A/N: Hope everyone is able to stay safe at home! I'm not new to writing but this is a newer fandom for me to be writing in! Let me know what you think!
"You can make this so much easier on yourself, if you just tell me what I need to know." The woman's voice was dripping with a fake sweetness that would normally have made Clint roll his eyes if they weren't both almost swollen shut. She gripped his face, pressing her fingers on each side of Clint's mouth, forcing his lips to pucker as she squeezed. "Just tell me."
"You can burn in hell." Clint spit back, his voice so low it was almost a growl. She had been using him for boxing practice for the last three hours. She had a similar striking pattern to Nat's, so he assumed that she was Russian or at least trained by Russian. She'd focused her harsh hits on his exposed chest, abdomen and his face. His shirt had been torn roughly off of him and was crumpled in the corner where it had been thrown. He didn't think any ribs were broken yet, but definitely bruised. He could already see the black and blues painting across his chest in a macabre pattern. A couple good punches weren't going to break him.
"I'm going to make you wish you were in hell." Her eyes narrowed as she squeezed his face even tighter, sending tinges of pain around Clint's face. She slammed the palm of her hand straight into Clint's nose, at an upward angle as Clint saw stars as she reeled back and repeated the motion. He heard a alarming snap and knew that his nose was broken. He just had to hold out a little while longer, just until the rest of the Avengers got here.
"Anyone seen birdbrain?" Tony called out as he used his pointer fingers to expand the blueprints for his latest design on the Starkpad in front of him. He had been working on Clint's bow for the last few days. He had had a few ideas but wanted to run them by Clint first since it would be his bow. The other Avengers were scattered around the common area, enjoying a quiet afternoon before their mission debrief. Natasha was sitting with Wanda at the breakfast table, showing her something in a book that had Wanda nodding energetically. Steve had a physical newspaper in his hands. Tony smiled to himself at the old-fashioned soldier's habits. Steve appreciated the internet and the instantaneous news that he got from it, but he never passed up an opportunity to read a printed newspaper. Sam had headphones in, listening to a podcast. The volume was low enough that he could hear the conversation around him if he was needed. Rhodey was having a discussion with Vision about proper etiquette when it came to first dates, a concept that Vision was struggling with if Rhodey's gestures were anything to go off of.
"He should be here by now." Natasha frowned said after she looked down at her watch. Clint was known for being punctual. They were not sure why Fury was gathering them, but he would be here any minute. Clint would not be happy that he walked in late.
"I'll go check if he is in his room." Wanda volunteered as she blithely leapt to her feet. Tony opened his mouth to tell her that he could just have FRIDAY check on Clint, but Wanda was already half out of the door. She had a special bond with Clint. Clint seemed to have taken her under his wing and had become her biggest motivator and coach. Tony didn't know exactly what happened between the two of them in Sokovia, but he was sure that Clint's family had grown by two kids. "He's not in his room." She announced a few minutes later, concern on her face. She pulled out her phone to check, but there was no reply from the archer. Clint was awful at best at responding, but he would almost instantaneously respond to Wanda.
"I am sure that Clint has a good reason for his tardiness." Vision was ever the calm voice of reason. His lack of true emotions kept him from the same emotional waves that the others felt when something was amiss. No one wanted to speak up, but there was a feeling of dread in everyone's stomach that something was really wrong.
"Director Fury is twenty seconds out." FRIDAY's chipper voice came through the ceiling speakers, breaking everyone from their brief reverie. They would have to return to the late agent once Fury had delivered his message. Everyone got to their feet to greet Fury, listening to the crisp clicking sounds of his shoes as he got closer.
"Nick." Natasha's voice was smooth as she gave Fury a nod and a small smile. He returned the nod before speaking to the rest of the room.
"We have a problem." Fury didn't waste any time getting down to business. He was never one for pleasantries. "This woman, Agrafena Preobrazhensky, has been popping up on our radar for the past few weeks. She has risen through the ranks of the Russian mafia, leaving an impressive body count behind her. She's been attempting to secretly buy the material to build radioactive bombs. She's even gotten her hands on a small amount of vibranium. Her current location is unknown, but we believe she's protected by several enhanced individuals. If she gets her hands on the remaining materials needed for the bombs, we could be looking at worldwide devastation." Fury tapped on his phone bring up a holographic picture of a slim, blonde haired woman. Her eyes were a steel grey and had a look of evil lurking in them. Wanda suppressed a small shiver as her fingers started to glow red.
"So, we find her and –" Rhodey made a slicing motion across his neck with his finger. This type of person did not need to exist. Millions of innocent lives would be at risk if she was able to carry out her evil plan. Rhodey had first joined the military to stop these types of people, and now, as an Avenger, he was only more driven to track down evildoers and bring them to justice.
"We want her brought in alive. We need to track down her contacts and their contacts to stop this." Fury replied. "Where's Barton?" He looked around the room again, blinking as he realized the agent was not in the room.
"We haven't seen him yet today." Wanda answered as she looked hopefully towards the door, as if the mention of Clint would bring him here.
"Get his ass here." Fury's eyes narrowed as he turned to leave. "Wheels up in twenty." He said as his parting words.
"You heard him, suit up." Steve gestured to the room as he pulled off his jacket, revealing his red, white, and blue uniform. "Wanda, Natasha, you're closest to Barton, so call him. See where he's at."
"Do we go without him?" Sam spoke up after Fury had walked away. They were always at their best when the group went in together. Bruce nodded, knowing leaving with one team member down increased the odds that this would be a code green for him if something went wrong.
"We might have to." Steve didn't like that anymore than anyone else. Clint had saved all of their asses more than once with his insane eyesight and precision with his bow. "Any luck?" He turned to Natasha, whose fingers were flying over her keyboard as she typed out a message to Clint.
"Nothing yet." She replied, as she hit send and pocketed her phone. She was in her black uniform, full of hidden taser disks. Stark had been working on her suit, increasing the number that she was able to carry, but also making the disk smaller so that Natasha could have even more of the disks. "I'll try him again from the Quinjet." She couldn't shake the nagging feeling of dread, but she knew she needed to focus on the mission.
"I'll call him for a third time." Wanda hit the speed dial button but there was no answer, not even voicemail this time. Clint might have awful response times to texts and calls on a normal day, but when he knew there was a mission, he was one to pick up on the first ring. They all knew that this was completely out of the ordinary behavior for him, but they had to get Preobrazhensky into custody before she was able to cause any more destruction.
"Does this not strike anyone as odd?" Sam asked as he soared over the edges of the building. Tony was covering the other side, but there was no movement on his side either. There were no lights on, and he wasn't picking up any heat signatures. They had come prepared for guns blazing and a good fire fight, but there was nothing but silence to greet them.
"Proceed cautiously, this might be a trap." Steve's voice came through everyone's ear as he advanced on foot through the woods. They had been given the intel that this is where Preobrazhensky was holed up, possibly even assembling her devices.
"There's no one here Steve. The entrances have no booby traps or live wires on them." Sam said after a few minutes. He had expected the place to be rigged to blow if no one was there, but the building sat eerily empty. They had figured that there would be resistance waiting for them.
"We need to clear each room, bring back any clues, and figure out what her next move is. We cannot let her slip from our grasp." Steve's voice was commanding. Everyone gave their assent before they hurried into the building. Sam took pictures of several of the corkboards he came across that had scratched out designs on them. He didn't read Russian, so he was at a loss of what they said. Natasha found several shell casings rolled into a dark corner that she put in an envelope and pocketed. Everyone was just starting to relay that they were striking out when Wanda screamed, her scream chilling everyone to their bones.
"Where are you?" Sam's voice was high pitched and breathless as he sprinted in the direction the screams were coming from. He had been on the opposite side of the building as Wanda. Vision simply phased through the walls as he rushed to Wanda's location. It only took three minutes for the entire team to be assembled in the room that Wanda was in. Wanda had both hands clamped over her mouth as tears streamed down her face, another scream ripping from her throat. Horror dawned on every Avenger's face as they took in the scene before them. There was a picture of Clint's face taped to the wall, beaten almost beyond recognition with a message below in a chilling blood red, Codes or He Dies.