Chapter 6

"Oh, my gosh are you okay!" Daisy exclaims at the state of Natasha's appearance.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She shrugs. "It's not my blood."

Daisy opens her mouth to speak, but instead just closes it and keeps her thoughts to herself.

"What do you know?" Tony asks cutting past all formalities.

"Through some intense negotiation, I found out who the target's partner is."

"What, that wack job has a partner!" Daisy gasps.

"Yes, Barton and I figured that out a couple days ago."

"How-"

"Don't ask questions that might incriminate you, Johnson." Daisy nods in response to the correction.

"So then what's next," Tony asks understanding it's probably best he doesn't know who the partner is.

"Continue as is," Natasha explains. "We need a backup plan in case Clint can't get this to work out."

There is a collective nod and the group goes back to work.


"Is she sure?" Sam asks.

"Don't ever asks if Nat is sure about something." Barton snaps. "If she says something is true, then it is."

The three Avengers are sitting outside the retirement home Wanda and Sam had been watching. Its 2 am.

"Here's what we are going to do," Barton whispers. "This is a soft entrance. We are in and out. We grab the subject and leave to the previously disclosed location."

"You mean the van?" Wanda deadpans.

"Yes, I mean the van," Clint says quickly. "Just- ugh- let's get this over with. I doubt the subject will give us much resistance."

With a quick nod, the trio takes off. Jumping into action Wanda opens the door without setting off the alarm using her abilities. Clint and Sam enter, sweeping the room as they go along. Sam takes the lead, as he had been the one running the recon out of the two. He takes them to a room on the east wing, room 42. Again, Wanda opens the door. Quietly they enter the small apartment type room. Wanda once again uses her abilities, but this time to put a sound barrier between the subject and the bystander. In one quick motion, Clint puts his hand over the mouth of the target, awakening the old woman. Sam instantly notices the same evil tint in the woman's eyes that he saw in the daughter. Using a small amount of sedative, Sam puts the woman unconscious. The two men quietly carry to woman out to the van as Wanda puts the man in a deep sleep and closes the doors behind them.

"Nice job team." Clint smiles. They have regrouped in the van, err... previously discussed undisclosed location.

"Why do I have to sit in the back?" Sam complains. He jesters to the fact that Clint and Wanda are sitting in seats in the front while he is just rolling around in the back with the crazy old lady, a couple of explosive arrows and what he assumes was at one point Clint's lunch.

"Becuase, a gentleman allows a woman to sit in the seat." Clint grins.

"Then why can't I drive and you sit in the back?" Sam sasses back.

"Becuase it's my van!" Clint gloats. "My van my rules. Now are you done complaining or should we take time to argue will Peter sits in a basement with this crazy bitch's crazy bitch daughter?"

"Just shut up and drive," Sam grumbles.


Tony sits in the lab working on a string of codes by himself. Its 2 AM on the fifth day Peter has been missing. Fitz and Johnson collapsed an hour ago. He doesn't blame them. They have been going nonstop for days, and quite frankly the only thing keeping him awake are caffeine and pure rage. A lovely mixture.

"Tony." Pepper whispers from the doorway. Tony looks up to see a woman he hardly recognizes. It's his wife to be Virgina Potts.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" He asks stepping away from the computer for the first in an as long as he can remember.

"May passed out about an hour ago and I haven't been able to sleep, so I came to talk to you." She is shaking. Tony walks her down the hall to a couch.

"What's going on."

"Anthony." She begins to sob. "You have to find Peter."

"Woah, hey its alright, we are going to find him." Tony attempts to comfort. Wait. He's being comforting, that's odd. He'll have to look into that later.

"No, Tony I don't think you understand." Pepper sniffs after collecting herself. "I have just spent the past four days either consoling a hysterical mother or listening to stories about an adorable little boy named Petey while flipping through a photo album of him. You need to find that precious child Tony. He is a beautiful and adorable little boy. I mean my gosh have you seen his baby pictures. He is an absolute angel!"

"Wow, Pepper, that's-"

"And then as soon as you have saved that precious baby from that evil woman. You are going to march over here to me and make a baby with me."

"I... what?" Tony doesn't even know what to say or think. Just... what?

"You heard me, sweetie. I want to Peter Parker of my own." She stately plainly. "I would request a clone, but that's creepy."

"I... wh- ... I mean.. I don't ... whaaaa?" Tony stutters absolutely flabbergasted.

"You heard me, sweetie. Now go and find that son of a bitch." With that, she stands up, kisses Tony's shocked expression on the cheek and walks away.

"I ... need... coffee... and a ... therapist...and... possibly a marriage consoulor." The billionaire stammers.


"Well.. well... look who decided to join us." Clint says. "Linda Sherwood, its nice of you to finally grace us with your presense."

"What, whats going on?" The old woman's voice shakes. "What's happening! Where's my husband, where's Eric! Somebody, please help me!"

"Cut the act you old bat," Clint yells in her face. "You have exactly 3 seconds to tell me where your daughter is keeping Spiderman or I will being to teach you a couple lessons I learned in a Russian prison."

"Clint's been in a Russian prison?" Wanda asks in a hushed voice to Sam. The pair had placed themselves in a corner of the abandoned warehouse giving Clint his space to work.

"I don't know, I mean... I guess." Sam shrugs.

"Spiderman, my daughter... I don't understand. Please, I think you are confused. I am just an old woman!" She begs.

"One." Clint begins.

"Please, I don't know what you are talking about!" She cries.

"Two." Clint reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife.

"I beg you!" She cries. Clint raises the knife above her wrist. "If you want money I'll give it to you!"

"Clint maybe she doesn't-" Wanda begins, suddenly unsure of herself.

"Three!" The super spy brings the knife down toward her finger.

"CLINT!" Wanda screams.

"FINE!" The old woman yells. Her face showing genuine panic. "I'll tell you what I know."

There. Sam swears he sees it. The evil in her eye, it flashes for just a second.

"But you aren't going to like what I have to tell you." Her shrill (must be genetic) voice teases.

"That's fine," Clint says putting the knife back in his pocket. "Just start talking."

"About a couple months ago my daughter approached me with the news that she has once again been passed up for a promotion by a less qualified male coworker. Now, being the encouraging mother that I have always been, I encouraged my little girl to fight for the things she wanted. So she, following my advice, approached her employer on why she had never received a promotion in all her years working for Stark Industries. She came back with a report that she did not "possess leadership qualities" and "did not command the respect of her peers"."

"And you disagreed with this assessment?" Clint asks cutting in.

"Oh goodness no!" She breaks out laughing. "The assessment is dead on. Unfortunately, my daughter received her father's genes with respect to dominance. That man couldn't command the respect of a fruit fly. No, my daughter has never been able to just go get what she wanted, but that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a promotion. She shouldn't be the one to suffer because the egotistical males around her cannot submit to the authority given to them."

Clint was trying to be angry at the woman. He was trying to think of her as nothing but a lunatic, but he couldn't. He didn't entirely disagree with what she was saying. Not that he didn't think her actions were insane and evil, but he could understand the points she was making without much difficulty.

"So, naturally I decided something had to be done about Stark Industries corrupt and sexist policies." She shrugs ever so casually. "I instructed my daughter to do away with her bosses. Unfortunately, the girl never could never really do anything right, and a couple bystanders were lost along the way. But, I supposed that's the cost of doing business. Anyways, after she lit that apartment building on fire, and told me of her idea to go after the little vigilante, I must say, I was impressed. Her reasoning was sound, and her ideas fairly genius. All she had to do was hack into the traffic cameras to track his location, and wait for Spiderman to get near her position and pay a junkie to act like he was going to rape her right when Spiderman was within earshot. Then, once he "saved" her all she had to do was be a little enthusiastic, give him a hug and slip a needle with enough diazepam to knock out a rhino."

"That's how you caught the kid?" Sam interrupts with a mixture of shock and humor.

"Yes, simple and yet highly effective." The woman grins. Her words come off pompous and superior. She is a narcissist, Clint can see it.

"What happened next," Clint asks.

"How do you mean?" The woman asks with a glint of arrogance shining in her expression. She knows exactly what the spy wants, she just wants to hear him say it.

"What happened to Spiderman after he was drugged. What did Tiffany do with him, Mrs. Sherwood?" Her lips curl up into a smile worthy of the Grinch.

"Now, sweetpea, where would the fun be in telling you that? And it's Dr. Sherwood." Clint stares at the woman for a solid minute, and the woman shares back never breaking eye contact.

"Get Nat on the phone," Clint whispers to Sam after he walks over to him and Wanda. "I need to check with her before I continue."