Clint: April's Fool
Clint Barton was expecting pranks to try to be pulled today. However, he didn't realize that pranks would be coming from Loki, the god of mischief.
Clint thought he took every possible precaution. He double checked every chair before he sat on it, and only ate food he prepared for himself. He didn't leave any drinks or plates unattended, and didn't open any doors unless someone else had opened it and walked in just before him. Clint kept himself armed the whole day: his collapsible bow was folded up in his pocket and his quiver was on his back. He thought he was safe from any pranks.
As Barton sat on the couch (after checking the seat for whoopee cushions or sharp objects), he looked around at the other occupants of the room. Thor, Naomi Carson, and Nick Fury.
"Where's Tony?" he asked suspiciously.
Everyone shrugged.
"I haven't seen him since he went down to his lab. Said something about checking the calibrations on his suit. Why?" Naomi asked.
Clint glanced around the room again, expecting at any moment for the billionaire to come swooping down from the ceiling with a paintball gun or something else equally sneaky. "Don't you know what day it is? I swear, I get paranoid about this day every year. Especially being friends with Tony Stark. If I know him, he's got something beyond mortifying planned for all of us."
Thor looked up, alarmed. "Why? What day is it today?"
The three mortals inn the room exchanged glances.
"It's April first," Nick explained. "April Fool's Day. It's the one day of the year where you're supposed to pull pranks on each other."
Thor's eyes widened. "Now I understand!"
Everyone gave him an odd look.
"Understand what?" Clint asked.
Thor opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, Loki walked in, smiling.
"Good afternoon, my friends," Loki greeted everyone, giving Naomi an especially warm smile before sitting down next to Hawk Eye.
Barton looked at him suspiciously. "What's up?"
Loki grinned broadly. "Are you aware of what day it is?"
Thor suddenly stood up, his hands balled into fists. "You shall not make any more of the Avengers April's fool!" he said forcefully.
Loki raised his eyebrows. "Ah, so you finally figured out what day it is… And you don't think I'll make anyone else April's Fool? OH, yes, you're going to stop me, I'm sure."
Clint frowned. "Loki's been pulling pranks?"
Loki smiled and shook his head. "No, of course not. I would never do such a thing. Thor simply had the misfortune of discovering that some cookies I had offered him didn't have their usual sweet, sugary filling."
Naomi snorted. "You pulled the toothpaste Oreo trick?"
Loki suppressed a smile.
Naomi laughed. "Classic. That explains why his breath doesn't smell too bad today."
"It is not funny, Miss Carson," Thor said in a scolding voice, throwing a glare to her and then returning it to Loki. "I refuse to let you make my friends into April's Fools."
Clint Barton and Nick Fury both looked mistrustfully at Loki, while Naomi was still trying not to laugh over the idea of Loki's Oreo prank.
Loki sighed heavily and shrugged. "I suppose you've caught me. I can't pull any more pranks on you clever heroes. You're obviously prepared for anything."
Clint narrowed his eyes, not liking the mocking, sarcastic edge to the god of mischief's voice. He had something up his sleeve.
"Did I just hear Loki's voice?" Tony's voice called from down the hall.
"Yes," Thor called.
Clint was alert in a flash, prepared for Stark to come in and start lobbing water balloons or something. "I swear to God, Stark, if you try to pull any pranks..." he pulled the collapsible bow out of his pocket.
Loki grinned. "This'll be good."
"I'm not trying to pull any pranks, I just want to murder Thor's brother," Tony said, his voice coming closer as he walked toward the room.
"Yeah, likely story,," Barton scoffed, jerking his arm to unfold his bow…. But it didn't unfold. "Hey!" he exclaimed, shaking his bow repeatedly. It still stayed folded up.
"Oh, dear," Loki smirked. "Issues, Agent Barton?"
Clint flashed Loki a glare before inspecting his bow closely. Heavy-duty glue held the joints together so it wouldn't unfold. Hawk Eye stared at his bow in disbelief. "Anthony Edward Stark!" he shouted. "You glued my bow shut?!"
"I did no such thing," Stark said indignantly. Everyone looked up to see the genius standing in the doorway to the room, covered in now mostly-dried green paint. "If it was me, your bow would be covered in green fingerprints."
Clint looked at his glued bow again, then at Stark. "Then who-?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "I would take a wild guess and say it was the same person who did this," he gestured to himself and the green paint that covered every inch of his body.
Thor looked furious. "My brother has now gone too far! I shall see to it that he-!" he fell silent as he turned to see that Loki had disappeared from the room, leaving a note on the couch next to Barton that said 'You are now April's Fool.'
Naomi Carson picked up the note and inspected it. "You know, sometimes I have to wonder why on Earth I love him."
"Personally, we wonder that all the time," Nick Fury muttered. "Nott just sometimes."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "On the other hand, it's times like these where I know exactly why I love him." She flapped the note. "I'm guessing he's still not done with his pranks. My only question is, who's next? And what will it be?" She paused. "Also, where did he get glue, paint, and toothpaste and Oreos?"
Perhaps Naomi shouldn't have been so naive about Loki's pranks. Her time would come soon enough, even if she wasn't next.
Note from LoquaciousQuibbler: Lol poor Clint; his signature weapon, glued shut… :P And now we're actually gonna start developing something resembling a plot eheheh.
So, we've now got Naomi Carson in the picture… and she's in the same room as Tony Stark… Just warning you now, they argue… a lot. It's quite fun to write, really… the arguments shall start next chapter… hope it's just as fun to read as it is for me to write :P
More pranks coming your way! See you next Wednesday! Please favorite, follow, and review.
