Took us all by surprise
No, we never saw this coming
Always were, always will be our hero
With no warning sign one day they came and
They took you away
-Memories by EarlyRise

Dang his head hurt. Clint awoke to a swirl of grays and whites dancing in his vision. The feeling was eerily reminiscent of his imprisonment in Venice a few years ago. He had woken up with an awful headache back then as well. He scrunched his eyes close and forced them open again to clear his head. Dim light flickered through the grated windows as he slowly began to take in his surroundings. He looked at the bars in confusion before he remembered what had happened.

He groaned and leaned back into the stone wall behind him. That was when he realized his mobility was restricted. His arms were pinned above his head by chains dangling from the top of the ceiling. He looked at the pieces of metal and the first thought to cross his mind was the fact that he could probably strangle himself if it came to that. It was the pessimist in him that normally came out when he was captured. If a person thought they were at risk for spilling information then they were conventionally ordered to find a way to commit suicide.

Clint's ears caught the mechanical whirring of a camera focusing in on him and he glanced around the room. The barren place was completely empty save for a small hole in the wall in the corner just beside the door. His eyes sharpened as they stared at the small hole. In a few moments he saw a small flash as the lens rotated to get a better view.

Clint blinked before rolling his eyes as the camera. It would do him no good to look worried in a situation like this. He had to act calm. But at least this would give him time to stew over this mess.

He was practically a convicted villain now. He'd definitely done enough to deserve a sentence. A pit welled up in his throat. He'd been on the opposite side of the law often enough to know that he didn't want to be there. It was too late for that though. Did this mean he was on Loki's side? Being against S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't automatically mean that he was with Loki though they would assume it, but... Would it be wise to join up with Loki especially now that all of this had happened? His priority would be to protect himself and to ensure his freedom. If being with Loki would get him to that point would it be a bad thing? After all, sacrifice is needed for any great gains to be made.

He tapped his head lightly against the wall as he rocked back and forth. Loki... It was difficult to think about the man. His real power came from his words, not his staff. Was he just sweet talking when he offered him that proposal?

The final war... So many things could be taken from it. It was almost like World War II all over again. Yet it would be different this time. They'd have a different arsenal, but also different opponents? The goal would be the same, but would the desire be different? World War II had happened in a desire to take over the world and to purify it from all the evil upon the earth. It was a racist act in its purest form, but that couldn't be said to be the same about Loki. The Asgardean was moving without consent of Odin so it could not be something like that. Did that fact make it different? In fact, was different good or bad?

He remembered a year ago the fact that he had always associated Loki with evil. In fact, he had associated World War II and Hitler as evil. Now when he heard the names he felt nothing. It disturbed him. Shouldn't he have felt something instead of this blankness? There had to be a good and an evil, but now there was nothing in his mind. Instead there were only facts and data stating how things worked and how things had happened. There was no emotion put into it anymore. It worried him. He felt as if he should dislike Loki, but he wasn't sure why he should or even if he was evil in the first place.

Loki... He seemed different this time. There was no referencing of world domination or having an alien army. Was he really doing this on his own now? Would that make him more selfish than ever or would that make him good? Clint hadn't talked to the man enough to be able to tell.

A hissing sound escaped the door as the door's many locks eased their way open. Clint's head whipped around to stare at the jets of steam coming from the doors. After a few moments, the hatch opened and a familiar face stepped through the haze.

"Nat..." Clint whispered softly. The woman gave Clint a sad look as she stepped into the room. Natasha hugged her arm tightly as she looked down at Clint compassionately. Sadness and compassion were not emotions that come often to the red-headed beauty, but when they did come, they came in a flurry. Compassion was a trait that most assassins had shed during their hundreds of assignments, but for Natasha that fact was all the more reason to keep the feeling near and dear to her heart. Compassion was what made her human and she wouldn't ever let go of it. After all, without emotions a person would be no more than a husk, a robot.

"What did you think you were doing, Clint? They were just beginning to trust you again too! They would have cleared you and that would have been that!" Black Widow stepped over to the wall and kneeled down so she'd be at eyelevel with her longtime friend. Her eyes were glazed with pain and Clint was once again sent back into his memories. He had often heard her say that even when a person is in pain; they are not the one that is hurting. The one that really hurts is the friend that is watching helplessly because they know they can do nothing.

Clint looked away from the woman and towards the ground. She had always been able to make him feel guilty and she certainly exercised her power now. He had not only caused her pain through his acts, but she was to bring him in to SHIELD as well. From the way she looked, she felt the guilt most acutely. While lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize that she had leaned forward to wrap him in a hug.

He almost willed her to stop because he knew his attachment to her would make it that much harder if he was going to leave with Loki. But... Perhaps he could afford a brief moment of indulgence. He leaned into her grasp and sighed. For a moment they just sat there and willed time to stop. But time stopped for no one. She pulled away from him with an expectant look on her face. She wanted an answer to her question.

"I had to, Nat. Because I knew something like this," Clint waved his arm around the meager distance he could stretch, "would happen. I've been 'brainwashed' by him before. They wouldn't trust me until the entire thing was over." He mentally rolled his eyes at brainwashed. It was the cover he ended up giving himself after being corrupted by Loki.

He wasn't dumb then. He knew what he was doing. He had just been convinced that it was the right thing to do. Loki's words were his most powerful weapon and he knew how to use them well. It wasn't only the charisma, but he fact he had the cold hard facts. In the battle of mind versus heart, mind had one and it dictated for him to join Loki's cause. It was only after he fought with Natasha that he knew he just couldn't do it anymore. Fighting against her was one of the hardest things he had to do and it appeared he'd have to do it one more time.

Natasha looked disappointed. "Is that the only excuse you can give me? Really, Clint? We'd protect you from him! It was pretty easy to tell last time that you were being manipulated. We wouldn't hurt you for it. I wouldn't let them hurt you in any case."

Clint wanted to yell at her that he wasn't being manipulated back them. The pain that had been welling up inside of his heart almost made him go into a panic. He'd watched plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rot in the containment cells. He'd been the one to put them there and there was no way he could forget going down there. Years had still passed, but the same men where down there. It was down here, now. He was one of them. Perhaps the others were like him. So many choices he had taken were blinded by loyalty to one side. Loyalty was unfounded. Loyalty didn't have any basis to why one side was good or bad. Was this his blindness coming to haunt him? Was this the truth that Loki spoke about?

"Nat, I... There's no excuse that would satisfy so I'll just say I'm sorry." He stared at the ground intensely. He couldn't bring himself to look at her anymore with what he was going to do. The more he talked to her, the more it reaffirmed what he was going to do. While he hated to do this, to do this to her, he knew that he would have to do it. He silently thought another apology to Natasha, this one begging for forgiveness.

"You're one of the smartest people I know, Clint. Smarter than Stark if you believe that. But sometimes you do the stupidest things. It drives me insane sometimes." She gave a saddened smile as she stroked the side of his face. She cast her eyes over the man before whispering, "I have to go. I'll try to get full clearance into here, but I'm currently only being allowed in because they think I could work on you. We'll get you out though." She rested her head against his forehead as she spoke.

She willed him to understand what she was feeling before pulling away. She got up onto her feet and took a step back from the once proud Hawkeye. He almost seemed like a shadow of his former self. Where was the man that had went against his orders to bring her into S.H.I.E.L.D.? He seemed so far now, but he had to be in there somewhere, and Natasha was going to pull him out again no matter what it took.

"See you later, Clint."

She pulled away from him and left. Leaving Clint alone in the dark room once more.

It's short, but I was pressed for time today. D: I'll double time it tomorrow and get out a longer one to make up for it.

Thanks to everyone who added me to alerts! It makes me happy to think that all the alerts are like mini votes of confidence in my writing. /swoons

Edit: Holy schnitzel! I added over 800 words to this chapter! Well that was a bit more than just an edit considering the chapter used to only be 1.2k words... More edits on the way!