CHAPTER 4 - Flying With the Guardians

Loki thankfully stayed out of everyone's way, especially Gamora. Quill, who introduced himself as Peter Quill but refused to be called Peter, tried his best to ignore Clint. But Clint was fine with that. He was having a grand old time listening to embarrassing stories from Rocket and 'baby' Groot. Gamora tended to watch Loki closely, not trusting him now that he announced who she used to be. And much to Loki's chagrin, Clint didn't seem to stay around him all that much either. The archer just socialized with everyone.

"Seriously? A dance off?" Clint laughed. Quill spun around, insulted.

"Hey! It worked!" he cried. Clint held up his hands in defense.

"No, no. It's fine. Always wanted to beat someone that way, just didn't think it'd ever actually happen outside of TV or a movie," Clint chuckled. Quill frowned at the archer. Hadn't expected that to be the reaction. No one had ever liked what Quill had done. They had always thought it was stupid. Even if it worked. "God, I wish there was recording of that. I'd love to see it."

"So, what's been your best plan? Bet you have tons," Quill sarcastically asked. Clint shrugged.

"Don't really think about it much. Just, plan as I go," Clint admitted.

"Sounds familiar," Gamora mocked.

"Must be a Terran thing," Rocket added. Quill looked at the raccoon.

"Oh, ha ha," Quill snapped. Rocket then frowned and looked at Clint.

"Hey, you're a Terran. What's a 'vermin?' Douche bag refuses to tell me and I've been called it a lot, so I figure it ain't good," Rocket wondered. Clint looked up at Quill in time to see the guy doing a cut it out symbol. Sadly, Loki had started entering the room at that moment. He smiled, stopping to lean up against one of the 'doorways.'

"You are a little creature that is overall just a pain in the ass," Loki snipped. Rocket turned to Loki then spun slowly to look at Quill. There was a moment of pure silence. Then Rocket launched himself at Quill. There was a scuffle that no one wanted to get involved in that ended when both Rocket and Quill aimed guns at each other. "Well, that was fun."

"Loki, seriously," Clint whined. Loki shrugged.

"I am Groot," Groot called. Loki rolled his eyes.

"It's in my nature," the trickster pointed out.

"You are not a plant," Drax mentioned. There was a moment of absolute silence before Quill, Rocket and Clint cracked up. Even Gamora had a small smile on her face. Loki shook his head. A lot of his comments had gone over the man's head. But before anyone could actually explain to Drax what the trickster meant, an alarm went off. Quill and Rocket turned to the cockpit with most of the others following, heading to their seats. Loki and Clint stood behind Drax's seat and Gamora's. Clint of course being behind the latter.

"Looks like we got a distress signal," Quill announced, glancing back quickly at the others. Clint could see the question in his eyes. Should they check it out and help whoever made the call?

"We already got people, we don't need more," Rocket complained as if the ship was packed to the brim.

"And if they have units?" Clint suggested, trying to keep his voice tone neutral. As an Avenger, Clint felt he needed to help whoever it was. Didn't matter. Loki turned and glanced at the archer. Of course Clint would want to help. He couldn't stop from rolling his eyes even as Rocket paused as if thinking about it.

"Yeah, we can go check it out."


When they arrived at the place that the distress signal had come from, all they saw was empty space. Nothing. No debris. No ship. Just empty space. But, something had to be sending out a signal. Hell, there wasn't even a planet nearby.

"Uh... You sure something's here Quill?" Rocket wondered, checking over the data himself as if it would change.

"Yeah, the signal is still beaming from here," Quill retorted. Clint leaned forward, over Gamora's seat. She twisted a bit, looking to the archer. As she opened her mouth to argue against his closeness, Loki shook his head. Frowning, Gamora let it go. Meanwhile, Clint scanned ahead. In the distance he could just make out a small speck of something. The signal must be coming from that. Whatever that thing was.

"There," he called, pointing to a place just slightly in the distance. Quill frowned at him but shifted the Milano toward where Clint pointed. And as they drew closer, everyone else began to notice it as well. It was a small piece of a ship, just large enough to be able to send out a signal and for travelers to think something was actually there.

"Anyone else think this might be a trap?" Rocket asked. A second later, a rather large ship appeared from out of nowhere. Clint winced. How had he not seen that?

"Fuck me," Quill mumbled. Loki shifted forward quickly, pushing Clint and Drax aside to do so. He muttered a quick spell under his breath as he placed his hand on the panel before Quill. "HEY! What the hell!"

"Loki?" Clint questioned when the trickster pulled back.

"We're currently not on their radar and an image of the ship has left the area, quickly," Loki reported. A moment later, the large ship flew over them. They didn't move for maybe another two minutes before finally Rocket turned back to the new comers.

"I really don't wanna return you two now," Rocket called. Clint huffed.

"Very easy to please you, isn't it," Loki joked. Quill and Clint laughed.

"I am Groot," Groot said.

"Hey! You shut it," Rocket snapped, pointing to Groot.

"I am Groot!" Groot responded.

"You said it," Quill chuckled.


Sadly, that large ship wasn't done with them. After they realized what happened, they returned to the first place and traced the Milano's trail, which no one had thought to disguise. Apparently it was very easy to follow cause the larger ship caught up to them only six hours later. Loki had gone to rest, catching up on the magic he had used (or so he claimed). Clint happened to be sitting near the rear window, just staring out into space. Gamora and Drax both were in the 'dinning' area, eating. Rocket and Quill were fighting over something stupid in the front. Groot... Well, no one really knew where Groot ended up. But in everyone's distractions, it was of course Clint who noticed the thing first and much to his chagrin, it was closer than he ever expected it to have been. Gamora had explained the idea of cloaking to Clint but still, the archer hated that they could have hidden from him.

"Guys! It's back!" Clint cried. Quill jumped, grabbing the controls to bring up a screen showing their back end.

"Crap! It's almost on us!" Quill snapped.

"Someone go wake that wizard," Rocket called. Clint frowned even as Loki appeared.

"I hear they are back," Loki mumbled, almost sounding sleep ruffled. Clint nodded, pointing out the back to show how close they were. Loki sighed, judging how everything looked. After a moment, he shook his head. "I cannot cloak us this time. They are going to catch us."

"Fat lot a good you are!" Rocket hissed. Clint rolled his eyes. And apparently it was also very easy to lose Rocket's good opinion.

"Can you tell if they're hostile and how many?" Clint asked in return. Rocket turned to look at the duo in surprise. Loki nodded, closing his eyes and murmuring a soft spell. Seconds later, Loki reopened his eyes.

"Hostile and far more than we can handle," Loki whispered but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. Clint sighed. Well, that was that. Loki grimaced before focusing again, softly saying something. A moment later, a bow and quiver appeared in his hands. Clint's face let up.

"What in the worlds is that?" Gamora wondered, coming over to look at them.

"Bow and arrows," Clint said, taking the quiver from Loki with a large smile. Loki rolled his eyes. Then he reached for the bow, reverently touching it before gently taking it from Loki's hands.

"The arrows are infinite and will change into whatever you desire," Loki explained. Clint chuckled, messing with the bow's string a bit to make sure it was at the proper draw weight for him. When Clint easily drew the string back, Loki couldn't help but give the archer a small knowing smile. The trickster had been right. "Now, we may have a chance."

"Seriously? A bow? How the hell is that gonna make a difference?" Quill cried. Loki said nothing. It was best to just show how much of a difference this would make. Knowing they were trapped, Quill and Rocket began shutting down systems. No point wasting energy on trying to escape when you knew you'd fail. With no fight, the larger ship quickly caught up to them and drew the Milano into itself. Clint shifted the grip on his bow. Watching the ship vanish, Clint couldn't help but think of Star Wars. It was exactly like that. There was a jerking sensation a moment later. They all tensed and it didn't take long before they all felt the ship settle down. "Okay people, get ready."

The group headed toward the loading bay, waiting for the invaders to open it up, rather than them doing it themselves. There was a long tense minute until the doors were suddenly blasted open. Clint waited for the first shot from outside before rapid firing his new bow into the smoke beyond. It took maybe two minutes before the archer seemingly cleared the area of all the enemies. The guardians turned to look at Clint, who still hadn't lowered his bow.

"What the flarg?" Rocket whispered. Loki smirked, glancing back at the raccoon.

"That's why we now have a chance to make it out of here alive," Loki told them. Something out there moved the bodies either off to the side or tossed them into space. Not that they could tell what it was. Either way, none of the guardians attempted to shoot at that, so neither did Clint

"Eyes open, second wave," Clint called, ignoring the others around him as he focused in the distance.

"Gonna save any for us this time?" Rocket muttered. Clint smirked.

"Fire before me then," the archer dared. Rocket stiffened in surprise before cackling. Again, Clint waited till they fired the first shot. Once it hit, he rapid fired went again, intent on showing these aliens that they weren't to be messed with. This time, the group was larger and so there were spurts from Rocket's rather large gun that had to mix into the battle. Not that Clint needed the help, but it did save him from watching certain areas. Still, Quill, Gamora and Drax did nothing. Loki's smirk grew. "Loki, gotta say, this shit is awesome."

"There is a few other traits to that thing that I can show you later," Loki softly informed the archer. Clint smirked, excited for what the trickster was going to show him. Maybe Loki was right. Magic wasn't as bad as he had perceived. But, he still wasn't gonna do it himself. After the wave finished, there was a longer separation between the next wave.

"Think they're getting a bit nervous," Quill mentioned. The third wave was much larger than the other two and Clint wasn't too proud to admit that he needed help. Thankfully, Rocket, Quill and surprisingly, Gamora were ready to help.

"Getting slower there?" Rocket joked. Clint snorted, trying to hide the wince. His muscles where getting a little sore. He'd never shot this many arrows in such a short amount of time. Even the Battle of Manhattan hadn't been this bad. Loki frowned but didn't comment on it. Clint had many untouched issues. One of them being about his worth.

"He seems to be going at a normal speed," Drax pointed out. Quill shook his head even as Clint let out a soft chuckle.

"Boys, another wave," Gamora snapped. Clint snorted. This time, there was something that got tossed in first. Loki shifted before everyone, automatically throwing up a shield that covered the bright flash of the bomb that exploded in front of them. He backed away, allowing Clint to quickly fire away. Clint kept up a bit better this time as he started using trick arrows like explosive, freezing, and flash. The sixth wave was so melded into the fifth that no one really noticed that they shifted. But they did notice it was a far larger group than normal.

"Anyone getting tired?" Clint shouted out to the ship once the waves vanished. Rocket and Quill chuckled as Loki placed a hand on Clint's back to heal the strain on his muscles. The archer only gave Loki a small nod of thanks as Gamora turned to give him a darkened look. Apparently all Terrans were reckless idiots.

"Surrender!" A loud voice demanded. "We out number you!"

"You sure? Cause, looks like we killed a lot of you," Clint loudly called, egging the aliens on. This time Loki sighed. While it was going to help in the long run, Loki would never have allowed Clint to do this without knowing they needed it. By pissing the aliens off, they would send more to attack in the upcoming waves and quickly diminishing their numbers as they did so.

"Stop," Gamora hissed at him. Clint smirked and shrugged. This was just the way he was, no stopping that. No matter who was telling him that. Steve had learned that long ago. All the Captain could ever do was damage control after Tony and Clint got involved.

"You will be defeated!" the voice warned. Clint scoffed.

"Well, come defeat us!" Quill yelled before Clint could. Gamora hung her head.

"Seriously?" she asked even as another wave came out. Clint laughed and started firing away again. Rocket cackled and fired himself. Quill chuckled, trying to hold a few back. Gamora rolled her eyes and aimed as best as she could.

"I am missing the battle," Drax muttered, shifting as if to go out there. Loki casted a spell on him to keep him grounded.

"Lets save you for when they think we are down," Loki suggested without thinking about making it easier to understand. Drax frowned and went to make a comment so Loki huffed. "Wait."

"I do not enjoy this waiting," Drax petulantly stated.

"Norns, its like fighting with Thor," Loki mumbled, fighting the desire to run a hand over his face. Clint snorted, not even letting it break him from his rhythm. Then, suddenly, one of the aliens got a good shot into the ship. Clint ducked quickly, the shot having been aimed at him. The archer couldn't stop his small whoop of joy.

"Ha, they found me," the archer chuckled in a far to pleased tone. Everyone gave him a quick look of surprise except for Loki. The Lie-smith huffed, trying not to verbally attack Clint as if the archer was Thor.

"That shouldn't be something to be proud of," Gamora mentioned. Clint snorted, shifting back to shoot again.

"The team I work with on Earth, no one seems to think of me as a threat. This... No offense, this is nice," Clint informed.

"If you aren't considered a threat, I want to meet your friends," Rocket announced. Clint nodded. Everyone always wanted to meet the others over him. Loki couldn't help but notice the twinge of hurt that flashed over the archer's face but there was nothing that could be done about it at the moment. The waves kept coming and so Clint shifted, moving the group forward without them even really noticing.

"God, are they anywhere near running out of guys?" Quill growled. Loki shook his head and the man groaned. Clint huffed. Now he could see why Steve always gave Tony and him issues when they made fun of him for slowing down and needing to take small breaks in long fights. It was tougher than Clint expected it to be in the enemies sight, especially considering he'd been shooting non-stop.

"Can we go hand to hand now?" Gamora snarled, harshly looking at Clint and then Loki.

"Feel free, I'll back you up from here," Clint told her with a shrug. It wasn't really his say. Gamora smirked, pulling out her wicked sword. With a shout, she and Drax ran out into the fray. Clint easily shot around the duo without moving from his spot. Quill and Rocket glanced at him quickly before activating jet packs/boots to fly over the whole battle area. They couldn't trust that they'd safely be able to shoot past their fighting friends. In the air, they could focus on enemies further in the back. Loki shifted to stand by Clint. The archer didn't even look at him. "Go. I'll hold it off here."

"If you are certain," Loki mumbled before rushing out himself into the fray. The group went through nearly three hundred or more enemies before the inevitable happened. They got a shot in and hit Clint right in his side. Clint's shout of pain had almost everyone turn but determined, Clint kept firing. Loki frowned, looking back at Clint. He could see the pain in the archer's eyes but Clint was determined to not let this hinder him. With a quick glance to the trickster, Clint shook his head. He was fine. Or as fine as he could be.

The next person to get hit was Drax. And like Clint, he got back up and kept fighting. When Rocket's jet pack got hit, Loki backed up to the ship. Clint glanced at him quickly but didn't comment. Protected in the ship once more, Loki muttered a spell. As it settled over everyone, Clint glanced again at Loki.

"Protection?" Clint wondered, a chill running down his back slightly. Loki smirked and nodded before shifting and heading back out. A few hundred or so more, Clint began to feel his arms seriously hurting and the wound in his side was seriously making itself known. He might not be able to last long and calling Loki back to heal him wasn't going to work as well as before. Looking everyone over, Clint noted that Gamora, Drak and Loki were rapidly tiring as well. Quill and Rocket had gotten a few hits on their jet boosters so it was harder for them to dodge around. Even with Loki's protection spell, this wasn't going to end pretty. Clint growled. They needed something to shift the tides again. But Clint couldn't think of what to do. Then Loki went down and Clint could feel the protection spell vanish. "LOKI!"

Drax was next to fall. Rocket soon after. Quill got a nice hit in the chest that tossed him a good distance away and he didn't get back up. Gamora shifted herself back to Clint's side. Together, they fought as well as they could with the enlarging group. Then, branches burst through the whole area, grabbing enemies and slamming them about while the injured team was brought back to the ship. Clint glanced down to see it was Groot. Clint cheered and it reinvigorated him to keep going. Sadly, it wasn't going to last long. The hit he had gotten earlier was finally getting the better of him and he was having a hard time focusing on the battle. Gamora seemed to be having a similar issue. Finally, Clint got hit for a second time and fell, blackness covering over him before he could check on the remaining two fighters.


And here is chapter four. Hope everyone is enjoying this.

Darius has been annoying all week. Especially right now. Right now he is in bed, trying to go to sleep but he just won't settle, so I have to hear him crying for something he's already been denied. Otherwise, he has been annoying in the fact of, whenever he is with someone else, they can get him to go on the potty. I have tried seven times today, each time with him asking to go. Not once did he go or even seem to attempt to go. While three other times today he lied to me about having gone. Argh. I really dislike that kids express themselves to a comfortable environment when it is something that bothers me. WHY CAN'T HE DO IT FOR ME? -_- Oh well. Baby Jason, we have just learned, is having too many large bottles of formula and no way to increase food intake. Stressing out his parents as he refuses to be limited. And while all this is happening, Baby Jason's dad and I are stuck at the house while my buddy and Baby Jason's mom are off working holiday hours at a toy store and restaurant. Course, the hours are only going to get longer before the holiday season is over.

Okay. That's everything! Have a good week, until next time!