Tony's voice drifted through the open door to the hallway. Natasha announced herself by giving a soft knock as she positioned herself in the doorway. In front of him, hanging in the air was the holographic face of Peter Parker. Natasha had met him very briefly in her other life. His youth, strength, vitality and endless chatter would be forever impressed in her mind and losing him caused a setback for Tony in his endless struggle for normalcy.

"So you were saying, your Aunt May seems a bit…" he asked. He caught sight of Natasha and waved her into the room.

"I'm telling you, there's something off about her. I've had her to the doctor and they can't find anything wrong. She was… kind of out of it for a while like all those other people, but… she's different. I tried to find Doctor Strange, but he's not home. Maybe you…"

'I'll be back tomorrow," Tony said. Peter's young face relaxed. "First thing is a meeting with Ms. Potts and after I do some intercompany housekeeping, I'll stop by your place, and then do what I can to help sort things out."

Peter's face was all smiles. "Thank you, Mr. Stark! That's a relief! I heard what you did, it was on the news. It was amazing! The consortium's had a big presence here and your people came and took out all the corrupt police…"

"I know what they've been doing. And I didn't do it alone. Had a lot of help."

"May isn't the only one that's a bit off. Some of my friends, they're kind of…weirder than usual," Peter's ability to make sudden shifts in conversations had become the stuff of legends.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

"And then there's the…"

"Peter!" A voice from offscreen called to him. "Peter, can you please come… help me with this?"

"Gotta go Mr. Stark. Aunt May needs me. See you tomorrow." The comlink went dead.

Tony turned to face Natasha.

"Some things never change," he said. "There were times when I literally wanted to put tape on his mouth, and sometimes, I still do."

"Steve has a theory, that the younger ones changed the least. He might be right. So, he's noticed something."

"Maybe Parker's special extra-sensory thing of his is working overtime. Bothers me what he said about Strange. Wonder where he's got to? They told me they were supposed to defend the Sanctum and our world against unseen threats, whatever the hell that means."

"They weren't there when the last time I was in New York."

"Why are they hiding?"

'Maybe they aren't hiding? Maybe they're fighting one of those 'unseen threats? They don't answer to us."

"I'm going to go get answers. I'll camp out on their doorstep. Not right…. them dumping us here and leaving us to our own devices." He spun around the chair. "I've been rehearsing what I'm going to tell 'Ms. Potts'. She might throw me out of the company. I'd throw me out of the company if I came up with what I'm about to tell her. And I suppose I should tell Parker. I don't even want to think about the questions that'll come spilling out of him when I do… but it's only fair."

"I've got to the same with Clint and speaking of Clint…I want to talk to him."

'Sure, go ahead. I've got more to do to get ready for tonight and our trip tomorrow. Knock yourself out."

She waited until he had left the room before entering the codes. After a few minutes, Clint was on-screen, sitting up, still banged and bruised with Laura beside him.

'Hey, Clint!" She said. "Hi, Laura. So they finally let you go?"

'I'm free and clear with a few weeks rest at home, and then if I'm good, I can go back to work."

"Good, you have that lunch?" She said, allowing a teasing tone to her voice.

"Yes we did, and it was very nice," Laura said. "I read about what happened. Clint was upset that he couldn't be there.

"We missed him. We'll be back tomorrow, and I'll tell you all about it and do my part about making sure he behaves himself. There's… something I need to tell you. Nothing bad, but something… you should know."

"That sounds mysterious," Clint said. "But whatever. We look forward to seeing you… and Stark, and even Colonel Rhodes."

"I look forward to it. You two behave yourself." She said. The two of them smiled at her as they signed off. She sat there and stared at the empty screen for a moment. They looked happy. She was happy. A faint noise behind her caused her to turn her head. Assuming it was Tony she froze in place when she found herself face to face with Bruce. He clearly saw who was on the other end of her message. When Natasha was caught she normally deflected the attention elsewhere or made a joke but now neither one was an option. All she could do was stare at the shocked expression on Bruce's face. He finally broke the silence.

"Natasha…. what did you do?"