Chapter 3

Herding Tony Stark was like directing an untrained bull through a field of flapping red sheets. Every shiny article that caught his eye was instantly meant for proper inspection and off Tony went to check it out. Pepper had to give him less grief however, for more often than not he wandered back without being asked, a vast improvement to the normal Tony. Pepper knew he promised Clint that everyone was going to be on point today, including him, and it seemed like he fought the more curious part of his personality to do just that. Regardless, he had insisted on Pepper coming along. If only to further keep himself tethered to reality and not off in his own tangent with Banner and Rogers in tow.

Natasha brought up the rear, five SHIELD unnamed Ops came with her. Director Fury sparred no man power to make sure that this meeting went smoothly. If the Department of Defense was willing to reschedule the summit not once, but three times he was determined to get Tony Stark in that room come what may. Developments had adjusted their lives along the way. The first of which being a weaponised and fully thriving faction of HYDRA reawakening to take some not-so-gentle potshots at the Avengers team. If that didn't raise some red flags over at the DOD very little could.

When the oak doors opened, the team expected to see a massive table ringed in world leaders from every major power on the planet. Of course some small indiscreet country would show up as well, allowing plenty of fodder for Stark's mouth to stay interested in the meeting. Inevitably he would fool around on his phone or iPad for the better part of the next three hours and that would be the end of it. At least he came prepared for that.

What he was not prepared for was the empty room. A single occupant sat across the desk from them, creating the illusion of walking into the principal's office at a high school after you've just been caught duct taping frogs to the mirrors in the girl's bathroom. Of course Tony would know nothing about that.

Well, almost nothing.

Five empty chairs were made available to the four Avengers, a last reserved for Pepper. Tony and Pepper took the far left while Bruce sat beside Pepper and Steve took the end. Natasha preferred to stand, though she didn't voice her opinion. She just took up a place between the door and the wall of windows at the principal's back. If anything came flying through either direction, it was not going to get far. The SHIELD suits stayed outside the door.

"Mr. Stark. A pleasure to have your company at last. I trust you've healed up since your latest encounters?" The officiator said.

"Let's cut the crap and get this over with." Stark snapped back. "I never did want to come to this thing to begin with, and you know it. I have no interest in you or anything to do with you and honestly, army green on those breasts is just a sin."

Pepper grabbed a pincer full of his thigh flesh and twisted it under the table. She was discreet in her punishment. Tony was not in his acceptance of it.

"OW!" he cried, turning on her with a look of a chastised boy. "You know it's true. I never see you in that!"

Rogers rubbed his brow. This was going to be a long meeting.

"General." As familiar as Mr. Stark may be with you, I confess I don't even know your name. I was under the impression that a Mr. Tether was officiating this summit." Steve said, attempting to salvage the introduction

The general was a 3-star bird, a femme fetale with a jaw that could slice fruit on its sharp angles. Her eyes may have been brown at one point but the consuming of children's souls have pitched it bitter black. If she was a red-head, Tony would just call her Natasha.

"My name is General Armanick."

The woman said, extended her hand to Rogers. With her arm length it only spanned a quarter of the width of the desk. The move forced Rogers to stand to meet it. He took the gesture for what it was, a superior putting someone inferior in his place. The handshake continued down the line, everyone being required to get up, awkwardly stretch out, shake, then returned to their seats except for Tony Stark, who stared at the offered limb with enough contempt to fill a court room.

"I don't touch." He said by way of explanation, which was more than most people received from him.

As if it was expected, the general ignored him and continued her explanation of the events to follow. "Given the high profile attention this summit has received from outside parties, it has been decided that this conference will be telecommunicated. Those who need to be present are engaging our controlled satellites as we speak and will soon appear here," she gestured to the wall opposite of Natasha's post. It resembled a digital-television display at Best Buy. "Once you have been brought up to speed, the meeting will start."

Rogers nodded. "All right, what do we need to know?"

General Armanick reached into her briefcase and pulled out a stack of files. This she slid over to the center of the table. "These are the records we have on the woman SHIELD has described as the new head of the faction HYDRA. Her name is Anka Kugler, a neo-nazi zealot who has been on our radar since 2001. Those who have joined her underground movement of creating another Nazi Germany have naturally followed her into the work of HYDRA as well. We've been tracking her movements this month but lost them as of three days ago. We also have reason to believe she may have been involved in the attack on Manhattan as well."

Rogers thumbed through the papers. They were standard personnel files, like so many he'd scrolled over in the past. The picture was definitely concurrent with what little he remembered of the woman that tortured him. But something very distinct did not make sense to him. Banner was first to bring that point up.

"Why was SHIELD not made aware of this? We were under the impression that HYDRA had fallen off the radar completely. That no one was tracking them." the doctor asked.

Steve, finished with the stack passed it along to Banner who began reading over the same information.

"To be frank, SHIELD is not the overwhelming super power of the planet. And the day they are is the day democracy falls and this country with it." General Armanik said.

"Oh, cut the patriotic crap!" Stark exclaimed. "Just tell them the truth, the DOD was jealous, wanted all the credit for taking out HYDRA for themselves, and didn't want to let a little thing like information sharing get in the way, am I right?"

The general did not answer.

"Besides, these clowns posing as the hot-and-bothered troop that Cap rolled with in the stone age are little more than a boy band with left over Chitauri tech. Unless you have something that says different?"

This time Steve waited, letting the uncomfortable silence drag out until it was obvious neither party was going to give in and be the first to crack. If the DOD withheld this kind of information, what else slipped through the cracks? What was the Department of Defense even doing moving on its own without consent from the President? The Avengers would know whether they had it or not with their contacts in the White House.

The void was filled by the sounds of the wall of televisions firing up. World leaders from every major power appeared, swathed in an isolated room with nothing but a translator and themselves. The summit had started and Tony's question would go unanswered.

"I don't like this." Banner whispered to Steve. "Something's off."

"Well we're here. Which is an improvement at least." Steve replied quietly.

"Think Tony's actually interested?"

The two look down the table at Stark who had flipped open his iPad and started flicking through files, music, or maybe just Iron Man gear. Neither had to say what they really thought the answer was. Tony couldn't be bothered if he'd been paid to be.

Metal, who cares about metal? Tony wondered in his head as the summit prattled on. He only heard five words in eighty, all summing up to the DOD's recent mining endeavors uncovering a new metal that would likely be beneficial to mankind. Both light and durable, strong, but thin, it was stronger than the hotly contested adamantium whose limited stores were being used up like hot dog rolls at a ball game.

Already an hour into the meeting and he'd played three hundred and fifty-six rounds of the same level in angry birds without attaining his sought for three-star score. Bored with that, and not wanting to break his iPad in half through frustration, he moved on to more productive feats. Like cracking into a top-secret network. That always made him giddy. In his own little world, Tony continued flicking through portal after portal of the Defense Department's firewalls. He knew full well that across the table the general was part officiating the meeting, part sticking daggers through his torso. But if no one was even allowed to know the name of this new metal, why did he care?

The representative for Russia, a rather frail looking man who may have been Yoda's twin, brought up that exact point. The DOD had mentioned all of the benefits, the ease with which the mining process was under way, and the prime location of the material, but said relatively nothing as to the chemical makeup or the name of the metal itself. If they were discussing mercury for instance, some people may want to know they were just wasting their time. The general diverted the question, citing that to reveal any more exact details at this time may be detrimental to the secrecy of the mining effort.

So Stark, not one to have his time wasted any more then the next billionaire genius, began finding out exactly what Armanick was so adamant about not giving up.

SHIELD was harder to hack then this, Tony mused. And I have unrestricted access to them.

His fingers flew along the digital keys until he found out precisely what he was looking for. All the while his mind filled with the mental escapes of DOD suits actually going and mining anything subterranean that was not a submarine sandwich. And when things like that didn't add up in his mind, there was usually a reason. Boy did he ever find one.

Everyone else knew he had as well. The iPad dropped from his hand and smacked off the table, almost hitting the floor had his lap not been in the way. He sat in a frozen state for perhaps four seconds, enough for Pepper to lean over and ask if he was all right before Tony suddenly shot to his feet.

"Sorry!" he announced too loudly. "Me, clumsy. Happens. All's well." He grabbed Pepper's elbow and angled her into his own chair. Then he snatched Banner up, and plopped the doctor in Pepper's chair. Now rearranged, Tony was sitting between both Rogers and Banner.

"Please," he announced to General Armanick. "Continued with the slide show, it's absolutely riveting."

After an uncomfortable pause, she did just that. It was better to not draw attention to any of Stark's sideshows.

Once the talking, questioning, and eventual arguing between the ambassador of England and the one from Canada began, Tony felt it safe to share his finding. He slid his iPad first to Banner, a natural response between the two scientists. When Banner moved to snatch the device off the table to be sure he was reading correctly, Tony slid the tablet toward Rogers. Steve read, tensed, and looked at Tony.

"Tell me where." He whispered.

Stark nodded. The word echoed around in his head like pangs from a gong.

Vibranium.

:(:):(:):

"HELP! WHAT-THE-HELL! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Clint roared, slamming his fist against the immovable manhole cover. Actually, it was the fifth immovable manhole cover. After suffering the inability to remover the first, he figured the boys upstairs had simply fallen asleep at the switch and let a truck roll over the top of his closest escape. While infuriating, it was not a big deal. There were plenty in this end of the tunnel to choose from instead. What he did not intend was having to drag Thor to each one, and each one being equally sealed off. He'd even fired one of his concussive arrows at one far enough away that the back flow of the blast wouldn't kill him. It was still a horrid idea that left him deaf for seven minutes. It didn't work either which made no physical sense.

He slid down the last ladder, grabbing a scrap of rubble off the ground and chucking it down the hall. He screamed and cursed and threw whatever he could find in his fit of discontent. At least no one was there to see it and Thor wouldn't be playing witness for a while.

Thor.

Clint leaned down to check for any progress but was met with nothing. He had already decided this was nothing like the time Thor was strapped to an electromagnetic plate. SHIELD's techs figured the high signals scrambled something in his alien brain, immobilizing him through the connection he had with his hammer. Clint, and everyone else for that matter, was sure the techs had also taken a few extra notes on that one, just in case SHIELD ever wanted to do the same thing. Somewhere on the Helicarrier Thor had his own little death chamber waiting like Hulk's spare bedroom.

A sound had Clint instantly on alert.

He poised over Thor's body, his bow pulled taught in his hand. Sharp blue eyes scanned the immediate area, willing light to pour through the shadowy tunnel around him. His ears listened hard for the slightest movement, feeling somehow they were already surrounded. The trouble with arrows was their limited number. Clint Barton always argued bullets had the same issue, but at least bullets were easier to stick in his pockets for extra backup.

He wanted to change his arrow tips to the ones that make a bigger bang, but given how well that just went decided against it. Below him, Thor remained the motionless mass he had been reduced to for the past hour. Obviously he wasn't going to change in time to make any sort of difference for Clint. And where was backup? Even if Tony forgot to call them right away, he should have at least seen another patrol by now.

The blackness of the distant tunnel inflated, seeming to rise from the floor until it expanded into a bulge. The form lifted, creating a head, shoulders, and two legs that took a step toward him. The blackness fell off of him like a cloak tossed back from his shoulders. Clint's jaw tensed as Loki in all his glory stood before him.

Clint's fingers flinched. They released the arrow on the bowstring he held so taught. It sailed true, directly through the floating image of the demon striding forward.

"Hawkeye."

The voice echoed in the hollows of his mind. Thor was forgotten.

Loki flew forward, his slender fingers threaded around Clint's neck as he slammed the archer against the closest wall. Clint's very soul sunk within himself. He was helpless, hopeless, trapped again in this nightmare. Loki's very presence crushed against him.

"How much I have missed you." Loki seethed in his ear. His spear raised and Clint felt the hot, searing, pain slice him in half. He screamed.

:(:):(:):

The world slid sideways, the sight of the tunnel shifted, then bounced back like the bobbing of a boat on rough waters. As if it was all a delusional mirage, Clint found himself still poised over Thor's body with his bow drawn. There was nothing directly in front of him but brick and the arrow he'd lodged in it. The tunnel split to the left and right from there. He panted, his hand probing his middle, expecting blood but finding nothing but his untouched shirt. He whipped his head in both directions, willing the vision to return but meeting nothing.

He was alone.

His hand reached up, patting his comm to open the link to Stark.

"Tony's delivery service." Stark's voice popped through the din.

"Stark?" Clint asked, his voice still ragged in disbelief of what he did or did not just witness.

"God, Clint, you sound like you just saw a ghost or something! Are you all right?"

Clint wiped his hands on his pant legs, trying to dry the sweat off them. He looked around once more, as if to assure himself Loki was not hiding in another shadow.

"Hey, Tony, where's that back up you promised." Clint tried to form words on lips made of lead.

"They aren't there yet? Why didn't you just bail out? The exits like five feet away—"

"Don't you think I tried that, I'm not an idiot!" Clint snapped. His voice had lowered, as if trying to keep someone, he didn't know who, from hearing. "Every manhole cover, every single one, is sealed. I can't get out."

"What do you mean sealed?"

"What do you think I mean!" Clint whisper-shouted. He felt paranoia seize him, making him edgy for no reason. He didn't know what that moment with Loki was all about. Maybe he was losing his mind.

"Where's the closest patrol, can you get to them?"

Clint looked around again. "I'm already in the next grid and I haven't seen a soul. It's like the place has been emptied. Patch me over to Roddick's comm, I can find out where—"

"Can't do that." Stark cut him off.

A sound echoed off the walls again. Clint straightened this time, an arrow already knocked and ready to fly. He held his breath, and then training kicked in and made him breathe again.

Another echo. In front of him.

"Clint did you hear me?"

"Yeah, why?" Clint said. "I'm supposed to have clear access."

"DOD meeting, they scrambled all the outside communication. I can't patch anything anywhere."

A louder bang. There was something like a gunshot. Clint's heart quickened in his chest. He moved forward, heading toward it.

"That doesn't make any sense, how are we talking if you can't patch out? Stark, I thought we worked on this. Are you telling me that the greatest two hackers sitting next to each other can't scramble past a little DOD signal, stop feeding me that cheap bull—"

"Hate to break it, but those are the facts. I'll send one of the guys to get in touch with Roddick's men now. Sit tight. Where are you?"

"Section three." Clint whispered. He pressed himself against the left side of the tunnel wall. His head sneaked a glance down the hall. An unfamiliar scream split the air. More gunshots. More screams.

"Was that a gun?" Tony cried.

"Get me back up!" Clint relayed. He cut the link, rushing down the far tunnel after the sounds of death. He could see flashes of gun muzzles, hear bodies hitting the tunnel end echo their final sounds. By the time he reached the scene it was too late. There was nothing to see. Absolutely nothing. Bullet holes scorched the walls, but there were no shells on the ground. He'd heard the bodies, the screams, but there was no one hurt. No one even present. He'd walked into another empty tunnel with its flickering lighting playing up the ghostly shadows on the walls.

Clint stood in the midst of old subway rails and little else, wondering if he was going completely mad. He swore he could smell the gunpowder in the air and the metallic scent of fresh blood. He took a step forward, but stopped. He didn't want to leave Thor undefended for too long.

He turned back, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He missed the sight of blood seeping into the soles of his boots as he walked away and the red outlines stamped into the tunnel floor.