Chapter 9 ~ Nat's POV:
I walk down the hall and Thor turns a corner ahead of me going to the lab room as well. I heard the argument begin before even entering and the second I do Dr. Banner looks at me angrily.
"Did you know about this?" Bruce growls at me and look at him seriously.
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" I ask trying to keep my voice calm despite the fear dwelling in the back of my mind about the other guy coming out.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."
"Loki's manipulating you." I tell him and cross my arms.
"And you've been doing what exactly?"
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." I hiss at him knowing how he ignored my flirtatious role I played when we first met.
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Banner says breaking his gaze away from me to Fury.
"Because of him." Fury answers and turns pointing to the massive demi-god behind him.
"Me?" Thor raises a brow and looks at Fury.
"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out gunned." Fury says and I watch him as well as keeping an eye on Banner.
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor says and nods.
"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled." Fury says looking at everyone in the room.
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asks thinking of his past more than likely.
"You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor says and we all look at him a bit confused.
"A higher form?" Steve asks.
"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury states.
"Nuclear deterrent. 'Cause that always calms everything right down." Tony says.
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury turns to him and crosses his arms then all hell breaks loose with everyone in the room.
"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep... I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve says and looks a bit annoyed.
"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?" Tony yells.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor booms.
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury looks at the young god.
"Did you always give your champions such mistrust?" Thor questions.
"Are you all really that naive? S.H.I.E.L.D monitors threats!" I say with a glare thinking of just how mistreated us agents are by SHIELD.
"Captain America is on potential threat potential watch list?" Banner raises a brow.
"You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" Tony smirks at Steve.
"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack..." Steve growls and glares at Tony.
"Threatening! I feel threatened!" Tony exclaims dramatically.
I roll my eyes at how everyone's egos are rubbing off on each other and we all yell at each other.
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor chuckles shaking his head.
"It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... we're a time-bomb." Banner says looking annoyed.
"You need to step away." Fury warns the doctor.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony grins putting his arm around Steve's shoulders.
Steve pushes Tony off roughly. "You know damn well why! Back off!"
Tony steps up, coming face-to-face with the Captain. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."
"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve hisses looking at Tony not backing down.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony smirks and keeps a stern face.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Steve glares at the billionaire and I bite back my agreement.
"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony says trying to be funny.
Steve smiles shaking his head. "Always a way out... You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
I can practically see Tony snap. "A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"
"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Steve growls and Thor starts laughing.
"You people are so petty... and tiny." The demi-god laughs. Tony rubs his head and moves away from the Captain.
"Yeah, this is a tee..." Banner says and sighs.
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..." Fury starts to order and I nod.
"Where? You rented my room." Banner says bitterly.
"The cell was just in case..." Fury starts and sighs.
"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!" Banner pauses gaining everyone's attention. "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"
I swallow and look at Banner as her he gets upset at me.
"You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?" Banner growls at me as he picks up Loki's spear that he's been studying. I place my hand over my gun nervously.
"Doctor Banner... put down the scepter." Steve says calmly.
Banner glances down and puts the spear back on the table. We all turn hearing a computer beep and Tony and Banner walk over to it.
"Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my little party trick after all." Banner says bitterly.
"Located the Tesseract?" Thor asks as Tony looks at the computer.
Tony mutters; "I can get there faster…"
"Look, all of us..." Steve says looking around the room.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it." Thor says broadly and Tony turns to leave, but Steve stops him.
"You're not going alone!"
"You going to stop me?" Tony raise a brow.
"Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve threatens and I roll my eyes.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man." Tony gets in his face again.
"Put on the suit." Steve hisses never backing down.
"Oh, my God!" Banner mutters from the computer and all of us in the room go flying in all different directions as an explosion sounds from a distance.
I grunt as I hit the metal floor below the lab and look around to see Banner beside me. My eyes widen as I see he is trying to suppress his rage and his face is turning a bit green.
"Doctor... Bruce, you have to fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're going to be okay. Listen to me." I see two approaching SHIELD soldiers arrive to check on me and I furiously wave them away, they run off quickly. "We're going to be okay. Right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never..."
"Your life?"Banner growls sounding angry and his voice has the change in it - the bitter amusement is morphing to a growled threat. Another explosion rocks the carrier and he turns to look at me, transforming just as the lights go out.
"Bruce." I plead trying to get my leg free from under a large pipe.
Banner suddenly starts transforming into the Hulk and gives me one last knowing look. I struggle free of the rubble stops starring in horror and awe. The Hulk, sensing me, turns his head and puts on a face of a disturbing monster. I jolt up the stairs with the Hulk chasing after me. I maneuver like my nickname suggests, a black widow. I roll under a turbine, starting to crawl within the maze of pipes. The Hulk pulls them out from above the cat walk and I fall through under the catwalks, quickly and stealthily escaping. The Hulk lets a roar of rage, unlike anything, primal, and completely not human.
I continuously crawl under the catwalk and the stop as the room vibrates rhythmically. I pull out my gun and slowly walk out onto the catwalk and spins hearing something from behind and then a roar from the Hulk in my face makes me flinch. I fire a shot into a liquid nitrogen pipe that hits the hulk in face and the Hulk smashes it quickly. I begin to run through the maze of corridors and the sound of the monster is coming closer. Finally, I reach a long corridor running as fast as I can on my sore ankle, behind me the Hulk tears up the hallway, coming at me quickly.
I turn to see how far away he is, but the Hulk backhands me into the wall. I groan in pain and look to see the Hulk marking his territory by smashing the floor. A fear I have never felt begins to seep out of my body and I think of my family. The Hulk raises his hand to finish me and I pray to whatever god above that Clint lives through this for our kids. Suddenly, the Hulk is knocked off his feet by Thor who tackles him into the next room.
Still shaken by the Hulk ordeal, I sit there on the floor where the beast hit me, rocking back and forth, after crying for a while for my kids. I keep thinking that this could be the end…my kids may never see their parents again.
"It's Barton. He took our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?" Fury's voice interrupts my thoughts and I sit straighter.
Summoning back all the coolness I can, I touch my earpiece. "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."
I spring up and run after my husband thinking this is the last chance I can get to have him back. I find Clint walking alone down the catwalk and fall in step behind him. In a lightning fast move, he nocks an arrow, and points it at me. A gasp escapes my lips seeing his eyes an icy blue rather than the cool grey I love and a hand-to-hand fight ensues. I crawl my way around to Clint, kicking his thigh making him drop his bow, but pulls out a knife on me which I know he had on the back of his belt.
Clint and I continue attacking each other in ways we only know how. I kick box him in the face knowing he hates that. Clint takes a swings at me, but I grab his arm expecting it, twisting his arm roughly. He writhers in pain and using his other arm, he tosses the knife over and begins to slash at me in way I taught him. I dodge every move, but find he grabs my hair pulling down in and I'm stuck in a lock hold with him. As he forces the knife down, I bite his wrist as hard as I can to make him let go of the knife. I hop up as he goes down in pain and wraps my legs around his neck, flips him over and arm locks him from behind. I slam his head into a pipe rail remembering that as a resort when one isn't acting out of their own accord. Clint goes down, hard and turns to look up me, almost coming to his real senses and his eyes are greyer.
"Natasha..." Clint mumbles and I swallow coldcocking him to put him out praying that did the job.