No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity thrown in for lolz.

No offense intended to we fic writers here. I love us all.

Chapter 4

Thor and Natasha arrived back at the tower for the worst of it. Audrey spent a night on the bathroom floor, claiming that the cool tile helped as the fur grew in, covering her body. Bruce had to excuse himself when her vocal chords gave way from human crying into loud, eardrum rumbling leonine roars, trying to diminish the pain by expressing it vocally. To everyone and no one's surprise, it was Tony who hung closest.

He put off meetings with the R&D department, and explained the situation to Pepper within earshot of where Audrey was. He was honest with Pepper that part of it was his guilt for bringing her here, and part of it was he was experienced with long-term, severe pain. Pepper had acknowledged that, and then told him sternly to get some sleep and something to eat. She then took to sending food up to them at regular intervals. Steve had managed to keep both Tony and Audrey fed to a bare minimum level, and that was fine with him for now.

It was the next afternoon when things finally got quiet. Natasha took one look at the heap of bodies on the guestroom's bathroom floor and sighed. No one was moving. "Tasha." Tony said, too tired to bother saying her entire name. "Welcome to the party... Oh, hey Thor. Nice to have you back."

Tony was sitting with his back up against the side of the wide, tiled shower in jeans and a thin, hooded sweatshirt. One hand was massaging Audrey's neck, and the other was around the neck of a bottle of scotch. Audrey looked up in passing at the new arrivals but then laid her head back on the floor, a deep, lion growl emanated from her chest and the back of her throat. Steve was seated on the floor on the other side of the shower, drinking a coffee, and working on a plate of sandwiches. Mac was cuddled up close to Steve, and as close to the sandwiches as he was allowed to be.

"Friend Tony, Bruce has told us of your exploits these past days." Thor said. "Might we be of assistance?"

"You guys look like hell." Natasha said. Clint was lurking somewhere in the background, angling to get Mac's attention to take him for a walk.

"How dare you acknowledge me as anything other than a pretty, pretty princess." Tony said, and pointed at her with the bottle of scotch still in hand. Natasha grinned. If Stark was still making snarky comments, he was okay.

"Oh, then I'm one too." Steve said eagerly. Everyone else stared at him gape mouthed. "What? I haven't been awake as long as you and I look good in spangles." He grinned around a bite of pastrami on rye.

"Oh, me three then. Princess all the way. Bring me ball gown and a pumpkin. I could dance." Audrey mumbled into the tile. Tony brightened at that.

"Hey Auds, welcome back to the land of the sentient beings." Tony said. Audrey tentatively moved her arm to look at her hand. She was met with the sight of a blue-green furry arm, longer and more muscled than she remembered it being.

"Well there goes my ink." She said. "How bad, Tony?" She said, closing her eyes and trying to deny the existence of light as a concept. Her head was pounding, and she knew that was because her skull was differently shaped now. She could feel the new shape of her mouth, and it took concentrated effort to create words.

"It's..." Tony started, and then took a breath. "You are your father's daughter. Longer. Leaner. More feline than simian overall." He admitted.

"Figured as much." She said. "Think it's over?"

"I don't know. It'll be over when it's over. What some tea? I can text Bruce and tell him the roaring has quieted down. No wondering where the lions are in this tower, let me tell you."

"Sure... And, some soup maybe... I dunno. I... I can smell everything. Eating is going to be different now." She said.

"Oh yeah? And how do I smell after this long hanging out on the floor in a small space with you?" Tony asked.

"Like the fucking pretty, pretty princess you are." She said.

"Just for that I'm telling Bruce to bring Meow-Mix." Tony said.

"Die in a fire, Stark." She grumbled back. Mac had given up on food, and upon hearing Audrey speaking, was on his feet, sniffing at her. She reached up and dug the back of her knuckles into his fur. "Good boy. Such a very good boy through all this." She said. With supreme effort, she rolled on to her side, and Mac settled in next to her, sniffing her fur carefully, and licking here and there.

"I can see why you like her, Stark." Natasha said.

"She's like a non-violent version of you. It's sort of awesome. My balls don't try to retreat into my abdomen when I'm talking with her." Tony replied. The side of Natasha's mouth quirked up in a smile for a moment. "And I only say that as flattery. I know that's what you're going for. It's a good mystique. It sure as hell keeps me in line. Mostly because I'm more aerodynamic when they've receded... It worked for Lance Armstrong."

"Tony, if I have to hear one more thing about your scrotum while I'm eating, I am going to embed my shield in the back of your head." Steve said.

"Oh it's not that bad. I manscape within acceptable levels. It's only polite... Which also increases how aerodynamic I am... I'm streamlined. I'm a Leer jet." Tony said, and took a belt off the bottle of scotch. He then set it down in order to pull out his phone to get Bruce. Steve glared at Tony, and swallowed the bite of sandwich he had as a defiant act of consciously not picturing Tony's hairless balls.

"A pretty pink princess Leer jet?" Audrey asked from the floor.

"Pink with spangles." Steve said and grinned at her.

"And on that note, I will now do absolutely anything to get away from this conversation before Tony tries to make it a reality. You mind if I take Mac out for a walk, Audrey?" Clint asked.

"Please." She said. Slowly, oh so slowly, Audrey sat up. She looked like every inch of her was in agony. She was trembling and her muscles went into spasm here and there. Mac nudged her and she carefully ran her hands over him. "Good boy." She said again, and he was gentle as he licked her cheek. She looked up at Thor and Natasha in the doorway. "Hi." She said.

"Very pleased to make your acquaintance." Thor said in a gentle tone. He held out his hand, and Audrey made motion to shake it, when Thor took her hand and kissed the back of it, bowing low.

"Nice to meet you too. Chivalry... Cool." She said.

"He's foreign." Tony explained.

"I gathered that." Audrey replied. Mac took his cue from Audrey and tentatively sniffed at Thor.

"Hello there, fine fellow. Rare to see a Midgardian hound so large." He said, and let Mac sniff his hand.

"This is Mac. He's pretty friendly unless he doesn't like what's happening to me and there's no one else around to trust." She said, already weary from the effort of sitting up. Clint shimmied in, holding Mac's leash. Mac looked hopefully at Audrey, who nodded to Clint. "Go on. I'll be here when your get back." She said. Then she gave in and wrapped her arms around him in a full on hug. Mac squirmed to get closer and mouthed at her sweatshirt. Her appearance meant nothing to him, and that helped a lot. "Go on, be a good boy... And don't you dare not pick up after him, Clint." Audrey said.

"Hey, I've had a dog, alright? I know what I'm doing." Clint said.

"I know you do. And I can't thank you enough for thinking to look after him." Audrey said. Clint paused as he met Audrey's changed eyes. She hadn't seen them yet, so Clint sure as shit wasn't going to make an issue of them. Not that he cared. What he was uncomfortable with was praise. He wasn't used to people directly praising him for anything. Especially his thoughtfulness.

"Your mutt's got good taste in people. Except for Tony of course." Clint said with a grin, and stood up. "Come on, Thor. We're going for walkies and a beer run. You're coming with me."

Clint and Thor left, Bruce arrived, and then he and Natasha settled on the bathroom floor. Audrey was up against the wall, bravely looking herself over now and again, but avoided the mirror and reflective surfaces. Bruce set Audrey up with a mug of tea and a simple broth soup. It took some effort, but eventually she mastered bringing the spoon to her mouth in her unfamiliar body. Nobody said anything about it, and let her take her time, which she was grateful for.

"I'm Natasha. It's nice to meet you. Clint has been telling me about you. He really likes Mac." Natasha said carefully.

"Everyone likes Mac. He's an insatiable flirt. Especially if you have oatmeal cookies." Audrey said. "And it's nice to meet you too."

"I'd ask how you were feeling, but I think I Tony would attempt to chew my face off." Natasha said.

"And I would fail spectacularly. But I would still try. Even at the expense of my dental work. What can I say? I like her." Tony agreed. Audrey's face pulled back in a grin, and she knew she exposing teeth that would make it look more like a threat than a smile. She would have to be careful of that from now on.

"Thank you for defending my honour." Audrey said. She delicately tried for the mug, and managed it.

"I am a gentleman." Tony said.

"If you're a gentleman, then I'm a pretty, pretty princess, Stark." Natasha said. Audrey grinned. "Clint was fairly quiet on where you're from in your dimension. Bruce mentioned something about a farm though." She was trying to gather information, because by all accounts, no one here had vetted her properly yet.

"Yeah, what part of Canada are you from?" Steve asked. All eyes looked at him.

"How did you get that out of her? She's been asleep or screaming most of the time. I at least had her birth records and social media accounts." Tony said.

"She said her grandfather was in the forces that liberated Bergen-Belsen. That happened a few days before... Just before I went into the ice... It was the British and Canadians who did it. She doesn't have a British accent, so I'm assuming that you'll have to rethink your position on free-range murder of Canadian citizens, Tony. The other option was that her British citizen grandparents moved here after the war, but I'm not sure about that judging by her accent... McCoy is kind of a hippie. I wouldn't put it past him to place Audrey in a country with socialized medicine." Steve said.

"Guelph, Ontario." Audrey said.

"And they have a large animal veterinary and agricultural program at the university there. I did a few guest lectures there once. Oh, that makes so much sense." Bruce said.

"I flunked out. I don't... do... school." Audrey admitted. "So I moved closer to Lake Huron to catch tourist traffic in the summer."

"Holy shit, Sherlock Holmes. I'm jealous. I'm actually jealous." Tony said to Steve, and offered him the bottle of scotch. Steve shrugged, and took the bottle and a healthy belt of his own off of it. It was rare that he got something over on Tony in the logic department, so he figured it was reason enough to celebrate.

"Okay lovely people, I gotta pee. Out please." Audrey said.

"I'll stay." Natasha said.

"Shy bladder." Audrey replied and looked meaningfully at the mirror. "I'll just be a minute."

"I don't think you should do that. Alone. Just yet." Bruce said carefully.

"Too bad. Have to. Sooner rather than later." Audrey replied.

"She's right." Tony said, and started slowly getting to his feet. Steve beat him there and offered Tony a hand. "You get three minutes." Audrey nodded in agreement, and they left her and Steve closed the door gently. Audrey used the counter, put her furry hand with its clawed fingers on it, and hauled herself up. It was easier than she thought it was going to be, but it hurt like hell. She looked at the reflection of her hands first. She was getting sort of used to that. Sort of. She took a deep breath, and then looked up, full at her face in the mirror. She didn't bring her hand up to hide her reflection, nor did she try to destroy the mirror.

"Lion." She said softly, now surprised at how easily her mouth and throat made the word. She wasn't expecting such a normal sounding voice out of this face. "Fuck." She said. Blue. So blue. The fur was the colour of a tropical ocean. Her eyes were green. Also leonine. The teeth were the worst. There were fangs in her mouth now, and some remote part of her was simultaneously worried and was laughing hysterically at the idea of dental checkups now. She sighed, and her eyes drifted down. She had two minutes now to relieve her bladder, because she knew that Tony would be back in here whether she was finished or not. She did so, and was glad that the fur was much shorter on her hands when she washed them. There were leathery pads on her fingertips and palms.

She was still wearing the sweats from before, though a fresh set. She didn't want to think about them changing her into them while she was out of it. She knew that the fur covered her. She could feel the clothing pulling at it gently. Her face was bad enough. She didn't want to think about the rest of her for now. Not that Tony would probably give her any option. That was probably for the best though. There was no denying or hiding from this.

Right on cue, Tony tapped on the door twice and walked in. He found her staring at her reflection and leaning heavily on the counter. "Hey." He said quietly and stood beside her. He met her eyes via the mirror's refection. She'd bent at the waist to lean her weight on the counter, and he eyes were at the same level as the arc reactor on Tony's chest.

"Hey." She replied.

"Want to move the bullshit pity party to the bed? I installed one of those mattresses that heats and cools. I figured you're probably going to be a lot warmer than you used to be."

"I'm not even allowed five minutes of self-revulsion?" She asked.

"Fuck no. You're a mutant. Not a monster. There is nothing to revile. It's just your biology... And when you're feeling less like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag, you're going to discover some cool things about yourself."

"And then start the countdown until Rule 34 kicks in." She said. Tony laughed quietly.

"Oh god, and you've hanging around with me and Steve... The slash fic writers are going to love and or hate that, depending on their tolerance for furry." Tony teased.

"Sorry Tony, I don't think it was meant to be. Sex with you would probably be all geometry, physics, and quotes from heist movies. I think my brain would melt." She said. Tony gaped at her, then shrugged.

"You're not far off the mark there. But only the really good heist movies." He said and she laughed. "Come on. Coulson liberated some more of that Malbec from my stash. The thief."

"I'm already fucked up on enough pot to drop a moose."

"And you're still freaking out. Clearly, it's not doing enough to kill your bad feelings. You need to relax, and you need to feel normal. Social interaction is going to help with that." Tony said. "Come on, the gang's all going to hang out for a bit until you can sleep again. You'd be a shitty host if you hid in here all night." Tony held out his hand. Audrey sighed and stood up straight. She was a little embarrassed that she was taller than Tony now, but ignored it.

"If anybody makes an Avatar joke, I am going to figure out how to use these teeth." She said.

"If anybody makes an Avatar joke, I am going to mock them for watching that piece of shit movie." Tony replied. "While you're using your teeth." Audrey grinned and took his hand.