No-One But You (The Zephyr Endeavor)
Chapter 59: Chaos Control (Part 9)
Clint Barton finally had the Winter Soldier dead in his tracks, because the fancy arrows "Shrike" produced weren't being picked up by anyone on his team.
The archer was a million miles away from the rest of the group too, and that was definitely a good thing. Bucky Barnes looked pretty pissed off when the baby bird's arrow suddenly hit the target.
Barton's smile was enormous beneath Shrike's faceplate, cuz their game of tag was more than entertaining.
Natasha Romanoff, Yelena Belova, and Bucky Barnes were way off on the ground level, flying around, and doing what they could to avoid getting hit. That was all well and dandy, because Barton was working on the mobile suit's ability to teleport.
That was probably the coolest thing about it, cuz he was like… thirty miles west from where he was standing a second ago, and his tech had Yelena's suit locked dead in his sights.
…
Before he released his arrow on "Minerva", something white appeared within his line of sight. You see, the entire faceplate of "Shrike" was operating like a variable-power rifle scope, or an adjustable "sniper lens" for those who don't know what that means...
The White Jackal dominated the "lens", and it made everything look like a big giant blur. Clint's mind had to actually retract backward, and it felt like his eyes were relocated back into his actual skull.
That shit was super trippy, bro, but the archer understood exactly what happened. The adjustment was effortless, but it took him a moment to recalibrate what he was seeing.
Now he could see that "Zephyr" was standing a short distance from him, but the two of them were miles and milesssss away from the rest of the group. The archer noticed that Ezekiel's psycho-fuck boyfriend was there as well, but Wade Wilson was staring off toward the desert.
…
"I have a special assignment for you after you enter the church in Ohio, Agent Barton.."
…
Yeah? The archer shrugged up his right shoulder, then Shrike's faceplate disappeared before he spoke. All of those intricate details just happened on their own, and the archer honestly liked that about the technology that covered his skin.
He couldn't even feel Shrike around him, and it just did whatever he needed it to do. That shit was crazy cool, but….
…
He didn't respond to Ezekiel at all. The archer just zoomed in over toward his team, then he recalibrated when he got another look at the infamous Deadpool. He figured his smug "boss" had more to say, cuz deep down the archer knew that Ezekiel Stane secretly loved to hear himself talk….
…
"There's someone working in the church that I need you to extract. Her name is Reverend Miller. She is catching onto what's happening with mutants, so I think she will be a reliable ally going forward.."
…
Ezekiel sent over an image of Reverend Miller, and some additional information for the archer to review. After that, the Jackal didn't say anything else.
He just waited for some sort of response. Actually, Ezekiel was hoping the whole "special assignment" thing would serve as a bit of an icebreaker between them. The Jackal hadn't spoken to anyone about the rift between him and Clint Barton, but as time went on, he thought about mending ties with him all the time…
…
…..
The archer took a glance at the photo that was sent over. He forwarded that information to Yelena Belova as well, cuz she was going to Ohio with him, and he told everyone on his actual team that he wasn't going to be firing any arrows in their direction for a short while….
Ezekiel and Wade just cut into what they were doing and interrupted them, but whatever….
The information was noted, but the archer didn't have jack shit to say to Victor's smug boyfriend. He noticed that Wade Wilson migrated a little more to the left, and Hawkeye wasn't slipping on that one either.
His guard was hella up, and Ezekiel was taking all of that in. The Jackal glanced over in Wade's direction, and he passed him a message that was off the books. Wade's armor, Sevgili, received the message, but the mercenary hesitated with it for a couple seconds.
Ezekiel asked to be alone with "Agent" Barton, but Wade didn't like the idea of leaving the two of them alone. He could see why the message was sent in his direction tho, cuz Ezekiel wasn't fooling anyone who was actually paying attention.
He wanted to bond with his "team" and Wade knew that he wanted all four of them to accept him.
…
"I feel like playing tag anyway, so I'll catch you two later."
…
Wade blew "Rae-Ann" a playful kiss, then he took off toward the three amigos who were down toward the surface. Wade's descent to the ground happened so fast, but Ezekiel smiled beneath his armor.
The smile slipped back into a neutral expression when his mind turned back in Barton's direction, cuz the archer still hadn't responded to a word he said. It was a bit unsettling, but Ezekiel was determined to turn things around…
…
"Do you have any questions about Shri…"
…
"Once again, spare me your fake sincerity, ok? Seriously. I'll extract Reverend Miller, I don't need to know why, and I don't have any questions about Shrike or anything else…."
…
Barton's tone was beyond cold and brutal, because he meant it. He still had a gigantic chip on his shoulder when it came down to standing in front of Ezekiel Stane, and he was beyond sure that it was something that he was never going to shake.
Wanna know why? Cuz, FUCK HIM… that's why. He was a smug piece of shit that gets to breeze his way through everything. Ezekiel Stane and his psycho pet literally lured his older brother out for slaughter, but oh well. Who cares?
What's one more dead guy? Right?
The hatred went WAYYyyy BEYOND all the bullshit with Victor Strange too, cuz the man could do no wrong for that AIRHEAD too.
Ugh. Shrike did exactly what he wanted the armor to do. The faceplate snapped back in place, because the archer seriously scowled beneath the suit.
Ezekiel could hear and feel all of that, and the animosity he picked up was something that he hadn't really experienced before. He really wasn't sure how to make amends, but the Jackal gave it another try.
…
"I've thought about your brother a lot, and that's why I wanted to introduce you to Reverend Mill…"
…
"You DON'T even need to get it, do you? I. DON'T. WANT. TO. TALK. TO. YOU…. I'm only here to make sure you and your clown boyfriend don't slaughter another warehouse full of people…"
…
K BYE? The archer felt the technology around him as he began to glide backward. He was moving at a snails pace tho, for some reason, cuz at the same time he really wanted to just take off…
…
"I agree with you, Milwaukee was excessive. I was just…"
…
Ezekiel didn't want to say that he was only doing something because it's what Wade wanted. That was ammunition for the Surveillant Council, so the Jackal stopped talking before he finished his thought.
Barton heard the first-half of the sentence, then he rolled his eyes after he processed what the rest of the story could have been. Dude, get the fuck out already. No joke.
…
"Congratulations. You think Milwaukee was excessive. Feel free to join humanity now, like the rest of us peasants.."
…
Did "Saint" Ezekiel even know what that meant? Did he catch the friggen drift yo? Oh yeah, the archer forgot to care. He received a response from Yelena Belova, so his focus began to turn in the team's direction.
She let him know that Deadpool was attacking the three of them, and she wanted to know if he planned to join in on the fun.
…
"I've also wanted to apologize to you, for meddling with your feelings for Victor Strange. I picked up on it after you met him at the safe house. I used it to my advantage, at times, but I never meant to hurt anyone.."
…
Whoa. I'm sorry. Say, what now? The archer just about dropped his soul when he heard that… shit… and.. his soul seriously froze up like a block of ice.
Seriously? Shut the fuck up, PAL. The archer was seconds away from popping off and telling Ezekiel to drop fucking dead. His friggen SOUL actually hurt in that moment, cuz what he said hit like a ton of bricks.
Yeah, he remembered meeting Victor… at the safe house. They were playing video games, just waiting around… then, everything started shifting in Ezekiel's direction. That's when THOSE TWO first started hooking up, and because of his role with S.H.I.E.L.D, Barton reluctantly had to watch as it all unraveled.
So, what in the actual fuck was he supposed to say to that? Barton's body just took off, and the archer made his way down to play in the sandbox with the rest of the sheep…
…
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.