Author's Note:
The following events take place during the first Avengers movie.
Most of the movie's events remain the same unless otherwise stated, though I may reorder some of the chronology for the sake of pacing. I jump around through the story so this works better if you remember the movies well.
Of course, Marvel owns all the rights to these characters, and there will be spoilers for the films involved.
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However much she tried to relax and focus on the here and now, Natasha could do little to distract herself from the frustration she felt. Personally, but mostly professionally, the frustration of the situation was beyond irritating.
There she was, breaking ground on the Luchkov case, when she had to leave it for someone else to follow up. She had literally discovered a new lead moments before she was pulled out, with the rest of the operation likely to be tidied up by an agent or team without actually cutting out the root of the problem.
On top of that, she didn't even get the time to re-group with Fury, or even Coulson, for a debriefing before being whisked off to the other side of the world for an entirely new mission, one she felt wildly mismatched for. Bruce Banner was someone she could handle - the issue was with the other guy.
In the background of this mess, she knew that Barton was out there, caught up in some world crisis neither of them were trained for. She had been given the hard facts, but she still didn't have the answers she wanted. An extra-terrestrial threat has arrived, taking with him a device of immeasurable power, and making sure to control the minds of some of S.H.I.E.L.D's greatest minds and operatives in the process.
Finding out that he had been compromised was one thing, but that word usually signified a bad decision in her line of work. This was the opposite, someone had gotten inside his head. This... Loki, an alien with delusions of grandeur set to start a war, had possessed his mind with only a touch of his staff. Was Clint still in there?
This train of thought was derailed as the van came to an abrupt stop, the engine sounding as if it was on its last legs. The transport wasn't exactly a quinjet, but trying to blend in the suburbs of Kolkata required a little change of tone. Stepping out of the cramped vehicle, Natasha was glad to find some air, even if it had all the freshness of any megacity.
The area was calm and quiet, with the sound of traffic in the distance the only thing disturbing the night breeze. Pulling her shawl over her shoulders, she walked into the house where she would be having the meeting with her client - albeit, one who didn't yet know he was in business with her.
She was too absorbed in the situation that she paid no attention to the strike team assembling in the area. They were merely a precaution, and one that no one wanted to have to use. After all, some of these officers apparently had known special-ops on Emil Blonsky's combat team in Rio de Janiero a few years back. It wasn't worth going toe-to-toe with Banner, or at least what he can become, because it's not even a fair fight with an army on your side.
Regardless, the Black Widow needed a gun, so they installed one for her, hidden underneath a small table in the middle of the room. The rest of the scene was assembled in a way only an organisation with the resources of S.H.I.E.L.D could pull off, with actors assembled to make some distracting noise and the recruitment of a young pickpocket in the area to lure Banner in.
Natasha had her reservations about using a girl that young, mostly from her own past, but she could tell the kid was smart. Sure, she was making quick easy money from this, but she would go far with her talent for manipulation. Plus, it wasn't as if they had all the time in the world to find another option.
Wearing a thin top and a long dress wasn't her usual style, but it helped with the climate. It didn't hurt that she could strap a knife to her leg underneath, for an extra level of safety. Despite her trepidation, there was something about Banner that seemed trustworthy, at least there was from the files and videos she had seen.
Two dual instincts within her were at odds. He was a threat, that was certain. And she knew as an agent to take all precautions, and put the success of the mission first - which in this case, meant not pissing him off. On the other hand, all the material she had seen had shown that this man was careful... or at least, as careful as a green hulking monster could be.
He would throw cars and cause a lot of damage, but there was always a direction behind it, however vague, and more often than not - the direction was to flee and hide entirely. Banner had been treating the sick in the city for a few months now, and it felt wrong to draw him out like this, in all honesty.
Natasha slapped her wrist, surprising even herself. She had crushed the mosquito, but she felt she had been trying to jolt herself awake too. These thoughts were too complex for the mission, they had no place there. What was happening to her? She needed simple and calm judgement right now, otherwise the job wouldn't go down. Dress or not, the Black Widow needed to take over.
After around half an hour had passed, Black Widow received the signal on her comms that the little girl was approaching with Banner. Breathing deep and slow to calm her nerves, she was ready for whatever came next. Like a pro, the girl ran past without a glance in her direction, straight into the next room and through the window. She heard a voice mutter, "Shoulda got paid up front, Banner".
Stepping out of the shadows, she said, in as soft a voice as she could muster:
"Y'know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress you picked a hell of a place to settle."
"Avoiding stress isn't the secret," he replied, placing his bag on the floor and nervously looking around the room.
"Then what is it? Yoga?"
His played with his hands nervously, slowly pacing the room. Banner spoke slowly and with care, but he was a tense ball of neurosis, his jaw taut clenched as he spoke. This trait may be identified as a weakness in most targets, but with someone of his... talents, it wasn't a great sign.
"You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I assume the whole place is surrounded?"
He walked up to the window as he spoke, glancing outwards. Natasha noticed he didn't look at the ground, where her real hidden back-up was located, but to the clear sky above. This was a man who expected helicopters and even jet fighters in a trap, not just guns.
"Just you and me," Natasha said, removing her shawl and dropping onto a chair. She took a few more steps towards him but kept a little distance. He glanced at her shoulder and chest, briefly distracted, before looking away.
She didn't want to scare him off, she wanted him to feel at ease, and see her as a vulnerable person. Sympathy might be the undoing of a man like Banner, who was only on the grid at all because he was helping the sick.
"And you actress buddy - is she a spy too? They start that young?"
"I did," she said; a little truth to help the act go down.
"Who are you?"
"Natasha Romanoff."
Bruce looked down at his hands, almost as if preparing himself for something he really didn't want to say.
"Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's... not going to work out for everyone."
"No no, of course not," she took a few more steps towards him before stopping. "I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"S.H.I.E.L.D... how did they find me?"
"We never lost you, doctor - we've kept our distance, even kept some interested parties off your scent."
"Why?" His voice was quieter now. He looked as if he feared the answer to his own question. But his fear was measured; maybe he wouldn't be so hard to keep calm after all.
"Nick Fury seems to trust you," she answered. "But now we need you to come in."
"What if I say no?"
"I'll persuade you."
