Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)
Chapter Three
Bucky stopped in the middle of the road, shoulders shaking with laughter. Natasha looked up from her tablet.
"What?"
Bucky nodded towards the ship. "Remember, we all warned you. You married him anyways."
Natasha could only stare, her tablet dangling in her hand, dangerously close to falling. Clint was lounging on a beach chair, sunglasses and flowered shirt on display as he leaned back. How he got that red drink with the pink umbrella, Bucky could only wonder, as Clint cheerfully waved back to them as ravagers walked by, carrying barrels into the cargo hold of the ship.
Natasha muttered under her breath as she stomped over to Clint, grabbing the drink out of Clint's hand and shoving it towards Bucky. She hauled Clint up by the collar as she marched them inside the ship. "They're going to put them in the wrong place, and you will be the one moving them back into the right place…."
"Nooooo not my Hera Sunriseeeee-"
Bucky frowned as he took a sip. Huh, not bad. Downing the rest of the drink, Bucky closed his eyes as he lay back on the beach chair.
"Excuse me, are you the captain of this ship?"
A shadow fell over Bucky's face as he slowly sat up. A tall blonde and beefy man stared down at him, long shaggy blonde hair being pushed behind his ear. Another man behind him, with long-dark brown hair scowled as he stared off into the distance.
"No, but he should be here soon. Is there something I can help ya with?"
Tall, blonde and buff beamed at him, his shaggy hair bouncing as he shook Bucky's hand enthusiastically. "Indeed my friend! Your associate, Clinton mentioned that you might be able to provide us with passage to Asgard! We have returned with our belongings and payment as asked."
Bucky just slowly managed to extract his hand. "I'll have to confirm with our captain, but I think that should work. We're heading in that direction anyways. I'm Bucky."
Nodding the blonde grinned widely. "My name is Thor, and this is my brother Loki."
The other man flicked his eyes towards Bucky. "A pleasure."
Bucky's eye twitched as he clenched his hand to his side. "Not much of a talker are we? Well, let's see what you've got for payment."
Thor grabbed a small box out of his sack, and handed it to Bucky. "I know it isn't much, but hopefully this is payment enough."
Bucky opened the small box, sucking in a sharp breath. Bucky picked up the small purple plum from the pile, holding it up to the sunlight. "Welcome aboard the Avenger."
"Come on-come on-oh please just a bit more…"
As the suit powered on, Yinsen snapped the last arm-plate onto Tony's arm. The iron suit groaned as Tony slowly took his first few steps. Tony slid the helmet on. "Moment of truth here."
As he secured the helmet shut, a feeling of panic clawing in his chest as Tony fought to let go of the breath he was holding. Come on Tony, you can do this.
This'll work…this'll work.
It has to work.
Tony let go and sucked in the cool air of the life support system, sighing in the realization that he could breathe normally. Tony glanced down at his right arm, whispering softly.
"You okay J? You back online?"
Tony could hear feel an affirmative buzzing in his arm, like someone was squeezing his hand gently. "I'm back with you sir, I'll be with you the entire time."
"Ready Stark? We've only got one chance at this."
Tony let out a sharp affirmative, testing out his footing, as he slowly took a few steps. "Let's go. The system will notice that we looped that camera footage soon enough. Remember, we just need to get to the loading dock or the cargo bay. Hopefully we'll be able to grab a ship. If not, a spacesuit for you will have to do. We need to leave. Now."
Yinsen nodded, moving out of the way. Tony stomped towards the large metal doors. He held up both arms and fired.
Bucky expertly flipped his knife as he chewed on his apple wedge. Natasha sat across from him at the table, her skin curling down as one continuous piece. Their kitchen didn't have much, but it was a good place for the crew to relax together. Bucky savoured his apple as he cut out another slice.
"So, what do you think about our new 'shepherds'? They honestly don't even look like brothers, much less shepherds."
Natasha flicked the peel onto the table as she sliced into her apple. "Supposedly, Loki was adopted. Or so Thor says."
Bucky twirled his knife. "Well at least Loki actually fits the look. Not even Steve is that buff, and he really went for it after we joined up with the Alliance."
Bucky still vividly remembers those horrifyingly early mornings where Steve would drag him out of bed to 'get into shape'. Bucky still thanks the stars that Steve finally bulked up after joining up with the Alliance army; now at least, Steve won't drag Bucky with him on those awful runs.
Natasha stabbed her knife into the table. "We'll just have to keep an eye on them. We're lucky we got the commission in the first place."
Bucky shuddered. "Have I ever mentioned how glad I am you decided to leave the Companions' guild and join us full-time?"
Natasha smirked. "Clint pouted for a while; he really did love the new outfits I got every month."
Bucky grimaced. "Thanks for that image I can never erase."
Natasha lips twitched. "I do admit, I do miss it sometimes. Never having to really worry about the basic necessities, the parties, the constant sex, the conversation…it was nice. But I'm happy with my life now."
Bucky raised his eyebrow in disbelief as Natasha snorted. "Oh come on Barnes, you know it's much harder than that…"
Bucky snickered, as Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm ignoring that."
"Fine, ouch- FINE. But really? It sounded like you had it made. I know Clint would've supported ya if you decided to stay. Why give it all up?"
Natasha cleared her throat, twirling strands of hair as she stared back at Bucky, frowning in contemplation. "While the luxuries and endless parties were nice, it was getting…exhausting. I have friends who love the lavish lifestyle and the job. And for a long time, I loved it."and getting to play different roles and faces depending on the client you're with. But, it was getting tiring, and I'm much happier not having to juggle between Natasha the vamp or Natasha the submissive…"
While Bucky nor Steve had ever been able to afford the luxury of paying for the companionship of an actual companion, Bucky had always remembered seeing them. Usually covered in head to toe in jewels and the richest cloth, Bucky had always envied the respect the companions of the infamous Red Room carried, no matter where they went.
Natasha closed her eyes as she leaned back. "But after a while it got tiring for me. As a companion, clients don't just pay for sex. They expect conversation, privacy and most importantly… they expect a certain role to be played. Some want Natasha the quiet, submissive ear, while others want Natasha the vamp. Now I can just be…me. Just…Natasha."
Bucky let out a soft breath. "Yeah, I get it I think."
Bucky blinked a few times as he saw one of Natasha's rare smiles, the type that lit up her entire face. She pointed her knife at him. "But if you tell anyone I told you that, I deny it and kill you in your sleep."
"Like anyone would believe me anyways."
A comfortable silence settled, and Natasha fiddled on her tablet as Bucky sharpened his knife. "What are you looking at on there anyways?"
Natasha didn't look up. "Just checking the notice board. The Alliance is still posting some new jobs here and there, and bounties. We were lucky enough to get some commissions for now, but I want to get us ahead again if we can."
Natasha pulled up the notice board and slid the tablet to Bucky. Bucky scrolled through the different faces, all with varying rewards for their capture and retrieval.
Suddenly, red flashes filled the air, alarm blaring. Natasha was already on her feet as Bucky tossed the tablet onto the table. Steve's voice rang out, "Everyone to their positions. Bucky and Nat to the bridge."
As Bucky and Natasha rushed out the door, they missed the tablet on the table fading to black, as Tony Stark's smiling face grinned back at them.
Explosions rang out as flames engulfed the ship. Guards shot their blasters and screamed. They tried to stop him but Tony burned them all. The ship was slowly crackling, rumbling as it became a bright burning star in the air. Everything blurred by so quickly as Tony and Yinsen fought their way across the raider ship.
And then….everything was in slow motion.
Yinsen was right behind him, grabbing a blaster and shooting from behind. But now, Yinsen was shot, and dying in Tony's arms and Tony could only watch as Yinsen slowly disappeared in front of his eyes.
"My family is already dead Tony. It's fine, I will see them soon. But you, Tony Stark. You will not waste your life. You will get off this ship and you will live."
As Yinsen drifted away, Tony rose from the flames. Screams echoed across the ship as the noise got louder and louder, the ship falling apart as it rumbled and burned.
Tony blasted into space, and suddenly everything was quiet.
Bucky sprinted, barely managing to catch up to Natasha as they reached the bridge. Slightly out of breath, Bucky moved next to Steve who was talking intently to Clint.
"What's going on?"
Steve glanced up as Clint motioned to the monitor. "The scanners picked up a ship. Take a look at that."
Steve paused as he stared down at the monitor in surprise, then out the window. Bucky stared as he saw a giant ship in the background. Nine smaller ships hovered close by, all surrounding this gigantic invader ship that floated quietly in space.
Steve furrowed his brow. "Shielding up Clint to max capacity. Make sure we're invisible."
As they passed closer, Bucky inhaled sharply. "Well it looks like we won't be torn to shreds by reavers, but maybe raiders."
The ships were painted black and red, rings clearly indicating the Ten Rings Raiders. Bucky swore as he counted the smaller ships slightly behind.
"Shit, that's definitely ten ships, including their main base!"
Steve cursed. "Can we slip past them? Throw up our cloaking?"
Clint squinted his eyes, staring down at the scanner. "See normally I'd say we might have a problem, but for some reason, the scanner is picking up weird amounts of heat radiating from the main ship."
Bucky blinked. "What does that mean?"
Clint gaped as he pointed. "Well, apparently that."
The Avenger crew watched in astonishment as what looked like small explosions taking out the side of the ship. Smaller explosions rocketed the ship as they saw the ship explode, lighting up half of the ships nearby.
Steve looked back at the scanner. "Do we know what caused that?"
Clint didn't look away from the window, but his fingers flew across the console. "Look, there!"
A small man in a large metal suit looked to be flying away from the remains of the ship, being chased down by the remaining ships. He weaved in and out of the ship ranges, as two of the smaller ships took each other out.
"Yes!" Bucky cheered. Bucky couldn't stop the grin on his face as they watched the raider ships slowly being taken out by that robot? Man in a metal space suit? Bucky wasn't sure, but he was definitely enjoying every second of it. The metal man turned just enough to aim his arms and fire back, red blaster beams shooting out of his hands. "Well that explains the fireworks. Those raiders are definitely not happy about their escapee."
"Whoa," Clint exclaimed. "That guy took out another ship! At this rate- SHIT LOOK OUT!"
Bucky wanted to scream as he saw the metal man get hit. It barely grazed him, but it looks like the his right repulsor started to sputter. Bucky turned to Steve. "Come on Cap, we can't just leave him there all by himself."
Steve furrowed his brow, but closed his eyes, nodding. He clasped a hand on Clint's shoulder. "Can we take any damage at all? How are the shields?"
Clint nodded. "Since it's just the smaller ships left, and they're all single pods, our shields should be able to take a few good hits.
Steve let out an amused huff. "What, with the best pilot in the galaxy? Come on Clint, you're always bragging bout that title. Maybe it's time you showed us. Let's make this a fair fight shall we?"
Clint grinned, cracking his knuckles as he pulled the steering wheel back, hand on the thrusters. "Well, how can I say no to a challenge like that? Ready babe?"
Natasha echoed an affirmative as she sat down in the gunner's seat. Clint smirked over his shoulder at Steve and Bucky. "You'll want to buckle in tight, this is going to be a sharp turn."
The Avenger made a sharp left as Clint pulled in behind the three remaining ships gunning for metal man. Natasha let out a hiss of triumph as she shot down the one on the right.
Clint maneuvered out of the way as debris from the middle ship flew past them in the explosion, thanks to space man shooting it out of the sky. Clint pulled up alongside the lone man as they aimed and fired at the last ship. It took a bit of weaving, but Natasha managed to lock onto the last ship as their fellow space cowboy took aim.
Clint cackled. "Goodnight motherfuckers."
The blast took out the last ship in a blinding wave of light. The cheers on the Avenger echoed as Clint and Bucky whooped and clapped.
Bucky couldn't help the bubbling laughter as he watched the man in the suit circle around the ship, a clear victory fight.
Steve grabbed onto Clint's shoulder. "Let 'em into the airlock. From the looks of that fight, they're dead in the air if they're out there much longer. We'll see if we can find out what happened. Be on guard though. They managed to take out a lot of that fleet by themselves. Bucky and Nat, make sure to keep a careful eye on our guest."
