I'm so excited guys! I plotted the next story in this series on my long drive home (five hours) and I'm pretty happy with how this all wraps up! It's looking like you won't have to wait another semester for the end (possible end) of this tale.
Also, I did update this earlier today but I decided to wait until the email thing was fixed...I wasn't sure anyone would get an email alert after. I just got the email a few minutes ago so I assume that this will work and my readers will get an email alert...hopefully. ^^
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! You guys are the sun and moon to me! Thanks to the mysterious "Guest" who reviewed first, kimbee (hehe, yes one bad guy down…), Hawaiichick (I know, right? I just want to give Clint a hug. I'm glad you are enjoying the mystery!), awesomekid34 (I'm happy? I think. lol ^^ I'm sorry you had to wait for this chapter!), csiwannabe99 (^^ weekend over!), Sandy-wmd (lol, whumpage will continue ^^ And I got really excited when you only pointed out one mistake ^^), jaguarspot (^^), chris. (on the nose! ^^), Syntyche (OMG, I think I'm going to have to give you naked Clint in the next story ^^), PuraStone (Yay! Thanks for the review!), Ms. Perception (lol! You and kimbee think alike with the witch is dead thing! lol, I'm glad you are enjoying my little story ^^), Anise Nadiah (The next chapter is finally here! Thanks for reviewing!)
Chapter Ten
The trip home was uneventful – no one really said anything to anyone. Occasionally someone would ask Bruce for an update on Clint's condition, but nothing changed.
"He's still unconscious." Bruce found himself repeating in variations. In all honesty the doctor was grateful Clint wasn't awake – they had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with.
The information gathered from Michael Swift's interrogation painted a dark picture. They had no idea if Clint was still in his right mind – or what ability, if any, had manifested.
"He's alive," Steve told Banner as they stood watch over Clint's form. "For now that's all we need to know – we'll work the rest out. You and Stark can reverse whatever happened to Clint, reverse it back to normal."
"You seem very confident in our abilities." Bruce commented lightly while he checked Clint's vitals. It was something to do – something to calm the nerves bubbling inside of him. The Other Guy didn't like what had been done to his teammate – it was taking a lot of distractions to keep the Hulk contained.
"I trust you." Steve said with a small smile. "It will work out – he's going to be okay. We all will be okay."
Elsewhere on the transport Tony was trying desperately to reign in his emotions. On one hand he was relieved and excited – Clint was alive, they had rescued the archer. Tony still had time to make things right and reclaim Clint as a friend.
He'd already started brainstorming some ideas – lavish gifts and big gestures – anything and everything to make Clint feel like he was welcome again.
On the other hand Tony was drowning in worry and apprehension – Clint might not be the same, he might never be the same again. In anger and betrayal Tony had punished the wrong person and now that man might have to live with the fall out for the rest of his life.
It was a wild storm of pulling emotions, but Tony held onto the fact that Clint was alive. If they could keep him that way Clint could be saved. He had to be. For the sake of them all – Clint had to survive this.
Natasha kept a safe distance, but never lost sight of her former partner. She couldn't risk him disappearing again, although she realized the fear was childish. Clint was saved – physically. She feared for the unknown state of his mind and soul. It seemed like the world was hell bent on destroying the archer – again and again he was shattered and left to put himself back together.
With help – Natasha reminded herself.
Clint didn't have to be alone. He had the team and he had her. She wouldn't – couldn't leave him now. Her heart wouldn't let her body leave him now – not when he was so vulnerable. If this was anything like after Loki Natasha knew Clint would need her and all the help he could get.
Clint wouldn't be alone.
When they finally arrived back at Stark Tower and set Clint up in a room, the waiting game began. They took the hours in shifts of two. Steve and Bruce insisted on going first, convincing Natasha and Tony that Bruce needed to make sure Clint was hooked up to all the machines he needed to be hooked up to.
Bruce also took the moment to draw blood and take a CAT scan of Clint's head. He was sure that there would be plenty of scans and blood tests in the evidence SHIELD collected from Sound Research, but Banner wanted to do his own. At this point Bruce didn't want to trust anything done to Clint.
Clint started to stir a half an hour into Natasha and Tony's watch. Natasha stood like a statue at the door, her eyes focused completely on Clint – Tony paced, fidgeted and expelled any and all of his pent up energy and emotion through animation.
When Clint's eyes flinched they held their breath and moved closer. The groan that followed told them that their archer was close to consciousness.
Clint floated towards consciousness. His eyes opened slowly and blinked away the fog as he stared up at the ceiling. The soft voice of a stranger drew his eyes to the side. Two faces stared back at him, both bathed in worry mixed with hope – it was in their eyes.
He blinked silently back at them as his sleep state faded and his memories returned. His body tensed as he tried to figure out where he was – what he'd done. Who he'd –
"This – " Clint shot forward, tense with defense as he flinched away from them. He knew their faces, but they didn't belong in the waking realm. "Is a dream?" He questioned, confused.
The two strangers shared a look before they turned their worried eyes back to him. "No," The man said calmly and then smiled a blinding smile. "We rescued you, feel free to thank us at any point in the near future. Or now, now works too."
Clint blinked again, his muscles never losing their tenseness. "Thanks?" He said with a question tied tightly to the end. He swallowed when he remembered the last thing spoken to him – the promise of pain before everything would be taken away. He looked at them and feared this was some sort of Trojan horse – a way to cause him pain sent by Randle.
Barton stared back at them and silently looked for any indication that they weren't the people he'd dreamt up. They were identical. Besides that Clint had never told Reese enough details for them to find duplicates. Tony Stark looked exactly like Tony Stark and the redhead – Natasha, looked like his redhead. How was that possible – wasn't she dead?
"Clint?" Natasha asked in a calm even toned voice.
Clint stared back at her with wide-eyed shock and fear. "I think you're dead." He said after a beat. "You're supposed to be dead."
"Dead?" Both Natasha and Tony asked in unison.
"Dead." Clint whispered in confirmation.
"Why?" Natasha was the first to ask.
Clint swallowed thickly as he thought back to Reese's dead body. Crumpled on the floor. Dead. Dead because he had killed her – his hands had snapped her fragile neck. His body started to shake with the memory, the realization that he was a murderer.
"I killed her – she said she was trying to help me, now she's dead." Clint dropped his eyes and curled into himself, his hands suddenly covered his ears loosely as he leaned further back into the headboard of the bed. Further away from the strangers – the lie. They weren't really there – they couldn't be there. It wasn't possible.
"Clint?" The woman's voice called to him, but he didn't look up. "Who did you kill?"
He was surprised how gentle her voice sounded – there was no judgment or disgust. Maybe if he told them, confessed openly, they would know that he didn't mean it. "It was an accident – I didn't – " He breathed sharply and realized he was close to hyperventilation. "Tell him, tell Dr. Randle I didn't mean it, I swear – she, she startled me. I felt – cornered."
"Breathe, Clint." They didn't crowd him as he talked, they didn't touch him unnecessarily. Clint was vaguely sure that the girl was instructing Tony Stark to keep his distance. Her voice brought on a sense of calm. It washed over him as he took in deep breaths.
When he was calm again he looked up into her green eyes. "Better?" She asked – he nodded.
"Are you okay?" The man who looked like Tony Stark asked. All humor was gone from his now pale face.
Clint looked back at him and felt the panic stir inside of him once again. "No." He answered honestly. "I'm not. Is this a dream?" He demanded with narrowed eyes. He just wasn't sure about anything anymore. There was no pain here – which was a nice change, but confusing.
"No." The girl said with sharp confidence. No pain – what did that mean? She seemed to be telling the truth, but the truth was supposed to hurt. Literally, hurt – at least for him.
"I'm not sure what to believe." Clint sighed and looked away from them.
"Who did you kill, Clint?" Mr. Stark asked, not with accusation but with curiosity.
"Reese," Clint responded quietly, eyes turned down in shame. "Dr. Sandra Reese." He spoke her full name from his short cache of memory.
"Tony," Natasha nodded to Mr. Stark and the billionaire grabbed some sort of tablet and started to type something on the screen.
Clint watched with detached interest until the redhead drew his attention back to her with another question. "Why do you think you're dreaming, Clint?"
The amnesiac looked back at her with broken eyes. "Because you're dead." He said unsatisfyingly. He knew it as soon as a look of pure frustration and fear washed over her beautiful face. Quickly he decided to add more. "They told me you were dead."
"And you believed them?" Mr. Stark huffed with a look of disbelief.
"I don't remember," Clint tried to explain.
"You don't remember me dying? Or what they told you?" Natasha asked.
"I don't remember – anything." Clint clarified as he stared back into her worried eyes. "I woke up in that place, I didn't know anything. No name, no family no history at all. They said I had a wife and she died."
"But you recognize me?" Natasha asked, confused.
"I dreamed of you." He tried to explain weakly. He glanced back at Tony Stark who watched him curiously. "You too." He added. "I dreamed – but they were lies. They told me it wasn't true, and it wasn't. This isn't real – it can't be." Clint shook his head in despair. His eyes misted as he dropped his head in his hands. He drove his palms into his eyes as he trembled.
"Clint? What can we do to help you?" The redhead asked him, a soft hand touched his forearm gently. Clint didn't uncover his face.
"No one can help me." He whispered back to her.
Tony watched Clint in complete disheartenment. Clint was right there, but at the same time he wasn't. He was lost, but hopefully not forever. Tony looked at Natasha with unmasked concern. "I'm going to go get Bruce." He announced and backed out of the room. He hoped that Natasha could reach Clint somehow, but if not they did really need Bruce. Bruce needed to be kept in the loop if they were going to help Clint through this.
Out in the hall he glanced down at the Stark pad in his hand, the search was still pending but soon they'd have an ID – hopefully – on the doctor Clint named.
"Jarvis let Bruce and Steve know that Clint is awake and inform them that he appears to have amnesia."
"Right away, sir." The AI responded immediately.
Steve was with Bruce in the lab when they got the announcement from Jarvis. It took a minute for the information to sink in. Amnesia. Clint didn't remember.
"Well, that explains why he didn't escape." Bruce offered after a moments pause.
"Yes." Steve replied, at a loss for what to say or do. One of their own was lost to them mentally. "Jarvis, how does Clint seem?" The Captain asked worriedly.
"Scared, sir." Jarvis replied in almost a soft voice – far too soft for an electronic voice to be able to sound.
Bruce and Steve shared a look before they headed to the medical wing of the tower. They met Tony in the hallway – his face was pale and his eyes studied the screen of the Stark Pad in his hand.
"Tony?" Bruce called to gather his attention to them.
Stark looked up and grimaced. "Clint doesn't remember much, he's confused and thinks we're not who we say we are – he thinks Natasha should be dead. Apparently this woman – " Tony turned the screen around so that they could see Dr. Reese's picture. "Created a pretty convincing lie."
"His blood work showed he was heavily drugged for a long period of time." Bruce informed his friend. "If he really has amnesia there's a chance he doesn't know what being sober feels like."
Tony paled further. "That's incredibly disturbing." He choked out and shook his head. "Well, he'll be fine now, right?"
Bruce hesitated. "There were a few chemicals I was unfamiliar with. I'm not sure what they were used for. Possibly they were used to repress his memory, there were some strange anomalies on this brain scan."
"That sounds ominous." Tony grunted unhappily. "Withdrawals?"
"Possibly, we might be able to develop a synthetic version of the chemical to help ease him off of it." Bruce sighed, "It's still might not be pleasant for him."
"We'll keep him comfortable – I owe him that." Tony echoed Bruce's sigh.
Steve narrowed his eyes at his teammate. "Tony, this is not your fault."
"Feels like it is." Tony disagreed.
The next chapter will be the last to Pinocchio's Demise ^^ I hope you've all enjoyed the ride!
Reviews and reviewers are loved!