2012

Live Action Role Play and a Bird

  DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT THE REACTIONS! 

Clint Barton considered himself to be a man of reality. He was firmly grounded in what was possible and what wasn't - until a god showed up on SHIELD's doorstep. That was a hard blow to Clint's view on life. 

   And then another god showed up, and Clint decided to just throw everything he had been taught about magic out the window. Given, it wasn't much. Just a quick briefing on how magic was a possibility and that SHIELD needed to be prepared for it to emerge. 

   At the time, Clint had shrugged it off. He dismissed it as another thing SHIELD was paranoid about. (Because damn. The list of potential threats Clint had to memorize was longer than Laura's shopping list.) But if gods were magic, then past Clint needed to be beaten up. 

   And now more magic. Clint knew that his vision was keener from a distance, but he could barely see anything in the dark room. How did they get here? Why did his bow vanish from his back? Why was Banner not the Hulk and Stark out of his suit?

   So many questions and so little answers. Clint had worked on missions with less information than this, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He cast a subtle glance at the redhead sitting next to him. When he had been sent to eliminate her, he'd barely had anything to work with. 

  Maybe that's why he couldn't kill her. 

   But it didn't matter. Clint had made his choice. Natasha had proven her loyalty by helping to finish Drakov off for good, and Nick Fury didn't demote Clint from his position in SHIELD. So it was a win-win either way. 

  Clint sighed and leaned back into his seat. He'd been hard of hearing recently. The conversations seemed to be normal, though there were those moments where he had to strain to hear a word from the screen. 

  And so far the people who were saying those words were people Clint knew (and hated). So far there were no new Avengers, no new anyone. Clint wondered if the future really did change that much. 

  The kids would be grown up. Cooper and Lila. A smile drifted across Clint's face as he thought of his son and daughter. That would be a mark of change. Something that reminded him that peace was fragile, and he would do anything to protect his family. 

  Clint looked to his right and noticed that Natasha was fidgety. "Nervous?" he asked her. 

  She shook her head. "Uneasy." she replied. "How do we know this is real? Something seems off." Now that Natasha said that, Clint noticed it too. 

  "You're right," he hissed back. "We need to do something." Natasha pulled him down as he tried to stand. 

  "Not now, not here. We don't have any weapons or anything to use as one. Stay patient." Clint reluctantly followed her lead.

  He hated this. He was a field agent. He was used to the heat of battle, to aiming and shooting and destroying his enemies. Sure, he could be patient and stealthy, but Natasha's definition of sneaky and Clint's were oceans apart. 

  But then again, she was a spy. Or trained to be one. Her stealthy was hide in plain sight. Clint's version was actually hide. He tapped the armrest. He was the last one in the section. All he could see to the left was darkness. 

  It was unsettling, this low visibility. It reminded him of the time he had to jump into the Hudson River to catch one of SHIELD's prisoners, except this room wasn't murky, it was dark. 

  The archer turned his gaze back to the blank wall. Maybe he and Natasha were unsettled because Loki was nowhere to be found. The god of mischief had just, vanished. No sparks, no explosions, no flair anywhere.