#shieldacademyclosed

She was standing in front of the plaque that had all of the agent's names on it that had been killed in the field. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the exact person she'd been wanting to talk to.

She pushed through the crowd of people. "Clint?"

To say Bruce was a little irritated at being forced to live in a crowded city was an understatement. He had been promised a chaos free zone to live in upon accepting Agent Romanova's offer; did SHIELD actually think it was a good idea to have him and the other guy in one of the most populated areas on the planet? Sure Bruce could visit the Big Apple but live there? This was a whole new challenge, one he would have to train himself to adjust to in order to keep the citizens of the city safe from his other half.

After the battle of New York, Bruce had requested a meeting with Director Fury to discuss his future at the academy. He wanted to request a more secluded living arrangement; a place where he would be able to work in peace when not in the labs. Much to Bruce's surprise, Fury offered him his own level in Stark Tower- or rather, Fury asked Bruce irritatedly if he ever read his damn email and sent him away. Upon checking his inbox, he noted an email from Tony Stark informing him that he was invited to live in the Tower with the rest of the Avengers and select agents.

Bruce liked Tony- he was a decent guy underneath his egotistical playboy act. He was also the only person who didn't seem to fear, but rather admire, his little party trick. After much thought, Bruce agreed to Tony's offer and moved into the hi-tech building. He had an entire floor to himself and no one bugged him really-except JARVIS and even then Bruce enjoyed their conversations. it wasn't actually that bad but Bruce couldn't help but worry. Living in India for three years, Bruce had thought he had gotten a handle on his other side but letting the Hulk loose during the Battle had been an eye opening experience. It seemed as though Bruce didn't have any control over his counterpart whatsoever; the other guy was the one controlling the puppet strings.

He had spent the last two weeks in seclusion  while he researched everything about the other known victims of gamma radiation accidents. His own cousin- Jennifer- had been turned into a creature just like him. He wanted nothing more than her own personal insight as to how her counterpart was treating her. So far, he hadn't been able to get in touch with anything but her voice mail. He just wanted answers, to see if his theory was correct. If the Hulk truly was it's own separate entity, just how much danger would they all really be in? If the other guy was the one in control of their shared body, just how easily could Bruce disappear?

He wakes up in the medical ward.

The sleeper agent -- who was he? -- must've dragged him in here from the hallway. He blinks, trying to let his eyes adjust to the harsh overhead light, and quickly tries to take stock of his situation. Nothing's strapping him in and there's no IVs connected to his body, so he sits up and slips out of the bed, figuratively shaking off the dizziness he feels, somewhat surprised that he was able to move so quickly after--

He's wearing a white shirt and cotton pajama pants and socks -- standard hospital garb, he suspects -- and sees that there's a clipboard hanging off the foot of the bed with a printed readout headed by the name Barnes, James B. The name means nothing to him and he knocks it off the foot of the bed with his left hand as he passes by on his way to the exit. 

Sitting in O'Reilley's had become a common occurrence for Darcy. She liked to sit in the last seat at the bar and watch everyone who came in. Most of them were teens skipping school, smoking cigarettes and trying to convince the owner to let them drink a bit. They reminded Darcy of herself back when she had been their age. Sixteen and bored, the best and worst combination possible for the Lewis household. Darcy had always been the wild child- or a sufferer of middle child syndrome if you asked her dad. Becoming friends with Jane had definitely tamed the majority of her wild ways- she had stopped skipping classes, stopped smoking, stopped nearly everything but drinking and speeding. Darcy needed to keep some parts of her bad-ass nature otherwise she wouldn't be her lovely self.

After Jane had left for the academy, Darcy had slipped back into her old ways. She had partied with the Greek Row kids from the university and gotten herself in a few bad situations- sleeping with some girl's boyfriend on accident, drinking so much that she passed out at a party, and nearly getting caught with some dick who brought cocaine to a party that ended up getting busted. She handled all those situations well though- she was a Lewis after all. She actually missed those dimwits sometimes, mainly because the academy was so boring. Except for the hostage situation, of course. That had been a terrifying situation for Darcy, even though she hadn't been one of the people taken. Having Jane just be ripped out of her life like that had scared the shit out of Darcy. Jane was her best friend in the world; more like her sister than anything else. Darcy owed Jane so much and could not imagine her life without the tiny scientist. If it weren't for Jane, Darcy would probably be in jail for drugs or for tasing a cop or something. She was glad Jane had gotten home safe and sound, thanks to the bad-ass rescue from Darcy and Thor.

Despite the hostage incident, coming to the academy had helped Darcy find her way back to the light. She had met some interesting albeit intense people and a hunky man from outer space. They were all extremely smart and kick-ass and they pushed her to try to better herself. Especially Heimdall. She was going to the library every day- mainly because the librarian didn't trust her to check out a book- to learn more about Norse mythology and science things. Darcy wanted to impress Heimdall; he was like the walking embodiment of an encyclopedia. Heimdall knew all the answers to everything because of his Sight and she wanted to be able to understand what he was talking about whenever they talked about Asgard. Darcy didn't know when she had become the kinda girl who wanted to change for a guy but she, surprisingly, didn't mind it. To her, it wasn't actually changing for a guy. It was simply bettering herself for the sake of bettering herself. It was about time Darcy got her act together, for real. If she was inspired to do this because of a guy, so fucking what? She was finally doing good again and-

Is that...Rain?

Bruce opened his eyes, blinking as he felt the water splash down on him. He was lying in the middle of the forest again. For the second time since he'd arrived at the Academy, the other guy had led him into this forest- this exact spot actually. Maybe it had something to do with his being green that he seemed to be a nature lover. Bruce chuckled slightly to himself as he sat up. No matter what happened, he always seemed to keep his sense of humor. He groaned as he stretched; his transformations also always left him sore as all hell.

The last time he was put in this situation had been because of his cousin. He couldn't remember why he was here now- Jenny. "Oh hell," Bruce mumbled and rubbed his face. He had been talking to Jenny before he had blacked out. She had "shulked" out in front of him and the other guy... "Shit, I hope she's okay." He murmured, reaching into his pocket to try to find the phone SHIELD had forced on him. Unfortunately, he had been wearing jeans when he had transformed so that meant he was naked which meant no phone. Perfect. Bruce made a face before standing up and beginning to slowly make his way back to the Academy. Luckily, the other guy had left him a path of broken trees to follow. It was a bit Hansel and Gretel, but Bruce would take it.

After three years with no incidents, Bruce was starting to think he had made the wrong decision by coming to the Academy. Living so closely with people was putting him on edge; he was a loner by nature and getting into arguments with people he cared about was not helping his situation. He couldn't have another incident, someone was bound to get hurt. Maybe I should leave and go back India... That's the only place that calms him. Bruce shook his head at the thought. He had only just arrived, it wouldn't do to just pack up and leave without any notice. He would have to give this place more of a chance. Now that he had gotten the big argument out of the way, maybe things would cool down.

I haven't eaten, haven't slept, haven't done anything but cry for two months. Loki keeps me locked up in my room constantly, only allowing me to leave when absolutely necessary. He uses his magic to force a smile on my face to keep up pretenses. Hardly anyone has noticed the changes in my personality or that I've lost an alarming amount of weight...I guess no one really knows me or cares enough to ask if somethings wrong. No one but Peggy, that is; she noticed though I wasn't able to give her any answers. She was here and I couldn't make myself do anything but what Loki bid me to do. She needed help finding the Cap and all I could do was sit there and tell Peggy that Loki was right: I didn't want to be her friend anymore. He's made me say and do such awful things but that was the worst thing yet. Peggy didn't believe him, of course, but she left and hasn't been back since. She's probably been too distracted with Cap, at least that's what I'm hoping.

He taunted me and made fun of Peggy for a few days after that. Loki told me that he won't release me, even though we haven't made any progress at all with Jane Foster. I guess  I'm such a good toy that he's decided to keep me. I've given up on putting up a fight; it only exhausts me and he threatens to kill my mom anytime I do. I'm so tired...I don't think I can handle this for much longer. I feel so weak and numb to everything. It's against everything I stand for but I need someone to save me. There's no way for me to free myself from this and believe me I have tried everything I could. I hate to beg but... someone, anyone, please...if you can hear me.

"My head..." Volstagg thought with a groan as he started to wake up. He did not remember falling asleep... nor did he remember falling asleep on the ground. "Where am I?" Volstagg opened his eyes and peered blearily at his surroundings. It was dark and cold; he was no longer in the kitchen. There were also faces looking at him in the darkness. He immediately moved back into a defensive position, wishing he had his ax with him. "Who are you?" Volstagg boomed, angry that he had been foolish enough to let himself get captured. "It's alright man, just calm down. We're all from the academy too." A deep voice called from the darkness. The man moved forward and Volstagg recognized him as the son of Rhode. "Lord James, what has happened? Why are we in this place?" Volstagg looked around, finally starting to recognize the faces he could see now that he was fully awake. He saw the Ladies MJ, Jane, and... Lorelei?  Volstagg opened his mouth to ask more questions but Lord James put a hand on his shoulder.

"We were all captured. No one really knows all the details yet. They stunned one of our agents, Natasha... Romanova..." Jim looked back at the others for confirmation on the name before continuing, "When we got here. She's recovering, as well as Wade Wilson. They seemed to have drugged or tranquilized him." Lord Jim said. Volstagg was so confused; why would Midgardians capture him and his friends? Why would they hold anyone hostage? He hoped his friends and Felicia were alright. Felicia... Volstagg started to shake, had they taken her as well? "What of the Lady Felicia?" Volstagg asked Lord Jim. "I don't know who that-" Volstagg picked Lord Jim up with one hand, angrily. "Do not lie to me, where is she?" "Probably safe at the academy, there is no one named Felicia here. Would you put me down now, Volstagg?" Volstagg lowered Lord Jim, suddenly filled with shame. "Forgive me, Lord Jim. I... I let my worries control me for a moment."

The door banged open loudly, causing Darcy to scream. Breathing heavily, she yanked her headphones out of her ears. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shouted at the random agent who had entered. "Good, this one is safe." The agent called out behind him. Darcy glowered at him, "This one has a taser and a bad temper. What the fuck are you doing here? What do you mean I'm safe?" The agent looked back at her, his expression grim. "Ma'am, we've had a breach in security. Agents have been taken, we're just checking all the dorms to see who else is left." Darcy's heart began to pound even harder, people had been taken. "Who... who was taken?" She asked, not able to contain her fear from entering her voice. "So far we have listed Agents Rhodes, Watson, Rogers, Foster-" Darcy interrupted him."Foster? They took Jane Foster?"

Darcy pushed past the agent and ran out into the hallway, "Jane!" Darcy called as the went to check Jane's room, hoping that the agent had been wrong so she could tase him for scaring her. Not even bothering with knocking, Jane burst into the room. "Jane?" Darcy looked wildly around the room, Jane was nowhere to be found. "The labs!" Darcy murmured to herself, running out of Jane's room and the dorms. Please be there, please be there, please be there. Arriving at the lab building, Darcy came to a sudden halt. There were agents crawling around the building, each talking to each other in anxious voices. The lab had been compromised too which meant.. No, Jane was there. She was sure of it. Darcy took a deep breath before beginning to walk into the building. "Miss Lewis, I'm afraid you can't do that." A voice called out from behind her. "Like hell I can't!" Darcy retorted, not even bothering to look back, "I need to find Jane." 

"Miss Lewis, I'm not asking you to stop. I'm telling you." Darcy turned around, ready to throw her tazer on this bastard when she saw a tall, intimidating man with an eye patch glaring at her. "Fury, right?" Darcy asked, trying to sound braver than she felt. Fury nodded at her, "Yes. Now, I'm sorry but I'm afraid Agent Foster has been taken. We don't know by whom yet but we will get her and the other agents back. This area is a crime scene and I will treat it as such until I see fit. That means no one but authorized personnel can get in. Now go back to your room, you'll be safe there." Darcy watched him walk away, trying not to cry. Her best friend had been taken and he expected her to just sit there?