Natasha

Steve

Thor

Clint

"Report. How's the situation on your end, Hawkeye?"

Clint glanced down at the surrounding area, "Enemy appears to be neutralized, but I can't be sure."

"What do you mean?" Steve's voice grates across his eardrum.

"I mean, big, slimy and ugly is lying on the ground, but I haven't shot him yet."

It was true. Clint had been too busy avoiding getting slimed to even think about loading the target full of arrows. Honestly, these villains were getting just ridiculous. Last week, they had to deal with a mad scientist's mutated ferrets. The week before that, it was a fat man with a tricked out remote control. Now, to top off the already disturbingly disgusting sunday, was a large, snot rocket… thing. He didn't want to call it a monster, because who knows? Maybe it's just misunderstood? Could it have only wanted a friend? It might have had a name, a family.

Maybe a hot snot rocket girlfriend.

Or, it could just be a slime monster.

Or, he could be over-thinking it.

Yeah….

Maybe he should talk to Bruce after this.

Buzz "Clint? Report. Is the creature down?"

With his bow secured on his back, the archer gripped the crumbling concrete wall. Taking each step in stride, he began the slow decent down the 5 story building. It's times like these that he wished he hadn't declined the offer of rocket boots from Toni. Not that he would ask now, that would give her something to brag about at every chance. God knows she doesn't need the ego boost. Finally, he reached a safe jumping distance. Leaping off the wall and successfully lading, he crouched against the cracked pavement, bow in hand and already locked on the grounded target. After a quick inhalation of air, Clint released his arrow into the creature's side, replacing the missing arrow in an instant.

When 3 minutes passed, Clint reported back, "Roger, Rogers."

"Ha-Ha, you're just so clever, Clint. I've haven't heard that one a million times before."

Clint smirked, "Only for you, Stevie Wonder."

Pause. "Stevie Who?"

Sigh, "How are the others faring?"

A very feminine voice echoed in his ears, "Everything clear on this end."

Clint smirked, Natasha…

A loud, boisterous voice echoed next, "AGREED, MY BROTHEREN!"

He could practically picture everyone covering their ears, considering the apparent scuffling sounds. Holding back a chuckle, Clint heard Natasha speak calmly through the comm. link, "Thor, inside voice. We've talked about this."

"Apologies. Though the battle wrought for many hours, our plight has proven victorious! The foul beast can no longer reign terror in this realm."

"Is Brucey boy back? Or is jolly green still rampant?"

"Bruce is with me on the west pavilion, Should we meet back at the tower?"

"Affirmative, let S.H.I.E.L.D deal with clean up. We'll report for debrief at 0800."

"Speaking of de-briefing, where's Toni?" Clint chuckled at the growl that followed his sentence.

"Already back at the tower getting medical treatment," Steve said, "and I suggest not saying that again."

"Aw, c'mon Cap-"

"Clint."

"Shutting up."

Toni's forehead hurt.

No, scratch that.

Toni's everything hurt.

She glared at the bright lights through her eyelids "Jarvis, lights at 10%"

Waiting impatiently, Toni hissed, "Jarvis! God damn it, it's too fucking bright."

Slowly, the bright light dimmed into a reasonable shadow. Strangely, an English accent hadn't responded, though that could just be the reaction to her hangover. Had she been drinking last night? That makes more sense than anything else. Maybe she got drunk last night in the lab, and Steve, or Bruce, carried her to bed. But that wouldn't explain the lack of warm muscle on her back. Cap had been pissed the last time she drank, he probably chose the couch as a punishment. Pft. Diva… Whatever, his loss.

Toni didn't care. Nope, not at all.

As she attempted to sit up, waves of nausea swamped her already writhing in horrendous pain senses. Fighting against the blinding urge to vomit and curl up in a ball, the Iron Woman allowed her fingers to illicit information of whatever room she woke up in. Laying her hands flat, she felt soft pools of silk sway away from her fingertips. Strange… Toni didn't recall ever having silk sheets in the tower. Sure, she had them in her other homes (mainly for when she had 'guests'), but she was 99.878% sure that he covers were cotton. The brief terror of possible adultery passed her frontal lobe, before being squashed down. No matter how much she denied it, Toni cared about Steve; loved even. Of course, if accused of allowing such emotions to be expressed, Toni would push it off with a smirk and a smug comment. But if Toni wasn't home, then where…

Oh, right.

Loki.

Snapping her eyes open and ignoring the urge to puke, Toni took in her surrounding area. She was currently laying on a black and green silk comforter. Why was she not shocked? Carefully pushing herself up, she glanced around, hoping for a glimpse of her (not so) humble host. It took only a moment to realize that the room had been rarely lived in, if at all. White walls dripping in grime, and floor covered in a light dust. Wherever she was, it clearly wasn't her tower. Forcing herself into an upright position, she steadied herself on both arms, and attempted to stop her head from spinning. Dear lord, she felt woozy.

"Please do not soil the sheets. The queasiness shall linger for a time yet."

Toni, wisely, turned her head slowly towards the trickster god, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Fuck you very much. Maybe next time you'll warn a girl before doing your trippy voodoo."

Loki smirked back at her from across the room, "Magic and voodoo are two very different things, Lady Stark. I'm afraid I wrongly assumed that a proclaimed intellect of this realm would know something so menial."

Wow. Low blow. Time to pull out the big guns.

"Your just asking for your brother to take you back to Asguard in a hand basket, aren't cha?" Toni smiled innocently as she received the desired result.

Loki 's smirk fell, and morphed into a scowl. He opened his palms, as a tray of food and water formed out of thin air. He leisurely set it on the dresser, glanced at her once more, and then vanished. Green smoke lingered in the area where he had been standing moments ago, taking up the area between her and the nutrients. Not that Toni cared, she wasn't hungry anyway. Honestly, did he expect her to just eat something without having anyways of testing it? And he was calling her an idiot.

Shit. She forgot about her abdomen.

"Fuck…"

'She should have been here by now.'

Steve paced irritably in front of the large window wall in the penthouse. When he arrived back at the tower, naturally he left for Toni's workshop. He wasn't going to hold his breath and assume that she had actually thought of her own health for once, and had actually froze halfway down the stairs at the lack of blaring ACDC. Now that was strange. There was never a time in the Avengers tower that music wasn't blasting through the floors.

'Maybe she went over to Peppers,' Steve tried to reason with himself, 'I'm sure she made it home.'

"Having fun pacing, Capcicle? Working up a heat? Pretty sure you can't refreeze during the winter."

Steve twirled around, catching the sway of a red garment resting on curved hips, and smiled.

"Toni!"

Apologies for taking so long. Thanks for reading, please R&R.