"Uncle Clint?" Amelia peered up to look at her uncle from where she sat, while Clint stood beside her and observed an object that she could only describe as a large blue ice cube.
"Yeah, munchkin?" Clint questioned, looking down at the 9-year-old who looked utterly dumbfounded.
"Why are we up here watching over an ice cube?" Amelia asked the man curiously.
Clint couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "Well, for one, it's not an ice cube munchkin, and two, the view up here is better," he explained to her amusedly.
"But uncle Clint, it looks like an ice cube!" Amelia insisted.
"It's not an ice cube, sweetheart," Clint said, shaking his head amused.
"Whatever you say, Birdbrain," Amelia told him with a grin plastered on her face.
Clint gasped playfully. "Hey! What did we talk about you calling me that?" he questioned.
Amelia can't help but giggle at the look Clint's giving her. "I don't know, my mama encourages me to call you that," she told him.
"Oh yeah? I'll be having words with her when I see her next!" Clint exclaimed while he grinned.
"Look, I see Grandpa Nick!" Amelia exclaimed excitedly, pointing over to where Nick Fury had entered the room and spoke with another agent. "Can we go and see him?" she asked.
Clint nodded as he heard Fury speak into his ear through comms. "Looks like you've got your wish. Come on kid," he smiled and picked her up. "Hold on tightly," he added as he held onto the 9 -year-old and went down the zip wire to meet the director.
"Grandpa Nick!" Amelia exclaimed, all but throwing herself at the older man once Clint had let her go.
"Whoa, hello there trouble," Fury chuckled, caught off guard by the 9-year-old launching herself at him, lucky enough he was quick to catch her in his arms. "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," he spoke directly to Clint.
"I'm helping uncle Clint keep watch on the ice cube!" Amelia told the man excitedly.
"Ice cube?" Fury questioned amusedly.
"Uh-huh," Amelia agreed as she grinned.
Fury couldn't help but smile at the girl's childish excitement and ruffled her hair. "Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" he questioned the other man.
"No one's come or gone. And Selvig's clean," Clint explained to his boss. "No contacts. No IMs. If there was any tampering, sir. It wasn't at this end," he continued to explain.
"At this end?" Fury questioned.
"Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides," Clint explained to the man as he looked over at the cube.
"Not yet," Fury muttered his head in disagreement.
Fury knew he shouldn't have spoken too soon, as if those words made it start up and there was odd behaviour, as there was a reaction from the ice cube. Amelia, who still sat in Fury's arms looked slightly terrified by what was going on around.
"Grandpa, what's going on?" Amelia cried out in fear. "Uncle Clint!" she cried out for her uncle, who looked like he was in danger.
"Damn it!" Fury spoke out loud, automatically turning to the nearest agent which just so happened to be Coulson. "Coulson, take Amelia and get out of here, now!" he said alarmed at the distraught child in his arms.
"Copy that," Coulson agreed, gently prying Amelia out of Fury's arms who held on with a tight grip.
"Grandpa! No, I don't want to leave you!" Amelia cried out in fear, hell she was only 9 years old and she had never seen this sort of stuff happen before. "Grandpa!" she repeated.
Fury resisted the urge to groan and throw the child out of his arms, he wasn't any monster after all and realised he needed to explain what was happening and fast. "Listen to me Millie, don't worry, okay? Whatever this is, we're going to sort it out but I need for you to go with Coulson for now, alright? You'll be safe with him!" he insisted, coaxing the girl out of his arms.
Amelia kept her hold on the man, still scared of what was happening around her. "I-I'm scared, Grandpa Nick!" she continued to cry out in fear.
"I know that you're scared, I know you are and it's okay. Just go with Coulson for now, Millie," Fury attempted to reassure the child.
"Come on Amelia, you come with me and you'll be safe," Coulson stated, moving forward to practically tear Amelia out of Fury's arms.
"No! I don't want to go with you!" Amelia shouted as she flailed her arms around to stop Coulson from holding her. "Put me down, put me down, I want my uncle Clint!" she demanded.
"Amelia we don't have time for this now. Coulson, get her out of here, now!" Fury ordered firmly.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Amelia continued to scream as Coulson carried her out of the room, the man didn't let her go despite her best efforts to try and claw his face and any other parts of his body that were a weakness. "PUT ME DOWN, NOW!" she demanded.
"Bobbi!" Coulson raced over to the blonde-headed woman who spun around and looked at the older man concerned. "Bobbi, I need your help!" he pleaded.
Bobbi took one look at Amelia's panicked face and reached out for the child. "What's going on, Agent Coulson?" she questioned as she held the small child in her arms.
"We're under attack. Get Amelia back to the base, and keep her safe at all costs," Coulson explained briefly as he rushed off in another direction. "I will get in touch with you once it's safe," he told her before he disappeared.
"Ow, ah damn, fuck!" Bobbi hissed in pain as Amelia sunk her teeth into the older blonde. "Amelia that hurt!" she expressed the pain she felt.
"Put me down, Bobbi. I want to go back to uncle Clint!" Amelia growled, continuing to thrash around in the blonde's arms.
"I can't do that kid," Bobbi said as she continued to hold onto the child in her arms tightly.
Amelia was yet to give up thrashing around in Bobbi's arms as the blonde found a quick escape onto a Quinjet which would take them back to base, and only then did she let go of the child who had done her best to claw her way out of the blondes' arms.
"Look I know that you're scared right now but I'm going to protect you until you can be with your mama at least," Bobbi told the 9-year-old as she strapped her into one of the seats on the Quinjet. "But no more biting, alright? That shit hurts," she stated as she looked down at her own that now had teeth marks embedded in her skin.
Natasha was undercover on a mission, tied to a chair as she was in a place in far-out location, with barely anything around her but nonetheless, she remained in character the whole time. Even when one of the henchmen reached forward to slap her face.
"This is not how I wanted the evening to go," The Russian General, Georgi Luchkov spoke out in Russian.
"I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better," Natasha replied back in her native language.
"Who are you working for?" The general questioned as one of the henchmen moved forward and tilted the chair back so the redhead was on the edge of falling. "Lermentov, yes? Does he think we have to go through him to move our cargo?" he continued to ask questions.
"I thought General Solohob is in charge of the export business," Natasha spoke out, remaining undercover as she acted cautiously toward the Russian General.
The henchman let go of the chair and returned back to where he stood.
"Solohob a bagman, a front. Your outdated information betrays you. The famous Black Widow and she turns out to be simply another pretty face," The General told her with a slight smirk on his face while the other henchmen couldn't help but smirk as well.
"You really think I'm pretty?" Natasha spoke out in her native tongue.
One of the henchmen moved forward, grabbing her jaw with his hands. "Tell Lermentov we don't need him to move the tanks," The general told her as he paced bath and forth. "Tell him he is out- Well, you may have to write it down," he stated as he reached for a pair of plyers.
All of the sudden, the interrogation is broken by one of the henchmen's phones ringing. Quickly reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out and answered.
"Да?" The man answered, pausing to pull the phone away from his ear and look at the General. "It's for her," he motioned towards the phone.
The General took the phone out of his hands. "You listen carefully," he started until we cut off abruptly.
Natasha was unaware of what was said on the other end of the line, the General was looking around the building cautiously, and the redhead was curious to know who was on the other side of the call.
The General walked forwards to Natasha and gingerly handed her the phone. The redhead leaned her head to the side to hold the phone against her ear, the best she could while still tied up.
"We need you to come in," Phil Coulsons' voice spoke from the other side of the phone.
"Are you kidding? I'm working," Natasha told him confused.
"This takes precedence," Coulson explained from his end.
Natasha furrowed her eyebrows confused. "I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything," she stated as she looked at the General who looked taken back.
"I don't give everything," The General stuttered out confused.
Natasha couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in his direction and shake her head before speaking to Coulson again. "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now," she told him.
"Natasha," Coulson paused for a minute. "Barton's been compromised and Amelia was there when it happened," he told her.
The panic automatically alarmed the redhead when she heard those words. "Let me put you on hold," she told him, motioning Luchkov over to her with a nod of her head.
Natasha was quick to kick him and then proceed to headbutt him as well. Luchkov fell to the floor within seconds with loud grunts of pain before she elegantly stood up, still attached to the chair and proceeds to attack the first henchman.
Throwing herself towards the henchman, she kickboxes him in the face before she rolls over to the second henchman and trips him up. The taller henchman lets out a hiss of pain as she stomps on his foot with the peg of the chair.
Continuing with flips and turns, Natasha flips herself and falls down hard which causes the chair to smash apart and in the meantime, knocks the second henchmen out. Turning around, the taller henchman reaches out for her arm which she twists in her hold, she drop-kicks him before she flips back up and manoeuvres her legs around his neck to throw him to the ground where she knocks him out cold.
Noticing that Luchkov is coming toward her, she grabs his legs around a hanging chain and drops him down into the open floor where he is left to dangle.
Once satisfied with her work, she walks over to the heels and the phone while Coulson is still on the other side and picks it up to speak. "Where is Barton now?" she questioned, walking away with heels in her hand. "And my daughter? Tell me that she is safe Coulson," she demanded.
"We don't know," Coulson told her truthfully. "As for Amelia, she's safe. We got her out of there as quick as we could," he added to reassure her.
"Oh thank God!" Natasha exclaimed, continuing to talk. "But he's alive?" she questioned in regards to her best friend.
"We think so," Coulson responded. "I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy," he added.
"Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me," Natasha stated amusedly on her end of the phone.
"Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy," Coulson responded.
Natasha froze in her spot and looked around panicked. "Боже мой," she muttered out loud
"Bobbi, what's happened to uncle Clint?" Amelia questioned from the safety at the base where they landed at.
The blonde was quick to settle the firey redheaded child with a games console that Hunter had left around while she went to deal with the aftermath of her arm, it wasn't that bad but there was some slight blood and she was sure as hell that it would leave a bruise.
Bobbi looked up from where she dabbed tissue on her arm and over to the kid. "I don't know the answer to that one kid but I'm sure that he is fine. You know that uncle Clint can handle himself," she explained to the child.
"I want my mama," Amelia whimpered out in fear.
"I know that you do and I am sure that you will be with her soon enough," Bobbi said as she smiled reassuringly at the 9-year-old. "Now, are you hungry? I managed to get ahold of some bags of chips and cans of soda," she offered them out to the younger girl.
"Mama doesn't let me drink a lot of soda, it makes me go hyper," Amelia mumbled as she opened the bag of chips and started to eat them.
Bobbi couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. "I know, but I think it'll be okay for just today," she told her. "But I also have juice boxes if you want one of those instead?" she offered.
"Apple juice?" Amelia perked up at the words.
"I wasn't sure, I brought apple and orange," Bobbi explained to the child. "Apple it is then," she stated as she handed off the juice box to the child who was still worried.
"Thanks, Bobbi," Amelia mumbled quietly as she poked the hole through her juice box and drank it and then paused with a dramatic gasp.
"What? What's the matter, kid?" Bobbi questioned worriedly.
"My backpack is still there, and it's got my elephant in it! And my nerf gun that uncle Clint brought me for Christmas!" Amelia said alarmed.
"Hey, don't panic. We'll get your backpack as soon as we can," Bobbi reassured the child, already pulling out her phone to shoot a quick text to Hunter who just so happened to be at the other SHIELD base still to retrieve the backpack before he leaves. "You'll have your elephant with you again soon kid," she promised.
"I'm bored," Amelia huffed and threw the game console aside.
Bobbi chuckled and looked over to the girl who sat there with crossed arms and a pout on her face. "Why don't you try and get some sleep? It's getting late and I know your mama probably doesn't let you stay up this late usually," the blonde mentioned.
Amelia shook her head furiously and kept her arms crossed. "I can't sleep without my elephant," she told her quietly. "Usually mama reads me a story as well," she added.
Bobbi inwardly groaned, of course, the kid wouldn't sleep without her comforter. "I can't do much about your elephant, but I happen to know a great bedtime story if you're interested at all?" she questioned.
"Can you do voices?" Amelia questioned curiously.
"Of course, I can! But you should probably get changed for bed first. I can't imagine it would be comfy to sleep in your t-shirt and jeans kid," Bobbi told her as she chuckled.
Amelia frowned at her words. "I left my clothes in my backpack though," she said.
"Don't worry kid, I am sure I can find something that will be suitable for one night," Bobbi reassured the child as she stood up and dug around in some drawers. "Here you go, it'll be a little big but it will be comfy at least," she told her.
"Thanks, Bobbi!" Amelia said as she smiled.
"Get changed kid and then I can read you that bedtime story," Bobbi said as she ruffled her hair.
The younger redhead didn't have to be told twice as she accepted the large t-shirt and went into the small bathroom to change. Meanwhile, Bobbi changed into some pyjamas herself while she waited for the 9-year-old to join her back in the room.
"I'm ready for a story now!" Amelia exclaimed, walking out with the baggy t-shirt almost covering her whole body.
Bobbi couldn't help but smile and patted the mattress for the younger girl to join her. "Okay, well I don't have any books so I'll have to make up a story, alright?" she questioned.
"Gotcha," Amelia agreed as she giggled and made herself comfy in Bobbi's bed.
"Right then, how do I start this story?" Bobbi wondered out loud.
"Once upon a time," Amelia said amusedly.
Bobbi nodded her head in agreement. "Right... Once upon a time," she repeated.
"I can already tell that this is going to be a trainwreck of a story," Amelia mumbled dramatically.
Bobbi gasped and playfully poked at the 9-year-old's sides. "Hey! Do you want a story or not, kid?" she teased.
"Yes!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Well, be quiet then and I'll begin," Bobbi stated as she smirked.
"You're very bossy," Amelia couldn't help but giggle as she leaned on Bobbi and the blonde began to tell a story.
"So, how are we doing this then?" A fellow agent questioned, walking off the ramp of the Quinjet that had landed in a field.
"I guess that we just have to be tactical about it," Natasha told him as she looked around and a slight smile appeared across her face when she spotted a young girl. "I have an idea," she added, walking towards the small child.
"Okay, and if the idea fails?" Another agent questioned, following Natasha to the young girl.
"It won't fail. Trust me," Natasha muttered out loud agitated with the other agent.
"Copy that, Agent Romanoff," The first agent agreed.
Natasha along with the accompanied SHIELD agents made their way over to the young girl who looked at them all sceptical.
Sure, it wasn't one of Natasha's finest moments to use a kid to lure the man in, if anyone tried to do this with her own daughter then she wouldn't be happy but she wasn't sure how else to do it.
"Hey kid," Natasha said as she smiled and crouched down to the child's level. "Do you want to earn some money? I need a favour," she told her.
The younger girl of course was eager to accept, holding her hand out for the money straight away, of course, she didn't speak much English so she rambled something that was incoherent for Natasha to understand completely.
Natasha dug into her small pocket and pulled out a 10-dollar bill, handing it out to the child who was quick to stuff it into her own pocket. "Okay kid, I need you to run in there and grab the attention of the doctor, that's in there," she explained as she pointed over to the small house in the distance where she knew Bruce Banner would be.
While the young child ran off to gain the doctor's attention, she found herself hiding out inside a small house, waiting on the arrival of Doctor Banner to make his appearance, it didn't take too long as she waited in anticipation, she was completely aware of the alias that this man had, any slight trigger and she was sure that the big guy himself would make an appearance.
"You guys stay outside but have your weapons at the ready in case I need backup," Natasha ordered to the group of agents as they followed the orders and went outside
It didn't take long for the child to lure him to the house, Natasha hid out of view as Doctor Banner entered the house with the child who fled soon after and the redhead knew it was time to make her appearance to the man known.
"You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress you picked a hell of a place to settle," Natasha spoke as she came out of hiding to the man who looked taken back.
"Avoiding stress isn't the secret," Bruce said as he turned to look at Natasha.
"Then what is it? Yoga?" Natasha questioned with a slight smile on her face.
Bruce clapped his hands together and smiled. "You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I assume that the whole place is surrounded," he stated as he looked around the small hut.
"Just you and me," Natasha told him as she removed the scarf from around her shoulders and walked toward him.
Bruce pointed towards the window where the girl had fled. "And your actress bussy? Is she a spy, too? They start that young?" he questioned.
"I did," Natasha told him truthfully.
"Who are you?" Bruce questioned confused. Of course, he wasn't aware of who Natasha was, but the redhead knew all about him and his capabilities.
"Natasha Romanoff," The woman told him.
Bruce nodded slightly and fidgeted with his hands. "Are you here to kill me, Ms Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone," he told her.
"No, of course not. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D," Natasha told him as she walked toward him.
"S.H.I.E.L.D?" Bruce questioned with a pause, looking at Natasha. "How did they find me?" he asked.
"We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent," Natasha explained.
"Why?" The doctor continued to question.
"Nick Fury seems to trust you," Natasha told him. "But now we need you to come in," she added.
"What if I say no?" Bruce wondered.
Natasha smiled at him slightly. "I'll persuade you," she told him.
"And what if the other guy says no?" Bruce asked as he looked over at Natasha.
"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want to break that streak," Natasha told him as she moved and picked up her phone.
"Well, I don't every time get what I want," Bruce stated.
Natasha walked back over with her phone. "Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe," she told him.
Bruce couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, those I actively try to avoid," he said amusedly.
Natasha slid the phone in his direction. "This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet," she explained as she sat down at the small table.
Bruce moved to place his glasses on and picked up the phone to take a closer look. "What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?" he questioned.
"He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace," Natasha explained to the doctor. "There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be," she told him as she leaned back in the chair.
"So, Fury isn't after the monster?" Bruce wondered, taking his glasses off.
"Not that he's told me," Natasha stated.
"And he tells you everything?" The doctor continued to question.
"Talk to Fury. He needs you on this," Natasha told the doctor.
"He needs me in a cage?" Bruce continued to press for answers.
Natasha reached forward for her phone. "No one's going to put you in a-"
"Stop lying to me!" Bruce was quick to lean forward and slam his hands on the table, his voice was raised and Natasha bolted up from her seat and didn't think twice to point her gun in Bruce's direction. "I'm sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do," he said as Natasha looked slightly fearful of the man. "Why don't we do this the easy way where you don't use that and the other guy doesn't make a mess. Okay?" The redhead was slightly frozen, hesitant about what to do. "Natasha?" he continued to question, holding his hands in mock surrender towards the redhead.
Natasha was quick to hold her hand to her ear to speak to comms to the other agents outside. "Stand down. We're good here," she spoke.
Bruce couldn't help but smile slightly at the redhead. "Just you and me?" he questioned.
"Bobbi?" Amelia mumbled, glancing up at the blonde tiredly as she lay against her chest.
"What's the matter, kid?" Bobbi questioned as she smiled and stroked the younger redhead's curls.
"Thank you for the story. It was pretty cool," Amelia continued to mumble tiredly as she started to close her eyes.
Bobbi couldn't help but chuckle and keep on running her hand through the child's hair. "No worries, kid. I'm glad that you liked it," she told her.
"It was really good," Amelia moved slightly to snuggle against Bobbi as she lazily threw her hand over the older woman. "Bobbi?" she continued to question.
"Yeah, kid?" Bobbi glanced down at the child again.
"When I wake up will my mama be back?" Amelia wondered.
"I don't know about that kid," Bobbi told her honestly. "It's pretty late, how about your shut those eyes and try and get some sleep?" she suggested.
"Okay," Amelia said as she sighed slightly. "Will you still be here when I wake up, Bobbi?" she asked.
"Of course, I will. I'm not going to leave you, Millie," Bobbi told the 9-year-old.
"Thanks, Bobbi. Goodnight," Amelia mumbled tiredly as she snuggled even further into the older blonde.
"Sweet dreams kid," Bobbi said softly.
•
Another update,
And so the beginning of the Avengers chapters begins... Let me know what you think!