The Calm Before The Storm ➳ Avengers Age Of Ultron

C H A P T E R 29

   Back at the tower, Steve barged into the lab. He was already dressed in his combat suit and helmet in hand. Natasha and Banner were already gathering around a monitor, "Is she alright?"

   It was the first sentence out of his mouth.

   "Don't know yet. Stark's there now, checking out the scene... He's running a perimeter check, aircrafts in the area... anything and everything. Thor's on route right now, her tracking device is still hot but we're not sure for how much longer—"

   The red dot on the screen went out and the air in the room stilled. Without warning, Steve sprinted out of the lab and to what they could only assume was the garage.

   "Rogers— Steve!" Natasha yelled after him but he was already halfway down the stairwell by then.

   She clenched her fists and pressed them to her forehead. They needed to keep a cool, level head. Banner softly ran a comforting hand along her back. "Bruce, what if something happened to her?"

   "She'll be fine." He comforted, "She'll be fine." He repeated once more to himself.

   "I know that... she's more than capable of taking care of herself I'm just worried about the shit they'll do to her. This guy is a psychopath, Banner. In his eyes she killed his family, she's the person who caused him— a parent to outlive his child... he's beyond reasoning. He's not gonna kill her, he's going to make her suffer— and when her meds wear off she's gonna be venerable. He won't break her easily, but he knows things about her. She's susceptible to more things now that she has powers and that's what worries me."

   For a brief second Natasha showed how truly startled she was about the whole situation, "I can't just stand here, I gotta go punch something..." she mumbled as she walked away, "Or stab." Bruce wanted to follow but he knew better. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes finding Clint facing the window.

   He was mumbling under his breath, his eyes were closed but he could feel Natasha's on him. "I'm trying to talk to her, hoping she can hear me."

   "Is that how it works?"

   "At this point, I'm hoping for anything. Nat, if anything happens to her..."

   "I know. But she's a tough girl, Barton. Jarvis is going to keep us updated every step of the way."

   Clint nodded his head, asking where Rogers was.

   "Yeah, he left a minute ago... he just got back from a mission," Natasha Informed.

   Clint took his hands out of his pockets and looked at his watch. He grumbled as he raked his fingers through his hair, "Fifteen minutes, huh? Fifteen minutes... that's how long it's been since she pressed her panic button." Clint's jaw clenched.

   "Fifteen minutes."

---

I slowly opened my right eye and instantly regretted it. A beam of light peaked through the small crack between the window and the blinds, the brightness burned my tired eyes. I groaned and rolled over onto my side facing away from the light. Soreness plagued my body, making my limbs feel heavy. Instead of being greeted with Steve's face, I was met with his muscular back. The rustling must have caught his attention cause he looked over his shoulder. His sleepy eyes meet mine. He offered me a soft smile, "Mornin."

"Morning." I second

   Steve's hand lightly ran up and down my back "It's time to get up, we overslept." He spoke softly.