Hail Hydra

We Gotta Figure This Out

       Bruce turned around and stepped towards Natasha. He lifted his hands up to her shoulders, lowering his voice to a whisper. Thor and Loki watched their exchange in confusion.

       "Nat," he warned.

       "Bruce."

       "Don't."

       "Don't what?" she asked innocently.

       "Don't hurt him. Actually, don't hurt either of them. In any way."

       "Bruce, he tried to kill us. And take over the planet."

       "If Thor brought him here then he must have had a good reason."

       "And if he doesn't? What if he's a skrull? Or under his control?"

       "Shield has the scepter. Besides, it's useless without the stone."

       "We know next to nothing about what Asgard is capable of. He might not need the scepter. We. Can't. Trust. Him."

       Bruce rolled his eyes. "You worry to much."

       "It's my job to worry," she retorted while moving her hands to hold onto his.

       "If any of that is true, you than you can hurt him. If."

       Nat smirked. "And the other guy'll take Thor?"

       Bruce gave a small laugh and nodded. "And the other guy will take Thor."

       "As sweet as this is, you called s here for a reason and I would very much love to get it over with so that I can get off this planet," Loki interrupted. He was leaning to the side, slightly in order to look around Thor.

       Bruce hesitantly took his hands back and turned around, leaving Natasha to mirror Loki in order to see him.

       "You don't have a right to speak," she ordered while pointing at him.

       Thor started to walk forward but stopped when he spotted Natasha's glare. "Look, Heimdall told us that you two," he gestured to the duo, "were calling calling for him and needed my help. Me and Loki had some business here, so we thought that we'd get rid of two problems in one visit. Uh, what's the saying?"

      "Metaphor," Loki corrected, scornfully.

       "Catch two birds with one bone, or something."

       "It's 'kill two birds with one stone, you oaf."

       "Okay!" Bruce exclaimed while clapping his hands. "Why don't we head back to the others so that we can board the quinjet, catch you guys up on everything, and come up with a game plan?"

       "Yes! Thank you, Banner, for that brilliant suggestion. Let's go," Thor complimented. He grabbed Loki's arm, but he shook him off and walked ahead of the group. The other three followed behind.

       At first, the only noise was their footsteps as they walked in silence. Bruce, however, decided to break the silence.

       "So, um, what are skrulls?" he asked, confused. He hadn't understand Natasha's mention of them.

       "They're a race of shapeshifting aliens that can take the form of any conscious being down to their DNA. They can even access up to 3 months of memories," Natasha explained, nonchalant.

       "I thought that the only exraterrestrial life that Earth has made contact with was the Chitauri and Asgardians?"

       Loki snorted. "That is the furthest from the the truth. Do you know anything about the history of this planet?"

       "Apparently not..." Bruce mumbled under his breath. There was a small pause before he spoke again. "How do you even know about them? Shouldn't that be top secret information?"

       "Fury told me," Natasha deadpanned.

       "Of course," he responded dryly. "Is there anything else important that Fury is keeping from us?"

       "Not that I know of."

       "That's a lie, isn't it?"

       Natasha smirked once more. "You know me too well." She then fastened her pace, getting ahead of Loki and taking the lead.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sam, Bucky, Steve, and Sharon had all sat on the ramp of the quinjet and were making small talk when Thor had announced the new quad's arrival.

       Captain It is great to see you again!" he bellowed, making the four jump to attention.

       Steve got up and walked towards Thor, who engulfed him in a hug. Loki scoffed at the display of affection, which brought his presence in particular to notice.

      Sharon quickly stood and drew her pistol. Sam took a fighting stance and readied his wings, while Bucky just looked confused.

       Once Thor pulled away, he clapped Steve on the shoulders and looked to the others behind him. He cleared his throat and brought his arms back to his sides.

       "And it is good to see you guys, too. Although I don't believe that we've met," he started while looking between Bucky and Sharon. "And who are you aiming at....." his voice trailed off as he followed her aim to Loki.

       "Oh! Right. Yes, I promise he's no gonna hurt anyone. Just let me explain."

       Steve nodded. "Let's get the quinjet up in the air first. Then we can all tell our stories."

       "Whatever makes this trip faster," Loki said, exasperated, while pushing past the others. Sharon kept her weapon on him until he was in the aircraft, then putting it back in its holster and following him.

Bucky stood up to follow her, initiating the others to as well.

       "You know that I don't like hiding things from you, right?" Natasha asked Bruce, her voice barely above a whisper.

       "Hm? Oh, yeah. I, um, I know."

       "And that I don't like lying to you?"

       "Yes, Nat, I know," He assured her.

       Nat looked down for a second, grabbing Bruce's hand. She intertwined their fingers before looking him in the eye. "When this is all over, we'll follow out the plans we made during Sokovia. Got it?"

       "Got it."

       Natasha gave a small smile, Bruce doing so in turn. Nat nodded her head forward.

       "C'mon, we gotta figure this out."