A Spider's Web ll Natasha Romanoff

The Cradle

"How is he holding up?" Natasha asked, walking over to Steve, Thor, and I.

We were standing around Clint, who was laying on a stretcher. Steve was in the process of wrapping the large wound on Clint's stomach now that we were on the quinjet and out of harm's way.

"I'm alive." Clint said, grimacing.

With Nat checking over Clint, I walked away to sit down on one of the many seats on the quinjet. I was ready for a glass of wine and a nap after all that fighting.

Shortly after sitting down, Natasha made her way to Bruce and crouched down in front of him. I tilted my head to the side slightly to hear their conversation. This was one of the many times I was happy to have enhanced hearing.

"Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever." She said as Bruce took off his headphones.

"Just wasn't expecting a code green." Bruce admitted.

"You hadn't been there, there would have been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory."

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear."

"How long before you trust me?" She asked gently.

"It's not you I don't trust."

"Thor, report on the Hulk."

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims." He answered immediately. My eyes widened in shock and disbelief as I stared at the God in front of me. Natasha's head spun around quickly, her mouth opened in shock and gave Thor a look.

"But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout." He tried to cover up after seeing the look on her face.

"Hey, Banner. Doctor Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony jumped in.

"Uh yes, she knows her way around." Bruce responded.

"Thanks." Tony said before mumbling to the computers and getting up out of his seat to approach us. He walked over to the case that held Loki's scepter and opened the lid, stepping back to examine it.

"Feels good, yeah?" He asked. "I mean, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."

"No, but this... This brings it to a close." Thor interjected.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons." Steve said. "Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"

"Banner and I will give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard." Tony assured. "Is that cool with you? Just a few days til the farewell party. You're staying, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels." Thor agreed.

"Yeah, who doesn't love revels? Captain?" Tony asked Steve.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA." Steve answered. "So, yes, revels."

"What about you ghosty?" Tony turned to me.

"As long as there's alcohol, I'm in." I smirked.

"I like her thinking." Tony stood up, pointing at me to the other two men before making his way back to the front of the quinjet to pilot it.

Steve shut the lid, locking it and stepping away to go take his own seat while Thor walked away to join Tony in the front.

I, in the meantime, walked to the back of the quinjet and took a seat further away from the others. After all the excitement of the fight, I needed a little space and me time. I leant my head against the headrest and closed my eyes, calming my breath to a meditative rate.