A/N: I'm gonna make this short since I know you've been waiting for this for a while now. Sorry for not updating in such a long time; I have a huge test on Thursday that I haven't studied at all for but I'll be fine. Life has been freakin ugly and busy and I have actually caught up to my pile of pre-written chapters so it might take me a while to update, but I would be willing to update faster if I got more reviews! (hint hint)
Ok now I'm done, here's the next chapter! *wild applause*
Chapter 8
When Olivia threw Clint into the open air, his mind had been clear just for a split second and he saw that maybe it was time to die. But then reality crashed in on him again and his survival instincts went into overdrive.
He spun in midair, leveling his body with the ground to slow his fall. Luckily (unfortunately for Loki), Olivia hadn't taken Clint's quiver from him. He grabbed a grapple arrow from his quiver and grabbed the end of the string that would keep him from falling. He threw the arrow at the airship as hard as he could, and watched as it slowly arched towards the hull...and attached itself to the side of the airship. Clint's fall stopped suddenly, and his trajectory changed, swinging him to the side on the small rope attached to the arrow. He tied the end of the rope around his waist and grabbed the rope with both hands.
You're completely insane to think you can climb a swinging rope 30,000 feet above land, he thought. Who cares?
He started to climb, putting one hand in front of the other, focusing on the bottom of the airship. After a minute or so of climbing, he made it to the airship. He grabbed the rough metal of the hull and found a small ledge for his feet. He slowly shimmied across the ledge, pounding on the side to find an opening. Luckily, not too far along the ledge, he pounded on the metal and a small section flew open. Clint smiled and gripped the sides of the opening and pulling himself through the small opening. His feet hit hard ground, and he sighed, thankful to be alive.
No time for that now, Clint. You got yourself a live one out there. Clint began to run through the lower levels of the airship, navigating his way up to the main control room.
"Clint?" Natasha's voice erupted in his ear, and he winced, pressing a finger to his comm unit.
"I'm right here, you don't have to shout." He grunted, picking up his pace.
"Oh thank God, what happened? We lost contact with you and Steve for a minute or so."
Clint furrowed his brow. "What? But, that doesn't make any sense. I was in there for like ten minutes."
"Uhhh..." Natasha said, her voice getting an edge of skepticism.
The time block. Clint realized. Loki wasn't lying. "Just forget about it. Have you had any contact with Rogers or Carter yet?"
"No." Natasha stated. "Why, is there something wrong?"
"You bet your ass there's something wrong. Loki's on board right now."
"Barton, that you?" Stark's voice came on the comm. "What'd you do? The airship stopped falling."
"Shut up, Stark." Natasha snapped. "What did you say, Clint?"
"Loki's on board, and he's got Rogers and Carter." Clint said breathlessly, running as fast as he could up the many flights of stairs.
"You think you might have told me that earlier?" Director Fury's voice became a gnat in his ear as well.
"Clint? Man, what happened?" Banner's voice was crackly with static as he spoke into the comm.
"Will everyone just shut up!" Clint exclaimed. "I need backup-"
But before he could finish, Steve's voice interrupted him, saying, "Backup won't be necessary. Loki will now accept your immediate surrender."
Clint changed his course, heading right for the containment cell. "Surrender, my ass. Natasha?"
"On my wa-" her reply was cut off by a big thud. Feedback shot through Clint's comm, and he winced.
"Agent Romanoff?" Fury shouted. "Are you alright?"
There was no response.
Banner was next. "Wha-" His exclamation was cut off and his comm went silent.
"Everyone be in your guard! They're trying to pick us off!" Clint said, grabbing an arrow from his quiver and holding it ready.
"Keep contact!" Fury shouted, and the sound of his safety clicking off resounded through the comm.
Clint slowed to a walk, looking in every crevice and alcove that might hide an attacker.
Then he heard it.
He turned just in time, avoiding the shimmering blue arrow by mere inches. He ducked into an alcove and spoke quietly into his comm. "Stark, I need backup on the Level 3 tunnel."
"On it." Stark said.
Clint readjusted his grip on the arrow, holding it like a dagger. His pace quickened with every breath he took.
The shooter's shadow stopped right before Clint's hiding spot. It was a skinny shadow, too small to be Steve's. Carter. Clint thought. It's Carter.
"Clint, come out." Olivia said.
Clint jumped out of his hiding spot, launching himself at Olivia. He swung his arrow like a dagger, aiming right for Olivia's heart. Olivia blocked his arrow with her bow, rather his bow. She swung his bow around, aiming for his chest, and Clint raised his elbow to block it. Then, Olivia changed direction completely, bringing the bow up into Clint's jaw. He heard a crack, and he groaned. He punched Olivia in the stomach, and she stumbled back. She quickly regained her balance, bringing his bow up and holding it in front of her. A shimmering blue arrow materialized in the bow, and she knocked it into the string.
"Stand down, Clint. I don't want to hurt you."
Clint threw his arrow at her. She easily deflected it with his bow and reset the arrow. "One last chance."
Clint waited. Come on, Stark. I'm out of ideas. His jaw ached, but he didn't let Olivia see that he was in pain. If Stark didn't show, he was toast.
Just then, the wall exploded inwards, and a blur of red flew straight into Olivia, knocking her flat on her back. Clint dove for cover, his knee flaring up in pain as he extended his knee. Clint slowly got up, his vision blurring for a few seconds. He stumbled over to the blob of red kneeling over Olivia. "Thanks Stark."
Piercing blue eyes blinked up at him, twinkling like two individual stars. "Where is Loki?" Thor asked.
For once Clint didn't know what to say. "Ummmmmm..."
"Oh, never mind, I'll find him myself." Thor threw Clint his bow and stood up. "Why is it that you humans are always the ones who need saving?" He sighed, then walked off, twirling his hammer leisurely.
Clint focused on Olivia's still form. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open. She looked almost innocent. Almost. Clint knelt down next to her just to make sure she was out.
"Steve..." She murmured softly, her eyelids fluttering.
Clint's hopes sky-rocketed. Was it possible that Thor had managed to knock Loki out of her mind?
Olivia opened her eyes, and stared at Clint with her hard grey eyes. Clint sighed as he saw the blue rim of pulsating energy in each of her eyes, glowing and moving as if it were alive.
Clint drew an arrow and fit it to his bow. "Don't move."
Olivia smiled. "You wouldn't shoot me." Her face was smooth and practiced, as if she had done this many times, but Clint could detect the tiny quiver in her voice. At least she was still in there somewhere.
"Oh, really?"
"Not if I knew how you could get your friends back." Olivia pouted, her smile widening into a grin. The humanity in her voice was gone.
Clint frowned. "You don't know how-"
"But what if I did?" Olivia interrupted, sitting up on her hands just enough to intimidate him. He pointed his bow closer. "You would never know if you shot me."
Unfortunately, she has a point. But what if she's bluffing? Clint thought. I can't take any chances.
"Carter, have you disposed of the Hawkeye yet?" Steve's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Clint pressed the call button on his comm. "Not yet." He grunted.
Suddenly, the wall exploded inwards again, shattering debris everywhere. Clint covered his head with his hands, crouching down over Olivia. When Clint looked up, he saw a hole almost identical to the hole in the wall Thor had made and Tony standing right next to it in his shiny red suit.
"Really?" Clint asked, not taking his eyes of Olivia again.
"It wasn't big enough." Tony commented, obviously enjoying pissing Clint off. Then he realized why Clint hadn't moved. "Oh."
"Hold her down, Stark." Clint said, keeping his bow trained on Olivia until Tony had a firm grip, then taking out a pair of heavy handcuffs.
"You seriously carry those around?" Stark laughed.
"Stay focused, Tony." Clint sighed.
Just before he could fit the cuffs on, Olivia brought her leg up behind her and kicked Clint...well, let's just say he wasn't accustomed to pain in that area. He sucked in a breath, bending down to try and gather himself together. That girl fights dirty.
"Clint-" Stark started, but he didn't get to finish his sentence.
Olivia did a cartwheel while Tony was still holding her, flipping him on his back. "Ok, that's it." Stark grunted, starting to get up.
Olivia pounced like a tiger, slamming her boot directly into the hub of Tony's suit. Tony heard a crack and then a jolt of pain got through his chest. The lights in his suit went out before Jarvis could give him a status report, and his suit made a loud whining noise.
Clint stood up and drew his bow, but Olivia was already a step ahead of him. Just as Clint let the arrow fly, she slid down on her knees and bent backwards, completely avoiding the arrow. Clint quickly loaded another, but Olivia was already on him. She grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back. Clint elbowed her, but she kneed him right on the small of his back.
Clint collapsed, his spine giving out completely, and he saw stars as he hit the ground. He slowly tried to get up, but Olivia kicked him in the face and he was down again. You fall for the same thing every time. Clint thought. You have to be better than this! Clint coughed, and a mouthful of blood flowed down his neck. He could feel his strength ebbing away, and he knew that he was done for.
Olivia grinned down at him, taking out a tiny syringe full of green liquid. Clint's eyes widened, and he tried to scramble away but his body was unresponsive. Olivia struck hard and fast, plunging the needle deep into his arm. Searing pain rushed up Clint's arm, and he withheld a scream. It felt as if there was pure fire running through his veins. He felt all his remaining strength fade away and his vision began to blur.
Olivia smiled and ran her thin finger down Clint's cheek. "Nighty-night, birdy." She chided.
"Hey, what are you doing to him?!" Tony shouted, seeing the whole scene from out of the corner of his eye.
Olivia stood up and tucked the syringe back in her pocket. "Nothing you need to worry about."
Tony desperately tried to get up, to move, to do anything, but when his suit was dead it was way too heavy for him to lift.
Olivia laughed and walked away, leaving Tony and Clint to die.
•••••
Olivia knew she had done something very wrong. She could feel it in her gut, something weighing her down like a piece of uncooked food in her stomach. This was exactly how she'd felt when she went to kill Steve.
Please don't let me have killed anybody. Olivia prayed. Please.
Suddenly, she felt a small gust of wind to her right, as if somebody had just walked past her. That's not possible. "Who's there?" She asked, raising her fists to the invisible presence.
There was a moment of complete silence except for Olivia's heavy breathing. Then, "Olivia?"
Olivia's heart raced at the sound of Steve's voice. "Steve?! Where are you?" Olivia groped around in the dark for a few seconds, dreading that she would never find him. But when her hands touched the firm mussel of Steve's chest, she gasped and pulled him into a hug. She began to shake with emotion, and she could feel tears forming in her eyes. "Steve..."
After a moment's hesitation, Steve put his arms around Olivia's quaking form. She rested her head on her shoulder, and Steve smoothed his hand over her hair. "Shhh, it's ok...everything's alright..." He had no idea why he was comforting her. It just felt right. What if Peggy was the one in my arms? I would've done the same for her.
Olivia suddenly pulled away, sniffing and quickly brushing her clothes off. "Of course everything's alright, why wouldn't it be?"
"No reason. Sorry." Steve replied stiffly.
Olivia sighed at the hurt in his voice. "You shouldn't be here."
"Alright, I'll go." Steve said. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"No no no , that's not what I meant!" Olivia exclaimed. "I mean, this shouldn't be possible. How did you find me?"
"By walking." Steve shrugged.
"Y-you just walked?!" Olivia stammered in disbelief.
"Yeah. Is there something wrong...?"
"It's just that - that's amazing."
They were silent for a moment.
Then Olivia got an idea. "Oh!" She exclaimed clapping her hands. "Steve, that could work!"
"Wait, what? What could work? Why are you acting all excited?"
"Loki obviously doesn't have as strong a hold on you as he thinks he does. That's how you walked here and found me. Maybe, if you focused on getting out, if both of us worked together..."
"We could break the hold!" Steve exclaimed. "Olivia, that's brilliant!" On impulse, Steve picked her up and spun her in a circle. When he set her down, he realized what he had done and cleared his throat. "Sorry."
"It's fine." Olivia smiled. "I actually enjoyed that."
Steve gave her a small smile. "So what do I have to do?"
"You have the easy job." Olivia sighed. "Close your eyes."
Steve closed his eyes, hoping Olivia wasn't doing this to try and kill him.
"Now, I want you to picture a barrier in your head. Behind that barrier, all your hopes and dreams are waiting for you. All you have to do is get past the barrier."
"Ok." Steve nodded.
"Imagine that the barrier is made out of flowing blue energy, and you can see through to the other side. Do you see it?"
Steve could see a tall wall in his mind, looming fifty feet above him, blue energy swirling and twirling, making it all seem alive. "Yeah." He breathed, astonished at its beauty.
"Ok, now this part's the hard part." Olivia said. "You need to smash through the barrier."
"Ummm..."
"Don't worry, it'll be a piece of cake. Just focus on one spot of the barrier and tell me when you're ready."
Steve zeroed in on the small section of the barrier that seemed to be the weakest. He took a deal breath and said, "I'm ready."
"Ok, on my count." Olivia said, preparing herself to push Steve through. "One...two... THREE!"
Steve ran at the barrier as fast as he could, bringing his shoulder up to ram through it. Olivia quickly pictured the barrier as she had done many times and saw Steve running at full speed. She was beside him in a second, and right as he hit the barrier, Olivia pushed with all her mind and strength, forcing him through.
Crack!
In a shower of sparks, Olivia was thrown back, both mentally and physically. She hit the ground hard and groaned, the barrier in her mind dissolving. She slowly got to her feet and looked around.
It was still pitch-dark, but she could tell Steve was no where to be found. She sighed and collapsed on the floor, exhausted. He's safe. Olivia closed her eyes, drifting to sleep on that one comforting thought.
A/N: Again, sorry for not updating in such a long time! I hope this makes up for it! Please review!