Chapter 4

I do not own The Avengers in any way.

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"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner", Stark said, "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".

"Smooth", Madison said in a stage whisper.

"Thanks", Banner said.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him", Fury snapped.

"Please, Stark is more like a mad scientist", Madison scoffed.

Fury sighed and said, "Thank you Agent Barton".

"I'd start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon", Steve said.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys", Fury said.

"Monkeys? I do not understand", Thor said causing Steve to say, "I do. I understood that reference".

Madison giggled and shrieked, "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

"Agent Barton!" Fury snapped again.

"Sorry sir", she said throwing her father's trademark smirk at him.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Stark asked Banner.

"Oooo, kinky", Madison purred.

"You've got no idea sweetheart", Stark said before walking off.

"You are Agent Barton's daughter are you not?" Thor asked Madison.

She nodded.

"I promise my brother will pay for what he's done to your family, little bird", Thor said.

Tears filled Madison's eyes and Natasha gathered the young girl in her arms.

"Why do you cry, little one?" Thor asked.

"My father used to call me Baby Bird", she told him, "Excuse me". She pulled away from Natasha and left the room. She walked to the training room and decided to shoot a few arrows to calm her nerves. She felt someone come up behind her. She spun around and aimed for their heart. She dropped her bow when she noticed it was Steve.

"I came to see if you were okay", he said.

"I'm fine", she said blushing.

"I was going to go check on Banner and Stark", Steve said also blushing.

Madison leaned up and kissed him.

Steve started to return the kiss when she pulled away.

She gathered her arrows and put them in her quiver. "Come on big boy", she said.

They entered the lab as Stark poked Banner with something.

"Hey! Are you nuts?" Steve asked Stark.

"Jury's out. You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?" Stark asked.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked.

"Funny things are", Stark said.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny", Steve said, "No offense, Doc".

"None taken", Banner said, "It's all right. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things".

That can be taken two ways, Madison thought.

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut", Stark told Banner.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark", Steve said.

"Do you think I'm not?" Stark asked him, "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables".

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked.

"This is Fury we're talking about. Of course he's hiding something. He's a spy. He's the spy", Madison told Steve.

"Katniss is right. It's bugging him, too. Isn't it?" Stark asked Banner.

"I just want to finish my work here, and…" Banner said deflecting.

"Doctor?" Steve asked him.

""A warm light for all mankind". Loki's jab at fury about the cube", Banner said.

"I heard it", Steve said.

"I think that was meant for you", Banner said indicating Stark, "Even if…Barton…didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news".

"My father and I live in Brooklyn when he's not here or on a mission. Of course we heard about it. I guarantee my told him about it", Madison said.

"The Stark Tower? That big, ugly…building in New York?" Steve asked.

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?" Banner asked.

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at", Stark told him.

"So, why didn't S.H.E.I.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Banner asked.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.E.I.L.D.'s secure files", Stark said.

"Awesome! How are you doing it?" Madison asked grabbing the thing in Stark's hand.

"I'm sorry. Did you say…?" Steve asked.

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret S.H.E.I.L.D. has ever tried to hide", Stark said grabbing the thing back from Madison.

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around", Steve quipped.

"An intelligence agency that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome", Stark said.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up", Steve said.

"Maybe I can help you wind down", Madison purred.

"This a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed", Steve said ignoring Madison's offer, "We have orders. We should follow them".

"Following's not really my style", Stark said.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked him, the tension in the room growing.

"Of the people in this room, which one is A, wearing a spangly outfit, and , B, not of use?" Stark asked.

Madison stepped between the two men and said, "Dial down the testosterone".

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you", Banner said.

"Just find the cube", Steve said walking off.

"Steve!" Madison called going after him.