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Mistakes on this are all mine. See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

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Chapter 5

When Natasha returned to the Tower after two weeks of being gone on missions, with Bucky at her side, the team barely acknowledged her presence. She didn't count it off as strange until even Thor who usually welcomed her with a bone crushing hug simply greeted curiously with a "Welcome Lady Natasha" and moved on to wherever it was he was going.

"Welcome back Miss Romanoff, Mister Barnes," Jarvis greeted them as they got onto Natasha's floor and dropped her stuff of.

"Jarvis, where is everyone?" Natasha asked. It was tradition that after a mission, they would gather in the living room and spend time together as a team. It was a tradition that she and Clint had started when they first joined the team. She had walked through the common level thinking that there would be people there to welcome her, but nobody was in sight.

"Mr. Rogers is in Florida visiting Ms. Carter," Jarvis replied.

Bucky nodded his head with a small smirk remembering the petite brunette that had captivated his old friend's heart. He sat down on the couch and took the remote flipping through the channels.

"Natalia, why don't you sit down here?"

Natasha ignored his request and went about her way into the kitchen to make herself some tea. She could tell something was off; the AI was never this secretive about anything. "And everyone else, Jarvis?"

"Mister Odinson had just left in order to join the others at an undisclosed location for an undisclosed reason."

"What aren't you telling me, Jarvis?" Natasha asked getting angry at the AI. She could feel her gut turn, she hoped nothing was wrong with the team.

"Natalia," Bucky called out from the living room. "Just come here and relax. I'm sure if your team needed you, they would call."

"Jarvis, what is going on?"

"I'm afraid that I don't actually know, Miss Romanoff. I just know that they have all left the building and frequently haven't been here for the past two weeks."

Natasha sighed shaking her head as she walked into her living room and took a seat next to Bucky. "Do you really think that they would call if they needed me?"

"You think they would be able to do anything without the Widow?" Bucky questioned her with a smirk, nudging her to come closer to him. "They're nothing without you, Natalia."

Natasha nodded her head snuggling into Bucky's embrace thinking of the where abouts of her teammates.

They were at Clint's hospital room.

It was carbon monoxide poisoning, easily could be an accident from one of the pipes that ran through his garage, or his car. Easily, but the Avengers, Tony especially, didn't believe in such coincidences until they were proven to him straight away that they were coincidences and nothing more.

When Tony had found Clint two hours after their phone call barely alive inside of his car, he panicked. Clint was having convulsions, after a small prick of his blood; Jarvis gave Clint two hours to live if untreated with the poison. Tony took the Iron Man suit and placed Clint in one flying them both onto the Hellicarrier. The suit helped him keep tabs on Clint's vitals. Helped ensure that Clint was alive.

It was after that, that he disabled Jarvis and erased all of Jarvis' knowledge on what had happened to Clint. There were very few people who knew of the man's garage where he kept his restored vehicles.

There were actually only three people.

Romanoff, Stark and Banner. Since Banner and himself were out of the question, Stark had to tentatively place the blame on the third person who knew of the place. Though if asked a year ago, he would never place such blame on the Russian who seemed to want to protect Clint more than herself. Things were different now.

"Why do you think the Widow has never come to visit?" Thor asked Tony. "I had witnessed her arrival at the Tower a mere week ago."

Clint groaned, "She's resting. She needs her rest after missions."

"Why aren't you caring about this more?"

"What are you talking about, Tony?"

"The fact that she just dumped you like a rat and ran to Terminator."

"There are no feelings there," Clint lied through his teeth though he knew Tony already knew that. "And don't even think about investigating this... whatever it is. Pipes burst all the time, that's why people get those monoxide alarm things. Probably should invest in one now."

Tony glared at Clint.

"This is not her fault, Tony," Clint replied to his glare. "She wouldn't poison me, she would just use one of the million ways she knows how to kill me quickly. This was an accident. If it makes you feel any better, I'll look through the pipes while I find a new garage to put my babies in."

"I do not understand the reference of Clinton's cars to his offspring," Thor noted in the background.

Bruce walked in the door with Clint's chart in his hands.

"Gimme some good news, Doc."

"Well, good news is that you can be released as early as this afternoon," Bruce stated placing the chart at the table near Clint's bed and checking the machines that took his vitals.

"And? Is there bad news?" Clint asked Bruce.

"Well you are out of commission for the next month while you ride out the rest of the symptoms from the drugs we pumped you with. SHIELD is giving you time to train and get back to your top form before you can go out there."

Clint nodded his head. "Princess will be locked in the Tower, roger that."

"Already took care of your release forms, as soon as this last drip is out, Fury's authorized for us to take a Quinjet back to the Tower."

Clint nodded his head turning to Thor who wanted to ask him about offsprings and cars some more in order to clear up some confusion.

Tony turned to Bruce, "did you test it?"

"I did."

"What did it turn out to be?"

"It's nothing that comes from pipes or cars. The carbon monoxide was only 30 percent CO and the rest of it was a synthetic gas made somewhat like anesthetics and another... more poisonous combination that even SHIELD isn't aware of yet. The gas was injected into the specific vent that ran down Clint's garage. I had it tested on a live specimen and within four hours the specimen was dead."

"Right," Tony said taking his phone out of his pocket and typing away on it. "I have a feeling I know what's going on."

Bruce nodded his head in agreement. "Sadly, I think I do too."

Any of you guys have any idea what's happening?! :D

Comments and Criticisms, welcome!