Captain's Hart and Soul

Chapter 6 Safe House

*A/N A fresh point of view in this chapter!

Clint P.O.V.

Clint found Steve out for the count, and then spotted Thor also on his knees on the walkway above. He frowned worriedly, anxious to find his girls. If the Maximoff girl had gotten the two out here, then it was a safe bet that the girl would've gotten to Nat and Arianna in the shadows of the corridors.

He'd hoped he wasn't the only one still functioning, but the radio silence spoke volumes. Clint combed through various corridors, searching amongst the bodies worriedly, before his eyes spotted familiar long brown locks. Clint breathed in relief that Arianna was at least alive and breathing as he saw her chest move.

His relief was very short-lived as he hurried over to her and saw the state she was in. The girl was lying on the ground, her eyes staring straight up into nothing but her face was one of absolute terror. He'd only seen something close to that face once, and even that dark time was nothing compared to the sheer horror that painted her face now.

"Ria?" He asked, tapping the girl's face lightly, but there was no response. Clint quickly hauled her up, heaving her up and carrying her in his arms. He groaned internally, silently cursing the Captain for not being there to take care of his own girlfriend.

But the thought was fleeting, his worry over Arianna's current state too great. He honestly wasn't sure what the Maximoff girl would've shown Arianna; until she'd met Steve, her greatest fear had been trusting someone again. Now, Clint wasn't sure. Could she have seen something about Steve?

Clint's eyes widened as he spotted a familiar red dot, and he quickly made his way over to Nat. The Russian was in a similar state to Arianna, although she looked more dazed and out of it than terrified, as Arianna had looked when Clint had first found her. Clint quickly placed Arianna down gently, moving to check on Nat.

Tony suddenly called over the comms: "Natasha, I could really use a lullaby."

Clint sighed as he answered grimly: "Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here."

He glanced between Nat and Arianna, neither capable of moving. He didn't want to leave either, but he wouldn't be able to carry both.

"I'm calling in VERONICA." Tony replied, and then he cut off the comms as well. Clint rubbed his eyes tiredly- now they had to deal with the Hulk as well. And he'd bet his life's savings that the Maximoff girl had gotten to Bruce as well.

Clint heaved Nat up, pulling her out into the walkway. He then went back to get Arianna, picking her up and carrying her out as well. He continued past Nat, heading towards where Thor was still wrestling with his mind. He gently placed Arianna by the wall, frowning to see that her expression had flattened out into a dazed look similar to Nat's.

And Thor's and Steve's, now that he thought about it. Hopefully that meant the effects of the illusion were starting to fade, not worsen. He then went back to fetch Nat, picking her up and hauling her out to where he'd left Arianna. As he placed Nat down gently, Clint groaned.

There was no way he'd be able to carry them both back to the quinjet- he'd just have to wait for the other guys to break out of their trances.

I really hope Stark's faring better than I am. Clint thought gloomily. Somehow though, he doubted it.

**********

3rd Person P.O.V.

The quinjet was completely silent as Clint flew them away from the African coast. Bruce, his entire body covered in a cold sweat, shivered beneath a blanket as he huddled himself on the floor in a corner of the jet. He was fighting both the effects of Wanda's mind manipulation and the extreme guilt at all the innocent lives he had harmed in the Wakandan city that the Hulk had trashed.