ooc/ thank you all for the reviews and the favs, i love you all. ^u^
I look forward to your feedback as I continue with this epic tale! :P
Nick Fury paced anxiously around the room, eyeing the clock every time he passed the door. Clint Barton sat with his feet propped up on a massive chrome table, staring boredly in front of him. Nick walked by again.
"Pacing around like that isn't going to make them get here any faster," Clint said tiredly.
"I appreciate your insight, Hawkeye," Nick snapped sarcastically. Clint shifted in his seat, lips in a sly smile. "I just don't like that they haven't shown up yet. Any of them. "
"They will," Clint said with a nod, as if he had to reassure himself. "At least, Natasha will."
"If Stark hasn't gotten there first," Nick said darkly.
"Why are you so worried about Stark? What's he going to do, blast off with Captain America? We both know Steve would see right through that one."
"I'm not worried about him doing something, I'm worried about him saying something," Nick growled, pivoting around to pace back toward him.
"Like what?"
Nick opened his mouth to answer, but the click of the door interrupted him. Natasha entered with an unsatisfied scowl, followed by a nervous-looking Steve Rodgers. Natasha pulled up a chair next to him, folding her hands as she sat down. Cap must not have put up a fight; he could tell when she had been promised a conflict and hadn't gotten one. Their affinity with missions was probably why they worked so well together, Clint couldn't stay cooped up for long and neither could she. Natasha's eyes narrowed as she looked to Nick.
"Found him." She offered a sour smile. Clint could help but chuckle in amusement at her annoyance.
"Yeah, Nick, she found me. What was that all about anyway? Did you think I was going to say no or something?" Steve demanded. The Captain looked good for a guy thrown into another time, though Clint could hear a tired tone to his voice that hadn't been there before.
"It wasn't about you, it was Stark. I couldn't have him getting to you before we did, it was too much of a risk."
"Oh? What were you afraid of, that he was going to tell me what's really going on here?"
Nick's jaw clenched, and Clint thought he might just slap the Captain across the face. Rodgers held Fury's one-eyed stare for a heartbeat before he finally spoke,
"Stark doesn't know the extent of the situation."
Steve scowled, his blue eyes flashing dangerously. Clint sighed, drumming he table with his fingers.
"Come on boys, we have a serious problem on our hands. I thought we got all the cat fights over with," said Clint. That seemed to strike something in Rodgers, and the soldier's eyes softened, his angry demeanor relaxed with a loud sigh. He sat down at the end of the table and began picking at his shirt, almost embarrassed. Rodgers was one strange guy, Clint thought with a smile, but he liked him.
"I'll wait for the rest of them to arrive before I brief you, I don't want to explain everything more than I have to."
The Captain nodded once, still avoiding Nick's gaze. The room went silent, and Clint doubted anyone would say a word before Tony or Thor showed up. He hadn't expected such a touchy atmosphere, and he couldn't help but think Natasha had caused Steve's suspicions. She should have known better than to let him get nervous like that. Rodgers could be worse than Banner when he was stressed.
It wasn't too long before the door swung open again and the room filled with the sound of Tony's nonchalant laughter. Bruce walked in behind him, giving a shy wave to Nick as he entered. Tony's laughter cut short as he saw Steve.
"Really?" Tony groaned, "I told you I was going to go get him!"
Nick simply glared at him, not bothering to voice a response.
"Tony," Steve greeted flatly, glancing at Nick as he did so.
"It's been awhile, Spangles!" Tony ruffled Steve's hair as he walked by. Steve tried to duck away, cracking into a grin anyway. Tony flung out a chair, dropping into it like a pile of bricks. He pulled down his sunglasses, as if trying to get a clearer view of the room. "Hey, do guys have any drinks around here?"
"No, we don't," Nick growled.
"Okay fine," Tony pushed his glasses back, "I just flew a helicopter with the airsick muscle monster over here and I don't even get a drink. You guys really need to work on your hospitality."
"I wasn't airsick…" Bruce murmured. Tony dismissed him with the flick of a wrist.
"Whatever, I saw you grab on to your seatbelt like a little schoolgirl." Bruce smiled lightly, shaking his head. "Hey, that reminds me, Bruce here has been teaching a science class over on the East Side. Well, its illegal, but still, pretty nice right?"
"Its not illegal," Bruce objected.
"That's great, congratulations," Steve smiled.
Clint cleared his throat and the conversation stopped.
"Thank you, Clint," said Nick, pulling out a case file. "Thor should be here soon enough, according to our electromagnetic sensors anyway. Once he arrives, you'll all be getting a case file like this one on your screens." Six Stark-esque glass monitors rose from the table in front of each of them. Tony immediately started sifting through files. "I haven't put it on the system yet, Stark," Nick announced, wiggling a flashdrive. Tony stopped his tampering and pushed back from the table, frowning.
"After that, I'll brief you on the new developments and the current status of this mission. It's important that we clean this up quickly, so I don't want any funny business, understand?"
No one moved except Tony, who shrugged. "Sorry, it comes with the package."
"I should think you can contain yourself for ten minutes without making it into some kind of game, Stark."
"Get me a drink and we'll call it a deal," Tony smirked. Nick's eyes narrowed. He punched the call button underneath the table, a miniscule movement that even Clint barely noticed.
"Bring a drink to the conference room," Nick commanded.
"A drink?" a voice replied on speaker.
"Yes," Tony interrupted, "Scotch, if you have any!"
"Don't give him anything—" Steve started, but Tony jumped in again.
"Three ice cubes! Make it look nice!"
Steve sank back in his seat with a sigh as Nick ended the call. Clint stifled a laugh; even Natasha broke into a smile. Suddenly, the building began to tremble slightly. They all looked to the ceiling as though Thor might drop in through the roof as the rumbling continued. With a loud crack of thunder, the mini-quake stopped.
"Good, he's here. We can finally get started," Bruce said cheerfully. He seemed to be the only one looking forward to the briefing. Clint had heard it already, and Nick had already advised him to try and convince the others to go along with the plan. Natasha knew too, but something told him she wasn't going to be very supportive. She'd already gotten into an argument with Fury when she'd been called in; only accepting his offer after Clint took her aside.
Nick stood up suddenly, pressing a hand to his earpiece. He glanced at Clint before heading for the door. Clint tensed, knowing immediately that something was wrong.
"Where are you going?" Steve demanded as Nick opened the door.
"Just stay here."
"Yeah, Spangles, asking questions isn't allowed," Tony growled, glaring at Fury.
"Please, just stop. We're all here; we're all going to have to go on a mission. No use getting angry about it," said Bruce gently.
"He's right," Natasha agreed. Nick slipped from the room, and Clint heard running footsteps of SHEILD agents going by. He glanced at Natasha, who gave a tiny shrug. Tony gave a dramatic sigh, placing his glasses on the table and rubbing his eyes. Steve kept looking at the door, squirming in his seat. He must've caught a glimpse of the chaos outside. Luckily, Stark hadn't.
Clint cleared his throat once more, looking to Bruce. "So, what's it like dealing with kids all day?"
"Great, I actually really like it. A lot different from…well, here."
Clint chuckled, "I can imagine."
"What have you been up to since Loki's visit?"
He could think of a thousand answers to that question. Recurring nightmares plaguing his sleep of him being under Loki's spell, minor missions, manhunts, intel recovery, more nightmares. Every minute he spent in the outside world, every second standing in a crowd of military personnel, he waited for one of them to recognize him as the man who nearly shot down the helicarrier. For their eyes to go wide, pupils dilating in fear, and he couldn't remember a second of it. All he could remember was Loki's face, those serpent-green eyes locking with his, a blue light, then nothingness. He'd killed a lot of people, he knew it. Natasha had tried to steer him away from guilt, but he knew he'd taken men and women away from their families. He was just as much the villain and the Asgardian scumbag.
"The usual," he replied with a fake smile. Bruce nodded in understanding.
Something slammed into the metal door, causing all of them to jump to attention. Clint heard a booming battle cry and relaxed. Thor.
"Looks like Thunderboy isn't happy about this either," Tony said gravely, rubbing his chin. The door rattled as the Thor took another swing, and Nick's muffled voice was heard, commanding for the god to stop. The door shook again and a dent appeared in the center. Bruce swallowed, shriveling in his seat as he tried to calm down. With a final blow the door fell away, revealing a heavily breathing Thor and a swarm of agents.
"The door was open…" Steve offered, looking at the crumpled piece of steel.
Thor shot him a deadly glare as he adjusted the grip on his hammer. "Where is he?"
"Where is who?" Tony asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I demand an answer!" Thor bellowed.
Nick exhaled, shutting his eye. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, we don't have him."
"Who?" Tony asked again, flicking his gaze back and forth between the god and man.
"I'm here, brother." The voice sent a chill up his spine, making his blood go cold. A figure appeared at the end of the table, and Clint knew exactly who it was. He looked frightened, but there was no mistaking the ravenous form of Thor's adopted sibling. Loki blinked slowly as he scanned the room, as if waiting to be attacked.
Clint was happy to oblige. He shot from his seat, pulling a dagger from his belt in one fluid motion. He lunged across the table, eyes wild with rage. Loki looked like a deer in headlights as the silver of his blade swung through the air, but just as it was about to connect, Clint was tackled to the ground, watching as his knife plummeted to the ground with a clunk.
"Get off of me!" Clint snarled, struggling under the weight of Steve Rodgers. He reached hungrily for the knife, but Thor plucked it from the ground away from him. It was useless, he was no match for Steve's brute strength, the man was probably in a whole different weight class. He was still tense, but no longer trying to fight. Steve carefully stepped off of him, watching for him to jump again. When he didn't, the Captain offered a hand.
"What the hell is he doing here!" Clint hissed, standing up himself. Loki stood frozen, not daring to look anywhere but the floor.
"I've brought him to accompany me for this quest," Thor said defiantly, his blue eyes blazing.
"No way. He'll get us all killed." Natasha shook her head.
"He's hardly trustworthy," Bruce added, casting a furtive glance at Thor.
"And you are?" Thor lashed back. Bruce flinched and looked away.
"Hey, don't talk to him like that!" Tony interjected, eyes narrowed.
"Its fine, I understand."
"No, it isn't," Tony stabbed a finger at Bruce, "Show some fight, Green Man."
"Humility is a noble attribute, one you should consider," Thor growled, his voice rising again.
"Says the guy who went hammering through the door," Tony quipped, stepping forward.
"Both of you, knock it off," Steve commanded. Both men broke their staredown to look at Rodgers, who once again showed why he was a leader with his authoritative aura.
"Thor, you can't honestly expect us to work with your brother after what happened. Especially when New York is still bleeding."
"I saw no blood!"
Steve exhaled coolly, trying to keep his voice collected. "Not literally bleeding, Thor. I meant New York is still broken from his last visit. People are still afraid of him." All eyes turned to Loki as he winced at the Captain's words.
"It is a chance for him to start anew," Thor's voice softened.
"A chance he doesn't deserve," said Tony.
"Without him, your Earth would be overrun by Chitauri!"
"No, he would be the one in charge of all the chia pets. All he did was get beaten to a pulp and sit there while we took his magic staff and shut the portal down. "
Thor said nothing, his face downcast. Tony was right, and they all knew it. Loki still looked petrified, but appeared to be paying attention, though he made no move to speak. Thor turned away and Steve sighed, unsure of what to do.
"He can stay with me." Bruce's voice broke the tense silence, talking as if Loki were a friend looking for a roommate. Tony looked incredulous, not believing what had just come out of the man's mouth. "He can't do anything to me, and I can't kill him. Its perfect."
"No, Bruce, you don't have to do that," Steve said with a frown, "He can go with us, but he doesn't get any weapons." The Captain looked to Tony, who gave a disgruntled approval.
"Fine," Natasha's voice sounded next to him. He couldn't believe it! How could these self-proclaimed heroes let their archenemy fight alongside them? He still had scars from shrapnel and burns from his time under Loki's brainwashing! He shook his head.
"Clint—" Natasha started, put he raised a hand for her to stop.
"No. I'll kill him before I agree to team up with him. What is wrong with all of you? He probably has something to do with this anyway! He's a master liar, remember?" Clint could feel his blood boiling. He gave Loki a look of disgust before shoving his way to the door. No one tried to stop him.
As he stormed into the hallway, Nick was there to meet him. "Hey, the Avengers are back together, but they decided to put Loki on the team and vote me off the island. " Clint snarled.
"Clint, this mission can't happen without you—"
"Oh, I know it can't," Clint seethed, pushing Nick out of his way. "That's why I'm taking care of it myself." He pressed on through the hallway, heading straight for the armory. Loki was about to put the entire world in jeopardy, again, and he wasn't going to stick around to be brainwashed a second time. Famine was out there and needed killing, and he was not going to fail a mission this important, Avengers or no Avengers. He'd survived his life without them; he certainly didn't need them now.