TW: The dominos are going to start falling towards Ross.

Traveling Guest: Definitely the one you don't. Agreed on Clint, he was always one of my favorites. Oh yeah, Ross just crossed a line and now there's no limits to what the Avengers will do to stop him. I didn't hate Graviton, but we'd already had Talbot as an antagonist, felt like a big step backwards.

Guest: Glad to hear it.

Ellie Bishop: Yep, have to protect those close to them. Rumlow got what was coming to him. Glad to hear it. The circus stuff is from the comics, but the military background was mine. Yeah, while both Frank and CLint are dangerous, my money is on Clint. Yep.

Stark Mansion

Mid-morning

Tony was in his workshop, mindlessly working on something, attempting to take his mind off things. It wasn't working.

"Boss, Ms. Potts is here," FRIDAY said as she came online and Tony nodded.

"Send her up," Tony ordered as he put down his tools, picking up a rag and starting to clean his hands.

About five minutes later, Tony met Pepper in the longue, his hands clean.

"Hey, Pep. What's going on?" Tony asked as he walked in.

"Don't you remember? It's a few days before you present your pitch to the board and you wanted me to prep you," Pepper reminded him and Tony almost swore.

"Sorry Pep, with everything going on I completely spaced," Tony apologized and Pepper took a good look at him.

"Tony…are you all right? You look like you haven't slept," Pepper said worriedly as she saw the bags under his eyes. "Last time you looked like this was just after New York."

"I think I've gotten maybe a few hours of sleep since the other day," Tony said with a heavy sigh.

"Tony…what's going on?" Pepper asked concerned and Tony was silent for a moment.

"Can we go somewhere and talk? We can't talk here," Tony said, gesturing to his ears.

Immediately, Pepper understood. They weren't alone.

Ten minutes later, Tony and Pepper sat out in the driveway, in Pepper's car, Tony having filled Pepper in.

"Ross is watching you?" Pepper asked in disbelief and Tony nodded.

"He was watching all of us. It's how he found Clint's family. He sent a team after them," Tony said, to Pepper's shock and horror. "No one was hurt; Clint and Fury took them down, but we realized we couldn't stay together. Cap, Nat, even Rhodey, they're all gone."

"So what, you're just gonna break up?" Pepper asked in disbelief.

"What choice do we have? Ross is monitoring us, tracking our every move. Anyone we try to reach out to for help, he'll know," Tony argued. "We don't want to split up, but what choice do we have?"

"The Tony Stark I fell in love with would not let that stop him. He's tracking you, use that against him. Ross has all the power, but one thing he doesn't have: your mind. You are one of the smartest people I have ever met. If anyone can figure a way out of this, it's you. But the world needs the Avengers, whether certain people think so or not," Pepper told him and Tony paused, thinking.

"I might not make it for the meeting," Tony said and she laughed.

"I've covered for you before. Besides, I have a better relationship with the board than you," Pepper said before leaning over and kissing the surprised Tony. "Now, go be a hero."

Asgard

Same time

After arriving on Asgard, Sif walked into the throne room. Thor was sitting on the throne, deep in thought when he looked up, seeing her.

"Lady Sif, welcome back," Thor said as he stood up, walking down from the throne.

"My king,' Sif said, moving to bow but Thor grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Come on, you and I have fought side by side for centuries. We are long passed such formalities," Thor said and Sif nodded, drawing herself back to her full height.

"Thor, there things that have happened on Earth," Sif started.

"I'm aware," Thor said with a sigh, taking Sif aback. "Heimdall still watches my friends, in case they are in need of help. He told me what Ross did, about the attack on Barton's family. Were this a few years ago, I would have returned to earth and introduced Ross to Mjolnir. But I know that will only add fuel to the fire, convince the word of the need to control those with powers. Another will merely rise to take the place of Ross."

"So what do we do?" Sif asked and Thor looked at her with a weary look.

"The only thing we can do is trust Cap and the others to handle him while we prepare for Thanos. I have faith that, even without us, they will emerge victorious," Thor said firmly, hoping he was right.

London

Mid-Day

After the funeral, Steve stood in the church, alone, staring down at a picture of Peggy. Hearing footsteps behind him, Steve didn't need to turn to know it was Natasha.

"You okay?" Natasha asked as she stepped up beside him.

"Yeah," Steve said, surprised to find he meant it.

While he would always cherish the memories of the woman who had believed in him, he doubted he would have liked the woman who had, rather than hunting Hydra to extinction as she had promised, instead allowed the Red Skull's right man into SHIELD, leading to Hydra's takeover of SHIELD. But he had said goodbye to Peggy Carter a long time ago. He had no resentments towards her.

"More worried about Ross than anything else," Steve admitted.

"He's backed us into a corner, that's for sure," Natasha noted and Steve smiled tightly.

"He's watching all our moves. Anyone we try to reach out to for help, he'll either arrest them or use them to get to use," Steve said grimly.

"So we reach out to someone Ross doesn't know about," Natasha said, an idea striking her as Steve looked at her curiously. "You remember when we were in the future and I mentioned that SHIELD agent Clint dated before he met Laura?"

Unspecified location

Not long after

In a room, Wanda was lying in bed, hooked up to a few machines as she appeared asleep while a few doctors were checking some charts. Suddenly, Wanda's eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed, shooting some blasts of red energy at the doctors. They hit the wall before sliding down, dazed as Wanda yanked the wires off her head and the IV out of her wrist before yanking the covers off her legs and jumping from the bed. As she raced out of the room, one of the doctors tapped a Comms piece in his ear.

"Sir, Wanda Maximoff is awake."

Out in the hall, Wanda Maximoff was running when she rounded the corner, coming face to face with several people, all with guns in thigh holsters. Wanda raised her hands, which were glowing with red energy when-

"That's not necessary; we're not going to hurt you."

At the sound of the voice, Wanda paused as Maria Hill made her way to the front of the group.

"You remember me?" Hill asked as Wanda lowered her hands, nodding as the energy faded from them.

"You're Maria Hill. Where am I?" Wanda asked.

"One of many safe houses Fury has been operating out of since SHIELD fell. We brought you here after the incident at the farm. Come on, I'll take you to Clint," Hill offered and Wanda perked up. "After you change clothes, of clothes."

Looking down, Wanda saw she was only in a white gown. A change of clothes would probably be helpful, Wanda mused.

In what seemed to be a briefing room, Clint and Fury were looking at holographic blueprints when the door opened. They looked up to see Hill lead Wanda, now dressed in jeans and a top, into the room.

"Hey kid," Clint said, walking over and pulling Wanda into a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"A little confused, but fine," Wanda said, returning the hug before Clint pulled back. "What happened?"

"Ross found out about the farm, sent a hit team to take us all in," Clint explained, to Wanda's horror.

"That box was meant to take you all out. Your actions made sure that didn't happen," Fury told Wanda, sounding impressed. "Not bad, kid."

"Laura and the kids, are they all right?" Wanda asked and Clint nodded.

"Yeah, they're fine. I sent them somewhere safe, somewhere even I don't know where they are. It's the only way we can keep them safe while we take the fight to Ross," Clint said and Wanda smiled tightly.

"I'm sure Cooper loved that," Wanda said sarcastically and Clint tried not to wince as he thought of his last meeting with his oldest son.

"I'm sorry. I know this was exactly what you were afraid of happening," Clint said as he sat with Cooper, who was silent for a long moment.

"You're not coming with us, are you?" Cooper asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Clint admitted. "As long as Ross is out there, he's a threat to you, your brother, your sister, your mother. I have to stop him, before he hurts anyone else. I know I promised I was out…but I have to do this Cooper."

"Why does it always have to be you?" Cooper demanded, sounding as angry as he was upset and Clint was silent for a long moment.

"It's who I am. I was never the guy who could stand on the sidelines as other people were hurt. I'll see you when this is over, I promise," Clint said, pulling his son into a hug.

As Cooper clung to him in a way he hadn't since he was little, Clint tried not to feel like this was a goodbye.

"Not so much," Clint admitted as he came out of his memories.

"What have I missed?" Wanda asked, knowing a lot had to have happened since she was knocked out.

"Well, Ross has been monitoring the Avengers, it's how he was able to find us at the farm," Clint explained.

"Your friends have gone their separate ways," Fury said and Wanda looked at him in shock. "At least for now. With Ross watching them, they didn't want to risk another incident like the attack on the farm."

"We gotta protect the secrets we still have," Clint added and Wanda nodded slowly.

"Makes sense. So, what is that?" Wanda asked, pointing at the holographic structure behind them.

"That's what we were discussing when you walked in," Fury said as they turned back to it.

"You know Ross has a daughter?" Clint asked randomly, surprising Wanda.

"Betty Ross. She was a scientist who worked with Banner, even fell in love with him before he became the Hulk," Fury continued. "After what he did to Banner, needless to say she hates her old man. When Banner went missing after Sokovia, I reached out to her, to see if she knew where he might. She's been part of my spy network ever since, keeping tabs on her father."

"This is the building where Ross works most of the time. According to Betty, there's a room there that only Ross has access to. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that's where Ross keeps all his secrets," Clint explained and Wanda understood.

"You're making a move on it," Wanda said and Clint looked at her for a long moment.

"That depends on you," he said, taking Wanda aback. "I'm good, but this place is like a fortress. I can't take it by myself. And with the Avengers in the wind and all my other contacts being watched, I need your help. What do you say?"

"You've been playing superhero for the last year. How do you feel about playing spy?" Fury asked and Wanda was silent for a moment.

"Where do we start?"

Not a very exciting chapter after the last few, but it does help set up the next few chapters. Hope you guys enjoyed it.