Chapter 13: "EVERYBODY, GET--"

"EVERYBODY, GET—"

Before Kat could finish, she was cut off by a large explosion from underneath them, shaking the helicarrier and sending them all flying in different directions. The youngest groaned, blinking her eyes open to see the ceiling high above her, but it wasn't the lab. She was in one of the equipment rooms. She honestly wasn't sure how she had gotten where she was, but due to the warm trickle of blood she could feel running down her scraped chin and cheek along with the throbbing pain in her left side, she was sure it wasn't a graceful fall.

A few groans slipped through her gritted teeth as she carefully gathered her limbs beneath her, her earpiece coming to life with so many voices causing her head to begin pounding again. Through her haze she could see Natasha and Bruce next to her in the same situation. Above her, she could hear the commotion between the remainder of the group still in the lab.

"Hill!" She heard Fury call, the strain audible in his voice.

A beat went by as Hill replied as quickly as possible, "Number Three engine is down."

"We've been hit." Another agent responded.

"Did we get a run in?" Hill asked, "Talk to me."

"Stark, you copy that?" Fury interjected.

"I'm on it." Tony agreed.

"Coulson, initiate defensive lock down in the contingent center, then get to the armory." Fury commanded. "Romanoff! Hart!"

Shaking out of her daze, Katrina saw Natasha splayed out on her stomach next to her, groaning as she tried to pull her leg free from where it was trapped beneath a heavy pipe that had fallen.

The girl jumped into action to help, "Nat, are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you?" Nat grunted as Kat gave a quick nod as she quickly wiped the blood from her chin with the back of her hand, the wound stinging slightly as it healed itself, before slipping her hand beneath the pipe to lift it off of the woman's leg. Nat confirmed over her radio that the three of them were, in fact, okay. Though, when she turned to Banner cowering in the corner away from the two, seemingly in pain, she second guessed herself. "We're okay, right?"

The Doctor then let out a growl, his usual brown eyes seeming to have a slight green glow. Bruce's face contorted in pain as he fists clenched as he struggled to remain in control. His spine flexed, his vertebrae beginning to shift, even visible from below his navy button-up.

"Doctor? Bruce, you've got to fight it." Natasha tried to assure the Doctor, her voice as calm as possible, but Kat could hear the tremor. "This is just what Loki wants. We're going to be okay. Listen to me."

"Bruce? Please listen, okay? You are not the monster. Not the one that people think you are and not the one that you think you are. You can control it, I know you can..." Kat soothed, ignoring Natasha's warnings to stay back as she inched towards the man. She extended a calming hand on his shoulder, thought it could've been to shield herself, Natasha wasn't sure.

Banner seemed to relax for a split second, the silence strange in contrast to the low grunts that echoed off the metal walls seconds earlier. And in a flash, Kat was pushed away, falling onto her back.

"NO!" Banner shouted, his voice deeper and more menacing causing the girl to scramble backwards and Natasha to yank her away from him.

"Help me." Natasha muttered to the girl gesturing to her leg, but her eyes never left Bruce. She then began to try and do the same as Kat and distract him to give them a bit more time. "We're going to be okay, right? I swear on my life, I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never ever—"

That was the last straw for Bruce, "Your life?!"

His growl became even deeper making the two agents cower back, his back flexing making his clothes tear to shreds. Surprisingly, he launches himself away from the two, though both still flinch.

"Bruce?" Nat whimpers, frozen in fear as she watched Bruce's transformation completed, turning him into the beast that Loki wanted. The Hulk.

The man suddenly climbed to his feet, swaying slightly before letting out a bone-rattling roar. This was enough to snap both Katrina and Natasha out of their daze, the younger grunting as she yanked the object up and off of Nat's leg and helping her up.

They both turn and scramble away, sprinting up a set of stairs, launching themselves up onto an upper platform and run further down the hall as the grate they had stood on a mere second before was yanked away. The Hulk's roars echoed off the walls, chasing after them.

Natasha suddenly crawls in between some pipes next to them, pulling Kat along with her. Breathing heavily, the assassin stops to turn and grasp the young girl's shoulders. "Kat, listen to me. I want you to find the others, alright? I'll take care of Banner."

"What? No, you're hurt—" Kat starts but is quickly cut off.

"No arguing. That is an order. Go."

Kat wished she could argue more, but she knew it was pointless from the look on her best friend's face. She just nodded, muttering "Please be careful."

Natasha hastily kissed her forehead, "You too."

And with that they went their separate ways.

Author's Note: Hey Everyone, sorry for the short chapter again! The next one will be longer and much more interesting. This was sort of a filler chapter, so I was thinking of doing another double update, but I'm scared I'm going to run out of chapters to post before I even get halfway through writing the next one. And, yes, the next book is based on Age of Ultron. I am planning to write books for Age of Ultron, Infinity War, Endgame, Far From Home, and No Way Home. There should be six books in total for the series, but I may include smaller stories, I'm really not sure. It is a bit slow-goings with Age of Ultron for some reason although I know exactly how I want it to play out, it's just getting what I can see in my head on the page and be able to do it justice. Still, I am really excited because the AoU movie was what sparked Katrina and her entire storyline, so it means a lot to me.

Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. Feel free to comment or vote. Again, I would love to hear from you guys to know that I'm not writing something people absolutely hate, but I totally do not want to pressure you. You do you. Haha! 

Love y'all :)

-Mo