Through, Together (A Romanogers Fanfiction)

Whatever It Takes

"Who the hell are you?" Rhodey exclaimed. "How did you get in here?"

The woman ignored his question and repeated hers, a little slower this time. "Where... is... Fury?"

"That's need-to-know information." Natasha said. She decided to step in a little closer; provide some female energy to, hopefully, smooth out some of the hostility she was starting to feel growing in the room. Her voice was low and calm, though she kept her gaze and other senses sharp. She was always poised, though; always ready to move. The biggest threat, after all, was to appear as if you weren't a threat at all.

"And in order to tell you that," she continued, "we're going to need some information from you, first." She tilted her head to the side and shrugged one shoulder. "Things are a little... uncertain around here, lately. Surely you can understand."

The woman glanced over to Natasha. She was considering. Nat could see the contemplation on her face. There was doubt and uncertainty there. This woman had been through things, too. Natasha could tell that, clear as day. Wherever she'd come from, it hadn't been anywhere good. She pressed her lips together and, in an attempt to appear non-confrontational, she tucked her hands into the pockets of her pants, patiently awaiting a response.

"My name is Carol Danvers," the woman finally said. "Fury called for me. He wouldn't have done that unless the situation was severe."

The situation was severe, alright. There was no denying that, but Natasha still couldn't help but wonder why Fury would've called this woman. In all of her years with S.H.I.E.L.D., she couldn't recall Fury ever talking about anyone named Carol Danvers. Granted, there were a lot of things Fury didn't talk about. The man's secrets had secrets, but he'd trusted Natasha. He'd told her things that he kept from others, even S.H.I.E.L.D., itself. She couldn't imagine that he'd felt too threatened to discuss her. There weren't a lot of things that intimidated Nick Fury. So, Carol was someone that Nick had never talked about, yet someone he'd called when everything went to hell. That meant she was useful, but it also meant she was reliable. Someone to trust, maybe. Still, the Black Widow wasn't someone to trade secrets so easily.

"That signal was sent almost a week ago," she said. "Why are you just now answering it?"

Carol perked a brow. Unlike Natasha, she did cross her arms over her chest. Not necessarily in an intimidating manner, Natasha noticed, but more defensive. "In case you haven't noticed, the universe is pretty much in chaos. Been a little busy."

"Fury is gone." Steve's deep voice cut into the fray. It was heavy; final. "Dead, we assume."

"He, uh... he was one of the people gone in the, uh... the snap." Bruce said, hands rubbing together a bit nervously.

Carol nodded. She understood, which meant she'd seen it, too. Wherever she came from.

"You said the universe," Natasha noted, "are you-?"

"Kree," Carol said. "Kind of."

"Kree." Bruce seemed to be the only person in the room who knew what that meant. "How did you know Fury?"

"Long story. He helped me out, once upon a time. I owed him one. Not that I ever thought he'd cash in." Carol looked to the side and sighed. "Wish he would've done it a little bit sooner."

"We were out of our depth," Steve said. "No one really knew what to expect."

Still, Natasha thought, if Fury had made the call earlier, they might have had the support of this Carol Danvers. Whatever she could do, it must have been good enough to make her an important ace up Fury's sleeve.

"I'm here, now." Carol said. "So... what can you tell me about what happened?"

All eyes seemed to fall on Steve, then. Natasha could feel Rhodey and Bruce turn their gazes to him before she saw it. She looked at him, too, but he was looking at her. His blue eyes locked with her green hues and held them for a few seconds. There was that silent understanding that existed between them, that had existed for years and would continue to do so, it seemed, no matter what they encountered. Natasha chewed her lower lip for a moment before giving a small, almost indiscernible nod. Steve seemed to be expecting it. He looked over to Bruce.