Kylie POV
It felt amazing to be home again. And I don't mean New York. To me, the farm where I spent the first eight or so years of my life would always be home. It was there that I first learned how to shoot a bow and arrow with my father. I spent countless days playing in the woods or cooking in the farmhouse kitchen with my mother. Back then, there were no worries, even when Dad would go off on his SHIELD missions.
That's why I had chosen this place as my safe haven. That, and this place was off official SHIELD record. Dad had made sure of it when he got the place. He had wanted to make sure that no enemy of SHIELD could come after me or my mother.
So now, walking through the forest back to the farmhouse, I felt carefree and like a child again. It felt amazing after all the worry and stress I'd been through in the city. Despite the fact that Peter was in New York, the farm would always be home.
I finally arrived back at the farm. It hadn't been hard to find, considering I knew the surrounding woods like the back of my hand, but it had taken a hot minute to reach. When I did step out of the forest and back into the clearing where the farmhouse was built, I smiled broadly at the sight of my childhood home. Memories of happiness and laughter flooded my senses, and I closed my eyes to relive them. This place brought me back to a time when I always knew things were gonna be alright, and right now, that was a feeling I sorely needed.
I approached the house, and was surprised to find that it was exactly as we'd left it ten some odd years ago. Dad must have been coming back here to clean it up every once in a while. I stepped through the familiar doorway, and found that my Lego sets were still put together and left in random spaces on the floor, creating dangerous booby traps for those with bare feet.
I carefully navigated through the living room and walked to the kitchen. I opened the old pantry door and found it fully stocked with dried and canned foods that could last a long while. There were also a couple cases of water bottles at the bottom. Dad must have been planning to hide back here in case of an emergency.
I left the kitchen and all it's goodies and made my way back through the Legos in order to go upstairs. I climbed the still sturdy steps and walked to my bedroom at the end of the hall. I opened the door, which creaked as it swung open, to reveal that my little room hadn't changed a bit. My little full sized bed was still adorned in light green sheets, and my walls were still painted in a forest pattern. My tiny tea table still had a tea set intact with my stuffed animals enjoying it. And finally, there were still drawings of my family posted on my wall.
Every one of them had one. I had drawn Thor, Tony, Bruce, Nat, Dad, Steve, Wanda, Vision, Bucky, Rhodey, and even Pietro and Fury, though I never met Pietro, and I didn't meet Bucky, Sam, and Rhodey until much later. I drew them from the descriptions and stories my father gave. I approached each childish drawing and ran a finger along the lines of them. I looked up, and saw the sign I had made that said "My Family" in jagged crayon. I smiled wistfully at the simple time, when I knew I could trust all of my family. But that time wasn't now.
My smile faded as I remembered how my father took me down, in civilian dress no less! I knew it was his mission, his job, but couldn't he have spared his own daughter? Shouldn't he have helped me escape, and not Bucky and Bruce? Not to say that I didn't appreciate their help, because I did, but I was also heartbroken that my father didn't bother to help me. And neither did Aunt Nat. Two of my closest family members, and they betrayed me and refused to save me. What kind of family is that?
I felt my nostrils flaring and my body trembling in anger, and in that anger, I ripped my father's picture off the wall. I watched it flutter to the floor, and felt tempted to rip it to shreds, but I certainly wasn't that angry or violent. I threw myself on my tiny bed and cried. I cried that my family betrayed me. I cried out of anger, and out of sadness. I cried for the brokenness of my family, from the broken members themselves to their terrible pasts. I cried so hard that I eventually cried myself to sleep, with tear streaks across my face and swollen red eyes. That was how my father would find me.
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Clint POV
I saw her eyes widen in shock as I shot the dart into her neck. She slowly turned and stared at me dazedly as she pulled the dart out of her neck, but I could still see the betrayal and hurt shining in her eyes as she collapsed to the floor, but I quickly darted forwards and caught her before she could hit it. I gently swung my little girl up into my arms. I carried her out of her room like she was a baby again. Nick Fury was waiting for me in my living room.
"Good work, Barton. I know this was hard for you, but we can't let them run around unregulated like that. We can't make exceptions, not even for family. Besides, we just want to ask her a few questions. Figure out how she got her powers back after all this time," Fury told me.
I nodded numbly, his consolation meaning nothing to me. His words didn't make what I did any better. They didn't erase that I betrayed and captured my own daughter for SHIELD. I didn't know what they planned to do with or to her. I hung my head, refusing to answer, instead choosing to stare at Kylie's sleeping face. She would be so upset at me when she woke up, and I had no idea how to make it up to her.
We walked out to the awaiting SHIELD transport, where one of the agents tried to take Kylie from me. I tightened my hold on her and glared at the man. I climbed into the back of a van with my daughter held tightly in my arms. I was alone with her in the back as the transport moved out. Stroking her hair, I began whispering quietly to her.
"Hey, it's okay, honey, Daddy's here now. I'm so sorry I did that to you. If I could have avoided it, I would've. But this is my last mission, baby. I'm retiring after this. Your mother is waiting for me and we're gonna travel for a minute and then stay back at the farmhouse. I'm gonna try and help you out of this, Kylie. I'll try and make sure they don't keep you drugged, because I know you can escape any prison if you can move properly. And I'll explain everything to you, Strela. I'm so sorry, and I love you so much. Your mother, the team, we all care about you a lot, and we're gonna help you in the coming times, Kylie," I rambled quietly.
It was then that I noticed that we had arrived at a far-off SHIELD facility. The doors to the van opened, and I carefully climbed out, still carrying Kylie. I brought her in surrounded by agents, ready to attack any potential threats. Fury had me bring her to a cell similar to that of Loki's while we debated what to do with her.
I laid Kylie down on the little cot and exited through the sliding glass door that I'd left open behind me.
Fury closed and locked the cell back and led me to a conference room. It was empty, bare of any people except Fury and I. And just like that day at the hospital, he disabled all the cameras and microphones with the push of a button.
"You and I both know that Kylie has done nothing wrong. That's why we just want to talk to her, get her involved with SHIELD, we don't want to keep her locked up like some criminal. Same goes for her little spider pal. I'm going to need you to talk to her, Barton. Figure out what happened and what we need to do. Romanoff is out because she is headed for a mission in Africa with a majority of the team," Fury ordered.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't. I can't do anything else for you. I'm done. I'm retiring. And not just from SHIELD, from the Avengers, too. I can't handle this anymore, Fury," I growled lowly.
"Retiring? Think this through, Barton. It's not going to end just because you shut your eyes to it," Nick persuaded.
"I just shot my own daughter for you, Fury. I'm out. Laura and I are getting away for a while," I rejected.
"Back to the farm?" Fury inquired.
"No, the place is probably run down and unlivable. None of us have been there since we left. Probably all overgrown and mangled, and Kylie knows it too. She barely remembers the place," I denied. Lies. All of it. Lies.
"And what about Kylie?" Fury asked.
"I can't face her after this, after what I've done to her. She's strong, she can get through it. And besides, she has her uncles and aunts to help her," I dismissed. I didn't dare tell Fury that I thought she'd be gone ten minutes after she woke up.
"So that's it? You can just walk away?" Fury demanded.
"It's all I can do," I replied simply. Then I stormed out, headed for the tower, where Laura was waiting for me.
When I arrived back at Avengers tower, I was surprised to find that Laura was the only one waiting for me. Bruce and Bucky were gone. They hadn't been sent to Africa, as they were the 'unstable' members of the group. If they aren't here, then where are they? I asked myself.
Laura was sobbing in a spare room when I found her. I quickly approached her and sat on the bed with her. She looked up at me and threw her arms around me as she cried.
"It's all my fault, Clint. My fault! I'm the one that lured her in, her own mother!" She wailed. I knew she felt tore up about this, but I didn't know it was this bad.
"Shh, shh, Laura it's alright. And besides, I'm the one that incapacitated her, her own father. If it's anyone's fault it's mine," I soothed.
"No, this isn't your fault, Clint. I'm her mother, and it was because of my irrational fear and worry that she lost her powers in the first place!" Laura denied.
"Now that was no one's fault but SHIELD's," I said sternly. "They were the ones that suggested that, they were the ones that tried to control something they didn't understand."
"But they only suggested it because I was afraid of my own daughter!" She yelled.
"You weren't afraid of her, Laura, you were afraid for her. You just didn't want her to hurt herself or do something she shouldn't on accident," I corrected her.
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled the device out and read the notification from Fury. Kylie's escaped containment with the help of Hulk and the Winter Soldier. It read. My eyes widened, though I was expecting that she would have escaped. I was more surprised by the help that she had. So that's where Bucky and Bruce got to. Another buzz sounded. She's teleported away somewhere. Barnes and Banner took off in a quinjet. Tracking impossible.
"She's out, Laura, she's free. And I know exactly where she went," I told her.
"Does SHIELD?"she asked worriedly.
"No. It's off the records. And Fury thinks it's a pig sty," I replied.
"He doesn't know about you going back and cleaning it up and stocking it?" Laura wondered.
"If he does he hasn't said anything. He feels just as guilty about all this as we do. Kylie's still got him wrapped around her pinky," I assured her.
"We have to go to her, apologize," Laura rambled.
"No. They'll expect for us to do that. They will be looking for the both of us. You're going to get on a plane to Tahiti. I have a phone call to make," I planned.
"But you said they'll be watching for us. If you're going after her, they'll find her," she protested.
"Like I said, they'll be looking for the both of us. Not me by myself. And anyways, I'm not getting on some normal flight. I'm calling Bucky. I can only hope he'll answer me," I explained.
"How can he help?" Laura asked as I began looking for his contact.
"He's on a quinjet in stealth mode. It's untraceable," I told her. The phone began ringing. One ring. Two. Please pick up. Three—
"What do you want, scum? You're lucky I even answered for a traitor like you," Bucky snarled.
"Just listen. I know where Kylie is, and I need you to come and take me there," I said frantically.
"How do we know you aren't leading SHIELD right to her just like a trained dog? And why should we do anything to help you after what you did to Kylie?" Bucky demanded.
"If I were leading SHIELD to her and knew where she was, why would I need you two to take me there?" I asked.
"Maybe you're trying to bring us in, too," Bucky reasoned.
"Look, if you won't listen, can I speak to Bruce, please?" I implored.
"He isn't doing any speaking right now, he's still very angry with you, and I'm not sure it would be a good idea to give him this phone. All he's done this whole conversation is breath heavily and growl when he hears your voice," he chuckled.
"He's still Hulked out?" I asked.
"Oh, yes, and he's still pretty upset, at you in particular. It would not be smart for you to get on a plane with him," Bucky responded.
"I don't care. I need to get to Kylie. I'm here at the tower with Laura. And if I were still helping SHIELD, wouldn't I have had them trace this call, or the phone you have on the quinjet?" I tried to convince him. There was a long pause.
"Fine, we'll come. But at the first sign of SHIELD we're out. You better hope Kylie is as trusting as us, because you hurt her bad, Clint. I could see it on her face. It's a look I know all too well," Bucky threatened before he hung up.
"Did you get the ticket, Laura?" I sighed. I turned to face my wife.
"Yes, a taxi is on its way to pick me up," Laura answered.
"Good," I nodded. "Bucky and Hulk should be here shortly."
Laura sniffled again, and her face looked ready to crumple. I held my arms out and she ran into them, shaking. I held her close and rocked her, rubbing her arms and back,
"I'll tell her everything, Laura. I'll get her back," I assured my wife. "I love you, I'll find you when this is over."
A taxi honked out front. Laura stepped away from me, wiping her eyes as she picked up a small suitcase. I walked her out to the taxi as she continued to sniffle quietly. I watched as she climbed in the taxi, and pulled away. I thought of Kylie, and how I could possibly stop her from pulling away from me like that taxi.