Oh my gosh you guys, I am so sorry. I meant to update sooner than this but my computer cord broke and I didn't have any computers to write it on! Forgive me orz
Chapter four
Bruce turned his upper body slightly, his eyes set on the ground for a bit before moving slowly up to Clint's face. The look of disbelief spread across his features.
"What?" he asked.
A thousand different questions scrambled around his brain. Who took her? Where is she? Is she safe? He needed the answers and he would like to demand them from Clint, but it didn't seem like the other male knew anything more. What if Clint was just pulling his leg though, what if this was all just a silly little joke and Kimberley would pop out of nowhere at the end of the day? Bruce set down the soldering items on the table and turned fully around to face Clint. His eyes searched the mans face for any sign of this being a joke; a fault in is poker face. He found nothing.
Shaking his head slightly as he came to the realization that Kimberley was really missing, Bruce clenched his teeth tightly. His hands gripped the table until his knuckles turned white. It didn't take much more than seeing Clint step back in fear for him to realize what was happening and calm himself down. If he didn't calm down bad things would happen and he would rather avoid them.
"What happened?" he asked again, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes delicately.
Clint wasn't sure what to say. They didn't know much about what happened to her...
"We aren't sure. All we know is that her blue prints are missing and she was seen leaving with Agent Rowe bu-"
"Where is he?"
"...He was found in the meeting room earlier. Deceased."
Bruce cocked his head to the side slightly. How was that possible?
"Something is going on here. Come on, let's go see if the rest of the team can help at all." he started toward the door, Clint already jogging out of the lab. The team was grouped up in the living room. Natasha and Phil sat on one couch, Steve and Tony on the opposite one with Fury standing at the head of the coffee table in between the two couches. Everyones attention averted to Clint and Bruce as they entered the room.
Bruce noticed the glare Clint shot at Tony and raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was for but not asking. Now wasn't the time to bring such a matter up.
"So no one knows anything then?" Clint asked, crossing his arms over his chest and receiving disappointing replies.
Bruce looked between the Avengers for a moment and eventually his eyes paused on Fury.
"Someone doesn't want us to have those blue prints" Fury spoke, desperately trying to come up with someone who would want to take the knowledge away.
"What were on those prints anyway?" Natasha chimed in with a curios look on her face.
Phil explained before anyone else could. "Her blueprints, for the 'Bifrost' we would be recreating here"
Natasha looked shocked but she accepted the information quickly. Most of the team had been working on helping Kimberley with the finishing details before se presented it. If those prints were deemed adequate, then production would begin.
"So we've got no leads, no evidence, nothing?" Clint said obviously frustrated. No one said anything.
Tony sipped his alcohol slowly before nearly spitting it out. He set the cup down on the table and jolted up off the couch, startling everyone.
"Her shirt." he stated, confusing everyone.
Tony shook his head. "All clothes from here have tracking devices in them" Everyone finally understood as Tony rushed out of the living room to his lab, everyone following some time after.
Clint and Bruce were the first two in the room, eager to have Tony work his 'GPS magic' for them and find Kimberley. They both hovered over Tony as he pressed a couple of buttons and eventually shooed them back with his hands.
"This will just take a second..." Tony said under his breath, quickly selecting Kimberley's name and having the computer search for her.
In a matter of seconds the screen blinked indicating that she had been located. "The signal seems to be a bit fuzzy but she is somewhere around here"
Tony turned around and looked at his fellow Avengers before starting off toward the door. "Or at least, her shirt is" he mumbled.
Fury began barking orders at everyone but Clint was the only one who would be sent out to get her. Bruce however, didn't like the idea and thought he should be the one going out to rescue her. Of course, Fury denied the request even if he was in love with her. Clint knew exactly why Fury didn't want Banner out in the field.
"No, I know you have feelings for her but I don't want that to compromise the mission." Fury stated.
It wasn't enough to keep Bruce from pursuing. "Director Fury, please! You've gotta let me go out there, I need to be there when she's rescued!" Bruce shouted back, his face tinting red with anger.
The director slammed one hand on the table. "No. You'll stay here with Stark and communicate with Clint from here. That's final" he growled sternly, looking straight at Bruce as the man huffed in frustration. Bruce knew well enough to back down before he wound up getting too angry.
Clint scratched at the back of his neck as he awaited further instruction from Fury, which came fairly fast.
"Barton, you'll be dropped off about half a block away so you can investigate. You'll be with Stark and Banner the whole time. You see anything, you tell them. Got it?"
Nodding at the orders, Clint jogged down the hallways until he reached the exit. Natasha was outside waiting for him with a car. Before leaving, Clint scanned the walls near the door. The two walls were covered in different types of guns and ammunition, but he didn't want any of those. Mid-way down the length of the wall was his bow. Someone had got it from the training room and put it back in its rightful place. A smile crossed his face as he pulled it from the mold in the wall.
He slung his quiver over his back and jogged out to the car. Natasha must have slipped out sometime after she had received her orders. Almost the moment after he hopped in the car and shut the door, the red haired assassin sped off. The GPS in the car showed them exactly where Kimberley's tracking device was thanks to Tony.
Natasha reached up and opened a small hidden compartment in the car and pulled out an earpiece.
"Here, you'll need this to communicate with Tony and Bruce." she said dropping it into Clints hand.
When the earpiece was comfortable, Clint reached up a pressed a button on the side to turn it on. He immediately heard Tony's voice.
"Everything seems to be in place... Clint, you got the earpiece?" Tony asked over the radio.
"Yep." he answered simply.
Nearly there, Clint picked up his sunglasses and slipped them on. In a couple of minutes they arrived and Clint got out of the car and let Natasha speed back to SHIELD. He walked slowly at first, Bruce constantly asking if there was any trace of Kimberley. There wasn't, so he continued on until he reached the area where the signal went fuzzy.
"There's nothing here but a couple of shops, maybe abandoned, I'm not sure" he spoke into the earpiece, turning around in a circle to get a good look around. Clint readied an arrow just in case something or someone decided to surprise him.
Loki and Kimberley
Loki stood in the doorway, watching as his captive felt every inch of the wall for an escape.
"If you honestly believe I am stupid enough to leave some secret door, you are deeply mistaken."
His voice startled her, causing her to jump slightly. Kimberley didn't reply she simply continued on her search. Loki was lying! He had to have some way to escape if he were to be cornered here!
Laughing softly, his eyes traveled back into the room behind him and landed on the table. The blue prints for the 'Bifrost' were laid out, curling up at the sides due to being rolled up for so long. He smirked lightly and turned back to Kimberley, who gave up trying to find a hidden exit. She was back at pulling on the door handle of the door they entered from, which only he could open.
"You've got the science of the bifrost figured out pretty nicely. Why don't you let me use that knowledge to do exactly what SHIELD was planning on doing?" It wasn't really a question. Whether she agreed or not, he would begin construction of the bifrost in a matter of days.
Kimberley's eyes widened and she turned to him, ceasing her attempts to get the door open for a moment.
"You're crazy if you think I would ever agree to that!" Loki would need her there to make sure it was constructed correctly...
"Oh? Well would you do it for, ah, what was his name? Banner? Yes. Bruce Banner. Would you do it for him?" he threatened, standing up straight.
In reality, Loki would never trifle with Bruce or, the Hulk ever again. You could say that he was probably a bit afraid, but Kimbelery had no knowledge of that.
Kimberley's mind seemed to change almost instantly. "No, please don't hurt him! I-..." she paused, really taking her time to think it over. Was it worth it? Could Loki really hurt Bruce? Well she wasn't going to underestimate him, not today, not with Bruce's life at risk.
"I'll do it. Just, don't hurt him or any of the other Avengers." she finished, her voice laced with despair.
Loki smiled wide. "Good girl, now come on. Let's go meet out engineers" he said happily.
He walked back into the other room and grabbed the blue prints. Rolling them up as he came back he stuffed them into Kimberleys hands before putting his hand on the door knob.
"If you even think about running I will not hesitate to kill you or any of the Avengers." he made sure he had made himself clear before opening the door.
Loki grabbed Kimberleys arm, making her wince in pain as he grabbed the bruised spot. Kimberley was scared, she didn't want to help Loki but she didn't want to get any of the Avengers killed either. They were all like family to her! Seeing them get killed would be terrible!
Kimberley spotted someone just as Loki did but before she could react she was pushed up against the wall, his hand over her mouth. Kimberley noticed who it was first and she actually gained a bit of hope. It was Clint! He was here to rescue her! How he found her was beyond her knowledge but she would ask when she was safe.
"If you say a word, I will kill him" Loki said, slowly releasing his hand from her mouth and disappearing into the shadows.
Kimberley took a couple of steps forward so Clint would be able to see her if he turned around, which he did.
"Found her. She doesn't appear to be hurt but something is definitely not right..." Clint spoke softly into the mic. He began to walk to her with a wide smile. Bruce was ecstatic and he pretty much demanded that Clint get her out of there, and fast. "Hurry up Clint." Bruce said impatiently.
"Are you okay?" he called out to her but she didn't answer, she only smiled and nodded.
Kimberley wasn't sure what to do. If she said anything, Clint would be killed! She watched as he walked forward, heading in her direction. He hadn't heard Loki over his own voice but he did seem to notice the look of fear in Kimberley's eyes.
Loki had made his way around Clint and was now standing behind him. He put his pointer finger to his lips lightly when Kimberley looked at him.
A soft gasp escaped her lips, her attempt at warning Clint about Loki without speaking. It seemed to have worked but-
Clint stopped walking slowly and raised an eyebrow at her. Bruce and Tony were still talking to him, asking him every detail about what was going on but they didn't get any answers, and that scared them. Clint wanted to know what was up with Kimberley...she was acting odd. Her attention was on something behind him? Clint spun around quickly, pulling up his bow. He was too late. Loki plunged his scepter through Clint's stomach, causing his bow and readied arrow to fall to the ground.
Kimberley screamed, tearing beginning to stream down her face. She backed up until she hit the wall, a lump forming in her throat. Loki said he would only kill him if she spoke! She hadn't spoken!
Loki had a grin on his face the entire time. He absolutely loved watching the life fade from someone's eyes when he killed them. Turning the scepter lightly, Clint groaned loudly due to the intense pain.
"Clint, what's going on! Talk to us!" Tony shouted through the earpiece but Clint could only respond with sounds of pain.
Slowly, Loki angled the scepter down before yanking it violently out of the Avenger's stomach, making Clint fall helplessly on his back. Another scream erupted from Kimberley, it was half drowned out by sobs. Loki looked at his scepter, covered in the dying males blood, and stepped away from the body so he could clean off his weapon.
Kimberley forced herself to go to Clint. She knelt next to him and put his head on her knee. There was nothing she could have done and she felt as if this was all her fault. Maybe if she had warned Clint, maybe he would have been ready to fight and just maybe he could have defeated Loki.
"Cl-Clint?" she choked out. No response. He was gone. Kimberley leaned down, pressing her forehead to his.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry Clint." she said between sobs.
When she heard a soft sound coming from Clints ear, she carefully reached over and pulled out the source; the earpiece. She glanced over at Loki to make sure that he hadn't seen it before speaking into it.
"Tony? Bruce?" she asked in a low voice, trying to hold back her sobbing so her voice was audible. If Loki noticed this he might just kill her, or hurt her.
"Kimberley?" Bruce said anxiously.
Noticing that Loki was beginning to walk back to her, Kimberley panicked. "He killed Clint."
That caused her to cry even more and she lost track of where Loki was until he was smacking the earpiece out of her hand and stepping on it, smashing it to pieces.