Chapter Text
The train's whistle echoes, its chugging sound steadily decreasing as it vanishes into the distance. Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a building still under construction stands ominously.
Inside, Georgi Luchkov, a hefty Russian general, looms with his two thugs. The tall thug backhands Natasha's face. She winces in pain, refusing to break. Luchkov's lips curl into a cruel smile as he approaches her.
"This is not how I wanted thisxevening to go." He says, voice dripping with false concern.
"I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me... this is better." Natasha retorts.
Luchkov's face hardens. "Who are you working for? Lermentov, yes?"
The tall thug grabs the back of Natasha's chair, balancing it precariously on the edge of an open floor. Nervousness flashes acrossher face, but she quickly suppresses it.
Luchkov continues, "Does he think we have to go through him to move our cargo?"
Natasha, regains her composure, replying coolly, "I thought General Solohob is in charge of the export business."
"Solohob... a bagman, a front," Luchkov scoffs. "Your outdated information betrays you. The famous Black Widow... and she turns out to be simply another pretty face."
"You really think I'm pretty?"
Luchkov's eyes narrow as he slowly walks over to a table laden with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers, the metal glinting in the dim light. The tall thug forcefully opens her mouth wide.
"Tell Lermentov we don't need him to move the tanks. Tell him he's out. Well..." Luchkov switches to English, his voice dripping with malice, "you may have to write it down."
Suddenly, a phone rings, cutting through the tension. The weaselly thug answers it, then hesitantly holds it out to Luchkov.
"It's for her," he says, confusion evident in his voice.
Luchkov, irritated by the interruption, snatches the phone and growls, "You listen carefully-"
"You're at 1-14 Silensky Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F-22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone, or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby."
Luchkov, visibly shaken, hands the phone to Natasha.
"We need you to come in," Coulson says.
"Are you kidding? I'm working!"
"This takes precedence."
"I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything."
The thugs exchange glances with Luchkov.
"I don't give everything," Luchkov interjects, his bravado faltering.
Natasha gives him a look that says, 'Are you sure about that?' before continuing her conversation. "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now."
Coulson's voice turns grave. "Natasha... Barton's been compromised."
A flicker of concern crosses Natasha's face. "Let me put you on hold."
She nods to Luchkov, who reaches for the phone. Immediately, Natasha kicks him between the legs, and headbutts him, he drops to the floor. The weaselly thug jumps to his feet, but Natasha is faster. She rolls with the chair, dropping its legs on his feet. She whips her head at him, breaking his nose, then swiftly trips him.
As she engages the tall thug in combat, Coulson listens to the sounds of the fight over the phone. He stands quietly, waiting as he hears the groaning, kicking, and punching. Natasha springboards off the tall thug's back, somersaults, and breaks the chair on the weaselly thug. The tall thug grabs her, but she bends his hand and strikes him with the chair leg. She executes a front dropkick against the tall thug, then pushes herself off the ground with both hands.
With graceful ferocity, Natasha runs toward the out-of-breath tall thug and flips him with her thighs. Luchkov is still struggling to his feet when she grabs a chain hanging from the ceiling, strikes him with it, wraps one of his legs, and unceremoniously throws him into the pit, leaving him dangling upside down. Calmly, she picks up the cell phone and her high heels.
"Where's Barton now?" Natasha asks, her voice steady despite the exertion.
"We don't know."
"But he's alive?"
"We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back, but first we need you to talk to the big guy."
"Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me."
"Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy."
Natasha stops in her tracks, a look of shock crossing her face as she glances back.
"Bozhe moi," she mutters under her breath.
___
A young girl sprints across a busy street, her small form weaving through a crowded alleyway. She bursts into a house and races up the stairs, desperation evident in every movement.
"Who are you? Get out! There is sickness here!" a Calcutta woman shouts, her voice tinged with fear and concern.
The little girl, panting and panicked, pleads, "Are you the doctor? I need a doctor. My father... My father's not waking up! He has a fever and he's moaning but his eyes won't open!"
Banner, hearing the commotion, approaches the young girl and kneels before her, his voice calm and reassuring. "Slow down..."
"My father-" the girl begins, but Banner gently interrupts.
"Like them?" He points to the sick people in the house. The young girl nods, her hand shaking as she holds up a wad of cash.
"Please..." she begs, her eyes wide with fear.
They leave the house, the girl rushing ahead while Banner follows. He grabs her arm, slowing her down as a truck drives by. They cross the dirt road, the girl sprinting into a dilapidated shack. Banner follows. As he enters, he sees the girl escaping through the window. The realization that he's been set up dawns on him.
"Should have got paid up front, Banner," he mutters to himself, a wry smile playing on his lips.
Suddenly, a voice emerges from behind a curtain. "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress..."
Natasha reveals herself, her posture relaxed but alert. Banner sets his bag down, his voice tinged with irony. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret."
"Then what is it? Yoga?" She quips.
Banner's eyes dart around the room as he replies, "And you brought me to the edge of the city. Smart." He peeps through the window, adding, "I- uh- I assume the whole place is surrounded."
Natasha removes her scarf, her demeanor casual. "Just you and me."
"And your actress buddy? She a spy too? They start that young?"
"I did," Natasha admits.
"Who are you?"
"Natasha Romanoff."
Banner's voice takes on a harder edge. "Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? 'Cause that's not going to work out for everyone."
"No, no. Of course not," Natasha assures him. "I'm here on behalf of SHIELD."
"SHIELD," Banner repeats, a touch of anger in his voice. "How'd they find me?"
"We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent."
"Why?"
"Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in."
"What if I say no?"
Natasha's smile is both stern and challenging. "I'll persuade you."
"And what if the... Other Guy says no?" Banner asks, a note of reluctance in his voice.
"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want to break that streak."
Banner pushes at an old wooden cradle, its creaking filling the silence. "Well, I don't every time get what I want."
"Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe."
Banner chuckles, "Oh, those I actively try to avoid."
Natasha takes a seat, pulling out a cell phone. "This is the Tesseract," she says, sliding the phone across the table. The screen displays an image. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."
Banner puts on his glasses and picks up the phone, studying the image. "What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"
"He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a Gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. No one knows Gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be."
"So Fury isn't after the monster?"
"Not that he's told me."
"And he tells you everything?"
Natasha leans forward, her voice earnest. "Talk to Fury, he needs you on this."
Banner's voice turns sharp. "He needs me in a cage?"
"No one's going to put you in a-"
"STOP LYING TO ME!" Banner yells, slamming his hands on the table. Natasha leaps to her feet, pulling a gun from under the table and aiming it at him. Banner draws back, a sheepish smile on his face. "I'm sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do."
Natasha stares at him, her eyes slightly teary, her breath coming in quick pants.
Banner's voice softens. "Why don't we do this the easy way where you don't use that and the Other Guy doesn't make a mess? Okay?... Natasha."
Natasha lowers her weapon and speaks quietly into an earpiece. "Stand down. We're good here."
Outside, a horde of armed guards surrounding the shack lower their weapons.
Banner's eyes meet Natasha's, a hint of amusement in his voice as he echoes her earlier words. "Just you and me?"
Natasha stands silent, the realization that he knows the truth written across her face.
___
In a dark room inside the carrier, Fury stands before four shadowy figures displayed on digital screens - the Council.
A councilman's voice rings out, filled with concern and a hint of accusation. "This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control."
"You ever been in a war, councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an over-abundance of control?" Fury responds.
"You're saying that this... 'Asgard' is declaring war on our planet?"
"Not Asgard," Fury corrects. "Loki."
A councilwoman interjects, "He can't be working alone. What about the other one, his brother?"
"Our intelligence says Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, and we can't depend on him to help either. It's up to us."
The first councilman pushes back. "Which is why you should be focusing on Phase Two. It was designed for exactly this purpose."
Fury's voice hardens. "Phase Two isn't ready; our enemy is. We need a response team."
"The Avengers Initiative was shut down," another councilman reminds him.
"This isn't about the Avengers."
"We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of the human race to a handful of freaks." The first councilman's voice drips with disdain.
"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people may be isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe, with the right push, they can be exactly what we need."
"You believe?" the councilwoman repeats.
"War isn't won by sentiment, Director," the last councilman warns.
"No, it's won by soldiers."
___
The dim light fills the gym as, Steve Rogers, pummels a punching bag.
'There's not enough time. I gotta put her in the water.'
His punches grow harder, faster.
'You won't be alone.'
The rhythm of his punches intensifies.
'Oh my God. This guy's still alive.'
With a final, powerful blow, Steve sends the bag flying across the room, the sand spilling everywhere. Breathing heavily, he picks up another bag from a line on the floor and hangs it up, ready to start again.
A voice cuts through the silence.
"Trouble sleeping?"
Steve continues his assault on the new bag. "Slept for seventy years, Sir. I think I've had my fill."
Fury approaches slowly. "Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world."
Steve pauses, his voice tinged with melancholy. "When I went under, the world was at war. I wake up- they say we won." He hesitates. "But they didn't say what we lost."
"We've made some mistakes along the way," Fury admits, "some very recently."
Steve begins removing his hand wraps. "You here with a mission, Sir?"
"I am."
"Trying to get me back in the world?"
"Trying to save it." He hands Steve a folder.
Steve's eyes widen in recognition. "HYDRA's secret weapon?"
"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you," Fury explains. "He thought what we think. The Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."
"Who took it from you?"
"He's called Loki. He's... not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."
Steve stands, grabbing his duffel bag and another punching bag. "At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."
Fury's lips curl into a slight smile. "Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing packet waiting for you back at your apartment. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?"
"You should have left it in the ocean." Steve's parting words hang in the air as he leaves.
___
Encased in his sleek armor, Tony, emerges from the depths of the ocean, having just attached a device to a massive pipe. He soars towards the glittering skyline of New York City, the lights reflecting off his suit. As he ascends, he engages in conversation with Pepper Potts via his headset.
"Good to go on this end. The rest is up to you," he announces confidently, his voice crackling through the communicator.
Pepper's voice echoes through the Iron Man suit's heads-up display. "You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?"
Tony smirks, "Stark Tower's about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy."
"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works."
As he rounds a corner, heading straight for the Stark Tower, he quips, "I assume. Light her up."
The tower comes to life, energy coursing through its structure like a dazzling light show.
"How does it look?" She asks, excitement creeping into her voice.
"Like Christmas... but with more—me."
"We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press."
Tony soars through the sky, flying over an overpass and up the side of Stark Tower. Pepper continues, "I'm in DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings."
"Pepper, you're killing me at the moment. Remember, enjoy the moment."
"Then get in here and I will," She teases.
He lands on the tower's landing pad, and as he walks down the walkway, robotic arms deconstruct his armor piece by piece. Just as Tony is about to relax, JARVIS interrupts.
"Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line."
"I'm not in. I'm actually out," Tony retorts dismissively.
"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting," JARVIS presses.
"Grow a spine, JARVIS. I got a date."
Inside the penthouse, Pepper stands in front of a holographic display, looking slightly puzzled. "Levels are holding steady—I think."
"Of course they are, I was directly involved," Tony says, "Which leads me to my next question: How does it feel to be a genius?"
He flicks off the display and faces Pepper, clearly pleased with himself.
"Well, ah, I really wouldn't know now, would I?"
"What do you mean? All this came from you."
"No, all this came from that," Pepper counters, tapping the arc reactor in Tony's chest.
"Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself—twelve percent of the credit," he comforts.
"Twelve percent?" Pepper repeats, arching an eyebrow.
"An argument can be made for fifteen," Tony concedes, following her into the living room.
"Twelve percent of my baby?"
"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."
"Oh!" Pepper exclaims as she reaches for two glasses and pours champagne.
"My private elevator," Tony adds, still going.
"You mean our elevator," Pepper corrects, handing him a glass.
"Yeah, it was teeming with sweaty workmen. I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"
"Not gonna be that subtle."
"I'll tell you what, the next building is gonna say 'Potts' on the tower."
"On the lease."
Tony raises his glass. "Call your mom, can you bunk over?"
JARVIS interrupts the moment again. "Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."
Tony sighs and picks up his high-tech phone. "Ah—"
On the phone screen, Agent Coulson's face appears. "Mr. Stark, we need to talk."
"You have reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message," Tony jokes, pretending to ignore the situation.
"This is urgent," Coulson replies, undeterred.
"Then leave it urgently." Tony shoots back, Coulson steps out the elevator, "Security breach. That's on you!" Tony points out to Pepper.
"Phil! Come in!" Pepper calls out, walking over to greet Coulson warmly.
"Phil?" Tony questions, eyeing Pepper.
"I can't stay," Coulson says, trying to maintain his professional demeanor.
"Uh, his first name is Agent."
"Come on in, we're celebrating."
"Which is why he can't stay."
Coulson hands Tony a laptop. "We need you to look this over as soon as possible," he says.
Tony stares at the laptop, clearly displeased. "I don't like being handed things."
"That's fine, because I love to be handed things," Pepper says, smoothly stepping in. She trades her glass with Coulson for the laptop, and then passes it to Tony, taking his glass. "Thank you."
"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday," Tony remarks dryly.
"This isn't a consultation."
"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asks, her curiosity piqued. Coulson looks at her, "Which I know nothing about." She adds.
"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought, and I didn't even qualify."
"I didn't know that either," Pepper chimes in.
"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others," Tony continues.
"That I did know," Pepper agrees with a sly smile.
"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Coulson responds.
"Whatever! Ms. Potts, got a sec?" he asks, pulling Pepper aside for a moment.
"Half a moment," She replies, stepping away from Coulson.
...
"You know, I thought we were having a moment," Tony says.
"I was having twelve percent of a moment." Tony gives her an exasperated look, " This seems serious. Phil looks pretty shaken."
"How would you notice—why is he Phil?" He asks suspicious.
"What is all this?" Pepper asks as Tony pulls up the holographic displays from the laptop.
"This is... ah..." Tony begins, throwing the holograms into the air where they filled the room, each displaying articles and information on the Avengers. "This!"
They both look upon the screens, taking in the vast amount of information displayed.
"I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight," Pepper decides, already thinking ahead.
"Tomorrow," Tony insists.
"You have homework. You have a lot of homework."
"Well, what if I didn't?"
"If you didn't? You mean when you finished? Well, um, then—" Pepper leans in and whispers something in his ear. Tony's face morphs into giddy excitment.
"Square deal," Tony agrees with a grin. "Fly safe." They kiss, and Coulson politely looks away.
"Work hard," Pepper adds as she approaches Coulson, "So, any chance you're driving by LaGuardia?" she asks.
"I can drop you off," Coulson offers.
"Fantastic. Ooh, I want to hear about the ah—cellist, is that still a thing?" They head toward the elevator.
"She moved back to Portland."
"What?... Boo!," Pepper says as the elevator doors close behind them.
Tony, meanwhile, stares at the Tesseract displayed in one of the holograms. It had certainly piqued his interest.
___
A man stands in the shadows of his dimly lit office, the muted light filtering through tall windows, casting long shadows on the polished floor. His hands are clasped behind his back as he paces slowly. A select group of agents stands before him, their postures rigid, waiting for him to speak.
His voice, calm yet authoritative, breaks the silence. "Gentlemen, we are dealing with forces beyond our control." He pauses near the window, his back to them as he stares out over the city. "A god has descended—wielding a power few can comprehend. The Tesseract, once secured by S.H.I.E.L.D., is now in the hands of an alien with a spear. The situation we now find ourselves in is precarious."
He turns back, taking a slow, deliberate step toward the group. "Fury's plan, this "Avengers Initiative", may seem like the answer to some, but we understand the true danger. Individuals like Stark, Banner, and Rogers—these aren't men equipped to handle the scale of what's coming. They are unpredictable, volatile. He resumes pacing, "They're not a team. And they mustn't become one. Fury is blind to the risks, too confident in his own belief that he can control ...this.... He's playing with fire."
One of the agents shifts slightly, but a sharp glance from him stilled any thoughts of interruption. "We won't intervene directly. Not yet. But we will weaken them. Plant seeds of doubt, division. Ensure they are too consumed by their own flaws to ever function as a cohesive unit."
He stops in front of the scientist, "It's time. Prepare the Asset. He will be crucial in this effort."
The scientist gives a curt nod. He returns to the center of the room, "Fury believes bringing them together will safeguard the world. We know better. They will bring nothing but chaos. For now, our eyes are on the god and his weapon. But the Avengers... sabotage them, delay them, and once they are divided, we will take control."
With that, he dismisses the group, the silence in the room growing as they filed out. Alone in the dim light, Alexander Pierce, stands still, thinking what next step Fury will take.