Age of Heroes

Bringing Down the House

       Natasha watched her assignment closely like a spider views its next meal. She could tell a lot about a person by watching them. It had been part of her training for the USSR. The Avengers had been an open book. Before Stark ever opened his mouth she had known he was mostly ego. She had been able to tell there was more to Bruce under the surface. On the other end of the scale was Steve who hid no secrets. An all around good guy, the first Natasha had ever met. Thor's body language screamed royalty.  And Clint...well that was another story. Matt Murdock unnerved her. Not only because he had known her when she had hidden her true self but their was something else as well. She watched him now as he defended her friend, his head never turned to the person he was speaking too.  It was not the fact that he never faced the person he was talking to that unnerved her but the fact that he always seemed to know what was happening. She almost didn't notice when Foggy gave the closing speech and the court broke for the day. She glanced at Steve who looked tired. A shadow fell across her desk. She resisted the urge to draw her gun. Matt offered Nat his hand. She glared at the hand for a moment in disdain until she realized the glare was pointless and felt a bit silly. She was about to stand by herself when he grabbed her and pulled her up. Nat was so shocked she forgot to break his arm.
"What do you think you are do..." the sentence was cut off by the thunk of metal on wood. She glanced at the back of her seat and her heart nearly broke. Embedded an inch in the thick wood was a black arrow. The arrow's familiar purple stripe was unmistakable.
"Your speech was great but I didn't think it would actually bring the house down!" yelled Foggy moments later as a large chunk of the ceiling smashed the expensive desk he had been sitting at moments before. The sentence was filled with dark humor.
"Mortals," Thor roared "Flee! This is a place for warriors."

People were yelling and screaming as they stampeded for the exit. Karen pushed Matt along trying to help him to safety, while Matt was doing his best to keep his frustration in check. Foggy was helping Steve who was arguing.

"I need to help Thor. He doesn't have his strength or his hammer,"
"Are you kidding," yelled Karen in her most no nonsense tone " Right know the best you could do is fall over on whoever is attacking. I mean even Foggy is stronger than you and that is saying something."
"Hey," said Foggy.
"Besides the agent lady is there and most likely called Shield for back-up."  Natasha felt like she had just stepped back in time.  Last time it had been on a helicarrier not in a court house but once again Clint was trying to put an arrow through her heart. Is this a metaphor for our relationship status? She thought. She leaped from table top to another landing with grace atop the judge's desk and from there Hawkeye's neck. Legs twisted in a death-grip she threw him to the floor. The arrow he had been about to release was knocked from the nock on his bow and hit the floor. Dark gray fog expanded from the arrow tip hiding everything from view. Nat could hardly see the hand that held her blaster and Clint was gone. Fighting blind would not slow the Black Widow but Clint's best asset were his eyes. She found herself meaning the complement in every way. A flash of red caught her eye then disappeared back into the fog. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders from behind while she was distracted. She didn't fight the force but leaned into it throwing Clint up and over. Nat watch admiration as Clint preformed a midair roll to land on his feet. Snap out of it, you can compliment him when he is not trying to kill you she told herself.

Hawkeye apparently didn't have the same problem at the moment slowing him down. A hand slid into his boot, and a flick of his wrist sent a throwing knife flying. Natasha dove but knew Hawkeye never missed his target. Clang! The sound of metal on metal filled the court as a billy club knocked the deadly dagger out of the air.

With a leaping twist Daredevil landed on Hawkeye's chest knocking the hero flat for the second time in as many days. This time the red hero was not as lucky, Hawkeye seeing the move coming had managed to get an arrow between them  impaling Matt in the shoulder. Thick blood dripped down Hawkeye's gloved hands. The two heroes wrestled, neither managing to gain the upper hand both trying and failing to pin the other.
"Men," growled Black Widow slamming the chair into the back of each of their head for some cognitive re calibration. Tossing the new and unusual but useful choice of weapon out of the way she bent down shoving the red hero out of the way to make sure Clint was OK. She stroked his hair gently. She could already feel the bump forming under her fingers. Well, he had survived and forgiven her last time. She would just have to cross her fingers. Leaving Clint's side for a moment she moved to Daredevil.
"Why does Dragon want you?" Nat muttered to herself. Her gaze flicked up and down the fearless hero. He was slightly bigger than Clint but if she put him next to Thor he would look like a matchstick. He had fought well but nothing Natasha couldn't have done herself. He was clearly not bullet proof and had no healing factor since the arrow wound still dribbled blood. Nat reached forward and tugged back the crimson leather hood.