//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Grudge Match // Story: Doomwar // by Boltstrike58 //------------------------------// Earth Previously, Twilight was the only one of the ponies who'd taken a ride on one of Earth's flying vehicles. Now, having borrowed one of T'Challa's ships, Rarity, Fluttershy, Tempest, and Celestia (along with Autumn Blaze and Spike) got the chance to experience it for themselves. Suffice to say, it wasn't exactly the time of their lives. Fluttershy had previously been shivering with fear under the benches, until Natasha had informed her that it was safer to be strapped in. Now she had her seat-belt on, her legs curled to her chest, as she quivered. "Why exactly are you freaking out so much?" asked Korg. "You've got wings, don't you? Aren't you used to flying?" "Not this fast!" squeaked Fluttershy. The others were faring a little better. Rarity had strapped herself in as well, though she wasn't shaking as hard as Fluttershy. Tempest, having become accustomed to being on airships due to her time with the Storm King, was quietly meditating on the floor, with her eyes closed tight. Celestia was deep in thought, only being jolted out of it due to the occasional burst of turbulence. Autumn Blaze seemed to be enjoying herself, watching the concentrated mass of clouds zip by through the window, alongside Spike, who was definitely having a good time. Twilight herself was up in the cockpit with Tony, who was driving. She was too concerned to be enchanted by the sights. "It'll be okay, Twi," Tony comforted her, taking one hand off the controls for the briefest of seconds to pat Twilight on the shoulder. "Sure, this whole thing is pretty new, but it's nothing we can't handle." "I know," Twilight replied, "I know, there's no real reason to be scared. But still..." She struggled to admit what she was really feeling. "I guess it's just being trapped on Earth like this. Stuck on an unfamiliar world. It's not as bad as when I went through the mirror, because it's not just me and Spike, but it's still nerve-wracking. I wish I knew who was out to get us, who would go so far as to sick Windigos on us." Tony shrugged. "I wish I knew, Twilight. But none of our old enemies who are still alive are smart enough to pull this off. We'll just have to track them down somehow." Twilight nodded somberly. As much as she liked Tony, he wasn't the biggest optimist of the team, and thus, not the best at comforting. If Pinkie Pie were here, she'd have been able to make everybody smile, but she was either stuck on Equis, or captured. Sighing quietly to herself, Twilight got to her hooves, and walked into the back of the jet, rejoining the others. She looked around the seating area, before deciding to take the empty spot next to Princess Celestia. Her former mentor acknowledged Twilight with a nod of her head, but otherwise said nothing. Twilight didn't blame her. What was there to say? Her attention was drawn to Fluttershy, who was still compacted in her seat, quivering with fear at the speed of the aircraft. The pegasus had her eyes shut as tight as they could possibly go to avoid looking out the windows, and Twilight felt a stab of pity in her heart. But before she could go over to try and comfort Fluttershy, somebody beat her to it. "Hey, it's alright," said Bruce Banner, climbing into the seat next to the butter-yellow pony. "Wakanda has the most advanced technology in the world. There's absolutely no chance of this ship crashing." He patted Fluttershy gently between the wings, and the pony seemed to calm down a little. As she realized just who she was talking to, though, Fluttershy's demeanor suddenly turned rather cold. She shied away from Bruce, taking great effort to avoid looking at him. Bruce, being far from oblivious, didn't fail to notice this, and his expression turned rather downcast. It didn't take a genius to figure out exactly why Fluttershy was upset with him, even though he was one. Bruce slumped in his seat, trying to think of some way to bridge the gap between them. "So, anything new with that animal sanctuary you were working on?" he ventured, but it had no effect. Fluttershy didn't even acknowledge he'd said anything. Bruce sighed internally. There was nothing to do now except bite the bullet. "I'm sorry I ran away, Fluttershy," he admitted. "I promise, it had nothing to do with you. I just...I freaked, okay?" "Why would you throw it all away?" Fluttershy demanded, rounding on the physicist, angry. Bruce hadn't been on the receiving end of the Stare before, and now that he was experiencing it, it drove him to lean as far away from the pegasus as he could. "You knew we would be there for you if you needed it! You know we all cared about you! I cared about you! But you still deserted us! Why would you do that?!" "Because of Ross!" Bruce finally mustered the courage to snap back. "I didn't know he was spying on us until it was too late. And believe me, he'll do anything to get to me. Because he wants the Hulk. He wants to dissect the Other Guy out of me and replicate him. I can't let that happen! And I couldn't let him screw with the rest of you trying to get his grubby hands on me!" "But we would've been perfectly willing to fight for you!" retorted Fluttershy. "We would've stood up to Ross no matter what it took! And now you're probably in more trouble with him, and the Hulk thinks we all hate him and only love you! I wanted you to be able to learn to live with Hulk better, but we didn't get the chance because you ran away, and..." Fluttershy's remaining words dissolved into a flurry of sobs as her shoulders shook. Bruce looked like he might tear up a little as well, but he managed to resist it. He placed a calming hand on Fluttershy's wing, gently stroking her feathers as she continued to cry. "I know," Bruce continued, once her cries had died down a little, "And I know I should've trusted you guys back then. I just...I didn't want anybody else to suffer anything because of me. That's why I ran away. I thought...if you didn't have to worry about me, you'd all be a little happier. But I was wrong." He gently put his arms around the pony, allowing her to cry into his shoulder. "I made a mistake, Fluttershy. Please forgive me." Fluttershy hesitated, but she allowed herself to return the embrace, using not only her forelegs, but her wings as well. Pulling back, she looked Bruce directly in the eye. "You're not a burden to us," she insisted. "You matter to all of us. Please promise me you'll never do that again." "I promise," Bruce replied, without a hint of hesitation. Fluttershy smiled, and the two hugged each other once again. Everybody on board had been watching this scene unfold, but had been unwilling to interrupt out of politeness. At the heartwarming conclusion, everybody breathed a sigh of relief, and felt their spirits lift at the sight. Twilight was happy as well, but she noticed something else. As Bruce hugged Fluttershy, she thought that his eyes pulsed pink, and a faint pink aura formed around his body. Twilight blinked, and the pink lights vanished from sight. Twilight would've brushed it off, but this was the second time something like this had happened. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but she filed it into the depths of her mind for later. "Well, glad we've got that over with," said Natasha, laughing slightly. "Tony, how much longer until we reach Clint?" "About one more hour," replied the billionaire. "I hope he's packed." Earth, Iowa, Waverly Clint Barton was indeed busy packing for his trip with the Avengers, while waiting for Scott and Hope to arrive so they could pick up all three at once. Clint would be lying is he claimed he wasn't frustrated that yet another crisis had sprung up on what was supposed to be an ordinary diplomatic mission (a mission to another planet, but still). At the same time, he understood that the Avengers still needed him, so he was willing to suit up once again and go fight whoever it was this time. At the current moment, Clint was tinkering with the ankle bracelet he'd been given when he was placed under house arrest, using an multi-tool provided by T'Challa in case he ever needed to get it off without alerting people. With another click, the device popped off his leg, and Clint release a small sigh of relief. Wakandan technology really never failed, did it? Laying the device on his bed, Clint grabbed his quiver, strapping it to its familiar place on his back, and picked up his bow. A knock at the door prompted him to turn his head around, and he saw Laura standing in the doorway, watching him. "I know, I know, it's my turn to cook dinner tonight," Clint said, a bit of a somber look on his face. "I'll try to get home before then. If not, I promise I'll do it two days in a row." "I'm not mad at you," Laura promised. "I know you've got avenging to do, and ponies to rescue. And I know they need you." Clint smiled sadly. "Thanks, honey," he replied. "I only hope the kids can have the same feelings about me running off all the time." "Hey, their dad's a super hero. I think that's as close to a kid's dream as you can possibly—" Laura didn't get a chance to finish, as a loud explosion sounded outside the house. Clint immediately jumped to his feet, grabbing his bow. "Stay here," he ordered Laura. "Keep the kids with you." Laura obeyed without hesitation, rushing off the grab Cooper, Lily, and Nathan, while Clint squatted down, making himself as small as possible. He silently cursed his decision to install so many windows in the house, now seeing everyone as a potential sniping spot. He scurried as fast as he could, ducking below the windows, not willing to risk peeking out to see the source of the explosion. He decided to make his way out the back door instead of the front, as, based on the sound, the explosion came from around the front. Pulling out an arrow and notching it in his bow, Clint slowly pushed open the door, cautiously poking the bow out and looking in all directions. But nothing he could see looked like any kind of threat. That is, until an arrow whizzed above his head, punching through the window on the door and embedding itself in the side of the house. Clint's body immediately responded, dropping forward and rolling as a few more arrows whooshed past him and stabbed into the ground. Balancing himself back on one knee, Clint fired his own arrow in the same general direction as the attack came from, not having time to see and aim properly. He heard a thunk as the arrow hit a tree, but he still couldn't see any source of danger. "Still a sure-shot, huh Clint?" came a voice. Normally, Clint would've rounded on the speaker. He would've fired an arrow into their kneecap, stunning them and preventing them from fleeing. Then he would've marched over to them and interrogated them, demanding to know why they'd come and threatened his family. To him, such an act would've been as easy as breathing. That was not the case here, for one simple reason. Clint knew that voice. It was a voice from the long past, a voice that he'd thought extinguished for a long time. Slowly, Clint followed his ears, turning to the source of the voice, and finding a single figure staring back at him, armed with his own bow, wearing a similar costume to Clint's own. A figure that shouldn't have existed. "Barney?" Clint whispered, too shocked to speak up. Barney Barton chuckled at the sight of his stupefied brother, reaching into his own quiver for another arrow. "I have to admit, the dumb look on your face when you saw me was what I was looking forward to the most about this." "But...but..." Clint stumbled over his words, "you died! I swear you died—!" He didn't get a chance to complete his thought, as he was too busy dodging another arrow from Barney. Unfortunately for Clint, this particular arrow was tipped with an explosive, with burst not too far from him. Clint wasn't hit by the blast, but the noise still managed to blow out his hearing, dazing the archer and throwing him off. Clint did managed to fire off his own flash-bang arrow, blinding Barney and preventing his next arrow from finding its mark. Both archers shook off the effects, before facing each other once again. "Yeah, rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated," retorted Barney, notching another arrow. "Shame I couldn't see your expression when you found out about that one." Clint pulled back an arrow of his own. "Don't think I'm holding back just because you're my bro. You lost any sympathy from me when you came to my home, armed." Both archers fired their arrows at the same time, causing them to collide in mid-air, completely nullifying each other. Realizing that their archery skills were far too evenly matched, Clint and Barney both pressed buttons on their bows, transforming them into melee weapons. The two men charged forward, rearing back and striking with all of their strength, locking their weapons together like swords. "So," Clint grunted, applying all the pressure he could, "why'd you come back, anyway? Couldn't resist the chance to off me? Or did you screw up so badly at being a crook that you had nothing else to do?" "Don't preach to me, bro," Barney snarled. "I've read the Shield files. You're as dirty as I am." He pulled back and swung his bow, which Clint managed to duck under. "It's cute that you actually believe that," retorted Clint, as he swept his leg around in an arc. Barney was knocked off his feet, and sent sprawling onto his rear with a painful thump. Clint kept up the pressure on his brother, using his bow to pin Barney by the throat and ramming his fist directly into Barney's nose with a satisfying crack. Just a Clint pulled his fist back for another blow, Barney reached into his own quiver, grabbing an arrow and jabbing it into Clint's arm. Clint screamed as he reeled back, yanking the arrow out of his skin. Now free from his opponent's grasp, Barney managed to jump to his feet, notching another arrow. Clint, grasping his injured arm with his other hand, managed to slide to the left, avoiding Barney's shot. Barney didn't seem to mind, though. He just chuckled at Clint's moment of weakness. "Offing you is honestly the best payment I've ever gotten in this career, Clint," Barney cackled with joy. "Taking out your Avengers buddies is just the bonus." "So, you're part of these Anti-Avengers," Clint growled, trying desperately to ignore the pain in his arm. "I'd say I'm surprised, but I'm really not." "Hey, every good team needs a sniper," laughed Barney, pulling back his bowstring once again. "At least, I assume that's the reason they keep you around." Clint, despite the way it tore his arm wound open, notched an arrow of his own, and the two brothers faced each other. Neither dared to fire off their own shot first, merely waiting and hoping his opponent would be the first to take the risk. Unfortunately for Clint, his injury was making it more and more difficult to keep holding his bowstring back, and he grunted as the pain finally forced him to release it. Barney dodged the arrow, and responded with his own. The arrow unfolded at the tip, latching onto Clint's neck and sending an electrical charge through his body, shocking him and knocking him off his feet once again. Clint screamed as he slammed against the earth. Barney calmly walked forward, pinning Clint down with a knee to his chest. "Don't worry, bro," Barney chuckled. "I'm not gonna kill ya yet. I'm gonna paralyze you here, then drag your wife and kids out here and slaughter them in front of you. Then I'm gonna kill you. That'll be amusing for a while, don't ya think?" Clint clenched his teeth through the agony, trying weakly to reach up and punch Barney in the head, but Barney simply slapped his arm down. "You always were inconsiderate of the desires of others, Clint," he laughed. "Unfortunately, I've decided that I'm done taking your bull, and—" "Hey, scuzz bucket!" came a small voice from next to them. Barney looked around him, searching for the source of the insult, but seeing nobody in the immediate vicinity. He blinked in confusion, until he felt a small tapping on his lower arm. He looked down, discovering what looked like a tiny woman wearing some sort of costume, with insect-like wings emerging from the back. Then Hope van Dyne activated her size-changing suit, swung into a back flip, and kicked Barney in the face as she grew back to normal. Barney lost his grip on Clint as he went bouncing across the lawn from the force of Hope's blow. Landing on her feet, Hope rushed over to Clint, helping him to his feet. Next to them, Scott suddenly grew out of nowhere, and quickly joined the two. "Clint, you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on the archer's shoulder. "Who's the other nut bag with the bow? What's he doing at your house? What—" "Scott!" Hope interrupted. "Not the best time." Meanwhile, Barney grunted in exasperation as he managed to get to his feet, picking up his bow once more. He looked up, facing the three super heroes as opposed to the one he'd originally been up against. "So, you call the bug people to save your hide, Clint?" he said, trying to keep the same cockiness in his voice, but not having as much success as he would've liked. "Real brave of you." "Stuff it," replied Hope, arming her stingers. "I don't know who you are, but you can forget about picking on Clint while we're around." Barney gritted his teeth. Clint, just from observing his brother's face, could easily see the debate going on inside his head. He wanted Clint dead, here and now, but the situation had changed. Now he had two size-changing Avengers to deal with at the same time. Barney was weighing his options, wondering whether he could fight off all three at the same time. Ultimately, it seemed as though Barney's common sense won out, and he lowered his bow. "Alright, fine. You get to fight another day, Clint," he muttered. Barney then reached into his pocket, producing what appeared to be a smooth white stone, with a strange rune engraved on it. "But don't think for a moment that this is over." Barney then tapped the stone three times. The object glowed a brilliant white, which spread outward over the archer, encasing his entire body within seconds. With a blinding flash, Barney Barton disappeared from sight, leaving three super heroes blinking away the spots in front of there eyes. Clint sighed quietly to himself, massaging his arm injury. He should've suspected Barney had a way out. Whoever he was working for clearly had real power going for them. "Okay...?" Scott said, looking to and fro. "Uh, couple questions. Where'd he go, who was he, and what the hell is going on?" "For once, I agree with you," replied Hope. "Clint, who was that?" "Barney Barton," Clint replied simply. "My brother. If you want to know more, you'll have to wait a minute." 'Wait a minute? Why? You can't just drop that on us and expect us to deal with it! We need answers!" "Because..." Clint replied, pointing to the sky. A sleek, black, Wakandan jet hovered in the distance, making its way towards them. "I'm not telling the story twice."