This chapter is going to take a break from Loki to check in on the situation in Asgard and Midgard. I know, it's one of those bridge chapters, but an important one nonetheless. And you get a little bit of angry Natasha and Clint. Enjoy!

From The Ashes

By Anna Morgan

Chapter 5 Open Wounds

The hustle and bustle surrounding the area of Midtown Manhattan was enough to annoy anyone. Life had returned to relative normalcy in the months following the extraterrestrial attack on their planet as people once again scurried about their business. Still, almost a year later, some buildings were undergoing construction or repairs, but all the debris had been cleared, the streets had been repaired, and the Stark Tower Complex had been completed. The latter was Natasha's destination as she hurried through the thick crowds of people toward the tallest tower adorned with a great glittering "A."

Natasha had gotten quite an urgent call from Director Fury about half an hour ago telling her to get herself to the Avengers Tower immediately. Of course he would call her on her only day off in the last two weeks. Reluctantly she dragged herself out of bed, showered quickly, and here she was fighting her way through the crowds. She scowled to herself as she weaved and dodged expertly between the people as she hurried her way to her destination.

She rushed through the glass sliding doors to the elevator and pushed the button for the eighty-fifth floor, the headquarters of the Avengers. The ride up was long and slow as she tapped her foot impatiently. She hated elevators but wasn't about to rush up eighty-five flights of stairs. Still cursing under her breath at Fury, she stepped out of the stopped elevator to the large room.

In the center was a round, glass-top table, surrounded overhead by a series of large screens that were currently turned off. Standing beside the table was the source of her annoyance as he talked loudly into his phone. In the corner, she could see Bruce and Tony working furiously on one of Tony's two-way screens, muttering commands to JARVIS. And to the far right side that was lined with a long wall of windows stood the God of Thunder himself, looking careworn and anxious as Steve appeared to be comforting him.

Rather than face Fury right now, she immediately headed for Thor and Steve, who had been the only occupants of the room to notice her presence.

"Lady Natasha," Thor said quietly in acknowledgment, not looking at her but staring at the ground.

Her annoyance faded to concern over the god's apparent distress. "Thor what's going on?" she asked in a concerned voice.

It was Steve who replied to her, Thor looking as if he couldn't bear to speak. "Loki has been kidnapped," Steve said informatively. "The Chitauri attacked Asgard and took him with them. Apparently just before they took off with him he turned sides and tried to save Asgard and they took him prisoner. I suppose Bruce and Tony are trying to track them wherever they are in the universe. Fury has Erik and Jane on it too,"

Steve stood with his arms folded across his chest as he spoke. Natasha liked him; he had all the calm and poise of a military commander and he was a good leader.

Thor shook his head disbelievingly. "I was gathering my people to safety through the bifrost when I saw them take him. I tried to follow them, but they disappeared before I could reach them," Thor spoke finally. "Asgard has been destroyed. My brother is in the hands of the enemy."

"And now SHIELD has a few thousand Asgardians running around New Mexico and Arizona. I think they're going to divide them up and send them to different bases around the world though. We don't have the facilities or resources to care for them all in one place," Steve finished. Thor placed his head in his hands and stared at the ground.

While they spoke, Clint had apparently arrived and was now speaking with Fury, who was finally off the phone. He seemed to be filling Clint in on the situation as he threw glances toward Thor and then over to Bruce and Tony, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Agent Romanoff!" Fury called across the room, motioning her to come. She looked back at Thor and placed a comforting pat on his shoulder before turning to leave.

"I take it Rogers has filled you in on the situation?" he asked as she approached.

"Yes."

"Good. I have about ten thousand aliens in the southwest region headquarters right now and another ten thousand alien warriors on the way. I'm placing you and Barton in charge of finding places to house these people. Stark and Banner going to work with Thor to get Asgard rebuilt so we can get them home; Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig are trying to trace Loki. We can't sustain a long-term recovery op for an entire race. I'm anticipating a three month sustainment period," Fury spoke matter-of-factly.

"Do we have a SITREP on the situation in Arizona?" Clint asked. "Specifically any casualties?"

"Only minor and non-life threatening from the sound of it. We've got several medical teams en route to their location now," Fury shook his head. "I sure as hell hope we can get them back in three months, we don't have the resources to take care of this many refugees."

"Have you consulted the counsel yet?" Natasha put on her professional SHIELD agent mindset, forgetting her annoyance completely and focusing completely on the mission at hand.

"Fuck them. They're my advisors, not my higher-up. They could give their opinion but I've already made my decision on the matter."

Natasha smiled. After the battle the counsel was displaced from the chain of command for their decision to launch a nuclear strike against an unarmed civilian population. Instead, they were advisors to the Director of SHIELD, instead of the overseeing power. Natasha recalled the gleeful look in Fury's eye when he had found out, like a child discovering that Christmas had come early.

Steve and Thor approached the three of them slowly, Thor having regained his composure some as he strode over with his head held high. He looked every once the king he was supposed to be.

"Director," Thor spoke, "I am sincerely grateful for your assistance. You do not know how much this means to me, and my people."

Fury held out his hand to shake Thor'swho received it with only polite enthusiasm."You saved our planet last year," Fury replied. There was a smile in his voice but his face was stern and professional. "It's the least we could do."

"When do we deploy?" Clint asked.

"Noon. I'll have Hill meet you there, she's coordinating the damage control right now. Thor will go with you," Fury answered.

….

When noon came Clint, Natasha, and Thor boarded the Quinjet from the roof the Avengers Tower and headed toward the southeast. Clint and Natasha had briefly gone to SHIELD headquarters not far from the tower to change into SHIELD uniforms and gather their black overnight duffle bags, which they now stowed in the back of the jet beneath the benches before taking a seat. They sat on either side of Thor, offering bits of advice and walking through what to expect once they landed.

"Thor, may I make a suggestion for when we get to New Mexico?" Natasha asked over the roar of the engine.

"You may."

"Since you can't be everywhere at once, why don't you appoint a governor, or a temporary leader, for each group, just until Asgard is safe again?" she suggested. "They would report to you at regular time intervals to let you know the state of the group and that way you can divide your attention equally among leading, rebuilding Asgard, and finding your brother."

"Just as long as they're people you trust who are responsible," Clint added.

Thor thought for a moment. "That is a good suggestion. Of course I will still travel to each of them to see their state, but it would allow me aid in restoring Asgard as well," Thor said thoughtfully. "You are truly a wise maiden, Natasha." He bowed his head. "I wish my brother was among us. I could use his cunning and strategist mind. I have missed him," his voice had lowered as well, barely audible over the sound of the engine.

Except he would probably lead a coup against you. Not exactly a big help…Natasha thought to herself. She didn't dare speak those words though and instead reached up to place a comforting arm around him, while patting his shoulder.

Clint spoke to him, "Jane and Erik are working hard to find him, Thor. If anyone can find Loki, it's them. Just think, you'll probably be able to see her while you're there!" Clint attempted to cheer him up. Although Thor didn't feel much better about the situation, he did manage a small smile at Clint's words. He was looking forward to seeing Jane again.

This and other suggestions and plans dominated the conversation for the remainder of the three-hour flight. Natasha and Clint were careful to steer the conversation as far away from Loki as they could and instead focused on the task at hand.

When they arrived in New Mexico, the situation looked very much the way Natasha had expected it. The scene looked like a renaissance fair had been bombed and the still-costumed inhabitants had forgotten that they were in the modern time. Asgardians scattered the premises, both inside and outside. Families were huddled in masses together in the lobby, the hallways, and anywhere else they could find the room. Most were covered in debris and some had small trickles of blood seeping from cuts to their arms and faces. Some looked around in awe while others simply stared at the ground or comforted crying children. Natasha noted that there were few men among them; the men would have been off fighting the war that Thor spoke about and would be arriving shortly.

As promised, Hill had met them at the landing pad, clearly frazzled and stressed. Clint and Natasha exchanged glances that clearly said 'we have our work cut out for us' as Thor strode ahead of them to gather his people together so as to speak to them.

The day though went as smoothly as the situation would allow, thanks to Thor's leadership and Clint and Natasha's expertise as logisticians. Thor was able to calm people and offer them reassurance while the SHIELD agents performed such tasks as finding occupancy limits for the various SHIELD shelters located around the globe, locating supplies, and arranging for transportation to the shelters. As promised, a mass of another ten thousand Asgardian warriors arrived with Odin early in the evening, doubling the number of occupants on the property. Clint and Natasha chose to wait until they arrived before sending people to the shelters, so they could minimize the number of families being broken up.

The reunion of the royal family was bittersweet as Natasha watched from a distance. Thor ran to embrace his father, who received him with open arms. Frigga, who already occupied her husband's side, placed an arm around Thor's shoulders, who then turned to scoop her into a hug. Natasha smiled as she leaded against the wall, observing the happy family. But her smile faded as Thor's face suddenly turned solemn and mournful as Natasha suspected he informed them of Loki's fate. Frigga melted into Thor's arms like ice turning to water. Odin's expression mirrored Thor's – full of sorrow and concern. Natasha frowned as pity flooded through her. Odin placed his hands on Thor's shoulders and spoke what looked like words of consolation. Natasha lowered her eyes and sighed and she turned to get back to her work.

Clint and Natasha worked like robots, continuously and steadily until the last round of refugees took off around one in the morning, leaving the base with only the basic number of SHIELD operatives. Odin agreed with Natasha's suggestion to Thor, and appointed the temporary governors himself, making his wife and son each the governors of a group as well as a handful of other loyal soldiers whom he trusted. He waited until all his people were safely in jets to their destinations before he urged his family into the last aircraft of refugees. Though they only spoke briefly to Clint and Natasha to offer their sincere thanks for their assistance, they held a high respect for Odin by the end of the day. There was no question where Thor got his calm resolve and wisdom as a leader from; Odin was the ideal image of a king, with all the poise and professionalism that one could expect from a man in his position.

….

As the last jet took off into the inky black sky, Natasha was left alone in the New Mexico desert and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was tired, and her head hurt as if she had been hit in the head with something heavy from the day's activities. The beauty of the scene around and above her compelled her to look up and admire the star-strewn sky. It was much prettier out here than in New York. As she stared into the night, her thoughts wandered to the Chitauri ship and its cargo, which had so far evaded detection.

Thor said that Loki had turned sides, that he had repented. Natasha didn't know if she really believed that, but still she couldn't help feeling a small measure of pity for him. She remembered how vicious and unfeeling the Chitauri were during their battle and she didn't imagine they would be the most caring captors. Did anyone really deserve that? She could only imagine the horrors he would probably endure – that he was maybe enduring now.

"It's nice out here isn't it?"

Natasha was snapped from her thoughts as she heard Clint's footsteps slowly making their way toward her. He stopped when he reached her side.

"It almost reminds me of Iowa," he continued.

"Why, because we're in the middle of nowhere?" Natasha teased.

"That and you can actually see stars out here. Can't really see this in Manhattan."

She didn't reply but turned her attention back to the night sky. Clint mimicked her as he crossed his arms and tilted his head upward. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they admired the scene, surrounded by the warm night air. It was Clint who broke the silence once again.

"You know, I've been trying to get you alone to talk to you since that mission in Dubai," he said cautiously. "You've been avoiding me."

"We don't have anything else to talk about," Natasha said simply. "I'd rather just move on from it."

"Well, I'm not done talking about it," he seemed to have finally reached the point he had been hoping for. "I really am sorry, Natasha. I was an idiot."

"Clint…" she started, shaking her head.

"It was one time, I wasn't thinking clearly and I fucked up. I've learned my lesson," he turned to face her. "Please, forgive me."

"Really, Clint? Was it just one time?" she asked sternly. He stayed silent.

Natasha sighed. "I have forgiven you," she turned to face him. "You're my friend, and my partner. But I can't go back to what we were. You know I care about you and I would trust you with my life, but I can't trust you like that again." She held her gaze so as to reinforce her decision.

"We were doing well for, what, eight months – " his voice was quieter now.

"I wouldn't call it 'doing well' if you were jumping back with Janet when I was out on solo missions," Natasha snapped. She had enough of this conversation, and he was really annoying her.

Clint started to get annoyed with her as well. "If you weren't so cold and distant maybe I wouldn't have," he mumbled.

"You could have, you know, brought that up to my attention and we could have worked it out," She said angrily. "And if I'm so 'cold and distant' why are you bringing this up again?" She seemed to have cornered him.

"Because I still care about you, and I don't want to just throw what we had going away!"

"Then you shouldn't have been sleeping with her behind my back. You have my answer. Period."

Clint searched her face, looking for some hint of weakness in her decision, but found none. He looked back down at the ground, defeated. Without another word, Natasha turned heel and headed inside to the bunk room that she shared with Clint. She was fuming. She typed the passcode into the keypad as she approached the door, her slender fingers hitting the keys harder than was necessary, and sat herself down on the bottom bunk, still seething.

It had been two months since she broke off her relationship with Clint after finding out what he had done while she was away. She didn't think that she would have been as hurt if he would have come clean, but instead he had tried to cover it up and hope that she wouldn't find out. His betrayal still hurt her to think about it, like reopening a wound. She hated how he followed her about, trying to get her to change her mind every chance he got. She hadn't lied- she did still care a lot about him. But still, even if she did get back with him again, she couldn't trust him. Their relationship would be defined by suspicion and doubt, and she didn't want that. The majority of her life was shrouded in lies, deceit, and secrets; she didn't need it in that aspect of her life too. She was perfectly content to just forget the whole ordeal and return to their "friends and partners" status.

After a few minutes, she finally rose from her spot and changed into the tank and shorts that she had brought to sleep in. She climbed into the blankets as the fatigue she had forgotten about from her conversation with Clint filled her once again. She closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her. Before she drifted off, she heard the door slide open once again, and Clint gracefully climb into the top bunk.

….

A/N I am SO excited for the next chapter :D I've got it about halfway done already. I actually thought about waiting to post this one until it was finished, but I think it would be too much. This is the end of the 'background/stage-setting phase of the story and it's going to go a LOT faster from here.

BTW Janet is the first name of the Wasp's alter ego – she was one of the actual founding members of the Avengers in the comics, and if I remember right, she actually named the group "The Avengers." She and Hawkeye did actually have a brief romance in the comics at one point. I do like to try and incorporate actual aspects of the comics in here.

Thanks for the small explosion of reviews last chapter! It was much more motivating to write this one (and the next one :D) knowing people actually enjoyed the last chapter. As always, I love to get feedback. Please review, tell me what you think! (just no flames please).