Chapter 47.

"Hang on tight," Sam said, banking hard as soon as Steve and Natasha had jumped. "Twelve seconds to drop…" they were going even lower, he planned to pull into a hover right over the watchtower so Clint and James could rappel down. "See you soon!" he yelled as they leaped, ropes zipping through their hands.

"Clear!" James yelled, looking around. He had a sub-machine gun in hand and a wide selection of other weapons strapped on him, probably the most heavily armed of them all. Clint had no fears about trusting him to take care of Jemma and Fitz. It would take an army to take down the Winter Soldier to get to them.

"Jemma!" Clint raced in through the watchtower door and saw her at once, she and Fitz clinging to each other, both their faces terrified at the repeated shaking of the earth.

"Clint!" Both of them clutched at him, and he couldn't help but grin slightly, despite the dire situation, as Fitz sought comfort in his presence as well. He appeared to have gained Fitz as a little brother somewhere along the way.

"We're here, I got you," he told both of them, pressing his lips to Jemma's brow. She was shivering with fright. "James is with me. He's gonna guard you while I go down into the city, get you out of here if it comes to that."

"No!" Jemma cried out. "Clint, you can't!"

"I must," he said gently, detaching her arms from around him. "Steve's gone into the other entry. We'll find them, Jemma, we'll get them out."

"Clint!" she screamed again, and he nodded over her shoulder. Barnes' metal arm curled inexorably around her waist and held her back as Clint grabbed the line and jumped down into the hole in the floor.

Jemma collapsed to her knees with a wail when Barnes let her go, peering down into the hole, but it was utterly black down there.

"It's not safe in here," James said curtly as another quake began. "You two need to be outside." Looking at Jemma, he pulled a gun and offered it to Fitz.

"She won't leave." Fitz shook his head, taking out his own gun, the one he'd threatened to shoot Mack with. His hands were steady.

"She will." Barnes' voice was flat and cold, and he used his metal arm again to scoop Jemma up. She fought him, screaming and flailing. "Stop, Doctor Simmons, or I'll knock you unconscious. You do Clint no favours by acting irrationally."

His flat, cold voice broke through to Jemma and she stopped fighting, letting him drag her outside. He didn't try to force them further away, though, telling Fitz to stay with Jemma on the seaward side of the watchtower while he waited in the doorway.

"Tell me if the sea starts pulling back," James told Fitz.

"You're thinking tsunami?" Fitz paled even further.

"It's possible. We're right at the epicentre of these quakes. If it does, tell me and book it up there. It's a nice high cliff." James pointed up.

Fitz held onto Jemma, clutching her close, his gun clenched impotently in his other hand. He would really, really like an enemy to shoot at right now.

Clint ran through the tunnels on silent feet, heading directly for the temple. The quakes were even more pronounced down here, almost knocking him off his feet once, but he stayed steady, checking the map occasionally with his glowstick, calling for Skye, Coulson, Mack, Trip and Steve regularly.

He found Coulson and Mack first. Mack was unconscious and Coulson not far from it, bleeding heavily and apparently badly beaten. His eyes widened as he saw Clint bending over him.

"Barton?" he choked out.

"Time to go, Coulson." At least he could get the Director out. They were not far from the shaft down from the Ponce de Leon. He slung Boudicca over his shoulder.

"Skye…"

"Steve's on his way for her." Steve should be here by now… as though the thought had conjured him up, Steve rounded the corner. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.

"Steve," Coulson said, sounding deeply relieved. "That way." He pointed a trembling finger.

"You got this under control?" Steve checked.

"Can't carry Mack alone, he's too heavy…"

"That's all right," another voice said, and Clint's eyes widened in surprise. "I'll help."

"Lance."

"Clint." Hunter's smile was tight. Another quake almost knocked him off his feet, but he moved forward as Steve ran in the direction Coulson had indicated.

"Let's get the Director out first."

"I can walk, if you help me up," Coulson said. "You two carry Mack."

Clint exchanged a doubtful look with Hunter, but they helped Phil up and he did indeed stay on his feet, although he swayed badly, as the two of them hauled Mack up, Clint taking his shoulders and Hunter his legs.

"Who's topside?" Clint asked as they reached the bottom of the shaft.

"The girls. May, Bob and Nat. Or Coulson's Angels, as I'm thinking of calling them."

Phil grinned wearily as Hunter strapped him to the cable and yanked hard on it three times. "Don't ever let them hear that."

"Why do you think I'm only saying it when the coms don't work?" Hunter gave him a lopsided grin as the cable pulled taut and Phil slowly started ascending the shaft.

"You or me?" Hunter turned to Clint once Phil was out of sight, gesturing to Mack's prone body.

"You."

"How did I know you'd say that?"

"The fact that you're talking to me means you and Bobbi have worked out at least some of your differences. Don't fuck it up by being a jealous prick this time, Lance." Clint looked up the shaft, willing May and Nat to hurry it up and get the cable back down so he could go after Steve.

"You never did touch her other than the sex pollen thing, did you?"

"Never." Clint gave him a long, direct look, and it was Hunter who dropped his eyes first.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"I understand why you didn't." The cable came dropping back down and Clint grabbed it, securing it around Mack's waist. "Put your legs around his chest and support his head with your hands: you need to keep him upright or he's gonna smack his head on the edge of the shaft, could kill him."

"Don't die down here."

Clint gave his old friend a true smile. "You don't die up there. And – if I don't come out…"

"Look out for Jemma? I promise." Lance tugged hard on the cable. "Go, Clint. I got this."

He didn't look back. Just ran back into the tunnels, unslinging Boudicca once more, fitting an arrow to the string. "Steve! Skye!" he yelled.

"Clint!" Steve's deep voice came back, and he ran in its direction, finding Steve smashing at a solid stone wall with his shield.

"What the…"

"It's some sort of chamber, but there's no way in!"

"Stand back." Clint pulled a chemical explosive arrow. "This will explode on contact. Make a weak spot."

Steve wouldn't back up far, only about ten feet. Clint shrugged, picked a spot where Steve's shield had chipped a dent in the stone, and fired, shutting his eyes against the flash and boom. When he opened them, coughing slightly in the dust, Steve was smashing against a considerably larger dent in the stone. Which gave way, crumbling inwards, making a crude hole. Steve scrambled through, knocking away more stone as he went, and Clint was right on his heels.

"Skye?" Steve said wonderingly.

She was floating in mid-air, her hands reaching out to one side, the expression on her face pure anguish. Both Steve and Clint turned to look at what she was staring at, but saw only a crumbled pile of ash.

And then there was a feral scream and something jumped Steve, knocking him flying – which was some feat, considering his size. The – animal? – scratched and hissed at him, and Clint let fly an arrow without even thinking. It plunged directly into one yellow eye.

The thing screamed again, plucked the arrow out and flung it down, and went straight out the hole in the wall. It was roughly humanoid, Clint saw, two legs and two arms, but the rest – well.

Steve struggled to his feet. "Skye," he said hoarsely, and for the first time she seemed to become aware of them, turning her gaze his way.

"Steve?" she said uncertainly. "Steve, you're here!" She dropped suddenly to the ground, falling to her knees, and he was at her side in a moment.

"What happened?" he asked, stunned.

"Trip," she gestured at the pile of ash, tears falling from her dark eyes. "He tried to help me. Kicked at the crystal…"

"Yeah, that was one of my more fucking stupid ideas," Trip's voice said.

Skye screamed. The earth tremored violently.

Clint whirled, looking around. "What the actual fuck?"

"I think it hit me. My stomach hurts."

"Trip, where are you?" Clint couldn't see him anywhere. But from the sound of his voice, he had to be in the chamber.

"Right here – oh, fuck me." There was a vague shimmering in the air above the ash pile. "Uh, I think I'm invisible?"

Skye fainted into Steve's arms. He hoisted her up, shaking his head. "Right. Well, now I've really seen everything. Invisibility. What next?"

Clint and Steve looked at each other. "Later," Clint told Steve. "Just fucking later. Right now we're getting the fuck out of here."

"Who all else is down here?" Invisible Trip demanded.

"You two are it, and now we're fucking leaving. Are you hurt, Trip?"

"Yes, I think so, my stomach hurts, and there's wet on my hand when I touch it. I can't see it, though."

"Can you walk? Because it's going to be kinda difficult to carry an invisible dude."

"I'll fucking walk out of here!"

The earth tremors had stopped as soon as Skye fainted, and there were no more as Steve carried her to the exit shaft. Clint eyed her consideringly. If it had been Raina, Trip and Skye in that chamber, Raina had turned into the feral thing, Trip was invisible, and Skye – what had Skye become?

"Shit," he said then, "Raina."

"Crazy fucking bitch," Invisible Trip said. "She turned into this monstrous, yellow-eyed thing…"

"Yes, but she's down here somewhere and she's dangerous. If she goes up the other hole, Jemma and Fitz are there…"

"With Bucky. He'll look after them," Steve said confidently.

"I need to go topside first to make the call," Clint said apologetically.

"Go. Take Skye. I'll wait here with the invisible dude I haven't met yet. Nice to meet you, Trip."

"An honour to meet you, sir. My grandfather was a Howling Commando…"

Skye, even unconscious dead weight, wasn't heavy. Clint supported her easily in one arm as the cable drew him steadily up. At the top, he found Hunter operating the winch while the three women worked over Coulson and the still-unconscious Mack.

"She all right?" Hunter asked, nodding as Clint gestured at him to drop the cable back down.

"Just fainted, I think." Clint laid Skye on the floor well away from the hole, put his com in his ear and called Barnes. "James? Anything happening over there?"

"All quiet," the reassuring word came back.

"Good. There's something feral and fucking scary down there. Blow the shaft and get out. Call Sam in to pick you up."

"Copy that. I've got some grenades…"

Clint didn't bother to listen to the rest, just turned to brief Hunter. "Trip's alive, but something freaky happened. He's invisible. And wounded."

Hunter's mouth fell open. "Invisible."

"Don't even go there."

"Did you say Trip is invisible?" May had come rushing over to check on Skye.

"Yes, and he's wounded, and I don't know how we're going to treat him because we can't see him, and he can't see him."

They were all staring at him, open-mouthed. He spread his hands. "Don't ask me. I'm just telling it like it is."

And then a very welcome sound came over the coms. I was shaking at the knees, Could I come again please, Thunderstruck…You've been, Thunderstruck…

"What's hanging?" Tony said cheerfully over the music.

Hunter was reeling the cable up. He grinned. "Iron Man?"

"Let's get this party started…"

"Don't go down any holes!" Clint yelled, having sudden visions of Tony diving down a shaft and the suit failing half-way down. They'd have to scrape him up with a spatula.

"I'm not keen on dark holes in the ground, Hawk. Uh – did you know that crazy shit is happening in the sky?"

Clint looked at the cable which had just reached the surface and the vague shimmer in the air he recognised as Invisible Trip stepping off it.

"It's just been that sort of fucking day," he sighed.

Poor Clint. He really is just having that kind of day, isn't it?

And YES, in my world Trip is NOT DEAD.

NOTDEADNOTDEADNOTDEAD… entertainingly invisible, though. Did that make you smile?