Poisoned
She should have expected something like this. She should have warned the others not to open things that came to the compound without Clint or her looking at them first. It really should be common knowledge, especially for the Avengers.
She, Clint and Steve were playing scrabble at the dining room table when Tony came over to them with a package left at the door. It didn’t have any address on it or anything, just a plain cardboard box. Before she could say anything he opened it up. It was thoughtless.
There was a small bang and the room started to fill with a strange green smoke. They all jumped up from the table, abandoning their half finished game.
“Tony!” Steve yelled, trying to catch him as he fell to the ground unconscious. Whatever it was, it was fast acting.
She rushed back towards the table and picked up the box spreading this gas, her training kicking in. She ran towards the window above the sink and threw the box out, but she couldn’t do anything about the gas already spreading around the room.
She looked around and saw that not only was Tony on the ground, but Clint as well. Steve looked close to passing out as well, his super soldier serum helping him stay conscious longer than the others.
But why wasn’t she passed out on the floor? Except for a headache and finding it a bit hard to breathe, she felt alright. That's when it hit her. Whatever this gas was she had encountered it before. During her training in the Red Room.
“Tash, I can’t-” Steve blurt out before he too passed out onto the floor.
She looked around the room at the bodies of her friends passed out on the floor. It was all up to her. They needed her to help them.
“Friday! Filter out this gas”! She yelled at the AI, hoping that she was capable of doing that. She didn’t know all the features Tony had built into this place. Thankfully the AI responded.
“Right away, Agent Romanoff, would you like me to analyze what it may be?”
“Yes please” She said, thankful. As the gas started to clear from the room she felt her headache get worse, she almost started to feel lightheaded. Her lungs hurt from the effort it took to breathe. She needed to get her partners out of this room and to the medical wing. Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone else here that could help her, Bruce and Thor were still MIA.
She went over to Clint, pressing her fingers to his neck, looking for a pulse. Thankfully there was one and it was strong, it was a good sign. She picked up his upper half and dragged him to the elevator. She went back to get the others. Before she was even halfway there she doubled over in pain. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst. Dots were starting to spread throughout her vision. But she couldn’t stop know, she had to get the others out.
Ignoring the searing pain spreading through her chest she crawled over to Tony and dragged him into the elevator. Taking much longer then when she took Clint. All she wanted to do was lay on the ground and stay there. Wait for the pain to stop. But she couldn’t she had to save her friends. She still didn’t know what this gas was. It could kill them.
“Friday! Do you know what it is?” she asked the AI, which caused her to double over in a coughing fit.
“Seems to be a poisonous gas made by the KGB over 30 years ago, it doesn’t seem to have a name, but without the antidote in the next half hour, you will all suffer severe health complications.”
Shit. This was not what she needed. She needed to hurry and get Steve into the elevator with the others and get them to the medbay. She couldn’t waste another second.
She ran over to Steve and dragged him into the elevator, wincing when she accidently banged his head into the wall. That would leave a bruise. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too mad since you know she was saving his life right now.
She hit the floor that the medbay was on, falling to the floor once the doors slid shut and the elevator started to move. Just because the poison can’t kill her, doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt like hell.
After what felt like forever the elevator reached the right floor. It opened up right into the medbay so she didn’t have to drag them far.
She didn’t bother to even try to haul them onto the beds, but just left them on the floor, putting pillows under their heads.
The antidote was actually very simple and easy to get. It was just saline. This was chosen to be the antidote because it would be overlooked by scientists trying to save those poisoned by the gas. But it wouldn’t trick her. Because she was part of the class that made it. So whoever sent the gas knew it wouldn’t affect her. They knew she was one of the people to create it when she was a child. This was a message.
She quickly hooked up the saline bags to each of her friends, relieved once she saw the color starting to return to their faces. But she didn’t bother to hook one up to herself. Instead she sat on the floor, her back against the wall. She pulled her knees up to herself, putting her head against her knees, trying to make it easier to breathe.
She could give herself the saline, make the pain stop. But she didn’t deserve it. She deserved the pain. She had made the poison during her time in the Red Room. Designed the effects it would have on the human body. How fast it would spread. And now it had affected her friends. She had done this to them. She deserved to be in pain. She deserved it all.
After about an hour she heard Steve start to stir. She lifted her head up of her knees. The pain had subsided a little, but it still hurt to breathe. She watched as Steve opened his eyes. Wincing at the bright lights above him.
“How are you feeling?” She asked him, staying by the wall. She didn’t want to get close to him just in case he was mad at her. But he didn’t know she had made the gas so why would he be mad? She didn’t know why she was thinking this way. But she couldn’t help it.
“Terrible” He replied closing his eyes again for a few seconds. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. He opened his eyes again and turned his head towards her.
“So what happened” He asked. Definitely a valid question to ask when you’ve just woken up laying on the ground with some sort of liquid being put into your body.
“Tony opened that box, then we were all poisoned. You three passed out so I dragged you all up here and gave you the antidote so you won’t die.” She said. Displaying no emotion. She could see the confusion on his face as he took in that information.
“Why didn’t you pass out?” He asked.
Damn. She had hoped he wouldn’t have asked that. Even though she knew that one of them would. She had yet to come up with a believable excuse, so all she could tell him was the truth. But not all of it of course.
“Part of my training was building an immunity to different poisons. This was one of them. It just doesn’t affect me as much as it affects you and the others.” She said. There that was good enough. Right?
Steve looked confused for a moment. “But it still affects you right? So where's your medicine bag?” he asked.
“Already had it.” she lied. Lying was second nature to her. But she always hated lying to her teammates. Even if it was in their better interest.
“And we’ll all be okay?” Steve asked.
“Yes, rest now, your body needs to heal.” She said. It was mostly true, but she actually just wanted him to go back to sleep and not ask her anymore questions. Thankfully he closed his eyes and seemed to go right back to sleep.
She watched him sleep for a bit. He looked peaceful. She liked seeing him this way. Eventually she rested her head on her knees again. Her thoughts were a mixture of fear, self hatred and anger spiraling out of control.