Forever and Always

1:4 Fire and Blood

Natasha's P.O.V

         After watching Ashton take on the hulk, my nerves were shot. It shook me to my core. I sat on the catwalk, trying to collect myself. It was harder to do than I'll ever admit. As I sat there, Fury's voice came through my coms. "Agent Coulson is down. Does anyone have eyes on Barton? Does anyone copy?" He says. I lift my hand to my ear and press the button. "This is agent Romanoff. I copy. I'm on my way." I say, getting up. I go to where Barton was last spotted and follow the trail of arrows. When I reach him, I engage. We fight through pipes and over catwalks. He manages to get me in a choke hold, but I use his bow to flip him. His head hits the railing hard. He stumbles to his knees. He looks at me over his shoulder. "Natasha?" He asks. His eyes are still glowing blue. I punch him really hard in the head, knocking him out. Other S.H.E.I.L.D agents come to take him to the medical wing. I follow behind them. I look around, Suprised to find that it's not overly busy. The agent take him to a room and handcuff him to the gurney. I sit down because there is nothing left for me to do but wait.

Ashton's P.O.V

       I wake up alone in the medical wing. That worries me. Coulson or Natasha are always there when I wake up. I shake my head to get the grogginess to leave. I get off of the gurney and head to the hallway. I pass doctors and agents heading in and out of rooms. I spot a familiar redhead through a window. I head into the room she is in and see Clint laying on the gurney. "When he wakes up, I'm going to beat the snot out of him." I say. "I call first dibbs." Natasha says, not looking at me. I lean up against the door frame. "Are you okay?" I ask her. She nods her head. I push off the door frame and go to her. I kneel down in front of her. "Hey, look at me. Whats wrong?" I ask her. I place my hands on her legs. She finally looks at me. I can see fear in her eyes. And pain. She places her hands on my shoulders. "I was terrified that you would get hurt. When he hit you, I thought it was over. But then you got up and you kept going after him to protect me. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt because of me." Natasha says. I sigh. "Hey, I'm okay. I'm fine. It was you who was in danger. I am okay." I say. She nods her head. "How is he doing?" I ask her, motioning to Clint. "He's fine, for now. We just have to wait for him to wake up." She says. She looks at me. "I have some bad news. Coulson, he uh, he's gone. Loki killed him." She says. I stand up. It can't be true. Coulson was always there. He was the first agent to accept me at S.H.E.I.L.D, apart from Natasha and Clint. He was there when I was injured and Natasha couldn't be with me. Coulson always made sure Natasha was okay on her missions. He was our biggest shipper. Rage spreads from deep within me. It courses through my veins like molten metal. "I'm going to kill Loki." I ground out. Natasha stands up and comes to me. She places her hand on my chest and the other on my face. "He will get what he deserves. And I don't think Thor would appreciate that." She says gently. I scoff. "Fine. But I'm still going to beat his ass." I say. She chuckles.                     We hear Clint groan behind us. We head over to him. He shakes his head and grunts, pulling against his restraints. "Clint, your gonna be alright." Natasha tells him. "You know that. Is that what you know?" He responds. He huffs and leans his head back. "I gotta flush him out." He says. "You went through a lot. It's gonna take time." I tell him. He looks at me. His face is covered in sweat. "You don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play. Pull you out, stuff someone else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?" He asks. "You know that we do." Natasha replies. He takes a few more deep breaths. "Why am I back? How did you get him out?" He asks. Natasha walks over and sits on the gurney by him. I sit in the chair. "Cognitive Recalibration." She says. "When did you have time to do that?" I ask her. She looks at me and smiles. "I hit him really hard in the head." She says. I laugh. "Thanks." He tells her. She reaches for his restraints. "Tasha, how many agents-"
"Don't do that. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we've ever trained for." She tells him. "Yeah, Clint. Even I'm having a hard time dealing with all of this. So don't be so hard on yourself. " I tell him. "Ash, are you okay?" He asks me. I nod my head. "I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about, buddy." I tell him. He chuckles. "Loki, did he get away?" He asks. "Yeah. Don't suppose you know where?" I ask him. "No, I didn't need to know. I didn't ask." He says, getting up. "He's gonna make his play soon though. Today." He says. "We gotta stop him." Natasha declares. "Oh yeah, whose we?" Clint asks. "Us, those of us that are left. We're gonna take this son of a bitch down." I tell him. He looks back and forth between us. "Well, if I put an arrow in Loki's eye socket, I'll sleep a little better I suppose." He says. "Now you sound like you." Natasha says with a smile. "But you don't. And neither do you." He says, looking at us. "Your a spy. Not a soldier. And you don't let yourself get into situations that could lead HYDRA to you. Now you both want to  wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you guys?" He asks us. I huff while Natasha struggles to find something to say. "I've been compromised. I've got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out." She says. Clint looks to me. "And you?" He asks me. I look at him. "He has to be stopped. I can't just not do something and risk someone getting hurt when I can do something to prevent it. Even if it means I risk HYDRA finding me." I tell him. "Alright then. But first, I'm using the bathroom." He says, getting up. Natasha reaches over and grabs my hand. I give hers a light squeeze. "We'll stop him." She tells me. I nod my head. The door to the room ope s to reveal Steve standing there in his uniform. "It's time to go." He says. "Go where." Natasha asks. "I'll explain on the way. Can fly one of the jets." He asks. " I can." Clint says, coming out of the bathroom. Steve looks at me and I nod my head to let him know Clint is okay. "Gotta a suit?" He asks Clint. "Yeah." Clint says. "Good, then suit up." Steve says, leaving. The three of us suit up and prepare for the fight ahead of us.