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"No." "No..?" "No. I will not give you his drawings." Fury looked at her, "Miss Smith, i am only giving orders because a higher party has given me them to give to you. If you don't cooperate, then, well we will have to let you go." Arie snorted, "And who will they trust? They trust no one. Especially you, and Steve... Steve can't deal with me being taken. You know that as well as i do. I get fired and he goes down the deep end. Anyone who's been here knows that." "Steve Rogers shares an fantasy with six other people. He lives in his head! They all do. He thinks he's a super-soldier, Arie. A super-soldier! From the 1940s! No! No." "You know you can't explain how he lifted-" Fury stood up straight, "That is classified information. You are not to utter the words-" Arie looked at him. "And Natasha? Clint? Bruce? Thor? Tony!? ......Peter?" Fury took a breath, and stood up straight. "I want hi-" He hadn't even begun when Nurse Lewis opened the door, "Bruce Banner. He's gone green." Her eyes were wide and her voice was backed by undertones of pure panic, Arie swallowed and got up, grabbing her white coat and walking out.
Walking through the loud screeching noises of the alarms, and wrangling her way through running doctors and scientists Arie could hear the roars of the Hulk, as many had took to calling Mr. Banner's large, rather green, alter ego. Pressing the buttons on the cell door she was nearly ready to get crushed to death by a green hand. Instead she walked in on a quite different situation..
Tony Stark had been awoken out of his rather heavily medicated sleep, Clint Barton had made a bow out of something she was sure wasn't anything she'd seen before, and an arrow, or several, out of plastic tubing from someones drips, and well, was shooting them at Banner. Steve was using a dinner tray as a shield, and Natasha was watching everything going on. With quite a bemused smile, too. The 'higher party' should see this side of them.
"Well.." Arie said, pulling a chair and sitting down. "I think you've scared Nurse Lewis off now." Hulk stopped and looked at her, "Soft pretty go?" She nodded sadly, "I think so. Now, will you tell me what happened?" Tony looked at Clint, who looked at Steve, whose eyes went wide and he looked at Natasha. Natasha looked at Arie, then away. "No? Okay, do you want Darcy to leave?" "NO!!" Hulk roared, Arie grimaced and closed her eyes. She'd never gotten used to the volume of that, she didn't think she ever would.
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Peter Parker.
Unknown Trauma.
Coma.
"They.. they say you can hear everything i say." Gwen shifted in her seat, "How are you in there..?" she took his hand and held it close, a tear dripping down her cheek. "I.. i uh, I've been getting your homework from history.. She'll give you detention for being late." She laughed sadly, then sighed. "Peter, how did you get yourself in this mess? I... I know your Uncle died, but, i never expected you to go downhill like.. this." Resting her head against the safety bars on the side of his bed, the monitor beeping in the background. "Wake up. Please."
Darcy looked through the glass which separated Peter's room from the world and sighed. She walked back towards the reception desk and leaned against it. "Why does this happen to them?" Arie looked up from the computer, "I don't know." She shook her head, typing in the changes in Steve's medication to his record. "They don't deserve it though. I know that." "No one does." Arie looked up at her from the printer after turning it on and clicking print. "If they could see the world. They'd get better so fast that it'd be a miracle.. but they don't- they don't understand it." Darcy chewed on her bottom lip, "What if.." she stopped and thought through what she was about to say. Arie took the printed pages and put them in his file. "What?" She looked at the young nurse curiously. "What if there's nothing wrong with them...?" Darcy's voice lowered slightly and Arie put the file down, "What are you suggesting?" "That they're telling the truth. No one's given them the chance to prove themselves. No one has diagnosed them with anything.. Jane says they're completely healthy, there's nothing wrong with them." "All of the brain scans did come back clear.." Darcy nodded, "We need to give them a chance to prove themselves."
"Dr. Smith, are you suggesting that we entertain their thoughts?" Arie nodded firmly. "Yes." Several people on the other side of the screens laughed, "They believe they're superheroes and super assassins! You can't possibly-" "What if they're not lying? They haven't been diagnosed with anything. Out of everywhere you've sent them, no one could diagnose them with anything, especially insanity. You've seen what happens to Bruce Banner. Give them a chance." The head of the council swallowed hard, "Alright! That's enough. I have made a decision. After hearing your arguments, and talking to Director Fury, i have decided we," Arie held her breath, "shall let them prove that they are not lying." She let it out and sighed of relief. "On the condition that you film and record everything" She nodded, "Thank you." "Yes. Now. Moving on..." She left the room, leaving for the ward immediately.
When given proper weapons the look on their faces somewhat resembled child's faces on Christmas morning. Clint actually hugged someone. Natasha's eyes were alight and was impressed with it. Bruce was given a pair of glasses and super stretch pants that would save all his other clothes, he gave them a sheepish grin and a slight blush. Stark was led into a lab and told if he wrecked it he'd pay for it all, he happily complied and got to work.
Arie gave Steve a shield and he smiled, thanking her. She smiled too, because seeing him smile was rare and precious.
The decision also included a supposedly insane patient called, ironically, Thor. He was given back his hammer he arrived with, also saying it was called meow meow. He bellowed a thank you and called them his 'dear friends'.
Peter was told of the news as Arie smoothed his hair back, saying that he'd better wake up soon because everyone wanted to see everything he could do.
He flat lined six hours later.
--
"We would like to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative." Phil Coulson looked at Tony and Bruce.
Natasha and Clint looked at each other, "The Avengers?"
Thor grinned.
Steve agreed, watching Arie out of the corner of his eye.