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Meanwhile, Back on Earth.
–Clint Barton–
"How are things?" He smiled softly as Laura climbed up the roof of their house, despite being in a dress. Well, she was a former agent so that was unsurprising. What was surprising, even to this day, was her ability to read him like an open book.
It had been a while since he had been able to slip anything past her. The last time he had tried to hide something from her was when he was ordered to hunt down Natasha and he had come to her, conflicted in his ability to kill someone who he knew could be good, with the right motivation.
That single late-night conversation, over very strong coffee, was what steered his mind in that direction and what gave him the conviction necessary to stand up to his superior and say no right to his face, allowing the matter to pass and for Nat to become a SHIELD Agent.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and all that. She turned out to be the single best mission closer in SHIELD history, even better than him. Granted, the percentages were really skewed in her favour since he did join SHIELD as a rookie, whereas by the time Nat joined SHIELD, she was already one of the boogeymen of the underworld.
"Hah, nothing. Just thinking about…stuff," He said wistfully as Laura snuggled up next to him, looking at the stars. God, he loved the view and yet, he could not bring himself to enjoy it fully right now. This was Nat's favourite spot in his house and she always snuck up here, in the beginning, because she was still not comfortable with Laura and her openness.
"...Really, that's the best you can come up with? Stuff?" Laura snickered at him as she looked up at him.
He smiled softly at her, "Yeah, what can you do? You know I can't talk to you about that stuff,"
"Well, you said the same thing when you were warring with yourself about Natasha, and look how great it turned out when you talked with me, and aired out your thoughts," Laura said as she squeezed his hand comfortingly.
His smile became strained as a lull formed in the middle of their otherwise fluid conversation. The grip on his hand tightened as Laura sat up, looking down on him.
She took one look at him and then sighed, presumably in frustration, "Oh, God. It's about Natasha, isn't it? I knew there was a reason why she didn't come back with you this time. It was never about "tying up loose ends" was it?"
He sighed and stood up, "Look, it's just something that has been weighing on my mind. Fury has been under tremendous pressure to bring her in, as well. Nat, she, has officially been declared rogue,"
Laura gasped, "What? Why? How?"
He could only smile and shake his head helplessly, having no reply to her myriad questions.
"Come, I have a big day tomorrow. I want to get at least a good night's sleep before I begin one of the most difficult days of my life, and that is me counting the Invasion as well," He could only deflect her questions and get them both off the roof, to go straight to bed.
Even as his eyes finally closed, after much difficulty, he could feel Laura's death grip on his hand, the news of Nat clearly shaking her to her core. He could not blame her. Despite being in their lives for a very short period of time, Laura had grown incredibly trusting of Natasha and for good reason, she had been the sole reason why he was even able to come home at all.
—-X—-x—-X—-
It was the next morning, as he waved at Laura and got out of the farm. Reaching the rendezvous point, he was airlifted and brought to the nearest SHIELD Base, which was a little over 500 miles away.
"Hawkeye,"
"Agent Hill. I was not expecting you to spearhead this operation,"
Well, it was not in his expectation but it was a welcome surprise nonetheless. There were fringe elements within SHIELD that had become very visible, especially after the New York Fiasco, combined with the Helicarrier crash. He would not have wanted someone like Sitwell to lead the op.
That man was a very spineless agent, despite being a level 6 agent. He would have caved into the first demand of the WSC. And he was sure that the WSC was currently clamoring for the death of Natasha Romanoff, The Black Widow.
"Neither was I, Barton. Director Fury assigned this to me at the last moment. Glad to be working again with you," Hill said as they entered the base and into one of the meeting rooms, where Hill proceeded to disconnect all the cameras and remove all of the panels installed in the walls, then systematically remove all the bugs present in those panels.
He watched all of this happening while lounging on the very uncomfortable steel chair with an eyebrow raised. He was curious as to why Hill felt it prudent to do so in the middle of a secure SHIELD base but she was technically his superior now and he was not in the mood to question much of anything right now. Besides, he was sure that an explanation was coming his way anytime now.
Hill removed the last bug, took out her phone, and waved it around the room, and only after hearing a single long beep, did she sigh in relief and sit down in the chair in front of him, the phone being tossed on top of the table.
"So, what's this about?" He popped another gum into his mouth as he leaned his chair precariously. He was not really in the right mood for a serious conversation right now and this was his method of coping with it.
"Come off it, Barton. You know what I am talking about," Hill said as she opened the phone and slid it his way.
He paused in his balancing act and glanced at the phone and scoffed, resuming his balancing act. "I know what that is and I am not interested in seeing the footage for the hundredth time, Hill. Come to the point,"
Hill sighed, "Fine. As of yesterday, Natasha Romanoff, codename: Black Widow, has officially been declared a rogue agent. Previously, DIrectory FUry was willing to overlook her radio silence because he thought she was grieving but this….this is not how grieving happens, Barton,"
"Maybe, that's her way of grieving. Hey, everybody has their own methods and who are we to judge others? I mean, there could be-"
"Agent Barton, I am the agent on point for this mission so please don't irritate me to the point that I get you off this mission. Now, be serious for once. We both know this hurt you more than any wound you might have sustained in New York. I know you both were-"
"DON'T. Just don't." He breathed explosively before setting the chair right and sitting on it, facing Hill and the phone which was playing the footage on a loop. The footage ended with Nat looking straight at the camera before something unseen shot at the camera, stopping the footage right there.
"What do you want me to do, Hill? GO after her? Hunt her down? We don't know how that is going to end and-"
"And that terrifies you,"
The single statement struck him like a punch to the gut. He deflated in his chair as he nodded defeatedly at her.
And wasn't that a shocker? He was scared, not of being defeated or killed by her. No, that was not the thing he was afraid of. He was scared of talking with her. He was scared of finding her broken and this time, he didn't know if he had any chance of trying to save her.
He didn't know what she would choose to do this time. The last time something like this happened, she was on the backfoot and the only reason she stopped fighting was because he mentioned to her that he had an offer that would help her remove some of the red in her ledger.
This time….he didn't know what she would choose and the thought terrified him to no end. To know that she could choose to kill him over whatever agenda she had was heartbreaking, to be honest.
"Look, we are going nowhere just sitting here. Now, I know you did all those bug hunting for a reason, so what does Fury have for me?" He just didn't want to think for a moment and just do whatever he was ordered to do.
"Directory Fury is busy at the moment. He is finally getting the opportunity to brief The President about everything that transpired before and during the Invasion. He is in the meeting with the World Security Council in full attendance. The WSC went behind his back to assign this mission but fortunately, Director Fury was able to slip past a message in a break, appointing me. The WSC wants her dead, plain and simple. We want her imprisoned. They want revenge. We will deliver justice,"
Okay, he could work with that. Saying that he didn't expect such a move from the WSC would be like saying that he didn't expect to cave into everything if his children asked for it. Good, he could do it. He would bring Natasha in and then see what happens after that.
Sure, she would probably be sentenced for life but at least, she would be alive.
"Any leads?"
"You are not going to like this," Hill smirked, smirked! at him. He had a sinking feeling about the supposed lead.
"You know what? I can track her down on my own. Just point me in a direction and I will do the rest."
"Stark,"
His tirade was stopped abruptly as he looked at her incredulously with a look that screamed: really?!
"Yeah, we have reason to believe that Stark's AI, Jarvis has been helping Romanoff keep off our radar and simultaneously orchestrate the crime. Part of the reason why the WSC was so adamant on being present on premises for the President's debrief was due to Romanoff. They were too scared to be alone so they have huddled together at the White House."
"I see, and what of the fifth member?"
"Completely clean. A hardliner through and through but one whose entire life can be tracked back 20-30 years so he is a non-issue at the moment,"
Well, this was going to suck. Dealing with Stark, on his best days with a good night's sleep and a positive outlook on life, was difficult. Now? It was going to be the stuff of nightmares.
—--X—-x—-X—-
"Well, Mr.Bow and Arrows, I have to ask, where are your bow and arrow?"
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and he eye-signaled Pepper Potts who promptly stepped in to reel in her wayward boyfriend. He was somewhat shocked that Stark had not popped the question yet, what with his life sacrificing stunt that was stopped midday by Jack during the invasion.
Jack, another casualty of the Invasion and one that, for better or worse, could not have been avoided at all. He would be the first person to admit that without Jack, they would have been sitting ducks with that Asian fellow going around and gutting them by straight up putting his hand into their chest and crushing their hearts, with nothing they could do to stop him.
Not to mention the sheer damage that Jack caused to the opposing army, not including the absolute beatdown he gave to Loki. The less said about his final action, the better.
"Tony, behave," Pepper gently chastised him and he smiled at that little byplay as Stark's entire demeanour changed upon a single word from her. He was glad that Stark found someone who could ground him in life. They all needed someone like that in their lives, especially with the type of lives they led.
"Stark, we need your help,"
"Oh, make an appointment,"
"Tony!"
What? He started it,"
"It's JARVIS,"
Tony's gaze snapped to him and he smiled internally.
"What did you say?"
"Have you noticed something weird about your AI recently, Stark?"
He knew he had Stark when he saw how Stark instantly schooled his expression after being confronted with that question. So, he had noticed something wrong with his creation.
"There might have been some….hiccups the last time I took a look at J's source code," Stark reluctantly informed them under the watchful eyes of Pepper Potts.
Well, this was wrong on so many levels he didn't know where to start. Their best case scenario was of Tony allowing Jarvis to help Natasha and then cooperating with him to bring her in.
This was the worst case scenario. A potentially unshackled AI loose on the world, aiding one of the greatest assassins to ever be born, helping her kill some of the most powerful politicians in the world, all for revenge.
God help them all.
Word Count - 2226
A/N - Author feeling sleepy. Eye becoming heavy. Now the author will go and scroll reels for another hour or so before going to sleep.
Chao!
On a serious note, sorry for the shorter chapter. Will be back with a much larger (>3k) one tomorrow since I get off from work early tomorrow.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just want to read ahead of the public release, you can head on to my P*treon or Ko-fi .
I already have upto 15 extra chapters published there.