Chapter 8: The Good Guys
"I can't believe I'm doing this." Tony said, "I can't believe I am reasoning with nerds."
"They're just kids, Tony."
"They are not kids, they are nerds."
Bruce shook his head as they entered the elevator. "Hey, you talked me into the suit."
Tony and Bruce were dressed in black suits, white button down shirts and matching black ties.
"When you're dealing with nerds, you need to do things they will understand." Tony said. "Put on your glasses." He reached into his vest pocket and put on a pair of dark shades.
"I'm not putting on sunglasses."
"And why not?" Tony asked as the elevator doors opened.
"Because we're inside."
"You never reasoned with nerds, did you?" Tony asked as they walked down the hall.
"I am not putting on the glasses."
"Put them on or this won't work."
"This is the one, isn't it?" Bruce asked, stepping up to the door. "Room 1605." He knocked on the door.
In a swift motion, Tony pulled the glasses out of Bruce's pocket and slapped them on his face just as the door opened.
A pimply faced eighteen year old with short curly brown hair answered, his mouth hanging wide open. He was wearing a faded Pac Man t-shirt and his breath smelled like stale pizza.
"Greetings, Earthling." Tony said.
Bruce gave Tony a look, removed his glasses and turned to the boy. "Hi there, son. What's your name?"
"Edwin. Are you from the government?" He asked.
"Yes." Tony said.
"I'm Dr. Banner, this is Dr. Stark, we're here on behalf of SHIELD."
Tony made a face at the name Dr. Stark. "Actually, I'm Mister Stark to you."
Edwin turned and called into the room, "Hey, Franklin, come here!"
Another boy, a portly young man came and stood beside him. He too had short curly brown hair, but glasses that magnified his beady eyes. He wore a sweaty Batman shirt.
"This is my brother." Edwin said.
"Hi." Said Franklin. "Hey, are you guys The Men in Black? This is so cool!"
"Not cool." Tony said.
"We're here for the spear, kids." Bruce said.
"Well, you can't have it." Franklin said. "It's a collector's item."
Tony scowled, and hovered over the young man. Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get mad."
"You're worried about me getting mad?" Tony asked.
Edwin looked between the two. "Who exactly are you guys again?" He asked.
"Look, nerds," Tony said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Hand over the spear, or I'll take it."
"I'd like to see a warrant." Franklin said.
"I got your warrant." Tony said. He strolled over to the wall and plucked the spear from its hangings.
"Hey!" Franklin said. He tried reaching for the spear but Tony held it high above his head.
"Look, guys, you know enough that if that spear falls into the wrong hands, bad things will happen." Bruce said.
"How do we know what you'll do with it?" Edwin demanded.
"Because we're the good guys." Bruce said. He turned to Tony, "Let's go."
"I'm having fun here. I'm playing with nerds." Tony said, watching Franklin jump for the spear.
"Now." Bruce said. "Have a good day, gentlemen." He turned and walked out the door.
Tony followed after him. "Clean up this place." He said to the two boys. "Stay in school. And... get girlfriends!" He followed after Bruce, the spear in his hand. "Did you give me an order back there?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Was that you or the Green Machine?"
Bruce gave him a look.
"I'm just curious, was it you or him?"
"I'm not dignifying that with a response." Bruce said, the smallest of smiles on his lips as they walked out the door.
…...
Clint and Bobbi jumped over rooftops on the way back to their room. They had full bellies and were now ready for a long night of surveillance. Clint stopped short just before he reached the door leading to the stairwell. "I hear... get down!"
Bobbi hit the dirt just as the door to the stairwell was blasted open. Standing before her was the biggest man she had ever seen. He was bigger than in his picture. It was Logan. And he was angry. Despite the night's chill, he wore a tank top with an open grey jacket, and jeans. His huge chest heaved with fury. Clint fired an arrow into his chest. Logan pulled it out and tossed it aside before Clint had time to detonate the tranquilizer. "Who the hell are you?" Logan demanded, "Why are you following me?"
Clint raised his hands, placing his bow on the ground. "Logan, we're not following you. We're here on behalf of SHIELD."
"What the fuck is SHIELD?"
"A government agency that flies under the radar."
"How do you know my name?" Logan asked, and Bobbi watched amazed as three long razor sharp prongs protruded from each hand. It was something to read about it and something else to see it in person.
"We've come to make you an offer. We're interested in you joining our team."
"I'm not a part of any team." Logan said, "You've been following me for weeks. I want answers."
"We know about your work with Charles Xavier." Bobbi said, slowly getting to her feet. "We're good guys, like you."
Logan took a step toward her, and in a flash, Clint raised his bow again. Logan eyed him with a look of disdain.
"You have your defenses, I have mine." Clint said.
Logan turned back to Bobbi, "Do I look like a good guy?"
"You haven't hurt us, even though you could have." Bobbi said.
"This doesn't have to get ugly." Clint said. "All's we want to do is talk."
Logan laughed, "You want to talk but you brought an arsenal with you."
"Just precautions," Clint assured.
"Where's the rest of you?" Logan asked, "You jokers have been tailing me."
"We're not following you!" Bobbi shouted. "We just got here tonight!"
Logan looked between Clint and Bobbi. The claws on his hands began to recede. Bobbi felt her breath come out in a whoosh, knowing that with the wrong move, they'd be back out in a flash. Logan walked over to the arrow he had discarded and picked it up to examine it. "What the hell is this?"
"It's laced with a tranq that could drop an elephant."
"So you meant to kidnap me."
"Like I said, it was just a precaution." Clint said.
"Please," Bobbi said, "We don't mean to harm you. Maybe we could..."
Clint held up his hand, and she fell quiet. He looked at Logan, and he was sure he heard the same thing. Rapid footsteps trying to be quiet. The soft rustle of fabric.
"Who the fuck did you bring here!" Logan roared, his claws aiming at Clint. He stopped short when he saw Clint aiming at out at a target that Logan couldn't see.
"They're here for you. There's many. Fight with us or get out of here." Clint said.
Logan looked between Clint and Bobbi. Clint let an arrow fly, and Bobbi was unholstering her gun. Without another word, he slipped into the shadows and was gone.
"What's happening?" Bobbi asked, running to his side.
Clint shook his head. "We need an extraction!" Clint yelled into his ear piece. He turned to Bobbi. "Get back over into our hiding spot. I'll take out as many as I can. Anything that makes it onto this roof, you blow away. Clean head shots."
Bobbi looked terrified. This was for real. "Agent Barton, I don't know if I can..."
"You can." Clint told her. "You have to. Remember what I told you. Good luck." He reached over and kissed her forehead.
Bobbi felt the warmth of his lips spread throughout her entire body. She smiled at him, and dashed to the corner. As soon as she made it over there, Clint was firing. Bobbi watched with baited breath as his arrow supply ran dangerously low. Without a second thought, Bobbi joined Clint by his side.
"What are you doing?" Clint asked, "Get back over there!"
"You're running out of ammo, you can't take them all on by yourself!"
"I have a spare quiver, Bobbi, do as I say!"
But Bobbi was busy firing, easily picking them off as they ran toward her.
"Don't take out every one, you're going to be a sitting duck!"
And just as those words were spoken, her gun clicked empty. She jammed her next clip into her gun, but not before three large men were sneaking up on her. Clint saw them out of the corner of his eye, ducking in the shadows. They were mere feet from her. "Your twelve o' clock!" He shouted.
She'd never have time to get a shot off before they closed in on her. Clint turned and fired at them, successfully taking them down. And then he felt searing pain enter his shoulder. Not once, not twice, but three times. He collapsed to the ground.
Bobbi couldn't believe her eyes. Clint had been shot. And it was all her fault. Her training kicked back in. She had to get over to him. "WE NEED THAT CHOPPER NOW!" She screamed into her ear piece. "Agent Barton is down!" In a mixture of her sweat and tears, she stayed low, and made her way over to him. She checked the rooftops. There was one straggler, no doubt the one that had shot Clint, and he was ducked behind the roof across from them. Bobbi sat up and fired, and heard a grunt from across the way. She ducked low once more, and listened. They seemed to be alone for now. She knelt next to Clint, his eyes creased with pain, his hands still gripping his bow.
"Agent Barton," Bobbi whispered, prying the bow and arrow from his hands. "Let me see."
Clint was struggling to get to his knees. "Where are they?"
"They're gone. I think." She whispered. She examined his shoulder, noticing the three dark holes in his right shoulder. They were clustered so closely together, it was as if an expert had shot. "What can I do?" She asked.
"Are you hurt?" He asked her.
"No." She replied.
"Get on comm." He grunted, "Tell them to send the damn chopper."
"Clint, Barbara, chopper ETA thirty seconds." Hill said in their ears.
Clint slumped down to the ground, examining his wound.
"Agent Barton, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I thought..."
He shook his head, "Part of being a field agent is following orders. Listening to your superiors."
The chopper touched down then, and Clint breathed a sigh of relief.
…...
Alexei Shostokav lay in a hospital bed in Avengers Tower. He had been cleared by the staff, but they had him restrained. Fury wasn't sure what to think of him yet, so he had asked Natasha to talk to him, if she was up to it. She sat across from him, once again drinking in every detail of his face, being bombarded with memories of the past. He had recognized her when he first regained consciousness. There was not a moment's hesitation. Both had fallen silent.
He stared out the window now, watching the sights and sounds of New York. "So, this is what became of you." He said.
"I'm happy here." She replied. "I've got a partner, and SHIELD has forgiven me. I've been able to forgive myself... mostly."
"No regrets, Tasha." He said to her, using the nickname he had for her. Her heart leapt at that.
"You can't tell me that, Alex." She said. "I see things a lot differently know. I'm not who I used to be."
"You are." He insisted, "You're doing what you always did. Just for these... americans now."
"This is my home now. I gave up Russia a long time ago."
"And me as well."
"That's not fair. They had told me you died, I..."
He reached for her hand then, and she paused. That was something between them that had always calmed her down. His warm hand enclosing hers comforted her like no other. She sighed, and gave him her hand. He rubbed his thumb over the palm of her hand, and looked down at her barren ring finger.
"I gave it to your mother." She whispered. "When I left."
He was silent then.
Just then, Hill's voice came in over the intercom in the room. "Natasha, Agent Barton's returned. He's been injured."
Natasha excused herself from Alexei, and ran down the hall. All she had heard was that Clint was back, but had been injured. He was alive, and that's all she needed to know.. She couldn't fathom the question to ask it. She had to see for herself. The guards outside of his room let her in without a question. Her breath caught in her throat. A surgeon was by his bedside, digging something out of his arm. Clint's eyes were squeezed shut against the pain, and he gritted his teeth as there was a plink and a bloody bullet was plopped onto a sterile tray. Natasha ran over to his other side, and grabbed his hand.
"Don't look at it, look at me." She demanded.
He turned his head to her, his face creased with pain.
"It's almost over." She whispered, and smoothed his hair back. She heard two more plinks and wiped the sweat from his brow.
What seemed like an eternity later, Clint had been stitched and bandaged, and was given a heavy dose to alleviate some of the pain.
"What happened?" She whispered, smoothing his hair back.
"We were ambushed. The whole damn thing was a set up. They knew we were coming." He shook his head, "Bobbi got cornered, and I did what I had to do."
Natasha nodded. Of course he'd save the girl. Clint would never let her get hurt, just like he'd never let her get hurt either, if there was anything he could do about it. "Get some rest," She said.
"I missed you," He said to her, and cupped her face with his free hand. She craddled into it, and kissed his palm before latching onto it with both of her own.
"How'd China go?" He asked.
"We took down Ling. The nukes are in a secure facility." She paused, and looked down at their entwined hands.
"There's something else..." He started.
"You rest now, we'll talk later." She promised.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked her.
"Yes."
"Natasha, just tell me, please."
She shook her head, "Alexei is alive. He's about three doors down from you. He was fighting for Ling."
His pupils dialated. "What?"
There was a small knock, and Bobbi stood in the threshold with a small cactus. "Agent Barton, I'm so sorry. They wouldn't let me in when you were getting stitched up..."
Natasha felt a pang of pride. They wouldn't let this newbie in, but she, Natasha who was Clint's partner, and friend, they didn't even bat an eyelash at. They'd have to let her in after she knocked them out, but it was nice to know they respected her and Barton's relationship.