AN: Daughter #1 and I watched The Avengers again for the umpteenth time. Once it was over I sighed and admitted that I have a hard time watching certain movies and not immediately think of fanfiction. I then relayed a scene that popped into my head. So here it is. This is a one shot, not intended to go any further.

This short is AU ... isn't it silly to say that? I mean, it is fanfiction so it is obviously not canon because if it were canon, what would be the point of writing something that is already written. *blinks* maybe I just don't get the concept or necessity to state certain things because it's a crossover so obviously it isn't straight from the Avengers movie, even if a lot of the dialogue is from the movie to keep it as close to the original and I'm rambling... I'll stop now.

Nothing But Silence

He quickly followed her through the dirt streets. The little girl dashed into a rundown house, through what looked like a bedroom door. He was hot on her heels only to be left flat footed as the girl continued to hop onto the bed and through the window. Bruce Banner, scientist extraordinaire, stared at the flapping curtain that loosely covered the child's escape route.

"Wait!" Bruce feebly reached out a hand as if it would have stopped her. As reality sunk in he dropped the bag he had been carrying and gave a derisive snort, "That smell isn't me. I promise I showered this morning."

Bruce stiffened and clenched his hands into fists. A woman appeared from behind a curtain off to his left. She wore a peasant blouse, a flowing skirt and brown leather sandals. Over her hair she had a shawl that she lowered to her shoulders, exposing her red hair, pale gray eyes and ruby red lips.

Her movements were slow, stealthy and silent, but the other guy had picked up her faint flowery scent the second she moved. He was watching her in his peripheral vision. If she knew of his awareness, she didn't show it. She intentionally allowed her right sandal to slap softly on the wooden floor to give the man a warning that he was not alone in the building. She had managed to get his attention and fast, yet his movements were slow and measured.

The man turned to face her. The two watched each other as she moved closer until only a small square table with two wooden chairs were between them. Bruce resisted the urge to stuff his hands in his trouser pockets and unclenched his fists to outwardly appear relaxed. She was the first to break the silence, "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle."

Her comment was too well phrased to have been an accident and he assumed she knew who and what he was. With that thought in mind, Bruce calculated his chances of escaping the small rundown shack and realized his odds were not favorable. The scientist quirked his eyebrow and responded. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret."

"Then, what is it?" She gave a small calculated grin, "Yoga?"

Ignoring her question, Bruce gave a cursory glance around the room and noted they were currently alone. At least they appeared to be and if Bruce knew anything, appearances were deceiving. "You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I, uh... assume the whole place is surrounded?"

He was fishing for information and she saw right through it. The woman wasn't taking the bait and kept her cards close to her chest. "Just you and me."

The other guy smelled the lie. Bruce let a grin tug at his lips before he canted his head towards the door, "You should have brought an army."

"I'm not afraid of you." The woman deadpanned.

Finally tired of her games, Bruce deemed to ask what he really wanted to know. "Who are you?"

"Natasha Romanoff."

Bruce was surprised, but didn't show it. He expected her to lie. The other guy didn't smell any deceit. If the woman, Natasha, was willing to answer one question, perhaps she would answer more. "Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for you."

Natasha shook her head, red curls moving back and forth, "No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D." Bruce sighed, "Whatever they want. My answer is no."

He moved to grab his bag, but Natasha spoke quickly to change the man's mind. "I need you to come in."

"What if I said no?" Bruce left his bag on the floor and stared down at it.

"I'll persuade you."

Bruce did his best not to snort in amusement, but it was apparent in his eyes when they met hers. "And what if the other guy says no?"

Natasha's voice hadn't waivered. She showed no fear to which Bruce was impressed by her perseverance. Either the agent wasn't afraid or she had faith in the small contingent of guards that surrounded the hut. "You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want to break that streak."

"I don't always get what I want." Bruce gave her a warm grin, "And I already said no."

The desperation was breaking through her calm and Natasha tried again. "Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."

Natasha held out her cell phone in order for him to view a photo of the Tesseract, but Bruce didn't move forward. His brow furrowed in confusion, "What does S.H.I.E.L.D want me to do? Swallow it?"

"Well, Director Fury wants you to find it. It's been taken. It omits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be." Her confidence seemed to be returning. Natasha sat down in one of the wooden chairs and laid her phone down on the table. Folding her hands on her lap she did her best to keep eye contact.

Bruce wasn't buying the act. The other guy could smell the fear, even if it was faint. He crossed his arms and asked, "So Fury isn't after the monster?"

"Not that he's told me."

"And he tells you everything?"

Natasha pursed her lips at the mocking in his tone, "Talk to Fury, he needs you on this."

The scientist couldn't seem to keep from needling the woman as he strolled to the table to stand across from where Natasha sat. Bruce kept the sneer from his face, but the distrust dripped from his voice, "He needs me in a cage?"

"No one's going to put you in a-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Bruce slammed his fist onto the small table.

The smell of fear spiked. In a fluid movement, Natasha spun away from the table and stood facing him. She had reached under the table to grab the gun that had apparently been placed there for her protection and was now pointing it at him. Bruce stood up straight, smiling and staring down the barrel. Her reaction was predictable, yet he couldn't begrudge her the admiration of professionalism she showed. The gun didn't waver. Somehow he knew she wouldn't hesitate to place a bullet in him if it came to that.

There was a distant sound of something hitting the ground. Still smiling, Bruce gave a single shoulder shrug, "I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do."

Natasha, still wary, didn't lower her gun. The weapon was steady, but the grip she had on it tightened. Bruce's smile dropped, but he remained calm and tried again to get through to her. He raised an empty hand towards her and motioned downward as if to mimic putting the gun down. "Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha..."

She lowered her gun, raised a hand to her head and spoke into her earpiece. "Stand down. We're good here."

When no response came, Natasha fidgeted with unease. Her fear spiked once again. Bruce remained calm and stood before her in his khaki pants, tweed jacket and loafers as if they were simply there for a nice chat. He gripped the back of the wooden chair in front of him and gave Natasha a charming smile, "Now that it is just you, perhaps we can talk."

Natasha's pale eyes darted towards the exit that was closer to Bruce giving him the advantage. Her thoughts were apparently on the guards that hadn't responded. She hopped back a step when a woman with brown curly hair stormed into the room with a small shiny stick in her hand. The brunette motioned behind her with a thumb, "It was a small army out there and put that gun down on the table before I disarm you. You're not taking Bruce anywhere by force. I can tell you that right now."

"All clear?" Bruce checked the smaller woman over as if looking for injuries. "You're okay?"

"Well of course. This isn't my first war." Her thick English accent, rolled in a teasing lilt. The woman patted his hands away, but didn't resist when he pulled her into a hug. Bruce's shoulders eased in relief and the brunette woman smiled up at him. Her own stance stiffened as she pulled out of the embrace. She faced the S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and pointed the stick at Natasha when the gun wasn't set down. "I'm not going to warn you again."

"You have her at a bit of a disadvantage, Hermione."

"I don't bloody care. As long as she has that thing in hand, she's a threat."

Natasha looked from one to the other as she mentally took in the situation's change in dynamics. "Who are you? Why are you pointing a stick at me and what happened to the guards?"

"Hold that thought," Hermione waved her small stick as she mumbled in latin and ignored the confused, alarmed look on Natasha's face as magical wards washed over the three of them. The witch then wrinkled her nose at the place they were in, conjured two comfortable overstuffed chairs and smiled at Bruce when he moved the wooden chair out of the way. "Thanks, love."

Hermione then pointed her 'stick' at the wooden chair that Natasha had been sitting in moments ago and transfigured it to a more comfortable overstuffed chair. Pleased with her work, Hermione sat in one of the chairs as Bruce sat down in the other. "There we go."

"What are you?" Natasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Hermione. Working at S.H.I.E.L.D. had her facing many different things, but this display of power was new for her.

"Have a seat, Miss Romanoff." Bruce pointed at the other chair and gave a small nod when she tentatively slid into the offered seat. He then proceeded with introductions, "Natasha Romanoff, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Hermione Banner, wife."