Chapter 6- Out of the Shadows.
"Join me." Loki reached out his hand to Clint. "Together we will be unstoppable! You do not need Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, or Natasha! We are the real heroes, Clint."
All the disgust and worry began to melt off of Clint's face as he glanced down at the god's outstretched hand. He knew what he had to do.
"NO! I refuse to join you! I don't care how similar we are- I'm not going to help you. The Avengers still need me, otherwise I wouldn't have been accepted in the first place. You're just lying to me. You're trying to mainpulate me again, and this time it is not going to work, Loki." Clint shouted at Loki, until the god's smile vanished and was replaced by a sinister scowl.
"I knew my powers would be weaker in my illusion form, but I thought I would be more powerful than that. He's just a dull idiot. And I couldn't even fully grab hold of his mind!" Loki contemplated his weakening strength. He had to do something, quickly, before all of his powers faded.
The mirage vanished with these parting words: "Suit yourself, Barton. I'll see you around."
The second the god was gone Clint shook his head to clear it. For a while, he had completely lost control of his own thoughts. Loki only had to offer up the idea and Clint's mind started believing it. How had he broken free?
He remembered a strange, popping sensation in his head when Loki had said Natasha's name. Deep inside, below all of Loki's implanted thoughts, Clint knew that Natasha would never take him for granted. And with the sound of her name, came all of the overwhelming memories of the Black Widow in action, fighting side-by-side with Hawkeye- her curly, red hair, her black catsuit, and her silver, lethal gun. Natasha had been all Clint could think about, and it had pulled him out of Loki's grasp. And to think the god had almost regained complete control over Clint!
Loki had made a big mistake bringing Natasha into this and Clint had been sure to make him pay.
That night, Clint slept soundly for the first time in weeks. No further visits from Loki and no nightmares, only rest.
When he woke up, Clint felt more energized and was ready to go help the team out with some small mission. He was quite aware he wasn't completely prepared to be out defending the Earth from aliens, but he figured he could handle laying some groundwork for taking out a B-grade villan.
When he entered the Avenger's meeting room, all eyes turned from the blueprints they were looking over towards him. Everybody had already assembled, but Clint walked right in and went for his usual spot at the table. He stopped abruptly when he spotted a muscular guy in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform sitting at it.
The room was completely silent, and Clint could feel the anger rising up inside his chest.
"You replaced me?" Clint barked at the Avengers.
Natasha approached the situation cautiously, hoping to defuse a dangerous altercation. She spoke in a calm, even tone. "Clint, this is Agent Archer." She gestured to the tall, blond S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "He's been working with us for a few days. He has some insight on this mission we have been working on, and volunteered to help."
And then, Loki shimmered into view right behind Natasha. He raised his eyebrows at Clint, a smug smile already plastered on his pale face. "See?", the god seemed to be implying that maybe Natasha did take Clint for granted.
But the wheels were already turning in Clint's head. He felt betrayed by his team, even Natasha had decided to let this replacement in!
An Archer for an archer.
Steve continued for Natasha. "We had no idea you would be joining us today! But we're very happy to see you, Clint! " Steve flashed his beaming smile.
Now, Loki had shifted to perch on the file cabinet behind Steve. He simply shook his head.
Now Bruce stood and turned to Clint. "You look well today!" Loki mockingly shrugged and shifted his hand back and forth in a "so-so" motion.
"Here Clint, take my seat. We'd love your opinion on this mission!" Bruce opened a space at the table for Clint, who stood completely still. He sent one more icy stare towards Archer, but then nodded slightly and sat down.
"So, Legolas.. You ready to start shooting arrows or whatever you do? Or are you still not totally with us?" The whole table glared at Tony Stark, who had just destroyed all of the words they had meticulously selected with a single sarcastic, poorly-worded statement.
Loki vanished with one last look at Clint. His job was done.