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The Black Widow hasn't been seen much since her return from the USSR. Whatever happened, must have been quite intense, considering for the most part she's been left to her own devices aside for occasional checkups from Peggy. But now, she suddenly shows up in HQ's science lab, clad in her tactical catsuit. Quite a stark difference from the dress code of most SHIELD operatives. Her blue eyes sweep the room, looking for Fitz, the man she came to see.
Fitz looked tired and standing there talking to the voice on the other side of the intercom. Hands were in the air remaining calm and definitely not choking the life out of the speaker. Nope. We were good… weeee were good. "Nooo, Don't attach the coupling to that it goes to the exhaust- you know what? Leave it. I'll look at it over lunch." For the love of everything patient. He pinched the bridge of his nose, heard boots, looked up. Eyeing Agent Romanov he held up a finger for pause as the voice over the coms said, *Are you sure? Because I could-* Fitz snapped, "Yes I'm sure, I bloody built-" Deep breath. "Yes I'm certain it's no trouble at all. Tell Fury it'll be ready on time. I'll just… do it myself. Fitz out." And with that he clicked off the red switch on the speaker box and took a minute, hands holding the edge of the metal table. Breaaaathing. Looking up, quieter and calmer he greeted, "Agent Romanov, I… apologize. That was- it doesn't matter. How, um, how are you?"
"Leopold James Fitz…," Natasha starts with the name as she looks directly at Agent Fitz once her eyes lock on him. "Of course it doesn't matter, that is the way with genius, is it not?" She muses, approaching ever so slowly. Something nearly predatorial about her gait, the way she carries herself, and yet, there is the assurance from Director Carter that she is not a threat. So who knows. "I was wondering, now that we are more or less aligned, if there was something you might do for me…"
There was that mixed response the Widow was good at where she could really make a fella want to run; either towards or from it didn't matter. The engineer arched an eyebrow not certain which one he should be considering doing so he stood still. He reasoned, "Well, yes. Sometimes." He aused and added watching her watching him watch her. "Usually. More or less. What's the um, what's the job?" A hand lifted to rub the back of his neck, tiredly at the end of a long day, though equally to make the hairs lay back down.
"A while back…I had a very vivid dream, and I suspect I wasn't the only one to have it…" she levels her gaze directly with Fitz, giving him a moment to consider her words, before she asks outright, "does the Queen of Nevers mean anything to you…?" If it doesn't, the name is ambigous enough to potentially mean any ol' codename for any ol' project, so there's that.
Fitz listened and rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, "It…sounds like folklore to me. Nothing concrete, no. THough," The Scotsman considered his words thoughtfully, "Well you have me curious. THis doesn't have to do with the weird catastrophe and the easy bake oven does it?" He had to ask and seemed hesitant to say that out loud, not because it was incriminating, but that it sounded incredibly stupid and he was certain Clint would cut into him about that later.
Natasha looks at Fitz with a deadpan expression, not looking to giveaway anything. "Have you been to the USSR lately? Say in some underground city…? Maybe dreamed of such an operation…?" She tries a different angle. She shakes her head to mark a negative on the easy bake oven fiasco, whatever that was, she doesn't ask. She knows better. "I was speaking of vivid dreams, but if you have no such recollection, it doesn't matter. I was going to ask for a specific tool, you can fabricate tools for ops, can you not?"
Fitz wa not only likely to give an answer but possibly evidence involving crumbs and sadness and chocolaty sorrows drizzled in melted plastic. Best not to ask. She asked about dreams and the USSR though and the colour slightly drained from his face eyeing her carefully. "Someone dind't make me… do something did they?" His eyes widened though he hung tight until more data came in, one hand fidgeting until he became aware of the habit which he abruptly stopped. "That is, I might have." He looked around and reasoned, "I can. I build all my own gear. Is this about the tech I had in the thing?"
"You're a player in the world of spycraft, Fitz, I daresay none of us truly know when they are played," there's a fun fact to consider from Natasha's many years of experience. Someone really aught to let her be incharge of pep talks. "No…but it is a tech from 'the thing' such as it is." She makes circles of her fingers and holds them up to her eyes, "I am curious if you could make me googles, with nightvision technology, infra-red, whatever works…it matters not to Widow if he recalls her glowing red googles from the Nevers. It doesn't actually matters how it looks, regardless, in the USSR she found she could really use such a tool. Some dreams become nightmares, and some nightmares become reality. One must be ready.
Fitz rubbed his jaw thoughtfully with a nod listening. His eyes looked past her to the far edge of the room and beyond. The engineer was quiet for a long while answering with example, "When we were heading in I remember… I have augmented lenses we took nd boosted from an old '38 design and later a an advanced model from '44. I wasn't on that project, obviously, but I've been poking at a few things to try to make them lighter?" He looked back to her and if she was on there side, the other side or her own it didn't seem to matter to him. She had clearance and that, for him, was good enough. "It's actually been somehting I've been working on but I haven't said anything yet because Barton will find a way to break them or keep them." Also pretyty par for the course.
Natasha lowers her finger-made googles from her eyes, having made her point, and listens to what Fitz has to say, nodding throughout his words. "Can you make something that's easily fit a circular pouch?" Not unlike the many circular pouches masked as golden decorations along her belt. She grins as Fitz voices his concerns about Barton, "I have a better idea, let's not tell Barton, and I can keep them instead," a playful wink soon follows. Was this a joke at Barton's expense? Or was this a statement of intent?
Fitz added dryly, "If I don't make them in purple he won't want them." His eyes fell to her belt and held out a hand. "I'm assuming to conceal and quick carry? Can I see your belt?" That request made he walked to the other end of his construction table and stacked a few things to make space. He moved his protractor, Pentel pencils in ocher and blue and looked up. "The difficulty we run into is night vision, and infrared as going to require power and have a wave reader and become heavy. The smaller you make them the heavier they stay and the more unwieldy they become to wear. THis… has not stopped us from developing a jet with vertical take-off."
Natasha looks down at her belt, she seems hesitant, but eventually moves to unhook one of the circular golden decorations, handing that to Fitz. "There's a trick to it," a release button, no doubt, hidden in the design. Should he manage to open it, he'll find this particular pouch held a white powder. "Harmless," is what Natasha will say should Fitz open it. "Do you think it possible?" She asks, before snorting at the idea of color preference, "black or red tend to be colors I am comfortable with. But luckily, I'm not fickle like our friend Barton." She follows Fitz to his work table, and nods at the difficulties he raises, "I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a hardware kind of girl, I just use it, I don't make it. So, what you're saying, is it's feasible, with enough genius sprinkled into it? Just not very likely…? I have patience."
Fitz watched the release and the catcha nd turned that, too, over in his hand examining it. He murmured somehting about an improved release trigger to support the weight and a back clip that might support as part of the lenses. "Well I don't know as at this time they'll be a quick on but I'm getting ideas where we can make it blend." He paused and looked ot her with apology or maybe plead, "Aww jsut don't shoot Barton wiht a tranq dart." He sighed and added, "and not let me get that on camera." Priorities. Yes he had to examine the white stuff too. "This a bi-chromatic titanium oxide for lifting fingerprints?" An eyebrow went up to her and added, "Because if it's not I may need to make you one."
"I'll make note of it," Natasha remarks, a playful grin on her lips as she takes notes of Fitz's position about Barton. She shakes her head at the suggestion about the use of the powder, and lifts a gloved hand, "I already solve fingerprints with gloves…this specific powder is to throw in suspicious eyes if worst case scenario occurs. Rather effective last resort." She has much better option after all, which she's not about to discuss at the moment. Though truth be told, SHIELD likely knows most of her tricks from the time she was imprsioned and all of her gear was tested.
Fitz held up the discus and asked clearly enamored by the science, "Can I keep this for now? I want to see what I can make it do. You should have options." He turned it to look at the back side with interest and amusement, "They're cute. I have this idea I want to make them stackable. Possibly with a collapsible blade edge for utility or defensive need. Fairly aerodynamic… I don't know we're getting enough utility out of these, yet. But I can work on the goggles." He looked up to her trying not to make the pleasepleaseplease let me build your toys and play with this thing look. You are a scientist, Fitzy. Make the Science Face(tm). Ahem.
"If it'll help in devising a night vision implement, most certainly, consider it a gift," Natasha speaks in a force of habit, as she blows Fitz a kiss, "with my compliments." With that, she turns to head out of the lab, only offering, "I appreciate your assistance. If you'll excuse me, I have other things to see to, till next time."
Fitz set his jaw nodding appreciatively. His ears, bless him, turned red, though he was, in the end, a professional first. "Yeah I'll Um, I'll keep you posted. See what else we Can have you test out for us too. Thanks for the, um, well… thanks. I"ll… I'm going to go back to-" The speaker kicked up with a voice on the other end *Hey this coupling doesn't fit the tube here* Now was a good time to leave unless one wanted to see an engineer lose it at people that don't listen.