Chapter 35
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Natasha Romanov/Black Widow
Natasha entered the training room of the Enterprise, looking across the room at the young girl currently occupying the bench near the mat. The girl ignored Natasha in favor of lying on her stomach, headphones in her ears as she idly bobbed her head to the loud music with her eyes closed.
"Excuse me," Natasha said simply. "Ruby Hale, right?" Ruby was fourteen years old, with platinum blonde hair, a bit of acne across her nose, and a level of fitness rare in a teenager. Natasha waited for Ruby to say something. When she didn't the redheaded assassin spoke once more. "We're supposed to speak about your accommodations."
The girl ignored her, still bobbing her head. As though Natasha wasn't trained enough in body language to see the way she'd shifted as Natasha entered, or how the girl's body was just barely up off the bench, enough that she could quickly move if attacked.
Natasha eyed the young girl calmly. The two of them may as well have been statues for all the movement they exhibited. "...Well, have a nice day then. I'm gonna go enjoy a movie." Natasha turned and left.
After a bit of walking through the halls of the Enterprise, she heard some fast footsteps behind her. Natasha ignored the person chasing her, continuing to move through the ship with her swaying catwalk.
Someone reached out for her arm. Natasha, sensing the lightning-fast movement, stepped aside from it as subtly as though she'd never moved at all, leaving person reaching towards her to grasp empty air. Natasha turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did you need something?"
Ruby blinked, looking shocked. Then she pouted, trying to school her face to look intimidating. Which, she did, her face and eyes hard and cruel in a way no teenager should ever understand. But Natasha barely held back the urge to laugh. So cute.
"Where's my mom?" The teenager growled.
"Imprisoned, for working with a terrorist organization," Natasha cocked an eyebrow. "Is that really why you followed me after ignoring me? Because if so, I'm done."
Ruby scowled. "Aren't you supposed to train me?"
A lazy smile rose across Natasha's face. "Why?"
Ruby's scowl became something vicious. "You're supposed to!"
The words of a young girl who had been told all her life that she was special. That she was meant to be a destined leader and warrior. So cute.
"I volunteered my time, Ruby," Natasha said simply. "I was asked if I would help you, and I agreed, but you aren't the only thing I have on my plate. I'm an Avenger, an Agent of BRIDGE, someone who works every day to protect the world from threats. I'm not going to sit and watch you ignore me because you decided you wanted to be spoiled today."
Ruby's eyes widened in rage. She lashed out with a punch aimed to collapse Natasha's larynx.
The redhead grabbed Ruby's wrist in a vicious grip. She twisted her arm behind her back while kicking Ruby's legs, slamming her to the floor.
"Yaaagh!" Ruby screamed, struggling to rise against the iron hold Natasha had on her.
"I'm sorry, did you try to punch me?" Natasha teased, her voice soft against Ruby's ear. "You really are spoiled. So used to people bending over backward for you that you thought you could attack me without even a bruise to show for it."
A female BRIDGE agent with a small afro came around the corner and stopped at the sight of Natasha holding a screaming and cursing Ruby on the floor. Natasha glanced at her. She spun and walked away, leaving Natasha to look down at Ruby.
"We made a promise to your mother- listen to me," Natasha tapped the side of Ruby's head when the teenager wouldn't stop yelling. "We made a promise we'd train you, and I can do that. I can show you things HYDRA never had access to. Skills from the Red Room, all the times I assassinated someone from childhood to adulthood, the things that let me survive an attempt by the Winter Soldier himself."
Ruby stopped struggling.
"But I'm not going to waste time with childish rebellion," Natasha let her go, rising up. Ruby curled up and rolled to her feet, popping up to face Natasha, only to recoil when she realized Natasha had stepped in closer. The older assassin was no longer smiling. "I'm not going to train you if you expect to be able to decide to listen to music when you should be at attention, waiting for me, or if you just skip a lesson because you'd rather do something else. I'm not going to punish you or waste my time even talking to you, we'll just be done. You will not question me, not for one moment. And if you do, you might become an Avenger. You might even become more than that one day. But until then, you will show discipline."
Ruby stared up at her, trying to hide the deep bruises on her wrist. "I..."
"Oh go ahead, think about it if you want," Natasha checked her watch. "I've got some time free. But like I said, I've got things to do. If you decide the time I invest in you isn't worth your attention... why the hell should it be worth mine? Because I'm not wasting anything if you're going to act like a teenager rather than an assassin."
Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. "I am a teenager."
Natasha narrowed her eyes. "We both know better than that."
Any petulance Ruby was showing faded. She looked up at the older woman. After a long stare down between them, she nodded. There was an eager light in her eyes now, the burning of pride. "Okay, how do we start?"
"The woman who showed up just now," Natasha said, indicating the BRIDGE agent that had come upon them. "Track her down, find out what she tells others about what she saw. I'll shadow you, and you tell me what you found out. After that, we'll start with something easy."
As Ruby nodded eagerly and turned to run after the agent, Natasha felt disquiet in her heart. Here she was, doing something she never thought she would. Training a young girl to be an assassin. The Red Room, HYDRA, what did it matter? Here she was, doing the same thing.
She turned around. "What do you think?"
Clint and Bucky walked out of the shadows, both wearing BRIDGE camo gear. They walked forward with the steady and quiet steps Ruby was trying to master. They joined her, Bucky's face neutral while Clint gave her a sad smile.
"...You're going to try and deprogram her?" Clint asked.
"I'm not sure I can... It never worked on me," Natasha admitted. "All I can really do is give her better targets, layer her skills with morals and rules, try to do what worked for me. But she'll always be a killer. You can see it in her. The way she walks, the way she's always about to slice someone's throat out. And she has too much pride. No good assassin is arrogant. It'll destroy her if we let it fester."
Bucky nodded in agreement, while Clint, the only parent in the group, let out a disquieted sigh.
"We'll take care of her though... I'd like her to meet you both if you don't mind?" Natasha said. "She's showed interest in us, in heroes. I think, in her own extremely twisted way, she really does want to be a hero. Even if she doesn't know what that means."
"I'm in," Bucky said immediately. He gave them a smile so fast it might as well have not existed. "Reformed assassins have to stick together."
"Maybe we should start a support group?" Clint joked. He looked after where Ruby had gone, then back at Natasha. "By the way, is it me, or..."
"Cute, right?" Natasha grinned. "She's like a deadly puppy."
Bucky refused to say anything to that, but Natasha's grin widened at the slight twitch of acknowledgment his lips did.
"Wonder what Bobbi and Hartley will think," Clint muttered.
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
A pair of loud roars echoed over the deserts of Colorado.
"Ragh!"
"Grrragh!"
Hulk and I had grabbed each other's hands, me using my slightly stronger upper ones, and were pushing against each other, our muscles straining as the ground under our feet crumbled. For just a moment, we struggled against each other, then I used my other two hands to uppercut Hulk, sending him back a step. I leaned down and grabbed his legs, sending him to the ground, then began to spin. Around and around, dragging Hulk through the air.
"Yaaagh!" Hulk yelled, his hands swinging.
"Fly!" With another spin, I let go, sending Hulk shooting into the distance. "Whoa," I shook my head, stumbling slightly. "Dizzy."
With that, I leaped after Hulk, my giant leg muscles shooting me through the air.
There was a pure joy in being Fourarms. Having all that power, feeling my muscles move against each other as I flew through the air. I thought I'd felt powerful as Rath or Diamondhead, but there was something different and addicting about being Fourarms.
Maybe it was something that naturally came to Tetramands? The desire to fight and engage in combat with others that were just as powerful?
I landed in front of Hulk, who'd smashed into a plateau. He was getting to his knees and glared at me. He rose up to his feet, then sped forward to punch me in the face. I did the same, a shockwave spreading from the impact. Over and over, we hit each other, Hulk screaming in rage as I did the same.
He grabbed my arm and tossed me into a rock face, moving in to hit me in the rips with some lightning fast punches. I blocked his fists with my lower arms and slammed my upper arms into his shoulders, pushing him back ten feet. His feet grinding against the earth, he came to a stop and glared at me. I pulled my arms back. Realizing what I was doing, Hulk copied me.
Three pairs of palms slapped together, and two massive shockwaves of sound erupted from each of us. The earth shook, my ears rang, and rockslides kicked off. We roared as our powerful shockwaves clashed, nearby bushes tearing apart from pure air pressure as we caused a localized hurricane alongside the earthquake's we'd made.
Once the shockwave ended, I stepped forward at the same time as Hulk. Our fist flew forward again, my limited boxing and four limbs against Hulk's limited Brazilian jujitsu and incredible healing. One thing I noticed was that he really was getting stronger as we clashed. I'd realized while studying everyone in my first weeks that Hulk in this universe wasn't famous for getting stronger as he got angrier, but he was. Slowly, much slower than in the comics, but was doing it.
In the back of my mind, in between my fist slamming into his, I wondered if that was because of this new compromise between Bruce and Hulk, or if he'd simply never had to get stronger before. I discarded it to kick him in the legs then slam a lower right fist into his ribs.
After a long fight, the two of us brawling on a mountain and slowly turning it into a valley, I finally had to stop, falling back to sit on my ass as Hulk panted.
"...How you feeling?" I asked.
"Banner loud," Hulk pouted. "Always talking, thinking."
"Well, that is where his strength lies. You punch, he thinks. And together, you'll always hit the right thing."
"Loud," Hulk sat down next to me, and the two of us turned to look out at the desert. "Hulk... Hulk just to be alone."
"I think you mean you just want people to stop attacking you," the smaller brute grunted in agreement. "Hey," I nudged him with my elbow. "If they do, we'll all help you. I don't care who comes at you, every Avenger is going to stop them. And that includes helping Jennifer. We're your friends, both you and Bruce."
When I looked at Hulk, he was smiling, the sun rising across his face. Then he frowned, looking at something in the distance. I turned as well, focusing. Huh. A column of dust was coming towards. And were those... helicopters?
"X," I said with a grunt. "Send over the Defiant. I think it's time for us to leave."
"Agreed, sir. US Military forces have been sent to investigate reports of the Hulk battling an unknown being."
"How in the hell..." Trailing off, I tapped on the Omnitrix, turning back into my human form. I grunted slightly at the feeling of returning to a human body but got over the lack of power quickly. "Okay Hulk, you wanna get on the Defiant?"
"Hulk don't want be Banner," Huh. He was a lot more intimidating now that I was smaller than him. He glowered down at me, walking up to tower even more. Apparently, he'd taken the fact that Fourarms was bigger than him as an insult because he managed to look very smug about the height difference between us.
"Well, what do you say about you staying Hulk until we get home, then Bruce can take over?" I asked. "I mean if Bruce is okay with it. You need the practice anyways. Both of you do."
Hulk huffed, blowing my hair back. "...Okay."
"Let's stop for some food first though," I said, my stomach grumbling. "I'm hungry."
Hulk seemed to perk up at that as the Defiant landed behind us.
Turned out, Hulk had never had food himself before. I ended up buying a bunch of fast food of all kinds from a restaurant I'd never been to before. The big guy spent the ride home stuffing himself happily in the back of the ship.
When we got to the Enterprise and landed on the flight deck, the first thing people saw when the door opened was the Hulk, glowering angrily at the flight crew. He turned into Bruce right after of course, but it was still funny, seeing the guys panic at the sight of a glaring Hulk.
Which lead to later, when Bruce and I, me in my Iron Man shirt, him in ripped pants, were sitting in front of Maria Hill and Nick Fury in the lockers, both of us on a bench.
"So, I've managed to make it clear it was a training exercise," Maria said. "But Ross has requested he be informed the next time something like that happens," Maria punctuated her words in a voice that would broker no argument.
"I'll bet," Bruce grunted.
"And there is more," Fury sat down on the bench across from us, focusing on Bruce. "She wants to see you. I gave her your usual response of course."
"...Actually," Bruce said thoughtfully. "Tell her I'll meet her at Stanley's when this is over."
Fury blinked, surprised. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, um," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at Maria and Fury. "It'll be good to see her."
"What did you two do, anyway?" Maria asked, looking between us.
"Three, technically," I looked at Bruce. "I think we have an understanding, right?"
Bruce grinned. It was a very Hulk-like grin, his eyes flashing emerald. "Something like that. We both love Jennifer. And now? The Hulk and I both hate HYDRA. So you're going to want to start sending us on missions. Soon."
Maria stared at him, then looked at Fury. He smirked.
"Don't look at me, I ain't the Director," Maria glared at Fury for that.
"Anyway," Maria said with a sigh. "Let's gather with the others. We should have a mission soon. We've made some progress on tracking down HYDRA's main base."
Nodding, I rose to follow when I saw Tony outside talking to Cap while wearing a Ben 10 t-shirt. It took me a second to realize what was wrong with that. I went to go ask him about it when Bruce stopped me, grabbing my arm.
"Hey, listen," Bruce said hesitantly. "I want to thank you. I don't... I never really thought Hulk and I could talk, could understand each other. But, um... it feels good. In those other worlds, the one that you saw? Did other Hulks, other Bruces, did they do the same thing?"
"Sometimes," I said with a grin. "Usually ends with you guys destroying a planet," Bruce's eyes widened in panic and I hurried to speak when I realized how bad that sounded. "Bad planets! And it only happened once, I promise!"
"Hey," Tony and Steve walked in as Maria and Fury walked out, Tony grinning. "Check it out! Just came off the line!"
He gestured to his Ben 10 t-shirt. "Gotta say, kid, the merchandising guys are loving the Reserve Avengers, especially since everyone has the snazzy armor and you've got eleven aliens to make action figures out of. Although Pepper had to yell at some guy who wanted to convince Sam and Rhodey to do a rap album. How'd therapy go?"
"...We broke two mountains," I admitted. "It was pretty Metal."
"It was actually really fun," Bruce said in his husky voice.
Tony and Steve shared a look, Steve surprised and Tony grinning. Steve sighed, moving forward to put an arm around me. "Come on. You've got training."
As he dragged me off, Tony spoke to Bruce. "You know, we can make you some clothes too if you want? That way you don't show up naked all the time. Unless you've been hiding your exhibitionist side all this time? No judgment."
As Bruce stuttered and Steve led away, the Captain spoke. "Mahmoud, we need to talk about you doing stuff like that. Today's training is based on communication."
After three hours of boxing with Cap while he talked to me about my responsibilities, I had a meeting to get to. Someone had put in a request to meet with me and I flew through New York in Astrodactyl form to get to them.
It was about 4 PM when I got to the Wakandan Embassy in Midtown. Well, the Consulate General at least. Funnily enough, I ended up flying over the Embassy of my parents' homeland, Morocco. As I landed on the sidewalk in front of the tall red brick building, people started taking photos with their phones. I ignored them to step through the gates and walk up the stairs toward the entrance. Men in black suits, all of them African, stood around the grounds of the embassy, watching me carefully as I walked towards the front doors. Two guards in green military uniforms carrying rifles stood at either side of the doors, while a beautiful African woman with a shaved head wearing a black dress waited for me.
"Good afternoon," I said politely, feeling a bit ashamed for the fact I was still wearing my Iron Man shirt, but going with it. "I have a meeting."
"I know," the woman said grimly. "I am Ayo. I will be guiding you."
"And guarding him," I added. She didn't answer, simply waving at the guards, who both opened the doors. I followed Ayo inside.
The inside of the Wakandan Embassy was all right. Not exactly what I was hoping for, as any reference to Wakanda itself were kept to some weapons along the walls, very traditional looking artwork, and the various servants roaming around. I noted the 'servants' often were bald women in great shape but ignored that. Ayo went into an elevator, nodding for me to enter as well. After a wait, the doors opened to reveal an office, where two men turned to look at us.
One was T'Chaka, the King of Wakanda eyeing me as I followed Ayo. The other I recognized from news reports. He was tall and strong looking, with skin as dark as the kings, and a well-trimmed beard. He was giving me a suspicious look when I entered. Couldn't blame him. Not nice when someone knows your country's millennia-old secrets.
I gave the Wakandan salute, both arms crossed over my chest. "King T'Chaka. Prince T'Challa. It is wonderful to meet you both. I'm honored."
"As am I," T'Chaka said, nodding towards me. "Please, sit," he gestured to a couch with a traditional looking coffee table. I moved towards it, sitting down on the sinfully comfortable couch. T'Chaka sat down in front of me in a large chair, while T'Challa was to my right in another one. Ayo stood behind T'Chaka as a servant woman with no hair walked over to stand to my left. "Now, I believe you know what I wish to talk about?"
"About how Wakanda is currently the most advanced nation on Earth, despite masquerading otherwise?" I said simply.
T'Challa, Ayo, and the servant were very, very focused on me. T'Chaka simply nodded. "Indeed. I suppose, my first question, is... would you like something to drink?"
I blinked, surprised, then laughed. "Yeah, that would be nice. Something from your nation? I haven't had the privilege of trying Wakandan food and drinks."
"Tea, I believe, would suffice," T'Chaka waved at the 'servant', who walked into another room, Ayo subtly moving to another position. "Now, for my second question. How did you discover our secret?"
"Other universes had to reveal it," I said. Everyone blinked. I thought for a moment."... This information does not leave this room. I want all three of you to promise, please."
T'Challa leaned forward, the prince staring at me. When he spoke, his voice was accented, though less than his fathers. "Is it truly that important?"
"It's worth more than all of the world, no matter how much vibranium you have."
T'Chaka thought about that. "...Very well. By the Goddess Bast, I will not reveal this."
"As do I," T'Challa said. Ayo only nodded.
I spoke immediately. "I had the dubious privilege of seeing into other universes recently. I destroyed the means by which I did so, but before that, I saw other worlds, other possibilities, even futures. In more than a few out of the infinite ones in the multiverse, I saw ones where Wakanda revealed their true power to the world. In many cases, to defend the Earth from danger."
T'Chaka frowned but waved for me to continue.
"In these worlds, you were sometimes...," I glanced at T'Challa. "Sometimes dead. Old age, assassination, self-sacrifice, all the reasons a person can die. And the Black Panther steps onto the world stage. He joins the Avengers. Saves the world. Sometimes, Shuri will become the Panther as well so that you," I indicated T'Challa. "Can aid the universe."
I might as well had dropped a bomb in the room. Ayo and T'Challa seemed stricken at the thought of their king/father dead. I wondered, for a moment, if the Dora Milaje were betrothed to the king as in the 616 universe before pushing the idea down.
The 'servant' walked into the room with my tea. "Thank you," I said, taking the tea and taking a sip, wincing when the aromatic and delicious drink singed my tongue slightly. I put it down on a cloth coaster the 'servant' had provided.
"How can we believe this?" T'Chaka asked, looking skeptical, a natural response.
"Because I know too much," I answered simply, dragging up the stuff I was certain was constant between universes. "I know about the Black Panther, and the Heart-Shaped Herb. I know that you gained your power from a mountain of Vibranium sitting beneath your nation. I know you were the first in space. And that you guys have pride in having 'never conquered, nor been conquered.' I mean... there's more, but that's most of the important stuff."
T'Chaka sighed, rubbing his forehead for a long moment, eyes closed in irritation. "I suppose you will be telling your Director about this?"
"I've thought about it," I noted how Ayo and the 'servant' stiffened. "But I'm as much African as I am American, in the end. I've got respect for you and for your people. I'd rather you tell them yourself... and you'll have to."
"Why is that?" T'Challa asked, glaring at me. "Why should we tell anyone?"
"Because you're about to lose your technological advantage," I answered simply. "I'm not going to comment on all the crap that happened in the world that you people could have stopped. Those are the decisions of other kings, and I won't have you answer for that. Not like I can yell at them personally," T'Chaka's lips twitched at that. "But right now, the pragmatic decision is not to simply watch as BRIDGE accelerates the entire world past you. Being isolationist isn't going to work for long."
I stopped to take a sip of tea, trying not to reveal how nervous I was. Damn it, I was giving too many speeches lately. I put it down after a moment. "You turned your back on the rest of the world," I said, my voice taking an odd tone that made T'Challa blink. "But I won't have BRIDGE do the same. Join us, King T'Chaka. You can try to match our technological abilities, but I guarantee you, it won't last. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, me, all the aliens we hope to make treaties or possibly trade with? Wakanda needs to be a part of the conversation."
"And you think the rest of the world will simply let us be?" T'Chaka asked. "Some will not forgive us. Others will attack us, attempt to dominate and manipulate us."
"They will," I said. "They're trying to do it to BRIDGE. To take all the tech we're making, the superhumans we've found, and use them for their own ends. I've even got people making offers for this," I said, tapping the Omnitrix. The 'servant' poured me some more tea. "Thank you. But we are stopping them. Fighting them. And in the end, I'm not saying Wakanda has to reveal itself in its entirety right now. Just to join us until your ready."
"...Hmm," T'Chaka leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "I see. We would more actively support BRIDGE, give you our aid, and in return, you allow us to advance our technology alongside yours?"
"Until you reveal yourselves," I added. "That's going to happen. Considering the way the world is going, it's inevitable."
T'Chaka shook his head. "You must understand. I've worked all of my life to keep our secret. Killed, to keep it. The other tribes will fight this."
"...Then it's up to you," I finished my second cup, chugging it. "I can't speak for your people. I'm only giving you a warning and some advice. There are going to be a lot of benefits. I know you've seen the tech we're making and it's only going to get crazier and crazier. Wakanda can either join us, or be left behind, and eventually get found out by a quickly advancing world. I don't want that. I have too much respect for your nation, for the legacy of the Black Panther and for Wakanda itself."
"And if we were to offer you something, in return for you joining us?" T'Chaka asked. He ignored the stunned looks the others in the room gave him. "Wakanda has many things you might find attractive. Technology, land, even women. What would you want, in trade for you, by yourself, allying with Wakanda? Advancing us to the point that none in the world can match us for millenia."
I scoffed. "Even if I didn't think you were just testing me, I made a promise to BRIDGE, to the world at large, that I'd protect it."
T'Chaka smirked. "I see... I will speak to my people... T'Challa, my son, what do you think?"
His son blinked, looking over at me. His mouth opened, then closed, a thoughtful look on his face. When he spoke, it was halting, but strong. "You are... not wrong. If Wakanda is to be safe, we may have to take some risks. But I believe, we must also keep our secret. And we may be able, for a time, to do so. If Shuri, myself, and some of the Dora Milaje join BRIDGE and the Avengers, then we can help them in trade for technology and resources. With time, we can reveal ourselves, or simply allow others to believe our advancements are due to BRIDGE's technology."
"It would be more complicated than that," T'Chaka noted. "National laws-"
"I know, father," T'Challa smiled. "But I don't believe our young friend is very political."
"He's not wrong," I said with a grin. "I'm trying, believe me, but I'm mostly the punching and shooting guy."
T'Chaka chuckled. "Very well. You have made your point, my young friend," he rose from his chair, T'Challa and I following. "I will speak to the people of my nation and come to a decision. Depending on what is said, I will speak with Director Maria Hill. I must ask, will you support Wakanda if we require it?"
"Yeah," I reached into a pocket and pulled out a device shaped roughly like a cat, handing it to T'Chaka. "Here. This is the Panther's Trail. It gives the location of Ulysses Klaue, no matter where he goes in the world. As well information on the location he hides in, it's defense, his resources, so on and so forth."
The whole room froze again.
"Klaue?" T'Chaka asked, his voice weak.
"He can't counter this, no matter what he tries," I said, tapping the device. "If you need help, I'm in, and I'll let some of the Avengers know. But if you want to do it on your own, this will help."
T'Chaka clenched the device tightly. "...Thank you, for this. Why didn't you simply offer it from the start to trade?"
"I'm no politician, but I figured you wouldn't think of this as worth the trade," I admitted. I noted the looks on their faces. Huh. Guess I'd been wrong.
Live and learn I suppose. Live and learn.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Natasha Romanov/Black Widow
Natasha entered the training room of the Enterprise, looking across the room at the young girl currently occupying the bench near the mat. The girl ignored Natasha in favor of lying on her stomach, headphones in her ears as she idly bobbed her head to the loud music with her eyes closed.
"Excuse me," Natasha said simply. "Ruby Hale, right?" Ruby was fourteen years old, with platinum blonde hair, a bit of acne across her nose, and a level of fitness rare in a teenager. Natasha waited for Ruby to say something. When she didn't the redheaded assassin spoke once more. "We're supposed to speak about your accommodations."
The girl ignored her, still bobbing her head. As though Natasha wasn't trained enough in body language to see the way she'd shifted as Natasha entered, or how the girl's body was just barely up off the bench, enough that she could quickly move if attacked.
Natasha eyed the young girl calmly. The two of them may as well have been statues for all the movement they exhibited. "...Well, have a nice day then. I'm gonna go enjoy a movie." Natasha turned and left.
After a bit of walking through the halls of the Enterprise, she heard some fast footsteps behind her. Natasha ignored the person chasing her, continuing to move through the ship with her swaying catwalk.
Someone reached out for her arm. Natasha, sensing the lightning-fast movement, stepped aside from it as subtly as though she'd never moved at all, leaving person reaching towards her to grasp empty air. Natasha turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did you need something?"
Ruby blinked, looking shocked. Then she pouted, trying to school her face to look intimidating. Which, she did, her face and eyes hard and cruel in a way no teenager should ever understand. But Natasha barely held back the urge to laugh. So cute.
"Where's my mom?" The teenager growled.
"Imprisoned, for working with a terrorist organization," Natasha cocked an eyebrow. "Is that really why you followed me after ignoring me? Because if so, I'm done."
Ruby scowled. "Aren't you supposed to train me?"
A lazy smile rose across Natasha's face. "Why?"
Ruby's scowl became something vicious. "You're supposed to!"
The words of a young girl who had been told all her life that she was special. That she was meant to be a destined leader and warrior. So cute.
"I volunteered my time, Ruby," Natasha said simply. "I was asked if I would help you, and I agreed, but you aren't the only thing I have on my plate. I'm an Avenger, an Agent of BRIDGE, someone who works every day to protect the world from threats. I'm not going to sit and watch you ignore me because you decided you wanted to be spoiled today."
Ruby's eyes widened in rage. She lashed out with a punch aimed to collapse Natasha's larynx.
The redhead grabbed Ruby's wrist in a vicious grip. She twisted her arm behind her back while kicking Ruby's legs, slamming her to the floor.
"Yaaagh!" Ruby screamed, struggling to rise against the iron hold Natasha had on her.
"I'm sorry, did you try to punch me?" Natasha teased, her voice soft against Ruby's ear. "You really are spoiled. So used to people bending over backward for you that you thought you could attack me without even a bruise to show for it."
A female BRIDGE agent with a small afro came around the corner and stopped at the sight of Natasha holding a screaming and cursing Ruby on the floor. Natasha glanced at her. She spun and walked away, leaving Natasha to look down at Ruby.
"We made a promise to your mother- listen to me," Natasha tapped the side of Ruby's head when the teenager wouldn't stop yelling. "We made a promise we'd train you, and I can do that. I can show you things HYDRA never had access to. Skills from the Red Room, all the times I assassinated someone from childhood to adulthood, the things that let me survive an attempt by the Winter Soldier himself."
Ruby stopped struggling.
"But I'm not going to waste time with childish rebellion," Natasha let her go, rising up. Ruby curled up and rolled to her feet, popping up to face Natasha, only to recoil when she realized Natasha had stepped in closer. The older assassin was no longer smiling. "I'm not going to train you if you expect to be able to decide to listen to music when you should be at attention, waiting for me, or if you just skip a lesson because you'd rather do something else. I'm not going to punish you or waste my time even talking to you, we'll just be done. You will not question me, not for one moment. And if you do, you might become an Avenger. You might even become more than that one day. But until then, you will show discipline."
Ruby stared up at her, trying to hide the deep bruises on her wrist. "I..."
"Oh go ahead, think about it if you want," Natasha checked her watch. "I've got some time free. But like I said, I've got things to do. If you decide the time I invest in you isn't worth your attention... why the hell should it be worth mine? Because I'm not wasting anything if you're going to act like a teenager rather than an assassin."
Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. "I am a teenager."
Natasha narrowed her eyes. "We both know better than that."
Any petulance Ruby was showing faded. She looked up at the older woman. After a long stare down between them, she nodded. There was an eager light in her eyes now, the burning of pride. "Okay, how do we start?"
"The woman who showed up just now," Natasha said, indicating the BRIDGE agent that had come upon them. "Track her down, find out what she tells others about what she saw. I'll shadow you, and you tell me what you found out. After that, we'll start with something easy."
As Ruby nodded eagerly and turned to run after the agent, Natasha felt disquiet in her heart. Here she was, doing something she never thought she would. Training a young girl to be an assassin. The Red Room, HYDRA, what did it matter? Here she was, doing the same thing.
She turned around. "What do you think?"
Clint and Bucky walked out of the shadows, both wearing BRIDGE camo gear. They walked forward with the steady and quiet steps Ruby was trying to master. They joined her, Bucky's face neutral while Clint gave her a sad smile.
"...You're going to try and deprogram her?" Clint asked.
"I'm not sure I can... It never worked on me," Natasha admitted. "All I can really do is give her better targets, layer her skills with morals and rules, try to do what worked for me. But she'll always be a killer. You can see it in her. The way she walks, the way she's always about to slice someone's throat out. And she has too much pride. No good assassin is arrogant. It'll destroy her if we let it fester."
Bucky nodded in agreement, while Clint, the only parent in the group, let out a disquieted sigh.
"We'll take care of her though... I'd like her to meet you both if you don't mind?" Natasha said. "She's showed interest in us, in heroes. I think, in her own extremely twisted way, she really does want to be a hero. Even if she doesn't know what that means."
"I'm in," Bucky said immediately. He gave them a smile so fast it might as well have not existed. "Reformed assassins have to stick together."
"Maybe we should start a support group?" Clint joked. He looked after where Ruby had gone, then back at Natasha. "By the way, is it me, or..."
"Cute, right?" Natasha grinned. "She's like a deadly puppy."
Bucky refused to say anything to that, but Natasha's grin widened at the slight twitch of acknowledgment his lips did.
"Wonder what Bobbi and Hartley will think," Clint muttered.
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
A pair of loud roars echoed over the deserts of Colorado.
"Ragh!"
"Grrragh!"
Hulk and I had grabbed each other's hands, me using my slightly stronger upper ones, and were pushing against each other, our muscles straining as the ground under our feet crumbled. For just a moment, we struggled against each other, then I used my other two hands to uppercut Hulk, sending him back a step. I leaned down and grabbed his legs, sending him to the ground, then began to spin. Around and around, dragging Hulk through the air.
"Yaaagh!" Hulk yelled, his hands swinging.
"Fly!" With another spin, I let go, sending Hulk shooting into the distance. "Whoa," I shook my head, stumbling slightly. "Dizzy."
With that, I leaped after Hulk, my giant leg muscles shooting me through the air.
There was a pure joy in being Fourarms. Having all that power, feeling my muscles move against each other as I flew through the air. I thought I'd felt powerful as Rath or Diamondhead, but there was something different and addicting about being Fourarms.
Maybe it was something that naturally came to Tetramands? The desire to fight and engage in combat with others that were just as powerful?
I landed in front of Hulk, who'd smashed into a plateau. He was getting to his knees and glared at me. He rose up to his feet, then sped forward to punch me in the face. I did the same, a shockwave spreading from the impact. Over and over, we hit each other, Hulk screaming in rage as I did the same.
He grabbed my arm and tossed me into a rock face, moving in to hit me in the rips with some lightning fast punches. I blocked his fists with my lower arms and slammed my upper arms into his shoulders, pushing him back ten feet. His feet grinding against the earth, he came to a stop and glared at me. I pulled my arms back. Realizing what I was doing, Hulk copied me.
Three pairs of palms slapped together, and two massive shockwaves of sound erupted from each of us. The earth shook, my ears rang, and rockslides kicked off. We roared as our powerful shockwaves clashed, nearby bushes tearing apart from pure air pressure as we caused a localized hurricane alongside the earthquake's we'd made.
Once the shockwave ended, I stepped forward at the same time as Hulk. Our fist flew forward again, my limited boxing and four limbs against Hulk's limited Brazilian jujitsu and incredible healing. One thing I noticed was that he really was getting stronger as we clashed. I'd realized while studying everyone in my first weeks that Hulk in this universe wasn't famous for getting stronger as he got angrier, but he was. Slowly, much slower than in the comics, but was doing it.
In the back of my mind, in between my fist slamming into his, I wondered if that was because of this new compromise between Bruce and Hulk, or if he'd simply never had to get stronger before. I discarded it to kick him in the legs then slam a lower right fist into his ribs.
After a long fight, the two of us brawling on a mountain and slowly turning it into a valley, I finally had to stop, falling back to sit on my ass as Hulk panted.
"...How you feeling?" I asked.
"Banner loud," Hulk pouted. "Always talking, thinking."
"Well, that is where his strength lies. You punch, he thinks. And together, you'll always hit the right thing."
"Loud," Hulk sat down next to me, and the two of us turned to look out at the desert. "Hulk... Hulk just to be alone."
"I think you mean you just want people to stop attacking you," the smaller brute grunted in agreement. "Hey," I nudged him with my elbow. "If they do, we'll all help you. I don't care who comes at you, every Avenger is going to stop them. And that includes helping Jennifer. We're your friends, both you and Bruce."
When I looked at Hulk, he was smiling, the sun rising across his face. Then he frowned, looking at something in the distance. I turned as well, focusing. Huh. A column of dust was coming towards. And were those... helicopters?
"X," I said with a grunt. "Send over the Defiant. I think it's time for us to leave."
"Agreed, sir. US Military forces have been sent to investigate reports of the Hulk battling an unknown being."
"How in the hell..." Trailing off, I tapped on the Omnitrix, turning back into my human form. I grunted slightly at the feeling of returning to a human body but got over the lack of power quickly. "Okay Hulk, you wanna get on the Defiant?"
"Hulk don't want be Banner," Huh. He was a lot more intimidating now that I was smaller than him. He glowered down at me, walking up to tower even more. Apparently, he'd taken the fact that Fourarms was bigger than him as an insult because he managed to look very smug about the height difference between us.
"Well, what do you say about you staying Hulk until we get home, then Bruce can take over?" I asked. "I mean if Bruce is okay with it. You need the practice anyways. Both of you do."
Hulk huffed, blowing my hair back. "...Okay."
"Let's stop for some food first though," I said, my stomach grumbling. "I'm hungry."
Hulk seemed to perk up at that as the Defiant landed behind us.
Turned out, Hulk had never had food himself before. I ended up buying a bunch of fast food of all kinds from a restaurant I'd never been to before. The big guy spent the ride home stuffing himself happily in the back of the ship.
When we got to the Enterprise and landed on the flight deck, the first thing people saw when the door opened was the Hulk, glowering angrily at the flight crew. He turned into Bruce right after of course, but it was still funny, seeing the guys panic at the sight of a glaring Hulk.
Which lead to later, when Bruce and I, me in my Iron Man shirt, him in ripped pants, were sitting in front of Maria Hill and Nick Fury in the lockers, both of us on a bench.
"So, I've managed to make it clear it was a training exercise," Maria said. "But Ross has requested he be informed the next time something like that happens," Maria punctuated her words in a voice that would broker no argument.
"I'll bet," Bruce grunted.
"And there is more," Fury sat down on the bench across from us, focusing on Bruce. "She wants to see you. I gave her your usual response of course."
"...Actually," Bruce said thoughtfully. "Tell her I'll meet her at Stanley's when this is over."
Fury blinked, surprised. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, um," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at Maria and Fury. "It'll be good to see her."
"What did you two do, anyway?" Maria asked, looking between us.
"Three, technically," I looked at Bruce. "I think we have an understanding, right?"
Bruce grinned. It was a very Hulk-like grin, his eyes flashing emerald. "Something like that. We both love Jennifer. And now? The Hulk and I both hate HYDRA. So you're going to want to start sending us on missions. Soon."
Maria stared at him, then looked at Fury. He smirked.
"Don't look at me, I ain't the Director," Maria glared at Fury for that.
"Anyway," Maria said with a sigh. "Let's gather with the others. We should have a mission soon. We've made some progress on tracking down HYDRA's main base."
Nodding, I rose to follow when I saw Tony outside talking to Cap while wearing a Ben 10 t-shirt. It took me a second to realize what was wrong with that. I went to go ask him about it when Bruce stopped me, grabbing my arm.
"Hey, listen," Bruce said hesitantly. "I want to thank you. I don't... I never really thought Hulk and I could talk, could understand each other. But, um... it feels good. In those other worlds, the one that you saw? Did other Hulks, other Bruces, did they do the same thing?"
"Sometimes," I said with a grin. "Usually ends with you guys destroying a planet," Bruce's eyes widened in panic and I hurried to speak when I realized how bad that sounded. "Bad planets! And it only happened once, I promise!"
"Hey," Tony and Steve walked in as Maria and Fury walked out, Tony grinning. "Check it out! Just came off the line!"
He gestured to his Ben 10 t-shirt. "Gotta say, kid, the merchandising guys are loving the Reserve Avengers, especially since everyone has the snazzy armor and you've got eleven aliens to make action figures out of. Although Pepper had to yell at some guy who wanted to convince Sam and Rhodey to do a rap album. How'd therapy go?"
"...We broke two mountains," I admitted. "It was pretty Metal."
"It was actually really fun," Bruce said in his husky voice.
Tony and Steve shared a look, Steve surprised and Tony grinning. Steve sighed, moving forward to put an arm around me. "Come on. You've got training."
As he dragged me off, Tony spoke to Bruce. "You know, we can make you some clothes too if you want? That way you don't show up naked all the time. Unless you've been hiding your exhibitionist side all this time? No judgment."
As Bruce stuttered and Steve led away, the Captain spoke. "Mahmoud, we need to talk about you doing stuff like that. Today's training is based on communication."
After three hours of boxing with Cap while he talked to me about my responsibilities, I had a meeting to get to. Someone had put in a request to meet with me and I flew through New York in Astrodactyl form to get to them.
It was about 4 PM when I got to the Wakandan Embassy in Midtown. Well, the Consulate General at least. Funnily enough, I ended up flying over the Embassy of my parents' homeland, Morocco. As I landed on the sidewalk in front of the tall red brick building, people started taking photos with their phones. I ignored them to step through the gates and walk up the stairs toward the entrance. Men in black suits, all of them African, stood around the grounds of the embassy, watching me carefully as I walked towards the front doors. Two guards in green military uniforms carrying rifles stood at either side of the doors, while a beautiful African woman with a shaved head wearing a black dress waited for me.
"Good afternoon," I said politely, feeling a bit ashamed for the fact I was still wearing my Iron Man shirt, but going with it. "I have a meeting."
"I know," the woman said grimly. "I am Ayo. I will be guiding you."
"And guarding him," I added. She didn't answer, simply waving at the guards, who both opened the doors. I followed Ayo inside.
The inside of the Wakandan Embassy was all right. Not exactly what I was hoping for, as any reference to Wakanda itself were kept to some weapons along the walls, very traditional looking artwork, and the various servants roaming around. I noted the 'servants' often were bald women in great shape but ignored that. Ayo went into an elevator, nodding for me to enter as well. After a wait, the doors opened to reveal an office, where two men turned to look at us.
One was T'Chaka, the King of Wakanda eyeing me as I followed Ayo. The other I recognized from news reports. He was tall and strong looking, with skin as dark as the kings, and a well-trimmed beard. He was giving me a suspicious look when I entered. Couldn't blame him. Not nice when someone knows your country's millennia-old secrets.
I gave the Wakandan salute, both arms crossed over my chest. "King T'Chaka. Prince T'Challa. It is wonderful to meet you both. I'm honored."
"As am I," T'Chaka said, nodding towards me. "Please, sit," he gestured to a couch with a traditional looking coffee table. I moved towards it, sitting down on the sinfully comfortable couch. T'Chaka sat down in front of me in a large chair, while T'Challa was to my right in another one. Ayo stood behind T'Chaka as a servant woman with no hair walked over to stand to my left. "Now, I believe you know what I wish to talk about?"
"About how Wakanda is currently the most advanced nation on Earth, despite masquerading otherwise?" I said simply.
T'Challa, Ayo, and the servant were very, very focused on me. T'Chaka simply nodded. "Indeed. I suppose, my first question, is... would you like something to drink?"
I blinked, surprised, then laughed. "Yeah, that would be nice. Something from your nation? I haven't had the privilege of trying Wakandan food and drinks."
"Tea, I believe, would suffice," T'Chaka waved at the 'servant', who walked into another room, Ayo subtly moving to another position. "Now, for my second question. How did you discover our secret?"
"Other universes had to reveal it," I said. Everyone blinked. I thought for a moment."... This information does not leave this room. I want all three of you to promise, please."
T'Challa leaned forward, the prince staring at me. When he spoke, his voice was accented, though less than his fathers. "Is it truly that important?"
"It's worth more than all of the world, no matter how much vibranium you have."
T'Chaka thought about that. "...Very well. By the Goddess Bast, I will not reveal this."
"As do I," T'Challa said. Ayo only nodded.
I spoke immediately. "I had the dubious privilege of seeing into other universes recently. I destroyed the means by which I did so, but before that, I saw other worlds, other possibilities, even futures. In more than a few out of the infinite ones in the multiverse, I saw ones where Wakanda revealed their true power to the world. In many cases, to defend the Earth from danger."
T'Chaka frowned but waved for me to continue.
"In these worlds, you were sometimes...," I glanced at T'Challa. "Sometimes dead. Old age, assassination, self-sacrifice, all the reasons a person can die. And the Black Panther steps onto the world stage. He joins the Avengers. Saves the world. Sometimes, Shuri will become the Panther as well so that you," I indicated T'Challa. "Can aid the universe."
I might as well had dropped a bomb in the room. Ayo and T'Challa seemed stricken at the thought of their king/father dead. I wondered, for a moment, if the Dora Milaje were betrothed to the king as in the 616 universe before pushing the idea down.
The 'servant' walked into the room with my tea. "Thank you," I said, taking the tea and taking a sip, wincing when the aromatic and delicious drink singed my tongue slightly. I put it down on a cloth coaster the 'servant' had provided.
"How can we believe this?" T'Chaka asked, looking skeptical, a natural response.
"Because I know too much," I answered simply, dragging up the stuff I was certain was constant between universes. "I know about the Black Panther, and the Heart-Shaped Herb. I know that you gained your power from a mountain of Vibranium sitting beneath your nation. I know you were the first in space. And that you guys have pride in having 'never conquered, nor been conquered.' I mean... there's more, but that's most of the important stuff."
T'Chaka sighed, rubbing his forehead for a long moment, eyes closed in irritation. "I suppose you will be telling your Director about this?"
"I've thought about it," I noted how Ayo and the 'servant' stiffened. "But I'm as much African as I am American, in the end. I've got respect for you and for your people. I'd rather you tell them yourself... and you'll have to."
"Why is that?" T'Challa asked, glaring at me. "Why should we tell anyone?"
"Because you're about to lose your technological advantage," I answered simply. "I'm not going to comment on all the crap that happened in the world that you people could have stopped. Those are the decisions of other kings, and I won't have you answer for that. Not like I can yell at them personally," T'Chaka's lips twitched at that. "But right now, the pragmatic decision is not to simply watch as BRIDGE accelerates the entire world past you. Being isolationist isn't going to work for long."
I stopped to take a sip of tea, trying not to reveal how nervous I was. Damn it, I was giving too many speeches lately. I put it down after a moment. "You turned your back on the rest of the world," I said, my voice taking an odd tone that made T'Challa blink. "But I won't have BRIDGE do the same. Join us, King T'Chaka. You can try to match our technological abilities, but I guarantee you, it won't last. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, me, all the aliens we hope to make treaties or possibly trade with? Wakanda needs to be a part of the conversation."
"And you think the rest of the world will simply let us be?" T'Chaka asked. "Some will not forgive us. Others will attack us, attempt to dominate and manipulate us."
"They will," I said. "They're trying to do it to BRIDGE. To take all the tech we're making, the superhumans we've found, and use them for their own ends. I've even got people making offers for this," I said, tapping the Omnitrix. The 'servant' poured me some more tea. "Thank you. But we are stopping them. Fighting them. And in the end, I'm not saying Wakanda has to reveal itself in its entirety right now. Just to join us until your ready."
"...Hmm," T'Chaka leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "I see. We would more actively support BRIDGE, give you our aid, and in return, you allow us to advance our technology alongside yours?"
"Until you reveal yourselves," I added. "That's going to happen. Considering the way the world is going, it's inevitable."
T'Chaka shook his head. "You must understand. I've worked all of my life to keep our secret. Killed, to keep it. The other tribes will fight this."
"...Then it's up to you," I finished my second cup, chugging it. "I can't speak for your people. I'm only giving you a warning and some advice. There are going to be a lot of benefits. I know you've seen the tech we're making and it's only going to get crazier and crazier. Wakanda can either join us, or be left behind, and eventually get found out by a quickly advancing world. I don't want that. I have too much respect for your nation, for the legacy of the Black Panther and for Wakanda itself."
"And if we were to offer you something, in return for you joining us?" T'Chaka asked. He ignored the stunned looks the others in the room gave him. "Wakanda has many things you might find attractive. Technology, land, even women. What would you want, in trade for you, by yourself, allying with Wakanda? Advancing us to the point that none in the world can match us for millenia."
I scoffed. "Even if I didn't think you were just testing me, I made a promise to BRIDGE, to the world at large, that I'd protect it."
T'Chaka smirked. "I see... I will speak to my people... T'Challa, my son, what do you think?"
His son blinked, looking over at me. His mouth opened, then closed, a thoughtful look on his face. When he spoke, it was halting, but strong. "You are... not wrong. If Wakanda is to be safe, we may have to take some risks. But I believe, we must also keep our secret. And we may be able, for a time, to do so. If Shuri, myself, and some of the Dora Milaje join BRIDGE and the Avengers, then we can help them in trade for technology and resources. With time, we can reveal ourselves, or simply allow others to believe our advancements are due to BRIDGE's technology."
"It would be more complicated than that," T'Chaka noted. "National laws-"
"I know, father," T'Challa smiled. "But I don't believe our young friend is very political."
"He's not wrong," I said with a grin. "I'm trying, believe me, but I'm mostly the punching and shooting guy."
T'Chaka chuckled. "Very well. You have made your point, my young friend," he rose from his chair, T'Challa and I following. "I will speak to the people of my nation and come to a decision. Depending on what is said, I will speak with Director Maria Hill. I must ask, will you support Wakanda if we require it?"
"Yeah," I reached into a pocket and pulled out a device shaped roughly like a cat, handing it to T'Chaka. "Here. This is the Panther's Trail. It gives the location of Ulysses Klaue, no matter where he goes in the world. As well information on the location he hides in, it's defense, his resources, so on and so forth."
The whole room froze again.
"Klaue?" T'Chaka asked, his voice weak.
"He can't counter this, no matter what he tries," I said, tapping the device. "If you need help, I'm in, and I'll let some of the Avengers know. But if you want to do it on your own, this will help."
T'Chaka clenched the device tightly. "...Thank you, for this. Why didn't you simply offer it from the start to trade?"
"I'm no politician, but I figured you wouldn't think of this as worth the trade," I admitted. I noted the looks on their faces. Huh. Guess I'd been wrong.
Live and learn I suppose. Live and learn.
Natasha Romanov/Black Widow Natasha entered the training room of theEnterprise,looking across the room at the young girl currently occupying the bench near the mat. The girl ignored Natasha in favor of lying on her stomach, headphones in her ears as she idly bobbed her head to the loud music with her eyes closed. "Excuse me," Natasha said simply. "Ruby Hale, right?" Ruby was fourteen years old, with platinum blonde hair, a bit of acne across her nose, and a level of fitness rare in a teenager. Natasha waited for Ruby to say something. When she didn't the redheaded assassin spoke once more. "We're supposed to speak about your accommodations." The girl ignored her, still bobbing her head. As though Natasha wasn't trained enough in body language to see the way she'd shifted as Natasha entered, or how the girl's body was just barely up off the bench, enough that she could quickly move if attacked. Natasha eyed the young girl calmly. The two of them may as well have been statues for all the movement they exhibited. "...Well, have a nice day then. I'm gonna go enjoy a movie." Natasha turned and left. After a bit of walking through the halls of theEnterprise,she heard some fast footsteps behind her. Natasha ignored the person chasing her, continuing to move through the ship with her swaying catwalk. Someone reached out for her arm. Natasha, sensing the lightning-fast movement, stepped aside from it as subtly as though she'd never moved at all, leaving person reaching towards her to grasp empty air. Natasha turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did you need something?" Ruby blinked, looking shocked. Then she pouted, trying to school her face to look intimidating. Which, she did, her face and eyes hard and cruel in a way no teenager should ever understand. But Natasha barely held back the urge to laugh. So cute. "Where's my mom?" The teenager growled. "Imprisoned, for working with a terrorist organization," Natasha cocked an eyebrow. "Is that really why you followed me after ignoring me? Because if so, I'm done." Ruby scowled. "Aren't you supposed to train me?" A lazy smile rose across Natasha's face. "Why?" Ruby's scowl became something vicious. "You'resupposedto!" The words of a young girl who had been told all her life that she was special. That she was meant to be a destined leader and warrior. So cute. "I volunteered my time, Ruby," Natasha said simply. "I was asked if I would help you, and I agreed, but you aren't the only thing I have on my plate. I'm an Avenger, an Agent of BRIDGE, someone who works every day to protect the world from threats. I'm not going to sit and watch you ignore me because you decided you wanted to be spoiled today." Ruby's eyes widened in rage. She lashed out with a punch aimed to collapse Natasha's larynx. The redhead grabbed Ruby's wrist in a vicious grip. She twisted her arm behind her back while kicking Ruby's legs, slamming her to the floor. "Yaaagh!" Ruby screamed, struggling to rise against the iron hold Natasha had on her. "I'm sorry, did you try to punch me?" Natasha teased, her voice soft against Ruby's ear. "You really are spoiled. So used to people bending over backward for you that you thought you could attack me without even a bruise to show for it." A female BRIDGE agent with a small afro came around the corner and stopped at the sight of Natasha holding a screaming and cursing Ruby on the floor. Natasha glanced at her. She spun and walked away, leaving Natasha to look down at Ruby. "We made a promise to your mother- listen to me," Natasha tapped the side of Ruby's head when the teenager wouldn't stop yelling. "We made a promise we'd train you, and I can do that. I can show you things HYDRA never had access to. Skills from the Red Room, all the times I assassinated someone from childhood to adulthood, the things that let me survive an attempt by the Winter Soldier himself." Ruby stopped struggling. "But I'm not going to waste time with childish rebellion," Natasha let her go, rising up. Ruby curled up and rolled to her feet, popping up to face Natasha, only to recoil when she realized Natasha had stepped in closer. The older assassin was no longer smiling. "I'm not going to train you if you expect to be able to decide to listen to music when you should be at attention, waiting for me, or if you just skip a lesson because you'd rather do something else. I'm not going to punish you or waste my time even talking to you, we'll just be done. You will not question me, not for one moment. And if you do, youmightbecome an Avenger. You might even become more than that one day. But until then, you will showdiscipline." Ruby stared up at her, trying to hide the deep bruises on her wrist. "I..." "Oh go ahead, think about it if you want," Natasha checked her watch. "I've got some time free. But like I said, I've got things to do. If you decide the time I invest in you isn't worth your attention... why the hell should it be worth mine? Because I'm not wasting anything if you're going to act like a teenager rather than an assassin." Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. "Iama teenager." Natasha narrowed her eyes. "We both know better than that." Any petulance Ruby was showing faded. She looked up at the older woman. After a long stare down between them, she nodded. There was an eager light in her eyes now, the burning of pride. "Okay, how do we start?" "The woman who showed up just now," Natasha said, indicating the BRIDGE agent that had come upon them. "Track her down, find out what she tells others about what she saw. I'll shadow you, and you tell me what you found out. After that, we'll start with something easy." As Ruby nodded eagerly and turned to run after the agent, Natasha felt disquiet in her heart. Here she was, doing something she never thought she would. Training a young girl to be an assassin. The Red Room, HYDRA, what did it matter? Here she was, doing the same thing. She turned around. "What do you think?" Clint and Bucky walked out of the shadows, both wearing BRIDGE camo gear. They walked forward with the steady and quiet steps Ruby was trying to master. They joined her, Bucky's face neutral while Clint gave her a sad smile. "...You're going to try and deprogram her?" Clint asked. "I'm not sure I can... It never worked on me," Natasha admitted. "All I can really do is give her better targets, layer her skills with morals and rules, try to do what worked for me. But she'll always be a killer. You can see it in her. The way she walks, the way she's always about to slice someone's throat out. And she has too much pride. No good assassin is arrogant. It'll destroy her if we let it fester." Bucky nodded in agreement, while Clint, the only parent in the group, let out a disquieted sigh. "We'll take care of her though... I'd like her to meet you both if you don't mind?" Natasha said. "She's showed interest in us, in heroes. I think, in her own extremely twisted way, she really does want to be a hero. Even if she doesn't know what that means." "I'm in," Bucky said immediately. He gave them a smile so fast it might as well have not existed. "Reformed assassins have to stick together." "Maybe we should start a support group?" Clint joked. He looked after where Ruby had gone, then back at Natasha. "By the way, is it me, or..." "Cute, right?" Natasha grinned. "She's like a deadly puppy." Bucky refused to say anything to that, but Natasha's grin widened at the slight twitch of acknowledgment his lips did. "Wonder what Bobbi and Hartley will think," Clint muttered. Mahmoud Schahed/Dial A pair of loud roars echoed over the deserts of Colorado. "Ragh!" "Grrragh!" Hulk and I had grabbed each other's hands, me using my slightly stronger upper ones, and were pushing against each other, our muscles straining as the ground under our feet crumbled. For just a moment, we struggled against each other, then I used my other two hands to uppercut Hulk, sending him back a step. I leaned down and grabbed his legs, sending him to the ground, then began to spin. Around and around, dragging Hulk through the air. "Yaaagh!"Hulk yelled, his hands swinging. "Fly!"With another spin, I let go, sending Hulk shooting into the distance."Whoa,"I shook my head, stumbling slightly."Dizzy." With that, I leaped after Hulk, my giant leg muscles shooting me through the air. There was a pure joy in being Fourarms. Having all that power, feeling my muscles move against each other as I flew through the air. I thought I'd felt powerful as Rath or Diamondhead, but there was something different and addicting about being Fourarms. Maybe it was something that naturally came to Tetramands? The desire to fight and engage in combat with others that were just as powerful? I landed in front of Hulk, who'd smashed into a plateau. He was getting to his knees and glared at me. He rose up to his feet, then sped forward to punch me in the face. I did the same, a shockwave spreading from the impact. Over and over, we hit each other, Hulk screaming in rage as I did the same. He grabbed my arm and tossed me into a rock face, moving in to hit me in the rips with some lightning fast punches. I blocked his fists with my lower arms and slammed my upper arms into his shoulders, pushing him back ten feet. His feet grinding against the earth, he came to a stop and glared at me. I pulled my arms back. Realizing what I was doing, Hulk copied me. Three pairs of palms slapped together, and two massive shockwaves of sound erupted from each of us. The earth shook, my ears rang, and rockslides kicked off. We roared as our powerful shockwaves clashed, nearby bushes tearing apart from pure air pressure as we caused a localized hurricane alongside the earthquake's we'd made. Once the shockwave ended, I stepped forward at the same time as Hulk. Our fist flew forward again, my limited boxing and four limbs against Hulk's limited Brazilian jujitsu and incredible healing. One thing I noticed was that he really was getting stronger as we clashed. I'd realized while studying everyone in my first weeks that Hulk in this universe wasn't famous for getting stronger as he got angrier, but hewas. Slowly, much slower than in the comics, but was doing it. In the back of my mind, in between my fist slamming into his, I wondered if that was because of this new compromise between Bruce and Hulk, or if he'd simply neverhadto get stronger before. I discarded it to kick him in the legs then slam a lower right fist into his ribs. After a long fight, the two of us brawling on a mountain and slowly turning it into a valley, I finally had to stop, falling back to sit on my ass as Hulk panted. "...How you feeling?"I asked. "Banner loud,"Hulk pouted."Always talking, thinking." "Well, that is where his strength lies. You punch, he thinks. And together, you'll always hit the right thing." "Loud,"Hulk sat down next to me, and the two of us turned to look out at the desert."Hulk... Hulk just to be alone." "I think you mean you just want people to stop attacking you,"the smaller brute grunted in agreement."Hey,"I nudged him with my elbow."If they do, we'll all help you. I don't care who comes at you, every Avenger is going to stop them. And that includes helping Jennifer. We're your friends, both you and Bruce." When I looked at Hulk, he was smiling, the sun rising across his face. Then he frowned, looking at something in the distance. I turned as well, focusing. Huh. A column of dust was coming towards. And were those... helicopters? "X,"I said with a grunt."Send over the Defiant. I think it's time for us to leave." "Agreed, sir. US Military forces have been sent to investigate reports of the Hulk battling an unknown being." "How in the hell..."Trailing off, I tapped on the Omnitrix, turning back into my human form. I grunted slightly at the feeling of returning to a human body but got over the lack of power quickly. "Okay Hulk, you wanna get on theDefiant?" "Hulk don't want be Banner,"Huh. He was a lot more intimidating now that I was smaller than him. He glowered down at me, walking up to tower even more. Apparently, he'd taken the fact that Fourarms was bigger than him as an insult because he managed to look very smug about the height difference between us. "Well, what do you say about you staying Hulk until we get home, then Bruce can take over?" I asked. "I mean if Bruce is okay with it. You need the practice anyways. Both of you do." Hulk huffed, blowing my hair back."...Okay." "Let's stop for some food first though," I said, my stomach grumbling. "I'm hungry." Hulk seemed to perk up at that as theDefiantlanded behind us. Turned out, Hulk had never had food himself before. I ended up buying a bunch of fast food of all kinds from a restaurant I'd never been to before. The big guy spent the ride home stuffing himself happily in the back of the ship. When we got to theEnterpriseand landed on the flight deck, the first thing people saw when the door opened was the Hulk, glowering angrily at the flight crew. He turned into Bruce right after of course, but it was still funny, seeing the guys panic at the sight of a glaring Hulk. Which lead to later, when Bruce and I, me in my Iron Man shirt, him in ripped pants, were sitting in front of Maria Hill and Nick Fury in the lockers, both of us on a bench. "So, I've managed to make it clear it was a training exercise," Maria said. "But Ross has requested he be informed thenext timesomething like that happens," Maria punctuated her words in a voice that would broker no argument. "I'll bet," Bruce grunted. "And there is more," Fury sat down on the bench across from us, focusing on Bruce. "She wants to see you. I gave her your usual response of course." "...Actually," Bruce said thoughtfully. "Tell her I'll meet her at Stanley's when this is over." Fury blinked, surprised. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, yeah, um," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at Maria and Fury. "It'll be good to see her." "What did you two do, anyway?" Maria asked, looking between us. "Three, technically," I looked at Bruce. "I think we have an understanding, right?" Bruce grinned. It was a very Hulk-like grin, his eyes flashing emerald. "Something like that. We both love Jennifer. And now? The Hulk and I bothhateHYDRA. So you're going to want to start sending us on missions. Soon." Maria stared at him, then looked at Fury. He smirked. "Don't look at me, I ain't the Director," Maria glared at Fury for that. "Anyway," Maria said with a sigh. "Let's gather with the others. We should have a mission soon. We've made some progress on tracking down HYDRA's main base." Nodding, I rose to follow when I saw Tony outside talking to Cap while wearing a Ben 10 t-shirt. It took me a second to realize what was wrong with that. I went to go ask him about it when Bruce stopped me, grabbing my arm. "Hey, listen," Bruce said hesitantly. "I want to thank you. I don't... I never really thought Hulk and I could talk, could understand each other. But, um... it feels good. In those other worlds, the one that you saw? Did other Hulks, other Bruces, did they do the same thing?" "Sometimes," I said with a grin. "Usually ends with you guys destroying a planet," Bruce's eyes widened in panic and I hurried to speak when I realized how bad that sounded. "Bad planets! And it only happened once, I promise!" "Hey," Tony and Steve walked in as Maria and Fury walked out, Tony grinning. "Check it out! Just came off the line!" He gestured to his Ben 10 t-shirt. "Gotta say, kid, the merchandising guys arelovingthe Reserve Avengers, especially since everyone has the snazzy armor and you've got eleven aliens to make action figures out of. Although Pepper had to yell at some guy who wanted to convince Sam and Rhodey to do a rap album. How'd therapy go?" "...We broke two mountains," I admitted. "It was pretty Metal." "It was actually really fun," Bruce said in his husky voice. Tony and Steve shared a look, Steve surprised and Tony grinning. Steve sighed, moving forward to put an arm around me. "Come on. You've got training." As he dragged me off, Tony spoke to Bruce. "You know, we can make you some clothes too if you want? That way you don't show up naked all the time. Unless you've been hiding your exhibitionist side all this time? No judgment." As Bruce stuttered and Steve led away, the Captain spoke. "Mahmoud, we need to talk about you doing stuff like that. Today's training is based on communication." After three hours of boxing with Cap while he talked to me about my responsibilities, I had a meeting to get to. Someone had put in a request to meet with me and I flew through New York in Astrodactyl form to get to them. It was about 4 PM when I got to the Wakandan Embassy in Midtown. Well, the Consulate General at least. Funnily enough, I ended up flying over the Embassy of my parents' homeland, Morocco. As I landed on the sidewalk in front of the tall red brick building, people started taking photos with their phones. I ignored them to step through the gates and walk up the stairs toward the entrance. Men in black suits, all of them African, stood around the grounds of the embassy, watching me carefully as I walked towards the front doors. Two guards in green military uniforms carrying rifles stood at either side of the doors, while a beautiful African woman with a shaved head wearing a black dress waited for me. "Good afternoon," I said politely, feeling a bit ashamed for the fact I was still wearing my Iron Man shirt, but going with it. "I have a meeting." "I know," the woman said grimly. "I am Ayo. I will be guiding you." "And guarding him," I added. She didn't answer, simply waving at the guards, who both opened the doors. I followed Ayo inside. The inside of the Wakandan Embassy was all right. Not exactly what I was hoping for, as any reference to Wakanda itself were kept to some weapons along the walls, very traditional looking artwork, and the various servants roaming around. I noted the 'servants' often were bald women in great shape but ignored that. Ayo went into an elevator, nodding for me to enter as well. After a wait, the doors opened to reveal an office, where two men turned to look at us. One was T'Chaka, the King of Wakanda eyeing me as I followed Ayo. The other I recognized from news reports. He was tall and strong looking, with skin as dark as the kings, and a well-trimmed beard. He was giving me a suspicious look when I entered. Couldn't blame him. Not nice when someone knows your country's millennia-old secrets. I gave the Wakandan salute, both arms crossed over my chest. "King T'Chaka. Prince T'Challa. It is wonderful to meet you both. I'm honored." "As am I," T'Chaka said, nodding towards me. "Please, sit," he gestured to a couch with a traditional looking coffee table. I moved towards it, sitting down on the sinfully comfortable couch. T'Chaka sat down in front of me in a large chair, while T'Challa was to my right in another one. Ayo stood behind T'Chaka as a servant woman with no hair walked over to stand to my left. "Now, I believe you know what I wish to talk about?" "About how Wakanda is currently the most advanced nation on Earth, despite masquerading otherwise?" I said simply. T'Challa, Ayo, and the servant were very,veryfocused on me. T'Chaka simply nodded. "Indeed. I suppose, my first question, is... would you like something to drink?" I blinked, surprised, then laughed. "Yeah, that would be nice. Something from your nation? I haven't had the privilege of trying Wakandan food and drinks." "Tea, I believe, would suffice," T'Chaka waved at the 'servant', who walked into another room, Ayo subtly moving to another position. "Now, for my second question. How did you discover our secret?" "Other universes had to reveal it," I said. Everyone blinked. I thought for a moment."... This information does not leave this room. I want all three of you to promise, please." T'Challa leaned forward, the prince staring at me. When he spoke, his voice was accented, though less than his fathers. "Is it truly that important?" "It's worth more than all of the world, no matter how much vibranium you have." T'Chaka thought about that. "...Very well. By the Goddess Bast, I will not reveal this." "As do I," T'Challa said. Ayo only nodded. I spoke immediately. "I had the dubious privilege of seeing into other universes recently. I destroyed the means by which I did so, but before that, I saw other worlds, other possibilities, even futures. In more than a few out of the infinite ones in the multiverse, I saw ones where Wakanda revealed their true power to the world. In many cases, to defend the Earth from danger." T'Chaka frowned but waved for me to continue. "In these worlds, you were sometimes...," I glanced at T'Challa. "Sometimes dead. Old age, assassination, self-sacrifice, all the reasons a person can die. And the Black Panther steps onto the world stage. He joins the Avengers. Saves the world. Sometimes, Shuri will become the Panther as well so that you," I indicated T'Challa. "Can aid the universe." I might as well had dropped a bomb in the room. Ayo and T'Challa seemed stricken at the thought of their king/father dead. I wondered, for a moment, if the Dora Milaje were betrothed to the king as in the 616 universe before pushing the idea down. The 'servant' walked into the room with my tea. "Thank you," I said, taking the tea and taking a sip, wincing when the aromatic and delicious drink singed my tongue slightly. I put it down on a cloth coaster the 'servant' had provided. "How can we believe this?" T'Chaka asked, looking skeptical, a natural response. "Because I know too much," I answered simply, dragging up the stuff I was certain was constant between universes. "I know about the Black Panther, and the Heart-Shaped Herb. I know that you gained your power from a mountain of Vibranium sitting beneath your nation. I know you were the first in space. And that you guys have pride in having 'never conquered, nor been conquered.' I mean... there's more, but that's most of the important stuff." T'Chaka sighed, rubbing his forehead for a long moment, eyes closed in irritation. "I suppose you will be telling your Director about this?" "I've thought about it," I noted how Ayo and the 'servant' stiffened. "But I'm as much African as I am American, in the end. I've got respect for you and for your people. I'd rather you tell them yourself... and you'll have to." "Why is that?" T'Challa asked, glaring at me. "Why should we tell anyone?" "Because you're about to lose your technological advantage," I answered simply. "I'm not going to comment on all the crap that happened in the world that you people could have stopped. Those are the decisions of other kings, and I won't have you answer for that. Not like I can yell at them personally," T'Chaka's lips twitched at that. "But right now, the pragmatic decision is not to simply watch as BRIDGE accelerates the entire world past you. Being isolationist isn't going to work for long." I stopped to take a sip of tea, trying not to reveal how nervous I was. Damn it, I was giving too many speeches lately. I put it down after a moment. "Youturned your back on the rest of the world," I said, my voice taking an odd tone that made T'Challa blink. "But I won't have BRIDGE do the same. Join us, King T'Chaka. You can try to match our technological abilities, but I guarantee you, it won't last. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, me, all the aliens we hope to make treaties or possibly trade with? Wakanda needs to be a part of the conversation." "And you think the rest of the world will simply let us be?" T'Chaka asked. "Some will not forgive us. Others will attack us, attempt to dominate and manipulate us." "They will," I said. "They're trying to do it to BRIDGE. To take all the tech we're making, the superhumans we've found, and use them for their own ends. I've even got people making offers for this," I said, tapping the Omnitrix. The 'servant' poured me some more tea. "Thank you. But we are stopping them. Fighting them. And in the end, I'm not saying Wakanda has to reveal itself in its entirety right now. Just to join us until your ready." "...Hmm," T'Chaka leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "I see. We would more actively support BRIDGE, give you our aid, and in return, you allow us to advance our technology alongside yours?" "Until you reveal yourselves," I added. "That's going to happen. Considering the way the world is going, it's inevitable." T'Chaka shook his head. "You must understand. I've worked all of mylifeto keep our secret. Killed, to keep it. The other tribes will fight this." "...Then it's up to you," I finished my second cup, chugging it. "I can't speak for your people. I'm only giving you a warning and some advice. There are going to be a lot of benefits. I know you've seen the tech we're making and it's only going to get crazier and crazier. Wakanda can either join us, or be left behind, and eventually get found out by a quickly advancing world. I don't want that. I have too much respect for your nation, for the legacy of the Black Panther and for Wakanda itself." "And if we were to offer you something, in return for you joining us?" T'Chaka asked. He ignored the stunned looks the others in the room gave him. "Wakanda has many things you might find attractive. Technology, land, even women. What would you want, in trade for you, by yourself, allying with Wakanda? Advancing us to the point that none in the world can match us for millenia." I scoffed. "Even if I didn't think you were just testing me, I made a promise to BRIDGE, to the world at large, that I'd protect it." T'Chaka smirked. "I see... I will speak to my people... T'Challa, my son, what do you think?" His son blinked, looking over at me. His mouth opened, then closed, a thoughtful look on his face. When he spoke, it was halting, but strong. "You are... not wrong. If Wakanda is to be safe, we may have to take some risks. But I believe, we must also keep our secret. And we may be able, for a time, to do so. If Shuri, myself, and some of the Dora Milaje join BRIDGE and the Avengers, then we can help them in trade for technology and resources. With time, we can reveal ourselves, or simply allow others to believe our advancements are due to BRIDGE's technology." "It would be more complicated than that," T'Chaka noted. "National laws-" "I know, father," T'Challa smiled. "But I don't believe our young friend is very political." "He's not wrong," I said with a grin. "I'm trying, believe me, but I'm mostly the punching and shooting guy." T'Chaka chuckled. "Very well. You have made your point, my young friend," he rose from his chair, T'Challa and I following. "I will speak to the people of my nation and come to a decision. Depending on what is said, I will speak with Director Maria Hill. I must ask, will you support Wakanda if we require it?" "Yeah," I reached into a pocket and pulled out a device shaped roughly like a cat, handing it to T'Chaka. "Here. This is the Panther's Trail. It gives the location of Ulysses Klaue, no matter where he goes in the world. As well information on the location he hides in, it's defense, his resources, so on and so forth." The whole room froze again. "Klaue?" T'Chaka asked, his voice weak. "He can't counter this, no matter what he tries," I said, tapping the device. "If you need help, I'm in, and I'll let some of the Avengers know. But if you want to do it on your own, this will help." T'Chaka clenched the device tightly. "...Thank you, for this. Why didn't you simply offer it from the start to trade?" "I'm no politician, but I figured you wouldn't think of this as worth the trade," I admitted. I noted the looks on their faces. Huh. Guess I'd been wrong. Live and learn I suppose. Live and learn.
