"Alright."
As they reach the elevator, Tony gives her a sudden grin.
"Have to ask. If you're here to pick me up, who did Fury send to pick up Dr. Banner?"
Not even remotely surprised that Tony knows about that part of the plan as well already, Natasha dryly tells him, huffing in amusement as she endures his laughter all the way up to the roof. -x-X-x-
Agent Phil Coulson was not a man prone to emotional outbursts. But as he approaches a small shack in Kolkata, India, he finds himself wanting to curse under his breath. To be fair, there wasn't a sane, rational human being on this planet that would want to be anywhere in the vicinity of a potential Hulk Rampage. Which made the former General Ross' strange obsession with sending his soldiers after Banner over and over again all the worse.
Still, Phil had one thing going for him that those poor unlucky souls did not. He wasn't here to pick a fight. Arriving at Bruce Banner's front door, well aware that he had dozens of SHIELD Agents as backup and that they wouldn't do a damn thing if the doctor actually transformed … Phil sighs, the most emotion he allows himself before lifting a hand and knocking quietly.
There's a moment of silence that pervades the area after his knock… and then some shuffling from inside. Finally, the door opens and Coulson finds himself face to face with the man himself. Dr. Banner looks at him blankly for a moment and then takes in the suit and tie before humming.
"SHIELD?"
That gets a raised brow from Phil, but ultimately he just smiles blandly and nods.
"You're well informed, Dr. Banner. Agent Phil Coulson."
He holds out a hand on instinct, only to regret the offer even a moment later. Unfortunately, it's not like he can take it back… especially when Bruce accepts the handshake, an easy grin on his face.
"Ah yes, Agent Coulson. You were mentioned specifically. Come in, come in." Now Phil is beginning to feel alarmed. There's no way that Loki would have gotten here already, right? None of the agents who the Goddess had managed to compromise knew about Banner's current location. Not even Barton. He also didn't see a hint of blue in Banner's eyes, so… it was probably fine?
Stepping into the ramshackle house, Phil is gratified to see that Banner seems to be alone, just like all of SHIELD's preliminary scans of the area had said. Even still, that doesn't completely set the Agent at ease.
"I was mentioned, Dr. Banner? By whom, exactly?"
The other man has already moved over to the shack ' s kitchenette and is busy pouring himself a cup of coffee. He doesn't offer Phil any, but to be fair he wouldn't have accepted it anyways. Still, part of him feels on edge seeing a dangerous entity like Banner drinking a caffeinated beverage. Surely that can't be good for the outbursts, right?
"My Guardian Angel, of course."
At Phil's blank look, Bruce just chuckles.
"I don't have another name for him. He's been watching over me for a little while now. Got me out of Brazil before Ross could come down on my head. Helped me stay ahead of the General and his goons for a while. Set me up here in India once my trail had been wiped away. His last message mentioned SHIELD and a couple of potential names that might come looking for my help somewhere down the line."
Bruce tilts his head to the side, surprisingly at ease in a way that's completely contradictory to the psych profile that they have on him.
"Have to admit, hoped it would be 'Natasha Romanoff' instead of 'Phil Coulson'. He didn't give me faces to go with names, but Natasha… sounds pretty."
Phil's lips thin out. This was rapidly spiraling out of SHIELD's control.
"She is. Can you tell me anything else about your Guardian Angel, Dr. Banner? Anything else he might have said about SHIELD?"
Just how deep did this security leak go? Just how much was floating around out there in the ether?
"Let me think… how did he describe you guys to me? Oh yeah, I remember. He said SHIELD was like the over -excited puppy of spy agencies. So long as I let you guys keep a paw on my leg and kept myself in your line of sight, you wouldn't freak out and piss all over the carpet in an attempt to track me down again. Basically, it was better for me to let you keep tabs on me then to try to slip out from under you because you guys didn't really mean me any harm."
Stark. He knows immediately that that's who Banner's 'Guardian Angel' is. No one else would describe SHIELD in such a crass, humiliating manner. For a moment, Coulson considers keeping it a secret, because it's clear that Stark hasn't let Banner know who's been helping him for a reason. But honestly? Fuck Stark.
"Your Guardian Angel is Tony Stark."
Dr. Banner's eyes widen at that, his gaze flicking over to the side… to an innocuous Starkphone that Phil should have noticed earlier.
"What? How do you know that? I mean, he gave me a Starkphone, but there are literally hundreds of millions of those things on the planet at this point." "Because Tony Stark works for the World Security Council, Dr. Banner. The organization that oversees and funds SHIELD."
Bruce seems to consider that for a moment before raising an eyebrow.
"So wait… he's basically your boss?"
Phil tries not to let the frustration show on his face. They've gotten hopelessly off track here.
"No, Dr. Banner. That would be Director Fury, who sent me here to retrieve you because we're dealing with a foothold scenario."
Even if he's not military personnel, someone like Dr. Banner has read enough Sci-Fi to immediately understand what that means. Sputtering, he looks at Phil with wide eyes.
"We're being invaded by aliens?!"
Then, just as quickly, his expression shutters.
"… I can't help you fight them back, Agent Coulson. I don' t… do that anymore."
Turn into the Hulk? He sounds so certain. What had Stark given Banner besides information about SHIELD? Unfortunately, such questions would have to wait for another time.
"It's not an invasion, Dr. Banner. It's an incursion. There' s only one alien at the moment and her name is Loki. Her abilities lie in mental manipulation and stealth. She made off with some of our agents and is now in the wind. However, she stole something that gives off Gamma Radiation … your specialty."
Bruce's eyebrows raise at that.
"Wait, so you're not here for the Hulk? You're here…"
"For you, Dr. Banner. We don't need a Hulk. We need the world's leading scientist on Gamma Radiation to help us track down a mind controlling alien before she manages to make things worse than they already are."
For a long moment, the other man is silent. Finally, he gets a determined look in his eyes.
"Will Tony Stark be assisting with this?"
Phil allows himself a small smile at that. Still bland, but present, nonetheless. "He will, Dr. Banner."
"I'll get my coat."
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