99 Problems

Inspired by the following video: .com/watch?v=TsfActafojc

Clint Barton, S.H.I.E.L.D agent and "master assassin", has a few issues.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, nor do I make any money for this little past time. Alas.

The lights in the room are assaulting his senses, like fire pokers being shoved into his frontal lobe. There is a buzzing sound in his head that is more like the shriek of a harpy. He squints into the light, and there is a figure standing nearby.

Things start to come back to him now.

There is a magical scepter pointed at his chest. He doesn't believe in magic.

"Drink."

The madman tells him he has heart, and then he feels...something overtake him.

He holds the water dumbly in numb fingers, staring at the ripples in the clear liquid. The word is so simple: drink. The action, too, simple, but he can't seem to bring the cup to his lips right away.

He takes aim, and at the other end of the gun is Director Fury. BAM. He doesn't kill him. Is that on purpose?

He takes a sip. The water is warm and bitter. As if the systems on the Hellecarrier are damaged. Oh, yeah, he thinks.

He stands in the hangar of the plane, takes aim, and lets the arrow fly. It meets its target, as they always do. Seconds later, there's an explosion.

He looks at his partner.

"How many...?"

There are people in his way. He disposes of them.

His partner shakes her pretty head, "Don't do that to yourself." He knows that means the answer is more than he'd like.

He is on his way to the engine, to ensure no one gets the bright idea to fix them. He is intent on his mission.

"This is nothing we've ever trained for."

He is so intent on his mission, that he doesn't hear the killer behind him right away.

The word war plays around in his head. War...it's a big word. It's a big deal. His partner is sitting next to him, "You sound like yourself."

He still gets the jump on her, turning and lashing out with his bow.

"But you don't." Something in her eyes...something has happened. Well, he thinks, something else.

She is brutal in their fight, and he is, too. Somewhere inside of him, he knows who this is and wants it to stop.

"Why?"

He has a knife to her throat, and he is about to win.

He is looking at her, and he is concerned. Is this his fault? He seems sure that it is.

She bites his arm, and it hurts like nothing else. He is fighting a wild animal.

"I've been compromised." He wonders at this.

He does not get an opportunity to recover. The rail of the walkway is coming up to meet his face.

"There is red in my ledger." He knows this, and he understands the humanity she is reaching for.

His head is jarred, and he is confused for a moment. Oh, hello rail, he thinks. He looks up and sees her. "Tasha?"

She said war. He doesn't know if they can win a war.

She grabs him and knocks his head into the rail again.

He looks at her for a moment – was that last blow to the head necessary? I deserved it, he thinks.

He is holding a scanner to the eye reader. The light turns green – green means go – and he and his team fall in line. They are breaking into a building to retrieve some meteorite for Loki.

Like a dog, he thinks now. Like a dog fetching for a maniacal master. They look at one another. "I'd like to put an arrow through Loki's eye."