Author's Note:

Hello! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but, I couldn't help myself! But bygones, here's the next part :D

Thank you ever so much for the lovely amount of reviews, so thank you so much: Javie-1998; supesfan18; RomanogersLucifer; maria. .jenson; gundamseeddestiny; IndianSweetGirl; Baibe; Sportsfan64; grossly-sweet; TheJollyRoger; Steelers1; Moustache123; LilyRose14; Princess2016; Amy Hamato.

Anyway, I know you all probably do not care about this yattering, you just want to see what happens!

Tony breathed a sigh of relief once the canister was safely in the box- he didn't want to waste the gas. He turned back to the other four, who were discussing the gas- well, not all of them. Natasha was looking slightly dazed. When she stumbled, he quickly stepped over to her and managed to catch her as she fell, unconscious almost immediately.

He looked at her in his arms, surprised at how light she was, did she ever eat? Looking up, he noticed the looks from the other three individuals, who had a mixture of emotions on their faces- the anger on Steve's was the most eye-catching.

Without hesitation, he slipped his arm under Natasha's legs and picked her up with ease, walking over to one of the tables. "Clear it." He ordered. Bruce swung his arm across it, throwing all of the paperwork and objects onto the floor- not exactly what he'd meant. Resting her on the table, he grabbed his tux jacket and used it as a pillow.

"I thought you said the gas was harmless!" Steve roared.

"It is, unless you have a certain chemical in your blood. I didn't know she…" Tony drifted off; he didn't have time to deal with Steve right now. He needed- what did he need? He needed to check her vitals. He had no idea what this gas would do; it was experimental- Tony hadn't considered using it on humans yet.

"Stark, what are you doing?" Steve demanded.

Bruce, thankfully, intervened, pressing a hand against Steve's chest to stop him from charging over. "He's making sure she's stable. We don't know the effects yet… and her having the chemical in her system..."

"Effects? What chemical?" Steve questioned, no calmer.

"Rhodey, bring me that machine," Tony ordered, pointing to a medical machine he still had from when he'd been dying. Rhodey didn't hesitate to follow the orders as he brought the machine over. Bruce looked at Tony hesitantly. "Just tell him, dammit." He spluttered, connecting the machine to Natasha. It was the best way to make sure all of her organs were working- he knew he should have just called in a doctor, but that could take too long.

"The chemical… it's used for extensive mind control and manipulation. We suspected that that would be the most likely chemical used on Bucky because of the effects and his memory loss." Bruce explained. "If he were to have a break, we wanted a defense."

"And you did this without informing me? Wait… then why did it affect… Oh God," Steve muttered, his voice getting weaker by the second as he obviously realised what that meant. "Natasha's been mind controlled… Where's Clint?"

Tony looked up. "Jarvis; Get Clint here- now." He didn't know how the other spy could be all that helpful, but he probably knew more about Natasha than anyone here. A sigh of relief left him once everything was connected- as far as he could gather, she was just in a deep sleep. "And get a doctor, too."

It was only after initial panic had faded that dread filled him completely. Pepper. The Wedding. Oh, shit. "Bruce, we have to wake Nat up… We can't do the wedding without the maid of honour."

Bruce frowned a little. "That's your biggest concern? Not finding out how to get her better? How do you know it's possible to wake her up at this point? The wedding can wait."

"You're right. Somebody go tell Pepper- I'll…" Tony paused. "Jarvis, run diagnostics. We need to get either the chemical or the gas out of Natasha's system."

"Right away, Sir." Jarvis replied.

"Stark, is this chemical harming her?" Steve asked tensely from the other side of the table.

"It's used to reprogram the brain," Tony answered shortly. To be honest, he didn't know enough about that particular chemical to know if it was harming her in any way. In fact, everything about what was happening was experimental- there was no way to determine if the gas was working as intended when it combined with the chemical. So far, though, it appeared to be working.

"Reprogram it to do what?" Steve seethed, deep concern glinting in his eyes as he scowled.

"Brainwashing, reprogramming, all of that jazz," Tony muttered in reply, checking Natasha's pulse manually- it seemed normal as her resting pulse.

Clint strolled in. "What's the emergency?" He asked casually, looking amused, but his expression instantly went dark at the sight of Natasha's unconscious body. "What did you do?" he growled violently.

Rhodey stepped over to him. "It was accidental, it's nobody's fault-" he shot Tony a 'you-owe-me-one' look, "-she was accidentally exposed to a gas that unexpectedly reacted with something in her system." He explained, hands placating. Spies could be very dangerous when they were as angry as Clint looked to be.

Clint's eyes narrowed. "And how was she exposed to that gas- Tony?" He asked pointedly, shoving past Rhodey and over to Natasha, looking her over.

"Why'd you blame me?" Tony questioned defensively but shrugged it off- it was, technically, his fault. "I need you to tell me how much of this chemical is in her system." He stated, getting it up on his computer, not sure if Clint would recognise the name or would need it explained- his computer showed it all.

"Why are you relying on his help for something not in his field?" Steve snapped before looking apologetically at Clint. "I don't mean to offend you, I swear. But this is her life we're talking about, and you're not a medical professional." He explained, taking Natasha's hand worriedly.

"Has Natasha told you about what happened to her in the Red Room? What she was put through?" Clint questioned and barely waited a beat. "Didn't think so. Half of that shit is not in her medical record- only I know it. Just because you two are fucking doesn't mean you know anything about-" He retorted rudely, only to be interrupted.

"Don't. You. DARE." Steve said dangerously, slamming a white-knuckled fist onto the table. "If you ever-" He cut himself off, clenching his jaw. His glare was full of pure malice and he seemed to be having a hard time holding it back.

Tony glanced between them. "Why don't we just pull out our junk and measure it later- right now…" He pointed to the screen impatiently.

"That chemical was injected into her amongst others during some of her 'treatments' at the Red Room." Clint answered instantly, barely glancing at the screen again. "Did you know that, Rogers?"

Steve's nose flared with anger but he remained silent.

Clint smirked and turned back to Tony. "Why does it matter?"

Tony held back a retort; there were more important things right now. "It reacted with a gas which put her to sleep- which was what the gas was supposed to do, but that means she'll be sleeping for four hours or so."

"Hours?" Rhodey questioned, wide-eyed.

"But she'll be okay?" Steve asked, ignoring Rhodey's reaction.

Bruce nodded. "It seems so, yes. She'll probably be disoriented when she wakes up, but health-wise she'll be alright." Steve sighed in relief, giving Natasha's hand a squeeze.

"Rhodey, go and greet the guests and tell them there's been a delay. Steve, can you go and get Pepper?" Tony ask-ordered, looking around at everybody. "Bruce and Clint, can you see if you can work out a counter based on how much she could have been exposed to?" He turned to his laptop. "Jarvis, I need all of the components of both chemicals- now." He finished.

"Yes, Sir." Jarvis replied, the list appearing on the screen.

Bruce grabbed Clint's arm and pulled him aside to begin the work on their assigned task.

Rhodey walked out of the room instantly, although he didn't look pleased with his assignment.

Steve was scowling- not directly at any specific person, but it was clear he was angry and distressed. "I'll be back in five minutes. Try not to gas anyone else, Stark." He snarked before leaving, footsteps heavier than usual.

"I'll gas you all if you don't shut up," Tony muttered, looking through all of the information so far- there must be some way to reverse it.

Pepper slipped her other shoe on and sighed. Where was Natasha? The ceremony was starting soon, and she needed her maid of honour! She paced the length of her room once more.

There was a hasty knock on the door and she shouted, "Come in!" Steve rushed in, a strange look on his face.

"Pepper, Tony sent me to get you. Come on, we need to get down to the lab." He said quickly, turning right back around and leaving the room. When she didn't follow, he returned. "Pepper, come on."

"The wedding is not happening in his lab, no matter how many times he asks." Pepper turned away from him, checking her lipstick and reapplying it. "Do you know where Natasha is?"

Steve stepped into the room further, looking very, very anxious. "There was an accident in the lab-"

She swung around, her eyes wide. "Is Tony okay?"

"He's fine, but- I'll let him explain it. Please, come on, I want to get back there." Steve almost begged.

Pepper spent about two seconds staring at herself in the dress before grabbing Tony's longest dressing gown and putting it on- it successfully hid the majority of her dress. She took off the veil and then rushed after Steve, who had once again left without her. Why had she chosen to wear three-inch heels?

She stopped short outside of the lab, having finally caught up with Steve. "Wait, is my dress hidden? Could I wait out here and talk through Jarvis?"

Steve looked at her with hesitation. "I'm not sure if there'll be a wedd-"

"What?!" Pepper screeched. What kind of emergency was this? She ended up barging into the laboratory. "What's going on?" She demanded right before her eyes fell on Natasha.

Tony approached with his hands up placatingly. "It was an accident, she'll be fine." He reassured.

"My maid of…" Pepper paused, letting out a frustrated sigh. "What happened to Natasha? Who knocked her out? Because I'm going to knock them out."

Tony winced. "It was kinda… me…" At her heated glare, he backed up just slightly. "It was an accident! I didn't think she'd react to the gas!" He defended, going to hide behind Steve.

"Stark, stop being childish." Steve scolded, moving away from the shorter man to stand by Natasha.

"If you didn't want to get married, there were better ways to stop the wedding than knocking my maid of honour out!" Pepper retorted, pretty much ignoring everybody. She heard that Natasha was okay, and as soon as she learnt that, she was happy to be pissed. She turned and stormed out of the lab.

"Pepper!" Tony called, sprinting after her. "Pepper, hang on." He grabbed her arm gently and stopped her, looking down into her eyes genuinely. "Of course I want to get married. I would never dream of trying to stop the wedding." He assured.

Pepper sighed. "You need to get back to Natasha. I'm going to change and we can talk this through later- when she isn't passed out in your lab and hopefully before she kills you."

Tony nodded slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright." He agreed, turning and heading back to the lab.

She groaned, walking back to her room, taking one last look in the mirror before picking up one of the clipboards, looking over all the arrangements. It shouldn't be too hard to get it moved to another time or day- she didn't want an ice sculpture, anyway. That was all Tony.

Natasha felt peaceful, like she was waking up from a dreamless sleep- one without nightmares. Everything was slowly fading into focus and she felt so relaxed- did she have a proper sleep? That didn't happen very often. First, she felt the surface of the metal table beneath, then the fogginess moved from her head and she heard voices.

"She should be awake by now."

"Relax, Capsicle. It takes time."

Steve was there, and Tony. She remembered everything going black and being caught by somebody; somebody who wasn't Steve- she would have recognised that instantly. But it was familiar. Who was in the room? It wasn't Bruce who had caught her. What did Rhodey's arms feel like? Tony? Tony caught her, and knocked her out. Was she angry at Tony? No. Shouldn't she be?

"Her vitals are picking up- that's good."

"Nat? Can you hear me?" The voice was quiet but right by her ear.

Natasha consciously kept her eyes closed; she wanted to get all of her senses back, work out what was going on in the room- she never fully relied on her sight. With a sniff, she opened her eyes after a second- they instantly scanned the room.

"She's awake!"

"Ask if she has any pain anywhere."

"Natasha," Steve asked, leaning closer to her, "Are you in any pain?" His eyes were bright with concern.

Natasha swiftly moved her left hand up and punched him in the face- it was a light punch. "That's for not catching me." She muttered before sitting up, ignoring the dizziness. When had Clint got here? And Pepper- oh god, she wasn't wearing her dress. "How long was I out for?"

Steve was clutching his face. "Ah! How did you know?" He demanded, shocked.

"About four hours," Tony informed, ignoring Steve.

Natasha nodded blankly for a few moments, four hours. Four hours. Four… Think Natasha, what happened in four hours. She looked up again, not knowing when she looked down. "The minister had a wedding after yours, but then was free, so I'm sure you could convince him to come back. We are barely in the reception time, so all the guests would still be here. Are we still doing the wedding? I don't want to hurt a groom on his wedding day." Natasha spoke, talking out loud to them all after she regained her thoughts. Although she still wasn't angry at Tony and looked at him. "Thanks for catching me." She added, looking around, mildly confused- but she couldn't work out what she was confused about.

Tony offered his trademark smirk. "No prob," He said, waving it off. "Jarvis, call the minister." He added, directing it towards the ceiling.

"Right away, Sir." Jarvis replied.

Pepper lurched forward and grabbed Natasha in a tight hug.

Natasha hugged her back, letting out a sigh. "Am I still wearing shoes?" She questioned randomly.

Clint stepped closer. "Yes, you're still wearing your high heels. I'm glad you are awake."

"Yeah, glad you aren't permanently damaged, Romanoff." Tony added. He patted her shoulder before jerking back when she pushed him. He quickly walked away from her and over to his computer terminal, typing furiously.

"Are you feeling okay?" Steve asked, clearly concerned but doing a pretty good job of not glomping her with it. He kept an adequate distance between them, and was eyeing her like she would sock him again if he moved.

Natasha stood up, looking around before focusing on him, and taking hold of his arm as she got her bearings- her legs felt like jelly. "Yes. I'm fine; thanks, Steve. But right now, we should focus on the wedding- after all, that's why we're all here."

He nodded understandingly, looking relieved. "You're right. Tony, the minister available?" He asked, moving one arm to her upper back to support her.

Tony nodded. "Yep. Was on his way home, but he was nice enough to fit us in." He explained, visibly adding to the minister's pay. "Ceremony's set for thirty minutes from now- everybody can get ready by then, right?"

"Thirty minutes!?" Pepper and Natasha exclaimed.

"Do you know how long it takes to get ready?" Pepper asked, gesturing to the tracksuit and trainers she wore.

Natasha held back a smile. "How about we go and get you ready, then?" She suggested, to which Pepper agreed immediately. "Tony- Don't touch anything. I'm trusting you guys to make sure he gets down the aisle in one piece." She broke from Steve and strutted out of the lab with Pepper- she didn't care how much effort it took, there was going to be a wedding. That was her duty as the maid-of-honour.

Thank you for reading!

Shout out for my CO-WRITER, ThisVioletofMine- Don't forget about her! :D