AN: As I'm now running out of clever ways to say I don't own Marvel, this will be my last disclaimer for the story. I don't own Marvel! Though even if I did, I'd still probably write fanfiction. It's just too much fun not to!
Chapter 2
Dad and I talked for a long time, during which he assured me that he had no idea who was behind the assassination. "I think Secretary Pierce will be taking over, at least for now. Maybe Hill will be later on, but for now, it's Pierce."
"I've never liked him," I confessed.
"You didn't like Director Fury, either," he reminded, and I could hear him smiling.
"Well, at least I had a good reason for disliking Fury. I mean, if I could have at least told Clint and Tasha that you're alive, I would have liked him better. But no, none of the Avengers got to know, and I have to keep this huge secret from my friends."
"Would you rather have not known?"
"No! Of course not! I just wish they could know, too," I replied.
"I know, but for now, that information is classified. And I hate to do this, but I've really got to go, Sweetheart. Sky and Fitzsimmons are trying to reconstruct the Bus, and I want to make sure nothing explodes."
"Okay, I love you, Dad. Be safe!"
"You too." And then a click.
I wandered out of my room and back to the kitchen, thinking over everything Dad had told me. I was a bit lost in my thoughts when I got back to the others, so Tony asking "So?" totally threw me for a minute.
"So what?" I really had no idea what he was talking about.
"So what does your mysterious source have to say?" he prompted. At my attempted confused face, he scoffed. "We all know that's where you went. You had a little chat with your source, the one you refuse to name."
"You're just jealous that I know things and people you don't," I teased.
"What's the news?" Darcy interrupted. "We want to know what's going on!"
Giving in, I told them all that Dad had told me, while carefully concealing the fact that he'd been the one to tell me. Even though I knew why I couldn't tell them, I still greatly disliked basically lying to them.
The topic eventually moved to other places, but my mind stayed on it. "You ok?" I sent that text to two people, the ones that I knew would be the most affected by Fury's death.
Steve texted me back quickly, "I'm ok", but Tasha took a while. "I will be", finally came back to me, just before I went to bed that night. I was pretty sure Steve was lying to me, but I couldn't do anything about helping either one. And I hated it.
My illness seemed to be finally on the run the next morning. I could think straight, and my head didn't feel like it was going to explode from pressure. I took another ridiculously long shower, before getting ready for the day. And I made it upstairs just in time to see Darcy pulling scrumptious-looking muffins out of the oven. "You are going to be the reason I need new jeans," I moaned, before grabbing two, along with a glass of her fabulous orange smoothie.
"Oh, please! You're so tiny, just like Jane! And besides, you work anything you eat off. I've seen you in the gym. You even managed to get Clint on his butt," she countered.
"It was once, and because Tasha came in looking like a bombshell. Even more than usual," I told her.
"Itsy Bitsy did look fine," Tony said, coming into the kitchen looking like he hadn't slept the night before. But at Pepper's raised eyebrow, he quickly amended, "But no more so than you do every day, most beautiful Pepper."
"Tony, did you even sleep last night?" I questioned.
"Yes, I did, thank you, Mommy," he snarked.
I doubted him, so I asked JARVIS. He contradicted his creator. "Traitor," Tony mumbled.
"We've talked about this, Tony. You need to actually sleep every night, not just when you drop from exhaustion. Do you want a repeat of May?" I was referring to when he'd sort of cracked the year before, having panic attacks and other symptoms of PTSD. I still felt a bit guilty that I hadn't caught it earlier, but I hardly saw him, since he and Pepper had been splitting their time between New York and Malibu still. We'd had several good talks, after the first one where I'd had to have JARVIS lock us in his lab until he did.
"I'll sleep tomorrow," he said, slightly chastened.
"You will sleep tonight, whether or not I have to drug you," I promised.
"Whatever happened to 'Do no harm'? I thought you had to take some kind of oath to become a doctor," he muttered, but I knew he didn't mean it.
"I won't be doing any harm. I'll be helping you." My smile was rather sarcastic, just the way he liked it.
"I see how it is. I take you in to my home, out of the goodness of my heart, and you just come and take over, telling me how to live my life."
"You're such a drama queen, Stark." Clint's voice surprised us all, but then I turned to look at him. The smile that had started to form when I heard him fell when I actually saw him.
"What happened to you?" came from several mouths, but of course, Tony was so much more eloquent.
"You look like you went through a human-sized paper shredder."
Clint laughed hollowly. "I feel like it."
And that was my cue. "Is Bruce down in the lab, JARVIS?" I asked, already walking toward my brother.
"Yes, Miss Emily. Would you like me to send him to the medical center?"
"Please. Come on, Robin Hood. Let's go patch you up."
I took Clint's arm and threw it over my shoulder, letting him lean on me, since his leg looked like it might collapse at any moment. And then it did. I would have gone down, with Clint on top of me, if Thor hadn't been coming in from the elevator right then. "Let me help, Clint. I'm quite a bit sturdier than Emily."
"Yeah, just a bit," Clint laughed breathlessly, still trying to be tough. I knew that would last until we actually got him taken care of. Then he would be a little baby.
We got him down to the med center, where Bruce was waiting for us. Tony had put it in a few weeks after we first moved in, once he realized that being a superhero entailed a lot of fights, and a lot of fights meant a lot of hurts. He left me in charge of designing it, since I was the one who patched them up. And nobody was stupid enough to mess with my setup.
Taking care of Clint took more than an hour, even with Bruce helping me. "I'm starting to think Tony was right, Clint," I told my patient. "You didn't happen to fall into a human-sized paper shredder, did you?"
His laugh turned into a hiss as I swiped a particularly nasty cut on his face. "No, Em, I didn't."
"Then what happened?" Bruce asked.
"It's classified," the spy told us, but I somehow didn't believe him.
"It's not classified," I said. "You're just embarrassed!"
The pink tinge to his cheeks confirmed it. "Fine, but you can't tell Tony. Or Nat." When Bruce and I both nodded, he sighed. "I followed my target back to his headquarters, but our intel never said anything about him hiding in an alley that was infested with feral cats."
I stared at him, trying to wrap my head around the information I was just given. Then, when Bruce let out a little snort of laughter, I broke down laughing. I couldn't help it! "You- You got attacked… by cats!" My words came out in gasps, from laughing so hard.
"Laugh it up, Chuckles," Clint said darkly. "But until you have five creepy cats chasing you, you can't say a word."
"You realize that I have to give you a rabies shot now, right?" I asked, fighting to keep a straight face. I failed miserably.
"I hate you," he muttered, but rolled his sleeve obediently.
I gave him the necessary shot, which Tony, Bruce, and I had worked on combining into a one-time thing, instead of over a month or more. It was a good thing, too, since who knew if Clint would even be around in time to get the rest, otherwise. I also gave him some pain meds, since he winced anytime Bruce or I looked at him.
We left the babbling spy on the bed, before heading back to where we'd been before Clint had shown up. Bruce was intent on his lab, and I was hoping some of Darcy's muffins were still around when our phones went off, once again simultaneously. Shooting worried looks at each other, we pulled them out. The message on them paralyzed me for a moment, before running towards the elevator, Bruce right next to me.
"JARVIS, tell everyone to meet us in the living room, please," Bruce said, since we weren't sure exactly where everyone else was.
"They are already waiting for you, Dr. Banner." The cool British voice did nothing to soothe my anxiety. Nor did Tony screaming as soon as we exited, "What the holy crap is going on?"
A dim part of my brain registered his censoring for me, but most of me didn't care. "Why on earth would Steve be on the run from SHIELD?" I asked, more confused than I'd ever been.
"You don't know anything?" Darcy asked me. "I mean, you are his best friend."
"No, we haven't talked for a few days. I texted him yesterday, just to make sure he was okay after Fury's death, but we haven't really talked. Between missions for him, and research for me, we just haven't had much time."
"But he's wanted in connection to Fury's death. That's really bad," she said.
"Thank you, Darcy, for stating the obvious," Tony snarked.
"He must know something he wouldn't tell Pierce," Bruce muttered, ignoring his friend. We were all pretty used to it by then, anyway. That's just how Tony was when he was upset.
"We can't trust SHIELD right now," Jane said quietly. "We know Steve, and he wouldn't go against SHIELD, unless it was really important. Which means we can't trust the people who employ us."
That sent a figurative shock wave through us all. "What do we do?" Darcy whispered.
"We all stay here," Thor stated. "Until we know what is going on with Steven, we must all stay here."
"He's right," I added. "We don't know who to trust, except for the people in this room, Clint, Tasha, and Steve."
"JARVIS, lock down the private floors," Tony commanded. "Nobody gets in here until I say so."
"Of course, Sir. Would you like me to try calling Captain Rogers?" the invisible butler asked.
"You might as well."
"I doubt he'll answer, but you can try," I told him.
Tony shrugged, waiting with the rest of us as we heard the ringing. Unsurprisingly, it went to voicemail. "It's Steve, please leave a message."
"Oh, I'll leave you a message," Tony muttered, but I overrode him. "Steve, call us back as soon as you get this. We're worried about you. Please call us."
After that failed attempt, we sort of floated around the Tower, not really knowing what to do. After half an hour, Tony mumbled something about fixing something and headed to his workshop. Bruce went back to his lab, with Jane following him. Darcy wrangled Thor into helping her clean up the kitchen. And I was left to stare at my phone, willing it to ring.
When it did, I jumped about a mile in the air, before snatching it up from where it had fallen to the floor. My relief was short-lived when I realized it was another all-SHIELD message. "Agent Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow, has shown herself to be in league with Captain America. All SHIELD personnel are required to report any sighting of either fugitives directly to Secretary Pierce."
"Not likely," I muttered, deleting the message with a vengeance.
"What's going on?" Darcy asked, eyes wide as she came back to the living room, Thor trailing behind her and looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. And that included the time I watched him take his little brother home in chains and a muzzle.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," I promised.
Over the next hour, I called Steve and Tasha continuously, calling one, then when they didn't answer, hanging up and calling the other. I was getting a bit frustrated, and more than a bit concerned, so the next time Tasha's phone went to voicemail, I exploded. "Natalia Alianovna Romanova, if you don't answer this minute, I'll-"
"You'll what, kotenok?" she asked in amusement.
Relief flooding through me, I shrugged. "I hadn't gotten that far, so it's a good thing you answered."
She laughed. "Like you would hurt me."
"You don't know how worried I've been the last hour or so. And tell Steve he needs to answer his phone next time, too. But what is going on, Tasha? Why are you two on the run from SHIELD?"
"We're not sure, not yet. Fury suspected something, and that's what got him killed. We're going to try and find out. But don't trust Pierce, Emily. We think he's involved somehow."
"Yeah, you and me both. But where are you? We'll come meet you guys and help," I offered, already heading to Tony's workshop.
"No, you all have to stay there. The more of us involved, the easier it will be for SHIELD to find us," Tasha warned. "Keep everyone there in the Tower, even Clint when he gets back."
"He is back, and you know he's not going to listen to me, Tasha. Not when you're in trouble."
"You've got to, Em. I can't see him hurt because of me. Please, keep him there, no matter what you have to do. Keep him safe," she whispered.
I caved at the terror she was hiding in her voice. "Alright, but please let us know if something changes," I begged. "If you need our help at all, you let us know."
"I will, kotenok. Stay safe, okay?"
I snorted. "You're the one doing dangerous stuff, but you tell me to stay safe. Right."
"Exactly." She was back to normal, now. "And Steve seconds that."
"You both had better return in one piece, or I will do something very scary to you," I promised. "I'll figure out exactly what that is later, but come back to us."
"Will do," Tasha said, totally smirking. "Love you, kotenok."
"Love you, too, starshaya sestra," I replied, before she hung up.
I knew it was bad, if she was telling me she loved me. That sounded way too much like a goodbye, even though she promised to come back. But even if she had no intention of keeping her promise, I wasn't about to break mine. So I headed back down to the med center, grabbed a syringe and a bottle of morphine. "Sorry, Clint," I whispered, before plunging the needle into his IV. "On this one, I agree with Tasha. But only because you're already hurt. I'm sorry."
Kissing my big brother's forehead, I watched him sleep for a moment, making sure everything was okay with at least one person I loved. Then I headed to the lab, asking JARVIS to have everyone meet me there.
Once we were all together again, I relayed my conversation with Tasha. About fifteen seconds of silence, and then, "We've gotta help them," Tony exploded. "We've gotta help them."
"Natasha was right, Tony," Pepper said. "The more people there are, the more likely SHIELD will catch them."
"But they're my team, Pep," he pleaded. I knew he really meant his family, and I knew exactly how he felt.
Unfortunately, logic told me I had to disagree with him. "I know how you feel, Tony. It's my big sister and my best friend out there. I want to go help them with everything that I am, but instead, I just drugged my big brother to keep him here. And don't think I won't do it to you, either, if you try to sneak out. Because Natasha was right. And besides, we don't even know where they are."
"I installed tracking devices on their phones," he scoffed. "We could find them."
"Agent Romanoff disabled the tracking on both phones, Sir," JARVIS announced.
"She can figure out how to disable Tony's secret tracking devices, but she can't figure out how to change the ringtones?" Darcy marvelled.
"She secretly likes them," I smiled. "So she hasn't really tried."
"That means that you do, too," Tony said, switching into ADHD mode. "Otherwise, you would have figured out by now how to change them."
"JARVIS told me how to the same day you gave me the phone," I confessed. "So yes, I like them. Except when small children singing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' is what I wake up to from fevered dreams."
Tony grinned, about to crow in his own genius, but Bruce cut him off. "So what do we do now?"
I sighed, brought back from our momentary distraction. "We wait, Bruce. That's all we can do. Wait, and maybe pray."
AN: Here is the next chapter! And it's a pretty long one, too. Thanks to all who've reviewed/followed/favorited. All Grown Up already has 16 favorites and 20 follows, and that's just for the first chapter. You guys are too good to me and Emily. Thanks for sticking with us.
Also, just in case you forgot, kotenok is Russian for kitten, and starshaya sestra means big sister. I think that was all the Russian in this chapter. If I've forgotten something, just send me a review or PM and I'll let you know.