Title: When Not To Set Up A Date
Fandom: MCU, Agents of SHIELD AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Marvel. It's not my toy box.
Pairing/Characters: Melinda May/Natasha Romanoff, Melinda May, Natasha Romanoff, Emily Preston, Skye, Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz, Antoine Triplett, Maria Hill, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Melinda May is in charge of the best extraction team SHIELD has ever had, only SHIELD doesn't exist anymore. Her team has switched to rescuing SHIELD Agents who went missing. Then Agent Hill shows up with Romanoff and Triplett asking her and her team to rescue Bruce Banner.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Stargate. It’s not my toy box and I’m merely playing.
A/N: Written for thinlizzy2 for the MCU AU fic exchange. Thank you to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angel_negra for letting me bounce ideas off of her.
A/N2:I only managed to fit one of the requested pairings in, but tried to hint at the others. I'm a little iffy about tagging Bruce in this as he is drugged the entire time. I made references to several comic book characters, but only borrowed one, Emily Preston, to help fill out Melinda's team. The idea was for May to have an all female team and since that took out Coulson and Ward I wanted her to have a SHIELD agent who she could count on. You can read about Agent Preston here. I also kept Fitz on the team and have May explain in the fic. I didn't want to have Coulson dead so I kinda gave him to Torchwood. I make references to The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2.
Warning: Bruce is kidnapped,drugged and restrained in this fic. It is mentioned and then gone into slight detail as he is rescued. If this is going to bother you please don't read.
When Not To Set Up A Date:
Melinda slips into the co-pilot seat as Skye pushes into the cabin. She watches silently as Skye settles into the pilot seat before she raises her eyebrow as Skye turns to looks at her. Skye grins, “Relax, I got this.”
Melinda hesitates for only a moment more, but Skye’s flown the Bus before and if she’s nervous about this being her first time flying solo she would be babbling or trying for false bravado. Skye looks comfortable so Melinda asks, “Hill and Romanoff in the conference room?”
“Yeah, there was a guy too, but he went down to see FitzSimmons.”
“Did you get a name?” Melinda asks.
Skye shrugs and gives her an apologetic smile, “Agent Romanoff just told him where to go, so no name. I could try and look him up?”
“Just concentrate on flying. I’ll figure this out,” Melinda orders before she stands. She gives Skye’s shoulder a quick squeeze as she leaves the cockpit. Emily meets her by the door. Melinda crosses her arms and glowers.
“You’re hoping it's Woo, Barton and Campbell,” Emily pushes.
“I don’t hope.”
“Then don’t be disappointed if their extraction isn’t why Agents Hill and Romanoff are here,” Emily tells her as they start the short walk to the conference room.
“A lot of good people went missing when HYDRA revealed themselves, they all deserve to be found,” Melinda says, conceding that if the mission they’re about to be given isn’t the one they’ve already been looking into they’ll take it.
“We’ll do what we can,” Emily agrees.
Melinda stills to glare. She wants to tell Emily that the Bus, the one carrying her team that Emily is a part of, is the best extraction team SHIELD had ever known. With SHIELD in tatters, they are the only hope some agents have of getting home. She knows her team is running on fumes. She knows they need a break. She knows they won’t be able to save everyone. They still have to try. Melinda reigns in her glare and nods, before echoing, “We do what we can.”
Hill is working on bringing up the information for the mission she’s about to send them on when Melinda and Emily step into the conference room. Romanoff glances at the still blank screen then steps in front of Melinda to inform her, “I sent Agent Triplett down to get acquainted with your scientists.”
She being tested, Melinda can tell from Romanoff’s tone. Melinda also knows that Agent Triplett had been assigned to train with the Avengers so that they would be familiar with a medic who was also a SHIELD specialist. Melinda raises an eyebrow and asks, “Which Avenger?”
Romanoff’s lips quirk minutely as she steps towards Hill.
“Banner,” Hill informs her, “He was taken about two hours ago.”
“Were they after Banner or Hulk?” Emily asks as Melinda steps around Romanoff to stand next to Hill.
“Talbot leads back to Ross, so Hulk,” Romanoff tells them.
Melinda raises an eyebrow as she takes in the minute glower on Hill’s face. Hill glances at the screen, “I was generous. I let him come in and help clean up some of the more unsituated SHIELD facilities. I let those go. He chose to scavenge and now he’s stolen an Avenger.”
“And the Avengers?” Emily inquires bringing them back to their objective.
“Stark’s been working on wings for Falcon, so he doesn’t have a suit for himself yet,” Hill informs them.
“Falcon?” Melinda questions.
“Newest team member,” Romanoff answers.
Melinda nods as Emily settles near the conference table.
“Rhodes is in DC, he’s protecting the President. However he’s also volunteered to apprise Cap and Falcon of the situation. He’s on standby, with a suit, if we need him,” Hill continues, “Ms. Potts has cleared her itinerary for the next two days, as she also has a suit, if we need her. She’s also keeping Stark calm. Thor has agreed not to meet us there unless we call to ask, since Hulk is still skittish around him.”
“How much time are they giving my team?” May asks.
“I got Stark to agree to twenty-four hours,” Hill says, “but you won’t need it.”
“We’re already headed to the coordinates you sent ahead,” Melinda reassures. Hill nods as she brings up the blueprints for the building Talbot is keeping Bruce at. The rest of her team will be joining them shortly and soon they’ll begin planning. Melinda gives Hill a sideways glance, knowing now will likely be the only chance she has to ask about Coulson’s location, “Where did you send those in cryo, the ones still waiting for solutions?”
Hill glances over, meets Melinda’s eyes as she answers in a low tone, “Cardiff.”
“Thank you,” Melinda acknowledges. Romanoff gives them both an inquiring look, but neither of them say anything as Jemma, Leo and Triplett enter the conference room.
Hill’s briefing is quick and to the point. She tells them where they can land and that she’s arranged transport from the airfield. They have blue prints as well as three probable locations within the building where Talbot is holding Banner. Triplett stresses the importance of finding out what they’re using to keep Banner from turning into Hulk.
“Most likely they have him drugged,” Triplett informed him, “Dosage would have to be careful because keeping Hulk down, but Banner alive, would be a difficult.”
“It’d be a delicate balance,” Jemma agrees, “Their math had better be perfect. When we find him, we’ll figure out what they’re using quickly. He hasn’t been on it long so we should just be able to discontinue it.”
“The trick is keeping him calm,” Triplett adds.
“We’ll need to keep reassuring him he’s safe,” Jemma agrees.
They discuss a few other details and form a relative quick plan before Hill departs. Melinda asks Jemma and Leo to explain the I.C.E.R.s to Triplett, and Emily to fill Skye in before she retreats to her office to go over their plan in more detail. Natasha follows, lets herself in and settles gracefully into a chair.
“Spit it out,” Melinda advises as she begins going through the files Hill left with her.
Natasha tilts her head, regards her silently for a moment before she says, “It’s not any one thing.”
Melinda looks up from her computer and raises her eyebrows. Natasha quirks her lips. Melinda waits.
“It’s not like you to take on strays,” Natasha starts.
Melinda is tempted to go back to her computer, back to planning. Then she thinks about Skye, about the lost young woman whom joined her team several months before. She presses her lips together and nearly points out that Skye is a valuable member of her team, that she’d have made a fine field agent if SHIELD still existed. Natasha is watching her silently and Melinda tells her quietly, “Phil would have.”
“He would,” Natasha agrees, before she lets silence settle between them again. Just as Melinda is about to turn back to her computer she asks, “This team, was it your idea or his?”
“Mine,” Melinda answers, “Though he gave me a slight nudge and a few suggestions before I agreed to sign off on it.”
“You didn’t sign off on it until after he was put in cryo,” Natasha points out.
“That’s one of the reasons I did,” Melinda answers honestly, “I was in the New York office. There was only so much we could do. I’d have rather had a team, ready to help as needed.”
“You and two others manage to clear the building, then used police uniforms to get out on the street and help evacuate civilians,” Natasha reminds.
Melinda frowns down at her hands, takes a deep breath and tells her, “We still lost a lot of good people that day.”
“Not as many as we could have,” Natasha tells her.
Melinda nods.
“Cardiff?” Natasha asks.
“So Phil and the others we’re trying to save, but can’t yet, can remain safely undisturbed in cryo,” Melinda answers.
“You’re not going to tell me more?”
“You’ll figure it out eventually.”
Natasha smirks, “I thought you decided that if you ever had a team again it’d be a team of only women.”
Melinda arches an eyebrow and tells her coolly, “Fitz is our mascot. Hurt him and we hurt you. Look at him wrong and it’ll be the last thing you do.”
Natasha almost smiles, then nods. She stands and takes the few steps to the desk. She takes Melinda’s hands in her own as she says, “You canceled our date.”
Melinda looks down their joined hands, “You and the Avengers had stopped an alien take-over in New York. Barton needed support. Phil was dead and…and we lost a lot of good people that day. We were all grieving. I’d promised Agent Lewis more training sessions and finally decided to put this team together.”
“Do you think there’s ever an appropriate time for a date in our lives?” Natasha pushes.
Melinda stills and slowly looks up at Natasha. Canceling their date had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but considering how long it’d taken them to get to the point of agreeing to try a date maybe she shouldn’t have. Melinda takes in Natasha’s ever youthful face slowly. Except for her ever changing hair she looks almost the same as the day Barton and Coulson brought her to SHIELD. Barton’s showing signs of aging since then, Coulson had too. Melinda is self-aware enough to admit that even she has.
“Aren’t I a little young for you?” Melinda teases.
Natasha’s lips quirk upwards slowly as she teases back, “Most people are a little young for me.”
Melinda gives Natasha’s hands a squeeze and considers pulling away, but Natasha’s grip tightens. Melinda tilts her head, taking in the frown on Natasha’s face.
“Coulson’s background for me held, even against Zola. He had the birth year Coulson gave me.”
Melinda squeezes her hand again, “Of course he did. Would you expect anything less?”
Natasha’s lips quirking upwards have a melancholy air to them. Melinda doesn’t say anything, she feels the same way. Melinda sighs, “Bring your chair around, we’ll go over the information together.”
They part hands slowly and Natasha moves the chair closer as Melinda tilts her computer.
“The fuss Stark kicked up about Banner almost made me want to tell him about Clint,” Natasha tells her.
“We’ll find him,” Melinda reassures, “but first we rescue Banner.”
“And then maybe coffee?” Natasha asks.
“My team does need a break,” Melinda agrees. Natasha nods and they turn to the computer together.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
It takes them an hour and a half to get to the building Banner is being held in. It takes Skye minutes to hack their system from one of the two vans Hill rented for them. Leo sends his D.W.A.R.Fs in to confirm Banner’s location as well as letting them know how many people Talbot is using to hold Banner. It turns out Talbot isn’t there, that he’d kidnapped Banner and turned him over to a scientist Ross had put him in touch with. There are three guys for security and two scientists.
Melinda tells Skye to keep their vehicles ready. She tells Triplett and Emily to keep her scientists safe as they secure Banner. She and Natasha are going to take down the personnel, preferably with I.C.E.R.s.
As Leo does one last check of the suitcase that holds an expandable hovering gurney he says, “I thought the Army apologized to Banner and said they weren’t going to go after him or Hulk anymore.”
“They probably thought he’d cooperate with them,” Skye puts in as she continues to look through the files she’s pulling up.
“It’s not an Army regulated operation,” Natasha informs them, “But Talbot and Ross have been exchanging emails.”
“Isn’t he in prison for trying to recreate Banner’s experiment?” Triplett asks.
“With Dr. Langkowski,” Emily answers, “There was also an incident with Banner’s cousin.”
“If Ross managed to change Blonsky, why do they even need Banner?” Leo questions.
“It didn’t actually go well for Blonsky,” Jemma jumps in as she finishes checking over her supplies one last time and zips up her bag, “They probably want to start from scratch.”
“Things went better on the create a super solider front for Rogers than Banner,” Triplett observes as he picks up the AED Jemma had insisted on. They all hope they won’t need it, but Melinda agrees that it’s better to have all possibilities covered.
“The public would be more up in arms over Rogers disappearing. Even with the information dump he’s still making regular public appearances while being lauded a hero,” Jemma puts in.
“The media finally wised up that we mostly dumped information that was nearly public anyway, along with as many HYDRA secrets as I could root out,” Natasha agrees.
“Banner tends to remain more incognito,” Fitz points out, get them back to their original topic as he closes up his suitcase, “All right, all packed up.”
Melinda is about to have them move in when she notices the look of concentration on Skye’s face. She puts her hand on the back of Skye’s seat to get her attention and prompts, “Skye?”
“Do you think Talbot realized he was handing Banner over to a HYDRA holding facility?” Skye asks.
“Find out everything you can,” Melinda orders before she does a quick check in with everyone and they go to rescue Banner.
It’s been years since she and Natasha worked with each other, but they quickly fall back into moving in tandem. They take out the three guards and one of the scientists. Emily takes out the scientist that was with Banner, while Triplett protects Jemma and Leo. An alarm is never sounded.
When she and Natasha get to the room that Banner is being held in they find Emily standing guard. Triplett is in another room destroying any biological samples the scientists had taken. Leo is peering into a panel he’s removed from a heavily looking metal vest restraint that is covering Banner. Banner’s wrist and ankles are also restrained by solid metal brackets. Jemma has her pen light stuck behind her ear as she checks the IV that is in Banner’s arm.
Jemma blows out a frustrated breath and mutters under her breath about idiots who can’t be bothered to monitor their patient’s vitals or IV site as Triplett comes back into the room. Triplett agrees with her that Banner’s breathing rate, when they’d arrived, was lower than what it should’ve been, but points out they’ve already turned off the IV.
“His other vitals are climbing,” Triplett observes as he looks at the monitor that they’d set up as soon as they arrived, “I’ll take his respirations again.”
“Thankfully they had him consciously sedated,” Jemma informs them, “He should recover quickly.”
“He’s already at fourteen,” Triplett tells her.
“Good,” Jemma nods before she goes up on her toes so she can smile down at Banner. She reminds him who she is, reassures him that he’s being rescued and explains her and Triplett’s plan of action. She then takes a moment to address Hulk and reassure him that Banner will be well-taken care of. She continues to explain her actions as takes out the IV. Triplett smiles at her, eyes lighting up as he moves to help Leo remove the restraints. The ankle and wrist restraints open and Triplett removes them from the table Banner is resting on. The vest restraint clicks open slowly and he and Leo lift it off of Banner. Leo opens his suitcase and unfolds the gurney. He hovers it so that it’s level with the table Banner is on as Jemma takes a draw sheet out of the suitcase. She and Triplett roll Banner so that they can get the sheet under him. Then Jemma goes to the opposite side of the gurney and Triplett joins her, they reach over the gurney to roll the sheet up against Banner. Triplett smiles at Jemma and then Leo, “You’re both amazing.”
They both still to blink at him, thank him then Jemma instructs, “Leo, grab his feet. Agents May and Romanoff, please take his other side.”
May moves to roll the sheet nears Banner’s upper half, while Natasha takes Banner’s lower half.
“Alright, on the count of three, Dr. Banner, we’ll be transferring you to a gurney and getting you out of here,” Jemma reassures before she counts and they move Banner over. They exit the building quickly, and hover the gurney into the van they’d removed seats from for that purpose. Jemma and Triplett climb in the back with Banner, while Emily gets behind the wheel. Skye is behind the wheel of their other vehicle and the rest of them climb in. Skye hands her computer to Leo and they drive back to the airport.
Stark is arriving in his private plane just as they pull up. Banner is already a bit coherent. He’s sitting up by the time Stark and Hill join them. Hill almost looks apologetic, almost. As Stark starts to strong arm taking Banner out of Jemma’s care and Jemma glares him down, Skye slides up to Melinda and tells her, “I hacked HYDRA. I mostly just grabbed the information I could and saved it, but I found at least three different facilities they’re using. I also found Woo, Barton and Campbell. HYDRA has them.”
Melinda feels herself go cold. She’s hyper-aware of the fact that Natasha is standing near her. She’s already forming half started ideas of what they’ll need for a rescue.
“He needs to be monitored and he’s under my care!” Jemma glares at Tony Stark, her eyes narrowing.
“I’m certified in first aid,” Hill cuts in before Tony can comment back, “and we’ll have Triplett.”
“I could use him for the next mission,” Melinda speaks up. She has three agents stuck in a HYDRA facility, she’ll need all the help she can get. Hill raises her eyebrows.
“Woo’s team,” she answers, since Woo was the senior agent on the team, “Skye found information that HYDRA has them.”
“Take Triplett and Romanoff,” Hill orders, “I’ve got Banner…and Stark.”
“Hey!” Tony protests as he moves over to help Banner stand. Banner leans into him and smiles as Tony reassures him that they’re going back to Stark Tower. Banner’s fingers curl around Tony’s waist and they take slow steps forward. Tony grins. Banner thanks them and reassures both Jemma and Triplett that he’s feeling steadier and just wants to get home.
As Jemma and Triplet check Banner one last time and make sure he’s settled into Stark’s plane, as well as give Hill instructs for his care, Leo goes to store their equipment back on the Bus. Emily and Skye go to turn the vans in so that they can get under way.
“I changed my mind,” Natasha says as she walks back to the Bus with Melinda, “You owe me dinner and not coffee.”
Melinda thinks about protesting that she agreed to coffee and not a date. She thinks about how quickly she agreed to coffee and how busy she’s going to be over the next few weeks, if not months. She thinks about how when it’s all over she’ll likely be out of a job and have used nearly all of the favors she’s saved up, if not all of the funding she’s managed to squirrel away. She reminds herself she can’t get distracted or side tracked. She takes in the mischief in Natasha’s eyes and makes a noncommittal noise.
Fandom: MCU, Agents of SHIELD AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Marvel. It's not my toy box.
Pairing/Characters: Melinda May/Natasha Romanoff, Melinda May, Natasha Romanoff, Emily Preston, Skye, Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz, Antoine Triplett, Maria Hill, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Melinda May is in charge of the best extraction team SHIELD has ever had, only SHIELD doesn't exist anymore. Her team has switched to rescuing SHIELD Agents who went missing. Then Agent Hill shows up with Romanoff and Triplett asking her and her team to rescue Bruce Banner.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Stargate. It’s not my toy box and I’m merely playing.
A/N: Written for thinlizzy2 for the MCU AU fic exchange. Thank you to
angel_negra for letting me bounce ideas off of her.A/N2:I only managed to fit one of the requested pairings in, but tried to hint at the others. I'm a little iffy about tagging Bruce in this as he is drugged the entire time. I made references to several comic book characters, but only borrowed one, Emily Preston, to help fill out Melinda's team. The idea was for May to have an all female team and since that took out Coulson and Ward I wanted her to have a SHIELD agent who she could count on. You can read about Agent Preston here. I also kept Fitz on the team and have May explain in the fic. I didn't want to have Coulson dead so I kinda gave him to Torchwood. I make references to The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2.
Warning: Bruce is kidnapped,drugged and restrained in this fic. It is mentioned and then gone into slight detail as he is rescued. If this is going to bother you please don't read.
When Not To Set Up A Date:
Melinda slips into the co-pilot seat as Skye pushes into the cabin. She watches silently as Skye settles into the pilot seat before she raises her eyebrow as Skye turns to looks at her. Skye grins, “Relax, I got this.”
Melinda hesitates for only a moment more, but Skye’s flown the Bus before and if she’s nervous about this being her first time flying solo she would be babbling or trying for false bravado. Skye looks comfortable so Melinda asks, “Hill and Romanoff in the conference room?”
“Yeah, there was a guy too, but he went down to see FitzSimmons.”
“Did you get a name?” Melinda asks.
Skye shrugs and gives her an apologetic smile, “Agent Romanoff just told him where to go, so no name. I could try and look him up?”
“Just concentrate on flying. I’ll figure this out,” Melinda orders before she stands. She gives Skye’s shoulder a quick squeeze as she leaves the cockpit. Emily meets her by the door. Melinda crosses her arms and glowers.
“You’re hoping it's Woo, Barton and Campbell,” Emily pushes.
“I don’t hope.”
“Then don’t be disappointed if their extraction isn’t why Agents Hill and Romanoff are here,” Emily tells her as they start the short walk to the conference room.
“A lot of good people went missing when HYDRA revealed themselves, they all deserve to be found,” Melinda says, conceding that if the mission they’re about to be given isn’t the one they’ve already been looking into they’ll take it.
“We’ll do what we can,” Emily agrees.
Melinda stills to glare. She wants to tell Emily that the Bus, the one carrying her team that Emily is a part of, is the best extraction team SHIELD had ever known. With SHIELD in tatters, they are the only hope some agents have of getting home. She knows her team is running on fumes. She knows they need a break. She knows they won’t be able to save everyone. They still have to try. Melinda reigns in her glare and nods, before echoing, “We do what we can.”
Hill is working on bringing up the information for the mission she’s about to send them on when Melinda and Emily step into the conference room. Romanoff glances at the still blank screen then steps in front of Melinda to inform her, “I sent Agent Triplett down to get acquainted with your scientists.”
She being tested, Melinda can tell from Romanoff’s tone. Melinda also knows that Agent Triplett had been assigned to train with the Avengers so that they would be familiar with a medic who was also a SHIELD specialist. Melinda raises an eyebrow and asks, “Which Avenger?”
Romanoff’s lips quirk minutely as she steps towards Hill.
“Banner,” Hill informs her, “He was taken about two hours ago.”
“Were they after Banner or Hulk?” Emily asks as Melinda steps around Romanoff to stand next to Hill.
“Talbot leads back to Ross, so Hulk,” Romanoff tells them.
Melinda raises an eyebrow as she takes in the minute glower on Hill’s face. Hill glances at the screen, “I was generous. I let him come in and help clean up some of the more unsituated SHIELD facilities. I let those go. He chose to scavenge and now he’s stolen an Avenger.”
“And the Avengers?” Emily inquires bringing them back to their objective.
“Stark’s been working on wings for Falcon, so he doesn’t have a suit for himself yet,” Hill informs them.
“Falcon?” Melinda questions.
“Newest team member,” Romanoff answers.
Melinda nods as Emily settles near the conference table.
“Rhodes is in DC, he’s protecting the President. However he’s also volunteered to apprise Cap and Falcon of the situation. He’s on standby, with a suit, if we need him,” Hill continues, “Ms. Potts has cleared her itinerary for the next two days, as she also has a suit, if we need her. She’s also keeping Stark calm. Thor has agreed not to meet us there unless we call to ask, since Hulk is still skittish around him.”
“How much time are they giving my team?” May asks.
“I got Stark to agree to twenty-four hours,” Hill says, “but you won’t need it.”
“We’re already headed to the coordinates you sent ahead,” Melinda reassures. Hill nods as she brings up the blueprints for the building Talbot is keeping Bruce at. The rest of her team will be joining them shortly and soon they’ll begin planning. Melinda gives Hill a sideways glance, knowing now will likely be the only chance she has to ask about Coulson’s location, “Where did you send those in cryo, the ones still waiting for solutions?”
Hill glances over, meets Melinda’s eyes as she answers in a low tone, “Cardiff.”
“Thank you,” Melinda acknowledges. Romanoff gives them both an inquiring look, but neither of them say anything as Jemma, Leo and Triplett enter the conference room.
Hill’s briefing is quick and to the point. She tells them where they can land and that she’s arranged transport from the airfield. They have blue prints as well as three probable locations within the building where Talbot is holding Banner. Triplett stresses the importance of finding out what they’re using to keep Banner from turning into Hulk.
“Most likely they have him drugged,” Triplett informed him, “Dosage would have to be careful because keeping Hulk down, but Banner alive, would be a difficult.”
“It’d be a delicate balance,” Jemma agrees, “Their math had better be perfect. When we find him, we’ll figure out what they’re using quickly. He hasn’t been on it long so we should just be able to discontinue it.”
“The trick is keeping him calm,” Triplett adds.
“We’ll need to keep reassuring him he’s safe,” Jemma agrees.
They discuss a few other details and form a relative quick plan before Hill departs. Melinda asks Jemma and Leo to explain the I.C.E.R.s to Triplett, and Emily to fill Skye in before she retreats to her office to go over their plan in more detail. Natasha follows, lets herself in and settles gracefully into a chair.
“Spit it out,” Melinda advises as she begins going through the files Hill left with her.
Natasha tilts her head, regards her silently for a moment before she says, “It’s not any one thing.”
Melinda looks up from her computer and raises her eyebrows. Natasha quirks her lips. Melinda waits.
“It’s not like you to take on strays,” Natasha starts.
Melinda is tempted to go back to her computer, back to planning. Then she thinks about Skye, about the lost young woman whom joined her team several months before. She presses her lips together and nearly points out that Skye is a valuable member of her team, that she’d have made a fine field agent if SHIELD still existed. Natasha is watching her silently and Melinda tells her quietly, “Phil would have.”
“He would,” Natasha agrees, before she lets silence settle between them again. Just as Melinda is about to turn back to her computer she asks, “This team, was it your idea or his?”
“Mine,” Melinda answers, “Though he gave me a slight nudge and a few suggestions before I agreed to sign off on it.”
“You didn’t sign off on it until after he was put in cryo,” Natasha points out.
“That’s one of the reasons I did,” Melinda answers honestly, “I was in the New York office. There was only so much we could do. I’d have rather had a team, ready to help as needed.”
“You and two others manage to clear the building, then used police uniforms to get out on the street and help evacuate civilians,” Natasha reminds.
Melinda frowns down at her hands, takes a deep breath and tells her, “We still lost a lot of good people that day.”
“Not as many as we could have,” Natasha tells her.
Melinda nods.
“Cardiff?” Natasha asks.
“So Phil and the others we’re trying to save, but can’t yet, can remain safely undisturbed in cryo,” Melinda answers.
“You’re not going to tell me more?”
“You’ll figure it out eventually.”
Natasha smirks, “I thought you decided that if you ever had a team again it’d be a team of only women.”
Melinda arches an eyebrow and tells her coolly, “Fitz is our mascot. Hurt him and we hurt you. Look at him wrong and it’ll be the last thing you do.”
Natasha almost smiles, then nods. She stands and takes the few steps to the desk. She takes Melinda’s hands in her own as she says, “You canceled our date.”
Melinda looks down their joined hands, “You and the Avengers had stopped an alien take-over in New York. Barton needed support. Phil was dead and…and we lost a lot of good people that day. We were all grieving. I’d promised Agent Lewis more training sessions and finally decided to put this team together.”
“Do you think there’s ever an appropriate time for a date in our lives?” Natasha pushes.
Melinda stills and slowly looks up at Natasha. Canceling their date had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but considering how long it’d taken them to get to the point of agreeing to try a date maybe she shouldn’t have. Melinda takes in Natasha’s ever youthful face slowly. Except for her ever changing hair she looks almost the same as the day Barton and Coulson brought her to SHIELD. Barton’s showing signs of aging since then, Coulson had too. Melinda is self-aware enough to admit that even she has.
“Aren’t I a little young for you?” Melinda teases.
Natasha’s lips quirk upwards slowly as she teases back, “Most people are a little young for me.”
Melinda gives Natasha’s hands a squeeze and considers pulling away, but Natasha’s grip tightens. Melinda tilts her head, taking in the frown on Natasha’s face.
“Coulson’s background for me held, even against Zola. He had the birth year Coulson gave me.”
Melinda squeezes her hand again, “Of course he did. Would you expect anything less?”
Natasha’s lips quirking upwards have a melancholy air to them. Melinda doesn’t say anything, she feels the same way. Melinda sighs, “Bring your chair around, we’ll go over the information together.”
They part hands slowly and Natasha moves the chair closer as Melinda tilts her computer.
“The fuss Stark kicked up about Banner almost made me want to tell him about Clint,” Natasha tells her.
“We’ll find him,” Melinda reassures, “but first we rescue Banner.”
“And then maybe coffee?” Natasha asks.
“My team does need a break,” Melinda agrees. Natasha nods and they turn to the computer together.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
It takes them an hour and a half to get to the building Banner is being held in. It takes Skye minutes to hack their system from one of the two vans Hill rented for them. Leo sends his D.W.A.R.Fs in to confirm Banner’s location as well as letting them know how many people Talbot is using to hold Banner. It turns out Talbot isn’t there, that he’d kidnapped Banner and turned him over to a scientist Ross had put him in touch with. There are three guys for security and two scientists.
Melinda tells Skye to keep their vehicles ready. She tells Triplett and Emily to keep her scientists safe as they secure Banner. She and Natasha are going to take down the personnel, preferably with I.C.E.R.s.
As Leo does one last check of the suitcase that holds an expandable hovering gurney he says, “I thought the Army apologized to Banner and said they weren’t going to go after him or Hulk anymore.”
“They probably thought he’d cooperate with them,” Skye puts in as she continues to look through the files she’s pulling up.
“It’s not an Army regulated operation,” Natasha informs them, “But Talbot and Ross have been exchanging emails.”
“Isn’t he in prison for trying to recreate Banner’s experiment?” Triplett asks.
“With Dr. Langkowski,” Emily answers, “There was also an incident with Banner’s cousin.”
“If Ross managed to change Blonsky, why do they even need Banner?” Leo questions.
“It didn’t actually go well for Blonsky,” Jemma jumps in as she finishes checking over her supplies one last time and zips up her bag, “They probably want to start from scratch.”
“Things went better on the create a super solider front for Rogers than Banner,” Triplett observes as he picks up the AED Jemma had insisted on. They all hope they won’t need it, but Melinda agrees that it’s better to have all possibilities covered.
“The public would be more up in arms over Rogers disappearing. Even with the information dump he’s still making regular public appearances while being lauded a hero,” Jemma puts in.
“The media finally wised up that we mostly dumped information that was nearly public anyway, along with as many HYDRA secrets as I could root out,” Natasha agrees.
“Banner tends to remain more incognito,” Fitz points out, get them back to their original topic as he closes up his suitcase, “All right, all packed up.”
Melinda is about to have them move in when she notices the look of concentration on Skye’s face. She puts her hand on the back of Skye’s seat to get her attention and prompts, “Skye?”
“Do you think Talbot realized he was handing Banner over to a HYDRA holding facility?” Skye asks.
“Find out everything you can,” Melinda orders before she does a quick check in with everyone and they go to rescue Banner.
It’s been years since she and Natasha worked with each other, but they quickly fall back into moving in tandem. They take out the three guards and one of the scientists. Emily takes out the scientist that was with Banner, while Triplett protects Jemma and Leo. An alarm is never sounded.
When she and Natasha get to the room that Banner is being held in they find Emily standing guard. Triplett is in another room destroying any biological samples the scientists had taken. Leo is peering into a panel he’s removed from a heavily looking metal vest restraint that is covering Banner. Banner’s wrist and ankles are also restrained by solid metal brackets. Jemma has her pen light stuck behind her ear as she checks the IV that is in Banner’s arm.
Jemma blows out a frustrated breath and mutters under her breath about idiots who can’t be bothered to monitor their patient’s vitals or IV site as Triplett comes back into the room. Triplett agrees with her that Banner’s breathing rate, when they’d arrived, was lower than what it should’ve been, but points out they’ve already turned off the IV.
“His other vitals are climbing,” Triplett observes as he looks at the monitor that they’d set up as soon as they arrived, “I’ll take his respirations again.”
“Thankfully they had him consciously sedated,” Jemma informs them, “He should recover quickly.”
“He’s already at fourteen,” Triplett tells her.
“Good,” Jemma nods before she goes up on her toes so she can smile down at Banner. She reminds him who she is, reassures him that he’s being rescued and explains her and Triplett’s plan of action. She then takes a moment to address Hulk and reassure him that Banner will be well-taken care of. She continues to explain her actions as takes out the IV. Triplett smiles at her, eyes lighting up as he moves to help Leo remove the restraints. The ankle and wrist restraints open and Triplett removes them from the table Banner is resting on. The vest restraint clicks open slowly and he and Leo lift it off of Banner. Leo opens his suitcase and unfolds the gurney. He hovers it so that it’s level with the table Banner is on as Jemma takes a draw sheet out of the suitcase. She and Triplett roll Banner so that they can get the sheet under him. Then Jemma goes to the opposite side of the gurney and Triplett joins her, they reach over the gurney to roll the sheet up against Banner. Triplett smiles at Jemma and then Leo, “You’re both amazing.”
They both still to blink at him, thank him then Jemma instructs, “Leo, grab his feet. Agents May and Romanoff, please take his other side.”
May moves to roll the sheet nears Banner’s upper half, while Natasha takes Banner’s lower half.
“Alright, on the count of three, Dr. Banner, we’ll be transferring you to a gurney and getting you out of here,” Jemma reassures before she counts and they move Banner over. They exit the building quickly, and hover the gurney into the van they’d removed seats from for that purpose. Jemma and Triplett climb in the back with Banner, while Emily gets behind the wheel. Skye is behind the wheel of their other vehicle and the rest of them climb in. Skye hands her computer to Leo and they drive back to the airport.
Stark is arriving in his private plane just as they pull up. Banner is already a bit coherent. He’s sitting up by the time Stark and Hill join them. Hill almost looks apologetic, almost. As Stark starts to strong arm taking Banner out of Jemma’s care and Jemma glares him down, Skye slides up to Melinda and tells her, “I hacked HYDRA. I mostly just grabbed the information I could and saved it, but I found at least three different facilities they’re using. I also found Woo, Barton and Campbell. HYDRA has them.”
Melinda feels herself go cold. She’s hyper-aware of the fact that Natasha is standing near her. She’s already forming half started ideas of what they’ll need for a rescue.
“He needs to be monitored and he’s under my care!” Jemma glares at Tony Stark, her eyes narrowing.
“I’m certified in first aid,” Hill cuts in before Tony can comment back, “and we’ll have Triplett.”
“I could use him for the next mission,” Melinda speaks up. She has three agents stuck in a HYDRA facility, she’ll need all the help she can get. Hill raises her eyebrows.
“Woo’s team,” she answers, since Woo was the senior agent on the team, “Skye found information that HYDRA has them.”
“Take Triplett and Romanoff,” Hill orders, “I’ve got Banner…and Stark.”
“Hey!” Tony protests as he moves over to help Banner stand. Banner leans into him and smiles as Tony reassures him that they’re going back to Stark Tower. Banner’s fingers curl around Tony’s waist and they take slow steps forward. Tony grins. Banner thanks them and reassures both Jemma and Triplett that he’s feeling steadier and just wants to get home.
As Jemma and Triplet check Banner one last time and make sure he’s settled into Stark’s plane, as well as give Hill instructs for his care, Leo goes to store their equipment back on the Bus. Emily and Skye go to turn the vans in so that they can get under way.
“I changed my mind,” Natasha says as she walks back to the Bus with Melinda, “You owe me dinner and not coffee.”
Melinda thinks about protesting that she agreed to coffee and not a date. She thinks about how quickly she agreed to coffee and how busy she’s going to be over the next few weeks, if not months. She thinks about how when it’s all over she’ll likely be out of a job and have used nearly all of the favors she’s saved up, if not all of the funding she’s managed to squirrel away. She reminds herself she can’t get distracted or side tracked. She takes in the mischief in Natasha’s eyes and makes a noncommittal noise.