Agent
So I finally finished this RP continuation from... last summer...
Avengers/Ghost Hunt/Harry Potter Age of Ultron crossover. Slightly NSFW. Kate/Bruce, semi Mai/Steve, and it’s kind of long.
Disclaimer: Several scenes of dialogue are pulled straight from Age of Ultron, because I’m lazy, among other reasons. See if you can find the Buffy reference.
Kate took a deep breath as she rounded the corner to where there were no cameras. She touched her ear. “This is Agent Turner, reporting in. I’m afraid the reports were false. The only thing here remotely like magic is Wanda Maximoff, but she’s just–”
She cut herself off as she heard footsteps, and began walking in the opposite direction, sticking her hands in the pocket of her lab coat.
Turning another corner, she came to the one other cell that was occupied.
“Hey Mai,” she said softly.
Mai had been in this cell for such a long time that she wasn’t even sure how much time had passed. When she heard footsteps, she turned and looked through the bars, seeing that one girl who had been coming to talk with her recently.
She tried to smile but failed miserably.
She had lost so much and turned into a freak. She sniffled. Naru…he was gone and so was everyone else. Naru had killed himself trying to save her and still she got herself captured.
She could still remember the lifeless look in his dark blue eyes.
“H-Hi Kate….” she managed.
“How are you doing?” Kate asked. “Can I get you anything?”
Mai had been here since before she’d gotten to the compound two months ago. And unlike the twins, Mai wasn’t here of her own free will. The girl had seen death.
Mai shrugged. “The dreams don’t stop and then all I see is them being killed. So…I guess I’m surviving. But barely. I just…can you just kill me? I want to be with them again.”
She started to cry, hugging her legs closer.
Kate shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mai. I can’t.” She lowered her voice. “But I promise I’ll get you out of here. Maybe sooner than you’d think.”
Her comm had just activated, and someone was speaking to her.
“Very soon, in fact,” she whispered.
Mai sniffled and laid down on the ground, staring off to the wall. “I just…I want to see him again…”
She started to cry again, wishing it had been her instead of him.
“I know,” Kate murmured. She’d lost loved ones too… in the Battle of Hogwarts, and before.
She touched the bars of Mai’s cell and sighed.
“I’ll be back later, okay? With some food.”
------------------------------
“Hey Jarvis, can you give me a basic rundown of this building and the defenses?” Tony asked as he flew over the convoy that held the rest of the team.
“Well sir, there are four ports of entry, and all of them are heavily guarded with six armed guards. There is a computerized security system as well, which I have taken the liberty of dismantling for the team already.”
Kate looked up at the ceiling as there was the sound of gunfire. Shit. She needed to get Mai out of that cell.
“Can we hold them?” Strucker was asking as she slipped from the room.
“They’re the Avengers,” was the reply.
Kate suppressed a smile. Excellent.
“Mai,” she said, reaching the girl’s cell. “It’s time to go.” She touched the lock, and it snapped open.
Mai looked up. “No…just leave me. I--everything will work out how it should…”
“Alright everyone! Let’s keep it clean!” Steve said through the intercom.
“Clean? How? Spill less blood,” Natasha teased with a smirk as she jumped from the convoy.
Kate pushed the door open. “Not a chance in hell. I’m getting you out of this godforsaken place no matter how many rules I have to break.” She grabbed Mai’s arm, hauling her upward.
There was a shout from upstairs, and another explosion.
“Come on.”
“HEY! What are you doing?”
“Shit,” Kate muttered, then turned to the soldier now pointing a gun at her. “Moving the prisoner to a safer–you know what, screw it.” She pointed her hand at the man and he went flying.
Mai was shaking. She was so scared. Is this going to be how she dies? Will she finally see Naru? And then Gene too? She swallowed as Kate pulled her along as they ran.
Suddenly the door before them burst open and a man with a bow and arrow ran in, stopping before them as he aimed at them. Mai shivered, pressing into Kate.
“Who are you and why are you here?” Hawkeye asked seriously, not lowering his weapon.
“I’m Agent Kate Turner with SHIELD,” Kate said, raising her hands above her head. “Codename Chaos. This is Mai. Strucker’s been experimenting on her. I’ve been waiting to get out of here for months, Hawkeye.”
He frowned. “SHIELD is gone. Has been for months.”
That’s what he thought, but Kate’s orders had come from Coulson himself.
“Maybe, but I had my orders. Infiltrate Strucker’s compound and report back.” She sighed. “Do you want to see my badge? Because I’d really, really like to get out of here.”
Suddenly Mai could feel the spirits. No doubt the evil scientist is trying to use them.
“Kate,” she whispered before collapsing as the spiritual energy reached for her.
Clint sighed and put his bow away before approaching them and lifting Mai over his shoulder.
Kate frowned, then touched her necklace, whispering the word to activate her ward.
Hawkeye glanced over his shoulder at her. “What the hell was that?”
“Later,” she said. “We need to get out of here. Strucker’s into some weird shit–why are you laughing?”
“Don’t let Cap hear you talking like that,” he replied, speeding up.
Kate’s eyes went wide, and she hurried after him. “Wait. Cap? As in the Cap?”
“Someone call my name?” Steve asked as he took down a guy in the hall.
His eyes caught the form of a girl in Clint’s arms–or rather across his shoulder. He grimaced.
“Clint you’ll give the poor girl back aches!” he cried.
“She passed out. What else was I supposed to do?”
Kate stared at Steve. It was…wow. He was even more stunning in real life. And there was a man sneaking up behind him.
“Sir, behind you!” she said, and reached out to blast the man away.
Steve turned sharply, and hit the man with his shield. “Still! You could have moved her to safety! No one likes being carried like a sack of potatoes!”
“Then you take her!” Clint snapped, gently tossing the girl to the captain.
Steve caught her and rolled his eyes. He glanced down at her. Poor thing. He looked up and ran after Clint. He looked behind him. “Well come on!”
“Yeah!” Kate ran after them, emerging into the sunlight. She blinked, then smiled. Finally. The sun.
“Who’s this?”
Kate looked at the man in the suit. “Agent Kate Turner, Mr Stark. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yup. Hey Thor, you almost done taking care of stragglers? And Nat, Bruce could probably use a lullaby.”
Natasha nodded and turned, running for the woods. Steve adjusted the girl in his arms. Suddenly there was an explosion behind them. He stumbled, almost dropping her.
“Ah shit!” Tony cursed.
“Watch it!” Steve snapped, turning sharply as the mist seemed to rise.
Kate stepped up to Mai, gently shaking her. “Mai? We could probably use you right about now.”
She looked up at Steve. “Strucker’s been experimenting with psychics, and psychic phenomena. Mai here can speak to spirits, and I’m pretty sure that mist is full of them.”
Mai moaned as she shifted and opened her eyes. Her head hurt very badly. She looked around, her eyes landing on a handsome man with soft eyes and blond hair. She looked away quickly. She wouldn’t allow herself to even feel attracted.
Not after Naru…
She sat up, looking around and saw the mist with the spiritual bodies twisting inside of it. She frowned.
“They’re…in pain…”
“Can you help them?” Kate asked softly. “You’ve helped others before. I don’t know how to, otherwise I would. But this is your skill.”
And if Mai couldn’t help them, would there be a way to eliminate the threat?
She glanced around. Stark had disappeared into the building.
Mai nodded and stood. She rocked a bit and Steve steadied her. Mai managed a faint blush and stepped away.
“I’ll do what I can,” Mai whispered.
She approached the mist, reaching out to the spirits. She focused on her own energy and began to dispel them nonverbally.
Kate smiled slightly, her hands clenching and unclenching reflexively. Maybe if Mai found purpose she could find the will to live.
“Should we be doing something?” Steve asked after a moment. “Say a prayer?”
She shrugged. “Maybe? I dunno that it’ll help, but if it makes you feel better…”
Soon the spirits were gone. Mai felt a wave of tiredness and swayed on her feet. As she lost consciousness, Clint managed to catch her.
“Let’s get to the jet,” Steve said as Tony emerged with the staff Kate had seen only once before–in video feeds from the Battle of New York.
They hurried onto the plane, buckling themselves in as Natasha readied for takeoff. Once they were in the air, Kate knelt next to Mai, checking her vitals.
“Who are these women?” she heard a deep voice ask, and turned to look at Thor.
“I’m Agent Kate Turner. SHIELD,” she replied, reaching into her bra and removing the tiny badge she’d kept there. It enlarged itself to regulation size as she held it out.
“Whoa! That tech would come in handy!” Tony butted in. “How’s it work?”
Clint laid Mai down on one of the beds. He sighed. “She probably just needs rest and food.”
“It’s not tech,” Kate said, tucking the badge back beneath her shirt. “It’s magic. And no, not the Asgardian tech that you call magic. It’s actual magic.”
She held out her closed fist and slowly opened it, revealing a ball of light. “Abracadabra, Mr Stark.”
He stared at it, then inched closer, poking it with one gloved hand, which immediately disabled, clattering to the floor of the plane. “Hey!”
She shrugged, closing her hand and extinguishing the light. “Magic and tech don’t usually work well together. It’s one of the reasons I’m not on the Index, and why no-one really knows about me. And why Strucker let me in.”
Steve frowned and looked at Mai. “And her? What’s her story?”
“Mai’s psychic. She’s postcognitive and a medium and has incredible natural instincts.” Kate sighed. “She was there before I got to the compound. Apparently she was forced to watch as Strucker’s men killed everyone she loved.” She stepped over to Mai and brushed hair from her face. “I bet she’ll be glad to have a shower… and a decent bed. I know I would.”
“That’s horrible,” Steve whispered, looking down at her with sympathy in his eyes. He knew what it was like to lose someone close.
Tony sighed. “Let’s head to headquarters and then plan our next move.”
Kate nodded and took a seat, silently observing the men around her. She’d need to report back to Coulson eventually, but that could wait. What she wanted most in this world was a proper bed and decent food. And a damned shower. A hot one.
Thor sat next to Steve and slapped him on the back. “I feel that girl is strong. She will persevere!”
Kate bit back a smile. Mai was strong. The baron hadn’t managed to break her, after all.
Soon they were landing at the tower. Kate stood and stretched before following the men off the plane.
“I’ll put you and Mai in adjoining rooms,” Tony said to her. She nodded, then rolled her eyes as he added, “Try not to break anything.”
Steve approached Mai, and gently shook her to see if she’d wake. When she didn’t he sighed softly and picked her up. He was yet again amazed at how tiny she was. She seemed to fit perfectly in his large arms though.
He carried her inside and glanced around. Tony nodded to the room and Steve carried her inside and laid her down softly.
Kate followed him in. “I can stay with her till she wakes up,” she said. “Though if somebody’s got some clothes that might fit us, that would be great.”
She glanced up at the light, which definitely held a camera. That meant no magic.
Steve nodded. “I’ll talk to Natasha and ask if Pepper might have anything for you girls.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, then glanced up at the camera again as he left.
“No show right now, Mr Stark,” she said politely. “If you doubt my loyalty, speak to Maria Hill. She’ll vouch for me. And as for the magic, well…” She smirked. “That’s a demonstration that’ll have to happen away from all your fancy electronics.”
Mai groaned several hours later. She opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up and saw Naru at the foot of her bed. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“Naru…”
He smiled sadly as he faded.
Kate stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around her shoulders. “Hey. I was starting to think you wouldn’t wake up. Cap–or I guess I can call him Steve–brought us some clothes.”
Mai wiped at her eyes and nodded. “Okay…I just…I’ll take a shower.”
She slipped past and closed the door. Naru appeared again and looked at Kate.
“Protect her.”
The witch’s eyes went wide as she saw the young man’s spirit. “You’re–” she whispered, then nodded. “Of course.”
Naru nodded, his eyes sad. “I’m saddened that I died. I loved her…wanted her. Help her heal and…he’s a good man. I would be happy for her to find happiness with him.”
Then he was gone.
“What, who are you–” But he was gone. Kate looked up at the camera in the light, then at the pile of clothes.
Of course. He was talking about Cap. She sat down on the bed and sighed, fiddling with her cuffs as she waited for Mai.
Mai slipped from the shower looking a little better but she still felt small and insignificant. She tried to smile for Kate but her cheerful smiles died with Naru and the others.
“What happens now?” Mai asked, “I…I have nothing. No one. I don’t even have a job anymore. SPR is gone…”
Kate gave her a gentle smile of her own. Poor girl.
“I need to speak with one of my supervisors, but it’s possible that SHIELD will hire you, if you’d like it. You’ve got skills, and we need people like you.”
There was a knock on the door. “You ladies up? Banner’s cooking up a storm if you’re hungry.”
“Starving, actually,” Kate said, standing. “Is he making pancakes? I could really go for pancakes with proper maple syrup. And rashers.”
She opened the door to reveal Steve standing there looking slightly nonplussed, and grinned, looking back at Mai. “What are you hungry for?”
Mai looked away. “I’m fine. I’m not very hungry…just…tired.”
Naru frowned, unseen by all. He whispered in Kate’s ear. “She needs to eat.”
Kate crossed her arms. “They fed you crap all at the compound. Come on, you should eat. I’m sure we can find something you’re hankering for. Miso?”
Mai shook her head and looked away. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. Steve frowned then touched Kate’s shoulder.
“You go ahead. I’ll speak with her,” he said softly.
“Okay.” With a last glance at Mai, Kate headed down the hall, where she ran into exactly the person she’d been wanting to see.
“Agent Turner,” Maria Hill said with a smile. “Good to see you in one piece. Did Strucker do anything to you?”
Kate smirked. “Like I’d’ve let him get the chance. But there were a couple of volunteers…”
“The Maximoffs. Tell me about them. We can walk and talk, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Steve moved towards Mai and sat on the bed opposite of hers. He looked her over. She had cinnamon brown hair that reached past her shoulders and big brown eyes. He couldn’t help but feel like they should be bright and full of life but…they were just dead.
“Look…I’m sure you don’t want to listen but..I know it hurts to lose someone you love. I’ve lost two people and only recently got one back only to lose my best friend a second time. They say time helps but speaking from experience…it doesn’t. I’m over ninety years old and it’s still fresh sometimes. But making friends and letting someone in…that’s what helped me. I just…I guess I’m trying to tell you that if you wanna talk I’m here. No judging and you can cry if you want. I won’t think any less of you.”
Mai glanced at him, her eyes guarded.
“But…there is no healing and no getting better unless you take care of yourself. So how about some food? I’d love it if you would sit next to me…that is if you can handle Thor’s awkward conversations,” Steve finished with a grin.
Mai looked away and sniffled. Part of her wants to tell him everything but she can’t. Finally she nodded.
“Great!”
Steve stood and offered her a hand. Mai took it and let him help her stand. Her eyes widened. He was so tall and so…big!
“So he’s fast and she’s weird,” Maria said slowly as they entered the kitchen.
“But not weird like me,” Kate replied. “She tried to read me a few times, but I was trained to block people like her out. And then of course she tried to get inside my head, figure out my fears… That actually worked, unfortunately. Luckily for me, everything I ever feared would happen already has, so there’s not much I’m afraid of anymore. It was more like I was reliving bad memories.”
“And what about the girl you rescued? You said nobody there was magic in your last report and requested an extraction, but this girl–”
“Mai,” Kate supplied. “She’s psychic, but in an entirely different way than Wanda Maximoff. She deals with spirits. And she didn’t volunteer for Strucker’s experiments. Ooh, pancakes!” She glanced at Tony, who was looking at something on a tablet. “I knew somebody was listening.”
Steve guided Mai down to the kitchens in time to hear Tony puffing himself up–again.
“So think I can figure out how to make magic and tech work?”
Mai glanced at Steve as he sighed.
“Tony. Leave well enough alone.”
“Trust me, they’ve been trying since the fall of Voldemort,” Kate said, taking a seat at the island. “The only thing they’ve managed are basic computers and my comm.”
She glanced at Tony, accepting a plate of pancakes from Bruce.
“Don’t meddle. You’ll only break things. Besides, the magic comes in handy sometimes. I’m almost like a walking EMP.”
“Voldemort?” Bruce asked curiously.
“Evil wizard. Really really evil. Kept a giant snake as a pet, and had werewolves and giants and trolls in his army.”
Steve pulled out a chair for Mai as he grimaced. “Trolls? Sound disgusting. I still can’t get over that all of that is real.”
Mai took her seat and tried not to think about the fact Steve was so close to her. No good would come from those feelings. Only death and pain.
“Yeah, that’s why we hide,” Kate replied with a smile. “Why we’re not on the Index. People are superstitious enough without knowing vampires are real.”
Hawkeye choked on his beer.
Mai’s lips twitched. They didn’t seem too bad. But then her lips fell again. All she could think was about how Monk would have reacted and how Yasu would have come onto the entire group.
Thor glanced at her. “So miss, could you tell us a bit about what you can do? I’d like to understand these spiritual abilities.”
Kate gave her a gentle smile, then looked down at her pancakes and began cutting them. There was a soft thunk, and she looked up to see Bruce setting a bottle of maple syrup on the counter. Her smiled widened.
Mai hesitated. She bit her lip and wondered how to explain.
“Well…I can speak to spirits. They also usually seek me out as well,” Mai said softly. “I can astral project too.”
Thor frowned. “What is this projectioning?”
Mai bit her lip and closed her eyes. Steve reached for her when her body suddenly slumped in the chair. Mai willed herself to be seen, standing on Thor’s other side.
“I can separate my soul from my body.”
Kate stared. Okay, that’s new. Good thing Strucker never saw that one…
She swallowed her pancakes, her mouth suddenly dry.
Tony stood immediately, grabbing a handheld device.
“Amazing! Can you still feel your body? What can you do like this? Can you walk through walls?”
Steve glared at Tony. “Enough Tony. She’s a human being not a machine or creature.”
Tony ignored him and stepped closer to Mai. Suddenly he was forced back, and not too gently. A spirit clad in black appeared and grimaced.
“Sorry…didn’t mean to push you so hard!”
“Gene?” Mai whispered, tears in her eyes.
He smiled sadly. “Hey Mai. I’m still here. I never left. I just couldn’t reach you. You should go back, okay? You’re making him worried.”
Momentary pain entered her eyes as she nodded. She faded and opened her eyes as Gene disappeared.
Okay, that was extra-extra new. The other one was… what the hell? Did she know twins? There had been no mention of twins in Strucker’s files…
Kate rounded on Tony. “Leave her alone,” she said. “She’s been through too much to have you poke at her like Strucker did.”
Tony threw up his hands. “Relax. I’m not going to run tests or anything! I was just curious.”
Steve glanced at Mai. “Who was that? What did you call him…Gene?”
Mai smiled a sad smile. “My spirit guide. He is the one protecting my dreams and my soul.”
“And who is this he?” Thor asked.
Mais smile disappeared. She looked away, closing up. “A memory…all he’ll ever be now.”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” Kate snapped at Tony. “Don’t you have other things to poke at in your lab?”
Tony, seeming to remember something, walked off. Kate rolled her eyes and resumed consumption of her pancakes.
“I’ve never seen someone shut Tony down that fast,” Maria observed. “Except Fury. And Pepper.”
“Maybe he remembered that I could fry all his electronics if I wanted,” Kate grumbled, her eyes on Mai.
Mai was staring at her food, not eating. Steve hesitated before he took her plate and cut up the pancakes for her before pushing it back.
“Eat, Mai.”
Mai sighed and started to eat. Steve nodded, wry smile on his face.
Kate bit the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling at Steve. He was definitely good for the girl.
Instead, she turned her brilliant smile to Bruce. “These are delicious. Thank you so much.”
He looked down at the counter, embarrassed. “It’s–it’s nothing,” he said.
Clint looked between Steve and Mai. Then he glanced at Nat with a smirk before motioning to them. Nat smirked back, understanding.
“Hey guys, I bet with the stuff Hydra’s been doing…we could use a real witch and a psychic on the team,” she suggested.
Kate looked up in shock. “Wh-what?”
Bruce was nodding thoughtfully. “Yeah… it makes sense.”
“No way,” Kate said. “You’ve got too many electronics. I’d never be able to work at full potential.” You can’t work at full potential anywhere, Katelyn, her subconscious reminded her. Remember your first training session? Explosions. Everything fried. “And besides, I’d just be a liability.”
Nat gave Kate a look and nodded at Mai and Steve. “We can use the help I’m sure.”
Oh. “You–you’re right,” Kate said awkwardly. “There’s plenty of stuff I can do that doesn’t involve magic, after all.”
She nodded to herself and stuffed more pancakes into her mouth as Maria smirked at her.
“I’ll get with you later to debrief you fully,” she told the witch, then slipped from the room. She had a couple people she needed to contact.
Nat spoke up. “So Cap, why not show Mai around the compound?”
Steve glanced at her before looking at Mai. “Would you like to?”
Mai hesitated but nodded.
“And Banner, you can give Kate a tour when she’s finished eating. I bet she’d love to see the labs.”
Kate flushed. Had they been reading her file? There was reason she’d been assigned to Strucker… She’d been the one who had figured out how to make her comm work, after all.
Steve stayed close to Mai, showing her everything. He watched as the curiosity moved across her face and couldn’t help but think she’d look pretty if she smiled.
Steve was about to speak when Mai beat him to it.
“His name was Oliver. I called him Naru because he was a bit of a narcissist. I-I fell in love with him when I was fifteen…only to have that horrible man kill him and everyone I loved in front of me…”
Steve glanced at Mai. “I’m sorry you experienced that. But things will get better and I promise I will keep you safe.”
Mai glanced at him and frowned. “Why? Why do you want to keep me safe? I mean…I’m not even sure I should join this team since I’d be more of a burden.”
Steve frowned and huffed a little bit. “Not a burden. Never. I’d personally like it if you would stay with us. Even if it means you stay behind the scenes and work from there. Or not even work. I see a kind soul in you, Mai. I’d like the chance to become a friend if you’d let me.”
“Do you…like science?” Bruce asked as he led Kate through the tower.
Kate shrugged. “Inasmuch as you can call experimenting with magic ‘science.’ I worked on adapting a few things to cater to my abilities, like my comm, and my wand holster, that sort of stuff. They pulled me out of the lab to go to Sokovia.”
Bruce nodded. “The lab’s down here.”
Kate stopped and pulled what looked like two bracelets from her pocket, clamping them around her wrists. “Magical dampener,” she said. “I don’t want to accidentally fry anything.”
“Did you develop those too?” Bruce looked interested. “No wonder you told Tony off.”
Kate shrugged. “I’ve been poked and prodded myself, but they stopped after I sort of… destroyed a couple of labs.”
He nodded, understanding the significance. He’d destroyed his fair share of labs himself. “So you started tinkering.”
“Yeah. Had to develop my own lab protocols, too. The wizard who recruited me was from SHIELD, but he had more of a desk job than anything. I was their first field witch.”
Tony looked up as Bruce pushed open the door to the labs. “Hey!” he said. “Don’t let her in here! What if she breaks something?”
Kate gave him an amused look and put her hands behind her back. “If it concerns you that much, Stark, I promise I won’t touch anything.”
He made face, but turned back to whatever he was doing.
“Kate, there you are,” said Maria from outside the lab. “They’re ready to debrief.”
The witch nodded and smiled at Bruce. “Thanks for the tour.” Then she stepped out of the lab and followed Maria down the hall.
Mai had been at the facility now for a week. Steve was true to his words and tried over and over to facilitate a friendship with her. He was very patient but she was still holding back. But he was the only one she talked to about those she had lost.
Something in his eyes told her that he understood more than most could.
Naru kept close by, offering any kind of help he could. He felt it would be a good idea to approach that captain. Talk to him about Mai. He made his way to the floor and then the room that the captain was in. He allowed himself to materialize.
“I’m glad you have taken Mai under your care. she needs someone,” he said seriously.
Steve stared at him for a moment. So this was the boy Mai had fallen in love with. Well… he’d seen weirder things than ghosts. He was a weird thing.
“She does. I’m happy to be that person,” he said. “I’ve lost my fair share of people. I know what it does to a person.”
Naru turned away. “Be careful with her. I don’t want her to suffer from a broken heart again. It’s bad enough I was the cause of that twice in a row. Being friends is good for now but if the time ever comes…I’d like you to know I trust you and wouldn’t choose a better person to love her.”
Steve nodded. “Of course. That’s the last thing I want for her… a broken heart.” He felt the gnawing in chest that usually happened when he thought of Peggy. “I’ll keep her safe,” he promised.
Naru nodded. “And my brother and I will be watching from this end. The others also lingered, not wanting to move on until she truly is safe. If you ever have any need for us…just call for us.”
Then he was gone.
“Nice to meet you too,” Steve said, then got up and started pulling on clothes. Maybe he’d take Mai out for breakfast, or ask Bruce to make something that might remind her of home. Things friends did.
Meanwhile, Kate was munching on toast and considering something Maria was saying.
“I could definitely use clothes of my own,” Kate said after swallowing. “And Tony’s throwing a party tonight? Definitely need something for that.”
Maria nodded. “Maybe we could go out and get stuff…take Mai? I think getting out for a bit would do her some good.”
Mai closed her book, setting it down, the author’s name seen in the light. She tried not to read the name, not wanting a reminder of who exactly had written it. Even though it helped her with her heart a bit. She stood and turned away, the name Oliver E.C. Davis still visible.
“Mai?” Kate asked gently. “Would you like to go shopping for a bit?” She glanced at the name on the book and winced inwardly. It was his.
“I don’t need to go…I have no money and I don’t feel like getting anything. Of course I won’t stop you from buying me a few dresses or something,” Mai said, her voice almost dead.
Steve came up behind Kate and whispered to her. “I’m going to try and take her out for a bit. I’ll pick up some stuff, but only one thing at a time.”
Kate nodded, her eyes sad. “Of course. Thank you, Steve.” She was incredibly grateful for the man at that moment.
Turning to Maria, she forced a smile on her face. “Why don’t we grab Romanoff? She’s pretty fashion-savvy.”
Maria nodded. “Sounds good to me. As long as the woman wants to…I’m not gonna coerce her into anything.”
As they left Steve stepped into Mai’s room. He noticed the book and his lips twitched sadly. So she was in one of those moods.
“Mai? Would you come with me to breakfast? The team doesn’t like me leaving alone since I’m still pretty new to this time and all.”
Mai wondered why she had even agreed. Going out for breakfast and then doing whatever after was something she had always done with Monk and Ayako. But she found that she quite liked the Captain’s company.
Mai glanced at him. “What was it like?”
Steve raised an eyebrow.
Mai blushed. “What was it like waking up and learning that so much time had passed?”
Steve frowned, thinking. “Disorienting. I felt…cheated. All of my friends and everyone important to me…”
Peggy…
“They were all gone. Moved on and some had even died. I was alone until I suddenly had the Avengers to lean on. I needed them like they needed me.”
Mai nodded. “I understand being alone…not on your level but…my parents were both dead by the time I turned fourteen. I lived alone with no one there for two years before I met…N-Naru. I worked for him and the team became my f-family. Now…they are all gone. And it’s all my fault.”
Mai felt the tears and looked up when she felt someone take her hand. Steve gave her a kind smile.
“It isn’t your fault. these things happen unfortunately. And it’s our job to carry on and live like any normal human would do.”
As they walked back, Steve glanced at Mai. “If I’m not overstepping…I’d like a chance to help you heal. That is if you’ll have me…”
Mai blushed and sighed. She thought she heard Naru’s voice, whispering something like, Do it, idiot. So she bit her lip and nodded.
“I--I wouldn’t mind a good friend again. And I think you’d make a nice one.”
Steve smiled softly. It was a start.
After speaking briefly with Natasha, the three women left the tower and headed to Fifth Avenue.
“This is a bit expensive for my tastes,” Kate said, frowning up at the Saks sign.
“Don’t worry,” Maria said. “Stark’s covering it.”
“Well, in that case…”
“How about this one?” Natasha asked, holding up a purple dress. It had a high back and a modest-enough neckline, like all the others she’d thrust into Kate’s arms.
The witch finally realized something. “You read my file, didn’t you?” she asked. “You know about the scars.” She didn’t exactly blame her. She was new.
The ex-assassin shrugged. “I read everybody’s files. Go try those on.” She turned to Maria as Kate walked away, whispering conspiratorially, “I’m sure there’s gotta be one that Banner likes.”
Kate stepped out of the dressing room, wearing the purple dress. “What do you think?” she asked.
Nat gave her a thumbs up. “Bruce will love that,” she said.
Kate went pink. “That’s– that’s not what I was aiming for,” she stammered. She didn’t want–or need--anyone’s attention. Not after what had happened at Hogwarts so many years ago. Not after the Triskelion.
“Still,” Maria broke in placatingly, “that’s the best-looking one of the lot. It brings out your eyes.”
The rest of the shopping trip passed quickly. Kate had already argued against any sort of special suit for missions, and so what was purchased was a lot of athletic gear, as well as almost a full wardrobe, including makeup and several pairs of shoes. They’d also managed to buy a dress for Mai–something modest and sensible, which would appeal to the young girl’s tastes.
Kate hefted the bag of shoes onto her bed and sighed. Honestly. Her and Bruce? No way.
Steve knocked on Mai’s door and waited patiently for the girl to open it. As she did, she grimaced.
“I don’t want to go…”
“So we won’t,” Steve said. “I don’t like parties either. Why don’t I take you for a quiet dinner and you can tell me about Japan?”
Steve led Mai away from the building, giving her the sign to stay quiet, his eyes alight with mischief. Mai covered her mouth, stopping the small smile that tried to break free. He was the only one who had even brought her close to smiling.
As they passed a hall, Thor was standing there. He looked at them confused then smiled softly and turned, whistling in a very suspicious way. Steve rolled his eyes and pulled Mai outside with him. He grabbed a couple of helmets and faced her.
“You up for a motorcycle?”
At the restaurant, Steve opened the door for Mai and allowed her to enter first. He smiled. “Nothing beats New York pizza. Ever had pizza, Mai?”
She shook her head. “Not really…”
“Good. Come on.”
Kate bit her lip, staring at her reflection in the large mirror of the bathroom and tugging slightly on her dress. She hated wearing heels, but she hated dresses more. Her wand was holstered to her thigh, since her arms were bare, and she’d pulled her hair back from her face.
She really should cut it.
But she looked presentable, which was what she wanted.
Kate looked up as there was a knock on the door. Bruce was behind it, looking nervous.
“Nat sent me. You uh, you look nice,” he said, shifting from foot to foot, hands shoved in his pockets.
“Thanks,” she replied. “You too.” She stepped out into the hallway and gave him a tiny smile as they walked downstairs. Damn meddling spies, she thought to herself.
Oh Merlin. There were way too many people here, and Kate didn’t know any of them. Nat was behind the bar, serving drinks. Kate immediately went up to her.
“What the hell,” she grumbled. “I told you there wasn’t anything between me and Banner.”
“You sure?” Nat asked with a smirk, pouring Kate a shot of Tennessee Fire, her drink of choice. “He keeps looking at you.”
Tony approached and wrapped an arm around Kate’s shoulders. “Hey anyone seen Cap? I have some people who wanna meet him.”
Kate frowned and shook Tony off. “No, I haven’t. He’s probably keeping Mai company, wherever it is. Which is fine. She needs a friend.”
She downed the whiskey, made a face, and walked off.
Bruce sidled up alongside Kate as she stood next to a wall. “I was never one for parties myself.”
Kate grunted, her eyes on the other partygoers. Thor was giving something to a bunch of veterans, and the man known as Rhodey was telling a story about a tank…
“Did Tony try and convince you to do more testing?” Bruce asked after a moment. “Because if he did, I can talk to him…”
“No,” she said. “It’s not that. Tony’s actually offered to set me up a lab of my own. He just needs the specs. It’s… I’m worried about Mai, I guess. And I’m not overly fond of parties, no. Kind of wish I could skive off, but Hill practically ordered me to stay… and I did get all dressed up. ”
Bruce almost stared at her. It was the most she’d spoken regarding something other than science or a mission since they’d met. He liked it.
“You look nice though,” he said after a moment. “I mean, you always look nice, but you look good in that dress—I’m going to get another drink,” he said, cheeks tinted pink.
Kate watched him walk away. Okay, so maybe Romanoff and Hill were onto something. Didn’t mean she was going to do anything about it. Yes, she liked Bruce well enough, and, well, he was cute when he was flustered. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. Why couldn’t her life ever be simple?
Bruce returned a moment later and handed her a glass. “Nat said you like Tennessee Fire.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “I do. It reminds me of Firewhiskey. It’s a Wizarding alcohol. Very potent, and feels like fire going down your throat,” she added at his look of interest. “I… drank a lot of it after the Battle of Hogwarts.”
She took a sip, fighting back the memories. The one person who’d ever encouraged her and shown interest in her… dead. Unbidden, the memory of seeing his body lying in the Great Hall came to her mind, and she took an even larger drink.
Bruce watched several emotions play across Kate’s face before she downed the rest of the whiskey.
“You lost someone, didn’t you?”
She sighed. “Lots of people lost someone. Xavier… was my only friend. The only one who ever really saw me. I—I loved him, and sometimes I thought he might have loved me too, but… he had only just asked me out the week before the battle. Said that we might as well try it, and we could still be friends if it didn’t turn out well. Then we got separated during the battle, and the next thing I knew…” She looked down at her empty glass and grimaced.
“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “So were you—you fought in the battle?”
“Yeah. Almost got killed a couple times. The weird thing was that I found it… kind of exhilarating. So when I graduated I went and interviewed for an Auror position.” She grimaced, feeling the whiskey start to take effect, and walked in the direction of a couch. There was no way she could handle being tipsy and wearing heels at the same time.
“Aurors?” Bruce asked, following her.
She sat down. "They're sort of like the FBI of the wizarding world. They hired me nearly on the spot, based on my academics alone. The fact I fought in the battle was just icing on the cake for them. Then the Committee on Experimental Charms got wind of me and they started fighting.” Her eyes went skyward. “I mean, it was kind of flattering at first, having grown men fighting over me, but then it got annoying. I ended up signing with the Aurors, who sometimes contracted me out to the Committee when they asked nicely.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
She shrugged. “It was all right. A lot of desk work filing reports. Shield’s a bit better, I’m out in the field more often.” Plus she enjoyed being undercover, pretending to be who she wasn’t, sloughing off the pains of her past to assume a new identity.
“How did you come to work for Shield, anyway?”
“They have a wizard on staff as liaison. He heard about my work, informed his superiors, and they asked him to recruit me. It didn’t take much convincing, to be honest. The politics in the Ministry were starting to grate on me.”
“Shield has its own politics, though.”
A snort escaped her. “Don’t I know it. Do you know how long I was waiting to meet with the director? Two hours. I very nearly up and left, but Hill convinced me to stay. She’s pretty good at that, funny enough. I’m still at this stupid party. In a dress and heels.”
Bruce almost told her again how nice she looked, but bit it back and just nodded.
Kate sighed. "Of course, they had to get used to me being around. The first thing I did once they hired me was destroy a couple of labs while training. That's when I developed the dampening bracelets. Then I was able to do some proper work."
"You made your comm work too, didn't you?" He was sure she'd mentioned it.
She nodded, leaning back on the couch. "Among other things."
They sat and talked for a long while, so long that nearly everyone had gone, and the others had joined them on the couches, joking around. Tony was now attempting to lift Thor's hammer using one of his gloves.
Kate rolled her eyes as he got Rhodey to help him, but the hammer didn't budge. Bruce was next, attempting to lift it--and trying to Hulk out and failing.
"Are you going to try?" he asked her as he sat back down beside her.
She let out a snort. "Not a question I need answered."
Romanoff echoed her sentiments, and she smiled slightly at the spy. Then she frowned as there was a clanking noise while Thor informed everyone that they weren't worthy.
Everyone covered their ears as a loud ringing filled the room. Kate looked up as it faded away, her eyes widening as she saw one of Tony's drones, definitely the worse for wear.
"Worthy... No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers," the thing said. "Stark," Kate growled. "JARVIS," Tony said, tapping his phone. "Reboot, we got a buggy suit." "Sorry I was asleep... Or... I was a dream...There was a terrible noise... And I was tangled in... in... strings... I had to kill the other guy... He was a good guy." Hill frowned. "You killed someone?" "Wouldn't have been my first call," the drone replied. "But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices." "Who sent you?" Thor demanded. They all stared at the drone as Tony's voice came out of it. "I see a suit of armour around the world." "Ultron!" Bruce breathed. "In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis... But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." Nat narrowed her eyes. "What mission?" "Peace in our time." Kate cursed as several drones flew into the room, Ultron laughing. Thor grabbed his hammer, and Nat and Hill both had guns out in an instant.
One of the drones sent a rocket towards the couch, and Kate tackled Bruce off it just in time.
Tony had jumped off the stairs onto one of the drones, and another drone was trying to drag Susan Cho out the window.
Kate swore again, her mind racing through her options. She had the power to take them out all at once, but risked harming the others. However, if she did it the safe way then the drones could hurt them anyway. So be it then.
She clambered off of Bruce, climbed onto the coffee table and held her wand hand up before speaking a single word. A blast of raw magic rushed outward, shutting down the drones as soon as it hit them. The lights flickered and died, and the windows shattered as the drones dropped to the floor, Ultron included. Kate fell to her hands and knees on the broken coffee table, dizzy and nauseous.
Bruce was at her side in an instant. "Are you okay?"
Kate nodded. "Remind me never to do that again. There's a reason we have wands."
He helped her to the couch, where she laid down. He stuck a pillow under her head and she grinned at him through a haze of magical exhaustion.
"Yup, definitely not doing that again, ever," she said. "Merlin, that took a lot out of me."
"What the hell did you do?" Tony demanded.
"Remember when I told you I was practically a walking EMP?" Kate threw up her arm and waved her hand loosely in the direction of the drones. "Tahdah. I basically let out a bunch of raw magic. Usually we channel it through our wands, which help to focus and amplify it. Doing what I just did is generally regarded as dangerous and very very stupid, and I'll probably need a day to recover the magical energy I released." She put a hand to her head. "Blimey, that made me dizzy."
Nat came over with a wet bar towel and set it on Kate's forehead. The witch smiled. "Thanks, Nat."
Tony had taken everything in and was now assessing damage. "You broke my stuff," he said. "The lights are out on both adjacent floors."
Kate sat up slightly and leveled a glare at him, pushing up the towel so he could see the anger in her eyes. "I don't think I need to apologize to the bloody great prat who created a raging murderbot," she snapped. Bruce winced, and she continued on, “If Steve were here he’d be ripping you a new one, not just for building that--that thing but because now you’ve put Mai in danger! Merlin, if I had any energy left I’d hex you six ways from Sunday!”
“You seem to have plenty of energy to yell at me,” Tony felt obliged to point out.
“I swear to all the gods above if you do not stop talking I will curse your mouth permanently shut and Pepper will have to feed you through a tube.”
“Hello to the imagery,” Clint mumbled.
Kate put a hand to her head and groaned. “You’d better get to work fixing this, Stark. I’m going to bed.”
“Banner, go with her,” Hill ordered. “Make sure she rests.” She turned and looked at Tony as Bruce helped Kate up and out of the room. “She’s right. When Cap gets back you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
Kate sighed as she opened the door to her room, immediately pulling off the heels and tossing them somewhere. She didn't care. “I’m going to change--bollocks.”
Bruce frowned. “What is it?”
“My dress zips from the back. Could you--?”
His cheeks were pink as he stepped forward and shut the door behind him. “How did you get it up earlier?”
"Magic, of course. Can't exactly do any right now, though."
Carefully, he undid the hook and slid the zipper down, his eyes widening as he saw the scars crisscrossing her back. “Kate… What are…”
She turned, holding the dress to her chest, a wry smile on her face. “Nice to know at least one person hasn’t read my file.”
Bruce shook his head. “I try not to read anyone’s file unless they want me to. It’s their business, not mine.”
The smile turned into a genuine one, spreading across her face and making her weary eyes light up. “Thanks, Bruce. I appreciate that.”
He smiled back and handed her the pyjamas from the bed. She took them and headed into the bathroom, returning a minute later. Bruce’s cheeks went pink again. Those pyjamas were really cute on her, a pale blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. “Kate, I… you should be angry with me too,” he said after a moment. “I helped Tony with Ultron.”
She waved her hand as she climbed under the covers. “Nah. Tony probably coerced you into doing it, didn’t he?”
“Well--”
He saw her eyes head for the ceiling. “Shut up and turn off the light.”
Deciding not to argue the point, Bruce flicked the switch and went to curl up on the loveseat in the corner.
After a couple minutes, Kate spoke. “You know you don’t have to stay with me. I’m sure your bed is more comfortable than my tiny couch.”
“Hill pretty much ordered me to,” he answered, an echo of her statement earlier in the evening. “And if Steve were here, he would have too. And even if they didn’t, I still would, because I want to make sure you’re all right.”
Kate’s face felt warm despite the chills she was feeling as a result of the magic loss. She curled up, pressing into the wall. “I… thank you.”
Bruce frowned as he saw her form shudder. He pulled the blanket off of himself and stood, taking the few steps to the bed where he placed it on top of her, smiling as she relaxed slightly.
There was a soft knock on the door, and it opened to admit Natasha with another blanket and Bruce’s pyjamas.
"Thanks," he whispered, taking the items.
She just winked at him, causing his cheeks to turn pink as she left.
Kate was still half-pressed against the wall, but she wasn't shivering. Bruce looked at her in concern. "Are you still cold?"
"Maybe a little," Kate mumbled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've done this, just... never as much as I threw out tonight."
He frowned and tucked the blankets closer around her before going to change. She had turned over, her back against the wall and her knees by her chest when he returned.
She looked up at him and smiled a little nervously. "You know, this bed is big enough for two..."
Maybe it was how badly she was feeling, but she honestly didn't care to fight his apparent feelings for her. And if she was honest with herself, she'd come to like him too.
And she was cold.
His cheeks had darkened again. "I--are you sure?"
She lifted the blankets. "Just get in, Bruce. I'm cold."
He hesitated for a moment before climbing in next to her.
"That's better." She curled into him, pillowing her head on his chest and closing her eyes, warm at last.
Bruce wrapped an arm around her, feeling almost at peace with the world.
Except for the fact he'd had a hand in creating Ultron. But he wouldn't dwell on it now.
"Go to sleep," Kate mumbled, seeming to read his thoughts. "We'll fix it in the morning."
---------------------
Kate groaned as light hit her eyes and turned, burying her face in the nearest pillow. Bruce was gone, she realized through the pounding in her head.
The door opened, revealing Natasha with a plate and a glass of water. "Hill said you'd be wanting this," she said, handing Kate the plate, which had two slices of toast and two aspirin.
"Gods yes," Kate replied, sitting up and taking the pills. "Did Steve and Mai ever get back last night?"
"Oh yeah, and Tony got an earful. After Steve sent Mai to bed, of course. How was Bruce? I noticed you shared the bed." Nat's smirk grew wider when Kate's cheeks colored.
“I was cold," the witch said shortly. "That's the only reason. I needed the body heat."
"You used him as a pillow."
Kate groaned and bit into the toast. "Were you and Hill spying on us all night?"
Nat shrugged. "We got some work in. You two were just so cute in your pyjamas."
Kate groaned again. "Bloody hell. Where is he now?"
"In the lab with Tony. Hill's debriefing Steve."
"And?" The medicine was kicking in, and Kate finished off the toast and stood to get dressed.
"Ultron escaped to the Internet when you destroyed the drones. Now he's everywhere. Reports of labs being cleaned out across the globe."
"Casualties?"
"Only when engaged. Most people reported going through old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."
Kate pulled on a shirt. "The Maximoffs. Do we know what he's doing yet?"
"No." There was a staticy noise, and then Hill's voice came through.
“I’ve got news. Come to the lab when you’re ready.”
Kate slid her wand into the holster on her thigh and put the comm in her ear. “On our way.”
In the lab, Steve was giving Tony and Bruce another talking-to. Mai was standing by the wall, looking nervous. Kate went over to her and squeezed her shoulder.
"Did you have a nice date?" she asked, making Mai blush.
“Yes. We had… pizza. It was really nice, until we got back and found the tower destroyed. Then Steve got angry and sent me to bed.” She blushed harder. “I know he stopped in to check on me at least twice. I had trouble sleeping." She paused, then whispered, "I don't think I'd've minded if he joined me like Bruce did you."
Kate ran a hand over her face. "Does everybody know?"
"Pretty much," Clint said.
Hill turned from the computer. "Now that we're all here... Ultron sent us a message."
"Son of a bitch," Kate said once Hill had brought the image of a dead Strucker onto a big screen. "I mean, I can't say I'm sad to see him go, but... damn."
"This doesn't seem like his MO," Steve said, frowning. "He gave you a speech last night. Now he's trying to say something."
"Everything we had on Strucker has been wiped,” Nat reported from behind another screen. “Ultron clearly doesn’t want us to know something.”
“Not everything.” Steve turned and left the room. They all followed him to one of the storage rooms, where he began going down aisles until he stopped, having found what he was looking for. “Everybody take a box. We’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”
Within minutes, they were in a conference room going through boxes of files.
“Hold up.” Tony snatched a file from Bruce. “I know this guy. We met a couple times at a weapons convention.”
“Ulysses Klaue. He looks like an unsavory fellow. What are these markings? One of them looks like a brand.” Steve held up the picture.
Bruce was already looking it up. “It means ‘thief’ in some African dialect.”
“Which one?”
“Wakandan.”
Steve tossed the file back into the box. “I know what he’s after. Suit up, we leave in five.”
Mai grabbed Kate’s arm. “What’s happening?”
“Ultron said he wanted a better body. What could be better than the strongest metal in the world? The stuff Steve’s shield is made of.”
“Vibranium,” Mai whispered.
“Exactly. Come on, let’s get to the quinjet.”
“What? I can’t--”
“We’re Avengers now, Mai. Besides, I think Steve will feel better if you’re nearby and not alone at the tower.”
Mai bit her lip, but nodded and followed her.
As they approached the shipyard, Steve gave out orders. “Bruce, Kate, and Mai will stay on the jet in case we need backup. Everyone else, we’re going to be sneaking in. The Maximoffs will probably be with him so we’ll need to keep an eye out. Understood? Good. Let’s go.”
What followed was a tense half hour, full of the sounds of shouting and gunfire. Bruce hovered near the comm panel. “Guys? Is this a code green?”
Whatever reply there was, it was garbled and full of static.
“Stay here,” Bruce said. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Bruce, don’t,” Mai said, looking worried, but he was already off the plane. She turned to Kate. “You need to go after him. Something bad is going to happen.” Something bad might already be happening. Mai just knew that she had a feeling things were going very wrong.
Kate nodded and patted Mai's arm. "Stay here where it's safe." The younger girl nodded and Kate hurried off, frowning as she saw Wanda Maximoff walking away from Bruce, who was turning green. Their eyes met and Wanda raised her hands, but Kate was faster, Stunning the girl. Pietro grabbed his sister and ran.
The Hulk was already long gone by the time Kate turned back to him. "Shit," she muttered. “Anyone copy? Wanda’s gone and worked some spell on Bruce and he’s heading for the city. Not sure I can handle the big guy alone.”
“I’m sure you can,” came Tony’s voice. “You did the other night.”
“It is neither the time nor the place for this, Stark,” Kate snapped. “I’m going after him. If you can give me some backup, that’d be stellar. If not… well, I’ll take take my chances.”
“I’m on my way. Anybody else copy? Nat, we could really use a lullaby.”
“That’s not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down. You’ve got no backup here.” Clint grunted as he helped Nat up.
“I’m calling in Veronica.”
Kate sighed and Apparated into the city.
Tony managed to find him before she did, and they began to fight. Kate cursed again as she found them in an an office building, just as Tony punched the Hulk after throwing an elevator on him. She assessed the situation quickly before pulling out her wand and jumping onto the Hulk’s back, pressing the tip into his head.
“Petrificus totalus,” she said, then repeated herself just to make sure she got him down, putting as much power as she could into it. The Hulk went still, and she sat on his chest, looking into his eyes. “All right big guy, here’s what’s going to happen. Wanda Maximoff is messing with your brain, making you see things that aren’t there. I know it, she’s done it to me. I relived some of my worst memories thanks to her. You need to snap out of it. You’re hurting people. So, until you do get her out of your system, I’m going to sit here and wait. I don’t care if you stay green or if you turn back to puny Bruce, but you need to calm the hell down.”
She paused, then added, her head starting to spin, “You may want to do it soon, because that spell took more out of me than I thought and I’m still recovering from the other night. It’s entirely possible that I might pass out, which means you’ll be stuck like that until it wears off or I wake up.”
She slumped forward, placing her head next to his. “I trust you, okay?” she whispered. “And when we get back, we’re sleeping in your room.”
The Hulk grunted, and she glanced over to see his normal eye colour had returned.
“That’s better,” she murmured, kissing his cheek, and then spoke the countercurse before turning her attention to the broken stairway, which she repaired with a tap of her wand. “Right. What else needs fixed?”
“Right now, you. I’ve got the Stark Relief Foundation on the way, and the quinjet’s just outside of town. You want a lift, or are you going to let the big guy carry you?”
Kate let out a snort. “I’m capable of moving myself, thanks.” Just the thought of moving had her dizzy, though.
“Not at your energy levels. So pick one.”
“I’ve always hated flying, and there’s less of a chance I’ll be sick if he carries me.” She gasped as the Hulk got to his feet, picking her up in his arms.
“Let’s go then. Any advice for shaking off witchy mojo?”
“Sleep. Alcohol. Tea. In that order. Well. I suppose it depends on the person.”
Soon they were back on the quinjet, most of the team looking the worse for wear. Mai was hovering near Steve, who was staring into space like the others.
Kate wrapped a blanket around Bruce’s shoulders before sitting down next to him. He’d changed back shortly after arriving, and was now huddled behind one of the seats. She leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes. If Nat had been with it, she probably would have teased them, but she too was staring, unseeing, at the wall.
Kate knew she must have dozed off because when she woke it was dark and her head was in someone’s lap--Bruce’s--and his hand was tangled in her hair. He’d wrapped the blanket around them both, too. Kate found herself smiling fondly.
“Want to switch out?” she heard Tony ask Clint.
“No, I’m good. Now’s a good time to catch some kip. We’re still a few hours out.”
“From where?”
“A safehouse.”
Kate closed her eyes, letting the soft hum of the plane lull her back to sleep.
It was light again when they landed in a field in front of a farmhouse. Clint helped Nat out of the plane and towards the house.
“What is this place?” Steve asked.
“Safehouse,” Tony answered.
“Hopefully,” Clint added, pushing the door open. “Honey?”
Kate’s eyes went wide as she looked around, and then an obviously pregnant woman walked into the room and toward Clint, who released Nat to kiss her.
“Hey. Company. Sorry I didn’t call ahead.”
“This is clearly another agent,” Tony said in confusion.
“Guys, this is Laura.” Clint wrapped an arm around her and smiled.
“I… know all your names. Except…” Laura looked at Kate and Mai. “You’re the new ones, the ones they picked up in Sokovia.”
“I’m Kate, and this is Mai,” Kate offered, smiling and nodding at the younger girl.
Two children barrelled into the room, which made Tony go, “These are… smaller agents.”
A couple hours later Kate found herself walking up to the bathroom door and knocking. “How’s the water?”
“Cold,” came Bruce’s voice. “I think everyone used up all the hot. That’s what I get for showering last, I gu--Kate, what are you doing?”
“Fixing it,” she replied, having come into the bathroom and pushed the shower curtain slightly aside so that she could see the showerhead. She tapped it with her wand, smiling as she saw steam. “There, that’s better. Is it too hot?”
“N-no, it’s perfect,” he said, slightly unnerved.
Kate continued to surprise him as she set her wand down and asked, “Do you trust me?”
“What?”
“Do you trust me?” she repeated patiently, and he heard something hit the floor.
“Yes?” He glanced over the top of the curtain and then quickly away as he saw her push her pants down her legs. He could feel his cheeks burning.
“Good. I’m coming in.”
He backed up, pressing himself against the shower wall as she pushed the curtain aside and climbed into the shower, immediately turning and sighing as the hot water hit her.
“Kate, I--”
“The less water we use the better. Clint’s bill is going to skyrocket this month. Hand me the shampoo.”
Wordlessly, he handed the bottle to her, his eyes on her back. The scarring there was… extensive. Lines crossed each other like some sick plaid, extending all the way down to her upper thighs. He swallowed thickly. It almost seemed as if she’d been whipped.
“Yeah,” she said, scrubbing her scalp. “They’re everywhere. Thanks, Mum.”
“Your mother did this to you?” Bruce felt ill, the memories of what his father had done to his mother flooding his mind.
“Sometimes my stepfather helped, but he prefered to use his fists. Tammy, however… to add insult to injury, she used my father’s belt.”
“That’s…”
“Horrific, awful, downright traumatising. Luckily I’ve pretty much gotten over it.” Kate paused, then said quietly, “You can touch them, if you want to.”
Bruce saw the way her shoulders had tensed as she’d spoken and knew that even if she’d said he could, she wasn’t actually comfortable with it. So he just shook his head. “I’m okay.”
She turned, facing away from the spray and tilting her head back to rinse her hair. Bruce watched the suds move down her neck, past her collarbone and down to her… He quickly looked back up at her face to find her rolling her eyes.
“They’re just breasts, silly. They’re not even that impressive. Not like Nat’s.” Nat’s were made for seduction, and Kate had found herself staring more than once. Why was her uniform so revealing?
“Yes, but…” Bruce tried to find a way to explain why he was so flustered. “They’re yours,” he finished lamely. Not that he would stare at any woman's chest, but Kate was Kate, and the last thing he wanted to do was offend her, which meant definitely not staring at her while she stood under the spray.
Then she chuckled, a throaty sound that immediately went somewhere he didn’t want it to go. Not now, not here. It was made worse by her hand rising and touching his cheek, rubbing against the stubble.
She looked into his eyes, her own clear and green as she gave him a crooked smile. “Do you really think I would have gotten in here with you if I didn’t want you to see me naked?” she asked softly. “I told the big guy earlier, and I’m telling you now: I trust you. And I like you. A lot.” Pink dusted her cheeks, and Bruce was pretty sure it wasn’t the heat from the shower. It only made her more attractive.
“I like you too. A lot,” he replied. “But do you really want me? I mean… I can’t have… this.” He gestured to the bath toys and the kids’ shampoo bottles around them. “I can’t have kids.”
This actually got a snort from her, and her hand dropped from his face, her arms crossing her chest as she tilted her head. “Do you really think I’d want kids after what my mother did to me? I considered it exactly once, with an ex, and the mere possibility that I would follow in her footsteps brought that line of thinking to a screeching halt.”
He stared at her, speechless for a moment, and then all he could say was, “Oh.” Because he’d flashed back to his father again, and even though he’d never really hurt Bruce, the cycle still continued. After all, he had some anger issues too.
A lot of them, actually.
“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, and was rewarded with a shrug.
“Don’t be. My mother’s a horrible person. Thanks to her I didn’t have many friends growing up. Don’t have many friends now, either. Little hard when you’re a spy.”
“I’m your friend,” he said, immediately hating how earnest it sounded, like he was twelve and trying to join the popular kids at their table in the lunchroom.
Her eyes softened and her arms uncrossed. “I’d like it if you were more than that.” She placed a hand on either of his biceps and rose onto her toes, looking him in the eyes, and then hers fluttered shut as she pressed her lips against his. After a moment she pulled back, hands still on his arms but her feet steady on the floor of the shower, and smiled. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Whatever reserve Bruce had failed at the moment, because Kate had kissed him. Kissed him. Yes, she’d kissed the big guy on the cheek after she’d pulled him out of a rage, but once again she’d been a little out of it from using a large amount of magic all at once. This time she was perfectly in her right mind, and still she had kissed him.
“Could have been better,” he breathed, and before she could process his words and get annoyed he’d bent and kissed her again, with a little more force than he’d meant to, but she didn’t seem to mind, since her arms snaked around his neck as she kissed him back, pressing her body against his. He groaned softly at the feel of her, and took a step forward, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her closer. His leg went between hers, making her gasp against his mouth as his thigh brushed her, his hand moving to caress one of her breasts and he turned them so that they weren't under the spray anymore, still kissing her fiercely...
There was a loud crash as her back collided with the shower wall and they broke the kiss, afraid that they’d been caught or that Bruce had accidentally done something to the wall.
The shampoo bottles had fallen. Kate started to giggle, still pressed against the wall with his body, his hand on her chest. “Whoops,” she whispered. “We should stop. Everyone probably heard that.”
Sure enough, there was a rap on the door. “You okay in there?” came Nat’s voice.
“Just knocked over a couple bottles,” Bruce called back, flicking Kate's nipple with his thumb, enjoying the way her eyes slid closed and her lips parted, releasing the smallest gasp.
“All right. You haven’t seen Kate anywhere, have you?”
“Why, is she missing?” He bent his head and kissed her neck, which made her moan softly, arching her back and pressing herself against him.
“It’s nothing, just wanted some girl time. I’ll find her. Enjoy your shower.”
“Oh I’ll enjoy it all right,” he murmured, leaning to kiss Kate again.
“Bruce,” she breathed as one of his hands moved to parts unknown, where his leg was still between hers, “we shouldn’t. Not here. The walls are too thin… Nat and Stark would never let it go, and if Clint’s kids heard us…”
He sighed and backed away. “You’re right.”
“Later. After we take care of Ultron, we’ll go someplace nice.” She reached up and ran a hand through his hair, and he could tell that she was fighting the same urges he was.
“Promise?”
She kissed his collarbone. “Promise. Hand me the soap?”
Kate walked in the front door twenty minutes later, having dried herself off and Apparated into the field, where she took a brisk walk around the edge of the woods before heading back to the house. Steve and Tony were chopping wood, though Steve was much better at it, judging by the size of his pile. They were also arguing.
Nat practically jumped on her the moment she walked in. “Hey, Mai made you tea. It's in the kitchen.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Kate glanced at Mai and smiled, then headed for the kitchen, Nat following.
“Have a nice shower?” the spy asked with a smirk.
Kate went pink. “I don't know what you're talking about. I went for a walk. The countryside reminds me a bit of England.”
“Are Steve and Tony still playing dueling axes?”
“Steve doesn't even need an ax. Pretty sure I saw him get angry and rip a log apart with his bare hands.” Kate turned and poured herself some tea.
“You smell like his aftershave, by the way.”
Kate turned back to face her, cursing as she spilled hot tea on herself. “Seriously? Is that how you knew?”
Nat shrugged. “And your clothes on the bathroom floor. You guys were so wrapped up in each other you couldn't hear me open the door?”
“The water was running!”
“Uh huh,” Nat replied, that annoying smirk still on her face.
Kate looked down at her tea, pink in the face. “We didn't even do anything! Just… made out a little.” Why in the name of Merlin’s beard was she blushing like a schoolgirl?
“Probably a good thing. Clint would freak if you did anything with his kids around.”
“Exactly,” Kate muttered. There was a long, slightly awkward pause before she looked up at Nat. “Are you… okay? Wanda’s mind games… they can really mess you up for a bit.”
The spy shrugged again. “I’ll handle it. I’ve had people mess with me before; it’s nothing new.”
Kate sighed. “If you’re sure. I mean… if you want to talk…”
Nat gave her a tight smile. “I’m fine.”
Kate bit her lip, but turned and left the room. Bruce had come downstairs, and she silently offered him the tea.
He took it, taking a sip, and hummed. “This is good tea.”
“Is it? I haven’t tasted it yet.”
He gave her a confused look. “Why’d you give it to me then?”
Her eyes rolled. “I was sharing, you numpty.” She sat down beside him, taking the tea back and drinking. Her eyes shut and she leaned back with a sigh. “This is amazing, Mai. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Mai said softly. “It’s… the least I could do. And you said tea would help, with what happened, so I thought I might try.”
Kate looked at her then, and knew she was thinking about the Davis twins and the friends she had lost, so she moved to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I know it hurts,” she said softly. “And eventually, the pain eases, but it never fully goes away. All you can really do is live your life the way they would have wanted you to, and try to fill the holes they’ve left in your heart, but never forget. Because they’ll always be with you.”
Mai nodded, staring into her lap. Kate sighed and ruffled her hair. Some of the others had come in just before she’d spoken, and stood in silence, thinking about what she’d said. Steve was looking at Mai, and Bruce was looking at Kate, and Clint looked at his wife, who smiled slightly.
“Never known you to wax poetic, Turner.”
Kate shot to her feet. “Sir!” Then she stopped and stared. “Director? You’re…”
“Not as dead as everyone thought, I know.” Fury smirked at her, and her hackles rose. Why the hell was everyone smirking at her today?
“You could have bloody told me!” she snapped, then muttered, under her breath, “Wanker.”
“Could have told a lot of us,” Tony grumbled.
Fury shrugged. “It was for everyone’s own good.”
Kate grunted and snatched the mug of tea from Bruce, downing it in one go and then stalking out the door.
“She has a lot of anger issues, doesn’t she?” Laura asked after a moment of awkward silence.
“She’s got the same tragic backstory most of us do,” Nat said after a moment. “It’s one of the reasons she’s so…” She groped for the appropriate word.
“Caustic?” Tony suggested. “Bitter? Abrasive? Those all work very well for her.”
“You can be abrasive too,” Bruce pointed out, feeling the need to defend Kate.
“Hey, you can’t defend her, she’s got you wrapped around her little finger!”
Bruce glared at the other man, then stood and followed Kate out the door, feeling an urgent need to calm down.
“I’m going to make dinner,” Laura said hastily, standing.
“I’ll help,” Mai volunteered, wanting to get away from the testosterone-filled living room.
“You clearly haven’t see Kate when she’s really angry,” Nat said after another long pause filled with awkward looks.
“No, but I’ve seen her smash things. She and Bruce are perfect. They’ll destroy stuff all over the world.”
“I think you have a gross misunderstanding of their relationship,” Clint said after a minute. “You and Kate are both very headstrong, straightforward, and as Bruce and Nat said, abrasive. Bruce isn’t like that. He’s a brilliant puppy with anger issues, and we’re all so afraid of him turning green that we tiptoe around him in some dance. All of us except you and Kate. You like to poke him with things, make him think, and she’ll order him around, give him structure and purpose and make him rethink the way he’s been doing things. He’s always been running from what he is, what he’s capable of doing. I think she can help him turn around and see that he can do much more.”
They all stared at him.
“That's more than you usually talk in a month,” Tony said.
Clint shrugged. “I just feel you're doing them both a disservice.”
Bruce found Kate standing by the woodpile, arms crossed over her chest.
“I enjoy working for SHIELD, but sometimes I really miss England,” she said after a long silence. “Especially when I see sunsets like this.” Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, the blazing sunset reflected in her eyes.
He didn’t say anything, just thought about how beautiful she looked in the fading light despite the anger radiating from her.
It was another minute before she spoke again. “I just--I feel betrayed, you know? I worked under him for eight years, I was at the Triskelion when Hydra took over, fought against those assholes, and he made damned sure that my file didn’t get leaked to the press, because if people knew magic existed--it’s different than being Enhanced, we have a whole world, and Fury helped protect that, but he didn’t trust me enough to tell me he wasn’t dead?”
Her shoulders slumped, and she kicked at a log.
“Of course, considering what usually happens when I’m on a job, I guess it kind of makes sense.”
“What usually happens?”
Kate glanced at him, a wry smile on her face. “That’s right. You haven’t read my file. You don’t know my codename.”
“You have a codename?” Bruce tried to think of what hers could be. Nat was Black Widow, Barton was Hawkeye… Unbidden, he could hear Tony dubbing her “Destructagirl,” which could only end in bad things for Tony. Did it have something to do with her magic? Or a magical creature?
“Fury picked it himself after I destroyed those labs.” She turned to look at him, her eyes almost… laughing.
“I give up. What is it?”
“Chaos.”
“Chaos,” he repeated, nonplussed.
“Well, sometimes he called me the Chaos, but that was when I managed to do my mission without destroying SHIELD property. Didn’t happen often.” She shivered suddenly, and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her. Sighing, she leaned back against him, enjoying these few peaceful moments where there was nothing but them and the sunset. Then the door to the house opened.
“You lovebirds going to come inside and eat, or should I come back later?”
They both blushed and pulled away from each other, and Kate felt her ire at Fury return.
“On my way, Director,” she said in clipped tones, pushing past him through the door.
Fury looked at Bruce, amusement in his one eye. “You ever notice how her accent gets thicker and she starts using slang when she’s angry? That’s my favourite part. The trick is calming her down before she breaks a computer.”
Bruce nodded and followed Fury into the house.
They’d sat down with their plates and were eating when Steve asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to. “Why are you here?”
“I prefer to talk business over drinks, not dinner,” Fury said, and left it at that.
It wasn’t until an hour later, when Mai and Clint were doing dishes, that he spoke.
“Ultron took you guys out of play to buy him some time. My contacts all say he’s trying to build something. The amount of vibranium he ran off with, I don’t think it’s just one thing.”
“What about Ultron himself?” Steve demanded.
“Oh, he’s easy to track. He’s everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.” Fury poured himself a drink.
“Is he still going after launch codes?” Tony asked, throwing a dart.
“Yes he is, but he’s not making any headway.”
Tony frowned. “I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare.”
“Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that.”
“Nexus?” Mai asked softly, handing Steve a mug of tea.
“It’s the world internet hub in Oslo,” Kate put in, her own mug of tea warming her hands. It was the first time she’d spoken since earlier. “Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth.”
“So what did they say?” Clint had picked up one of the darts and was inspecting it.
“He’s fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed.”
“By whom?” Tony asked, then had to lean out of the way as a dart flew past him. He turned and glared at Clint, who shrugged.
“Parties unknown.”
“Do we have an ally?” Nat asked.
“Ultron’s got an enemy. That’s not the same thing. Still I’d pay folding money to know who it is.”
“I might need to visit Oslo.” Tony came into the room. “Find our unknown.”
“Well this is good times, boss, but I was kinda hoping when I saw you you’d have more than that.” Nat leaned back in her chair.
“I do,” Fury said, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. “I have you.” They all looked at each other as Fury continued. “Back in the day I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave.” Fury gestured, and they looked around. The house, the family--it was why they fought. “So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”
“Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk,” Nat said, glancing at the soldier.
“You know what, Romanoff?” Steve said back, only a little annoyed, and she smirked at him.
Fury sat down at the table. “So, what does he want?”
“To become better.” Kate sipped her tea. “Better than us. He keeps building bodies.”
“Person bodies,” Tony cut in. “The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we’re outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.”
Bruce had moved, and was staring at a painting Clint’s daughter had set in front of Nat.
“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.”
“They don’t need to be protected,” Bruce said, sudden to all but Kate, who had been watching him. (He’d slid on his glasses, and looked very cute.) “They need to evolve.” Everyone looked at him, and he looked up from the painting. “Ultron’s going to evolve.”
“How?” Fury asked.
“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”
Kate’s eyes widened. Of course. She had that thing that could print human tissue--the Resurrection Cradle.
“Suit up,” Steve said, and they all hurried to do so.
They reassembled in the front hall.
“It was really nice meeting you,” Kate said to Laura. “Thank you for opening up your home.”
Laura smiled. “It’s no trouble. Good luck. Keep Bruce on his toes.”
Kate sighed. “Everybody does know. Bollocks.”
“I’ll take Nat, Clint, and Kate,” Steve said, putting his shield on. “Recon only.”
“I’ll hit the Nexus,” Tony said.
“I’ll drop Banner and Mai off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms Hill?” Fury asked, pulling on his coat.
“She’s all yours, apparently. What’re you gonna do?”
“I don’t know.” Fury smirked. “Something dramatic, I hope.”
Kate looked at Bruce and gave him a wry smile. “This is where I leave you, I guess.”
He pushed a few stray hairs from her face. “Be careful, okay? Ultron is dangerous. So are the twins.”
She chuckled. “You forget that I lived with them for months. Strucker liked to let them test their powers on people. I know how they are.” She took his face in her hands and rose on her toes to kiss him briefly. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said softly. “Go on. I’ll see you later.”
Kate wasn't entirely sure why Steve had wanted her along on this mission. If it was strictly recon, then he really only needed Clint and Nat. She could have gone back to the lab with Bruce, Mai, and Fury.
She wished she had, as Ultron dragged her and Nat out of the plane and over Russia. Luckily, she managed to pass out for most of the ride, waking up in a familiar space.
Strucker’s lab in Sokovia.
Nat was the one who had shaken her awake, and they both stared at the workshop full of robots.
Ultron stood before them, working on something mechanical. He looked up as they shifted. “Ah. I wasn’t sure you would wake. I hoped you would. I wanted to show you. I don’t have anyone else.”
Kate grunted as she sat up and flexed her wand hand.
“I think a lot about meteors. The purity in them. Boom! The end. Start again, the world made clean for the new man to rebuild.”
Nat grabbed Kate’s arm and they both began shuffling backwards.
“I was meant to be new,” Ultron told them, setting down what he was working on and moving toward them. “I was meant to be beautiful. The world would have looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy. Instead they’ll look up in horror because of you. You’ve wounded me.”
He began walking over to them, and they scooted away.
“I give you full marks for that. But, like the man said, what doesn’t kill me--” A hand reached up and crushed Ultron’s head, ripping him apart, and a new Ultron approached them as they continued to move back. “--just makes me stronger.”
It pulled the door of the cell shut, and they stared at it before it turned and walked away.
They looked at each other, eyes wide, and then Kate cursed.
“We should get out of here. I can get us out,” she whispered, but Nat shook her head.
“We might get some information about what he’s planning.”
“Or I could just shut the whole thing down in one go.”
“And kill yourself? No way. Besides, it’s going to take more than that to stop him. You’d be sacrificing yourself for nothing.”
“It would slow him down. Like he slowed us down. It would be worth it.”
“I don’t think Bruce would see it that way.”
Kate glared at her. “Low blow, Romanoff. Fine. I won’t trash the place.”
Nat shrugged. “If it works it works.”
“It’s not like he loves me or anything,” the witch said after a moment, leaning against the wall.
“I don’t know about that. I think that as soon as you started establishing yourself as capable and intelligent, he was in deep.”
“You’re both those things,” Kate pointed out. “Why doesn’t he like you then, instead of me?”
“I’m not a scientist. Or as close to one as you are. I’m a highly trained assassin. You have four degrees. They’re weird magical degrees, but you have them.”
Kate sighed and sank back against the wall. “Fine.”
“The others will come.”
“They don’t even know where we are. I can’t get a message to them. I know how to use spy stuff, but I’m a little too agitated, even with the bracelets. I’d just fry it.”
Nat just smiled. “Let me handle it. I know Clint’ll be looking. You keep watch.”
Kate nodded, and Nat moved to the equipment in the cell.
Several hours later, Ultron and his other selves had gone, and Kate and Nat were left alone.
It was a few hours after that that they heard voices. “Kate! Natasha!”
“Bruce?” Kate reached the bars of the cell first, smiling slightly as he came into view, his hand covering her own. “Good to see you.”
“I don’t suppose you brought a key?” Nat asked.
“No, but I found one.”
The girls stepped backward as he shot the door with one of the guns.
Kate pushed the door open as Bruce looked them over.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Bit peckish, but I'll survive.”
“Good. I'm here to get you to safety.”
Kate stopped and looked at him, the smile disappearing. “What, like running?”
He sighed. “You saw what happened in Johannesburg. I can't be in a fight with civilians. I'm a monster. And you've done enough. More than enough, both of you.”
Kate gave him a long, steady look before she spoke. “Do you know what I saw in Johannesburg? I saw the big guy under an enchantment. Once he was out, he was perfectly capable of being a decent person. You are not a monster. I know; I've seen monsters. One gave birth to me, proceeded to call me a parasite, treated me like a slave and conspired with another monster to kill my father in cold blood. Monsters destroyed my school, killed the one person who actually cared about me, killed my uncle and countless others. And if you really want to call yourself a monster, you may as well call me one too. I've killed my fair share of people. Part of the job. So cut the crap, Bruce. We don't have time for it.”
He stared at her. “But--”
Her green eyes blazed. “If you want to run, be my guest. I won't stop you. But I know we could use the big guy.”
Bruce wondered if he should tell her about the Vision. She couldn't get any madder, could she?
“Before we go, there's a couple things you should know.”
“Like?” Nat asked.
“The Maximoffs have joined our side. And… Tony and I uploaded Jarvis into the body in the cradle.”
Kate's jaw dropped. “You did what? Did I not specifically say not to do anything I wouldn't do?”
“Tony is very convincing,” Bruce muttered. “And it turned out all right. He's on our side… and he can lift Thor's hammer.”
The witch had opened her mouth to speak again, but it snapped shut. She blinked at him. “He can lift Thor's hammer,” she repeated.
Bruce nodded, and she lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.
“Fine. Okay. Let's go.”
Before they could move, the ground began to shake, and suddenly the area just behind Bruce began to rise.
“What the…” Nat whispered, staring.
Kate reached up and kissed Bruce hard on the mouth. “Are you with us, then?” When he nodded, she smiled. “Good. We’ll meet you up there. Time for a bit of magic, Nat.” She grabbed the spy’s arm and turned on the spot, reappearing in the forest several hundred feet above. Nat looked a little green, and Kate pulled her out of the way as the Hulk came crashing through. “Sorry. Figured you didn’t want to ride with the big guy.”
Nat nodded, and they both looked at the Hulk, who was shaking dirt off himself.
“Perfect. Let’s go be heroes.”
What seemed like an hour later, the battle was winding down. Thor, Tony, the Vision, and the Hulk had taken out Ultron, Fury had shown up with the helicarrier to evacuate the people, and now Kate was walking towards the Hulk, who was ripping some more drones apart, calming down.
“Hey big guy,” she said softly.
He grunted at her, and she stepped closer.
“Battle’s over. Air’s getting thin. You ready to go home? I promised we’d go someplace nice, after all.”
Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots, and the Hulk roared as Kate was thrown off her feet, pain searing through her leg. Her head hit a rock, and everything went black.
When she came to, she was flying through the air in the Hulk’s arms, landing on the surface of the helicarrier. He gently set her down, and she looked at him in confusion before he jumped back off.
Kate struggled to her feet and limped belowdeck, meeting up with Fury and Maria, who called a medic over.
“No, no, I got it,” Kate grumbled, flicking her wand at her leg. The bullet had thankfully gone straight through her thigh, so it was an easy fix.
She glanced out the window to find pieces of the city flying by, and bit her lip. Bruce…
“He’s on the jet,” Mai said softly, touching her arm. “He threw Ultron out, and now he’s… flying away.” Her eyes were far away, as if she was actually looking at the big guy within the plane… or perhaps one of the spirits was telling her all this.
“Thank you,” Kate said, and turned to one of the monitors, typing rapidly. The Hulk appeared on the screen.
“Hey big guy,” she said softly. “Battle’s over. We won. You can come back… we can take a vacation. We’ve both earned it.”
He did not reply, and she had a feeling she knew why.
“Look. I understand, you’re scared. So am I. If you want to run and be by yourself for a while, fine. Go. Just know that I’m not going to wait forever. It’s not my style. Come back when you want, and… be safe.”
The Hulk touched the screen, closing it down, and Kate sighed.
-----
Three weeks had passed since the Battle of Sokovia. They'd moved from Avengers Tower to a new facility in upstate New York, where Kate would be getting her own lab. She'd given the specifications to Tony and it would be ready in about a month.
Kate was in her room unpacking when Friday's voice came through.
“Miss Turner, you have an incoming call.”
“From?”
“A payphone in London.”
Kate frowned and snatched up her mobile. “Turner,” she said, then nearly dropped the phone when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.
“Kate! I’m so glad I was able to reach you.”
“Bruce? What--where are you?”
“Somewhere in London. Can you meet me?”
Why was her heart pounding and her stomach doing somersaults? It was Bruce. “Yes, of course. Trafalgar Square, one hour.”
She hung up, and stared at the phone before sending a quick email. It didn’t take her long to get to London, only about forty minutes, and as she emerged from an alley adjoining the square she felt her heart begin to pound again. He was there, standing by the statue, looking a little lost. She swallowed and walked up to him.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
He turned and his eyes widened slightly before he smiled. “No longer than I made you wait. Kate, I--I’m sorry. After the battle, the big guy and I--we sort of freaked out.”
“I noticed,” she said. “You could have at least grunted a goodbye, you know. Where have you been, anyway? Fury said they spotted the plane in the Banda Sea. I wouldn’t have minded joining you in Fiji.”
Bruce grimaced slightly. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “When you got shot by Ultron, we realized how much we--how much I cared about you, and… we needed some time to work it out. It scared us.”
Her eyebrow rose. “You think I’m not scared? Bruce, the last time I felt anything close to what I feel for you was with my last ex, and that didn’t end well.”
“What happened?”
“He was at the Triskelion when Hydra took over. As a Hydra agent. He tried to kill me. Three guesses how that turned out.” Kate crossed her arms and sighed. “I had to kill him, but not before he spouted some vicious shit. I wasn’t exactly the best girlfriend for him, since he was only dating me to get information, and I refused to talk about work outside of it.” She shrugged. “Whatever. He was a dick anyway. So what did you do in Fiji? Lie on the beach and get a tan?”
“N-not exactly. The big guy and I did some serious thinking for two weeks. And then once we decided what we wanted and what we were going to do about it, we headed back.” Bruce looked into her eyes, and Kate found her heart beginning to pound again. Why did she feel like a damned schoolgirl?
“What did you decide?”
He lifted his head and looked around the square. “You know, when you said we’d go someplace nice, London wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
She laughed, eyes sparkling as she uncrossed her arms. “Me either. I was thinking more along the lines of my cabin in the Scottish highlands. It’s nice and isolated.”
“Sounds perfect. But--are you okay with leaving with me? Don’t you have stuff you need to do for SHIELD?”
“I sent Fury an email telling him I was taking an extended vacation. I think we both deserve it. So, you coming?”
He grabbed her hand. “Point the way.”
“That alley, over there. I’m going to apparate us.”
“We’re not taking the train?”
She rolled her eyes at him and started pulling him through the crowd. “Bruce, don’t you think you’ve kept me waiting long enough?”
He looked abashed when she glanced back at him. “I was a little worried that you’d given up. You did say you wouldn’t wait forever.”
“And I wouldn’t’ve. I don’t wait around for men, not anymore.” They reached the alley, and she pulled him further into it, out of sight of the crowd before saying, a little nervously, “Before we go, I just want to make sure you’re okay with what I’m planning.”
He brushed hair from her face. “Depends on what you’re planning.”
She gave him a sultry look through her eyelashes. “You don’t even want to hazard a guess?”
Bruce smirked at her, stepping closer until she was against the alley wall. “I’d rather hear you say it.”
“Well, in that case,” she purred, levering herself upward so that she could speak into his ear, “the plan was to rip all your clothes off and continue what we started in the shower.”
His eyes had closed, and he shivered slightly, surprised at how much her words had excited him. He felt her move back, felt her eyes on him, and didn’t even bother to open his own before he kissed her fiercely, pressing her against the wall.
Gasping, she kissed him back. “I take that as a yes.”
Without further ado, she twisted them, taking a step forward, and they were in the living room of her little cabin. Everything was covered in dust, as she hadn’t been there in nearly a year, and she immediately turned away and sneezed.
“Bollocks. Hang on, Bruce.”
He watched as she flicked her wand, Banishing the dust, then she grabbed his hand, tugging on it.
“Bedroom’s this way. Probably as dusty as the rest of the place. Ugh, cleaning is harshing my buzz.”
Reaching the bedroom, Kate stood and surveyed the dust-covered surfaces, then gasped as Bruce pulled her back flush against his body. His hands reached under her shirt, and he hummed thoughtfully as he discovered that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Bruce, what are you--ah,” she gasped again as he rolled her nipples between his fingers, her head falling back against his shoulders, eyes drifting closed.
“Bringing the buzz back. Though you’ll still need to take care of the dust, or we’re going to end up doing this on the rug in the living room.” He kissed her neck, making her moan.
“Okay, okay.” She lifted her wand and waved it in a wide arc, and soon every surface was sparkling. Then she tossed her wand onto the bureau and turned to face him, grabbing his shirt collar and tugging. Buttons flew everywhere as his shirt came open.
“That was my only shirt,” he said as she reached up to kiss him.
“I'll buy you a new one,” she murmured between kisses, pulling back slightly so that he could yank her shirt over her head. Her hands found his belt buckle and within twenty seconds his pants were on the floor.
Her skirt quickly followed, and then he was moving forward until her knees hit the bed and they fell onto it in a tangle of limbs, Bruce kissing his way down her neck, nipping at the skin and eliciting a delighted groan from her.
Later, they laid together, Bruce’s head pillowed on her chest as Kate ran her fingers through his hair, both well-sated.
He tilted his head to look up at her. “So… what happens now?”
“Well, I figured we’d have more sex, I’d make food, and then we’d watch the telly or something. I’ve found I’m quite fond of Doctor Who.”
There was a low rumble in his chest, and she realized he was laughing.
“What?”
“Doctor Who? You don’t get enough crazy in your life already? What with magic, ghosts, and enhanced? I’d think you’d enjoy something more mundane, like Law and Order, or the British equivalent. Downton Abbey?”
Kate snorted. “Downton Abbey and Law and Order are not similar at all, Bruce. And yes, I rather enjoy those too, but Doctor Who is entertaining in a different way.”
He hummed in agreement. “If it relaxes you and makes you happy, I can’t exactly complain.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “Now, about the more sex part…”
He chuckled again. “Already?”
“You have some time to make up for if you recall, Mr Banner,” she said, then closed her eyes and arched against him as his lips wrapped around one of her nipples. “Mmm. You are quite skilled with that, aren’t you?”
“You could say so.” He grinned wickedly and pressed her into the mattress, kissing his way down her neck.