Ok. So here's the deal.
I have nothing prewritten after this. Literally finished this moments before posting. Ergo, chapters could start getting farther apart. I have no plot- stupid of me- beyond a few key events. I have to figure out what, exactly, I'm doing with this. Perhaps I can just take a month, sit down, and complete it, maybe January. But until I get some more stuff written, I've got nothing.
Updates could be few and far between.
I'm so sorry, guys.
I hope you enjoy the chapter. Things get considerably darker here. The overall tone of the story could take a dismal turn after this. I hope you enjoyed the fun.
Until we meet again, enjoy!
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They arrived back at the tower a few hours later, all worn out and damp from their snowball fights and ice skating. After showers and changing, they reconvened in the main lounge to sort out wrapping paper and presents and deposit them in their rooms.
All was going smoothly. Jane and Pepper had taken charge, working perfectly in tandem to get the younger set to stuff wrapping paper into trash bags and the elders to sort presents, when the well-oiled machine came to a grinding halt.
"Claire?!" Nathan's frantic voice rang over the loud rustling of paper. "Claire- what- SH*T!"
Everyone spun to see him ripping a piece of wrapping paper out of Claire's hands. It was a cheery blue, with candy canes dancing on it, but Claire was shaking and staring at it with huge eyes, frame trembling. She started taking huge breaths, shaking her head as she shoved away from it. Nathan threw it behind him and moved to her side, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
The younger set was in motion in an instant. Stephanie was a blur as she darted to Claire's side, dropping to her knees beside the girl. Lori and Lena instantly backed off, Lena hiding Lori behind her. Tasha sprinted for the bar, Brenda for the elevator. Tasha returned in an instant with a glass of water and hovered a few feet away from Claire, Nathan, and Stephanie, while Stephanie began to talk.
"Hey- Claire, hey, listen to me. It's Stephanie. You remember me, right?" Claire nodded, and Stephanie kept talking. "Good. It's in the past, Claire- you're safe and with friends. Brenda's gone to get your meds. Where are they?"
Claire started to say something, but stopped and started taking huge breaths, over exaggerated, that didn't seem to be filling her lungs. "Claire!" Stephanie repeated her name, placing her hand over one of Claire's. "You're safe, sweetie. It's in the past. We're all here. C'mon, you've gotta tell me where the meds are so I can tell Brenda."
Still shaking, Claire nodded and gulped. "Backpack, side pocket," she whispered, slamming her eyes closed and squeezing them shut tightly.
Nathan looked up at the ceiling. "Already relayed to Miss Banner," Jarvis said, voice almost concerned. "She's on her way up."
Nathan nodded and returned to paying attention to Claire. Stephanie kept talking as the older set started to recover from the shock of the past few moment's events.
Tasha noticed them moving and angrily gestured for them to get back. Lena and Lori sidled over to them, Lena still blocking Lori from view. "She gets panic attacks ever so often," Lori explained, voice barely above a whisper. "She's got a few triggers- that blue color's the biggest one. Can't remember any others off the top of my head, but once she's set off she can connect the dots to random things." She looked away, and Lena finished the thought.
"Lori can make the panic attacks worse."
The elevator doors dinged and Brenda stepped out, hurrying over to them with a hand outstretched. Nathan took the pills and the glass of water Tasha'd been holding and handed them to Claire. She stared at his hand unseeingly for several moments, before Stephanie prompted her, "It's your meds and a glass of water, Claire. It's safe."
Claire slowly took the meds and downed them quickly, chugging the entire glass of water. She sat completely still and shuddered, rocking herself as her eyes stared unseeingly into space. Nathan gently pulled her into a hug; when she didn't resist, he practically pulled her into his lap and rocked back and forth. The others drew back a bit, helping to conceal Lori from Claire's sight.
Stephanie took a deep, shaky breath. "I thought she said she'd gotten over them," she murmured to no one in particular.
"'S what she told me," Tasha muttered, sounding disgruntled. "Obviously she was faking it."
Nathan gathered her into his arms and stood up, holding her like a small child. Claire buried her head into his shoulder as her shoulders began to shake.
"Shhhhhhh," Nathan murmured. "Shhhhh, it's ok, love. We're all here. You're perfectly safe." He slowly began walking to the elevator; Clint hurried to press the button and reached out to take Claire from her boyfriend.
"Claire, is it ok if Clint takes you?" Nathan asked quietly, rubbing her back gently. She nodded, and he gently passed her off, brow bent with worry as Clint and Claire vanished into the elevator.
"She'll be ok," Stephanie said wearily, walking over to Nathan. She pressed one hand to the small of her back and stretched for a moment, an insignificant movement that Natasha seemed to catch and pay attention to. The blonde rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. "He'll understand what she's going through…"
"And I don't?" he asked softly. She tried to backpedal, but he silently vanished as well, leaving her to sigh and go sit down once again, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them as she stared blankly at the fire in the hearth.
Tasha walked over to the bar. After a furtive glance around, grabbed a crystalline bottle of some liquor and poured herself a glass. Brenda saw and made a beeline for her, smacking her hand away from the glass and dumping the contents down the drain. "Water or apple juice," she growled softly, all too aware of eyes on her and Tasha. "We need you sober, not wasted."
"Lighten up a bit," Tony said, wandering over to where they were. "She can have a drink if I say so-"
Pepper coughed behind him.
"-when she's 21," he smoothly covered. "No drinking yet, young lady."
Tasha pouted, and Tony winked at her.
Brenda watched and slowly drifted away, walking towards the stairwell. "I'll be in my room, if you need me," she said coolly, ignoring the worried glances people were sending her way, before she, too, disappeared.
"I'm fine, Lena," Lori's voice caught their attention. "I don't need your help." She shoved past her sister and vanished into the elevator, leaving Tasha and Stephanie as the only two in the lounge.
"And now you'll see us fall apart," Stephanie whispered, almost too quiet for anyone to hear. "United we stood, divided we fell; and so shall it be again." She walked to the stairs and quietly walked to her room, leaving the Avengers to contemplate what had just occurred- and Tasha to slip away silently.
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"What was that about?"
Nathan didn't jump. He'd honestly been expecting this- a long overdue talk between Natasha and her protégé. He pulled the trigger again. Another bullseye appeared on the target. "I told you," he said steadily. "She has panic attacks ever so often."
"You told us they were tied to that blue color, and Lori can make them worse," Natasha prompted quietly. "Does this have to do with-"
"The mind control," Nathan said coldly. He fired another few shots, emptying the clip, before he flipped the safety on and placed it on the table to properly talk to Natasha. "Everyone thought she was fine after we came back. She hadn't said anything about the time she spent under Loki's control. Then, one day, out of the blue, she saw- I think it was frosting, on a cupcake at a birthday party- and she almost completely lost it. Her parents dragged her to a therapist the next day. He prescribed pills. She didn't take them at first, because she said she hated the way they numbed her mind. Then her parents basically forced her to take them because they couldn't deal with the amount of attacks she was having." He laughed bitterly. "I guess she quit taking them once she came here."
"You said something about Lori."
"One time was with our little group. She saw Lori… and… I had to restrain Claire from attacking Lori. She still got in a few good punches. It was ugly." Nathan shivered. He turned his head away and stared at the gun silently. "I felt so bad for us."
"Why?"
Nathan took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Lori's associated with a monster. Claire's stuck with panic attacks. Brenda was empty after she came back. Stephanie's been hiding away from us for a while; I think something's wrong with her. Lena's just confused at everything. Tasha… I don't know about Tasha. I think she's hiding something. I just get that vibe from her." He shrugged, checked the gun, and walked over to a weapons rack, placing the gun back in its place.
Natasha took a moment to digest this. "And you?" she prompted softly. "What about you?"
Nathan turned to look at her, eyes unreadable. "Me?" he repeated. "I'm… fine. I'm the only one who seems to be ok." He shook his head, looked away. "And if I'm fine… why do I feel like I shouldn't be?"
He turned and left before she could ask more questions.