No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2

Chapter 100: Another Sunset (Part 10)

Clint Barton was sitting up on a small bed down in the lower depths of the main S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. He had been taken to the medic bay in order to sleep off the sedative that Natasha just had to violently shove in his neck…

The baby bird felt well enough to look at information relating to "S.H.A.D.O.W"…. but honestly, skimming over the details began to make the young man feel sick to his stomach. His eyes were sore, because after he woke up… he got to watch his older brother on the translucent screen, just as he was taken into custody.

Seeing his brother being escorted away made him cry. He hated seeing it, and he hated what his brother was doing once again. "Trick Shot", was gathering people, for Ezekiel. He was gathering them and…

The baby bird kind of threw up. Twice. Off and on. His heart hurt so badly, and his whole body was just sickened with everything that he was figuring out. There was always the element of human trafficking, sex rings, chop shops, and all that psycho shit in the back of his mind as he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D…. but, to his knowledge, there had never been such a strong focus.

Natasha's work, yes, and the archer supported her all the way. Oh, his baby soul was breaking when he was given the news about his brother. Nick Fury told him over a video call that he was basically going to prison, just as Wade Wilson said. The evidence Ezekiel provided was no joke, so the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. also told Clint Barton that he was placing him on a paid medical leave. He ordered him to take time off, regroup, and return to S.H.I.E.L.D. when he felt ready to do so.

Returning to "S.H.A.D.O.W." was mentioned in that moment as well, because that shit was legit. Apparently, the "White Jackal" wanted to keep the archer on his preliminary team, but hearing that brought the bird zero comfort. In that moment, he didn't want to hear the name Ezekiel Stane, or see his SMUG face ever again.

"The Jackal has requested for you to remain on his team. Your combat skills and stealth are a key asset, and he said he needs you, if you're on board with what S.H.A.D.O.W. is doing. It's ok if you're not."

Fury was just delivering the facts. He was deeply concerned for one of the youngest members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. The baby bird was the same age as Victor Strange, so everyone understood if he wasn't going to return. The video call with Fury eventually came to a close. Barton had two visitors show up for him eventually. Natasha, and Yelena..

Yelena Belova sat down at the foot of his bed, and Natasha apologized for what she did to his neck. She hated doing that, but there was no other way. Her field agent wasn't listening, or hearing reason in any shape or form. He clearly wanted to murder Ezekiel Stane, and the feeling was mutual.

Well… not so much. Natasha combed over what was planned for S.H.A.D.O.W. and it was exactly what she wanted from Ezekiel from the beginning. She was very on board with the new division, and the Black Widow planned to do everything she could to fully support it. Their next mission wasn't taking place for a while, so her focus in that moment was to make sure their baby bird was going to be ok.

He looked broken, and distraught. Luckily, Yelena started talking to him off the bat, and she asked him about his plans for a vacation.

"We could go to the Caribbean? Or the Maldives? Have you ever actually gone somewhere and enjoyed yourself? You work hard… so, let's go. I'll take you, and show you."

The young woman was very persistent, but the archer didn't seem to mind. He was covering his eyes off and on as they spoke, and he spoke up a little bit after a while. Clint Barton eventually said yes to Yelena's request for a vacation, and the three of them agreed to stick together.

~~~~~~~~—~~~~~~~~~

The "Strange" family held something called a "Harvest Week" once a year. That's when a ton of local businesses, church groups and individuals out there in Nebraska got together and put up booths on the Strange family farm.

It was a traditional community gathering, and it seemed to get bigger and bigger every year. Eugene Strange was still alive and well, along with his wife Beverly. They welcomed their three children as they arrived. Donna Strange arrived first, with her guest. James joined her, and Donna was dodging glances from her mother and random comments about marriage any chance she could get.

They weren't back together at all. James was simply helping around the Kamar taj, and doing his own set of training. Donna couldn't explain that to her mother, of course, because she assumed that Donna still lived in New York. She DID live in New York, so the whole thing was too complicated. Ugh.

Victor showed up, with two guys. Donna just blankly stareddddddd at Wade Wilson and EZEKIEL when they both arrived with her baby brat brother. I mean… both of them? Hold up. Something seemed….

WHATEVER. Donna just gave them all a smile, and some hellos. Ezekiel started talking to Eugene right away and Donna noticed that he was holding onto something brown and square. She wasn't sure what it was, until Tony Stark and Steve Rogers showed up. They never missed Harvest Week, oh and Tony's parents lived way off on the farm next door.

Remember? Howard Stark retired, then he moved out to some dusty corn farm next to Eugene Strange. Tony reminded Howard of that every time, and he always used Harvest Week as a way to reunite with his parents. OH, Donna checked back in with Ezekiel, because what he was holding made sense after Steve Rogers showed up.

It was their chess game, and there was a bit of a pause when Ezekiel eventually showed it to him. He asked if they could return to their game, after dinner. Steve Rogers of course gave him a small nod. He very much wanted to return to their game, and Steve's anger about S.H.A.D.O.W. was still a "work in progress."

So let's see… Donna did a head count before the farm was opened up for festivities. She was there, along with James, Victor, Ezekiel, Wade, Steve, Tony and the parentals. That left the GRAND DIVA of the Strange family to make his grand entrance with his beautiful family. Donna couldn't wait to see Stephen, because the person she saw at the Kamar taj seemed almost like a different person.

A maturity had FINALLY emerged within her older brother, so Donna smiled as soon as she saw him. Stephen was taking the "normal" approach, and pretending to be human again by showing up to the farm with a friggen car. When cornered, he explained that he did it to keep himself anchored, because he no longer felt human.

That information interested the sister, but all the focus went to her adorable niece. Sofia Strange stuck to her mother like glue, but she was growing to like the custom of Harvest Week. She remembered her Grandfather, and her Grandmother, but it took her a moment to re-adjust to being back on Earth.

Sofia Strange had a focus directed toward Tony Stark, because that man was the person who technically raised her until she was five years old. It was an interesting story, and Tony took a trip down memory lane when his eyes finally set upon Stephen and Clea's "Starchild" once again. He smiled at her, then he looked out toward the corn field.

Eugene rang a loud bell, then the mob of Nebraskans made their way into the corn maze. The Harvest Week festivities had begun, so Tony's eyes searched around for his main man. Oh look, Steve Rogers was finally talking to his best bud. Bucky and Steve had finally reunited, and the brunette finally felt good about that.

No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant): STORY END

Thank you so much for reading! Feedback is always appreciated.

Also, here's a song/chapter list for you to enjoy. Feel free to leave some feedback and love on the conclusion of this series.

The Tiger Striped Cat - FUTURIST

Wide-Eyed, Wrapped In Love - Digitonal

Silver Poetry - Digitonal

Sunset - Tai Verdes

Emberkreiss - Digitonal

Istanbul - Bahjat

Sorcerer Supreme - Mor

Technovore - Switch Technique

Game Boi - I.N.L.Y.

Another Sunset - Mewhy