Chapter 9: Aftermath

Large parts of New York City lay in ruins. The more fortunate parts of the city had escaped almost unscathed. The majority of it had suffered moderate damage at the very least, while those parts of the city that had been affected worst were reduced to rubble. Such was the aftermath of their victory, but it had been a victory.

Fury had no wish to imagine an outcome where they had lost. His mind readily provided him with images nonetheless. It had been close, far too close for comfort already even without the Council having had a nuke fired at the city. Earth's Mightiest heroes had barely averted disaster. Together as a single unified force, they had managed to defy Loki. Even with their combined efforts, they had only won by the barest of margins.

Perhaps he should've been satisfied with that. After all, they lived to fight another day, had time to prepare, had created a team ready to respond to such situations, and if the actions of Thor were any indication, had perhaps gained a powerful ally in the Asgardians. The latter was too optimistic of a possibility for him to consider for long. Still, considering what they had been up against, there was a reason for joy and even relief.

Fury felt neither. This battle had made abundantly clear just how horrifically outmatched they were. Truth be told, they had been hard-pressed to apprehend a single Asgardian, Jötunn, or whatever Loki truly was. A thought only made darker by the knowledge that Loki had wanted to be caught, which cast all their potential ability to actually do so in doubt.

Not only that, there were a few things that continued to… muck things up. Large contingents of the aliens had been killed. At first, they'd assumed that they had been bound to their mother ship in some fashion or another, its destruction ending their lives in turn. That had been the first assumption, one quickly disproven once they began to investigate the corpses.

Depending on where they were found, they had no obvious wounds or the like on them, perhaps having truly died when the mothership perished. At other times they had been violently torn or cut apart by some force they couldn't identify. No traces of weapons capable of something like this remained either. Yet the destruction left behind could not be denied. By now it was uncertain just how much of the devastation could be attributed to the aliens, and how much was caused by this mysterious force that annihilated them ruthlessly.

Thus far he had withheld such facts from the World Security Council. He had little desire to stand before them like a fool, not knowing what to tell them. How long he could keep it from them however was another matter. They indubitably had their own moles in S.H.I.E.L.D. so it was just a matter of time at this point.

He pursed his lips in thought. Well, if he could distract them with something like that… perhaps he should. There were other things he didn't want them to question him about right now. Like Barton's loyalty, which was a difficult subject considering recent events. He himself wasn't sure what to think, Hawkeye had been compromised, there was no denying that, but he had also fought valiantly against impossible odds after Romanov applied her 'cure'.

So when the man in question, placed in a high-security cell after Fury had allowed him to spend some time uninhibited with the rest of the Avengers, asked to meet him and Romanov as soon as possible. Well, he was surprised. After all, Barton knew the usual MO for such cases. Which meant that he had something of value to share. Or at least that's what Fury hoped as he stepped back aboard his personal helicarrier.

Finding Barton in a containment cell, hands behind his head as he laid out on the single bed, at least until he noticed Fury, would've been a strange enough sight since truth be told, Barton would've been one of the last people Fury would've expected to see locked up in a cell given his service record despite his origins. Partially because it was difficult to design a cell that could actually hold the man due to his sheer skill at escaping such places, although the sentiment remained unchanged.

Romanov was already there, leaning against the wall, inside the cell. He wasn't surprised. The redhead had vouched for the archer multiple times already. If there was anyone, outside his family, that was convinced of his innocence, it was her. Fury was inclined to believe her because while she might've been biased regarding Barton, the former Russian spy was as much of a realist as he was. "Agent Barton, Romanov, glad to see you two made it back in one piece. I half expected you to have slipped away for a bit longer."

"I thought about it." Barton snarks, "but then I'd miss out on the good food from my four-star cell."

"You certainly were less talkative when Loki called the shots, maybe we could ask him for advice." Natasha hummed, her gallows humour eliciting a chuckle from Clint. Good, from the look of things Barton wasn't too hung up on what had happened to stop functioning, yet. The shrinks could pick his brain later.

"I assume you have something important to tell us?" Fury cut through the good mood impatiently. It'd been a long day, and not so long ago Barton had almost killed everyone on the helicarrier. Not by his choice, but falling several hundred feet through the air hadn't exactly been a joyride for Fury or anyone else on board. "Or were you just lonely?"

"Rin Tohsaka." Clint said simply, any trace of humour gone, having turned dead serious in a split second.

Fury was taken aback, from the corner of his eye he saw that Romanov was feeling the same way, a moment later his mind managed to recall the importance of that name. "From the Emiya investigation?" He questioned with a frown, his single remaining eye narrowing. "What about her?"

"Well, apparently having my brain scrambled," Clint shot Natasha a half-hearted glare with no heat to it at all, "both by Loki and her jogged something loose. Apparently, our girl Tohsaka's got her own mind tricks no one knew about."

"So, back then in Amman…" Widow mused softly and Clint nodded in confirmation.

"Our girl got the drop on us and did… her thing. No idea how it works, cause from what I can recall, it's just like she simply talked to us and we… just thought it'd be great to listen to her." Barton explained and perhaps someone would've thought he was merely joking if it wasn't for the hard look in his eyes.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for?" Nat quipped dryly, to which Barton smirked, though it was brief, there in an instant and gone just as quickly.

"Pretty much, though less hand waving." He elaborated as he looked from the redhead to Fury. "Figured you'd like to know since you know she made us help her get the body out of there and everything." Yeah he figured as much, didn't mean it made it any less insane to believe that someone could just do that to two of his best and most trusted agents. Then again, he'd just seen aliens pour out of a hole in the sky. He'd seen a godly sibling rivalry play out on the rooftops of New York. Normal had been lost somewhere between Thor's hammer appearing in a dusty town, and Tony coming out as Iron Man.

Dealing with Skrulls and an alien cat thing was so much simpler by comparison.

"You remember anything else?" Fury asked, hoping there was more to go on once he shoved his wandering thoughts aside.

"Well, you know the stuff written on the napkins in the cafe we woke up in?" Clint snarked, annoyance dripping from his voice and features. "The one we wondered what the hell they could mean? Just gibberish to mess with us."

"I see." Fury said, annoyance bubbling up within him at that.

"Sounds like someone's got a sense of humour. She must've known we'd try to decipher her scribbles." Nat grumbled, catching on immediately to the woman's thought process.

"Which we did." Fury tried very hard not to growl out. He didn't like to be played the fool, not one bit. "How do you figure they're scribbles anyway?" He asked, hoping that much would give them further insight into Rin's mind. At this point, he'd settle for her measurements if it meant they'd get her in a cell.

"Because she told us to write them down, and leave them there… probably so others who might've been observing us would wonder what they meant as well." Clint shrugged, just as lost as he felt, not that he was going to tell them that.

It didn't help much, but Fury felt at least a tiny bit better about the fact that they weren't the only ones who had been played. Unfortunately, such satisfaction was drowned out by the worry about what all of that could mean for them. Unknowns were always trouble, always. "Alright, you remember anything else Agent Barton, hopefully, it'll be enough to get something outta that damned Tohsaka."

"She did ask us who we were working for." Clint hummed after a moment of contemplation. "So she now knows about S.H.I.E.L.D. though she didn't seem familiar with it."

Bitter comfort, if she hadn't been familiar with it then, she likely was now. There was no guarantee that she wasn't involved with… whatever had turned these villages into ghost towns. If that thing had known about S.H.I.E.L.D., what did Tohsaka know after all these years he couldn't help but wonder. Then there was the fact there'd been people fighting...whatever those things had been. Chances were those people and Tohsaka were similar in their abilities, and yet that had been the first time S.H.I.E.L.D. had ever heard of either. The world was definitely getting pretty crowded these days. Which of course only meant that there was more to dislike, more to worry about, and far, far more to complicate things.

"Barton." Fury grumbled out as his hands curled into fists. "As the only one who has currently any idea of what we are dealing with… what do you suggest?"

"What, trusting me again already?" Snarked Hawkeye.

"Barton, not now." Fury practically growled.

"Honestly, when we met her in Fuyuki, she played us like a damn fiddle, acting like she'd never seen us before. Well enough that we actually fell for it." Clint said after a moment of brief contemplation. "So, why don't we go to talk to her again? Seems crazy sure, but at the moment she's got no reason to assume we're hostile. We get a strike team ready to bring down the walls if need be, put some wires on Nat and I so you can monitor us, and once we're inside we can ask a few questions."

"Preferably at gunpoint," Nat grumbled none too quietly under her breath.

Her annoyance was noted, and honestly shared by Fury, but considering the nature of their opponent, he wasn't in a hurry to piss her or her allies off if he could help it even if he also wanted her in a cell for a very long chat. "As tempting at that thought is Agent Romanov, let's hope sending a team in will be enough to dissuade her from turning you two into her pet flying monkeys again, but having you and the rest of said team wired isn't a bad idea." It'd at least cover their asses on the off chance everything went sideways, as had happened too many times already when it involved Tohsaka and Emiya.

72 hours later

London, Tohsaka's Apartment

7 AM

"Comms check." Romanov said quietly, checking their equipment one last time before going in.

"Tac Team ready and on standby." The leader of the Tac-Team called in, who was waiting on a roof across the street. His team and he were ready and able to grapple into the apartment at a moment's notice if need be.

"Overlord here, receiving loud and clear, your vitals are in the green." The agent back at base replied as well. She and others would be no doubt very busy observing their vitals and recording the conversation that would take place soon if all went well. Natasha wasn't that naive though, not after everything that had happened every time Tohsaka or Emiya was involved. That didn't stop her from loosening her pistols in their concealed holsters so she could draw them in an instant.

Her widow's bite, hidden beneath her sleeves, gave a soft hum as she activated them briefly to check their status before deactivating them as well with a flick of her wrists.

"Now remember, Nat." Clint huffed out as he fixed his tie. "Smile, she won't let us in if you glare at her like that." She turned said glare on him but he only smirked in response. "Shall we?" He asked rhetorically as he moved into the building, her hot on his heels as he ascended the stairs calmly and without haste. Standing in front of her door not long after, Clint was the one to ring the bell.

"How anti-climactic." Nat snarked when no one answered even after a second ring. A third ring and still no one came. She was tempted to call in, wanting to confirm if Tohsaka was actually present, but held off. No need to appear suspicious if they were being watched. Still, she had no patience to be kept waiting and rapidly pressed the bell again and again.

A few moments later the door was torn open, and Natasha looked in, eyes filled with so much disdain and hatred that she almost took a step back. "What?! Can't you people see I was asleep?! Honestly, I don't know what you think you're doing here at the asscrack of dawn-" It was then Rin blinked and frowned in cold disdain when she saw who was outside her door. "Oh I see, so that's how it is."

"Glad to see you remember us." Natasha quipped, though there was no humour in the words at all. "We need to talk, and it's important. Very important."

"Better be after what you just did." Tohsaka grumbled, voice filled with poorly disguised anger. Very different from the elegant and shockingly intelligent women they had met in Fuyuki. An image not helped by her bedraggled hair and rumbled clothes, as if she'd just rolled out of bed in fact. "So, what is it?"

"We were hoping to discuss these matters in a more… private setting." Clint threw in with a charming smile which only earned him a cold glare.

"Fat chance of that happening." Rin started to shut the door in their faces, only for Nat to stick her leg in the way. Upon noticing the foot, Rin sighed and threw her hands up in the air, "Fine, at least let me make myself presentable first."

"Thank you." Natasha said with a fake smile, taking no small amount of pleasure from the look of pure loathing that was thrown her way, even as Rin directed them to the living room. Which just as their observations had indicated was lit by large windows, and if Tohsaka had any idea that she was being watched she might have been able to spot that something was just a tiny bit different about the roof across the street.

A few minutes later, Tohsaka returned, looking far more proper now in her red dress and black leggings, though no less agitated. "So what exactly couldn't wait? The last time you spoke to me, Agents Banton and Rushmore, you were harassing most of my friends… about the fate of Shirou Emiya, who is long dead."

"It's actually in relation to that." Clint told her with a smile that didn't look feigned at all. "You see, there's some new information which has come to light that we'd like to discuss."

"Go on." Rin Tohsaka told them with a lazy gesture of her hand.

"You see when Shirou Emiya was executed… you were present, weren't you?" Clint asked as he leaned forward as his smile turned more predatory. "If you want you can try to deny it, but that would just waste everyone's time. So then, why don't you tell us the truth?"

"I have a question for you first." Rin said slowly as she closed her eyes, taking a deep calming breath as she did so. Natasha prepared herself, tensing up as she did so, Tohsaka would now probably either lash out, try to control them again, or confess. "Are you guys stupid?"

"What?" Barton barked out in surprise at the same time aqua eyes opened to glare at the two of them.

"Are you stupid, or are you just following orders? Which in all honesty isn't that far removed from stupidity. Given how you didn't know any of that the last time we met, I assume you remember. So you know what I did last time, and you still came here." Tohsaka huffed out as her glare strengthened. "I figured you'd learned your lesson after you nearly died while chasing Shirou's tracks, and yet here you are."

"How do you know that?" Natasha cut in before Clint had the chance. "That we nearly died? That's classified information."

"So it is." Tohsaka told her with a glare. "Did you think that after everything I would just ignore the two of you and hope everything turned out alright?" To be fair that was a sensible course of action in Natasha's mind. "So, what exactly did you have in mind here? I hope it was more than just telling me that you knew."

"We want answers." Clint cut in before Tohsaka could begin to rant about their stupidity once more.

"About Emiya?" The black-haired beauty asked with raised eyebrows.

"About everything." He corrected her. "What the hell was going on with Emiya, what's going on with you, what the fuck was that thing in the village?"

"A mighty long list of questions there Agent Barton, but are you sure you and your masters want to know the answers?" Countered Rin without missing a beat.

"Cut the crap." Natasha told her, narrowing her eyes. "You're just stalling."

"Have you ever considered that I was taking a risk?" Rin asked her blandly, still looking terribly unimpressed. "Honestly, it would've been much safer to just kill the two of you, and then we wouldn't be in this mess, but how did you remember anyway?"

"Classified, now answer the questions." Nat growled quietly.

"Sorry, classified." Rin returned sweetly.

"You can either talk to us here, or we'll take you in." Natasha offered her own fake smile while showing a lot of teeth.

Rin raised a single eyebrow, looking at the two of them, and then slowly and very purposefully turned to look out the window to the rooftop where the strike team was waiting for their order to storm the apartment. Then her eyes turned to rest on them again. "Will you?" Suddenly Natasha felt far less confident about this course of action.

"Loki." Clint cut in before the situation could deteriorate further. "He… he did something, controlled me, and then when it was over, I remembered."

Natasha's ear was filled with angry squawking as command was very clearly telling Clint to shut up about classified information, but in this case, she happened to agree with his ploy. Rin Tohsaka though leaned back in her seat, intrigued.

"Loki… this… god? They talked about… I see." She murmured quietly to herself. "Hmm, yes, I could see how that could work."

"So after I remembered, well it seemed to make sense to talk to you again," Clint told her bluntly. "Especially considering that Emiya is apparently alive and wel-" He stopped at the unexpected snort that came from the woman in front of him.

"I- I can't tell you much. Certainly not now, honestly you've put me in quite the predicament." She told the two of them as she leaned back. "Suffice it to say, that with everything I know I can guarantee you two things. Shirou Emiya is most certainly not well, and he is most certainly not alive either. Honestly, I'm surprised that you somehow even managed to spot him at all. I'd say run if you see him again, but I doubt that'd help."

Natasha scoffed and shook her head at that less than satisfactory response. "Are you going to start making sense anytime soon?"

"I don't know, are you going to grow two brain cells to rub together anytime soon?" Asked Rin, but before Nat could protest, she rolled right over her. "Did you ever stop to think I'm honestly trying to protect you both by not divulging everything I know just because you're holding a literal gun to my head?"

"Look, you can talk to us." Hawkeye offered, almost kindly. "Whoever is threatening you if you talk, we can protect you." The look of sheer utter disbelief at that statement was almost physically painful.

"...If you knew the kind of forces that I've dealt with, you'd know better than to make an empty promise like that. And it's not me I'm worried about just so we're on the same page." Rin stated flatly, yet something in her words had a chill go down both of their spines.

"Can you give us anything useful? At all?" Clint moaned out as he threw back his head in frustration.

"Like I said, give me time." She told them with a shrug. "This is going to be difficult, no thanks to you bull heading your way in here like an elephant in a china shop. But I can talk to some people, and perhaps we can find a way to keep you from making things worse."

Natasha bristled at that but didn't speak up. She thought that the young woman in front of her was being sincere, trouble was she'd also believed that back in Fuyuki. "So, how do we contact you?"

"Can you stay in the city for a couple of days?" She pondered for a moment before she wrote down an address. "And meet up again in three days time at this place, at noon? Perhaps I can tell you something then."

"How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"You mean like this? With two trained agents in my living room with a strike team just waiting across the street?" Despite saying so, Tohsaka was completely at ease. "I made my offer. Now it's your turn." She appeared serene but to Natasha, it felt as if the very atmosphere had suddenly changed, an undeniable sensation of danger pressed down on her very being.

Clint and her said nothing, and Tohsaka was content in watching them calmly, though it felt like she was waiting for something. Their radio crackled in their ears than before Fury himself suddenly spoke to them. "Agree to her terms, for now."

As if she had heard him, Tohsaka's grin grew wider. "Excellent, then I'll see you in three days." Then her eyes grew stormy and cold. "Until then, get out of my house."

It was an order to leave that they were happy to heed.

End Note:

Nomad-117: My dear friend Vergil1989 has done it once again. He motivated me despite all the hardship to make sure I sit my ass down and write this little thing in a single sitting instead of being a little bitch about it. He truly is a good friend, and I would be lost without him.

Now to the less fun stuff. Future updates remain erratic as the situation in RL continues to deteriorate, both at work and regarding my health. The latter I am looking into, the former I can do little but endure.

Now, regarding this story and update. I actually have something of a rough plan going forward. Unexpected perhaps, but true.

Vergil1989: Don't believe a word he says, he's crazy! :P