The next thing they knew the six of them were ducking for cover as gunfire and explosions reined around them. They were in a dark, cold field by the edge of a forest; covered in mud as orders were shouted overhead
"Steve?"
"Yeah, yeah this is mine" he said, though it was pretty obvious; they were in the middle of a warzone; the Nazi's mere meters away.
Once again they were weaponless, officers were yelling at them to get out of the way but they were pinned down as the Nazis and Americans exchanged gunfire over their heads
A grenade landed by them just seconds later, and Steve's training jumped in; he ran towards it as the others watched in disbelief
"Steve no!" Bruce shouted, and watched as Clint kicked the grenade away just in time to prevent Steve throwing himself on it. The explosion sounded a second later as it hit the line of trees which the Nazi's were using for cover. They scattered, leaving the Avenger's and the US Army alone
"Nice move" one of the captains patted Clint and Steve on the back, offering them a grateful smile as he faded back to the grey mist the team had become so use to.
XxX
Once again the grey soon faded and the six found themselves stood in the middle of a school. They were kids; no older than ten, and Tony couldn't help but laugh at Steve's small stature, Natasha's freckles and Clint's braces
"This isn't funny Tony" Steve warned, strolling over to Bruce's side
"I remember this day, we should get-" he began. But it was too late; an explosion sounded, walls cracked as the building shook and collapsed around them
Clint struggled for breath as dust surrounded him and caught in his throat, Thor was struggling free from debris by his side but there was no sign of the others
"Natasha? Steve?" he began shouting their names, as did Thor who dug through the debris with surprising speed
They soon found Tony who was badly bruised, and then Natasha who looked a little worse for the ware and in no fit state to help them look for Steve and Bruce, but alive and that was main point. Once they made it back to the greyland their injuries would fade, they just had to get back there...
They finally found the others but they were both unconscious
"How do we get back if he's out cold?" Tony asked from where he'd slumped on the ground by Natasha
Natasha muttered something back, but she was close to unconsciousness too and no one heard what she'd said
"Damn it, come on Bruce. Wake up" Clint coaxed gently, over and over until his eyes finally flickered open
"You can do this Banner, take us back" Thor whispered, and once Bruce realised what had happened, when his memory came flooding back he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and concentrated.
XxX
The mist reappeared, but it lasted barely a second before it moulded itself into a new location once again.
XxX
Now the six superheroes found themselves stood in the bottom of an old, empty swimming pool. It has certainly seen better days; the tiles were chipped and the walls were grimy. Each of them found their ankles shackled together, attached to a chain bolted to the floor.
Natasha's eyes flashed to Clint as the other four looked around in confusion
"I'm sorry" she whispered, her eyes downcast as water began to bubble up through one of the drains in the floor and the pool began to fill. Realisation soon dawned on the others that with them chained to the base of the pool; they'd all drown if they didn't get out soon enough
"Natasha, it's just a dream" Clint reminded her gently
"No, not it's not"
"What do you-" Tony began, but stopped when his mind caught up; this wasn't just one of Natasha's nightmares; an exaggeration of a memory, twisted and contorted like his and Clint's and Thor's. This had actually happened and could quite possibly kill them all; Tony found himself thinking about that old saying; 'If you die in a dream, you die in reality' and contemplated just how strange his life now was...
The water was filling up fast, it was freezing, and they were fast running out of time
Clint and Steve tried their best to calm Natasha, but as hard as she tried she couldn't get them out of it; she was in too deep; her mind too bogged down with drugs and she couldn't fight it
All Natasha could do was apologize over and over as the freezing water got deeper
Soon they were all treading water, and Natasha was no closer to calming down. She spluttered as the water reached her mouth and she struggled for breath. Once again, being the shortest had its downfalls
The others were too far away to help; the chains looped round their legs kept them out of reach of each other while they were struggling to stay afloat and nothing they did could free their ankles from their binds
The team could do nothing as Natasha's air supply was cut off as the water level went over her head
They fought, and they kicked and they tried, but all attempts failed.
XxX
Aboard the hellicarrier the medics weren't able to do anything for Natasha; her sats were falling rapidly, heart was racing, her temperature plummeted and she became hypertensive; she wasn't breathing, but no matter what they tired they couldn't get her to. Even inbuating didn't help, it was as if the oxygen just wasn't getting through and there was nothing to explain why. Soon all the machines and monitors were alarming when her heart stopped.
XxX
The chains and the water disappeared as the Avengers found themselves back in the grey mist, but unlike all the previous times the damage hadn't been reversed; Natasha wasn't breathing...