Bruce and Natasha established some what of a routine over the next two weeks. Natasha would walk up in her room around four o'clock for some personal training time, meet with the team at five thirty for their morning run and work out, knock on Bruce's door at nine for breakfast. They would eat together before both going their separate ways, Bruce to the labs and Natasha to the training center. They both usually missed lunch, but sometimes Natasha would surprise Bruce with food in his personal lab if she was free of her training duties and the pair always took an evening break together from six to nine before the pair said their goodnights and Bruce went back to his room or lab and Natasha went to bed. Sometimes others joined them, enjoying their company and friendship and sometimes it was just the two of them.
Their routine was becoming comfortable when Steve burst into one of the common areas Bruce and Natasha frequented on their evenings alone, "Natasha we're needed." He said and Natasha bolted upright from her position on the couch with Bruce. Bruce paused the movie, but Natasha was already half way out the door. Following at a slower pace he made his way down to the prep room where all the Avenger's suits and weapons were kept, but he stopped short as he heard strained voices in the hallway.
"Natasha we need him." Steve was saying angrily, "This is going to be a hell of a fight and the recruits aren't ready for this. We need a team that knows how to work together. We can't do this alone Natasha, but people could get killed if we let them come along. At least with Banner we would stand a chance without them." Steve argued.
"I said no and that's final." Natasha growled "He said he's done so he's done and I'm not going to let you bully him into coming back. Bring it up again and we leave; both of us." Natasha said glaring down the larger man.
With a huff Steve walked off commanding the new team to suit up. Natasha waited and said, "Care to walk me to my door?" in the same flirty tone she had used at Tony's party, "Wouldn't want some mean old man attacking me along the way would you?"
Bruce stepped around the corner and asked, "Did you really mean it? About leaving if he asked me to fight?"
Natasha kissed his temple, "In a heartbeat." She said pulling him along behind her.
Natasha pulled him into the central area before ducking into her personal changing room and stripping down to pull on her cat suit. Now decent she opened the door and waved him in closing it behind her.
"I'll be on coms." He said watching her file away a plethora of weaponry.
"No matter how bad it gets promise me you won't go in. Not into battle anyway. I didn't fight down Captain America for nothing; I meant what I said."
"Won't." Bruce choked out his chest feeling a little tight.
Natasha finished preparing and turned to look at him. "Bruce, I'll be fine." She promised, "Besides, this'll be fun." she said with a smile.
"Right, fun..." He said sarcastically, "Be careful." he all but begged.
"Always am Doc." She said and kissed him quickly before filling out to see the team already waiting. Bruce looked uncomfortably around the group as Natasha ignored their knowing stares.
"Are we going or what?" Natasha asked leading the way out to the jet and grabbing a com on her way out with a wink to Bruce. Steve raised an eyebrow at the doctor, but followed his teammate out none the less.
"I can't hold them forever Cap." Natasha said shocking two more Hydra grunts with her Widow's bites while simultaneously kicking the teeth out of another.
"Two more behind you Tasha." Bruce warned his voice calm but his knuckles where white as he gripped the edge of his desk.
"Thanks Doc." She said launching herself at them and bringing them down.
"Lab secure." Vision said over the coms.
"Good keep it that way." Cap said blocking another flurry of bullets with his shield.
"Two more weapons turrets left." Falcon said, "I'll take the left if you got the right Rhodes." He directed and Rhodey agreed.
"Something is wrong." Vision said confused, "There is a beeping."
"Get out of there!" Bruce, Natasha, and Steve all yelled seconds before the tower blew.
Iron Patriot was knocked to the ground, but was able to shake it off, Falcon who was a little closer lay groaning on the ground as his com squealed loudly in his temporarily deafened ears. Vision was blasted backwards through two walls, but his Vibranium infused cells held up better than human ones would have. He was in pain and disoriented, but he was able to fly unstably out of the shattered tower.
"Everyone report." Captain demanded.
"Safe and sound Cap." Nat reported.
"I'm a little banged up, but everything's operational." Rhodes groaned.
"I have cleared the wreckage, but I feel quite odd." Vision said.
"What about Scarlet Witch?" Natasha asked, "She was supposed to be trying to track down the researchers and get inside their heads."
"I'll go find her." Captain America said charging towards the ruble, "Nat go find Sam he got thrown back from the blast. Patriot, Vision, try to get a surrender from the rest of these guards, if they won't you know what to do." He ordered.
"Any pointers on where Sam might have fallen?" Natasha asked Bruce through the coms on their personal link channel.
"Based on the origin and force of the blast and Sam's trajectory prior to the explosion I calculate he would be somewhere about here." He said sending a map down to the mini tablet secured in a pouch at her hip.
"Thanks Dr. Dork" she teased taking off towards the area the blinking dot indicated smiling at hearing his warm chuckle in her ear during the heat of a mission. How far she had come from the lone cold killer she once was.
"I've got Wanda, she's out cold, but she looks uninjured. I'm taking her back to the jet. How is the roundup going?" Captain asked.
"Just rounding up a few stragglers." Rhodey reported.
"I've already sent for a transport to bring them back here." Marie said over the coms.
"Good. Any luck with Sam?" Steve asked.
"Doc was able to get me an approximate location, I'm headed there now." Natasha huffed while she ran.
"How?" Steve asked surprised.
"I calculated the..." Bruce began to explain, but Natasha cut him off.
"Physics Cap. It's like science and math had a bastard child with a sick since of humor and a superiority complex." she said.
Bruce huffed, but only said, "Such language out of the mouth of a lady! It simply can not be tolerated can it Cap?"
"Ok, I get it." Steve groaned.
Natasha ran up on a clearing of cracked and broken trees and feared for the worst. Sam was lying in the middle of the rubble his wings mangled and smashed beneath him. His face and hands were burned slightly and he was groaning on the ground holding his chest.
"Guys, I found Sam. It's bad. We're gunna need a medical evac now." Natasha said into her coms.
"Can't breath." Sam gasped pounding on his chest.
"Doc he can't breath right. Looks like a rib broke wrong and punctured his lung."
"He's got a traumatic pneumothorax." Bruce said, "Ok Tasha you have knife."
"I always have a knife. What else do I need?"
"Preferable a sterile tube, but anything that can let air flow out will do."
Taking one of the thirty cal bullet shells off the ground and cut off the closed end with ehr knife she electrified it with her shock rod causing it to heat up and said, "I just heated up a 30 cal bullet casing, that's as sterile as you're gunna get Doc now what."
"Unconventional..." Bruce muttered, "Ok now you need to take the knife and make an incision in between two of his ribs on the infected side. Make it deep enough to cut through the muscle and into the pleura without hitting the lung." Bruce instructed.
"How do I know if I'm deep enough?" She asked.
"Put the tube in and see if air comes out."
"No just a lot of blood and screaming." She yelled through Sam's screams.
"Go deeper."
"There I got it." She said as air whooshed out the bullet casing causing Sam to heave a full breath of air. "He's still critical. Someone tell me that Medical evac is almost here."
"Right behind you Natasha." Rhodey said scooping Sam up into his arms and talking off towards the jet. Natasha scrambled around picking up as many pieces of his flight suit as she could collect.
"Natasha are you ok?" Bruce asked through their private channel.
"Fine Doc just pickin' up the pieces." She said grabbing the last of the suit and starting her jog back to the plane.