No-One But You (The Zephyr Endeavor)
Chapter 15: Connection Error Song(Part 5)
As you know, Clint Barton was recuperating from his encounter with Ezekiel (his hated rival) by getting some sunshine somewhere out in the Maldives.
He was farrrrrr away from the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and the baby bird preferred to keep it that way for a long while. He got drunk, thanks to Natasha Romanoff's sister, and all he wanted to do was stare off at the Indian Ocean….
The movement of the waves was soothing his broken soul, and it was helping him cope with what happened back in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, a memory of the event crossed his mind, and the archer failed to rub the words out of his head.
…
"You should be thanking me.."
…
"Yeah? Fuck you, pal…"
…
"Your brother knew exactly what he was doing, so he was lured to the slaughter… just like the rest of the sheep."
…
"More of them are going to die, Agent Barton, so you can stay or go."
…
Ezekiel's voice was haunting. Barton hated him, and he always thought the man was a literal nightmare. "Saint" Ezekiel was even given his own death squad with someone who was even more psychotic…
Wade fucking Wilson? Deadpool? With Ezekiel fucking Stane? Jesus effing Christ…..
No way. Society was doomed. It was too insane to process, so the baby bird couldn't possibly get any rest. His mind was rampant with thoughts about how insane it was. He wanted to call up Nick Fury and give him a piece of his mind. He wanted to tell him that he was a moron for not finding some way to keep Ezekiel in a jail cell…
Just put him in a friggen dirt pit, with a plain pine wood box for a coffin. That was the vibe Barton preferred.
UGH. He got a chill for a moment as he sat out by the water, then he eventually looked backward toward the little bungalow that he occupied with Yelena Belova. Natasha's sister was an expert at keeping him distracted, but the bird needed to think.
They slept in the same bed, but nothing serious happened. Well, Yelena was a bit of a flirt when she wanted to be…so some stuff happened.
Barton rubbed at his eyes and the side of his head for a long while, then he dipped his feet back into the water. He was sitting on the edge of a super small dock, and thoughts of jumping into the water crossed his mind.
He was almost there. His mind was just about ready to let go of it all, and he almost took a dive out into the open sea. Those blissful plans came to a screeching halt, because an alert started going off on his wristwatch.
Natasha had to send him a message. She absolutely had to, because the announcement for .D.O.W. was taking place right there in that moment. Her alert gave Barton a link to the live feed… and the baby bird's jaw dropped down toward his chest when he tuned into the announcement.
Someone named "Rae-Ann" was on the screen, explaining how she was the person in charge of the newest S.H.I.E.L.D. division. "Rae" explained that the bulk of the work conducted by S.H.A.D.O.W. would have strict confidentiality, or whatever.
The person speaking looked like a young woman, but the baby bird caught the vibe that he was actually looking at Ezekiel Stane. That body-snatching smug FUCK was the only person pulling the strings behind the new psych-ward division, and look who was standing behind him/her right there on the screen.
Deadpool was there in the background. Plain as day. Ezekiel's Looney Tune pet was there on his/her right hand side, and Nick Fury was standing off toward his left. Holy fuck. Barton had to call up Nat, because the two of them had to process the insanity together as a unit.
…
"But, rest assured, the work being conducted through S.H.A.D.O.W. will be saving lives and reducing black market circulation in the long run. I am open to questions…"
…
ARE YOU HEARING THIS SHIT NATASHA? That was the first thing Barton said once a video connection between them was made. Natasha couldn't believe her eyes, and the fact that Ezekiel stole Rae-Ann's name was beyond next level for her. She was just… speechless.
"NAT, they are serious. This is actually happening, and I'm losing my effing mind over here.."
Barton spoke again, and his gut instincts were going crazy. He didn't know what to think, and he had to shut down the live feed. The screen that showed Natasha's face remained toward his left, and he could tell that she was still watching the shit show.
"So… Saint Ezekiel's trying to play off being a woman now? Did he snatch someone's body to accomplish that? I'm friggen GONE Nat. This shit is bonkers as fuhhhk."
The Black Widow heard Barton's snarky rant, but she remained in a bit of disbelief. She studied the body language as "Rae-Ann" continued to speak.
She listened to the questions as they were sent in his/her direction with interest, then her eyes scanned Deadpool several times.
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.