The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

Avengers: Chapter Six

Shattered glass crunched under her weight.

Marie groaned. Her ears were ringing; a piercing, inescapable noise. She pulled herself up onto her elbows, shards of glass falling from her hair. Her body throbbed and her neck ached as she glanced around her.

She didn't recognize the room, not that there was much of the room left to look at. Large pipes, beams, and other metal pieces that looked important to the structural integrity of the helicarrier surrounded her.

Marie stood up, only to be knocked to her knees as the room tilted. She grabbed onto a beam and grumbled. Nothing felt broken; whiplash, maybe. She pulled herself up again and moved forward slowly, using debris for support as the helicarrier continued to drop.

Her earpiece erupted with chatter. She couldn't make sense of what was happening. There was an explosion, that much she knew, and it wasn't an accident. S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment doesn't spontaneously combust.

Two S.H.I.E.L.D. workers ran by her. They followed the sounds of pained groans from the other side of the room. She rushed after them and skid to a halt when she saw the source.

Agent Romanoff lay on the ground. Her leg was trapped under a steel beam. Bruce was several feet away, shouting and thrashing and—turning green.

"Doctor—Bruce, you've got to fight it. This is just what Loki wants," Romanoff warned, panting. She saw the workers and hurriedly waved them off. They didn't hesitate; the men high-tailed it and disappeared.

"We're going to be okay, listen to me."

Marie was frozen. Romanoff was begging. It wasn't her usual, manipulative manner. She wasn't angry, even as she glared at Marie and jabbed her finger in the direction she came from. Her hardened features were pale and clammy, her eyes wide and fingers trembling.

Romanoff was scared.

"I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away and never—"

"Your life?" Bruce shouted. But it wasn't his voice. It was deep and raw and filled with uncontrolled rage. Marie watched in morbid fascination as he transformed. His clothes were shredded. His body twisted and morphed and grew ten times in size.

"Bruce," Romanoff whispered. She struggled to free herself from the beam.

Marie darted forward. Telekinetically, she raised the beam just high enough for Agent Romanoff to crawl out. She jolted as the Hulk let out a thunderous roar. Romanoff scrambled onto her feet.

"You need to get out of here. Now," she whispered. She pushed her in the opposite direction, her fingers digging into her uniform. Marie dug her heels into the ground.

"No! You-You can't stay here! He-He'll crush you!"

Romanoff shook her head and shoved her further into the darkness.

"That's an order, Devnner. Go."

Marie reluctantly slipped into the shadows as the Hulk roared again. Agent Romanoff was gone, sprinting up a set of still-intact stairs. The Hulk tore after her, and Marie could only watch as the redhead flipped onto a catwalk and disappeared into a maze of pipes.

The Hulk, of course, ripped out said pipes in his pursuit.

Marie darted through the shadows, trying to keep track of the slinky redhead and the destructive Hulk. The maze of catwalks, stairs, and pipes was never-ending. Marie was turned around several times as she distantly heard the Hulk roar, followed by gun shots.