Alive

Chapter 38 - It's five am

Steve POV

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Fury says from at the head of the conference table.

The Avengers are all sitting around the large table with their eyes barely open, Jarvis woke us saying we had an urgent meeting, some of them didn't even bother to change out of their sleepwear.

"Couldn't we have at least waited until the sun came up?" Sam asks while slouching in his chair so much that he's practically lying down.

"You go running at this time." Wanda points out.

"That's different, I want to get up and have Steve run rounds on me, while this is just mean and forceful."

Tony creeps into the room from behind Fury, walking on the tip of his toes and cringing whenever he makes a slight noise. He's sneaking in so he can avoid being scolded, probably too hungover to endure being shouted at.

"Mr Stark, you're late." Fury says loudly which causes Tony to wince. He didn't even turn around, how did he know he was there?

"It's five am." He deadpans.

"Not an excuse to be late."

"It's five am." He emphasises each word like it's the most important knowledge in the world.

"Let me guess, you were drinking all night?" Bruce says with a smile.

"It's not my fault, Bucky wanted to have a drinking contest."

"You begged me to." Bucky says with his eyes closed, half asleep.

"Well, you didn't have to accept."

"Are you done?" Fury asks, unamused.

"Not yet, I would like to remind everyone that the only reason I lost was because he is a super soldier. Unfair advantage." He pouts.

"You're the idiot that thought you could beat someone who metabolises alcohol four times faster than you." Bucky abandons trying to sleep and sits up.

"You should have been a good sportsman and reminded me of that fact before we began."

"Shut up Stark. We're all tired and the faster I finish this the faster we can get some rest."

"Wait! You get tired?" Tony bolts up from his seat to lean over the table and look at Fury with fake shock.

"Did you think I didn't?"

"Well, I have my suspicions that you're a vampire."

"Tony." I say to try to get him to shut up for once in his life.

"What? Ever wonder why he has no hair? Because he can't look in the mirror to make sure it looks good."

Clearly tired of Tony's antics, Loki walks over to him and slaps a roll of duct tape over his mouth and pushes him back into his seat before using said duct tape and wrapping it around his torso and wrists, tying him to the chair.

"Thank you, Loki." Tony looks so appalled I have to cover my smile while others don't bother to hide their joy at him finally being quiet.

"Now unless someone else decides to keep us here pointlessly just to complain, can I start?"

We all give him a nod except Tony who rolls his eyes. Natasha gets off her chair and stands at the head of the table next to Fury.

"We have a new mission, there's a Red Room base only a few hours away from here and we need to shut it down."

"Why couldn't you tell us this in the morning?" Wanda asks as a question instead of a complaint like the others.

"Because in a few days, they will kidnap a new batch of babies, and we need to destroy their base today before they send their Widows to do surveillance at midnight." Natasha answers.

"Surveillance? What are they surveilling?" I ask.

"Orphanages, hospitals, children with parents they want to hurt. They will also take children who show signs of having abilities, and they will give them to Hydra for experimentation."

"How do you know about this?" Thor questions in his usual loud voice that clearly hurts Tony's head from the look he makes.

"I have a friend."

"Give us a description so we know not to hurt them." Clint says.

"That won't be a problem."

Realising what she means everyone goes silent giving Fury a chance to talk, "we need to capture everyone in that base, but if there are kids then they take priority over the Widows. But you absolutely have to make sure the leader of the base doesn't escape, kill them, capture them, I don't care, just don't let them leave."

"The base is hours away so if we leave now we'll get there with plenty of time before the Widows leave." Natasha says.

Everyone starts to stand so we can prepare for the mission but Fury makes us sit back down, slightly disappointed, "that's not all we have to discuss."

"As you know, there was an attack at the hospital where Dr Collins works, SHIELD took over the scene and the shooter was a known agent of Hydra."

"You think she's a target?" Bruce asks.

"Yes, so I'm making a rule that until we find out how to keep her safe, one of you will be with her and her sister whenever they're not in the tower."

"Who's going to stay with her while the rest of us are at the mission?"

"Actually Andrea will be coming with us, in case we or the Widows get hurt." Natasha says before Fury can talk and he gives her a confused look. "Maddy will stay in the tower until Peter gets out of school then they can go out together."

"Now we're done. Get your suits and someone wake the doctor up then tell Jarvis to inform Maddy and Peter on what they have to do when they wake up." Fury walks away after giving us our final instructions.

We get up to follow, well except for Tony who is now struggling in the chair he's tied up in.

He tries to speak but it just comes out muffled while Clint takes out his phone and snaps multiple pictures of him at different angles.

"Shouldn't we untie him?" Wanda asks as we all leave the room.

"He doesn't need time to put his suit on." Sam replies.

"And it will teach him to know when to shut up." Loki grumbles.

"People have been trying to teach him that for years, this will only make him more of a pain in the ass." Clint says with a laugh.

I walk up ahead to Nat and pull her into a close room and shut the door for privacy.

"Why did you want to bring Andrea? Last you said you didn't trust her and that I shouldn't either."

"Change of heart." She says with a shrug before trying to open the door but I close it again.

"What happened?"

She sighs, "I saw how she was when the hospital was attacked, she was terrified and that Hydra agent was going to kill her if I hadn't stepped in. I don't think she is a threat anymore."

I let her pass this time when she tries to leave. This doesn't feel right, when Natasha has a feeling it has never been wrong.

What does she know?