Vertigo (Book Three of The Avengers Reports)

Chapter Four (Picture of Maria Hill and Clint Barton/Hawkeye)

The Pentagon

Washington DC, Capitol of the United States of America

Gibbs started when thunder suddenly crashed overhead. He frowned, looking up at the ceiling. “Where’s this coming from?”

Steve looked up, then started to grin. He looked over at Stark, who was getting the same grin on his face. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

Stark nodded eagerly. “Foster?” he asked.

Jane looked up, hope lighting up her pretty face. “Yes?”

“You can lead the way.”

She needed no further invitation. She darted for the door and was out within five seconds. Stark and Steve were right on her tail. Everyone else followed close behind, the Avengers having at least some sort of clue to what was going on.

Abby knew, of course. NCIS, not so much.

“What’s going on?” DiNozzo whispered to Abby.

She grinned. “Two’s not called the thunder god for nothing,” was all she replied.

*** 

Thor landed with a thud on top of the Pentagon, his arm around Natasha’s waist. Her legs buckled, and her arm wrapped around his shoulders to catch herself.

“Nat!” a familiar and worried voice shouted from behind them. Clint.

Thor turned to see one of the NCIS agents – the senior field agent, he thought – run forward and try to take Natasha from Thor.

Natasha squeezed Thor’s arm. “It’s OK,” she whispered, and Thor let her go. The woman hugged the senior agent tightly. “DiNozzo,” she whispered.

“Thank God you’re all right,” he murmured back in her ear.

“Thor!” came a shriek from behind, and Thor recognized that one as easily as his father’s. He dropped Mjolnir on the ground and hugged Jane as she took the remaining distance between them in a run.

Thor watched as the rest of the Avengers began huddling around, greeting Thor with a nod and a thank you and greeting Natasha with a hug. Maria Hill, he noted, was also there, but without the usual Nick Fury peering over her shoulder.

The black-haired scientist was dancing around happily, and Clint was watching her with a look of sincere amusement on his face. Thor frowned. He had seen that look on his face before . . . it almost looked like the way Erik Selvig had looked at him before they had become close friends. These two need watching, he guessed.

 ***

Natasha let herself be squeezed to death by all of the Avengers, and all of her NCIS friends. She shuffled awkwardly. “So, you guys already know?” she guessed, pointing between the NCIS team and the Avengers.

Gibbs nodded. “Yes, we know.”

“We probably would have killed Barton had it not been for Abby,” DiNozzo added helpfully.

Natasha smiled at Abby gratefully, who was shyly rocking on her heels. “Thank God you figured out what I wanted you to do.”

Abby shrugged. “Anything to help a friend,” she replied.

“She was freaking out,” Clint interrupted. “She was going ballistic when your gamma radiation rate went through the roof.”

“I’m surprised I’m not already dead,” Natasha commented.

“If it helps, so am I,” Bruce told her. “You should be dead.”

Natasha winced. “Thank you for that.”

Bruce scratched his head. “Sorry.”

There was an awkward pause. Predictably, to Natasha at least, it was Abby who broke it: “So, there’s this rogue trickster god on the loose . . . ”

Everybody else snapped to attention. “He diverted his attention enough to try and kill the Lady Romanoff with the gamma radiation,” Thor commented. “He told me himself that he wanted to kill off all of the Avengers.”

“Yeah, he’s gonna have to work for that,” Stark scoffed.

“He smoked me before you showed up in Stuttgart,” Steve reminded Stark.

Stark shrugged. “Well, he’s going to have to get through SHIELD, and he can’t beat Bruce, really.”

“Unless he gets my – ” Clint started, but Natasha cut him off with a glare. Don’t tell him that, she warned him with her thoughts.

“What were you saying?” Gibbs asked.

Crap, Natasha thought, then sighed. “Nothing, Gibbs. Nothing important.”

Gibbs narrowed his eyes, but thankfully dropped the subject. “Fair enough.”

“Loki’s going to gun for trying to take over Washington D.C. this time.”

Everyone turned to look at Abby. She shuffled uncomfortably. “I mean, this is basically what happened last time he was here, right?” she asked, winding a finger around one of her pigtails. “He tried to take over Manhattan. Now he wants to start in D.C.”

“She has a point,” Clint broke in. “New York would be the easiest place to start. He could’ve taken Five out from the gecko, or he could’ve gone to Calcutta to try and take out Four. Heck, he could’ve even gotten the Helicarrier wherever the hell it is right now – ”

“San Francisco,” Maria supplied, and he nodded to her.

“He could have gotten to the Helicarrier in San Francisco,” Clint corrected. “But he didn’t. He went straight for Washington D.C., where three of us just happened to be.”

“One, Three, and Six,” Bruce broke in, nodding his understanding. “He was going to try and get the most of us out before the rest of us even knew.”

“Well, that failed miserably,” McGee commented.

Natasha smirked. “The CGIS was already becoming involved,” she said. “He could’ve taken out Maria the next time something happened.”

Maria’s face paled. “Oh, God.”

“What?” Jane asked, looking at her friend in worry.

Maria looked up. “Agent Borin was left working the case when I left, and she knows we’re all together. If he gets to her – ”

“Then he knows we’re planning something,” Gibbs finished, seething. “How long does it take to get to the CGIS building?”

“It’s not far,” Maria replied, heading for the stairwell. “I can take you if you want.”

“By all means,” Gibbs told her, following her step for step. “Lead the way.”

Natasha didn’t even hesitate. She fell into step behind Gibbs. Clint and Jane formed up behind her.

“Hey!” DiNozzo called, running to catch up. “Where the hell are you all going?”

Clint looked over his shoulder. “Getting Borin,” he replied. “Or do you doubt SHIELD’s best agents can get Borin out?”

Stark gave them the thumbs up. “Good luck, guys.”

“Thanks,” Maria replied, opening the door to the stairwell. “We’ll need it.”

***

I know, it's short. Hopefully there will be longer chapters in the future. ;) And this is dedicated to Esparia for being an awesome role playing buddy! I'm serious, she is wickedly funny. And smart.

We're going home to my real computer tonight, so I'll be back home in Indiana soon, with updates for X-Men: A New Hope (hopefully) soon!