A New Infinity Stone

TWENTY THREE

Clint's POV ...
"It is impossible to know which stone she will go for next. But, one thing is for sure, we need more people on our team." Loki exclaims; his voice is low and almost a whisper, but, at the moment, it seems like the loudest thing in the room.

We all remain seemingly frozen in our seats as each of us ponders what to do next and who to call. We all have our own networks of people, but the more people we contact, the higher the chance of Mellona and her people finding out what we are up to. Cap is the first to speak up.

"Tony and I will call Sam and Rhodey. Sam also knows a guy that is ant sized, or something."
This causes us to all look at our Captain with confusion.
"Are you sure he got that right?" Natasha asks.
"I'll double-check. But, as Loki said, we need as many people as possible."
"I know a kid." Tony pipes up. "Highly annoying, but effective."
"You know a kid?" Bruce questions. "That doesn't sound weird at all."
Tony rolls his eyes. "He's called Spider-Boy or Spider-Kid. Anyway, he's from Queens. I'll get on him."
"So, we have an ant and a spider. Any more bug people we should know about?" Pietro chuckles.
"Loki and I know a sorcerer. He has one of the Infinity Stones in his possession. We will get him."
I scoff. "You want to let Loki loose in the city? Is that a good idea?"
Thor narrows his eyes at me. "I will keep him on a tight leash, Clint. Do not worry."
Steve speaks up again before I can throw out a sarcastic retort.
"There's this King. Bucky went to him when he went into hiding. I'm sure I can get him and some of his warriors on board."
"A King? What like the King of England?" Tony questions.
The whole room falls silent as we stare at the so-called genius.
"England doesn't have a King." Nat mutters with a slight smile on her face.
"Actually, Tony, he is the King of Wakanda, and he has a large amount of Vibranium weapons that we can use." Steve states.
"Yeh, I'm sure that the King of a third world country has one of the rarest materials in the world."
Steve just flashes a knowing smile as he glances at Natasha.
"Just focus on your Spider-Kid, Tony." She smirks. "Leave the big boys to the pros."
Nick Fury looks once more around the table. "Anyone else?"
We all remain silent, which seems to satisfy the Director.
"In that case, you are all dismi-"

Fury is abruptly cut off by the sound of a huge explosion. Everybody stands to attention, and we all grab our weapons. Stark's nanotech suit covers his whole body, and he is the first one out of the conference room. Thor and Loki quickly follow him while the rest of us attempt to catch up. Pietro zooms past everyone, and Nat is by my side in a matter of seconds.

"Have you got enough arrows?" She questions as we run towards the commotion.
"I never have enough." I pout.

We arrive at the scene, and dust filled the bottom floor of the Tower. Some sort of orange and blue spaceship has landed in the middle of the reception area, but Tony has it surrounded. Alarms are blaring, and we all take cover, directed by Steve, as we assess the situation.

"Come out with your hands in sight and move slowly." Tony's robotic voice echoes through the sound of alarms and falling debris.

The door to the ship opens, and a female figure steps out. For a quick moment, I think that it is Mellona, and I am up and running before my brain even registers my stupidity. Nat is faster with her reactions and manages to hold me back before I reach the woman. We wait for the dust to settle, and bright emergency lights illuminate the room. My heart sinks as I see that the woman isn't Mel. The green skin should have been the first indicator, but I guess I wanted to believe it was her. Two more people step out, and so does a racoon and a walking tree. What the hell are these people?

"Um, is anyone else seeing this?" Wanda questions as we all stand around in confusion.
"Is that a tree?" Loki asks.
"Someone call pest control; there's a raccoon in my lobby!" Stark yells.
"Who the hell are you calling raccoon?" The raccoon growls as he brings out a huge gun and aims it at Stark.
"Rocket, no!" The green woman shouts as she pulls the gun from his grip.
"Who are you guys?" Steve asks; finally, someone is taking control of this chaos.
"We're the fricking Guardians of the Galaxy." The human-looking guy speaks up. "Who the hell are you?"
"We're the Avengers."
The green woman smiles in relief.
"Thor? Thor Odinson?" She calls out.
Thor steps forward, his mighty hammer gripped in his hand.
"How do you know my name?" He booms.
"My name is Gamora. We have a mutual acquaintance. The Collector told me that you entrusted an Infinity Stone with him. I'm sorry to say, but he's been attacked, and the stone has been taken."
Thor nods. "I received a distress call from Knowhere."
"We are here to hunt down and kill Thanos before he obtains any more of these stones." Gamora explains.
"Then it looks like we have something in common, Guardians."