Natasha sighed internally as she saw Loki through the camera feed as he was escorted down the hallways and into the detention area where he was locked in a cylindrical glass cage. Fury walked in after Loki and made his way over to a control panel before turning to Loki.
"In case it's unclear, you try to escape- you so much as scratch that glass-" Fury began pushing a button on the panel as the floor beneath the cell dropped away to nothing as the wind picked up, screaming. "-Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?
Fury asked as he pushed the button again, closing the floor.
"Ant." He said gesturing to Loki first before gesturing towards the panel. "Boot."
Not one to get intimidated by puny mortals Loki just smiled as he walked around his prison cell.
"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki smiled as Fuy scoffed to himself.
"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury retorted as Loki just smiled.
"Oh, I've heard." Loki replied turning towards the camera as Natasha rolled her eyes. Looking up she saw Banner smirking at her about the cage comment as she simply shrugged. She didn't force him to come here. He could have refused. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man... Just how desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"
"How desperate am I?" Fury asked as Loki kept agitating him as moving toward the cage slowly. "...You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."
Fury snarled in Loki's face who just looked at him for a moment before making a hurt face, mocking Fury.
"Ooh~ It burns you to have come so close, to have the Tesseract, to have power- unlimited power, and for what?" Loki asked rhetorically as he turned back toward the camera intending to spark doubts amongst the boarders. "A warm light for all mankind to share?"
Natasha through the corners of her eyes watched Hill who too was watching Loki on a screen tense up at Loki's mocking words. Natasha resisted the urge to chuckle and scoff at the same time as her suspicions turned out to be correct once again as she remembered what Peter had said about humanity.
'Somethings will never change. As peaceful and pious humans pretend to be, once given the opportunity they'd let greed grab them by their reigns to take arms and they would even spite God in his face. That's what humanity in a nutshell is. An unchanging amalgamation of deadly greed, unquenchable ambition, and a lust for power.'
Indeed.
"And then to be reminded what real power is." Loki smirked as Fury smiled through his anger deciding not to give Loki the satisfaction of getting under his skin.
"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury said as he turned around to exit but Loki decided to add in a few cents.
"Thank you, I'd love that." Loki said as Fury stopped to look back at Loki with a confused look. "I'd like the latest issue on Spider-Man."
"What-"
"You see I admire the man a bit." Loki smiled. "It would appear as though he has done a better job than me, reminding you what real power is. I heard it all from Barton and it almost makes me pity you."
"You-"
"You couldn't even take care of a mortal and yet you seem to have plenty of confidence that you can deal with a God like me?" Loki smirked, watching with pleasure as he saw Fury gritting his teeth in anger. "I had no idea that humans could be this delusional."
"Shut your damn mouth!" Fury almost yelled out as Loki faked a flinch but the shit-eating grin was a dead giveaway that he wasn't taking Fury seriously.
"Well... For that, you'll have to step inside this... rental room of mine and make me." Loki said with an easy smile as Fury's nostrils flared with rage.
"Oh... I am tempted too." Fury muttered to himself turning around to leave as Loki leaned back with satisfaction.
As much as Natasha found Loki repulsive, it was still funny to her how Fury would lose shit every time Spider-Man was mentioned.
The Helicarrier incident had traumatized Fury it would seem and that made Natasha quite happy.
Natasha sighed to herself leaning back into her chair as Steve turned the table monitor off, looking up.
"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Banner asked rhetorically as he folded his arms trying to be as nonchalant as possible but it was easy to see that it bothered him a lot.
"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked turning towards Thor.
"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor explained as he tried to process Loki's words.
"An army? From outer space?" Steve asked raising his eyebrows. The world had turned strange indeed. First Spider-Man and then this... Loki.
"So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Bruce added interrupting Steve's train of thoughts.
"Selvig?" Thor asked, perking up.
"He's an astrophysicist." Bruce replied.
"He's a friend." Thor corrected looking away.
"Loki has them under some kind of spell... Along with one of ours." Natasha replied thinking about Barton.
"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve asked as Banner shook his head.
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy on him." Banner replied making a constipated expression as he rubbed his arms awkwardly.
"Have care how you speak." Thor suddenly snarled in a threatening tone as everyone looked at him. "Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."
"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha deadpanned as Thor blinked, smiling awkwardly.
"He's adopted?" Thor half-assedly replied unsure of his own comment as Natasha scoffed.
"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the Iridium for?" Banner shook his head trying to get the team to stay on a single track as Tony and Coulson came walking in.
"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony replied before turning toward Coulson and began whispering quietly. "I'm saying, take a weekend; I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive."
Coulson smiled kindly, peeling off from Tony who turned over to Thor.
"It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony added before walking past Thor but not before patting his arm. "No hard feelings point break, you got a mean swing."
Thor just gave Tony a look as he walked to the control panels.
"Also, means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Tony offered his insights acting like a total douchebag as he turned toward the SHIELD personnels who were busy with their work. "Ah, raise the mizzen mast, ship the topsails."
The personnels gave Tony a look, not in the mood for his unfunny jokes.
"That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony announced, acting as if he owned the ship as he stood at the command area of the ship. He hummed to himself as covered his left eye. "How does Fury even see these?"
"He turns." Maria deadpanned rolling her eyes as Tony made a disgusted face.
"Sounds exhausting." Tony muttered, messing with the screens as he sneakily stuck a device to the underside of a desk monitor. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source, of high energy density. Something to kick start the Cube."
Tony finished turning around as everyone gave him a look.
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked curiously as Tony shrugged.
"Last night." Tony replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers- am I the only one who did the reading?"
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked his mind racing trying to think of Loki's plans.
"He'd have to heat the Cube to a hundred and twenty million kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum Tunneling effect." Tony added his two cents as Banner hummed.
"Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Banner replied as Tony face lit up with delight.
"Finally. Someone who speaks English." Tony said as moved in to greet Bruce
"Is that what just happened?" Steve whispered not understanding a word exchanged between the two men of science as Stark and Banner shook hands.
"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electronic collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you... lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Tony complimented on both sides of Banner's personality coin as Banner just made an awkward face.
"...Thanks." He said politely but he in fact wanted to punch Tony in the face with a big 'fuck you'. Luckily his thoughts were cut short as Fury entered the room, having calmed down a bit since his outburst at Loki in the detention room.
Spider-Man was Hazardous to his health indeed. One small exposure to him and now he lived in his mind rent-free. Fury shook off his thoughts as he circled around the desk.
"Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury said nodding towards Tony.
"I'd start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." Steve said voicing his suspicions as Fury replied rather quickly trying not to slip up.
"I don't know about that, but if it is powered by the Cube then I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury said as Thor made a confused face.
"Monkeys? I do not understand-"
"I do!" Steve interjected instantly, happy that for the first time he understood what Fury was insinuating. Steve blinked looking around as the entire room was silent, staring at Steve while Tony rolled his eyes.
(A/N: Iconic eyeroll.)
"I...I understood that reference." Steve said awkwardly as Tony turned towards Banner.
"Shall we play, Doctor?" He asked wanting to get out of here least he caught some retard germs.
"This way, sir." Banner nodded feeling the same as the two men walked off as the SHIELD personnel resumed, playing Galaga again all the while as Natasha started at the whole interaction with amusement.
'Yeah, this isn't gonna work.'
------
Banner and Stark were working on tracking the Cube as Banner scanned the scepter with a device.
"The Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process." Banner said as Stark worked on a screen.
"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops." Tony replied as he turned the dial on the screen
"All I packed was a toothbrush." Banner joked as Tony giggled a bit.
"You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You'd love it, its candy land." Tony said as Banner just made a face unsure as Tony approached him.
"Thanks but... last time I was in New York I kind of broke. Harlem." Banner replied as Tony insisted.
"Well, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises." Tony replied as he zapped Banner in the side with a device all of a sudden suprising him.
"Ow! Hey!" Banner winced, grabbing his side as he gave Tony a mixed look between curiosity and amusement.
"Nothing?" Tony asked leaning close as Steve entered the room with a big frown.
"Are you nuts?" Steve asked not amused as Tony didn't pay him much attention.
"Jury's out." Tony replied nonchalantly as Banner chuckled. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"
"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked as Tony pointed the device in his hand at him.
"Funny things are." Tony replied as Steve clenched his jaw.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve scolded Tony before turning towards Banner who began minding his own business. "No offense, Doc."
"No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Banner said as Tony smiled walking over to grab a snack.
"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony complimented Banner.
"And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark." Steve scolded Tony yet again as the man turned towards him.
"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." Tony answered simply, expressing that he was working on a lot of different layers.
"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked confused as Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man.
"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony explained and then gestured towards Banner. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?"
"Uh, Aah, I just wanna finish my work here and-" Banner tried to weasel out, as he was caught off-guarded. Tony had insight after all.
"Doctor?" Steve asked sternly as Banner sighed removing his glasses.
"'A warm light for all mankind', Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube." Banner started as Steve nodded. L
"I heard it."
"Well, I think that was meant for you." Banner said gesturing towards Stark, who offered him blueberries. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."
"The Stark Tower? That big ugly-" Steve began stopping midway realizing his mistake as Stark gave him a warning/amused look. "-building in New York?"
"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Banner asked as Tony shrugged swallowing the blueberry.
"It's just the prototype." Tony replied as he turned towards Steve. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at."
"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?" Banner asked even more questions as Steve hummed to himself in thought. "And then Loki's comment on Spider-Man... I think Loki knows something we don't about Fury and I think it might be related to Spider-Man as well."
"I should probably look into that as soon as my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files." Tony said as he walked towards a hanging screen.
"I'm sorry did you say-" Steve asked shocked as Tony cut him short.
"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." Tony informed before him as he offered Rogers the snack as well. "Blueberry?"
"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around." Steve scoffed as Tony rolled his eyes.
"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome." Tony retorted tooting his own horn.
"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed." Steve said in a final tone. "We have orders, we should follow them."
"Following's not really my style." Tony declined which seemed to anger Steve a bit.
"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked insulting Tony who didn't take it personally.
"Out of the people in this room, which one is "A" wearing a spangly outfit and "B" not of use?" Tony asked flipping his insult right back at Steve who was about to retort.
"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Banner asked Steve not allowing him to retort.
Steve clenched his teeth before huffing and walking away.
"Just find the Cube." He said exiting the lab before pausing in his step. He turned, the gears in his head spinning as he walked off in another direction.
Looking around to see if anyone was around, Steve acted quickly and forced open the entrance to a storage room; the conversation he had with Tony and Banner still bothered him. He looked around then silently jumped up to a catwalk as he walked above.
------
Loki who was pacing in his cell smirked turning around as Natasha walked up behind him.
"Hm. There are not many people that can sneak up on me." Loki complimented which Natasha promptly ignored.
"But you figured I'd come." Natasha said as Loki smiled.
"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate." Loki said, unafraid.
"I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton." Natasha stated as Loki hummed in interest.
"I'd say I've expanded his mind." Loki answered simply.
"And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?" Natasha asked further as Loki smirked.
"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?" Loki asked as Natasha scoffed to herself.
"Love is for children. I owe him a debt." She said but she mused internally. 'But that is a different matter if it's Peter. Oh, deary~ Such a charmer. Ugh... I just want to see him again.'
"Tell me." Loki almost ordered turning around as Natasha made a mocking face behind his back.
"Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh- well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call." Natasha began choosing her words carefully as she tried to pry out as much as information she could out of him.
"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki asked.
"Not let you out." She said. That was for sure.
"Ah, no. But I like this." Loki smirked as he looked at her. "Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"
"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian, or I was." Natasha replied honestly. She felt that, if SHEILD were to burn down today, she wouldn't be sad, in fact, she would be quite ecstatic.
"And what are you now?" Loki asked as Natasha stood up.
"It's really not that complicated. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out." Natasha said simply as Loki slowly stood up in an intimidating manner.
"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child, a prayer. Pathetic." Loki snarled as he approached her. "You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away."
Loki slammed his fist against the glass as Natasha jumped back, flinching.
"I won't touch Barton! Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way, he knows you fear." Natasha acted as if she was scared out of her mind as she turned away from Loki in horror. "And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"
Natasha sobbing faked a sob or two suppressing a giggle as her head hung low.
"You're a monster." Natasha sobbed out as Loki grinned menacingly.
"Oh, no. You brought the monster." He said and Natasha rolled her eyes, lifting her head as she turned to face Loki with a dry face.
'What an idiot.' Natasha smiled "So, Banner? That's your play."
"What?" Loki asked confused about how his secret got out as Natasha began to exit the room.
"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." Natasha said into her earpiece before stopping and turning to face Loki. "Thank you, for your cooperation."
"Dumbass."
Natasha then skimmed off before she could see Loki rage to himself.
------
Fury entered the wishbone lab as he approached Stark and Banner.
"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" Fury asked trying not the blow Tony's brains out.
"Uh-yeah, kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony replied sitting on top of a desk as he looked at a screen.
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." Fury emphasized as he tried to distract them so that his team could counter Tony's hack.
"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." Banner said gesturing towards the tracker as Tony smiled.
"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss." Tony said before the screen in front of him lit up as Tony hummed not surprised. "What is Phase Two?"
"Phase Two is SHIELD using the Cube to make weapons." Steve entered as he slammed a large HYDRA gun on the table before turning towards Tony. "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."
"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're-" Fury tried to diffuse the situation before it could get any worse but Tony had different plans.
"I'm sorry, Nick." Tony said turning the screen towards Fury which showed a plan for a Tessaract-powered particle missile. "What were you lying?"
"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said, angry and disappointed as Thor and Natasha entered the room. Banner looks at Natasha who stared at the screen and internally smirked to herself.
"Did you know about this?" Banner asked Natasha shook her head.
"I had no idea but you might wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha stated as Banner laughed.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." Banner retorted as Natasha scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Loki's manipulating you with his magic." Natasha stated as Banner scoffed, the effects of Loki's magic kicking in and affecting everyone in the room. Natasha felt a headache but she resisted it rather easily as Banner narrowed his eyes at her.
"And you've been doing what exactly?"
"I don't know any magic." Natasha deadpanned.
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." Banner retorted as he turned towards the screen "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."
"Because of him." Fury said pointing his finger at Thor who just looked confused.
"Me?"
"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly- hilariously, out-gunned." Fury explained as Tony scoffed.
"That's some bullshit."
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor said as Fury turned towards him.
"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 added.
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked in disbelief as Fury sighed.
"Your 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 said, not believing that they were trying to make him the scapegoat of all this mess.
"A higher form?!" Steve asked, dreading what that could mean.
"You forced our hand! We had to come up with some-" Fury began as Tony scoffed once again.
"Nuclear deterrent. Cause that always calms everything right down." Tony said as everyone became hostile, cutting each other off.
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asked mockingly as Steve rushed to his defense.
"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-"
"The fortune I got was from my father and remind me, Nick, where did he get that from? And where did most of that fortune go? Oh, right~ Building the schlong that you are so proudly waving around." Stark hissed. "I made weapons but once I learned my lesson in that dark, dirty cave in Afghanistan, what did I do? Also, remind me who was the most upset that I stopped supplying weapons to them? That wasn't you right?"
"That's not the point-"
"No, Fury. The point is that if a 'self-obsessed asshole' like me can learn from his mistakes then why can't a war veteran like you learn from what you have seen firsthand?" Tony asked as he got into Fury's face.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor stated narrowing his eyes as everyone began arguing once again.
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury asked accusing as Thor chuckled.
"Tis your champion." Thor declared.
"YOU'RE NOT MY CHAMPION!" Fury retorted.
"Well, S.H.I.E.L.D monitors potential threats." Natasha added her two cents, adding more fuel to the fire. At this point, she was just going to kick back and enjoy the show.
"What? We are threats? You furious? I'm furious!" Tony joked looking at Thor and Steve as Banner looked at Natasha.
"And Captain America is on the threat poll?" Banner ashed as Natasha shrugged.
"That's not your concern doctor!" Fury interjected not letting Natasha speak as they continue arguing over one another as the scepter glowed strongly.
"You're on that list, Cap. How does that make you feel? Are you above or below angry bees?" Tony asked as Steve glared at Tony.
"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack-" Steve started as Tony exclaimed dramatically.
"You're a threat. VERBAL THREAT! I FEEL THREATENED!"
------
On a screen in the jet is Loki's scepter as the men inside men who work for Loki put on masks and load their weapons while Barton readies his bow.
"Transport six-six-five-oh. Please relay your form code. Got you on the computer but not on the data log. What is your haul? Over." A female voice asked over the intercom as the jet approached the Helicarrier.
"Arms to ammunition. Over." The pilot responded as the ramp opened and Barton nocked an arrow, and took aim before letting it loose. The arrow swung in the air and attached to the side of one of the carrier's enormous engines and it started flashing.
------
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos!" Thor said to Fury as Banner chuckled.
"It's his MO, 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 said getting more and more agitated.
"You need to step away." Fury said as Tony put his hand on Steve's shoulder.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked as Steve smacked his hand away.
"You know damn well why! Back off!" Steve yelled at Tony, who just made a face and got into his face.
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony said, egging Steve on.
"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve asked not backing down.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." But Tony had an answer.
(A/N: And a damn good one.)
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. 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 said trying to cut into Tony, who was unbothered.
"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony responded as Steve laughed.
"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero." Steve said as Tony just made a face.
"A hero, like you?" Tony scoffed as pointed a finger at Steve. "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."
(A/N: It's been a decade and this is still the harshest burn in MCU yet.)
"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Steve smirked, pissed off.
"You people are so petty, and tiny." Thor chuckled at the absurdity of the situation.
"Yeah, this is a team." Banner scoffed.
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" Fury shook his head, as he tried to end the situation.
"WHERE? YOU RENTED MY ROOM!" Banner said, clearly frustrated.
"The cell was just-" Fury tried to explain but Banner wasn't having any of it.
"IN CASE YOU NEEDED TO KILL ME. BUT YOU CAN'T, I KNOW, I TRIED!" He stopped as everyone stared at him. "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. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"
'I don't think I wanna know.'
Everyone was watching Banner as Fury suddenly reached for his gun.
"Doctor Banner, put down the scepter." Steve said, calmly not wanting to aggravate Banner any further.
Banner blinked looking down, surprised, to see the spear in his hand. He was about to say something but then the monitor made a noise, signaling the Tesseract has been located. Banner put the scepter back on the table as he walked over to the screen on the other side of the room.
"Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my party trick after all." Banner said as Tony tried to get ready to suit up.
"Located the Tesseract?" Tony asked. "I can get there faster."
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it." Thor warned as Steve turned to hold Stark back from leaving.
"You're not going alone!" Steve said as Tony smacked his hand away.
"You gonna stop me?" Tony threatened but Steve wasn't willing to back down.
"Put on the suit, let's find out." Said Steve simply.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man." Tony warned once against it.
"Put on the suit." Steve said again.
"Oh-my-god" Banner said suddenly as he saw something on the monitor.
------
Barton kneeled down and pressed a button on his bow as the arrowhead attached to the Helicarrier exploded as the blast destroyed one of the engines.
------
Everyone in the lab flew in different directions due to the explosion which impacted them directly. Fury and Thor fell to the ground behind a table while Tony and Steve were blown to the entryway as Banner and Natasha flew out of the Wishbone lab and crashed into the lower equipment room.
Steve and Tony scramble to their feet shaking their heads as Steve held Tony up.
"Put on the suit!" Steve said as Tony nodded.
"Yep." Tony responded as they both ran out of the lab.
------
The whole Helicarrier was in chaos. Probably for the first time since their last unfortunate encounter with Spider-Man. People were running around, yelling at each other and grabbing guns while the monitors beeped wildly. The SHIELD Techs were panicking while the SHIELD Agents were gearing up and running to their stations.
"All hands engaged." Said a voice over the intercom as Fury sat up, groaning.
"Hill!" Fury said into the earpiece as Hill who was standing in her command area responded as she looked at a screen.
"Number Three engine is down."
"We've been hit!" Responded a female tech support as Hill ran over to the bridge tech's station.
"Did we get a run-in? Talk to me." Hill said the support responded frantically.
"We got a fire in Engine Three. The line looks mostly intact but it's impossible to get out there to make repairs while we're in the air."
"We lose one more engine we won't be." Hill said with concern. "Somebody's gotta get outside and patch that engine."
"Stark, you copy that?" Fury said into his earpiece.
"I'm on it." Tony responded.
"Coulson, initiate a defensive lockdown in the contingent center. Then get to the armory." Fury ordered as Coulson complied without a word.
"Romanoff!" Fury called out but didn't get a response.
------
Natasha's groaned shaking her head as she pulled her leg from under a very large pipe while Banner was in the corner spazzing out, his body moving in a very wired manner.
"I'm Okay." She said into her earpiece as She looked over to Banner, who was breathing heavily, having landed hard. He was gripping the grated flooring to maintain control, but his eyes were already green.
"I'm gonna okay, right?" Natasha muttered to herself quietly, unsure of her own words.
------
Barton and his men landed and made their way across the deck and over to an air vent as Barton signaled his men to kick in the vent and they do so kicking the grating in and they jump down as Barton gave them orders.
"Keep that engine down." He said to three of his men before turning to the other two. "Detention, wait for the camera to go dark and you two stay close."
------
In the dimly lit arms room, Natasha was beside Bruce trying to calm him down.
"Doctor? Banner, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. You are gonna be okay. Listen to me." She said softly to the groaning Banner as two maintenance workers ran in.
"You hurt?" Asked the first one but Natasha quitely shooed them away.
"You are gonna be okay. Don't listen to Loki, you have to calm down-"
"Calm down?!" Banner said his voice changing into a deep guttural one as the bitter amusement morphed into to a growled threat.
Banner began to transform into the Hulk, tearing the shirt off his body, he threw himself away from Romanoff, who looked unnerved as he turned to look at her, before fully transforming -- just as the lights went out.
"Ah, shit." Natasha cursed as she pulled out the special tranquilizer Peter had given her.
With the transformation complete, the Hulk got to his feet unsteadily and roared before he turned to look at Natasha, who turned and started running up the catwalk stairs and gave her a chase.
She swung over a catwalk, and rolled under a turbine, as the Hulk tore down the stairs. Natasha jumped through small places as the Hulk grabbed after her, roaring loudly while she crawled away the under the pipes.
"Please don't make me do it, Bruce." She muttered running away from Hulk who frantically looked around her.
------
In his cell, Loki heard the Hulk roar which made him smirk to himself.
"All that hassle and bustle for what? Not even a fight this was. My plans played out just fine the way I had predicted them to."
"Amuse me more, mortals."
------
The place was dark as Natasha sneaked under an engine hiding from the Hulk. Hearing the heavy footsteps, she pulls up her gun, holding it ready as she moved out from the pips and walked away.
Suddenly, the Hulk jumped at her, roaring but Romanoff's reflexes kicked in, making her fire at a pipe over his head causing the gas to shoot out, temporarily blinding the Hulk.
She ran through a narrow passage as the Hulk crashed through the install behind her as he gained on her. Just as was about to run off the passage Hulk raised his arm to backhand her against a wall but Natasha slid on her knees, spinning on her knees she turned around as she fired two bullets from the tranquilizer gun. The bullets opened revealing two darts that easily penetrated Hulk's hide and lodged themselves into his skin, injecting the red serum that was inside.
Slamming against the wall Natasha, she slide came to a halt. Cornered she prayed for it to work and just as Hulk raised his fist to splatter her like a meat party. He suddenly stopped, unable to move as his skin pulsed. Red veins began bulging as Hulk fell to his knees, trying to get the darts off his skin.
Just as Hulk was about to power down into Banner, the Hulk managed to pull the darts off his skin and he was more pissed than ever.
But it gave Natasha enough window of survival, as Thor came flying and crashed into Hulk taking him with him.
Still against the wall, Natasha breathed out a high sigh of relief as she looked at the tranquilizer gun in her hand and kissed it.
"I love you so much, Peter."
------
The Thor and Hulk rolled into a docking area where planes were kept as the personnel began to run from the room at the sight of the Hulk. Getting to their feet the two circled one another, as the Hulk struck first, throwing wild punches but Thor ducked down and landed a heavy hook to his face. Hulk snarled in anger, bringing his hands down as Thor held it back but the weight of the attack make his knees buckle under him.
"We're not your enemies, Banner! Try to think!" Thor said but Hulk was beyond reason at this point as he punched Thor across the room and through a container.
Thor flew threw some stacked containers, sliding across the floor on one knee and a leg out. He wiped the little blood from his nose as the Hulk roared but instead of scaring Thor it seemed to excite him even more as Thor looked up with a grin, raising his hand.
Mjolnir came flying through the docking area and Thor caught it just as the Hulk charged through towards him. Swing the hammer, he hit him across the jaw sending him into a plane.
Shaking his head, the disoriented Hulk got up and ripped the wing off the plane, flinging it at Thor, who ducked under it causing the wing to hit a jeep. Thor threw the Mjolnir at the beast as the Hulk caught the hammer but it pulled backward to the floor instead. Hulk threw a hissy fit trying to lift the hammer off the ground but couldn't even make it bulge as Thor picked it up and wrapped his arms around the Hulk's neck.
Hulks tried to swing Thor off his back as their fight only escalated damaging more and more of the docking area.
------
Fury was now at the controls as Hill walked across the room.
"We need full evac on the lower hangar bed." Fury ordered as Hill nodded, signaling some agents to follow her only for a small device rolls over to their feet.
"GRENADE!" Maria yelled as realization hit her with an explosion that sent her and the agents flying. Through the smoke, Loki's men entered holding their guns at the ready. Fury who took cover behind a wall knocked one out, then using his gun he shot at another one. While taking care of the one-third, a fourth man entered and is about to fire at Fury, a bleeding and pissed-off Hill shot him in the back of his head.
The Helicarrier began to shake violently as Hulk and Thor continued to battle each other. Their strikes getting more and more powerful and as a result, the Helicarrier was being shredded from the inside.
Fury, Hill, and other agents began shooting ahead as more and more of Loki's men began pouring into the control room to take over the command of the place which threw the room into utter chaos.
"We've got the Hulk and Thor on Research Level Four. Levels Two and Three are gone!" A support warned over the intercom as Hill turned towards Fury.
"Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart!" Hill said as Fury nodded grimly.
"Get his attention." Fury commanded as Hill grabbed her earpiece
"Escort 6-Oh, proceed to Wishbone and engage hostile. Don't get too close! Warning, don't get too close!" Hill said as a pilot manned a jet and took off the Helicarrier flying around the Helicarrier and to where Hulk and Thor were fighting, seemingly evenly matched.
"Target acquired. Target engaged." He stated as he pressed for fire as his guns turned toward the Hulk. The barrage of bullets bounced off of the Hulk, not hurting him, but pissing him off instead. He roared running at the window and crashed through it, leaping at the jet. "Target angry! Target angry!"
Hulk landed on the nose of the jet and began tearing at the metal as the jet began to swerve in the air. The pilot tried to eject himself but the Hulk grabbed him and threw him off to the side but luckily the pilot's parachute opened Savin his ass while the plane exploded, sending Hulk plummeting to the earth.
------
Back at the control room, the fight continued as Fury kept shooting at the enemies.
"They are not getting through here so what the-" Fury muttered to himself in thought and his questions were answered as Barton peeked out of an opening above them and fired arrows from which exploded upon impact disorienting the defending SHIELD agents. He then fired another arrow which hits the control panel but before he could do more damage Fury spotted him and began to shoot in his direction. The arrow, having hit a plug, hacked the helicarrier systems, which caused a second engine to malfunction and die off.
"Engine One is now in shutdown!" A tech support said over the intercom as the helicarrier began to tilt dangerously causing everyone on the bridge to roll towards the downwards slope.
"Sir, we've lost all power in Engine One!" A tech support said as Natasha who had just finished dealing with a few of Loki's men slowly lifted a hand to her earpiece.
"It's Barton, he took out our systems. He's headed for the detention lab. Does anybody copy?" Fury asked as Natasha closed her eyes taking a deep breath before nodding to herself.
"This is Agent Romanoff. I copy." Natasha answered as she headed towards the detention lab ready to face Barton.
Soon she spotted Barton walking along a passage catwalk as Natasha sneaking stalked her but true to Barton's merit he noticed her behind him and he quickly turned and shot an arrow which flew past her as she pushed his hand away.
He charged at her and she kicked him before rolling underneath some pipes, before popping up on the other side of the catwalk gaining the jump on him and kicking him in the knee. He shot another arrow, which she dodged by dropping across to the next passage as Barton growled following her.
They continued their fight along that catwalk and the fight is very even as Barton tried hitting her with the bow but she pulled on the string. They exchanged some more blows before Natasha took away his bow which prompted Barton to pull out his military knife.
Barton stabbed towards Natasha, who grabbed his arm and thrusts it back at him. He groaned throwing the dagger to his free hand trying to stab her with it but Natasha managed to grab that hand too but Barton utilized his superior physical strength and hoisted her against a wall.
Barton grabbed Natasha's hair and pulled it back, exposing her neck to his dagger. Romanoff snarled sinking her teeth into his arm and he lets go due to the unexpected pain, as he tried to force her down she spun, throwing Barton into the railing. He fell to the ground, groaning, and after a few moments of staggering he looked up.
"Natasha?..." He muttered as Natasha simply smiled before grabbing his hair and knees him in the face.
"Next time... Don't touch my hair." She said looking at the unconscious Barton.
------
Thor ran into the room where Loki was contained and he arrived on time to see the door slide up. He roared running over to Loki and leaped trying to grab him, only to go straight through him and into the cell. He quickly got back to his feet, realization hitting him like a freight train as Loki reappeared behind him and closed the door, locking Thor inside.
"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki asked but instead of answering, Thor hit the cage with his hammer which made a crack in the glass but then it began to shake off the bolts as it shuddered.
"The humans think us immortal." Loki laughed as he made his way over to the control panel. "Shall we test that?"
Loki moved to open the chute beneath the cell, intending on dropping Thor to, what for any regular person, would be certain death.
"Move away please." Suddenly said Coulson who appeared behind Loki wielding a large prototype Phase Two weapon. Loki raised his hands stepping back from the panel as Coulson gestured to the gun. "Do you like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"
Coulson prepares to fire the weapon when Loki suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind him as he thrust the point of his spear through Coulson's chest.
(A/N: That's you do as Wade says, shoot first then ask questions later.)
"NO!" Thor screamed in rage while Coulson gasped in horror and pain as he dropped to the floor.
Loki smirked to himself returning to the panel and opening the chute below. Loki waved at Thor, mockingly before pressing the button which sent the cell, and Thor in it, off the ship to crash down onto the dirt below.
Dusting his hands off for a job well done, Loki turned to leave for the next phase of his plan as he walked past Coulson who slumped against the wall on the floor.
"You're going to lose." Coulson said suddenly as Loki stopped mid-step, turning around to look at Coulson with an amused look.
"Am I?" Loki asked gesturing towards the chute where Thor had fallen to his apparent death.
"It's in your nature." Coulson flashed Loki a smug smile that seemed to irk Loki as it scratched against his ego. "To lose."
"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?" Loki asked making a fair argument but Coulson did not need to rack his brain for an answer as he was simply stalling him.
"You lack conviction." Coulson smiled yet again, his fingers around the trigger which Loki didn't notice in a fit of rage.
"I don't think I-" Loki began but his speech was cut short as Coulson fired the weapon, which shot a ray of fire similar to that of the Destroyer, which sent Loki flying through a wall.
"So that's what it does." Coulson muttered to himself, happy that he caught a 'God slippin'.
------
All of this occurred while the helicarrier was still falling as Iron Man attempted to kick start the engine by manually moving the huge rotors. He was pushing the blades, flying faster and faster until they start spinning on their own and the ship leveled off, no longer falling.
"Cap hit the lever!" Tony urged trapped within the spinning blades as the blades were gaining on him meanwhile Captain America was a bit busy hanging onto his dear life on the side of the ship as he tightly clutched the power cord.
"I need a minute here!" Steve managed to wheeze out as he tried to climb up.
"Lever! Now!" Iron Man said as he was pushed back up against one of the rotors, now spinning too fast for him to escape. "Uh-oh."
Iron Man was sucked into the blades and was spun around wildly before Cap finally managed to pull the lever and he was able to fly out. He managed to right himself and flew back to the ship, taking out the gunman that was shooting at Cap.
------
Coulson was bleeding out against the wall as Fury entered the room and knelt beside him.
"I'm sorry boss. They got rabbited." Coulson said with an apologetic smile as Fury grimaced looking at the gaping wound in Coulson's chest.
"Just stay awake. Eyes on me." Fury said as he grabbed his hand to check on his nerves which were slowly diminishing.
"Oh, I'm clockin' out here." Coulson smiled as Fury shook his head.
"Not an option. That's an order, agent." Fury ordered his lips quivering slightly as Coulson patted his hand.
"It's okay, boss. This was never gonna work- if they didn't have something to-" Before Coulson could say anything further, Natasha pushed Nick aside and injected Coulson with a stim.
"Alright, Phil. You have said enough." Natasha said as the blue chemical began to circulate in Phil's system. Phil began to gasp, the color on his pale face somewhat returned as Fury just watched the whole interaction in bafflement.
"What... What the hell are you doing Agent Romanoff?! You-"
"Saving your top agent's life, Director." Natasha said as she pulled out a spray can and removed its lid after giving it a shake. She took out a knife and cut Phil's shirt, revealing the bleeding wound. She sprayed a chemical that solidified like foam after coming in contact with the open wound. She turned Phil over and gave him the same treatment, nodding in satisfaction as the medical team arrived just in time. "You should be thanking me, Boss."
"Agent Romanoff what... What treatment did you give Agent Coulson." The head paramedic asked as he inspected Phil.
"It's a new procedure taught me by a friend of mine." Natasha said as Fury gave her a look. "It's been tested and it's only for emergency. What I gave Phil is an emergency treatment, he won't survive if we don't give him adequate treatment as soon as possible."
"What are you saying-"
"She is right director." The head paramedic said shaking his head. "Agent Coulson won't survive without the proper treatment. And seeing just how badly his internal organs and spine have been severed, I doubt there is a proper treatment-"
"There is." Natasha said as Nick looked at her with a look. "I know a guy who can treat Phil."
"Well, then let's get the Jet ready-"
"But there is a condition." Natasha said as Fury glared at her.
"A condition, Natasha?! Right now-"
"The condition isn't mine to make. It has already been made." Natasha said not backing down. "Director if you want to save Phil's life then you should know that we can't do this the way we always do. We can't barge in and demand them to heal Phil because they will refuse and neither we nor the government will be able to force them to perform the treatment otherwise. This is AfterLife Foundation I am talking about."
"You, you have a contact?" Fury asked narrowing his eyes as Natasha nodded. "Why didn't you-"
"Director, now is not the time." Hill who had been standing behind Fury quitely all this time decided to speak up as she looked at the unconscious Phil with teary eyes.
"It's up to you Boss, do you want to take a gamble where there is a chance that someone I know and trust might save Phil's life or risk it, squander the chance off because of your paranoia?" Natasha said as she stood her ground. "It's up to you."
Fury started at Natasha with a stern glare before he looked down at Phil.
"Please... Nick." Hill muttered as Fury finally gave in.
"Goddamnit! Alright, just get the jet ready and make sure Coulson gets treatment as soon as possible." Fury said as he walked away as Natasha sighed to herself.
"Agent Hill, I will need you to fly the jet to the AfterLife HQ in New York." Natasha said as she pulled out her phone.
"You are not coming?" She asked as she ordered the paramedic to help Phil into a jet and then ordered to load him into one of the quinjets.
"Nah, I still have to deal with Barton. And besides that." Natasha said as she looked down at her phone as she texted Peter. "I have to give my contact a heads-up..."
'I just hope that he doesn't get mad at me.'
------
Tony stood overlooking where the cylindrical glass cage used to be as Steve followed entering the room his eyes glancing at the blood that was on the floor and wall where Coulson was slumped over.
"Is he married?" Steve asked shaking Tonu out of his thoughts. Tony looked at him and shook his head, playing it off.
"No. There is a uh-cellist, I think." Tony replied.
"He seems like a good man." Steve said as Tony just made a face. "There is still a chance we can save him-"
"He is an idiot." Tony said shrugging it off as he and Steve slowly moved toward each other.
"Why? For believing?" Steve asked as Tony shook his head.
"For taking on Loki alone." Tony stated as Steve looked at Stark with a stern look.
"He was doing his job." Steve retorted.
"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have-" Tony began, ranting trying to hide his anxiety regarding Coulson's wellbeing.
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Steve cut him off as Tony smirked mockingly.
"Right. How did that work for him?" Tony joked walking past Steve, who turned around to face Tony.
"Is this the first time you've almost lost a soldier?" Steve asked as Tony spun sharply on his heel, his nostrils flaring with rage as he got into Steve's face.
"We are not soldiers!" Tony yelled at Steve before he realized his outburst as he quickly looked away. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."
"Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list-" Steve began but Tony tuned him out looking down at the place Coulson fell and there was a dent in the wall.
"He made it personal." Tony said suddenly as Steve gave him a confused look.
"That's not the point." Steve said but Tony insisted.
"That is the point." Tony argued. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"
"To tear us apart." Steve stated the obvious as Tony nodded.
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great but- he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." Tony said as it all began to make sense to him little by little.
"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart." Steve agreed with Stark on something for the first time.
"Yeah. That's just previews, this is- this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He hants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered..." Steve gave him a look of anticipation as Tony suddenly drifted off as it finally hit him.
"Son of a bitch."
------
"Oh, Nat how could I ever get mad at you." Peter muttered to himself with a grin on his face as he stood on top of the HQ building as he watched the quinjet land.
Peter was dressed sharply in a silk white shirt, black pants, and shoes as well as a dark shade of sunglasses. Besides the expensive-looking clothes, he also sported a new hairstyle cut that suited his wild temperament quite well.
Standing beside him were Susan Storm and Helen Cho with one holding his jacket and the other holding a tablet that contained the new patient's medical information that SHEILD had sent ahead of the patient's arrival.
"Agent Hill, it's a pleasure to meet you." Peter said as he approached the beautiful, yet roughed-up shield agent with an easy-going smile. "I've heard a lot of myths about you."
"Mr. Parker... You... You are Agent Romanoff's contact?!" Hill asked after she got over her initial surprise as she tried to process the new look of the world's youngest billionaire.
The man had changed significantly since his last public appearance. A lot taller and muscular to a degree that not even his clothes were able to hide his robust frame.
"You would be correct." Peter smiled as the paramedic got Phil's stretcher off the Quinjet.
"You can... Is it true that you can help treat Phil?" Hill asked hopefully as Peter grinned.
"Yes, we are confident that we can." Peter nodded. "Ms. Cho, Please take the patient away. Ah-ah, I am afraid you fine gentlemen can't go with him I'm afraid. You see, the method we are using is something the world has never seen before. It's that sophisticated and advanced, so I'm sure you can understand where we are coming from."
"Stand down." Hill ordered the agents as Peter smiled at Hill as his pheromones passively calmed down Hill's anxiety and suspicions. "We will trust you with Phil's well-being then."
"You are in a rough condition as well, Agent Hill. I hope you can stay for a couple of minutes more so that we can patch you up to your peak appearance, not that I mind the current one." Peter flirted harmlessly causing Hill to smile despite herself as Susan just rolled her eyes while Cho just giggled to herself.
"I... I would love to but I'm afraid I can't stay." Hill frowned as Peter smiled nonetheless. "I'm sorry-"
"No, no. That's fine. Something pretty interesting is about to happen, it would seem." Peter said as Hill raised an eyebrow before turning to where Peter was looking at as she saw Iron Man fly by towards the Stark Tower. "I suppose, we all are going to be quite busy."
"Welp, this ought to be fun."
------
Alternative Titles:
- Avengers: Disassemble... Already?
- Natasha Is a Bae
- Peter 'Healer' Parker
------
Next Chapter: 'Healing' Maria *wink**wink*
Just kidding, they just meet.
Anyways, there is your chapter and holy shit it's 1000k words long. I really outdid myself in this one.
Well, it's the same mostly but I had to right most of the scenes because of the few minor tweaks I have made to my liking otherwise it would have been the same shit and the only thing different would have been the final battle which would have resulted in a boring arc.
Anyways, in the next chapter. The battle for NY finally starts and She-Hulk, Invisible Woman, Ghost-Spider, Punisher, Deadpool, Wraith, and a certain someone would join the battlefield. So, we won't be focusing much on the Avenger's side of the battle since we already know how that goes, and instead will focus on Spidey's family.
Anyways, someone asked me for a good movie recommendation so that they can wash off the emasculation they contracted from She-Hulk and so here you go.
Ghost (Patrick Swayze), Driver (starring Ryan Gosling), American Psycho (Christian Bale), Fight Club (Edward Norton & Brad Pitt), Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and Inferno (Tom Hanks), Donnie Darko and Southpaw (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Scream 1996/2022 (Neve Campbell). These are easily some of my favorite films of all time and they are good cinema (something we sorely need these days.) Feel free to leave your suggestions down below and your thoughts in the comments.
Anyways, I'll see you in the next one.
P.S: Thanks for 3M+ Views! Love you all!