Chapter Two:
Nat:
She had never been so terrified in her life, so absolutely stricken with fear that every breath was shakily drawn, every beat of her racing heart, aching in her chest. The absolute darkness seemed to deepen the sense that everything was closing in around her. In all actuality, it was, and Steve was the only thing keeping that at bay. The roof of the SUV had sunk across his shoulders, the rock and earth above conforming to him. Dirt and smaller rocks were slowly pouring in from cracks formed where the roof met the lip of the car window. She felt glass beneath her fingers and earth on her face. She pinched her eyes tight and tried to shake it off. Breathing slowly, Nat concentrated on keeping calm, but the edge of her mind, she could feel the acrid, creeping cloud of panic. It was dark and cramped and she could hear the whine of car metal bending and flattening out. She desperately wanted to claw out and pull herself away, but there was nowhere to go.
"Steve?" she said shakily, focusing on the trembling form above her. "Steve, are you-, can you?"
She wasn't exactly sure what to say and she couldn't see his face to read what was probably on it: fear, exertion, strain.
"Yes. Radio...now," he said gruffly.
Nat could feel his arms on either side of her, palms flat against the floorboard of the SUV. His knees rested on either side of hers, creating a shield that protected her from the rock above threatening to wipe them completely away. A shield made of flesh and bone, and despite his super-human abilities, Nat doubted that he would last much longer. She could feel sweat already pouring from him, feel the tremor in his arms. He's going to give out. He can't keep this up. She tapped the radio in her ear and said, "Hey, anyone there? Come in, this is Romanoff and Rogers." She desperately hoped that someone would answer.
"Red! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice. How you holding up?"
Tony's voice came over the line, strained but happy.
"Funny you should say that," she replied, thinking of Steve literally holding up.
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head even though he couldn't see her.
"Never mind. We need your help. Now, preferably."
Tony fell silent for a couple moments, the only sound over the line that of his breathing.
"Alright, alright. Lemme work some magic, pull some strings, pray to a few idols-"
"Stark, we don't...have...timeforthis!" Steve cut in, voice hitched and words slurring. "Can you help…us or…not?"
A couple more moments of silence passed over the radio.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Give me a few minutes. Think you can hold out that long?"
Nat looked to Steve, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. The soldier was focusing on the immense weight on his back, a load that had already caused the windows to bust out and the seats to fold. Nat could feel a slight pressure on her feet, but she ignored it as best as she could.
"Tony, just hurry. Can Friday get a location on us?"
The engineer didn't answer for a moment and Nat assumed he was conferring with the AI. She really hoped that Friday could find them.
"I've had Friday start a scan. Let me dig out first, OK?"
"What?"
Natasha suddenly felt sick. She asked, "Are you trapped too?"
"Just a little bit. Don't worry about me, I'll be there soon," and before Nat could say anything more, the line clicked dead.
"Nat, are you…alright?" Steve said.
Despite the urge to scream 'no, she most certainly was not alright,' she nodded.
"I'm fine, Cap. You?"
He gave a gruff sort of laugh, like an exhausted chuckle. Steve didn't say more, but then Nat supposed he didn't really have to. She could feel the exertion in his trembling arms, the weight of the mountain settled on his back as it seemed to crush upon her as well. She was struck suddenly by the realization that she had never placed nor had her life placed solely in someone else's hands. Nat couldn't face this challenge, couldn't fight this enemy. But she believed in their Captain.
Even if that might not be enough.
Tony:
"Clint? Clint!" Tony called, but the line clicked dead mid-roar.
"Eleven minutes, sir."
"Oh god," he said, internally praying that Bruce wouldn't hurt the other two.
What were the two against the Hulk? What could Clint do to fend off Bruce's darker ego? Even if he did happen to have his bow, what purpose would his arrows serve further than pissing the giant off? Tony could only hope that Pietro would get them to safety, hope that Bruce wouldn't find his way to a city in his crazed state. Hope. Is that we've come to? Tony was repulsed by the thought. They were the Avengers. They'd saved the planet from total destruction just months ago and were already reduced to hoping that each other would just 'be okay.' Tony decided he wasn't going to hope anymore. He was going to do.
"Friday, get me a spec of the mountain and the locations of all those still kickin'."
"Right away," she said and across his screen came a 3D rendering, his own red dot blinking at him, almost halfway through the mountain.
Ten blue dots were scattered around the highlighted tunnel in small groupings of two's and three's. He felt the blood drain from his face at just how few a number of dots there were.
"How many dead?" he asked, dreading the response.
"Sir," Friday began, as hesitant as an AI could sound.
"Show me."
And then much more harshly, the white lights appeared. They peppered the mountain tunnel, dozens of specs coming to life and his stomach rolled at the irony. It was a moment before he realized just how unlikely that his teammates were alright. Ten lives of forty-something. Tony knew how proportions worked. He also knew that he was running out of air.
"Friday, put everything into the chest plate repulsor and the palms," he said. "We're going to dig out."
"Yes, sir," and the diagram of his suit appeared in the top corner of the screen.
A moment passed as the chest plate and palms on the diagram grew brighter, signaling a building up of energy. Tony prepared himself for the task he was about to face. He would save those the little dots if it killed him.
And when Friday said, "Ready," he knew that that was true. As soon as the repulsor surged to life, the rock outside began to shift and burn and fall back on him. The earth clanged loudly against his suit, the sound reverberating in his helmet. He scrambled to stand up even as he turned his hands upward and burning light shot from his palms, beams of energy turning the rock to dust. Tony felt like he was still being pulled down as the mountain tried to sink back upon him. He became somewhat prone and intensified the energy being shot from his hands, pulling energy from his chest plate. Slowly, he stood upright, all the while burning through the rock and earth that threatened to crush him. A voice then came over the radio.
"Hey, anyone there? Come in, this is Romanoff and Rogers."
Tony nearly fainted in relief. Natasha and Steve's pictures came across his holoscreen.
"Red! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice. How you holding up?"
He tried to keep the shake out of his voice.
"Funny you should say that."
"What do you mean?"
He started to move upwards, his shoulders scraping against the sides of the 'tunnel' he was making.
"Never mind. We need your help. Now, preferably."
Tony's oxygen timer ticked down to nine minutes.
"Alright, alright. Lemme work some magic, pull some strings, pray to a few idols-"
"Stark, we don't...have...timeforthis!" Steve's strained voice came over and Tony couldn't help but wonder what in the world he was doing. "Can you help…us or…not?"
What sounded like sand started hitting the helmet of his helmet, making a hissing noise. The map of the mountain showed his red dot making steady headway upwards.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Give me a few minutes. Think you can hold out that long?"
A few moments passed in radio silence.
"Tony, just hurry. Can Friday get a location on us?"
He glanced at the blue dots, wondering which they were and knowing there was no possible way to find out. He decided to opt for the white lie instead. Best not to worry them needlessly, he decided. He focused on the earth and rock threatening to crush him.
"I've had Friday start a scan. Let me dig out first, OK?"
"What?"
Oh, right. Not making them worry. Tony internally cursed.
"Are you trapped too?"
Nat sounded anxious, even at totally normal, non-assassin standards.
"Just a little bit. Don't worry about me, I'll be there soon," and he clicked off the line before he could say anything else stupid.
"Seven minutes, sir."
Tony sighed and tried to ignore the feeling that he was slowly drowning.
"How far till we're above ground?"
He waited for Friday to read the map and used a loose pocket of earth to shoot forward, blinding beams of energy shooting from his palms as he gathered speed.
"Two thousand feet, sir."
He groaned.
"Sorry I asked."
"ETA is five minutes," Friday said. "If that helps. Just…"
He could almost hear the 'just don't get buried again,' hanging in the air.
"Anyway we could put names on those little blue dots?" he asked after a few hundred feet.
"I can try."
"That's all I can ask," he said.
The rock continued to fall upon him, knocking him back down half a foot for every yard he made in progress. He eyed the little clock ticking down, counting away the seconds until he'd be starved of air. Six, five, four.
"Four hundred feet, sir."
The rock slowly turned to compacted dirt and clay that he knew would just stick to his suit and get lodged in the gaps between the plates for days. If he survived. The clay turned into topsoil which turned into tree roots.
"You might want to slow down, sir. You're fast approaching a-," but then he hit it.
Tony nearly fell back down the semi-shaft he'd created when he collided with the underbelly of a tree. The roots got all tangled up around him. He let a sound of surprise escape as he turned to the side.
It was like being born again. He wasn't surrounded in darkness anymore, but soft light as the last dregs of a sunset were leached from the sky. He burst forth into the air, free of the mountain and its clutch. It was just him and the free air now and he pulled up the faceplate. He reveled in the freedom for all of two seconds before he heard an ear-splitting roar come echoing up the mountain slope.
"Code green, Friday. Get Veronica for me, will you?"
"Right away, sir."
Clint:
Bruce, or what was him only minutes ago, bellowed in his face, green eyes harsh with hatred and fury, mouth twisted in a vengeful sneer. Clint could see Pietro staring at him as well from behind Bruce, panic in his stance and on his face, but the archer made a subtle 'stay back,' gesture with his hand.
"Hey, big guy. The, uh, the sun's getting real low," Clint said, palms out flat.
He tried to keep his voice placating, reciting Nat's lullaby as best as possible. The green giant kneeled down, placing his enormous fists on either side of the archer and leaning closer. The Hulk stared into Clint's face, confusion on his own as if he couldn't figure out why the lullaby wasn't coming from his Natasha. His face contorted in rage again and gave a head-splitting roar.
"Whoa there, buddy. Just calm down," Clint called over it. "Let's not start something we'll both regret, OK? It's me, Clint. Just...just calm down."
He tried to soothe the Hulk even as his chest tightened with fear. Bruce didn't seem to listen and pulled back a fist to attack.
"Bruce, it's me! It's Clint!" the archer shouted.
The fist came down like a truck from a bridge. Clint threw his hands up to protect himself and waited for the weight to crush him. And waited and waited. He opened his eyes, unaware the he had closed them. He was no longer trapped by the Hulk, but several hundred feet away from the tunnel opening.
"Oh god, warn me next time," Clint said as waves of nausea swept over him.
He bent double, hands on his knees, and breathed deeply.
"If it hadn't been for me, you would be a red stain on the rock."
"Thanks for the image, Speed."
Pietro just chuckled a bit. It was soon drowned out by another roar as the Hulk realized his enemy had escaped, seemingly, into the air.
"Warning," Pietro said as the Hulk turned to look for the archer.
Clint started to protest, but was cut off by the lack of air there seemed to be in superspeed. He was no longer bent in half in the road, but on his knees in the brush of the mountain plant life. He really was going to be sick this time, his stomach rolling and clenching painfully and his throat growing tight.
"I said 'warning,'" Pietro said, stepping back in case Clint chucked.
Clint just waved his hand as he regained control. A moment later Pietro said, "Are you alright? This usually never happens."
"Just motion sickness…give me a minute."
So Pietro took up guard duty, blurring about the forest. Clint decided never to let the Enhanced save him again. When his stomach had finally stilled, he stood back up straight.
"Pietro," he called, trying to get his attention.
The sound of a gun clicking answered him. He reached for an arrow that wasn't there to load a bow he didn't have.
"Freeze," a deep voice called, maybe ten feet behind him. "Hands in the air."
Clint slowly obeyed, palms upright and open. His sharp eyes picked out Pietro in the brush, kneeling behind the foliage. The archer just barely shook his head as the sound of boots on twigs grew louder behind him. A moment later, rough hands took his wrists from the air. Clint used the opportunity to implement a few of Nat's choice moves and promptly had the man lying flat on his back, the wind knocked from him and a bruise soon to bloom at his temple.
"Pietro, check for more."
He sensed more than heard the Enhanced leave. It was at that moment he fully comprehended the would-be captor. He was in a standard black uniform, an emblem on his chest of a shield and an eagle. Clint sighed and said, bending close, "You know, I'm not a very big fan of SHIELD at the moment, but they at least have semi-competent agents. I took you down in, what, half a second?" The man was still wheezing, gasping for air.
"Who are you?" Clint asked. "Because you're most definitely not SHIELD."
The man spat at his feet.
"Oh, real mature."
"There were two more, but I took care of them," Pietro said, appearing from the air.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Clint asked.
Pietro rolled his eyes and said, "Oh you funny Americans. Like to beat everyone up, but can't put a bullet where it's due." Clint balked.
"You killed them?"
The imposter-SHIELD agent slowly tried to get back up.
"Of course not! I don't want to be fired, no matter how much I wished to," Pietro said, punching the man back down.
"Why?" Clint asked, so taken aback by the vicious nature he hadn't known the kid had had.
Pietro pointed to the man and said, "You don't recognize them?" Clint shook his head and said, "No. Should I?" The Enhanced knelt down and gave their captive a pat.
"Maybe it's best for you that he never does," Pietro said, and like a glint of light upon glass, became a blur tying the man to a nearby tree.
"Pietro, what'd you mean?" Clint asked.
When the Enhanced had finished his work, he started a trek through the forest. Clint sped after him, tripping on roots in his haste to keep up.
"Hey, you can't just leave me here! HEY!"
When they were out of earshot, Pietro said, "Don't worry, we'll come back to question him later." Clint grabbed the Enhanced's shoulder, whipping him around.
"What the hell do you mean, 'best for you that he never does?'"
Pietro fell silent, giving him a pained look.
"Just trust me, if you value your humanity, wait till we're far enough away."
Clint was so confused he almost didn't notice that they had reached the road again. He spun around, poised for another attack.
"Why are we back here? We don't know where Bruce is," Clint asked, keeping his voice down.
"Yeah, we do," and Pietro pointed up the mountainside to a scar running through the trees, splintered wood and trampled vegetation marking a clear path the Hulk had made. Clint shook his head and said, "This is still much too close. We need to get-," but he cut himself off. The thought of her brought a vice-like grip to his chest and it was suddenly hard to breathe. Pietro turned to him and said, "We do. And we will. She's still alive, just like Wanda is and Thor and Steve and everyone else. I believe in that. Don't you?" Clint closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He shook his head and said, "No, I don't."
Clint couldn't bring himself to hope for that. He couldn't be like Pietro and invest all he had in something that remained so precarious. He wanted to hope, to pray, but he didn't think he could survive believing in anything more than the fact that he wouldn't give up on them.
"Well, this has been a bummer."
Clint whipped his head up as the sound of repulsors died and metal clanked against the asphalt. The iron faceplate slid up to reveal a weary, but okay Tony Stark. His suit was severely dirtied, mud and dirt coating the paint and bits of grass stuck between the plates. The suit was littered with scratches, dings, and dents. He looked as if he had been swung about the ground by Bruce. Maybe he had.
"Jesus, Stark. What happened to you?"
He gestured to his suit and said, "Oh, this? I was just digging myself out."
"Of the mountain?" Pietro said in surprise, pointing to the mound of earth and rock soaring up above them.
"Oddly enough, I was buried in that one," Stark said, nodding his head to a neighboring peak.
Clint rolled his eyes and said, "Never mind this. We have to dig them out."
"I thought you said that they were dead?" Tony challenged.
Clint glared at him. Even as happy as he was to see the engineer alive, he still felt like choking him too.
"That," he started, pointing to mountain, "-will not be their grave. Not if I can help it."
Tony's face became serious (if that was even possible), and he said, "No, it won't."
"We can make heroic declarations all day, but the three of us aren't going to make that big of a difference. We need help," Pietro said.
Tony winked and said, "Already called it in," and like he had planned it, hundreds of self-driving construction bots descended from the sky. They were about the size of basketballs, rectangular in shape, and propelled by mini repulsors.
"Ronnie will be down in a mo to deal with the big guy."
Clint couldn't bring himself to smile, but he felt something stirring in his chest as the bots flew to the mountain, claws reaching out to remove the smaller bits of rock.
"Oh, and one more thing," Tony started, his face plate sliding down.
Clint turned back to look at him.
"Nat and Steve are alive."
Wanda:
The minutes had ticked by; five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and still, Maria could not get anyone on the radio. Wanda's scarlet ribbons of telekinetic energy curled and unfurled outside the car, coaxing the rock into staying in place. Every couple of minutes, Thor set the women's hair sticking straight up, as if he were losing control of his power. Wanda dearly hoped that he wouldn't accidentally electrocute them or something.
"This is Hill, Thor, and Maximoff, come in," Maria said again, trying to get a message out despite the faulty comms. "Hello? Anyone out there? Hey!"
"Lady Hill, I believe they will not work no matter how many times one tries," Thor said, a bit of irritation in his voice.
"I'm sorry, do you have a better idea?" she asked, turning in her seat to face him.
"I am just simply tired of the 'broken CD,' so to speak."
"It's broken record."
"It's irrelevant."
"I don't remember asking your opinion, Zeus."
"Do not speak to me of that imposter!"
"ENOUGH!" Wanda screamed.
The two turned to her in surprise, falling silent.
"I'm working hard enough here, I shouldn't have to deal with your two's bullshit as well!"
She flashed red eyes on Thor and said, "Stop acting like a child and help me." He didn't seem to notice that he had eased up on the roof of the car during he and Hill's spat. Thor jumped back into place.
"Apologies, Lady Maximoff."
"And you," Wanda turned to Hill. "You're SHIELD are you, not? Try fixing the comms, not wasting the battery."
Hill nodded faintly, eyes a bit wide, and pulled the earpiece out to fiddle with it. Wanda felt a little bad for yelling at them, but she couldn't take their bickering. She needed to focus on the weight above her, threatening to crush her. Even with Thor's help, it was skittering on the edge of being too much. She had never concentrated so hard in her life, pushed her abilities this far to the brink. A splitting headache was building at the back of her skull and she couldn't remember ever being this tired in her life.
Under her breath, Wanda whispered, "Please help us," hoping that he would come, hoping that he would hear her plea. She needed him, now in this moment if not ever again.
Please help us. Please hear me.
And he did.
AN: I think I'm going to have two more chapters. Hopefully I can update the third sooner than I did this chapter. Thanks to all those who are following this fic and please review!