"Thank you for joining us Miss Romanoff." Furry said sarcastically.
"Not in the mood Nick so someone get to talking."
"Aww trouble in paradise?" Steve teased earning himself a rap across the abs with the back of her hand.
"Alright then I'm going to pretend like you're not all acting like children and just go ahead and jump on in." Hill said rolling her eyes at the others. "Thor contacted us today saying that he thinks one of the other gems might be hiding here on Earth. He has reason to believe that there are traces of this energy throughout various locations on earth, but its concentrated in two primary areas: Egypt and Rome. Now keep in mind these stones are likely several times older than the earth so if primitive cultures got ahold of one it's not a bad idea to look at cultures that were several thousands of years more advanced then their times."
"So I call Rome?" Natasha asked.
"Ya because people in Egypt just love large white men walking around asking questions." Captain joked.
"Hey, I think you'd find the Egyptians to be an advanced openminded culture." Natasha argued.
"Hill will be taking the jet to drop Steve off in Rome where he will use his status as an Avenger to gain the help of the Italian government in researching all of the old Roman empire artifacts they can dig up for him before taking Natasha to Cairo where she will be living under the guise of one Mrs. Elizabeth Tanner; an Argentinean born woman who happens to be an expert in ancient Egyptian culture. Mrs. Tanner died in the shield takeover unfortunately although her death was not reported. We have scheduled for her to take a good looking into their artifacts including touring those tombs which are open for researchers and specialist to view." Fury said matter of factly.
"Great more dead people." Natasha muttered to herself, but out loud she said, "When do we leave."
"Whenever you are ready. There is no set time table." Hill said.
Natasha looked down at her watch, which read 6:16, 44 minutes until dinner and said, "Lift off is in 20 minutes. Think you can make it Cap?"
Steve gave her a concerned look, but nodded anyway.
"Where's Steve and Natasha?" Bruce asked the other Avengers around the dinner table. It was only Wanda, Sam, Rhodey waiting for them as he and Vision had come up from the labs.
Everyone shrugged so Bruce asked, "JARVIS are Steve and Natasha here?"
"No Sir, they departed on the Q-Jet about half an hour ago Dr. Banner."
"Where where they going?"
"I'm sure I was not informed Sir, although they were both packed for quite a trip by the looks of it. Their briefing was done in one of the privacy rooms and I therefore have no video feed of their discussion. Miss Hill left with them and Director Fury left about fifteen minutes before in his private transportation."
Turning away from the dinner table where Vision had just seated himself by Wanda Bruce pulled out his cell and called Natasha's phone. It rang for several seconds before JARVIS said, "Sir, I regret to inform you that Miss Romanoff's phone is ringing in your chambers."
Silently cursing Bruce hung up the phone and went back down to their rooms skipping dinner all together.
Natasha, head and neck wrapped in a scarf and her long skirts flowing out behind her made her way through the dry windy streets of Cairo to her hotel. It wasn't a luxurious affair, but it was something that a researcher could both afford and would find satisfactory when visiting a foreign country. Natasha checked into the hotel in slightly broken Arabic before making her way up to her room followed by the bellhop with her bags.
The room was warm despite the air conditioning and her hair was sticking to her head under her head wrap. Her meeting with the historic society of Cairo was scheduled for the next day. With a sigh Natasha settled down to look out her window wondering how mad Bruce was with her right about now.
"Where is she?" Bruce asked in a firm angry tone over the phone.
"Mr. Banner as I'm sure you are aware no one was informed of Steve and Natasha's missions." Fury said an edge to his forced patient voice.
"I asked you where she is." Bruce said bluntly.
"Mr. Banner I'm sure if she wanted you to know that she would have found the time to tell you in the open ended window I gave her before she left." Fury said before hanging up the phone.
Bruce sighed setting his phone down on his night stand, well Natasha's night stand, instead of throwing it as he wanted to. He dropped his head into his hands rubbing his face between them. How could he have been so stupid? He knew what she was like, he should have known she wouldn't take his dismissal of her well, but what were the chances she would find a legitimate excuse to leave before dinner time? She was no coward to run from confrontation, but she was just stubborn and brooding enough to take his dismissal for more then he meant it to be when the world needed her elsewhere.
Again Bruce shook his head at his own stupidity, what had he been thinking, that he was dating just any old amazing woman that was way out of his league? He was dating Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and honestly the world always needed her.
The door to their main living quarters creeped open and Bruce jumped dashing into the doorway of their bedroom to see Wanda letting herself in. "You really shouldn't come in her unannounced you know." Bruce reminded her ashamed to admit he was a little crestfallen, "She's got guns stashed all over this place and she has a habit of shooting first and asking later."
"I know. Vision sees more than most people think." Wanda said with a small smile coming to sit on their couch where she could see him clearly standing in the bedroom doorway, "But she's not here is she?"
"No." Bruce said mouth fitting into a firm line as he slowly came to sit in the couch across from her. "You see more of Vision than most people think." he said pointedly.
Wanda nodded her agreement and said, "He told me what you two discussed in your lab today."
Bruce flushed a little at the memory and said, "That's very... candid of him."
Wanda smiled and said "That's part of what I like about him; no bullshit. Piedro was like that to."
"I suppose it is an admirable trait. Is that what you came to talk to me about?"
"Non." She said simply still watching him. The room was quiet for a few short minutes as the pair sized each other up. Finally she said, "Dr. Banner, when was the last time you had something to live for? Before her I mean."
Bruce sighed and said, "A very long time... even longer if you consider all the time I lived for her and she wasn't really mine to live for."
Wanda nodded solemnly, "What would you do if you lost her now?"
Bruce started a little beginning to get angry, "Why would you ask something like that?"
"Can you answer it? I really don'y care what the answer is, but can you answer it?" Wanda said calmly unfazed by the tempered Doctor.
"Yes, I can." He said simply.
Wanda nodded sadly and said, "Then you're still just sitting around waiting for this to fail. Don't get me wrong, you're not alone, she said the same thing, but it's not going to get you anywhere except wherever you would be without her. Take it from me. When you've found someone you simply don't know how you could live without, that's when it finally becomes worth your would do anything to keep from loosing her. Even dealing with your own demons. You're both more willing to become your demons then fight them to stay together."
Bruce was silent for a moment before he said, "You have an awful lot to say about demons for someone who doesn't have any."
"Who says I don't. Did you know I nearly blew my own hand off trying to control this?" She asked making waves of red energy appear in the air around her. "Did you know I was drugged and locked in a cell for months away from my brother with nothing but a set of child's building blocks to hone my powers on? Did you know when they experimented on me it was months of excruciating agony? Did you know that I lost the one person I knew with all my heart and sole I could never live without?"
Bruce shook his head half in sorrow for the young girl and half in frustration, "I didn't and I'm sorry for it, but it's not the same. I have no control over him. I've killed people, I've nearly killed Natasha more than once. Don't you see? I can't face my demons to keep her. I loose her either way, at least this way she lives."
"Do you know what she said to me when I asked her if she knew what it felt like to have someone that she didn't know who she was without? She said that she didn't because she knew what she would become without you. I do too. I saw it, her when she was the Black Widow and every trace of Natasha was gone. I saw her break Clint's ribs, I fought back the plague trying to take over her brain while Steve brought you back. You were willing to risk letting the hulk take over to keep her away from that life once. Is she no longer worth it to you?"
"It's not like that." Bruce said standing up and getting angry.
"Yes it is." She said standing up as well and yelling back at him, "You are willing to let her become that again to keep yourself from having to deal with the Other Guy. You're a coward and we have no place for that here, so make up your mind. Either learn to live with him or get the hell out and let us deal with the Black Widow the only way we know how. A mercy killing. She was wrong. She can't live without you. We can't allow it." With that she turned and headed for the door looking over her shoulder long enough to say, "You were wrong too Dr. Banner, there is someone you don't know how you could live without, and his name is the Hulk." with that, she was gone.