Chapter Five – The Incy Wincy Spider
Steve entered the meeting room, ignoring the disapproving looks cast upon him. He was the last one there, and it appeared they had been waiting for him to arrive.
"Glad you could join us, Cap", Stark said sarcastically, leaning back in his seat. Steve shrugged, before taking a seat. All the Avengers and Fury were there with the exception of Thor, however it was well known that they couldn't rely on him, he had his own people to protect.
Banner cleared his throat before standing and making his way over to the holographic computer screen. He fiddled with projection before opening a document.
"This here is Gen's blood test result", he took a deep breath, before enlarging numerous figures. "What ever was in the serum her father gave her, has enhanced the electrical signals sent from the brain, whilst her hands have managed to harness electromagnetic waves".
Everyone looked lost. Stark rolled his eyes dramatically before standing and making his way beside Banner.
"It means that she's capable of telekinesis, and now Justin Hammer is trying to replicate it as he has her father's journal".
Natasha snorted, leaning back in her chair, "how do we know she's not working against us".
Stark glared at her, before shaking his head.
"Her father died, she was abducted, and she barely made it out alive. I really doubt that after everything Hammer did to her, she'd side with him".
"It's still a possibility".
"You didn't see her", Stark shot back, glaring incessantly.
"I don't trust her".
Fury interrupted the banter, slamming his fist on the table in front of him, whilst roaring, "that's enough!" Both Stark and Romanoff settled, however, their eyes never strayed from one another.
"There's more isn't there?" Fury asked in annoyance.
"Right", Stark said. "She was held captive in a warehouse in Jackson. I asked Jarvis to scope out the area and dig for any suspicious activity. He found a warehouse, where Hammer was, but it was stripped and relocated just after Gen escaped. I suggest we scope the place; see if anything was left behind".
Fury nodded in agreement.
"Who's up for it?"
The Hawk shrugged before raising his arm, as did Steve.
"Well, I guess it's going to be myself, the Bird, and Capsicle then", Tony said grinning.
"Very well. Romanoff, I'm assigning you to training Grey from here on in. I want her to be a well equipped fighter", Fury stated before standing. Natasha's nostrils flared, before she stood up abruptly.
"No", she said defiantly.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, no! I know nothing about her, and frankly, neither do any of you", she exclaimed. "You're all trusting this girl, assuming she's telling you the truth, but for all we know, she could be double-crossing us!"
"Tasha, try to be reasonable about this", the Hawk pled, reaching to hold her hand. She shook him off.
"I am being reasonable. She's nothing. She's not prepared for any sort of fighting, and there's no guarantee she's an ally!"
"So what are you suggest, we cast her out?" he spat.
"She could be a double agent!"
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Natasha". Her face fell at Clint's words, before he turned away from her to address the group. "This meeting is over. Stark, Rodgers", both men nodded, "suit up, we'll head off".
Natasha was frozen as everyone left the room. She couldn't believe Clint had spoken like that to her. It just made her angry, and all that anger was directed at one girl. Snapping out of her daze, she stalked out of the room, and towards the sleeping quarters. Once she stood outside Gen's door she pounded five times. Gen put her copy of 'Pet Sematary' down frowning, before making her way to the door and tentatively opening it to see an angry Natasha.
"Get dressed. I'll see you at the gym in five". She was curt, before turning on her heel and walking away. Gen's eyes widened. If looks could kill, she'd be ten-feet under; the last thing she wanted to do was spend time with Natasha in an environment loaded with weapons.
Closing the door quietly, she changed into a pair of cropped yoga pants, and an oversized, white t-shirt. Gen rummaged through her bag, to find socks, before finding two mismatched ones (one orange, one purple), and slipping on her only pair of sneakers.
She practically ran to the gym; the last thing she wanted to do was piss off an already irritated Natasha. Gen burst through the gym doors, before freezing. Natasha stood at the firing range, pistol in hand as she eyed the target. Three loud shots rang out before Natasha placed the gun on the bench in front of her, turning around to face Gen.
"Are you just going to stand there?"
Gen blushed, shaking her head before stepping into the gym.
"Have you ever shot a gun before?" Gen shook her head again, as Natasha mumbled a gruff 'of course not', under her breath. She led Gen to a large cabinet, opening it to reveal an extensive selection of different weapons.
"We'll start with a revolver. This is the barrel, the cylinder, the hammer, the trigger, the ramrod and the lever", Natasha said, pointing to all the respective parts. She handed the gun to a bewildered Gen before pulling out a small carton. "These here are the bullets. This gun takes six, the smaller one there fits five, and the large one with an extra hammer can fit twelve". She snatched the gun out of Gen's hands before loading it and shoving it back in her grasp. Gen felt overwhelmed from the sheer amount of information that was being crammed down her throat, but she furrowed her eyebrows in determination. She didn't want to give the older woman any real reason to dislike her.
Natasha walked over to the range, holding a firearm of her own, before stopping in front of the first alley. "Okay, now hold the gun in your dominant hand and align the sights; the two larger ones at the back should frame the smaller one at the front, train it on the target and squeeze the trigger slowly with the tip of your index finger". Natasha followed her own instruction, holding the gun out in front of her and training it on the target. The explosive sound rang, before she placed her gun on the bench. It had been a near bulls-eye, the bullet having hit just under an inch to the left.
"Your turn".
Gen took a deep breath before grasping the gun similarly to how Natasha had. She pointed it at the target, lining up the sights, before slowly squeezing the trigger. The gun had a decent kick to it, but Gen managed to keep it still. She placed the revolver in front of her before inspecting the target.
"Beginner's luck", Romanoff said in anger, at the shot that was barely a quarter of an inch away from the bulls-eye.
"Yeah, I guess". Gen received an icy glare upon her response, forcing her to avert her gaze.
"How trained are you in combat?" Natasha asked, before stalking over to the judo mats. Gen froze. She'd never fought anyone.
"Uh, I've never learned". Natasha scoffed at her answer, shaking her head.
"Of course you haven't".
Gen forced herself to walk over to the mats, standing across from Natasha who crouched into a fighting position.
"Just try to block", Romanoff said, before flying at Gen. Gen ducked as Romanoff's fist flew at her face, only to see her knee rise up to collide with Gen's nose. She veered back from the impact. The assault didn't stop there though. Romanoff kicked Gen just under her chest, hurling her back a few steps off the mat, before she jumped into the air, legs aimed straight at Gen's neck in order to pull her to the ground. Gen closed her eyes and crouched, raising her palms up defensively.
The hit never came though. She reluctantly opened her tightly clenched eyes to see Romanoff on the ground in front of her. The fiery woman stood up, narrowing her eyes before taking a step towards Gen.
"Why you little–", she smacked into an seemingly invisible wall again, before hitting it with her hands.
"Is that all you can do? Hide you little coward?" Gen was petrified, but oddly calm. Her powers had saved her, giving her the advantage, whilst Natasha looked as wild as her red hair; eyes crazed, sneer in place.
"Oh God, Gen, are you okay?" Banner voice broke through the madness, causing Natasha to freeze. Gen's nose was caked in blood, and her breathing was rough and uneven. Gen lowered her hands, only to clutch at her ribs. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and the pain was staring to kick in. Bruce spared a glance in Natasha's direction.
"Get out of here, Romanoff", he whispered, voice trembling with anger.
"Bruce, calm down –"
"NOW!" he roared.
Natasha jumped before scampering off under Bruce's watchful gaze, taking a few calming breaths before returning his attention to Gen.
"Oh Gen, what did she do to you?" Gen didn't answer. She assumed the question was rhetoric. Rather, she asked a question of her own.
"I don't have to train with her again, do I?"
Banner shook his head ferociously.
"I make sure of it".
He bundled the small girl in his arms, carrying her out of the gym and towards the infirmary, sitting her down on a small, white cot.
"Jesus Gen, she broke your nose!" he exclaimed as he wiped away the drying blood away, noting that her nosebleed had stopped. "How much pain are you in?"
Gen breathed in deep before answering. "A lot".
Banner nodded before rummaging through a cupboard, and pulling out a green whistle and handing it to her.
"Breathe in through it, it will make you feel better". Gen nodded before holding the whistle to her mouth and breathing slow, deep lungfulls. It only took about half a minute before the pain started to ebb away.
"I fell better now!" she slurred as she tried to wriggle away.
"Come on Gen, you don't want a crooked nose". Gen pouted before sighing in defeat.
"Fine".
Banner smiled, before grabbing some tweezers and some numbing agency; she was going to need a lot more anesthetic in order to not feel the pain. He applied it on the inside of her nose, waiting patiently as she giggled, before looking at her seriously.
"Ok, Gen. Now hold onto the side of the bed, and don't move your hands". She nodded before doing as he asked, a look of intense concentration on her face. He smiled before looking back down and placing his hands on either side of her nose. He tried to be as gentle as possible whilst forcing the cartilage back in place, cringing at her pain.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" she chanted.
Banner removed his hands, nodding at the job. It was almost perfect, but here was a slight kink at the end of her nose that he couldn't seem to get out.
Bruce remembered how Gen had clutched at her ribs, prompting his next question.
"Ok Gen, now I need you to take your t-shirt off".
Gen's eyes widened before she shook her head fervently.
"I don't like you like that!". Bruce chuckled before, patting her comfortingly on the hand.
"Calm down Gen, I just want to make sure you haven't broken any of your ribs". Gen's eyes narrowed as she analyzed Banner, attempting to decipher if he was telling the truth.
"You're not Steve so you don't get to take my shirt off". Banner smirked at the comment, before raising a brow.
"Oh, so you'd let the Captain do the honors?" he asked playfully. Gen nodded, before smiling dreamily.
"He's so perfect".
The green whistle contained a drug known as methoxyflurane, which eliminated pain, however was known to have some effects on lighter patients. In some cases, they would act a little drunk or high, and in this instance, Gen was doing a great job at presenting these effects.
"Come on Gen, I have to see your ribs". Gen frowned before finally tugging her shirt up to reveal intense bruising just under her chest. Bruce pressed lightly on it, causing Gen to let out a loud yelp.
"Everything is starting to hurt again!" she wailed.
"Come on, let's get an x-ray", she said as her handed her the whistle again. She snatched it out of his hands, inhaling deeply before beaming up at him. Banner walked her over to the machine, aiming it for her ribs, before pressing the button.
"Shouldn't you be outside during this?" she critically asked.
"Radiation doesn't bother me anymore", Bruce said tersely. Gen looked away. She'd forgotten that the sweet man in front of her was also a 'green rage monster' as Stark had said.
"I'm sorry", she whispered on the verge of tears. She inhaled deeply through the whistle again, causing Banner to smile.
"It's ok". He led her back over to the cot and sat her down again.
Gen played with her fingers anxiously before she looked up at Bruce. She looked so innocent in that moment; Bruce couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She'd been forced to grow up all too quickly.
"Bruce, can I tell you something?" He nodded, eyes soft.
"Of course".
"But you can't tell anyone!"
"I wouldn't".
"I think spangley suits Steve", she said with a goofy grin on her face. Banner laughed, before walking over to the finally printed x-rays and placing them against a bright back light. Her bottom two right ribs were definitely fractured.
"Ok Gen, I just want you to lie down on your right, and take a really deep breath for me". She did as told, after grumbling. Her eyes fluttered shut afterwards, before Banner gently caressed her cheek. Banner considered Gen a sister; he felt so protective of her, which reminded him. He had a spider to squish.
Ohhh, how's StevieBaby going to react, heck how's Stark going to react? And Clint!? haha o.O
Hope you guys enjoy!
Please review and let me know what you think :) x