Please note, chapter 2 is also an additional chapter I have just uploaded :) Hope you enjoy! ~ F
Ps. This story is about to get a whole lot darker, mentions of child abuse, childhood injuries, references to Natasha's treatment in the Red Room...
Tony walked back into the lounge to find the film had finished. Pepper was in the kitchen with Steve making dinner while Natasha was lay with her head in Clint's lap; reading a book out loud for him to listen to.
Pepper had filled Steve in and they were both waiting for Tony to let them know what Shield had said.
Tony glanced back to the two children on the sofa, Clint was gently playing with Natasha's long hair but she had stopped reading now, waiting to listen to Tony
"We need to go back to Shield" he announced to the four people all eagerly awaiting an update
"Why, what's wrong?" Natasha asked, abruptly sitting up and startling Clint
"They just want to have a look at Clint, make sure he's okay and run a few more tests on you both"
"They still don't know what's wrong?" Steve asked
"I didn't get the full story" Tony answered simply. There was clearly more to be said, but not while Clint and Natasha were present.
"Come on, it's cold outside. Let's go get some sweaters for you two" Pepper told them, leading the two kids down the hallway.
The panic in Natasha's eyes made Tony feel instantly guilty
"Tony, what's going on?" Steve asked quietly
"I'm not sure. Shield said they'd upgraded the situation; they should have a more detailed explanation when we get there"
"Upgraded? But it was already classified as a Category 5, I didn't think there was anything higher?"
"I guess there is..."
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The five of them arrived at Shield HQ shortly after and headed straight to medical. There were several doctors and scientists milling around, as well as a familiar face.
"Bruce? When did you get back?" Tony asked, approaching his friend who was playing with a new piece of equipment Shield had just brought in.
"Oh hi Tony, I just got back yesterday. Fury asked me to come in and-"
His speech faltered as he caught sight of the small red-haired girl stood silently beside Tony and looking around, only partially concealing the fear she was feeling. She didn't like doctors, didn't trust the medical tests; ever since the Red Room had opened up her brain and had a play...
His gaze wondered over to Steve and the short blond boy following him round like a shadow
"Okay, so this is weird"
"You kind of get used to it" Tony smiled at him
"We need to take the children to run some tests now" Doctor Montgomery informed them, causing Natasha to shift ever so slightly towards Tony. He rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her, the last thing they needed right now was for her to freak out
A medical gown was passed to each of the kids, and Pepper took Natasha off to help her change.
Clint quickly changed and had his eye looked over by the medical staff; it was a pretty severe black eye but no they were satisfied no major damage was done.
They started on his tests while Natasha was getting changed; they took his obs and a swap of cells from his cheek. They did body scans, took more blood, measured and weighed him, and finally took some X-rays.
Pepper walked down the hall towards the women's changing rooms with Natasha; not that she needed help getting dressed, but Pepper knew how much she feared the doctors and felt she could use some company.
Pepper noticed the bruises straight away; they ran down her back and across her stomach, down her legs and up her chest; black and blue marks everywhere but her face. Pepper wasn't sure what upset her more; the fact someone had actually done this to her, or the fact she hadn't thought it important enough to even mention. Every movement must hurt like hell, and even after seeing what happened to Clint; she hadn't told Tony or herself about her injuries.
Natasha quickly pulled the hospital gown over her battered body, happy it covered the worse of the bruising before following Pepper back down the hallway.
She underwent the same examinations as Clint had while Bruce looked over the data the machines were compiling.
"You get anywhere with the blueprints?" Hill asked Tony
"Not really, it's way more advanced than anything I've seen, possibly from another planet, but I'm not sure. I could probably get further if I had the actual tech rather than just the blueprints" he hinted
"I'm afraid that can't happen, the machine was destroyed after it was used"
"There's nothing left?
"Nothing at all"
"Dammit"
"Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure Pep, what is it?"
"You need to talk to Natasha"
"What, why?"
"She's covered in bruises, literally covered. You need to find out if she has any more injuries she's not told us about, you need to let her know that she can tell us if she's hurt"
"Why me? Why didn't you-"
"Because she trusts you the most, and this is too important for her to not listen to. Please?"
"Okay, I'll have a word when medical have finished"
Tony did as he promised, and Natasha promised she'd tell them from now on if she was hurt. Following the scans they discovered she had two fractured ribs and the doctors were amazed she'd been able to hide it; she must be in agony.
Pepper and Maria took the two children down to the canteen to get some ice cream with Bruce and Tony talked science and the doctors analysed the findings.
"This just doesn't make any sense"
"What doesn't Banner?" Fury asked, desperate for answers
"Their cells are in a state of flux; the lengthening telomeres tell me they're getting younger, but sometimes it's rapid, like they're losing two or three days a minute, other times it's much slower, but sometimes it's static, like they're frozen"
"So we were right? They're still de-aging?"
"Yes, but there's no way to estimate how fast. There's no pattern or reason I can see as to the speed they're regressing"
"But, it doesn't make sense" Tony added, suddenly joining the conversation
"What's up now Stark?"
"They're basically going back in time right?"
The two men, and several other people listening in nodded
"But they remember what happened yesterday, when they were technically older. Shouldn't they forget?"
"I guess so..."
"And their injuries, we're assuming Clint got hit and developed a black eye in the past, which is why he has one now, but it appeared suddenly, like he'd just been hit again. Shouldn't it have developed slowly, over the course of at least a few days; as in the opposite of it healing..?"
"I see your point"
"So they're de-aging, but still progressing forward..?"
"This whole thing is messing with my head" Fury declared, rubbing his temples to try and prevent the oncoming migraine
"What I'm more concerned with, is what happens when they reach zero?" Bruce asked quietly