In its raw state, the crystal appears translucent with faint iridescence, but under pressure, it resonates at frequencies exceeding 32 terahertz. This resonance produces extraordinary amounts of kinetic energy.
Laboratory trials show Isoform-8 amplifies cellular repair when introduced in trace micrograms, leading to accelerated tissue regeneration.
However, quantities over 9 grams destabilize into a catastrophic chain reaction-
"Find something interesting, Dr. Banner?"
Bruce stops his finger from where it had been underlining in the book. He blinks and removes his glasses, only then realizing he'd been mouthing the words to himself in the vast library.
Princess Natalia is dressed casually this morning, leaning against a marble post with one ankle crossed, arms folded loosely in front of her. She watches him with those sharp, green, scrutinizing eyes.
Bruce suddenly feels like he's the one being read rather than the one doing the reading.
This playing field is uneven.
"Interesting makes it sound personal, Princess," he clears his throat.
"My friends call me 'Nat', Dr. Banner."
"Is that an invitation? It sounds like a trap."
She pushes off the column with calculated steps of menacing equal distance.
"Does the General always send you searching for explosives?"
Bruce taps the page as if it might defend him, "Medicine. Cellular repair. Healing, not hurting."
"Don't patronize me."
He softens, flinching. "I uh. That wasn't my intention."
Her gaze flicks briefly over his bare forearms before shifting to the shelves.
A red-painted fingernail taps along spines until she finds what she wants. She lays the book neatly over his open text.
"Eight Cases for Isoform," she reads. "Medical Observation by Dr. Agatha Marks."
Another two follow. Bruce nearly drops the stack.
"That should keep you busy," Natalia smirks, unhurried as she turns to leave
Bruce hesitates following after her until he remembers Ross and the storm waiting for him if he returns empty-handed.
He needs to annoy her with facts until she loosens her tongue, "The problem with a lot of this research is that it dates back to the Cold War. Half of it is biased, but sure, we can pretend it's peer-reviewed."
Her stride doesn't break as he follows, but he catches a lift of her eyebrow when she says;
"I take that personally."
"You are a Romanova."
She pauses, not quite frowning. He might feel better if she did. Maybe he's pushed too far.
"And you're Ross's chosen pawn," Natalia says with a sly upturned grin.
She's cataloging her own assumptions. It's insulting.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he trails her.
Natalia embarks up one side of the sweeping white staircase, her hand grazing the banister like she owns every inch of marble.
Bruce starts up the opposite side.
"It means you'll be sacrificed for the sake of the match."
"Or, err, promoted," he adds awkwardly, nearly dropping the books.
Natalia rolls her eyes, but the faintest smirk ghosts her mouth as their paths arc closer to the top.
"Do all of your dreams and ambitions end at an army base?"
"Do yours stop at a crown?"
"Mashna is my home."
"I thought you were Russian?"
"I was," she looks forward, "You're out of your element."
At the top, they meet on the balcony overlooking the marble floor below. Natalia slides forward with poised elegance, close enough to brush his collar into place.
"Do yourself a favor, Dr. Banner," she says with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Stay in the library. Books can't hurt you."
Bruce's breath catches over her invasion of his space.
The reply comes out rougher than intended, "Don't patronize me."
She swings her hair over her shoulder and wiggles her fingers in a dismissive wave, disappearing around the corner.
The silence breaks with a clatter as the books slip from his arms, scattering across the marble floor in a ruffle of pages.
"Brilliant, Banner," he mutters to himself, "Real smooth."
Bruce finds himself pausing in his book cleanup, and he bites his cheek.
He frowns in the direction Natalia disappeared toward and his eyes narrow in suspicion.
Russian. Romanova.
The dates didn't add up, not with the little he's read on Mashna's timeline.
She's too young, it's too clean, and she's too smooth.
'Stay in the library', she'd said. Fine. He would.
But not with the books she wanted him to read.
YOU ARE READING
The Deception
FanfictionNatasha Romanoff is on a mission to prove herself. She is posing as the Princess of a small European country and in a matter of weeks, she will become Queen. That is, if Thaddeus Ross's plan to reveal who she is and to throw an unsuspecting Bruce Ba...
