Natasha Kitty!

"Tony. Hey, Tony! Wake Up, something is horribly wrong!"

Tony rolled over and looked into the bright blue eyes of his blonde companion. "What's wrong, Steve?"

"Natasha is missing!"

He sat up quickly. "What?"

"Yeah, no one has seen her this morning!"

"She didn't go out?"

"I checked the log book, no one left this morning but me."

Tony pulled away the covers and grabbed a robe. Steve hopped off the bed. He heard a small noise behind him. He looked down and there stood a very fluffy white cat with mahogany fur spots. He picked it up. "A cat!"

Tony looked over. "What's a cat doing in here?" He walked over and petted its head.

"I don't know, but can we keep it? Please, Tony!"

"Why, we have Clint and Bruce, don't we?"

"Please, Tony! It's so cute, just look!"

The cat gave a meow. Tony sighed. "Fine."

"Whoo!"

Tony swore he saw the cat roll its eyes. He chuckled at both the notion, and the faces Steve was making. "Let's figure out what's going on, Steve."

"Right…" He set the cat down. It followed them to the dining hall, where the other Avengers had assembled. Clint walked up to them. "Anything?"

Steve shook his head. "Nothing."

He frowned. Tony patted his shoulder. "We'll figure it out."

Thor was shut-up in a corner staring at the cat that had followed Steve into the room. "Hey, Thor. You're pretty quiet. You have any ideas?"

"Nay, I am sorry."

The cat followed Steve around, constantly trying to get his attention. He would just make a face and then laugh and pet its head. "She's cute," Tony said as he and Steve sat on the couch. He rubbed her back. "Do you have a soft spot for animals or something?"

Steve shook his head. "It just felt like the right thing to do."

The cat nudged his hand with her head. He smiled and obliged, scratching her behind the ears. Her tail flicked and brushed against Tony's arm. Tony sighed loudly and laid his head on Steve's shoulder. "I should still be asleep…"

"Sorry, Tony."

He groaned and closed his eyes. "Just don't move, I'm comfortable."

Steve turned his head slightly and smiled a boyish smile. Tony opened his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing…"

Tony sat up straight and sat criss-cross, facing Steve, on the couch. "I love your faces, Steve, but you torture me with them."

The cat curled up on the top of the back of the couch. Steve turned to face Tony. "I know, and it's a lot of fun to do so."

Tony flicked his nose, and chuckled at the facial expression he made. "Stop the faces!"

"You flicked me in the nose!" He rubbed his nose until he sneezed, fell to the side and off the couch. Tony placed a hand on the leg of Steve's that remained on the couch. "Steve, are you alright?"

"Yeah…that was so graceful, right?"

Tony chuckled again. "Very, very graceful."

He slinked down next to him and placed a hand on his stomach. He leaned over and kissed Steve softly. The cat was watching with a warm expression. Steve smiled and his blue eyes lit up. Tony slapped the ground next to his head. "Faces, Steve, faces!"

Clint opened the door while the two were laughing. Tony looked over. "Anything yet?"

He shook his head and slinked into a chair. Steve rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. "She'll be fine, son."

Tony nodded. "For sure, she's a kick ass fighter and a helluva negotiator."

The cat jumped into Clint's lap, purring like mad. "She likes you," Steve pointed out. "A lot."

Tony pushed him over onto his back. "Stop that, you look like a model."

Clint kind of laughed. "Yeah, kinda."

Steve pulled his leg off the couch and sat up. Bruce and Thor entered the room. They occupied the couch. Steve placed his chin on Tony's shoulder from behind. Tony looked at his sad look, and everyone else's. He sighed. "Come on, guys. I'm sure everything is fine."

Thor was effected most by their pained expressions and could bear it no longer. "She is here, among us, my friends. I will let it pain you no longer. My brother hath transformed her into that cat there."

They all looked at the cat in Clint's lap. "What!"

"I am sorry I didn't tell you immediately, but my brother said he would kill her if I said anything."

"How do we get her back?"

"On its own, it will wear off within a week. My brother is the only one that can reverse it."

Clint looked into the eyes of Natasha the cat, and frowned. "I'm sorry, Tasha…"

She seemed to understand, and blinked in response. Tony sighed in relief, and looked at Steve, who also looked a bit more relieved. "I'm glad you said something, Steve…"

"Yeah, so am I. I just had a gut feeling that she needed to stay here."

Bruce cleared his throat. "So, without Loki, we just have to wait a week before it wears off?"

"Precisely, it will only take one week. Do not worry, my friends."

Clint petted Natasha the cat's head. "Loki has gone too far…What kind of sick game is he playing with us now?"

Tony shrugged. "Whatever it is, we must be prepared for it."

"It's definitely super-villain material to change someone into a cat," Steve said. "Animals are always a lot more threatening, especially a cat."

Tony looked at him fully and rolled his eyes. Natasha roamed over and sat in front of Steve, then slashed his arm with a clawed paw. "Ow, hey! What the hell was that for?"

She licked the paw, and then padded back to sit in Clint's lap. She stared at Steve intently. He stared at the small droplets of blood that pricked up along the slash in his arm. "Okay! So, it's a bit menacing! Ow, it stings!"

Tony took his arm an inspected it. "You're fine, Captain Klutz…now maybe you'll know not to mess with a cat, and even more so: Natasha."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

(A few mornings later…)

Steve returned from his daily morning run around the city. Tony tossed him a bottle of water as he walked into the kitchen. "Thanks…"

He opened it and drank it graciously. Bruce was in the kitchen as well, putting together a mixture of food to give to Natasha the cat for breakfast. Steve took a look, and grimaced. "Looks delicious…"

"Try it if you'd like, I want to know if it's good enough."

"No thanks…" Steve's nose wrinkled in distaste. "But I'm sure Tweety would do it for his girlfriend…"

Clint slapped him in the back of the head. "She's not my girlfriend, grandpa."

"Hey, she chose your lap to sit in."

The tips of Clint's ears turned red. "So?"

"Denial, son…" He took another gracious swig of water. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Curled up under the air conditioner… Even as a cat she likes the cold."

"She's insane…"

Tony tossed an apple at Steve, an even in his surprise, he caught it. "Is there anything special for breakfast this morning, other than Bruce's wonderful kitty concoction?"

"You're actually hungry this morning, Steve?"

"Eh, kind of."

Bruce set the bowl of kitty chow on the floor. "You know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Steve tossed the apple in the air a few times. "Yeah, yeah…most important…I'm just not always hungry."

"Ah, but shouldn't the Star Spangled Man with a Plan always eat right? At least, to be a role model for all those little kids that look up to you?" Tony asked in a mocking manner.

"It's not like it would matter. I have a metabolism that eats up alcohol and sugar like it's out of style…I'm not so worried about healthy foods. Sure, I'll endorse it. Doesn't mean I do it…" He took a bite of the apple. "And besides that…" He went up to Tony and poked his stomach. "I'm not the one you should be worried about…"

Tony scoffed, and looked at him and feigned a hurt look. "Are you somewhat implying that I need to lose weight, Steve?"

"Not at all…"

Natasha padded into the room quickly and meowed a good morning, then started chowing down on the food she was given. Bruce laughed. "I don't think she'll quite get over this one…"

"Not at all..." Tony pushed past Steve and opened the fridge. "But she can brag that she's been there, done that, and got the T-shirt…and a few hairballs too."

Clint sat next to her and petted her head. Steve cleared his throat. "I think you're in love, Tweety…Just admit it."

"Shut-up! I am not! I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Natasha the cat had changed back into Natasha the human, who had no clothes. She blinked and looked around. "Grand…"

She got up and walked out as the males all gazed at her. Steve patted Clint on the shoulder. "By all means…don't lie to yourself."

Clint groaned and slapped Steve's hand. "You're so god damn annoying, you know that!"

Tony and Bruce chuckled. Natasha walked back in with clothes on. "I hate you all…"

"What for? We didn't do a thing," Tony pointed out.

She gave him a pointed glare. "Exactly the point."

"What were we supposed to do? Ask Loki to change you back? It's not very likely that he would have."

She looked at Steve. "Thank you, Captain, for keeping me here."

"No problem…"

"I'm going to the bar…"

Tony walked into the bar, where Natasha sat sipping a drink. "Hey, not fair. I'm not allowed to drink in the morning, you aren't either."

"You haven't been a cat for a week. I've had to lick myself clean, and eat the food the Bruce made for me everyday…I deserve this."

"Ah…true, I guess…But hey, it's good to have you back."

"Yeah…So, you and Steve, hm?"

"What? Oh, yeah. The night before you changed into a cat…he and I kind of…bonded."

"I think he'll be good for you, help you come out of the fog you've been in for so long. And you can help him in the same way."

"I plan on it…but hey, really. It's really good to have you back."

"That was one of the worst things I've ever felt…"

Tony half laughed. "I think Clint is happy you're back too…"

"Leave him alone…"

"He likes you, and I know you like him, so why don't you do something about it?"

Natasha remained quiet. "What did he say to change you into a cat?"

She looked at him. "What?"

"What did he say? Like...a magic spell or something."

"No…he just pointed at me and said 'kitty catty, catty kitty.' Just like that."

"I see…" Tony stroked his goatee. "Just that?"

"Yeah."

He gained the most evil of schemes in his mind, but he needed to find the right time to play it out.