A/N: Woooooo confrontation time! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a most certainly a beast to write :)


Chapter 6

Coulson had arrived to fly the jet to the location. The ride to the warehouse was eerily silent between all the Avengers.

Phil landed the jet a few blocks away and opened up the back doors.

As they all unloaded, Phil stopped Clint.

"You know it's killing her not being here," He said softly.

"I can't lose her, Phil," was all Clint said before following the others.

They paused a block away from the warehouse to regroup.

"Okay, remember the plan," Clint said nocking an arrow.

Barney cocked his gun, "Right behind you, Hawk."

The group split up, going in their assigned directions. Clint and Barney found a door to the back of the warehouse with ease. Steve and Tony stationed themselves out front ready to assist Thor as he walked straight in.

"LOKI!" Thor called out, his voice echoing throughout the warehouse.

There was no answer.

"LOKI! ENOUGH OF THIS! COME OUT!" Thor yelled wielding his hammer.

"Not exactly who I was expecting," Loki said walking out of the shadows.

Thunder rumbled off in the distance. Clint glanced over at Barney who was itching to shoot.

"Just wait," Clint whispered.

"Where are the children, Loki?" Thor asked as Loki came closer.

"Here of course, I have to keep an eye on them," Loki said.

"This is madness; you have no quarrel with them. They are just kids," Thor said.

"No my quarrel is not with them," Loki said pacing in front of Thor.

He stopped right in the direction path of Clint. The archer raised his bow and pulled the string back tight.

"My quarrel is with one of the other men in this room," Loki began. "Are you a coward now, Agent Barton?" he called out.

Clint held his arm steady drawing in a deep breath. The man's voice sent chills down his spine. The memories of what he had him do came flooding back.

Loki lifted his hand and flicked his wrist. Robert came flying out in and into the god's grasp. Barney made a move forward.

"Come now, Agent Barton. Are you willing to risk the life of your poor young nephew?" Loki mocked brandishing a dagger.

"Don't listen to him!" Robert yelped.

"Silence!" Loki hissed shaking the boy.

Clint pulled the string on his bow tighter. Loki slipped the dagger into his belt and raised his hand again. This time little Nicole appeared squirming around. Loki held her in his arm chuckling. Nicole began to cry causing Barney to finally launch forward.

The god was quicker though. He swung around and knocked Barney away, sending him flying a good 15 feet away.

"DADDY!" Robert yelled. Nicole's cries got louder.

Clint felt a strange feeling in the back of his mind, like something was brushing up against his conscious.

"You hear her cries, Agent Barton? Is this what you want?" Loki mocked.

Suddenly, Clint's vision became blurry for a moment. He blinked his eyes rapidly trying to clear it. He looked back up and Nicole's image had been replaced. Now he saw Lucy in Loki's arms crying, reaching out for him.

'What if she were your own daughter?' Loki mocked inside his head.

"ENOUGH!" Clint bellowed lowering his bow.

The image of Lucy faded as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Let them go, you deal with me," Clint growled.

"Very well," Loki said with a smirk. He gave Robert Nicole and pushed him away to his father who had finally managed to get to his feet once more.

Loki's image then shimmered away, causing Clint to raise his bow again looking around wildly for him.

"HE'S OUT HERE!" Tony yelled from the front.

Clint sprinted out the front doors into the now pouring rain. He saw Tony fighting with Loki, trying to gain the upper hand. The god bent Tony's arm back causing the metal to bend in an awkward angle, then with a well-placed blow caused Tony's knees to buckle.

Clint let an arrow fly at Loki's head with a growl. Loki caught the arrow in midflight, snapping it in his fist.

"Really? You're going to try and shoot me again," Loki said advancing on the archer.

Clint readied another arrow, shooting this one lower towards Loki's chest. However, it was blocked as well.

Loki kept coming closer, arrow after arrow not slowing him. When the gap was finally closed, Clint swung is bow around at Loki's head colliding with the god's forearm. Loki swung his right arm towards Clint, but he blocked the blow with arm. He swung the bow lower striking Loki across the leg, earning him a hiss.

Clint stepped back steadying his self, smirking. Loki growled and advanced once more. He aimed another punch at the archer's head only to find it absorbed by his arm. The rain was now coming down in heavy sheets, blurring Clint's vision. He hated fighting in the rain. He brought his boot up and kicked Loki square in the chest, a move Natasha had taught him years ago. The god stumbled back as he was pummeled by the archer.

In a window of opportunity, Loki whipped out his dagger that he had placed in his belt. Clint caught sight of the weapon and frowned. He needed to end this fast. He threw another punch at Loki but found his self being blocked.

Loki gripped Clint's arm in his hand tightly, twisting his arm back behind him and pulling hard. Clint's shoulder made a sickening crack as the bones dislocated.

He yelled out as Loki didn't let up only pulling harder. He felt Loki's breath by his ear for a moment, "This is not over Agent Barton," he hissed before sinking the dagger deep just below Clint's rib cage.

Clint fell to his knees gasping as pain surged through his body. He brought his unharmed arm up to his wound trying to put pressure on it. His vision began to cloud as he fell down on his back. He could make out a figure running towards him through the rain, but he couldn't tell who it was.

"God Damn it! He's hurt!" Tony yelled dropping down next to his fallen friend. "Just hang in there, Clint."

Clint coughed a mixture of blood and water trickling out of his mouth and Tony pressed on the wound.

"You cannot die! Natasha would kill me!" Tony yelled gently slapping Clint's face.

"Tasha," Clint gasped thinking of what he had promised her.

"Yeah, Tasha she's waiting for you and so is Lucy. So don't die! Just stay awake!" Tony said.

Steve dropped down on Clint's other side. "Oh my God," he breathed looking over Clint's body and then to the pool of blood forming.

"Tasha…Lucy," Clint sputtered more blood coming up. His lung was definitely punctured.

"Shut up you idiot. This is not the time to say good bye! Where the hell is Coulson!?" Tony yelled.

Clint blinked away the rain water from his eyes trying to see clearly. He saw his handler lean over him his face looking very pale before everything went black.


*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

All he could hear was that stupid beeping. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sight around him. He was in a hospital. His memory crept back in.

Loki…Loki had stabbed him. The kids…were the kids safe? His heart was racing causing the monitor's beeping to increase. He felt someone shift next to him.

Natasha sat up, her eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Clint," she breathed grasping his hand.

"Tasha," Clint croaked, realizing his throat was extremely dry. "The kids are they okay?"

"Yes, they're back at the Tower. Everyone is fine except you, you dumbass. What were you thinking?" Natasha replied.

"I wanted to end this. I just wanted it to be over," Clint rasped, sinking further into his pillows.

Natasha sighed and stood up, crossing over to the water pitcher and pouring him a cup. She handed it to him and sat back down next to his bed.

"You've been out for three days. They lost you twice on the operating table. You had a punctured lung," Natasha said in the emotionless tone she would put on for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Clint let out a shaky breath, his side searing in pain as he exhaled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered not knowing what else to say.

"Sorry? You're sorry? God, Clint, I thought you were dead. How was I supposed to…" her voice cracked, tears were falling rapidly down her cheeks now. "How was I supposed to tell Lucy you weren't coming home?" Natasha sobbed.

Clint shifted over to one side of the bed, making room, "Come here," he said patting the bed.

Natasha toed off her shoes and carefully crawled up next to him on his good side. She buried her face in his chest and cried. Clint tried his best to wrap his arms around her, but the IV got in the way.

"I am so sorry, Natasha. You know I would never leave you or Lucy. I love you both so much. I just want to protect you two," Clint whispered kissing the top of her head.

Natasha hiccupped a bit and wiped her eyes, "I know. Just try and think it through next time," she muttered.

She let out a small laugh.

"What's funny?" he asked.

"Having a baby has made me cry a lot," Natasha laughed.

Clint chuckled, followed by him wincing slightly, "Crying isn't a bad thing."

There was a soft knock on the door followed by it being pushed open.

Tony walked in holding Lucy on his hip.

"Nat, can she come in? She was getting pretty restless," Tony asked softly. He noticed that Clint was awake and smiled.

"If you ever do that again, I'm going to kill you," Tony said meeting Clint's gaze.

"Not planning on it, Tony," Clint replied.

Lucy immediately perked up at the sound of her father's voice.

"Dada!" she said leaning towards him.

Natasha slid off the bed and took Lucy into her arms, bringing her over to Clint. She set her down where she had been laying and then sat down next to his knees. Tony nodded to Natasha and left the room.

Lucy crawled up next to Clint curing up close and resting her head on his shoulder. The little girl nuzzled him softly and closed her eyes.

"It's okay, baby girl, Daddy's here," Clint murmured craning his neck to kiss her on the top of her head.

"She's been worried, too. Tony and Pepper have been watching her while I stayed here," Natasha said softly.

Clint nodded, his eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy.

"The Doc said you would probably wake up then go back to sleep. It's okay," Natasha said touching his knee.

Clint nodded again and let his eyes close. The beeping sound began to make it's way back into his mind.

"Tasha?" Clint said drowsily.

"Hmm?"

"Can you turn off that damn beeping?" he mumbled.

He heard Natasha chuckle, followed by silence. He smiled and turned his attention to his daughter's soft breathing, allowing it to lull him back to sleep.


A/N: I can't kill anyone...I'm too nice :) Okay I want at least 10 to 12 reviews for this one. I'm curious to see where you guys think I'm about to go in this story because trust me...this is just the beginning of the problems with Loki.