[In a medical bay aboard the damaged helicarrier, Barton was shaking his head in obvious discomfort as the last effects of Loki's mind control gradually wore off. Natasha sat nearby, monitoring his condition with professional concern.]
["Clint, you're going to be okay!" she said with quiet reassurance.]
[The mental pain was intense enough that Barton strained against the medical restraints securing his arms and torso, though the bindings held firm and prevented him from injuring himself during his recovery.]
[After hearing Black Widow's attempt at comfort, he responded with frustration: "How can you know that? There's no time for this! I need to get him out of my head!"]
[Natasha stood and poured a glass of water from the nearby medical station: "It's going to take time for your mind to fully clear."]
["You don't understand," Barton said through gritted teeth. "You've never had someone take control of your brain before. Push out everything that makes you... you... and fill it with something else. Do you have any idea what it's like to be completely erased?"]
[Black Widow turned toward him with a knowing look: "You know that I do."]
[Barton took several deep breaths to center himself before asking: "How do I shake this? How did you break free from it?"]
["Cognitive recalibration," Natasha replied with the faintest smile as she returned to sit on the edge of his medical bed. "I hit you really hard in the head."]
["Thanks."]
[Then Barton's expression became grave with the weight of realization: "Natasha... how many agents did I kill while under his control?"]
["Don't do that to yourself, Clint. Don't let guilt consume you. This was all Loki's doing - his choices, not yours. You and I, we never had training for this kind of psychological warfare."]
[Natasha quickly interrupted him before he could spiral into self-recrimination.]
["Loki - did he get away?"]
["Yeah," she confirmed with obvious disappointment. "But you should know where he's headed next."]
[Unfortunately, Barton shook his head in frustration: "He never shared his plans with me. I never asked. I couldn't ask."]
[Hearing this, Natasha stood with visible disappointment and walked toward the medical bay door, her hands on her hips as she processed this setback.]
[Barton sat up on the medical bed and reached for the water glass Natasha had prepared for him.]
["He's going to make his move soon. Today, I think."]
["Then we have to stop him," Natasha said, immediately turning back toward him.]
["Agreed. But who else do we have left?"]
["I honestly don't know. Whoever's still standing, I guess."]
[Barton nodded grimly: "Well, if I can put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I might be able to sleep better at night."]
[Natasha walked back toward him, studying his demeanor: "Now you sound like yourself again."]
[But Barton had noticed something different about her psychological state: "But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. You've never been like this before - wanting to charge into the front lines. What changed? What did Loki do to you?"]
[He suspected the God of Mischief had done something to manipulate her as well.]
[Natasha was quiet for a long moment before responding: "He didn't do anything to me specifically. It's just..."]
[She trailed off, clearly struggling with something internal. Barton watched her with concern - this level of vulnerability was completely out of character for the Black Widow he knew.]
["Natasha?"]
[Black Widow pressed her lips together before finally continuing: "I've been compromised. I have too much red in my ledger. I want to wipe it clean."]
The viewing Natasha looked at her screen counterpart and remained silent for a long moment. She was currently in the process of paying off those very debts.
Wanda glanced back at her without comment. Her understanding of Natasha was limited to their recent interactions, and she didn't know the details of her past, but it was clearly a painful history that weighed heavily on her.
Then Wanda turned toward Strange. Both of them knew that the time limit for Banner and Hulk's astral separation was approaching, so they began preparing to restore his consciousness to his physical body.
Whatever the outcome of the conversation between Banner and Hulk had been, they needed to end this experimental session.
The people who had been sitting on the lawn noticed Wanda and Strange's preparations and stood up expectantly.
"Did it work?" Tony asked with obvious curiosity.
"No, but time's almost up and he has to return to his body," Wanda explained as red chaos magic began emanating from her hands to guide Banner and Hulk back into their physical form.
Two seconds later, Banner awakened holding his head: "Ugh! That hurts!"
"The pain is normal - your memories are reconnecting with Hulk's. His experiences are integrating with your consciousness, and it takes time for your mind to adjust. It should fade soon."
Strange explained the physiological process to help Banner understand what he was experiencing.
"What? But I haven't succeeded yet!" Banner shook his still-dizzy head and looked toward Wanda with disappointment.
"There are limits to how long your soul can safely remain separated from your body. Extended separation can cause permanent damage to both your physical form and consciousness."
"Alright, I thought we had made a breakthrough! How are you feeling, Bruce?"
Captain America couldn't hide his disappointment at the apparent lack of progress.
"I... actually feel pretty good! This is the first time I can sense Hulk's presence so clearly. I can access his memories, see what he experienced."
Banner sat up and rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.
"Overall, it seems to have been effective. Hulk isn't as volatile as he was initially. You can see his memories, and he can see yours. You're beginning to understand that you're two aspects of the same person."
Although Strange was primarily a surgeon, his medical training included significant psychological knowledge. Once Hulk realized that his actions weren't accepted by others, he would subconsciously begin to moderate his behavior.
"Yeah! I can feel it now - I don't need to keep suppressing him. He won't just emerge at random anymore."
Banner nodded in agreement with Strange's assessment.
"Excellent! As long as there's progress, that's what matters! Now, let's head back and celebrate this small victory! Then we still have a lot of work ahead of us!"
Tony snapped his fingers enthusiastically.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan!"
Scott wholeheartedly agreed with Tony's proposal, so Wanda opened a portal to transport everyone back to Stark Tower.
[Back on the damaged helicarrier]
[Tony stood at the edge of the detention level platform, looking at the empty space where Loki's prison had been suspended. They already knew that Thor had been ejected from the ship, and Tony couldn't help but worry about the God of Thunder's condition despite his durability.]
[Captain America approached from behind, glanced at Tony's brooding form, then leaned against the opposite railing with his arms crossed, studying the damage.]
["Was he married?"]
[Although Captain America didn't specify who he meant, Tony immediately understood he was asking about Coulson: "No. There was a cellist, I think."]
["I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."]
[Tony let out a bitter laugh: "He was an idiot."]
["Why? For believing?" Captain America couldn't quite understand Tony's harsh assessment.]
["For taking on Loki alone."]
["He was doing his job," Captain America said, his voice carrying a sharp edge.]
["The job was beyond his capabilities! He should have waited for backup! He should have..."]
[Tony approached the situation from a purely tactical perspective, but Captain America had a fundamentally different worldview.]
["Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."]
["Right. I've heard that before."]
[The two men passed each other in the confined space, and Captain America turned to look directly at Tony: "Is this the first time you've lost a soldier under your command?"]
["We are NOT soldiers!" Tony's voice rose with obvious anger and frustration.]
[Then he took a breath and regained some composure: "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."]