( Even when Coulson pistol whipped Clint, Natasha could do little more than stare. It was taking longer than usual for her to reign in her emotional response to the situation, but she felt it was warranted in this instance. Phil, along with Clint, had been the only one to have any faith in her. Anyone else would have seen her as beyond saving, too dangerous to be allowed to live. They'd seen something else. Well, Clint had. But Phil had backed his play when he could have easily forced his hand. They had trusted her. And she was devoted to them because of that.

So seeing Phil here, alive, when she knew he was dead tore at something inside her. And it was him. Not some LMD or an imposter. It was him. Because only Phil would be ridiculous enough to apologize after knocking out a brainwashed agent. Getting to her feet, Natasha stepped up to Phil, still unable to believe he was really there. There was a barely noticeable tension to the way she held herself, but she knew he would see it. After a moment she glanced down at Clint. )

He should be fine now. Cognitive recalibration should remove the Tesseract's influence. ( She was quiet for a moment, just staring at him unnervingly. ) Fury said you were dead. That you took on Loki without backup and were killed. ( She slapped him. Hard. ) You don't get to do that, Coul...Phil. You don't get to just throw your life away.