WAAAHH! I'M SOOO SORRY FOR MY LACK OF UPDATE! But I accidentally fractured/broke my right hand and wrist, which prevented me from being able to do anything. It was sooo damn hard at school since some of my teachers thought I was lying just so that I didn't have to do anything and they kept on making me write LOOONG notes in my notebooks. *sniff* I couldn't even hold the pencil properly; it always fell off my hand! Anyway, now after a month my wrist seems to be fine except it still hurts from time to time when I strain it too much. So...yeah...I'm back! Now, ONWARD!
P.S.: All of the reviews you guys left made me sooo happy during those painful weeks! Thank YOU!
NOTE: If you want to know how America's outfit looks like, it's like Spain's but inversed. Meaning the checkered pattern is on the left instead of on the right.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own it.
After their rather painful encounter with the Hulk, the four battered jesters and their energetic companion retreated back to the empty ball room.
"Duuudes, this place gives me the creeps," whined America to the older nations as he lowered France and Prussia to the ground. However, neither Joker stirred at the movement. They just continued to let themselves be manipulated as if they were a pair of broken rag dolls.
England and Spain simply stared at him; they were still shocked at the reappearance of their presumed dead friend, not to mention the excruciating pain they still felt from the beat down the Hulk so graciously gave them. Wincing from the sharp stab that ran up his side, the brunette sat up straighter from his place on the wall. "America," he slowly panted, "how did you find us?"
Whirling around the face the two conscious Jokers, the excited blond beamed, "Latvia gave me this!" At the same time, he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a razor thin device that the looked no bigger than the palm of anyone's hand. He tossed it over to England, who caught it in mid-air before lowering it so that the slumped jesters could both see it.
On the screen and blinking were four bright red dots. They were all clustered together, though, making them look like a single huge ball instead of four tiny ones. Suddenly, the image of the crimson orb minimised until is nothing more but a fading white line in the middle of the device. What really startled the injured nations was the abrupt appearance of the short blond country known as Latvia.
With an ever present concerned face, the short nation squeaked, "America? Are you there?"
At the mention of his name, the aforementioned nation grinned like the happy fool he was and practically swiped the tiny device from England's weak grasp. "Dude, this thing does work! I found 'em!" He chirped at the screen.
England and Spain winced at the loud sound of America's voice. While the taller blond chatted away with the shorter nation, the checkered jester threw his head back, and it soon came in contact with the wall, producing a dull 'thunk'. "Can I come out for a bit, pretty please lad? I'll be good!...maybe," squeaked a certain pink haired individual inside the Briton's head.
'No, Oliver.' Replied the tired host.
'But why? And my name is NOT Oliver! It's Arthur!'
'Sure, sure. And I'm the lost princess of the underworld.'
'...you are?'
'I was being sarcastic you bloody git.'
'Ohhh...so you're not a princess then? Now that's a BIIIIG disappointment.'
England breathed in slowly and huffed the air out through his nose in annoyance. 'Alright, alright! If I let you out will you shut up?' He growled at the voice in his head.
Inside said man's skull, Oliver perked up and cried happily, 'Oh yes! Yes, I certainly will, lad!'
'Good,' was all England was able to say back before his vision started to go black at the edges and a wave of nausea washed over him. Then, the darkness consumed everything within sight as his limp body slumped forward.
Spain noticed through tired eyes the sudden movement of his blond companion. Shutting out the pain on his side as the bones there mended back to their original state, the brunette nudged the Englishman with his hand. "England? What's wrong?" He croaked.
And if a flip had just been switched, the usually bottle green eyes snapped open to reveal cerulean blue eyes that held pink spirals in them. The startled Spaniard jumped back out of reflex and unintentionally cried out when the still broken bones in him shifted in place.
A few feet away, America stopped pacing and paused in mid-sentence when he heard the shriek. "I'll call you back later, Latvia," he quickly murmured at the thin contraption held. On the screen, the serious blond nodded once and broke transmission. Inside the American's head, Timothy boredly took off his sunglasses and looked up as well.
Pocketing the device, the bi-colored nation was about to say something when 'England' suddenly jerked his head up to stare at him. With a tilt of his head, the Briton giggled, "My my! It certainly is a pleasure to finally be able to be face to face with you, love!"
A look of confusion crossed America's face before recognition finally crept in. "Ahhh...you must be Oliver right?"
Ignoring the mention of the name he hated so much, Oliver grinned widely and nodded in glee. However, that look quickly faded as a more bewildered one took its place. "America? I have one question for you lad." He hesitantly said.
Perking up and snapping out of his serious demeanour, the young country happily replied, "What is it, dude?"
Fiddling with the hem of his gloves, Oliver looked up at the other's blue eyes. Normal ocean blue met abnormal cerulean with pink. "How did you survive that? Supposedly that procedure killed everyone who went through it, and if it didn't then it messed up anyone who survived. And I clearly saw you go down in that chamber when all hell broke loose in the Facility. So...how did you come out alive?"
With a big and toothy grin on his face, America threw his head back a laughed loudly. Once again, a quiet Spain winced from his unmoving spot on the ground. When the taller blond was able to finally rein in his laugh, with a only a few stray snigger bursting forth, he wiped a fake tear from his eye and panted out a reply, "Well, when shit it the fan, I just pretended to go down before I broke the glass and ran out of there. After that...I don't remember where exactly I ended up."
Nodding at the answer, Oliver curiously threw another question, "Who else got out?"
To this one, America sighed somberly with all the happiness in his face suddenly gone, "I really don't know who did and who didn't other than Latvia and you guys. But what I do know is that not many of us were able to get out of that place."
Silence...
"Ah," was all Oliver was able to squeak out before groans filled the room. The three conscious jesters looked over at the two who still laid on the floor, yet this time one of them was slowly moving. Another groan came from France before he weakly pushed himself up. America quickly jogged over. The younger nation took ahold of the older's striped sleeve and slowly helped him sit up. The Briton soon followed, completely ignoring his host's body as it screamed at him for moving too fast.
"Hey France. You okay?" Asked the self-appointed hero.
Dull purple orbs opened up half-way on the Frenchman's face. With a tired scowl, 'France' sarcastically growled, "Just peachy, boy. It totally didn't hurt when I got thrown to the fucking wall by a god damned green giant on steroids."
"Huh?"
"...nothing, kid. Just get me u-GAH!"
Oliver tackled 'France' in mid-sentence while happily squealing, "Jean! You're alive!"
"What?! Oh, wait! You're France's...person thingy, right?" America said as he finally connected the dots. A groan and a nod were the only answers he got from the pained and suffocating jester.
~~~~~Some Time Later~~~~~
The now awake and healed Jokers along with the self-proclaimed hero were currently lounging in Spain's room. From his spot on the bed with red sheets, Jean puffed a cloud of smoke out and boredly said, "What exactly do we do now?"
Oliver instantly perked up, "We could go and bake cupcakes!"
"NO!" Cried the other four in unison. The happy Briton deflated.
Some where not too far away, a certain brunette was crawling in the air ducts. The confined spaces and cool surfaces were a comforting presence to the archer's troubled mind, helping him forget that horrible and strange nightmare he had had not too long ago in the shooting range.
Bolting down one familiar passage on light and mute feet, the agent came across a grille that was atop the living room. Peking in through the horizontal bars, Clint noticed that Banner had left the room at one point during the time he himself was gone. After a few more seconds of looking around, the brunette continued on his way.
He didn't stop until he was able to hear the echo of three familiar voices. As soon as he reached the grille, he quietly removed it and set it aside. He crawled closer to the bright patch of light before slipping through it. Flipping in mid-air, Clint landed on the carpeted floor of the bedroom with a silent 'thud'. The archer crouched down behind a black leather couch which was being occupied by the billionaire Tony Stark and the American icon Steve Rogers. Across from them sat Natasha, who had her eyes pinched close with her fingers rubbing at her temples furiously in an attempt to ward off an incoming headache.
"We're getting no where with this," she gritted out through clenched teeth. Tony scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well then if Mister Stripes here wasn't so damn pissy then we wouldn't be here arguing!"
Steve bristled and shot back, "Well, at least I do try to put a stop to this madness before someone else gets hurt, unlike you Stark."
"What's that supposed to mean, Rogers?!"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Tony!"
"Shut up!" Exploded Natasha out of the blue. Both males immediately shut up and turned to the only female in the room. "Arguing won't solve anything, вы идиоты!"
"...sorry," muttered Tony sheepishly. Steve nodded in agreement beside him. From behind the couch, Clint snorted and stood up, startling the trio with his sudden appearance.
"I think it's too late for that, guys," he chuckled when he plopped down next to Natasha on the couch. Glancing at the archer next to her with questioning eyes, the spy asked, "Why do you say that, Clint?"
The brunette lowered his head and stared at his lap as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Then he muttered something that sounded gibberish.
Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "What was that, bird-brain?"
Barton snorted and looked up, "I said: 'I had this fucked up nightmare in which I got killed."
"And? Anything else you want to share with the class?
"The recruits did it."
That was all that was needed to make Natasha explode. "I knew it! Those bastards are behind all of this! And why didn't you stay in the living room like I told you?"
"Okay okay. First, how do we know it's them? And secondly, I got bored, alright?!"
Silence hung in the air; the only sound was that of the still raging storm outside. "Where's Bruce?" Demanded Natasha.
Clint shrugged, "I don't know. I left him in the living room when I took off, but when I went back, he was gone."
"...what if they got him?" Whispered Steve, as if though his voice were any louder he would trigger some catastrophic omen. "JARVIS?"
"Yes, Mr. Rogers?" Came the AI's monotonic reply from above.
"Do you know where Bruce is?"
A silent and tense moment passed JARVIS ran scans of the mansion. "He is currently in Mr. Stark's lab," he finally replied.
"My lab? What's he doing there?" Mused Tony out loud with a raised eyebrow.
"I do not know, Sir." Answered JARVIS in what sounded as exasperation.
"Well then," said Natasha as she uncrossed her legs and stood up, earning the looks of the three other occupants of the room, "let's go figure it out, shall we?"
When the four Avengers walked out of Tony's room, they were surprised when they noticed the calm and silent atmosphere. Silence was usually welcomed with open arms in this household, but today it was not. Glancing wearily down the corridor as if expecting something to pop out of the corner, Clint rubbed the back of his head and asked, "This really a smart idea?"
No body got to answer the question as they were cut off by happy singing coming from down the hall. The heroic quad ran down the hall to the source of the sound, not even thinking of what, or who, laid ahead.
As they got closer to the source, a delicious and heavenly aroma floated lazily in the air, curling this way and that before reaching over to the Avengers and teasingly tickling their noses. "What's that smell?" Asked Tony, his mouth involuntarily watering.
"I don't know. I think it's coming from the kitchen," responded Steve as they all quickened their pace. When they reached the threshold, however, they were surprised to find someone in the room standing in front of the oven. What was the strangest part about the situation they were in was the fact that the familiar looking blond was singing a rather disturbing rhyme in a soft and melodic voice.
"London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
My fair lady.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold,
Build it up with silver and gold,
My fair lady.
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
Stolen away, stolen away,
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
My fair lady.
Set a man to watch all night,
Watch all night, watch all night,
Set a man to watch all night,
My fair lady.
Suppose the man should fall asleep,
Fall asleep, fall asleep,
Suppose the man should fall asleep?
My fair lady.
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
Smoke all night, smoke all night,
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
My fair lady."
Natasha recognized the little song instantly. Why wouldn't she? After all, it was well known through out the world, yet very few knew of its true meaning. Its horrific and dark meaning that would surely send chills down anyone's spine.
However, she didn't have a chance to think any more about it since at that moment, the blond turned and saw the quad standing on the kitchen's doorway.
Bright sky blue eyes with pink swirls for pupils widened in what looked like glee as they took in the sight before them. "Why hello there!" Chirped the owner of the eyes.
"D-Diamond? What are you doing here?" Stuttered Clint. Images of his 'nightmare' flashed before his eyes. He saw crazy green eyes as they lit up in twisted happiness as a knife buried itself deep in his throat, making him choke in his own warm blood.
"Why I'm baking, of course! Would you like a cupcake, love?" Chipped the jester, suddenly holding a tray of freshly baked and mouth watering cupcakes with a blue paper cup and pink icing on top.
Glancing at each other nervously, the Avengers shifted on their feet awkwardly before the archer finally stepped forward. "Umm...sure?" He said as he plucked a tiny pastry from the platter. "Would you like some too?" Cooed Diamond at the other three, abnormal blue eyes twinkling with barely hidden mirth. Startled, the trio slowly stepped forth and hesitantly grabbed a cupcake each.
"Go on," nudged the jester when the heroes simply stared at the food, not knowing what to do with it. The four once more looked at each other before raising the food up to their lips and taking a tentative bite out of it.
Pure and unabashed deliciousness flooded the inside of their mouths. The taste was so sweet that they had to keep themselves from cramming the whole thing into their mouths and gobbling down the rest. Diamond grinned wide as he saw the faces of his fellow 'comrades' twist in utter bliss.
Clint was the first to finish the cupcake. Curiously twisting his head, the archer asked, "What did you put in them?"
The Joker lowered the tray to rest on the black marble counter before he leaned on it. Resting his head on a raised hand that was propped up by the elbow on the counter, Diamond giggled merrily and replied, "Oh you know. Eggs, flour...poison."
The reaction was instantaneous. Four sets of eyes almost bugged out of their sockets, staring at the poker faced jester in horror and shock. Snickers broke out of the Joker's mouth before full blown laughter ringed through the kitchen. "I-I'm just joking! Hahahah!" He laughed.
Slowly, the Avengers relaxed a bit, still tensed at what the blond Briton had said. "Well,' said Natasha, "we should get going. Right, guys?" The other three nodded before they practically ran out of the room.
When they were far enough, Oliver pulled out a small vial filled half way with a toxic green colored substance. "Oh dears, if only you knew how lucky you were today," he sighed wistfully. On the tray, over half of the cupcakes smelled strange, but the smell could only be detected by people whose senses were really keen. After all, the perfect English gentleman hadn't been lying when he had said that one ingredient was poison. 'Lucky indeed,' agreed England in his head. Staring at the other pastries, Oliver twirled one around from its place on his hand. "What now?" He thought out loud.
'We wait and see. We wait and see.' Answered the fading voice of the host.
AAAANNND DONE! HA! Anyway, I feel sad. :( The AN on the top was written a day ago, so this one's new, just in case someone's confused or something. *sigh* I went to the doctor with my mum today, and he said he was going to send me to a specialist cause something happened to the bones in my hand or something. I don't know anymore... BUT! I MUSTN'T BE SAD! I SHALL BE HAPPY FOR BEING ABLE TO WRITE AGAIN! Furthermore, the chapter's confusing, yes I know, and yes, the 2p's have different names here 'cause if it hadn't been for Sora Moto's review I would never of had noticed that my friends had logged in into my account and changed the names around to Ameriko and Igiko, SOOO thank you Sora Moto for pointing that out! :D And I didn't like how this chapter turned out. I rewrote it like five times and I'm still not pleased with it but whatever! ME NO CARE! ANYWAYS, BYE! *waves*