I want Coulson back, I really want Coulson back, no more Summers. I  mentally complain in my head as I drop on the couch like a dead weight...onto something hard and uneven, not a couch. I lift my head and see Bruce looking at me worriedly as I groan and roll over only to fall off the couch, onto the floor and I could not care less, I want to sleep.

The phone rings, and rings and rings "sir Barton it appears to be for you" JARVIS says and I groan but wave my hand in acknowledgement and Summer's face appears on the wall "GET UP BARTON WE'VE GOT A MISSION IN 5" She yells and hangs up. I sigh and push myself up onto the couch and grabbing Tony's coffee, downing it and getting up while slinging my bow across my back "see you guys later". It's barely midday

Bruce's POV

I look at the rest of the team, they all seem to be as worried as me when Clint nearly bumps into the doorframe on his way out and curses his way down the stairs each time he stumbles which I dont even have to explain why that's worrying "JARVIS check Clint's health" Tony orders and a few moments later the disconnected voice answers "74 and a half hours with no sleep, multiple bruises, scrapes and lacerations but none needing medical attention, sir" and we all catch our breath "JARVIS open up SHIELD databases" Tony orders and we all look at him strangely "Fury finally realized that he cannot keep me out and let me in" he explains.

JARVIS then shows us the SHIELD databases "get Barton's files from the last few days" many many files pop up "when was the last time he had time to rest?" Steve asks and Jarvis says a simple "about 3 days ago" he answers and the entire team's breath catches "he's gonna get himself killed like this" Natasha mutters and Bruce had to agree, she had a very valid point "JARVIS can you intercept Barton's flight?" Tony asks and the answer is revealed when a hologram of a plane appears and seems to veer off course.

Wow if even JARVIS is that worried for Clint then something HAS to be up, in addition to the fearful look he had when the woman yelled I don't know what's going on but I know that it's not good and Clint's gonna get away hurt. Tony zooms in on the missions one by one "Bombers in Washington. Attack on princess of England, protection detail. Protection detail on some scientist. Assassination on some gang leader. JARVIS single out the one he's on now" files scan by at lightning speed before stopping on the second last one, marked with red "close range assassination of some dictator, wanna-be-Hitler. Specifications: public, no guards or civilians injured or killed, close range (no bow, gun or projectile allowed)".

Natasha looks at the file and scans up "this was meant for Gunnerson, who is being disavowed if he didn't die so why is Clint on it? This is a suicide mission" she observes and checks that the plane is still veering off course. Steve checks the info "who is that woman who called?" he asks confused "That's his temporary handler, since Coulson... She's an ex militant and actually a lower rank than Clint" Natasha answers and Bruce frowns "what rank is he?" Natasha smiles fondly "Major" she answers and scans over the info again.

Her eyes freeze on something, a footnote "Caution: this is a suicide mission, a set up and only to be used when agents are in need of disposal" she reads and there is a hint of realization and a growl in her voice. My eyes widen and I demand "JARVIS call Fury, hurry" "of course Mr. Banner" A few agonizing rings later Fury's voice asks "what do you want Stark?" and I answer "Summers sent Clint on the suicide mission, the one with close range dictator annihilation" and you can hear Fury splutter and choke on something, probably coffee.

Fury starts yelling and cursing in the background "sorry Rogers" Steve just smirks and Fury asks "you think he minds cursing? He cursed me out by using the mother" Fury clarifies "the fourties weren't as you think ya know?" Steve says looking directly at Tony "well I guess I was wrong" Tony mumbles as he plays with the hologram with the plane, zooming in to see in the windows but nothing shows. Tony curses before switching to night vision to see Clint in a seat, alone with no pilot and a bomb on the engines "shit" he swears "JARVIS connect me to the plane's audio and preferably visual too"

Clint's POV

I was confused when Summers shoved me onto a plane and didn't follow but I got on, too glad to think of the possibilities, once on the plane I checked my knives and slid them into my sheaths and waited, I was too wired to sleep, I had a bad feeling about this one. Like really bad, about as bad as when the tesseract started to glow, wait not that bad, maybe a little less bad but still. 

A while later and I'm still flying to who-knows-where but I know I'm over the Antarctica waters when an  explosion comes from the right, the plane stutters and I race to the cockpit only to see it empty with the right engine blown up "shit shit shit" I mutter as I sit down, strapping myself down and being really glad that I know how to fly. I look for a place to land and don't see any besides the freezing waters and I am no Steve Rogers. I type a transmission to tell Nat that I'm sorry. It's 4;13

I spot a small island in the gloom and make a decision, I get up, walk to the door, grab a parachute before halting "this was a set up" I mutter and think, they's probably got censors and if SHIELD agents want to kill me they'll make sure that I'm dead so I can't land this thing anyplace but the water so I pull the parachute onto my shoulders and set the autopilot to dive and as the plane lurches I find myself stuttering for a few moments, almost slamming into the back of the plane but once I get to the door I make my calculations and once I find a suitable distance I jump.

Tony's POV

We watch in horror as the holo-plane's engine blows up right before JARVIS can connect and a few moments later it starts into a nosedive into the ocean, Steve freezes and watches in absolute shock until the plane is submerged in the icy waters "is this how Peggy felt?" he murmurs as he backs himself to slump against a wall. I start yelling at Jarvis to get a fix on the location "sir it is off the coast of Antarctica" JARVIS answers "there is an island a few miles North of where the plane crashed, should I arrange a flight?", I nod, unable to speak as I think of possible ways he survived but I decide not to fool myself.

Natasha stands and walks calmly to the elevator with the grace of a stalking lioness and we all follow in various stages of shock, leaving the silence of Fury over the phone call "Call Summers in and get a medical bed ready" she murmurs quietly. Once we make it to SHIELD headquarters we head to Fury's office to see Fury sitting there staring at a woman, a blonde woman with blue eyes that turned to us in shock as we entered, she stares at Natasha in fear as the black widow stalks her "why?" that's all Natasha asks.

The woman straightens and looks Natasha in the eye "He was compromised, he killed agents while following Loki, he deserved to die" that hit a nerve with all of us "and why are you the one who decides that?" I ask and she smirks "I'm his handler and a part of this project; project broken wing, well was before  he died" she says, sounding proud in a 'I just killed an Avenger' type way. The team takes positions all around her as the widow induces the widow's bite "and now so are you" she says to the dead body. Fury sighs as he looks at the body "you said medical, not morgue" he says and Natasha smiles "a life for a life. Depending on who else was involved in this" she says as she leaves.

Clint's POV

Once I touched down on the icy snow of the island I collapse, I can't use my phone to call for help. I need to find civilization but my body won't react, shock settling in with exhaustion as my body drops to the ground but not before I see smoke across the snow as I fall. It's a few minutes later \ that I wake up -never was one to spend a lot of time out cold -  warm, ...warm, that's the first sign that something's off and it has me awake and alert real fast and on my feet even faster but what I see relaxes me, it's a wooden cabin with a small family of 3 in it; a mother, a daughter and a baby, they watch me in apprehension before the daughter gives me a bowl of soup "we found you in the snow, couldn't leave you to die" the mother explains.

I eat the soup in silence "thank you for your help" I mutter and look around the house, seeing my bow against the bed "thank you" I murmur appreciatively and take out my phone, not my SHIELD issued one or my Stark one but the one I use for contacts and call Rhendon, one of my old buddies from the army "hey Rhendon, I'm kinda stuck here, I'll explain on the way so I'm cashing in that favor so please pick me up, low-key, no military involvement" I say as the beep signals for voicemail. I turn to the woman, seeing the need for necessities 

I turn to the phone and say "bring some necessities as well, some food,  bottled water, medicine, generator and heater" I say and hang up, tossing my phone to the woman and saying "keep it" as I walk to the snowy outside or front yard and waiting, I don't have to wait long to see the black helicopter dropping a basket with what I ask and a rope. I grab the basket and drop it at the door with a quiet "thank you" to the woman who is suckling her baby, still shivering, I start the generator and hook the heater on and let that work, leaving the food and water and medicine in the basket. 

I drag my jacket closer to my body and grab the rope as the helicopter takes off, speeding in one direction or another as I climb the rope, making slow progress until I grabbed hold of the door, I knocked loudly and heard a "who's there?" in response "open" "open who?" "open the fucking door Calum!" I yell as the cold bites into my feet where I lost my shoes and the door opens, a warm hand grabbing by wrist and pulling me inside where I blow on my hands "where to?" Calum asks, I didn't even think about that, New York would be the obvious choice but with SHIELD after me....yeah no "Hell's kitchen" I say, knowing one person who would help me there, Calum raises an eyebrow but I nod adamantly. 

We set course for Hell's kitchen and I try to sleep but I'm so wired that's not happening anytime soon so I watch the water roll by, tides and shades. A long 18 and a half hours. I check the clock to see that's it's already about midnight

Steve's POV

This is like going back in time to see when I crashed, as Natasha hunts down the group responsible for Clint's death one by one, taking each one out before Fury can talk sense into her, Tony says that there was a helicopter at the island but since there was recently a flood we assumed that it's a necessity drop off and ignored it. 

Natasha doesn't think it's a possibility that he survived since the last transmission he sent was "The hawk flies the nest, too early" and apparently that's a code they designed for when he had no chance out "Now I have to tell his boyfriend that he's dead, you might be glad that they're dead now" Nat says to Fury. He sees as confused as the rest of us as Natasha dials a number "hey, yeah you need to get here NOW.... I don't care if Steve's here, Clint...just get here" she demands and everyone looks at me "this person knows me?" I ask and Natasha nods "He's avoiding you" she clarifies,

We wait a few minutes and soon the elevator dings open "what about Clint?" a horrifically familiar voice demands as he steps inside the room "he's dead" Natasha says cutting to the chase, even if it is Bucky and even if he does have a permanent weapon as an arm and everyone is confused before putting 2 and 2 together, Clint was dating Bucky, they were together. Bucky seemed to freeze and swallowed thickly "Clint...died?" Bucky demands, his voice cracking as Fury aims his gun at him but Fury's hand falters as his voice cracks, Natasha takes a deep breath "SHIELD agents haven't been treating him nicely since Loki, his new handler worked him to the ground and then sent him on a suicide mission with a plane set up with a bomb on one engine. Barton sent out our message 'The hawk flies the nest too early' and then it was a nose dive into the ocean with the ice freezing over him" She says.

Bucky clenches his fist and lets out a low growl "where are they?" he demands in a low, threatening voice "dead" Natasha says calmly  "You always get first shots and then leave nothing for me" "You would torture them" "well yeah they KILLED my BOYFRIEND" that's when it finally seems to set in and Bucky collapses, I'm the first to react. I grab my friend and hold him to my chest "he was my boyfriend Steve, I trusted him, I- I loved him" he mumbles miserably as I rub his back.

Clint's POV

Once the helicopter is out of sight I race down the streets and up onto the rooftops to the apartment I know so well "Clint" Matt / Daredevil says in exclamation as I enter and I greet with a curt "Matt" before shooting the 2 Russian mobsters that he was fighting "I need a favor" I say as they drop and he lifts his masked face. I grab his arm and drag him to his room "I need you to come with me to New York, SHIELD's after me and I need to get to the Tower without them seeing me and if they do, they can't get to me" I say as explanation as he pulls his mask off. He's frowning "sure I'll help you man" he says but he's still frowning.

I decide to call him out on it "what's up, blind eye?" he glares at me in annoyance "why're they after you?" "Loki probably" "yeah but why now" "probably because now is the only real chance they had to make it look like an accident" "oh"... A tense silence follows before he pulls his mask back on and straps one more knife to his thigh in addition to his katanas. I follow him silently as we get in his car and make our way to the tower, I'm still exhausted but still don't allow myself to sleep as the wasteland rolls by. another 3 hour drive

We stand there in front of the tower and look around for any SHIELD agents, I spot one and another spots me "down" I tell Matt as we drop and I launch a knock out arrow at the one that I spotted as the other fires at me, a bullet burying itself into my side. How the hell can't the team hear this? We make it through the door and immediately make for the elevators only to see it blocked with another agent already aiming at us "SHIT" I swear as I lead Matt to the stairs, a spiral staircase, thank god, I think as I shoot a grappling arrow and grab onto Matt "hold on" I tell before pushing the button that reels in the arrow's string. 

We zip past at least 25 floors before I grip the rope, burning tersely and jump onto the floor and hit the ground running, my ankle protesting, Matt firing shots behind me "what you aiming for?" "what else? Drones" I internally curse at my luck and drop as a bullet barely flies over my head, I take aim and shoot, rendering one useless as the other can't see us. Matt takes that one out with his gun and we head for the elevator "SHIELD really wants you dead, don't they?" Matt asks, panting and bleeding from a bullet wound on his left arm "yeah, can't think why".

It's lame but Matt laughs at the sarcasm lacing my voice as we get in the elevator "JARVIS?" I ask, hoping that luck's on my side this time which thankfully it is and JARVIS answers "Agent Barton, shall I direct you to the common room? Or medical?" he asks and I eye Matt's arm "you go to medical, I'll get my team" I say to Matt and JARVIS takes that as a command. He drops me off first and as I stumble out of the elevator everything goes quiet "Barton?" Natasha asks and I nod, panting with my hands on my knees, well one hand on my knee, the other gripping my side. Then a body slams into mine and I drop to the floor "Clint!" I'd recognize that voice anywhere "Bucky" I murmur into his hair as I squeeze my fists behind his back "I thought you were dead!" he yells and my eyebrows furrow before realization dawns on my "I'm so so sorry" I say into his ear as I feel tears land on my chest.

The team watches me in shock "you're not dead" Tony states "yeah there's this thing called auto pilot and sorry Steve but I'm not you" I say , Steve just waves me off with a smie "good to see you alive" I sit up only to grit my teeth "sit rep" Bucky says, feeling my body tense "bullet wound to my side, probably a cut on my hand from the rope, sprained ankle, probable hypothermia and possible infection" I say as I close my eyes "oh and sleep deprivation, let's not forget that" I conclude as my head hits the floor, my mind finally telling my body that's it's safe to sleep after 4 days of nothing at all "You can't sleep yet Clint, come on stay awake" Bruce says n the background. I can't sleep now though, the blood loss would kill me "Matt's in medical, I think I should join him and take out those drones and agents later"  I say and Bucky picks me up "I can walk you know" I protest weakly "yeah you can but you shouldn't" Bucky retorts.

Before Bucky leaves my room after I've been fixed up I grab his metal hand and pull him down, he lands on me but chuckles and rolls to my side "night Bucky" "Night Clint"