Driven Mad (Book 1 in the MAD Series)(An Avengers Fan Fiction)

Clint Barton

Clint clung tightly to Natasha, desperate to keep her safe from harm, terrified that she was going to go back into that terrifying state. When she’d frozen on the dance floor and he was unable to snap her out of it, Clint had gotten horrified and panicked. He had rushed her to Bruce and he’d rushed her back into the medical wing of StarkTower. It had been one of the most terrifying moments of his life.

When Bruce had told Clint that she’d been having this massive anxiety attack, Clint had instantly denied it. Clint doubted that she could ever go through something like that, not with how immensely strong she was. She was stronger than she was, gone through things that he could hardly even imagine. So Clint didn’t even know how she could be so easily taken down, so easily frozen, by her own mind, by her own terrors, her own memories. Watching her freeze like that, watching her stare deep into space, watching her stare right through him… It terrified him.

But watching her dart back up rekindled his faith, his hope. It took away the horror, the terror, that feeling of lost hope. Watching her bolt up, out of this trance, the frozen face of terror fading into a face of horror, but it was no longer frozen, no longer stone cold. It seemed alive. It seemed so alive, which was the most beautiful thing that he’d ever seen. It gave him the hope that life was still worth living, because without her, without HIS Natasha, life wasn’t worth his time anymore.

Clint wrapped his arms around her as she panicked slightly, just speaking to calm her down. Finally, she began to settle down, returning to normal. He held her tightly as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him around the shoulders. She was still staring out behind him, too wary to close her eyes, Clint could tell just by the way she sat. He rubbed circles against her skin, trying to keep her calm, trying to keep her with him instead of getting lost back in her own horrific memories.

“What happened to me?” She whimpered.

Clint watched Bruce remove his glasses and sit them down on the desk next to the bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. Natasha pulled from his grip and turned toward Bruce, awaiting an answer from him. As the tension built in the room, Tony turned toward them, waiting for Bruce to answer her question.

“Natasha… You had a massive anxiety attack.” Bruce confessed.

“What?” Natasha inquired, dumbfounded.

“I’m not entirely sure what may have triggered it, but you had a massive anxiety attack, Red.” Tony informed.

“But… No! I… I don’t…”

“Sorry, little miss redhead. You’ve got to deal with it just like everybody else. I’ve got it too. I’m sure some others are going to wind up with it after this. Steve’s had it for years. You’ll be okay.”

“No. No. I can’t! I’m… I… No.”

“Look, Natasha, there are ways to get it under control, ways to stop them once they happen, ways to keep them from happening. It doesn’t have to control your life like you’re thinking it does.” Bruce explained.

“Yeah, Nat, I mean, you’ll be okay. It’s not the end of your life.” Clint whispered.

“No. I didn’t have an anxiety attack. I couldn’t have. I couldn’t. I… It had to be like… A seizure or something! I… I’m… Fine.” Natasha frantically objected.

“Natasha. We had J.A.R.V.I.S run all the scans in the world. We know what happened. But you’re okay…” Bruce tried to explain.

Clint watched as Natasha’s eyes darted back and forth, like she was trying to get some sort of explanation for why this was happening to her. Clint felt compassion on her, sympathy that he’d never had to feel toward her before. She looked panicked, staring up at her doctor in absolute disbelief. She’d never had anything like this happen to her and Clint knew that she was horrified because of it. He just wanted to keep her safe from her own thoughts, but he knew that he couldn’t do anything to save her from what was in her own mind.