Chapter2: Team Divided

Since childhood Tony Stark got up exactly two hours after the crack of dawn on the spot, regardless of how tired he had been the night before. Even if he had stopped a plot to rule/wreck the world, thrown several super villains in jail, built some incredible machine that spat in the laws of physics and wooed a beautiful woman all in one day, if not in that order, he would wake up completely refreshed two hours after sunrise. Hawkeye would often brush off this trait off citing that Tony was partly cybernetic thus presumably had a built in alarm. Tony would usually bite back by asking Hawkeye how many beautiful women he had entertained lately, knowing full well Hawkeye was starved for bedroom fun, which in turn would result in verbal one-ups then degenerate into a pissing match until Captain America hit both of them in the head with a demand they stop. He would often work on new machines during these first few waking hours which in turn would often lead to new ideas.

While the sun rose over Manhattan, Stark fiddled with his Iron Man suit in a state of nirvana, a rare enough mood considering what had transpired over the past few months. After the end of the war between heroes, the popular media was calling it the "Civil War" despite outcries from historians; Stark had his hands full attempting to maintain peace between the super heroes and put the kibosh on super villains who saw the war as the perfect opportunity to cause disarray. Between that and the public's fury over the death of their beloved Captain America, peaceful moments were few and far between. After about two and half hours after he woke up Jarvis would inform him of the day's schedule and send up breakfast. Today however Jarvis broke routine by interrupting his master's down time within an hour of his rising.

"Master Stark, I have news." The stately voice suddenly said "I'm sorry for intruding but I believed it best that you were informed." Sighing, Tony stood up, straightening his robe, and began to leisurely put his tools away "What is it this time?" "A zombie attack, sir" the computer replied. Tony Stark paused for a second before turning to the monitor "A zombie attack?" "Yes sir, during the middle of the night massive swarms of the undead congregated about the city. The police have managed to deal with them thus far but not without casualties." "Why wasn't I informed?" Tony asked heading to his desk "The police did not call to ask for your assistance and most of the media had been smothered by the government trying to prevent a panic. I've only just learned about this a few minutes ago myself." The multi-billionaire sighed and stretched for a moment before replying, "Call the Avengers and tell them to meet me here in an hour, we'll divide the city into sections and shore up the police force."

"Understood sir" Jarvis said leaving Tony to his thoughts. He couldn't really remember any villain that they had faced who employed zombies as their main modus operandi. It was still a very brazen act in the wake of Civil War so Tony reasoned it was some hot shot super villain trying to send a message. A quick search on his computer confirmed what Jarvis had told him, the zombie attack was being kept under some incredibly impressive wraps. The internet was down for the most part and all that was on the T.V were reruns to block any news from being conveyed. All in all a very impressive job from the U.S government especially in light that this would have been decided in a very short time frame. As he began to suit up he wondered what kind of day today would be.

Unlike Tony, Clint Barton, a.k.a Hawkeye, was not a morning person or even an early afternoon kinda guy. A good night's sleep optimally consisted of eleven or more hours with no rush on waking up fast. Sadly as a hero he rarely ever got that amount of sleep which often constituted in the snarky demeanor that the Avengers often had to put up with. That grumpiness was in full force when a beeping noise woke him from a particularly nice dream. He tried to ignore it as best he could but eventually he pulled his hand out of his pants and pushed off the sheets. Looking about blearily for what was making that noise he yawned and scratched his head. "Damnit, can't a guy get some sleep?" he muttered as he got up and began to search the pockets of his costume thinking it was his cell phone. He withdrew his cell phone and something else, his Avengers card. When he was in the Avengers Tony Stark had distributed them amongst the members and they acted as a telephone and a tracking device allowing Jarvis to pick up their location anywhere on Earth.

It was impossible that the card could have been in his pocket, he had destroyed it during Civil War when he had sided with the anti-registration side. Yet there it was in his hand making that damn noise that was keeping him from pleasant dreams. He briefly considered destroying it again but his curiosity got the better of him. He pressed the "A" on the Avengers logo on the card with some force activating the phone aspect of his card. "Hello?" he asked uncertainly "Mister Barton? This is Jarvis. Can you hear me?" "Why the hell is Tony calling me and how did he manage to slip this card into my pocket?" Clint demanded "You are an Avenger hence you have the card." Jarvis replied, had he been human no doubt a bucket load of sarcasm would have permeated this statement "And Master Stark is asking for the Avengers to assemble." "Did you get hacked or something Jarvis?" Clint snarked back "I'm not an Avenger anymore, Civil War happened, remember?"

"I do not what you are talking about Mister Barton." Jarvis replied "Please meet the rest of the Avengers at Stark Towers in an hour please. There is a zombie outbreak happening in New York and Master Stark wants to discuss his plans on how to deal with the issue." "Tell Stark he can take his orders and stick them up his a-" there was a click and Clint pounded his fist into the wall "Don't you hang up on me you stupid computer!" Tossing the card away Clint sat his ass down on the floor and crossed his arms defiantly. "Damn you Stark." He muttered considering what he should do. There was no way in hell he would be heading to Stark Tower even if the so called "zombie apocalypse was happening just outside his door. Speaking of zombies Clint peeked between the slates of his window blinds and confirmed that while Jarvis was spewing mostly bullshit he had been dead on about the undead break out. A group of them was shambling past at a decent clip and the street was devoid of any "living" body. Changing out of his pants Clint put on his Hawkeye costume and scrambled around his bachelor pad for his quiver and bow.

Stomping around and through piles of dirty clothes and empty cartons of food, he made a mental note to clean his place when he got back. Once he was ready, Hawkeye opened the window and climbed up onto the roof. Drawing an explosive arrow he shot one directly into the middle of the zombie herd reducing one's head into chunky salsa and sending the others flying about. They all turned to face him simultaneously sending a shiver down his spine and began to move toward him. 'I have a feeling that this apocalypse is going to be a lot less glamorous than the internet wants us to believe.' He thought wryly as he sent a wave of fire arrows into the crowd.

At the top of Stark Tower Iron Man was strategizing with the chief of the NYPD as to how the Avengers and police would act in order to ensure minimal casualties as they pushed the zombies back. His only warning was a barbaric roar as he was flattened by a giant green arm. His attacker didn't give him any time to recover as powerful, earth rending punches kept him glued to the ground. Activating his chest laser he pushed his attacker back long enough to stand up and get some ground between the two of them. A furious Hulk charged him ready to bash him with another haymaker only to meet a second uni-beam to the face. "Damnit , Jarvis get the weapons system online. The Hulk's here and he means business." "I don't understand sir." the computer replied "Isn't the Hulk a member of the Avengers." "Uh, he was Jarvis." Tony snapped back "Then Civil War happened remember?" "As a matter of fact sir I don't. Master Barton also mentioned this Civil War when I summoned him. Am I missing something?"

Iron Man dodged a second punch and tried to get out of range by blasting up into the air but the Hulk grabbed him and slammed him back onto the ground. With Iron Man facing the ground the Hulk had no reason to fear another chest laser to the face and began to barrage the suit with a flurry of punches and kicks. "You hunt Hulk's friends. Hulk kill you." The green goliath roared as he prepared his final strike, a ground pound that would easily turn Stark's insides to jelly from the force alone. He was foiled by a giant hammer to the face which caused him to tumble away from Stark. Thor landed on the roof and caught his hammer "Cease in your feckless administrations, Hulk. Villain he may be, but far be it for us to forsake our code of honor." The Hulk jumped back up if he hadn't even felt the blow at all "Puny metal man get Captain America killed and hunt Hulk and friends. Metal man dies now." The Hulk tried to get to grab Iron Man but Thor pushed him away. "I understand your pain Hulk. Captain America was a boon companion and a dear friend but Iron Man was not responsible for his death. He shall pay for his actions against super hero kind but not in blood." The Hulk tensed for a second as if to go through Thor to get to Iron Man but relaxed and stared directly into Thor's eyes. "Hulk not want to hurt friend. Hulk will let metal man live for now."

"I praise thou mercy Hulk." Thor replied before turning to Iron Man "Speak now villain, why dost thou summon Thor, god of thunder, and the Hulk when it is within your ken to remember the Civil War and thou erroneous actions against us and the superhero kin?" "Summon you?" Tony asked incredulously "I didn't summon-Jarvis why the hell did you call them?" "You did order me to assemble the Avengers." "The Mighty Avengers, not the old ones!" Tony replied struggling to get back up on his feet. "Didn't you guys destroy your Avenger cards anyway?" "Your devices reappeared upon our persons last night." Thor replied "Forsooth, twas there upon rising despite my ken that I had destroyed it." "Hulk too had card but Hulk smashed card before." "I don't understand what is happening sir, but all the Avengers answered the call I put out." Iron Man froze "Who answered Jarvis?" "Hawkeye, Thor, Hulk, Captain America." Jarvis reiterated "That's…That's impossible Jarvis. Captain America is dead."

"Apparently not" a voice, a very familiar voice, answered them. Standing there on the roof near the northern edge was Captain America looking very much alive. "Impossible" Iron Man remarked raising his hand preparing a pulsator blast "Who are you?" Cap shrugged "Who do you think I am Tony?" "A Skrull, an illusion, Mysterio, hell maybe a really well preserved zombie" Tony snarked back. "I am real, Tony" Captain America replied "I don't know how I came back to life either but I am no imposter." "Lies" Iron Man retorted "I watched you die, I was there at the funeral. There's no way you're really Cap." "Hulk believe." The green giant stepped forward and took his place by the formerly deceased Avenger "Hulk glad Captain America alive."

"Hulk that is not Captain America, you saw him die." Iron Man said "Don't turn this into the Skrull war all over again." Thor stepped forward "Are thou the real Captain America? Pause a moment before answering for if thou lies that thou art mine boon companion this god of thunder shall show thee no mercy!" "I am no imposter Thor. Please believe me when I say that I am alive and stand here before you." The two men held each other's gaze for a long moment before Thor suddenly busted a huge belly laugh. "Yggdrasil be praised! Captain America has returned to us from the halls of Valhalla." Thor said stepping over to his friend and slapping him on the back "Your presence was missed greatly by myself and all of those who stood in your camp." "It's good to see you too Thor." Captain America replied with a smile before turning his attention back to Iron Man.

Reluctantly Tony put down his arm "I don't believe you for a second." "I don't need your faith Tony. I need to know why you called me and why I can't contact S.H.I.E.L.D or anyone else." "You can't contact S.H.I.E.L.D?" Ton asked surprised "No, when I tried to call them it said that the number did not exist." Captain America replied. "Jarvis can you contact S.H.I.E.L.D?" "And what might that be, sir?" his computer replied "Did you get hacked or something Jarvis? You know S.H.I.E.L.D, Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, a government agency led by Nick Fury?" "Forgive me sir but there is no record of them in my data base." Iron Man face palmed "What is going on?" "I don't know," Captain America replied "But right now let's deal with what we do know, zombies are attacking the city and the police force is struggling to contain them. I trust you have a plan Stark?" Iron Man sighed and nodded, as much as he hated to admit it, there was a more pressing situation they has to deal with for now. "I contacted the chief of police and they want us to break off into individuals and help shore up the police defensive line. Once we thin their ranks we start cleaning up the rest and hopefully find the bastard who started this in the first place."

Captain America looked around "Didn't summon Hawkeye?" "I did Captain America but Mister Barton was quite…adamant that he would not be coming." Jarvis replied "Although after the exchange I have viewed here I now understand his hostility a bit better. I must reorganize my data; I seem to missing some vital information." "While I'm out I want you to run some tests to see if you were hacked. There seem to be some huge gaps in your database." Iron Man ordered "Understood sir, the report shall be on your desk."

Iron Man grabbed his Avenger card and slid it through a scanning device in his armor's wrist. "Check the card for your coordinates and call in every hour with a progress report." Disgusted with the recent turn of events Iron Man blasted off to the south. "Dost thou really wish to ally thyself with that man?" Thor asked skeptically "Right now we need his help if we're going to curb this zombie problem and find out what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D. But I have no plans to make peace with Iron Man, the team is no more." "Understood but I wish to converse later about the future state of affairs." Thor replied before flying off to the east. "Hulk help Captain America." The green giant said as he squat down, preparing to jump off the roof. "I'm grateful for you assistance." Captain America said. With a leap Captain America parkoured his way down Stark Tower and headed north while the Hulk bounded from building to building with his sight set on the west.

'This is endless!' Hawkeye thought as he reloaded his quiver from the stash in his room. He had run out of arrows in no time thanks to his early mistakes which was costing him precious time. He had been using his most destructive arrows on the easy soft targets like the regular zombies quickly losing his most valuable assets when other monsters began to show up. Drawn by the sound of battle a pack of undead dogs rushed at Hawkeye just as he was about to finish off the last zombie in the very first group he had encountered. They were extremely agile, he had only managed to feather two out of a pack of five before they jumped up onto the roof he was perched, on forcing him to engage in melee. Dodging several bites he managed to use the narrow roof to his advantage knocking two of them off before decapitating one then using an arrow to hit one as it jumped back onto the roof. The final one managed to claw him in the arm as it went for his face but Hawkeye pushed it off then stabbed it in the face.

After getting his breath back he patrolled a five mile radius around his home where he was drawn into a conflict with some disturbingly human like monsters. They were attempting to break into an apartment and in the lobby a group of men were fighting to keep the door barricaded. What was really worrisome was their ability to use weapons; after he had got their attention by killing three of their group they rushed him with knives, some hatchets and one of them had a chainsaw. They attempted to surround him but his rapid rate of fire inhibited their movements. Apparently these human ones were capable of some tactics because they decided to retreat into an alley. When he tried to follow them in order to finish them off, a pack of dogs hidden behind the bend charged his flank to cover their retreat, after he finished the dogs off the human monsters were long gone. "Sheesh, and here I was thinking this was going to be hard or something."

He hadn't encountered any more of them but a few more dogs in smaller units of threes and plenty of regular zombies. Nothing too troubling but the density of their numbers quickly depleted his quiver forcing him back home after only completing three miles of his circuit. His pissiness at Tony's offer to team up was beginning to look like it could come back to bite him in the ass. Since his best combat abilities came from his archery skills, while his melee abilities were above average, and he was going to run out of arrows eventually without any way to replenish, the constant Hollywood trope about zombies turning anyone they bit into one of them made him cautious about getting too close. As he bandaged his leg he wondered if this would be enough to zombify him. After double checking in the mirror to make sure his flesh wasn't beginning to rot or anything he continued his patrol. Running up one of the side streets in his neighborhood he backtracked to where he left off without any surprises. The street was completely bare of any activity which relaxed him somewhat. He wouldn't have to worry over any civilian trying to assault the monsters or group together for protection.

His current apartment was in a semi urban neighborhood with lots of other high rises about and each one of them had their front doors barred in some way or another. The sky was overcast with clouds effectively blocking the sun from making an appearance. It was the picture perfect day for the zombie apocalypse. He didn't encounter anything for about half a mile which came as both a welcome relief and edgy apprehension. After finding them around every bend that he was quickly becoming adjusted to constant action so this lull made him suspicious 'I bet it's those human monster things again. They seemed like the type to favor surprise attacks.' A chorus of screams alerted him to trouble, slightly to the left past the bend and down another alley, and he was off like a shot. Winding between two buildings he emerged on a street two streets to the left of his initial position. Another high rise stood in front of him but unlike the others he had seen its entrance was unblocked. A small group consisting of two teenage girls, a man and an elderly lady were being menaced by two dogs. A body lay over five feet to their right side, a woman, being devoured by three regular zombies, most likely she had been a part of the group.

The dogs went down effortlessly with an arrow in the back of the head each. The zombies glanced at him but ignored him; animal instinct dictating a dead, fresh meal was better than a living, fighting one. Making a hard pragmatic decision he decided to ignore them and their victim's corpse in the interest of conserving ammo. Strolling up to the traumatized family he ushered them inside the building without any hassle. Jamming the door close with his bow he cupped his hands to his mouth "Hello! Anyone here?!" A few minutes of silence followed each one punctuated with more calls from Hawkeye before a small group of men appeared each one armed with a gun. "Who are you?" one of the men asked "Idiot, don't you watch T.V? That's Hawkeye, one of the Avengers." Another berated "He's come to save us."

"Found these guys outside, can you let them shack up here?" the hero asked gesturing to the group behind him. "Sure, as long as these zombies get exterminated quickly" one of them, their leader most likely, replied. "Our food situation is ok but if this thing goes on for more than a week we'll be in trouble." Hawkeye nodded appreciatively "We're doing everything we can to get rid of them, just hang tight." He hated to lie to them, it was "him" and no "we" but he didn't want to harm morale any more than need be. He turned to leave but was accosted by the man of the group he had just saved. "Please Hawkeye, could you bring that corpse in here." He gestured at the corpse that the zombies were feeding on "It's my wife Clara, I-I-"He broke down for a second joined by the three other women "I can't stand the fact she's being eaten. Please." Hawkeye sighed and turned to the guard group "Can I borrow one of your guns please." Sympathetic of the situation the leader handed over his beretta. Checking to make sure it was loaded Hawkeye headed outside, shot the group of zombies and dragged whatever was left of the corpse into the building, noting with disgust that those little buggers worked fast.

The corpse's appearance caused a round of crying and vomiting, even Hawkeye who had seen a lot of disgusting stuff in his life had to fight hard to resist blowing chunks. They covered the body in a tarp and left her in the lobby while the outsider group was placed in a room. After washing the blood and grit off his hands Hawkeye headed for the door. "Keep this barricaded, it's far easier to stop them from coming in then fighting them." He instructed their leader "Don't worry, with me on the job this'll be over in a flash." "Good luck Hawkeye, our prayers are with the Avengers." The man replied shaking Hawkeye's hand before the hero went back out into the streets. He completed his circuit with only a few more battles, mostly with dogs accompanied y regular zombies. One fresh quiver later he augmented his patrol another ten miles.

At about the two mile mark he was beginning to run low on arrows again. The dogs were out in full force using predatory tactics to surround him and ambush him. One pattern of their he picked up was having one charge him to draw his attention while another snuck up behind him aiming for his neck. The buildings had diversified a bit with two story buildings juxtaposed with the high rises. They increased the number of alleys around giving the dogs an easier time of surrounding him. He had several close calls, one had even managed to pounce onto his bask and tear at his costume. Ignoring the cool breeze assaulting his exposed back Hawkeye checked his quiver, seven arrows left, and began to plan his retreat. Just as he was about to turn around one of those human monsters appeared shambling along in a non combative manner.

Nocking an arrow he watched the creature warily as it moved sideways to the right. It stopped in front of a two story house, a pizzeria in fact, and pointed up to the second story window. Two of the human creatures could just be glimpsed in the frame but what they had could be clearly seen, caught in their grasp was a young man. Satisfied that the human had got their message the monster attacked and was quickly stabbed by Hawkeye. He swore vividly, obvious the monsters had been planning this ever since he had sent them running earlier and they had caught him in a perfect trap. Undoubtedly they were baiting him to come and rescue the guy but if he did charge their position he risked getting swarmed inside. If he went to restock they would probably eat their hostage then plan another trap.

Hawkeye didn't hesitate, he charged into the building knowing full well what a bad idea this was. 'A few arrows in the head will teach these creeps what a bad idea it is to mess with me.' He burst through the door with a kick revealing a horde of regular zombies crammed inside the first floor. He shot the two closest to him but decided to risk melee using the blade hidden in his bow to stab and slash his way through. His movements were a flurry of purple as he cut through them unscathed and made his way to the stairs. As he began to climb one of the human monsters appeared at the top and began to throw an assortment of knives at him. Ducking back down the door he drew another arrow and shot it right between the eyes, four arrows left. Climbing the stairs he stepped over the body and entered the living room.

The human monsters had left with their hostage leaving two more of their kind awaiting Hawkeye in the kitchen. The first lunged at him from the doorway attempting to stab him with a butcher knife which he blocked with his bow. Suddenly a really sharp pain alerted him that a third one had hidden somewhere in the living room and ambushed him. With a cry he kicked away the one in front of him before pivoting about and decapitating the back stabber with his bowstring. The motion jarred the knife loose from his back and it clattered to the ground dripping red with blood. Notching an arrow he finished off the first one then picked up the knife that had stabbed him struck the last one in the head burying the blade deep in its cranium. He couldn't tell how much he was bleeding but every time he turned around he left a jagged semi-circle of blood in his wake.

However his concern for his mortality was cut short when a scream from the next room alerted him that his hostage was close by. Digging deep into that flawless core of emotions that comprised the best of heroes he charged forward into the next room with just enough time to see the human monsters climb out of a nearby window onto the roof. His back stung like a hell but Hawkeye managed to boost himself onto the roof were his opponents waited. Along with the two human monsters a pack of seven dogs surrounded the house ready to jump up onto the roof once space opened up. The other creature on the roof was a huge version of the human zombies; at least eight and a half feet with a burlap sack over its head and a chainsaw all revved up in one hand. The young man laid at the foot of the burlap sack monster his corpse nothing but bloody raw meat.

"Damn you." He said cocking an arrow and trying his best to avoid the fire like pain in his back "Damn you all to hell!" He shot the human monster to the right of him as the other and burlap sack advanced. He blocked the knife and pushed the human monster into the chainsaw giving him enough time to wheel about and run to the opposite side of the roof. With a howl two dogs jumped onto the roof ready to join the fight. Advancing cautiously from the front once they drew close they both lunged at him, one aiming at the throat and the other trying to knock him off the roof. He ducked under one of the dogs and drew his blade and stabbed the other in the face. He kicked it's corpse over the edge to give him room to dodge, the chainsaw wielder had finally cut through the body of his fallen friend with his weapon. With an inhuman war cry it advanced swinging its chainsaw with calculated precision it began to slowly box Hawkeye in.

Unable to get a decent shot in Hawkeye looked about quickly, desperately trying to find some means to escape getting made into mystery meat. He could of have tried to drop back down into the window, but with the fact that his back was completely numb, he would probably just fall over the edge and get eaten by the dogs. A stiff breeze and a quick whiff of ozone alerted him that he had to act now or die. Watching the chainsaw in an almost trance like state he got into a rhythm just like he did back during his circus days when performing a particularly dangerous trick. Time seemed to slow to a fraction as the burlap sack monster neared with a triumphant gurgle, realizing its prey was accepting its fate. His focus narrowed into a pinprick, Hawkeye watched the chainsaw swing upwards in preparation of the final stoke. The weapon came down prompting Hawkeye's reflexes. Meeting the chainsaw partway with his bow, the hero buckled under the force of the blow, trying his best to keep his fingers clear of the treads.

With a grinding sound the chainsaw tried to cut through the bow but its weighty material was proving an effective barrier between Hawkeye and certain, gory death. With a grunt Hawkeye forced it to the side, just barely over the skin of his index finger, forcing the monster to succumb to the effects of physics and follow the channeled inertia doubling over to the side in attempt to keep its grip on the weapon. In a flash Hawkeye bounded over to the other side of the roof and drew an arrow. Sadly while the chainsaw hadn't been able to break the bow it had weakened the middle enough, when Hawkeye drew back the bowstring the middle cracked into two pieces. Left with two worthless arrows and a broken bow a familiar feeling crept over Hawkeye. He had been in plenty of situations that looked hopeless like this one, as per a hero's job description, but rarely had this emotion, this foresight, been present in his gut like glacial water. He was going to die.

The monster had recovered and with a scream it summoned two more dogs to join him on the roof. It stalked toward him in a very passive manner as if it knew victory was imminent with the two dogs trailing him, slavering like fiends. Desperately fiddling with the right side of the broken bow Hawkeye tried to unlock the blade hidden within but the mechanism was jammed leaving him with only his wits and fists. Encroaching down his back into his calves the cold numbness of his back sealed the final nail in his coffin as the hero found himself unable to stand. He would be ended on his knees as if he was some spineless penitent. The buzzing sound rose to a frantic crescendo as the device was pushed to its fastest revolution in preparation to slice through the skull like wet tissue paper. Lifting his head one more time Hawkeye stared into the burlap monsters wild eye, he would not die bowing to his opponent. "Fuck you." He growled as his last words.

A shot suddenly rang out and the burlap monster roared back dropping his weapon in the process sending his dog retinue fleeing in self preservation. Something purple slammed into the monster and there was the sickening sound of sound of flesh being loudly penetrated. Something had attached itself onto the monsters face; it drew a gun and shot the thing several times in the face before pushing its body forward in order to topple its foe. With a sigh the figure pulled its long stiletto heels out of the monsters chest and reloaded the gun. "You ok?" it asked revealing it gender. It was a girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail wearing a purple jumpsuit which showed off her incredible curves. "Uh…yeah." He answered her dumbly. "Stay here." She instructed him as she charged the remaining dogs. With their master dead the rest of them had jumped on the roof forming a tight knit mass of fangs and foul flesh.

Not phased in the slightest the girl drew her gun firing three shots that dropped two and blew half the face of another. Even with its snout dangling from its nose the dog joined its comrades in a suicide rush with the sole aim of knocking the girl off the roof. She shot another dog before avoiding their pack attack. Another dog was pushed off the roof in the chaos while the others either wheeled around to face their opponent or set their sights on the prone Hawkeye. Two stalked him while the one with half a face pounced at the girl. An an elegant kick knocked him out of the air and she splattered its face with a stomp. With a superhuman leap she flew through the air and landed on one of the dogs who were harassing Hawkeye. It collapsed with a yelp before being killed with another kick that sent her heel directly into its head. The final dog, feeling threatened, abandoned an easy meal in order to drive off the attacker. A clatter alerted Hawkeye that the one she kicked off the roof had returned sandwiching her between the two.

Her pretty face was an emotionless mask as she hunkered down into position. With a silent signal the two dogs leapt forward with flawless coordination but it was futile. Like a beast the girl crawled in the ground with surprising agility catching one dog with her calves which twisted viciously causing its neck to snap. Untangling herself fluidly she spun her body one hundred eighty degrees dodging the last dog's attack and finishing it by stabbing its throat with her heel. With an uncanny silence she arose and gazed at Hawkeye, her eyes a glassy yellow. For a brief second Hawkeye felt like he staring back into the eyes of the human monsters, they were predatory and calculating. Then it seemed to soften slightly, no longer a predator but more of a deep disinterest, and she regarded him silently.

"Ya didn't have to interfere, had them right where I wanted them." He called to her hoping that this mood would stay "but…uh…thanks for the help anyway." She said nothing as she continued to pierce him with her gaze; it would've been kinda hot if it weren't so probing. After a long moment she approached him "What is the current status of your injury?" she asked monotonously "What?" he asked puzzled at her demeanor "Oh, the wound on my back? That's…that's nothing. Don't you worry about me, been through worse." In a desperate display of machismo Hawkeye tried to stand up but his legs were completely unresponsive. Watching him flounder for a second the girl strolled up to him and peered over his back. "This wound is not serious, major organs are unharmed. However untreated this will likely cause infection. Target seems unable to move due to the pain. Likelihood of survival less than 0.000001 percent." Her ramblings completely blew by Hawkeye as he was getting a perfect view of her cleavage and crotch thanks to the position she was in.

She was silent again and if Hawkeye could have focused on her eyes he would have noticed they seemed to clear for a brief second. Repositioning herself to his right side she knelt down and placed his arm over her shoulder "Are you capable of moving if I assist you?" she asked him. Realizing he was in an uncomfortably emasculating position Hawkeye waved her off "I'll be fine sweetheart, just give me some room." He struggled again to stand which the girl must have taken as a non verbal cue to help him. With a surprising amount of strength she pulled him up onto his feet. He grunted in pain as he felt his wound pulse painfully while his feet attempted to rebel against his sudden movements by staggering about like a drunk man. He lurched forward but by repositioning herself in front of him she managed to grab his shoulders to keep him upright. By bending his head he had a gorgeous view of her chest 'I'm a married man, dammit, I'm a married man' he thought repetitively 'Albeit we're technically divorced now and not seeing each other and we've both slept around a good deal but…but…'

"Are you going into shock?" the girl asked "Please respond." "Ah…ah…yes...I mean no…I'm not going into shock." Hawkeye replied frantically as he ripped his gaze off her chest "We shall hole up in the pizzeria below us. Brace yourself." "Huh, what?" was all the poor hero got out before hauled over to the edge of the roof. The girl grabbed him by the arm then dropped over the edge using his inertia from swinging back and forth to launch him back inside. He landed on his back with a yelp as the impact stimulated his nerves changing the pain from numbing to sharp. She entered in effortlessly behind him and began to move around the apartment. "Do you want to tell me your name or something?" he asked trying his hardest to ignore the pain "Name's Hawkeye by the way." She didn't answer him at all choosing to concentrate solely on gathering supplies. After about five minutes or so she returned with a spatula that was glowing red with heat as well as a pitcher of water and some bandages.

Hawkeye knew what was coming so he ripped off a piece of his outfit, his top had been shredded completely by his fight with the monsters on the roof leaving him with only his mask and his pants. Stuffing it into his mouth he stiffened as much as he could and rolled over. The girl placed the hot spatula down on his wound using one of the bandages to pressure it evenly. After all the humiliation his manly pride had been through it was a small consolation to Hawkeye that he could control the pain enough that the only unwilling cries he produced were small enough to be blocked completely by his gag. Once the wound was cauterized the girl poured a small amount of cool water on it to ease the burn then wrapped it in bandages. From his position laying face down, Hawkeye couldn't see exactly what the other girl was doing other than she had gotten back up and was moving about the house.

When her footsteps returned a blanket fell over his form then his face was lifted and set to the side as a pillow was paced between him and the floor. "Get some rest." She instructed as she began to walk away. "C'mon babe, what's your name?" Clint asked watching her back retreat into the next room "Mine's Hawkeye but you probably knew that." She paused for a long moment "My name is Jill Valentine." She replied before disappearing into the next room. He had lots more questions to ask, where she had gotten her training from being the foremost. She looked like some kind of Bond type girls like Black Widow with the way she twisted and flipped as she battled. Her attitude fit the profile too; someone who had locked down their emotions completely for the sake of the mission even if it left them practically comatose during friendly interactions. Still there was that bestial manner she slipped into during the end of the battle that had been something more in line with Wolverine with his berserker rage. It unnerved him enough to make sleep difficult to accomplish; he was an independent hardass at the best of times so the fact that the smallest attempt to move his back was met with an onslaught of pain making standing impossible made him paranoid. It was going to be a long night.

While Hawkeye was recuperating from his wounds his fellow former Avengers were hard at work destroying the zombie invasion. After a bit of recon with the police it turned out that anyone who got bit by a zombie got the infection and would turn into one of them within a few hours. With heavy hearts the police were forced to gun down several of their infected comrades some who were no longer themselves and some who were still in full control of their mental faculties. After helping the police regain their control of the situation the Avengers used Iron Man and Hulk to head the assault against the zombies as they began their offense on the horde while Captain America and Thor provided clean up and artillery.

By the time sunset rolled around the invasion had cleared considerably with some sectors being void of the undead menace entirely. The police had strengthened their hold on the remaining sectors allowing supplies and medical help arrive to aid the stranded masses. Still the zombies seemed to have a very large mass spread throughout the city, since no one knew where they came from or how many there were left the situation was far from resolved. Using a coin toss it was decided that the Hulk and Captain America would stay up throughout the night providing back up when needed while Thor and Iron Man would retire for the night and take the day shift.

As the moon rose above the horizon Tony Stark touched down on top of the roof of Stark industries. He was bushed after the day's events as well as still sore from the beating the Hulk had subjected him to that morning. "Jarvis get Pepper to send up a small dinner and some painkillers." "Will do sir, my report on my examination of my internal servers is complete and sitting on your desk." His computer answered him back. A quick check of the clock informed him that it was five minutes after ten which wasn't as much time as he would have liked. While he waited for his food Tony perused the report Jarvis had created. The computer hadn't detected any signs of a hacking attempt on its mainframe and its database had no fragmentation indicating info removal. This didn't really surprise Tony as it would require a genius of unbelievable caliber to hack Jarvis but it did add fuel to a theory he was beginning to form in his mind.

The rest of that night was spent bypassing the locks the government had set on the internet giving him free reign to inquire about the current state of affairs going on. With each topic he googled a picture began to emerge bizarre in its shape and unknowable in it design but concrete all the same. Some questions were answered but most were not and even more began to pile on till Tony felt his mind begin to spin from the amount of them. By the time midnight came Tony Stark had to step away from his computer, he had seen enough for now. Standing in front of the window he peered down at the city which was unnaturally comatose thanks the invasion. Subconsciously he began to recap the relevant information he had acquired during his search.

'This is not my world, it looks very similar to it but it's not.' This was the most basic fact but the most pertinent. For a long time now he had known of the existence of parallel dimensions and had even been in a few of them himself. 'Civil War did not happen, the Avengers are still together. But the Hulk, Thor and Captain America clearly remember the war and the death of Captain America meaning they are not the originals from here. However we cannot contact S.H.I.E.L.D, neither the government nor Jarvis knows what that organization or who Nick Fury is either. Other organizations like the Fantastic Four do not exist if the fact the internet isn't aware of them or that Baxter building doesn't exist is any indicator. I can't get into contact with anyone else.' He paused and rubbed his tired eyes 'Who sent us here and is there anyone else from my world that was transferred here? That the most pertinent question right now and if I can figure out who did this I can probably get them to send us back.'

"Us" was also a problem, Tony was still reluctant to work with the old Avengers, and it was no secret the others felt the same way about having him back on the team. At this point Tony felt it was best if he splintered off from the team in order to work at the problem with a different set of Avengers. This of course would rely on the fact that other heroes had also been brought over from his world or already existed in this one. Absent mindedly he walked over to the computer and brought up Jarvis' schedule for the day. Within the "to do" column he typed "find other superheroes and ask them if they are interested in a job" deciding not to specify what that job was in case Jarvis began to ask questions Tony didn't want to answer just yet.

He would do the interviewing himself at Stark Tower in order to build a team that could work well together while attempting to ferret out the guy who had pulled this one. His hope was that he could convince Wolverine and spider Man, if they were here, to join his cause since their prior experience on the Avengers would greatly help speed things up. A fit of fatigue washed over tony causing him to yawn and get into his sleep wear. He had decided not to tell Cap and the rest his discovery, partly out of not having concrete evidence they were in a parallel dimension and partly out spite. The complete show of loyalty to Captain America had rankled him and drudged up the old rivalry that had always existed between the two of them even before Civil War had happened. It wasn't as if the fact they were in a parallel dimension was threatening their lives or anything. Eventually one of those hard heads would figure it out, hopefully by then Tony's Avengers would already be established and well on their way to solving the mystery.