless, so she whipped around to face Romanoff mockingly.
"I'm sorry, was I supposed to gloss that over?" she apologized sardonically. "Because I don't like euphemisms, I didn't think he would appreciate it either."
Ginger Spice was not pleased with her.
"Just to let you know," Banner cut in unhappily, "I actively try to avoid global catastrophes…"
"It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace," Romanoff replied before Toni could. Clearly, Romanoff didn't want her help anymore. That was fine with Toni.
"There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, then that's where we'd be."
"So Fury doesn't want the monster?" Banner prompted her again.
"Not that he's told me." Toni grimaced at Romanoff's non-answer.
"And he tells you everything?" Banner countered.
Romanoff was silent. "Talk to Fury. He needs you."
"Needs me in a cage?"
"No one's going to put you in a cage—"
"STOP LYING TO ME!" Banner suddenly screamed, slamming his hands onto the rickety table. Toni was startled so badly that she toppled over in her unbalanced chair.
But of course, before Toni had even hit the ground, Romanoff had seized her gun from a holster beneath the table and was aiming it, safety off, at Banner's face. The man was still as stone.
For a moment, the only sound in the shack was Toni's involuntary groan of pain as she picked herself off the ground.
"...For fuck's sake, Romanoff," Toni said eventually, dusting off her jeans and eyeing the woman's weapon. "What the hell is that gonna do?" Either it'd kill Banner or provoke him. I'm beginning to wonder if Romanoff read the file.
Banner gave Toni an odd look. "Your lack of self-preservation is astonishing, Ms. Stark," he noted. He didn't give Toni the chance to do anything more than splutter in surprise before his eyes settled onto Romanoff.
"I'm sorry I yelled, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do," he confessed slowly, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace as he watched the agent. "Why don't we do this the easy way, and you put that away and the other guy doesn't make a mess. Okay?"
The redhead in question didn't move from her position, staring at Banner down the barrel of her gun. Seconds ticked by. Toni remembered the protocol for their backup.
"Shirley. Call off the ninjas before we get shot at," Toni said sharply, to break off the staring contest happening between the agent and the doctor.
And finally, Romanoff put down the gun. Her green eyes cut to Toni. "Shirley Temple was a blonde," the agent said shortly. She pressed on her communicator. "Stand down, we're good here."
"'Just for appearances', Ms. Stark," Banner commented flatly, coming closer to the two women again.
"If you appeared to be in a green-skinned, smashing mood, Dr. Banner," Toni corrected him brightly, yanking her communicator out of her ear so she didn't have to hear all the ninja chatter. "By the way, your work on anti-collision electrons? Excellent. I'm a fan."
While Kim Possible stepped away to talk with her ninjas, Toni strolled around the table and held out her hand to Dr. Banner, a wide smirk already back on her face. Banner shook her hand out of habit and then paused when he looked at her smile.
"Usually, people run screaming after I introduce myself," he mused quietly, puzzled by her affability. "Surely there's a file on me?"
Romanoff snorted loudly from across the room. Toni ignored her.
"I'm scared of a lot of things, Dr. Banner. You're not one of them," Toni told him firmly.
"Uh… thanks," he said, almost reluctantly. "I'm not sure that's healthy, but it's a nice sentiment." His lip twitched upward like he was fighting a smile.
Toni smiled for him instead. "Don't mention it, big guy. I'll see you at the base in a few hours." Toni backed away, trying to retrace her steps to where she stashed her travel suit. It was the Mark XV, so she could always try out the body sensors, but that might be a little too flashy for Calcutta. Actually, no, she couldn't try that out since she forgot to inject the nanosensors before leaving… Toni had updated SHIELD's facial recognition code instead.
Romanoff stood in front of her, blocking her exit. "You're not coming on the jet?" She demanded.
Toni shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint. I know I promised you a good time, but I'm sure our buddy Bruce can keep you entertained." She winked at Romanoff and patted Banner on the shoulder as she passed. "My way's faster."
"What does that mean?" Banner asked, watching her curiously.
Pulling the silver and red suitcase out with a flourish, Toni palmed the biometric lock and let the Mark XV unfold and refold around her body. No sensors yet, but the suit was made to be battle-ready in seconds. These days, Toni never knew when she'd need to use it.
She turned to Banner, fully-armored. The doctor stared at her, wide-eyed and awestruck, which was much better than the shock and horror response Toni got from Rhodey and Pepper.
"That's…" Banner found his voice, looking her up and down again, but he didn't finish the sentence. "What the hell?"
Toni was grinning like a maniac under the helmet. The faceplate warped her voice as she spoke. "I think you should read my file, Banner."
Banner readjusted his glasses thoughtfully. "I think I will."