Whumptober Day 16

On a Need-to-Know Basis

Prompts: recovery/scars/aftermath

Warning - "graphic" descriptions of injuries (possibly) in this one. Nothing worse than what's in my main story, though.

Nine months. It had been nine months since anyone had heard from either Hawkeye. Fury had sent them on a mission to some small European country. They had gone undercover as a married couple who were movers and shakers from some other small country. SHIELD had received word that the first European country was rounding up nuclear weapons as fast as they could get their hands on them. Clint and Mikayla were sent in to make a deal for a large amount of old, outdated Stark tech that could be made functional with the right touch. It took two months for the Bartons to worm their way into the lives of their targets and another month after that to get the deal done. The last transmission anyone had received was a text from Mikayla's phone, "Mission accomplished, on our way back." Since then, no communications have been received. Tony, Maria, and Fury had tried every avenue to trace where the agents could have disappeared to, but all their efforts had been unsuccessful so far.

"Nick, we've got to do something. Everything we've done up to now obviously hasn't worked." Steve was in the Director's office pleading his case. "I know you've been reluctant to put boots on the ground due to Natasha's and Bucky's previous experiences there, but we're out of options. The trail can't get any colder. When was the last time we had a lead?" Fury had no answer. "Here's what I propose." Steve shared his plan with Nick, who admitted it was sound. Not that Steve cared because the team had agreed to go along with the idea whether Fury agreed or not. Natasha, Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Wanda would go over and retrace Clint's and Mikayla's last know whereabouts. Rhodey would run government interference if needed. Tony, Thor, and Bruce would be on standby if muscle were required. Pepper would handle the public relations if the entire thing blew up in their faces.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm out of options. I know they're out there. I'm not willing to let them go yet. Cap," Fury focused his eye on Steve, "go get my kids and bring them home." Steve felt an urge to stand up and salute, but he shoved that thought down, standing up and nodding, then left. Fury leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head, and muttering to himself, "I hope this works."

Steve returned to the tower and advised of Fury's blessing. Every team member went over their duties. Steve and Natasha would start where Clint and Mikayla had; Bucky, Wanda, and Sam would head to where Mikayla's last transmission was recorded. "Keep in touch. If you find anything, check in. Keep in contact." 'We don't want to lose any more team members,' was left unspoken. Steve and Natasha boarded one Quinjet, the trio of Sam, Bucky, and Wanda the other one.

"We'll be monitoring everything from here," Tony said. "Good luck."

Steve and Natasha were the first ones to land. They made sure their disguises were intact, then went to the club the villains were suspected to frequent. The couple found their targets holding court at a large table in the back. Steve and Natasha made themselves comfortable at the bar. Natasha kept an eye on the drinks being served to the group at the table. When she got a chance, she slipped a microphone into the server's pocket to see if they could gain anything by eavesdropping as their drinks were being served. There was a mirror behind the bar, enabling the group to be seen. Natasha paid particular attention to the next round of drinks being served. What they heard over the wireless microphone sent a chill through her and Steve. "A toast is in order, my friends." The man stood and raised his glass. "We've been able to hold on to our prizes for six months now without any interference. The products that we obtained are about to be tested, setting our plan into place. As the expiration date has arrived, I have sent word to our mutual friends here and in Latveria to handle our guests as they see fit. Let us now toast to a very successful stage one of our operations." The group raised their drinks and toasted their good fortune.

Natasha leaned over to Steve. "They've split them up. One's here, the other in Latveria. Go, get word to the other team. I'll stay behind and see if they say anything else." Steve nodded, returning to the cloaked Quinjet, then waited for any other communication from Natasha.

Several men attempted to speak to Natasha, but she brushed them off until someone from the group appeared next to her. "I noticed your handsome companion has left you alone. Shall I take care of him for you?"

Natasha sniffed. "My good for nothing, brother? Please. He thinks he has to protect me everywhere I go. I told him he was smothering me and ordered him to get lost. Thank you for the offer, however."

"Always happy to aid a beautiful lady. My friends are having a little celebration. Would you care to join us, uh?"

"Where are my manners?" Natasha offered him a well-manicured hand. "I'm Janet, and you just missed my brother Henry."

"A pleasure to meet you, Janet." The gentlemen bent over and kissed her hand. "I am Paolo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." A cheer rose from the group. "Oh, I believe we shall soon be departing to our next destination. It would be my honor to have you attend the festivities. Our hosts, the Grahams, have an exceptional demonstration planned. They've just wrapped up a tremendous business opportunity and are about to take care of the remaining obstacle. It's something that will revolutionize our country."

"I'll need to contact my brother first to make sure he doesn't come in and try to beat everyone up, the brute." Natasha bit her lip as if she was considering the opportunity. "If you'll provide me the address and your phone number, I'll let you know." She ran her nails up the inside of Paolo's thigh.

"Of course, Janet." He handed her a business card, then gave her the address she had requested. "I look forward to seeing you there. It shall be a truly glorious sight to behold. I know I always love seeing the fruits of my labor."

Natasha stroked his cheek. "Paolo, it was a pleasure, and I'm sure I shall see you very soon." She picked up her clutch and strolled out of the club. As soon as she was out of the line of sight, she contacted Steve, giving him the address Paolo had shared with her.

"Do you know where that is?"

"I do. I'm almost to the jet now. Meet me outside."

When she got to the plane, Steve was waiting for her. "I let the others know about Latveria. Hopefully, Wanda will be able to pick up something."

"Or, maybe whoever we find will have the info." Steve followed Natasha into the night as she went to the location given her by Paolo. The building appeared to be a typical office building with a coded entrance. Natasha pulled out a device that was able to decipher what the entrance code was. The device punched in the code, and the steel door opened. "Tony?"

"Got you, Widow. There's an area in the basement that has the most electricity coming from it." Friday pulled up the building schematics. "The door you need is to your left."

"I see it," Steve said. "Any special code?"

"It doesn't look like it," Tony replied. "Natasha, hold your scanning device toward it, and I'll see if there are any surprises." Tony used the device to scan the door. "Nope, you're good. According to the building plans, the staircase will lead to a basement with several rooms. You'll be looking for the third one on the left."

"Thanks. Romanoff out." Steve opened the door, pulling a gun from his waistband, not wearing his usual outfit as it would bring unwanted attention. Natasha had a couple of knives out and ready. They found the third door, and she pointed. Steve nodded in agreement. When they got to the door, she ran the scanner over it, finding nothing special about the door. Steve opened it, and they went inside the room, immediately being hit with a horrific stench of someone who'd been held captive. Not knowing who they were going to find, they made their way to the opposite side of the room, where a figure was curled up in a large dog crate. The couple could barely make out the figure of a male.

"Tony, it's Clint," Steve radioed back to the tower. He knew he wouldn't have to remind Tony to have medical on standby.

Steve broke the lock on the cage, and Natasha crawled in, not caring what was on the floor. As she checked for a pulse with one hand, she put her other hand in his and started signing. In response, Clint groaned.

'Do you know where you are?'

'Hell.'

'Steve and I are here.' Clint nodded and fell unconscious. Natasha pulled out a penlight and looked over her best friend. It was painfully obvious he'd been here the entire six months. The floor was stained from blood and other bodily fluids. He'd been stripped to his underwear, which was almost in shreds. New scars covered his body. It appeared they'd beaten him in the head, probably to get at his hearing aids. His ears and the surrounding areas were scabbed over. Clint had cuts and deep gashes that were oozing and others that were infected. His wrists and ankles had been rubbed raw from trying to escape restraints. When Steve went to pick him up, Clint's only response was to moan. Natasha led them out of the building and back to the Quinjet. "We're on our way back. Search a Paulo Caldera in Latveria."

"On it. The medical team's here. Anything we need to know?"

"Have lots of antibiotics on hand. Cap's got an IV going and has already started him on a round."

"Cradle's ready. Nothing yet from the other group. I let them know they'd be looking for Mikayla. Oh, I found something on Caldera. I'll get it to the team. See you when you get here. Fury's been updated."

The rest of the flight was quiet and tense. Steve remained in the back with Clint while Natasha piloted the plane. When the plane pulled into the hangar, the medical team was waiting and transported Clint to medical. Steve and Natasha met Tony in his lab. "What's the status on the other team?" Steve asked.

"Nothing yet, but they're working on the lead I gave them. This Paulo Caldera works for a Baron Helmut Zemo. I sent them several locations Zemo's known to frequent." Tony shared what he'd found out about Zemo.

"Guess we know who we're hunting next."

"I sent the info to Rhodey. He's reaching out to his connections."

"Stark?" The comms crackled. "We've got something at the second location. It appears to be a manufacturing plant." They heard Bucky's voice. "Redwing picked up a weak heat signature. Wanda's picking up something familiar."

"Keep us posted." Tony looked at Steve and Natasha. "Fingers crossed."

Bucky used his arm to break through a door after checking to ensure it wasn't rigged or booby-trapped. Wanda gasped as she came through the door. Mikayla was chained to a pole. Her arms were over her head, and her feet were chained together, dangling off the ground so she couldn't get any leverage. Her head was slumped against her chest, and she was covered in dried blood. Her uniform was gone and had been replaced with a thin hospital gown. Blood was running down her legs, and fresh needle tracks covered her arms. Wanda put aside her horror and tapped into Mikayla's mind. "She's been like this for several weeks now. She's been moved from location to location and was given drugs each time she was relocated."

"Got her," Sam said. Between him and Bucky, the two of them could remove her restraints and get her back to the plane. Wanda placed a weighted blanket over her as Bucky started an IV. "On our way back," Sam radioed.

"We'll be waiting," Steve said, leaning back in his chair. "We've got them." Natasha nodded.

Another medical team met the other Quinjet when it landed, rushing Mikayla to the hospital wing. The trio exited the plane. Bucky had his arm around Wanda's shoulders, and Sam was on her other side. "How's Clint?" Sam asked.

"About the same shape as Mikayla is," Steve answered. "They'll be in medical a while. Tony and Thor will take first watch. We need to get cleaned up. Debrief later." The group nodded and went to their suites to shower and change clothes.

Clint was the first one to wake up. It hurt to open his eyes. 'OK, I'm in a bed, not in a cage, so guessing I finally got rescued. What about Mikayla?' The more he thought, the more his head hurt. As he was about to drift off again, he felt movement in his hand and knew immediately it was Natasha. He was able to follow her fingers enough to know Mikayla had been rescued as well and was in another room, so he went back to sleep.

Mikayla woke up later the next day. Someone touched her arm, and she recoiled. She heard a soft voice through the fog. "Mikayla? It's Wanda. You're safe at home."

"Home? Clint?"

"He's here, too. You're both safe." Wanda went to put her hand on Mikayla's shoulder but stopped. "Is it OK if I touch you?" Mikayla nodded, so Wanda placed her small, comforting hand on Mikayla's arm. "Thor and Bucky are in here, too. Is that OK?"

"Yeah. Clint?"

"In a room down the hall. He's woken up a few times, but not for very long," Wanda told her.

"Alive?"

"Very much so."

"I was told he was dead. It's been months. I gave up." Mikayla started crying. "Gave up on him, on ever being found."

"He'll understand, Mikayla." Wanda continued softly talking to Mikayla as Bucky and Thor kept watch. Eventually, Mikayla fell back asleep.

A few nights later, Clint started thrashing. "What did you do with her? No, she's not dead. No, no, no!" He continued thrashing, stopped shouting, but started crying. "Why? Why did they kill her?"

Natasha was standing behind the glass partition, keeping watch over her friends. Her heart was breaking, listening to Clint, knowing during the day he recognized Mikayla was alive but couldn't convince his subconscious of it. And if he wasn't having nightmares, Mikayla was, feeling guilty for giving up hope and not knowing how to handle it, began doubting Clint would take her back. They were both still so weak that the doctors didn't want to move them until they were out of the woods. Natasha didn't understand their reasoning, but none of the medical people would listen to her.

A couple of weeks later, Mikayla sensed a presence next to her bed. "Clint?" She blinked and tried opening her eyes, but since they were still sensitive to light, the best she could do was squint. "Is it you?" She felt movement on her hand and jerked it back. Someone lightly tapped her wrist with two fingers, spelling out "Clint" in morse code. "It's you. I can't see you, but I can feel you." More tapping. "No hearing aids, got it." The two began signing to each other. When morning rolled around, Dr. Cho came in and found the two curled up next to each other. She knew they each refused to let anyone touch them without warning, so she turned the lights off and on to let them know she was there.

Clint opened his eyes, then gently shook Mikayla, who woke up and squinted. "Good morning, agents."

"Dr. Cho."

The doctor responded by signing and saying, "Sleep well?"

"No nightmares for either of us."

"Good. Is it all right if I examine your wounds?"

"OK," Mikayla replied.

Clint moved off the bed to give Dr. Cho room to take care of Mikayla. The doctor made sure she was looking at Clint as she spoke. "I'm going to take the bandages off to inspect your wrists and ankles." She waited for Mikayla to consent, then unwrapped the bandages. "It looks like one more time in the cradle should do it. Now, I need to examine you, Clint, so you'll need to return to your bed." Clint looked at Mikayla, who nodded. He kissed her and went back to his hospital bed.

While Dr. Cho was examining Clint, Bruce showed up and talked to Mikayla, getting her permission to draw some blood. He took the vials to the lab, then returned and sat next to her when he finished. "It appears they were drugging you to make you more compliant, to weaken you. You said you'd been moved a few times, correct?" Mikayla nodded. "I think each time they moved you, they increased the dosage, making it easier to move you. The injections also included some mind-altering medication, playing with your mind, allowing you to succumb to your fears."

Mikayla shook her head. "I think I may take Wanda up on her offer of a protective aura around my brain. I'm tired of getting it played with by the bad guys."

Bruce nodded. "I can't say that I blame you. The important thing is your home now. Your wounds are healing nicely."

"The outside ones, anyway. I've got more scars to add to the collection, to my story."

"The unseen ones are the toughest and take the longest to heal, but each scar is a part of us. It makes us who we are."

Mikayla sighed. "I don't think I know myself anymore. I cringe when anyone comes near me. I can't get my brain to focus, so please don't ask me to code anything. I'm lucky to remember my name at this point. The only person who can touch me is Clint, and even then, we have to use pre-arranged signals, so I don't have a meltdown."

"Touch-starved."

"There's a name for it?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Think about it, Mikayla. The only people who have been anywhere near you for basically the past year have been people who want to do nothing but inflict pain and torture. Your body's been conditioned only to accept that. We'll work on reframing your mind, reminding it, so to speak, that you're in a safe place. Everyone's been reminded to ask before touching you and to announce themselves before approaching you so as not to scare you."

"But not Clint?"

"Not Clint. I'm guessing it's because the two of you have been together long enough that your bodies recognize each other, and your mind knows only positive interaction."

"So, hopefully, my mind won't take long to associate positive touching with the team, and I won't feel like I'm encased in glass, too fragile to touch."

"Speaking of touch." Mikayla looked up and saw Clint hobbling into her room.

"You heard that!"

Clint nodded. "Ears finally healed up enough to put them in. Starting slow, a couple of hours at a time." He leaned down and softly kissed her temple. "I'm off to therapy, so I thought I'd check in, see how you're doing. Remind you I love you."

Mikayla blushed. "Love you, too. According to Bruce, I'm doing OK. I'll take OK for now. I've got another session in the cradle today."

"I'll check in with you when I get back, OK?"

"OK." Mikayla reached up and squeezed his hand. "I'll be waiting."

"I'll catch you when you fall."

"You always do, RH."

"I'll go update the team," Bruce said. "May I?" Mikayla nodded. He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "Welcome home."

After Bruce left, Mikayla thought back to everything she'd been through since meeting Clint and realized she wouldn't trade any of it. Bruce was right. Every scar, every experience, had made her who she was. She knew the road to recovery from this incident would be long, and there would be peaks and valleys, but there was not a better group of people she'd rather have around her on the journey.