NOTES: This is the second story in the fic timeline I refer to as Nadiaverse. The first story is Wishes and Nightmares, but you don't have to read that one to understand what's happening here. This will be updated on Wednesdays.
DISCLAIMER: I am poor, these characters (with the exception of Nadia Rogers) aren't mine, please don't sue.
Phil Coulson was ordered to retreat to the Helicarrier. The villain of the day decided to use sonic waves to induce aggression in anyone within weapon's range, and within said range was the team of superheroes known as The Avengers.
The sonic waves were created with the hope of causing the heroes to turn on one another. If the Avengers took each other out, it would be one less thing for the evil scientist to deal with before conquering the world—or at least Phil assumed.
He was originally on the ground, just a block away from the action. He coordinated civilian evacuation using SHIELD support agents, and monitored the Initiative's progress all from a street corner. Jasper was at his side, seamlessly carrying out Phil's orders like he had for years. And that's when Phil knew something was wrong—when he possessed the overwhelming urge to choke the life out of his longtime friend and co-worker. From the rage darkening Jasper's eyes, the feeling was apparently mutual.
Things happened quickly after that, as they always did. Phil came to his senses long enough to figure out what was occurring around him. He called it in to Fury, who was keeping an eye on developments from the Helicarrier, and the Director ordered everyone save the superheroes to evacuate.
Then, things got worse.
JARVIS overheard Coulson's assessment on the aggression-inducing sonic waves and deduced that Stark's sudden targeting of Thor instead of the mad scientist bent on world domination was not a good idea. The artificial intelligence quickly put the Iron Man armor in some sort of standby mode to keep its designer from committing friendly fire.
Hulk, already fueled by anger, began to smash heavy fists down on anyone around him. Thankfully the rest of the team was quick enough to avoid the attacks, and the immobile Stark was far enough away to remain safe.
Thor and Rogers were fighting hand to hand. The only good thing that came of that was the realization that whenever Mjolnir was struck against Cap's vibranium shield, both men were able to have a moment of clarity and rise above the haze of their tempers. But as soon as the clanging sound dissipated, they were right back at each other's throats.
Phil keyed that particular bit of information into the computer terminal he sat at onboard the Helicarrier, and the databanks spat out a solution to their problems. "Hawkeye, do you read?" he called out on the comms.
It took another beating of the Asgardian hammer against Cap's shield for Clint to register his handler's voice. "Sonic arrows," Phil ordered quickly. "If you activate one and keep it close, you can take him down. Can you make the shot?"
"I'm hurt you even have to ask," Clint retorted.
"Fire the sonic first at—" Phil was cut off as his comm squelched from an overload of noise on Clint's end. The senior agent kept his eyes glued to the monitors in front of him that showed vitals for the team. Jasper shouted behind him that the target was down, and Phil drew relief at the words until the comm chatter began to focus on the man who took the shot.
Natasha called in a medevac as Phil stared at the screens in front of him to try and figure out what went wrong and why Clint's vitals had spiked before he passed out. Phil began to question the team members, but they were too lost in the effects of the sonic waves to remember what happened. And once the fog of anger lifted, their focus shifted to securing the scientist who'd caused the mess in the first place.
Phil snapped off a round of orders that initiated the clean up process and kept people busy enough so he could sneak down to medical. He got there just in time to see Clint on a gurney being wheeled back to an exam room; he was unconscious, and there was a line of dried blood running from his ear to down his neck.
Stark was still armored and on the ground. JARVIS had returned control of the suit once the threat was neutralized, and at the moment, Tony was trying to calm Hulk down enough for Banner to reemerge. From the sounds of the yells Phil heard on the Bluetooth fixed in his ear, it was going to be a while.
The remainder of the team—Rogers, Romanoff, and Thor—were also being examined. Phil noticed all three of them were cringing as medical staff inspected their ears. Thor waved the nurses off, nearly knocking one of them off her feet, and stalked away muttering words Phil couldn't quite catch since they were in an unfamiliar tongue.
"What happened down there?" he asked Natasha.
"You'll have to speak up," Cap requested. "Hard to hear you over the ringing."
"What happened?" Phil repeated, raising his voice.
"Barton set off a sonic arrow," Natasha answered. "It counteracted the effect of the weapon long enough for him to take the shot. He barely got it off before he passed out."
"What do you mean 'set it off?'" Phil demanded. "I told him to fire the sonic arrow at the target first, and then take him down."
Natasha shared a look of confusion with her husband before turning back at Phil. "That's not what happened."
"He had the thing in his mouth," Rogers elaborated.
"What?" Phil asked as his stomach dropped.
"The sonic arrowhead," Natasha clarified. "He didn't fire it; he held it in the corner of his mouth while he made the shot."
Immediately, the specs of the purpose and power of Clint's sonic arrowhead filtered through Phil's mind; there wasn't a single bit of information that was promising.
He heard someone clear their throat behind him. "Agent Coulson?" Phil turned to see Doctor Panetta, a veteran SHIELD medic, hovering in the doorway.
The look on the older man's face was all Phil needed to see, but still he had to ask.
"He's deaf, isn't he?"