10. Make it or break it... mostly break it.

"What did you think you were doing?" Clint demanded angrily as they descended the spiral staircase, their feet clicking in rapid staccato.

"I thought I was saving someone who was about three minutes from dying when I got to him," Betty answered.

"Come on guys, don't fight!" Darcy lamented, hurrying after them.

"It was stupid and risky and you could have been killed," Clint countered. "And I told you to go get Coulson!"

"I have the utmost respect for Coulson but he's a far cry from a doctor," Betty countered firmly. "And I'm sorry you're upset but I stand by my decision." The thudding sound was growing louder and more incessant, the rumble reverberating though the walls.

"Oh let it go, Clint," Natasha sighed in exasperation as they hurried down the corridor. "Just how many times have you countermanded Coulson?"

"That's different!" Clint protested.

"Because you're the one who made the call?" she asked, shooting him a look. "Rogers and I should start a club for people who are still alive because someone didn't listen to their SHIELD issued handler."

"Nat that stings," Clint protested, his face contorting in a pained expression.

"Oh there is a hell of a good story there," Pepper declared as she hurried past them to the central staircase. "I'm making one of you tell that later."

"I can hear everything you're saying," Coulson reminded over the coms.

"And let me just say how glad I am you're back in the driver's seat!" Clint declared as they burst through the door to the gym. Clint tore open the weapon's locker, lifting his bow off the rack.

"I think someone's trying to force though the fire doors on the stairwell," Natasha declared, staring at the doors that were starting to buckle under the endless pounding.

"I'm not getting any clear readings," Coulson replied. "But I'm picking up squads converging on that position. Whatever's beyond that door, it's not going to be pretty."

"Call it, Nat," Pepper declared.

"Barton, up high," Natasha ordered, he made a run for her and she crouched down, catching his foot in her hand and heaving him upward. Clint grasped the backboard of the basketball hoop, pulling himself up and scrambling into the scaffolding that mounted it to the wall.

"It's a good thing Thor broke the cheap one," Clint observed, setting an arrow to his bow and taking aim over the backboard. "I've got a titanium alloy shield and you don't Nat!"

"Darcy, stay inside the doorway of the firing range," Natasha commanded, grasping her arm and shoving the door open.

"But!" She looked terrified and for a moment something in Natasha's expression softened, but only a moment.

"The walls are reinforced against repulser fire, they'll stop a bullet easy," She instructed. "If they start shooting at you, pull back and wait for the reload."

"This was not in my conceal/carry class," Darcy declared, reloading the fresh battery clip that Natasha handed her in the modified gun. "And I'm really put out that I didn't get to facebook any of this. I want that on record." Natasha only smirked, rushing to take position in the middle of the gym.

"What the hell is this thing?" she asked as Betty tossed her a monstrosity that looked like a cross between a rocket launcher and a water canon.

"STARK Industries bad idea of the week," Pepper replied, fitting a pair of repulsers on her hands as Betty hoisted a gun of her own, taking aim at the door.

"Whatever comes though that door," Clint shouted. "Stand your ground."

"Oh you did not just Lord of the Rings me!" Natasha groaned in disgust.

"I want new friends!" Darcy insisted angrily.

"The day may come!" Clint fairly crowed back. "But it's not this day."

"Shut up, Legolas," Natasha snapped.

"I cannot get this stupid thing off," Jane huffed in frustration, her fingers gently probing the back of Thor's neck as she searched for a release button. He grasped hold of her hand, pulling it to his lips and kissing her fingertips.

"Leave it, Jane," Thor advised gently. "there are more vital concerns at the moment."

"I think you and Tony and Steve with weird technology on your spines is pretty vital," she replied, crossing the rec room and sweeping up the first aid kit.

"You don't need to do that," Phil stated as she began to clean and bandage his shoulder wound.

"I ought to be doing something useful," She replied. "I know I'm not much good in a fight."

"You've got two good arms," Tony observed, drily. "You're better in a fight than the rest of the room. No offense Coulson."

"I resent that," Steve stated, wrapping his afghan more tightly around his shoulders as he huddled in the corner of the sofa.

"You can't stand up, Capcicle," Tony observed.

"I can stand up," Steve protested, glaring up at the ceiling, his head lolling over the back of the couch. "I just fall back down again."

"Thanks, Jane," Phil gave her a smile as she taped off the bandage, returning his attention to the security feeds. Tony heaved himself to his feet, stumbling slightly as he headed for the bar.

"You do not need a drink, Tony, sit down!" Jane protested with a scowl.

"Even I'm not dumb enough to mix freaky tech and alcohol," he rolled his eyes, collapsing in one of the bar stools. "I need to check something." He pulled up the computer interface, leaning heavily on the bar.

"Do you feel that this device is impairing your senses?" Thor asked curiously as he slumped on the carpet.

"Yes," Steve and Tony answered in unison.

"Jane, did you pick up a surgeons' field kit when you raided the labs?" Steve asked. Jane looked up from where she was rolling up the leftover bandages.

"Why?" she asked cautiously.

"You need to try cutting this thing out," He stated.

"There is something really wrong with you," Tony declared, his eyes never leaving the holodisplay.

"Steven," Thor chided gently.

"I can handle the pain," Steve insisted. "It's not like anesthesia works on me anyway so..."

"It's anchored to your spine, Steve!" Jane declared, horrified. "I'm not cutting into you! I'm not a medical doctor!"

"I'll heal."

"Good," Thor stated and he reached over and cuffed Steve sharply in the back of the head. Captain America turned a withering glare on him. "You'll heal." Thor repeated firmly.

"I'm kind of wishing I'd volunteered to shoot things," Jane sighed in exasperation.

The door began to warp, buckling on its hinges as the pounding continued. Darcy covered her ears with her hands, cringing at the sound reverberated through the room. The door burst free with a mighty crack pieces of it skittering across the floor. Pepper winced, keeping one palm trained on the door. A shape moved in the cloud of dust, lumbering into the room and rising to its full height.

"Oh thank god, Bruce!" Natasha sighed in relief.

"Nat look out!" Clint shouted. Hulk let out a roar his fists coming down on the floor in a violent strike, splintering the hardwood and sending it scattering in all directions.

"Bruce!" Betty shouted, Pepper grabbed hold of her, pulling her back.

"Time to stand down, Agent Romanov," Ross declared smugly a cloying smile curling his lips.

"I think we both know I'm not going to do that," She stated emotionlessly. "What have you done to Banner."

"I put your dog on a leash," Natasha's head jerked up at the new voice, her eyes widening in revulsion.

"Dr. Sterns?" Betty's voice warbled in horror. "what have you done?"

"Agent Romanov," Sterns declared, stepping forward, a computer pad clutched in his hands. "I've been so looking forward to seeing you again." His fingers ghosted over the pad and Hulk reached out menacingly his hand hovering over Natasha.

"No!" he shouted, his face contorting in anger as he clearly struggled in vain to stop himself. The arrow pierced the air, embedding in Hulk's shoulder and slowly, ever so slowly, he sank to his knees, his head lolling as he transformed.

"Tell Stark score one for his new tranks," Clint declared into the coms with satisfaction.

"Sterns!" Ross bellowed, his face turing red in anger.

"Relax, general," Sterns soothed. "Remember your blood pressure." his fingers tapped on the tablet again and Bruce's head jerked back, his eyes turning green.

"Bruce?" Pepper called to him in panic as Betty gaped horrified.

"I'm not going to let you do this!" Bruce shouted, his face contorting in pain at the effort of controlling the transformation. A second arrow flew dead at Sterns chest but at the last second it deflected away.

"I know you're out there, Agent Barton," Sterns declared with a grin, his bulbous head tilting to the side coyly. "Don't think I didn't come prepared to deal with you. And when I find you I will deal with you."

"Let him go." a gun clattered to the floor and Betty stepped forward slow, determined strides carrying her across the room.

"Doctor!" Natasha hissed. Betty ignored her, stopping just a handful of yards from where Bruce convulsed on his hands and knees.

"You let him go right now," Betty repeated, her eyes dark and angry as she turned to glare at her fater. "And don't you ever come back here."

"You shouldn't let your little girl talk to you like that," Sterns mocked lightly. He ignored Ross' withering look, smiling at Betty before adjusting his controls. Bruce let out a pained scream and Betty made to rush to him but a second later Natasha's fingers were digging into her writs, pulling her back as the Hulk emerged with a deafening roar.

"I wouldn't try that again if I were you, Barton!" Sterns taunted. "That much tranquilizer in his system would easily be enough to kill him."

"Bruce?" Betty gasped out. Hulk's fist swung out in their direction and Natasha gave her shove, tumbling out of the way.

"Don't you just love my control system?" Sterns asked. "It's so elegant, so refined, so intuitive, the height of artificial intelligence. All I have to do is select the targets and it goes straight to work."

"Betty, Clint, Darcy keep the grunts back!" Natasha ordered as Hulk took a swing at Pepper and she slipped by him expertly. Darcy let off a series of shots, taking out Ross' men as they barreled though the shattered door.

"No!" Hulk raged, his fists pounding the floor as Natasha and Pepper dogged, taking shots at the soldiers when they could manage.

"Coulson we could use Stark's brain right about now!" Clint bellowed into the com.

"Stark's brain is on hiatus," Coulson admitted, wincing as the engineer slumped against the bar groggily, rubbing his head.

"What did they do to Bruce?" Jane asked in horror, scuttling down the stairs and tossing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt at Steve before leaning over Phil's shoulder.

"From my readings he would appear to be under the influence of a control mechanism similar to the one used on Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers and Thor," JARVIS declared. "Only much more advanced."

"I'm not seeing a control disk like the others," Natasha stated, expertly sliding out of the way of Hulk's arm.

"JARVIS, can you scan him?" Jane requested. Bio readings for the Hulk came up and she squinted at them worriedly. "They're sub-dermal."

"Say that again?" Clint demanded.

"They're sub-dermal!" Jane repeated frantically. "Dozens of them, they're controlling all his major muscle groups."

"They must have been trying to do the same thing with me," Steve nodded blearily, struggling to stuff one leg in his pants. "But my body rejected them."

"If that's why you look like swiss cheese I think I'm going to be sick," Tony declared, curling up in a heap on the floor beside the bar.

"How do we shut it down?" Natasha demanded,

"I don't know," Jane shook her head. "I'm not having any luck with the ones here. I've tried everything I can think of and the only change is that they all seem to be getting sicker."

"Whatever the control agent is, it must be creating a toxic reaction," Betty remarked.

"Won't that kill them eventually?" Pepper demanded.

"Eventually," Betty agreed. "But clearly that version of the technology is meant to be temporary."

"We have to shut this down," Phil insisted. "the repercussions of someone like Ross having an army of superhumans under his absolute control."

"I'm open for suggestions!" Natasha replied.

"Tony?" Jane hurried to him, kneeling on the floor and grabbing him by the shoulders. "I need to borrow your brain for a bit."

"I don't want to go to school, mom, I don't feel good," he mumbled.

"This is my life, these are my choices," Jane sighed as Tony curled up with his head in her lap, hugging her knee.

"Jane?" Darcy's voice was strained and her stomach twisted nervously as she untangled herself from Tony's grasp, hurrying back to Coulson.

"What is it?" she asked worriedly.

"Jane, you're brilliant," Darcy insisted.

"Really Darc?" she sighed in exasperation. "Flattery is not going to help."

"No listen to me!" Darcy let out a squeak and Jane looked up at the video feed of Darcy cowering in the doorway as gunfire spattered the concrete wall. "You are, you're a genius! You're just too stupid to realize it!"

"Darcy, we need to talk about being helpful," Phil observed.

"Just listen!" Darcy fairly shrieked. "It's why everyone in the astrophysics department at Culver hated you! And it's why everyone here loves you! You're a genius, there are things in your head I couldn't begin to grasp and you can figure this out, I'm telling you it's there in your head and you can fix it."

"I can't Darcy," She answered, a tear trickling down her face. "I'm sorry but I can't"

"I'm telling you Jane I believe in you!" Darcy insisted vehemently. "You are going to save my life. I've seen it a hundred times. Any second now the solution's going to hit you like a bolt of lightening!"

"Darcy, I..." her voice trailed off. The gunfire bursting over the coms dissolving into a soft patter at the edge of her senses as her eyes grew wide. "A bolt of lighting." She whispered.

"Jane?" Phil gave her a worried look as a dreamy expression bloomed on her face.

"Darcy you beautiful genius!" Jane squealed.

"What happened to flattery not helping?" Darcy demanded angrily. Jane bolted across the room to the bar, pushing aside Tony's research and bringing up her own set of readings.

"JARVIS, I need the power status numbers for floor thirteen!" She looked down at the carpet with a frown. "Tony let go of my ankle."

"Tell me you have an idea Jane," Natasha called over the com, Jane looked up at the video feed in time to see the redhead barely avoid being flattened by a green fist. "we can't keep this up forever."

"The systems are all electrical, the control mechanisms, Stern's shield, all of it." Jane stated. "We need to shut it all down."

"Great," Pepper agreed. "How?"

"A bolt of lightening," Jane replied.

"What?" Natasha demanded.

"Ocean-13," Jane stated.

"I thought everything below fifty was dead," Pepper shouted.

"It is," Phil nodded.

"I can fix it," Jane insisted, grasping up a bag of tools they'd raided from Tony's lab. "I just need to go down and trip the breakers, boot it back up. Once it goes off you'll have three minutes."

"If we do this," Natasha began.

"Don't think," Clint called, interrupting her. "Go Jane, hurry."

"Barton!" Phil declared warningly as Jane ran for the elevator.

"I'll be fine!" Clint insisted. "Get that thing up and running, Jane!"

"I'm on my way!" Jane insisted as the doors closed. She stared up at the numbers on the lift, drawing in a deep breath.

"JARVIS, Clint's implant?" She asked in a small voice. "The one that helps him walk. If I set this off will it be destroyed?"

"The device is very heavily shielded," JARVIS assured.

"But it'll probably need to reboot," She observed. "He'd be vulnerable, he could be injured or killed."

"That assessment is sound," JARVIS agreed.

"The others could be injured or killed if I don't," she added.

"That assessment is also sound," JARVIS agreed.

"Glad we straightened that out," Jane observed as the door dinged open.

Notes:

Spoilers for "If the Night Runs Over":

Clint sustains a spinal injury that leaves him a paraplegic. As he deals with the loss of his life as he's known it, his teammates deal with the loss themselves in their own way. Tony's way was to spend nearly every waking moment for eight months developing an implant to bypass the damage. Clint is completely fine now, and the implant is so small that most of the time he doesn't even think about it. Natasha and Phil think about it quite a bit, they're protective like that, but the rest of the team is just happy to have him back in action.