The Avengers
Chapter 8: Clint’s POV
Pulling up to their dead drop location Clint surveyed the area, looking for other vehicles that might contain Natasha or her captor. To his dismay as he turned toward the donut shop he saw a red haired woman lying on the sidewalk near the closed store. Hopping out of his car her ran to her, surveying her body for injuries, checking her breathing, and pulse. At his touch her eyes fluttered open.
“Clint?” she gasped
“Yeah, I got you. Are you okay?” he asked
“Yeah I’m fine, I got shot though. And this isn’t the first time today I’ve been unconscious.” she breathed.
“Don’t ya hate that?” he smiled simply relieved that she was okay.
Picking her up, he settled her in the front seat and turned the car to drive back toward the Avengers compound. Pushing a button to activate the Bluetooth he radioed back to the compound.
“Guys, I got Nat. We’re on our way. Bruce can you have the medical bay ready to check her out?” Clint asked.
Natasha gave him a sideways glare for preparing a medical team.
“Yeah, I will set up the lab now.” Bruce responded.
“You found her?” Sam’s voice came through the radio.
“Yeah it was a dead drop and I had to come alone, see you in 20, out” Clint replied and closed the radio channel.
“Nat, what happened?” he asked glancing at her in his peripheral as he drove.
“It’s kind of a long story but I didn’t get it, the weapon” she said gazing out the passenger window and into the setting sun.
*****
Natasha’s POV
“But you’re okay?” Steve interrupted as Natasha finished relaying her story to the rest of the team. They all sat in the lounge area crowded around the sofas for a debrief of today’s failed mission.
“Yes, I don’t know who she was but she didn’t hurt me. Actually, she might have saved my life…” Natasha trailed off remembering her encounter with Blair.
“She definitely knew what she was doing.” Bruce said “The stitches were practiced and she had access to medical grade pharmaceuticals.”
“Do you know why she was at Horizon?” Steve asked.
“No... I don’t know much. I know what she looked like… she said her name was Blair but that could be an alias for all we know.” Natasha said
“Well we know a little more than that.” Tony stood, ice clinking in his glass as he closed the room to his holographic computer screen. “According to Bruce she has medical training, also probably mission combat skills since she managed to disarmed you, and is someone who doesn’t want to be found. The apartment you were in is completely empty.”
“You think she was on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar” Steve said putting all the pieces together.
“Friday, run a search using the physical description Nat gave and include all her possible skills. I want to see if we get a hit.” Tony commanded.
“Running the search now, sir” the A.I. replied
All the Avengers turned to watch the holographic screen sift through images and case files that were compiled before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.
After a few seconds, the search pinged and an image of a young dark haired woman appeared on the screen, although younger, Natasha knew immediately that it was Blair.
“I feel like I’ve seen her…” Wanda said moving towards the screen.
Tony look at Natasha who nodded in confirmation before he began to read the files information aloud.
“Blair Coleman, 27 years old, she’s a missing person case. Believed to be abducted when she was leaving her lab at night about… four years ago. She was a Master’s student at NYU… studying biosecurity and international relations….boring, boring... this is all from the police report. Ah!” Tony exclaimed scrolling quickly through the file, “S.H.I.E.L.D. had reason to believe that she was an enhanced person and put her case under the classification of Hydra abductions. It seems like they thought she would be a good candidate for human experimentation.”
“Hydra knew she was enhanced based off the case file from S.H.I.E.L.D., they lead them right to her.” Steve mused
“I think Strucker took her.” Wanda said still studying the image. “After they ran out of volunteers or most of them died from the experiments they started looking for stronger subjects, ones who already had powers that they thought they could enhance.”
“I think the real question is, what do we do now?” Steve said
“We’re not going to hurt her.” Natasha turned to Steve determination in her voice “She saved my life.”
“Well maybe we can help her then.” Steve said, trying to reassure Natasha.
“Well if I had to go out on a limb it seems like she might be looking for the same thing we are.” Tony said “Before she was abducted by Hydra, she was studying to be an expert in biosecurity, if we keep tracking the weapon it will lead us right to her.”