A short time earlier…
Clint knew his orders backward and forward. They repeated themselves in his brain like a mantra. He knew he'd hit his mark perfectly even before the explosion, though Loki's mind control did not allow room for him to take any pride in his work. When the arrow exploded, sending a ridiculously disproportionate blast through one of the helicarrier's engines, Clint merely nodded to himself grimly. That was one step complete. Time to move on.
The plane he was in landed on the carrier and he immediately leapt out, his compound bow and arrows slung over his shoulder, and a group of armed fighters behind him. They were not under the control of the Tesseract, but were rather merely recruits, directed to follow Clint's orders. He led his squadron to a venting panel in the helicarrier's surface while other crafts landed and spilled out more black-clad soldiers, all splitting off into groups to begin the siege and retrieval mission. One of his men kicked in the panel easily and threw down a rope, the soldiers dropping down into a service hallway before Clint himself. "Keep that engine down," he ordered, sending a few of them off in the direction of the blast to prevent any attempts at repairs. "Detention, wait for the cameras to go dark," he told another few. They would head for where Loki was being held and cause chaos to avert a lockdown so that once Clint had carried out his next steps, he could come and free their alien overlord. To Loki, the soldiers were less than pawns and not to be trusted with the actual prison-break. Only Barton, under his watchful control, would be trusted with that.
Clint then turned and headed toward the bridge, telling two soldiers to stay close. It was essential that these next steps be carried out precisely. They made their way quickly through the labyrinth of service hallways, the map of which had been all but burned into Clint's brain. There were no armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in these halls yet, but mechanics and maintenance workers darted down the halls here and there. These were gunned down mercilessly by the soldiers, or felled by Clint's arrows. He fired without hesitation and then retrieved the arrows unceremoniously as he stepped over bodies still in the last twitches of death. They didn't matter to him. It was only human life, and human life was not valuable (so the Tesseract's influence had him believe). He had his orders, and they included to put down anyone who stood in his way or posed a threat to the success of his mission. Clint would not be stopped.
Eventually, he split off from his soldiers, ordering them to take a more direct route to the bridge while he accessed a little-used hallway with several openings that overlooked the area. On his way, he heard another explosion, this one indicating that the grenade had been set off in the bridge. Sure enough, when he reached the openings through which he'd be shooting, there was already chaos. Director Fury and Agent Hill wrestled with soldiers while S.H.I.E.L.D. techies and navigators fled. He could also hear distant roars and some part of his brain processed these as indicators that the Hulk was indeed loose within the carrier, just as Loki had planned. Good, the plan was going like clockwork. Clint picked a suitable window and lined up his shot, while Fury and Hill became engrossed in shooting down any hostile trying to come through the main hallway to the bridge. Fury was determined not to allow anyone through, and this is when Clint loosed another explosive arrow, blasting several navigators off their chairs, and tearing a chunk out of the wall. He fired another, clearing more people away from the computer equipment. Once he had a clear shot, he knocked a specially-designed arrow and fired it with precision and accuracy that would've made an Olympic marksman swoon. It was a crucial shot, needing not only to hit its target exactly but to hit at the right angle, which it did. That was, after all, why Loki has selected Barton for this job anyway. The arrow was loaded with microchips carrying a powerful hacking program that would shut down another one of the helicarrier's engines. As the program engaged, Fury realized where the arrows were coming from and turned to take a few shots himself, but Clint ducked away back into the hallway. Another step complete. Next, the rescue itself. He turned and headed for the detention level. The hallway began to tilt as another rotor went down, and he shifted his weight to keep his balance, continuing on his way. Everything was going according to plan.
When the first explosion had rocketed through the helicarrier, it had thrown Thor into the hallway beyond the lab. As the dust settled and he picked himself up, he found that he'd been blasted away from his companions, and heard people shouting that the helicarrier was under attack. Does this have something to do with Loki? he wondered. He wasn't sure how it could, but then, he was still getting used to Midgard. If what the others had been saying was true, about what Loki had been doing since he arrived on Earth, then Thor supposed the explosion wasprobably thanks to him, or at least thanks to his planning and use of the Tesseract. People were running around, looking panicked, and Thor began to understand. There were indeed warriors aboard the craft, but many of the others were not there for combat purposes. They were workers, engineers, pilots, and above all, innocent in this mess that Loki was causing. Thor did not want any more innocent people to die for the sake of Loki's scheme.
He was about to head to the detention center where Loki was being held when suddenly, from below him, he heard a mighty roar. To what beast does that belong? he asked himself. He wasn't sure, but he was rather certain that a creature with that great of a roar was probably a worthy opponent, so that was where he would go. Two men with guns and the crest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. clan ran passed him and he stopped them, holding his arm out. "Tell me, how do I get down to the level below this?"
They looked at each other. Though they had the composure of trained agents, they still looked a little bit shaken. "Don't go down there, Banner is down there," one said urgently.
"It's not Banner anymore," the other yelled at the first one, "it's the Hulk, and he'll tear this place apart!" The man looked at Thor. "If you want to go down there, there's a staircase down this hall and to the left, but you'd have to be out of your mind to go up against the Hulk."
"The Hulk, what is it?" Thor asked them.
"Banner when he's angry," the first one said.
"A monster!" the second one shouted at the same time. Then they turned and continued to run down the hall in the opposite direction.
Thor turned and ran the other way, finding the stairs. He was starting to put it together from bits and pieces of the earlier conversation. The man called Fury had been telling Dr. Banner to step away from the situation, presumably to keep him from experiencing great stress. Stark had suggested letting Banner "let off a little steam," and Rogers had indicated strongly that doing that would put them all in danger. Banner himself had said that his being here would endanger the lives of all on the helicarrier. Thor hadn't understood it at the time, as Banner seemed to be an honorable and intelligent man, but what the others had been implying was that when Banner was angry, he changed into some sort of very destructive creature. It was just the sort of challenge that Thor liked, and it seemed imperative that the creature be subdued.
The staircase let out into another labyrinth of halls, but it wasn't too difficult to hear the roars and sounds of metal being ripped apart. Thor did his best to navigate through the maze, drawing closer to the sounds. He found a point where he could hear what he presumed was the angry Banner on the other side of a wall. Since he didn't know where to go to get into the adjacent room, he instead took a running start at the wall where the sounds were coming from and crashed straight through. Sure enough, he slammed right into the creature, taking them both straight through another wall. With the speed and the debris, he didn't see Natasha's broken body laying slumped against the first wall he'd torn through.
Both he and the creature tumbled to the floor in the next room, some sort of storage area for the smaller flying crafts. It was full of people who all immediately began to run in the other direction. Thor pushed himself up and looked at the creature that was apparently Bruce Banner. He was huge and green, with massive muscles and a mean face. Definitely a challenge. The battle would be glorious, Thor was sure, but if this was indeed the Dr. Banner, Thor didn't want to hurt him too badly. He was a valuable asset to the team, and it didn't sound like it was his fault that he became this creature. Anger could bring out the worst in anybody. He decided not to use Mjolnir unless it was absolutely necessary. Perhaps he'd be able to reason with the creature, and if he could be calmed, perhaps he would transform back into Dr. Banner.
The Hulk locked eyes with Thor and roared, intent on attacking. They circled each other for a moment and then the Hulk began swinging. Thor dodged two punches and then threw one of his own, catching the creature across the jaw. The Hulk swung around, and brought his fist down toward the god of thunder. Thor caught the blow against his left forearm, indeed impressed by the Hulk's strength. He brought up his other arm to hold off the giant green fist as the Hulk bore down on him. "We are not your enemies, Banner," Thor said, "Try to think!"
Unfortunately, the Hulk did not want to think, and instead brought his other fist around for a blow to Thor's ungaurded torso. Thor was thrown back through several metal storage containers, but instead of wincing, he smiled. He hadn't faced an enemy like this since Loki had sent the Destroyer. This was the sort of battle Thor delighted in, he practically lived for this. This was definitely an opponent worthy of fighting with Mjolnir, so Thor held out his arm and summoned his hammer to him. The Hulk came running toward him and was almost upon him when Mjolnir leapt into Thor's hand, and he swung the mighty weapon around, again catching the Hulk's jaw, this time sending him flying into one of the aircrafts. The Hulk's body mass and density were so great that the craft buckled and bent almost in half. The green creature roared in fury and ripped a wing off the plane, and sent it flying at Thor who was already on the charge. Thor bent his knees just in time, bending back so that the hunk of metal flew over him and then he gave Mjolnir a mighty throw. The Hulk reached up to catch the hammer and was probably surprised when instead of stopping in his hands, it dragged him back and he fell to the floor. He rolled over and tried to pick it up, first with one hand and then with both, but Mjolnir was not meant to be wielded by the Hulk, and instead the force exerted caused the Hulk's feet to begin to crunch through the concrete floor. Thor took the opportunity of the Hulk's distraction and launched a kick at his face, knocking him away from the hammer, which Thor then picked up easily. He leapt onto the Hulk's back and brought the hammer around the creature's neck.
The Hulk struggled and then leapt upwards, sending them both crashing through the ceiling to the next floor up. Thor had to admit that the battle was starting to wear on his body. Before he had a chance to get up, the Hulk had wrapped his giant fists around the Asgardian and started throwing him around, bashing him into the floor and walls. Had Thor not been a god, his body would've broken as quickly and easily as Natasha's had. The Hulk threw him against a wall and then came toward him to beat him some more, but then Thor heard the sound of Midgardian guns and the Hulk turned around. A craft was hovering outside the window of the helicarrier and had begun to fire at the Hulk. Thor's strength was slightly drained but he had enough to summon Mjolnir and launch at the Hulk for one more attack. If he hit the right way, he might be able to make the creature lose consciousness. He gave Mjolnir a powerful swing, hitting the Hulk in the side of the head. Thor tumbled to the ground again, but so did the Hulk, landing in a heap. Thor rolled over and with considerable effort, pushed himself to his feet. He could see that the Hulk was definitely still breathing, but the attack seemed to have worked. The creature was unconscious.
Thor turned to the aircraft that was still hovering outside the window, the pilot inside looking shocked. "Tell the Furious one that Banner has been subdued!" he shouted. The pilot couldn't hear him, but he relayed to Fury that Thor had knocked out the Hulk on Research Level Four. As Thor looked on, the Hulk began to change, shrinking, and his flesh returning to a normal Midgardian color. Eventually, the person lying before him was Dr. Banner. Thor was glad he didn't seem to have damaged the doctor permanently, and he hefted the man over his shoulder, deciding to look for a healing ward. He understood that doctors were the equivalent of healers, and perhaps there were others on the ship that could make sure Banner would be ok.
Clint found his way to the detention center and the holding cell quickly, thanks to the map of the helicarrier that was stamped into his mind. He continued to take out anyone who stood in his way, and when he reached the opening to the room with the cell, he fired another hacker arrow at the console that controlled the lock. No use in wasting time. "Ah, Barton, right on time," Loki said. The arrow made short work of unlocking the controls so that all Clint had to do was push a button and the door to the cell opened. Loki stepped out regally. "Good. Go prepare an aircraft for our departure. If anyone else is still alive, call them to retreat. It's good to have soldiers. And Barton?"
Clint looked at his commander. "Sir."
"Keep using those arrows." Loki's smile was wicked.
Clint nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, before turning and making to head for the surface of the helicarrier while delivering the retreat command through his earpiece and mic.
Loki followed, but stopped upon hearing a calm but firm voice behind him saying, "Stop, please." He turned to find one small man with one very large weapon pointed at him.
It would've been a simple task for Loki to order Barton to shoot the man, but Loki didn't feel the least bit threatened so Clint continued onward through the helicarrier halls, moving swiftly, firing shot after deadly shot. Suddenly, someone came quite literally shooting around the corner, crashing right into Clint and knocking him to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him but ignored the pain, rolled and came up on a knee, knocking an arrow and firing before realizing that he was shooting at Iron Man.
"Barton?" came Stark's voice as the fired arrow glanced harmlessly off the suit. Tony had seen Clint in pictures and knew that his eyes weren't naturally that shade of blue. He was still under Loki's control, via the Tesseract. "Barton, snap out of it," Tony shouted. He didn't want to have this fight. If it had been someone else, a different enemy, Tony wouldn't have had a problem just shooting them, but he doubted Fury would take kindly to him killing Barton. And then there was Romanoff. He'd already seen what she could do, and from what he picked up from her brief talk of Barton, she definitely wouldn't appreciate it if Tony took Barton's life.
Clint did not snap out of it however, instead loading up an explosive arrow. The normal ones would be harmless, but if he could hit a weak point in the armor with an explosive arrow, it might tear at least some of it apart. The suit looked pretty beat up already, so that would help. He fired the arrow, but the helicarrier suddenly shifted as the rotor that Tony had fixed started to level it out. The shot went crooked, ricocheting off the armor again and hitting a wall, detonating. The blast threw them both to the floor but Clint was on his feet before Tony, who was moving a bit more slowly because of the damage to his suit. Though Tony was armored, Clint had the advantage when it came to agility. He leapt forward before Tony had a chance to get up, pulling a combat knife from his booth and crashing into the Iron Man suit, knocking Tony off balance again. Clint wedged the knife into the mouth area of the faceplate, intending to pry it off.
"Jarvis," Tony said inside his helmet, "calculate thrust power for a non-lethal blow to the temple. I can knock him out." He figured that then he'd turn Barton over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and then they'd figure out how to deal with the mind-control thing. He gave Barton a shove, though the archer had already managed to pry up his face mask a few centimeters and that knife had come uncomfortably close. Clint tumbled back, rolling again and looking for another weak point in the armor.
"Four hundred pounds of force, thrusters at forty percent, sir," Jarvis replied.
"We don't have to do this, Barton," Tony said aloud. "Give up now."
But Clint had not been given orders to surrender. He had been give orders to kill anyone who got in his way. He momentarily sheathed his knife and loaded another explosive arrow, shooting this one at the ground by Tony's feet. The damage to his suit limited Tony's ability to fly, so he was thrown back and into a wall by the explosion and in an instant, Barton was on top of him again with that knife, about to shove it through the slightly opened mouth slit of the faceplate and sink it into the flesh of Tony's neck. But Tony had managed to get an arm across his chest before Barton had pinned him, and when he channeled the thrust power to his glove, he backhanded Clint hard on the temple, knocking him away to slump against a wall. Tony's visor program indicated that Clint was still breathing.
"I've got Agent Barton unconscious here," Tony said, patching the feed through to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headsets.
Fury, who was on his way to Thor's location with a squad of agents, responded. "There's a medical lockup on six, take him there. We'll deal with him when this is done."
Fury met up with Thor who had the unconscious Banner over his shoulder. "We're taking him to the cell," Fury said gruffly. "We'll have to move Loki. We can't afford another mishap like that," he said. Thor nodded and followed Fury and the squad to the cell. The agents would cuff Loki and move him to another lockup area.
Or they wouldn't, for when they reached the detention center, the cell was empty. Fury went over to the console and ripped the hacking arrow out of its port. "Damn it," he said. He jammed the button that opened the cell door. "Throw him in there, Thor," he said.
Thor did not think that Fury meant he should actually throw the mortal, so instead he set him down inside rather gently. Banner had already gone through quite a beating, he figured.
Fury turned to the agents. "What are you waiting for? Find Loki! Go!"
"Yes, sir!" they said, running off, but their search would not be successful, as Loki was already long gone.
"Coulson!" Thor shouted, having just seen him slumped against the opposite wall, his shirt stained red and a huge gun in his lap.
Fury looked up, punching the button to close the cell door again and then running over to Coulson. It wasn't good. He knelt down. Coulson, damn it, why? He knew it must've been Loki. Why did you go after him alone?
"Sorry, boss," Coulson said, with very sincere regret in his voice, "the god rabbited."
Fury pulled the gun out of Coulson's lap. "Just stay awake," he said firmly, "eyes on me."
"No, I'm clocking out here," Coulson said, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
"Not an option," Fury said, shaking his head.
"It's ok, boss," Coulson replied, "this was never gonna work… if they didn't have something… to…" but before he could finish, Coulson's eyes lost their focus and he went still.
Fury bowed his head. He knew what Coulson was going to say. The Avengers, they were a mismatched group all fighting for different reasons. If that continued, they would fall apart. But Coulson had known that an attack like this, and maybe even his death, would pull them together. Give them something in common to fight for. A purpose. A thirst for revenge. The director stepped back as two medics rushed to the scene, and Fury watched as they examined the body of a man who had been one of his best, most dedicated agents, and a sincerely good man. Your death will count, Phil, Fury thought. Though it might've seemed disrespectful to use the agent's death as a tool, it was the perfect emotional impact the Avengers would need to get their asses in gear and fight this damn war. He took a deep breath and spoke into his microphone. "Agent Coulson is down."
"A medical team is on its way to your location," someone said.
"They're here," Fury said, hating to say the next words. "They called it." There was no response on the com, so he continued. "Stark, Rogers, Romanoff, report to the conference area at the bridge." He nodded to Thor who was still standing in the cell area, indicating that he was to report, too.
"On my way," Stark said.
"Me too," came Rogers' voice.
Only Romanoff didn't respond.
Thor and Fury made their way to the meeting place. It was possible that Natasha had lost her earpiece, so he sent the announcement over the loudspeaker too, but she did not come to the conference table. "Where's Agent Romanoff?" Fury said.
Stark and Rogers looked at each other, neither knowing. "I haven't seen her since the first explosion," Rogers said.
That was a bad sign and they all knew it, because she'd been blasted in the same direction as Banner, and Banner had Hulked out and wrought havoc. "Romanoff," Fury said into his mic. "Do you copy?" Nothing but static. "Romanoff, report." But still, there was no answer. Fury walked to the edge of the platform and yelled down to the agents who were in the main area of the bridge. "Romanoff is MIA. Find her."
"Sir," one of them called back, "we have to make repairs, the computers, the engines, the hull, and we have to track Loki down."
"We've got bodies to collect…" another added somberly.
"The dead can wait!" Fury said angrily. "Romanoff could be alive, and hurt. Find her. Now!"
A few of the agents looked at each other and then said, "Yes, sir," breaking off into teams to search for Agent Romanoff.
There was little talk at the table while the search took place, though Thor explained how much damage he and the Hulk has caused, and how he had ultimately won. He was not boasting and he might've done, as he knew it wasn't the right time. It had been a glorious battle indeed, but many had died on the helicarrier, and they still weren't sure if Romanoff was ok. "I think Banner will be ok, though," he finished.
Tony looked genuinely impressed and Rogers just looked away.
Then, a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Director, we've located Agent Romanoff in Storage B," it said.
"Good," he said into his mic. But as the others looked on, his face darkened as someone spoke through only to Fury's com. He closed his eyes and his jaw clenched before he looked back up at Stark, Rogers, and Thor.
"What is it?" Rogers asked.
"Agent Romanoff was with Dr. Banner when he changed," Fury said. For a moment, there was a heavy silence. "She's dead."
A/N: God, I hated writing this chapter. I'm crap at writing fight scenes. Luckily, next chapter is going to mostly be Clint and Bruce angst, which I am quite good at writing. Comment and let me know what you think so far!