The Trial of Bruce Banner

Tripped Alarms

Natasha releases Rebecca with a lecture on behavior upon their arrival at the Stark house, removing her hand from off the girl's shoulder so that she can run free with Morgan.

They swarm the stairs and head for a bright pink room full of toys and entertainment suited for two little girls.

Natasha reluctantly parts with her 4 year old, hand rested on the banister as she watches the twosome dart up the staircase.

"What's wrong?"

Pepper's heavy sigh demands the question. She looks concerned, eyes on the redhead as she practically tip toes with her hair in a messy bun.

"Has Bruce called you?" She whispers.

Romanoff stands taller, almost ready to kill, "He told me that today would be long. He said he was working-."

"-He was, is," Pepper reassures, tongue rolling over her cheek, "I've only heard bits and pieces-."

"You're worrying me," her face drops.

"It's just,' Potts-Stark clasps her fingers with an echo, 'the ORI is back. The government is up our asses."

Natasha drops her arms and moves to swarm the basement with her stomach twisting;

"Tell me it was the school."

"It was the school. Becks' fall last week..."

"What the hell?" Natasha almost hesitates to ask, "It's not like she's blowing up green."

"No, it's the usual; they're triggered by her bone density, blood cell count, aging cells... The nurse figured out who Rebecca belongs to and made a call, at least, that's what I've put together."

"What do they want us to do,' she snaps aggressively, hand on the basement door handle with every intention of invading the laboratory, 'terminate her?"

"Natasha- don't." Pepper blocks her path, eyes low.

She thinks for a half second, "They want him."

"Yes."

Romanoff pivots to circle herself, laughing through the pain of contemplating the idea of Bruce going to prison, "They're not going to touch him."

"They're going to try."

"Why?! She's four years old! Tell me, please, what any of this is going to do now? We're happy with one."

Pepper's eyes flick up with all seriousness. Watching Natasha hold her head with the heels of her palms.

The other woman releases another sigh, conscious about her volume, "Bruce is a high profile scientist even without the hero status."

"They don't trust him."

"-The ethics of the situation, the, presence of HR in the lab."

"Who cares,' Natasha chokes, 'who cares."

Pepper looks to the side, "You know it doesn't look good when Rebecca wasn't the first-."

"Oh my god,' she circles again, laughing through her frustration, 'What the hell were we supposed to do? There were vials full of radioactive blood, fractions, components of DNA, cleansed Black Widow serum-."

"The principle-."

"What we did should've never caused controversy. And...-Again! This child is walking, breathing, and functioning. Pepper, she goes to school. I took her to ballet this morning. She's alive. She's a person who is growing like a normal girl so what more do they want?"

"They want him, Natasha,' Pepper echoes her friend's statement, 'They want your husband for the cloning and, I think, your daughter's blood for further experiments under their watch with their people."

Romanoff taps her thumbnails to her lower lip and falls into a chair at Pepper's kitchen table. She shakes her head and hides her face in her hands, "Fury got involved and helped us to clear this while you paid off the government. We are indebted to you- We can't ask you for another million dollars to get them off our backs-. We don't have the means to pay you back. We have the house- do you want our home? The car? I'm sure Alexei and Melina-."

"Okay, stop." Pepper sits beside Natasha and rubs her arms, "Listen to me. Tony is pulling every string and contacting everyone we know. We wouldn't let anything happen to any of you."

Natasha drops a hand, "I can't ask Bruce not to be who he is. He can't give up his career."

"We're beyond the license to practice here,' Pepper wipes down the closest portion of table with her hand, 'This is four years of press, prodding, and harassment. They're out for blood."

"We disintegrated it," She deadpans coldly.

Pepper huffs, less amused by the joke than Natasha is, "Yes we did. But your successful experiment is loose in the world now. And. She's an anomaly that's going to attract attention."

"If I birthed her, no one would care."

Pepper contorts her mouth and thinks twice about correcting her friend.

"Tasha?" Bruce mumbles, finally emerging from the basement with Tony behind him.

The spy immediately stands and rushes to his side, eager to lay her hands over his neck and look into his eyes.

He holds his glasses in one hand, "Pepper told you?"

She nods, forcing her own emotions away, "I've been in the dark all day. I wish you called me."

"I wanted to...," his voice breaks.

"You need to call Jen."

"I know."

Natasha rolls her eyes and pulls him close, feeling Bruce relent and hug her back with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

"I'm calling Jen first thing in the morning," he mumbles as he kisses her cheek.

"She will get us out of this," the redhead refuses to move in their hug, hiding her face in the side of his neck.

He kisses her again, "I know."

"All of this because Rebecca has your clumsiness and the wrong nurse saw her cuts," she mutters.

"I should've moved us out of the country before experimenting."

"Stop,' she whispers, taking his dejected face to hold onto it. 'I want to be here. This is our home. With you working alongside Tony, letting Rebecca grow up with Morgan and with the Bartons. We'll figure out the rest. We always do."

He kisses her hand next, eyes tightly closed, "If we've used up all of our luck?"

"I'm not hearing this," Natasha shakes her head, "I'll stand by you, you know that, but I'm not going to discuss the 'what ifs' unless we absolutely have to."

He looks up at the ceiling sadly as they part, "If she's that broken to trip an alarm over a cut, I've already failed."

"She's not,' Natasha refutes, 'She's strong, she's smart. And she's going to be just fine."

"Here they come,' Tony greets the girls loudly as if to act as an alarm for the adults, 'rounding the corner with Morgan flying into first, Becks is in second. Can she catch up?"

Bruce immediately suppresses for his daughter's sake, scooping her up into his arms once she deviates from the originally intended path.

"Daddy!" She grins excitedly and hugs his neck.

"Hi baby,' he rubs her back, 'did you have fun at ballet?"

Natasha takes his glasses, not trusting the clumsy duo.

"Morgan!" Pepper squeals, scolding her daughter to get down from standing on top of a stool.

"Get over here!" Tony lifts and throws the giggling child up over his back.

"Don't throw her in the kitchen," Pepper reaches to steady a wobbling light overhead.