Prologue
He was regaining consciousness rather slowly.
Clinton Barton, mostly called Clint or Hawkeye by his friends, had, unfortunately, regained consciousness many times before; it was a hazard of attempting to duplicate circus stunts and loving high places. Usually, he was lying in some contorted position with concerned individuals (circus staff, more often than not) clustered around a doctor who was telling them that no, he wasn't dead, yes, he had a sprain (or a fracture or a break or a hemorrhage or a concussion) and that he should stay off it for a few days (or a week or a month or longer). Not that he'd really paid attention- the moment the wound didn't send debilitating pain up and down whatever appendage it was on, he'd gotten right back to it. That might have been what had prompted Trickshot to teach him how to use a bow in the first place: it gave him something to do that did not carry a high risk of him killing himself.
Geez, he had to have some sort of a head wound to ramble on like this.
Anyway, he normally regained consciousness lying down. He was still a little fuzzy, but it felt as though he was sitting up. He could hear traffic, but, again, it was fuzzy. Come to think of it, everything was fuzzy, like a disorienting drug fuzzy. Not that he (thankfully) had any experience with those kinds of drugs; he had plenty of experience with painkillers, though. Sometimes they made him feel fuzzy-
No, focus, Clint, focus. Forget the fuzzy.
Forget the fuzzy?
…I'm gonna ignore that. Focus, think back. What do you remember?
Red, he remembered red…and black. He didn't think it had anything to do with a circus stunt this time. Er, the unconsciousness that is.
C'mon, Clint, think!
He attempted to push past whatever barrier was separating him from sanity. Emphasis on attempted.
Maybe you should…sleep this off.
When Clint returned to consciousness for the second time, he was very relieved that the thought fuzziness was gone (mostly gone anyway). He could actually assess his situation now.
Body first. He was indeed sitting up, head on chest. Pain levels were equivalent to bruises and sore muscles mostly. Pressure on wrists (which, he noted, were behind him and at about mid-back level) and the fact that he couldn't feel his hands indicated they were tied and had been so for some time. Similar, but less severe, feelings in his lower legs suggested the same for his lower limbs. His feet did not appear to be resting on anything, though that may have been because they were numb. A line of pressure around his abdomen and a matching line around his chest kept him upright against a hard surface, probably a chair.
He could hear traffic, but it was quiet, either because of distance or because he was someplace with really thick walls. It was relatively cool, but not cold. Something about that bugged him, but he couldn't come up with a good reason why.
He cracked open his eyes, confirming that he was tied to a chair. From what little he could see, he was in a dimly lit room of some sort. Oh, and his neck was sore. He tried to lift it, and stopped pretty quickly as the muscles protested. Gently, he rolled his head from side to side, allowing the cramps to loosen up before lolling his head back, enjoying the stretch.
His attempts to remember how he'd gotten into this position only came up with a vague fuzziness (okay, enough with the fuzzy), but he did remember red on black. There was a shape to it…. He wracked his brain, which complained about the activity, but eventually gave up something vaguely rectangular with a slightly squished middle. Like two triangles with their pointy ends together…. What was it called? ...Time, it had something to do with time…minute? No…hour? That sounded better. Hourgl…hourglass?
He frowned. A red hourglass. Why was that familiar? Why-
"I see you're awake." Bitter. Feminine.
A Black Widow.
Oh great. Just great.
Hey yall!
I own nothing in the Marvel Universe, except for all the movies save Iron Man 2, which I have yet to procure.
Much thanks to Stan Lee for creating one of the most wonderful toys ever.
Much thanks to Chimeara Chameleon for editing for me.
