Chapter Six

You know something had happened when you wake up in the medical bay at SHIELD's HQ. The first thing I did after waking up is find someone watching me as carefully as possible. And that someone happened to be Director Fury. His arms were folded as I struggled to sit up, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. I remembered being at the cafe, talking with Peter and teaching him a few fighting styles. After that everything was a blur.

"We found you passed out on the couch in your apartment," Fury explained when he noticed my confusion. "Had a broken leg and several wounds on your arm." For a moment I wondered what he meant by that. Than suddenly I remembered what had happened that evening.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I looked down to see that my leg was wrapped up in bandages. But I was surprised to see that my arm had no fresh scars or bandages wrapped around it. I glanced at Director Fury in another moment of confusion, and he just shrugged.

"Banner said that the Tesseract was reacting to your injuries," he told me. "You're lucky we found you when we did."

The Tesseract had saved me. But how? Questions started forming, but I wasn't able to ask them as Fury looked more concerned than before. One thing I've learned was that if he was concerned, than I should be even more worried than before.

"Do you have any idea who would've done this?" I flinched when I heard an all too familiar voice. Clint was leaning against the wall, looking more than just worried. He looked angry. Which is something I've pretty much gotten used to over the past few weeks.

"Batrok the Leaper," I replied. "I'm guessing that Oscorp sent him, or someone working for Oscorp sent him." I shrugged at the name, realizing that it probably was Oscorp.

They probably had known I was working for SHIELD, and didn't want the government snooping around their research. Though I had to wonder why they were so careful about it. Clearly there was more to their research than I had originally thought. Clint looked like he was ready to say something when Fury cut him off.

"In any case, after this incident I want someone to keep an eye on you," said Fury. "If they send anyone else after you, at least you won't be alone. Especially if that someone has more experience dealing with master assassins."

My eyes widened when I realized what he meant by that. Than in a matter of seconds they rolled in annoyance. So Clint was here for more than making sure I made a full recovery. The last thing I needed was a babysitter, especially one like him. Fury probably had someone else in mind, but I doubt that he would've argued with one of his top agents.

"So does this mean my mission is over?" I wonder how long I was out since Batrok had attacked me.

Another more pressing thought made me worry. What had happened to Peter while I was out? And was he worried that something had happened to me? Director Fury exchanged a look with Clint, who just shrugged in response.

"Our agents have been keeping a close eye on his development. Two days ago his uncle was shot and killed." I felt my heart nearly skip a beat when he said that. Why hadn't SHIELD been around to stop whoever had shot his uncle? Why did Batrok have to attack me when he did? "Now don't go blaming yourself for this, even if we had arrived it would've been too late," he added as if he had read my thoughts.

Peter, I'm so sorry. I wish there was more I could do. We may not have known each other that well, but that same sense of kinship had developed between us. It was kind of like what had happened at the Grid. Hopefully I could talk to him once I got back on my feet. A friend might be just what he needed now.

. . .

"You got a description?"

"Well, no. He wears a mask."

"A mask?"

"Yeah, and most of his victims are suspects, some of them with serious rap sheets. They're calling him a vigilante."

"Okay, he's not a vigilante. He's an anarchist."

. . .

Once I was back on my feet, Fury chewed me out with wonderful words of wisdom. Something along the lines of, "Always keep a watch for enemies", or "Next time don't get hurt." Other than that I was pretty much done with HQ. And I've never been more ready to leave this place. Only problem was I now had a bodyguard keeping watch over me. You can imagine how annoyed I was when we got back to my apartment.

"We are not sharing beds," I pointed out as soon we stepped inside. Clint just smirked at me as Rinzler jumped onto my shoulders. I hope someone was keeping an eye on him while I was gone. Speaking of which, I still hadn't figured out how long I was out.

"No duh," he muttered before collapsing on the sofa. I tried not to look annoyed as he started flicking through the channels on the TV.

"I feel safer already," I said sarcastically. He just smirked at my remark before stopping at the Big Bang Theory. I'm surprised he's even interested in that show. Though I will admit it is good comedy, it gets old after a while. So instead of arguing with him I sat beside him and pulled out my phone to check for any messages. I got a few 'get well soon' messages from fellow agents, and even one from Skye. I haven't seen her in a while, and I'm surprised she even remembered me. What surprised me even more were the amount of messages I got from Peter.

Hey, you there? I think we need to talk-Peter.

I'm not even sure what to say here, I just need someone to talk to.

Do you think you can help me?

I tried not to glare at Clint as he just laughed at the messages. One thing I've learned in a short time is that he has somewhat of a sense of humor. Though in this case it was probably a bit much. Narrowing my eyes before I punched him in the arm, I sent Peter a text, hoping he would be quick to respond.

Hey, is everything alright?

I was surprised he sent me a text so quickly.

Yeah.

Sorry for the late reply.

I wasn't sure what else to add. Anything else might give away hints as to what had happened to me. And I wasn't ready to explain any of that.

Hey, you doing anything right now?

Glancing at Clint, who looked like he was trying to catch his breath, I held back a sigh.

Nope.

Can you meet me at this address?

A moment passed before he sent me the coordinates. Something tells me this wasn't going to be a friendly visit. I glanced over at Clint to see if he was still watching.

"You might wanna grab your bow," I suggested.

. . .

"So, any idea what we're looking for?" Hawkeye was sitting beside me, fumbling with his mechanized quiver while the cab drove us to our destination. Judging from the driver's expression, he wasn't sure whether to be excited to have an Avenger in his car, or worried. Frankly I would go with worried.

"We'll know when we see it," I replied. At least that was what Peter had told me.

The cab slowly inched it's way closer to the bridge. I was reminded of our time spent in a traffic jam a few weeks ago. We were on our way to a press conference and of course the bus had gotten stuck in traffic. Steve had been forced to hold down Tony as he tried to make a break for it, and Natasha, Clint and I just played a game of cards. Not a bad way to pass the time when you were bored.

"Does it have anything to do with that?"

I looked over to see what he was pointing at. Nearby another cab was parked. My eyes widened when I noticed that the back had been completely torn off. What could have done that? Actually, I don't think I wanted to know.

"Yes, yes it does," I sighed. I unbuckled my seat belt and wasted no time in getting out. By now the traffic had come to a full stop, and the cab driver was muttering curses under his breath. "I think we'd better go on foot," I added before Hawkeye could protest.

Jogging past the traffic stuck on the bridge, I made my way past the cars to reach our destination. The people I passed gave me odd looks, as if they were trying to figure out why someone was running straight into the traffic. I'm guessing whatever it was Peter was chasing hadn't reached the bridge yet. So I wonder why he was leading this threat here in the first place. Maybe he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. It didn't take Hawkeye long to reach me, holding onto his bow and ready for the fight.

This would be one of those great times for the Tesseract to start working. I may not know that much about it, but it had saved my life. And more than once it had helped defend me against those Extremis soldiers. I just hoped that using it this way wasn't going to effect my body in any way.

I jumped onto the nearest car to get a better view of my surroundings. If what Peter had described to me was true, than we should be looking for something big. "Please tell me that's not the threat." As if on cue, the sound of people screaming began. And that was when we saw what we were looking for.

"Found it." And Peter's description was pretty spot on. A giant lizard stood ahead, scaly skin and all. Now I know why I hate reptiles so much.

"What happened to fighting normal villains?" Hawkeye groaned as the Lizard let out a roar and turned to face us. As it started charging he pulled out an arrow and fired it. The arrow landed on the Lizard's shoulder, sending jolts of electricity through it shortly after. The Lizard just pulled it out like it was nothing and started charging once more. It grabbed the nearest car and threw it right at us. "Seriously, just once I'd like a normal villain."

We both jumped out of the way, just out of the time. The car hurtled over the ledge, giving the Lizard enough time to vanish while we were still recovering. This was why having some kind of shield would come in handy. Now I knew why Captain America always carried his around.

"This is way too dangerous for you," Hawkeye grumbled as he landed beside me. I just rolled my eyes as we avoided another car being thrown at us. The Lizard was making some kind of point to keep us away. And something told me that this had something to with Dr. Connors' work. After all he was a reptile enthusiast and into cross-species genetics.

"I've been through worse," I reminded him. Even though I put those memories under lock and key, occasionally they did still give me nightmares. Hopefully tonight they wouldn't come rushing back. "We need to find the Lizard," I added as another car alarm went off.

And sure enough the Lizard was lifting another car. Exchanging a wary look with Hawkeye, we both made a run for it towards him just to avoid getting smashed. But the car had already been thrown over the edge. Hawkeye was about to shoot another arrow when something swung past us. Almost at once he had aimed the arrow at the figure, but stopped when he recognized it. Several more cars were thrown towards the same direction, but they were stopped before they could land.

"Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with Oscorp?" Hawkeye asked as we ran on, trying to keep sight of the Lizard.

"Lizard now, talk later!" I snapped as another car was thrown our way. The figure had caught the car just before it landed.

"Somebody help! My kid is trapped!" shouted a man who had spotted us. My mind was churning with anxiety - should we help the kid or stop the Lizard?

"You stop the Lizard, I'll get the kid." Hawkeye looked like he was ready to argue when the Lizard suddenly getting ready to run. With a sigh of frustration he charged after it, giving me the chance to do something even riskier. And I'm sure he'll give me a lecture once this is over.

I jumped over the side of the bridge, remembering to relax my muscles as I landed on the car. It was hanging on just by a thread, and any wrong move could send us both hurtling into the river. I was careful not to make the car sway anymore than it already was.

"Calm down," I said as gently as possible. The kid was panicking, and understandably so. He finally realized that he was no longer alone and looked up at me with large, fearful eyes. I suddenly wondered if this was what I looked like when Quorra had rescued me. "I'm here to help you."

Climbing in, I sat next to him and flashed a reassuring smile. If Hawkeye saw me now he'd strangle me.

"So, what's your name?" I asked just as the figure from earlier swung towards us. The car had lurched forward, and they caught it with what looked like silvery webbing. Something told me that the figure was Peter, so I remained as calm as I could. Glancing at the seat beside the kid, I spotted a bag with his name sewed onto it. "Okay Jack, you'll need to stay calm while I get you out of here."

I leaned across to unbuckle his seat belt, careful not to make the car lurch anymore than it already was. As I did so one of the strands keeping the car from falling had snapped, and the car began to plummet. The kid started screaming again just as Peter caught it with more webbing.

"You might wanna hurry up." I imagine that was said through clenched teeth. The kid started panicking again when he noticed Peter's arrival. It took me a few seconds to realize why. Peter was wearing a mask and a red and blue suit, with a spider insignia on his stomach.

Not a bad look if you ask me, even if he does look like he's wearing pajamas.

"It's okay, he's a friend of ours," I reassured the kid. "Now hold on."

I pulled the kid up close to make sure the car didn't fall again. He wrapped his arms around my neck, the panic evident as he struggled to hold on.

"Really fast please!" he shouted as the headlights caught on fire and started to spread. "This isn't easy."

"Tell me about it." I held Jack close to make sure he didn't fall. Peter was still hanging on, reaching out with one hand as we got closer. Just as Peter had grabbed the kid, the car began to fall, with me still clinging onto the strands. It took every ounce of courage not to scream in terror.

"Hang on!" Peter had handed Jack over to his grateful father before returning to the side of the bridge. My eyes widened when the strand began to snap. He grabbed me just in time as the strand broke in half. Moments later and I would met the same fate as the car. "You okay?"

Really? That was all he could ask?

"I think I'll live," I muttered.

"Uh, he's not here to arrest me, is he?" Peter glanced fearfully at Hawkeye, who was glaring at us both as he joined us. I winced when I noticed the deep scratch on his forehead. I'm guessing that was a gift left by the Lizard.

"No, more like put me under house arrest," I grumbled under my breath. Peter kept looking between me and Hawkeye, as if trying to put two and two together. I was never going to hear the end of this.

"Look, we need to talk, but obviously not now," Peter told me, still cautious under Hawkeye's piercing gaze.

"We will, just not... now." I folded my arms, still wishing that the Grid would suddenly digitize me or something. Wouldn't it be nice if I could just suddenly disappear like that? And reappear once all the trouble was over.

Peter just nodded and decided now was the best time to get away before things got worse.

AN: Hoozah for a fast update! Yeah, I actually have most of the story typed up already XD I'm that excited. And we meet the Lizard for the first time, a few fights here and there. Just the usual stuff. Have to say the bridge scene is probably my second favorite in the movie :) Big thanks to Sunofaia, 2theSky and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D