I am so horrible... I been so distracted by getting my next set of stories done that I have forgotten to continue posting this... So, I'm gonna do it in one big shot. Here you go!
Coulson sat back in his seat. Skye had come to him only a few minutes beforehand with a 'must watch video'. Thinking it had to do with their current mission, Coulson loaded it up. Not even a second into it, Coulson knew it wasn't about their mission. How Skye could have known about Clint, Coulson didn't know, but here was a video of Clint tied to a chair. A had figure entered the frame from beside the camera but didn't turn back around until it was behind Clint. Once he did, Coulson knew precisely who it was.
"Ross," Coulson cursed as the general smiled to the camera.
"Hello to anyone and everyone who has found this video. My name is General Thaddeus Ross. Some of you may have heard my name before. Good for you. We aren't here for me though. We are here because I want to show you who has chosen to protect you," Ross called into the camera. Coulson sighed wondering how Clint was involved in this. The video cut out to found footage of Hulk on a rampage. "We all know of this beast. This creature now called Hulk. We have heard of what he has done. Especially in New York. Twice now he has trashed it."
Now the video showed the devastation from Manhattan. Coulson frowned. Even though he had been 'dead' and in a coma at this point, he had gone back and seen the videos. Everything that S.H.I.E.L.D had on the incident. Which was just about every video from every recordable device. Then again, it's not like any of it was kept from the public. All the videos were still on the internet. Fury said it was good publicity for the Avengers and many others agreed with him. But now, that was being used against them.
"But the Avengers are good!" Ross cried, sounding like a whinny school kid. The video cut back to him, showing that he was faking that. His face suddenly darkened with rage. "We all thought so. They supposedly protected us. But lets think back on who the Avengers are.
"Tony Stark," Ross began, showing video footage and various pictures of Tony from his younger years when Obadiah was still working for him. "Champion to America. Most handsome man in the world. But what else did he do? Did you know that up until a few years ago, Stark Industries used to be the leading manufacturer of weapons? That they had a billionaire dollar deal with the military? How about the fact that 'clean energy' wasn't even on the books until Stark went missing for a few months. In fact once Stark had that 'revealing' trip, he stopped producing weapons unless it was for Iron Man. Then come to find out, he is Iron Man! Come on!"
The video then cut to images from the court hearings where the American government tried to get the Iron Man suit away from Tony. Coulson frowned. Where was Ross leading with this? What was he trying to prove?
"Then after revealing that he is Iron Man, he then turns around and acts like his normal, stupid, childish self? Who's to say he won't do that again? Who's to say he won't turn on America if someone insults him the day before? Think about what happened with the Mandarin. He could have cared less until one of his employees got injured. Where was he before then? Where were any of the Avengers?" The images then cut to show England. Coulson's frown deepened. He was just going over there to clean up that mess.
"And where were the Avengers here? Another alien race coming to England to take over. But we all know that once this alien had a foothold, they would spread. America was next! Then the world! How can we call these people our protectors if they don't even protect us?" Ross nearly shouted over the videos and images. Coulson sighed as the video went back to Ross. "Now we look at the Hulk. A monster big and green. A rage machine. He destroyed many areas in his rampages in the past. But just once he was helpful? Or was he really? Think of all the added damage that this green beast did? If someone else was there would there have been less things that needed to be fixed?"
The general placed his hand on Clint's shoulder and as much as the archer tried to stop it, his body jerked in surprise. Coulson winced now seeing what Ross was going to do. Ross was going to announce to the world what had happened to Clint. The general didn't know that this had only happened recently. And if Clint hadn't been involved in the latest attack then Ross wouldn't have any damage. But seeing as the archer had stubbornly run into the fight, no PR could save the Avengers from this.
"These people have so many secrets. Did you know that this man is paid to kill people? He is an assassin. Not a hero. Never mind this interesting fact. Hey, why don't you say hello to the lovely people watching," Ross said as he leaned down to talk into Clint's ear. Ross's hand twitched, squeezing Clint's shoulder lightly. Coulson growled, wishing he could jump through the screen and deck Ross. Seconds past and Clint didn't say anything. He just stared into the camera. Ross smiled. "Don't you want to say hello?"
Again there was no response from Clint. Ross then looked back up to the camera.
"Many of you out there may not understand but I do. This man. This assassin. This archer is deaf. He can't hear a thing. And yet he is one of the ones out there fighting. Can we really trust a team that would allow someone like this to fight for us? What happens if there is someone in need of help and he's the only one closest to them? He can't hear them!" Ross shouted. "This man cannot be put into such an important position! And even worse, it was kept secret from us about his hearing inability! Do you trust these so called 'Avengers?'"
With that Ross stepped forward and shook his head. Coulson watched as Clint's eyes shifted to look at Ross but other than that small movement, no one would notice that Clint was trying to read Ross's lips. The agent snarled as Ross focused on the camera.
"Ask yourself this. Would you want these men and women defending you? They took up a mantle that should have been dealt with by the American nation. No. By the world. And they have kept secrets from us and even were enemies to the world themselves. They shouldn't be trusted. Many of them should be locked up. So now I ask you, seriously. Who would you rather defend you? The men and women trained by and work for the government or these hooligans who have lied to us and pick and chose their fights?"
Coulson sighed deeply and turned off the video. Not that there was much time left but... It felt better that he just stop there. Ross had already done enough damage that Coulson wasn't sure could be fixed. Standing, Coulson turned his back to the computer. His office door slowly opened but he didn't look.
"So. That doesn't seem good," called May. Coulson smirked at her wording. "What are you going to do?"
"Is there anything I can do?" Coulson countered. May raised her eyebrows as Coulson looked back at her. He frowned at her face and watched as it slowly turned into a smile.
"We aren't controlled by S.H.I.E.L.D. Each mission is our own. And I did hear something about an evil monster held in Stark Tower," May suggested. Coulson laughed, his face brightening as he understood what May was suggesting. "It sounds like we should do something about that."
"I believe that could be our next mission."
JARVIS wished for once in his life that he had hands. Cause if he did, he would throw something as hard as he could and pray to god it destroyed something. For the past hour, Stark Tower had been flooded with phone calls. Not really sure what they were all for, JARVIS just kept putting them through the system over and over. Now many of the employees were telling JARVIS to deal with the calls himself. But there were too many. Even for the AI. So, he listened to one.
"Is it true that Hawkeye is deaf?" was the only words that came through the line before JARVIS 'hung up'. Stunned couldn't even cover what the AI felt. Yes, he felt. But he couldn't focus on that. He needed to figure out what was going on. So JARVIS began hanging up on every phone call as he researched the internet. It was there that he found and watched the video. And now he had only one choice of something to do.
"Miss Potts?" JARVIS called through the speakers in the woman's office. Pepper jumped slightly as she hadn't been expecting the AI to speak to her. Looking toward the nearest monitor that JARVIS used in her office, Pepper smiled softly.
"Yes JARVIS?"
"I'm afraid there has been a situation with the Avengers," JARVIS answered. Pepper sat up straighter. She had been in her office since learning that JARVIS had lied to her about losing Tony's feed in the middle of the battle from before. After she learned that the genius was safe, Pepper assumed that it would be okay to get back to work. Especially after JARVIS mentioned they were all coming back to the tower.
"What kind of situation?" JARVIS hesitated, wondering briefly where to begin. Instead of answering he took over Pepper's computer and pulled up the newest video of Ross and Clint. Pepper sat in shocked silence as she watched the entire thing. And even for a few minutes after, she didn't say a thing. JARVIS had to check his monitors to make sure she was even breathing. "Oh my god. Does Tony know?"
"You are the first I have informed of this situation," JARVIS mentioned. Pepper nodded, pleased with the AI's intelligence. She stood suddenly and began pacing. A sure sign that she was stressing. JARVIS said nothing. He knew better then to interrupt her while she was thinking and planning.
"What is Tony currently doing?"
"Sir is currently trying e-mail and call General Ross's superiors to avoid this exact situation." Pepper winced at that.
"And Steve?"
"Captain Rogers has made contact with General Ross and I believe that the captain's threats are what drove the general to doing this."
"Ah," Pepper voiced, lost in thought. Again, JARVIS waited for her. Seconds passed as she debated back and forth what to do. Finally a thought struck her. "How busy have the phones been?"
"Ringing off the hook. I have actually begun hanging up on most of the calls," JARVIS reported. Pepper nodded before frowning.
"No. Sort through them. All reporters come to me," Pepper told him. JARVIS wished that she would reconsider but did as he was told. Seconds later Pepper's phone lit up like a Christmas tree. Pepper's eyes widened in surprise before clicking to answer the first call. "Hello, Pepper Potts speaking."
"Miss Potts? Did you know about the Avengers' secret?" a man asked over the line. Pepper frowned. That was not the way she had thought this would go.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Pepper kindly replied. The man scoffed as if she should recognize his voice.
"My name is Michael Lance. I am from-" Michael began to explain. Pepper sighed.
"The National Enquirer. I remember you now," Pepper responded, sounding dejected. Of all the reporters she could have answered first, it had to be him. This guy had always given her trouble. He was one of the ones who continuously posted about any failings Stark Industries had while she was at the head and never once mentioned the successes. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you knew about the secret that the Avengers kept from the world?" Michael questioned. Pepper frowned.
"What secret are you talking about?" She countered, covering up her knowledge with innocence.
"Hawkeye's deafness," Michael growled. Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Hawkeye just recently became deaf," She reported. JARVIS loaded a video on her screen. There is showed some sort of blast that knocked Clint to the ground. Pepper watched it three times to make sure she saw it right. Then she smiled. "Actually, I was informed it may have happened in their last battle. Hawkeye left the tower before getting checked out by our medics and was sadly kidnapped."
"Wait, Hawkeye allowed himself to get kidnapped?" Michael inquired, sounding much more pleased by this information. Pepper sighed, she didn't mean to turn this into a problem with Clint.
"Not exactly," Pepper hesitantly responded. Michael snorted into his line.
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Hawkeye... Well..." Pepper began to explain when suddenly Tony and Steve burst into her office. Pepper quickly held her hand against the receiver and glared at Tony.
"Hawkeye is on a mission!" Tony softly told her. Pepper frowned but Tony nodded to her, informing her to tell Michael the lie. She looked to Steve and saw him nod as well. Heaving a great sigh, she released the receiver.
"Hawkeye has been sent on a mission," Pepper said. Michael paused.
"What mission?"
"Classified."
"I don't believe you." Pepper smirked.
"You don't have to believe me. Just know that you need to report on facts or I will sue you. This whole conversation has been recorded and if you dare publish an article that is not the entire truth, I will ruin you," Pepper threatened. Here she paused to listen to Michael's sharp intake of breath. As he was about to speak, she smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Have a good day, Mr. Lance." With that she hung up the phone and sighed deeply. Tony and Steve said nothing. They just stared at her. After a moment, she looked up. "Want to explain to me why I just lied to a reporter who already doesn't like me?"
"Um... I just have to say, wow. You are totally sexy right now," Tony commented. Steve's eyes widened before he looked away. Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Tony?"
"Right. Um. We want... Uh... I just totally lost my train of thought," Tony admitted. Steve smirked as Pepper chuckled.
"All the blood run lower then your brain?" she joked. Tony paused.
"Now it did," he mentioned, looking away from her. Pepper laughed out loud as Steve shook his head, getting used to the sexual jokes around the group. Didn't mean he liked it, but he was getting used to it.
"We wanted to make it seem like Clint has an ulterior motive to being with Ross," Steve finally answered. Pepper frowned but nodded as though she understood. Steve sighed, realizing that he had worded their plan weird. "We want it to be like Clint allowed himself to be caught and not... Well, not look like it does."
"Should I tell this same story to all the reporters?" Pepper questioned. Steve frowned, having not realized how many reporters were barraging Stark Industries phone lines. Slowly he nodded, wondering how many there could be. Pepper nodded and turned back to her phone.
"So, you good?" Tony muttered. Pepper glanced at him.
"I guess. We'll have to release an official statement. Get a press conference together. Work some good PR," Pepper began listing. Tony inched toward the door and waved to Steve to try and get the captain to follow. But Steve would always be the 'boy scout' and wanted to be there to help.
"You don't have to do that. You're aren't our public adviser," Steve stated. Pepper looked up at him.
"And who is?" Steve said nothing in response. Pepper nodded and looked back down to the phone. "Thought so. Sides, I've done this sort of thing a lot."
"Really?" Steve asked. Pepper's eyes raised to look at him even though hr head only slightly tilted to the side so basically she was looking at him rom below her eyebrows. Somehow that got the point across and Steve glanced at Tony. "Oh."
"Well, let me get to this before it gets too much more out of hand," Pepper stated before picking up a pen and began writing something on a notepad in front of her. Tony clasped the doorknob in his hand and smiled.
"Well, good luck!" and with that, he vanished. Pepper snapped to attention.
"How long until those hearing aids are done?"