Revisiting the Past
It was a cold, dark night when I was taken. I thought I would be safe where I was, armed with my swords and a couple knives walking through the back alleys of the town I lived in. I always took the alley ways to my apartment, nobody asked who I was or tried to talk to me. I was almost home when someone attacked me. I tried to fight them off but I was knocked out cold before I could even draw throw a punch or draw a knife. I woke up, strapped to a chair in a strange room. A man came in, talking about how they were glad to find me. Said they worked with an organization called HYDRA. They tried to get answers out of me, but since my hands were tied I couldn’t reply. The man and his workers took advantage of my muteness, taking joy in the fact that I couldn’t talk back or scream. They injected me with all kinds of things, and I can’t even begin to describe the pain. I think it was a couple of months into my disappearance when they finally let me hold a weapon. They wanted to test my skills and gave me back the weapons that I had on me when I was taken. I fought a lot of men, killing most of them. The boss guy, he was impressed. Said he wanted me as a soldier, so he set it up so I trained every day. I think I was a year in when they gave me my first mission. It turned out successful and since then that was what I did. I was tested on, I trained, and I went on missions. I don’t remember how long I had been in that cycle when it changed.
I woke up on my own terms for once, and I knew something was off. I walked down to the labs to see the boss standing there with the other scientists. On the table between them sat a gold rod with a glowing blue orb in it. They kept calling it Loki’s scepter, which I didn’t believe at first. I stood there silently as they picked up the scepter and moved it towards a person strapped to the chair. I hadn’t even noticed that someone else was there. They started doing weird things with it, and I watched as a blue…magic surrounded the person for a few seconds before it went into the person’s body. They started thrashing on the table, their bonds only letting them move so far. I was there when that person died on the table. I went back to my room, figuring that if they wanted or needed me that they would either send someone to get me or just send a call through the speakers. I stayed in my room for hours, either sitting on my bed or practicing with my wooden swords. I could hear muffled screams creeping in through the walls. This tradition went on for weeks, no missions or testing, just training and listening. After about 2 months, it was quiet for a couple days. I thought they had given up on doing whatever it was they were doing. Then, I was woken up by my boss one morning and I fell right back into the old system. They brought me to the testing room, the scepter still on the table, and strapped me in the chair. I knew what they were going to do, but I didn’t fight back.
They lifted the scepter and tapped the point of it to my chest. I watched as the blue magic swirled around the tip, going straight into my chest. My heart was pounding as a sharp pain radiated through my chest. I opened my mouth, as if I was trying to scream. My fists were clenched tightly and my toes curled in. I felt as each muscle in my body tensed up as the pain spread to my tips. For a moment, everything had a blue color to it, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. My mind was racing, begging for the pain to stop. I could barely see the reflection of my face on the metal ceiling above me. I tried not to look, not wanting to see myself in such pain. The grunts of the scientists distracted me for a moment, and when I gazed into my reflection I noticed my eyes were gold. I watched as the people around me fell to their knees, clutching their heads. I don’t remember falling unconscious, but when I woke up I was back in my room.
I got out of bed and walked down the hall to the lab, clutching my head as it throbbed in pain. As I turned the corner, I overheard my boss talking about my successful integration with the scepters power. He turned towards me when he noticed my presence and waltzed towards me, guiding me to the chair. I relaxed, waiting for them to strap me, but they didn’t. Instead, he grabbed a stool and sat in front of me. He droned on about how I was a breakthrough in their research, but they wanted to make sure that the power the scepter gave to me was still in me. He told me to project my thoughts into his mind, or to think of doing such. I closed my eyes, focusing on his request. When I opened my eyes, he smiled, and I could tell that he heard my thoughts. The boss was ecstatic, voicing loudly that I was the greatest success that they had had since the fall of SHIELD and HYDRA. I didn’t want him to hear the thoughts of my concern about SHIELD so I withdrew. He grunted, the sudden emptiness taking him by surprise. I barely registered as they started talking about wanting to create more people like me. They sent me back to my room and told me to prepare for a mission. I followed my orders as expected, but when the mission was done I didn’t return. I fell off the radar, my heart going out to their next victims and to SHIELD. I was on the run for just over a year when I stumbled into Fury. He helped me get back on my feet, and when I asked him about needing to find family, he was willing to help. I didn’t expect him to already know Clint, but I am truly thankful for it. It’s nice to be back by my brother’s side.
Reader POV
The room was silent as my hands stilled and FRIDAY finished interpreting my last words. I looked up, seeing Clint’s eyes full of tears, Bucky as stiff as a pole, and the Maximoff twins staring at me in shock.
“You were the first success,” Wanda whispered, her voice weak. “You were the one they called Raven.” I nodded silently, affirming her comment. Her eyes watered up as she tucked her head into Pietro’s shoulder, who rubbed her back silently as she wept. He looked up to me, an unspoken story in his eyes.
“We were the next two,” he said. “They weren’t happy when they found out you weren’t coming back, but they took the advantage of our willingness and infused the power of the scepter into us just like they did with you. It had not been long after we got our abilities and learned to use them when the Ultron incident took place. Had it not been for Clint, we probably wouldn't be here today.” He paused as if he was thinking about what he should say next. I gave him a soft smile, a silent confirmation that he didn’t need to continue. I returned my gaze to Clint, who was still frozen beside me, tears silently falling from his cheeks. I laid a hand on his shoulder, unsure how much contact he could handle. He looked at me before wrapping his arms around me tightly. Other than the sound of Clint sobbing into my neck, neither of us made a sound. We didn’t pay attention as the room slowly emptied out, the team giving us space to work things out amongst ourselves.
I leaned over and grabbed a tissue from the table when he pulled away, handing it to him so he could blow his nose and wipe the tears from his cheeks. Once he was composed, he looked deep into my eyes, and I could tell just by the look in his eyes that his mind was racing. A couple moments later, he finally found his voice.
“I…I can’t believe you lived through that and didn’t fight back. You could’ve gotten out at any point. I know how hard you fight for the things you want. You were gone for years and you didn’t even try to escape, or if you did you didn’t mention it. And the connection you have with the Maximoff twins now. I definitely think you became their favorite Barton now. Wait, wait, need to be serious. I just… I need to know why you waited so long to break out…” He eyes searched for any reaction from me, and all I could do was slump.
They tortured me the few times I tried to escape in the beginning. I think it was after my third attempt when I gave up. They were keeping me alive and keeping me at the top of my game. I hated the missions they sent me on, but I had no choice. If I failed, I was punished, and they weren’t easy on their punishments. When I got the power from the scepter I took advantage of their distracted minds and disappeared. I am so sorry Clint…I really am… He was silent for a while, processing what I had told him. I was caught off guard when he smiled, but seeing him smile made me smile as well.
“Well, I guess I can tell Laura and the kids that they can finally meet my little sis,” he paused looking at me, “but that will be on your terms on when you do so.” My jaw dropped at his remark.
You have a wife and kids!!!! Fury didn’t tell me this shit!!! I want. No. I need to meet them. Holy shit I have nieces and nephews running around learning to shoot bows when they could be wielding knives and shit like their aunt. And your wife! Dang Hawk you just had to go off and get married and not even give me the opportunity to return from the missing so I could assess if she was ok or not. But I’m sure that if you have kids with her that she is an ok person. Still have to meet her though. When is the soonest we can go? He laughed at my eagerness, but I didn’t care. Hell, I have more family than just my brothers now and I still have yet to meet them.
“I was planning on going home tomorrow to celebrate my birthday with them for the weekend. I can give Laura a call and tell her to get the guest bedroom ready. I’ll tell her you are, but I’ll tell her not to tell the kids. I’ve told them stories about us from our childhood and they’ve wanted to meet you for years.” He got up and pulled his phone from his pocket. I sat on the couch as he called Laura, explaining the situation and I could hear a squeal of happiness through the phone, which caused Clint to pull the phone away from his ear for a second. As he talked with her, I realized how I didn’t have a lot of belongings. I was in desperate need for some clothes, given that I only had one other outfit and the rest of my belongings were my weapons. I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice as a man came into the room and dropped a credit card on my lap. I looked up to see Tony Stark with a small smile on his face.
“Since you’re practically a part of the team now, you get your own credit card. You can get whatever you want with that without worrying about paying it off. The perks of working with a billionaire.” He sat down across from me as I picked the card up in one hand, signing a small thanks to him. He looked at me for a few moments, analyzing me. “How do your abilities work? If you don’t mind me asking that is.”
I huffed. Usually, I just have to focus on projecting my thoughts into the mind, or minds, of those around me. And to stop I just have to focus on removing myself from their minds. It’s like a doorway. When it’s open, I’m connected to who I want to be connected to. When it’s closed, I’m cut off from those around me. I like to keep the doors closed, mainly because nobody likes someone else in their heads.
“Yea I understand your reasoning. Nobody on the team liked it when Wanda first used her magic. Maybe she could help you see if yours can be expanded from its current limits, since her abilities are similar. I wonder what determined the powers you got from the scepter. Loki can help with that, maybe. He can be a hard-ass sometimes.” I raised my hands to reply when Clint flopped beside me on the couch, finally off the phone. I looked at him, knowing he was going to say something about the call.
“Laura is all up for you coming for the weekend with me. She literally squealed when I told her that we were reunited, which I am sure you heard.” He smiled at me and I returned the gesture, tapping the plastic card on the back of my hand. “Guess we should go shopping or something. You’re gonna need clothes and bags and stuff, since I’m sure you don’t have much. Also, you need a phone. Think you could hook us up Stark?” He turned his head to Tony, who rose from his spot.
“Already working on the phone thing Clint,” he said. “Should be ready by the time you get back from your shopping trip. I’ve already gotten her card set up, as you can tell. When you guys get back from the farm we will talk about designing her suit and maybe upgrading her weapons. Have fun today, it was nice meeting you (Y/N) and happy birthday once more Legolas.” With that, Stark strutted his way out the room. Clint grabbed my hand and pulled me from the couch, taking me to the elevator.
“I need to stop by my room before we leave so I might as well show you where it is.” I followed him as he led me down the maze of hallways and stopped in front of a door with an arrow on it. He opened the door and ushered me in, and I knew instantly that I would probably be in here a lot. I walked around as he gathered his things, looking at the design and decorations of the room, pausing at the sight of a picture on the mantle. I picked it up, recognizing Clint who had his arm around a brunette lady, who was holding a baby in her arms as two other children stood in front of them.
“That’s the family,” Clint said, coming up behind me. “That’s Laura, Nathaniel, Cooper, and Lila.” He pointed to each person as he named them. I smiled with excitement, not wanting to wait for tomorrow to come. I set the picture back on the mantle and turned to Clint.
They seem lovely already. I’m glad you found someone to settle down with, even though you still found a way to work with the Avengers. He nodded in return and draped his arm across my shoulders, pulling us out of the room and down to the garage. Once there, he picked out a sleek, black car and got in the driver’s seat as I climbed in shotgun. We went to the nearest mall and went on a shopping spree. We took our time though due to him trying to hide is identity, but it turned out just fine. Returning to the compound with a car full of bags hours later, we went straight to his room, only to see a note on the door.
(Y/N)’s room is right next door It’s all set up for her except for the mark, figured she would tell me what she wanted up there. Phone will be on the counter along with the key. If you need anything let me know.
-----Tony Stark
We walked to the next room, entering and dropping the bags on the couch and around it. Clint helped me put everything into drawers and the closet along with what I should pack for the weekend. We spent a lot of time talking about the past and reminiscing our childhood. He told me all about Barney and how he was now a ‘Anti-hero’ named Trickshot. It was wonderful being able reunite with Clint, and once we were alone, it was like the connection we had as children never disappeared. He went to bed about 10 o’clock, saying that we would be leaving for the farm around 8 in the morning. I was laying in my bed as my mind raced with an endless number of thoughts for the weekend. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, already feeling at home.