❝ In a mirror, darkly. ❞
• • •
Clint Barton. Spy, assassin, master archer. Caffeine addict. Hot mess. After the Battle of New York, Clint is forced to come to terms with the mind control Loki forced him into. The longer he's recovering, the cleare...
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CHAPTER TWELVE
Their flight to New York's LaGuardia didn't take nearly as long as Paige worried it would. The plane was spacious; reclinable cream leather seats two to each side, five rows, with private televisions for each. Paige elected to sit by herself for the flight, chewing on some Dunkin' Donuts she'd gotten at the Terminal and watching Forrest Gump. Sometimes she looked over to see Clint and Natasha playing each other in Chess, or Steve reading his book. But for the most part she minded her own business until they touched down on the tarmac.
"Welcome to New York. Your luggage will be loaded into an SUV and driven to Avengers Tower. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the drive to the gate," said the pilot over the PA system.
Paige clicked off her music. Forrest Gump had ended about twenty minutes before. She stretched her arms and looked out the plane window. Darkness greeted her, and a gentle rain pitter-pattered off the mulit-paned glass. The time on the clock in the plane read 8:42. She yawned.
When the plane came to a stop on the tarmac near one of the gates, they were allowed to leave via a tall set of removable stairs. Three large, black SUVs sat waiting for them. They were hurried into the middle one as the rain picked up. As the cars drove off, Paige quietly drifted off, head against the window of the SUV.
To Clint's tremendous relief, she woke up on her own as they arrived an hour later at Avengers Tower. As she came to, she noticed they pulled into a parking garage below ground. Dozens of sports cars lined the garage. The SUVs stopped at the end of the garage near what looked like an elevator.
The escort agents hopped out and opened the doors for their charges. Clint and Steve got out first, followed by Natasha. Finally Paige made her way out, climbing over a seat and looking around uncertainly. At first she didn't see anything other than sports cars.
"Capsicle and Legolas! And if it isn't Agent Romanoff. You came after all."
"Didn't have much of a choice, Stark."
Paige recognized the voice of Tony Stark immediately. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to walk around the SUV to see where he was. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stood beside the hood of the car.
"Well if it isn't the new kid on the block," said Tony with a smirk. "Welcome to the Tower, Rapunzel."
Clint cracked up at the nickname. "That's a good one. I like it. Rapunzel."
"Hilarious," Paige muttered. "I'm not going to be stuck in this tower, so no Rapunzel."
"Sorry, once I make a nickname there's no going back," Tony fake-apologized. He turned to the others. "Come on, Pepper's waiting upstairs."
They followed Tony into the elevator. Paige tuned out the conversation Tony gobbled on about with Natasha. He pressed "50" and the elevator quickly shot up. It took several minutes but at last the doors opened onto a large multi-level lounge area. The barking of a dog caused Clint to smile wide as they walked into the room.
