A/N: So, this was inspired by Hawkeye's mohawk after seeing it in the Avengers Endgame trailer. Here are some details about my fic universe; it's set a couple of years after Age of Ultron but Civil or anything after hasn't happened, so all the avengers are still friends.
I don't anything but the OC's of my own creation, though I would give anything to own the Avengers.
Please enjoy.
…
The loud Klaxon alarm and red flashings lights would have been enough to discourage anyone from continuing further down the corridor, but it didn't stop the lone, slender form who stalked down the corridor like a predator hunting its prey, a limp barely showing itself in their walk. A trail of bodies were littered about in the individuals wake, each still as can be, eyes focused on nothing.
Arriving at a doorway, the figure pressed themselves flush against the wall. A passing glance into the room found it was empty and the figure silently dashed in. Slumping behind an overturned table, the person heaved out a sigh and ran a hand through their flaming, red hair.
They remained motionless as a voice called from the corridor; "We know you're in there, there's no point in fighting us, you're outnumbered.", the voice was posh and feminine.
Knowing that the mystery voice was right, the red head limped out of the room to be met by a barrage of guards and the owner of the voice. The owner of said voice was a large, muscular woman who reached an astonishing height of around 6ft 3. The woman's hair was a dull black in colour but immaculately styled. The woman's clothes were plain and designed for combat, the only distinct items were the gauntlets covering her forearms. They were a sleek silver design, standing out due to the glowing orange lights that ran up the outside of them.
The mystery woman's mouth quirked up into smirk; "Well, well, looks like we've caught the infamous Black Widow, who'd have thought?", the woman gestured around mockingly; "Now, Miss Romanoff, because that is your name, right? Your friend is waiting for you."
The red-haired woman, Natasha Romanoff lowly chuckled; "I see my reputation proceeds me, and what should I call you?"
"You can call me… Catastrophe." Catastrophe jutted her hip out to one side and placed a hand on it; "Time to go Widow."
Natasha's eyes widened as Catastrophe raised one gauntleted arm at her. The orange glow of the gauntlet grew brighter as Catastrophe's hand was suddenly engulfed by a deep orange flame. Natasha tried to keep her features neutral as she battle the new found dread that had bubbled up in her chest. Catastrophe manically laughed as she fired a bolt of the orange energy at Natasha. The bolt hit her square in the chest and sent her to the floor in an unconscious heap.
Kicking the unconscious body in the side with her boot, Catastrophe spoke to no one in particular; "The boss is gonna love having captured you.", she clicked her fingers at two guards, who swiftly picked up the unconscious Black Widow. The hallway was soon vacant, and alarms turned off, though amongst the darkness of the room that Black Widow had tried to find refuge in was a lone blinking, blue light that belonged to a USB drive printed with the distinct 'A' of a world known team.
…
Steve let out a gasp as he was knocked to the sparring mats, he looked up to see the one and only Hawkeye grinning down at him, a wooden bo-staff resting over one shoulder.
"Bet you didn't see that one coming, huh Cap?", Clint's voice had traces of laughter in it as he held his hand out to Steve.
Steve happily grabbed it and heaved himself up; "I wasn't, so are the kids enjoying their vacation to the Facility?"
"Pepper has been dragging Laura on shopping trips all over NY, Cooper hasn't left Thor or Tony alone, he keeps asking them questions all the time and Lila has recruited Wanda and Sam to be her princess and prince for her daily tea parties." Clint put his staff back and slung his towel over his shoulder before following Steve towards the communal kitchen.
"So, any idea when Nat is back from this secret mission she went on?" Clint poured himself a glass of water and stared intently at Steve.
Shrugging Steve plopped himself onto one of the bar stools; "I have no idea, she only told me it was urgent and should've only taken a day, but she told me this last Friday, today is Tuesday."
"Huh, I know Nat and trust her abilities completely, but this is odd, she would've checked in somehow by now." Clint pushed down the nervousness that had made an appearance. He turned to Steve, surprised to find his face wasn't giving away his emotions; Huh, Nat's taught him well, he thought to himself.
"I suppose it won't hurt to have a look at her tracker, right? I mean she'd contact us if she was in trouble wouldn't she." Steve was being the voice of reason as always.
Clint nodded his head in silent agreement, downing his water he turned on his heel and left the room.
The pair entered the teams mission HQ, it was a large circular room hidden deep within the confines of the Avengers Facility. It was outfitted with the latest Stark tech, the piece de resistance being the large holographic screen that stretched half the room.
Walking to the centre of the room, Clint swiped his hand up and a holographic keyboard flickered to life. Steve positioned himself in front of the large screen as Clint typed away at the keyboard. The image on the screen soon changed to a satellite view of a large industrial estate, a red dot blinking in the centre of one of the larger buildings.
Steve turned to Clint; "Where is this?"
"Uh, hang on," Clint typed some more; "Somewhere in Italy, data logs show that her tracking chip hasn't moved from this location since Saturday."
"What have you gotten yourself into Nat? This feed live?"
"Yeah, there's nothing coming up on thermal imagining, looks like it's been abandoned." Clint folded his arms.
Running a hand through his hair, Steve groaned; "Ok, go suit up and meet me at a quinjet in 10, we're gonna get to the bottom of this and with any luck we'll find Romanoff."
Clint gave Steve a curt nod before leaving the room. Looking at the screen one last time, Steve sighed before shutting down the software and leaving himself.
The jet landed with a jerk, a ramp at the rear of the craft lowered itself as two figures strode out inti the cool night. The area in which they had landed was devoid of all life bar the two lone figures. There were empty crates and cars scattered across the area, all had been abandoned. Whoever had occupied the facility was long gone.
Clint levelled his bow and arrow and scanned the environment around. He knew Nat could handle herself in most, if not all situations but something about this was off. Nat would never go days without contacting him, or Steve for that matter. Lowering his bow when he clocked no enemies near them, he turned to Steve.
"Ready?"
Steve who was adjusting a strap on his stealth suit, simply nodded his head in response. Holstering his shield on his back he moved off in the direction of the Nat's tracker.
The corridor they were sneaking down was too quiet for Steve's liking, he internally grimaced at the bullet holes and splatters of blood that were spread across the walls. Combat training kicking in, Steve slowed his breathing and took in his surroundings. Using his enhanced senses, he listened for any noises that Clint wouldn't be able to hear. Hearing nothing, he continued trailing after Clint.
"This should be it." Clint had stopped at a doorway and put away the phone he had been using to track Nat's signal.
Steve readied his shield; "I think it's safe to say she's not here, right?"
Clint grunted before entering the room, returning seconds later with a small USB device in his hand. Both men shared a worried glance at each other.
"Let's get back to the jet, we can see what's on that then." Steve gestured to the small device in Clint's hand.
Once the quinjet was safely in the air and headed back to the facility, Clint moved over to one of the computer terminals built into the craft. Plugging it in, he stood back as he waited for the device to load up.
An audio file appeared on the screen and began to play, the first thing that Steve and Clint heard was the loud blaring of an alarm. A series of rushed breaths were soon heard, and both assumed they belonged to Natasha.
Clint and Steve shared a look as the recording of Natasha began speaking; "If you are hearing this then something, you'd have thought was impossible has happened… I've been captured."
Nat huffed out a ragged breath; "Now, I'm assuming that either Clint or Steve is hearing this, but either way; Clint will understand what I'm about to say, so Steve if you are listening make sure Clint hears this. There's something big happening, something much worse than the Hydra uprising. This enemy, they are everywhere. Their reach is a lot farther than Hydra's ever was. Clint you need to find someone, you need to find her. If you find her, she can help you get to me and also lead her to him. She knows more about this enemy than any one of us. Clint, Kraken is on the rise and the only person best equipped to help you stop them right now is Maya Blackwood."
The audio file crackled before stopping all together. Steve shot a questioning glance at Clint, whose own features were lined with dread.