Swan and Hawk

Clint POV

                I stretched as the mission team and I departed the jet. It wasn’t a bad mission, but I don’t think I was ready to hop back in the field as soon as I did since (Y/N) got back. I couldn’t help but wonder if she tried to talk to anyone while I was gone and if she was settling in alright without me. She’s a big girl and can handle herself, but she is still my little sister and being concerned about her is second nature. Vision, Bruce and Tony were chilling in the lounge when we walked in. The twins, Steve, and Bucky went straight to their rooms after muttering good mornings to everyone. Natasha went straight to the kitchen to get some coffee and I was going to make my way to Swan’s room when Bruce stopped me.

                “Hey Clint?”

                “Yea Doc?” I turned to him as he came up behind me.

                “Have you talked to (Y/N) at all during your mission?” He pushed his glasses up his nose as he asked.

                “No,” I replied. “Limited communication. Nothing more than what was mandatory for the mission. Why? Did something happen?” My heart started pounding in my chest at the thought of something happening to her.

                Bruce sighed. “She hasn’t been out of her room since you got back. Hasn’t talked to anyone, not even FRIDAY. Tony’s checked the systems just in case. FRIDAY says she’s still in her room, but when we knocked on her door and tried to go in, FRIDAY said that she didn’t want any guests. Tony bypassed (Y/N)’s command about not letting anyone in but the door wouldn’t open. She jammed it shut somehow.”

                I took a deep breath. “Thanks for letting me know Bruce. I’ll go see if everything is alright.” I turned and ran down the hall to her room as fast as I could. I tried my best not to panic, but that was all my body language was saying. I dropped my gear bag by my door and trotted up to her room. I attempted to calm myself as I knocked on her door. “Hey Swan. I’m back from the mission. Can I come in?” It was quiet for a few moments before FRIDAY replied.

                “Ms. (Y/N) doesn’t wish to have any guests at the time being.”

                “What is her current condition?”

                “She seems…unstable Sir. She won’t talk to me via text, though I have tried to get her to communicate several times.” My mind started racing, trying to come up with solutions.

                “Are the vents into her room blocked?” I asked the AI, my voice shaking.

                “Negative.” I quickly returned to my room and dragged my bags in. After moving somethings off the table, I climbed up and opened the vent grate. Pulling myself up, I navigated the vent system towards (Y/N)’s room and stopped at the first grate above her room. Using what little I could see, I made the connection that her bedroom door was open to the small living area. Not wanting to startle her too badly, I went to the one above her living area and opened it up. I landed quietly and was about to call out for her when a shuriken whizzed past my head. (Y/N) came at me with one of her combat knives, and I did my best to block her attack. We ended up fighting for a couple minutes before I was able to dislodge the knife from her hand, sending it across the room. I pinned her against the wall and finally got a good look at her. She had dark bags under her eyes, untamed hair, scrapes across her knuckles and small cuts littering her upper arms. Blood stained the midnight blue tank top and grey sweats she was wearing. There was a multitude of emotions flashing in her (e/c) eyes, along with some minor tinges of gold.

                “(Y/N)…” my voice was still shaking, but I was trying to calm down. “Swan, I need you to calm down. Breathe. Come back to me.” Her eyes narrowed in on my face, scanning my expression. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. I watched as her body relaxed slowly, and when she opened her eyes again, I could tell she was back to herself, but the gold flecks in her eyes were still there. I let go of her hands so she could sign to me, but she quickly went around me and grabbed one of the note pads we had bought during our shopping trip and a pen.

                “(Y/N). Are you alright? What’s going on?” She shook her head and sat on the couch, motioning for me to sit beside her before writing out her response. Her hands were shaking to the point where her handwriting looked completely different from normal.

                I’m going crazy Hawk. I had a nightmare the night we got back and when I woke up it was like I could hear myself screaming, but I wasn’t making a sound. Every time I tried to go to sleep I had nightmares, so I tried to give up. I would try to stay awake but it was like my body became permanently exhausted. I busted my knuckles during my nightmares, and the cuts on my arms are my way of trying to stay awake. Every once in a while, it seems like I can actually hear whatever I would say, but that’s not possible because I can’t talk.

                I took a deep breath after deciphering her note and looked at her. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your eyes have some gold flecked in them. Could be something related to your powers. How about you take a shower and change your clothes and we can move to the lab and see what the science bros say. Ok?” She readjusted her hand and wrote another note.

                Would you mind staying in here? Just in case something happens.

                I nodded and took the pen and pad from her hands before helping her to her feet and ushering her to her room. As she got in the shower, I walked around the room and cleaned up a little bit. I remembered how Bruce said that the door was jammed shut and I looked over to find three shurikens lodged into the door. I carefully pulled them out, trying not to damage it any more. Tony wasn’t going to be happy about having to replace the door already. I went to open the door, therefore cancelling the lock-out order (Y/N) had given FRIDAY. After I made sure everything looked better, I sat on the couch and waited for (Y/N) to be done. It was about 30 minutes after she went to her room that she came out, now dressed in black leggings and a (f/c) tank top. She must not have cared that her cuts were visible, but at the same time I felt like Bruce would have wanted to check them anyway. We were silent as we left her room and went to the lab. Tony and Bruce were already in there, as usual, along with Bucky, Steve, and Sam. Sam had a black eye and a busted lip, which must’ve come from a scuffle during his solo mission. Tony was tinkering with his wings and barely looked up when we walked in.

                “Who’s the new chick?” Sam asked, walking towards us. I went to reply when Bruce looked up from his work and took in (Y/N)’s condition.

                “What happened?” he questioned, looking more towards (Y/N) than me. “Let’s get you cleaned up and checked out. Come over here.” He walked over to one of the lab tables and tapped it, signaling her to sit on it. Once she was settled, Bruce started checking the cuts and scrapes on her arms and hands before carefully bandaging them. “I’m gonna ask you some questions. Simple yes or no. If anything has to be explained at length, then text FRIDAY and she will tell us. Don’t want to make your cuts any worse. Sound good?” (Y/N) nodded in reply as Bruce continued to do a standard check-up. He spent quite a while looking at her eyes, jotting down notes about the gold flecks in them.

                “Are you aware of the gold flecks in your eyes?” Nod. “Do you think that something is off with your abilities?” Nod. “Do you know exactly what is causing this?” Shake. “Have you had side effects like this before?” Shake. Bruce handed (Y/N) her phone and waited till she had the message screen up and ready. “Can you explain to us what’s happened since you got back?” The room was silent other than the sounds of breathing, shuffling, and tapping as (Y/N) typed her response. She hit the send button and tapped the phone against the palm of her hand as FRIDAY received the message and transmitted it to us.

                “I had a nightmare the night we returned from the farm. I woke up and it seemed like I could hear the sound of my screams echoing in the room, but that’s not possible. Sometimes it would seem like what I would say was actually resonating in my room. I had a nightmare every time I tried to sleep, and the only thing I knew that would keep me awake was causing myself pain, hence the cuts. I didn’t want anyone coming in the room given my condition so I put it on lock down and made sure that if someone tried to override it, it wouldn’t open. Sorry Tony. I wasn’t aware of my eyes until Clint told me about them.”

                Bruce looked at me and Tony before going back to his clipboard and writing somethings down. (Y/N) kept her gaze down, not meeting anyone in the eyes. The tension in the room was thick, and I’m pretty sure that if I turned around, the soldier trio would be staring a hole through (Y/N). Tony had taken a break from working on Sam’s suit to help Bruce set somethings up. Bruce was muttering softly to (Y/N) and Tony about doing some brain scans, which Tony agreed with vocally while (Y/N) nodded.

                “I’m gonna ask again since no one answered me the first time,” Sam said, cutting the silence, “but who’s the new chick?”

                “Her name’s (Y/N),” I responded, not looking at him.

                Sam walked over and looked at me. “I think she could speak for herself. Or is she too afraid to that FRIDAY has to speak for her?”

                “She’s mute Wilson,” I said with a glare. “Gotta a problem with disabled people?” The tension between us only grew, and Rogers stepping in only made it worse.

                “Whoa guys, how about we calm down.” Steve stepped between us and spoke softly.

                “Says the guy who doesn’t like her being here because it would be too much work to alter team dynamics to fit her.” Anger was radiating off me at this point, and the look Steve gave me didn’t help.

                “What does he mean that you don’t want (Y/N) here Steve?” Tony asked, stepping away from where he and Bruce were setting up a machine. Steve sighed and stepped away from me and Sam to look at Tony.

                “I didn’t say that I didn’t want her here—.”

                “Bullshit Rogers,” I interjected. “The way you were talking to me Friday morning about Fury’s order to have her join us and her lack of training definitely made it sound like you don’t want her here. You don’t like her abilities, or her lack of training with them. You don’t like that she is mute and can’t verbally speak to the rest of the team. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you hated her because she’s another ex-HYDRA soldier. In your eyes, she’s just another threat to the team.”

                “Clint, we can talk about this later. Right now, let’s—.”

                “Let’s what Cap?” Tony chimed in. “Focus on making sure the new teammate isn’t a threat to the team. Why do you always have to have a stick up your butt about anyone you don’t know. You didn’t hesitate to let Barnes on the team after being with HYDRA for decades. But wait, Bucky is your ol’ pal and you can’t let him be alone in this new world.”

                Everyone started talking all at once. Bruce jumped in after being tired of hearing them all yell at each other, but only ended up being stuck in the argument. None of us noticed as (Y/N) clutched at her head, or as she attempted to talk to us via FRIDAY. We were all too focused on the variety of ongoing arguments in the circle that we didn’t notice her suffering. A loud scream pierced the room, distracting us from our arguments. I looked over at (Y/N) to see her clutching her head, eyes screwed shut as her nails dug into her scalp. Bruce and I rushed over to her, trying to move her hands from her head.

                “Swan, I need you to relax. Let go of your head and open your eyes. Can you do that for me?” She shook her head franticly, only tensing up more.

                “It’s happening again…I can hear my thoughts in the room again.” Bruce and I looked to each other, finally understanding what she meant in her explanation. Instead of her thought broadcasting into our heads, it was now broadcasting in open air. “Please make it stop…make it stop…”

                “Take a deep breath Swan, maybe Bruce can give us an explanation. But you’re going to need to calm down and listen to us in order for us to help you.” I watched as she took a couple of deep breaths and opened her eyes. Even though I expected to see the gold in her eyes, it was still unnerving. I gently moved her hands down to her sides and sat next to her. Bruce and Tony got to work hooking up some brain scanning machine, I didn’t know what it was. She stared blankly into space, her eyes a dull shade of gold, and I assumed that this was her way of keeping her mind quiet. The soldier trio were standing in the corner of the room, whispering softly to themselves. Once Tony got whatever the machine was picking up on a screen, Bruce stepped in front of (Y/N).

                “(Y/N),” he started, “I’m gonna need you to start thinking again like you were a couple moments ago. The machines you’re hooked up to will help us figure out what’s going on in your head. Think you can do that?” (Y/N) took a deep breath before sitting up straight and staring at the wall above Bruce’s head. Her eyes seemed to light up at the action, now shining brightly.

                “I can do that Sir.” Tony started writing down what the machine was picking up. I looked at (Y/N) with concern then looked towards Bruce. Something just didn’t seem right, and I think it was because (Y/N) rarely called anyone she knew sir or ma’am. I think Bruce caught on to what I was thinking given his next question.

                “Where are you right now (Y/N)?”

                “HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia, Sir.” I heard Bucky tense up behind me, and when I turned to look at him, I saw that the rest of the team had made their way into the room. Wanda and Pietro were looking at (Y/N) with concern. Natasha was standing next to Steve, silently watching the event. Vision was non-expressive as usual. Thor and Loki were gazing with interest, occasionally muttering to each other. Bruce had moved to talk to Tony for a moment, glancing between (Y/N) and the screens. I looked over to my sister, suddenly remembering the security phrase we made when we were little.

                “Isn’t the lake beautiful tonight Swan?” My heart pounded in my chest as she looked at me, the dark bags under her eyes only making the gold look brighter.

                “The sunset makes it complete Hawk.” She was still for a moment before screwing her eyes shut and hanging her head. I looked over at the screen and noticed how quickly things changed. One minute, her brain scans were full of activity, the next they were blank. I felt a tug on my hand and turned just in time to catch (Y/N) from falling off the table. Bruce rushed over and had me help lay her down. He checked her vitals, writing things down on his clipboard before looking at me.

                “Whatever it was seems to have tired her out. You two weren’t wrong on the fact that it’s a development in her abilities. I don’t know what it’s called but we can figure it out. For now, she needs to rest. I think it was a mix of physical and mental exhaustion that caused her to black out. Should get her in a bed though instead of leaving her on the table.” I nodded in agreement and moved to pick her up when Thor came over.

                “I’ll carry her Brother Barton. You haven’t rested since your mission ended.” I gave him a look as he carefully lifted my sister in his arms, but I didn’t argue. He was right, I didn’t rest on the plane like the others since I was co-piloting with Nat. I followed right behind him, Bruce, and Tony to the infirmary, which was just down the hall. I didn’t care who followed, but Bruce did. He ushered everyone except for me and Tony out of the room. Wanda, Pietro, Vision, and most surprisingly Loki, opted to wait in the hallway until they were told they could come in. After making sure (Y/N) was set up and comfortable, Tony and Bruce left the room, telling me that they’re just down the hall if we need anything. I let Wanda and the boys enter the room, figuring that some light conversation would do some good.

                “How’d you break her out of her mind like that?” I turned to look at Pietro, thinking about the best way to answer his question.

                “When we were little, the three of us made small security phrases, just in case we were scared or in harm’s way. There were different ones for each of us. (Y/N)’s phrase for Barney was different from my phrase for Barney, but they had the same meaning. (Y/N) and I based ours from one of our favorite memories. We were sitting by a lake watching the sunset, just the two of us. When we came up with the security phrases, that’s what we had in mind for each other. The phrase can be shifted to fit who says it first, but it still has the same meaning. We would use it when the other would have nightmares as kids…and it just seemed like it would work for this.” I didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as I recounted the story. It was a touchy subject for me considering I would always think back to that memory after (Y/N) went missing. “I just wish I knew what this development is. If I did it would make it easier for her training.”

                Loki stepped forward from where he was standing in the corner. “I believe it’s called telepathic speaking.” I looked up at him as he continued closer to the other side of the bed. “In Asgard, when a warrior is injured and loses their voice in battle, but can otherwise still fight, they are given such ability so they can communicate. It’s a magic spell on Asgard, but in her case, it’s an addition to her abilities. Also, the way her eyes turn gold interests me. I only know of one person who has gold eyes such as hers and that’s Heimdall.” He paused a couple steps away from her bed and looked between her and Vision before speaking again. “Vision?”

                “Yes, Loki?” Vision replied, breaking away from the quiet conversation with the twins.

                “Can you hear the thoughts she sends to everyone else? I wouldn’t be surprised if you can’t since you are an android.”

                “As a matter of fact, I can hear her. I spent most of the weekend reading various studies done on telepathic mutants and the wide range of abilities they can have. I was surprised at the results that told of a telepaths inability to talk to or control machines and androids such as myself. After much thought and calculations, it occurred to me that the only reasonable explanation for it is the connection she has with the mind stone. She must be able to speak with it and since it is what gives me life, I can hear her through it.”

                Loki hummed in understanding before walking over to Vision and the twins and joining their conversation. I yawned as the exhaustion from the mission and today’s earlier events finally caught up to me. Instead of asking everyone to leave, I simply removed my hearing aids and set them beside (Y/N). I leaned back in the chair and propped my feet up on the bed. In a few minutes, I was out cold, the image of watching the sunset by a lake filling my dreams.