//------------------------------// // Chapter 3-That One Guy with a Bow // Story: A Beautiful New Age // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// The Hawk opened his eyes and pleaded for air. In and out. In and out. His chest begged for breath, longed for the oxygen to soothe his dying lungs that desperately needed a lifeline. In and out. Like swift daggers, daring arrow tips, his eyes scanned his surroundings as quickly as humanly possible. Light broke through the tree branches directly overhead, falling down to grace portions of his body that weren’t encased in darkness. The cries of woodland birds assaulted the man’s eardrums, painting a pretty heavy picture already forming within his mind. He felt around, fingertips grazing dirt and grime directly beneath him. He was in a forest. Cringing and lifting up his head, the Hawk eyed rows upon rows of dead trees ahead and to his sides. Yep, definitely in a forest. But how? He laid his head back down onto the dead leaves and dirt, recollecting as much memory as possible. The broken lights behind the tree branches offered little help on remembering. That was all the help he needed. The sun tore through the weak clouds upon the floating city of Novi Grad. Ultron Sentries all around them, threatening to break through the line, and successfully doing just that. He remembered falling. And falling and falling and falling. And then nothing. Now, he was lying on a forest floor with a bad neck. The Hawk tried to sit up and hissed in pain. Correction. Bad neck, back, torso, and everything else. He lied back down, his eyes wandering about and breath shallow. He couldn’t stay there forever, his instincts told him otherwise. He’d need to find some help or fix himself up rather than just become easy prey when the sun set. On any average day this was no problem. He could walk out of any forest and no doubt survive in one with just a holster of arrows and a bow by his side. This was no average day. He just got back from the end of the world, only to find out that the sun was still shining and birds were still singing. Did the city hit? Hopefully not. He just…couldn’t seem to remember what happened after Thor struck the device. Dammit, he needed to get up and start looking for some help. Gritting in absolute agony, the Hawk pushed down and sat upwards, hissing through grinding teeth. A satisfying crack flooded through his spine, but that didn’t stop the rest of his body that still hurt. He flipped over onto his chest, pushing up off the ground and allowing his knees to press against the earth. So far, so good. He felt his strap across his chest, which only meant that his quiver was still in place. That just left his bow. He eyed the area to the right of him, sight landing on the black strings only belonging to the recurve bow lying in the dirt. The Hawk reached for his weapon but stopped. His eyes captured a sight he thought he wouldn’t see. Hell, he’d recognize that black suit anywhere. “…Natasha?” Clint Barton gasped. The unmistakable form of Natasha Romanoff didn’t respond. Now there was a reason to ignore the pain. Scrambling forward, clawing at the dirt with his fingertips, Barton hovered over to her body, instantly taking notice of the cuts and bruises across her face and body. Her suit was torn with several cuts on her arms and body, but still held together to cover her. His eyes scanned up and down, his finger finally finding its place right under her jaw bone, pressed firmly against her neck. A soft and very faint thump. But still there. Still alive. He breathed out, sighing in relief. Lifting up, Barton pressed his right palm against her cheek. “Romanoff… Natasha, can you hear me?” he whispered, sweat beginning to form against his brow. She didn’t respond, the only form of life coming out of her being a very weak exhale through her nose. Yes, Barton heard that. He snorted, eyes focused, nodding. “Good enough,” he said and scanned the forest fauna once more. Rustling bushes, soft winds blowing across the dead grass. The identified sound of birds screeching high above. The darkness of the forest eyeing him and her, their prey. Cautiously, viciously. They were being hunted. Not yet, but soon enough. Time to go. Reaching over, Barton plucked his bow off the dirt and flung it across his shoulder, sliding it perfectly so his string was pressed firmly against his chest. Next, he stood to one knee, reaching down and lifting Romanoff’s practically lifeless body up by the arm and taking that arm to drape it across his shoulder. “We need to go…” Barton wheezed, taking the first few, painful steps forward to where he presumed to be the edge of the forest. “We need to go now, Natasha. No stopping…no whining…no…” He just couldn’t force himself to carry on that sentence. With every painful, excruciating limp forward, Barton could feel the weight of both his injuries and Natasha’s unconscious form pushing him down further and further. His hearing picked up more sounds, more rustles, more metal scraping against bark. “No stopping…no stopping… We need to…we need to…” His leg gave out, causing him to crumble right into a bush. Barton yelped in pain, dropping Natasha in the process and falling flat on his chest. Her body disappeared within the nearest pile of thorn bushes, and Barton tumbled and rolled until he hit water. He splashed face-first, immediately pushing himself up to avoid breathing in river water. The stream flowed aimlessly past his wrists, causing him to open his eyes once he was certain the water was out. His hearing was back soon, in both ears, as the water slowly flowed out. He caught something. Not rustling. Not begging breaths. It was…soft. It sounded like…singing. And it was close. So very close. Gritting his jaw, he turned his head over to the left where a large hill graced his sight. Behind the hill, however, the singing grew stronger, sounding as if it belonged to a young woman. Age…possibly being around eighteen or younger. He needed to get in closer. He needed to get her help. So he forced himself to stand through every cry his body wailed against him to fall back down. First step forward, straight through the shallow river and closer to the hill. The singing was already louder. The woman had to be close, had to be directly over the hill. Another step forward. Closer and closer. Sooner than later, Barton found himself pressed heart beating against the hillside. He clawed his way up to the top, dug deep and forced every last bit of strength left to push himself. His mind was fading, darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision. Just a little bit more. Little, tiny bit more… He had to hurry. Natasha wouldn’t be hidden for long. Not before…they found her. His hand found grass. Sweet, healthy grass. Straining every last bit of himself left, Barton made it to the top of the hill and stood up. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. The singing was very strong where he could see, and now he could finally figure out where that lovely young voice belonged t— Clint Barton stopped dead in his tracks. Standing no more than fifty feet ahead of him was small, yellow horse with a long, pink mane. With wings. That was singing. And feeding animals. He may not have given in when the strains against his body forcefully pushed him back to the ground back in the forest, he would not give up with Natasha’s life focused around his goals on getting her to safety, he didn’t even quit when the darkness tried to overtake his vision when he was crawling up the hill. But when that yellow, winged horse stopped singing and turned its eyes toward him—dropping the worms from its mouth that were presumably for the young birds sitting in the tree branch above it—and stared at him with a jaw ready to fall right off, Clint was just about ready to let the dark take him and be done with it. The effects of the situation, the absolute ridiculousness of his circumstances just didn’t seem to wane. He could stand there for oh-so long before his body gave out and allowed him to drift away from whatever kind of hell he was dreaming about. Maybe then he’ll wake from the strange muse and hopefully make sense of what was really happening. Nope. There was no more sense to be made. “Um…h-h-he-hello?” It just talked to him. Screw it. Barton passed out right then and there and face-planted on the grass. Fluttershy didn’t know which happened faster: the strange creature collapsing or her rushing over to its side. At first time seemed to reach a standstill, as if nothing could break the confrontation between the Pegasus and the creature from the Everfree Forest. It came from the bottom of the hill, covered in mud and leaves and all sorts of forest scum. Their eyes connected, and for the first time Fluttershy felt a certain coolness flush through her body once her sight landed in the creature’s gaze. It was…so haunting. So sad. So wounded. And then it fell. Gasping, Fluttershy spread her wings and took off with speeds so unlike her and landed right by the creature’s left side. Its face was away from her, having landed on its chest in the first place. That was the first thing she did. “Oh, my goodness! Are y-you ok-kay?” she asked, quickly realizing she wouldn’t be receiving a response. Instead, she acted fast and pressed her forehead and hooves against the creature’s side, grunting and pushing it so it was lying face up. She took her time to truly take in the odd creature’s facial features. Its skin was a light tan shade while the hair atop its head was colored soft brown. Fluttershy continued on, growing more and more confused once she spotted the string wrapped tightly across his chest and the quiver of arrows resting beneath him. Whatever it was, it was armed and was capable of handling a bow, which meant it had to be intelligent of some sort. The outfit it wore was torn in several places, blood splotches and numerous cuts across its face and body. The more she stared at the wounds the more hurt she felt. This creature, this strange, strange creature approached her and collapsed on her property in near death, and she’d never live up to her potential as the Element of Kindness by simply letting it die. “Oh, you poor…um…creature?” Fluttershy questioned and cooed, gently rubbing her hoof across the large gash on its lower abdomen. It let out a small gasp, muscles clenching as her hoof made contact. Fluttershy instantly brought her hoof back, tears nearly welling up in her eyes. Her stare grew hard, her face determined. “Don’t you worry. I’ll take you back to my cottage so we can get you all patched up.” The creature didn’t respond, as expected, and Fluttershy took immediate advantage. Making sure to mind its injuries, the Pegasus wrapped her forelegs underneath the creature’s large biceps and proceeded to drag its practically-lifeless form over the bridge and into her small cottage, wings flapping as hard as she could, all the while with numerous woodland critters watching her every move. Many shook their furry, little heads. Other’s grew restless, their bellies still empty with the hope that the yellow angel would return to them with a meal. All eyes remained on the cottage, even as the door closed, even as the wind picked up and the sun beat down. All eyes remained on the cottage. All the blue ones hiding behind the trees. Even the new glowing red pair. “So that’s where you are.” Angel Bunny hopped off the couch he was previously lounging on, making way for Fluttershy to lay the massive body onto. Angel already didn’t like it. Whatever it was. Having lost the best spot, the lowly bunny rabbit instead chose to send a heated glare towards the newcomer’s way, tiny arms crossing over one another and large hind leg tapping against the wooden floor in a clear sign of annoyance. Fluttershy landed by the side of the couch with her wings folding next to her ribcage. Stepping forward, the Pegasus’ expression softened, as did her hoof gently rubbing the strange creature’s filthy forehead. She already spotted the blood leaking outwards from the creature’s clothes, dripping down onto the couch. “Angel, go to the bathroom and get the first aid kit,” Fluttershy commanded. Her order went without response, and Fluttershy spun her head back to witness a bemused Angel Bunny standing beneath her with his little rabbit arms folded over each other. Fluttershy frowned. “Angel, now,” she ordered, tone growing heavier. Once again, Angel just stood there, eyes dangerously glaring at the prone figure lying on his resting spot. However, the glare was not held for long once Fluttershy stepped forward, and all new form of darkness transforming her calming gaze into one of vicious might and untold horror. “Angel…” The tone was a warning. A last chance. A last chance before the inevitable “Stare” made its triumphant return. Sighing in defeat, Angel held up his arms and hopped up the stairs to the bathroom. Fluttershy flashed a victorious grin, but it was short-lived. A small tremor shook her entire cottage, causing birdhouses and cages to stir and the animals within them to freak. Fluttershy gasped, eyeing her inner dwelling to be for certain that no cages fell, that no animals were harmed. It all stopped. So sudden and so quick to end. “What…?” Fluttershy whispered, head swiveling and body turning to eye the damage. There was none. It was as if the little tremor had never happened, save for the screeching animals within her cottage, but they began to calm down after several seconds of continued silence. And then the screeching returned. From outside. Fluttershy wheeled towards the door, eyes nearly popping from her skull. She spread her wings and took flight, bursting right through her cottage door and entering the outside, all the while pleading for the safety of her animal friends. “No! Oh, no! Please be okay! Please be okay! I’m so sorry for leaving you all out here alone and—!” She stopped flying. Her wings simply quit on her and slammed back into her sides, curling close and shuddering in terror. Her body resembled the actions with a smaller frame and horrified eyes staring out into the horror that gripped her home. Several animals scurried past her in fear, many others digging into the ground or flying off. She wished she could have run away. She wished she could have flown away. But what her mind wanted didn’t respond correctly to what her body performed, glued to the earth with a trembling jaw and incoherent gibberish escaping her muzzle. A part of the gibberish came out as a tiny, incoherent whimper. It was just loud enough to grab their attention. Just her luck. The figures, five in all, stood with bodies nearly identical to the exact shape and size to the creature Fluttershy had just brought in, but with numerous differences. Unlike the soft feeling of the first one’s skin, the newcomers appeared to be made out of something harder, something that appeared like metal as they shone in the sunlight. Next was how two of them were hovering above the ground while the three others approached from below, closer and closer to the whimpering Pegasus. Finally, it was their eyes. Four of them had blue eyes, the light stretching down their jaws to connect with the slit that appeared to be mouths. The last one, the one in front of the pack, the one directly in front of the shaking pony, had a red glare in its vision and a mouth the same color, chest burning as well. It stopped and held up a hand, halting the other four behind it. Fluttershy, still frozen in fear, listened and flinched when the red-eyed one spoke to her directly. “You seem to be housing a murderer. Release him to me or I will slaughter every animal on your property.” Fluttershy did what came naturally when she felt threatened. She screamed as loud as she could. And that scream was loud enough to jolt someone awake. His eyes fluttered open. In an instant the man shot upwards, the pain still evident by the cringes infected across his facial features. But he ignored them. He ignored the pain. The shrill cries came again, louder than ever before. The man brought his attention to the slightly ajar door, behind which the screams emanated from. Clint Barton swung his arms back, removing his bow and gripping the handle tightly in his left palm. Standing up quickly, wincing only once before settling back down, Barton slowly removed one of his many arrows and placed the nock against the string. He made the attempt to stand back up, but stopped midway when a peculiar sight caught his gaze. Standing awkwardly on one of the steps leading to what appeared to be an upstairs, a white rabbit holding a much larger first aid kit stared him down. For seconds on end the two stared at each other, neither willing to break contact. Like two deer trapped in the same headlights, the two’s silent conversation carried on until the rabbit shrugged his shoulders, dropped the first aid kit—which in turn spilled the contents all across the floor—and proceeded to hop back up the stairs. What. The hell? The screaming resumed, this time capturing the attention of the white rabbit. But one was already gone, already vanished from his spot on the couch and outside in the span of nearly two and half seconds. The door flung open and the first arrow shot out with such ferocity that no one would have been able to react in time. Fluttershy stopped screaming. Her breath caught at the sight of the arrow embedded right between the red eyes. Right in the forehead. The perfect shot. The body fell backwards with a dull thump against the grass. The four other sentries turned their attention passed the shivering Pegasus and to the area the arrow was shot from. Fluttershy followed their gazes, eyes widening at the sight. The creature was awake, and it had its bow aimed right towards her. “Agent Barton!” Fluttershy gasped and spun her head back. The four remaining monsters took defensive positions, a certain one of them stepping forward with its eyes now red. Fluttershy could’ve sworn they were blue a few seconds ago. The one with the red eyes spoke again, taking several steps forward. “No more hiding. You can’t hope to stop all of—” Another arrow shot out, hitting the red-eyed monster right in the forehead and instantly dropping it. This time Fluttershy was able to witness one of the blue-eyed creatures to suddenly take a drastic change. Every portion of its body ceased shimmering light blue and began to glow viciously red. It was instantaneous, an act Fluttershy would’ve missed in the blink of an eye. The newly red-eyed one stepped forward, eyeing his two fallen comrades. “Alright.” It was so quick. After it had said that, it took off with a blast from beneath its feet. Fluttershy cried out as it flew over her head, sounds of metal being pierced quickly coming after the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air. Two more left. Barton eyed the second one coming in quick, so quick in fact that he couldn’t prepare another arrow in time. The sentry reared forward and gripped the man by the throat, its surprisingly powerful strength nearly being enough to knock him down. Barton grunted heavily, the pain flushing in and out of his system. He shoved the sentry off him, quickly preparing an arrow and firing one off. Right in the chest. A shot that would’ve downed any mortal man didn’t even affect the robotic entity that stood before him. It charged for him again, its eyes burning red. Barton put one right in its left eye and straight through its skull. It crumbled and fell into the small stream near the cottage. Barton watched as the sentry’s fluids poured out from the wounds he inflicted upon it, spilling out into the stream. He readied another arrow, aimed it straight for the only remaining sentry. Another scream from the horse. He caught himself, his finger holding tight on the arrow string. So tight. The last Ultron Sentry held the small Pegasus in a grip, its forearm tightly secured around her throat. Her hind legs kicked in mid-air, fearful squeaks and tears escaping her form. Barton stared down his sights, his eyes landing on the sentry, then back to the Pegasus. “Go on, Agent Barton,” it growled, its eyes flickering red. “Fire away. Let loose the arrow and watch her life drain away, every blood drop being a reminder of how you once again failed at protecting someone so innocent. Because the moment you let that arrow fly…I snap her neck.” Clint shifted his gaze down, arrow tip still aimed at the sentry but his eyes aimed towards her. She cried once again, hooves barely latched onto the forearm of the sentry as more and more tears spilled from her brilliant gaze. Their eyes locked, different visions of how the situation played out flushing between the two. She was terrified. Her life was on the line of the next arrow Barton decided to fire. In just a quick second it could be over. He could fire away and she’d be dead. His chances were slim, hers as well, for the next several seconds that played out. Barton was indifferent. She was just an animal, just a strange, little horse with wings caught in the crossfire. He needed to let the arrow fly, to end the final Ultron Sentry and begin searching for the rest of his team. He couldn’t waste any more time, not with Natasha’s life slipping away with every second he let tick tock down to doom. He should let that arrow fly. He should… “Please…” the Pegasus cried, teary eyes never breaking contact. “Please he-help m-me…” He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Dammit, he won’t. But he had to do something. Eyes shifted up and down, back and forth, trying to make sense and find a solution to the hostage situation. It was difficult, it was risky, but he found it. He found the escape route. His fingers coiled tighter across the string, his bow barely shaking. Clint licked his lips once, gaze falling back to the Pegasus. “Little…horse…Pegasus thing,” Barton called out, voice straining from the pain his body felt. His plea earned her attention, her ears standing on end and eyes falling into his. He bit his lower lip hard, a small stream of sweat building against his forehead. He said, “You’re gonna need to trust me on this one.” Before she could respond, he fired right at her. Fluttershy flinched heavily, crying out once the arrow hit its mark. She could feel the coolness of the arrow’s base glide past her neck, and just as she expected it to be snapped as the monster warned it would, she felt nothing. Nothing but her rump landing on solid grass. She looked up, eyes following the second arrow whiz right over her head and make contact with the monster’s forehead. She gasped silently. Her eyes grew wider at the sight. As the beast fell, an arrow embedded right between its dark eyes, she spotted the first arrow he had fired. It had struck the monster’s forearm, the same place it was previously strangling her. And then it was over. The creature fell to the grass. Dead. Silenced into shock and wonder, Fluttershy barely paid any notice to the one who had just saved her life limping right by. He barely paid any attention to her as well, instead choosing to pry his arrows out from the creature’s body and examine them closely. Fluttershy eyed everywhere except where he was standing, an awkward silence filling the air plagued with death. Choosing to break the tension as he still observed his arrows tips, Fluttershy politely cleared her throat, albeit a bit shaken up. “Um…uh… Th-thank y-you for s-saving me from these…u-um…” “Sentries,” he spoke, earning a surprised squeak from the Pegasus. He turned around, still holding onto the two arrows Fluttershy continued, her eyes landing on the corpse of the supposed “sentry”. “Oh…well…yes the um…sentries. I can’t r-really s-say that I have seen any of these ‘sentries’ before in my life. I even l-live near the Everfree F-Forest, a place filled with strange creatures, but nothing like this before.” A soft silence filled the air, filled with a few sniffles and whimpers here and there. For some reason, they were just loud enough to attract the man’s full attention. He turned away from his arrows, eyeing the shivering Pegasus cautiously. “You alright?” Fluttershy instantly looked up, her eyes growing wide. “Huh? Oh…y-yes, I’m fine, Barton,” she said, covering her mouth with a hoof after receiving a frown from the one who saved her. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! It’s just that that sentry called you that earlier and…well…I never really got your name.” He sighed, turning towards her and making his approach. “You might as well just call me Barton—OW!” he screamed, nearly tripping over himself and falling to a knee right in front of the Pegasus. Fluttershy was up in an instant, checking over him and his wounds. “Oh, no. You’re bleeding really badly,” she cautioned, eyes staring straight up into his. For a moment the two held that stare, neither refusing to break off. Finally, Barton said, “You know what? I never really got your name, either.” “Oh…i-it’s um…Fluttershy,” she responded, eyes dangerously lingering over to the bow in his right hand. “Fluttershy, huh?” Barton mused, earning her attention back. He brought up his left hand, revolving it around in front of him. “So how did you even manage the whole ‘talking’ thing knowing that you’re a…a horse?” “I’m a pony,” Fluttershy said, frowning slightly at being called a “horse”. “Right,” Barton muttered, groaning a bit. “Well, Fluttershy, I’m trying my best not to die here, so if you’d be so kind as to help us back into your house it would be greatly appreciated.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, her cheeks burning crimson. “O-oh, right! S-sorry about that, it’s just that I was about to help you…” she stopped mid-way, her eyebrow arching upwards and a hoof rising to rest underneath her mouth. “Wait…‘us’? There are more of you?” Barton’s eyes grew unnaturally dark. Fluttershy leaned in, her expression worried. “Who’s ‘us’?” Slowly, Hawkeye turned his head back to the tree lines, to the exact area he left her in. He just prayed to God he wasn’t too late, or whatever god was out there in this crazy, little world. “A friend.”