Chapter Three
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Marvel, except the various books/films/TV shows referenced by Tony. They belong to their respective creators.
Warning: Spoilers for Iron Man 3 in this chapter.
Bruce was walking casually through the city, no particular destination in mind. He had come to stay with Tony and Pepper after the whole mess with Killian. Pepper had asked him to try and counsel Tony, as his friend still had trouble dealing with all that had happened. It hadn't worked out well, and Bruce had admitted that he just wasn't therapist material. Thankfully, Pepper was now fully recovered from her Extremis exposure, and she and Tony were closer than ever. He enjoyed staying with them, and was glad to be back in New York, but sometimes, like now, he needed a break from their near-constant bickering. He was heading down a quiet side street lined with small stores, when he heard explosions from a store in the distance. He made his way there quickly, thinking people might be hurt.
A crowd of curious onlookers had already gathered on the sidewalk, and several people wearing the store's uniforms were standing outside looking indignant. Voices could be heard inside. Bruce pushed his way through the crowd with difficulty, noticing with surprise that one of the voices sounded like Natasha's. The Black Widow herself came into view a few minutes later, eying the crowd with annoyance.
"This is US government business. None of you need to be here. I suggest you make yourselves scarce unless you want to risk federal charges. Leave."
The onlookers dispersed quickly, and a small smile appeared on Natasha's face. It quickly vanished when her eyes fell on Bruce.
"Banner? What are you doing here?"
"Natasha." Bruce nodded politely in greeting. "What's going on?"
Her expression became guarded. "Shield business. You don't need to get involved."
"I'm here now. I'm involved already. What's this about?"
"Clint and I just apprehended a couple of criminals that Fury wants to question. Everything's under control."
"Hmm." Bruce frowned. He didn't really trust Fury's motives after he had lied to them during the Chitauri incident. He peered past Natasha, into the store to see Clint standing over two unmoving forms on the ground. The store's interior looked like it had survived a tornado, but Bruce's focus was on the unconscious man and woman. He tried to move past Natasha, but she blocked his way.
"You can't go in there, Banner."
"I just want to make sure those two aren't injured. Criminals or not, I'm a doctor, and I have to treat anyone who needs it."
"I can't let you."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You want to tell the other guy that?" He pushed past her. Natasha followed him with a sigh.
The unconscious people were only in their twenties, Bruce guessed. Their clothes- both wore jeans and long sleeved shirts- were worn and quite honestly, filthy. They were both very thin, like they hadn't eaten properly for a while. The man's hair was a startling platinum blonde, and the woman sported long auburn waves.
"Wonder how these two met." Bruce murmured. He glanced up at Clint. "What did you actually do to them? And what have they done to draw Shield's attention in the first place?"
"They've been tranquilised, that's all, not that it's anything to do with you. Fury wants to question them in connection to a-"
"Crime." Natasha interrupted. Clint was always too free with information, and Banner didn't need to know details. This was a clandestine Shield operation, not an Avengers mission, after all.
"And it was necessary for you to knock these two out because..."
Clint shrugged. "They have some sort of weird powers. He's fast, literally blink and you miss him. Took him down first so they couldn't escape, but then she panicked, and everything went nuts. It was like the place was haunted- stuff on the shelves was moving on its own, electricity was shorting out. It stopped as soon as we knocked her out."
Bruce looked intrigued. "That explains the mess in here... who are these two, anyway?"
"We don't know." Clint frowned. "Shield couldn't find any information about them. We don't even have names."
"Shield couldn't find anything?" Bruce was incredulous. "Excuse me if I find that hard to believe."
"It's the truth." Natasha said sharply. "Could just mean that these two weren't registered at birth. A lot of countries abroad don't have records of births."
Bruce nodded, conceding the point. "So what will you do with them now?"
"Keep them here and unconscious until a Shield transport arrives. It should be here in a few hours."
Bruce's eyes gleamed. "Why don't you bring them to Stark Tower in the meantime? It's fully equipped with facilities to keep them secure, and it'd be a lot less conspicuous than staying in public." 'And maybe that way, Tony and I can find out what Fury's actually up to.'
The assasins exchanged glances, knowing that Bruce had a point.
"I'll clear it with Coulson." Natasha pulled a small black cell phone out of her pocket and walked out of earshot, dialling rapidly.
"You guys didn't wait for me to start the party?" Tony, in full Ironman armour, strode into the store.
Clint rolled his eyes. "What is this, an Avengers reunion?! Should I expect Cap and Thor to turn up next?"
"Nah, they weren't invited. Good to see you by the way, Katniss." Tony examined the still forms on the floor. "Seriously? These are Fury's murder suspects? They look like refugees from Eastern Europe!"
Bruce was startled. "Murder suspects?!"
Natasha had disconnected her phone call, and was glaring at Tony. "Been reading Shield's secure files again, Stark?"
"Hey, if Fury doesn't want Shield's computer network hacked, he should have better encryption programs and firewalls." Tony's voice was unrepentant, and Natasha scowled.
"Well, as you're so interested in Shield business, I'm sure you won't mind letting us keep these two at Stark Tower for a few hours while we wait for our transportation."
"What? Why my place? What's wrong with Legolas' apartment?"
"My apartment doesn't have a security system worth several million dollars, or an AI that can keep track of people in the building." Clint smirked. "Besides, Bruce already suggested the tower."
Tony scowled at Bruce, (although no-one could tell since he had his faceplate down.)
"Ok, that's fine, but Banner, your rent just tripled."
Bruce blinked. "I don't pay rent."
"You're about to start!"
Bruce sighed. "Whatever you say." He knew Pepper wouldn't really let Tony charge him rent.
Tony turned back to Clint and Natasha. "Well, since Dr Jekyll already gave you permission, I guess I'm having visitors. Who's carrying the deadweights?"
Clint shook his head, annoyed with Stark's flippant attitude, and hefted the platinum-haired man over his shoulder. Bruce picked up the woman.
Tony eyed her appreciatively. "You sure you want to carry her, Bruce? I am more suited to play knight in shining armour." He indicated his suit.
"I'm fine. You should probably go ahead of us and warn your girlfriend."
"I can do both."
"Ok, to make it clearer, I'm not going to let you cop a feel of someone who's unconscious. It's wrong."
Tony shook his head. "You've spent too much time around Stars and Stripes. His medieval attitude is rubbing off on you."
"Steve's morals are not a bad thing."
"If the display of immaturity is over, can we get moving?" Natasha's voice was irritated. "I for one do not want these two waking up before we can get them secured."
Tony saluted her. "Whatever you say, Agent Scully."
Bruce quickly got between Tony and Natasha. "Tony. Go. Tell Pepper what's going on, and get two secure rooms prepared."
Tony shrugged and flew off. Natasha glared at his disappearing silhouette for a while, then started walking, followed by Tony and Clint with their unconscious burdens. Thankfully, they didn't encounter many passers by as they headed back to Stark Tower.
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Pietro opened his eyes groggily, strugling to remember what had happened. He and Wanda had been in a grocery store, as he had wanted to see if he could find a job there. Two others had come in, a red-haired woman and a brown-haired man. These two strangers had been talking about the death in the shelter, in quiet voices, so only he and Wanda could hear them. Pietro had tensed, preparing himself to grab his sister and run, when he'd noticed that the red-headed woman was armed. He had run at her, using only a fraction of his full speed, intending to take her weapon. Something had struck him in the back of the shoulder, and then everything went fuzzy. He sat up, looking at his surroundings.
The room was brightly lit, with white-tiled walls. There were no windows, so he assumed he was either underground, or deep in the building's interior. The only furniture in the room was the bed he was sitting on, and the plain white door appeared to lock with a keypad, so getting out seemed unlikely. Annoyance rose in him- he hated being confined! Then the full meaning of him being alone in this room sank in. Where was Wanda? He leapt to his feet just as the door opened. A man he didn't recognise came in. Black haired and moustached, older than him, wearing dark jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt with the words 'Black Sabbath' written on it. Pietro eyed him suspiciously.
"Where's my sister?" He demanded.
"Uh, excuse me, you're in my home, so I'll think I'll be asking the questions here, Spike."
Pietro frowned, confused. "My name is Pietro. Why did you call me Spike?"
"You don't get the reference? Your hair...Spike, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer? No?" The man shook his head. "Never mind."
Pietro frowned, deciding this man was somewhat strange. "Who are you?"
"I'm Tony Stark." The man smirked, obviously expecting recognition.
Pietro blinked. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
Tony's jaw dropped. "You've never heard of me? The world's only genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist? Iron Man?"
Pietro shook his head, baffled.
"What planet are you from?" Tony honestly looked annoyed. "Everyone's heard of me!"
"Well, I'm afraid I haven't. And you still haven't answered my question. Where is my sister? I swear, if you've hurt her in any way..." He took a step towards Tony.
"Whoa, back up there!" Tony raised his hands defensively. "She's still sedated, that's all. She's being kept in a room a few doors down, until my friend and I get some answers about you two."
Pietro's eyes narrowed. "Answers about what?"
"About what really happened to the guy in the homeless shelter. A government agency seems to think your sister is responsible for his death, but my friend Bruce and I aren't entirely sure about their motives. That's why I'm talking to you before their agents get a chance to."
Pietro remained silent for a moment, thinking about Tony's words. He didn't trust this man, but he had no chance of escaping right now...
"I'm not telling you anything until I've seen for myself that my sister's alright." He folded his arms.
"You can't just take my word for it?"
Pietro stepped towards Tony threateningly again.
"Ok, ok! I'll take you to her room." Tony led Pietro down the hall, to an identical room, where Wanda lay on a bed, still unconscious. A tired-looking man with dark, greying hair and glasses sat nearby, his face buried in a book. He looked up when Tony and Pietro came in.
"Hey, Bruce. She stirred yet?"
"No. She hasn't even turned over in her sleep." Bruce glanced at Pietro curiously.
"Oh, this is Pietro. I wanted to call him 'Spike' but apparently he doesn't like that name."
Bruce shook his head. "It's good to meet you, Pietro, and you'll have to forgive Tony. Sometimes I think he has the mental age of a twelve-year-old."
"Hey!"
"Well, that would explain a few things." Pietro smirked as he shook hands with Bruce, before going over to Wanda, making sure she was alright.
Tony and Bruce began speaking in low voices.
"Has he told you anything?"
"Nope. He insisted on seeing her first. Apparently, they're brother and sister."
"Twins, actually, and I haven't gone deaf just because you aren't talking to me." Pietro said loudly. At that moment, Wanda stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. He immediately turned his attention back to her.
"Wanda! Are you alright?"
"Mm...where are we?" She still sounded half-asleep, but her eyes focussed on Tony and Bruce, and she tensed.
"We're safe. These two say they just want to ask some questions. There's nothing to worry about." Pietro assured her, even though he wasn't entirely sure of that himself yet. The last thing they needed in this situation was for Wanda to panic, and cause another disaster. Tony and Bruce were talking again, quieter than before, but he and Wanda could still make out what they were saying.
"Twins?!" Tony sounded stunned. "Was family resemblance out of fashion when they were born? They don't even look like they're related!"
"Haven't you ever heard of fraternal twins before?" Bruce laughed. His expresion became more serious quickly. "How long do we have before Clint and Natasha get suspicious?"
"I don't know. They think we're both in the lab, and Pepper's keeping them busy, so we should have a while. I just want to hear their story," Tony indicated the twins, "before we throw them on Shield's mercy."
"I agree, but you know that Natasha and Clint won't be pleased if they figure out what we're doing."
"It's my house. I'll do what I want. And if it turns out that they're not guilty, then I dare Fury to try and arrest them. Honestly, from what I've seen of the coroner's reports, I don't think either of these two could have killed McAllister. No human could do something like that."
Wanda and Pietro exchanged worried glances, and Wanda bit her lip. How could they explain what had really happened? No-one would ever believe them... Now though, it seemed they would have no choice.
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Clint was in the gym, shooting bullseye after bullseye into the target. When they'd first arrived, he and Bruce had carried the fugitives to two of the rooms in the medical area, and Pepper had then led him and Natasha away, with assurances that they would be informed as soon as either of the unconscious pair woke up. Tony and Bruce had gone to the lab, Tony apparently having a burning need to show Bruce some new invention, and Pepper had taken Natasha off for 'girl talk'. With nothing else to do, Clint had come here. After practising archery for over an hour though, he was bored.
"Jarvis?"
"Yes, Mr Barton?"
"Can you show me the medical rooms where the fugitives are being held? They should be waking up soon."
A holographic image of the two rooms obligingly appeared in front of him. Clint stared in disbelief. One of the rooms was empty, with the door wide open, and both the captives were awake in the other room, deep in conversation with Tony and Bruce!
"Son of a...!"
The bow and arrows were abandoned as Clint ran towards the stairs that led to the medical wing. So much for the promise that he and Natasha would be told if one of the captives woke up! He was going to kill Stark and Banner for this!
To be continued...