Nothing Will Ever Bring Us Back Together

Chapter Twenty Six- No, that can't be true

AVENGERS TOWER

"No..." Phil whispered, "That can't be true."

"Are you sure?" Jane asked. She knew Loki was evil, just didn't think that he was this evil.

"Natasha, Clint, Ethan, I'm sorry." Pepper told them. Natasha looked at everyone, tears still falling, and saw they were all trying to offer their condolences. She turned and fled, Clint quickly followed her.

"I wouldn't advise you to come anywhere near them any time soon." Ethan advised. They broke up in to pairs; Pepper and Tony; Peggy and Steve; Blaze, Thor and Jane; A calm Bruce and Betty; Ethan and Ella; Lilly and Lewis; Alice and Joe.

"He really took her didn't he?" Alice asked, her little face sad, "I-I don't know what to think. She must be alive, because she's Katya, she must."

"I don't know Alice," Joe replied facing the facts, "I want her to be alive but I have no idea why he would let her live."

"I don't want to think about it," Lilly told Lewis, stretching to the side uncomfortably in her green cat suit, "I can't believe that he just took an innocent little girl like that."

"Lils, he must be purely evil. But I'm also glad, for mum and dad, that it wasn't you." Lewis told her. And for that, he was truly thankful. His sister and him didn't always see eye to eye, but he had no idea what he would do without her, how he would cope.

"Ells, he j-just took her. What am I s-supposed to do? My parents will never be the same again, I won't ever be the same again. She's my little sister, she's just an innocent little girl. Why couldn't he have taken me instead?" Ethan whispered to Ella, pools forming in his eyes. Despite all his teasing and complaining, she was one of the only people he felt truly comfortable with and knew just the right time to let her be, she knew the right time to let him be alone.

"Ethan, don't do this to yourself. There was nothing you could do. She's your little sister so yes, you are going to be cut up about her being kidnapped but I'll help you, I promise to help you through this." Ella always kept her promises no matter what. But this, she wasn't too sure on. Could she really make sure Ethan was ok? If it was Joe, no amount of time would ever fill the gap in her life that he had left. When Tony was locked in his lab and Pepper was on some kind of Stark Industries conference, they were always there for one another, no matter what.

"Betty, Clint and Natasha are two of the nicest people I have ever met, Natasha hardly knew me when she saw the other guy and he almost killed her and, yes it took a while but she trusted me to. Clint was willing to sacrifice anything for Natasha and now his kids too. I hate Loki, but in one sense he brought us together in the first place, and this is what's going to tear us apart again." Bruce ranted. He was dangerously close to hulking out uncontrollably again, something that had no happened in a very long time.

"Don't get too angry. But I agree with you. She was just an innocent little girl." Betty agreed. Not knowing any of the Bartons that well, all she could tell was that an innocent girl had been taken from a loving mother, caring father and a kind older brother.

"Don't say was."

"Mum, it was awful. I can't believe that he just took her. Dad is he really your brother? Because I hate him." Blaze asked, disbelieving that anyone in his family could do such an atrocious thing.

"He is my brother, but he has been imprisoned and he is adopted." Thor relied, feeling guilty for what his brother had done. He knew that Clint was just an expert marksman, devoted to his family and saving the world. Natasha was an excellent super spy, now an excellent mother.

"I feel so bad for Clint and Natasha. I'm sorry you had to see that Blaze." Jane was dying for Clint and Natasha inside. She knew what it was like to have children, though couldn't imagine the pain to have them taken from you.

"Steve, do you think that she will ever come back?" Peggy didn't know Natasha very well but, being a mother herself, she didn't wish it upon anyone to lose their daughter. Especially at the hand of a man who had tried to destroy the world.

"I don't know. Peggy, I am just so glad Alice didn't stay. She would be gone it she had." Steve was truly thankful. Katya was taken because she was the youngest, most vulnerable and Clint, her father, had just shot Loki's daughter. He had been dangerously close to throwing his shield and if Alice had been there, the rim would have hit at the same time as the arrow.

"Pepper. I love you. I love our children and I can't think what's going to happen to them because of this. Joe was close with her, Ella is close with her brother who is surely going to be affected. I can't let us deteriorate because of what happened." For once in his life, Tony was truly worried. He liked to see his children happy, without a care in the world and knew that no mater what he did after today, they were surely going to be affected. He hoped that Ella didn't get panic attacks from going in to the wormhole because there would be no way that he would be able to cope with that.

"Tony, I love you too and I agree with you. We have to help Joe get better but we also have to let Ella help Ethan get over it." Pepper knew that Tony would try to keep Ella away from Ethan, because of him not getting on with Clint and Natasha. It was his daughter, so of course he got a say but anyone could plainly see from their month in the Tower how good Ethan was for Ella, and Ella was for Ethan. Though Pepper knew that Tony often didn't see what was in front of his very eyes.

"Pepper, Clint and Natasha. What are we going to do?" Tony said. He genuinely felt sorry for them, something he never thought would be possible. They were always so cool and never seemed to have any problems worth feeling pity for.

"Leave them alone?" Pepper asked. Two angry, shocked, sad assassins? Who wouldn't want to leave them alone.

"Pepper, we have to find her."

"Then find her. You are Iron Man."

MEANWHILE ON BLACKHAWK FLOOR

Natasha crawled under the sheets tears pouring out of her eyes. Loki had taken her baby. Before he had taken her Clint. Who was there left? Ethan. Clint crawled in beside her and hugged her. Just as much salt water was coming out of his eyes.

"S-she has gone, hasn't she C-Clint? Loki will either k-kill her o-or.." Natasha let her emotions take over something which never happened. She was used to keeping her emotions inside, never showing tears this heavy. It was so rare that Clint didn't really know what to do.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Tasha. This is entirely my f-fault. But m-my guess is that if he was going to k-kill her, he would have d-done it in-in front of us." Clint replied, his emotions mirroring hers, so rare Natasha would have had no idea what to do if she could see through her tears.

"Clint, we have to be there. For Ethan. His little sister was just k-kidapped and his parents are..." Natasha said a few minutes later. She searched for a word but it never seemed to come. A way in which she would search for Katya and never find her.

"Don't worry, Tash. Pepper will look after him. I suggest we get some sleep and try to keep each other from having nightmares." After Avengers battle they would keep each others nightmares away, sharing the burden. This one, together, they didn't know if they would be strong enough to bear.

"Clint, will you protect me?" He question was deep, deeper than a normal person questioning these words would ever be.

"You know I will, Tasha, I always will." The two of them fell in to a dreamless sleep even though they were both expecting nightmares. The worse possible nightmares imaginable.

"Mum? Daddy?" Ethan asked, climbing in to the bed with the two assassins, something he hadn't done for years. Only Natasha was awake though

"Yes, Ethan?" Natasha replied making room for Ethan between herself and Clint, a protection bubble where no one could hurt him.

"I'm scared."

"I am too, but it's ok to be scared once in a while, healthy even."

"Will you protect me?"

"Only when you need it Blue Bullet. Just go to sleep now, like daddy is, and you will be ok. I will keep the nightmares away." Ethan went out like a light after that and Natasha soon followed. Clint woke up five minutes after Natasha was pulled to her slumber. When he woke, Clint noticed three things. One, Ethan was here. Two, He had been asleep for six hours and no nightmares had come. Three, he was starving. When his toast had been made, Clint went back to the bedroom, eating. Natasha was now awake and stroking Ethan's hair.

"I want to go back to where we were in LA," She whispered, "He had friends there and no matter how much I don't get on with her father, I know she will help him though this." Clint knew straight away who she was referring to. There was no doubt that they were good for each other. Almost as good as Pepper was for Tony.

"I was thinking along the same lines. J.A.R.V.I.S. which of the Avengers are currently in the tower?" Natasha was slightly surprised by his comment, though knew that Clint was willing to do whatever was best, for all of them.

"Mr Rogers and his family are getting ready to leave, as are Mr Banner's and Mr Odinson's but Mr Stark claims he is staying you and Mrs Barton are ready to leave." The British voice said. To start with, straight after they had moved out, Natasha and Clint both found themselves, and caught each other, asking the AI to do things for them, then being disappointed when it was not done.

"Clint, once Ethan wakes up, do you think we should say goodbye?"

"Definitely Tash. You have a shower and I'll stay here for a bit."

Half an hour later the remaining Bartons were washed dressed and presentable to say goodbye to Thor, Blaze, Jane, Steve, Peggy, Alice, Bruce, Betty, Lilly and Lewis. Thor was taking Blaze and Jane to Asgard, Steve, Peggy and Alice were going back to London and Bruce, Betty, Lilly and Lewis were going back to Mexico. Three hours later, Clint, Natasha, Ethan, Tony, Pepper, Ella and Joe left on a private jet back to LA.

S.H.I.E.L.D. BASE NEW YORK

Stephanie and Fern sighed. Steph had filled Fern in about what happened and even though she didn't know her too well, she was in buckets. "I-Its j-just dad told me that s-she was s-supposed to be my c-cousin." Fern supplied. Stephanie frowned as she added something new to Katya's file.

Name: Barton, Yekaterina 'Katya'
Superhero name: Amber Arrow
Age: 12
Date Of Birth: 17-03
Family: Daughter of Clint Barton and Natasha Barton. Younger sister to Ethan Barton.
Skills/Knowledge: 'Katya' was good with a bow. She could run and was excellent at gymnastics. Had been taught many languages by her mother.
Status: Presumed dead. Taken by Loki.
Other Information: Knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. Was part of the Revengers. Appeared to have retained her mother's ability for excellent interrogations.