Natasha was running as fast as she could to try and get away from the Winter Soldier yelling at civilians to get out of the way as the Soldier chased her. Breathing a sigh of relief as she reached an area at which the Soldier would have no chance at her she allowed herself one sigh of relief. Suddenly pain ripped through her soldier along with terror. There was no way that the Soldier could have possibly shot her. Unless. Oh shit. She immediately ran from her now unsafe spot behind the car where she had been only to see him standing further down the street. Her blood turned to ice upon seeing another man dressed in a similar style to the Soldier with exception to the metal arm. Covered in Kevlar, an immeasurable amount of weapons and a sniper rifle was him. The Iron Wolf. It had to be no one could have made that shot. She hadn't seen him since Red Room but he still had a familiar presence. But why did he seem familiar.
Natasha dodged to the side as he started firing at her trying to reign in the cold chill which came from the Iron Wolf. Their odds of winning this fight had drastically fallen with both the Winter Soldier and the Iron Wolf here. With Steve and Sam both fighting the Soldier the Iron Wolf was left up to her. 'Oh joy'.
Letting herself get lost in thoughts was not a good idea as she was barely able to move out of the way when the Wolf tried to take her bloody head off. The two of them stood there looking at each other and just before the Wolf attacked her he cocked his head in a familiar way. Why did the man seem more familiar now than when she had known him years ago? Then it hit her as the Wolf and her were trading blows.
She had seen that familiar head tilt, hundreds, if not thousands of times before. But there was no fucking way. There was no way in hell. But he had been out of contact for nearly six months.
The next attack which she tried against the Wolf was blocked before he promptly flipped her over his shoulder but at the last moment Natasha was able to readjust her body so that she had her legs wrapped around his neck tightening her grip immediately so as not to be thrown off again. The luck didn't last when her opponent managed to get a good grip on Natasha and promptly flung her through the air. And in a last ditch attempt for an advantage she grabbed onto the first available thing that she could reach. Which just so happened to be the goggles and the mask on the Wolf's face. Rolling as she reached the pavement she came up to see the nightmare that she had been dreading.
Clint's face.
No. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. There was no way that it could possibly be him. Natasha was struck with horror. Horror as the face of Clint Barton stared straight at her.
"Clint?" Natasha felt her voice threatening to break upon uttering that single word. But there was no way that she would allow herself to show any shred of weakness. Even to her own partner.
"Clint what the fuck are you doing?!" Natasha yelled at the Wolf wanting to hear the reasoning behind why he was fighting for the enemy. Hoping that this was some kind of trick which she had not been told about.
"Who the fuck is Clint?"
Before she could investigate further into the Clint lookalike she was pulled from behind and with the gun which was pointed directly at her by the Wolf there was nothing that she could do.
Natasha then felt her arms being grabbed and upon looking around she saw that both Steve and Sam were being led to a van by hydra agents. But she couldn't care less. Clint. She was zoned out from everything that was going on around her. She was hoping beyond hope that the man had been a lookalike or even a clone. Because everything down to the eye-color was the exact same. The same build. The same broad shoulders and the same blonde hair. She was brought out of her thoughts upon hearing Steve talking.
"It was Bucky. But he looked right at me but he didn't even recognize me." Natasha cleared her throat to get both of the guys attention.
"We have a bigger problem Steve." The two men looked at her with questioning looks before she started talking again.
"The other man. He looked exactly like Clint." Steve's eyes widened upon hearing Natasha. Sam was confused mainly due to the fact that he had never met Clint. "Are you sure?" She nodded in affirmation.
"But the awful thing is that. He had no idea who I was."
"Maybe it's a clone?" Steve responded in turn getting no more than a nod in response to his theory.
"I don't think so." She said nothing further listening in the background as Sam was saying that she needed a doctor. Oh yeah. She forgot that she had been shot. When one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard Natasha figured that she must have lost a lot of blood to be hallucinating this. But when she saw the face of Hill she knew that she wasn't hallucinating. Hill looked more confused than anything upon hearing the news about the Clint Barton look-a-like coming from Natasha.
"Let's deal with getting out of here before we start worrying about a compromised Barton." Natasha's eyes narrowed upon hearing Hill's words. As she watched the other three create a hole in the floor of the van she was internally panicking, not that she allowed anyone else to see this. There was no possible way that it could be Clint. He had been out of contact but there had been confusion at the name Clint. As if the Wolf had been hearing the name for the first time.
As the two guys helped Natasha down into the hole so that they could escape she noticed that Steve was shooting her a concerned look. Because Steve knew that Clint had been her savior back when he had recruited her instead of killing her. And Steve knew that Natasha would raise hell until she knew for a fact that the man from earlier wasn't Clint. But Natasha already knew that it couldn't have been Clint. All that was required now was the proof to back up her instincts.
Secret S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility
As Natasha was being led off she heard Hill distantly telling her that there would be time to talk as soon as the bullet in her shoulder had been dealt with. Natasha felt herself distantly nodding. She knew that she was going into shock right now. What with the Clint look-a-like. The Winter Soldier. And above all the Iron Wolf. Who looked exactly like Clint Barton.
A Little While Later
As soon as Natasha walked into the room she nearly attacked the man who was lying in the hospital bed. Nick Fury. The man who was currently laying in that bed as if the chance that Clint Barton might possibly be compromised wasn't a factor.
"They cut you open." These words were said while her hands were clenched tightly against her sides, her knuckles white from the pressure being exerted on them due to both her own frustration and silent rage.
"Tetrodotoxin B. It slows the pulse down to one beat per minute. Banner developed it for stress. It didn't really have an effect on him but S.H.I.E.L.D. found a good use for it in the end."
"Why all of the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Natasha already knew the answer before Maria Hill chose to answer Steve. That any attempt on the director's life had to look successful.
"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust." Natasha's eyes narrowed upon hearing the words. She had finally reached her limit and the others in the room had realized this as well backing up slightly so that none of them were in the way of what was soon to be a full-out war between the two.
"Where is Clint?" Natasha's gaze was unwavering as she looked into Fury's eyes. Everyone in the room knew that she would accept nothing but the truth from Fury. Her hands shook slightly from the fury that she was feeling briefly before she got them under control. "Is he compromised?" Confusion was the first emotion which ran across Fury's face upon hearing her question about Barton being compromised.
"Why would he be compromised?"
"Just answer me." Fury took a deep sigh before telling her that he had talked to Clint just mere days before all of this bullshit rained down. Confusion ran across her face as she tried to come up with an answer to Fury's response. She had been expecting avoidance of the question. Been expecting some type of bureaucratic bullshit about not being able to tell her anything about Clint's whereabouts. It wasn't possible. The kind of brainwashing that had been placed on the Wolf earlier would have taken months even years to accomplish on someone like Clint.
"I JUST SAW HIM OUT THERE FIGHTING WITH THE SOLDIER! THEY BOTH TRAINED ME SO I KNOW THAT IT WAS REALLY THE WOLF THAT WAS FIGHTING ME AND NOT JUST SOME STAND-IN TO SHAKE ME!" Fury's eyebrows raised upon hearing Natasha and upon seeing the footage which Hill showed him on the tablet which was in her hands his eyes narrowed and then widened upon seeing the Wolf's face revealed by Natasha.
"I'm not lying. When he spoke he sounded exactly like Clint. He even cocked his head the same exact way that Clint does. Is there some twin or clone that you haven't told any of us about?" Fury scoffed upon hearing Natasha's question but then cursed in ways which Natasha hadn't even imagined could be done.
"Does he have a twin?"
"He died." Fury then pulled the phone which had been lying on the table next to his hospital bed and quickly dialed a number. One she recognized as Stark's. Fury didn't even give Tony a chance to make a sarcastic comment before he yelled into the phone.
"You're going to dig up everything that you can on William Barton! Dig up the grave if you have to! Do it now Stark! And keep this quiet! The force with which Fury then slammed the phone on the bedside table surprised everyone in the fact that neither the phone or the table had in any way been harmed. "Now all we have to do is wait."
"What's with all the fucking doom and gloom?" Natasha froze upon hearing that voice. Turning around she saw the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen in her life.
Clint.
Clint was walking up to her joking about some random thing when she very out of character for herself pulled her partner into a tight hug. Clint just stood there having paused mid-sentence. There was a look on his face which was clearly saying 'what the fuck is going on'. The hug lasted not even a full minute before she pulled back. As she looked into his face she grinned the broadest grin that Clint had ever seen her manage. He backed up slightly upon seeing it, thinking that he was in for some type of beating from his partner.
"Ok. What did I do?" Clint asked looking over Natasha's shoulder to see Sam and Steve the two of them standing and staring at the weird scene clearly not knowing what to do or say. But Clint could tell that the two of them were sitting on a secret. And judging from Natasha's reaction it had to be nuclear level.
"Are you okay Natasha?" Clint knew that she wasn't though. She wouldn't have hugged him otherwise.
"We need to wait until Stark gets here. It'll help in explaining what's going on." As if his name could summon him Tony Stark walked right through the door and upon seeing Clint did a double take. "Ok what is with everyone acting so weird. I mean I'm the one that had to escape with none of my aliases in the middle of a potential warzone."
"Let's go to the conference room. It'll be easier to explain in there. It also has a bigger screen which I can put this information on." Everyone nodded except for Clint. Was someone going to tell him that he was dying. Did he only have two days to live?" God he hoped not, because if he did then he would have to find someone to take care of Lucky.
As the group walked into the conference room Clint headed straight over towards the coffee which was sitting in the middle of the table. Not hearing the question which had been asked. Clint turned around to face the group motioning for them to repeat the question.
"Clint do you have any other family besides Barney?" Clint visibly flinched. Any mention of Barney would create such a reaction from him. Along with confusion. Why did everyone here, Fury included care about his dead twin brother?
"I had a twin who died years ago Natasha. He wasn't even a week old. He died of an aneurism is what I was told. My father would throw around that he was lucky to have gotten out while he could. That no one would ever have willingly wanted to be my twin when he was drunk enough." Which anyone who knew about Clint's past was more than likely every day up until his parents had died. And Natasha knew that there was something else that Clint was not telling them about his brother as well.
"What's all of this about Natasha?"
"We think that he's alive Clint." Clint looked first confused and then closed off upon hearing them talk about his twin. "Look Natasha I came to deal with the fact that my twin died years ago." Which was a lie. He still hoped that his twin was alive even after so many years of dead ends.
"So, unless you're completely sure that my twin is alive. If you have any minute traces of doubt please don't tell me." He paused and took a deep breath. "Because having hope that my twin might be alive only to have the hope dashed away would be a cruel trick of fate."
"Clint. I saw a man earlier who could have been your doppelgänger."
"When she had asked me if there was a possibility of you being compromised I told her that I had talked to you just hours before all of this shit happened." Fury added motioning towards Stark who threw the information which was on his tablet onto the big screen. The first image was of a gravestone. His twin brother's gravestone. Clint had to sit down. His twin could possibly be alive. Clint placed his head in his hands before looking up at the entire group. He had been right all those years ago, he had almost lost hope in thinking that his brother was dead.
"I fucking swear that if this is a joke I will fucking kill you all!" Fury calmly handed Clint a folder and upon looking inside at the contents Clint paled visibly. He handed the folder over to Natasha before sitting down placing his head back in his hands. The first picture that he had seen upon opening the folder had been the image of the Wolf's face. It was a blurry picture but was clear enough to show that the man was a dead ringer for Clint.
"My twin brother is the Iron Wolf? I find out that my twin is alive after looking into his death for years, only to find out that he could possibly be the partner to the motherfucking Winter Solder?" Natasha sat down next to Clint while everyone else in the room took seats around the large table, waiting to see what the archer's reaction was going to be. Rather than saying anything which was unusual for Tony he simply displayed the next part of the information which he had discovered up on the larger screen. The image was of the same gravestone from earlier. But it had been dug up and it was empty. The place where the body of his twin should have been was empty. There was not any evidence that there had ever been anything in there except for an empty coffin. Natasha's feeling of unease increased upon realizing that the reason why the man had seemed so familiar after such a long period of time. It had been Clint's twin brother who had helped in training her.
"How can we find out more information about the Iron Wolf?" Clint finally asked breaking the silence in the air which had been tense. "We can take Pierce in alive." Clint nodded upon hearing the statement from Fury. "Why are you not freaking out Clint?" Tony asked the archer after another moment of silence had become too much for the else looked to him as if glaring could make the man shut up.
"Because he had the chance to kill me when I was still a gun for hire. I just didn't know that he was my twin brother at the time. " Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing Clint.
"Explain." Fury said through gritted teeth. The fact that the archer had kept something of such importance from him. Clint took a deep breath and then expanded further on his statement.
"When I was still a gun for hire there was a man who had the chance to kill me. We fought each other and were evenly matched. When my mask came off he stopped with his gun fixed right against the bottom of my jaw. I couldn't see his face but his eyes widened upon seeing mine." Clint looked down and upon looking up he fixed his gaze on no specific spot. It looked as if Clint was staring at something that only he could see. "The guy who was a kid like me pulled his gun down and then walked away putting his back to me. For some reason he trusted that I wouldn't stab or shoot him in the back."
"Did you know that it was the Iron Wolf?" Clint nodded in response. He had known that the man had been the Iron Wolf because there had been rumors of the Wolf around the area. "Did he say anything to you?" Another nod in response to Sam's question. "He said not to make him regret this. That he wanted me to survive. That I had better not make the punishment that he was about to receive all for nothing. That he would pull me back from the grave to kill me again if I ended up dying some pathetic death." Natasha nodded, Fury's eyebrows drew closer together, it seemed as if Sam was analyzing all of the information. And Steve. Steve was clearly trying to come to grips that his best friend and Clint's twin brother were partners with Hydra. Tony's face was expressionless before he finally spoke up.
"So, the Winter Soldier and the Iron Wolf both work for Hydra?" A shake of the head was all that was needed to get everyone in the room's attention. "When the two of them were training members of the Red Room they were scarcely ever left alone. There was always at least one man in the room. The two of them were never left alone." Steve looked up immediately upon hearing the last part of Natasha's sentence.
"So you think that they're brainwashed?" A nod. "The Soldier at least was brainwashed or very good at pretending otherwise back then. The Wolf. The Wolf was different." Confusion and concern flashed across Clint's face upon hearing that there was a possibility that his brother might not be brainwashed. That he was doing this of his own accord. "What makes you say that?" He asked her with an unsteady voice.
"The Wolf always ensured that he did whatever was necessary to keep the Soldier out of trouble. He was only five years old when I met him we were both young, but even then it was clear. And there was an occurrence which is hard to forget." Upon seeing everyone's faces especially Fury's and Hill's she continued on.
"There was a man with a book. A red book with a red star on the cover. The Soldier was out of the room and he was refusing to do as he was told. The man had him restrained before us and recited words from the book. I don't remember what they were but right after he had finished the boy obeyed every command and word which was asked of him afterward."
"They brainwashed a five year-old boy!?" Tony was beyond outraged that Hydra had done this to a child. Forcing him to do things against his own free will. "So they used trigger words on the kid? Probably words which would not be used ever in a sentence together." Clint was even paler than now upon hearing that his twin brother was practically being held against his will. "The kid shot a man dead at five years old after having been commanded by his superiors." Eyes widened around the room. Everyone's except for Clint's. Clint's eyes narrowed upon hearing what Natasha was saying.
"We have to find a way to stop the launch while saving both Barnes and… and my brother. I don't even know if his name is still William." He looked to Natasha and she frowned. "I never heard either of them referred to by anything other than Wolf or the Soldier." Clint's frown deepened even further. "We have to find a way guys." Everyone nodded. Steve more enthusiastically than the rest because of his desire to find Bucky.
"I can't understand how this man joined Hydra right underneath my nose. I mean this man declined a Nobel Peace Prize because he said that peace was not an achievement, that it was a responsibility. Things like this are why I have trust issues."
"We definitely have to stop the launch." Upon seeing Fury opening a case it attracts everyone's attention. "What's that?"
"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized. You'll need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own. One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remain operational tons of people are going to die." Tony looked Fury in the face along with Natasha and Clint before speaking up.
"But by doing that we're not going to be able to save anything. We're not just taking down the carriers Fury we're essentially taking down SHIELD as well." Fury growled before responding that SHIELD had nothing to do with this. "You gave me the mission, and this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised. You said so yourself. HYDRA grew right underneath your nose and nobody even noticed." Upon hearing Fury say that he had noticed Tony remarked that they were meeting in a motherfucking cave instead of in their regular Helicarrier. "How many more people are going to pay the price Nick?"
"Look I'm sorry that I had no idea about either Barnes or Clint's brother." Upon hearing the term Clint's brother the archer chuckled causing everyone to glance towards him in concern. "You see that? Fury isn't calling him by a name in case he has to end up taking him down. Well let me tell you something Nick! You will be taking him down over my dead body! You wouldn't have told us unless Natasha and Steve had found out about the two of them before you." The archer then stood up angrily shoving his chair back causing it to tip over and slam down onto the hard floor clattering loudly.
"Agent Barton." Steve's voice stopped Clint in his tracks. Clint had been headed for the door but upon hearing the tone in Steve's voice he figured he would at least listen to what Captain America needed to say.
"We're going to need you to keep the Iron Wolf occupied. Can you do that?" The archer turned around and nodded in response to Steve's question.
Outside on the bridge
Clint was standing with Steve looking over the side of the bridge trying to wrack his brain in an effort to remember when his life had ever been normal. But wait his life had never been normal so there went that idea out the window.
"I'm not going to try and convince you that going after Barnes is a bad idea because I'm going after my twin brother and it would be hypocritical." Steve kept looking forward not looking at Clint. "But what are we going to do after we somehow manage to convince them both that they should come with us both? Or if we even can convince them to come in from the cold. These two will want Pierce's blood, they will not want him to remain alive and well."
"I don't know." Clint and Steve turned upon hearing the footsteps of Sam walking towards where they were standing on the bridge. "How do you two even know that they can be saved. From what Natasha has said both of them sound as if they're brains have been scrambled up and then placed back in their heads with a control switch. They both might be the kind of guys that you stop rather than save."
"He's my brother. My twin brother. I was brainwashed for only a short while and it still scares me that it'll happen again. I'm not going to let my brother go through more of it if I could do something to stop it." Steve nodded in agreement with what the archer had said.
Random Bank Vault
"You will not disobey orders again." The sharp bite of the blade cutting through his flesh made the teenager want to lash out. But he knew better than to lash out against any of his handlers. They could hurt him or even worse go after James. No. There was no way that he would let them harm James. Especially since he had been at fault for not finishing his own mission. There had just been something about the other assassin which had made him pause. And upon seeing the familiar face. Well there had been no way that he was going to kill him after seeing that. Suddenly William Brandt was brought out of the flashback because of a sharp pain on his jaw. Rumlow had punched him. Will growled in response and glared in Rumlow's general direction hoping that maybe he had somehow gained some type of laser in his eyes so that he would be able to fry Rumlow to a crisp.
"You paying attention now Willie?" Will's glare hardened if possible even more so upon hearing the nickname which Brock had decided upon years ago. Will waited until he turned away before turning to look at James, allowing himself a small smile upon seeing the man. But his happiness was short-lived as Alexander Pierce walked through the door. Everyone straightened up. Everyone that is except for Will. He visibly slouched, making it known that Pierce would never have his respect or his loyalty. Upon seeing Pierce's gaze harden at the sight of the Iron Wolf slouching in his presence Will smirked. Oh how he loved getting underneath the motherfuckers skin. Rather than stopping in front of him the motherfucker stopped in front of the Winter Soldier. Will frowned, his lip coming out in a pout. He had been hoping that the man would ask him for the mission report. Then he would have been able to mouth off at the motherfucker. He would've gotten backhanded or punched in the face as a result but it would have been more than worth it.
"Mission report."
James remained silent upon hearing Pierce. Pierce repeated the question with a firmer voice this time probably hoping to strike fear into him. But Will had faced scarier things out in the field. If only Pierce didn't have those motherfucking books. Upon seeing him strike his partner across the face he moved to attack Pierce but was stopped by the gaze which Pierce sent him. Along with the miniscule hand motion which James gave.
"You try and attack me and I will separate the two of you for the rest of your usefulness. Straighten up. NOW!" He glared at the man as he straightened his stance as slow as allowed but not without a glare in Pierce's direction.
"Now where were we? Oh yes, mission report."
"The man on the bridge… Who was he?" Will inwardly smirked. Pierce was stupid enough to think that both Will and James hadn't learned how to trick him into thinking that James remembered less than he actually did. It had drastically decreased the amount of mind wipes over the years. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment." James nodded trying his best to look as if he was not thinking about it.
"But not the redhead." Pierce's head whipped around to look at the Iron Wolf. "We knew her from before right? Natalia. Wasn't that her name?" He finished the last statement with a smirk as Pierce walked over towards where he was standing. "The work which you two have done has been a gift to mankind. You both have helped shape the world, and I need you both to do it once more. We are at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow we're going to give it that last push over the edge." The man got closer to Will before opening his mouth again. "You go against your orders, if you don't do what you're told I will use the book and the Soldier will go away for a long time. You understand?" The Iron Wolf's gaze hardened upon hearing the threat for what it was. man knew fully well that he only had to threaten harm emotional or physical to either partner to get what he wanted in the end. It would have been pathetic if the love for each other wasn't so great.
"Do I have to use the words or will you both obey?" Neither chose to verbally answer. Choosing rather to simply nod in response. Pierce seemed satisfied by this because he turned around and walked away from the two. Will looked at the back of the man as he walked away. There was exactly thirty ways that he could have killed him just now and no one would have missed Pierce. "Get them ready." The two men walked towards where all of their gear was so that they could get ready for the hell that they were going to be put through. Upon entering the room Will sighed in relief. No one ever followed the two of them in here because both of the assassins knew that it would have been utterly foolish and idiotic to try an escape from the room.
Will turned around to be met with a pair of lips and a metal hand on the back of his neck. Will smirked briefly before getting more involved. Placing his tongue in James' mouth Will used his own to enjoy that taste which was so unique. Will groaned upon feeling that same mouth move lower down only to latch onto the underside of his jaw just below his ear. James began to suck and bite creating moans from Will's mouth which made the Soldier smirk happily. He always knew the exact ways to get the most beautiful noises out of his lover's mouth. A loud banging on the door from the outside interrupted what had been steadily moving on towards pleasure accompanied by the voice of Brock Rumlow telling them to get their ass' moving. Will groaned aloud at having been cockblocked by Rumlow yet again. The look on James' face was enough to tell Will that he thought that his misery was hilarious.
"Yeah you laugh now. But will you laugh when next the time that I have your cock in my mouth I just pull off and leave you unsatisfied?" Will accompanied this question with a smirk as James placed his hands on Will's hips pulling him in so he could kiss him on the neck. "You would never do that. It would be more of a punishment for you." Will groaned loudly as James pulled away. "You're such a tease!"
"It takes one to know one." Will just shrugged before stripping down so that he could pull on the tactical gear which was more commonly worn than not. "Yes but I make up for it don't I?" James grinned as he pulled on the final piece of his gear slinging the rifle on his back ensuring that the strap wouldn't get in the way. Will who was placing the rest of his knives on his person didn't realize that James was as close as he was when the man placed a kiss on the back of his neck but he moved towards the mouth. "Yeah you do. William. You most certainly do." The two of them pulled away as the door opened revealing Rumlow who was obviously ready to go. "You have five minutes, hurry it up."
Looking one last time so as to ensure that neither of them was forgetting anything important before the two of them headed out. James spoke up.
"We can escape during this mission Will. We can in the chaos get away from HYDRA. And then take them down ourselves." Will nodded in agreement but then remembered something. "What about Captain America? You're childhood friend? Don't you want to meet him again?" James shook his head.
"Not right now. Not like this. Maybe in a few months after I've been able to possibly recover any more memories that HYDRA took from me. Besides, I'm not the man that he remembers. I'm not Bucky, I'm James. Your James. " Will nodded in agreement, there were still some memories that he had yet to recover because of the HYDRA mind wipes.
"We need to make sure that Pierce goes down." James replied that Fury would more than likely take care of that for them before they knocked on the door letting Rumlow know that they were ready. "We'll stay together." James kissed him quickly on the mouth before Rumlow could open the door.
Above the Fight
"Hey Cap how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"
"If they're shooting at you then they're bad." Sam nods but veers sharply to the right to avoid being hit in the face with a bullet from a sniper rifle. Upon looking down he sees one of the guys that they've been looking for. "Clint! I found your boy. He's at your ten o'clock." Sam watches as Clint turns around and as he notices his brother Sam can see him pause before heading towards the Iron Wolf. 'Good luck.' Was the last thing that Sam thought before flying off to help out Steve.
Down on the Ground
Will vaguely heard the sound of movement in the background and moved just in time to avoid being hit in the shoulder with an arrow. Hawkeye. Alexander Pierce had told him to research thoroughly about the man before he would inevitably have to face him once again. What both Will and James hadn't understood was why he looked so much like the archer. It was probably a clone, Will would not have put it past Pierce. All of the information created so as to create an opportunity for Pierce to take James away from him again.
That asshole would do something like creating a clone to trick him. And with James not being here to give his own opinion of the look-alike standing right in front of him. The only downside was that even if James had been told why the archer and him looked so much alike, Pierce would have erased it from his memory, he reflected with a frown.
Turning around to face Clint Barton he trained his rifle on the man waiting for the man to make a move against him.
"You need to stand down. There's a reason as to why the two of us look so much alike. I don't want to hurt you." Will's eyes narrowed behind the tactical mask upon hearing what the man had just said. No. It had to be a trick. Thinking too hard on what the man had said was causing his brain to hurt, and images of two screaming children flashed through his mind. He shook his head as if to clear the images from his head, choosing rather to focus on the archer right in front of him.
"That's just what someone who is trying to trick me would say. You're probably just a clone, something that Pierce has created to trick me."
The archer rolled his eyes at what had just been said aloud, clearly thinking the idea to be ridiculous, but in regard to HYDRA there were much more ridiculous things than clones. The two continued to stand there at a stalemate, Clint was honestly surprised at how the other man had not yet attacked him yet.
"Or there's an even simpler reason." These words were said just as the Wolf chose to attack Hawkeye, putting the archer on the defensive as he tried to get an opportunity to explain just why they had the same face. The brothers continued to exchange their bone jarring blows on each other, both fighters striking and lashing out at an incredible speed. One which was clearly having no trouble going after the other with all of the skill and aggression beat into him by his instructors and by Alexander Pierce over the years.
"What do you remember of your childhood?!" Clint yelled at the other man while avoiding a particularly nasty looking right hook. This question seemed to make the other man angrier, upon hearing Clint asking about his childhood. His childhood had been nothing but torture from HYDRA, the only good part about it had been James. But Pierce had gladly told him exactly how he had gotten in the hands of HYDRA.
"My parents gave me away to HYDRA! My family cared nothing about me!" Will was confused upon seeing an expression which could only be described as rage come across the other man's face. Fighting this man was weird to Will. He felt as if he had met the man before, and there was something other than that which made him very familiar. Apart from the identical face obviously.
"They told me that you had died! You're my twin brother! HYDRA took you away when you were young. I didn't know where to look because every single time it came up with the result of you being dead!"
"You're just lying to stop me. As soon as I stop fighting you you'll either kidnap me for your own use or kill me! Besides, you just don't want to die." Will's blows steadily acquired more and more force as his anger and rage began to grow. How dare the man in front of him try and trick him into thinking that they could possibly be related.
"You were born on January 7th, 1971. Your parents are Harold and Edith Barton. The same as me." The archer winced as Will landed a particularly hard blow on his ribs, but what he said seemed to have triggered something in the Iron Wolf. The man stopped fighting him, but not even a second later the Iron Wolf grabbed his head with both of his hands as if he was experiencing an excruciating headache.
When the pain seemed to stop, or at least lessen, the assassin looked at Hawkeye with what could only be some kind of recognition. The main emotion which seemed to be prominent in his eyes was confusion. Confusion as to how exactly a man claiming to be his twin brother could be standing right here in front of him after all of this time.
"Clint?"
"We can get a DNA test if you don't believe me, or if you need further evidence other than my word." His twin nodded as way of response, clearly still confused as to how this was happening. Will's head felt as if it had been split open from the pain, there were images. Images of two children lying in a crib. One which was then taken out of the crib, and away from the other twin, both of them crying, wanting to be reunited with each other.
"Someone kidnapped you and faked your death too early for me to get to know you." Will nodded hesitantly, and then reached up and pulled down the tactical mask that he was wearing so that Clint got a perfect view of his twin's face. Clint audibly gasped. Natasha had been correct. It was eerie to have a person have almost the same exact face as you.
"I can't allow you to help HYDRA win though. Please don't make me take you down." Will smirked in response to what his twin brother had said. Which confused Clint because why was his brother smirking? Was he smirking because of the idea of Clint trying to take him out? Or was it something else entirely?
"I'm not on HYDRA'S side. I'm loyal only to James." Clint was confused for a moment then realized that the Winter Soldier must be James, he wasn't used to hearing the name James in regard to the Winter Soldier. Then without warning Will suddenly reached for his brother and Clint realized how stupid he had been to trust the twin that he had never met before today, Natasha was never going to let him live this down. And as the Iron Wolf shoved his brother down onto the ground all that Clint was thinking was how had this gone so terribly wrong.
Gunfire sounded above the two of them which would have hit them both if Will hadn't been as quick as he was to act. Clint smiled upon looking at his brother. He really hoped that Natasha was getting on as good as he was, probably not though. The smile that had come so quickly to his face was ripped off as soon as he had looked at the front of his uniform.
Blood.
Why was there blood? He hadn't been shot. His heart stopped upon looking at the Iron Wolf. All of that blood which was covering his uniform was coming from his brother's body. His brother had been shot protecting him. Not even thinking twice he started yelling over the comms while he tried to slow down the bleeding enough for someone to come and help him.
"He's down! The Wolf is down!"
In the Building
"Did you get my flowers? I'm glad that you're here Nick." Fury glared at Pierce with a look that would have frozen hell over.
"I thought that you had me killed by using your Soldier and your Iron Wolf." Pierce smirked upon hearing the names of the two most valuable weapons at their disposal. "You know how the game works."
"Is that what you say so that you can feel alright when you have a five year-old murder a man?" Pierce's eyes widened. "You seem to forget that Natasha was Red Room."
"Those two weapons have brought more order for the world than SHIELD could ever hope to bring."
"That's what maniacs say to rationalize the fact that you used and abused two men for decades. How long have you been brainwashing Clint's twin brother?!" Rather than looking shocked which Fury had expected Pierce showed pride which made Fury even angrier. "That boy has been in HYDRA's grasp for decades. But I've never been able to make him loyal to anyone except for that blasted Soldier. He's just like his fucking twin brother. He has a fucking loud mouth and even louder opinions." Whatever Pierce was going to say was cut off. Fury looked up to see Tony Stark who had with an amazing level of stealth for the normally loud and often times obnoxious man, knocked Alexander Pierce unconscious.
"You wanted him alive right?" Fury shook his head as Stark, Romanov and Fury gathered Pierce up so that they could transport him back to a secure location.
But not before the three of them released all of the information which both S.H.I.E.L.D. and H.Y.D.R.A. had kept concealed from the rest of the world, using the unconscious Pierce's eye for the retinal scan, leaving the other members of the council dumbstruck as to what had just happened.
"You know that both Barton and you have no alias' anymore? No contingency plans or methods of protection? There is no way that the authorities will not come and arrest the man that is his twin brother? Along with possibly Clint as well? Along with Sergeant Barnes?" Fury said to Natasha who was looking anywhere but at Fury. "We'll find a way. Besides, Tony will do any and everything in his power to keep Clint from being arrested, along with keeping that man happy, which includes his brother. He has a personal interest in that goal. Besides, I'd like to see someone try and arrest the best friend of Steve Rogers from World War II." Natasha said with a smirk, and then looked at Tony who had a shit-eating grin on his face. And after she had managed to decide what exactly she was going to say she looked to Fury and spoke her mind.
"There is still the Avengers. As long as they will have us we have a family. And family helps each other out right?" Natasha looked to Tony with an almost desperate look as if she expected Tony to either deny that they were family. Or even worse that he would give them no help at all in regard to both the Iron Wolf and the Winter Soldier.
Tony merely gave her a smirk and then with his usual level of blunt honesty he said what was on his mind.
"You will always have a home with the Avengers Natasha. Both you and Clint, and any other kinds of weird family members that you may bring along for the ride." It seemed as if an enormous weight had been lifted off of Natasha's shoulders upon hearing what Tony had to say about the Avengers and Clint and her being family. The only bad thing was how were they going to keep Tony from killing the Winter Soldier and the Iron Wolf when he found out that both men had had a hand in killing his parents. Natasha knew that it had to be soon though. Because the longer that they waited to tell the man the worse that it would be in regard to how hurt Tony would feel because of the secrecy. Tony was many things, but trusting was not one of them, and if he couldn't trust the Avengers. Who could he trust?They were going to have to rebuild SHIELD from the bottom up though, and Natasha had no idea who was even going to do it. For she had a very good idea that after this entire Winter Soldier and Iron Wolf ordeal, Nick Fury was going to be either retired or hiding from the rest of the world. Which in her opinion was the same exact thing. But someone was going to have to rebuild SHIELD and the Avengers were probably going to be a big part of it. Then her blood ran cold as she heard the transmission that came over the comms before it gave way to nothing but static from Clint's end. And upon looking to both Tony and Fury, she knew that they were both feeling the exact same way.
Up on the Helicarrier
"I'm here! I'm still on the Helicarrier. Where are you?" Steve asked Sam as he was trying his best to make his way through the Helicarrier, not aware of the Winter Soldier who was closer than he knew, looking on from a distance."I'm grounded Cap. Sorry that I won't be available to come up there and save your ass." Steve laughed in response to what the other had said, trying to keep calm in light of how bad the situation was right now. Just as Steve had finally been close to accomplishing what he had come for the Soldier appeared out of nowhere, staring at him with a look that showed just what he thought of Steve trying to mess with the mission that he had been commanded to stop.
Please. Don't make me do this, people are going to die."And just as Steve was about to throw his shield at the other man, the Soldier looked terrified. Steve was confused, there was nothing that he had said that should have even in the slightest terrified Bucky so what could have possibly? That's when his blood froze. There was static coming over from Clint's end on the comms, the static making it increasingly hard for him to focus on what exactly Clint was yelling through the comm. But there were words that were coming over which made him freeze, and upon looking up not even a full second later he realized that Bucky wasn't standing in front of him anymore. Rather than wasting an opportunity he took the opportunity, that he had because of how Bucky seemed to have just disappeared. And as soon as he had inserted the chip, making it so that Hill would be able to override Hydra's control of the Helicarriers, he listened closer to the comms and started making his way towards the exit while also looking for Bucky, not wanting to possibly leave him behind.
"Down! He's down!" Then silence rang through the air from the archer's end which was not scaring just Steve but Natasha as well. Steve quickened his pace as he headed towards his way out of the Helicarrier, and he was getting even more worried by the second when he saw that there was no sign at all of his childhood friend. And then he realized why.
There was a lone Quinjet which was heading away from the Helicarrier that he was on, Bucky. Why was he making his way away from the mission which had been forced upon him by both Alexander Pierce and Hydra? Unless.
The Wolf. Was that the man who had gone down? Steve couldn't worry about that right now though, he needed to get off this deathtrap first before it gave way beneath him.
Down on the ground
Clint cursed as he turned off his communicator which was sending static in his ear. No possible help was going to come from the rest of the Avengers more than likely. Thinking of every scenario as he was putting as much pressure on the bullet wounds. Which were steadily leaking blood onto the concrete underneath his brother, his mind was freaking out. The motions which his body was making were all being done as if by someone else. His brother's blood was staining the ground, a bright red, and filling the air with the scent of copper which made him want to heave. His brother was bleeding out on the ground, and there was really nothing that he could do. But then he looked up and saw his inspiration.
Avengers Tower. Tony. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at his brother and then sighed deeply knowing how badly this was going to hurt the man, but how was he going to get him into the tower by himself?A motion of feet had Clint instantly pulling his bow on the person who had been stupid enough to walk up behind the assassin and upon seeing who exactly it was his heart nearly stopped beating. The Soldier. Was he here to kill his brother because of his injuries? Was he here to kill him because he wouldn't be able to finish the mission which had been given to them by HYDRA? Killing Steve Rogers and preventing their team from messing with HYDRA's plans? If he was then that man had another thing happened next shocked Clint down to his core as the Soldier lowered his weapon, and then placed it on the ground, pushing it towards Clint. The man then rushed over to Clint and helped pick up the Wolf, looking to Clint as if to say get a move on as the two of them headed towards Avengers Tower, and the only place which would probably be able to save his twin brother right now.
As soon as they reached the elevator he looked to the Winter Soldier who was holding his brother as if his own life rested in the very hands of his twin brother. Then it hit him. Oh, hell Tony would get an enormous kick out of the revelation that Sergeant James Barnes was at least bisexual if not completely gay. Then he realized something, he needed to ensure that everyone that would be in the room treating his brother would not be an enormous security leak in the making and pulled out the phone which Tony had given him. Pulling out his phone nearly caused the Soldier to shoot him right between the eyes before Clint was able to get his attention.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Look, I need to ensure that everyone inside of that room that will be treating my brother is not a security risk alright? I can't let anyone outside of a select few that I know won't tell HYDRA that you're here." The Soldier seemed to ponder this for a moment as the elevator continued to climb up towards the medical wing before he nodded in response. Really the lack of vocabulary from the man was starting to unnerve Hawkeye as he dialed the number of Helen Cho.
"Helen. Yeah look we have one of those situations that was hypothetical in your contract. The one in which you need to get rid of anyone who may not be so good at keeping secrets, or that you may not trust despite that big huge confidentiality agreement." The Soldier listened in on the conversation as the woman on the other woman did not even pause before telling the archer that it would be handled and asking is she needed to prepare any sort of special equipment. "You might need to get-"The archer paused and then looked to the Soldier who looked at the man as way of response.
"Do you know what kind of blood type he is?" The man nodded before letting him know that his partner was AB negative, luckily that was the exact same blood type that Clint was. He didn't focus too long on this aspect before he told Helen and then hung up prepared to any moment have to carry his twin brother towards a hospital bed where he may or may not survive. But if he had anything to say about it then he would go through hell and back to ensure that he would. And judging from the man next to him and how he had abandoned his entire mission to save his partner, he knew that he would as well.
Meanwhile…
"Hey, does anyone know where Clint is?" Tony's question caught both Natasha and Fury's attention, where exactly was the archer? Ever since the static that had come across his channel during the fight no one had heard from him. "JARVIS? Can you locate Clint?" Everyone waited with baited breath, hoping beyond hope that the man was not hurt too badly other than the usual fighting injuries.
"He is in medical sir." Tony's reaction showed clear panic. As he didn't even wait for JARVIS to finish before he called Clint using the suit leaving Natasha and Fury to deal with Pierce but leaving a backwards comment that there was a room that the two would be able to store him in the tower, and that they should ask JARVIS. The two looked at the billionaire as he flew away before they place Pierce in the truck and drove towards the tower where they both hoped with bated breath that Hawkeye would not be on death's door.
In the Tower
Clint had never been more thankful that Tony had installed a full medical floor complete with an operating room in the tower until now. As Helen Cho and her team were wheeling the Iron Wolf towards the room where they would be operating on his twin brother both Clint and the Winter Soldier tried to follow. Only to be stopped by Helen Cho.
Clint looked nervously over at the other man in the room who had helped to bring his twin brother here to the medical ward. There was no way that that man was going to let his brother in any way shape or form out of his sight.
"Yeah, no. That's not going to work. Because this guy over here." Clint pointed to the Soldier with a jerk of his hand in the man's direction and a serious face.
"This guy isn't going to let that guy out of his sight." Helen seemed at this point willing to do anything to save the other man's life, did not even glance over her shoulder. As the team pushed the man in the direction of the operating room she did not look back. Picking up a kit to gather blood she handed it to the Soldier, before telling the two that Clint needed to give blood if the man was going to live. "Get started on that blood idiots!" The voice of Helen Cho jarred the two men out of their thoughts as James and Clint went over to a hospital bed and started the process of getting blood from Clint. As Clint slowly watched the blood coming out of his arm, he looked into the face of the man that had killed so many people over the years and could not help but open his mouth.
"Did my brother help kill as many people as you did?" The Soldier seemed to contemplate this for a moment before nodding in way of response. The man was clearly trying to give as little information as humanly possible just in case the Soldier and the Wolf had to make a run for it after the surgery. Clint wanted to know exactly why and how Hydra had gotten their hands on his brother. The only thing he knew about was the kidnapping, but why? Why would they kidnap his brother out of so many other children? The answers seemed to elude him as both he and the Soldier sat there in silence, before he thought of a question which he needed the answer to.
"What is my brother's name? Is it still William Barton?" The Soldier shook his head causing Clint to frown. "Is his first name still William?"
"He prefers Will." The voice of the other man surprised Clint, mainly due to the fact that he didn't expect the Soldier to speak. Or, Bucky, James, whatever his name was. "One last question and then I'll leave you alone." James gave him a look which clearly showed that he knew it wouldn't be his last question. "Alright, not my very last question but at least the last one for now, or at least until Will gets out of surgery." And upon receiving a motion from the other man for him to continue on with his question he asked the man what name he preferred. "James. I'm not Bucky anymore." Clint's eyes widened upon hearing what the man had to say. James knew who he was? From what everyone else said and insinuated, the Winter Soldier would probably have no idea whatsoever of who he was. The group had thought it possible, because of the obvious brainwashing done to his younger brother at just five years old.
"You know who you were?" The surprise from Clint was disguised, but the other man hid nothing when he looked at Clint with humor before saying that he thought that the earlier question had been his last. Clint frowned before looking away, not expecting to receive an answer from James. And even still he nearly missed the answer. "Not entirely. Both our minds have been messed with. Neither of us can be who we once were." The two men did not speak for a long time, the awkward silence which was nearly suffocating. When Clint had finally gotten enough blood, James withdrew the tube from his arm and then knocked on the door letting Helen know that they had the blood.
An assistant exited the room and before either man could even get a word out to ask about whether Will was going to make it the nurse hurried back into the room. James immediately set up camp next to the doors to the operating room so that he could listen in on the surgery which was going on. Clint could tell that he was listening with every fiber of his being to ensure that the people in the next room were not doing anything other than removing the bullets and ensuring that he would live. The only reason that he wasn't standing at the window looking in was that he knew that it could possibly affect the care which these doctors were giving his brother.
James was not giving them the same luxury though. The assassin was looking in through the window almost as if he was letting Helen know that he would take action. That he would take action should any of them make an attempt towards hurting Will. Eventually James sat down next to the doors so that he would be able to listen to everything that was going on in the room, but far enough away from the doors so that he would not be in the way. The two of them continued to sit in silence for a moment, both assassin's listening closely for any sign that the surgery going on in the next room was going badly. The surgery it seemed was going as well as could be expected from the lack of panic in the next room. That did not mean that either of the assassins were not stressed beyond belief, which was obvious from the way each man was tensed as if waiting for an attack. Clint's voice nearly caused James to jump when the archer began to talk to him.
"Tony is going to have so many twin jokes after this. Or clone jokes. More than likely it will be more twin jokes. But hey, that's what you get from being involved with a Stark." The statement was accompanied with a laugh which was abruptly cut off upon looking to the Winter Soldier. The look which Clint received upon saying this unnerved him. James was looking at the other man as if he was not even there, it was almost as if he was looking completely through him entirely.
"December 1991. Kill and retrieve contents in Howard Stark's possession. Kill Howard and Maria Stark. Mission complete. William Grant Brandt safe." Awareness slowly crept back into James' eyes, allowing him to see the concern which crept up on Clint's face as he realized the gravity of what had just been revealed. "Aww crap." Confusion was the first expression which ran across James' face as soon as he had heard what the archer had said. He was confused mainly because what did the archer have to curse about? There had not been anything that had happened for the man to curse about, had there? As soon as the archer spoke up James knew what must have been the cause for the concern on the archer's part
"Did HYDRA ever come up with a way to control you against your will? For example, if you tried to go against their wishes, did they have a backup plan?" A nod, this must have been what had concerned the other man. There had probably been a word which had triggered an old mission report, maybe it was about someone that the archer had known? That would explain the lapse in memory. "Do you remember a mission from December 1991?" Taking a moment to think about that particular year caused pain which made him wince as a result. A classified mission then. Probably a mission that he had gone against orders and HYDRA had not been able to threaten him with Will.
"No. Did I kill someone that you knew?" Negative.
"It hurts for me to try and remember, so HYDRA probably didn't have Will there to threaten me with, so I probably was acting up or going against orders. HYDRA more than likely triggered me in this case because then I would not be able to remember the mission by myself without key words. They do this to Will and me to ensure security of their secrets even under the threat of death." Clint looked uneasy upon hearing the Soldier explaining what exactly HYDRA could have done to James and his brother. The way in which it was explained was clinical, as if nothing was wrong with the fact that the two assassins had been forced to commit assassinations and even different actions throughout the years.
"Well I'm pretty sure that you killed Tony's parents." The other man tensed up the moment that these words left Clint's mouth.
"Tony, is he going to hurt Will? Your brother?" A glimmer of a smile ran across the archer's face upon hearing the concern for his brother. Because even though he had known his brother for less than a day, it was good to know that someone apart from him cared about Will. The Soldier obviously cared about him if the man had chosen to abandon his mission, going against his handlers to save a possibly dying Will. No. Not dying, he was going to live.
"I'm not sure. I doubt that he will harm my brother or you without evidence that you killed them voluntarily. If you or my brother were under mind control. He will undoubtedly examine every piece of evidence before talking with you. But you can't wait until he finds out about this from another source, and I refuse to keep something like this from Tony when he deserves to know. So you need to find a way to tell him." A nod was all that Clint received in response to what he had just told James, who was looking at the floor as if it held all of the answers to his problems.
"You're forgetting one fact though. Will might have helped in killing the Starks. I don't remember the assassination, I don't even remember killing the two of them. So, for all that we know Will could have been there as well." The statement rang through the air as the two men went back to their silence, listening in once again to ensure that the surgery was going smoothly.
"We've all killed people. Even Tony. None of us are saints." James did not even look up when he heard the archer talk, he continued to look down. Knowing that the words which he had said rang true, but how do two people who have done what Will and himself had done have a life outside of what the two of them had known for decades? What parts of their missions had been them and not their handlers? Which parts had not been the conditioning which had been ingrained into the two of them? Neither of the assassins talked for the longest time as they listened in on the surgery in the next room, the seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, and the minutes into hours.
WHAM!
The resounding sound of something slamming into the double sliding doors to the room had both assassins armed and at the ready, each with a weapon drawn and aimed at the door. Keeping them aimed at the door even as they heard someone who was continually cursing out the doors which had been slammed into. Clint lowered his weapon upon seeing who walked through the doors which had finally slid open for the person who had slammed into them because they had not opened fast enough for him earlier. The sight of said person brought an amused smile to his face upon realizing that it was Tony who had caused all of the commotion in the waiting room. As Clint motioned for James to lower his weapon he let out a deep breath, relieved that Tony had not been shot by James.
Soon after looking Tony over with a closer eye and realizing that there looked to be no obvious life-threatening injuries he felt as if a weight had been taken off his chest. The entire time that he had been focused on his brother and how he was going to possibly pull through being shot so many times he had also been concerned about Tony. Not because the man could not protect himself, Clint just never liked to see the other man hurt. It was Tony who would constantly remind him every single time that he was covered literally from head to toe in armor. Which would help in lowering the stress and the worry until the very next fight where it would happen all over again, and the same went for Tony. What was the expression on his boyfriend's face for though, he hadn't done any pranks on the other man that he could remember, so what was the expression of anger and worry for? A thousand different questions ran through his mind until he thought of something. His last statement over the comms.
"Oops." Clint said aloud as he reached up, and upon turning his comm back on hearing a blast of audio coming from the device, he looked to Tony with an embarrassed smile and shrug of his shoulders. The look which he received from Tony was one which was clearly unamused, a look which clearly said 'really?' Clint only shrugged once again in return, embarrassed at how he had forgotten to turn the comm back on, but there had been more important matters at hand. He was going to get it from Natasha later though.
Clint was distracted from these thoughts as he watched the inventor making his way over his way. Tony slowly placed his hand on the back of the archer's neck in what was meant to be a comforting action, as well as slow so Clint knew what was going on. After resting his forehead against the archers for a moment Tony moved to capture the man's lips with his own. Relishing in the fact that the man that he loved was alive, even if he was covered in a few bruises and scrapes. Being with this man-made Clint feel a calm which he had not felt since he had left Tony for the mission which Fury had sent him on before this enormous shit storm had come about. As he kissed Tony he felt completely calm and grounded even though his brother was possibly dying in the next room, Tony was helping him to be distracted from this fact. When Tony pulled back Clint would deny venomously that he had let out a small whine as the two separated. He had missed his person so much.
"Not to Ruin the moment, but Natasha is probably going to kill you. She kept saying your name over the comms and you weren't answering."
Any calm that had been present in Clint's mind vanished immediately upon hearing about Natasha continually asking for him over the comms. The archer's eyes widened in shock as he realized what Tony had said. The adrenaline high from the earlier fight was diminishing, making every single ache and pain easily evident. Then he remembered something else that was incredibly important through the impending adrenaline crash. The Soldier. His brother. How would the Soldier react upon seeing Natasha? How would Natasha react? His brother? The two men had had a hand in training the Black Widow but that had been before the Winter Soldier had put a bullet through her so that he could get the target that he was after. And he had no idea as to how his brother was going to react to seeing Natasha after all of this time. The thing which brought Clint back to the here and now was Tony's own ramblings which always seemed to manage to make him smile.
"Natasha might not choose to kill you if I provide her with every bit of information which I gathered about the Iron Wolf and the Winter Soldier. I had Jarvis gather every bit of information that I could get my hands on before Natasha chose to dump everything on the internet. I also had Jarvis delete every single mention or even insinuation about the Winter Soldier and the Iron Wolf that I found in this information."
"I figured that it would give us a head start over HYDRA on finding both your brother and the Winter Soldier." Tony abruptly stopped talking. Whatever the inventor had been about to say next had obviously left the man's brain as he finally seemed to notice the other man who was in the room. Clint could visualize the cogs which were turning inside of Tony's head as he realized that someone was in the operating room, causing Clint to smirk as he watched Tony thinking up scenarios of who it could possibly be. As soon as Tony had asked his boyfriend if Helen Cho was in the operating room, and upon receiving a nod from Clint he saw Tony's eyes narrow, and then widen upon coming to a realization. Looking first from Clint and then to James, the billionaire looked as if he was trying to decide what to say.
"If everyone else is on their way towards this tower, then who is in the operating room Clint?" Everything going on in the room seemed to still as Tony awaited the answer which the archer knew that Tony had already figured out for himself.
"Shit."
"Yeah. Shit just about sums this entire situation up. You're just lucky that Natasha hasn't arrived yet to try and strangle you." Clint winced upon hearing this statement from Tony, nodding in reply upon hearing it. Upon looking to the man sitting next to the operating room doors Tony noticed the look that he was being given. It was a look which clearly expressed the fact that if anyone tried to go near the man who Helen Cho was operating on that he would kill them without hesitation. James had been like a shadow up until now. Quiet and blending into the environment around him even though he was surrounded by white walls dressed in nothing but black with a metal arm which Tony was dying to get a look at. The man now was like that of a guard dog. Daring anyone to come near what he was protecting. Clint seemed to be the only thing that was not currently at risk, Tony was concerned that if he made one wrong move that the man would shoot him right between his eyes. So with this risk at the forefront of his mind Tony thought over what exactly his next question should be before deciding to ask the two assassins in the room.
"How bad is the Iron Wolf hurt Clint?" Tony waited with bated breath to hear how bad the other assassin was hurt. It was obviously bad enough that the man was being operated on, but when it came to the people that Tony surrounded himself with the possibilities were never ending. Clint stiffened up as soon as the question had come out of his boyfriend's mouth. The archer grasped both of his hands and chose to look down rather than at Tony, and upon looking to the Soldier the other man had a similar reaction.
So, bad then. Incredibly bad.
"Will. His name is Will, Tony." The sound of his boyfriend's voice seemed to surprise Tony, but he merely nodded in response to what Clint had said to him looking to the doors of the operating room with concern. What would Clint do if his brother didn't survive? He dreaded to even think about that possibility.
"Well then it's a good thing that all of the info that I acquired about the Iron Wolf and the Winter Soldier I transferred over to JARVIS before deleting everything. Isn't it? It'll make it that much easier to hide the two of them while the upcoming media shit storm explodes. Then after it can calm down somewhat we can figure out what exactly to do about you both." The last part Tony meant more for the Winter Soldier and the man showed little to no reaction. Until suddenly James' head shot up looking to the door, causing the other two men in the room to wonder what exactly had caused him to do so. Then suddenly the doors to the room slammed open which solved any and all confusion the two had felt.
"It's going to be difficult to keep these two secret Tony, because we have Alexander Pierce in our custody. Fury wanted to question the man to find out exactly when he had betrayed SHIELD and so that he can reveal any and everything that the man knows about the Winter Soldier and the Iron Wolf." Natasha glared first at Tony with a look that had the inventor fidgeting and wanting to be anywhere but in the same room as the female assassin. When Natasha looked to Clint the archer had the good sense to remain as still as possible, knowing that trying to move or get away from her would only make it worse for him in the long run.
"AND YOU!" Clint actually flinched upon hearing Natasha yelling at him, he had only heard Natasha yell with this kind of fury less than a handful of times during their entire time as partners, only once had it been him.
"YOU DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMM AND THEN FORGET TO TURN THE THING BACK ON!" Choosing not to say anything in return to what had just been yelled at him, he merely nodded in response to what Natasha had just yelled at him. After seeing Clint nod in reply to what had been said the woman breathed in deeply, almost as if she was ridding herself of the murderous intent which had accompanied her all the way back to the tower. The sound of another voice brought everyone in the rooms attention to the assassin who was sitting next to the operating room doors, and upon seeing him Natasha felt millions of emotions flooding to the front of her mind.
"Pierce is alive?" James was no longer standing in the waiting room, it was clearly the Winter Soldier who had taken his place upon hearing that Alexander Pierce was alive. Slowly the man approached Natasha who tensed up, waiting to see what the other man's action would be towards her. No one in the room said anything but Clint was prepared to help in taking down the Soldier if he made any type of move towards his partner. "Fury wants as much information that he can get from him before we decide what to do. More than likely it will be something of Fury's own creation." Every person in the room watched, all of them waiting to see what exactly the Soldier was going to do. The relief which was felt from every person in the room when he chose to not attack Natasha was evident. "That man deserves nothing short of torture for the rest of his life. You cannot believe anything that Pierce will tell you, everything that he says is a lie."
"There were journal's found at his home which talk of many of the things which he did to the two of you, mainly Will. He will be punished but the two of you will be needed to verify some of the things which he has written." James' eyes narrowed upon hearing what was being said aloud, there was no way that he would be promising anything in regards to that man before Will could make his own decision. "Pierce documented almost religiously about when and how he kidnapped Will, James." The use of his name caused the man to look to the Black Widow. There was a look which could be defined as sentimentality, but the woman had known the two of them a long time ago.
"I will not make any decisions until Will is able to have his own choice in this matter. And I already knew that Pierce had heavily documented about Will. Pierce always had a journal around where Will and myself were concerned. Everyone in the room seemed to be absorbing this knowledge when the Soldier spoke up asking them where their Captain was. The calm which Natasha had felt upon hearing James' decision vanished as quickly as it had come, this was obviously a question which had been expected but was obviously one which she had been dreading. "I convinced him to assist Fury in gathering everything from Pierce's home. The fact that you were his best friend years ago was something which I did not want to be dealing with when I felt like killing Clint because I had no idea as to whether he was being operated on. I can only deal with so much at one time."
"How exactly did you manage to convince Cap to stay away from the tower? The tower where his best friend from the forties is currently in? Did you drug him?"
"No, I did not. Nothing as nefarious as that." And upon seeing everyone in the room look to her, each of them obviously wanting to know how in the world she had convinced the most stubborn man on their team to actually listen to her when the man he had thought dead was in Avengers tower she sighed before answering. "Alright fine I guilt tripped him, are you happy? Along with Sam's help, he's going to give us a call if he leaves Pierce's home." The comment seemed to lighten up the room until each person remembered why exactly they were here.
"How bad is he Clint?" Natasha asked as she sat down next to her partner as he was clearly trying to keep himself together as his brother was being operated on in the next room. "There was a lot of blood Nat, I don't know exactly how many times he was shot. I just know that right before it happened we were talking and then when he came at me I thought how incredibly stupid I had been to let my guard down like that. Then there was blood everywhere." Natasha opened her mouth as if to respond to what she had just been told by her partner when the entire room went silent except for the sound of James struggling to open the operating room doors.
For all that could be heard from the operating room was the deafening sound of the heart monitor which rang out, signaling that Will was flat lining in the next room.