Samples from Comm Part 4

[foster_j]

While Jane knew that there were changes coming, she was in the dark as to how quickly things would change when she left her shared quarters that morning to head up to the science division floors. Be alert. As far as cautionary advise went, it was accurate if not a bit vague and worrisome for someone who didn't work out elaborate plans off the basis of two words. Still, Jane trusted that if the shit hit the fan, that the best course was to keep to what she knew, and that was her 'work'. The elevator ride up was uneventful, with people coming on and getting off, most with their normal friendly greetings that she returned happily.

It wasn't until she stepped into her own lab that Jane felt a tendril of fear chase down her spine. The Co-Director rarely came up here so early in the day. She nodded to his guards and managed a half-smile for Williams. He was gracious as usual, praising the work she was doing, and he had a list of projects for her to look over. Jane fixed them both coffee and synced his tablet to hers before perusing the list quickly, pointing out several that her staff could easily take over before tackling the larger prospects. Leaning close, she was leading Williams through the processes needed to accomplish one such task when a faint alarm began in the outer rooms. He reassured her that it was just a drill - to gauge loyalty, even as one of his bodyguards moved around her toward the coffee machine, giving her the impression that nothing was wrong.

Jane nodded cautiously, glancing toward the door, but nothing was amiss from what she could see, until her gaze flickered over the enormous micro-laser to the side of the door, blinking as she thought she saw a tiny movement in the shadow cast on the floor. Clint? It had to be. Williams said something about loyalty and Jane flashed a smile up at him, nodding, but her thoughts were a riot. She picked up her own coffee and chuckled softly when Williams tapped her mug with his, nodding in agreement to his delusional ravings as she always did. His bodyguard was shifting, moving between herself and the door, perhaps in case she decided to run. No, better to keep Williams believing she was loyal. Jane began to speak, shifting her tablet and mug between hands to set one on the counter when the mug upended, crashing to the floor. She gasped and apologized as she bent to pick up the pieces, declaring her clumsiness.

~

The porcelain was cool against her fingertips as she plucked the biggest pieces into the palm of her free hand, rambling pointlessly about the need for a stainless steel coffee cup lest she destroy all their cups when two muffled shots rang out and both bodyguards dropped like sacks of potatoes to the floor around her. She glanced up to see Ward advancing towards her and her stomach did an odd flip flop even as she glanced past him, expecting to see Clint there but he wasn't. Oh Gods, what had happened? What was Grant doing? She gaped at him as he spoke, her eyes wide with surprise as Williams dropped to the floor beside her, a small red hole in his forehead blossoming tendrils of blood.

She shook the mug pieces out of her hands, wiping them on her jeans and then Grant was there, tugging her to her feet effortlessly. Jane tried to tug her arm free, thinking of her tiny gun at the small of her back, under her button-down shirt, thinking of Clint, thinking of Ward and the dead men laying at her feet. "Where's Clint? What are you doing here?" she demanded fiercely, knowing that if he'd wanted her dead, she'd already be so there was something else there. If Clint sent him, he'd have the safeword. Please let Clint still be alive. "I don't need any of this. If Clint sent you, prove it."

~

Running interference. It made a weird sort of sense though she would have felt better seeing him with her own eyes, confirming that he was alright. There was nothing second-guessing about it. Jane would be crushed if Clint came to harm because of herself but still she resisted Ward's firmness. What if this was a trap? What if this was all a show to test her loyalty? Hadn't Williams been talking about loyalty? Could the alarms been about him? Her thoughts were wild, racing and fearful, and then Ward said the one word that cut through everything.

Lily. Jane stopped struggling a moment later. "Right. Okay," Jane stated firmly, glancing around herself. Her tablet. There wasn't anything on it that could be used effectively, but that didn't stop her from picking it up and quickly accessing the settings. Factory default wipe. It might not stop them from reading the drive, but it would divert them down by making them think there was something useful on it. She tossed it back onto the counter. "There's nothing here for them. I've never kept real data on these devices," she told him, stepping past the dead Director. "What do you need me to do?"

~

Being handed a gun, now that really was a surprise, and Jane took it without comment, checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded before slipping it into her waistband, just under her shirt tails. The lab coat was a sort of key on most of the floors, but it was also a very big white flag once she moved out of the science areas so she pulled it off, tossing it over Williams' face. "Behind or flank, got it," she repeated, nodding. No one could understand how that safeword had felt for Jane to hear, how it bypassed her desire to argue or fight him. It took the place of trust, in a very bizarre way.

Outside her lab, there were a few workers moving between their microscopes and test tubes, but no one was looking their way. The partitions were sound proof, after all. Jane looked up at Grant again, her gaze searching for a hint of something, but all she saw was a determined, focused man. A man who was now willing to risk his life to get her out of here. Nodding to the room beyond, she said. "They're used to me walking around with other people, but not with guns. There's a stair well just off to the right side there, by the door, that I take to get to the lunchroom for exercise."

~

Jane didn't need to be told to keep up, so she followed Grant immediately, glad to be away from her lab, away from the corpses, from the scent of blood. "You make it sound so easy," she muttered, following him up the stairs. He kept his back to the wall, away from the railing and stairwell, so she did the same, though less gracefully. "We're not exactly on the second level, you know."

She didn't like being in the stairwell either. Weren't there cameras somewhere? Jane didn't want to glance around too much, but there was no telling when they might have company in here and the thought of being boxed in from above and below occurred to her. The elevators might be faster, but there was a risk of them getting shut off while they were inside. They'd run up five flights of stairs when there was a banging sound far below them, as if someone had shoved the door open in a hurry.





Getting out of the base was something Jane didn't think she was ever going to forget, beginning with her doubts about Ward, and ending with a fear that somehow, someone was going to get the drop on him and she'd end up tethered to HYDRA with an explosive device. She'd foolishly believed that *that* would be the hard part, until they'd ran more than five miles through an industrial park and low brush. There had been no cars sitting empty for Ward to hotwire, forcing them to hitchhike. Jane had ditched her lab coat back in the base, so they looked like a somewhat frazzled young couple whose car had broken down along the highway.

The story of getting to a garage was easy and the truck drivers who gave them lifts were all happy to provide a helping hand in the way of sharing their cabs. Twice, Jane had fallen asleep against Ward's arm, tension and nerves giving way in sleep, only to return when she woke, murmuring a soft apology. Finally, however, they crossed into New York, and were stepping out onto the curb only a few blocks from Stark Tower, waving their thanks as their ride drove off.

There was a brief rush of relief when she pressed her thumb on the doorman's ID pad, opening the tower to them, only to be replaced by concern. Ward was a double agent. He'd saved her, yes, and she knew he wasn't loyal to HYDRA, but she and Clint were the only ones who knew that. Clint. Ward had assured her that he was better off getting out on his own, but she was still worried. It wasn't something she could help, wasn't something she could shut off. "Now comes the hard part," Jane sighed, glancing up to Grant. "Maybe Clint is already here."

~

The glances from the tower personnel didn't bother Jane, but she was working under the premise that Clint had warned someone that Grant was on their side, at least for the moment. If he'd wanted to take her hostage, he had had ample opportunity. If he wanted to lay a cover to get back into SHIELD, killing a co-Director was likely a one-way ticket so she couldn't wrap her head around that and she had tried, during their drive here, Jane had tried very hard to think of how this could be turned toward Grant betraying them again.

"The people here have their own jobs. We're up on the higher levels, so the people down here rarely see us," she told him, firmly, taking his arm. The elevators were just ahead. "Now its' your turn. You're with me here, Grant," Jane assured him as warmly as she could manage. The thought that Clint might be here before them had been a pleasant one, but briefly held and now she tried to focus at the task on hand. Tugging him along, Jane stepped into the first elevator and pushed the right level number. "He warned them that we would be coming back soon. I know that much. Just, you know, don't shoot anyone now, please." It was a lame attempt at humor. She gave his arm a light squeeze. "Hey, I'm not going to let them hurt you."

~

"I'm not," she reminded him, although nothing, nothing could bring Jane to raise her gun to these people here in the Tower. Most of them were simple office types doing their work for Stark Industries, and the rest, well, they were the people Jane cared about. That was just never going to happen, nor was she going to give her magazines to Grant. No matter what, he was literally in her hands now, and Jane was determined to see that he was treated decently. She wasn't going to throw him to the wolves. "But yeah, no shooting. I'd like to get you through this in one piece."

"The elevator will stop on the 82nd floor, that's the basic area where we'll have to deal with others. I'm guessing they aren't going to just let you wander around," Jane told him, turning to him in the elevator car, her heart hammering against her ribs. Despite her teasing or firm words, Jane was scared of the 'welcome' awaiting Grant and afraid of what might have happened to Clint. Natasha didn't expect anything from Jane, not in the way of being competent enough to help Clint in this situation, but she still felt a pang of guilt. The elevator made a 'ding' and there was a 30 second delay before the doors opened, but then they did, revealing the open kitchen/lounge area to the left.

"JARVIS? Could you please let the others know I'm back and I have a companion with me," Jane called out, as she moved into the lounge area, gesturing for Grant to follow her. A moment later, JARVIS' voice came back. "Dr. Foster, how good to hear from you directly. I will alert the Avengers, Mr. Stark and Ms Potts of your arrival." She went automatically for the coffee machine and turned back after a few steps, returning to the sofa. "I don't know how long it will be for them to find us, but it shouldn't be long."

~

She barely had time to see Natasha before there was an incredibly fast blur of motion and then Grant was on the floor. Jane gasped, struggling to catch up to this shift, and raced over to them, begging. "Natasha, please! He got me out of HYDRA. Clint gave him the safeword! Please!"

As ineffectual as she had felt at HYDRA, Jane felt that multiplied by a thousand in those few seconds, but she didn't touch Natasha either. There seemed to be something here, that Natasha actually knew Grant, and she was both frightened and confused. All she knew was that Clint had trusted Grant to get her to safety and he had. "Please, Natasha," she pleaded, holding out a hand to the woman she had believed was her friend.

~

She listened to the one-sided conversation, concerned because she'd heard Grant's response, heard how strained it was, and really, if Natasha was honestly desiring a response, she wasn't going to get it while practically strangling Grant. Being ignored stung, but Jane had given her word that she would do what she could to keep Grant from getting hurt here.

There was a thread of hurt in her tone when she spoke. Hearing how her own life meant nothing to Natasha stung hard, but Jane had always known they were different people. Vastly different. "Natasha! Clint gave him the safeword," she repeated, louder and now Jane did step forward, moving as close to Grant as she dared. "JARVIS! Get help, please!" she called out, knowing that if Natasha continued to ignore her, there was little more she could do to help Grant. "Clint sent him to get me out and he did. I know he's not one of us, but he can't answer if you're standing on his throat," she pointed out firmly.

~

"I didn't say I trusted him, Nat. I don't. But Clint wouldn't have given him the safeword unless he thought it was the best option, we both know that. He practically drilled it into my head," Jane shot back hotly, as passionate as Natasha was cool, though the relief at hearing Natasha's reassurance was palatable to her. "And he could have left me at the side of the road, but he didn't. He made sure I got back here safe."

It occurred to her a hundred times along the rides back here that Grant could be doing this to get back into their good graces, to return to his cover as a double agent. It had. She had that and Clint's well-being in her thoughts the entire time. But he'd never retrieved the gun he'd given her, and that could be due to being underestimated, as Natasha had warned her. She didn't want to think of that as a trust. She didn't, but human nature pushed back at her.

Just thinking about the two guns sitting against her skin, Jane took a small step back, just out of Grant's reach. She hated that feeling, that twisting in her stomach, but she did it anyway. "This morning, Clint warned me that we might have to move quickly, but the co-Director came down to my lab after breakfast with his guards. I couldn't contact Clint. Then Grant showed up and... he killed the Director and his men," Jane told Natasha, feeling fear grip her more tightly. Natasha hadn't heard from Clint either.

~

That surprised her. Not that HYDRA wasn't willing to toss away young lives, but she'd thought the co-Director would be above that level. Natasha was right, Jane knew. She never doubted Natasha, which was why she'd been so concerned for Grant to begin with, because there was something here she didn't understand. A lot of somethings she didn't understand.

"He gave me one of his pistols," she told Natasha, drawing it out from under her shirt tail, and handing it over butt first to the other woman. Now that it was clear she wouldn't kill Grant outright, Jane had to consider that anything he'd given her might have something on it or in it that might track or be a listening device.

With Grant allowed to sit up, Jane moved back to the sofa, her gaze apologetic as she met his across the room, but now her concern was fully on their missing member, on Clint's disappearance. She wanted to ask about the data stream, but stopped herself. Not in front of Grant. The algorithm was their best weapon in slowing HYDRA. She wouldn't talk about it in front of him.

"He said that they were targeting Clint for elimination, that Clint thought we had better chances split up, and he was following as soon as we're out. We were on foot for five or six miles before we got our first lift," she told Natasha, her tone thick with worry. Her stomach was tight with concern.

~

It was impossible not to notice Thor out of the corner of her eye, but Jane finished speaking before she stood again, her hands clasped together tightly. How long had he been on Earth? she wondered, keeping her composure. This was a powder-keg situation, the air thick with tension and unspoken fears, and she was torn between her promise to do what she could to keep Grant safe and the impulsive desire to throw her arms around Thor, to take reassurance in his solidity. But she didn't. Couldn't. Not now.

"Thor, this is Grant Ward. A double agent for HYDRA. He got me out of the base and brought me back safely," she told him, glancing between the two men as she crossed to Thor's side. Reaching out, she gave his hand a light squeeze. "There was some kind of rumor, got out of hand I think, and it raised enough suspicions that Clint thought we would need to get out soon. When he left our quarters this morning, he just said to stay alert. Grant found me before they could do anything to me, though."

It was an unconscious thing, to keep referring to Grant by his given name, as that had been how they'd spoken on the journey back to the city, and also, a need to keep him humanized in her mind. Double or triple or quadruple agent or not, Jane had seen some of the things HYDRA was capable of and she had no doubt that he had saved her from one or more of those things with his swift action. Maybe it was for a show, and if it had been, Jane would feel every bit as betrayed as anyone could, but until that was a fact, she would withhold judgment.

~

"I'm fine. Need I point out that I'm a doctor? Okay, maybe not that kind of doctor, but I'm fine. Not even a paper cut," Jane assured them all quickly and forcefully. She wasn't sure why they were treating Thor like a glorified bodyguard, though she knew the spy stuff wasn't really his area of specialty, Jane was willing to go along with this for the moment. She glanced over to Bruce and shot him a tired, apologetic smile. It was good to see him again, very good, and reassuring as well. He wouldn't let Grant be tortured. That wasn't what Avengers did, was it? They weren't on the same level as HYDRA. They were the good guys, after all.

Jane walked with Thor to the elevator, silent and thoughtful. She was still concerned about Clint, always having that in the back of her mind, though she had a great deal of faith in the grim archer. If any non-genetically modified human could get out of that situation, it was Clint. He was smart, quick, and cunning. Jane had to put her hopes forward and her fears behind. Thor would want to know everything she could remember. Pushing the button for their office level, Jane spoke finally, looking up at her stoic companion. "We can talk in the lab, if that's all right with you, but I'd like to stop by my quarters to change first," Jane asked him.

~

"We can talk as we go. I know they will need you if they're going out to the base," she told him, flashing a quick smile. Thor could get to the heart of the base faster than any of them, and she had no doubts about his abilities to subdue the human agents that remained. Just seeing Mjolnir on his hip was reassurance enough, but Jane knew what Thor was capable of doing to anyone who stood in his way. "I'll work backwards, if you don't mind. I know some of the data has already been sent to JARVIS, but Steve probably wants to know what I've seen or heard that might be related to the base itself."

The elevator dinged and Jane stepped off first, giving a small skip to her step to keep up with Thor when he began walking. She gestured to the fifth door on the right. "This is my room. Just a sec," Jane told him, pausing to roll her index finger over the scanner at the door. The door itself clicked open immediately and she waved that it was all right for him to follow. "It's a very big base, deep underground. The lift only had levels down to 170, but I know there were secret levels below that - at least five that I know of, maybe more. You needed a special pass card to get the elevator to unlock past 170. I know that none of the labs above were working on anything too complex, and I overheard the Director talking to someone on the phone two days ago discussing something called 'Project Lazarus'."

Going to the dresser, Jane pulled out a clean change of clothes, slipped around the door of the bathroom, leaving it cracked just a little bit so she could keep talking while she changed. "Last week, I was given a list of potential projects, all the things they wanted me to tell them the viability of - whether or not it was doable within the next year. Some of the projects were clearly fake, a test I'm sure to see if I would pick that up, but there was one that was more interesting than they described it to be," Jane called out, shucking her jeans with a wiggle. Her underclothes followed and then she was pulling on fresh ones. Jeans, t-shirt and socks. She bundled the clothes up and walked out. "As of two days ago, there was nothing to indicate they were suspicious of me, but they were always suspicious of Clint. Always. He was grounded most of the time we were there."

"JARVIS, I'm going to put some clothes in the laundry in 30 seconds. Can they be incinerated?" she asked the general air, crossing to where the laundry opening would appear when she depressed the button. "Yes, Dr. Foster." Jane nodded and hit the button with her elbow, dumping the clothes and sneakers into the tunnel. When it closed again, Jane smiled at Thor and shrugged. "I never liked that t-shirt anyway."

~

Never in a million years was Jane concerned that Thor might try to peek, that simply wasn't an honorable thing to do, and there was no mirror on that wall to reflect any image through the crack. It was a matter of expediency and caution that had diverted Jane to her room, to change her clothes, to be that extra step of paranoid that Clint had assured her was anything but paranoid when you were dealing with HYDRA.

"I believe it is the reanimation project that we stumbled on already. They must not know that we have some of their intel from Clint's raid on one of their other bases about a month or so ago. They're putting a lot of work into that project from what I could tell. I didn't see anything to indicate they were working on it on location, but I wouldn't rule it out," she told him, surprised that he hadn't been told of the reanimated humans, but Jane was still unsure of just how long Thor had been with the Avengers before her return.

"No, no, we left this morning, but two days ago, our cover was solid, or at least, my cover was until a rumor started that I wasn't interested in Clint anymore. It was a stupid comment I'd made, that Clint wasn't the settling down type, not the family man type. It was heard by someone who clearly didn't understand relationships, but that was all it took for them to want to toss Clint away," Jane corrected him softly, shaking her head as the door opened again. She stepped out into the corridor with Thor.

If the team had intended to be covert, she might have been able to tell him more, but Jane wasn't under any illusions there. "If they were working on the reanimation process there, you can expect that someone them won't die easily," she paused, looking up at him thoughtfully. Once upon a time, Jane might have slapped him or kissed him impulsively, but the Aether had changed that, his father had changed that. There was so much she wanted to ask him, but he was needed. "Thor... be careful, okay? These people, they're cunning. Don't underestimate them."

~

"I don't think there is any boundary they aren't trying to overcome, Thor," she answered with a soft sigh. There was so much she had seen and heard, more than she could tell him now, and not important to their mission of finding Clint. This was all intel she could explain later, without delaying him further. The corridor was quiet and clean, as always, but it resembled the halls of HYDRA just a little too much for Jane's comfort right now.

She did reach out, just then, to rest her fingers on his forearm for a brief moment, before withdrawing her touch. "I will. We can talk more when you return," Jane offered, though the thought crossed her mind that he might not return to the tower, but go home to Asgard. She couldn't think of that now, nor did he deserve to be questioned on it. That wasn't her place. She wasn't sure what was her place, but that was definitely not it. Time to find some real coffee and check on the projects she'd left behind, to find Darcy and try not to think about Clint being missing.





It was strange to think of the tower as home, but it was in an even stranger way. She couldn't go home, certainly not now, but there was hope, hope that in the future, she could just do her work, maybe have a family of her own to add to her brothers. There was always a chance of that, she believed. Jane had to believe that. Undercover, her discussion with Grant on the treadmills, none of that had been faked. It was unfortunate that Ward's own inexperience with the life of relationships had led him to believe that Jane was currently searching for a new lover when she'd been speaking very clearly about her choices in the future five years time. Just an unfortunate misunderstanding, but one that had ticked off a box on the list of hyper paranoia possibilities somewhere, and that was all it took.

That was one pitfall of having experience that brainwashed killers couldn't possibly understand. Except... Jane didn't think Grant was brainwashed, at least not by HYDRA. That Garrett person sounded like a piece of work, however. She wanted to see Grant, but had been firmly put off for a day or so. Jane was scared, scared he'd been hurt after giving her word, that he would blame her for that. Maybe he thought she'd abandoned him now. That didn't sit right with her.

Telescope 5 whirred as it began moving into position for its next field rotation, jarring Jane from her thoughts. Thankfully, JARVIS had continued with her rotations while she'd been gone, following the pre-selected paths to look out at specific space coordinates. The sheer amount of data she had to look over, to review, was staggering. As much as she wanted to ask for JARVIS' help, Jane didn't. There was simply too much margin for error here. JARVIS was a creation of utter, epic genius, but it lacked the human intuitive instinct.

She crossed to the coffee machine under the canopy where her monitoring systems were housed, and keyed in the settings for a cappuccino. It was such a change to be up here, after spending all that time underground, under harsh fluorescent lights, surrounded by paranoid people who were willing to get ahead over the corpse of their predecessors. The machine sputtered and coughed while Jane leaned back against the edge of the table, looking out over the spectacular view of New York City. She was tired and drinking far too much coffee in an effort to get her body clock back to evenings. Another day or two and it would be easier, so Jane pushed through the weariness.

~

She was taking a sip from the mug and reading her tablet when she heard the greeting, glancing up with a quick smile and putting both mug and screen to the side. Jane crossed to the edge of the canopy to greet Bruce. "Bruce! It's great to see you, again, you know," she told him, speaking warmly. Jane had been grateful for Bruce's level head during the incident on her return with Grant.

"Still reviewing what was downloaded while I was gone. I'm afraid it'll be a week or more before I can answer that fully," Jane stated with a shrug. "What about yourself? Up to anything interesting while I was gone?"

~

"I don't know how much of that was courage and how much of that was stubborn determination. I felt like a fat mouse in a room full of starving cats," she told him, her tone wry. "It wasn't a moral booster sending those messages out into thin air, but it was better than radio silence on both ends."

Retrieving her mug, Jane gestured to the machine. "Can I offer you a cup of coffee or a frap? I swear, part of the initiation of HYDRA is enduring their horrible coffee." Taking a sip, she nodded thoughtfully. "That's great news, though I'm surprised Thor was lending a hand. His father has some pretty hard line rules about giving up Asgardian knowledge to 'mere mortals'. The man outright compared me to a goat!"

"I haven't meet the new people yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Some of the data Fitz and Simmons are working on is quite fascinating," she acknowledged, musing over his question. What was Asgard like? She wasn't under any constraints to discuss it with him, likely because the Asgardian's didn't think she understood any of it. Why would you tell a dog not to bark if it couldn't be understood, right? "It was like one of those futuristic movies. Lots of gleaming buildings and tall halls. I wasn't there as a guest, though, so I didn't get to see much of it. I was under guard the entire time I was there until Thor and Loki snuck me out."

~

"I can guess which one, though I'm glad you didn't try. Note to self, don't talk about five year plans with secret agents. They don't understand the concept of enjoying a relationship without a life-long commitment. Who would have thought HYDRA were romantics at heart?" she quipped dryly.

She sighed, looking down at her mug and then up again. "I saw Clint just before I left for the lab that morning. We'd talked about the possibility of getting out in the next day or two, and I told him I'd bring him lunch. I... I don't know, Bruce. I just don't know. Clint is more than capable of getting out of there, especially on his own. I always worried that I would be the one to put him in danger."

Leaning against the table, Jane shrugged, curling her fingers around the warm mug. It was still warm, but there was a cool breeze at this altitude and she welcomed the way the heat seeped into her hands. She had had that same thought about the Asgardians, before Fandral, Thor, Sif, and Loki had risked their lives to get her off Asgard. "Thor's mother died to keep me safe. Besides the rebuilding, they are still mourning her. I'm sure he was just being polite," she told him gently.

"He protected me, from the dark elves, and they killed him for it. If that makes it honorable, then yes, yes he did. He was an unbearable ass, but he kept me safe," Jane answered truthfully.

~

"Williams?" she asked in clear surprise. Blinking, Jane shook her head, with a dry, humorless laugh. "No, no, he was very focused on wooing me almost to the point of distraction. He gave me access to a lot of their data, trying to interest me. The break - I honestly believe, that the break came when I commented casually that Clint wasn't the settling down, family man type. It was in the context of a ten year plan. From how Williams treated me, I can honestly believe that he thought that the shiny had worn off my 'relationship' with Clint, making him a target. He had no guile when it came to his attraction to me."

If he was okay, Clint would have been back to the tower, he would have sent word of his well-being, they wouldn't be in the dark, Jane knew, but she stifled those words. It did no good to point out what Bruce already knew. He was being kind, polite. She would not throw that kindness back in his face.

"He's not the kind who wears his heart on his sleeve, nor is he someone who gives up on those he cares about," Jane pointed out softly, thinking of how stoic Thor could be even in showing affection. The death of his mother, then brother, had pushed Thor deeper into himself, carrying his grief like a great weight on his shoulders, but that was a private observation which Jane would not share with anyone. "That sounds like Darcy. It was called aether by the Asgardians and the elves. I... I sometimes feel like it's still inside me. It was an incredible, sentient source of power."





Jane/Bruce

While she would have preferred to be working, Jane was well acquainted with the need to mingle and make small talk at these kinds of events. It also meant a lot to Pepper, which had been the deciding factor for her to say yes, though it left little time to find a dress. Thankfully, Pepper had made arrangements and Jane was comfortable enough in the strapless red dress she'd found.

Moving through the crowds, she stopped to talk every now and then, a gracious half-smile curling her lips, though she never stayed in one place more than a minute or two, preferring to keep moving.

Happening to glance to her left, Jane saw Bruce on the edge of the room, looking very uncomfortable. Someone was talking to him and she realized he needed help. Excusing herself from the current group of executives, Jane gathered her dress up in one hand and cut across the floor as quickly as she could manage to do gracefully.

Reaching Bruce, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm with a bright smile. "Oh, you really must excuse us," she apologized to the reporter. It was clear who it was now, and Jane gave Bruce's arm a light squeeze. "Bruce promised me a dance." The other man sputtered but Jane was guiding Bruce away from him already.

~

"There's a difference between schmoozing and letting them harass you, Bruce," she stated gently, and softly, conscious of the people around them.

When he stepped back, Jane smiled, glancing past him to nod at the wave from another guest. "You don't owe me anything. I can't imagine this is a very comfortable setting for you, but if you don't want to be caught like that again, my advice to you is to keep moving. Say hello, comment on the weather, and excuse yourself once the pleasantries are done. Just smile and say you think you see someone else calling you over, toss in a small apology and back out, works for me every time."

~

"I doubt any of us are actually good in these situations, but you learn to make due. At least you do if you want to get funding," she chuckled softly, shaking her head.

Jane was surprised, but shrugged. "I wasn't going to hold you to that, but if you'd like, I'm game."

~

Resting one hand on his shoulder, Jane let him take her other hand, stepping close as his free arm curled around her back, moving in a simple box waltz to the music. Nothing she hadn't done before a thousand times before at a hundred fund-raising events, but this was with a friend, and it was far more comfortable.

"Find? Why everything there is to find," Jane laughed softly, shaking her head as that laughter tapered off and she tilted her chin up, bringing her lips close to his ear. "I'm tracking the gravity wells to find the origin of the Convergence."

Smirking, Jane waggled her eyebrows. "Pepper's dress lady outdid herself. Vintage Dior. You don't look half bad yourself."

~

She laughed softly, pleased that he'd taken the hint and run with it. No doubt there was someone with a camera snapping pictures that would run with some scandalous headline after the gala, but right now, it was more important to keep a neutral expression and leave the shop talk for after the reporters weren't lurking behind potted plants. "You know me, hopeless romantic, Doc."

"I would think knowing what clothes fit the part would be important to a super spy. When we were going under, Clint told me not to change anything about my wardrobe. Apparently I'm known for having a jeans and t-shirt look in my field. Who would have guessed?" Jane replied, shrugging one bare shoulder. "How are you doing? It must be strange to be at the tower, with so many people." She'd read his bio, the short version.

~

"Well, I wasn't undercover as someone else. That wouldn't have worked at all. I'm not a very good liar," she told him, her lips curling in a wry grin. "I told Nat that. No, from now on it's just telescopes for me."

They danced past another couple who looked thoroughly bored. It made her wonder why until the moment the man's gaze fell on Bruce and then his expression lit up. There was a flicker of strangeness - she'd been recognized around the HYDRA science and management but here she was invisible - but it passed.

"I spent some time in China. I understand what you mean about congested versus personal, but surely you weren't anonymous there. I stood out because of my coloring so I'm sure you did as well. They're just used to ignoring a version of privacy," Jane debated easily, giving his hand a light squeeze. "Now you know why I spent most of my time on the roof. I could view the data anywhere, but it's quiet up there."

~

"I was only told to plant the program if it was safe, then observe. I don't know what Clint's mission was. It was safer that way. Supposed to be safer that way," she corrected herself with a soft sigh.

"You can't go back now, but surely you know some other doctors, or maybe Tony does, people you could send over there to continue your work, who could coordinate with you here remotely. I know it's not the same as doing it yourself, but it'd better than nothing. None of us are free to walk away right now, but we're only as limited as we allow ourselves to be," Jane counselled firmly, giving his hand another soft squeeze of solidarity.

~

Jane/Thor

For the moment, Jane had shied away from the circles where the socialites gathered to make small talk. A passing waiter had brought her a glass of champagne and she was sipping at it lightly, conscious of the fact that she hadn't eaten yet.

Smoothing a hand on the skirt of her dress, Jane glanced towards the tap on her shoulder and then upward with a warm smile. Thor looked amazing in a tuxedo and she'd have to remember to thank Pepper for that feat.

"Thank you. You clean up rather well yourself," Jane laughed softly. He looked like he'd rather be knee-deep in mud and blood over this gala, poor thing. "It's not my favorite thing to do, but it hasn't been awful. It was very kind of you to come to this. I know it means a lot to Pepper." It was nice to see him here, too, but she didn't vocalize that. "I'm guessing this isn't the kind of party you're used to."

~

"They do, and this kind of affair goes a long way toward selling that point. Just the pictures alone will be a strong statement in your favor, which is why Pepper wanted to do this. I used to attend two or three of these a year, just to get grant money toward my research," she told him, stepping closer and reaching out to rest her fingertips on his forearm. These events could be very overwhelming for those new to them, even when one of those was a demigod.

"Do you dance on Asgard?" Jane asked, wondering, curious. Across the room, she could see Steve talking to a much younger man, a fellow who looked far more uncomfortable than even Bruce had been. "At these feasts? Or is it all eating, drinking, and fawning over women?" The question was spoken lightly. Jane was patiently looking to her left, then her right, scanning the crowd to make sure no one was coming their way.

~

Through her experience of knowing Thor, he'd continued to surprise her and this instance was no different, though she stepped into the warm hold in time with the music. Two pairs of dancers shifted away as they joined the other dancers, and she was conscious of the stares they were attracting. She looked up, smiling warmly, remembering the other times Thor had pulled her close although she did not expect Heimdall to open a bridge into the middle of the gala. "Well, that's what we have here, too," she teased. "We're dancing, feasting, celebrating, and these people are going to be telling stories of this night for a while. Not to mention how many newspapers it will sell."

"I'm glad you came tonight," Jane offered, more on the lines of 'I'm glad you've stuck around and not gone back to Asgard'. "This would have been terribly boring without you."

~

"It's good to be back. You... you know Clint and I - nothing happened between us, right?" she murmured, blushing lightly. Jane wasn't a blushing virgin by any means, but it pained her to think that Thor might have mistaken how the undercover assignment had worked.

Drawing their clasped hands closer, she pressed a chaste kiss to his knuckles. "I never doubted you'd come for me if Heimdall saw me in danger. Ward just got there before it started, but I never doubted."

~

Any doubts she was considering took a serious hit when his warm lips pressed to her skin. These chaste kisses were strong, full of respect for the absences they'd had from each other, whispering of potential.

"You saw the base. We were very far underground. I understand why she held back, I do. She wanted to avoid the very thing we are dealing with now, one of us left behind. I feel awful being here, not knowing what happened to Clint, not knowing if he is hurt or... or being held against his will," Jane replied softly, for his ears only, a light shiver chasing down her spine at his gentle touch.

"It didn't come to that, thankfully, and I'm done with that sort of thing. I went because it gave Clint a good cover, and let me do something to give us a big lead against them, but I'm not doing that again, I promise," she assured him firmly, her gaze warm. "We've been jumping from one crisis to another since the day we met. I... I don't want you to have to worry about me like that again."

Jane/Sharon

She'd gone to the ladies room, leaving Thor in the companionship of the little, amnesiac SHIELD scientist, and had been sidelined upon reentering the ballroom by a group of financiers who believed wanted to hear her thoughts on a potential field sight for a gravimetric field stabilizer in the deserts of Nevada. Jane gently, but firmly declined their offers, extricating herself from their circle a few minutes later.

It was then that she made eye contact with Sharon only a few feet away and Jane went to the other woman with a warm smile. "Sharon. It's great to see you here. I wasn't sure you'd be able to make it. How's D.C. been treating you?" she asked.

~

"Well, I'm glad," she stated warmly, pausing only to swipe two glasses of champagne off a roaming waiter's tray. Jane held one out to Sharon with a smile. "You look fantastic. It must be a spy thing. You all have great taste."

She took a sip of champagne, and shifted slightly off to Sharon's side so as not to be standing on the edge of the dance floor. That just begged being bumped into and Jane was clumsy enough on her own not to encourage it. Smoothing her free hand on the skirt of her own dress, Jane resisted the urge to tug at the top again. It wasn't falling down, no matter how it might feel it was. Strapless. How did she let Pepper's designer talk her into that?

"Life is... it's all right. I'll feel better when Clint shows up, of course. I think everyone will. It's hard to concentrate on work right now," Jane admitted, stifling a sigh. It was bad enough things were tense around the tower, she didn't want Sharon to feel as if she weren't welcome at the gala. Having her as a fellow ally to the Avengers was very important, and Jane valued the woman's opinion.





Dismantling Telescope One had taken longer than she'd anticipated, but it was finally done and packed securely, leaving only five more to go, so Jane had spent the early evening prior responding to colleague inquiries and mapping out her next steps. Natasha was still gone. She'd heard that one of the SHIELD agents had also turned up missing, along with Bucky. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was all related to Clint's murder, though Jane had not discussed it with anyone - some things were just easier to notice now after being paranoid for the better part of a months time.

After getting her morning cup of coffee, Jane debated going up to the roof to start dismantling Two, but the lounge was unusually quiet, even with the Tower staff around doing whatever it was they did normally. Before going undercover, she had often found herself in conversation with one of them, easy-going and friendly, but since returning, she just felt out of touch somehow. Jane couldn't help but see them as she had the people working at HYDRA, although these were all Stark employee's and had been for years. That didn't mean there weren't spies among them, however, and that's the thing that pained her the most - being around these ordinary, wonderful staff members only reminded her of Clint's whispered or signed cautions and his pronounced absence from their lives. She couldn't even look at a pop tart. It reduced her to shuddering tears.

For the moment, Jane had staved off tears over the last 12 hours, though she felt the heavy weight of grief lingering on her shoulders. Staying in her quarters did no good, and she didn't feel up to starting on Two, which left her in a conundrum. Checking her phone for any new texts, her gaze fell upon the messages she had traded with Ward. Ward. She didn't regret standing up for him upon their return. He'd been so careful with her during their escape. Seeing Natasha put him down had been startling and horrifying rolled into one, though she had a sense of understanding for why it had been done. But Rogers... his reactions... she just couldn't help but feel there was something there, causing him to have deviated so severely, though it was not a subject she intended to broach with him.

Ward. It wouldn't be out of the question to go see him. Double or triple agent or not, he was still the man who had saved her life for whatever reasons he had. The trip to his quarters only took a few minutes, and then she hesitated, her coffee in one hand, the other lifted to knock. It took a passing person to jolt Jane out of the fog she was in to rap twice on the door.

~

His voice jarred her from her thoughts, as if she'd believed that he wouldn't be in there, or perhaps, he wouldn't desire company. Jane paused for a moment before setting her hand on the door panel, watching as it slide open. If she expected Ward to be standing there, Jane gave no indication in her expression, though her thoughts were a jumble of misdirection. Was this the right thing to do? she questioned herself silently, as her gaze lifted to take him in.

For the briefest of moments, Jane felt herself mentally drawn back to when she'd last spoke to him at HYDRA, while running on the treadmills. Had she said something that had gotten through to him? Jane had no idea. She doubted that heavily. Their time together at HYDRA had been minimal, and their discussions limited.

"You look well," she stated awkwardly as the door closed behind her with a soft "whisk" of finality. Belatedly, Jane wondered if she shouldn't have brought him a coffee as well, though she could see that his kitchenette was the same as hers. "I meant to come sooner, but things have been... I've been packing up my gear."

~

"Possibly and unlikely, though not the rationale behind it all. I had a difference of opinion with the leadership. A rather large difference and it's not like I'm essential here," Jane stated with a slight shrug of one shoulder. This was really the first time she was speaking to anyone about this subject, and it had a raw edge to it. Perhaps she should go see Tony. Of course, if she went to Tony, then Pepper would find out, and Pepper would want her to stay simply out of friendship, which Jane felt would be like taking a hand-out. At least now, part of her work did help the Avengers so she hadn't had the feeling of being given anything.

Crossing the floor, Jane went to the window and looked out over the city skyline. Her work never gave her much of an opportunity to be in the middle of so much ground ambiance, so the dampeners on the roof were a real treat. So was having the Greek pushcart on the South corner of the building every day at lunchtime. She'd miss that as well - it was a far cry from the corner dinner back in New Mexico. All of this was. Maybe that offer for the observatory in Hawaii was what she needed - far from this and the island was really too 'public' for HYDRA to make a move on her, or so she hoped. Natasha's gun training might still come in handy.

"Are you confined here? I mean, I haven't seen you out in the common areas," she asked, turning to look at him. She hadn't seen him on the roof either, though Jane doubted anything up there was of interest to him. Natasha only came up to drink with her or to get some peace and quiet.

~

"That is true, but I'm just a scientist, and not even a scientist of anything that is really useful to the Avengers. Stark's people brought me here because they intercepted some banter on HYDRA channels about me. They might never even have been interested in me for all we know, just Thor," she explained. It was the truth as she knew it, nothing more nothing less. Jane wasn't being self-deprecating, she was being honest and part of that honesty was her true value to a group like this one. Against the dark elves during the Convergence? Hell yes, she'd kicked ass. It had been her element, through and through.

"You're a traitor to HYDRA," Jane pointed out dryly. "You were never SHIELD so you can't be a traitor to them." That much she remembered vividly from her time with HYDRA. Gossip went around after she'd been seen talking to Grant. Gossip about how well he'd fooled SHIELD. Jane hesitated. This was a traitor, to be sure, this man in the room with her. Not to be trusted. Even in the corridors, the stair wells, the escape from HYDRA, Jane had only trusted him from one moment to the next, hoping that if it came down to it, she might have a split-second before him to shoot, because that would be her only, her single, chance to get him before he got her. She didn't think herself a spy or agent or anything even remotely like a mall security guard, but desperate, frightened people were capable of many things.

"I... Did you get a chance to read my book?" she asked, changing her mind as she began speaking. It had been on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she'd fought Captain Rogers over his tyranny, but the words hadn't come so the hesitation was clear if the meaning was not.

~

"By definition, that makes you a shitty friend, not a traitor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating any part of you roaming around free, far from it. I'm simply pointing out that, technically, you aren't a traitor. You're many other things, but that's just not accurate," Jane stated firmly, arching an eyebrow. She'd read the reports - the ones that Jarvis had gotten ahold of - about the other SHIELD team situation, and what Ward had done to them.

It was hard to reconcile the man she'd been rescued by with the man in those reports, but Jane was rationale and logical - it was the same man and that made him all the more dangerous. "You said they considered you a friend. Did you consider them friends?" she asked, curious.

Jane reached out a hand to take the book, but stopped short, shaking her head. "No, you should finish it. I know it seems strange, but really, you should finish it," she assured him. Her hand returned to curl against the coffee mug, lifting it for another sip. "How do you feel about all this?"