19.| BANNER.

THE NEXT WEEK WAS INCREDIBLY LONG FOR JAMES, AS WELL AS THE OTHER AGENTS. Nick Fury was out of the facility on and off for hours at a time, and no one really knew what it was that he was up to. The only person that James believed would know about his sudden disappearances, would be Natasha. Ever since he had brought her in, the Russian spy had grown rather close to the Director, becoming someone that he could trust more than anyone. Even more than those that have been under his watchful eye for years at a time.

People like James.

He ran his fingers through his dark hair as he sat in front of a computer, typing in his password to get into the database. There was a piping hot mug of coffee beside the computer and he would reach for it occasionally as he glanced through the files. James was busy doing more background research on the candidates for the Avengers Initiative, glancing over his own file for a few seconds.

It was still strange that he was considered for the Initiative, especially since he didn't have any remarkable qualifications like the others. His brother had a suit that could make him fly, but what did James have under his belt? James had years of S.H.I.E.L.D training in numerous different categories. But was he anything special?

No. He wasn't.

James Stark was an ordinary man, who just so happened to be related to the Howard Stark, and the even more infamous Tony Stark. Tony wasn't that bad of a person, he was just infamous for his past before he came out as Iron Man. And, because of his change in character, James was incredibly proud of his older brother.

A sigh left his lips as he continued to scroll through the other candidates, his mouse hovering over the image of Charlotte Rogers. His eyes stared at the stock photo of the woman, it still is one from the 1940s. Her blonde hair was curled messily, as if she wasn't prepared for the photo to be taken, or if she was in the middle of training the soldiers. But if there was anything that James could assume by the photo, it was that it was probably taken prior to her being kidnaped and experimented on by HYDRA. He couldn't imagine what she went through during that time, and he felt so incredibly sorry for her.

Which was probably something that she was sick and tired of hearing.

Moments passed, and James was still clicking through all of the files and going through all of the candidates. Some of the people were merely children, and he didn't know if they should've been qualified to join the team. People like Fawn and Kaia Galloway. They were just children who had a whole life ahead of them, and Nick Fury was recruiting them for a response team to take on the dangers of the world.

As he was staring at the screen, his phone began to go off, making him move his eyes over to the desktop. He furrowed his brows together when he saw that it was Nick Fury calling him. He knew that he didn't really have much of a choice when it came to answering his calls, so, like any good soldier, he answered.

"Hey, boss," James answered the phone, and he could hear static on the other side of the line. That caused the Stark man to quirk an eyebrow as he leaned back in the chair. "Nick?"

"I need you to send out a few agents to speak with the final recruits for the Avengers Initiative," Nick began to explain to him, which made James even more confused. "The only ones that still need convincing are your brother and Bruce Banner. My suggestion is that you send Ms. Romanoff out for Bruce. Let her use her skills in seduction, or whatever the hell she calls them."

"Sure thing, Fury," James replied to him with a slight nod of his head. "Anything else?"

"No," Nick answered him. "Just make sure that everyone is where they need to be the next time that I call you."

"Alright," James replied to him, and that was when Nick hung up the phone.

James set his phone back down on the table and he let out a heavy sigh as he sat there in silence. He rested his hands in his lap for a few seconds, fumbling around with his thumbs, his eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him. He let his shoulders slump as he sat there, before standing up and shutting the system down.

The agent made his way into the corridor, approaching Natasha's apartment quickly and quietly. Nick would want all of the necessary agents to leave the facility as soon as they could, and James knew that Fury would want Grayson Steele to be sent out to recruit his brother. Grayson and Tony had a strange relationship, but he knew that she was the woman for the job.

He was quick to tell Grayson where she was needed to go, and she was out into the hangar bay in sixty seconds or less. He picked up his pace as he neared Natasha's apartment, and when he pushed through the door, he found the redhead wrapped in a towel, her short red hair dripping wet.

She glanced over her shoulder to meet his gaze and gave him a smirk as he stood there, "What? Something you haven't seen before?"

"Fury wants you out to recruit Banner," James answered her, ignoring her comment about her current situation and state of dress. She nodded her head to him as she slipped into her bedroom and was quick to throw on a black dress. "That's not what you should be wearing."

"I know," Natasha replied to him. "Before going to Banner, I have another mission. It shouldn't take me too long."

"You know Fury would want you to leave now," James reminded her, which only caused her to shrug.

"I know," She smiled. "I'll wait for him to call me personally when the time comes." She approached James and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Stark. I know what I'm doing."

He let out a low chuckle as the woman walked out of her apartment. James glanced over his shoulder and followed her out into the hallway, and then he stopped in the middle of the corridor. His hands rested on his hips as he watched her disappear, and for a split second, she glanced over her shoulder to wink at him.

A grin appeared on his lips, before he shook his head.

― Only one more chapter before we are into Part Three! I'm thinking that maybe we're only going to have two more parts to this story. Part Three will be between the events of The Avengers and Age of Ultron, and Part Four will be Civil War. Next chapter will basically set up the first Avengers film.

I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! xx