One With Earth [Avengers]

Uh, Guys?

ANNA

We got to the lab and everyone was already there except for Thor who walked in a little after us. Bruce looks at Natasha.

"Did you know about this?" he asked gesturing to a weapon on a desk in front of us and files on a screen in front of Tony. I tilted my head. What were they talking about?

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Nat said cooly.

"I was in Calcutta." he remarked. "I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you." She explained.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" he quipped and I raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't come because I batted my eyelashes at you." she argued.

"Yes," he agreed, "and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"What?" I asked.

"Because of them." Fury admits, pointing at me and Thor.

"What?!" I repeat.

"Us?" Thor asks looking to me then back at Fury.

"We knew about Anna and we were already preparing for the worst even though she claimed she was the last of her kind." He explained. "But last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match we learned not only that Anna was not the last, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

I took a step back. "He is not my kind, he was as much a legend to me as he was to humans." I argued.

"My people want nothing but peace from your planet." Thor said, his eyebrows knitted.

"But you're still not the only people out there, are you?" Fury asked rhetorically. "And, you're not the only threat. The worlds filling up with people who can't be matched, and can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve added in.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies." Thor clarified. "It is a signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asked in disbelief.

"You forced our hand, we had to come up with something." Fury tried to justify himself.

"Nuclear deterrent?" Tony spoke up. "Cause that always calms everything right down." he said sarcastically.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark." Fury said and everyone just blew up. I took a step back from everything. I saw as the gem on Loki's scepter glowed brightly.

"Uh, guys...." I muttered but they weren't listening. I felt faint life forces surrounding the helicarrier.

Now Tony and Steve were arguing. "Guys?" I started to bite my lip. I glared at Steve, he should at least be listening to me, but no, arguing, and ignoring me.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" The director spoke.

"Where?" Bruce cut him off. "You rented my room."

Fury grimaced. "The cell was just in case-"

Bruce cut him off again. "In case you you needed to kill me! You can't! I know, I tried!" he admitted and my mouth dropped open. Everyone quieted. "I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!" he ranted.

He looks to Natasha. "You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" I took a step back again as his hand went out for Loki's scepter. "You wanna know how I stay calm?" He picked up the scepter and Natasha and Fury both went for their guns.

"Bruce!" I warned.

"Doctor Banner," Steve spoke up cautiously. "put down the scepter."

Bruce looked down to his hand quickly, shocked to see he's holding the weapon. The computer beeps and we all turn to it. Bruce puts the scepter down and walks over to the computer. "Sorry, kids, you don't get to see my little party trick after all."

I finally thought everything calmed down again then Steve and Tony were at it again. I had enough. "What did I just say about pissing contests!?" I yelled at them and they turned to me. "Listen to me-"

Bruce cut me off. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed and then everything was shaking at once. We were thrown on every direction. I landed with Natasha and Bruce. My ears rang and I groaned.

"I'm okay." I heard Natasha say quietly. I heard Banner breathing heavy and I looked to him, trying to shake of my headache. "We're okay, right?" She looked at him and then to me.

We saw he was struggling, but he was changing slowly. I tried to get up on wobbly legs, I saw Natasha was trapped and was trying to get herself free while trying to calm Bruce down.

"Bruce, you gotta fight it, this is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay, listen to me." she insisted. I went over to help her with her leg. At this time I wished I had super strength. I felt two people approaching and I looked up in their direction. Natasha and I both quickly tell them to leave. "We're gonna be okay, right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never-"

She is cut off my his growl. "Your life?"

There were more growls and my eyes were wide on him, I saw him change right in front of my eyes.

"Bruce?" she asked just as I got her leg free, I pulled her up and started running, she was slow, her leg probably still sore, I looked at the Hulk running behind us and I took a deep breath and threw her under some stairs, out of his sight. I kept running and thankfully he followed. I bit my lip and started to fly instead of run and that's when I saw him.

Well it wasn't really him, the image in front of me had no aura, no life force. "This way." it spoke. And I don't know why, but I followed his directions, turning corners, up stairs. Loki led me and the Hulk followed, inches behind me. Finally I was led into a room with a steel door and when I entered it the door closed immediately behind me, right on Hulk's nose. I turned to face the door as he banged at it repeatedly. A noise sounded down the hall and he bounded for it. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Then I noticed him there, by the door, smirking. And I noticed where I was. The room where he was being held, but the cage was open, and the snake was out. I took a step back from him. "Why?" I growled.

He scoffed. "You should be thanking me. I doubt you would be alive right now if you were left to the hands of that green monster."

It was true, but the green monster in front of me right now annoyed me more. I rolled my eyes and stepped toward him. "Well I can't let you leave, Loki, you know that." I told him, ready to restrain him, but he surrounded me, like he did those people in Germany.

"The feeling is mutual, love." the image of him in front of me spoke. I turned around to the real him but he kept jumping. Then he caught me, cuffing my wrists behind my back. I grimaced and tried to burn them off, but it didn't work. "Special cuffs, dear, you're my captive now." he whispered in my ear behind me, barely any space between his chest and my back. A familiar shiver went down my spine.