They were called in on another mission against Doctor Doom on a day that started as a five. Steve reminded Natasha of his promise when the call came, but Natasha stalwartly refused to miss out on a fresh chance to show Doom what she was made of. Despite being a little pale she was determined, and no one was about to dictate what they thought was best for her when she'd been figuring it out on her own longer than most of them had been alive - though of course only Steve knew that part.

Doombots were everywhere, an ample distraction from the real shebang, but Tony had already prepared for that with his most recent suit. It was able to scan any of the 'bots and instantly identify if Doom was actually inside or not. Luckily enough, Tony had had the presence of mind to make glasses with the same ability to help the team zero in on Doom as quickly as possible. The logic was easy enough: take Doom down, and the 'bots go down with him.

"Thor, a good dose of lightning should take 'em down en masse easy enough," Steve instructed, sending the golden god on his way. "Hulk, I know the glasses aren't fun but you gotta wear 'em, big guy, just for a little while. Hawkeye, get up high and try to find Waldo. Iron Man - Tony? - okay, well, he apparently knows what to do. Widow..."

They met eyes through the sheen of smoke in the air, already serenaded by the sound of Doombots exploding all around them, and Steve knew what she was thinking. Serum or not, they were only human. They didn't have gadgets that could operate at this scale, nor did they have perfect sight or the ability to fly. All they had was their stubborn pride. "You and me," he said firmly, "we stay down here, make sure there isn't any excess civilian damage. These things like to self-destruct and cause a ruckus. Let's give 'em hell."

She nodded with a prideful glint in her eye. "Captain." Pulling out her gun, she vanished seamlessly into the crowd. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, fighting against decoy robots, but once Steve figured out that jamming his shield just right into their neck joints cut off their power source. Made his job a lot easier, except he had to get in close to hit their sweet spots.

He only saw Natasha once before everything went to hell in a hand-basket. A streak of red and black caught in the corner of his vision, and he turned just in time to see Natasha scoop up a kid and shield him from a self-destructing Doombot with her body. Nine , Steve couldn't help thinking as he watched the flames lick at her back and singe the ends of her hair. "Widow, report."

When the noise died down he could hear Natasha's voice, murmuring indecipherable words to the boy in her arms before letting him go find shelter inside. "All good here, Cap," she responded. The visor on her specs were cracked, smoke softly rising from her back, but these things only served to make her look more dangerous, like something mythical thinly disguised as a human. Watching her dive back into the fray and wrench a 'bot's head clear off its body, Steve could have sworn his heart skipped a beat.

"Found him, Cap," Hawkeye reported, voice so calm he couldn't have been doing anything but taking aim. "He's on your eight, 'bout twenty yards off. Hard to get a clear shot when he's surrounded by toy soldiers, th-"

A crack of lightning interfered with their comm signal; when Steve turned he grinned. Apparently Thor had noticed Doom at the same time, because the 'bots surrounding him were lying in a smoking heap of rubble. The sensors in Steve's visor indicated there was a human under that robotic-looking exterior. "We got him pinned! Avengers, assemble!"

As Iron Man flew overhead Doom unsheathed what looked like a radar gun from under his cloak, and even though it didn't look like it shot anything, when he aimed and fired Tony's suit fell to pieces around him. Momentum kept him flying through the air, limbs uselessly flailing, until Thor swooped in and caught him. The same happened when Hawkeye shot an arrow from his perch; Doom aimed his gun and the arrow fell to pieces that bounced harmlessly off his armor - Clint could be heard cursing over the comm as his bow fell apart, too.

Steve ran far enough forward to get an advantage then chucked his shield, hoping to knock out Doom so they could bundle him off to SHIELD and finish with damage control. Sure enough, though, his shield fell to curling strips when Doom aimed his gun. "He's dismantled all our weapons," he needlessly reported.

"Not all of 'em."

Another smile threatened to break across his face at the sound of Natasha's voice in his ear, and his eyes almost instantly found her creeping along behind Doom with her Widow Bites charging. If ever there was an unbeatable weapon, it was Natasha Romanoff's strength of will.

Those who were unarmed took shelter from the Doombots where they could and tried to distract Doom to give Natasha a better advantage. He disarmed a few of his own mechanical henchmen with the gun when they started to malfunction from being hit by lightning or a falling piece of the Iron Man suit, Steve watching carefully, still trying to make sense of that gun. It was only when he rounded on Thor, and all that fell apart of his was a metal chain that Jane gave him, that the pieces clicked together with a bright white panic.

The gun didn't dismantle weapons. It dismantled metal.

"Natasha, don't! "

Only when he felt a burning sting did he realize that scream came from his own throat, but it was already too late. Natasha used the shoulders of a Doombot to launch herself toward their creator, Bites at the ready, and only feet away she was caught in his fire. The Bites fell apart but that was nothing to the look on her face, crowded with so much pain she could do nothing but go slack. Steve and Tony ran out of their hiding spots as Natasha overcame the excruciating pain just long enough to wrench off Doom's helmet before he threw her aside. Steve and Tony caught her like a rag doll, eased her to the ground, watched her wilt like a crown of flowers while Thor back-handed Doom into oblivion.

Gravel crunched as Clint ran over, dodging 'bots with steely determination in his face. "What happened?" he asked even though there was no question of him having seen everything.

"Doom's gun doesn't break down weapons, it's earth metals," Tony said gravely. The stuff that had been melded into Natasha's skeleton since she was a child, wiring her joints together.

Steve tried to imagine how it would feel for his bones to suddenly fall apart. It made him afraid to touch her.

A mighty roar to the left woke them up to Hulk's presence, who had been continuously smashing Doombots into rubble since he bloomed in Bruce's place. Now that he ran out of them to fight he was looking smaller and paler by the second, until Bruce was staggering their way. Tony again had to relay what happened because Steve was struck dumb.

"She's gonna need surgery, so many surgeries," Clint was muttering, looking terrified and very young. "She hates going under..."

Mjölnir hit the ground with a soft thud as Thor knelt beside them. "The scoundrel is ready for transport," he darkly announced. A glance showed that Doom had been bound with the god's cape. "Is there nothing that can be done for her?"

Shaking his head, Bruce looked up from where he'd been checking Natasha's pulse and temperature. "She needs medical treatment right away, but even so...I don't like her chances, even with intensive therapy and procedures," he regretfully said. "She could be permanently disabled, possibly disfigured. She may never walk again."

Horror dawned over the god's face, but was moments away chased down by determined hope. "I may know of someone who can help, but it will require travel. Will she survive?" he asked.

"I-it depends on the travel," stammered Bruce, though understanding was clear on his face, and Thor instantly nodded.

"I will be as direct as possible," he vowed, and turned his face skyward. A raven flew overhead. "Father, please. My friend is in urgent need of the Lady Eir. Bring my brethren and myself to her in haste, I beg of you."

There was a pause, just long enough for them to lose hope, and then the sky lit up around them. Steve flailed in panic and reflexively arranged himself to cover Natasha's prone body from whatever was happening. It was like the light in the air was pulled in, condensed, twined together like strands of silken floss, growing up from the ground at the speed of a roaring train. Blindingly bright, impossibly loud and yet silent at the same time, there was a rush of wind-not-wind, like static electricity, carrying them across an impregnable void, and when he opened his eyes he was in another world.

As if waking up in New York after seventy years wasn't bad enough. They weren't exposed to greater Asgard at present, apparently sent directly to an inner chamber of some sort. Steve clambered back to kneeling and looked around. If he weren't so worried he would be amazed. Space travel. Columns of what most closely resembled marble lined the room, embellished with gold and something vaguely turquoise-like, and a beautiful tapestry depicting a warrior being bathed in golden water adorning the long wall. They had been deposited on the floor of the long but intimate chamber, but Natasha was lying unmoving on a bronze pallet ringed by sweet herbs and warm bowls of oil.

"My Lord Thor," a woman's voice, loud and clear as a bell, called from the head of the room. Thor hastily stood, and those who could did the same. The Lady Eir was tall as Steve, with black hair that fell in a long braid down the center of her back. Steve found that he couldn't meet her gaze for more than moments at a time; there was something about her eyes, something fathomless and vivid, that set the hairs at his nape on end. "What is the meaning of such haste, that the All-Father himself would-?"

Thor gestured to Natasha, whose eyelids were flickering and lips twitching as she fought against the pain. How long would it take, Steve wondered with a lump in his throat, for her to force herself to become accustomed to this quality of life? "This maiden is one of Earth's mightiest warriors, and has been gravely injured beyond the means of her realm," Thor explained quickly. "You are her only hope."

"In what way?" asked Lady Eir, her slim bottomless eyes narrowing. Though her hands were folded, the index fingers bearing golden rings of each were tapping and twitching a frenetic rhythm. "She may be a warrior, but she is a Midgardian and her injuries are dire. There may be nothing left to be done but carry her through."

Steve exchanged a puzzled look with Tony, but Thor and Clint both instantly let out shouts of protest. The god cast the archer an odd look, but Clint merely bristled. "I do my homework," he grumbled and stepped toward Lady Eir. Steve expected him to yell or threaten in his usual style, but instead spoke just as respectfully (and with just as much urgency) as Thor. "My Lady, I understand your doubts, but Natasha Romanoff has many more years to live. She isn't just one of Earth's mightiest heroes - she's it. She's stronger than all of us and she can survive anything you have to do. Please, Madam Valkyrie, she isn't ready for Valhalla yet."

And yeah, they knew about Valhalla even if they hadn't initially understood Lady Eir's offer. Thor talked about the Heaven of the Gods (or at least that's how Tony equated it) all the time. It was every warrior's fate to be escorted by Valkyries into the shining halls, eternally honored, forever young.

It felt like Steve was going to throw up. This wasn't right. Natasha couldn't die yet.

"My Lady, I beg of you," continued Thor. "You are the most esteemed healer in all the Nine. I know that if ever one could perform miracles, it is the Lady Eir."

There was a mere pause as Lady Eir considered their pleas, but for some reason it seemed that civilizations were built and burned in her ever-reaching eyes in that short time. She unfolded her hands. "Go elsewhere so I may work in peace. You will be sought when I am finished, but know it will take time."

Thor kissed her hand and nodded for them to follow him out. His already long strides were fast; they barely had a chance to look over their shoulders at Natasha before the tall heavy doors were closing with a resounding bang. They were fed and given new clothes, tunics and breeches that were surprisingly comfortable, but the condition of their teammate dominated their minds. It could be days before they received news.