Sorry for the lateness!

NO. 15 - INTO THE UNKNOWNPossession, Magical Healing, Science Gone Wrong

"Into the unknown!" Tony exclaimed triumphantly while moving a small colored box into Asia.

Natasha snorted. "Your skills at Risk amaze me, Stark."

He paled as her words sunk in. Then a violent string of curses was muttered as Tony realized that he'd just lost the board game they were playing... For the tenth time that evening. Although, he didn't think that two in the morning counted as the 'evening' anymore. With Tony's stocked up troops moved from Europe to Asia, Natasha easily bulldozed over from Africa and the Americans, taking the territory and making it impossible for Tony to win.

"Wow. Just wow."

His eyes darted across the board as Natasha individually picked up each box and slid it over. Thoughts began to cloud Tony's brain as he felt his mind wander. Maybe he could automate the game somehow...

"—Anthony!" Natasha was yelling into his ear.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "I've been calling your name for awhile now. You alright?"

Tony inwardly cringed at the use of his full first name. "The only problem I know of is that you and Pepper hang out too much. That needs to change."

"Well you do know very little."

"Yeah, I'm a genius, by the way."

"A self proclaimed genius." Natasha pointed out. "There's a difference."

Tony sighed, too tired to deal with the assassin he'd chosen to play an assortment of board games with. He picked up half the pieces in both hands and dumped it all into the big box, placing the lid on top. The other half was left out on the table for a small science experiment. The Avengers usually had a tradition of the loser having to clean up the game while the others mock him. Having Natasha just watch him was unsettling enough for Tony. Thankfully, Thor was in Asgard, Bruce was at a science convention that Tony had ultimately decided to skip, Clint was off on a solo mission, and Steve had enough common sense to go to sleep.

"Anyway. I was thinking about making these game pieces move on their own," Tony explained quickly. "Too bad Brucey-Bear isn't here right now. He could probably help with the chemicals."

Natasha crossed the living room and entered the kitchen, opening a cabinet. She pulled out a small metal bowl and filled it with water before placing it on the floor for a black cat Tony hadn't even noticed. The cat apparently just liked to follow Natasha and annoy Clint (although he insisted that it was more of a love-hate relationship).

"Did I hear you right? Chemicals?"

Tony nodded.

"Go to sleep, Tony." Natasha's eyes softened just a hint. "I think you could really benefit from it."

"Fine, mother," he joked. "And where did Liho come from?"

The first sign that something was wrong when Natasha awoke was the burning odor of rotten eggs. She almost thought Clint was attempting to make breakfast before remembering that he wasn't expected to back until next week at the latest. Steve wasn't that bad a cook, so Natasha immediately crossed him off of her mental suspect list. Only one person remained — Tony.

She rolled out of bed. Within the minute, Natasha was dressed in black jeans and one of Steve's favorite hoodies. The clock read 4:38, only two hours after Natasha had played games with Tony and told him to go to bed.

"Jarvis, where's Stark?"

"Boss is in his lab, Agent Romanoff," the AI told her. "Captain Rogers has also wished me to inform you that he's gone to the grocery store."

Natasha groaned. "Next time, tell him that online shopping exists and is way easier."

The penetrating odor of rotten eggs made it very simple to maneuver her way to Tony's lab. He stood at one of the lab tables, hunched over a set of beakers and scales. Thick wires and metal plates sat in a large pile beside him. Natasha couldn't help but mentally call him a mad scientist.

"Raise the temperature," Tony muttered to himself. "Sulphur plus the oxygen levels equals... That. Wait, nevermind."

Natasha crossed her arms and stood in the doorway, simply waiting for the man to notice her.

"It equals that... Yes!"

Unfortunately, Tony chose that moment of triumph to turn around. His eyes landed on the assassin watching him and the glowing substance in the beaker seemed just a little brighter. Natasha thought it looked pretty damn unstable, but Tony apparently thought it was alright. He violently jumped in sudden alarm and dropped the beaker, letting it shatter into a million shards of glass upon the lab floor.

"Romanoff! Uh, you scared me."

Natasha eyed the bubbling liquid on the floor. "You have two seconds to explain whatever the hell you're doing."

"Big surprise," Tony said nervously, "but I didn't sleep and came down to the lab to work on my idea. I decided to dabble in chemicals and sulphur and other stuff. Simple, right?"

"Nothing is simple with you."

Tony backed away from the broken beaker, being careful to not step on any glass, and found his way to the door next to Natasha. "Hey—"

Suddenly, the liquid exploded into a puff of yellow smoke. (That'll be the sulphur.) A bubble expanded and then popped, leaving a thick wad of something that looked a lot like slime. Sprinklers on the ceiling went off and made everything extremely wet with the rate the water came out at.

Natasha glared at Tony and coughed, the smoke reaching her lungs. Her balance wavered but she kept on her feet — unlike Tony. They both sputtered and fell against the wall. Eventually, Jarvis snapped to his senses and started clearing the gas, also sending out Tony's Iron Man mask to protect him. Natasha's eyes became hazy and she stumbled downwards, hitting her head on the way down.

"Ow," she complained in a monotone.

Natasha must've blacked out a little from the strong smell of sulphur and burning chemicals, for she opened her eyes to see Liho staring at her. Tony had just cleaned everything (as the real loser in the experiment) and was furiously spraying Febreze everywhere.

When he noticed her awake, he asked, "How'd we both pass out at the same time?"

"Weren't you wearing your mask?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, but I still went under. I also didn't get rid of the chemicals, but they're gone!" He snapped his fingers.

"Huh..." Natasha looked carefully at Liho. "I'm starting to think you're not quite a cat."

"I—"

"Not you, Stark. Liho."

Liho meowed loudly and walked away, as if the cat was saying, Where's the tuna at?

"Er, could I get a blood sample from your cat?"

Natasha rubbed her temples. "Just don't explode anymore sulphur, okay?" Tony nodded and she added, "Now, how do we tell Steve and Pepper what happened?"