Chapter 32: Clint's Farmhouse

"Yelling isn't going to solve anything!"

"Oh SHOVE IT, STEVE!"

"Clint, we can't do this right now, chill!"

"CHILL?!" his face was brick red. Inessa had jumped off the couch and skittered away when the rampage briefly was directed at her, that was ten minutes ago. "CHILL?! Steve, you even know what Berny's death did to me- and SHE'S BEEN LETTING ME SUFFER UNNECESSARILY FOR OVER FIFTEEN YEARS!" he pointed at Natasha, too angry to look at her, "SHE EVEN DRAGGED NESSIE DOWN WITH HER BY MAKING HER KEEP THE SECRET TOO!"

Banner was trying, like Steve, to be a voice of reason, "She screwed up, ok? Nobody is perfect!"

"People who forget to use their turn signal say that, NOT PEOPLE WHO PRETEND YOU MURDERED YOUR ONLY FAMILY TO AVOID AN AWKWARD CONVERSATION!" he rounded on Natasha, "Anyone else still floating around I should know about? Are my parents in SHIELD lockup too? Who else isn't dead?!"

"Coulson," Steve looked down and winced- not the time. Clint stared at him then shouted wordlessly. At least it got him out of Natasha's face. The others stared at him, "He's... um... SHIELD's new director..." Steve got quieter and quieter at the silence and open-mouthed gaping. "I found out when they helped us find Bucky..."

"PERFECT! WELL, APPARENTLY PEOPLE ARE JUST STROLLING OUT OF THE GROUND LEFT AND RIGHT! ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL?!" He turned back to Natasha who remained expressionless, "You were just gonna do what? Let me kill him and hope you got to the body before me? Disguise him somehow? Or were you going to let me find out my LITTLE BROTHER was alive as we were being SLAUGHTERED?! What would you have done if Morris never even recruited him? Let me live my entire life thinking he was DEAD?!"

"Yes," she suddenly snapped back, "Fury locked him in Fenestrelle, Clint. You know what that means! It means he was too dangerous to put in a normal cage. Berny devoted his life to revenge! You aren't the only Barton with powers now, you haven't been for a long time! I took him in so he wouldn't KILL you, and I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to have to deal with that! I'd make that call again!"

"ALIVE AND PISSED OFF IS A FUCKING HELL OF A LOT EASIER TO DEAL WITH THAN DEAD AT MY HANDS!"

The others didn't know how to stop this. He needed to rage- certainly he had a good reason- but a rift in the team with open war looming was disastrous. They had no hope as it was, they needed one another.

Clint vanished abruptly in a burst of shadowy mist. Steve and Natasha both turned to the steps. Inessa put her hands down. The shadows ceased to roll from her, "Nadya will guard him from the other shadows until he's ready to talk," she whispered.

"He has good reason to be upset," Thor put a hand on Natasha's shoulder, "as good a reason as you had to keep the truth from him."

She just nodded. With Clint suddenly gone, the house was too quiet. Natasha retrieved the photographs of Berny from where they landed when Clint erupted. She handed them to Tony who, for once, didn't argue. He simply took them, placed them on the table, and added a label with Clint's name.

"Assuming the plan is to still make you two kill each other, he's got a full complement. My dance partner blew up all over the lobby, so I'll probably live five whole seconds longer than most of you," Sam shrugged.

"Nessie, send me through too. I need to work this out with Clint."

"No," Steve stopped Inessa before she acted, "let him cool down. You too. Think before you dive back into that fight. An hour, if we have it. Then you go talk to him." Inessa nodded and sat down on the steps. She could see Clint through the shadows, screaming at the void in the sky. Nadya lay a short distance away. It was the only thing she could do right now for her friend.

Once the elevator door opened Berny, John, and Sin were on their feet. A moment later Albatross re-entered with Cul. "Pryor is dead," he snapped.

"I take it by your tone her intended target is not?"

"Not only is the Falcon alive- it turns out Doctor Pryor's abilities had no affect on Nadya Ryker! She played our psychic. The woman was pointless, now the Avengers are joined and we are one short!"

"You anticipated this outcome," Cul reminded the angry little man.

"That doesn't make me any happier about it! WRAITHS!" two shadows appeared before him on the floor immediately, "Start fanning the flames now, I want Rogers and Barton ready to rip each other apart bare handed as soon as possible!"

"This isn't the end of anything," Berny reminded him, "Cul alone could take them. You divided his human batteries across the world. They can't stop him. As for Falcon? You need me to kill Clint first, so he can't help the others. I don't like the idea of sitting the rest of the battle out, and no one else will share their kill. I'll kill Clint as the game opener, then move on to Falcon before his body hits the ground. When both are dead, I make my Clint-Eye-Kebab, everyone's happy on our end of the table." it felt weird, talking down someone Berny had come to think of as the Ice King of the group- or maybe the devil.

"The plan is sound," Sin nodded in agreement with Berny for once, "We are still stronger than them. We will still control the fight."

Morris looked to John Ryker, "You will beat the Hulk before he can aid anyone?

"Of course."

"Fine," Morris took a deep breath and looked at his watch, "It is dawn. We attack as soon as the sun is set. Be ready."

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