Little late in posting this. But I wanted to make sure that I was two chapters ahead before posting. We are almost done! Don't think I can make it finished before Christmas, so I might try New Years. I have no idea how much longer this is going to be. _ But I just know that I am almost done.
Anywho, here is chapter 13!
Fury burst into the room with Natasha, Steve, Tony and Bruce quick on his heels. The people on the four screens jerked up to look at the intruder while the man in the chair tried to curl tighter on himself. Natasha was quick to slip over and work on undoing the cuffs holding the chains that kept Clint strapped down. Steve and Bruce went around front of the archer to check on his condition. They were surprised to see not even a bruise marring his now paled skin.
"What is the meaning of this?" a furious Council member shouted at the men and woman who entered the room. Tony and Fury both stood still, glaring at the four members. A few of them at least attempted to look sheepish in their blacked out images.
"I told you before. Agent Barton works for me. You were to not seek action against him until I deemed it necessary. This was not necessary," Fury snapped. Tony stiffened as his gaze shifted slightly to the director before going back to glaring at the Council. Clint sagged in his chair as Natasha fully released him. Steve placed a gentle hand on the archer's shoulder to help catch his balance. Clint just leaned into it more until he had a flashback to Loki. Then he shuddered and slammed back against the seat. All eyes focused on the agent. "Barton?"
"Just get me out of here, please," Clint softly pleaded. Fury nodded as Natasha came around front and gently began to try and help her partner stand. It was slow work as Clint kept on wincing and no one knew if it was from pain or something else. But Clint knew. Loki had certainly done a number on him if even Natasha's gentle caresses left him remembering the god. As soon as the two assassins left, with Bruce right behind them, Fury, Steve and Tony turned their attention back to the screens.
"This is ridiculous. Remember director, Barton may work for you, but you work for us," the angry member declared before logging off. Tony and Steve traded a glance. Did they really want the Avengers affiliated with these people then?
"What did you do to my agent?" Fury demanded. One of the other members signed off without a word. The other two looked at each other before looking back at the angered director.
"All we did was question him like a normal debrief. But, there was something wrong with him before. Agent Sitwell reported finding Agent Barton wandering around Harlem with no clear destination. With only slight gestures, Agent Sitwell easily led Agent Barton here. Barton didn't even struggle against Sitwell when he chained him to the chair. All your agent did was blankly stare at the floor," the female member reported. Fury noticed Steve and Tony shift.
"You haven't had him for the past twenty four hours?" Fury asked, knowing that Sitwell had only been after Clint for less then six. But he wanted to be sure that that wasn't a cover. The female shook her head.
"No. We've actually only questioned him for about two hours before you showed up. And most of that time, he seemed to be regressing into some very fearful memory," the other remaining member mentioned. Fury traded a look with the two Avengers. They seemed slightly worried. "Something is wrong with that agent. I'd watch him carefully."
"We'll take that under advisement," Steve retorted before nodding and spinning around. Tony nodded at the two, snorted and then spun after Steve as the soldier left the room. Fury hesitated.
"Director. I fear that the others may not be as forgiving about this. Watch yourself," the female warned before both screens shut off. Fury sighed deeply before his one good eye focused on the chair that Clint had been strapped to. He paused. Something was really off about all of this. The Council was either lying or something did happen to Clint before. Now the matter was what. What happened?
The Avengers piled into Fury's Quinjet with little fear. Clint had lead the way out, Natasha at his side the entire time. Bruce was next in the Quinjet, Steve following only a few seconds later. Tony was a minute behind, on his cell phone.
"Okay, Peps! Listen, I'm busy right now so don't hand over your phone! No, don't!" Tony cried into the phone, pausing after each sentence to hear her reply. The others didn't respond to Tony as he spoke to Pepper. "Hey, I'm on my way to the Helicarrier now. I'll call you when I can get to Malibu."
"You're gonna leave?" Natasha growled in shock. Tony frowned as he looked over the faces of his new friends. Everyone seemed just as upset, except Clint. He was basically staring at the floor. "We just got Barton back and you want to leave?"
"Feathers will be fine. I do have a company to help run, and press that wants answers for Manhattan. Do you really want Pepper to come and scream for not handing me over? Or better yet, do you want to deal with the press asking what happened?" Tony paused as he waited for someone to answer. No one did. Behind him, Fury slowly entered the Quinjet and the doors closed. "Thought not. Look, Legolas will be fine in your hands. If you really need me, just call. Right now though, Pepper needs me more."
"The press does need questions answered. And Stark is the best man for telling fucked up stories," Fury added, making nearly all the attention turn to him. "Not much more he can do to help anyways."
"Thanks," Tony called. He smiled at the director before the full statement hit him. "Wait, are you calling me useless?"
The group chuckled lightly at the poor genius. Well, everyone but Clint. The archer had taken this distraction to curl up on himself. All he wanted was to go back to HQ and then go hide in the vents. He barely heard that Tony was leaving. Nor did he hear the conversation after. He just kind of faded out, like he had done before. But this one time, Clint knew he'd be safe. Natasha would protect him.
"Clint?" Natasha whispered when she looked back to her partner. His bluish green eyes were distantly staring at the ground. But they didn't seem to be actually seeing the ground. They just faced that general direction. When he didn't do anything in response, Natasha sat down on her knees in front of him. "Clint?
"Is he okay?" Steve questioned softly as he moved closer to the two assassins. Natasha shook her head no. No one said a word for a minute as they waited for Clint to react. Finally, Natasha placed a hand on his knee. All he did was twitch away from her hand.
"I think he's blocking us out," Fury noted. Natasha frowned. She never knew the archer to do that. But, he did show all the signs. It worried her more then before. Clint was trained. Trained to not black out like this. He was trained for torture. Hell, even his past trained him well for something like this. Yet here he was. Sitting on a Quinjet, surrounded by friends, tuning them all out. Natasha looked up to the others, fighting back tears.
"They had to have done something to him. Something really bad."
Okay, there was chapter 13! Yay. Remember, reviews help me write faster. Please help me finish this story before one of the two upcoming holidays. ^_^