Fanboying, and then almost crying

(Elijah's apartment, that same evening)

(Elijah's POV)

"Alright, first things first, I need to get my hands on a material fabricator, a shit ton of titanium alloy and carbon fiber, and enough energy to power a small Town for a night. Fuck."

Where the hell would I even get that? This apartment is nice and all, but I doubt it's rated for the amount of electricity this is going to need, not to mention I don't have a material fabricator like they did on the Helicarrier, and I also don't have any materials. Should I call Fury? Wait, he told me that if I needed anything for the mission, I could call the agent that was posted here in New York.

I take out my phone and dial the number Fury gave me. The same number that was listed as my emergency contact on my transfer form. It rings for a few seconds, before it's picked up by one of the most soothing yet dangerous voices I have ever heard.

???: "Natalie Rushman speaking, to whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hello, Miss Rushman. My name is Elijah Cole, the director told me to call you if I need any assistance."

Natalie: "Ah, Elijah, of course. Give me a moment." A loud, high pitched beeping sound came through the phone. "Alright, I've secured the phone line. The Director told me I might hear from you sooner or later, Huntsman. What do you need?"

"Well, when I was given this mission, that bald prick *cough* *cough* The Director refrained from telling me that I was going to be fighting supervillains, so I am severely under-equipped. I wanted to know if there was any way for me to get my hands on a bunch of materials and a material fabricator"

Natalie: "Well, of course there is. I have one at my place. I'll send you the address, so come on over and you can use it"

"Oh, uh, yeah that'd be my pleas- *cough* I mean, sounds good, I'll be there soon" 

I heard her chuckle before ending the call. I mean, you can't blame me for tripping over myself when a voice that hot invites me to her place. 

I get a message from Natalie with her address. It's some building in Manhattan. Huh, SHIELD must've given her one of the better apartments.

I leave my apartment and make my way to the nearest subway station. After a subway ride and a few minutes of walking peacefully, taking in the sights of the skyline and some hobos pissing in a bush, I make my way down the street where she said her building was. I reach the correct building and look up to see the... Avengers... tower.

Okay, breathe, breathe, breathe. She said her name was Natalie Rushman, right? Maybe she sent the wrong address. Ok, let's just call Natalie ba... Natalie? ...Natalie? ...Natalia? NATALIA FUCKING ROMANOVA? THE AGENT POSTED IN NEW YORK THAT'S SUPPOSED TO HELP ME IS THE BLACK FUCKING WIDOW???

As I have a mental crisis, I hear one of the Security guards at the door respond to his earpiece.

Guard: "Understood, ma'am. I'll escort him in. Hey kid, come on. Widow wants you upstairs"

"Well, no point denying it now. The Black Widow is my handler for this mission. I'm going to lose it"

I followed the guard towards the elevator, where he left me to go up by myself. I stood quietly as the elevator ascended what must have been a hundred floors. Well, at least the elevator music was calming.

As the elevator stopped at it's final destination, I walked out into a massive living space. It was furnished with couches, chairs and a large TV in a lounge area, an oven, microwave and stove with a detached island counter in what seemed to be a kitchen and a table with chairs in a dining area. It gave off more of a dorm vibe than a hero base. As I stood there gawking at the pure luxury of it all, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned around to see a stunning sight. A gorgeous woman with flaming auburn hair wearing a rather revealing black bodysuit. She radiated a mix of both confident beauty and extreme danger.

Widow: "You like the place? Tony hired only the best designers, said anything he had a hand in building had to suit his reputation."

"Yeah, it's pretty incredible"

Widow: "Glad you like it. You will be living here eventually, after all"

"Wait, what?"

Widow: "Fury didn't tell you? Well, it's Fury, of course he didn't. The heroes you're in charge of finding will be joining a team, if they accept the invitation, that is. That team will be living here, something like a team of Young Avengers. They'll be trained in fighting by none other than the Black Widow herself, and of course, you'll be on this team too"

"No, no, no. I'm not a hero, I'm an assassin. Saving people is not my MO."

Widow: "Maybe not, but you can change. Trust me, if anyone knows that people can change, It's me. I was the same as you, an assassin trained from childhood. I thought I would never be anything else. The amount of blood on my hands was something I thought could never be washed clean. And maybe it still hasn't been. But at least it doesn't keep me up at night anymore" She walked up to me and put her hand on my cheek tenderly.

Widow: "Give yourself a chance. I've heard a lot about you from Fury and Hill. You put up a smartass and humorous front, but deep down you're hurting, just like I was. This is your chance, to be something other than a killer. To be something better. To be a hero" she said, looking straight into my soul with her piercing green eyes.

"...Alright. Yeah, I'll do it" My voice hasn't sounded this vulnerable in years. I'm not an idiot. I know just how much my work has affected me. But if I ever stopped to take a moment, to truly reflect on what I've done till now, the weight of it all would crush me. The people I've hurt, the children who no longer have a father or mother to come home to them at night, the wives and husbands who lost the love of their lives, the siblings who lost their eternal bond, and the parents who lost their child. It would break me, and that's what truly scared me. If I took a moment to look back on my life, would I turn around and ever truly be the same again? Maybe, maybe not. But if I'm out there saving lives, maybe, just maybe, I might eventually do more good than I've done harm. That may be the only way I ever find a way to ask for forgiveness, from both others, and myself.

"I'll join the team, and I'll help recruit the members" I said, my voice softer than I intended it to be.

Widow: "Good. I'm sure you'll do great" She smiled at me caringly. "Now, let's get to fabricating your equipment" She said, leading me down a hallway.

Widow: "You'll love it. We've got all the toys" She said, opening a door into a massive lab that puts the likes of MIT to shame.

"Yeah, no kidding" I replied, letting it all sink in. In the corner by the furthest wall, I spotted a material fabricator, just what I needed.

"Alright, let's do this"

End of Chapter 6~

Hey there! Well, that got deep real quick. But anyway, Thank you all so much for 20k views! This is my first time ever writing a fanfic, so I honestly had no idea if anyone would like what I wrote, and the amount of views and powerstones may seem insignificant compared to some of the other fanfics on this site, but for me it is so overwhelmingly amazing. Thank you all so so much for the support, it means the world to me. Hope you enjoy the chapter!