Friends to the End: The One in Vegas
Aug. 16th, 2013 01:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ericadawn16Title: Friends to the End: The One in Vegas
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Clint is headed for a showdown with Magneto and Pietro in Las Vegas but his teammates aren't about to let him go alone and the villains might not be alone either...
Beta: HUGE Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope and i_llbedammned
ADDITIONAL WARNING! I was more graphic with the violence than usual.
The One in Vegas
November 22, 2017
"You must do this a lot," Clint commented. He sat next to Steve who was drawing Natasha on a sketchbook. As soon as he sat down, a waitress had his "regular" drink in her hand and wanted to know what Clint wanted.
"A little bit," Steve admitted. "What did you get her?"
"That's private, that's..." Clint tried to argue.
"You did get her something, right?" the other asked.
Clint wouldn't just forget Tasha's birthday but she also wasn't the easiest person to buy for. In fact, she really wasn't the easiest person when it came to her birthday at all. To insure she actually came to her surprise party, they had employed their stealthiest abilities.
As for a birthday gift, so far all he had was two bottles of her favorite Russian Vodka and a plush cat he'd bought off the internet that was dressed like the Black Widow.
Clint also guessed that Steve came to this cafe often because hardly a soul gave him a second glance. On the other hand, Clint was getting a couple of stares.
"Of course, I did," he tried to assure Steve about the present.
Then, there was a gust of wind except his gut told him differently. It also seemed to him that the gust had a blue tint to it. He looked down to see a folded note tucked into Steve's sketchbook. When he unfolded it, he saw typed coordinates inside and a message, We'll be waiting.
"What just happened?" Steve asked.
"Pietro Frank, it appears he and his dear old dad finally has a plan for me," he explained.
***********************************************************************************
Natasha hadn't been on a mission with Ava Ayala before since Ava insisted on only taking missions that wouldn't distract from her studies.
"Come on, you only need to debrief us, we all fill out some paperwork and we have to go home. Let's sightsee a bit. I've never been in Rome before," Jessica Jones complained. Ava also looked a bit longingly out the window of their hotel room.
Natasha kept forgetting how young they really were. She'd been pleased to have full responsibility over the case and they were finished in record time.
"I suppose...," she started and before she had even finished, Ava and Jessica were high-fiving each other. The three women headed for Corso. She hoped they weren't planning something. It was bad enough that the rest had planned a surprise party for when they returned. Birthdays weren't celebrated in the Red Room. They only celebrated successful kills. Clint hadn't been big on birthdays either. Then, Coulson came along. Coulson cared about stuff like that. Sometimes, she envied Phil a bit for being able to be so normal but she supposed a lot of that was because his childhood had been so regular, so boring.
Ava and Jessica explored the shops like old friends. Natasha followed behind; feeling more like their handler in this than ever. She stood outside one shop, not wanting to go in yet another one. It was times like this when she missed smoking. You didn't need a reason to just stop and stand for a bit. You could take out your cigarette and lighter and no one would bother you except for a cigarette or lighter for them. Now, if you stood outside, people viewed you as though you were either planning to panhandle or pickpocket. She crossed her arms and thought about taking out her phone. Then, she remembered Coulson had her real phone and all she had on her was a temporary SHIELD issue for missions. It was probably just birthday greetings anyway. Those could wait.
She studied those around her. It was an innate habit that would probably never go away. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw something. There was dark, shaggy hair and a glint of metal. She walked towards the glimpse at a brisk pace, going one way and then another. It was no use. It couldn't be possibly anyway. It shouldn't be possible.
Still, Natasha could have sworn that she'd seen Winter.
*********************************************************************
"JARVIS, pull up these coordinates," Steve commanded and read them off the note.
"It's my problem," Clint argued. "I'm the one that fucked up."
"You're a part of this team which makes it everyone's problem. Remember everyone agreed that I should be leader," Steve reminded him. He didn't like to pull rank but it seemed necessary in this case.
"Those coordinates correspond with the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada," Jarvis responded.
It was an odd choice for Magneto. Then, he noticed how Clint was already moving towards the elevator.
"Stop! Jarvis, assemble the Avengers!" he called. He crossed his arms and waited for them to meet him and Clint on the team's floor.
"I want to resolve this without anyone getting hurt," the archer argued.
"If you go out there alone, it's suicide," Steve retorted. He wasn't about to lose Clint. He didn't want to lose anyone ever again even though he knew that was an impossible wish. They'd already lost Maria.
The elevator opened to reveal Tony, Sam and Luke carrying Danielle.
"What's going on?" Tony asked
"Clint has an invitation from Magneto and wants to go alone," Steve explained.
"No, absolutely not," Tony spat. "This is a team situation."
Clint frowned.
"The girls should be coming back soon. We could have the whole team gathered for a proper meeting where we come up with a plan," Luke suggested.
"Yes, I agree," Tony said before stepping close to Steve. "Get Phil here."
Steve tried to ignore the smell of Tony's cologne as he nodded.
"Make sure that Clint doesn't leave this floor," Steve told the others.
"I'm not a child," Clint argued as Danielle began to wail.
****************************************************************
Jess cuddled closer to Vange.
"I love these lazy afternoons," her wife whispered. Jess smiled.
"Me, too," she agreed. "But I have to go."
"Why?" Vange asked.
"They asked me to intercept Tasha at the tower and keep her occupied until the party was ready," Jess explained.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even show up. She has to know what they're doing," Vange said.
"She loves Phil and Clint too much to let them down," Jess argued. "Bring Ben around 7:30 so he can give Aunt Tasha our gift."
Vange nodded before giving her another kiss. Sheryl Crow played in the background.
*************************************************************************
"What do you mean that you lost him?" Phil asked after arriving at the meeting floor for Avengers Tower.
"I had to change Danielle," Luke explained. His daughter sat on his lap blowing spit bubbles.
"He told me he was getting a book from his floor," Sam stated. Wilson was usually not his gullible. Was it the holiday season that was making them all so naive?
"Jarvis?" Phil asked.
"Mister Barton left the tower twenty minutes ago on his bike with one of Mister Stark's keycards for the jet," Jarvis answered.
"Son of a bitch!" Tony exclaimed. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I was not informed that I should," Jarvis informed them in his usual calm manner. Phil could tell Tony was trying not to let his anger show. The elevator opened but Phil didn't look back.
"We must go after him. He is our comrade," Thor exclaimed.
"Go after who?" asked a voice he recognized as Jess. He cringed on the inside. This was not the best time for her to show up.
"Clint is on his way to Vegas to take on Magneto and Quicksilver by himself," Bruce explained.
"No, no, that is not acceptable!" Jess yelled. "I'm coming with you."
"Jess..."
"Phil..." she mimicked him.
"Clint made me promise that the two of you would never be on the same mission just in case...," Phil spoke. After a few seconds, he added, "He didn't want Ben to be an orphan like he was."
"That's very noble but this isn't just any mission. This is a mission where the father of my son is facing imminent death and I want to get that asshole back. Let's go," she stated. He knew that tone. There would be no arguing with her.
"You do realize that leaving right now before telling your wife will probably result in sleeping on the couch," Tony pointed out. Luke nodded.
Jess looked at her watch.
"I have three hours before Vange finds out anything's wrong. I can handle a little dragon sometimes..."
"Literally," Tony chimed in and made a face. "Okay, Jarvis, have the remaining jet ready in fifteen minutes."
Phil stepped closer to Luke who stood up.
"I think we both know getting a babysitter in fifteen minutes isn't going to happen," he said and the older man nodded.
"We'll make sure you, Pepper and anyone else is filled in. Darcy should be coming shortly but she does not do baby duty as she has told me numerous times even though baby duty is just slightly less messy than handling Stark in his younger days," Phil told him which elicited a smile.
Luke shifted Danielle to one arm and clapped a hand on Phil's shoulder.
"Get our Hawkeye back, man," he said.
"Will do," Phil agreed. The depth of Clint's situation was starting to catch up with him and he didn't like it.
*****************************************************************
Darcy was in charge. This was a lot scarier than she had ever imagined. Luckily, she had Pepper although Pepper was pissed. Only Darcy and Luke were around to help Pepper with the party that none of them was sure was going to happen at this point and tomorrow's stuff. She missed Janet who wasn't an actual intern anymore and only visited from time to time.
Darcy kept forgetting that tomorrow was Thanksgiving. It wasn't like she had some epic family dinner to attend. Last year, Sitwell had taken pity on her and taken her home. The elevator opened.
"That's not Natasha already, is it?" Pepper asked while peeking her head out of the kitchen. "I told everyone I hired for the party to come later."
Darcy looked to see Danny and the other Sam come out.
"Where's Danielle?" Danny asked. "Aunt May?"
"No, all my calls go straight to voicemail. She's with my parents," Luke said. There was a pause where he just stopped after that last word.
"Still weird, isn't it?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I spent the last five years knowing they were dead and now they're not and they can't believe their son's engaged with a kid," he said with a shrug.
Darcy knew that Luke's parents also had plenty of time on their hands since Fury still had them on probation; pending the final results of their physical and psychological exams after being held captive by a villain for five years.
The sounds of "Toxic" by Britney Spears filled the air and her pocket vibrated.
Shit.
Phil's calls were being forwarded to her phone and she hadn't much experience with the caller. She walked towards the window, away from the younger men.
"Hi, it's Lewis. Coulson's not available right now. What's up?" she asked. The woman on the other end rattled off a bunch of facts and figures.
"Mhmm, mmhmm, I'll get right on it, thanks," she said and hung up.
"What is it?" Sam asked. Darcy put up her hand as she dialed Sitwell's number.
"Darcy?" he asked.
"Sir, we have a problem; a major problem. I was just called by SWORD and Las Vegas is going to be a shitstorm. I'll bring everyone left behind but you need to bring a team, too...oh, and Fury, he'll need to know," Darcy began to ramble. She didn't want to forget anything.
"Was it Julia?" Sitwell asked.
"Higher," Darcy answered. She heard Sitwell inhaling sharply and letting it out. She took her glasses off, rubbed her temples and put them back on again.
"I'll get together a team and take care of Fury. Do you need a quintjet?" Sitwell asked. Darcy looked at Pepper and asked, "Is Tony's third jet up and running?"
"It can be," Pepper answered. "What's going on?"
"We'll meet you in Vegas," Darcy stated and hung up before turning to Pepper. "It's bigger than Magneto. SWORD called to say that they were getting readings in Las Vegas that were consistent with Extremis."
Pepper seemed to pale a bit and nod.
"I'll have the jet ready. I won't be coming with you," she explained. Darcy didn't think Tony would like her coming anyway.
"Miss Lewis, Romanov, Ayala and Jones have just arrived downstairs," Jarvis informed her.
"Good, keep them there. We're coming," she said and hoped she wouldn't let Phil down.
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Clint kept his hand on the collapsible bow as he walked around the hotel. Maybe Magneto should have given him something more specific than coordinates. The hotel was a large place complete with fake canals like Venice. There was even some sort of celebrity wedding keeping security at a premium and an outside perimeter of paparazzi that were more than happy to take his photo as he went in. He tried to ignore them. The waiting before a fight was always the worst part.
***********************************************************************
Kate Bishop tried to smile and be the dutiful sister/bridesmaid in the large decorated room at the Venetian hotel. The truth was that it all felt so fake. In front of all these guests, they were pretending to be the perfect family when Susan had been secretly living with her fiancé for months, her dad was never home anymore and when he was, he didn't want to hear about her 'therapist stuff'. Her dad and Susan loved all the balls and parties for charity. She found herself not understanding it. Why just raise money when they should be helping out in the soup kitchens themselves like she did?
The first few times, it was hard to go back after what happened and she hadn't been able to bring herself to walk through Central Park on the way back again. However, it did confirm that people needed to help each other. She wasn't sure what she would have done if Jessica Jones hadn't happened by. There was this nagging feeling that she should be doing more, making sure it couldn't happen to anyone else but what could a thirteen year old do? Even the teacher she'd taken self defense classes from had mocked her age and treated her like a little girl. Kate was used to her professors at Juliard that expected her to act like an adult with her studies. She didn't try to take any more self defense lessons after that. Instead, she had turned to Youtube.
At least, Susan agreed to make all the bridesmaid dresses purple...Kate's favorite color. She smiled even though she didn't feel like it inside. Her new brother in law kissed her sister. Then, there was the sound of glass breaking behind them. Screams filled the air. Kate took a breath and tried not let herself think back to that night. They needed her.
*********************************************************************************
Clint strung up another arrow. This wasn't what he was expecting. These appeared to be Extremis soldiers. Then, he couldn't move his right arm. He stomped hard in case it was someone invisible.
"No, only me," came Magneto's voice. He turned as best as he could and cursed that his bracers had metal alloys to them. "You hurt my little girl. This hurts me and when someone hurts me, I hurt them worse. You have a little boy so I'm sure you understand."
Before Magneto had even finished speaking, Clint saw a blur and his right arm being grabbed as it was released from Magneto's hold. Pietro smiled as he snapped Clint's arm like a twig. Clint tried his best but let out a whimper from the pain and fell to his knees.
"That should do it," Magneto spoke with a nod. Then, Pietro started to run and Magneto flew away. However, their soldiers remained. Clint forced himself to his feet despite the pain but his quiver strap slipped, hitting the wound. He had to look away as he noticed the white bone sticking out. Clint slipped the quiver off as gingerly as he could and left it. There was no way he could shoot arrows with one hand yet this was his mess and he should defend his friends from it. His left hand reached for the gun attached to his leg.
***********************************************************
Abigail Brand was beginning to have second thoughts about this SWORD business. It was one thing to defend the universe and another to be in a firefight in the middle of a Las Vegas hotel. They were even surrounded by Avengers, no less. She'd never fought with them before. It had only been a few weeks since she'd been recruited. The blond, Captain America, gave her hair a funny look. Most humans assumed her hair to be dyed green. He seemed to see through that.
She spotted the mutant called Pyro setting the drapes on fire, probably to cause confusion so she readied her gun. Two could play that game.
*****************************************************************
Loki heard a chirp and knew it came from his phone. He took it out to spot a text message comprised of only coordinates. However, he was expecting a more private affair than the battle he found himself in after teleporting. Still, being raised on Asgard had instilled him with natural instincts when it came to battle and he had to admit that he missed the excitement. He summoned forth his staff and knives before taking on the closest foe.
****************************************************************************
"Get back!" Kate screamed. People began running. Susan took her arm. The fabric covering the ruined windows began to glow and melt. A burning smell permeated the room. Odd beings began coming out of the new holes in the large stretches of fabric. They looked human but something about their expressions didn't feel human. Maybe it was the cold way they were looking at them. One of them pointed in the direction of Kate and Susan. Kate looked around for some sort of plan. The only exits were the windows they were entering and one set of double doors at the back. Then, the leader smiled at them.
"I think they might be after you," Kate whispered.
"Why?" Susan whispered back.
"I don't know but I'm going to try to distract them," Kate explained.
"What? NO!" Susan hissed and looked away. "Dad! You have to stop Kate!"
Kate was already picking up a chair and throwing it at the intruders. She was pleased at the distance. Her self-taught training was paying off. The intruders grunted and started after her. It was working except for the part where they were chasing her. She started to run for the exit. The guests parted for them like the Red Sea in the Charlton Heston film.
Kate slammed through the door and was granted a split second of decision time. When she heard the sound of weapons from another room, she thought they might be able to help or she could be running towards certain doom. Either way, her sister, dad, Blaine and the guests might have enough time to escape.
She ran towards the sound of screaming and laser weapons.
**********************************************************************
"Coulson, I found someone you might need," Sitwell spoke, motioning to Bobbi. Phil nodded.
"Might," he agreed. Bobbi had learned that the calmer his demeanor like this, the more worried he was internally. Things didn't look good and to make things more confusing, Magneto had taken off without his supposed foot soldiers. There was also Pyro and... Sybil Dvorak. Bobbi had read the file about Maria Hill's death. Dvorak had aided Mystique by giving Loki a brain aneurysm and nearly killing him when Loki had been on the verge of killing her.
Dvorak should not be taken lightly, should not be faced alone at all yet Bobbi couldn't resist the challenge.
*********************************************************************
Despite the thrill at first, Loki was starting to get bored. Were they supposed to be challenging? He supposed the soldiers had inhuman strength but not enough to be a challenge to him. Maybe he could make the stakes more interesting for all involved. He reached down froze a portion of the floor. Then, he laughed as the various combatants slipped and fell. Some of the strange soldiers glowed and his ice floor began to melt. Loki frowned at their strange ability.
*************************************************************************
Bobbi jumped onto the remains of a table before flipping and performing a perfect landing in front of Sybil Dvorak.
"Is something wrong?" Sybil spat.
"Yes, your friends are hurting my friends. I don't tolerate that," Bobbi spoke.
"But there is a lot you can tolerate," the other spat and Bobbi didn't like her tone.
"I don't know what you mean," the Avenger argued.
"Your kind argues for my kind to be registered, to have a national list of us like we're lepers or even more like lepers, your kind seeks to cure us. I can't be cured. More than that, I don't want a cure. I want respect. I want reparations," Sybil growled.
"If you think I don't know what it's like to be looked down on, you're wrong," Bobbi argued.
"Oh, did the poor white girl have someone yell at her once? Did your perfect blond hair have a bad day? You can't possibly understand," Sybil replied. This is when Bobbi let her guard down for a second. It was a second too long. Her windpipe closed. She couldn't breathe as Sybil smiled and the pain traveled downward to her chest. It felt like someone was squeezing her and she knew that someone must be Sybil with her mutant ability. She went for a kick but toppled to the ground. Every breath hurt. One or more of her ribs were definitely fractured. Sybil was grinning harder as her vision started to blur.
Bobbi was sure she was going to die.
Then, she saw Sybil look elsewhere. There was a large green blob. Rand must have come to her rescue. Everything went black.
*************************************************************************
"Wait, who's that?" Darcy asked as she pointed at a new robot joining the fray. "Or what's that?"
For once, Phil was left speechless for a good fifteen seconds.
"That is one of Stark's designs and since we have Stark and Rhodes already, that leaves...Potts," Phil explained, still watching the robot with a faint pink and purple sheen.
"Holy shit," Darcy declared. "Rescue."
"Focus, I need you to find Barton, Morse and anyone else who needs medical attention," Phil ordered and she nodded. It was an important job and if he didn't have faith in her abilities, he wouldn't have told her to do it. She almost smiled.
"Romanov, we have reports of combatants elsewhere in the building. Take Jones and Ayala with you," Phil ordered. Natasha nodded.
****************************************************************************
Loki knew what to expect from Sybil Dvorak from last time. As soon as he felt her attacking his brain, he retaliated through magic. Unfortunately, the heavy use left him drained but it felt wrong to leave when the battle was still thick. It looked uncertain which side would prosper in the end.
There was one opponent worth his time and wouldn't push him too far. To be exact, there were two except he had yet to see her. Thor was hitting the strange foes with his hammer. Loki went over to him.
*************************************************************************
"What happened to you?" Clint asked Bobbi. Her breathing was odd and she clutched her chest so he had a pretty good idea.
"Dvorak broke some of my ribs," she explained.
"You got off light then," he commented.
"Magneto?" Bobbi asked and nodded at his arm. Darcy had almost turned green when she saw it; the highlight of the ordeal so far.
"No, Pietro, turns out that he's not just fast," he corrected her. At least they seemed to be the worst of the injuries so far.
It was all his fault.
"Here, take these," Darcy said, walking up to them with painkillers. Bennie trailed behind her.
********************************************************************************
"Brother, now is not the place," Thor stated. It made Loki grin. He threw a dagger which Thor deflected. Then, there was the sound of a close fireball. He turned it into ice and it broke onto the thick carpet.
"Loki, you'll pay for what you did to Sybil," said the mutant that everyone seemed to refer to as Pyro.
"I left her alive. Considering that was more consideration than she left me the last time we met, I'd say we were even," Loki retorted.
"Loki!" Thor called. He was sure it was supposed to be a warning against the Extremis soldier coming up on his other side. Loki threw several daggers into him except unlike the earlier ones, this didn't slow him down. He grabbed Loki's arm and his hand grew red like what he saw when they melted his ice floor. Heat moved through his body. It was too much heat. Loki went for the unexpected. He drew the soldier in before using the soldier's own arm to bash into his head. The surprise was enough to let him go.
"Lay off my brother," Thor warned. It was just like when they were young.
"I can take 'are of 'self," Loki tried to say. However, the English words came slow and were difficult to form. His body was still too heated and his magic was still drained.
"Yes, Thor, little brother can take care of himself," Pyro said with a laugh, formed a fireball from his suit and threw it at the other.
No one was allowed to kill Thor except him.
Almost on instinct, Loki stepped forward to muster enough energy to transform this fireball as well. It didn't work. He stumbled and fell directly into the path of the fireball.
************************************************************************************
Phil could hear Thor's anguished cry from across the room. For a moment, it was though everyone had stilled. Agent Ward gave him a questioning look. Phil gave him a nod to continue what he was doing before he ran to Thor's side, faster than he had ran in a long time. Trying to ignore the stitch in his side and his heavy breath, Phil saw an unbelievable sight. Loki was engulfed in fire with Thor trying to put him out with his cape. It was no use and Phil could see why. Pyro was still controlling the fire and to make things worse, he was making it spread to Thor as well.
"Get Pyro," Phil whispered so his speaker would catch it. Agent May and Drew-Whedon opened fire which didn't provide enough distraction to make him stop but did allow enough time for Coulson to use his taser. As the volts surged through the villain, the fire lost its strength.
"Brother, change into your other form. It might help," Thor pleaded as he used the ragged red cloth to put out the remains of the fire. His own skin was red. Phil came closer. Thor was crying and let out a howl as his pats began to bring up Loki's skin.
"Brother!" Thor cried again. Phil fought back the urge to throw up. The fire had burned off most of Loki's clothes and skin. When Thor tried to comfort his head, black chunks of hair fell off. There was no sound from Loki or sign of life. "No!"
"Thor. Thor, I think he's gone," Phil told him in a soft voice.
"No," the other argued with tears running down his face. "No, he can't be."
Phil studied the battle being fought against the fake sixteenth century decor. It was back to its previous levels and while it was becoming isolated pockets instead of containing the full room, it still wasn't clear who was winning. There wasn't time for this.
"I need medical to my location immediately," Phil spoke and hoped that was more than just Darcy.
****************************************************************************
Kate was able to lose the soldiers in the large room. There were plenty of distractions and she could fit in small places even with the dress. Well, she had ripped a slit in it.
Then, she spied the neglected bow and quiver that she recognized as Hawkeye's weapon. She looked around but couldn't see him anywhere. Kate picked up the quiver and half-expected someone to yell at her. No one did so she put it on like a backpack. It was a little heavy especially as she bent down to pick up the bow. It was more complicated than the ones featured on Youtube and that she had practiced with. However, the basic mechanism was the same.
She took out an arrow, loaded it in the bow and shot. It was a little wide but it felt good. She tried again and shot a bad guy in the leg. Kate smiled without thinking. She liked this.
****************************************************************************
Tony lined up his aim and fired. Pepper did the same. Their lasers combined and bounced off Steve's shield to annihilate the Extremis soldier. He tried not to think about his conflicted feelings. While he preferred Pepper to be safe, he was also happy that she could take care of herself. Plus, it was incredibly hot.
Steve was hot, too, especially the way his suit showed off all his curves. Damn, they needed to find a way to correct this love curse thing. It was annoying in the first day and this was nearly eight months later.
************************************************************************
Since more of those battling were working together as a team: Tony and Steve with Pepper, Fitz with Rhodey, Bruce with Jennifer and Parker's team, they had finally destroyed most of the combatants, causing the few remaining to flee.
"Uh, Coulson, most of these aren't true Extremis soldiers. They have organic Extremis matter grafted onto robotic drones," Simmons said.
"Make sure they take enough samples to study them," he ordered. Drones would be easier to make and easier to keep track of than human subjects. They needed to find out who was behind this because it definitely wasn't Magneto.
"Sir, we're having problems with Thor," said Agent Brown; one of their finest medics but he hadn't had to deal with Thor before.
"What happened?" Phil asked.
"He's demanding that Laufeyson be removed from the body bag and put on a stretcher. There are no life signs; no reason to believe he could have possibly survived," Brown told him.
Phil looked at the man standing next to Brown.
"Bruce, what do you think?" he asked.
"I...I have to concur," he replied although his answer seemed reluctant.
"He's not going to like that answer," Phil spoke before turning back to Brown. "Never argue with an Asgardian. You tend to end up dead so I want you to humor him as long as it doesn't take away from those who really need it. In fact, get him to Avengers Tower so Thor has privacy to come to terms with it. I'll give him twenty-four hours."
"Yes, sir," Brown agree and left.
"Well, that could have been worse," said a voice with a sigh. Phil couldn't help feeling relieved about her being there.
"Lewis told me that you warned her, thank you," Phil spoke.
"You'd do the same for me," she said with a smile.
"But you should be careful because Peter..."
"AUNT MAY?!" said another familiar voice and they both turned to see Peter still in his costume. Phil gestured to his head and Peter took the mask off. "Aunt May, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you, young man, but I knew you'd want to help Luke and everyone else," May Parker spoke.
"But...but...why are you here?" Peter asked. Phil and May shared a look.
"Peter, you're looking at the head of S.W.O.R.D. aka Sentient World Observation and Response Department and she has been for the last fifteen years," Phil explained.
"So, you were both lying to me all this time?" Peter asked.
"You were also lying to me. Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you were Spider-Man?" May asked. "Julia, settle this up for me. Call me if there are problems. Phil, his debrief can wait for tomorrow?"
Phil nodded.
"Good, I think Peter and I need to have a long talk," May spoke and led her nephew out. Jasper walked up and so did Skye.
"Did you just bring my whole team?" Phil asked.
"Darcy said I should bring a team and they were the most easily available, Blake already has that team out in London," Jasper argued. "Did you see that archer?"
"Yes, and she wasn't one of ours. Actually, she seemed young," Phil spoke.
"She took down three of them," Jasper commented.
"Drones but yeah, Barton's equipment isn't exactly for beginners," Phil agreed.
"Are we talking about Kate Bishop? Because that's who the archer was, she's wearing the same purple bridesmaid dress as a paparazzi photo from this morning and she's right over there," Skye pointed out. Phil walked over to her. She was shaking a little with an incomprehensible expression on her face.
"That was some fine shooting," Phil commended and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched. Being thirteen, there were only two reasons for why she would be that good and why she would flinch. He resisted the urge to sigh and hated himself for what he had to do next.
"Agent Sitwell, come over here and congratulate her, too," he ordered before whispering to him. "Touch her lightly on the shoulder."
"Agent Sitwell?" Kate asked in a strange tone. "And was that Peter Parker wearing Spider-Man's costume? Is he Spider-Man?"
Damn, that was a rookie mistake.
"Kate, you helped us out a lot," Jasper told her and put his hand on her shoulder as well. Again, she had the same response.
"But you'll need a debriefing in the next few days so we'll be in touch," Phil explained. "Before then, don't tell anyone anything. You got lost on the way out and were rescued by the Avengers, got it?"
Kate nodded. Her blue eyes sparkled as she said, "It was awesome though."
*****************************************************************************
Elsewhere on the canals, it was easy to forget that the hotel was under siege and most people evacuated from the interior. Clint had liberated some alcohol from the wedding since it wasn't going to use them. Now, he and Bobbi were drinking in a gondola as it floated along.
"But don't you ever find it contradictory? SHIELD teaches us to win at all costs even if that means killing someone. The Avengers encourage other methods," Clint spoke. "Just because Nat and I were raised how we were doesn't mean we always want to be that way. Shouldn't we have that chance? To be something else?"
"I don't think painkillers and alcohol were a good mix," Bobbi commented. It smelled like something was burning. He also smelled a faint barbecue smell which could mean something very bad had happened. Should they go back? He was such a coward. This was all his fault.
"But you can't tell me that you're never tempted, that you never think the world would be better if this person wasn't in it," Bobbi argued. No, he had thought that many times, acted on it sometimes. Hadn't he once promised to put an arrow through Loki's eye socket?
"There was this guy we arrested recently. We thought he had terrorist ties, turned out he was heavily into kiddie porn. That guy...I was tempted," Clint admitted. "Things seem different after you have a kid."
"And even Captain America has killed people from time to time," Bobbi pointed out. It made more sense when she said it, or maybe it was the alcohol talking. "But don't give me that crap about how a kid changes everything. You mentioned Romanov and everyone knows she doesn't have kids."
They drank from their respective bottles. Clint used his left hand. Bobbie's expression looked like she was a million miles away all of a sudden.
"He asked me to marry him," she said without warning a few minutes later.
"Who?"
"Steve, that's why we broke up," Bobbi admitted. "Now I wonder whether that was a mistake. I mean, I didn't think I was ready. I wasn't sure if I really loved him that way but...what if that was my only chance and I didn't know it?"
"Not true, no way. You're pretty and way smart and funny...and...and a bunch of other cool stuff," he said. The painkillers were definitely kicking in. "You'll get married someday."
"Thanks," Bobbi told him.
Steve spotted the SWORD agent and walked over to her, holding out his hand.
"Steve Rogers, ma'am," he said. She looked at him for a moment and took it.
"Abigail Brand and yes, I know who you are," she spoke.
"I'm sorry about earlier. My only experience with women with green hair before was a woman who worked for HYDRA. It was unfair to judge you that way," Steve told her.
"Apology accepted although Viper does give us mutants a bad name," she agreed. Steve didn't want to assume anything about her ever again.
"So, you're a mutant then?" he asked.
"Yes, on my mom's side," she explained. "But the hair is from my dad, he wasn't born on this planet. Neither was I."
It was still a little strange. He grew up with Verne, Wells and the Princess of Mars books but it was all theoretical then. Now, he found himself working alongside multiple beings from other planet. He wondered what Bucky would have thought about all of this.
"Who's that?" Abigail asked and pointed at Hank McCoy.
"Oh no..." Steve muttered.
"What?"
"He's a member of the X-Men which means the X-Men knows about this," Steve stated.
"And what's bad about that?" she asked.
"Their lawyer is married to one of our members and she didn't tell her wife that she was coming," he explained.
"Ouch," Abigail said but she kept watching Hank. It didn't seem like she was surprised at his blue fur. Her gaze was more like she was checking him out.
"Do you want me to introduce the two of you?" Steve offered.
"Oh yes," she answered.
************************************************************************
"Any more Extremis?" Jessica asked Natasha who had been much more thorough than she and Ava.
"No, I checked everywhere I could. There's no more sign of them," Natasha explained.
"Oh, that's good. We seem to have been lucky. Some injuries but no fatalities," Jessica told her. "Well, except for Loki."
"Loki?" the other asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah, you know how we thought he and Thor were immortal? Not so much it appears, you just need to cook them to a crisp. It was...weird seeing him that way," Jessica said. Natasha rushed past her to where the others were. She couldn't blame her for wanting to look. How often did you see a dead god?
Jasper came walking past Natasha at a brisk pace.
"Jones, we have a problem. The female Hawkeye we had during battle? It was Kate Bishop. We knew she had some self-defense lessons but nothing like this," Jasper spoke and shook his head.
Actually, this did make sense.
"But she also got into Julliard when she was eight so she's extremely motivated when she wants to be," Jessica commented. Still, it would have been hard to guess it would get this far. "I'll talk to Phil but maybe we won't have to tell him everything."
********************************************************************
"Is it true about Loki?" Natasha asked, walking up to Phil. For being a super villain, a lot of people seemed shaken by it. Phil decided he wasn't going to process it until later when he had time. He nodded to Tasha.
"The body's being taken to Avengers Tower so Thor can have some time, but..." Phil trailed off, shaking his head. Then, Darcy ran up. "Where have you been?"
"Trying to find Barton and Morse?" she said with a cringe. Phil tried not to react, Tasha pursed her lips.
"You've lost two agents on painkillers in a hotel where they can easily access alcohol?" Phil asked.
"Yes, but really, with a broken arm and cracked ribs, what's the worst they can get into?" Darcy retorted. Phil and Tasha shared a look. They knew Clint better than that.
"Sir, Fury's landed," Claire informed them. This wasn't going to be pleasant either.
*********************************************************************
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Clint is headed for a showdown with Magneto and Pietro in Las Vegas but his teammates aren't about to let him go alone and the villains might not be alone either...
Beta: HUGE Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope and i_llbedammned
ADDITIONAL WARNING! I was more graphic with the violence than usual.
The One in Vegas
November 22, 2017
"You must do this a lot," Clint commented. He sat next to Steve who was drawing Natasha on a sketchbook. As soon as he sat down, a waitress had his "regular" drink in her hand and wanted to know what Clint wanted.
"A little bit," Steve admitted. "What did you get her?"
"That's private, that's..." Clint tried to argue.
"You did get her something, right?" the other asked.
Clint wouldn't just forget Tasha's birthday but she also wasn't the easiest person to buy for. In fact, she really wasn't the easiest person when it came to her birthday at all. To insure she actually came to her surprise party, they had employed their stealthiest abilities.
As for a birthday gift, so far all he had was two bottles of her favorite Russian Vodka and a plush cat he'd bought off the internet that was dressed like the Black Widow.
Clint also guessed that Steve came to this cafe often because hardly a soul gave him a second glance. On the other hand, Clint was getting a couple of stares.
"Of course, I did," he tried to assure Steve about the present.
Then, there was a gust of wind except his gut told him differently. It also seemed to him that the gust had a blue tint to it. He looked down to see a folded note tucked into Steve's sketchbook. When he unfolded it, he saw typed coordinates inside and a message, We'll be waiting.
"What just happened?" Steve asked.
"Pietro Frank, it appears he and his dear old dad finally has a plan for me," he explained.
***********************************************************************************
Natasha hadn't been on a mission with Ava Ayala before since Ava insisted on only taking missions that wouldn't distract from her studies.
"Come on, you only need to debrief us, we all fill out some paperwork and we have to go home. Let's sightsee a bit. I've never been in Rome before," Jessica Jones complained. Ava also looked a bit longingly out the window of their hotel room.
Natasha kept forgetting how young they really were. She'd been pleased to have full responsibility over the case and they were finished in record time.
"I suppose...," she started and before she had even finished, Ava and Jessica were high-fiving each other. The three women headed for Corso. She hoped they weren't planning something. It was bad enough that the rest had planned a surprise party for when they returned. Birthdays weren't celebrated in the Red Room. They only celebrated successful kills. Clint hadn't been big on birthdays either. Then, Coulson came along. Coulson cared about stuff like that. Sometimes, she envied Phil a bit for being able to be so normal but she supposed a lot of that was because his childhood had been so regular, so boring.
Ava and Jessica explored the shops like old friends. Natasha followed behind; feeling more like their handler in this than ever. She stood outside one shop, not wanting to go in yet another one. It was times like this when she missed smoking. You didn't need a reason to just stop and stand for a bit. You could take out your cigarette and lighter and no one would bother you except for a cigarette or lighter for them. Now, if you stood outside, people viewed you as though you were either planning to panhandle or pickpocket. She crossed her arms and thought about taking out her phone. Then, she remembered Coulson had her real phone and all she had on her was a temporary SHIELD issue for missions. It was probably just birthday greetings anyway. Those could wait.
She studied those around her. It was an innate habit that would probably never go away. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw something. There was dark, shaggy hair and a glint of metal. She walked towards the glimpse at a brisk pace, going one way and then another. It was no use. It couldn't be possibly anyway. It shouldn't be possible.
Still, Natasha could have sworn that she'd seen Winter.
*********************************************************************
"JARVIS, pull up these coordinates," Steve commanded and read them off the note.
"It's my problem," Clint argued. "I'm the one that fucked up."
"You're a part of this team which makes it everyone's problem. Remember everyone agreed that I should be leader," Steve reminded him. He didn't like to pull rank but it seemed necessary in this case.
"Those coordinates correspond with the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada," Jarvis responded.
It was an odd choice for Magneto. Then, he noticed how Clint was already moving towards the elevator.
"Stop! Jarvis, assemble the Avengers!" he called. He crossed his arms and waited for them to meet him and Clint on the team's floor.
"I want to resolve this without anyone getting hurt," the archer argued.
"If you go out there alone, it's suicide," Steve retorted. He wasn't about to lose Clint. He didn't want to lose anyone ever again even though he knew that was an impossible wish. They'd already lost Maria.
The elevator opened to reveal Tony, Sam and Luke carrying Danielle.
"What's going on?" Tony asked
"Clint has an invitation from Magneto and wants to go alone," Steve explained.
"No, absolutely not," Tony spat. "This is a team situation."
Clint frowned.
"The girls should be coming back soon. We could have the whole team gathered for a proper meeting where we come up with a plan," Luke suggested.
"Yes, I agree," Tony said before stepping close to Steve. "Get Phil here."
Steve tried to ignore the smell of Tony's cologne as he nodded.
"Make sure that Clint doesn't leave this floor," Steve told the others.
"I'm not a child," Clint argued as Danielle began to wail.
****************************************************************
Jess cuddled closer to Vange.
"I love these lazy afternoons," her wife whispered. Jess smiled.
"Me, too," she agreed. "But I have to go."
"Why?" Vange asked.
"They asked me to intercept Tasha at the tower and keep her occupied until the party was ready," Jess explained.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even show up. She has to know what they're doing," Vange said.
"She loves Phil and Clint too much to let them down," Jess argued. "Bring Ben around 7:30 so he can give Aunt Tasha our gift."
Vange nodded before giving her another kiss. Sheryl Crow played in the background.
*************************************************************************
"What do you mean that you lost him?" Phil asked after arriving at the meeting floor for Avengers Tower.
"I had to change Danielle," Luke explained. His daughter sat on his lap blowing spit bubbles.
"He told me he was getting a book from his floor," Sam stated. Wilson was usually not his gullible. Was it the holiday season that was making them all so naive?
"Jarvis?" Phil asked.
"Mister Barton left the tower twenty minutes ago on his bike with one of Mister Stark's keycards for the jet," Jarvis answered.
"Son of a bitch!" Tony exclaimed. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I was not informed that I should," Jarvis informed them in his usual calm manner. Phil could tell Tony was trying not to let his anger show. The elevator opened but Phil didn't look back.
"We must go after him. He is our comrade," Thor exclaimed.
"Go after who?" asked a voice he recognized as Jess. He cringed on the inside. This was not the best time for her to show up.
"Clint is on his way to Vegas to take on Magneto and Quicksilver by himself," Bruce explained.
"No, no, that is not acceptable!" Jess yelled. "I'm coming with you."
"Jess..."
"Phil..." she mimicked him.
"Clint made me promise that the two of you would never be on the same mission just in case...," Phil spoke. After a few seconds, he added, "He didn't want Ben to be an orphan like he was."
"That's very noble but this isn't just any mission. This is a mission where the father of my son is facing imminent death and I want to get that asshole back. Let's go," she stated. He knew that tone. There would be no arguing with her.
"You do realize that leaving right now before telling your wife will probably result in sleeping on the couch," Tony pointed out. Luke nodded.
Jess looked at her watch.
"I have three hours before Vange finds out anything's wrong. I can handle a little dragon sometimes..."
"Literally," Tony chimed in and made a face. "Okay, Jarvis, have the remaining jet ready in fifteen minutes."
Phil stepped closer to Luke who stood up.
"I think we both know getting a babysitter in fifteen minutes isn't going to happen," he said and the older man nodded.
"We'll make sure you, Pepper and anyone else is filled in. Darcy should be coming shortly but she does not do baby duty as she has told me numerous times even though baby duty is just slightly less messy than handling Stark in his younger days," Phil told him which elicited a smile.
Luke shifted Danielle to one arm and clapped a hand on Phil's shoulder.
"Get our Hawkeye back, man," he said.
"Will do," Phil agreed. The depth of Clint's situation was starting to catch up with him and he didn't like it.
*****************************************************************
Darcy was in charge. This was a lot scarier than she had ever imagined. Luckily, she had Pepper although Pepper was pissed. Only Darcy and Luke were around to help Pepper with the party that none of them was sure was going to happen at this point and tomorrow's stuff. She missed Janet who wasn't an actual intern anymore and only visited from time to time.
Darcy kept forgetting that tomorrow was Thanksgiving. It wasn't like she had some epic family dinner to attend. Last year, Sitwell had taken pity on her and taken her home. The elevator opened.
"That's not Natasha already, is it?" Pepper asked while peeking her head out of the kitchen. "I told everyone I hired for the party to come later."
Darcy looked to see Danny and the other Sam come out.
"Where's Danielle?" Danny asked. "Aunt May?"
"No, all my calls go straight to voicemail. She's with my parents," Luke said. There was a pause where he just stopped after that last word.
"Still weird, isn't it?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I spent the last five years knowing they were dead and now they're not and they can't believe their son's engaged with a kid," he said with a shrug.
Darcy knew that Luke's parents also had plenty of time on their hands since Fury still had them on probation; pending the final results of their physical and psychological exams after being held captive by a villain for five years.
The sounds of "Toxic" by Britney Spears filled the air and her pocket vibrated.
Shit.
Phil's calls were being forwarded to her phone and she hadn't much experience with the caller. She walked towards the window, away from the younger men.
"Hi, it's Lewis. Coulson's not available right now. What's up?" she asked. The woman on the other end rattled off a bunch of facts and figures.
"Mhmm, mmhmm, I'll get right on it, thanks," she said and hung up.
"What is it?" Sam asked. Darcy put up her hand as she dialed Sitwell's number.
"Darcy?" he asked.
"Sir, we have a problem; a major problem. I was just called by SWORD and Las Vegas is going to be a shitstorm. I'll bring everyone left behind but you need to bring a team, too...oh, and Fury, he'll need to know," Darcy began to ramble. She didn't want to forget anything.
"Was it Julia?" Sitwell asked.
"Higher," Darcy answered. She heard Sitwell inhaling sharply and letting it out. She took her glasses off, rubbed her temples and put them back on again.
"I'll get together a team and take care of Fury. Do you need a quintjet?" Sitwell asked. Darcy looked at Pepper and asked, "Is Tony's third jet up and running?"
"It can be," Pepper answered. "What's going on?"
"We'll meet you in Vegas," Darcy stated and hung up before turning to Pepper. "It's bigger than Magneto. SWORD called to say that they were getting readings in Las Vegas that were consistent with Extremis."
Pepper seemed to pale a bit and nod.
"I'll have the jet ready. I won't be coming with you," she explained. Darcy didn't think Tony would like her coming anyway.
"Miss Lewis, Romanov, Ayala and Jones have just arrived downstairs," Jarvis informed her.
"Good, keep them there. We're coming," she said and hoped she wouldn't let Phil down.
************************************************************************
Clint kept his hand on the collapsible bow as he walked around the hotel. Maybe Magneto should have given him something more specific than coordinates. The hotel was a large place complete with fake canals like Venice. There was even some sort of celebrity wedding keeping security at a premium and an outside perimeter of paparazzi that were more than happy to take his photo as he went in. He tried to ignore them. The waiting before a fight was always the worst part.
***********************************************************************
Kate Bishop tried to smile and be the dutiful sister/bridesmaid in the large decorated room at the Venetian hotel. The truth was that it all felt so fake. In front of all these guests, they were pretending to be the perfect family when Susan had been secretly living with her fiancé for months, her dad was never home anymore and when he was, he didn't want to hear about her 'therapist stuff'. Her dad and Susan loved all the balls and parties for charity. She found herself not understanding it. Why just raise money when they should be helping out in the soup kitchens themselves like she did?
The first few times, it was hard to go back after what happened and she hadn't been able to bring herself to walk through Central Park on the way back again. However, it did confirm that people needed to help each other. She wasn't sure what she would have done if Jessica Jones hadn't happened by. There was this nagging feeling that she should be doing more, making sure it couldn't happen to anyone else but what could a thirteen year old do? Even the teacher she'd taken self defense classes from had mocked her age and treated her like a little girl. Kate was used to her professors at Juliard that expected her to act like an adult with her studies. She didn't try to take any more self defense lessons after that. Instead, she had turned to Youtube.
At least, Susan agreed to make all the bridesmaid dresses purple...Kate's favorite color. She smiled even though she didn't feel like it inside. Her new brother in law kissed her sister. Then, there was the sound of glass breaking behind them. Screams filled the air. Kate took a breath and tried not let herself think back to that night. They needed her.
*********************************************************************************
Clint strung up another arrow. This wasn't what he was expecting. These appeared to be Extremis soldiers. Then, he couldn't move his right arm. He stomped hard in case it was someone invisible.
"No, only me," came Magneto's voice. He turned as best as he could and cursed that his bracers had metal alloys to them. "You hurt my little girl. This hurts me and when someone hurts me, I hurt them worse. You have a little boy so I'm sure you understand."
Before Magneto had even finished speaking, Clint saw a blur and his right arm being grabbed as it was released from Magneto's hold. Pietro smiled as he snapped Clint's arm like a twig. Clint tried his best but let out a whimper from the pain and fell to his knees.
"That should do it," Magneto spoke with a nod. Then, Pietro started to run and Magneto flew away. However, their soldiers remained. Clint forced himself to his feet despite the pain but his quiver strap slipped, hitting the wound. He had to look away as he noticed the white bone sticking out. Clint slipped the quiver off as gingerly as he could and left it. There was no way he could shoot arrows with one hand yet this was his mess and he should defend his friends from it. His left hand reached for the gun attached to his leg.
***********************************************************
Abigail Brand was beginning to have second thoughts about this SWORD business. It was one thing to defend the universe and another to be in a firefight in the middle of a Las Vegas hotel. They were even surrounded by Avengers, no less. She'd never fought with them before. It had only been a few weeks since she'd been recruited. The blond, Captain America, gave her hair a funny look. Most humans assumed her hair to be dyed green. He seemed to see through that.
She spotted the mutant called Pyro setting the drapes on fire, probably to cause confusion so she readied her gun. Two could play that game.
*****************************************************************
Loki heard a chirp and knew it came from his phone. He took it out to spot a text message comprised of only coordinates. However, he was expecting a more private affair than the battle he found himself in after teleporting. Still, being raised on Asgard had instilled him with natural instincts when it came to battle and he had to admit that he missed the excitement. He summoned forth his staff and knives before taking on the closest foe.
****************************************************************************
"Get back!" Kate screamed. People began running. Susan took her arm. The fabric covering the ruined windows began to glow and melt. A burning smell permeated the room. Odd beings began coming out of the new holes in the large stretches of fabric. They looked human but something about their expressions didn't feel human. Maybe it was the cold way they were looking at them. One of them pointed in the direction of Kate and Susan. Kate looked around for some sort of plan. The only exits were the windows they were entering and one set of double doors at the back. Then, the leader smiled at them.
"I think they might be after you," Kate whispered.
"Why?" Susan whispered back.
"I don't know but I'm going to try to distract them," Kate explained.
"What? NO!" Susan hissed and looked away. "Dad! You have to stop Kate!"
Kate was already picking up a chair and throwing it at the intruders. She was pleased at the distance. Her self-taught training was paying off. The intruders grunted and started after her. It was working except for the part where they were chasing her. She started to run for the exit. The guests parted for them like the Red Sea in the Charlton Heston film.
Kate slammed through the door and was granted a split second of decision time. When she heard the sound of weapons from another room, she thought they might be able to help or she could be running towards certain doom. Either way, her sister, dad, Blaine and the guests might have enough time to escape.
She ran towards the sound of screaming and laser weapons.
**********************************************************************
"Coulson, I found someone you might need," Sitwell spoke, motioning to Bobbi. Phil nodded.
"Might," he agreed. Bobbi had learned that the calmer his demeanor like this, the more worried he was internally. Things didn't look good and to make things more confusing, Magneto had taken off without his supposed foot soldiers. There was also Pyro and... Sybil Dvorak. Bobbi had read the file about Maria Hill's death. Dvorak had aided Mystique by giving Loki a brain aneurysm and nearly killing him when Loki had been on the verge of killing her.
Dvorak should not be taken lightly, should not be faced alone at all yet Bobbi couldn't resist the challenge.
*********************************************************************
Despite the thrill at first, Loki was starting to get bored. Were they supposed to be challenging? He supposed the soldiers had inhuman strength but not enough to be a challenge to him. Maybe he could make the stakes more interesting for all involved. He reached down froze a portion of the floor. Then, he laughed as the various combatants slipped and fell. Some of the strange soldiers glowed and his ice floor began to melt. Loki frowned at their strange ability.
*************************************************************************
Bobbi jumped onto the remains of a table before flipping and performing a perfect landing in front of Sybil Dvorak.
"Is something wrong?" Sybil spat.
"Yes, your friends are hurting my friends. I don't tolerate that," Bobbi spoke.
"But there is a lot you can tolerate," the other spat and Bobbi didn't like her tone.
"I don't know what you mean," the Avenger argued.
"Your kind argues for my kind to be registered, to have a national list of us like we're lepers or even more like lepers, your kind seeks to cure us. I can't be cured. More than that, I don't want a cure. I want respect. I want reparations," Sybil growled.
"If you think I don't know what it's like to be looked down on, you're wrong," Bobbi argued.
"Oh, did the poor white girl have someone yell at her once? Did your perfect blond hair have a bad day? You can't possibly understand," Sybil replied. This is when Bobbi let her guard down for a second. It was a second too long. Her windpipe closed. She couldn't breathe as Sybil smiled and the pain traveled downward to her chest. It felt like someone was squeezing her and she knew that someone must be Sybil with her mutant ability. She went for a kick but toppled to the ground. Every breath hurt. One or more of her ribs were definitely fractured. Sybil was grinning harder as her vision started to blur.
Bobbi was sure she was going to die.
Then, she saw Sybil look elsewhere. There was a large green blob. Rand must have come to her rescue. Everything went black.
*************************************************************************
"Wait, who's that?" Darcy asked as she pointed at a new robot joining the fray. "Or what's that?"
For once, Phil was left speechless for a good fifteen seconds.
"That is one of Stark's designs and since we have Stark and Rhodes already, that leaves...Potts," Phil explained, still watching the robot with a faint pink and purple sheen.
"Holy shit," Darcy declared. "Rescue."
"Focus, I need you to find Barton, Morse and anyone else who needs medical attention," Phil ordered and she nodded. It was an important job and if he didn't have faith in her abilities, he wouldn't have told her to do it. She almost smiled.
"Romanov, we have reports of combatants elsewhere in the building. Take Jones and Ayala with you," Phil ordered. Natasha nodded.
****************************************************************************
Loki knew what to expect from Sybil Dvorak from last time. As soon as he felt her attacking his brain, he retaliated through magic. Unfortunately, the heavy use left him drained but it felt wrong to leave when the battle was still thick. It looked uncertain which side would prosper in the end.
There was one opponent worth his time and wouldn't push him too far. To be exact, there were two except he had yet to see her. Thor was hitting the strange foes with his hammer. Loki went over to him.
*************************************************************************
"What happened to you?" Clint asked Bobbi. Her breathing was odd and she clutched her chest so he had a pretty good idea.
"Dvorak broke some of my ribs," she explained.
"You got off light then," he commented.
"Magneto?" Bobbi asked and nodded at his arm. Darcy had almost turned green when she saw it; the highlight of the ordeal so far.
"No, Pietro, turns out that he's not just fast," he corrected her. At least they seemed to be the worst of the injuries so far.
It was all his fault.
"Here, take these," Darcy said, walking up to them with painkillers. Bennie trailed behind her.
********************************************************************************
"Brother, now is not the place," Thor stated. It made Loki grin. He threw a dagger which Thor deflected. Then, there was the sound of a close fireball. He turned it into ice and it broke onto the thick carpet.
"Loki, you'll pay for what you did to Sybil," said the mutant that everyone seemed to refer to as Pyro.
"I left her alive. Considering that was more consideration than she left me the last time we met, I'd say we were even," Loki retorted.
"Loki!" Thor called. He was sure it was supposed to be a warning against the Extremis soldier coming up on his other side. Loki threw several daggers into him except unlike the earlier ones, this didn't slow him down. He grabbed Loki's arm and his hand grew red like what he saw when they melted his ice floor. Heat moved through his body. It was too much heat. Loki went for the unexpected. He drew the soldier in before using the soldier's own arm to bash into his head. The surprise was enough to let him go.
"Lay off my brother," Thor warned. It was just like when they were young.
"I can take 'are of 'self," Loki tried to say. However, the English words came slow and were difficult to form. His body was still too heated and his magic was still drained.
"Yes, Thor, little brother can take care of himself," Pyro said with a laugh, formed a fireball from his suit and threw it at the other.
No one was allowed to kill Thor except him.
Almost on instinct, Loki stepped forward to muster enough energy to transform this fireball as well. It didn't work. He stumbled and fell directly into the path of the fireball.
************************************************************************************
Phil could hear Thor's anguished cry from across the room. For a moment, it was though everyone had stilled. Agent Ward gave him a questioning look. Phil gave him a nod to continue what he was doing before he ran to Thor's side, faster than he had ran in a long time. Trying to ignore the stitch in his side and his heavy breath, Phil saw an unbelievable sight. Loki was engulfed in fire with Thor trying to put him out with his cape. It was no use and Phil could see why. Pyro was still controlling the fire and to make things worse, he was making it spread to Thor as well.
"Get Pyro," Phil whispered so his speaker would catch it. Agent May and Drew-Whedon opened fire which didn't provide enough distraction to make him stop but did allow enough time for Coulson to use his taser. As the volts surged through the villain, the fire lost its strength.
"Brother, change into your other form. It might help," Thor pleaded as he used the ragged red cloth to put out the remains of the fire. His own skin was red. Phil came closer. Thor was crying and let out a howl as his pats began to bring up Loki's skin.
"Brother!" Thor cried again. Phil fought back the urge to throw up. The fire had burned off most of Loki's clothes and skin. When Thor tried to comfort his head, black chunks of hair fell off. There was no sound from Loki or sign of life. "No!"
"Thor. Thor, I think he's gone," Phil told him in a soft voice.
"No," the other argued with tears running down his face. "No, he can't be."
Phil studied the battle being fought against the fake sixteenth century decor. It was back to its previous levels and while it was becoming isolated pockets instead of containing the full room, it still wasn't clear who was winning. There wasn't time for this.
"I need medical to my location immediately," Phil spoke and hoped that was more than just Darcy.
****************************************************************************
Kate was able to lose the soldiers in the large room. There were plenty of distractions and she could fit in small places even with the dress. Well, she had ripped a slit in it.
Then, she spied the neglected bow and quiver that she recognized as Hawkeye's weapon. She looked around but couldn't see him anywhere. Kate picked up the quiver and half-expected someone to yell at her. No one did so she put it on like a backpack. It was a little heavy especially as she bent down to pick up the bow. It was more complicated than the ones featured on Youtube and that she had practiced with. However, the basic mechanism was the same.
She took out an arrow, loaded it in the bow and shot. It was a little wide but it felt good. She tried again and shot a bad guy in the leg. Kate smiled without thinking. She liked this.
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Tony lined up his aim and fired. Pepper did the same. Their lasers combined and bounced off Steve's shield to annihilate the Extremis soldier. He tried not to think about his conflicted feelings. While he preferred Pepper to be safe, he was also happy that she could take care of herself. Plus, it was incredibly hot.
Steve was hot, too, especially the way his suit showed off all his curves. Damn, they needed to find a way to correct this love curse thing. It was annoying in the first day and this was nearly eight months later.
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Since more of those battling were working together as a team: Tony and Steve with Pepper, Fitz with Rhodey, Bruce with Jennifer and Parker's team, they had finally destroyed most of the combatants, causing the few remaining to flee.
"Uh, Coulson, most of these aren't true Extremis soldiers. They have organic Extremis matter grafted onto robotic drones," Simmons said.
"Make sure they take enough samples to study them," he ordered. Drones would be easier to make and easier to keep track of than human subjects. They needed to find out who was behind this because it definitely wasn't Magneto.
"Sir, we're having problems with Thor," said Agent Brown; one of their finest medics but he hadn't had to deal with Thor before.
"What happened?" Phil asked.
"He's demanding that Laufeyson be removed from the body bag and put on a stretcher. There are no life signs; no reason to believe he could have possibly survived," Brown told him.
Phil looked at the man standing next to Brown.
"Bruce, what do you think?" he asked.
"I...I have to concur," he replied although his answer seemed reluctant.
"He's not going to like that answer," Phil spoke before turning back to Brown. "Never argue with an Asgardian. You tend to end up dead so I want you to humor him as long as it doesn't take away from those who really need it. In fact, get him to Avengers Tower so Thor has privacy to come to terms with it. I'll give him twenty-four hours."
"Yes, sir," Brown agree and left.
"Well, that could have been worse," said a voice with a sigh. Phil couldn't help feeling relieved about her being there.
"Lewis told me that you warned her, thank you," Phil spoke.
"You'd do the same for me," she said with a smile.
"But you should be careful because Peter..."
"AUNT MAY?!" said another familiar voice and they both turned to see Peter still in his costume. Phil gestured to his head and Peter took the mask off. "Aunt May, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you, young man, but I knew you'd want to help Luke and everyone else," May Parker spoke.
"But...but...why are you here?" Peter asked. Phil and May shared a look.
"Peter, you're looking at the head of S.W.O.R.D. aka Sentient World Observation and Response Department and she has been for the last fifteen years," Phil explained.
"So, you were both lying to me all this time?" Peter asked.
"You were also lying to me. Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you were Spider-Man?" May asked. "Julia, settle this up for me. Call me if there are problems. Phil, his debrief can wait for tomorrow?"
Phil nodded.
"Good, I think Peter and I need to have a long talk," May spoke and led her nephew out. Jasper walked up and so did Skye.
"Did you just bring my whole team?" Phil asked.
"Darcy said I should bring a team and they were the most easily available, Blake already has that team out in London," Jasper argued. "Did you see that archer?"
"Yes, and she wasn't one of ours. Actually, she seemed young," Phil spoke.
"She took down three of them," Jasper commented.
"Drones but yeah, Barton's equipment isn't exactly for beginners," Phil agreed.
"Are we talking about Kate Bishop? Because that's who the archer was, she's wearing the same purple bridesmaid dress as a paparazzi photo from this morning and she's right over there," Skye pointed out. Phil walked over to her. She was shaking a little with an incomprehensible expression on her face.
"That was some fine shooting," Phil commended and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched. Being thirteen, there were only two reasons for why she would be that good and why she would flinch. He resisted the urge to sigh and hated himself for what he had to do next.
"Agent Sitwell, come over here and congratulate her, too," he ordered before whispering to him. "Touch her lightly on the shoulder."
"Agent Sitwell?" Kate asked in a strange tone. "And was that Peter Parker wearing Spider-Man's costume? Is he Spider-Man?"
Damn, that was a rookie mistake.
"Kate, you helped us out a lot," Jasper told her and put his hand on her shoulder as well. Again, she had the same response.
"But you'll need a debriefing in the next few days so we'll be in touch," Phil explained. "Before then, don't tell anyone anything. You got lost on the way out and were rescued by the Avengers, got it?"
Kate nodded. Her blue eyes sparkled as she said, "It was awesome though."
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Elsewhere on the canals, it was easy to forget that the hotel was under siege and most people evacuated from the interior. Clint had liberated some alcohol from the wedding since it wasn't going to use them. Now, he and Bobbi were drinking in a gondola as it floated along.
"But don't you ever find it contradictory? SHIELD teaches us to win at all costs even if that means killing someone. The Avengers encourage other methods," Clint spoke. "Just because Nat and I were raised how we were doesn't mean we always want to be that way. Shouldn't we have that chance? To be something else?"
"I don't think painkillers and alcohol were a good mix," Bobbi commented. It smelled like something was burning. He also smelled a faint barbecue smell which could mean something very bad had happened. Should they go back? He was such a coward. This was all his fault.
"But you can't tell me that you're never tempted, that you never think the world would be better if this person wasn't in it," Bobbi argued. No, he had thought that many times, acted on it sometimes. Hadn't he once promised to put an arrow through Loki's eye socket?
"There was this guy we arrested recently. We thought he had terrorist ties, turned out he was heavily into kiddie porn. That guy...I was tempted," Clint admitted. "Things seem different after you have a kid."
"And even Captain America has killed people from time to time," Bobbi pointed out. It made more sense when she said it, or maybe it was the alcohol talking. "But don't give me that crap about how a kid changes everything. You mentioned Romanov and everyone knows she doesn't have kids."
They drank from their respective bottles. Clint used his left hand. Bobbie's expression looked like she was a million miles away all of a sudden.
"He asked me to marry him," she said without warning a few minutes later.
"Who?"
"Steve, that's why we broke up," Bobbi admitted. "Now I wonder whether that was a mistake. I mean, I didn't think I was ready. I wasn't sure if I really loved him that way but...what if that was my only chance and I didn't know it?"
"Not true, no way. You're pretty and way smart and funny...and...and a bunch of other cool stuff," he said. The painkillers were definitely kicking in. "You'll get married someday."
"Thanks," Bobbi told him.
Steve spotted the SWORD agent and walked over to her, holding out his hand.
"Steve Rogers, ma'am," he said. She looked at him for a moment and took it.
"Abigail Brand and yes, I know who you are," she spoke.
"I'm sorry about earlier. My only experience with women with green hair before was a woman who worked for HYDRA. It was unfair to judge you that way," Steve told her.
"Apology accepted although Viper does give us mutants a bad name," she agreed. Steve didn't want to assume anything about her ever again.
"So, you're a mutant then?" he asked.
"Yes, on my mom's side," she explained. "But the hair is from my dad, he wasn't born on this planet. Neither was I."
It was still a little strange. He grew up with Verne, Wells and the Princess of Mars books but it was all theoretical then. Now, he found himself working alongside multiple beings from other planet. He wondered what Bucky would have thought about all of this.
"Who's that?" Abigail asked and pointed at Hank McCoy.
"Oh no..." Steve muttered.
"What?"
"He's a member of the X-Men which means the X-Men knows about this," Steve stated.
"And what's bad about that?" she asked.
"Their lawyer is married to one of our members and she didn't tell her wife that she was coming," he explained.
"Ouch," Abigail said but she kept watching Hank. It didn't seem like she was surprised at his blue fur. Her gaze was more like she was checking him out.
"Do you want me to introduce the two of you?" Steve offered.
"Oh yes," she answered.
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"Any more Extremis?" Jessica asked Natasha who had been much more thorough than she and Ava.
"No, I checked everywhere I could. There's no more sign of them," Natasha explained.
"Oh, that's good. We seem to have been lucky. Some injuries but no fatalities," Jessica told her. "Well, except for Loki."
"Loki?" the other asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah, you know how we thought he and Thor were immortal? Not so much it appears, you just need to cook them to a crisp. It was...weird seeing him that way," Jessica said. Natasha rushed past her to where the others were. She couldn't blame her for wanting to look. How often did you see a dead god?
Jasper came walking past Natasha at a brisk pace.
"Jones, we have a problem. The female Hawkeye we had during battle? It was Kate Bishop. We knew she had some self-defense lessons but nothing like this," Jasper spoke and shook his head.
Actually, this did make sense.
"But she also got into Julliard when she was eight so she's extremely motivated when she wants to be," Jessica commented. Still, it would have been hard to guess it would get this far. "I'll talk to Phil but maybe we won't have to tell him everything."
********************************************************************
"Is it true about Loki?" Natasha asked, walking up to Phil. For being a super villain, a lot of people seemed shaken by it. Phil decided he wasn't going to process it until later when he had time. He nodded to Tasha.
"The body's being taken to Avengers Tower so Thor can have some time, but..." Phil trailed off, shaking his head. Then, Darcy ran up. "Where have you been?"
"Trying to find Barton and Morse?" she said with a cringe. Phil tried not to react, Tasha pursed her lips.
"You've lost two agents on painkillers in a hotel where they can easily access alcohol?" Phil asked.
"Yes, but really, with a broken arm and cracked ribs, what's the worst they can get into?" Darcy retorted. Phil and Tasha shared a look. They knew Clint better than that.
"Sir, Fury's landed," Claire informed them. This wasn't going to be pleasant either.
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no subject
Date: 2013-08-16 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-28 04:10 am (UTC)The feeling of awkwardness while standing outside is nicely summed up. It isa common thing to not know what to do.
The addition of Winter Soldier makes me happy.
Clint would be one to try and take on things himself.
The scene with Jess and Vange seems a bit off, like the placement is odd since there is a lot of action unfolding and that is there to break it up. But I see why it is there, to give Clint to opprotunity to escape.
The line about babies being less messy than Stark made me laugh.
Darcy's speech seems very fitting.
It is hard to get all these factors together, but you seem to do so well.
Is the wedding in the same place Clint was/is? It seems unclear in the first introduction to the scene.
I like how quickly Loki goes straight to business. Even life and death becomes a game to him. like the brotherly interaction between the two of them. It's them against the world and then them against each other. It makes the scene of him burning up that much more heart rending.
This seems like a fitting start for Hawkeye II.
I personally would move the talk with Hawkeye and Bobbi til after the battle has subsided a bit. It would make the scene feel smoother. Or maybe just narrate the end of the battle scene to make it clearer. It feels like everything is still raging on and there is just an odd calm blip in it.
Aunt May is badass.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-16 02:32 am (UTC)I will warn that Winter Soldier will be a slow burn that doesn't pay off for a few more seasons.
You're exactly right about why I put the scene about Jess and Vange there. I also didn't want it to seem odd that Jess would suddenly show up at just the right time.
I have now made it clear in Kate's first scene that it was the same hotel.
I love Thor and Loki. (hugs them) Thank you, I was worried about that.
Yay! I'm glad you think so about Kate. Her original origin in the comics had that she was assaulted in Central Park, took up different defensive skills and went to a her sister's wedding a few months later which gets attacked. I changed it from the Young Avengers to the regular Avengers since it suited my purposes better. Kate is one of my favorite characters and I hope I do her justice in the coming chapters.
I moved the section with Bobbi and Clint. I hope it works. I had it earlier so they could get out of the hotel in time before Natasha starts looking for them but they could have still made it.
I love Aunt May, too.