Duyên || Clint Barton

014 || strategy

•••

Fury's entrance seemed to light a fuse under all the Avenger's asses, yet that didn't hide the shock on their faces when Cooper and Lila rushed at him, nor the further astonishment of Fury actually smiling and hugging at them.
"He does that?" Tony asked aloud.
"Well he is their godfather" I shrugged with a grin, "and he's a nice guy"
"I think what Tony's trying to say is that I don't think we've ever seen him smile to the point where his mouth moves" Steve suggested.
"Fair enough"
"So that's how you got away with insulting him back during Loki's attack?"
"I guess"
"That's one hell of a loop hole" he said as he patted my shoulder proudly, before walking back inside the house, Steve close behind.

•••

The Avengers had shuffled into the kitchen, seating themselves around the table whilst I put the kids to bed.
I down opposite Natasha, quietly observing the conversation.
"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing" Fury stated
"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked
"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though"
I quietly chuckled at Fury's bluntness, quickly sobering up at the severity of the situation.
"He still going after nuclear codes?" Tony inquired, throwing darts at Clint's board. Out of corner of my eye I saw Clint pick up a dart and walk so he had eyesight on the board, sending me a cheeky wink as he went.
"Yes, but he's not making any headway" Fury replied, nonchalantly making a sandwich as he spoke.
"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare" Tony scoffed.
"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that"
"NEXUS?" I glanced over at the confused Steve, giving him a reassuring smile.
"It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth" Bruce answered, still fiddling with his sleeve cuffs as he spoke.
Steve still looked slightly confused, "everything on the computer goes through there at some point" I explained, earning a happy grin from the blonde man.
"So, what did they say?" Clint asked, playing with the dart.
"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed"
"By whom?"
Tony lurched his head to the side to avoid the dart Clint threw at the board, reviving a cheeky shrug when he stared at him in shock.
"Parties unknown."
"Do we have an ally?"
"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."
"I might need to visit Oslo, find our 'unknown'"

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that" Natasha said, leaning back slightly in her chair.
"I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. Ultron said that the only thing standing between him and his mission is the Avengers, and though he won't admit it his goal is global destruction. All of this laid in a grave"
Clint exchanged a worried glance with me as Fury carried on talking, and I subconsciously put my hand on my stomach.
"So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."
"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk" Nat teased, a mischievous grin on her face.
"You know what, Romanoff?"
I made eye contact with Clint, beginning to sign, "maybe I was wrong about Banner. She seems to be into Cap too. Maybe they can arrange a threesome one day. Who knows, they might invite us to make it an orgy"
I smirked as he flipped me off, returning my attention to the conversation, Banner coughing uncomfortably.
Realising the conversation hadn't progressed, I brought up a suggestion.
"I might be way off the mark here, but he's a robot right? Just throw water at him and you're done" I suggested with a shrug.
"Where would we get the water?"
"Streams. Lakes. The sea. Water bottles" I spoke, listing off places with my fingers.
Fury just shook his head at me and I let out a huff of defeat as he carried on talking.
"So what does he want?"
"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve answered
"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."
"So he has a boner for humanity"
I was ignored again.
"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Nat sassed, receiving an eye roll from Tony.
"They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce wondered aloud, his voice becoming sharp.
"How?"
"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"
The avengers jumped from their seats, only halting when I spoke.

"Okay I know this is a big deal, but before everyone leaves this may be the only time I get to speak to you all so I just have a few things to say"
The avengers looked at me weirdly, whilst Fury just shook his head humorously at me.
"Grace you don't have t-"
"Sit your ass down Barton"
"Yes ma'am"
I saw Tony smirk as Clint did what I said, mouthing something that looked suspiciously like 'whipped' to Steve.
"First of all, you guys need to get your shit together. I'm trusting you with my husbands life and I need to see that you're a team. You were hit badly, sure, but you sure as hell weren't beaten. So stop slouching around like a kicked puppy and own it!"
"Secondly, if any of you hurt Natasha I swear to god I will come at you with the wrath of an angry pregnant lady and that's not a fun time for anyone. Trust me, I know Natasha can defend herself but that won't stop me from bitch slapping you across the county." I stated, trying not to laugh at their slightly guarded looks, "apart from all of that I'd just like to thank you for what you did last year in helping Clint. I really appreciate it and even though he might not say it, he does too. This metal guy? He's nothing compared to the power of the Avengers if you all work together"

"Thank you for that weirdly inspiring speech" Steve said honestly.
"You're very welcome. Don't fuck up"
"That's more like it" Tony chortled, patting my shoulder.