IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG for Angie to retrieve her spear from the detainment area. She found it still lodged in the lock of Sam's cell. All that emotional rollercoaster probably made her forget it there.
She grabbed the shaft of the weapon and pulled it out swiftly.
The others must've been close to the exit at that point, and so Angie began running as fast as her legs could carry her to catch up with them... but a distant whooshing sound stopped her dead in her tracks.
It sounded like a rocket being fired without the explosion. Looking around, her surroundings seemed to be completely deserted which unnerved her even more. After a moment of pause to catch her breath, she reached for her earpiece to contact Morse and Hunter.
"Agents, what's your location?" she called out, looking around frantically for anything that might pop out of nowhere.
"We're already in the jet!" Bobbi exclaimed.
"All six of you?" she was surprised but definitely glad they made it out so fast.
"Yes, all of us... where are you?"
"I'm still inside," she wasn't sure where she was exactly but she couldn't have been far from the exit at this point "Did you hear that sound?!"
There was some fumbling on the other end of the line. Angie frowned, listening closely as Morse or Hunter seemed to be taking off their earpieces — or rather someone was taking it off from them.
"Angie, it's me."
"Clint, what's going on?!"
"Listen, we're all on the jet and we're waiting for you. Don't worry about us, just worry about getting yourself out, okay?"
"What are you talking about?!" she felt increasingly more tense even though nothing had really happened. Her gut feeling was telling her that wasn't going to last.
"You trust me, right?"
Angie let out an irritated sigh. She hated when people spoke in codes and this was the worst time to do it "Of course I do. What the hell is happening?!"
"Then trust me when I tell you this: run."
Her mouth hung open slightly, a horrid feeling made the hair rise on the back of her neck "Are you crazy, you can't—"
"Angie, just run!"
Her arm fell back to her side. It took a second to gather her strengths, but once she did, she was racing madly toward the nearest exit. The unconscious bodies of the guards still littered the floor of the unit and she came close to tripping on them several times. It didn't take long before catching sight of the open gate and the pitch black sky outside.
She couldn't believe Clint was hiding something from her at this critical time, but maybe he had his reasons. Either way, she was almost there, she would find out soon enough.
Angie held on to the edge of the gate, looking down at the depth under her. The ocean spread a couple dozen meters under her feet. The height of the jump wasn't unnerving but the darkness of the water definitely was. She didn't know why she was feeling so tense, especially since she had swum in those exact waters on the way in. She just couldn't shake off the bad feeling in her gut.
Angie could make out the silhouette of the Quinjet close to the surface, ready to pick her up.
"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Clint's voice resonated in her earpiece.
She glanced at the water under her feet and closed her eyes, but just as she was about to make the jump... she heard the whooshing sound again, it was much closer this time... and it was getting louder by the second.
In a second, the crash of the waves and the howling of the wind were all muted, leaving her only to hear the loud thumps of her own heart... and that whooshing sound.
Perhaps, the four years away had fazed her memory, or perhaps she had been in denial since the first time she heard it... but now the realization was hitting her with full force. She now understood why her senses were blaring, why Clint was so panicked and why the government hadn't sent any new troops, even though they were definitely aware of her intrusion.
The reason why that whooshing sound made her stomach drop is because it sounded so familiar...
It was the sound of the thrusters on Tony's suit.
When Angie opened back her eyes, she looked up at the skyline where the pitch black water melted with the night, and it felt like her heart stopped... or rather, she wished it did.
It was dark, very dark, but she could still make out the silhouette of the Iron Man standing in mid air. He was completely frozen, barely a dozen feet away from her.
Angie felt her hands shake uncontrollably. Of all the time she thought about seeing him again, she never imagined it would happen like this. No matter how many times she expected to snap out of her hallucination, the Iron Man was still right there.
It felt like someone was twisting her insides and the fact that he was so static made it even worse. She wished his helmet would open up so she'd be able to read the expression on his face, but it remained closed and he said absolutely nothing.
They stayed like this for a long while, although she couldn't tell how long exactly. Somehow, time had stopped moving.
Angie was the one to break eye contact; it had become unbearable. Without thinking, she took a run up and jumped out of the gate into the water, wishing the ocean would swallow her right there and then. She began swimming furiously toward the jet where the others were calling her name.
In a few seconds, she was already hoisting herself up onto the open ramp of the Quinjet. She was panting, not from the effort, but from her distress. When she looked up again to the skyline, Tony was still there. He was still completely motionless but the way his arms rested weakly at his side told her all she needed to know.
The Quinjet rose higher and higher above the ground, preparing to take off. She heard some footsteps on the ramp and soon, Clint was helping her get back on her feet.
"I'm so sorry," he told her, glancing at Tony's silhouette in the distance "I didn't want this to happen."
Angie said nothing, she kept her eyes locked on Tony as the ramp of the Quinjet closed slowly. Right before it shielded her completely from the exterior, she looked up at him one last time and mouthed a silent I'm sorry — knowing it was way too dark for him to see it.
⁂
A DEADLY SILENCE settled in, the entire flight back. Angie sat in retreat, her knees drawn up — as if that would shield her from the uncomfortable glances everyone was throwing at her.
No one had the drive to speak about what had just happened. Although Clint tried to get a few words out of her, Angie shut him out completely. She needed time to process and maybe tone down the fierce self-loathing that was eating at her.
All that changed, however, when they landed back at the base in New Jersey. The former prisoners were lead inside by some agents. Most of Angie's guilt and doubts chipped away once she saw the look on Laura's face and Clint's children running up to their father.
For a second, it made her feel better about herself, but that didn't last long; not even when a tear-faced Laura pulled her in a tight embrace, thanking her profusely.
Even then, Angie barely managed to croak out a few words to Clint's wife. She could tell it didn't escape Fury's piercing gaze. The Harpy might've been in shock but she hadn't gone deaf and she distinctively heard when the Director turned to Clint for an explanation:
"What happened to her?"
Clint glanced back and forth between him and Angie, a look of deep concern on his traits "Stark was there."
Fury's eye widened in surprised "Did he try to stop you?"
"No."
"You're kidding me, right?"
"He didn't try to stop us because she was there."
Angie had no willpower to listen to people talk about her like she wasn't standing right there. Their awkward conversation was getting awfully slippery, and she took it as her cue to promptly leave the room without a glance back.
⁂
The next day seemed to be an especially long and tedious one. It had a lot to do with not being able to get a wink of sleep the night before. Either way, Angie knew she wasn't going to avoid the sorry looks and exasperating questions about how she was doing.
Well she wasn't doing very good. Not at all, really.
As much as she tried, she couldn't shake off the image of Tony standing in mid air, staring at her through the slits of his iron helmet... she would've given everything to see him again in less messed up circumstances.
Despite everything, she didn't regret the mission. She still wholeheartedly believed it was the right thing to do... but what if Tony didn't forgive her for this? What if it had destroyed the remnants of the bond they once had?... if there was any of it left at all.
If there was one thing Angie learned from the last four years though, it was not to be self pitying. And so when morning came, she repressed her inner turmoil, as she always did, and dragged herself to the briefing room of the base where Fury was waiting.
She had gotten quite good at keeping her emotions in check. After all, there was no need to put everyone else on edge over her personal problems... if Fury was to be believed, they already had big, big problems of their own.
According to the ex-Director, the breakout mission had caused a massive shitstorm over the night. Government forces were already pushing an international manhunt for the four fugitives. This meant Clint, Scott, Wanda and Sam couldn't stay in the base for long.
Looking around, the four Avengers stayed remarkably calm. They must've expected something like that to happen. After all, if Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were wanted criminals, surely they would be too.
The ones who weren't taking it so well though, were Clint's family. Naturally, Laura and the kids hadn't left his side since they'd gotten him back.
At that point, everyone started talking over each other which meant Angie quickly stopped paying attention. She found herself watching the toddler in Laura's arms. That baby was probably the only person who wasn't going to drain her soul today.
The little boy met her gaze as well and began babbling happily in her direction, which didn't escape Laura. She shifted back and forth between her son and Angie before cracking a small smile.
"Nathaniel seems to like you," she told the Harpy "Could you hold him for a minute? So Clint and I can discuss a few things."
Angie was caught slightly off guard but her traits quickly softened "Uh... sure."
She took the toddler a bit timidly at first, but managed to secure him comfortably between her arms. The little boy stayed miraculously calm as his mother stepped away to talk privately with her husband, leaving Angie alone with him.
The Harpy didn't have much experience with children; at least not in the last few hundred years... not since Fenrir disappeared.
That thought alone made her heart sink.
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I am so sorry for the lack of update, med school is kicking my ass at the moment. I'm still committed to this story but the chapters might take a bit longer to be posted from now until the end of the semester. Thank you so much for still taking the time to read ♡
ANYWAY, hope you enjoyed this chapter, the Tongie reunion did not go so well hehe, were you expecting it? I'm very curious about your predictions so leave 'em all in the comments!
-L