Chapter 12
The next morning everyone in the tower was up, dressed and in the kitchen drinking coffee. Clint and Phil were sitting across from each other, seemingly just to stare. But Natasha, who sat beside Clint, knew better. She knew that Clint and Phil had perfected their communication techniques over the years to glances, blinks and touches. Steve and Loki sat side by side, Loki's head resting on Steve's shoulder. Bruce was sitting beside Steve. Tony was the only one not sitting, Tony was the only one not drinking coffee. He was pacing the kitchen. Tony was also the only one to jump when JARVIS spoke.
"Sir, Director Fury of SHIELD is at the door."
Tony all but ran down the hallway to answer the door, even though Fury had yet to knock.
Fury raised his eyebrow as he had his hand up to knock only to find that the door was already open and Tony was on the other side looking impatient. "Stark."
"Fury."
"Are you going to invite me in?"
After Tony just stood there for a moment, Steve yelled from the kitchen, "Let him in Tony!"
Tony waved his hand dismissively, "you might as well come in."
As Fury followed Tony inside he muttered, "Great idea." Both Tony and Fury walked into the kitchen, Tony stood by the coffee maker, leaning against the counter his arms crossed against his chest. Fury stayed in the doorway seeming to survey the crowd of people.
Coulson started to let go of Clint's hand but Clint tightened his grip, silent panic slicing through his chest making his eyes widen. Coulson squeezed gently, entwining their fingers. This was his way of saying that one way or another everything was going to be fine.
Fury was the one to break the silence. "The Council says that it has reached a decision and that it wants to see everyone as soon as possible."
Steve nodded, his hands tight but reassuring on Loki's shoulders. He was pretty sure he knew what the council had decided but he also knew that if it was a decision he wasn't prepared to live with he would argue with the council. He knew that Tony would do the same thing as this was his family and Phil wasn't going to just stand by and let them take his fiancee. "Alright everybody. Let's go."
The drive was silent and the entrance was somber. Fury walked in first and stood in front. Phil walked in with Clint on his right, with Natasha standing beside Clint, then Steve with Loki in front of him with Tony standing beside Loki. Bruce was standing in the back of the room by the door. If things got heated and he needed to leave in order to cool down, that was the best place for him.
Fury was staring at the council coldly. "Has the council made its decision?" His voice was even and his tone was harsh.
"Yes. After much discussion and debate the council has decided a few things. The first being that Barton will no longer be a member of SHIELD. The second being that both Barton and Loki will be allowed to remain out of isolation as long as they are micro chipped so their locations will be known at all times and as long as their handlers agree to watch over them and be responsible for them should either of them do anything dangerous."
Fury rolled his shoulders. "No offense but Agent Barton is one of the best snipers that we have. He is skilled with a multitude of weapons not to mention hand to hand combat; to lose him now would put SHIELD at a very distressing disadvantage. Especially after all the hard work, time and money that went into making him a finely tuned machine."
Phil felt Clint stiffen under his hands but he also knew why Fury was saying what he was. Clint had worked very hard at being the best sniper that SHIELD had (this was after they'd managed to get through the layers and layers of bullshit) and if Clint was not permitted to do what they trained him to do, he would become depressed and they would risk all of his old feelings of uselessness and self hatred surfacing again. That was not something that any member of the team wanted to deal with.
The wall of monitors was silent. They had obviously been given something to think about, they seemed to all reach the same conclusion. The blond woman in the middle spoke. "Fine. He can stay as part of SHIELD however, there will be no solo missions and every move he makes will be watched. If he steps even a toe out of line, disciplinary action will be swift and severe."
Fury nodded. "Agent Coulson?"
Coulson gave off no emotion. He knew that this wasn't what Barton had in mind. He knew that Barton would feel caged but given the circumstances it was the best that they could do. "I accept full responsibility for Agent Barton."
"Captain?" Fury had no doubts that Coulson would have accepted any and all terms that the council dished out, provided that he and Barton stayed together. But as far as he knew Steve had no such attachment to Loki. Fury waited patiently for Steve's answer.
Steve spoke up. "I accept all terms and conditions. I will be responsible for Loki from here on in."
Fury turned his attention back to the Council. "Is the Council satisfied?" Before anyone could respond, a man walked in the room. He was at least 6 feet tall and he was easily double Clint's size. Clint stood his ground but Loki shrank back against Steve. "What is this?" Fury all but yelled; barely remaining composed as he stared coldly into the screen.
The blond woman responded, "The council had said that they could remain free provided they were micro chipped. He's here to micro chip them."
Clint offered his arm to the behemoth of a man. The man grinned at him as he jabbed the needle into the vein of his arm. Clint's facial expression didn't change, his breathing and heart rate remained the same as well. He was not going to give this man the satisfaction of knowing that he'd hurt him. As the man approached Loki, Steve shot him a warning glare. "I understand that you have a job to do but I'm warning you; if you hurt him unnecessarily you will need medical attention."
Fury stepped in; knowing that if he didn't things were going to get out of hand. He had no doubt that Steve would hurt the man. "Captain."
Steve turned his gaze towards Fury. "I'm sorry Director but I don't like bullies of any kind."
"I know." Fury nodded to the man with the needle.
The man approached Loki who shrank back, unintentionally against Steve. Steve put a hand in the middle of Loki's back, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. Loki rolled up his sleeve, offering his arm to the menacing looking man. The man slid the needle into his arm under Steve's careful watch.
The man smirked. "The council is a lot kinder to you then I would be. If it were up to me you'd be left to rot."
Fury turned his attention to the man. "I think you've said enough, you need to leave." The man grunted but he left the room. He knew all about Director Fury and seeing as he didn't have a death wish he did as the man ordered. Fury turned his attention back to the monitors. "Is the council satisfied?"
The woman who Clint had mentally named "the bitchy blonde" spoke, "Well there is one small matter of restitution."
Bruce couldn't take it any longer. He stood up, "What could you want now? Isn't the fact that Clint risked his life for the safety of the city enough? Isn't the fact that Loki came back and has endured your harassment enough? You've made their lives a living hell, when will you quit?" Bruce took a deep breath; to unleash the 'other guy' now was not going to be good for anyone.
The people on the monitors were silent. Tony pushed away from the wall that he'd been leaning on and walked over to Bruce. His eyes had just a hint of green around the edges. Tony put his hand gently on Bruce's shoulder. "Bruce, these people are idiots; but that's no reason to lose your cool. They aren't worth it."
Bruce took another deep breath, he knew that Tony was right but that didn't mean that he was any less angry. Tony turned so that Bruce was facing him and all the council could see was Tony's back. He pulled Bruce close to him, placing Bruce's hand on his chest so he could feel the calm, steady beat of his heart. Bruce knew what Tony was trying to tell him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and pulled himself as close to Tony as he could. He kept breathing, narrowing his world down to just Tony, the way his skin smelled, the slight hum from the arc reactor, Tony's own body heat and the steady beat of his heart.
A few eye brows were raised but mostly they were ignored. The blonde woman continued speaking as if Bruce hadn't said anything. "Loki and Agent Barton will be expected to make restitution for their crimes by way of a televised public apology. Once that is completed, the council will be satisfied."
Tony guided Bruce out of the room. As Clint, Phil, Steve and Loki walked out of the room, Fury glared at the screens. "For the Council's sake I sincerely hope that after this you leave them alone." Before they could say anything Fury left the room.
