Whatever it Takes: Civil War

Chapter 10

Word spread that Barnes had escaped the building and Natasha tried to find him, but to no avail. Once the spy got in the building, she shook her head when she saw Tony. Bruce came in the opposite side and sighed heavily, clearly exhausted.

"Where are Steve and Sam," Tony asked.

"Last I saw Steve he was in trouble. I ran downstairs to help him, but he was gone," Bruce said as he walked to stand next to Natasha.

She felt a wave of helplessness wash over her. The airport fight was truly inevitable at this point and there was no reasoning with Tony or Steve.

An hour later Secretary Ross came in the building looking like a teacher mad at a student. Tony explained what happened and Ross seemed even more displeased.

"And I don't suppose you have any idea where they are," Ross asked.

"We will," Tony answered. "GSG 9's got the boarders covered. Recon's flying 27/7. They'll get a hit. We'll handle it."

"You don't get it, Stark," Ross said. "It's not yours to handle. It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting Special Ops on this."

"What happens when the shooting starts," Natasha asked. "What, do you kill Steve Rogers?"

"If we're provoked," Ross answered, then turned his attention to Tony. "Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers. There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math."

"All due respect, you're not going to solve this with boys and bullets, Ross," Tony said. "You've got to let us bring them in."

"How would that end any differently than last time," the older man asked, challenging Tony.

"Because this time, I won't be wearing loafers and a silk suit," Tony replied. "72 hours, guaranteed."

"36 hours," Ross replied, taking Tony's offer then walking away while eyeing Bruce as if he was his next prey. "Barnes. Rogers. Wilson."

"Thank you, sir," Tony said.

Bruce let out a breath, most likely relived he wasn't arrested. Tony faced the other direction and exhaled.

"My left arm is numb," Tony said. "Is that normal?"

Bruce and Natasha walked up to him, and Natasha patted his shoulder while Bruce coached Tony through some breathing exercises. When Bruce cleared Tony good to go, Natasha turned her head towards the engineer.

"You alright?"

"Always," Tony replied. "36 hours. Geez."

Natasha didn't want to fight her teammates and friends, but now she didn't have a choice. At least if she was there then she could make sure no one got hurt.

"We're seriously understaffed," she said.

"Oh, yeah," Tony agreed. "Bruce, you sure you don't want to help?"

Bruce shook his head "no" and Natasha smiled, felling a bit amused by the exchange and proud of Bruce for sticking to his beliefs.

"I have an idea," Natasha said.

"Me too," Tony said. "Where's yours?"

"Downstairs. Where's yours," she asked playing along.

Tony smirked and said, "Queens. But you knew that didn't you?"

Natasha smiled as Tony got up and walked out of the room to meet and pick up Peter Parker.

Bruce came up to her and kissed her forehead, giving her support and comfort. She closed her eyes, feeling content. He had a strange way of making her feel safe with just the small things.

When he broke the moment, Natasha went back into Black Widow mode and put her walls back up. She knew Bruce could see it and she knew he understood that she didn't want strangers to see a softer side of her, not when everything was on the line for the team.

"Are you okay," she asked him.

"Yeah. Just be careful, okay? I don't trust Ross."

"Neither do I," she told him in Russian.

He nodded and she could feel his eyes on her as she left the room. She knew she had to help Tony, but also knew that Steve's side had Pietro and the advantage of an extra person.

She looked at her phone when it vibrated and saw a text from Laura that said Clint was being asked by Steve to help and she wanted to know what was going on. Natasha called her friend to explain the situation.

After a phone call that lasted longer than she would have liked, she made her way to Rhodey and T'Challa in the parking lot.

"Hey," Rhodey greeted. "Where's Bruce?"

"Last I saw him; he was in the meeting room. He won't fight his teammates."

Rhodey explained the situation with Bruce to T'Challa while Natasha looked around and saw that Vision was nowhere to be found. She didn't know if there was a way to keep Rhodey from getting hurt. Maybe with Pietro's help he'll be okay if the boy can catch him. Pietro might be on Steve's side, but he wasn't heartless. It wasn't much, but it was something.

There was a voice in the back of her head that scolded her for being weak and not thinking this through more, but she pushed it aside, not letting her thoughts go a dark place that she left behind when she joined S.H.I.E.L.D.

The three of them raced to the airport, hoping to get there before Steve and form a plan. When they were at the hotel parking lot with their bags, she heard Tony announce himself, "Have no fear, I am here!"

Natasha rolled her eyes at her friend, then remembered what Bruce said about Tony dying during the last battle with Thanos and she wondered if that could be changed too.

She didn't allow herself to go down that rabbit hole because she needed to focus on one event at a time. Now, her priority was to make sure no one got hurt.

Note: Next chapter: The airport fight!