Hydra strikes with a vengeance! Captain America, Black Panther, Wasp, Hawkeye and Mockingbird, agent of SHIELD, match wits with the old terrorist regime as they run a gambit in an adventure that's pure adrenaline! Strap in, true believers, as these Avengers struggle against the-
Chapter 10: Widow's Sting
For a meeting that was supposed to be covert, held between two world-renowned organizations not necessarily looked favourably upon by the rest of the world, perhaps the docks in broad daylight was not the choicest meeting place.
But Grim Reaper was more than prepared to handle any interlopers, as was MODOC.
Their meeting was of an important exchange between the two organizations, the Advanced Idea Mechanics to provide Hydra with a weapon of ultimate power.
"Hydra hired AIM to produce a weapon that would guarantee world domination, something that would make all of Baron Strucker's deepest desires, his greatest wishes come true." The grotesque leader of AIM described. Much like a giant head within a mechanized rocket body, completely with very tiny legs and head, MODOC was as much as genius as he was an eyesore. "The Cosmic Cube will do that, in a very real way." He promised. His words, descriptive and flowery, belied a screen to cover up some sort of setback or shortcoming. Grim Reaper was all too familiar with these and cut to the chase.
"What's the catch?" MODOC frowned.
"In order to complete the Cube for Hydra, AIM needs more money." He explained. Reaper paused, not in a position of authority to give an answer. Something like this would be up to Strucker himself to decide.
"I'll get back to you." He replied and would've said more if not for an arrow taking down a Hydra agent next to him as another struck his chest. Tearing it off with his functional hand, he threw it away moments before it exploded. Immediately, every Hydra trooper and AIM drone was on high alert, weapons raised and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Catapulting off MODOC's head and landing in the midst of the group in a blaze of purple, Hawkeye made his presence known. "Sorry to interrupt, boys, but I got a quick question before I take you all down," he announced, drawing his bow tight, "where is the Black Widow?" As expected, none of the villains responded, all of them far more focused on taking him down.
With a trademark smirk, Clint loosed his arrow into the wooden dock beneath him, unleashing an impenetrable cloud of thick smoke. Shielding himself from the blast, Reaper knew just how to motivate his men.
"A million dollars for anyone who brings me his bow!" He ordered, the Hydra troopers promptly started firing blinding into the smoke, their incineration rifles sizzling through the air dangerously so. The AIM drones opened fire as well, shots traded back and forth without hesitation. Through the middle, Hawkeye sprinted ahead, using their blinded state to his advantage as an explosive arrow annihilated half of the Hydra forces. Swiveling around, a net arrow struck and downed an AIM drone, trapping his limbs beyond saving.
"Drones! Prepare to disembark, I will destroy the Avenger!" MODOC ordered, his forehead-mounted psionic-ray emitter charging up. Using an explosion to his advantage, Hawkeye vaulted high into the air and executed a perfect backflip while fitting an arrow into his taut bowstring.
"You can certainly try, freakshow!" He remarked, loosing a disruptor arrowhead that struck MODOC right in the emitter, causing his psionics to rage out of control.
"Ngh! Can't… reach!" He cried, his tiny arms flailing uselessly in an effort to dislodge the arrow. His cybernetic shell fell flat on the dock, MODOC rolling around in a helpless mess. "Retreat! Retreat!" He ordered. As the situation deteriorated, Grim Reaper turned to leave, returning to his Hydra crawler as AIM disembarked via their transport pod, Clint managing to land one final arrow before the scientists left. The massive Hydra craft raised itself to full height, towering over Hawkeye as Grim Reaper used one of its boarding cables to winch himself into its belly. Taking aim, Clint loosed one more arrow towards the Hydra operative, hoping to score a hit.
But in a flash of silver steel, Reaper cut the arrow cleanly in two, the halves spiralling into the air before detonating.
With Reaper aboard, the crawler disappeared beneath the waves, vanishing from sight as Hawkeye was left alone with several unconscious AIM and Hydra troopers laying around the docks. "Well, Clint, you really outdid yourself this time." He mused to himself. Suddenly a bright spotlight was cast upon him, forcing the archer to shield his eyes.
"Attention Hawkeye!" A voice boomed through the helicopter's speaker system. "You are to stand down by order of SHIELD… Director Fury wants a word with you, Barton." Clay Quartermain told him, with a serious and unpleased look on his face.
"Well, good." Clint mused. "Because I want a word with him too…"
Later, aboard the Helicarrier…
"The last thing I need is you sticking your nose into a SHIELD operation!" Nick Fury snapped. "As I recall, you quit. We had the Hydra situation under control, or we did… until you showed up."
"Under control? Is that supposed to be funny?" Clint retorted. "If you've got everything under control, then where's Black Widow? You're tapped into every phone, camera, and satellite on the planet and you can't find her! Face it, Fury, SHIELD is dropping the ball big time."
"Back off, Barton. You should know better than anyone how resourceful the Widow is, after all, she was your partner." Fury countered with a frown.
"You think I forgot?" Clint stated angrily. Aboard the helicarrier's bridge, Clint and Nick were at each other's throats while Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther and Wasp watched from the sidelines. The argument had been carrying on for some time, Fury exceptionally mad at Clint for disrupting the meeting he'd been monitoring while Clint was considerably irritated by Fury getting in his way and failing to apprehend the rogue Natasha Romanov.
"Leave Widow and Hydra to SHIELD." Fury commanded, before turning on the team. "If you Avengers want to go after supervillains, that's fine. But Hydra is too complicated, you can't just take on one at a time. Cut off one head, two more take its place. That's Hydra." He stated.
"Okay… I'm horrified to say so, but I have to agree with Fury on this one." Iron Man slowly stated, stepping forward. Clint went wide-eyed.
"You've got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah, I'm with Hawkeye on this one." A bewildered Wasp echoed. "I mean, isn't Strucker one of the escapees? That makes him our problem!"
"Apart from that… look, Clint, the Black Widow betrayed you. She sold you out, I get it, I've been there." Tony sympathized. "But Hydra is a quagmire. If the Avengers go in, we'll just make things worse."
"Will we? I thought we did some damage the last time we dealt with them." Wasp interjected.
"We did. But Hydra's got a lot of the escaped villains on their bankroll. We take them out, Hydra won't have any muscle left. We need to prioritize, no need to cut off the main head just yet."
"They teach you that in business school?" Clint snidely remarked, crossing his arms. Tony sighed.
"Gonna ignore that…" He muttered. "Look, we've got our hands full with the breakout. You have to look at the big picture, not get caught up in revenge." He explained. "Let it go, Clint." He urged. But Hawkeye wasn't having it.
"You need me to save the world? Fine, I'll be there." He replied. "But I don't need SHIELD telling me how to handle this. Nor do I need the Avengers. I'll find Widow on my own." He stated firmly, pushing past Tony as he left the bridge.
"Well, at least he didn't punch anyone." Iron Man commented as he vanished.
"Boy, he's sure got a chip on his shoulder. Widow must've really done him dirty." Jan mused.
"Betrayal leaves deep wounds that heal very slowly." T'Challa said. "Hawkeye is seeking an easy relief for his pain… one that is shallow at best."
"Yeah…" she trailed off, thoughts jumping around. "Is it true that SHIELD has access to every phone and camera? Because there's some things on my phone I don't want anybody seeing!" She asked aloud. Fury simply glowered, not in a talkative mood.
Tony made to talk him down as Cap, Wasp and Panther retreated into the outside hall to try and find Clint, the archer storming off in a huff. "Hawkeye, wait!" Steve called after him. He turned with a disapproving look in his eye.
"Oh, now you talk," he scoffed, "thanks for backing me up in there, team."
"You're letting revenge blind you-" Cap replied, steady and unmoved.
"I can't believe you, of all people, are telling me not to go after Hydra!" Hawkeye cried in disbelief.
"You think that's what I'm telling you? What I'm saying is if you take on Hydra like this, alone, you won't come back." Steve cautioned him.
"I know how isolating mistrust is. I know that some battles must be fought alone." Panther echoed. "But it does not hurt to have backup."
"Like you said, Clint, we're your team." Wasp agreed. "Wait, are we all saying what I think we're saying?" She wondered. Clint raised a brow.
"You wanna help?" He queried in surprise. "You know, would it have killed you three to say any of this when I was getting chewed out by Fury and Stark back there?" He asked sardonically.
"Still the sane old charmer, aren't ya Hawkeye? Nice to see you haven't matured at all since you left SHIELD." A new, feminine voice remarked. Striding in from behind, Clint turned around to see a woman dressed in a blue and white long-sleeved leotard, her long toned legs exposed as a broad black eye mask framed her blonde-haired features. She looked quite beautiful and it didn't take long for all eyes to be on her.
"I, uh… I… Do I know you?" Clint wondered, a little speechless as his eyes roamed up and down her figure. She flashed him a simple smile, blue eyes twinkling as she stood before him. It was then that Hawkeye was hit with a sudden bout of realization. "Morse?!" He exclaimed. "What's with the getup, Bobbi?" He last time he'd seen her, she'd been simply 'Agent Morse', clad in the same generic agent attire every field agent of SHIELD wore. This was… certainly new, to say the least.
"I took your place on SHIELD's special ops team," she explained, "codename 'Mockingbird'. I've come a long way since the days of driving you around." Bobbi mused, a dainty finger lightly pressing against Hawkeye's chest.
"That was, like, three months ago." He noted. Rolling her eyes, Bobbi grew serious.
"I heard you're going after Widow… I want in." The blonde announced. "She didn't just betray you, you know. She betray the whole team." Her reasoning was simple yet sound, every word completely believable. Yet Cap, Panther and Wasp exchanged glances.
"Hawkeye…" Steve said warily, "I don't think that's a good-"
"You're in."
"…idea." Clint was already patting Bobbi on the shoulder, motioning for her to join him as they walked down the hall, Cap standing by completely isolated from the narrow-minded opinion of Hawkeye.
"At least we know his weakness now, if he were to turn on us." T'Challa remarked. Janet rolled her eyes.
"Men." She huffed.
That night…
The five piled into the Avengers Quinjet to embark on some aerial reconaissance, combining their own knowledge with Mockingbird's latest intel from SHIELD as they tracked the Black Widow via Hydra's own footprints. "SHIELD has pinpointed multiple Hydra locations throughout the city," Bobbi revealed, using the Quinjet's multisensors to pull up a variety of addresses and geo-coordinates, "we know the locations of multiple safehouses, storage facilities-"
"You can stop now, ma'am." Cap cut in, giving her a rather knowing look.
"We know Fury sent you to keep us busy, to get us out of the way." Clint continued, leaning back in his seat.
"Wait, we did?" Wasp suddenly chimed in from her seat at the controls. "Oooooh, you guys are good."
"We're not after scraps, Birdie. We're after the Black Widow." Hawkeye told Bobbi. "And to find Widow, we need to get to Strucker." Morse paused, a defeated look in her face at being found out so soon.
"If you knew, why did you let me come along?" She asked.
"Well… the costume didn't hurt." Clint remarked with a grin, eyeing up her shapely thighs.
"Ugh." Janet sighed. "On a different, non-misogynist note, I hate being a one-girl act. With that getup, you could almost qualify as an Avenger." She suggested.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Wasp." Hawkeye said, halting her train of thought.
"I have the signal," Panther suddenly announced, drawing everyone's attention, "we are close."
"What signal?" Bobbi queried.
"The signal from the tracer I planted on the Grim Reaper while I was sticking my nose in SHIELD's business." Hawkeye replied, his collapsible bow unfolding within his grip. "Your choice, Bobbi: wanna fight the good fight or be a SHIELD stooge?" He asked. Needing a moment to consider, Mockingbird knew she was technically outnumbered by the Avengers. But at the same time, she felt a measure of attachment to Clint in this matter, a sense of kinship over the fact that Widow had left a gaping wound behind with her betrayal, one felt by almost every agent of SHIELD. Fury might downplay it, but when faced with a chance like this, she wouldn't have been the only one to jump at the chance.
"Let's go." She stated confidently.
The abandoned warehouse complex was an easy front for Hydra, making use of the disused and rundown location as a place for storage, concealment and conduction of shady business. If that wasn't enough proof, the simple limousine-style car that pulled into one of the many warehouses, blatantly violating the 'no trespassing' sign, would be a total giveaway.
And if that also wasn't enough proof, then Grim Reaper emerging from the car certainly would be.
"I met with the fat man, he won't stand in our way." He promised someone over the phone and would've continued if not for a trio of arrows impacting with the trunk of his ride. Whirling around, he recognized them just long enough to sport a look of horror before they detonated simultaneously, the car exploding into a fireball of flame and shrapnel as the blast pitched Eric Williams back into his waiting footsoldier entourage. As he recovered, he glanced over his shoulder to see Hawkeye barreling in aboard his sky-cycle.
"Miss me?" He called out with a grin. With a frustrated grunt, Reaper picked himself up.
"I've never met a man so tired of being alive." He growled, ordering his men to attack. Hawkeye made landfall, Mockingbird right beside him as she swooped in on a glider made from her costume, and went on the attack. One electric arrow after another took down an entire suite of troopers while Bobbi's quarterstaff cracked skulls and swept goons off their feet, thinning Reaper's forces in droves. Soon she was close enough to attack Williams himself, her quarterstaff clashing with his scythe in a deadly duel. The blade rent her staff in two, narrowly missing her body by inches as her weapon was reduced to a pair of batons.
Fortunately she was capable of using them to equal effect, slamming them both into the sides of Reaper's head and staggering him.
More Hydra troopers emerged from the shadows, opening fire with rifles, pistols, and whatever other firearms they could get their hands on. "You take 'Mister Happy', I'll handle these guys!" Mockingbird declared, reconnecting her batons as they extended to form her staff. Clint moved to obey as Bobbi extended her staff, launching herself forward like a pole-vaulter as she drove boot-first into the troopers and proceeded to beat them over her head.
Grim Reaper proved far more challenging, his scythe cutting Hawkeye's arrows to pieces as fast as he could shoot them. Closing the gap between them in seconds, Clint's bow fell to pieces as Reaper hacked it up with a mere flick of his wrist. Hawkeye was trapped, at a severe disadvantage without his bow, doing his best to avoid getting cut by Reaper's whirling scythe. He needed to do something to even the odds… and then a thought came to him.
Reaching behind, he flicked open the bottom of his quiver and withdrew a singular arrowhead. During Grim Reaper's next pass, he tossed it and made contact with his scythe, unleashing an electric shock that stunned him long enough for Hawkeye to land a lunge kick. But Reaper proved to be far tougher than most and rebounded back into the fight, driving Clint into the corner and dropping him with a right hook and a kick to the stomach.
Bobbi held her own a little longer, only to be dogpiled by Hydra troopers and pinned to the ground. "Hawkeye!" She cried in alarm, Clint equally surrounded by Reaper and a fresh contingent of troopers.
"An Avenger! Put them on the transport, Baron Strucker's gonna enjoy this…" Grim Reaper cackled.
Moments later, a Hydra intercontinental rocket transport was disembarking the scene, moving quickly so as to avoid detection. It would've worked… had it not been for the Avengers Quinjet hovering high overhead, tracking their every move. "They're in," Cap announced, tracking the vessel at a distance, "but Mockingbird wasn't supposed to be a part of this." He mused regretfully.
"Hawkeye's plan is sound, they are more valuable to Hydra alive… for now." Panther added, a grim tone undercutting his optimism.
"She… just seemed like a nice lady." Steve slowly replied, Wasp pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing behind him.
"Show a little extra skin and all the guys go slack-jawed… go figure." She muttered.
The trip to wherever they were headed was long and monotonous, chains wrapped tightly around their necks and limbs to keep them from moving It was very archaic, a sign Hydra hadn't changed much since World War Two. But at least Bobbi knew how to keep their captors entertained…
"…so the guy says 'I dunno, but the face rings a bell'." A round of raucous laughter from the four guards filled the hold, Clint watching from the opposite side, only mildly bemused. "Ugh, man, this collar really hurts…" she groaned, fingering the metal clasp around her neck, "you think maybe you could just… loosen it a bit? I mean… it's not like I'm going anywhere…" She suggested, biting her lip a little and batting her eyelashes at the men. Sharing a few glances, the men seemed torn between their duties and other, more physical ideas. One of them actually started reaching for her, seemingly planning to grant her request-
"Don't." Grim Reaper growled, suddenly making his presence known. The men recoiled, freezing in place as Reaper entered the hold. He pushed past them, getting into Mockingbird's face. "And if you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll shut it permanently." He threatened, his hooded features offering the barest hint of sickly green skin. With that, he turned to leave, the troopers following him out of the hold and leaving Hawkeye and Mockingbird alone.
"I'm impressed. That was a good joke." Clint remarked, trying to cut the tension.
"You know, this is a pretty big gamble even with your Avenger pals tracking us." Bobbi replied, sounding concerned.
"So why'd you come?" Clint queried, seemingly not worried in the slightest.
"Hmm… The costume had a lot to do with it." Mockingbird replied with a smile and a thoughtful hum.
Outside, the transport cloaked, vanishing into the night as a photonic-deflector screen bent light around its hull and allowed it to blend in with the vast yet empty scenery around it. Miles behind, Panther learned this the hard way when his scanner lost contact and a blip no longer registered on the terminal. "Is everything alright?" Cap inquired.
"The Reaper's tracking signal is no longer transmitting, we've lost radar and visual contact with the Hydra ship… and Hawkeye's Avengers ID card." He replied.
"That's… not good." Wasp said, giving voice to exactly what Cap was thinking. "I mean, what's so powerful that could block out all those frequencies?"
"Knowing Hydra, they've probably got a disruptor field set up. But that kind of tech takes power, power that a single ship can't provide." Steve responded, trying to feel his way through the situation.
"then we must be close to a base of some kind. I will change the scanning perimeters," Panther suggested.
"No. Keep trying to find Hawkeye's signal. Our priority is his and Mockingbird's safety." Steve responded. "We can't worry about Hydra, not yet. Not when two of our own are on the line."
As the Quinjet continued its flight out over the Atlantic Ocean, the Hydra transport took a turn and veered off towards a desolate cluster of rocks… just big enough to support a secret base. Shielded and heavily fortified, Hydra Base was an imposing structure for any lone quarry to face. And now Hawkeye and Mockingbird were about to find themselves in the belly of the beast.
In a central throne room, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker sat upon an ornate throne, draped with Hydra regalia that had not changed since the last World War. An older man clad in a grips green officer's uniform, his monocled appearance beset the frowning visage of a leader who liked to be in control. Beside him, a woman in a green skintight bodysuit stood ready to deliver a report.
"I have made contact with the Yashida Clan in Japan, run by a man named Gorgon. They seem open to negotiations." Madame Hydra (better known as 'Viper') told her leader. Strucker nodded in understanding.
"I have begun talks with the Maggia and Count Nefaria, as well as the industrialist Aleksander Lukin who has strong ties to the Russian underground," a second voice continued, soon revealed to be the voluptuous Black Widow as she ascended to his throne, "both seem eager to keep peace with us." She promised. Viper frowned, she did not like being usurped, especially by an outsider woman like Natasha Romanov.
"Of course they are. Word spreads of Hydra's power." She quickly asserted. "And when AIM finished construction of-"
"Enough." Strucker ordered, seeing through their game. His reprimand would've gone on had it not been for the arrival of Grim Reaper with several others in tow. Strucker watched him discernfully. "Reaper…"
"Would you like the good news first or the bad?" Williams asked. Strucker remained silent and Reaper took that as his cue. "Bad news is that MODOC wants more money. The good news is," he turned around, his troopers shoving the chained captives to their knees before pulling off their hoods, "is that Hydra's captured an Avenger!" Reaper announced, the bound and gaged forms of Hawkeye and Mockingbird revealed to the villains. A flash of recognition crossed Widow's emerald gaze as it landed on Hawkeye, while Strucker stood with a sinister grin.
"Well done, Grim Reaper. The world will know of Hydra's power… they will know that not even the Avengers can stand against us!" He proclaimed, striding forward towards Hawkeye while his prosthetic right hand, the terrifying Satan's Claw, glowed red with its life-draining power. Hawkeye stared defiantly back at him, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Baron… Having an Avenger as a captive could be a useful bargaining chip if ever we should need it," Viper cooed as she strutted over to him, halting his motions, "we should consider this." She suggested. After a moment of consideration, Strucker lowered his hand.
"Take them to the dungeons!" He ordered, the footsoldiers roughly lifting the two and escorting them away as Widow continued to watch… silently and thoughtfully.
Elsewhere…
"You LOST Hawkeye?!" Tony shouted in dismay. On the other side of the viewscreen, Wasp, Black Panther and Captain America shared somewhat sheepish looks as Ant-Man and Cybernaut put the Avengers' supercomputer to good use performing a search sweep. "I can't believe you three were helping him! I told Hawkeye to let it go, maybe you remember that?" He questioned in a frustrated tone.
"It, erm… sounded more like a suggestion than an order." Cap excused.
"Wakandan elders teach that the line between 'revenge' and 'avenge' is easily blurred." Panther continued.
"I, uh… I wasn't listening. I thought it'd be cool to punch some bad guys and Hydra sounded good since everyone was talking about them." Wasp added with an innocent shrug. Tony sighed, rolling his eyes.
"You see what I have to put up with?" He asked of his two teammates also manning the terminal.
"We're not picking anything up, Cap. I'll expand the satellite view." Ant-Man told the Captain, ignoring Iron Man. "Connor, anything?" He inquired of the technopath beside him, one hand on his own ID card and the other on the scanner terminal.
"There's… something. It's small, faint, heavily shielded and lost beneath dozens of layers, but its very similar." He reported in a slow tone, carefully sorting out data in his mind. Eyes opening, he glanced up at the image of Steve, "I recommend you start looking for things that aren't an Avengers ID card. It's the middle of the ocean, you see something off, that could be it."
"Understood. We'll bring him home, don't worry." Cap promised, signing off as Hank and Connor went about their roles.
"You two seem remarkably calm about all this." Tony remarked, crossing his arms.
"My father always said 'calm minds work better than worried ones'." Connor replied. "Would it do any of us any good to freak out? It won't find Clint any faster."
"Sage advice." Hank agreed.
Later…
Deprived of their weaponry, but at least out of their chains, Hawkeye and Mockingbird occupied two separate cells side by side. "So I'm thinking we're in big trouble." Bobbi mused, sitting patiently up against the wall.
"You think?" Clint wondered, sitting directly opposite her on the other side.
"Cap, Panther and Wasp should've swooped in and rescued us by now."
"Yeah… I figured they'd blow it somehow." He remarked.
"Isn't there anyone you trust?" Bobbi questioned, sounding somewhat disgusted.
"Like who?" Clint shot back. "You? Fury's little spy? Serve you right if I left you here." He said coldly. "Once how I figure out how I'm getting out…"
"That's probably what Iron Man is saying about you right now." Bobbi retorted. "You disobeyed your team leader, dragged your team out here, got a SHIELD agent captured, all to get back at a girl who lied to you! Real professional." As she carried on, Clint was distracted by the sound of footsteps approaching down the hall, tuning Bobbi out as a shadow passed over the singular viewport in his cell door. He knew the shape of her face, he knew the flow of her hair,
"Hawkeye…" and he knew that voice.
Jumping to his feet as his face contorted into a furious expression, he raced for the door as Natasha made herself known on the other side. The Black Widow herself, his betrayer, was here to see him. "You can stop right there 'Tasha, I don't wanna hear it." He snapped.
"I-"
"You're dead to me." His words caught her off guard, something that never happened to Widow, and her expression showed it. "I'm gonna get out of here and make you pay!" Clint threatened, slamming his fists against the door and causing Natasha to recoil. "You hear me? I'll never stop, Widow! Ever! Do you hear me?!" He roared as Natasha promptly took her leave. From her cell, Bobbi heard the whole exchange, pausing to process it all.
"Hoo, she really did a number on you. Didn't she, sport?" She remarked with a whistle. Then she turned serious. "Now you better get it together or we're both gonna die here." She commanded. Silence ensued, not a single response from the other cell. "Hawkeye?" She queried. Suddenly, the lock clicked and her door swung wide open, the archer standing before her completely freed. "Oookay, that was impressive."
"I grew up in a circus. You learn a few tricks." He replied. "Now… you wanna take down Hydra? Or you wanna argue some more?" He asked with a grin.
Back in the throne room, Widow returned in time to see a holographic render of an AIM scientist dissipate before Strucker and Viper. "Call in Grim Reaper," the Baron ordered, "MODOC wants another meeting." Widow opened her mouth to reply, only to be stopped when a Hydra trooper rushed in and knelt before Strucker.
"My lord! Hawkeye and Mockingbird have escaped!" He cried in alarm.
"They've what?!" Strucker roared.
Having found the nearest armoury, Bobbi locating her batons mere moments before footsoldiers flooded the room. She went to work attacking them as Clint continued to search for his bow and quiver. Snapping them together to form her staff, Bobbi soon had a piled of bodies at her feet, her expert use of her weaponry and her skillful knowledge of the martial arts allowed her to handle every Hydra trooper with ease, shattering helmets and cracking bones with very powerful hits from her first, athletic body.
She did however have one weakness, revealed the moment a trooper raised his rifle to fire. Fortunately for her, an arrow whizzed past her head and struck him in the chest, unleashing a powerful electrical surge that knocked him out cold. "You were just a little off centre," she remarked, turning to face a fully-armed Hawkeye. Together they took off down shockingly-empty corridors as they made their way back to the throne room. Hawkeye blew open the door with an explosive arrow and the two entered… only to find themselves surrounded by Strucker's entire army.
Thinking quickly, Hawkeye loosed a shot towards the balding Baron, only to have it snatched out of the air by surprisingly quick reflexes and incinerated within the grip of his Satan's Claw. "Okay… I'll take Widow…" he suggested, scanning around as even more footsoldiers entered the room. "You can have the other hundred-and-forty."
"Now that hardly seems fair." Bobbi remarked in response, grabbing his shoulder. "Move!" Shoving Hawkeye out of the way, they barely avoided the first rounds fired on them, the room soon filled with a hail of weapons fire. Grabbing Hawkeye by the shoulder, Bobbi quickly actives her staff's telescopic capabilities, hoisting them both high into the air and out of harm's way.
Using the distance to his advantage, Hawkeye loosed a trio of explosive arrows that carved out massive gaps in Hydra's forces, giving him and Mockingbird a chance to land and get to work. Using his powerful arrowhead's to thin their ranks, Bobbi covered his six as she laid footsoldiers out flat as the throne room turned into a total warzone.
While Mockingbird had what it took to take on Strucker's dime-a-dozen soldiers, Hawkeye went straight for the elites, tackling Grim Reaper first as Eric Williams rushed him. Kick-flipping the villain off of him, Hawkeye turned and fired an explosive arrow that made contact with an energy blast launched from Reaper's cybernetic scythe. The ensuing explosion knocked both of them over, Hawkeye crawling to his hands and knees and scrambling behind churned-up pieces of flooring as a hail of renewed shooting peppered his position. He glanced up and saw Mockingbird was forced to do likewise. He reached behind him, fishing around for a proper arrow to use in this situation… and discovered to his horror that he had only one left.
Holding the singular arrow in his hand, he looked up to Bobbi, a grim decision in mind. "Morse! Bobbi!" He shouted over the din.
"What?" She shouted back, nearer to the door with far sturdier cover.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I dragged you into this," he apologized, "run, don't look back. I'll hold them off for as long as I can." He promised, moving into a crouch.
"What? That's suicide!" Bobbi cried in disbelief. Clint said nothing more and lept up onto his cover, arrow drawn and ready to fire into the hail of ballistic fire about to meet him. "Hawkeye!" She fearfully cried.
All of a sudden, the glass ceiling shattered, raining down bits of debris as Captain America, Black Panther and Wasp arrived on the scene.
Cap took up position in front of Hawkeye, his shield deflecting every shot coming their way. In panther's hand was a fresh quiver, fully loaded with a rack of arrows. Wasp quickly cut down the footsoldiers closest to them with her biostings, on the move as she bobbed and weaved through the throng of villainous troopers with the skill and speed of a natural wasp. Suffice to say, Hawkeye was rendered speechless by the sudden arrival of his teammates. "You guys are really late." He quipped.
"You didn't exactly make it all that easy to track you down," Cap replied, strong and steadfast despite the assault on his defences, "Connor pointed us in the right direction, you triggering your ID card helped with the rest." He explained.
"What do you think of the rookie now?" Panther remarked, handing him his quiver.
"Eh, still a greenhorn when it comes to field work." Hawkeye remarked as he slipped it on.
From his posture on his throne, Strucker had gone from confident to irritated. "Destroy them all!" He roared. With near-serpentine skill, Viper plucked the pin from a grenade with her tongue, slowly, almost erotically, emphasizing every move-
"Girl, was that really necessary?!" Wasp complained, strafing the throne with a barrage of biostings. Pitching the grenade forward, the explosive was batted off Cap's shield and straight into a squad of footsoldiers, detonating with enough force to pitch them all to the ground. The super soldier surged ahead, taking down Hydra goons like it was 1944 all over again. T'Challa unleashed a series of Vibranium throwing daggers that struck the ground and detonated, blowing up entire lines of footsoldiers as Black Widow and Viper rolled clear of the blast. Using an ultrasonics arrow, Hawkeye laid waste to an entire corps of the troopers while an electrostatic arrow took down another. Mockingbird rejoined the fray as the five heroes converged on the throne and Baron Strucker. A trio of Hawkeye's explosives caused the massive Hydra emblem framing him to crumble into pieces.
"Hydra Island has been compromised!" He declared, watching as Captain America stalked up the stairs.
"Ready to finish this, Strucker? Time to do what I wanted to do to you back in the Forties!" Cap stated, his body tense and ready to spring. Strucker slowly raised his arms.
"Computer… command code: Fenris." He said simply. Alarms began to blare as Cap whirled around, eyes widened in suspenseful suspicion.
"Self-destruct initiated." A monotone voice reported, signalling the imminent demise of the entire installation. Steve attempted to pin Strucker, only for the Hydra Baron to be whisked off by Black Widow on a grapple tether. Reeling back, Cap sent his shield flying after them, but Grim Reaper lept up and knocked it away with his scythe.
"Strucker's getting away!" Cap radioed his team. "Someone intercept!" Wasp moved to do so, only to find Strucker positively surrounded by Hydra goons, and Black Widow with blaster cuffs ready to fire.
"Uh, guys? There's a bit more than I can handle here!" She called out, diving into the troopers and blitzing them with her stings one by one. "I could use some help… Hawkeye? Panther?" Across the room, Hawkeye took aim with a razor-sharp arrow fitted into his bowstring.
"Good-bye, Natasha…" he growled, lining up the redhead in his sights. But he suddenly noticed behind her that Bobbi was struggling against Viper, Madame Hydra's whip snaring her limbs and knocking her flat on her back, Mockingbird's face pinned beneath her stiletto heel as Viper drew a pistol from her belt.
Two targets. Only one shot. Hawkeye had a choice to make; fulfill his quest for vengeance or save the woman he'd dragged along with him…
As he released his bowstring, he made it.
The arrow whistled through the air, unhindered and unchallenged, passing millimeters in front of Natasha's face and slicing through her vibrant red hair before going on to pierce Viper's pistol and tear it form her hands, pinning it to the wall. Freed, Mockingbird wrapped her legs around Viper's neck and throwing her to the floor and regaining the advantage.
Although shaken, Black Widow calmly led Strucker through the exit passage, ensuring they were not followed as the door began to seal behind them. What she did not anticipate was Hawkeye's dogged determination, the archer leaping through the door with a shout as he tackled Widow from behind. Strucker turned to watch the confrontation unfold, Widow throwing Hawkeye off as she started running, the archer drawing his bow and loosing arrow after arrow as Widow returned fire with her stinger cuffs, taser rounds impacting the wall behind him as arrows imbedded in the wall with a thunk behind her. Their back-and-forth trade off resulted in a few lucky shots, Hawkeye sniping one of Widow's cuffs and rendering it useless while Widow landed a shot that set Hawkeye's quiver alight, the archer forced to abandon it before it detonated in a fiery plume.
With little options left, Hawkeye attacked Widow using his bow like a baton. She parried him and landed a kick that sent him tumbling across the floor. Crawling to his feet, Hawkeye rushed to attack her, only to fund himself blocked, parried and attacked Widow landed a hit to his left arm's pressure-point, a burst of pain rendering it floppy and useless by his side. "You could never take me hand-to-hand, Clint." Natasha scoffed. Not to be deterred, Hawkeye rushed her again, Widow landing another hit to his right-side nerve-cluster that caused him to lose all feeling as his right arm fell limp and useless. Driven by sheer force of will, Clint threw his body at his foe only to receive a kick to the chin that laid him out flat.
Pouncing on his fallen body, Widow pinned him. "Goodbye, Hawkeye." She whispered victoriously.
"Well done, Widow!" Strucker applauded as he approached them. "To think I once doubted your loyalty." Above them, the ceiling shuddered, debris falling as planted explosives around the base began to detonated, bringing about the end of Hydra Island.
"Baron, we have to go," Widow announced, getting off Hawkeye, "the destruct sequence…"
"Yes, quite right." Strucker agreed. "But first… Hawkeye will pay for the loss of Hydra Island!" He declared, lifting the Avenger by his neck as his Satan's Claw unleashed its unholy power. Glowing red, Hawkeye's life's force was slowly drained from his body, transferred into Strucker and slowly giving him a youthful appearance. Wrinkles receded, sagging skin pulled taut and made fresh, the Baron growing younger with each passing second as Hawkeye bore signs of advanced aging…
Panther's claws carved through Reaper's scythe with ease, cutting the metal to ribbons and leaving Williams defenceless as Cap's shield slammed into him and put Reaper down for the count. "Score one for us!" Wasp applauded as she hovered beside him.
"Now for Viper," Cap determined, turning and watching the villainess escape through a nearby exit, closely followed by Mockingbird as she glided in after her. "Mockingbird, wait!" Cap called out, only to be cut off as the door sealed and separated them. A rumble shook the room as more debris fell from the ceiling.
"Uh, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not exactly interested in getting caught in a giant, island-destroying explosion!" Wasp remarked rather fearfully.
"We have to get out of here… where's Hawkeye?" Cap wondered, performing a headcount.
"Is he still going after Widow? Man, that guy really is obsessed!" Wasp mused, hands on her hips.
"Where there's Widow, there's Strucker. He's outnumbered, we have to get to him!" Cap determined, sprinting away as Wasp flew beside him.
Suffering the full effects of the Satan's Claw, Hawkeye could only gasp in pain as he felt his body age half a decade with each passing second. His face sagged, wrinkles forming across his skin, his youthful form giving way to decrepit old age as he grew weaker and Strucker grew stronger…
All of a sudden, Strucker was blasted from behind, the Baron collapsing and releasing Hawkeye from his grip. The process interrupted, all the lifeforce absorbed by Stan's Claw was discharged back into Hawkeye, restoring his age and body as quickly as it had been taken from him. Blinking his eyes open, he looked over with a groan as Widow lifted Strucker's unconscious body over her shoulders… she was the only other individual in the hall. "I am sorry, Clint," she whispered, turning and walking slowly away with Strucker in tow.
"N… Natasha…" Clint rasped, struggling to rise and pursue. Her words were cryptic, her attitude blowing his every perception out of the water and leaving him confused. She did not turn back and was gone by the time his team arrived to collect him.
"Looks like your old gal-pal did a number on you." Wasp mused.
"We need to go, the island is about to explode." Panther urged, slipping one arm over his shoulders while Cap did the same. Standing him up, Wasp led the way as Cap and Panther helped Clint along.
"Wait, Wait!" He coughed. "Where's-"
"Avengers, do you copy? This is Nick Fury. I've got Mockingbird, get out of there!" A familiar voice crackled over his comms.
"Oh good. The one guy we could use yet don't want to see… especially not after this." Wasp stated, her expression contorting into one of chagrin.
Hydra Island became a fireball, whatever survived sinking into the sea as the Helicarrier and Quinjet left it behind. That was the happy part of the aftermath.
The unhappy part? Well…
"I told you to stay out of it!" Fury snapped. "You were a SHIELD agent, one of my best! You should have trusted me!"
"Trust you? Oh you're funny." Hawkeye retorted. "All I can trust you to do is kick me to the curb the instant some half-assed evidence shows up that paints me in a bad light!" Captain America came between them.
"We did take down Hydra Island, Nick. And we captured the Grim Reaper." He stated calmly. "I'd call that a victory for both of us."
"I didn't want Hydra Island taken down. Not yet." Fury retorted with a frown. "I am on top of this, I will deal with the Black Widow." He stated firmly. "But if I catch you or the Avenger sticking your nose in SHIELDs business again… there will be no more Avengers. Am I clear?" He threatened.
"You know, I seem to recall you saying you wanted us to go after the escaped supervillains… and I know Strucker and Grim Reaper are on that seventy-plus list." Wasp mused. "Are you bipolar or something? Having trouble making up your mind?" Hawkeye smirked.
"That's the problem with trying to be on top, Wasp… you forget about all the cracks in your foundation." He commented, shooting Fury a withering stare. "And I wanna talk to Mockingbird."
"No. You're dismissed." Fury stated curtly, turning his back to them.
"Wow. Rude." Wasp huffed, sticking out her tongue before she made to leave, with the others. Fury remained where he was and di not move until he was finally stirred by Jace Carson approaching him.
"Sir… all due respect, but they did topple a massive Hydra outpost, something we never could've done on our own. It'll take Strucker a while to reassemble what he's lost here." He noted in a quiet tone. "Is it really necessary to threaten them like that?"
"I run a tightly-knit organization, Agent Carson." Fury replied, losing his edge for just a moment. "Everything I do, every choice I make, will affect something else. If the Avengers decide to jump on Step Two before I finish Step One, then Step Three is compromised."
"But the Avengers don't operate the way we do." Jace protested.
"I am aware. And it's becoming a bit of a problem." Fury answered, walking away. Jace watched him go, pursing his lips in a moment of contemplation. Nick was then approached by a Hispanic man in an agent's uniform.
"Sir, Mockingbird would like to see you right away. She's found something… and it has to do with Madame Hydra." He reported.
"Tell her I'm on my way, Miguel." Fury said with a nod, disappearing into the lower levels of the Helicarrier's bridge.
Outside the bridge, the Avengers were back together again. "Iron Man implied he would like to have… a word with us as well, when we return." Panther mused.
"Eh, I'll just tell him I've got homework. Or hey! Maybe we could go grab something to drink, you know? Claim we're too drunk to hear him out." Wasp suggested.
"It's not always a good idea to disobey a commanding officer like that, Wasp." Cap countered.
"Even if your 'boss' is a billionaire businessman who really shouldn't be giving 'pep talks' like that?" Hawkeye wondered, stretching a little.
"You enjoy living rent-free in the mansion, don't you?" T'Challa replied. Clint paused, that very-possible reality setting in.
"Ah… good point." He mused. "Look, you guys, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bring SHIELD and Stark down on you like this." He apologized, turning to face the team. "But thanks. Thanks for having my back."
"That's what being on a team means, Hawkeye." Cap replied with a smile.
"I'm sure there would've been more of us. Thor basically has immunity because he's an Asgardian and I know Connor would've loved to come along if he wasn't out with his brother tonight." Wasp added. "Don't worry, we're all in your corner."
"I just… even now I can't figure it out." Clint said after a moment of thoughtful gratitude, pondering the final events of Hydra Island. "Why'd she do it? Why'd Natasha save me?" To that, none of them had an answer…
Later…
"Tell me again what happened…"
"As you were finishing off Hawkeye, the Black Panther attacked. One of his daggers hit you and, while I got you out, Reaper and Viper were captured. We got lucky, my Baron." Natasha explained, Strucker dwelling on what he had missed as the sun rose over New York's docks. He nodded in acceptance and turned as the thrum of jets heralded the arrival of an AIM transport. It made and fall at the very end of the docks and opened up to reveal MODOC accompanied by several drones. They placed a series of four briefcases at Strucker's feet.
"What is this?" He demanded.
"AIM is returning the money Hydra has already paid. The Cosmic Cube was a failure," MODOC explained, "we will present you with options for a new weapon soon. You have our… apologies." The door sealed shut on him and the craft departed without any further exchange, Widow and Strucker left feeling rather confused by AIM's abruptness.
"What was that all about?" Widow questioned. Strucker did not respond immediately, watching the transport leave until it was a mere speck on the golden horizon. He analyzed MODOC's expressions and choice of words, as well as his actions. Seldom did AIM ever do something like this, usually keeping money as a sort of recompense for lost materials and a damage desposit. To return it entirely meant as a gesture of good will was too straightforward, a smokescreen…
"He's lying…" He realized.
Elsewhere…
Beneath a barbershop, a secret SHIELD facility is where Mockingbird met Nick Fury and revealed to him her rather shocking discovery. The body of Madame Hydra on a table before them, still and unconscious. And yet…
"What does it mean?" Bobbi wondered. Nick's gaze lingered on Viper's form, her skin now green and her face sporting rather alien features… something that had come about after Bobbi knocked her human form unconscious.
"It means we've got a big problem." He grimly mused. "A very big problem…"