A/N: So I had actually pretty much given up on this story and chapter, but I got a bunch of notifications about new followers, despite having not posted in awhile and I decided that maybe I should keep trying. This chapters not that great 'cause it's pretty short and was mostly me getting stuck every time I tried to write something, but the next chapter will be long and action-packed, assuming anyone is still interested.

-DP

Chapter 6 (Steve):

Steve glanced up from the device he had been studying. He thought it was an iPad, but wasn't entirely sure, awful as he was with technology. "So, this Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"

Mr. Coulson had pulled him out of class, saying simply, "Avengers Initiative," and now they walked quickly through halls Steve had only seen that time he got lost the first day…

"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought that gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

"Didn't really go his way, did it?" It was a rhetorical question, because Steve figured no one really wanted to turn into the Hulk when they were angry. He wondered vaguely if anyone had thought to teach Banner to control the transformation – surely there had to be some way to control them – discipline? Meditation? He couldn't help but visualize a huge green creature sitting crisscross on a yoga mat.

"Not so much. When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Steven Hawking." Steve looked up, confused. "He's like a…smart person. I gotta say…it's an honor to meet you officially. I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping. I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a huge honor to have you at this school…"

Steve resisted the urge to groan. He really didn't like where this conversation was going, because hero-worship was not what he signed up for. The man sounded like a little kid, he was so excited, and Steve stood up, trying to get some space, but Coulson stood up too. Any more of this and Coulson would be asking for his autograph…

"Such an honor…"

"So," Steve said, anxious to change the subject, "why don't you tell me about this S.H.I.E.L.D. center in the school? "

There was a moment of silence in which Steve figured Coulson hadn't actually heard what he said, but no, the man was thinking. "Well, I hope you'll like it…" And then he went into a full description during which Steve – currently feeling much younger than his 14 years – could just nod and pretend to follow along.

"So, here we are," Coulson said, gesturing to the classroom. "Go on in."

"Thank-you, sir," Steve said politely.

"Steve?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't be nervous. You're among friends."

…

"Welcome, Steve," Natasha said, smiling. She didn't even look any different, well, except for the gun holstered at her waist, but considering the number of stairs Steve had just climbed down to get to this basement he hadn't known existed… "You know Bruce, right? Bruce Banner?"

Steve shook hands with the dark-haired, slightly nerdy-looking boy in front of him. "Actually, no. Do I call you Bruce, or Dr. Banner…?"

"Just Bruce," the boy said, smiling ruefully. "I suppose this must be a little strange," he said, gesturing around the classroom, half of which was lined with computers, while another section held a conference table, and still another section held assorted weapons.

"A bit," he admitted.

Natasha gestured them forward. "Come on, boys, time to see Mr. Fury." As they walked, Natasha turned to Steve. "So, has Coulson asked you to sign his trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?"

She gave him an amused look. "They're vintage; he's very proud."

Nick Fury hadn't gotten any less scary since Steve had last seen him – in fact, he seemed even scarier now. He stood beside several screens near the conference table and was giving orders to several students at computers. There was a dark-haired woman in uniform nearby, and she gave Steve a brief, penetrating look.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly-available camera on the planet," Fury said, catching Bruce's eye and gesturing him over. "Cell phones, laptops…if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"You have to narrow your field," Bruce said, frowning slightly. "How many spectrometers do you have?"

Um, what? Steve looked at Fury, then at Bruce, then at Natasha, but apparently everyone else knew exactly what he was talking about.

"How many are there?" Fury asked smugly.

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "Call every lab you know and tell them to put a spectrometer on the roof and calibrate it for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition…at least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Romanoff, escort Mr. Banner to his laboratory, please."

She nodded and gesture Bruce through a door. "You'll love it – we've got all the toys."

Fury turned to study Steve. "Would you be interested in seeing your new suit?"

"Of course, sir," Steve said awkwardly, feeling out of place.

"Sitwell!" Fury called, and an older black boy in uniform looked up from one of the computers.

"Yes, sir?"

"Show the Captain to his room."

…

Natasha Romanoff

At some point everyday, she, Steve, Bruce, and the other Junior Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were pulled out of class to perform tasks in the command center. But sometimes, Natasha wondered if there was any point in doing it. Loki walked around the school with a superior look on his face and Clint was always at his side, ignoring Natasha, leaving her feeling more alone than she had in years.

Steve and Bruce just weren't the same as Clint – she missed her best friend. Especially as the Homecoming Dance drew nearer and nearer, because she remembered his insistence on dragging her to it. It was a stupid thing to be upset about, sure, but Natasha couldn't help but feel like she was missing out on something important.

As she walked over to the command area, she caught the tail end of Steve and Coulson's conversation. The poor boy was looking quite uncomfortable, while Coulson looked nervous but excited.

"If it's no trouble," he was saying.

Steve nodded. "Of course not."

"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple years to collect them all…near mint condition, too."

Natasha interrupted them. "Time to suit up, boys – Loki's been spotted across town and it doesn't look good."