Chapter 3- Meetings and Figuring Out
It didn't take long to go to where Fury wanted them all to meet. Natasha, Yelizaveta, and the Banners arrived minutes before Coulson arrived with Captain America. From the files the man had been asleep for 70-plus years after taking down HYDRA during the second world war. Of course Yelizaveta was dying to ask him about that era as she was fascinated with all of it. "Stow the captain's gear," they heard Coulson's voice as she and Natasha walked across the helicarrier. Coulson and a man in his 30's left the chopper and Yelizaveta could only assume it was Steve Rogers.
"Yes Sir," a crewman said.
Coulson turned to look at them. "Agents Romanoff and Markova, Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced them.
"Ma'am, kid," Rogers said, give a small dip of his head in deference.
"Hi. They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace," Yelizaveta said to Coulson.
"See you there," Coulson said, going towards the bridge.
"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon," Natasha said as they walked across the flat surface.
"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Yelizaveta asked with a small trace of humor.
"Trading cards?" Rogers asked.
"They're vintage. He's very proud," Yelizaveta said as they walked up to Banner and his son, who were looking around.
"Dr. Banner," Rogers said and the two men shook hands.
"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming," Banner said.
"They told me you can find the cube," Rogers said.
"Is that the only word on me and Jimmy?" Banner asked, indicating his son who stood next to him.
"Only word I care about," Rogers said.
"Must be strange for you, all of this," Banner said, indicating the helicarrier. A group of soldiers marched passed in perfect synch,
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," Rogers said, indicating the men.
"Gentlemen and boy, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe," Natasha said as an engine started to whir loudly.
"Flight crew, secure the deck," a voice said over an intercom.
"Is this a submarine?" Rogers asked as the ground started to shake.
"Really? They want Dad in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" James asked Yelizaveta.
"It's not what any of you think, any of it," Yelizaveta said as she, James, Banner, and Rogers went to the edge of the carrier. The turbines became visible and started to lift the carrier, a sight that always thrilled Yelizaveta.
"No, no, this is much worse," Banner said with cryptic humor and they lifted completely out of the water.
Natasha and Yelizaveta led the Banners and Rogers to the bridge where Fury and the flight crew was. Rogers, James, and Banner looked around as everyone prepped to go stealth mode. "All engines operating. S.H.I.E.L.D. Emergency Protocol 193.6 in effect," Maria Hill, Fury's assistant said where everyone could hear her.
"We're at level, Sir," a tech said to Fury who was at the helm like Kirk on Star Trek/
"Good. Let's vanish," Fury said.
"Engage retro-reflection panels," Hill said as techs pushed buttons and the ship disappeared. The bridge was visible, but the carrier itself wouldn't be seen in the sky.
"Reflection panels engaged," a tech said as Fury turned to face them.
"Gentlemen, young man," Fury said by way of greeting to Banner, Rogers, and James. Rogers looked awe-struck as he handed what looked like money to Fury. A small smile was on his face and Yelizaveta made a personal note to ask either Fury or Rogers about it. Rogers walked the length of the bridge as Fury went to Banner and James. "Doctor, thank you and your son for coming," Fury said, shaking Banner's hand.
"Thanks for asking nicely. So how long are me and my boy staying?" Banner asked.
"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind," Fury said.
"Where are you with that, Director?" Yelizaveta asked. Fury motioned to Coulson.
"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet, Vet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us," Coulson said as Natasha went to a monitor that had Clint's face on it.
"That's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha said soberly.
"You have to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" James asked Fury.
"How many are there?" Fury asked, evading the question.
"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we can rule out a few places," Banner said to Coulson, removing his jacket and looking back to Fury.
"Do you have somewhere where Dad can work?" James asked Fury.
"Agents Romanoff and Markova, could you show Doctor Banner and his son to his laboratory, please?" Fury asked and the two of them came up to the Banners.
"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys," Yelizaveta said as they walked past them to show them the lab.