Disclaimer: Still don't own anything!

AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews! To JannaKalderash; your review has been most helpful! I couldn't let you guys wait long for another chapter so here I am, bringing a gift. The chapters for this story will be shorter than usual, but the updates will come quicker. I hope that's a fair deal. I'm also making some adjustments to the canon-universe, but nothing major. Please don't forget to feed the review-monster at the end of the chapter!

~ Family Ties ~

Chapter 2

The blood was the first thing Steve noticed. It was smeared across the white tiles of the wall and floor. It wasn't much, but enough to have the Captain worried. They weren't splatters or markes like a wounded body had been pushed against it. Also, there were no bodies and Steve frowned. More shots were fired in the distance, pulling him from his train of thought. He needed to hurry and find weapons to bring to Tony.

When he made a left turn, the origin of the blood was revealed and Steve inhaled sharply. Shock threatened to take over his body, but he had fought wars and he wasn't easily thrown off guard. When he noticed the blood running down Natasha's side, however, he felt a painful sting of concern.

Not hesitating, he walked towards her and noticed that she still carried a gun in her right hand. Her eyes stood wide and annoyed which told Steve that she would be all right. Natasha was a tough girl.

"What's happening?" he asked, hoping that she might have an answer for him.

With gritted teeth - whether it was because she was in pain or because she was angry was unclear to Steve - Natasha said, "A dog, there was a dog here!"

He frowned.

"Only bigger," she continued, clutching her side with her left hand, "more like a wolf. It attacked me."

"Did you shoot it?" Steve cast his eyes around, but he couldn't find a dead animal-body anwhere.

"I tried," Natasha said, "but it was oddly...easy moving and evasive. It chased me through the hall, but took off just before you showed. Honestly, Steve, I've never seen anything like it." She sounded out of breath when she was done speaking and Steve placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm all right," she assured her friend when noticing his worried look.

"I have to find weapons and get back to Tony," he told her, "he is guarding Loki."

"This is about him, isn't it," Natasha sighed with frustration, "we should have known this day wouldn't end well for us."

He chose to ignore that comment. This battle was not yet warred. "Try to get to the infirmary," he said, "it looks like a nasty bite."

"Be careful," Natasha warned, "I don't think we're only dealing with a wolf."

Steve smiled kindly. "I'm always careful."

oOo

Clint had not been carrying his bow. There were not many occasions where the archer was without his favorite weapon and now he knew that from this moment onwards, he would never be without that weapon. For reasons unknown to him, he was staring into the faces of two nearly identical boys.

Boys. That was what Clint called them. They couldn't be much older than eightteen, yet their eyes had something in them, a depth that revealed age and knowledge. One of the boys had dark hair with even darker eyes that didn't seem to have pupils. The other boy's hair was just a hint lighter with eyes as bright as an ocean. Both of them appeared highly unnatural and the fact that they were smiling rows of perfect white teeth made them appear menacing.

"Who are you?" the blue-eyed boy asked. There lay honest curiosity in his voice, but Clint knew not to be fooled by it. "You don't look like a superhero."

The second boy chirped in, "He isn't one, brother, can't you see that? He is nothing but a mere mortal."

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Clint said, throwing the boys a menacing smile of his own. He was intimidated by their appearance, but he wasn't scared. He had fought bigger, stronger and far more.

The dark-eyed boy stretched out a hand and a long, sharp dagger slid from underneath his sleeve. His brother followed his example, but also pulled a long sword from behind his back. Both of them carefully examined Clint's reaction and they appeared disappointed when 'the mortal' did not even flinch.

"Where are your weapons?" The blue-eyed one asked, cocking his head just a little to his left. The new angle to his face made Clint realise that their faces looked familiar, but he couldn't place them yet. Had he seen them before? Fought them before?

"Who are you?" Clint asked the question they had posed just a moment ago.

"Well," the blue-eyed one chuckled, "my name is Nari, if you must know. This is my brother Vali."

"Rhyming names," Clint said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "how adorable."

The brothers charged forward, their weapons aimed and ready to strike. Clint was quick on his feet, however, and darted away from them. He rolled onto his side and made sure he got back onto his feet within seconds. The brothers hadn't expected the move and they growled with frustration. Clint would have laughed at them had he been carrying a weapon. He was smart enough to know when to avoid battle and this was one of those occasions.

He hurried towards the closest door and escaped into the hallway. He could hear the brothers following footsteps, but Clint didn't look back. He ran down the hall and towards the next corridor where he made a left turn. He needed to find weapons, but what he found in stead was something disturbing.

A green snake slithered towards him, his thin, forked tongue hissing constantly. Clint had never been an animal person and he certainly didn't like reptiles. This snake was big and broad and frankly, reminded him of Voldemort's snake Nagini. That was not a pleasant thought and Clint turned on his heels. The brothers had yet to catch up with him and so Clint began to run again.

When he reached the corridor for a second time, he decided to take the right hall in stead of the previous left one. He could only hope that in stead of running into an enemy, he ran into a weapons-room. In stead, he found the next best thing. Coulson and Thor were coming his way, both heavily armed and looking determined to end this madness.

"I've never been so glad to see both of you," Clint said, a little out of breath, "there is a snake in the other hallway and also two crazy brothers following me."

"A snake?" Thor asked, a deep frown creasing his brow. It was clear that a disturbing thought had crossed his mind, but Thor had no time to voice it. A loud scream sounded nearby, followed by a heavy thud.

"Did that sound like Tony?" Coulson asked, his finger tightening around the trigger of his gun. He aimed towards the end of the hallway, expecting another enemy or monster to appear. "Let's go!"

As Coulson ran down the hallway, Clint and Thor followed. They were unsure what to expect, but they were prepared to fight. Even though they had very little idea of who they were fighting with.

AN: I'll make you a deal. If I get ten reviews, I will post the next chapter on Thursday :)