AN: Welcome to my first multichapter Avengers fic. I don't really have much to say other than the fact that I own nothing.
Clint was fast asleep, his legs spread out on the empty seats of the jet, his mind blissfully relaxed, when his world was about to shatter. It took a few moments for him to realize someone was talking to him, trying to wake him up. The voice had sounded so far away and distant. He wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't imagining it.
"Agent Barton? Agent Barton, are you awake? Agent Barton, please wake up..."
With a low growl Clint opened his eyes a slit to glare at the young agent who was running his mouth. The agent was as green as the grass that grew in early spring, and obviously a little skittish around him. Regardless, Clint wasn't in the mood to be woken up. He was on the way back to America after two weeks in Mumbai. Two weeks where he had rarely gotten more than three hours of sleep a night. Two weeks where he had tracked the son of a bitch who was responsible for the trafficking of hundreds of underage girls. The bastard had died the moment Clint sent an arrow through his heart, and for that he believed was entitled to some sleep, dammit, "What is it?" He asked gruffly. "What do you need, Agent..."
"Collins," The young recruit squeaked out. He seemed a little surprised that Clint had spoken to him directly. Clint vaguely wondered whether he had been that skittish after joining SHIELD. After thinking for a moment he remembered that while he had often been beat up during training and treated like dirt, he had never been skittish. "Agent Collins. Oh, and Director Fury is on the phone. He says he needs to talk to you immediately."
Clint groaned and sat up, internally cursing whoever the hell had thought of putting a phone on a jet. "Eye contact, Agent Collins," He said as he walked by the young man. "SHIELD values a man who can look anyone directly in the eye." He walked over to the phone, not missing the way that the young agent's eyes were following him, "Barton," He said, the hint of a growl in his voice.
"Agent Barton, where are you?"
Clint blinked, not entirely sure he had heard Fury clearly. Where was he? Was Fury not aware that he had just called the jet? He was honestly too tired and worn out to care whether Fury would kick his ass for it later, but Clint was too tired to contain his sarcasm. "Sir, with all due respect, you're the one who called me, where the hell do you think I am?"
"I mean where is the jet flying over, Agent Barton?" Fury clarified, his annoyance apparent in his voice. Clint pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the headache forming. He glanced out the window and all he could see was the dark ocean below them. Like that would be any indication of how close or far they were from America.
"Somewhere over the Atlantic," Clint responded at last, not able to think of a fitting sarcastic remark quickly enough. He glanced at his watch for a better indication of how much longer they had. "If my watch is right, we've got about four hours of flying left. Why, Sir, were you expecting us sooner?"
"We need you back here as soon as possible," Fury said, his tone shifting slightly. "Tell the pilot to go turbo with the jet."
"Sir, is everything alright?" Clint asked, now a little curious about what was causing Fury to need him back in America so quickly. He'd just gotten off of a mission, and that meant that he was entitled to some time off unless something went catastrophically wrong. He was sincerely hoping that there wasn't something going catastrophically wrong. He was looking forward to spending some time by Natasha's home down by the Jersey Shore. A few days of sun and water was just what he wanted and just what he needed at that point. What the hell could have gone so wrong that Fury wanted him back already?
"Agent Romanoff has been taken by Loki."
Clint stormed into the command center that stood in Stark Tower in the middle of New York City, his eyes blazing as he glared at Fury. The flight had landed about half an hour later and Clint had personally driven himself into the city, all thoughts of sleeping long gone from his head. The little break on the Jersey Shore was going to have to wait, "What the hell is going on here?"
"Loki's back," Tony piped up from where he sat by one of the computers. Clint was unsurprised to see him there. Stark Tower did, after all, belong to him. "Fucking bastard. How the hell did he get out of Asgard, let alone back to Earth?"
"A better question is why Natasha was sent after him alone," Clint said, his eyes still on Fury. His heart was racing as he felt his anger growing. How could Loki have gotten to Natasha, and why did he take her?
"I didn't send Agent Romanoff anywhere," Fury said, glaring right back at Clint with his good eye. "She was taken by him while she was home in New Jersey. We didn't know what was happening until he had already taken her."
Clint's rage surged. Great. Just great. If Loki was back and he had Natasha, it definitely didn't mean anything good, "Well where the hell is Thor, and why isn't he controlling his brother like he said he would? We took his word that Loki would be taken care of up on Asgard. That's the only reason we let him go, and now look what happened."
"We're trying to get in contact with him right now," Fury responded, pacing back and forth between two computer screens. "I need you to be on call for when we locate Loki. I'm sorry, Agent Barton. I know you're due for a break, but-"
"It's fine," Clint cut Fury off. He turned on his heel and headed for the sliding metal doors that led out of the command center, "I'll be on my floor," He said and left the room. His exhaustion was returning and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and wake up to see that Natasha was back and that she was okay. He went up to his floor, one of the highest of the building, and sighed as he looked around the quiet and empty space. He kicked his boots off and walked over to the wall of windows. He looked out at the City and rested his forehead against the cool glass.
It was rare for him to be up on his floor alone. Natasha was almost always with him when they stayed at Stark Tower. Then again, they were almost always together period. They trained together, they went on most missions together, they slept in the same bed together most of the time, hell, they kept each others nightmares at bay. They'd both seen and been through some horrific things, and they managed to find some strange sense of comfort in each other. But now, there was no sense of comfort, there was no waking up from the nightmare right in front of him.
He walked over to the couch, picking up a picture as he walked by it. It was a picture of him and Natasha. He knew Natasha hated pictures, but he'd managed to somehow talk her into one while they were posing as tourists in Paris. They were on top of the Eiffel Tower, and for once, he thought Natasha actually looked happy. The fact that Natasha looked happy was a rare occurrence, one that seemed to happen most often when they were alone. He hated the fact that he'd just gotten back from a mission where he'd spent every waking hour alone while going after a mark, and now, once again, he was on his own. He had been looking forward to having Natasha waiting for him when he got back, and now he had nothing.
He wasn't sure how it happened, but he'd managed to fall into a doze. But even as he rested, the nightmares and dark feelings started to seep into his subconscious. He saw bullets flying and people around him dying, and then he saw the one being that he loathed more than anyone else in the world. Loki.
I have something that means more than anything to you... Aren't you going to come find her, Agent Barton?
Natasha appeared beside Loki, and Clint felt a painful jolt. She looked fine, but one thing was wrong, very wrong. Her eyes emitted a horribly familiar blue glow that turned his stomach.
"Tasha," Clint breathed, though his chest felt strangely heavy, like there was a set of bricks pressing down on him. Natasha walked towards him, her seductive smirk in place. A shiver shot through his spine as she touched his shoulder.
Come find me, Clint, Natasha said, though her lips didn't move. She touched her lips to his, sending another jolt through him, Come find me before the others do.
Clint shot up as though someone had put a spring into his back as the alarm started going off. It took him a minute before he could remember where he was and that what he had seen had all been in his mind. He shook his head and grabbed his boots as he ran for the staircase that would bring him back down to the command center, "What's going on?" He asked as he pulled his boots on, looking over and seeing Stark already having the Iron Man suit forming around his body.
"Loki's surfaced," Fury said, his eyes moving from Clint to the computer screen in front of him. "You and Stark are going to go take care of him. Rogers is on his way in, and Agent Hill is going to continue working on getting in contact with Thor."
"Fury, now might be a good tie to roll out the new suit I had put together for Barton too," Tony said, his armor clanking and whirring as he walked. Tony than grinned over at Clint, "You're welcome."
"You redid my suit?" Clint's eyes narrowed, remembering only too well how Steve Rogers had wound up looking like a tri-colored Power Ranger.
"Relax, Legolas," Stark said with a roll of his eyes. "It's not like I put you in a bright purple suit with a hood. I just improved the strength of your old stuff. Gave it Kevlar threading and I improved the flexibility a bit. You'll be able to turn and bend easier."
Clint blinked, "Thanks, Stark," He said with a nod.
"Thank me when you don't get a bullet put through you," Tony said with a shrug. "You do know who's going to be with Loki, right?"
"I know perfectly well, Stark," Clint said gruffly. He didn't need Tony to remind him that Loki was most likely going to have Natasha with him. Nor did he need reminding that he needed to stay objective and get his job done by any means necessary. The lives of hundreds couldn't be sacrificed for the life of one. That didn't mean he had to like it. He changed quickly into his improved armor and grabbed the case with his bow and a quiver full of arrows, "Let's go then," He said, already heading to the roof where SHIELD kept a jet for occasions such as this. The on-board computer would tell him where he needed to fly. Tony followed him to the roof, his helmet under his arm.
"You sure you up for this, Katniss?" Stark asked as Clint headed for the jet.
"Do I have a choice?"