Finally

Nat's Black Widow symbol, a red hourglass in a black circle, was resting in the center of her belt. She looked down at it and tapped at it, a little 'clink-clink' following the motion. "Yeah. Guess we do," she said softly.

"Natasha," Mikhail said. "There is something we must discuss in private."

The doors opened then. I stepped out and gestured. "This is our stop. Who's coming?"

Fantasma, Mikhail, and Natasha all filed out. Then Nat took a hold of my left arm with a grin. Before I could say anything, she twisted my arm and twisted around, sending me stumbling with a kick to the butt.

"Nat, what the hell!?" I yelped as she sent me through an open door. I stumbled into one of the empty conference rooms that were set up through the tower and turned to look at my grinning mentor/friend.

"Sorry, Mahmoud," Nat chuckled. "But I doubt you'll mind too much."

I gave her a confused look as she shut the door, Mikhail and Fantasma looking just as startled behind her. Then I looked to my left. I suddenly realized what was happening.

"...Jen," I said softly.

Jennifer Walters, the Incredible She-Hulk, was standing before me with her arms crossed. She walked up to stand very close, nearly a head taller than me, and smirked. "Hey. Heard you had a hell of a trip to Russia."

I didn't say anything. I just looked up at her for a moment. Her green hair was loose around her shoulders, her eyes flashing that familiar emerald. It's weird, ya know? Trying to figure out if how gorgeous she was had to do with her in general, or if I just kept thinking of good moments we had together when she smiled.

"Nice shirt," I said at last.

She uncrossed her arms and cocked a hip confidently, letting me get a good look at it. The Omnitrix symbol rested across her chest, the black shirt stretched very tightly across her form. "Thanks."

Before I could say anything else, she rested a hand on my chest and pushed me back against the wall behind me, biting her bottom lip. I let her do it, still looking up at her. "You know, you've been getting pretty big. All that time in the gym has been working for ya."

Her right hand flattened against my chest. For all her strength, the way she curled her fingers to stroke her palm against me was gentle. And possessive as well. I didn't say anything as she stepped closer, stooping down toward me. She smiled just a bit as our foreheads touched. Her hand moved from my chest to my back.

I'd like to say I was confident and cool. That as Jen held me there, I managed to be as suave as Tony was around women. But I could feel my heartbeat speed up in my chest as my eyes widened, my palms getting sweaty. God, how sad that Jen being so close to me made more nervous than armies of HYDRA and super-apes ever had.

But there was more to it

She didn't move any further, just keeping me against the wall. Her left hand wrapped up in mine. "So. You going to do anything?" she asked confidently. Her gaze was so steady on me that I almost didn't catch the slight catch in her breath. She pulled me closer. "Or just keep waiting?"

I couldn't take my eyes off hers. They were green with flecks of brown like chocolate chips floating in mint ice cream. Right up until my eyes closed and I leaned in, wrapping my arms around her waist, my brown skin resting against emerald. Our lips met slowly. She sank down towards me, pressing me against the wall.

We held each other close. After a long moment, she pulled back, panting heavily with a grin on her face. "Took ya long enough, you dummy."

"Sorry," I was breathing slowly. I leaned my head forward to touch my forehead back to hers. "I was… scared. Hard feeling like I was worthy of ya."

"Isn't that up to me?" she whispered softly.

I pressed a hand to her cheek and went for her lips again. She met me in the middle, and we slowly sank to the floor.

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow

"What was that about?" Fantasma asked curiously as Natasha led Mikhail and her away.

Natasha smirked. "Nothing too crazy. Just Dial working on the interpersonal relationships of the team."

Fantasma didn't seem to know what that meant, while Mikhail didn't seem to care. Natasha led her fellow Russians down the halls of the Avengers Tower, ignoring the sound of something heavy falling behind her.

"I believe Dial already mentioned our security measures, so you can be assured of your safety while in the tower," Natasha said. "Your room is going to be in-between Alloy and Hawkeye's. And don't worry. Tony Stark doesn't skimp on rooms."

Natasha stopped in front of a door and opened it.

"I am sure it will be-" Fantasma stopped short to stare in awe.

The room was massive, like the others in the tower, large enough to be a penthouse suite. The kitchen was well made and shone with new hardware, the living room had an entertainment system and couch all set up. The big surprise was the library set up in the near center, just behind the living room. Bookshelves made of some sort of wood that had a purple sheen surrounded the center, which had a soft looking carpet with Arabian style designs sewn across it. A large desk stood in the center as well and on it sat-

"Harry Potter," Fantasma narrowed her eyes at the books that were stacked on the top of the desk. She strode across the room to glare down at the books as though they had personally offended her. Then she looked at the paraphernalia surrounding the books. "A fake wand. A 'time turner'. A snitch. And wizarding robes…"

Natasha smirked at the annoyed look on Fantasma's face. "I think he left a note."

Fantasma lifted the piece of paper on the desk and read it silently. Then she burned it with a pulse of purple flames. "I have yet to meet Stark, but I do not like him."

"He called you Hermione, didn't he?" Mikhail said with a sigh.

The violet witch growled in a perfect imitation of Mikhail's bear form.

Natasha, still hiding her amusement, gestured to the bedroom. "Go ahead and leave your bags in the bedroom so we can continue the tour. In the meantime, let me show you where you will be staying Mikhail and then some of the important areas."

Fantasma, still scowling, went into the bedroom and left her bags, coming back out with another glare. "I prefer Dresden Files," she grumbled under her breath.

Natasha led them to Mikhail's room, which was more of a generic but very nice hotel room than anything, then toward the laboratories.

It was there that Fantasma met another Avenger.

"Bruce," Natasha said as they met the scientist in the hall directly outside the various labs, which could be seen through the glass walls all around them.

Bruce, dressed in a lab coat and warm looking hoodie, gave Natasha a smile, then nodded toward Fantasma and Mikhail. "Hey Nat. You giving the tour?"

"I did pull the short straw," she joked. "I believe I don't need to make any introductions?"

That was true. All the Avengers had watched the Winter Guard's introduction and read the files BRIDGE had immediately created on every member so that they could learn about their new 'counterparts'.

"It's good to meet you both," Bruce said, eyes slightly wider than normal as he smiled just a bit crookedly.

"It is good to meet you as well," Fantasma responded with a bit more enthusiasm. "I've heard good things about you."

"That all you've heard?" Bruce asked, giving Natasha a bit of Deja Vu.

Fantasma paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip before speaking. "It was all that mattered."

A chuckle from behind the Russians drew their attention. They turned to see Steve Rogers walk up to them with mirth in his eyes. "Now that sounds familiar."

Bruce and Nat shared a pleased grin as Steve walked up to hold a hand out to Mikhail. "Good to meet you. I'm-"

"Steve, everyone on Earth knows who you are," Nat interrupted. It was cute that Steve didn't realize how famous he was, because he honestly looked a bit befuddled.

"She is right," Mikhail shook Steve's hand with a bit of an awed look on his face. "I am a fan of your work, Captain."

"You are?" Fantasma, Nat, Bruce, and Steve said in surprised unison.

"Of course! I have his collectible cards!" Mikhail chuckled.

Well, Nat was getting some serious flashbacks now.

Fantasma gave the older man an odd look as she shook hands with Steve, who seemed both touched and slightly uncomfortable all at once.

"Well, I'm honored. And it's a pleasure to meet you both," Steve looked Fantasma in the eyes. "I'd also like to welcome you to the Avengers. While it might take some time for everyone to get used to the idea, I want you to know we're at your disposal. If you need anything we'll all pitch in. All we ask is that you fight alongside us honorably."

Fantasma straightened up, her face firming with determination. "Do not worry. I will comport myself as a valued member of your team."

Steve looked down at her a moment longer. He towered over the shorter girl, looking almost gigantic in front of her. Despite that, Fantasma continued to glare up at him with pride, not shifting her stance at all. Steve seemed to note this. He nodded firmly. "Great. Good to have you on the team."

"Same here," Bruce chuckled. "Well, half, anyway. The Other Guy might feel different down the road, but I'll keep him as calm as I can," he joked.

Nobody seemed to know how to take that. Bruce's amusement faded at the awkward silence and he coughed awkwardly. "Well uh, I got to get back to work. It was uh, nice meeting you all."

He turned and walked into his lab as fast as he could, Nat smiling at him. Bruce being able to joke about the Hulk was good, even if he wasn't a natural comedian.

"Anyways, let me show you to the-" Nat stopped when a loud clanking sound drew nearer. They all turned to look.

Jarvis and X, both in their android forms, slowly approached them. Jarvis was still dressed in a suit, looking very dapper, while X was wearing a BRIDGE t-shirt and some blue jeans.

"Mornin," X said politely, passing the group as they watched.

"Morning X, morning Jarvis," Natasha responded calmly.

Jarvis's eyes turned off and on in a simulation of a blink. "Good morning. Apologies for the briefness of our greeting, but we must attend to our duties. Mr. Uriokovitch, Mrs. Fantasma, welcome to the United States," with that, Jarvis continued on, leaving Fantasma and Mikhail staring after X and Jarvis.

"...Are they in suits?" Fantasma asked.

"I don't believe they are," Mikhail looked over at Natasha.

"No, they're androids," Natasha said easily. "They built themselves bodies so they could help the team. Don't worry, they're officially employees and quite friendly."

Mikhail and Fantasma didn't seem to know what to think of that, while Steve rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

Natasha hid her own feelings on the subject. She knew Tony had some countermeasures on the back burner just in case some non-friendly AI showed up, and she'd long since made him promise to share. She spun on her heel and started walking. "Come on. Let me show you the recreation area."

After showing them around for the next few minutes, Mikhail and Nat finally got a chance to speak in private. Or at least as private as things could be in the Avengers Tower. While Natasha liked Mikhail all right, he was still technically a superhuman capable of turning into a massive bear that worked for a government that had pulled a rather duplicitous stunt recently. Hard to have complete trust without having the naivety of a child.

So they stood in a large and empty room made of black material with computer systems connected to X and Jarvis' network, one set up to bring out automatic turrets in case brown fur started to fly.

"I was not lying earlier. You look good, Natasha. Happy," Mikhail said fondly in Russian.

Natasha eyed him. She wasn't exactly the cuddly type, so having Mikhail looking down at her like an uncle proud of his favorite niece was an odd experience. She didn't like it much. Considering what they had gone through together, she was willing to let it go.

"Thank you, Mikhail," she said magnanimously, using her home language as well.

He seemed to realize she wasn't feeling it and changed tactics. "So… have you taken any other students?"

"Does that matter?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

To her surprise, he frowned. "...It might. The Red Room may be better off left in the past."

"I'm not using their methods," Natasha scowled. "Beyond the morality of it, it's also damn wasteful."

"Natasha, I know that," Mikhail crossed his arms. "The problem isn't you training them. I am not the only one who recognizes how Red Room recruits look in a fight. Dial has little to nothing of the instincts of a true killer and I still recognized it."

She rolled her eyes. "You recognized it because you've seen it up close. He uses more boxing than anything else."

To her displeasure. He was willing to learn everything else but he never seemed to absorb the more athletic moves that could have helped him in combat. Then again, she may have been biased in that regard.

"And the other students?"

Natasha thought of Ruby. The former HYDRA student was coming along very well, absorbing every lesson she was taught with impressive speed. It wasn't as though she hadn't shared a few of her skills with SHIELD operatives. But Ruby and Dial were the only ones she'd put real work into, and Ruby was the one who took to her lessons.

"Mikhail… what are you so worried about?" Natasha asked at last.

"I'm not sure… there have been some-" he cut himself off, worry creasing his brow. "Let me think on this for now. I don't want to overly worry you."

Mikhail turned around.

"Mikhail," Natasha snapped.

He stopped immediately. "...Not today, Natasha. Today, my Fantasma is joining you. This is a good day. We have time for worries later."

He left her with that.

Natasha crossed her arms and turned to look at the wall behind her. The Red Room… That place was never going to loosen its grip of her, was it?

She walked out of the room a few moments later, walking aimlessly toward the labs. As she passed, Bruce popped his head out. "Hey, Nat? Have you seen Jen?"

"..." Natasha felt a mischievous smile grow on her face. "Oh, yeah. She might still be busy. You want to see her?"

Bruce nodded, sighing in relief. "Yes, thank you. I just wanted to ask her about her dad coming over soon."

Her smile widened a bit more. "Well, let me lead you to her!"

What do you know? Looked like the day was going to end on a high note!