A/N (Kinda long, sorry :)

Ok, first off, SORRY it took me so long to update, I went to camp, no computers/phones allowed. Sorry D:

Second things second, I know little to nothing about Nick Fury's past, so I just came up with my own ideas ;) If I screw anything up too terribly bad, just let me know.

Thanks!

~SilverTongueLoki

4. A Slight Problem

To say that Nick Fury hated GLaDOS would be an understatement. Not only had she- it? -taken his entire team of elite superheroes and his only link to that facility in one grab. Oh, he absolutely loathed her.

"Sir," came the crisp voice of Agent Hill. "Sir, we have the agents gathered in Conference Room 5 for briefing."

Fury nodded and wordlessly led Hill through the labyrinth of halls. The agents would need to know what this monstrous robot could do. Fury stepped through the door and was greeted by the four faces of the response team.

Fury's eye narrowed. "Do any of you know why you are here?"

A young woman, maybe 25, with short, curly red hair spoke up. "We are here because the Avengers have been kidnapped, sir!"

"You must be Sydney Mason," Fury said.

"The one and only," She replied smoothly.

"Like Agent Mason said, the Avengers have been captured by a rogue AI called Genetic Life and Disk Operating System, or GLaDOS." a hand drawn picture of GLaDOS (courtesy of Chell) appeared on the screen above him. "Now, GLaDOS is obsessed with science. She was created to run one of the largest laboratories ever, Aperture science.

"She went rogue on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, killing all of the test subjects, team of scientists that had created her, and their daughters. As far as we know, she only spared one person." an actual picture of Chell appeared on the screen. "Chell showed up to this very base two weeks ago. Normally, I would have her brief you, but she was taken by GLaDOS along with the Avengers.

"Now, your team's job is to rescue the Avengers and Chell. Do you all understand?"

He was met by a chorus of 'yes sir's'.

"Now, GLaDOS has extensive security systems, including turrets," a drawing of a turret appeared on the screen. "These will shoot bullets at you if you get in their line of sight. Also, she has neurotoxin that will kill you in five minutes. Finally, she had bombs that she can and will shoot at you. To help with this, you will all be equipped with bullet proof vests and gas masks. Agent Hill will fill you in on the strategy that you will all be using. Agent?"

Hill stepped forward. "You all have different skills that will be required while in Aperture. Agent Stacy Keys is one of SHIELD's top assassins, trained by Natasha Romanoff herself. Agent Tim Baker is the leader of the Special Operations department. Agent Sydney Mason is our best interrogator. Finally, Agent Carlos Parker is our best hacker.

"Now that we know each other's talents, we should point out how they will come in handy down in Aperture. Stealth will be needed, along with strength and brains. You all will be needed in some way. Your strategy is to sneak around the back way, where GLaDOS cannot touch you. You will need to shut down GLaDOS and rescue the Avengers and Chell. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am," they all said.

"Now that you know what you're up against," Fury said. "Go get some sleep and meet me at the helicopter pad at 7:00am tomorrow morning."

0o0

Chell remembered a scream. Maybe it was hers, she really wasn't sure. The next thing she remembered was darkness.

It wasn't even the hardest test she had ever done. It was, however, the hardest test she had done with another person.

Chell became aware of her surroundings, and she became aware of a voice.

"-and now… now she's here, GLaDOS!" Chell recognized the voice to be Tony's. "She's hurt! She's unconscious! Fix her."

The cool voice of GLaDOS filled the room. "Calm down, Stark. She should wake up momentarily."

Slowly, painfully slowly, Chell opened her eyes. Once her vision came into focus, she realized that she had never left the testing area. She was lying on the ground, between two metal plates, both dangerously close to her. Chell shifted her position ever so slightly, and instantly regretted it. White hot pain erupted from her right ankle, all the way up to her thigh. She let out a small squeak.

"Do you see her leg?" Tony continued, oblivious to the fact that Chell had woken up. "It looks like a bus ran over it, backed up, then ran over it again!"

"Is this love, Stark?" GLaDOS asked. "Because last I checked, you just got married."

Tony snorted. "That's your definition of love? I just said that she looked like she had been run over by a bus. Twice."

"Gee, thanks, Tony," she managed to croak out.

Tony spun around. "Chell! Are you ok? You know what, don't answer that."

"Wha-what happened?" she asked.

Tony grimaced. "Your leg got caught in that plate. It was crushed five times before GLaDOS finally shut it off. You passed out after the second or third time."

"And she refuses to help me, right?" Tony nodded. Chell sighed. "Allow me."

Tony snorted. "Good luck with that."

Chell sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the pain in her leg. "GLaDOS! I can't test with a mutilated leg! So either fix it or let me out of this damn facility!"

GLaDOS considered that. She couldn't let Chell win. Not again. "Fine, fine. An android will be down momentarily to escort you to the infirmary."

Tony stared at her, baffled. "I've been trying to get her to help you for maybe an hour now."

Chell rolled her eyes. "She's GLaDOS, Tony. She cant stand not testing. And here I was thinking you were a genius."

After a few minutes of awkward silence, the panels parted, revealing a robot. It was the same, milky white as a turret, with a single orange optic. It had spindly arms and legs that were about as thick a twigs.

"Ok, Orange," GLaDOS said. "Take these two to the infirmary and get back to testing!"

Orange, as GLaDOS had called it, motioned for Chell and Tony to follow it out the opening between the panels,

"I cant move, genius," Chell muttered.

Orange motioned frantically at Tony, who rolled his eyes in defeat. "Alright!" he said, stooping down to Chell and picked her up bridal style.

The pain that shot throughout Chell's body was nearly unbearable. She clutched herself closer to Tony, gritting her teeth.

"Enjoying yourself?" Tony asked with a chuckle.

Chell snarled something incomprehensible, probably "Shut up, Stark!"

"I knew you were."

That earned Tony a well deserved weak slap to the back of his head. He simply laughed at her and kept walking.

When the robot opened a door, leading to a long hallway with white walls, floors, and ceilings. Tony groaned.

"It looks like a high school."

"At… Least… You… Went to… High school," Chell said, trying not to pass out.

"You didn't miss anything," Tony said with a light laugh. "Trust me."

0o0

Natasha made it to the last test that GLaDOS had for her in under two weeks. It shouldn't have been possible. No test subject ever in the history of Aperture had completed the tests that fast. GLaDOS considered that she might be useful to her in the future.

Finally, she got an idea. If she had been human, she would have grinned. Then, she started to hum.

One day they woke me up so I could live forever…