"Lottie, this is Matron. I've been busy at my new job. It's awesome. You should see what I have doing. Anyway, should we hang out for lunch at some point? You have to tell me all about your job as well. I need to go now. Call me once you've caught this voice mail!"
I left the men at Stark Tower half an hour later. A call from Natasha could pull me out of any situation. Bucky didn't look quite please when I packed my backpack hastily. Steve's eyes were oddly bright as he stayed sat on the stool.
I stomped on, the amusement from our conversation was still overwhelming. So now that Bucky started to remember, what was going to happen next?
Since Shield didn't give me any kind of transport, and I wasn't brave enough to get behind a steering wheel any time sooner, I insisted on walking. In spite of the highlighted opportunities for mythological monsters to sense me, I rubbed my thumb on Eagle, feeling safer at its presence.
People still threw me weird and uncertain glances when I stepped into Shield's lobby. I tried to be less self-conscious, but I never cared much about my appearance. My dark hair was loosen on my shoulders, and I had on nothing grand but a t-shirt of some old band and a pair of worn out jeans.
"Do you work here?" A man in suit questioned, his brows furrowed and his company shook his head with a snicker.
I looked away from them as we waited for the elevator. "Nope, not really."
His frown deepened and his company watched me gingerly. When the pair of metal doors slid open, I headed in it and they stared at me. "Well," I started, feeling slightly annoyed by them, "Are you two coming in?"
"You're not supposed to go in there," They stuttered and tried to grab me. Nick Fury's voice boomed through the system within the limited space.
"Charlotte, Agent Romanoff has been waiting for you ever since our meeting ended."
He didn't sound very angry, but his words did their magic to stop the men in their track. I shrugged and raised an eyebrow at them. "I'm late, sorry," I remarked and closed the door in front of them. Leaning back against the cool glass, I sighed.
Turned out Nick Fury wasn't as bothered my lateness as I had imagined him to be. He chuckled when I entered the room. "Not gonna thank me for kicking those men's asses?"
I gaped at him and crossed my arms before my chest in amusement. "You did that on purpose?"
He shrugged and gestured towards another door. I glanced around to realize I was in some sort of staff lockers' room. "The part about Natasha waiting isn't a lie. You're late."
I made a face and hurried past him. "Sorry, there was an incident," I attempted to explain. The man stared at me briefly.
"Of course."
I pulled back the door with Fury's words replaying in my head. But the sight of Natasha stretching in the centre of the room reminded me of the painful session that followed, and my conversation with Fury was immediately tucked away in my head. "What are we going to do today?" I asked and dropped my bag to a side. Natasha straightened up to examine my outfit. She clicked with her tongue and retreat to her own bag.
"You're not wearing that during training with me," She commented and pulled a pair of baggy trousers out of her massive bag. She chucked them at me and paused. After another heartbeat, she took a tank top out of her bag as well. "Go get changed, Lottie."
I pouted but obeyed anyway. It was no good defying Natasha. It was better to stay at her good side.
It didn't take me long to get changed. I came out of the locker room with baggy trousers and a loosen army green tank top on. Thank lord I was wearing a sport bra today.
I placed my hands on my hips as I watched Natasha surveyed our surroundings. I followed her to realize that someone had set the room out. There were obstacles everywhere; stacks of boxes, tables or shelves that were pushed over. I slowly turned towards Natasha. She grinned the moment she saw the horrified expression that I was wearing. "Since Fury's told me what happened to you in your own flat, I reckon you will need some more experience in battling hand on."
I gulped and Natasha cracked her knuckles, enjoyment and anticipation gleamed behind her eyes. Loosening her shoulders, she bent and I tensed up.
"Ready?"
There was no count down nor warning. She launched at me like a cat. I side stepped to avoid her blow, but Natasha had thought ahead. Light on her feet as feather, she changed her foot and crossed my path, swinging a leg under my feet.
I fell with a loud thud. Cursing in my head, I bounced back onto my feet and attempted to throw a punch at Natasha. The assassin simply blocked it off and took firm hold of my forearm.
"Come on," She urged and I dropped to my knees as she twisted my arm. The sharp pain sparked in my shoulder, triggering adrenaline in my nerves. Without any warning, an electric current pulsed through my blood.
Natasha yelped and released me at once. I fell on my side and rolled back onto my feet again. I stayed low and glanced up at the assassin.
"You're alright?" I asked in uncertainty, but she merely looked at me with a growing beam.
"That's some cool tricks," She remarked. But before I could say another word, she bounced on me again.
We thrashed around for a bit before Natasha had forced me into a corner. I held a hand up at her, "I don't want to hurt you," I warned sincerely but she simply cranked her neck in amusement.
"Let's see."
The moment she tried to throw herself at me again, I made a cutting gesture with my outstretched hand. The whole column of boxes came collapsing on her.
The door to our training room swung open at this very instant. Clint, looking like he had literally just stepped out of the shower, glanced over and saw the mess that I had just made.
"Where's Natasha?" He asked, an easy smile hinting at his lips.
There was particularly no room for speech. The boxes flew to aside as Natasha jumped out from the leap and got in me a headlock. Clint had a growing beam on his face, "That definitely looks fun."
I grunted, my hands grasping her tightening arms. Damn, if I didn't know her, I would have thought she was actually trying to kill me.
"S-sorry," I gasped and electricity sparked between my fingers. Growling, Natasha let go of me and felt her arms. Clint dropped his towel and began to jog towards us.
"Is there any room for more?" The sight of him flexing his muscles put me on edge again. With a push from my godly power on the air particles, I hopped on the shelf next to me. Clint halted to a stop and stared at me in bewilderment. His eyes were glowing dangerously with interest. Before I could say anything, Natasha kicked at the shelf. It toppled over, sending me to a side.
"Not fair!" I protested loudly, my voice getting embarrassedly high pitched. I held onto a fist of air and pulled in the opposite direction, the shelf moved to the front o Natasha and Clint.
Clint, failing to see it coming, tripped over and landed face first. Natasha, however, had jumped over the fallen shelf and landed right on me. I kicked and thrashed, refusing to stay put. Electricity began to shimmer between my fingers as well. With her eyes widened, Natasha rolled off me and I jumped back on my feet.
I wasn't even standing for long before Clint smashed his body into mine. I shrieked at his sudden rugby tackle and with another wave of my hand, I willed few boxes to fly above us. Clint grinned at me as he pinned my hands down. The boxes fell spontaneously, gaining a painful groan from him. I stole the opportunity to kick him of me.
"Charlotte."
My head snapped up at Bucky's voice. Clint and Natasha halted to a stop as they all looked up, to see a very confused Bucky standing by the door with Steve. "We were just training," I explained at once, feeling my shoulders as I gathered myself rom the floor. He had his top and army trousers on again, but it did nothing to hide his firm shoulders and arm. His army tag hung around his neck innocently, but he had no idea how much I had wanted it.
"Are you okay?" He asked as I dragged myself up from the floor. I grimaced but nodded with a tired smile.
Natasha rubbed her neck and watched our exchange with a suppressed smirk. Clint, on the other hand, furiously wiped his nose to hide the blood that was tackling down from his nose. "You got hurt?" Natasha asked instantly with sarcasm.
"Shut up," Clint grumbled, "it's the damn shelf."
"Sorry." Guilt began to fill my chest once more. Clint grinned at me through gashing blood. My god, his face was a mess.
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Updated two chapters in a day:D Man, I love this story! Please don't forget to vote or comment:)
-Rivers