Skill Sets
by K. Stonham
first released 19th July 2012

During the course of three attempted alien takeovers, four attacks by an organization Steve thought had been left dead in the ashes of World War II, innumerable terrorist standoffs, and one cross-dimensional rift that they still don't have an explanation for, the Avengers have come to appreciate each other's skills. And not just the ones listed on Fury's dossiers.

It still comes as a surprise, however, when in the wake of the latest ruined city, Bruce (having purloined a pair of pants from a smashed shopfront) jimmies open the driver-side door of a white H2, reaches under the dash, does a few things, and the vehicle comes to life.

In light of Tony being concussed and the better part of unconscious, however, and Clint not much better, no one is particularly inclined to ask. They pile their wounded in, put on seatbelts because Steve is big on personal safety, and Bruce heads them all towards the outskirts and a good extraction point. Natasha finds a first-aid kit in the glovebox and passes it back. Steve starts cleaning out the gash that went through Thor's armor and into his bicep.

It's a few minutes of exhausted silence before the Black Widow finally turns her head to look at Bruce. "Hotwiring?" she asks.

Still keeping his eyes on the road and the multitude of obstacles thereupon, he smiles tiredly. "Spend enough years on the run from the biggest military-industrial complex on the planet..." he offers.

She snorts, smiling in appreciation, and closes her eyes, leaning back against the headrest.

It's a short drive to their pickup point, and then the heroes can rest.

A/N: Rather than waiting for my various thoughts on Avengers to coalesce into something bigger that will probably never get written, I've decided to just do them into shorts. This one is based on the motorcycle Bruce rode up on in the battle scene. Where, exactly, did he get that thing? After thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that probably all of the Avengers save Thor have hotwiring skills. Tony because he's a mad mechanical genius, Clint and Natasha because, duh, SHIELD, and Steve because I can just imagine him and the HCs needing to "liberate" a few vehicles during WWII. And for Bruce, well, I suspect it would have become a vital survival skill.