21 Days [A Hawkeye/ Clint Barton fic] [HEAVY EDITING]

Drown

The front porch wind chimes clang against each other as the evening wind howled. Distant lightning cracks were heard and lit up the sky.

Six-year-old Clinton Barton jerked again in his bed as another crack snapped across the sky. He looked over at his eight-year-old brother, Barney, who was fast asleep. Clint kept his eyes on his brother and carefully slipped out of bed. A chill went up his spine when he felt the cold wood floor beneath his feet.

The young boy hurried out of his room and into his parents room. He then crawled up on his mother's side of the bed and laid down.

"Mommy?" Clint's quiet voice called out.

His mother opened her eyes. "Clint, baby, why are you up?"

"Storm..."

She kissed his forehead, then held him close. "Nothing will ever happen to you." Her gentle fingers raked through his hair. The gentleness soon became rough and sharp, making Clint look up to see what was wrong.

That wasn't his mother any more. It was Red Nails.

"You'll be safe at the Dominion, Clint."

Clint gasped and awoke with a start. His blood was pumping in his ears and his Avengers uniform was wet with sweat. He kicked off the single grey blanket that was over him, then sat up and cradled his wounded arm.

They operated on him while he was awake...

The man's eyes looked down at the bloody bandages covering the surgical areas.

The pain.

He couldn't run away. They had him trapped.

The torture.

Natasha. What happened to her? Did she see Clint being taken away by the enemy? Did they kill her?

Hawkeye snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door click and slide open. Red Nails came in, smiling at the confused archer. "I hope you slept well."

"Shut up," Clint sneered, bowing his head and gripping the edges of the cot he was lying on.

Red Nails took out a little box and flipped it open, revealing a loaded syringe. "Be a good boy," She sounded like she was talking to a small child. "Or I'll have to put you to sleep."

Clint's eyes trailed to the open door behind her. The woman took once glance at him and kicked the door closed. "Don't even think about it."

The man's eyes snapped back to Red Nails. "How long was I out?" It was the only question he thought of without any cuss words.

"About thirty-two hours. Now, for today-"

"Thirty-two hours!?" How did he stay down for that long? What kind of drug did they put in him?

"The first sedative lasts the longest. Don't worry."

"How long are you holding me for ransom?"

"Ransom? Mr. Barton, you're an important subject in this investigation."

"And how long will it before I have my weapons back and have you all dead on the floor."

"Never." She looked toward the door when it flew open and slammed against the wall. The two men who had dragged him off last night were standing in the doorway.

"We need to get you into something-" her eyes gave him a quick once over, "more...suitable."

The two men grabbed Clint and pulled him to his feet before the archer could react. He struggled against their restraining hands and whimpered as he felt his stitches pull.

He was once again being dragged out of the room. He would have to expect that more often.

21 Days

"Sit down!" One of the men growled, tossing Clint into a chair welded to the floor. The archer held his hands out in front of him and gripped the cool arms of the chair.

The same man quickly span him around and held him down as the other guard tightly restrained his wrists to the metal arms.

The archer growled and looked around the room. It was a small locker room with two showers, some benches, and a row of beaten up lockers.

"You must not be as wealthy as Hydra. I see that your lockers look like shit." Clint received a slap across his face.

A hand pressed down against his neck and made the archer bow his head. Hawkeye heard the sound of an electric razor, then felt it run across the back of his head.

Clint tried to pull away. "What the hell are you doing!?" Two hands now held his head still.

"I told you that we needed to make you more presentable," Red Nails said from the door. Clint was ready to snap her neck.

He couldn't defend himself this time. Clint was forced to watch his hair fall to the floor.

21 Days

It was buzzed short, that's what Clint knew.

Once the restraints were off, the guards were back and holding on to Clint before he could react.

The archer could hear Red Nails chuckle in the background. "You look nice."

"Go to hell." Another slap across his face. He was then shoved into a shower.

They stripped him of his Avenger vest. The wrinkled clothing was handed to Red Nails, who walked away with it.

Hawkeye tensed up when the knob was turned and the cold water splattered his side. He glared at the guards as they walked over and stood next to the door.

Clint stared at the wall and let his mind race around for an escape plan as he washed the dried blood off his body.

And what was Red Nails going to do with his vest?

How was that? I hope you liked it!

Sorry for any mistakes or errors!

I'd like to thank all those who voted, read, or commented on this story. Your support means a lot to me!

The next chapter will contain his sentencing and the Avengers trying to figure things out.