Preparation I

June 6, 2014

We were gathered in the meeting room of the Enterprise, Maria Hill standing before us and staring at a screen. There were only six people in the room besides her. Nat was leaning against a wall, a single hand on her chin. Tony was leaned back in his seat on the right side of the table, his usual smirk gone. Fury was pacing behind me, arms crossed and a dangerous look on his face. Steve and Sam were next to each other. Sam was swiveling in his seat, slowly twisting one way, then the other. Steve had his hands in his lap, a look of unearthly calm on his face.

I was sitting next to Tony, thinking to myself.

Hydra had made their attacks worldwide. They'd struck across the world, teleporting into places renowned for their security. After months of worrying they would do something like this…

The images on screen showed bodies on the floors of office buildings, military bases, and homes. A lot of them were Hydra. But it wasn't most of them.

Not every place had superheroes, secret agents, and benevolent forces of nature.

One scene, the site of a place where a Gamma-Hydra had been sent, looking like a bomb had gone off.

People had died. We couldn't have stopped it. We'd done what we could. And I still felt guilty.

I take it back, Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne. Illogical guilt is way harder to deal with than I thought.

"Enough," Maria waved a hand. The images disappeared, replaced with a placid blue screen with the BRIDGE logo. She raised a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "...Okay. It's obvious what's next. We need to eradicate Hydra. Natasha. I know we had a date-"

"It doesn't matter," Nat said, moving away from the wall. "We strike now. I've had our people and resources getting ready for a while," her face was smooth as glass, not a hint of rage to it. Somehow that was scarier. "I thought we would have a couple of days to recruit a few more allies, but our current army will work."

"Where are they?" Tony said, an icy look on his face.

"Siberia," Natasha waved a hand. The screen displayed a remote valley covered in trees, open sections of field, and rocky outcrops. The place was surrounded on all sides by mountains, a thin river running through the middle. In the center of the valley was something that looked like a large hill. "They started at a base in the tundra, then moved here. It's old school. The kind of base made to survive nuclear bombs and apocalypses. And the mountains are going to force us to use helicarriers to drop troops into the place. All the roads are worthless for sending in armies. It's why they picked it."

"How'd you find this place?" Sam asked.

"Research," Nat smiled, though there was no humour in it. "I had to cross-reference every base I could find. First, I started with Jarvis helping me narrow it down to bases the Hercules app found. Then I went for bases that weren't found by the app, the kinds of places no computers would have data on, that no person with a modern phone would have visited. Then I stared at pictures for hours."

"Couldn't just let a computer look at the pictures instead of going all caveman?" Tony snarked lightly.

"Computers, even the AI ones, still have problems with pattern recognition," Natasha said. "And X and Jarvis are good. But they aren't spies."

Tony nodded. He may have been a lover of tech, but he knew it's limitations better than anyone.

"So what sort of attack are we talking about?" Fury asked. "Helicarriers, obviously, but what else we got?"

"Three stage attack," Natasha brought her hand up in a clawing motion, 'grabbing' the screen. With a tossing motion, the screen moved to the table, becoming a holographic map. "But the Avengers are in lead. Sam will lead the eyes in the sky. Steve takes charge of our ground troops. I'll…" Natasha sighed. "I'll stay on the Helicarriers with Maria. Help coordinate the troops."

"You okay?" I asked Natasha.

She smirked. "Yeah. Just really wanted to get in the fight. But I need to lead from the back."

Ares likely wouldn't have approved. But he was a soldier. Wars needed generals too.

"Mahmoud, Tony, you're with the chaos squad."

"Chaos squad?" I asked, confused.

"Our fastest and strongest heavy hitters," Nat waved a hand. A screen floated above the map. "Jen, Rhodey, Bruce, Thor, our various allies. They were picked for mobility and power. If they can move as fast as a sports car and destroy a car, they're probably on the Chaos Squad."

"Nice," Tony had a very predatory look on his face.

"It's likely that some of our allies will think we're going overboard," Steve noted, staring at the list of combatants, weapons, and vehicles being committed to the fight.

"I would have worried about that before the worldwide attacks," Natasha said sadly. "I have all the support I need to help us. The United States has offered some of their off the books allies. Same with France, Australia, Britain, Russia is sending the Winter Guard. Funnily enough, Canada is the only one that isn't offering assistance right now."

"They say why?" Maria asked.

"Only that, as the general I spoke to said, 'We aren't about to help you ninnies because you were stupid enough to get killed,'" Nat said. "The Prime Minister is giving him a talking to, but until further notice, we should consider Canada's superhuman assets out of the fight."

Huh. Guess this Marvel's Canada was evil too.

"They'll still send their normal forces, but that might take time."

"Then we go in with what we've got," Maria said firmly. "All of you have one hour."

"Wait, one hour?" Tony said.

"That seems a little fast," I added.

"It's late is what it is," Maria said. "I'm leaving behind some potential assets to get us out there faster, but the UN is pushing me to end this. More than that,Ihave had enough. We leave in one hour. Make your goodbyes. Then force Hydra to do the same."

With that cheery goodbye, we all headed out.

"One hour, seriously?" Jennifer asked me as we moved about our apartment. She was in human form and wearing a violet sports bra and yoga pants, carrying a duffel bag over her shoulder, long hair pulled back into a ponytail. She placed the duffle bag on the table I was checking my armor and weapons out on and opened the bag, revealing her She-Hulk suit.

"There was a terrorist attack, we know where the culprits are, so we're going out to take them down. Faster the better, right?" I lifted my sword up and stared at it. It was a catom sword, nothing special among our forces. After making sure it was still nice and sharp, I placed it in its sheath and lifted my gun, checking it over. It was likely I wouldn't need a gun or sword. But even so it was better to make sure they were working.

"...So we're just going to war?" Jennifer asked.

When I heard how she sounded, I looked up at her. My… well, girlfriend, kinda of, depending on how much of She-Hulk's feelings Jennifer shared, was looking at her She-Hulk suit. I placed a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at my touch, looking at me. I watched her, trying to convey how worried I was for her. She slowly relaxed, lips rising before the false smile cracked.

"I… My dad was in the army. He was never the same after. Director Hill is saying that the UN has given us permission to k-kill," she pulled away from me, walking over to the living room while hugging herself. "Mahmoud, I just wanted to be a lawyer! She-Hulk wants to be a hero! And now, we're being told to kill people! I don't even like killing bugs! I used to put spiders outside of the house. And now I-"

She stopped, facing away from me. "I don't want to kill people."

"None of us do," I said softly. "When I have to, I still feel sick to my stomach. The first person I ever killed wasn't with my powers. It was with a knife. It was close and personal. I had to stare him in the eyes. Everyone else after… well. I remember all of them," it took me a second to talk, Jen turned to look at me. I don't know what I looked like at the time, but she dropped her hands to stare at me. "I take solace in a couple things. Steve helped. Natasha helped."

I walked up to her. After a moment, I reached out for her hands. Slowly, so slowly, like I was moments from breaking something fragile. Soon, I had her hands in mine. She looked down at them. "Jen. I don't want to kill anyone either. But we aren't going in because we want to kill people. We're going in to stop killers. People who have tortured, maimed, and murdered others on a massive scale, to control the world… You know. Back in World War 2, Professor Erskine, the man who would create Captain America, asked Steve a simple question."

"Do you want to kill Nazi's?" Jennifer looked up at me and laughed, though it sounded hollow. "Is that what you want to ask me? If I want to kill Hydra?"

"No. I want to ask you if your answer would be the same," I lifted her hands up to my chest. "When you go out there. If you do kill someone. And I won't lie, you might have to. Then what would be the only reason that would make it worthwhile? Would it be the same reason as Steve's"

"...Because it would be the right thing to do," Jennifer slowly began to grow in size. "You're getting better at this."

"I hope so-uff!" I lost my breath when Jen wrapped me in a hug. She was slowly becoming green, but she was pale enough in tone that I had to wonder who was speaking next. Maybe it was just one person.

"I'm scared. Not just that I have to kill. I'm scared I'll die. I'm scaredyou'lldie. That our friends are going to get killed."

"Haven't you heard? Heroes never die," I said while hugging her. "...I'll be here for you. No matter what."

She leaned back to look down at me, placing her hand against my cheek and placing a kiss on her lips. When I opened my eyes, she was She-Hulk again. She smiled down at me. "Promises like that are hard to keep."

"Makes them worthwhile," I told her. I pulled away from her, but kept her hand in mine. "Come on. Let's go save the world."

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow

Natasha, standing in the living room of her apartment in the Avengers Tower, snapped a pair of batons to her back and looked over her armor. While thinner than most, it still had a hardened plate over the chest, thighs, shoulder, and arms. Her pistols were resting on her hip. She may have been only coordinating the battle, but she wanted to be ready for anything and everything.

She raised her right arm and opened her palm. A holographic screen floated over her hand, displaying her files. She made sure she had all the info she needed. Honestly, most of her armor was dedicated to being an advanced information center, made to connect with the Avengers Tower, BRIDGE, and all the in-field combatants. She looked it over, pointedly ignoring the person sneaking up on her.

Natasha leaned to the side, dodging the fist that lashed out at her head. Her attacker tried to kick her in the side. Natasha grabbed the kicking leg by the ankle, spun around and kicked her attackers other foot out from under her, then pulled the leg as her attacker was in mid-fall, tossing her onto the bed.

Ruby Hale cried out in pain as she landed on the couch, glaring at Natasha. "...I almost had you."

"Almost," Natasha admitted. When Ruby beamed, Natasha smirked. "Almost doesn't get you the win though."

Ruby scowled. The young assassin was wearing a shirt and pants, both too big for her. That was because the bandages across her body kept her from wearing her usual tight workout clothes. She winced as she rose from the couch, but tried to hide her obvious pain.

"You're supposed to be healing. What are you doing out of bed?" Natasha asked, knowing the answer already.

Ruby straightened up. "I want to go. I want to help."

"Not happening."

"I'm ready!" Ruby protested. When Natasha raised an eyebrow at the blonde's tone, she straightened even more. "Please. I can help."

"You could," Natasha admitted. "But you're injured."

"Not that badly! That bitch just got some lucky hits in! I want to get her back!" Ruby scowled.

"That 'bitch' is under mind control. Even if she wasn't… revenge is not a reason to go into this war. You had your stomach sliced through. Even with the best medical care, it's going to take time for you to be back in fighting shape," Natasha softened a microscopic amount. "Ruby… I can't let you go. Not this time."

Ruby bit her lip and looked at the floor. Natasha waited for her to speak. When she did, her voice was soft and forlorn. "I hate this. I hate feeling useless. And-...I don't want you or Mahmoud to die."

Natasha felt a bit lost, all of a sudden. She wasn't exactly great at this stuff. She tried. She thought she was pretty good with Clint's kids. Being called 'Auntie Nat' was one of the best things she'd ever heard. But that was with Clint and Laura watching. She'd spent most of her life in training. Hell, she hadn't seen her 'family' in…

In a moment of impulsiveness, Natasha stepped forward and wrapped Ruby in a hug. The teenager froze in Natasha's arms. For a moment, the Black Widow, one of the most terrifying women on Earth, a woman who had faced gods and monsters with a smirk and a quip, felt terrified she'd done the wrong thing.

Then Ruby's arms were crushing her, and Natasha smiled.

"I'll be okay. I promise. So will that big dummy. We'll keep each safe."

"Good," Ruby mumbled. "If you don't, I'm going to steal your stuff."

"If I get killed by Hydra of all people, then you probably deserve all my stuff."

Thor/God Of Thunder

Thor stood on the top of the Avengers Tower, staring out over the city. Some lightning was coming down in the distance, far out in the Atlantic. He couldn't help it. He was excited. Honorable battle against a powerful enemy, alongside worthy allies.

Thor closed his eyes, slowly. "...Heimdall. Are you there?"

There was silence. Then Thor was no longer in the tower. He was inside Himinbjorg, the room from which the Bifrost was created. Heimdall was standing there, his old friend smiling. "Thor. It is good to see you."

"And you," Thor said warmly. "It has been sometime."

"Isn't that your fault?" Heimdall pointed out. "How goes the new Asgardian?"

"Good. We go to battle today," Thor said grimly.

"Against those who hold the Spectre," Heimdall shook his head. "I wish you luck in the battle."

"You think we need it?" Once, only a few years ago, that would have been a challenge. Today it was an honest question.

"You have the allies you'll need I think. And your own power of course. Would you like me to send reinforcements?"

"You think my father would allow Asgard's armies to aid Midgard?"

"...No," Heimdall's face darkened. "I do not know much of your father'sfathers thoughts. Not as I thought I did. He… revels. Puts on plays and drinks wine. It is the grief of a drunkard and fool. And the latest statue of your brother is complete."

Thor wasn't sure how to take that. On the one hand, that just sounded so absolutely strange. On the other hand, he wasn't sure how Odin was supposed to grieve. He'd lost his wife of millenia, his adopted son of millenia, all from one event. What was the right way to grieve from something like that?

Still…

"My father still hasn't given permission to have Mahmoud come to Asgard in his new form," Heimdall shook his head. "Then I suppose, after this battle, he will have to visit on his own. I should guide him there. Show him the sights, even if he can't go into the city itself. Of course, I'llIll have to come."

"I'll let him know after you arrive," Heimdall said.

As Thor opened his eyes, he stared out at the sky. His excitement had faded. Now it was replaced with a sense of tension that hadn't been there before.

Hm. Likely wasn't fair to unleash that tension on Hydra… Well, as Tony once said. Life wasn't fair.