We're A Time Bomb

- - - - -

Ana stopped in front of the side doors that led to the lab Fury, Bruce and Tony were inside of. She lifted her hand that held her keycard, unintentionally hitting it a little too hard against the glass panel on the wall, causing the surface to crack. She looked to her right at Steve, who didn't seem fazed by it, and opened the door. He stormed inside, putting down the HYDRA weapon they found earlier on a nearby table with a loud bang. Fury, Bruce and Tony all turned to face Steve as he interrupted their grilling conversation.

Having heard Tony's question for Fury, Steve spoke up. "Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the Cube to make weapons." He said and turned to Tony, "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."

Fury, now realising there was no point in dodging their questions, started to explain. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're making..." Fury was interrupted when Tony moved the display towards his line of sight, showing him the plans for classified weapons powered by the Tesseract.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What were you lying?"

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said.

At that moment, Thor and Natasha walked into the lab. Natasha kept her eyes on Banner specifically after she found that Loki's play was the Hulk. "Did you know about this? Michaels?" Bruce asked, looking from Natasha to Ana.

Ana shook her head firmly. "I don't have the clearance..." She began to say, but stopped when Bruce hit his fist against the table.

At the sight of his slight outburst, Natasha stepped forward and calmly asked, "You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

Bruce scoffed out a chuckle. "I was in Kolkata. I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you." She said.

"And you've been doing what exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Natasha smirked slightly.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Bruce demanded, using his reading glasses to point at the blueprints on the display.

Fury glanced at Ana discretely then pointed at Thor, "Because of him."

"Me?" Thor asked stunned, pointing to himself.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." Fury elaborated. Ana looked down at her hands, seeing the familiar energy spark. She clenched them into fists, calming her breathing. This was not the time. It seemed as if the closer she was to the sceptre, the more unstable her focus was. And that scared her.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor told Fury.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury questioned, looking at each of them as to make a point. "And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

Ana shifted in her position. Sweat lined her forehead. She could barely think straight. "So we're controlling people now? People you think could be a threat to humanity? People like us?"

Fury would've gotten a word in, something to ease her doubts, though Rogers was quick to point the attention back to the Cube. "Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve asked.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the Realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor stated.

"A higher form?" Steve echoed.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury reasoned.

"Nuclear deterrent." Tony interjected, "'Cause that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark." Fury said snidely.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep..." Steve said.

Tony held up one hand. "Wait, wait. Hold on. How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry." Steve retorted. "Isn't everything?"

Ana stepped away from the sceptre, eyes hardened as she faced Fury. "None of this is helping."

"Currently, I'm not in the helping mood." Fury shot back. "Stand down, agent."

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor commented.

Fury turned on Thor. "Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"

"You treat your champions with such mistrust." Thor told Fury as he pointed at Ana.

"Are you really that naive?" Natasha cut in. "S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors all potential threats."

Ana looked as if she had been slapped across the face. "What was that, Black Widow?"

Natasha hadn't reacted. "You heard me."

"Captain America's on threat watch?" Bruce asked.

"We all are." Natasha answered.

Tony overheard Natasha's words and turned to Steve. "Wait, you're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?"

"Stark, so help me God, if you make one more wisecrack..." Steve drawled.

"Threat! Verbal threat. I feel threatened!" Tony exclaimed.

Ana shot Tony a look. "Show some respect."

Tony turned to face Ana. "Respect what? Last I checked, that stuff is earned."

And just like that, everyone argued over each other. No one in the room noticed the stone inside Loki's sceptre glow brighter with each exchange. It was feeding on the lost and hot headed minds. Dialling up the aggression and hazy heads. Bruce was the closest to it. He had moved backwards, hand absentmindedly reaching out to wrap around the middle of it.

"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce said.

Fury could see things were spiralling out of control. He started trying to get them all back on track. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Doctor Banner back to..."

"Where?" Bruce interrupted. "You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case..."

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know. I tried." Bruce said forcefully. His words caught them all off guard. It was hard for Bruce to admit that. "I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth and the Other Guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good." Bruce looked to Natasha, "Until you dragged me into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?" His tone was getting lower and his eyes were getting darker. Ana swore she saw a flash of green inside them.

When they all realised what he was holding, everyone was on edge. Fury unhooked the pistol on his side while Ana's hand reached for the knives tucked in the holster on her thigh.

"Doctor Banner, put down the sceptre." Steve said.

Bruce had a glint of confusion in his eyes before he looked down at his hand, seeing that he had picked up the sceptre without even realising it. There was a beat of silence as they all watched him with their guards up. He set the sceptre down when the computer across the room started beeping as a sign of locating the Tesseract. "Sorry, kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all." He said.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

Tony interjected, "I could get there the fastest."

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it." Thor stated.

"Gotta agree with you there." Ana said. "The sooner we get that and Loki out of here, the better."

Then,

A huge explosion followed by the Helicarrier rumbling knocked everyone off their feet. A burst of fire from the pipes below sent them all in different directions. Ana had landed on her back, with shards of broken glass grazing the sides of her face. Fury was beside her, groaning in agony from the abrupt fall. Ana sat up, extending her hand for the Director to take and pulled him up. She looked around, seeing Steve and Tony scramble out of the lab while Thor, Bruce and Natasha were nowhere to be found.

"External detonation. Number Three engine is down!" Maria exclaimed over the comms.

Ana snatched a working display and frantically brought up the Helicarrier's diagnostics. The explosions that had taken out the Number Three engine also collapsed several of the Helicarrier's interior decks. They were going down fast.

"Somebody's got to get outside and patch that engine." Hill commanded.

"Stark, you copy that?" Fury questioned.

Ana frowned when there was a hitch in the Helicarrier's comm system when Tony said he'd work on the engine, something no one other than her would pick out due to her enhanced hearing. It had to be Clint. He must've hacked into the frequency as soon as the engine went down.

"Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section, then get to the armoury." Fury ordered. "Michaels? With me."

Ana left the display and followed after Fury as he led them to the main bridge. She stopped at the doorway when she remembered about the sceptre. She went to look for it, seeing as it disappeared due to the explosion rocking the decks, but Fury's calls for her to hurry it up made her abandon the search before it even began.

Ana kept in step with Fury. "What do you need me to do?"

"We need a full evac on the lower hangar bay." Fury ordered. "Get the agents out of there, now."

Ana nodded at the command and turned around as Maria passed her in a hurry. She heard metal clanging on the ground and widened her eyes at the object flashing at her feet. "Grenade!" Maria yelled, pulling Ana away just before it went off. They both went flying over the railings and crashed onto the floor by the computer stations.

A trio of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dressed from head to toe in tactical gear moved in on the bridge with large assault rifles in their possession. These were the men Loki had taken under his control. Smoke filled the entrance, and Fury pressed himself against the wall away from their line of sight. He let one pass through before taking the other one in an arm lock.

Ana was dazed from the brush with the grenade, though she shot at the agent using a firearm she found on the floor when he moved to shoot his weapon at Fury. Knowing they had no control over their actions, Ana chose to give them non-lethal injuries. Maria took care of the last one, the final shot ringing throughout the bridge.

"We have the Hulk and Thor on Research Level 4." Announced an agent over the speakers, "Levels 2 and 3 are dark."

Maria Hill had ordered a pilot to attract the Hulk's attention when they realised the Big Green would tear the place apart unless he was distracted. More of Loki's agents tried to come through to the bridge, with Ana, Fury and Maria holding them off as much as they could. Ana squeezed the trigger on her firearm, only for it to click, telling her it was empty. She tossed the weapon to the floor and grabbed a fragment of metal. She launched it at one of the agents, watching as it landed on his shoulder. She had ran out of daggers and gun ammo, resulting in using whatever she could as projectiles.

"They are not getting through here, so what the hell..." Fury mumbled out before an arrow flew past his head and exploded when it came into contact with the computer stations. Ana looked up and saw Clint readying another arrow, this time aiming it at her. He released his hold on the arrow and she caught it before it hit her right eye. Her face paled when she realised what kind of arrow head it was. The metal contraption opened up and flashed a bright light at her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Clint knew she would catch it.

Hawkeye shot another arrow at the command console. Before they knew it, the Helicarrier started to tilt dangerously to one side when the power for another engine went down.

"Engine one is now in shut-down." An agent over the PA alerted. "We are in an uncontrolled descent."

"It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?" Fury voiced over the comms. Ana rubbed at her watery eyes, still having trouble seeing straight. She stumbled up the stairs and looked back at Fury.

At the same time, Natasha and Ana replied with, "I copy."

- - -

Ana heard her partners before she saw them. It seemed she was late to the party. Natasha had caught up with Clint on his way to Loki's cell, and they were engaged in a brutal fight on one of the high catwalks positioned above the dark hallway. Ana listened to the way Clint's bow would snap as he shot an arrow at the Widow, and Natasha's fists punching heavily along Hawkeye's chest as they both tried to take each other out. Ana looked down when an arrow clattered at her feet. She picked it up, this time being cautious of the arrow head, and placed it in her holster.

Ana climbed up the metal posts that held up the platform, slinking her way through the wired railings to look at the scene unfolding in front of her. Natasha had taken Clint's bow in her hands, while Clint unstrapped a knife from his belt and aimed it at her. Natasha had seen Ana come up from behind Clint, though didn't acknowledge her, knowing Clint would only turn around and attack whoever it was that wanted to take him down. Ana stayed in the shadows, and picked up at arrow in her possession. She recognised his Trick Arrow as the Taser arrow head.

Lifting her eyes back on the two agents, Ana waited for the right moment. Clint had Natasha trapped in his grip, and his knife was getting closer to her throat. Natasha resulted into biting his exposed arm, making him groan and drop his hold on her. Natasha quickly separated herself from him completely to allow Ana to hurl the arrow at Hawkeye.

Ana's reflexes were too quick for Natasha to register. Before the Widow knew it, Clint was on his knees, shaking as a non-lethal electrical surge emitted from the arrow fixed on his chest. His eyes were fluttering shut and his hands balled into white-knuckled fists. Though, rather than believing they finally had him pinned, Ana had to crouch down when he managed to stand up and lunge at her, arms outstretched. She saw the look in his eyes. It was almost enough for her to freeze on the spot. Instead of waiting for him to come at her, she turned so her back was facing him and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. Clint fell with a loud crack when his head met the metal railing.

Fearing she seriously hurt him, Ana dropped on her knees next to him and framed his face with her hands, searching him for signs of blood and bruises. Clint looked up her, almost coming to his real senses. The blue veil over his eyes blinked in and out of view. His heavy breaths filled the air as Natasha moved closer to them.

"Ana, Natasha..."

Natasha gritted her teeth, still believing him to be under Loki's control, and stepped in to deliver one final punch to Clint's head, knocking him unconscious. She lightly tapped Ana's shoulder for her to stand and nodded down at their sleeping teammate.

"You got him?"

Ana groaned as she smirked and hauled Clint up dragging him out of there with Natasha leading. "Why do I always have to haul his ass out?" She mumbled. Natasha grinned and gave her a shrug,

"You've got the strength."

- - -

Clint landed on the bed at an odd angle, and Ana winced when the back of his head hit the wall behind him. He was going to feel that later. She pulled his arms and positioned him properly, before starting on restraining him with cuffs as a precautionary measure. Natasha passed her on her way to the bathroom, sliding the door shut once she was inside. When Ana was certain there was no way Clint could free himself from the restraints, she sat down on the edge of the mattress and looked him over one more time. She was glad they had him back. It was tough losing him to Loki, especially when Ana felt she could have done something more to stop the Asgardian from getting his hands on her best friend. Ana wanted to believe she had enhanced abilities for a reason — to protect those she cared about. At the thought of her abilities, Ana looked down when her hand that was holding Clint's started to flash with the unfamiliar energy. She took her hand back instantly, afraid of causing him anymore harm.

Ana hurried to leave. She anxiously stood up and made her way out of the recovery room. She knew her help was needed elsewhere. She paused at the doorway, and glanced at the bathroom. Natasha hadn't made a sound, which concerned Ana.

"He's gonna be alright, Natasha." She said, loud enough for her to hear. Ana didn't wait for a response and left, shutting the door behind her to give them both some privacy.

It was after she trekked down the hall towards the hangar bay when Fury's voice flooded her ears. The news he brought urged Ana to turn around and bolt for the detention cell. She pushed past the agents rummaging around the halls. She vaulted over debris and wreckage from the Hulk's tour through the Helicarrier, hurrying to make it to her destination before it was too late. Her footsteps thundered down the halls as she made a sharp turn, barrelling into the detention cell. There, she saw the medical team dressed in white jumpsuits mill around a dying man.

"Just stay awake. Eyes on me." Fury demanded.

"I'm clocking out here." Coulson's voice was quiet and raspy.

"Not an option." Fury said, shaking his head once.

"It's okay, boss." Coulson breathed out. "This was never going to work... if they didn't have something... to..."

Fury didn't take his eye of Phil, even as Ana lowered herself down to their level when she joined them. He watched as Coulson weakly moved his hand from his lap to cover Ana's shaking ones. Fury listened to the way Ana pleaded her supervising officer to hold on a little longer. Phil's bloodied lips twitched upwards briefly before he took his last breath and his heavy-lidded eyes glossed over. Ana ducked her head and covered her mouth with her hands, suppressing a sob. She had lost friends during her time at S.H.I.E.L.D., though none hurt more than losing Phil. They had grown closer ever since Natasha and Clint had to spend less time training her to focus on high target missions. Fury had handed Ana over to the man he trusted with his life, knowing for a fact that she would only get better under Phil's guidance and supervision.

Ana peered up at Fury when he had said something to her. She hadn't comprehended any of it, and furrowed her brows. The medical officers then surrounded them so they could take Coulson's body from the scene. She shuffled away to give them the room, and stared at the gaping hole in Phil's chest where his heart used to be as they lifted him onto a gurney. There was only one thing that could do that to a human, and Ana hadn't bothered completing her search for it after the first explosion hit the lab. Loki's sceptre.

Ana's teary eyes found Fury's. "Loki?"