Something To Marvel At :||: Steve Rogers

2.5 'He Used A Bad Word'

Clinton Barton (aka. Hawkeye) played by Jeremy Renner

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Clint must have fully recovered by the time we reached the recovery room in the lower levels. Natasha sat in a chair beside the bed with Barton's restraints loosened beside him. The pair turned sharply to us as we knocked and entered.

"How are you feeling, Agent Barton?" Cap asked him formally.

"I'm alright, thank you, Captain," The archer bobbed his head, a sorry look on his face. "Loki? Did he get away?"

"Yeah," I sighed, crossing my arms across my abdomen. "Don't suppose you have any idea where?"

All he could do was shake his head as he bowed it, looking to his lap. "He'll make his play soon though."

"We've got to stop him," Natasha finally spoke, conviction heavily laced in her tone.

"Yeah, who's we?"

"Us," Steve gestured to us. "And Tony."

"Where is he?" The gorgeous red-haired spy glanced around for the noticeably absent presence in the room, her curious gaze ending on me.

Sighing, I straightened. "Steve and I will go look for him."

The two agents didn't utter a word but cast curious glances between them. I could practically feel their burning gazes in the back of my head as the pair of us walked away. Steve didn't say anything as we meandered through the ship's corridors in search of my brother and for that I was thankful.

I instinctively found my brother in the central chamber of the ship, where the glass prison cell had been. He was standing by the railing, staring down into the empty pit, the retractable door that had allowed the glass cell to fall to the ground. I so much wanted to ask if he was alright but not in front of Steve, and the reason I brought him along was to mend the already strained relationship between them.

Cap cleared his throat. "Was he married?"

Tony inhaled, shifting on his feet. "No, he wasn't."

"I'm sorry," Steve watched my brother, trying to gauge some sort of reaction. "He seemed like a good man."

Now that got a reaction. Tony straightened, stepping back from the edge. "He was an idiot."

"Tony!" I hissed in warning.

"Why?" Steve frowned. "For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone," My brother walked over to the few stairs that were a few feet from us. "He was out of his league, he should have waited, he should have. . ."

Steve walked towards him, his body language and tone aiming to comfort. "Sometimes there isn't always a way out. Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers!" Tony whirled on him before realising his harshness and backing down. "I won't fight for Fury and SHIELD simply because he wants me to."

"Neither am I," Cap nodded. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we need to get this done, put this behind us and grieve later–"

"He made this personal," Tony interrupted, his gaze on the bloodstain from where Agent Coulson had died.

Steve frowned. "That's not the point," His mind was forever working like a soldier's, trying to get past the horror and the reaction to get the job done.

"That is the point, though," Tony pushed, glancing around to me and I made my way towards the pair. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where it hurt the most. Why?"