Chapter Seven:

De-Aging

When Clint and Steve walked into the tower, they didn't have to be told that something was wrong. The worried expression that met them upon arrival were telltale signs enough.

"What happened?" Steve whispered.

Everyone was silent until Bruce stepped out of the back room.

"How is she?" Natasha asked, standing up.

"Stable, but…" he frowned, "we have a major problem."

"Is someone going to answer us or what?!" snapped Clint, "What the hell happened?! Who the freak are you talking about?!"

Steve froze.

"Where is Toni?" he whispered.

Bruce sighed.

"Toni and I were working on an experiment in the lab. There was a…problem. She attempted to dislodge the energy stone we were running tests on by shooting it with the iron man gauntlet. However it failed. Instead, the stone shot back at her and vanished. I think…I think it went into her arc reactor."

Steve paled and the others looked troubled.

"What did it do to her?" Steve asked.

Bruce looked around the room at the concerned faces.

"I think you all should see for yourself", he replied as he led the way to the back room.

The others followed him until he reached the medical bay door.

"Be silent when you enter, she is sleeping. She had a horrible headache and the reactor was causing her a lot of pain due to the foreign object within."

The others nodded as they stepped in behind Bruce and got their first real look at Toni. There were many gasps, but mostly everyone was dumbstruck by what they saw.

"She's so…" started Pepper.

"Young", finished Natasha.

"Right. Toni, the one we know, is exactly twenty four years old. According to my data, this Toni is twenty one."

"You mean she digressed into her younger years?" Steve asked, confused as he looked down at the woman he loved.

"Correct. Jarvis has named the process de-aging."

"I don't see how this is such a bad thing. It has given her many more years, yes?" asked Thor who had newly arrived at the tower, back from Asgard, while Steve and Clint were gone.

"It has, but I am afraid of what the other effects may be. True, this has given her more youth, but Toni wasn't that old in the first place and now, she is even younger. We do not know if she will keep de-aging or if she will even maintain her present memory."

"You mean she could forget us?" Clint asked, trying to understand.

Bruce nodded, sighing.

"Yeah. She has been unconscious since the lab accident occurred about an hour ago, however when she wakes, there is a fifty-fifty chance she will not remember us, the Avengers."

"Will she at least remember she is the woman of Iron?" asked Thor.

"Probably. Toni got the arc reactor when she was eighteen, so I would assume so."

"Eighteen…" Steve whispered, "I didn't realize she was so young."

"That's because you never took the time to really talk to her", Bruce snapped at him before calming himself down. He partially blamed all of this on Steve, though he knew that wasn't really fair.

Steve didn't reply to his comment, but anyone could see he looked ashamed by it.

"Listen, it's been a long day", Clint started, "let's all get some rest. Bruce, keep us informed if she wakes up."

Bruce nodded as he turned back to watch over his friend and science-sister. The others made their way out. Steve himself went to his room and collapsed on his bed. The words Peggy told him continued to ring through his mind. "Go to her Steve, tell her you love her and don't ever release her. Before it's too late."He wish he had realized his feelings sooner. He still could see her tear streaked face when she had kissed him and he didn't kiss back.

Sighing, he shook his head, sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He needed a hot shower. Steve made his way into his bathroom and began to strip. He closed his eyes and stepped into the hot stream of liquid as it ran over his face and shoulders.

"…Before it's too late."

Steve punched the wall of the shower in anger, leaving a fist sized dent.

Had he waited too late?!

AVNGRS

Bruce sat in the corner chair of the medical bay, watching, waiting for Toni to wake. He worried about many things concerning this new development of her de-aging, but he knew he wouldn't have any answers so long as she remained unconscious.

"Any change yet?" came a whisper from the door.

Bruce looked up at Natasha who stood looking at him, concern etched into her expression.

"No. Not even a change in her brain waves."

Natasha nodded as she stepped inside and lowered herself down beside Bruce, sitting on the edge of the lounge chair. Bruce glanced at her, before hesitantly slipping an arm around her waist. She smiled as she leaned into him.

All of this was still new for Bruce. He had loved Betty at one time, but after her betrayal and his own genetic mutation, he knew there was no place for love anymore. Still…Natasha made him hope that maybe he had been wrong about that possibility. She accepted him for who he was and even loved the big green guy as well, never once seeing him for the monster he felt himself to be.

Still, the two had yet to tell the team about their romantic…developments. Mostly because Bruce wasn't ready and Natasha respected that, though she had hinted at it to Clint.

"You know…when Clint or Steve take their turn, I could help you relax a bit?" she whispered suggestively.

Bruce ignored the tingle that ran up his spine as he locked his gaze on Toni's unconscious form.

"Maybe when she wakes", he whispered.

Natasha nodded, knowing when to push and when not to push as she peered at her unconscious teammate. She hoped the girl woke soon, for me then one reason. If Natasha was completely honest with herself, she adored her teammates more than she let on.

Clint was like her twin brother, always had been and always will be. Bruce…well, it was obvious what she thought of Bruce. Thor was like a fun older cousin, always there when you needed someone to lean on. Steve was obviously the father of their family and the one who took care of them. Then there was Toni.

Natasha would be the first to admit, she and Toni had not gotten off to a great start. In fact, it was a horrible start. Toni was nineteen when Natasha met her under the guise of Natalie Rushman, posing as Pepper's new assistant.

Years later, Toni and Natasha continued to be wary of one another, especially after Toni was cured of her poisoning and became the official "consultant" for the Avengers. The words, "Ironman yes, Toni Stark, not recommended" continued to haunt her to this day, though she was now fairly certain Toni had finally forgiven her, if only just recently. For this reason, Natasha thought of Toni fondly as what could only be described as a little sister. The two bickered, didn't fully trust one another completely, and often times squared off, but they loved each other and would always have each other's backs.

So yeah, call her sentimental in her aging, but she had finally learned what having a family was all about and she would be darned, if she let it be destroyed now.

"Wake up Toni", she whispered as she leaned her head against Bruce's and waited throughout the night, singing lullabies to help stave off any nightmares that might linger for Toni and Bruce as they slept.

AVNGRS

Toni could hear someone singing, a quiet lovely tune. The melody was so familiar and yet, she couldn't bring herself to consciously recognize where she knew it from.

The words however captivated her.

"Baby, my baby, oh how I love you tonight. I see your beautiful face and oh it is so right. You never would know, how much I love you. Baby oh Baby, won't you tell me too.

Baby my baby, oh how I sing just for you. I see your beauty and your ever glowing hue. You never would understand how much you meant to me. Baby oh baby, please won't you see.

Baby my baby, oh how your presence captures my soul. I see your worth and your striving goal. You never would allow me to show you, but Baby oh baby, please accept my love."

The verses continued, but Toni knew no more as she continued to sleep, her dreams gentle and caressing as she faded back into the dark.

AUTHORS NOTE*

Ha, ha, sorry if this last part was a bit to mushy. I wrote the poem myself, so forgive me if it sucks. I am definitely not a poet XD

Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. I wanted something a bit more, emotional. I am definitely a lover of a touchy-feely moments, so you will have to forgive me for that as well if I went a bit overboard with them.

Anyways, look forward to next chapter, when Toni awakes!