Just a reminder that my beta, flashwitch, is awesome, and you should go check the written designs of her mind!

"How did I not know we had hired a insensitive coward?" Stark demanded.

"You shouldn't be so hard on people about Bruce, Tony," Natasha admonished, as the elevator began to climb. Tony tended to deflect his emotions, when he was under stress about someone he cared about. And right now the on call medical staff for the Tower were his target. He was still looking pale but Natasha couldn't keep him in his room any longer, he insisted on seeing Clint now.

"She gave him Clint's file and ran."

Natasha folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to hire a medical staff with military backgrounds? Because even they would wet themselves around the Hulk."

"She was around Bruce. We'll just have to look into someone else," Tony decided. He paused for a few seconds, then started again, more subdued. "So Bruce knows, what about Rogers and Thor?"

"Steve hasn't been coherent long enough to tell him. And Clint's probably the main reason Thor's on his way back right now."

"Anyone else?"

Natasha sighed, "SHIELD knows, Tony."

"Why?" Tony demanded

"What do you mean 'Why?' It would have been even more difficult getting Clint to the Tower if they hadn't known his identity. It will have been restricted to, at least, a level six. Not everyone will know."

Tony shook his head as the elevator dinged and opened to the living room on Bruce/Hulk's floor.

Natasha glanced around as they walked into the room. "JARVIS, where is Bruce?"

Dr. Banner is currently in his room. He appeared somewhat distressed over the contents of Agent Barton's medical file.

They paused.

"Anything we should be worried about?" Natasha asked.

His heart rate is within an acceptable range.

"I'll go talk to him." Natasha asserted, "Wait here, Tony, and we'll see Clint when I get back."

"What?" Tony asked, incredulously; then he threw in a scoffed, "No."

Natasha sighed, again. Only Tony Stark. "I know you don't want to hear this, Tony, but you shouldn't see him by yourself. You're compromised."

"Compromised?" Tony snarled. "And you're, what, indifferent? What the hell, Romanoff? You've known him longer than I have, and you're talking about him like he's a mission, like he didn't risk his life bringing you in! Did it only take you a year to get over that?"

Natasha took a sharp step into his space and Tony struggled not to swallow nervously. "Someone needs to keep a clear head about this, Stark, and it's obviously not going to be you. Do you think this isn't killing me? To know that he was most likely tortured the entire time he was gone and that we did nothing? That I did nothing? We didn't come for him. He was alone. He may never forgive us for that."

She stepped back, the heat in her voice dissipating. "You're right, Tony, I have known Clint longer than you; but I wasn't the one planning a surprise camping trip for his birthday when he was taken."

Tony flinched. No one was supposed to know about that. "Seriously, who actually likes camping? There's nothing out there except trees and dirt."

"Sit." Natasha said, carefully. "I'm going to go get Bruce. Don't go see Clint without me...please."

Tony sat, more out of surprise. He could humor Natasha, if she was at the point where she would actually say please.

"Thank you," she said, turning and taking the hallway to Bruce's room. When she was almost out of earshot she heard Tony talking to JARVIS.

"When did Clint become 'Agent Barton' again, J?"

Natasha gave a sympathetic wince. That was one of the first things Natasha had noticed that had given Clint and Tony away in the beginning; they were, Tony especially, surprisingly quiet about getting together, but JARVIS had started calling Clint by his first name. Even now, JARVIS was formal with the rest of them. It looked like that sign of trust had been rescinded. She wasn't going to hold that against JARVIS; Clint had almost killed Tony; basically JARVIS' reason for living. And while he wasn't 'Skynet', he was more self aware than people realized.

When she reached Bruce's room, she found the door open, so she walked in, giving the wall a soft knock.

"Bruce?"

Bruce started a little and turned from where he was, sitting on his bed, head in his hands.

"Natasha," he tried to smile, but it was tired. "Is Tony here with you?"

"He's waiting in your living room," she said, nodding to the door.

"Did you have to threaten him into waiting?"

"No, but I doubt he'll hold out too long." Her eyes moved to the file laying next to him.

"Sorry," he said, following her gaze. "I just needed a minute."

"It was bad," she stated, she didn't need look inside, she had known it would be, since the moment she had taken Clint's mask off.

"I didn't know what to expect, but…" he looked up at her, worried, "Tony's going to want to know everything they did to Clint, and I don't know if either of them would ever be ready for that."

"I doubt Clint will be sharing anything with us anytime soon. He may not even know who he really is."

"After what I saw I wouldn't be surprised."

"Were you in there, when the doctor-"

"No, but they were thorough enough to include pictures," Bruce shared, grimly.

Natasha winced, even she didn't want to see those.

Bruce's jaw worked silently for a few seconds and when he finally did speak, his voice was low and sharp. "They didn't just beat him, Natasha, they..." he couldn't seem to finish.

Natasha allowed herself a longer than normal blink.

It actually startled her when Bruce suddenly stood. "I know we searched everywhere for the sniper that shot Clint, and never found anything; but," he stressed, "we have to find whoever did this to him. They can't get away with it."

"I completely agree," she answered, her voice clear and deadly, promising many things.

Ms. Romanoff, JARVIS's voice cut in, sounding urgent. Agent Barton has regained consciousness, escaped his restraints and neutralized the cameras in the Hulk Chamber.

Natasha cursed and raced out of the room, Bruce close behind her. "Why didn't you tell us sooner, JARVIS?"

I informed Sir. He has been unable to locate Agent Barton through the viewers and is attempting to enter the room despite my objections.

Attempting to enter. That meant JARVIS was actually trying to stop Tony. She would have to think about that bit of information later. She turned into the Hulk's corridor just as the door opened for Tony, who was holding wires, looking like he had hotwired the controls.

"Tony, no!" she yelled, as he stepped into the room.

She reached him a second later, pushing him forward and took the hit and rolled with Clint as he landed on her. He tried to wrap a strip of fabric around her throat but she caught it, twisting beneath his arms as they came to a stop facing eachother; crouching and gripping the fabric, which, judging from his bare torso, used to be the top to the scrubs he was wearing.

Seeing his chest, crisscrossed with too many new scars, she hesitated a split second too long and received a left hook to her face. She grabbed his arm, turned and elbowed him in the side of the head, then rolled him into a hold. He broke it a second later and maneuvered himself above her, took hold of her shoulders and slammed her head against the floor, hard.

Her vision blacked out and she came back to the feeling of his hands around her throat.

"Bitch!" he spat, his face was contorted in rage.

She was about to wrap her legs around him when he was forcibly pulled off her. She sat up and saw Thor with his arms around Clint, who, try as he might, couldn't break free.

"Be calm, Hawkeye," Thor tried to sooth. "We are not your enemies."

It didn't work, especially not when Bruce came in a second later, syringe in hand.

Clint yelled obscenities at them, while kicking out, preventing Bruce from getting close enough to help.

Thor huffed and slowly forced Clint to his knees. As soon as they hit the floor, Clint choked out a gasp, his eyes dilated and he began to thrash around more violently.

"No. No," he begged. "Please, don't. Please."

"Get your hands off him, Thor!" Tony demanded, trying to get past Natasha to Clint.

"Shut up, Tony," she barked, holding him back.

"Bruce," Thor commanded.

Bruce came forward swiftly, injecting the sedative into Clint's hip.

"No!" Clint tried to jerk away, his yelling changing to sobs. "Please! I… Please don't."

His movements began to slow, but the begging continued.

Bruce looked sick. "Thor," he said, getting the god's attention. He shook his head. "Let him go now."

Thor gave him a questioning look. "I am merely-"

"Get out from behind him." Natasha directed, pointedly.

Thor looked down at their positioning and his confusion disappeared as understanding dawned, quickly morphing into fury and then guilt as he carefully release Clint to lay on the floor.

"I would not hurt you, Clint," he murmured, backing away.

As soon as Thor was gone, Natasha let Tony go. He was immediately at Clint's side, running his fingers through the archer's hair, whispering reassurances; even while Clint was pleading with someone to stop.

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