Covert Affair | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 9: Oh Brother

As Natasha stepped out of the room, she was met with the sight of Zero sitting on the floor, looking up at her with a sheepish expression, reminiscent of a loyal pet awaiting its owner.

"What are you doing?" Natasha inquired, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Zero shrugged slightly, a faint blush coloring their cheeks. "Sorry, I don't know this place well. I'm not sure where to go," they admitted, their tone apologetic.

Natasha regarded Zero for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Follow me," she said simply, gesturing for them to accompany her.

As they made their way through the corridors, Natasha couldn't shake the nagging feeling of suspicion lingering in the back of her mind. "What were you doing talking to Loki?" she questioned casually, her tone carefully neutral.

Zero's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by the directness of the question. "I got lost." She replied quickly, their voice tinged with sincerity.

Though Natasha remained skeptical, she chose not to press the matter further as they approached the lab. Jenna, Thor, and Natasha entered the room, their presence immediately drawing attention. Banner glanced towards Natasha, a silent question in his eyes.

"Did you know about this?" Banner inquired, his tone tinged with curiosity.

Natasha's response was blunt and to the point. "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" she suggested, her expression serious.

Banner chuckled at her suggestion. "I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed," he retorted, a hint of amusement in his voice.

But Natasha wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily. "Loki's manipulating you," she insisted, her tone firm.

Banner's response was equally defiant. "And you've been doing what exactly?" he countered, his gaze unwavering.

Natasha didn't flinch under his scrutiny. "You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," she shot back, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Banner remained resolute. "Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," he retorted, his stance firm.

Interrupting their tense exchange, Banner redirected the conversation to a more pressing matter. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction," he stated, his tone serious.

Jenna, who had been listening intently, looked up at Fury in shock. Fury met Jenna's gaze briefly, his expression unreadable, before turning his attention back to Banner.  Jenna couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of her stomach. The world was far more precarious than she had ever imagined, and she realized that she was now a part of something much larger than herself. 

Fury stepped forward, pointing towards Thor. "Because of him," he declared, his voice commanding attention.

Thor appeared puzzled by the accusation. "Me?" he questioned, a furrow forming on his brow.

Fury proceeded to recount the events of the past year, highlighting the arrival of extraterrestrial threats and the havoc they had wrought. "Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," Fury explained, his voice grave. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out-gunned."

Thor interjected, emphasizing his people's desire for peace with Earth. "My people want nothing but peace with your planet," he asserted, his tone earnest.

But Fury's words were sobering. "But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat," he stated ominously. "The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."