Hey guys, sorry it has been so long since I've updated! I was dealing with some health issues and family problems =( Ideally I will be updating again this weekend, but I won't make any promises. This story is starting to wrap up so please review and tell me what you think. I have some ideas for a sequel if people would be interested but I guess you won't know until the story is over=) happy reading!
Also, I don't own anything but my OC and the plot line, all the good stuff comes from the wonderful Marvel.
The Avengers sat in the small conference room sipping coffee silently, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Natasha was missing, Loki was back, Fury was pissed, and no one knew what to do next. Finally Bruce dared to open his mouth; "someone needs to go talk to Scarlet…" he said. Hawkeye drained the last of his coffee and threw his mug against the wall causing it to shatter. Everyone stared at the crushed pieces of ceramic on the ground, unsure what to do next.
"This was all my fault." Hawkeye said as he stood "I'll go tell her…. It's my fault." He left the room and no one tried to follow him. Instead Steve stood and started pacing and they brainstormed what their next move would be, although they all knew that nothing could be done until Loki made a move.
Clint paused as he reached the door of the hospital room where Scarlet had been sleeping. I can't do this… he thought to himself, I can't be nice to her… she's Loki's… Loki's…. He shook his head and pushed open the door. She is half Natasha too, and she deserves to know what happened. The young girl was sitting up with her legs dangling over the side of the bed. "Hi there," Clint said cautiously.
She turned to him with a curious look. "You're that guy that was yelling at Natasha." she observed, her voice impartial. "What do you want? And where is my mom? She was supposed to come over this morning…" Now she looked a little disappointed.
Clint sighed and bit his lip, how was he supposed to talk to her? He didn't know anything about 14 year old girls. "Umm, Scarlet, there was an accident" He said softly. "Your mom she... She went missing last night."
Scarlet snapped up and leapt out of her bed, panic on her face. "What?" she screamed as she fell backwards, her legs not carrying her weight. Clint rushed forward and tried to help her back into bed but she pushed him away. "She left? What she couldn't handle a sick kid so she just decided to skip town?"
Clint stared at her, she had fallen to the floor when she pushed him away but he was scared that she would hurt herself if he came closer again. "No, she didn't abandon you!" he yelled over her angry rant. He could see she was getting worked up, and he prayed that someone had thought to secure her bed to the floor.
Then suddenly he heard the door open and Bruce slipped past him, crouching next to her on the ground. Scarlet was now gasping between sobs and screaming almost incoherently. "It's okay Scarlet, we are going to get her back… I promise. You need to calm down, just breathe." Bruce said grabbing her face and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"I didn't ask her to come here." Scarlet said shaking her head and pulling away from Bruce. "I didn't need her, I was okay here… if she didn't want to be in my life she shouldn't have come! She can't come and show me what it's like to have a mom and then leave…. She can't…." But Scarlet didn't get to finish her sentence because just then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she started seizing.
Bruce seemed to know what he was doing so Clint did as he was asked and didn't get in the way. He moved all of the loose objects that could potentially hurt someone and then he got out of the room and went to fetch the other doctors.
Natasha sat in the passenger's seat of a large truck, her legs curled up on the seat next to her, watching as Loki, who was again going by the name of David, expertly drove them down the highway. "When did you say you learned to drive?" she asked lazily as she turned to watch the passing scenery.
Loki shrugged, "I picked up a few things when I visited earth… The time I met you I was here for about three months, just wondering the planet picking up odd jobs. My father and I had fought… and I was punishing him by leaving. But when I got here I realized how easily humans can be fooled into believing what you want them to, so I played a game with myself to see how long I could manage here alone."
Natasha frowned "So that's all it was? A game?" She asked quietly. She hated herself for caring, she didn't care. But she did… So much of who she was came from that night she had shared with Loki. It had been more than a one night stand, although neither of them had expected it to become a relationship, they had been more honest with each other than they could have with anyone else. Or at least, she had…
"Life is a game to me Tasha, I go through life trying to see how far I can get without being caught by the people who play by the rules. With you… that was one of the times I was caught, because you weren't playing by anyone's rules. So maybe it was a game, but it was the most meaningful game of my life."
There was silence for a long time, Natasha stared out the window with a grim expression on her face. "You don't smile much do you?" Loki asked playfully.
Natasha's somber eyes turned to him, "We are on the run from the organization that saved my life in order to free our daughter who probably hates both of us right now, what exactly am I supposed to be smiling about?"
Loki frowned but didn't say anything, they were both risking a lot for their daughter… he just hoped they were successful.
He pulled off the highway and started down a lonely country road. "You've got the directions correct, right?" Natasha rolled her eyes and nodded before turning away from him and curling up into a ball. He sighed and tried to ignore her, he was not accustom to women ignoring him, but for the sake of their daughter. Their plan was a good one, but they had not spoken of what would happened once the plan was carried out. Natasha didn't seem to want to discuss it, so he didn't push her, but he couldn't help but be a little concerned for his own future if they had succeeded in convincing the Avengers that he had kidnapped one of their team members.
Two hours later he finally braved reaching over and nudging her, "Tasha, ETA is ten minutes."
She bolted upright, "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" she barked at him.
Loki rolled his eyes "Because driving down a deserted road usually only requires one person."
She cursed at him in Russian and started to dig through the backpacks at her feet. "You know that plan right? You remember the rendez vous point? How to use the Walkie Talkie?" Instead of allowing him to answer she went into a detailed overview of the plan while Loki bit back snarky comments. "So you got all that? You won't forget?"
"That's the benefit of being bitter," he said sarcastically "You don't forget much." He pulled the truck off the road and put it into park. Then they used some of the brush to conceal it. They would have to walk the rest of the way if they wanted to approach the compound without being seen. "Are you always this bossy?" He muttered under his breath. "I mean I know that archer isn't one to take the lead but does everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. just let you have your way?" But instead of taking his bait and starting an argument Natasha just walked off and he had to run to follow her.
Bruce sat in Scarlet's room and watched her sleep, Clint was leaning against the wall across from him. They hadn't spoken much since the doctors had told them she would be fine and that she would probably sleep for the next couple of hours. Every few minutes he reached over and checked her pulse. Finally someone spoke, but it wasn't Bruce or Clint, it was Steve. He poked his head in looking worried. "You guys need to come to the conference room… now." Then to show that there was no arguing, he walked away before they could protest. Bruce checked on Scarlet one last time and then followed Hawkeye out of the room.
As they walked Clint finally spoke, "It's all my fault that Natasha left…" His voice was flat, and tired.
Bruce glanced at him, "what makes you say that?"
Clint shrugged "I was mad at her and I said some horrible things… She wanted to talk last night but I refused. If I had talked to her maybe I would have been there when Loki showed up… maybe I could have helped." Bruce said nothing and after a moment Clint continued. "But then I keep telling myself, she could have stopped him… so maybe she wanted to go with him. I think she's been kind of struggling with how to think of him… and maybe if I had talked to her, or even given a crap about what she was going through I could have helped her."
They were nearing the conference room so Bruce pulled Clint into a side hallway. "Look Barton, you cannot take all the responsibility for Natasha… I don't know her the way you do, but I do know that she is a very independent woman, and I seriously doubt that you could have changed her mind if she really wanted to go with Loki. And if she really was taken against her will, then you wouldn't have been able to save her any more than she could have saved herself. Now we just need to focus on getting her back here safely." Clint nodded and they returned to the hallway and slipped into the conference room where Thor, Tony, and Steve were waiting.
"Took you gal's long enough" Tony complained "Were you busy gossiping in the bathroom?"
Steve waved away Tony's comment and told everyone to sit down. "We have a problem you guys, we've figured out why Loki needed Natasha. Someone broke into the sand box a few hours ago and stole some very dangerous equipment."
Clint shot up, "What? How do you know it was Natasha? What did they steal?"
Steve sighed, "She was caught on camera… and we all know Natasha well enough to know that she wouldn't be caught on a camera unless she wanted to, so I think this is her way of helping us to find her. And as for what they stole… you're not going to like it. It appears that Fury decided that Loki's magical staff toy was something S.H.I.E.L.D. should hold on to."
Everyone sat up at this and there was a chorus of complaints and cries of indignation. Who could have possibly thought that keeping that thing would be a good idea? "So did he get it?" Clint asked gravely, "Natasha wouldn't help him steal it right, I mean he can't mess with her brain until he has it… so she wouldn't…."
Steve sighed and looked very tired. "We don't know why Natasha is doing what she is, but they did succeed in stealing the staff."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Tony asked what they were all thinking. "What the hell are we going to do?"
They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing their options. Steve thought that Fury still had something up his sleeve, but he wasn't sure they would like it. Thor insisted that if they could simply find his brother he could talk him down. Loki wasn't the best guy ever, but he had seen the error of his ways while he had been imprisoned, surely he could make him see sense.
Scarlet lay in the bed in the plain hospital room, it had happened again. She bit back some tears and tried to focus on remembering what had happened. My mom left she thought to herself, she couldn't handle some weak, sick kid so she ran off. And now she'll never come back because I'm some freak who is a danger to the people around her. Her thoughts continued on this dark path until she was interrupted by her door opening. "What do you want Fury?" she asked, not even bothering to sound annoyed, she was too tired to make the effort.
Fury looked her up and down, as if trying to assess whether or not she was going to try and kill him. Finally he shrugged "Just to know how you were doing, I heard you had a rough morning."
That was when Scarlet remembered that S.H.I.E.L.D. and especially Fury, had always been very concerned for her health. She had discovered early on in her captivity that they would not kill her nor would they allow her to kill herself. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants me alive, but why? She had always assumed that it was because of who her mother was, but obviously Natasha didn't care what happened to Scarlet anymore, so why did Fury care? "I'm fine" she said roughly. Fury nodded and stepped out of the room, she heard him say something to the nurse outside her room about keeping a close eye on her. She was angry at him for not explaining what he wanted, but she was too tired to care so she rolled over and went to sleep.
Loki looked pissed as he stood in front of Natasha. She was holding his staff, the one that he had used to almost destroy Midguard. "You did not tell me that that was what we were stealing!"
She shrugged and tossed it back and forth in her hands, "We needed to piss S.H.I.E.L.D. off, now we have. What's the problem?"
He looked nervous, she didn't like how he kept looking greedily at the staff. "I just don't like being lied to. That staff is dangerous… they should have destroyed it."
Natasha shrugged again and climbed into the truck, "whatever, let's get going. I think it is about time we found our friends." she said mischievously.
Loki smiled back, there was the Natasha that he knew and loved, the one with a glimmer in her eye that dared people to mess with her, the one who would do anything to complete the mission. "Where to?" he asked trying to sound as carefree as she looked.
"I think we need to pay a visit to the tower." she responded. They were silent for a long time as they drove, but Natasha noticed that Loki seemed to keep glancing at the staff which lay at her feet. "You know you're going to have to use it right?" she asked quietly. "Not to destroy New York or anything, but they need to believe that you are a threat... that you've brainwashed me and all that."
Loki nodded, from what he knew of her plan he had been able to guess what she wanted the staff for, he just hated that he had to play the bad guy. It wasn't like he had changed all that much, he still loved to cause trouble, especially for his brother... but being locked up for so long, it had changed him. He didn't want to rule Midguard anymore, honestly right now he would be happy to be living in true freedom. This plan was going to ruin that though, Thor would probably never trust him again... despite the fact that his brother knew at least part of their plan. "I know," he said slowly. "But I don't have to like it."
Fury stood in front of the remaining Avengers and waiting for a response. He had just told them his plan, or at least part of it. He believed that Loki had kidnapped Natasha and stolen the staff in hopes of obtaining his daughter. He wanted the Avengers to take Scarlet back to Stark Towers, where he felt that they could protect her, but also put her in the spotlight enough to draw Loki out of hiding. "I can't risk him coming here" he explained. "We have lots of minors here... we just can't risk it."
Steve was the first to respond, of course. "I think that makes sense, but I don't like using Scarlet as bait."
Tony nodded, "I mean I'm always game for letting my multi-million dollar tower be a battle ground for aliens and super freaks, but are you sure this is the best plan?"
Fury nodded, "There isn't another way. I am confident that you will keep her safe."
Hours later the team had gathered and packed Scarlet a bag. "Pepper is waiting for us" Tony announced as they piled themselves into Scarlet's room. "She's awfully excited to have you over Scarlet, honestly I think she just likes having another ginger in the house."
Everybody laughed and Scarlet blushed. They had explained to her, very carefully, the situation. Bruce had done most of the talking. And Scarlet had been happy to know that Natasha hadn't abandoned her so she had taken it well. It also helped that she was getting to leave the compound, something that she hadn't done in four years. "Alright, let's get out of here!" she said brightly.
Clint had ended up in the seat next to Scarlet on the jet Tony had ordered. "Oh um... you don't mind if I sit here do you?" he asked uncertainty.
Scarlet nodded and watched as he sat down. "Sorry about earlier today" she mumbled.
He nodded "It must be kind of annoying, not being able to get upset without... well you know..."
She smiled "Bruce told me that you and my mom are really close, you must be worried about her."
Clint bit his lip, "Yeah" he said quietly "I'm worried, but you shouldn't be... the Avengers, we don't fail." He winked and she giggled. Clint spent the rest of the plane ride telling Scarlet stories about her mother. And before they knew it they were back at the tower.
They were debording the plane when Scarlet finally got up the courage to ask Clint what had been on her mind. Because of her crutches she was one of the last people to leave, and he had waited for her. "Agent Barton?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah kid?"
She bit her lip, "I was just wondering... do you umm... do you trust Director Fury?" When his brow furrowed she cursed. "Sorry, stupid question... he's your boss, of course you trust him."
Clint smiled, "Only about as far as I can throw him, but then again I am not known to be a trusting person. Do you mind if I ask why?"
Scarlet took a breath "I just… well... Since I went to the compound I got the feeling that Fury was really invested in keeping me alive. I always thought it had to do with who my mom was, but then this morning I just got the feeling that... he was treating me like an asset. Does that make sense?"
Clint's face darkened "Unfortunately I do, and it answers some questions that have been bugging me for a while. Scarlet you can't always trust Fury, he has a lot of priorities... but you can trust the Avengers... we will figure this out.
