Hi everyone! I'm updating on time this week, how cool is that? I've got to warn you all that it might be two weeks before I update again. I've got tons of stuff that I need to get done for school and to top it all off my house is full of relatives at the moment so every waking moment I haven't been at work or school I've had my parents breathing down my back saying "Clean! Clean!" So long rant short I don't know when I'm going to have the time to write again and I'm warning you all just in case I don't update for a while. On the other hand, Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: If I really wanted to claim that I owned the Avengers don't you think I'd shout it from the rooftops rather than on a website that comparatively few would see? I don't own avengers.
It was several hours later when Bruce and Dr. Jim emerged from Gwen's sickroom, exhausted, but hopeful.
"She's stable," he announced to the room of waiting superheros. "It looks like whatever she was injected with wasn't ready for human testing. Osborn got impatient."
"Is she going to be alright?" Steve asked the question everyone in the room wanted to know the answer to.
"The serum is wreaking havoc on her body," Dr. Jim took over the answer to that question. "Muscle contractions, fever, seizures, she's been through the ringer. The muscle contractions and seizures have stopped but it seems that the serum isn't giving up its hold on her as she still has a high fever. She's on something to try and reduce her fever."
"That doesn't answer the question," Clint noted, seemingly nonchalant, though there was a hard look in his eyes.
Dr. Jim sighed. "If her fever goes down then the prognosis is good. But there's no guarantee that we can get her temperature to normal levels."
"Is it a side effect of the serum?" Steve asked.
"Not a fever as high as she has," Bruce replied. "If it were on the low side, I would say yes. But as high as it is, I would suspect a secondary factor. Only problem is that she hasn't been given any drugs recently and, according to the charts they kept, her vitals from the past few days have been good. I'm sceptical that she managed to catch a bug the same day they injected her but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility."
"What if it was something already in her system and the serum merely aggravated it," Tony asked.
"We thought about that, but there would be other signs," Bruce said. "We've been going through- Thor?" Bruce broke off mid-sentence when the god of thunder walked into the room.
In all the time the team had been together, not once had they ever seen Thor even slightly under the weather. At that moment he looked extremely sick.
"I don't suppose you have anything for headaches, doctor?" Thor asked, rubbing his temples.
"No offence point break," Tony said, "But you look like shit."
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Anthony," Thor replied.
"Shit, Thor, what's wrong?" Clint asked.
"Magical energy overload," Thor mumbled. "Gwen's energy has been running rampant since we brought her back."
"I think I've got something for you Thor," Dr. Jim said, walking back into Gwen's room to get the bag of supplies he brought with him.
Bruce barely acknowledged the man leaving the room, instead he was staring into space, lost in thought.
"Doc, what's up?" Tony asked. "You've got a look on your face."
"I think I know what's going on with Gwen's body," Bruce said as Dr. Jim walked back in the room with the medication that he promised Thor. "Jim, what if the serum somehow reacted with Gwen's magical energy and that's what's keeping her fever up. When you were her primary care doctor was there anything that you noticed that was different about her physical make up?"
"I never noticed anything physically," the other doctor replied slowly. "But whenever she was hurt or sick, her mother would sit with her. She would always be telling her to calm down, just keep calm and everything would be alright. She'd do breathing exercises, meditation techniques, the works. I always assumed it was something her mother did to keep her from freaking out. She wasn't completely emotionally stable at times. Panic attacks, flashbacks, she'd forget where she was at times and when she couldn't recognize us and couldn't find her mother... Things sometimes got a little ugly."
"Mind calming techniques are taught to those on Asgard who have shown a proclivity towards the magical arts," Thor spoke up. "When they are vulnerable, their magic will surge in order to protect them. If they cannot control their magic then they will be continually releasing magical energy into the universe. This is harmful to both themselves and others."
"Harmful how, Thor?" Steve asked.
"The thing that is trying desperately to protect it's wielder becomes the very thing that makes it impossible for the child to fight back. The magic drains their energy," the god replied. "On the other hand, they are pushing pure power out into the universe. Because I am sensitive to it, I am the only one feeling it's effects at the moment. Liken it to someone broadcasting an extremely loud sound. Those close will feel it first, but the sound doesn't stop there. And for those who have better hearing than average, the sound does more damage."
"Her magic is responding to the perceived threat and is trying to keep her safe," Bruce said. "Working almost like a second immune system. Something in that serum is attacking her magic. Jim, did Gwen ever have any reactions to any substance?"
Even before the sentence was out of his mouth, Jim was shaking his head no. "She never had an allergic reaction to anything, not so much as a rash."
"It might be something that no one would suspect as being an allergic reaction," Bruce said, "Maybe something as simple as acting weird after coming into contact with something strange."
"No, nothing that stands out in my memory," Jim replied.
"What if it were something she never touched but avoided like the plague?" Thor asked.
That seemed to strike a chord with the SHIELD doctor. "There was something that was brought in one time. Both Gwen and her mother were on the bridge, they were visiting with Fury when a crew returned from a retrieval mission. Gwen started whimpering and ran full speed to the other end of the bridge and hid under a table. She wouldn't come out until it was safely stowed in one of the storage lockers."
"There are very few items which could make an Asgardian react that strongly, even a child," Thor said. "Several of those are enchanted items usually in connection to death magic. Others are natural items from beasts. Fangs and claws. Often poisonous, always dangerous."
"So did Osborn manage to get his hands on one of these items and if he did, how?" Tony asked.
"SHIELD is called in to investigate all manner of incidents," Natasha said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "Some of the things that we get called in for are... unexplainable. I would suspect that your hammer, Thor, is not the first item that has crossed into our realm."
"I believe that is a valid suspicion Lady Natasha," Thor said. "But friend Stark is right, could it be that Osborn was able to get a hand on one of these items?"
"Tony, did Osborn have any contracts with the military?" Steve asked.
"Yes, that's why he's in such a rush to improve his glider tech," Tony replied.
"And if the army or SHIELD loaned him one of their collected items for study," Bruce mused, putting all the pieces together. "It's probably a safe bet that whatever is attacking Gwen's system is Asgardian in origin. Thor, can you-"
Before he could finish his question, alarms started sounding from the direction of Gwen's room.
"Attention Dr. Banner and Dr. Daniels," came JARVIS, "It appears that Gwen's vitals have dropped below safe levels. I would advise you to proceed to her room immediately."
Both doctors began running for their patient's room. "Thor, can you find out what ways there are to counter-act any of those items that you mentioned?" Bruce called over his shoulder. "And Tony, find out what item Osborn got his hands on. Use any means necessary."
"My favorite words to hear," Tony said, a feral smile appearing on his face as the group watched Bruce and Jim disappear into Gwen's room once again.
The sun had been up for nearly two hours when Bruce and Jim re-emerged from Gwen's sick room. By this time, Peter had been awake for an hour and was talking everyone's ears off about Gwen and asking when he would finally be allowed to see her.
"Uncle Bruce! Mr. Jim!" The young's boy's shout was all the warning they got before a small body crashed into them. "Is Gwen ok?"
Bruce smiled softly at the young boy. "She's still very sick, but if we can find out what she was injected with then she'll be alright."
"Can I see her?" Peter looked earnestly into the men's faces.
The two doctors exchanged glances. "As long as it's just for a minute and you're very quiet," Bruce replied finally. "She's asleep. She needs her rest so she can get better."
Peter nodded very seriously as Bruce walked him to Gwen's room. Gwen was lying on the bed, an IV in her right arm and several monitors set up around her, displaying her vital signs and other information. Her already thin frame had diminished even more in the three weeks she had been gone. She looked so small and fragile. It was a bit of a shock to Peter, who was used to seeing his sister as nothing less than strong and fiercely protective.
Bruce watched Peter as the boy made his way to his sister's side. Peter's face was hard, stoney. It wouldn't surprise anyone that he learned the face from his sister. It was the same look she got when the circumstances were getting to her and she didn't want anyone to see her at her weakest. Peter was trying his hardest not to cry.
"I'm sorry, Gwenny," he whispered with an audible quiver in his voice. "I'm so sorry." He reached out to touch his sister's hand.
"It's not your fault you know," Bruce said. "There is nothing you could have done to prevent this. She would be the first one to say so."
"I was the one who wanted to go out. I was the one who said ice cream. I was the reason we were there in the first place," Peter said.
"Peter, if it wasn't at the candy store, then it would have been somewhere else. Goblin man has been after you and your sister for a very long time. He would have taken you whenever he had the opportunity. This was not your fault."
Peter, his eyes trained on his sister's still form, looked unconvinced. Bruce sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Come on Peter, let's go see if we can find Pepper," the doctor said. He ushered the young boy out of the room but even after his sister was out of sight Peter's somber expression remained.
"Any change?"
Natasha watched Dr. Jim jump at the sound of her voice. Bruce just sighed.
"Natasha, please don't sneak up like that," Bruce said, exhaustion evident in his voice. "Her fever is slowly falling. We're hoping that it'll keep falling, but if it spikes this evening it won't be a surprise. The real test will be if her temperature is lower tomorrow morning than it was this morning."
"So you're managing to counteract whatever's in her system?" Natasha asked.
"We've got no idea," Bruce said. "Unless we get our hands on the formula for that serum, the best we can do is keep her on fluids and fever reducers and hope. Please tell me that you've got information."
"Tony's been into Oscorp's databases but there's no record of Gwen or the tests she was subject to," Natasha said. "But he hasn't tried all their servers yet, so don't give up. Thor went up to the roof shouting something about Heimdall. We're pretty sure he went back to Asgard because the news is currently reporting that the rainbow tunnel that appeared in the sky is not another alien invasion and there is no cause for alarm."
"So the short of it is, we've got nothing," Dr. Jim said.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that Jim Boy," came Tony's voice through the tower intercom system. "The world's most brilliant hacker at your service. I'm in Osborn's personal experiments. Uh, Doc, you're gonna have to keep a lid on the big guy."
Natasha winced at the implications of that statement. "You two go. I'll keep an eye on Gwen."
"You sure?" Dr. Jim asked.
"If something happens I'll get JARVIS to contact you," Natasha said. "This is not my first bedside vigil doctor."
In the face of one of the world's most infamous assassin's glares, Dr. Jim decided to follow Bruce's lead getting to Tony's workshop.
Natasha took a seat on the chair at Gwen's bedside. She'd taken this post many times through her years, but never before Clint brought her in to work for SHIELD. She didn't want to count how many times over the years she'd sat next to her her partner over the years as she waited for him to wake up. They were both notorious for their dislike of hospitals and the sentiments were not unrequited. Any time either of them ended up there was cause for alarm as they usually tended to any injuries sustained from missions in the privacy of their own quarters.
She knew the value of having a familiar face to wake up to. The first time she'd come to in the SHIELD medical bay, she'd taken out two of the nurses and one doctor before Clint was able to get there to calm her down. From that point on, he'd made a point to be there when she woke up. Not being one to like being indebted to anyone, Natasha had taken to doing the same for him. That was how she'd learned that, when drugged, Clint was more prone to nightmares and having someone there to remind him what was real helped a great deal.
She was determined that the first thing Gwen saw when she first woke up would be someone she knew; be it her or one of the other Avengers. Natasha was going to do anything to make sure the first thing Gwen knew when returning to the world of wakefulness was that fact that she was no longer in that hell, was the fact that Gwen knew she was safe.
"Peter." The name spoken so softly and full of remorse jolted Natasha out of her musings. She was up and at Gwen's side in an instant. The girl still had her eyes closed, but she was squirming.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Peter," Gwen murmured in her sleep. "It's all my fault. No, no, please no. Stop, no. I'm sorry. What do you want from me?" The pained shriek that tore itself from Gwens throat pulled at Natasha's heartstrings. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook, she knew from experience that it was best to pull someone from a nightmare before it really took hold of them.
"JARVIS, could you please contact Bruce and Dr. Jim?" she asked the AI. "Tell them Gwen's having a nightmare and her heartrate's rising."
"Of course Ms. Romanoff," the AI replied.
"Gwen, wake up," Natasha said. "It's just a nightmare. You're safe, I promise. Wake up."
Her pleas were not heard, as the girl in question continued to toss and turn. Soon she was thrashing and fighting against the hand that Natasha had put on her shoulder. Out of options, Natasha began to hum. Thor's voice, she knew, had a way of calming the girl down in a way that Natasha couldn't hope to match, but she was hoping that it would have some effect.
It turned out that she had gambled right. Her voice, though not as effective as Thor's rich baritone and song choice, was enough to at least get Gwen to stop thrashing like a patient in a mental institution. She asked JARVIS to play whatever Gwen liked to listen to and soon her movement was down to the occasional squirm and muttered whimper.
Natasha was caught off guard when Gwen suddenly bolted upright, her eyes wide.
"No," Gwen sobbed as she was flung wake.
"Gwen, it's ok, you're safe." Natasha moved to reassure the girl when Gwen whipped her head around to stare the assassin dead in the eye. The spy saw reflections of emotions in those depths that left her reeling. Pain and fear were among the forefront, but remorse and self-loathing had somehow found their way into them as well. Nothing, though, could have prepared her for the words that came out of Gwen's mouth.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
For the first time in a very long time, Natasha found herself speechless.
Clint looked at his partner in concern. She was wearing a look that he had seen on her face before, but very rarely and only after an extremely mentally taxing mission. The look never boded well for the state of Natasha's mind.
The redhead was sitting on the couch in the rec room staring off into empty space. "Gwen's awake," she announced, seemingly to no one in particular. Clint knew, however, that the words had been spoken in answer to his unspoken question.
The archer felt ten years of worry slide off his shoulders. "That's good," he said. "Bruce said that if she woke up, then there was a better chance that she'd survive." He pointedly did not ask what had her in such a morose state of mind.
"She asked me why I hadn't killed her." The blunt statement took Clint by surprise.
"Maybe she didn't recognize you. Maybe she thought that you were Osborn." Even as he said the words, she was shaking her head.
"She knew exactly where she was and who I was," she replied. "I could see it in her eyes."
Clint moved to sit next to his partner, his body next to her simultaneously grounding and comforting her. "How long?" The question could be taken to mean any number of things. How long had Gwen been awake? How long ago had she woken up? How long had Natasha been in this state of mind?
"Twenty minutes." Natasha answered all of the questions simultaneously. "Bruce and Jim are in with her now."
"Then we'll have answers soon," Clint said confidently. "She's going to be alright Tasha. We got there in time."
The red haired spy didn't look like she took comfort in the archer's words. "Why?"
"Why what?" asked Tony as he walked into the room, Steve at his heels.
"Is there something else wrong with Gwen?" Steve asked.
"Natasha was in the room when Gwen woke up," Clint said since Natasha had returned to the depths of her mind.
"Is she alright, what did she say?" Steve asked.
"She asked why I hadn't killed her," Natasha said, her voice a flat monotone.
Her announcement left the entire room speechless. No one knew how to respond to that.
Fortunately they didn't have to because at that moment Bruce came out of Gwen's room.
"How is she doc?" Clint asked.
Bruce sighed. "Physically, we're fairly sure the worst has passed. Using the information Tony managed to get off of Osborn's servers we've been able to counteract what they put into her system. Once Thor gets back from Asgard, we should be able to get her magic under control."
"What's the catch?" Tony asked. "There's always a catch."
"Other than what she said when she first woke up, Gwen hasn't spoken," Bruce explained. "She won't respond to us when we ask her questions. She's starting to fight us when we try to help her. I'm not a psychologist, but my diagnosis at this point is depression."
"I am sorry to interrupt, but your assistance is required in Gwen's room Dr. Banner," JARVIS' calm voice came over the speakers. "It appears that Gwen is fighting Dr. Daniels."
The entire team crowded in the doorway of Gwen's room. They watched as Gwen struggled with Dr. Jim. Bruce moved next to the bed, a syringe in his hand. He nodded at the other man who held Gwen down.
"Gwen, I'm not going to hurt you," Bruce said calmly. "You need to stop fighting us. I'm going to give you a sedative. It's going to calm you down and put you to sleep." With quick, efficient moves, Bruce slid the needle into the IV line Gwen was attached to. A few seconds later and her struggles slowed and soon stopped all together.
"I was talking to her as I was checking her over," Dr. Jim said. "Telling her how worried everyone was and that'd we'd have her back on her feet in no time. I mentioned how worried Peter has been. That's what set her off."
"But Gwen's devoted to her brother," Steve said. "I expected the first thing she would say was to ask if he was alright."
"Brainwashing maybe?" Clint suggested. "What else would get that sort of reaction out of her?" Even as he said it though, Clint knew that wasn't the reason. Something about it was off. And Bruce had said that she was probably suffering from depression. They were missing something.
"I don't think so," Bruce said. "There's no evidence of it. Jim, do you have restraints?"
"What the hell Bruce?" Tony exclaimed, voice raising.
"I don't like it Tony, but if it is depression, I'm not taking the chance that she'll take matters into her own hands. She doesn't have the insurance of the other guy. It's safer for her and for us if she decides to try and fight us while we're helping her." Bruce's eyes were full of remorse as he slipped the leather cuffs around Gwen's wrists and attached the free ends to the sides of the bed.
"We can't let Peter see her like this," Natasha broke the melancholy silence. "He doesn't need to see his sister in this state."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Peter was strong, no one was questioning that, but there were times when a line needed to be drawn. Gwen lying in bed with restraints on her wrists and the possibility of lashing out at anyone, even her own little brother, definitely crossed that line.
With the assurance that Gwen would be out for another few hours at least, everyone insisted that Bruce and Jim take time to rest. Or at least spend time out of the makeshift hospital they'd turned Gwen's room into. Clint and Natasha went to relieve Pepper from babysitting duty so she could get to work. As much as the CEO wished that she could take time off to deal with the situation that had come up, Stark Industries couldn't run itself. So she had compromised, taking mornings off to keep an eye on Peter and going to the office in the afternoons.
Tony was still sifting through all the information he had gotten from Oscorp's database and Thor was still on Asgard. That left Steve to take first watch with Gwen. He settled in the chair beside Gwen's bed with his sketchbook.
He passed nearly three hours like that, keeping an eye on Gwen and sketching. He almost didn't notice when Gwen woke up. He looked up from his sketchbook and found two blue eyes blinking back at him.
"Gwen, you're awake. Are you in pain?"
His exclamation brought no response from the girl on the bed. She just stared intently at the restraints on her wrists, not even acknowledging the super soldier's presence.
"JARVIS can you please tell doctors Banner and Daniels that Gwen is awake?" Steve barely acknowledged the AI's polite response as he tried to get Gwen to respond. "Gwen, please, I need you to look at me. You don't have to talk, just look at me, please."
Slowly, Gwen's eyes locked on Steve's and he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd gotten a response out of her.
"That's good Gwen. We've all been really worried about you. You're at the tower. It's been almost two days since we rescued you from Oscorp," Steve said, keeping his voice calm and low. "Bruce and Dr. Jim Daniels are on their way. You remember Dr. Jim right? He was your doctor after you and your mother came to the US. They've been taking care of you. Are you in pain?"
He held his breath. It was a calculated gamble whether or not she would answer. He'd purposefully chosen a question that was yes or no so she wouldn't have to talk, as that seemed to be her main problem at the moment. He was banking on the fact that Gwen didn't like to worry anyone, especially family. Her conscience wouldn't let her keep worrying them by not giving an answer.
After a moment, Gwen nodded. Steve allowed a tiny feeling of hope to bloom in his chest at the response. It meant that Gwen wasn't too far gone yet. It meant that they could still save her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce and Dr. Jim walk quietly into the room. He knew the exact moment that Gwen noticed them from the way she stiffened. "Where does it hurt Gwen?" Steve asked, pretending to ignore the two doctors.
Carefully, moving almost mechanically, Gwen brought a clenched fist to her head and then to her chest. She had to duck down a little in order to reach her hand to her temple. Her eyes were on the two doctors moving around the room. No, Steve realized, they were only on one of them. Dr. Jim. The super soldier frowned, his concern rising. Was there something that had happened between Gwen and Dr. Jim that no one knew about? Coulson had vouched for him, but what if there was something that even he didn't know about?
But Gwen wasn't looking at the man with fear like Steve would have expected. She was looking at him with distrust and anger. She wasn't afraid of the man, she was mad at him.
"So its your head and chest that are giving you trouble?" Bruce asked the girl. The hope that Steve had been kindling abruptly faltered when Gwen didn't answer. It had been going so well.
"Gwen, please answer Bruce," Steve pleaded. "We're trying to help you get better."
After a moment of tense waiting, Gwen nodded and then brought her hand back up to her chest and tapped.
Bruce nodded. "So it's your chest that hurts more? Is it a sharp pain?"
Gwen shook her head, but brought her hand up to her temple.
"Sharp pain in your head?" Bruce clarified. Gwen nodded, then she brought her hand up to her chest, grabbed a piece of her shirt that lay over her heart and twisted.
Steve frowned, he was no doctor, but he didn't think kids her age got heart attacks. Apparently, Bruce and Dr. Jim didn't think so either.
"It's probable that the pain is a side effect of the drugs that you were given," Bruce explained to her. "I'd like to run some test to be sure. And now that you're up, I want to give you a thorough check-up." Bruce gave Steve a look.
"I want to go update the rest of the team," Steve said, getting to his feet. "They'll want to kno-"
Steve froze when a strangled noise tore itself out of Gwen's throat. In the first movement that she made voluntarily since she woke up, Gwen launched forward, straining the limits of her wrist restraints to grab onto Steve's wrist. The two doctors and the super soldier froze. Gwen was looking up at Steve with an unreadable expression. He could see plain and clear the pleading on her face, but her eyes held an emotion the soldier couldn't place.
"Stay." It was a croaked whisper, but the three men heard it as if it had been shouted.
After looking to Bruce and getting a dumbfounded nod of permission, Steve looked back to Gwen. "Alright, I'll stay."
"Oh thank god," Natasha sighed, falling back into the cushions of the couch. It was late, Peter had already been put to bed and Gwen had fallen asleep long ago. The entire team had gathered in the rec room to hear the latest updates on Gwen's condition. Steve had just finished telling the team what had happened when Gwen woke up that afternoon.
"Did she act up again?" Clint asked. "Try and fight you?"
"She started fidgeting when I started telling her about how much we had missed her," Steve replied. "But I was careful not to mention Peter to her. Once she realized that, she calmed down."
"What did they do to her in there?" Tony asked, giving voice to the question that every person in the room wanted answered.
"I don't know," Bruce replied. "My best guess is, if they did anything, it was mental, not physical. There are no marks on her, not even in the more unusual areas."
"Any signs of waterboarding?" Tony asked seriously. It was one of the few physical tortures that could leave no readily apparent marks on the victim's skin.
"If they did, there's no sign that they've done it recently," Bruce replied.
"Then they brainwashed her?" Clint suggested.
"Except I don't think that's it," Steve said. "It doesn't seem like she's mad or has any hatred for her brother. She's mad at us when we mention him."
"So then he brainwashed her against us?" Clint said. "I don't want to compliment the enemy, but that's clever. Not only has he turned her against us, he's turning her against her brother at the same time by being programed to strike out at the mention of him."
"So as long as we don't mention Peter around her and we won't risk another of her episodes?" Steve directed his question to Bruce. The doctor shook his head.
"They could have programmed in more triggers," he explained. "We don't know if there's any other words or phrases that will trigger her to lash out."
"We still don't even know that it is brainwashing," Steve pointed out. "I mean, yes it makes sense, but does anyone else get the feeling that there's something that we aren't getting?"
"What do you mean 'something we aren't getting?'" Pepper asked as she stepped off the elevator.
"We're thinking that Osborn brainwashed Gwen against us and her brother," Tony explained, standing up to greet her. "But Cap thinks that there's more to it."
"There's just some things that can't be explained by the brainwashing theory," Natasha spoke up. "For instance, why did she ask me that question when she woke up earlier? And why did she ask Steve to stay in the room when Bruce was already in there?"
"What did she ask?" Pepper asked curiously.
Natasha's eyes went hard. "She asked me why I hadn't killed her," she said stiffly. Pepper let out a small gasp before rushing over and bringing the spy in for a hug.
"We got her back," Pepper said firmly. "She's hurting, but she's got her family now. She's got us, and we're going to go to the ends of the earth to help her."
Slowly, Natasha let herself relax in her friend's arms. There was just something about Pepper's no nonsense attitude that made her believe what the woman was saying. "Thanks Pepper," Natasha said quietly.
"Anytime," Pepper replied before raising her voice to address everyone in the room. "Now, how are we going to help Gwen?"
"I hate to say this," Bruce said, "But I think that she 's going to need-"
"We bring in a shrink and she's going to lose any trust she has in us," Clint countered before the words we even out of Bruce's mouth. "It hasn't been very long since she opened up to us. We bring in a complete stranger and expect her to tell them everything? I think it might actually hurt more than it helps."
"Depression, psychological abuse and possible brainwashing." Bruce ticked off each item on his fingers. "I'm going to remind you that I may have a doctorate degree, but it's not in psychology. Or in medicine, no matter how many times I might patch everyone up after battles."
"It's a catch-22, Doc," Tony said. "We can't help her and if we bring in someone who can, we risk her getting worse."
And that's the chapter! Hope you all liked it. Like I said, I might not be updating for the next couple of weeks but if you all don't hear from me for more than 3 weeks you've got my permission to start bugging me to get a new chapter up.
Until next chapter!
CaseClosed621
