Chapter 17 - Test 32
Back at Stark Tower, Bruce and Selvig toiled away analyzing and experimenting with the Tesseract. They heard no word from Thor who still remained on Asgard. Pepper tried to run the company as best as she could with Happy at her side for support. Barton, Natasha, and Rhodes watched patiently as the scientists prodded and poked the cube with machines while taking notes on their computers. It glowed an ominous blue. Selvig picked up Loki's scepter which made Barton nervous. Loki's mind control was probably one of the worst experiences he had ever encountered, and he had a lot of blood in his ledger. Selvig could sympathize.
"Alright, you ready for test 32?" the Scandinavian asked Banner. Bruce took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah … let's do it," he said exhaustedly. Rhodes, Natasha and Clint stood back, arms crossed. Selvig carefully touched the box with Loki's scepter. A blue aura emitted creating a bubble like membrane similar to when Natasha shoved the scepter into the cube to close it. The Tesseract activated, but Barton saw something in the bluish glow. He walked towards it, almost hypnotized.
"Barton?" said Natasha. He didn't answer.
"Clint?" she called again. Rhodes uncrossed his arms. Banner and Selvig watched him carefully.
"Barton! Talk to us man! What's going?" called Bruce. It felt as if time was slowing down around him.
"You don't see it?" he said in barely a whisper. Natasha stayed close behind him. His eyes glowed again just as it once did when Loki possessed him.
"See what?!" she called.
"The flames … " he said reaching out for the cube. He could hear voices coming from it.
"It's pure energy Barton! Barton! … Barton don't!" Banner called out in vain. Selvig struggled to pull the scepter back but it wouldn't budge. Rhodes ran over to help him. Bruce attempted to shut down the machine. A portal opened before Barton could touch it. Natasha grabbed his wrist trying to hold him back.
"Close it!" exclaimed Rhodey.
"I can't! It wants to show us something!" said Selvig struggling with the scepter. More light spewed out from the Tesseract, obstructing their view. Before they knew it, Natasha and Clint were being sucked into the portal. Finally, the cube released Loki's scepter, flinging Rhodes and Selvig backwards.
"Natasha! Clint!" Bruce cried out, but the room was silent as the grave. When the blue aura faded, and Rhodes and Selvig collected themselves from the floor, the portal was gone, along with Romanoff and Barton.
Hawkeye found himself lying face down in the cold dirt with someone calling his name again, only this time he heard it. He perked up his head and brushed the dirt from his face. He coughed, exhaling some of it out.
"Clint! Clint!" Natasha called out. She helped him to a sitting position. He shook his head disoriented forcefully. His vision danced in a circle like he was drunk. He shut his eyes tightly putting the palms of his hands against them.
"What … what happened?" he dared ask. Natasha looked around. They had landed in a bright green forest with no visible buildings around or roads.
"I'm not sure … I think we passed through the Tesseract somehow," she said analyzing her surroundings. Clint released his hands from his face and lowered his head in shame. His vision started to return.
"I'm sorry Nat," he said quietly. Romanoff knelt down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't do that. Don't do that to yourself. It's not your fault." she said sternly. He couldn't look at her.
"I guess Loki's scepter still has a hold on me .. It still feels like someone else is pulling the strings," he whispered.
"I think everyone feels that way at this point," she said.
"You don't understand," he snapped finally looking up at her. His natural blue eyes no longer glowed, but instead the light was replaced by sadness. "I know you know what it's like to be unmade … but it felt like someone wanted me to pass through … and I saw a strange flame … burning in the blue … like red smoke," he said. She searched his face concerned for her closest friend. "Why was I the only one who could see that? … And … and I heard …" he noted.
"I'm just trying to understand," said a young man's voice.
"Would you please shut up about?" said a young girl's voice. Clint whipped his head around.
"Voices … " he concluded. Natasha helped him up off the ground as the searched for them.
"Jaqen H'ghar offered you three kills." the lad continued.
"I'm not listening." snapped the girl. The two assassins spotted three children, two boys and a small girl, no older than Clint's kids, wandering in the woods, with dirty faces, wearing drab, loose, raggedy medieval clothes. All of them carried swords, especially the little girl. They sounded English to Barton and Natasha.
"But just explain it to me. He offered to kill any three people you wanted. Dead. All you had to do was give him the names. Anyone. You could have picked King Joffrey." said the eldest boy.
"Shut up." snapped the girl.
Natasha and Clint hid behind some trees, observing.
"You could have picked Tywin Lannister." the eldest complained.
"Jaqen got us out of Harrenhal, so why are you complaining?" snarked the girl.
"But you could have ended the war." he continued.
"Where are we going?" asked the girl as she stopped walking. Natasha and Clint remained very still and quiet.
"North." said the fat boy.
"We should have come to the Red Fork River by now." the girl noted.
"Maybe we passed it." said the fat boy honestly, but cluelessly. The girl scowled at him.
"It's a hundred feet wide. HOW could we have passed it?" she scolded sarcastically. The boys exchanged uncertain looks. "If we hit the Red Fork, we can follow it west to Riverrun. My mother grew up there. My grandfather's a lord. He'll protect us." she said confidently. Suddenly, they heard singing, not too far off. The armed children, as well as the two foreign assassins searched for its source. The eldest gripped his sword.
"Could be a minstrel." whispered the fat boy.
"Shut up." hissed the girl. She also drew a sword. Clint quietly took out his bow and loaded it. Natasha waited out of sight. The three young ones hid behind a rock wall.
"A minstrel's got gold sometimes. We could jump him, tie him up, steal his gold, and buy some food." the fat boy continued.
"Shh!" commanded the girl.
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke … That lord of Castamere … But now the rains weep o'er his hall … With no one there to hear …" sang a middle aged man with a topknot.
Natasha counted at least five men, one of which also had a bow. She signaled to Clint with five fingers, how many men there were, and gestured as if she had a small invisible bow that one was an archer. He nodded and switched out his regular arrow for one of his trick ones.
"What's lurking behind that wall?" demanded the singer. Abruptly, a swish noise sang through the air. A wooden arrow, released from their archer dug itself into tree dangerously close to the three kids. Their eyes flew open in surprise and fear.
"What is it? A lion? A wolf? … Just a dirty little cub, I think." said the singer. "Loose a few more shafts." he ordered. Clint was about to release one of his own, when the girl spoke up.
"Don't!" she called, and stepped into the light for them to see, sword raised. The boys remained hidden. The singer peaked through the opening in the rock and knelt down. Natasha snuck around the back.
"Put the sword down, girl." he said confidently.
"You go on down the road. Keep singing so we know where you are. Leave us be and I won't kill you." threatened the little girl, standing her ground. The Black Widow could not help, but smile at her courage.
"Generous. You're a dangerous person … I like dangerous people." teased the singer. "Why are your friends so shy?" he said confidently to their surprise. Natasha and Clint remained as still as the trees. The boys remained in place. No one wanted to breathe.
"What friends?" said the girl finally.
"The fat one to your left and the lad beside him." said the balding singer, without ever breaking eye contact with the girl. The eldest boy rolled his eyes and grabbed the fat one, pulling both of them into view with their swords raised next to the girl. The singer jumped down from the rocks to join them in the open area. His other men joined them, including the archer, but his bow was not loaded. Hawkeye smiled confidently. Romanoff crept closer behind the group.
"Three young ones on the run carrying castleforged swords. You escape from Harrenhal?" asked the singer.
"Who are you?" demanded the girl.
"Thoros of Myr," said the singer, "The fellow with the bow is Anguy," he continued, gesturing towards his friend.
"No, who do you fight for?" the girl snapped.
"The Brotherhood Without Banners. Now come along. I want to hear how two boys and a very dangerous girl escaped Harrenhal." said Thoros of Myr.
"I'm not going with them. The Brotherhood? That's who the Mountain were looking for. They'll bring us back and put rats in us," the fat boy said angrily.
Natasha crept closer. Clint pulled back his bow. Thoros stepped closer to the young ones.
"You've got nothing to fear from us. The lords of Westeros want to burn the countryside. We're trying to save it. Now come on. We'll talk more over brown bread and stew. And then you can go on your way." he said calmly. The archer lost his patience and fired an arrow upward towards the sky to Barton's surprise.
"Here's the thing, fat boy. When I'm done talking, that arrow's falling down on your fat head," said the archer. The fat boy looked up frightened.
"So I advise you move, because I'm done talking," the archer said smugly.
"Good," Hawkeye said slyly as if he was talking to the archer directly.
Hotpie stepped out of the way. The arrow came down upon where he had been standing, but a second arrow soared through the trees, hitting the first arrow out of the way, landing on the archer, electrocuting him. Anguy shook in pain before landing with a thud on the ground. Gendry, Arya, and Hotpie felt chills go up their spines. The men drew their swords. Hawkeye just smiled.
"Who's out there?!" called Thoros gripping his weapon. One of his men suddenly screamed. He whipped around to find his comrade strung upside down in a tree by a strange wire.
"Seven hells," said Hotpie, shaking with his sword up. A figure flipped out from the foliage and landed on their feet. It was a woman, in a tight black suit with rich red hair.
"What the … " said Thoros distracted.
"Hello boys," she said in a sultry voice. She released two weird disks from her hands towards the men. Smoke exploded from them. Arya let out an audible gasp. The men coughed, swatting the smoke away, trying to see. Ayra heard one yelp as the mysterious woman punched and kicked one to the ground. Another one fell. Gendry and Hotpie trembled, but Ayra watched in awe, also distracted. Once the smoke settled, two men were left. A final arrow flew from the forest towards them, but it did not hit them, instead a net deployed just as it got close enough, capturing the men. They panicked. Another electric show silenced them. All of men were defeated. The mysterious women stepped forward, casually, clicked a device, recoiling her wire trap. The dangling man fell with a grunt and did not get back up. Once she was done, she clasped her hands in front of her calmly and smiled at the fallen warriors.
"Thank you, for your cooperation," she said peacefully.