[1] Skipping Stones - Pietro Maximoff

Chapter: 11 [Edited]

Clint's POV

The ride on the Quinjet back home was quiet, Natasha and I were both stuck in our heads, thinking about Farron and what she can do. Volher had fallen asleep the moment we entered the Quinjet, this was his first field mission so it took a lot out of him. The buildings crumbling to the ground, the screaming, her broken face, it haunts me everytime I close my eyes. She looked like she was being torn apart from the inside out and after everything she didn't even glance at the destruction she made.

I can't tell Laura, I just can't, she would be able to take the fact of what she's become. Not to mention when she hears exactly what happened to Willow, how she died, how she made Farron promise not to save her. Laura's heart would break.

"What are we supposed to tell Fury, Clint?" Natasha glanced up and caught my eye. She looked shaken up, she always told me she knew Willow and Farron but she never told me how close they were. Now I know they were close, Nat rarely shows emotion outside of my family and Fury, and even then a limited amount of emotion. This was something entirely new that I hadn't in her before.

I sigh shakily, "We tell him what happened, and we'll explain why the job wasn't done." I looked down at my folded hands, trying to ignore the dried blood of the people I pulled from the wreckage. "She killed all of those people and didn't even give them a second glance."

"Clint, she wasn't trained like I was trained," Nat said, drawing my attention once more, "I trained her but she was trained even after. Who knows what they taught her after she was sent home."

"Home?" I raise my eyebrows, "Where's her home if it's not with us? Is it her home base where her handler is?"

"I don't know Clint, no one was allowed to know where they came from or who sent them." She looked slightly nervous, it's amazing how much humanity she shows when she's talking about them. "Whoever it was that sent her wanted it kept under lock and key. She's their top agent and the person up top cares about her."

I scoffed, "That's nice to know that the people who took her away care about her. They cared about her so much that they took her and her sister from their brother." I shook my head, "Sometimes I can't believe the people in this world."

"Well, it's the world we live in," Natasha said looking away from me, "it'd be better if we just decided to get used to it."

"Too bad it's not that easy," I grumbled and leaned back into my seat and let my thoughts take over once again, allowing the images to haunt me.

The alleyway echoed with the sound of dripping water and the stomping of boots in water. It was dimly lit and smelled of rats. I took slow steps through the alley, my feet loudly hitting the ground. Odd noises echoed all around me in every direction setting me on edge. I scan every inch of the dimly lit area and find nothing but mold.

Whimpering drew my attention behind me though and what I saw made my heart clench. Farron was wiping away blood from Willow's face, her head weaking lying in her lap until she finally took her last breath. I tried desperately to run to them, to save Willow, but my body wouldn't allow it.

Farron's head turned to look at me but where her face would be was now just a shadow, "You weren't there when we needed you," she said and I shook my head desperately.

"I'm sorry!" I cried to her, "I tried to find you, I'm sorry! I can make it right. Please let me make it right!"

I turned my head and Willow was suddenly staring right at me with dead eyes and blood pouring from her mouth when she spoke, "It's too late." She turned into a blur as she turned away from me so I couldn't see her face, "You failed me Mr.Barton, you failed."