A New Beginning

Chapter 16- What Are You Prepared To Do?

"I don't like this," Noelle gritted her teeth as she and Steve maneuvered their way down the hallways of the Helicarrier, on their way to the lab where Dr. Banner and Tony Stark were working together. Steve had been curious on their progress, and Noelle had immediately jumped at the chance to join him.

"Don't like what?" he questioned.

"All of it," said Noelle. "Fury, Loki, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Tesseract. Something isn't adding up."

They reached the door to the lab. Steve opened it and let Noelle go first. She nodded and thanked him, but was still troubled.

They walked in to see Tony zapping Dr. Banner with some pointy object.

"OW!" he cried.

"HEY!" Steve yelled.

"Nothing?" Tony asked Dr. Banner, ignoring the captain.

"Are you crazy?!" Noelle all but shouted. She still couldn't believe Tony, and would be so relieved when she didn't have to work with him anymore. He was such a child.

"Jury's out," said Tony. He kept focusing on the mild-mannered doctor. "You've really got a lid on it don't you? What's your secret?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve cut him off before he could go on.

"Funny things are," Tony replied.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on board this ship isn't funny," Steve said angrily. Then he added, "No offense, doc."

"It's ok," he answered. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle... pointy things."

Noelle sighed. "Can we focus on the problem please?"

"You think I'm not?" Tony replied. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

Noelle fell silent at that. Tony may have acted like a jerk, and he may have been a stuck-up billionaire, but he certainly wasn't stupid, and he knew which questions they should be asking.

"You think Fury is hiding something?" Steve asked.

"That's... what I was trying to tell you earlier Steve," Noelle said quietly. "Something isn't adding up."

"He's a spy," Tony answered. "Captain. He's the spy. His secrets have secrets." He popped some blueberries in his mouth. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?" he pointed at Dr. Banner.

"Uhhhhh," Dr. Banner held up his hands. "I just wanna finish my work here and–"

"Doctor?" Steve asked.

Dr. Banner stopped and fell silent. He looked down and then around the room, as if he were afraid they were being watched. Taking off his glasses, he finally spoke in a low voice. " 'A warm light for all mankind,' Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it," said Steve."

"Well, I think that was meant for you," he pointed at Tony. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was all over the news."

"The Stark Tower?" Steve asked. "That big, ugly–"

Tony shot him an unhappy look at the unintentional insult.

"– building in New York?"

"Yeah. It's a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what? A year?"

"That's just the prototype," Tony confirmed. "I'm kinda the only name in clean energy right now. It's what he's getting at."

"Sooooo, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Banner asked. "What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"