Under or Over: Hawkeye & Black Widow

CHAPTER #30

Barton on Bird followed his tacker beacon to a mountain range. While they were cloaked he could see men working, hauling rock and dirt from within a cave.  They were dressed in HYDRA gear.  

"Bird report this location to Jarvis.  I'm going in for a closer look. Stay cloaked.  I'll be connected with the com link," Clint said. He then put the molar cap on and the ear piece in.  "Do you have a sun roof by chance?"

The top part of the jet retracted, "will this do sir?"

"Perfect. Get as close to that mountain as you can, then I'm dropping down."

He wasn't going to take his bow and quiver, as it was too easily seen.  He planned on taking out a HYDRA agent and then putting their suit and mask on.  He'd pretend to be one of them.  So he strapped on his throwing blades. When he was ready, Bird got into position and he jumped down. Barton rolled to absorb the impact.  Then he climbed the mountain face and waited for an agent to bring out another load of rock. As the HYDRA man passed beneath him, he leaped on to the man.  Even if the impact hadn't broken the man's neck, Barton's well placed foot would have finished him anyway. He dragged the body outside, behind a boulder and then quickly put the man's clothing on. Then the body he hid under the pile of rubble, that was dumped from the container, that had come out of the mountain's mouth. He slung the man's gun around his neck and shoulder, then pushed the container back inside, along the track.  Once he was deeper into the mountain, he saw how much work had already been completed. In a few days their new compound would be done.  First chance he got, he followed the tunnel further into the mountain.  The place was huge and crawling with HYDRA personnel  Barton felt like he was in an ant hill, there was so much going on.  When he heard an agent talking about Natuska being in the mountain compound, receiving the last of the weapon shipments, he knew he was in the right place.  His plan was not to take out this location, but to kidnap his ex-partner and force her to return to USA with him.  He was convinced she was hypnotized or under some form of mind control. He'd take her to Stark's place and they'd help her together.

** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **

While Barton was infiltrating HYDRA's compound, Stark and Banner were making accidental discoveries with the Black Diamond.  The incident occurred when Stark's chest arc reactor needed replacement. He put the used unit down near the diamond, where they were working.  As he inserted the new one, the diamond's energy signature jumped.  Then when they put the used reactor closer to the diamond, it divided itself and the new portion fused with the reactor.  The energy read out of this fused reactor, was higher than when Thor would blast lightning right at Iron Man.  The diamond rejuvenated the reactor's power and then some.  When they put a fresh, unused arc reactor chest unit near the old one, the diamond jumped ship.  Instantly it linked to the new reactor. Against Banner's warnings, Stark put the newly fused reactor into his chest. There was no bad reaction, so he put on his Iron Man suit to see if it would work with the new power source.  

"Stand back Bruce, I'm going to try and blast that concrete block." Tony stood within his suit enjoying the power that flowed through him.

"I don't think this is a good idea, we need to run more tests.  Analysis is not complete!"  Bruce argued.

In answer Stark blasted the concrete.  Not only did it disintegrate, but it opened a fist sized portal.  Tony looked at his hand and back to the portal, "did you see that?  Jarvis are you getting any readouts off the portal or from the diamond?"

"Yes Tony on both."

"Is it a universal portal or dimensional?" Bruce asked.

Jarvis answered, "universal."

Tony got worried, "how do we close it?"

His question was met with silence.  So he said, "if anything tries to come through, while we figure it out, have the Hulk plug it with his fist. It's small enough, that should work."

"That's a temporary solution Tony," Bruce warned.

"I know, but it's all we've got.  I'm going to take off the suit and change my chest piece.  Maybe once it's disengaged the portal will close or time out."

To their relief it worked.  The portal closed.  The data that Jarvis had gathered during the whole discovery, they would analyze and dissect.  Stark was careful to make sure the black diamond remained out of reach of the arc reactor.

"I wonder if we can duplicate that reaction, or if it was just accidental," Tony mused.

"Let's hold off on doing that again,"  Bruce reasoned.  "We need a safer way to close the portal.  If the diamond is trying to get home or call in re-enforcements, then we need to be ready."

"Why'd you have to take the fun out of it?" Tony sighed.

They were working on the portal data readouts, when Jarvis reported what Bird relayed from Barton.  "Hawkeye found the new HYDRA compound in the Slovakian Mountains.  He's put on a HYDRA uniform and entered the mountain.  Bird has lost contact."

Bruce looked at Stark, "either the mountain or their technology is causing interference."

"He can handle himself.  Jarvis just let us know when communications are re-established," Tony instructed.

They focused their attention on the data and the arc reactor. Then compared the energy fluctuations of the original diamond versus the new diamond that was created with the division.  Both gave off the same energy readings.  Banner worked with one diamond and the second one was worked on by Stark.

"At least we now know how to duplicate the diamond," Bruce said.  "But what is it about the arc reactor that caused it to do so?"

"Maybe the clean energy," Tony hypothesized.

** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **

While they continued to work with the diamond and on the portal information, Barton was deep in the HYDRA mountain.  He was making his way to the area where their weapons were, because that's where he'd find Romanoff.  Since the HYDRA uniform covered his face, no one bother him, as they believed he was one of them. He made multiple excursions to various areas of the compound, before he got to the technology area.  From the guys there, they said the weapons depot was up a level from there.  Barton noticed that some of the things they were working on, he recognized from Stark Industries.  Stark was going to be pissed to find out that little piece of information.  The upper level was on lock down, so he couldn't get up there that day.  Instead he was told that tomorrow all levels were expected to be operational.  He back tracked the way he had come and left the compound.  Bird picked him up and Barton returned to his hotel. He'd go back late that night, after paying his tab and eating.  He'd return as the HYDRA agent and get Romanoff out of there the next day. That was his plan.