"Steve, what the hell happened?" James asked, his tone gravelly with adrenalin, fear and exhaustion from hauling myself and Steve back inside to, the usually safe, tower.

"Bastard," Fuck, if Steve's swearing, we're really in trouble, "Tony sent out the signal. I was just back from a VA meeting when the lights went out, JARVIS was online long enough to send out the signal but he never answered me once I reached the elevators. Tony… he and Clint were in the lab. Where is he? We need to make sure he's okay."

"I never saw 'im up there Stevie…" James replied, crestfallen, as we inched our way back towards the lab on the 40th floor.

"I ran up. No comms. No signal. No JARVIS. Got to the lab, no suits active or responding. Clint… talking to some teenager… messing with Tony's workstation. No sign've him. By the time I called out to Clint, the goons swarmed me. Gave me somethin', weaker, threatened Clint. Then he was gone. M'sorry guys." Steve coughed out grimly as my gut clenched and twisted even tighter.

"Tony!" James shout echoed through the ransacked lab. DUM-E was tipped over, whining pathetically and U and Butterfingers were twitching with sparks erupting around them. No sign of Tony anywhere.

While setting Steve down to catch his breath (and isn't that a terrifying thought), I twist my new engagement ring unconsciously, already adjusting to the new weight but refusing to think that we should all be celebrating right now not back where we started…

"C'mon Dum-E, where is he? I know you can help us buddy, where's Tony?" James soothes the bot almost pathetically hoping he can do something, anything. The damaged AI twirls immediately and grabs the blender, throws it in my direction and then twirls once more in the opposite direction fiddling with some panel near the far window of the lab. Just as I bend down to investigate the blender at my feet, a whooshing sound captures my attention and James rushes into the new space, hauling out an unconscious but entirely alive Tony Stark.

"Thank fuck!" James sighs in relief as Steve loosens up in realisation that he hasn't lost another best friend.

I rush over to their side as James sets Tony down on the sofa near Steve, he starts mumbling something before Steve tosses a nearby jug of liquid of a sort over his head, jerking him awake.

"Th'fu-! Steeb! G'way!" Tony slaps weakly at Steve's thigh before wiping his face of gunk, shaking his head clear and staring straight at James and I hovering over his head before once more jerking awake to a standing position, gaping at the surrounding area.

"Clint?" He whips round, almost searchingly, before full realising what's happened. Never say Tony Stark isn't observant.

"Tony, we need you to tell us what happened, where is everyone?" I grab Tony gently by his biceps and push him back onto the sofa before he keels over, given how pale he's gotten, it's a definite possibility.

"We… I-" Tony takes a deep breath and slides his mask back into place, reciting the event as though in a SHIELD boardroom, "Clint and I decided to practice some metal work techniques in my lab. After about an hour, I feel really sleepy and weak, Clint helps me into my secret break room for a nap, I remember telling JARVIS to shut down the station. Not safe for Clint. Never heard a response. Never saw Clint after he closed the door… JARVIS!?"

"Down for the count, how the hell could they do that Tony? Wait, how did you fall asleep?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I need to get JARVIS back, he'll know." Tony started muttering to himself as he messed around with wires all over his station.

"The blender… The blender! Dum-E was trying to tell us there's something in the blender! Tony, did you have one of your smoothies?" My instincts started kicking in, overruling the debilitating fear.

"Uhhh, yeah, Clint said you guys were trying out new flavours or something for a school something or other. You think it was spiked?"

"It's gotta be! Tony you'd never just fall asleep while watching Clint, not purposely. How the hell did someone spike this stuff?" James questioned as he scanned through the ingredients near the kitchen bench.

"I don't know. I don't know how they did any of this stuff!"

"What about the signal? Steve said JARVIS got the signal out just before everything shut down. We got it. Where the hell is everyone else?"

"Was about to ask that very question," interrupted the pissed off voice of Nicholas Fury.

"Damn! Don't do that! We're on edge enough!" James growled at him, Fury never even blinking before carrying on.

"What the hell happened? I get the signal but its cut off by a message from Phil saying it was a false alarm. Decided to stop by anyway, never miss the chance to throw any mistake in Stark's face. Natasha apparently got the same message so we decided to head over together in a jet. Then we see the tower in darkness and everything in pieces. Romanoff finds the Hulk almost in tears, locked in his own emergency room and I discover my best agent in tatters, Captain America with asthma, Tony Stark saying 'I don't know' and the Winter Soldier sniffing at a goddamn fruit! What the fuck happened!"

"We're compromised sir, I never sent any messages. Barton and Duquesne breached the tower with some goons, some insider knowledge and took Clint as well as screwing over every one of us, including JARVIS."

"I wouldn't say 'screwed' Phillip, but I appreciate your anger at the situation." JARVIS erupted back to life overhead.

"JARV, you got anything?"

"Indeed, sir. Young master Clint added an unknown ingredient to your smoothie at approximately 8:57pm which I will now scan the blender for; I was not recording his actions as I believed DUM-E to be able to ensure Clint's safety and I never felt he was a threat to sir's health. At 9:14pm, Clint assisted sir to his break room and then used override controls to have me lock sir in and allow unknown assailants into the Tower. I was able to identify Jacques Duquesne, as sir had me on constant alert for him and his known accomplices. I was able to send the alert signals before Clint entered the control room, inputted sir's master key and disabled me from the mainframe. I apologise for this is where my observations end, sir," JARVIS finished up with an apologetic tone as the room lay in a harsh silence.

"H-He could-/wouldn't/ do this, sir…" I pleaded with Nick, no longer Marcus in this situation. I can't even begin to believe JARVIS, believe that my little boy, our child would choose to leave, to betray us like this. I feel the tears burning behind my eyelids and my breathing feel like a lead weight. But worst of all, /worst of all/, was that James hadn't even looked at me. Hadn't taken my hand in his. My ring now felt like a scalding hot scar ripping its way across my finger.

"We are compromised Coulson. I'm taking over. Get yourselves cleaned up. We've got an emergency briefing in twenty. Everyone attends or else you're considered an enemy of SHIELD. Playtime's over children." I can feel the anguish in his tone, the betrayal stings him too, Clint was on his Helicarrier, in his office, in his /heart/.

I… I just can't… Fuck!

/WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?/