Chapter 16 – Welcome Back Hawkeye
A/n: After reading your responses here is my solution to the pairing problem. Piper/Toni will break up in this story probably but Toni won't get with anyone else until the sequel which will be Bruce/Toni & Clintasha. But I'll write a parallel sequel with Clint/Toni for those of you who were interested in seeing it :D That way you can choose which one to read and nobody gets upset.
XxxBellaBellaxxX: Toni is getting a lot of love from reviewers :D And the action continues and Clint's torment will soon be over.
paisley15: I had the same thoughts about Steve but then again my fave character list goes Tony, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Steve and then Thor so /shrugs. I love them all just some more than others. Hope I solved the conflict with my solution.
WayToPretty: I'm glad Piper's supposed to do that or all the comments saying that he does would be disastrous :D You can read the parallel sequel for your Clint/Toni fix once it goes up of course.
Guest: You can read the official sequel which will be Bruce/Toni :D I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
3 Avengers: Piper is definitely going to flip at some point but I have no idea when exactly. These characters write themselves.
youwannabekate: Yeah, Piper and Toni might have been compatible but he won't control his overprotective tendencies. I'm glad you enjoyed the shout out lol. I'm glad you enjoyed the Steve/Toni scene and I just had to put the hug in. Don't worry there will be conflict over Toni confronting Loki and some edits to that scene because hello Toni hung out with Natasha for ages. She's bound to have been taught a few things.
Guest: I'm flattered that my writing is making you want to continue reading this story :D Yeah Clintasha feels coming up :D
.Uchiha: Yeah I was watching the film and I was like seriously. You couldn't figure out that yourself; I thought SHIELD agents were meant to be smart.
Dragones: I've always been a hardcore Science Boyfriends shipper so I know how you feel about Pepperony. I feel the same way about her character.
twilightjazz: Doing my best to do so :D Enjoy
LaNaturalBreezeOf-Books: Random fire engine sounds made me laugh thanks for that. Toni invented the technology behind it but not the quinjet specifically she was too busy with other projects :D
MindMaster: Glad you liked that comment; I couldn't resist throwing it in.
Natasha scrambled through the confined space attempting to put some distance between herself and the Hulk. Above her she could hear heavy footsteps but she decided to continue with her gun held out. Suddenly the Hulk appeared through a gap in the machinery and roared at her causing her to raise her gun.
Toni's eyes narrowed upon seeing this hoping that Natasha wasn't about to shoot Bruce. She knew that bullets didn't have an effect on the Hulk but still it could be dangerous to anyone else around when it ricocheted and shooting someone who just couldn't control a part of themself was akin to murder in her eyes.
Natasha turned the gun up the way and fired at the pipe above the Hulk's head causing gas to come rushing out and blind the Hulk momentarily. Natasha used the momentary distraction to run for the glass corridor to her left with the Hulk following the minute he recovered smashing through the glass to get at her as equipment stored there collapsed.
Bruce felt a little guilty about the way the other guy was chasing Natasha but he knew that in a way she had brought it on herself because if she hadn't provoked Bruce he wouldn't have gone after her specifically. Still he could see why even now Natasha was the most on edge around the other guy if this was her first experience with him.
The Hulk had a longer stride than Natasha so he soon caught up and batted her aside into a wall with his arm.
"Sorry," Bruce muttered quietly but he received no reply from Natasha which he took to mean 'don't mention it,' because Natasha had proved on many an occasion that she wasn't good with actual emotions.
The Hulk was about to smash Natasha as she no longer had a place to run until Thor jumped out of nowhere and shoved him through the metal wall with the pure force of the impact. The pair went rolling into the aircraft bay where a lot of technicians were standing.
"My main focus was on getting him away from Lady Natasha," Thor said solemnly, "I could not pause to think about where we would end up although I should have suspected there would be other people around."
The technicians fled the minute they appraised the situation as Thor began to push himself up. On the other side of the wall Natasha was still breathing heavily in shock. Once the pair who had gone flying regained their footing they began to circle each other with the Hulk roaring and Thor looking strangely nervous. The Hulk took the first couple of swings but neither of them landed before Thor managed a swift uppercut to the jaw. This made the Hulk even angrier and he tried to smash his fist down on top of Thor but he stopped it neatly with his arm and began to push up with his other hand to stop the weight becoming too much.
"And this is why Thor should always handle strength catastrophes," Toni joked trying to break the tension and succeeding in gaining a couple of nervous smiles so she figured it had worked well enough for the time being.
"We are not your enemies, Banner. Try to think" Thor tried to reason.
"At least you tried diplomacy," Bruce complimented, "most people head straight for the guns that will do them no good."
The Hulk was obviously not impressed as he got in a good punch and sent Thor flying backwards and he crashed through a metal box. Outside the sound of repulsors firing was evident as the debris blocking Toni's way to the engine were smashed.
"I've got a bad feeling about what you're going to do to save the engine," Clint sighed.
"Okay, the relays are intact," Steve said over the radio clearly having been instructed on how to check them. He pushed the panel back into the ship and asked, "what's our next move?!"
"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump," Toni told him, "I'm going to have to get in there and push."
"And you just decided that was your one option without considering anything else," Piper said upset.
"Well, yeah it kind of was because I didn't want everyone else on the helicarrier to die, so… that's what I had to do," Toni said firmly not leaving any room for an argument.
"Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded," Steve said worriedly.
"The whole point of having a suit is that I don't get shredded by things," Toni teased making Steve blush because now he thought about it that was kind of obvious.
"That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could…" Toni began but Steve interrupted, "Speak English!"
This managed to get a laugh from Bruce who hadn't been feeling up to being cheerful up to that point. But Steve telling Toni off in a subtle way for talking in her tech speak was too amusing to pass up a laugh.
Toni rolled her eyes momentarily before explaining in simpler terms, "see that red lever?" Steve looked over to the side he had entered on and spotted it, "It will slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it. Wait for my word."
Steve leaped back across the gap so that he was standing in position so that he could help Toni. Back on the aircraft deck Thor and the Hulk were still throwing each other around as Thor crashed through yet more boxes. Mjolnir was no longer in his hand but he threw his hand out and a sound could be heard that sounded like a heavy object whizzing through the air.
The Hulk ran over to him attempting to catch him off guard but Mjolnir landed in Thor's hand just in time and spun round and clobbered the Hulk with it and he went crashing into one of the aeroplanes. In the background it was clear that some of the technicians were yet to leave.
"Why are they still there?" Natasha sighed, "They should know that they have to get out through pure unadulterated common sense if nothing else. It's even in the protocols for working on the helicarrier that if something goes wrong you can't help with or deal with you get the hell out of there."
"Nobody ever said most people working for SHIELD even have common sense," Toni says simply.
The Hulk growled in anger and ripped the wing off of that particular plane and hurled it at Thor who simply bent over backwards to duck underneath it. It ended up slashing the top off of a jeep as Thor threw Mjolnir at the Hulk who caught it and was dragged backwards by it. When he hit the ground he tried to pull the hammer back off to use it he couldn't get it to budge.
"It only works for those who are worthy of it," Thor explained, "Even I have been unable to lift it at times."
Whilst he was distracted Thor leaped over him (scoring a hit on the way) and retrieved the hammer and managed to get his arms around the Hulk's neck in an attempt to subdue him.
Back in the control room Fury was giving orders, "we need full evac on the lower hangar bay."
Agent Hill began to leave the room beckoning to some other Agents to follow her when a device was rolled across the control room. "Grenade!" she shouted just before it exploded.
"They're really aiming for every place possible," Toni pointed out, "it's kind of a good strategy."
A couple of Agents including Hill were thrown around and Fury went up to the door as Loki's soldiers approached drawing his gun. He grabbed hold of the second guy to enter's gun and used it to knock him down before shooting another. Hill took down the last one who almost had the jump on Fury despite the blood that now adorned her face.
"Head injuries bleed a lot," Toni and Bruce said in unison upon seeing Steve's worried look. This did not help Piper's bad mood at all.
"We've got a perimeter breach," someone said over the PA as Coulson listened, "Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Call-outs at every junction."
Coulson opened the door to the armoury with the fingerprint and iris scanners. Whilst this was happening Thor and The Hulk smashed through the floor of yet another room and while Thor was dazed The Hulk pulled him up off the ground. "We have the Hulk and Thor on Research Level 4, Levels 2 and 3 are dark," an Agent informed Fury as he shot at the hostiles attempting to gain entrance to the control room.
"Should be keeping an eye on all access points to the room no matter how small," Natasha muttered seeing as she had spotted a couple of blind spots which is no doubt what Clint had utilised to shut down engine 1.
"Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart," Agent Hill shouted.
"Get his attention," Fury offered by way of a solution.
"Escort 6-0, proceed to Wishbone and engage hostile," Agent Hill said over her comm link, "Don't get too close."
"Sometimes I think it must take longer for trainees to learn all the codes they need to use in everyday situations than it does for them to learn all the stuff they actually need to be spies, soldiers, etc…" Toni said upon hearing the spy jargon.
"Copy," the pilot said as he flew in closer. He opened his visor and Thor and the Hulk were seen fighting through the window he was opposite. "Target acquired," he informed the listening body. Inside Thor was thrown right to the back of the lab as the Hulk began to storm forward, "target engaged," the pilot informed before firing the on-board machine gun at the Hulk through the glass. He wasn't damaged by this attack but it certainly got his attention.
"It was a plan that worked out I guess," Bruce said while some people looked appalled that they'd actually fired on him and put the poor pilot in danger.
Thor quickly jumped for cover behind a lab bench where Mjolnir was lying as The Hulk roared angrily at the plane. Then he launched himself out at the plane and landed neatly on top as the pilot said panicked, "target angry, target angry!"
This elicited a few nervous chuckles because honestly what had the pilot expected the reaction of the Hulk would be to being shot at by a plane that he knew he could easily take down. This was just further proof that SHIELD didn't look for intelligence when hiring and if their Agents had it that was great but it wasn't the most important thing. God only knows what that actually was.
The Hulk began ripping out parts of the plane's electrics obviously trying to stop it from shooting. He completely ripped one of the wings off in this endeavour and the plane was spiralling downwards rapidly. The pilot pulled the jettison for his seat but the Hulk grabbed hold of it and waved the pilot (seat and all) around in the air. Then he hurled him away giving him enough time to engage his parachute as the Hulk flew through the sky away from the helicarrier.
"Like I said," Bruce reiterated, "it wasn't sophisticated but you can't deny it worked out."
Toni used the laser in the wrist of the Iron Man suit to cut through the largest piece of debris that was trapped before jumping on it causing it to dislodge. She instantly engaged the flight stabilisers in her feet so she didn't fall with it. From where Steve was standing he could see some of the hostiles approaching. The ones who had been ordered by Clint to keep Engine 3 down.
As they attempted to throw a grenade to further damage the systems on that side Steve launched himself at it and successfully managed to bat it away so it exploded in mid-air before making a landing on the other side of the gap.
"Nifty," Clint said quietly admiring the timing it took to pull that off. It wasn't just due to superpowers although they helped Steve to make the jump itself.
He dropped down on top of one of the soldiers and then quickly took out another with a few well-placed kicks. When he grabbed the last one he ended up throwing him over his shoulder and he fell down the gap screaming.
Another attempted to shoot Steve from his position at the door but Steve launched a piece of debris in his direction giving him enough time to get out of the direct line of fire. He had grabbed a machine gun on the way from one of the unconscious soldiers and he began to fire back as he backed up towards the red lever.
"I'm beginning to see what the hold-up was," Toni admitted. She hadn't been very happy that he hadn't listened and stayed next to the lever but she guessed he had a good reason.
Fury shot down another soldier and muttered, "they are not getting through here, so what the hell…" trying to figure out their motives for attacking the most populated area they could find.
Before he could finish Clint fired an explosive arrow into their midst making them all dive or be thrown to the ground once more. Then he hit the panel dead on with his second arrow before Fury noticed him and attempted to fire up at him. The arrow expanded and shoved pins into the plugs on the dashboard which began to interfere with the screens.
"Why the hell is it even possible to do that anyway?" Clint shouted at Toni angry that it was possible for him to cause such damage.
"I designed it but I didn't make it," Toni pointed out, "SHIELD mechanics put in some rubbish defence mechanisms that weren't on the original plans. Being able to shut down the systems wasn't on my plans but some people thought they could prove they knew better than me."
"Idiots," Natasha laughed despite the tense situation, "it's almost impossible to prove Toni Stark wrong. I think it's happened once with Piper."
"I set that up to find someone trustworthy," Toni admitted.
"Wait so you didn't really make a math mistake," Piper asked incredulously.
"My math is always right," Toni sighed, "you've worked with me for how long now?"
"Engine 1 is now in shut-down," someone said over the PA. The helicarrier began to tilt sending Agents sliding as Engine 3 continued to pour out smoke. The whole helicarrier began to sink as an Agent said panicked, "we are in an uncontrolled descent."
"Sir, we've lost all power in engine one," another said over the comm link.
"It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?" Fury relayed as Natasha was shown still sitting where the Hulk and Thor had left her clearly at least slightly traumatised.
Bruce gave Natasha a sideways apologetic look. He knew it took a lot to bother an Agent of SHIELD and Natasha in particular and it looked like he had truly freaked her out which wasn't a natural or good look on the Russian.
Natasha sighed and reached for her own comm link, "this is Agent Romanoff. I copy."
Toni flew neatly up to one of the rotors in Engine 3 and began to push against it. "Stark, we're losing altitude," Fury informed her over the comm link.
"As if she wouldn't have already noticed," Piper scoffed.
"Yeah, I noticed," Toni replied snarkily. As she put more power into her push the rotor began to grate against the damaged metal at the edge but it was beginning to pick up speed. Steve was still having to fire on enemy soldiers who kept on coming at him. One of the shots made Steve have to step back and he was now on unstable material which slipped away causing him to let go of the gun and have to hang on to a cable to prevent himself plunging down faster than the helicarrier already was.
"Yeah, definitely forgive you," Toni said simply now seeing why she had gotten beaten up by the rotors.
Thor ran into the detention level as the door to Loki's cell began to open. "No!" he cried when he saw this and he charged ahead without thinking until he reached Loki but he simply phased half out of existence and Thor ran straight through him into the cell.
"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki sighed seemingly disappointed that it had been so easy.
"That must be a little embarrassing," Natasha muttered seeing as Loki had obviously pulled the same trick on Thor several times for different reasons.
Clint was making his way down an access route unimpeded until he spun around to see Natasha behind him. He quickly fired off an arrow but it went straight over her shoulder as she lunged at him with a knife. Clint used his bow itself to try and hit Natasha whilst Natasha used her leg to get a kick in before diving down beneath the access route.
Neither Clint nor Natasha was at all comfortable watching this. Clint because he never wanted to do something to hurt Natasha like that and Natasha because she had to keep telling herself that Clint wasn't in his right mind at the time and seeing it again now it made it look so ruthless.
The two leapt from access route to access route with Clint occasionally getting the opportunity to fire off an arrow but Natasha kept swinging around and getting in good kicks so none of the arrows hit their mark. Things got even more up close and personal when Natasha managed to grab hold of Clint's bow string and he used the momentum from it to get her to hit herself in the face.
"Ooh, nice move," Toni muttered softly to Clint. She kept her grip on his arm steady knowing how difficult he was finding it watching this part. Luckily this was when his enchantment ended.
But Natasha managed to hit him back with the bow and pull it from his hands ridding him of at least one weapon. Clint quickly drew a knife from his boot as a back-up.
Back in the detention level Thor slammed Mjolnir up against the glass wall of the cell and the clamps holding onto it released just a little.
"I momentarily forgot the design that Director Fury mentioned for the cell in my anger," Thor admitted, "it is a fault of mine that I am working to correct."
Loki smiled and laughed a little before making his way over to the control panel saying, "the humans think us immortal. Should we test that?"
The guard who had let Loki out dropped revealing Coulson standing there holding a weapon. "Move away please," he said calmly. Loki took a single step back as Coulson moved the weapon up slightly, "you like this?" he continued, "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does."
"Phil was never the best with actual complicated weapons," Toni sighed sadly.
He clicked a switch that began to power up the device, "do you wanna find out?!" he quipped. But his moment of glory was short lived for moments afterwards he cried out in pain as Loki shoved a blade into his back.
Clint was racked by guilt because of this. If he hadn't helped with Loki's plan then Coulson wouldn't have died. There was no way he would have found somebody else with the same capabilities. Yet, he had managed to get taken over because he couldn't reach for a gun as fast as he could for an arrow for his bow. He just didn't particularly like using guns for many reasons.
Thor shouted, "No!" once more upset to see his brother actually kill a good man and prove himself a kind of monster. Phil dropped to the floor as the Loki double at the control panel faded away. Phil breathed unevenly as the real Loki made his way over to the control panel and hit the red button causing the cell to drop at a horrific pace.
Back with Clint and Natasha their fight was still raging on with both keeping up with each other blow for blow. Natasha managed to get a hold of Clint's arm and she twisted it so that Clint cried out in pain but he managed to pull himself free and swipe at Natasha with his knife.
Natasha could almost feel the phantom blade swiping near to her throat as she watched the scene. She knew that the knife Clint carried had come awfully close to her throat on several occasions and she really had been sure that Loki would follow through on his promise and Clint would kill her and then realise what he had done. She wouldn't wish that torture on him and she hadn't thought that was her time to die if there ever was a specific time that should happen. She didn't know if she'd accept it even if she knew it were truly her time. Nobody really wanted to die.
As Natasha prepared another move Clint got the jump on her as he tangled their arms together leaving the knife only an inch away from her throat. But Natasha was prepared to fight dirty and she got her teeth into Clint's arm causing him to shout in pain.
"Here's a lesson for you," Toni said, "if there's a fight between a man and a woman of equal capabilities…"
"…the woman will win," Natasha finished for her.
"Why?" Bruce said slightly unnerved by how in sync the pair was. It didn't help that they responded in unison, "We're not afraid to fight dirty."
As soon as Clint was distracted Natasha neatly flipped over his arm and flung him into the rail with his head hitting it with a clanging sound. He groaned as he tried and failed to use the railing to crawl back to his feet. "Natasha?" he asked confused as he looked up but she still wasn't convinced so she punched him hard in the head one more time.
"Ouch," Toni winced sympathetically, "Natasha hits hard right?!"
"How would you know that?" Clint asked but Toni resolutely refused to answer the question.
A/n: Okay, it's kind of later than usual but it broke 4,000 words so /shrugs/ I made up for it.