I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. I couldn't believe when I looked at my story and saw how many had posted their reviews by the time I got off work that night. I loved reading every one of them. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Chapter Twelve
Clint's P.O.V.
For once in the past few months, I could finally ease up a bit. My brother's death and niece's sudden appearance had been hard to deal with at first. But since then, things had progressed to a more relaxed state. I couldn't believe how Hannah had warmed up to the team. Not only was she funny (the smart alack remarks with Tony were a big hit), but she revealed more and more that she was smart and a gifted athlete. Yep, the Barton genes had definitely passed on to this one.
The one thing that nagged me increasingly was the threat of another attack from the Dark Hand. The man had been interrogated, but he was tough, and we couldn't break him. But when he saw Nat and I, he just smiled wickedly. I was beginning to think he was possessed. And something inside me feared something worse was coming. Director Fury relentlessly pushed for me to find Hannah another home.
"She needs to be in a stable environment." The Director reasoned, "She'll be safe in a suitable foster home."
But I wouldn't listen. I couldn't. Visions of the foster home Barney and I had been placed still terrified me to this day. I realized I couldn't place Hannah there in that nightmarish place. I would never be able to forgive myself afterwards. I had sternly refused his offer, saying that she was safe where she was. Director Fury only shook his head, clearly thinking me a fool. But he didn't know what it was like to lose your only brother and have only one family member left. And I wasn't going to let her go.
As for Nat, she wanted Hannah just as badly as I did. She would kill to keep her, and I meant that in a literal sense. In fact, the last few times Fury had brought up the subject, she had almost stood nose-to-nose with him and refused the offer. Fury had no choice but to back off when it came facing her. Maybe that would deter him from pushing us for a while.
"She's safe with us." Nat said on the way home. Yes, Avenger's Tower had started to become home to us. It felt like we belonged there. And for us, that was saying something. However, I sensed a question more than a statement coming from her sentence.
"Nat, she's with the best of the best." I assured her. "She's safe." I could tell that made her feel better. However, I was still fearful. I was beginning to wonder if the worrying would ever go away.
A Few Days Later...
Hannah's P.O.V.
"Okay, so what are we doing again?" I asked as I looked down at the busy street below us. The Avengers and I (apart from my aunt and uncle) were at the top of Stark Tower. Tony was in his Iron Man suit, looking positively calm. Bruce, however, seemed mortified.
"Tony, I really don't think..."
"Trust me. This is super safe." Tony assured his friend. Bruce was hardly convinced. "Anyway, Hannah, I need you to try on this jet pack and see if it works."
"You mortals have odd forms of transportation." Thor said, studying hard at the device that was the jet pack. He started shaking it around.
"Thor, don't shake it. You might break it." Tony ordered.
"Couldn't you have chosen a place, you know, closer to the ground?" I gulped as I realized how far I was from the safe, solid ground.
"Stark, I swear if you hurt one hair on her head, I'll kill you right then and there." Steve threatened.
"Relax, Cap. Why do you think I have the suit on?" Indeed, Tony was taking every precaution to ensure my safety if the device should malfunction in mid-air, which meant putting on the Iron Man suit. I prayed he wouldn't need a reason to put it to use. Falling was one of my worst fears.
"Couldn't you have tested this on someone else?"
"Let me explain." The billionaire said. "You're the right size for this. The others are too big and I need it at this height to see if it'll hold up."
"You mean it's going to fail?" I said in disbelief at my deranged friend.
"Not likely." He held up the jet pack. "Try it on? Please?"
"You don't have to do it." Bruce told me. I could tell he was secretly praying I'd refuse.
"What do I get in return?" I asked, folding my arms. I was not about to risk my life for nothing.
"Hmmm...I'll do your share of dish duty for the whole week."
"Phhh...please. I can do that in a wheelchair race." I said and the group laughed at the reminder of our great wheelchair adventure.
"Alright, alright. I'll lend you one of my Iron Man suits for a week." He offered.
"Hannah, think about this..." Steve started, seeing the sparkle in my eye. Now that was a deal. Flying around in an Iron Man suit...for an entire week? I wasn't a fool. I was definitely going to take him up on this.
"Deal." I said excitedly, swiping the jet pack from him and putting it on in an instant.
"You've got to be kidding." Steve said, hand over his eyes.
After Tony and Bruce had securely fastened the straps and made sure I was as safe as humanly possible as once could be when trying out a jet pack prototype, Bruce gave the a-okay.
"Just press the green button when you're ready to start 'er up." Tony instructed.
"I can't watch this." I could only imagine the disaster Steve was envisioning.
"And if you have any problems, we'll be there to catch you." Thor assured me, patting his trusty hammer. Tony was just as assuring.
"I'm ready." I told them. I had long forgotten the fear of the ground, ready for takeoff.
No sooner had I pressed the button when I bolted high into the air. I let out a squeal of fear that quickly turned to delight.
"You alright?" I heard Tony say through the earpiece that he had given to me.
"This is awesome!" I shouted as I flew higher and higher. I decided to take a U-turn.
"Hey!" I heard Tony shout as he pulled up beside me in the air in his suit. "Having fun yet?" As if the look of pure joy on my face wasn't enough to convince him otherwise.
"Duh!" I shouted and he chuckled.
"Well, come on! Race you to that skyscraper!"
"Tony!" Bruce's voice said harshly over the line. "You said no wild stunts while in that jet pack. It's a prototype, remember?!"
"Chill, big man." Tony said calmly. "I'm right here. Nothing bad's going to happen."
The scientist sighed, clearly choosing not to argue with his stubborn colleague.
"Let's race." I said eagerly. "One, two..."
"Three." He gave himself a head start right before three.
"Cheater!" I yelled, putting full speed into the pack. And it actually looked like I was going to catch up to him. We swerved to avoid hitting the skyscraper by mere inches. The jet pack was top-notch. It handled like a dream.
"This is great!" I shouted over to him.
"It's really something, huh?" Tony said as I caught up to him. "And fast too."
"Stark, you get my niece on the roof of this Tower now!" I heard the voice of my uncle snap and we both stopped mid-flight.
"Uh oh." Tony and I said simultaneously.
"You bet uh-oh." Uncle Clint scolded. "Now get over here before I ground you for all eternity."
"Alright, alright Legolas. We're coming." Tony said, now completely bummed. We started to head in that direction when the jet pack gave a sudden jolt.
"Ummm...Tony?" I asked as black smoke started to come out of the suit.
"What's going on?" Uncle Clint asked over the earpiece.
"What's wrong, kid?" Tony asked. He was already to the Tower. I had been right behind him until the device started acting up.
"The jet pack...it's acting weird." I said, very confused. That's when I heard it shut down.
"Oh no." I said as I started to fall. "Help!"
"I'm coming." Tony said as I kept falling. I started to scream, but it got caught in my throat as the air hit my face. My hopes of him reaching me were quickly diminishing as the ground got closer and closer.
"Tony!" I managed to yell.
"Hannah, calm down. He's almost there." Uncle Clint said. I wanted to believe him, but the thought of hitting the pavement was becoming more believable as well.
I closed my eyes in fear. I had blacked out my mind, ready to slam onto the cold earth when a pair of metal arms wrapped around me.
"Gotcha." Tony said as he took off in the air again. I opened my eyes to see quite the opposite scene from before when I had been falling as the street became a small line again. When we landed back on the roof, there was Uncle Clint, his eyes seething.
"Stark, if Hannah wasn't here, I would shoot an arrow through your socket right now."
"Uncle Clint..." I started as my uncle advanced toward Tony. I prayed that suit was enough protection for him.
"Look, Clint, I..."
"Don't try to come up with a good excuse." My uncle snapped. "You put my niece in terrible danger."
"Uncle Clint, I chose to do it." I said loudly, trying to get him past his focused rage on Tony. I quickly regretted it as he swerved to look at me.
"Why would you do something so stupid? You knew that it was dangerous!"
"I thought it would be fun." I replied quietly, realizing what a lame excuse that was.
"And is nearly falling to your death what you consider fun?" He raised his voice, making me cringe.
"Clint," Steve said, "it's alright. We were ready for anything..."
"Oh, and you approved of this little escapade?" Clint said to the super-soldier. "Did you all forget that this is my niece? The only other family I have?"
"Friend, don't overreact." Thor advised, but Clint ignored him.
"Hannah's all I have left. And you're willing to let her die to test some stupid machine? You all should be ashamed." By this time, we were all shuffling our feet, afraid to look the master assassin in the eye.
"Hannah, go to your room. You and I will talk later." He commanded. Before I left, I heard him say, "As for you, Stark, you're lucky Nat's not here. She would had murdered you right here and now."
I quickly shut myself in my room, both ashamed for what I had done and terrified for what was to come.
I'm pretty sure Nat would have killed Stark. What did you all think?