The New Recruit Chapter 2: Tulekahaju (Fire; Estonian)
Hello! Yes, I have been neglecting my other story but that's because I've got a mental block right now for that one. However, I've got something else for ya people (but seriously, idk why i'm talking to y'all because i swear no-one reads my stories anyway). My friend KiTTzu recently started a few stories but she discontinued them. She asked me to umm finish it so here I am. Please check out her work, the first chapter is on her account and it is under the same title. It's brilliant and I'm sad that she can't finish it, though happy that I have a distraction. This IS a hunger games crossover, and I'll tell you more about Katniss' and Natasha's backgrounds in later chapters. TY for reading, and I hope you enjoy all the tense errors in this chapter (I played around with the tenses here)
Tongass Forest, Alaska
13:39
Katniss Everdeen
The ground had fresh tracks, maybe made an hour ago. They were close. Again I reached behind my back, searching for the non-existent quiver of arrows that I felt uncomfortable without. I sighed. I knew that I was just a new recruit, but they could have at least provided me with something to defend myself with! Heck, as of now, I would have taken anything. But no, still nothing. There was nothing I could do but follow, follow and watch. So I did. I watched as Iron Man flew noiselessly in the direction of the tracks. I watched as Romanoff loaded a gun. I watched as Captain America swivelled around, eyes intent on catching any change in his surroundings. From the scene, it could have just been a regular training exercise for them. It was only natural that I relaxed. And it was only nature that then an explosion erupted in front of my eyes. The flames licked at my body, an ever-hungry monster. I closed my eyes and tried to get away from the orange blur of colours, but my feet seemed stuck to the ground. My breath came in shuddering gasps, each weaker than the one before. The flames took me back to the arena. Fear consumed my mind. I couldn't think straight, couldn't make head or tail of the situation's answer. Couldn't move, couldn't cry for help, couldn't...breathe.
Avengers Headquarters, NY
18:45
Natasha Romanova
The woman in the hospital bed was the one I hated most, yet she was the one who brought out the most emotions in me. No, she had done nothing wrong against me, but yet her very existence was one that drove me to tears and to red-hot anger. She didn't kill Clint. It wasn't her fault. She took Clint' position. It wasn't her fault. However, you couldn't argue with the facts. She was now in the team. She had replaced him. Maybe if she were competent, I wouldn't have hated her as much. But no, now we were stuck with a liability to the team, two members of the Avengers missing and the love of my life dead. I took a shuddering breath in. I couldn't cry. I couldn't. I had to move on. Clint was dead. Nothing could change that. A tear formed. I had to stop; but that was a battle fought in vain. I missed him so much. So much. I missed his smile. I missed the way he laughed, his eyes crinkling up in the corners. I missed the talks over hot chocolate we always had after each battle. I missed his voice, the way he could calm me down every single time. I missed his arms, which would hold me tight whenever I was down. I missed his eyes, sparkling with love when he stared me in the eye. I missed him. And he was never coming back. He was forever stuck in time, buried under layers of rubble, a gash in his head and an arrow through his heart. Now the battle was really lost. The tears fell freely, a mark of the intense sorrow I was feeling. I sank down to the floor and cried. For the first time since the time he died, I cried. Drops of crystal slowly fell, catching on my eyelashes and sprinkling my clothes with orbs of sadness. And there I sat, in the corner of the waiting room, crying my heart out.
It's been 20 minutes, and the tears have only started drying. I run to the toilet to clean up. When I reach, there's a mirror in front of me. The mirror shows a broken, defeated woman. I shiver. That isn't me. So as I brush my hair, I make a pact with myself. I won't cry anymore. I'll ask Fury if Everdeen can be moved to different sector. I won't dwell on the past, because he's gone, and nothing can change that. Slowly, I feel my walls repairing, the cool mask of indifference inching across my face. I take a deep breath in, then out. In, out, in, out. My eyes close, then open, and the fire I see in them is refreshing. I may be broken and defeated inside, but they can't see that. I'm supposed to be strong. I am strong. I can do this. I walk out the toilet, ready to face Fury.
Anyone who has ever questioned Fury knows it's not a pleasant task. So why am I doing this? If I am honest with myself, it's not the best idea to confront Fury. Even his name speaks volumes about the scolding I'll get if I don't win the argument. But hate and love will drive you to extremes. So I sit on the chairs in the waiting room and wait. Fury's bound to walk in soon.
Avengers Headquarters, NY
19:24
Nicholas Fury
The sun is setting, the sky a blend of colours. But I'm not here to enjoy the view. I'm here to check up on a certain Katniss Everdeen. My boots hit the tiled floor as I advance into the hospital wing. I push the door open, perhaps with too much force, to see Romanova sat on the chairs. Was she supposed to be here? I couldn't for the life of me remember. That was Maria's job. When she sees me in the doorway, she stands. What have I forgotten?
"Fury," she says.
Avengers Headquarters, NY
19:30
Narrator
"Yes, Romanova?"
"I'd like to request that Katniss Everdeen be moved to a different sector in S.H.I.E.L.D." The silence that ensued gave the impression of a battle scene, yet they were just standing in a hospital waiting room.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I have put her there, and there she can stay. What happened today was an accident."
"If she carries on making mistakes like that, she becomes a liability to the team! It's a disrespect and a dishonour to replace Clint with someone as incompetent as her!"
"Romanova. Clint is gone. Clint is dead. You need to move on. You cannot fight like this. United we stand, divided we fall. Besides, Everdeen hasn't been trained yet. You can't expect her to be perfect on the first day."
"She can't defend herself! Firstly, she hasn't got any weapons, and secondly, she doesn't know how to use them!" Romanova was desperate now, grasping at straws like there was no other option.
"We can teach her."
"You don't know where's she is from! What if she's a spy in our midst?"
Fury's voice turned icy." We have run background checks on her, Romanova. You don't have faith in S.H.I.E.L.D? How then can we trust you?"
"I- But," She sighed, a melancholy sound, and turned around, turning her back to Fury. Her usually perfect curls fell in haphazard lines, rumpled and frizzy.
"Romanova, Everdeen is not moving to any other sector. She will stay in the Avengers." The statement visibly shook Romanova. Fury could see it, the tensing of her shoulders and the nearly imperceptible shaking of her clenched hands. Either she was going to contain her anger, let it out, or burst into tears. None sounded like Romanova, but love did make you do funny things. Might as well let her get it all out then.
"Clint Barton is dead. You can't change that." Romanova's eyes opened, and she staggered, her mind relieving the day he died. She remembered the wait outside the operating room, with Tony and Steve beside her. She remembered the chilling thump of his lifeless body as the hospital staff tried to rescue him. She remembered him whispering "I love you" as he fell off into the rubble, the arrow meant for her stuck in his heart. She remembered the words Fury said, the words that cut her to the bone and left her broken, regretful and guilty. He told it to her plain and straight, professional and cold. "Clint Barton is dead." Her eyes filled with tears, her promise from earlier broken. But she couldn't cry, no! That wouldn't do. She was an assassin. She had to keep her emotions in. How? Romanova bit her lip, trying to think of a solution. She couldn't. She couldn't do anything. Couldn't save her love, couldn't put up a brave front, couldn't do it. What a jerk she was. What a bitter, insensitive jerk. Here she was, hating an innocent woman, not sparing a thought for Tony and Steve as they were going through the exact same thing. Her nails dug into her palm, leaving bloody imprints. What a foolish weak woman she was. But she wasn't broken yet, not yet. She was weakened, sure, but she wouldn't give up until her entire soul was ruined, bitter and bleeding. She wouldn't reply.
"Romanova, Clint will not come back. Your love will not come back. Everdeen is therefore in the Avengers for the foreseeable future. Move on, and learn how to deal with life." Then Romanova screamed, a broken, defeated wail. She whirled around, and tears were streaming down her face.
"You can't! Clint was the only one for that spot on the team, you could have just called Thor back from Asgard! You could have tried to find Bruce! Why did you have to do this? She got in trouble on the first day. She's lying in a hospital bed, why? Do you-Why do you-Why? Indeed, why? Why do you put us through such things, why? I can't deal with this now. I can't. I really can't. I thought you were better than this, Fury. What a bastard you are, replacing him so soon. " Her chest heaved, her eyes full of blazing fury and a tinge of sadness and regret. Fury would have said something in return, in fact he was going to. But he made the one fatal mistake of looking into her tear-stained eyes. He couldn't do this anymore. Her emotions were powerful, so powerful that even Fury was affected. He was rattled, shaken to the core by the warrior standing in front of him. She was always so reserved, so cold, yet here she was. He looked around, took one last nervous look at Romanova, then slammed the door behind him as he left.
*all times are in their respective timezones, so Alaska would be in GMT-9 and New York is GMT-5. I'm not counting any daylight saving stuff, so this should be the correct time. So yes, Tony stark basically took an hour to carry all the Avengers (except Steve) using his suit (on full speed) back to the Avengers headquarters. I did the calculations, so tell me if I'm wrong and I'll correct it.
Word count:1715