Bruce brought his hands to his head and started rubbing it, which worried Natasha as she slowly moved her hand under the table.
“I don’t want to do it,” Bruce stated to Natasha.
“Dr Banner please the lives …” Natasha started.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
*Click* Bruce screamed at her while leaning close to Natasha which got her to point the gun hidden under the table at Bruce as she stood up.
Bruce smiled as he backed up while looking at the terrified expression of Natasha.
*Tweet* Bruce looked at his phone. [Now you scared her. Make her unscared before I get angry.] Bruce chuckled as he looked back at Natasha.
“I am sorry, that was me. I just wanted to see if I could trust everything you were saying to me. Besides so much for persuading me.”
Bruce said with his smile as Natasha kept taking deep rapid shallow breaths. “Why don’t you put the gun down, or the big guy will really come out? And we both don’t want that, do we?”
Bruce tried to reason to the still panic-struck, Natasha. After a few moments, Natasha lowered her gun while ordering the armed Shield units outside to retreat. “Stand down.”
“What is your name by the way?” Bruce asked her.
“Natasha,” Natasha said with a bit of wariness still present on her face.
*Tweet* Bruce grabbed his phone out calmly. [This time she is telling the truth.] Seeing the message Bruce chuckled once more.
Natasha looked at Bruce curiously before asking him. “You have been looking at your phone for a while now Dr Banner. Is it your girlfriend?”
“No, boyfriend,”
Bruce stated as he placed his phone in his pocket. Natasha had a playful smile on her lips as she finally calmed down. "I didn’t know you were into men, if that was the case there were plenty of others Fury would have sent instead of me.”
Bruce chuckled hearing that as he shook his head. “Oh, you are mistaken. I am straight as a wooden ruler, Natalie.”
Natasha was confused as to why Bruce called her ‘Natalie’. “It wasn't my boyfriend but yours,”
Bruce stated as suddenly Natasha froze. “David told me to say hi.”
Bruce waved at Nat with a smile. Natasha didn’t care about her fear anymore as she walked up to Bruce with her gun. *Click* “Woah!”
Bruce backed up to the wall in worry.
*Tweet* An alert popped up on his phone at that moment. “Give me the phone or I will put a bullet through your head if I have to. I don’t care if the monster comes out are not!”
Natasha declared in anger as she pointed the gun right at Bruce’s forehead. “Yeah, I don’t care about that. Just don’t come close to me or I will have the worst week of my life.”
Bruce said with a smile as he took his phone out and threw it to Nat, without reading the message. Natasha grabbed the phone from the air. She turned to the screen and saw that there was only one message under the name David with everything else being blank. [Hi Nat, sorry.]
*Clack*Dropping the phone, she walked out.
*Tweet* Bruce picked up the phone and looked at the new message that just came in. [Go with her. Time for me to win the bet.]
“What the hell really happened between you two?” Bruce spoke out loudly and walked after Nat.
--------------------------------------
[Tony Stark Residence]
Tony looked at the sketch of the being in the spiral armour with a frown. “No matter how badly drawn it is that is still not me Fury.”
Phil had an irritated look at Stark mocking his artistic skills. *Sigh* Stark heard a sigh from Phil’s phone. “You have any idea who it is? Looked awfully lot like your tech not to mention it delayed the collapse of a rift for a long time.”
Tony started to get irritated hearing Fury accuse him for the nth time. “Whatever it is, that isn’t my tech,”
Fury asked back without waiting a moment. “How can you say that without even having seen it up close and just from a crude drawing?”
Phil felt even more annoyed at more people mocking his great talent. “Uhh…”
Tony groaned as he heard that before curling up the paper and throwing it in the bin. “I hate to say this…”
Tony sat down as Phil slowly sneaked off to fetch the drawing from the bin. “…but from the way you described to me just tells me that armour is more advanced than my stuff.”
Phil’s eyes widened as he heard, just as a moment of stillness came through the phone. “Are…are you sure?”
Fury gulped as he asked this. Tony decided to play a small game with Fury for irritating him with questions. “What do you remember that is different from that armour compared to mine?”
“I don’t have time for your games Stark.”
Fury warned Stark as Phil opened up the curled up drawing he drew and looked at it. 'It's not that bad.' Phil told himself as he admired the details he placed on the stickman with eyepatch behind the swirly armour. “Well find some time or I assure you that you will have a bigger problem than Loki very soon,”
Tony warned Fury. Phil’s eyes widened as he noticed the crease marks going through the spiral armour.
Phil suddenly exclaimed in excitement as he noticed something. “The parts!”
Tony grinned hearing Phil. “Bingo! You should give this man his overdue holiday for guessing it correctly at least, Fury.”
Fury remained quiet as he heard Phil exclaiming in the background. “Your armour is made up of parts, while this one is a seamless one as if it’s one article of clothing!”
Tony’s eyebrows twitched hearing that. “Don’t rub it in. I just haven’t thought of nanobots yet. I can guarantee you that I can do the same in 3 years.”
Tony declared while Phil looked at him in confusion. “Nanobots?”
Tony nodded as he pulled up a hologram. “In simple terms robots that are almost the size of a strand of your DNA. Whoever this person is, he has used almost millions of those nanobots to seamlessly fit it as armour. It can practically do anything you want from stopping any mortal wound to making a missile out of nothing all the while the nano suit being hidden as your everyday clothing.”
Tony played a demonstration of nano suits capabilities on the hologram. Phil’s eyes widened hearing and seeing Stark’s explanation. “That is impossible!”
Tony shrugged his shoulder. “Hang around for 1 or 2 years here instead of going on your holiday and I will show it to you personally.”
Tony grinned as he closed of his hologram while lowering the time he initially said from 3 to 2 years, in order to boost his own ego. Fury suddenly spoke up on the line after a long time as he noticed something from Tony's intial explanation. “You said ‘he’?”
Tony’s eyebrows twitched as he pulled the phone away from him. “Can’t hear you! Pshhh! See you… Pssshhh! …later. Bye!”
Tony hung up after making his sound effects before throwing the phone to Phil. “Get out I am busy, that is if you need me out soon.”
Tony ordered as he saved the notes of nanobots down as Phil looked at him in question. *Ring* “Don’t answer it.”
Ignoring Tony’s order Phil answered it and placed the phone on the loudspeaker. “Tony, do you know who is it?”
Fury repeated his words but Tony looked busy messing with his holograms. “I am busy Fury unless you want Loki out there causing…”
Tony held of his words as Fury got serious. “Mr Stark!”
An annoyed look flashed across Tony’s face. “You really are annoying Fury!”
Fury began emphasising his every word. “Who. Is. It?”
Tony sighed before giving a reply. “The same person you kept sending Phil over for sleepovers about 2 years ago.”
Fury turned quiet as Phil’s mouth became wide open. Fury tried to confirm in worry. “Are you sure?”
Tony asked back. “Name one other person you know who can outsmart me in this field and loves to make dangerous weapons?”
The line was quiet for a moment. “Can these nanobots by any chance make a person disappear?”
Phil suddenly asked getting Tony’s attention. Tony rolled his eyes hearing the question. “It’s a tiny robot, not a magic hat Agent Coulson.”
Phil looked slightly embarrassed by the revelation. Fury suddenly chipped in. “What about enhancing strength to jump really high and move up to supersonic speed?”
Tony looked at them in interest. “What have you two been hiding from me about David?”
Phil looked at his phone to see if Fury would say anything. Fury spoke after a few seconds. “Coulson come back to the base.”
--------------------------------------
[Next day- Helicarrier]
Bruce finally met the Captain but throughout his conversation, Natasha never looked at him or spoke directly to him.
She was very serious and professional when around Banner which made Rogers even suspect something was going on between Natasha and Banner.
As she walked forward leading them Rogers and Banner walked behind. “Is she your ex?”
Rogers asked Banner to which he chuckled. “No, that would be weird.”
Steve followed up with another question. “Then why is she ignoring you?”
“We were long-time friends and I know her boyfriend.”
Banner answered which confused Rogers even more. “Don’t bother asking, I am even more confused with their relationship than you are.”
Bruce clarified to Rogers who nodded as they walked quietly. Both of them entered the control room and was amazed by it. “Gentlemen!”
Rogers passed Fury a $10 bill as Fury walked towards Bruce. “Dr Banner, thank you for coming.”
Fury said as he extended a hand in greeting, which Bruce shook. “You are welcome, also thank you for asking nicely.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“So uhm… what is the situation?” Bruce looked around the busy place.
Fury pointed towards Phil who was standing next to a woman looking at the data on her screen.
Phil turned towards them and explained. “We are sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops if it’s connected to a satellite it is eyes and ears for us.”
“We are still not going to find them in time,” Natasha stated as she looked at one of the screens.
*Tweet* Everyone looked towards Bruce who was looking at his phone. Bruce frowned as he looked up from his screen to see everyone staring at him. “Uhm… he says he can say where they are right now if Natasha wants it?”
Bruce stated awkwardly while Fury looked at Natasha. Natasha walked out of the room in anger causing Fury to nod towards Phil who went after Natasha.
Rogers walked forward beside Fury. “There is someone who already knows where they are?”
Bruce nodded. “Yeah…. bit complicated but in simple words, he is like you but in the science/ tech world.”
Bruce said as he massaged his head. “Tell him she wants to know.”
Fury requested Bruce to which Bruce shook his head. “I can’t.”
Bruce sighed while Fury stared at him. “We can arrange for anything you need money…”
Bruce interrupted Fury seeing that he misunderstood. “Not that I won’t it is just that I can’t or better to say there is no point lying.”
Bruce stated. This got Fury and Rogers interested. “He will only reply once she gives you an answer. He just knows.”
Bruce shrugged his shoulder. Fury asked him. “Dr Banner, how do you know him?”
Bruce smiled hearing that question as he looked around to see a lot of eyes on him. “Is that really important?”
Fury glared at Bruce for a moment. “If you didn’t agree to help us and if we knew about your relation to David, you can be very sure that we would use everything in our measure to get you talking about him, big guy or not.”
Bruce became stunned hearing that. “The hell?”
*Tweet* He looked down at his phone. [I won’t mind if you tell them.]
Bruce sighed as he looked up. “Ehhh… Bit complicated but in simple terms, he is my friend, my ex-mentor/ ex-co-worker.”
Hearing those titles worried Fury and the others around him. Fury asked. “When did you 2 meet? There is no personal history between you 2 from our background check.”
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. “Figured since we were living quite peacefully until the Harlem incident. I did have some history with him and Natasha just that it has been a long time now.”
Natasha entered the room right at that moment with Phil as Bruce said that. “Me? How do you know me? We just met yesterday.”
Natasha asked in confusion to which Bruce replied in slight amazement. “Huh? I thought you would have figured it by now. Remember Natalie?”
Bruce asked but this got no response from anyone as it had been quite a long time, and Natasha had used several similar names in her mission. “Remember Jeff?”
Suddenly everyone became quiet except Rogers who looked even more confused. “I am so lost now.”
Rogers stated. “But? Your face?”
Phil poked Bruce’s face causing Bruce to step back in annoyance. “Yeah, he was a polymath. He saved me from General Thaddeus hunt in Costa Rica and gave me a new identity. We were living right under everyone’s noses while running a restaurant till we met you.”
Bruce looked at Nat. “How did he know I was part of Shield?”
Natasha asked. Bruce shrugged in reply. “Because he has eyes everywhere.”
Hill looked at Bruce in annoyance from his cryptic reply. Phil debated asking Bruce a question as he noticed Natasha who had her fists in a tight curl. “Did you open a restaurant in Manhattan to gain access to Shield database using Natasha?”
Bruce looked at all those who were looking at him in accusation in confusion, including Natasha. “Uhhhhh… I think I am missing out on something here, but the last time I checked he didn’t need anyone to gain access anywhere, especially me who just ran a restaurant peacefully and in content.”
This reply stunned Natasha. Fury looked at Natasha before turning his attention back to Bruce. “What do you mean?”
Bruce smiled. “I told you, he is a polymath. He uses all your eyes as his eyes.”
Even Fury was beginning to get annoyed with Bruce talking in cryptic codes. “Can you make it clearer?”
“Let me use something that has access to your database.”
Fury nodded towards Phil who quickly motioned Bruce to a desktop. Bruce walked towards the desktop as an Agent moved out of the way.
Bruce looked back at Fury who was standing behind him. “Where is the search bar to pull up some of your casual files?”
Fury sighed as he leaned forward and opened the Shield database up. Fury began asking Bruce as he moved back. “What are you looking for?”
Bruce smiled imagining the look on everyone face as he clicked on the search bar. “Just watch.”
He started typing a word on the Shield database that has access to classified information that would topple several countries and governments, while Fury, Phil, Rogers, Natasha, and Agent Hill watched him closely from behind.
All of them had a weird look seeing what Bruce was typing. “Potato? Why are you typing that into our database?”
Phil asked in confusion. Bruce remained silent as a loading bar appeared for a moment.
They all expected nothing to happen as the page loaded. However, to all their surprise within seconds, several search results came up. All an image of a brown potato that was sticking out his tongue with a label on the bottom. ‘I was here!’
Bruce rolled his eyes as he rearranged the file display format. “This guy is addicted to potatoes for some reasons to the point he uses it as his trademark.”
Bruce turned around to see all their stupefied face with enjoyment. “I finally understand why David enjoyed making me look like this.”
Fury looked down at Bruce for an explanation. Bruce pointed back at the screen. “Look at the date.”
Bruce told everyone and they all did. “2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011?”
Rogers read off the dates causing Bruce to smile as he nodded. “He didn’t need to use anyone to gain access anywhere. He has a key to open the doors of the whole world.”
Natasha looked at Bruce in disbelief. “What key?”
Fury asked Bruce in worry causing him to smile. Bruce pointed at his head. “His head.”
Suddenly another image popped up of a green potato getting beaten up by a normal brown potato under which a short message. [Stop spilling all my secrets.]
Bruce started laughing. “Haha.”
Fury looked at the image in worry as he looked around. “Is this what you meant by ‘he knows’?”
Fury asked in worry. “Has he bugged this whole facility?”
Bruce shook his head. “No, he is doing exactly what you are doing right now. But he started doing it a long time ago.”
This time it was Hill who questioned Bruce. “What do you mean?”
Before Bruce could say anything Rogers began. “‘We are sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet.’” Rogers recited what Phil had said earlier.
“‘Cell phones, laptops if it is connected to a satellite it is eyes and ears for us.’ Is that it?”
Rogers looked at Bruce in question who nodded. “Correct, but somehow he doesn’t need it to be connected to a satellite or wireless. Don’t ask me how because I have no idea either. I gave up asking about his inventions after it stopped making sense to even me.”
Bruce replied as he turned around in the wheelie chair in boredom. Fury and Phil both looked at Bruce as they remembered Stark’s word about David. ‘Name one other person you know who can outsmart me in this field and loves to make dangerous weapons?’
Another statement from Stark worried Fury even more. ‘It can practically do anything you want from stopping any mortal wound to making a missile out of nothing all the while the nano suit being hidden as your everyday clothing.’
Phil prayed in his heart as he asked his next question to Bruce. “What’s his purpose?”
Bruce shrugged his shoulder. “Beats me. Sometimes he is like a proper businessman offering his skill and service for anyone that can afford him but sometimes he looks like he has a plan. But if I am right then I think it is the same as yours.”
A huge relief washed over Fury and Phil hearing that. Just the terror brought about by nanobots were unimaginable especially after what Stark said about those things being able to invade inside the body and tearing the body apart from the inside, all the while the recipient remaining unaware of the invasion until the last moment.
Although he felt relief, Fury knew he wanted more than that to make him trust David, especially with the stunt he pulled off in UK 2 years ago. “What makes you say that?”
Fury had a look as if he were trying to solve a puzzle as Bruce wheeled around the place in his chair. Hearing the question from Fury, Bruce smiled sadly. “A few days after he rescued me from Costa Rica he made a bet with me after I kept nagging him. And from the looks of how everything is going right now, I think I am about to lose that bet.”
Natasha spoke up after a long time. “What bet?”
Bruce turned towards his old friend with a smile. “He said if nothing ‘alien’ or ‘sci-fi’ happens within the next ‘7 years’ then he will cure me of my condition.”
Hill looked at Bruce in shock along with others. “He what now?!”
Phil joined Hill in his disbelief. “He can cure you!?”
Ignoring them Bruce carried on. “But if something did happen then I will have to deal with having the big guy in me in order to defend humanity along with few others, against some vastly powerful beings in the universe. I didn’t believe it at that time. Now after seeing you again Captain, along with this tesseract mess I am starting to believe what he said to me back then.”
Fury looked at Bruce in surprise as he asked him with his trust issues. “Are you sure he is not lying?”
While both Natasha and Rogers just listened in shock. “He can, and he doesn’t need to lie because I have seen his capabilities. Curing me is the easiest thing in the world for him.”
Rogers looked at Bruce in confusion before looking at Nat. “Why doesn’t he just work with you guys if he has the same goal? Isn’t it more practical and easier?”
Phil looked at Natasha before he asked his next question to Bruce. “Natasha and Fury invited him to Shield, and he could have worked here without any problems.”
Natasha bit her lips as she remembered the day she asked David the question. ‘Dave, why don't you work in Shield? With your skills, my director will definitely want someone like you with us.’
His smile at the time he replied to her was becoming clearer to her. ‘Nat I am a very lazy and casual person. I don't think I will be able to work responsibly especially for such a serious job.’ Of course, she now knew his answer was a lie amongst his several lies...
So, she looked at Bruce for an answer as well. ‘What if he had worked here? No that wouldn't change anything…’
As that thought crawled up her mind she couldn’t help but remember the conversation that came after she asked him that. ‘However, if you need any help just ask me and I will help you…’
‘You are my tech wizard…’ The image of her kissing his cheek vividly appeared as her heart began paining even after their separation of 2 years.
While the thoughts were running through Natasha’s head Bruce looked at them equally puzzled before shrugging his shoulders from the question asked by Phil. “I don’t know either.”
Natasha felt slight disappointment from not knowing the answer. Not noticing any of this Bruce looked up at the roof before speaking. “Hey, David, why don’t you work with them?”
*Tweet* A few seconds later a tweet was heard as Bruce looked around awkwardly.
Bruce looked slightly annoyed from reading the message. Rogers stood behind Bruce as he read the message. “I can hear you fine if you ask me normally. Don’t dramatize it by looking up as if I am a divine bein…”
Bruce looked back at Rogers. “Sorry couldn’t help it.”
Rogers apologised to which Bruce smiled as he nodded. “I know you guys really didn’t have smartphones back then, but looking at other peoples phones is the same as reading someone else’s…”
Bruce looked stopped to look for a suitable example. “…letter/ telegrams maybe?”
Rogers nodded. “Noted. Won’t do it.”
Rogers made a note of another thing to remember after being woken up in the 21st century.
Bruce looked back at his phone. “Anyway, he says he is part of an ancient order that has been protecting the world a long time before this country was even discovered. Along with that Shield is controlled by the interest of politicians and few higher power who sometimes control Shield for their personal gains, instead of its primary goals.”
Bruce and everyone there looked at Fury. Phil wasn’t too happy with that statement. “That is not how Shield works h…”
*Tweet* “What happened when you tried to set foot in England when you went for my family?”
Bruce repeated the contents of the message as he looked at Phil. The 4 of them remained quiet as they remembered the various governments ordering them to stop.
*Tweet* “While his order is a selfless organisation that is not controlled by the greed and corruptness of politician. P.S. don’t tell them I am too lazy to work for anyone.”
Bruce looked awkward as he read the last part. Banner looked up at everyone awkwardly. “Umm, forget I read the last part.”
‘Nat I am a very lazy and casual person. I don't think I will be able to work responsibly especially for such a serious job.’ Those words came back to haunt Natasha as she realised it wasn’t a lie.
Agent Hill looked furious at having heard David accusing Shield of corruption. *Tweet* “He says ‘Agent Hill’ if you don’t believe me wait for 1 more day before you see what kind of decision the council makes.’.”
Bruce looked up at the only other female gathered around them except Natasha. While agent Hill kind of looked annoyed at having been spied on.
Rogers became interested in the contents of the message. “What does he mean by that?”
“Whenever he says things like that it has a likely chance to happen. Something about using all the data in the world to predict the future of the world or something. I didn’t really bother to listen to that as I am interested in other fields when discussing theories with him.”
Everyone had a surprised face except Natasha and Bruce.
Natasha’s heart was in somewhere else to really be bothered about the clairvoyance machine as she walked off without bothering to listen to anyone.
*Tweet* “Ok he says just focus on ‘Stuttgart’ as you will find Loki there in few hours. He also said if any of you guys force Natasha to be with him as part of a mission or make things uncomfortable between them, then what happened to Red Room won’t just be a myth anymore.”
Everyone in the room went deathly quiet as they heard that. “Red Room!? As in the KGB?”
Roger looked at Fury for confirmation while Bruce looked at them in confusion at not knowing what Red Room meant.
Fury nodded as he looked back to see Natasha had left the room long ago. “Everything makes so much more sense now. The bullets, those that died when they went after her, the gruesome…”
Fury stopped talking as he remembered the gruesome murders of the new executives amidst their tight security. Phil along with everyone else in the room felt a sudden chill in their spines as they remembered the case file that has been classified as unsolved mystery to them till now.
Rogers and Bruce looked equally uncomfortable seeing everyone so quiet. Even the sound of the keyboard's being bashed had stopped. “What happened?”
Bruce asked unable to bear the silence. Hearing that Fury had an unsure face for a moment as he looked at Bruce. “Can I trust him?”
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. “Unless you want me to waste several hours doing calculations only to end up with the same result?”
'With everything that went on so far, especially with what happened in the Dark Energy Facility...' Fury sighed as he made up his mind.
Fury gave out an order. “Everyone to their stations!”
Fury was betting his everything on David's attachment for Natasha.
Natasha walked to her personal quarters as she sat down and reflected on everything she heard.
‘Why does it feel like everything is so right?’ Nat asked herself.
‘You lied to me. You lied to me, David! You are not right! You are wrong!’ She wanted to scream.
She closed her eyes to calm down only to remember the sensation of a hand wrapping around her waist at the time she nearly drowned in the ice rink.
Even though Phil told her it was him, she knew there was something wrong with the way his suit was dry that day. Not to mention the way she felt in her heart whenever she remembered the sensation of those hands wrapped around her waist…
‘I don’t care about who you were, but you lied to me, even after I told you I loved you and trusted you… even after you told me that you loved me trusted me. I hate you!’ A tear left her right eye quietly.