Sitting behind his desk, Tony watches as Natasha processes the bombshell he just dropped in her lap. Finally, the gorgeous femme fatale shakes her head, sending her red curls bouncing every which way.
"… You can't be serious. You honestly expect me to believe Nick Fury is a Nazi?"
Heh, that's a fair enough reason to be rather incredulous of his claims, Tony has to admit.
"No. Nick Fury is not a member of HYDRA."
Natasha relaxes a little bit at hearing those words. Of course, then Tony has to ruin it. "However, Alexander Pierce is."
That gets her attention again. She scowls a little at him for it, likely recognizing that he's enjoying provoking reaction after reaction from her. But can she really blame him? Getting genuine reactions of disbelief and shock out of someone of her training is always a treat.
"Alexander Pierce is a Head of HYDRA, and the one in charge of HYDRA's SHIELD branch."
When Natasha narrows her eyes at that wording, Tony just laughs.
"Sorry, did you think the version of HYDRA in SHIELD was all there was? Oh no. SHIELD is just a shell for one branch of HYDRA… one of its many heads. Still, you're right. Nick Fury is not a member of HYDRA. Neither is Phil Coulson or Clint Barton if it makes you feel any better." She tries her best to hide it, but Tony can tell that it does indeed make her feel better. Still, it's obvious that Natasha is reeling, for as much as the gorgeous red head CAN reel. Tony has dropped one too many secrets on top of her head, and not really given her the time to process any of this.
"… I assume you have proof."
And yet, she was still willing to believe him. Or at least extend a modicum of trust towards him until she had found out for sure what was going on. Tony was left wondering if Natasha had been telling the truth earlier when she ' d all but insinuated that her loyalty to SHIELD was shaky at best. She no doubt had a special bond with Barton, and she obviously greatly respected Fury and Coulson … but in the original timeline, she would have been working with SHIELD for a lot longer before she was assigned to infiltrate his company.
In this timeline, Natasha Romanoff had only been with SHIELD for about six to seven months before she ' d been sent undercover. And then she'd spent ten months in Tony and Pepper's tender care, playing the role of their shared personal assistant. Tony wasn't foolish enough to think that she'd really fallen in love with either of them, JARVIS' joking aside. But he did have to wonder if SHIELD had made an even greater mistake than he initially thought by serving him up Natasha on a silver platter like they did.
"I have plenty of proof, Natasha. Convincing you of HYDRA's existence and the rot within SHIELD will be easy. It ' s convincing you that I and I alone am uniquely positioned to take down Pierce and HYDRA that might be a little harder."
Natasha's eyes narrow again.
"… You want to keep Fury and the others in the dark. You want me to help you keep this from them. Why?"
Tony considers how best to answer that for a second before deciding to be brutally honest. "Because they'll make a mess of things, Natasha. And this can't be handled quickly. It has to be slow. It has to be delicate. Like catching a snowflake on the tip of your finger without letting it dissolve. If we're going to deal with HYDRA, we have to do this right. Here 's the problem, Natasha. Alexander Pierce made Fury the Director of SHIELD. HYDRA tolerates the existence of superb agents like Coulson and Barton despite knowing they have absolutely zero hope of turning them to their side. Why do you think that is?"
Natasha's lips thin out as she considers the question. Tony has to admit, he's pleased that she's taking him so seriously. She never had in the previous timeline. But then, Natasha has always been something of a social chameleon, a mimic of a person if you will. Tony hadn't ever taken himself seriously in the previous timeline and Natasha had mirrored that energy, treating him like a child rather than a teammate, like a mark over a friend.
This time around, that wasn't going to happen. Tony wouldn' t let it. And so he sits patiently, no quips, no jokes, no nothing. And he lets Natasha get there all on her own. Well, mostly on her own. He's pretty much already laid it all out for her.
"… Because they might not know it, but they're already in HYDRA's pockets. Because HYDRA knows them inside and out and if any of them make a single move out of the ordinary, it' ll act as an early alarm system letting HYDRA know they have a problem on their hands."
Tony grins.
"Good girl. Knew you would get it."
That earns him a slightly frosty glare from the Black Widow as she narrows her eyes dangerously at him.
"… I ' m not really your dutiful sex pet, Stark. Natalie Rushman was just an act. You don't have to keep up the positive reinforcement. Especially when it's so obvious."
A laugh escapes Tony's lips. She was right, of course. And he' d known every time he used 'good girl' on her and watched her perk up while pretending to play Natalie Rushman, that it was all just an act. Though…
"I suppose the weekend sex marathons are over then, hm? Pepper will be disappointed."
Natasha barely reacts, and she definitely doesn't try to say that they can continue such things. But he's pretty sure she actually does feel a little bad about losing the relationship with Pepper. A good sign for the future, if nothing else.
" Like I was saying before, Agent Romanoff. You already believe me about HYDRA, deep down inside. Now I just need to convince you that I can destroy them once and for all." "… And how are you going to do that?"
Grinning once more, Tony shrugs.
"Simple. I'm going to infiltrate the infiltrators. I'm going to pretend to join HYDRA, convince them I'm on their side, and then dismantle them from the inside."
The incredulous look Natasha gives him makes him want to laugh again. Instead, he just lets his grin grow.
"Give me a week."
Now the incredulity infects her tone as she parrots his words back to him in disbelief.
"A week."
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