Avengers: Altruism [N. Romanoff]

24. Heroes and Holograms

CHAPTER 23

Heroes and Holograms

Despite sharing an elevator with three other people, there was only one person whose breathing Claire remained focused on.

The four stood in a diamond shape, with Claire at the back leaning against the lift mirrors, watching Natasha at the front. Every few seconds, Natasha's green eyes would reflect in the metal shimmering in front of her and connect with Claire's staring.

By noticing how Natasha shifted softly, the quick rise and falls of her shoulders, Claire could tell she was just barely able to catch her breath as well.

The floor shook as the lift came to a sudden stop, forcing all four to stabilize their footing before the doors opened. A long corridor appeared on the other side with walls of concrete that lead to two doors.

If they hadn't known the helicarrier was currently being lifted into the sky, each of them surely would've mistaken this for an underground base.

Natasha took the lead of the group and set the walking pace, not waiting for the rest to follow. She swayed her hips and hair as she strutted towards the doors, securities letting her through when she was less than a meter away. A smirk flashed across Natasha's face when she glimpsed at her flock of ducklings behind her.

In sync, the three of them were awed at what was tucked behind those small doors. Hidden, was a large operations room that was taken straight out of her history textbooks; just like the Houston base that hosted the moon landing. Except, with twenty-first-century mega-upgrades.

The room stretched all the way to the carrier's nose, where thirty feet of glass rose to the roof. They stood on a raised floor, with only a few agents running around, trying to avoid colliding with them.

But the lowered floor was scattered with hundreds of agents and tech devices. They all spoke at the exact same time, trying to control this take-off to ensure it is as smooth as possible, the peak of SHIELD standards.

Steve's pace slowed down on her right as he neared a side railing, whereas Banner made a beeline for the left side of the platform to explore the computers on display for free use.

Claire was mesmerized the further she moved on the platform, putting one foot in front of the other and down the stairs.

Nick Fury stood in front of her in the center of a concert catwalk, overlooking everyone working below him, literally. And at his feet on the bridge, sat a fluffy orange cat.

"Oh, thank God," Claire whispered to herself. She let go of the railing she had been leaning over and made her way across the catwalk. When she reached Simba, she scooped him up into her arms and planted a hundred kisses on top of his head.

"All engines operating," Maria Hill called out to those monitoring the flight, "SHIELD Emergency Protocol 193.6 in effect."

With her arms on her hips, she faced Director Fury and informed them they were leveled.