After hanging up the phone, I walked over to Doctor Banner.
"Sorry, I had an important phone call to make. Otherwise, I would have been over here earlier." I was normally a little shyer than I was acting right now, but I wasn't going to pass up a chance to talk to Doctor Banner. "How was life in India going before we abducted you?" Banner looked at me for a moment before answering while wringing his hands.
"It took a while to get used to not having so many conveniences, but I was pretty settled. I liked helping people." This was why Banner was so awesome.
"Helping people, best reason to be somewhere. I can't imagine ruffing it for more than two days max. I had fun camping with my family, but we only slept over one night. Not even 24 hours outdoors. And we used air mattresses. Pretty sure you haven't been cheating."
"Cheating?" He looked confused. I thought I had made my line of thinking clear.
"Having an air mattress or anything else that resembles modern standards of comfort." That got a chuckle out of him. However, he still wasn't comfortable talking to me. If I thought it was me in particular, I would have left him alone, but it seemed he was just uncomfortable talking to anyone. Tony would cure him of that quickly.
"No, no cheating for me. So you liked camping?"
"Yes! There was this park about an hour from my house that was perfect for camping. Not too far to drive, especially with a younger brother in the car," Revel in the memories, not morn, revel, "but far enough the city lights didn't pollute the sky too much. Just a little at the horizon. As youngsters, we would run around a lot. When we got older, me, my mom, and my brother would read in the fresh air after putting up the tent while waiting for Daddy to get there from work. We would make hamburgers and smores and just sit by the fire." Suddenly I realized I had put way more detail into that then Banner was probably interested in. "Sorry, got caught up in the memories. Had you ever 'roughed' it before you went to India?"
"No, never was a boyscout," was Banner's reply.
"You don't seem to be doing too bad." I gestured to his worn suit that had few holes or patches. I was sure in a couple more months it might not look as good, but for now...
"I picked by clothes for durability, not style."
"I say your still looking good." He seemed uncomfortable with my comments. It was nice to meet someone else who was humble. I knew I wouldn't be getting any humility from Tony. I debated on what to say next.
"Well, it was night when they picked me up, and I'm sure they'll want me to get straight to work when I get there, so I better go to sleep now." "Enjoy the lap of luxury Doctor Banner." He chuckled before shuffling off. Was it just my optimism, or was he less nervous acting now? I sat there a moment before Natasha walked over.
"So what were you talking to Agent Coulson about?"
"Under very unusual conditions, I have gained some intel that is going to be useful. However, for it to be useful, it can only be given at certain times. No one is threatening me, I just know that if I give up all the information, the decision would be taken out of my hands, and right now I know things that can't simply be given to someone else. Things I've seen. Things I can extrapolate from the information that others simply can't. Agent Coulson believes in me."
Natasha didn't deem me a reply. She probably hated being left out, but hopefully she trusted Agent Coulson's judgment enough. I closed my eyes and began a step by step plan of what was going to happen on the helicarrier. I was going to need to speak privately with the Director, and I hoped Coulson would be there to back me up. Once I felt like I had everything prepared, even up to sending Thor and Loki home, I let myself try to catch a little more sleep.
When we got near, Natasha woke both of us up and I loved watching the helicarrier as it got closer and closer. We landed and climbed out. Shortly afterward another plane landed and Captain stepped out with Agent Coulson. Natasha made her way over. I stayed with Banner. He was very twitchy and nervous, moving about quite a bit.
"Doctor Banner, its alright. They will tell you where you need to go. No need to worry."
"That's not what I'm worried about." I sighed trying to figure out a way to tell him he had nothing to fear without sounding crazy.
"I bet you a large sum of money that the other guy will not make an unexpected appearance on this helicarrier during this visit."
"So you do know about the other guy." I blinked a couple times trying to figure out how that had ever been in doubt. My reply was cut off by the sound of Captain's voice.
"Rachel! You're okay! You had me worried when you disappeared this morning. All your stuff was still in your room, but you were gone. The agents wouldn't tell me where you'd gone."
I suddenly felt bad for worrying Captain, but that was soon overwhelmed by the realization of the fact that he had worried about me who he had just met. It was really sweet of him and raised my self-esteem. The fact that no one had told him I was safe, though, made me worry for several people's health, even if they were SHIELD agents.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I simply needed to speak to another member of the team." I had to quickly scramble for the adjective to use for team. I wasn't going to say 'our', I was not going to be fighting anything, and 'your' sounded like Captain was in charge, which he wasn't yet, so 'the' was the best option.
"Doctor Banner!" I smiled at Captain's enthusiasm.
"Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming. You know Rachel?"
"I've met her twice, both times were wonderful. Word is you can find the cube." Hey, I want you to not blush if called wonderful by Captain America.
"Is that the only word I'm in?"If I had it my way Banner, yes. "Only word I care about." One of the many reasons why Captain was awesome.
"Really wish I could just say dido, Doctor Banner, but would you believe me if I said I thought your alter ego was really awesome?" Not looking at the men beside me, I answered my own question. "Probably not."
"Rachel?" Turning to look at Natasha who had spoken, I caught sight Banner and Captain who had incredulous looks on their faces. It was a pleased incredulous though, kind of like…admiration? I had never had a guy look at me like that before, so I blushed. I was very glad I had an excuse to keep my eyes somewhere else, though Natasha simply waved away my gaze. Had she call out just so I would see their face? Enormous guilt for not protecting Clint washed over me. I was grateful when Banner started speaking.
"It must be strange for you, all of this."
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar." I was glad for Captain. I knew that this whole adventure had given him something to live for. Hopefully I could still give him that without having lives at stake. The same was true of Banner and his peace with his alter ego.
"Gentlemen, Rachel, you might want to step inside in a minute. Its going to get a little hard to breathe."
I followed the men toward the edge of the helicarrier and then heard the speakers blast out, "Flight crew secure the deck."
"Is this a submarine?"
"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?"
"No. Its not a submarine." Smiling at both men, I edged toward where I could see the turbines come up. It was much louder and larger standing right next to it that it appeared in the movie. I stayed a good distance away from the edge, unlike the men.
"No, no. This is much worse."
"Like I said Doctor Banner, I would bet a large sum of money we'll all be safe."
"Why?" Drat. I really hoped this question would not come up.
"Well, I'm sure SHIELD has taken every precaution to keep themselves safe. I'm certain a large amount of money is involved in this ship and so all kinds of weapons must be on board. I'm also confidant that Hulk won't come out and play until you tell him to. Ready to head inside? I'd rather not test what altitude it starts getting hard to breathe at."
I caught a glance of Banner's face when I said the words 'come out and play' and tried really hard not to laugh. I don't think anyone has been as carefree about the Hulk as I am.
Natasha led us into the helicarrier. As we entered the control room, all kinds of orders were shouted out and responded to. I watched in amazement as about thirty SHIELD agents coordinated getting this giant ship off the ocean. Even after seeing this scene several times in a movie, it was much more impressive in real life. I mean, in the movie they weren't flying anything in actuality.
I loved the moment when Fury told Hill, "Let's vanish." Almost as good as 'wingardium leviosa." What was even better was when Captain walked up to Fury and handed him a ten dollar bill. I already knew what dialogue was going to pass between Fury and Banner, so I walked over to Coulson.
"I think if I ever meet Tony I'll suggest a one way teleport system. It would save people a lot of time and effort."
"Why bring this up now?" he asked.
"I want to have a private chat with Director Fury, yet also need to travel with Captain Rodgers for diplomacy on the way back."
"Diplomacy with Loki?"
"No, with his older brother who will come to retrieve him. We don't need Mr Stark and Thor fighting each other, and the forest just doesn't deserve being destroyed." Any animosity I could dispel from the team would be so much better in the long run.
"I can see a couple trees toppled and a few others scorched, but destroyed?"
"Don't ever let Thor try out his hammer on Captain Rodger's shield with anyone or anything in a mile radius, at least."
"Impressive." I was hoping he was being sarcastic, but then again, men.
"Coulson, could you explain to Rodgers what we have been doing to find the Tesseract?"
I watched Natasha bend down to see how the search for Clint was going as Coulson obeyed Fury's orders.
"Since we can't trace gamma radiation, to find the Tesseract, we must find Loki. Certain intelligence tells us that he is looking for iridium, and the director of the lab where one of the largest deposit is stored is going to be here," a picture of the gala from the movie appeared and I subtly nodded to Coulson, "So we are simply waiting for Loki to show up."
"How do you know Loki is going after the director or even that particular lab?" Nice question, Captain. Too bad I don't want it answered properly.
"Iridium is rare, but we also received additional information on Loki's proposed attack."
"So you have a leak from inside?" Captain seemed impressed with SHIELD's skills.
"The source is anonymous at the moment, but it has proved itself as creditable..." Coulson continued speaking to Captain about searching the globe for any other signs of Loki or his unwilling henchmen while I quickly made my way over to Fury.
"Sir, I need to go with whoever you send to pick up Loki. Diplomacy will be key on the way back." Fury didn't respond immediately, and then we were interrupted by one of the men at the computers.
"We've found him. 68% match. Wait, cross reference, 79%. He's at the gala now."
"Captain, you're up." Fury waited till Captain had left to turn to me. "Now, diplomacy with who? You are not authorized to even speak with Loki." I kind of wished to speak with Loki, but later when he was in his cage. I figured I could argue the point later on though.
"Diplomacy with Loki means you beat him up. That same diplomacy with Thor simply results in a draw. I wish to prevent a fight between the group of people you have selected to defend us. Teamwork is a very important part of that success."
"What, is Tony going to show up and attack Captain Rodgers?" He was trying to be nonchalant, but I could see the worry in his face.
"No, Loki's brother, Thor, is going to show up and demand to take Loki. You can see how well that would turn out." Fury's thinking face is just plain scary.
"You said you knew a little of the future."
"Not much more than the next 24 hours, sir." The moment stretched on for a while. I figured Fury didn't like making decisions at the drop of a hat.
"Coulson, make sure she gets a secure communication device. I still need to speak with her." Fury left before I could thank him or get anything else in. At least I knew Fury had some trust of me. I was going to further that trust by telling him my entire plan.