2. Aperture Science Laboratories
Chell reluctantly led The Avengers through the fields to the facility that she had just escaped. Too soon, they stood at the old shed surrounded by junk and debris. Warning signs plastered on the front offered a not-so-obvious clue as to what it really was.
Tony scoffed. "That's the huge underground facility entrance?"
Chell opened the door, revealing the elevator that had originally taken her out of that… monstrosity in the first place. She cringed at the sight. The elevator was barely large enough to hold one person at a time, much less the entire Avengers team.
"Oh," Tony said in a small voice. "That's just the elevator."
The evil, chuckling voice of GLaDOS came from the depths of Aperture. "Is that you, you fat, adopted, murderous lunatic? I honestly never expected to see you here again. I told you to never come back. But- ah -you brought more test subjects. Allow me one second."
Chell nearly growled as the door slammed shut. A few seconds later, the door swung open again, revealing a new, large elevator. "Come on down, Chell. We can catch up a little. Tell me, has the little Moron crashed back to Earth yet? Come, come. We have much to discuss…"
Natasha looked nervous. "I don't like this… What if it's a trap?"
"I can still hear you," GLaDOS said matter-of-factly.
Nick Fury sighed. "You guys have dealt with a god I'm sure that you guys can handle an AI."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Slowly, one by one, they all entered the elevator. Chell and Fury waited for the door to slam shut and the team to be whisked away.
"Oh no," GLaDOS chuckled. "That won't do. I need you, Chell. Come on, I don't bite…" A thick, metallic rope launched out of the elevator and wrapped around Chell's waist, causing her to yelp. Before anyone could react, she was dragged into the elevator.
The door slammed shut and the rope disappeared back into the depths of Aperture Laboratories.
"Damn it, I knew this was a bad idea!" Chell screamed. Now, she showed how scared she really was. She was shaking and biting her nails. "This isn't happening… This can't be happening!"
Surprisingly, it was Tony who comforted her. He gave her a hug and whispered, "It's going to be alright, Chell, shh, calm down."
Chell gratefully returned the hug before following Tony's advice and calming down a little. Once she wasn't hysterical, he let go. Not a moment too soon, the doors opened to reveal a huge robot with one large, yellow optic.
GLaDOS laughed darkly. "Chell, my, my, my. You clean up well. I do not remember a time when you weren't in an Aperture jumpsuit. Welcome back, darling. I see that you brought friends this time… I suppose I could find a spot for them… oh wait, is this what I think it is? Oh, it is!"
Everyone exchanged worried glances.
"You-" she brought her optic close to Bruce. "-Are Bruce Banner! The Hulk, in other words. I've heard of the accident! Ohhh you are going to be fun to test!
"And you must be Tony Stark," she said to Tony, who was in his Iron Man suit. "The genius billionaire!"
"You forgot 'playboy' and 'philanthropist'," Tony said, his usual cocky self.
If she could, GLaDOS would have rolled her eyes. "ah- that to, Mr. Stark. I know all of you, even you, Ms. Romanoff.
"I hacked into S.H..I.E.L.D.'s database. I know everything about you all. Now, who wants to test?"
Tony raised his hand. "I didn't study!"
"Perfect," GLaDOS purred.
And that's when everyone is knocked out by the gas that GLaDOS has been letting into the room since they arrived.
0o0
While the new subjects were out cold, GLaDOS went over all of their files for the billionth time (no exaggeration intended), looking for their weak spots. Natasha Romanoff's was her partner, Clint Barton, and vice versa. Bruce Banner's was The Hulk, or, as he liked to call it, "The Other Guy". Tony Stark's was the arch reactor in his chest. Steve Rodger's was compassion.
"This is going to be too easy…" GLaDOS said with a light laugh. "Too easy…"
0o0
Chell woke in an all-to-familiar room with a small toilet against the opposite wall. She groaned out loud. It wasn't a dream. This is real.
There was something new, however. Another bed had been placed next to hers. The person in the bed was the sleeping form of Tony Stark.
"Damn it," Chell muttered. "Anyone but him."
Tony opened his eyes. "What happened? And where the hell is my suit?"
"She knocked us out, and now, we are stuck testing until we die. Oh, GLaDOS probably stole your suit while you were out. I knew it was a bad idea to listen to you people…" Chell explained.
Tony couldn't argue with that. "Let's get started."
They got out of their respective cots and exited the room through the broken glass. The doors slid open. To reveal a large room, covered in white panels.
"Oh, you're up," GLaDOS said unenthusiastically. "These next tests require cooperation. You and your partner must solve these tests that are created for robots- meaning they can be very deadly -with these special portal guns. Chell can tell you all about these, Stark."
The panels on the floor in front of their feet opened up, revealing two podiums, each with an odd looking gun on it. It had a main body, which was white, and three black prongs on the end of it. Energy seemed to blossom inside of those prongs like a flower.
Tony glanced over at Chell, who had already taken up her gun. His jaw nearly dropped. She seemed so much stronger, more at ease with the gun in her hands.
She shot two experimental portals on the white walls in front of the two, a red one directly underneath the ceiling, and an orange one on ground level. She broke for a run towards the two portals.
"Chell…" Tony said, stopping her mid step. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"
Chell laughed, and for the first time since Tony had seen her, she seemed truly happy. "You see these?" she asked, gesturing to the stupid looking bar on the back of her boots. "Long-fall braces. You have them too."
Tony looked down. Sure enough, there were braces on his boots as well. Also, he was wearing an orange jumsuit with the Aperture logo across the chest. He looked up long enough to see Chell pass through one portal and emerge from the other, drop thirty feet, and stay standing like nothing had happened. It was as though she was born to do it.
It took Tony a second to figure out his own gun before he followed Chell's lead and did a few test portals. By the time he was done, Chell had the top of her Jumpsuit tied around her waist, revealing her white tank top that had the Aperture logo printed on it.
"Please proceed through the door to continue testing," GLaDOS said.
"I knew you weren't mute," GLaDOS added when they had stepped into their respective transportation tubes.
0o0
Clint woke in a small, closet like room. There was one other bed and a toilet in the far corner. The person in the bed was Clint, who Steve was sure was awake, just pretending to be asleep.
"Come on, Clint," Steve said.
Clint groaned. "This is real, isn't it?
"I'm afraid so," Steve muttered.
GLaDOS' voice appeared out of thin air. "Please proceed through the portal to get to the testing area."
A red circle of light appeared across the small room, and, like a doorway, they could see another room beyond their own.
"Wow," Clint said. "That's… Amazing."
"Yep."
Clint and Steve pass through the portal, arriving in a large room.
"Welcome to the Combat Testing Initiative, where you are pinned against a robot that is programmed to kill you at all costs. Your job is to get that robot to fail at its mission and save your partner using these specialized portal guns. Not only can you shoot portals, it also doubles as a weapon! Go ahead, try it out, and please, don't kill each other," GLaDOS' voice said (Though it was obvious that it was prerecorded).
Clint's brow furrowed as though he just noticed something. "Hey Steve."
"Yes?"
"Where the hell is my bow?"
0o0
Bruce Banner woke in a cold, damp room. It was dark, there was only one light in the middle of the room, flickering slightly, casting an ominous glow over the space. There was nothing but a small table in the room.
"Hello," GLaDOS' voice was cold as the air in the room. "and welcome to being a scientist for Aperture Science!"
That's all she wants from me…?
"Please proceed to the table, where your instruction will be furthered." Bruce approached the table. "Now, Banner, I hear that you are the best gamma ray scientist on the planet. You are going to follow my instructions very carefully. I'm sure you remember the Tesseract?"
Oh god no…
"Of course you do. You are going to open a portal for me, ah, not me, but for him."
Only then does Bruce notice the tall figure across the room. The only color that he can see is the man's green eyes.
"Oh god no," Bruce muttered.
Loki smirked. "Oh no, Dr. Banner, I am a god."
0o0
Natasha was not good in small spaces. So when she woke in a room about the size and shape of a prison cell, she nearly had a breakdown. She was beyond claustrophobic, mind you. You put Natasha into a small space and she will claw her own eyes out, practically.
As much as GLaDOS was enjoying Natasha's squirming, she knew that it was time for testing. "Please pass through the provided portal to begin testing."
Natasha sprinted out of the portal. She looked over her shoulder in time to see the portal close behind her.
"For the next tests, you will work alone. You will use the provided portal gun to complete a series of tests. Please pass through the door to begin."
If there was something that Natasha hated more than being trapped in a small space, it was being alone. Ever since she started dating Clint, she didn't have to worry about it.
She's using our weaknesses against us, Natasha noted mentally. Of course, she had no one to tell this information to, it was just a good connection.
With a sigh, Natasha passed through the door and got into the elevator with her portal gun.
"Good girl," GLaDOS said as though she were speaking to a dog.