Chapter Text
Clint was surprised when his cell door opened.
They’d been on the Raft for nearly a month. He was steadily going more and more stir crazy. Doing push-ups. Pacing around the cell, 12.04 feet long, 9.1 feet wide. You’d think the measurements would be exact, 12X9. But they often were just a little bit off. He’d had time to calculate all sorts of things, angles, lengths, plotting a way to get them all out, just waiting for the right moment.
And then Captain America himself stepped into his cell. Except it wasn’t Captain America. The shield was gone, along with the uniform. It was just Steve Rogers standing in front of him in a black zip-up jacket.
“You my new bunkmate?” Clint asked, not moving from his current position of lounging on his cot.
“Only if you follow me.” Steve said.
“Following you got me in here.” Clint pointed out.
“Which makes it my job to get you out.”
“And if I don’t want to follow you after we get out?”
“That’s your choice.” Steve said, face giving nothing away. Clint stared for a long moment, assessing. Steve didn’t waver, as always. And that was the thing with him, wasn’t it? He never fucking wavered. That was what made him so easy to follow at times. But also made it hard to trust him if you didn’t 100% agree with him.
“Clint?” Wanda appeared behind Steve. The power collar still around her neck, but at least she was out of that damn straight jacket. Clint stood immediately, shouldering past Steve to get to her.
“You alright?” His voice was soft as he touched her shoulder. Wanda liked physical assurance, he’d seen that with her brother. Once he knew she trusted him to touch her, he tried to give that physical comfort as often as possible.
“Let’s leave.” She said.
“Not without getting that thing off you.” Clint ran a finger along the collar. It would open with the right key. He looked up and saw Sam, and T’Challa walking towards them. That explained the rescue party.
“We don’t have time right now.” Steve said. “We have seven minutes before reinforcements get here.”
“Like hell we don’t.” Clint spat, and that was the first real show of his anger towards Steve. They’d gone up against their own people and Steve had left them all to be caged, and in Wanda’s case, collared.
When he’d said that some of them might have to lose in Germany, Clint hadn’t meant this. Hadn’t meant watching Wanda be kept in a collar and straightjacket while he was twenty seven feet away. Watched her refuse to speak or eat to the point where they had to force feed her a liquid diet. He’d had a month to stew and build up his anger and now he had someone to direct it at.
“My sister will be able to remove the collar. It may also be best to free her in an open and safe environment; we do not know what may be released upon opening it.” T’Challa said, calmly and smoothly.
“He’s right.” Wanda said, reaching out to grasp Clint’s hand. He felt her heartbeat fluttering in her palm. “I am okay. I want to leave.” Clint still paused for a moment. “Now.”
Well, alright then. Clint nodded, squeezing Wanda’s hand. “What about Scott?”
“I’ve been offered a deal.” Scott chimed in from his cell, he was leaning against the glass, watching them all. “I’m taking it. I can’t abandon Cassie. But you should all go.”
Yeah, Clint had been offered that deal too. Could’ve gone to live with his brother and family on their farm. But that would’ve meant leaving Wanda completely alone. Her brother had died saving Clint, there was no way he was leaving her now. Clint clicked his teeth together and turned to T’Challa.
“Lead the way.”
They raced down the halls out to the hanger bay, Steve leading as always, with T’Challa taking up the rear. The ceiling was already open and a small… plane? Ship? An aircraft of some kind that Clint had never seen was waiting for them. He assumed it belonged to T’Challa, which, no way is Wakanda not a highly technologically-advanced society. He’d guessed that after seeing T’Challa’s suit. When they fought in Germany, his arrows had ricocheted off in a way that was eerily similar to what they did when they made contact with Steve’s shield.
They all climbed into the aircraft, where a woman was sitting in the pilot’s seat, clearly waiting. Tattoos were inked into her shaved head, and she glared at them all as they came in, even T’Challa.
“We are running low on time. Reinforcements are two minutes away.” She said, and Clint recognized a similar accent to T’Challa’s. He settled onto one of the bench seats close to the cockpit so he could see, keeping Wanda tucked against him. Sam and Steve sat down across from them, while T’Challa strode forward to stand by the woman.
“Go, Okoye. Now.” T’Challa commanded. Okoye, the woman’s name? The door closed behind them and they took off into the open night sky.
There were several long minutes of tense quiet. Everyone waiting to see if something would happen. Clint kept track of Wanda’s heartbeat by resting a hand on her wrist; she was hiding her anxiety well, but he could feel the evidence of the adrenaline likely pumping through her veins.
Finally T’Challa’s shoulders relaxed and he stepped away to come back to the passengers. “They will not be able to track us. Ms. Maximoff, if you would allow me to scan the device, I can send the scan to my sister and she should have a way to remove it by the time we land.”
Wanda nodded and stood. T’Challa held out a small grey device that whirred and projected a pattern of lines from the bottom of her jaw to the top of her collarbone. He circled her once and turned the device off. He touched it to a circle of beads on his wrist, which flashed briefly, then set the device aside.
“It is a few hours to Wakanda; there we will remove the collar.”
“And then what?” Clint asked.
“You have all been granted asylum in Wakanda, though not publicly. You may remain in my country so long as you commit no crimes against my people.”
“And where’s the Winter Soldier?” Clint asked. “I’ve noticed he’s not on the rescue team.”
“Bucky’s back in Wakanda. In cryostasis.” Steve answered. All eyes turned to him.
“You left him there?” Sam asked incredulously.
“He’s being watched by the Wakandans. And someone I trust.”
“Who?” Clint couldn’t help but think that everyone Steve trusted was probably on this plane or, apparently, in cryostasis.
“Natasha.”
*
The aircraft landed a few hours later, just as the sun was rising. Which meant Clint got to watch them make their entrance into Wakanda. The only thing that kept him from jumping up and shouting that they were going to crash was Okoye, T’Challa, and Steve’s absolute calm. The projection passed them and he stood to look out over the city.
Yup. Wakanda was not what it presented itself to the rest of the world. An advanced city covered in far more green than any other he’d seen was spread out in front of him, lights still visible against the pale dawn.
“Home.” Okoye said, and Clint realized she had lost the agitated glare. There was a glimmer of pride on her face. He understood why.
They landed and the door opened onto an open area in front of a large building with glass walls. Everyone filed out behind T’Challa. “Ms. Maximoff, if you would follow me to my sister’s lab, we will get to work on taking the collar off. The rest of you can follow Captain Rogers to your rooms-”
“No.” Clint interjected. “Where she goes, I go.” He stood slightly in front of Wanda, not willing to let her be separated from everyone she knew.
“Clint,” Steve sounded exasperated. “We’re guests here.”
“It’s fine, Captain.” T’Challa said.
“If it’s all the same.” Sam said, “I’d like for us all to stick together.” He made eye contact with Clint, nodding slightly.
“Alright. Guess we’re all going.” Steve said. They followed T’Challa into the building. Okoye broke off to go upstairs while the rest of them made their way down. Clint formed a mental map in his head, keeping an eye on the many guards around them. The spiraling white ramp down into the lab gave him a full 360 degree view before they reached the bottom.
Clint wasn’t a tech geek, but he recognized highly advanced technology. Tony would shit himself if he knew this was here. Clint shut the thought of Tony out of his mind immediately. Who cared what Tony thought anymore? He was even more responsible for that collar around Wanda’s neck than Steve was.
“Shuri.” T’Challa called out as they neared the bottom. “I have brought you some guests.”
Shuri appeared with a bright smile. Clint was struck by how young she was. Younger than Wanda even. This was the person that was going to get her free?
“Ah, I was only expecting the one, Brother.” Shuri said, her tone teasing. “But I suppose this is not surprising.” She approached Wanda immediately and Clint had to stop himself from smacking her hand away from Wanda as she touched the collar.
“You can get it off her?” Clint asked. Shuri nodded, not looking up from the collar. She lifted some of Wanda’s hair to look at the back.
“Yes. Though I would prefer not to do so in my lab. There are many delicate materials and equipment down here. If Ms. Maximoff experiences any surge she cannot control, I would prefer it not be near explosive material.”
“I can control myself.” Wanda said, looking defensive.
“I mean no disrespect.” Shuri said, dropping Wanda’s hair and stepping away. “We do not know what will happen once I take the collar off. Have you had your abilities restricted in this way before?”
“No.” Wanda admitted.
“It is only a safety precaution. Not a judgement on your control.” Shuri assured Wanda.
There was something about the absolute genuineness of her expression. Maybe that, combined with her age, made Clint believe her. Shuri clearly wasn’t afraid of Wanda, not with the way she’d immediately approached the Scarlet Witch and touched her.
“I do need to run a few more scans on the device.” Shuri said. “The handheld one my brother used didn’t give me a clear enough picture for me to figure out how to disable the failsafe.”
“Failsafe?” Steve asked.
“There is a small explosive at the back of the device. If I do not disable it before removing the collar, it will kill her.” Wanda paled slightly and Shuri rushed with assurances. “I only need a better scan. I believe I know how to disable it, but I want to be certain. This will not take long.”
Twenty minutes later Shuri completed her scans. “Yes, this will work.” She mused, mostly to herself. Clint was leaning against one of the stone walls, keeping his eyes on everything. Wanda sat in on a stool, hair in a loose braid that Shuri had coiled up in a sort of bun atop her head, while Sam and Steve were talking quietly in a corner. “Alright, I have it. We will use the landing platform, it should be clear.” Shuri announced.
They all trooped back up the winding ramp, Clint keeping a hand at Wanda’s back. Then they were back outside, where the sun had fully risen and the aircraft was gone, leaving a wide expanse of open air. Clint took a deep breath, and noticed that though they were in a city, it didn’t smell of smog or pollution. There was a current of spices he couldn’t identify just at the edge of the air.
It smelled good here. And it felt good to breathe open air in the sun.
“You ready?” He asked Wanda. She looked up at him and nodded.
“I’ll remove the collar. I suggest the rest of you stand back, just in case.” Shuri said, holding what looked like a bracelet of thick beads with white markings on them. T’Challa, Sam, and Steve stood back a few yards away, but Clint remained with Wanda. He stood a little in front of her, so he could see her face.
“She won’t hurt me.” Clint said.
Shuri looked to Wanda, silently asking if it was okay that Clint stood there. “I won’t hurt him.” Wanda confirmed. “Or you.”
Shuri seemed to deem that satisfactory. She put one bead near the front of the collar, near the red lights that indicated it was on, and one at the back of the collar where Clint assumed the failsafe was.
“In three,” Clint squared his feet and kept direct eye contact with Wanda. “Two, one.”
The collar fell off into Shuri’s hands and Wanda’s eyes glowed red.
Shuri took several steps back as heat emanated from Wanda and red flames burst from her hands. Clint remained planted, crossing his arms over his chest. Wanda gritted her teeth and he saw the struggle in her face. A month’s worth of rage and power rushing back into her. Her veins were alight with red magic.
“Shuri!” T’Challa yelled, but Shuri also stayed where she was after her initial retreat.
“I am fine!” She called to him as she stared at Wanda, watching her struggle for control.
Clint felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck, but he stayed where he was. “You’ve got this.” He said, keeping his cadence calm. This was something he could do. He could stay right here for Wanda, to give her a reason to contain her power.
Wanda raised her eyes to him, then glanced above her head. He wasn’t sure what she was doing until both of her hands shot up and released a fury of red, magic-laced flames. Wanda let out a cry of anguish, the scream ripped from her throat involuntarily. The fire above them was tumultuous. If Clint had looked up, he would have been able to see faces in the flames.
The heat stopped.
Clint uncrossed his arms and wiped the back of a hand across his forehead. Wanda lowered her hands, panting slightly, but not sweat-drenched like Clint. She staggered toward him and he caught her, taking most of her weight.
“That was amazing!” Shuri seemed to be full of delight. She came back to Clint and Wanda. “And I am very glad we did not do that in the lab.” She smiled and Clint felt Wanda shake a little with suppressed laughter.
“You were right.” Wanda conceded, voice slightly crackly after her scream. Clint ran a hand up her back, soothing away some of the tension.
“Is everyone okay?” The rest of the group had run up to them, followed by several of the red-uniformed guards Clint had seen earlier.
“Princess! Are you alright?” One of them shouted. They were holding spears and looked ready to put one into Wanda. Clint curled himself around her just a little bit more.
“We’re fine.” Clint said. “Everyone’s fine.”
“Hell of a lightshow.” A familiar voice purred from just behind him. Clint whipped his head around.
“Christ, Nat.” He muttered. She smirked, one corner of her mouth raised.
“Are you sure you are alright?” T’Challa was asking Shuri. She was grinning wildly and nodding. Steve and Sam had taken up slightly defensive positions on either side of Clint and Wanda, as the guards were still holding their spears in a way that made it clear they were ready to take action.
“Come on. Let’s get you all inside. I think Wanda could use a sandwich.” Natasha strode away in the direction of another building, ignoring the guards. Clint would follow Natasha anywhere, so he pushed forward, still supporting Wanda.
Half an hour later the defected Avengers, as Clint had taken to calling them in his head, were sitting in a shared kitchen area eating an enormous pile of sandwiches, cut fruit, and some kind of salad with vegetables that Clint wasn’t entirely sure what they were. Well, most of them were eating the salad. Clint had taken three sandwiches and was working his way through all of them. He’d been locked up for long enough, if he didn’t want to eat vegetables, he damn well wasn’t going to.
Was there pizza in Wakanda? There had to be. Pizza was universal, right?
The sandwich was some kind of roast beef with a thick bread studded with grains. It was fucking delicious too, especially after prison food. Even Wanda was eating with gusto, though she seemed to like the vegetable salad.
“Where’ve you been Nat?” Clint asked as he neared the end of his third sandwich. Sam and Wanda’s eyes went to her. She was perched atop a counter near the table, watching them all like a mother hen. Natasha was motherly in her own way, she watched the people close to her and evaluated what they might need.
“She’s been here.” Steve answered.
“I didn’t ask you.” Clint whipped out his response. “Last I heard Natasha was with Stark.” He turned to direct his voice at Natasha. “And you know I love you pauk, but I seem to be missing how you ended up here.”
“I helped Steve and Bucky escape from the battle in Germany. After that it seemed unlikely that I would be allowed to return to the U.S. without being imprisoned in the raft. I went underground for a few days, but I was paying attention. I knew Steve and Bucky had gotten out of Siberia alive, I contacted Steve once I figured out where he was. Now I’m here.”
“So you were a double agent?” Clint said.
“Not… not exactly.” Natasha seemed hesitant. “It wasn’t my intention to cross Tony, but once I realized what was at stake…” She drifted and stopped. Clint knew that was as much as she would be willing to divulge right now.
“Natasha did what she felt was right. And I’m grateful to her for that.” Steve said. His plate was empty and he leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his face. “Without her I would’ve been on the Raft too. And I don’t even want to think about where Bucky might be.”
“You said he’s in cryo now?” Clint asked.
“Until we can figure out how to remove the programming from his mind.... Yes.” Steve didn’t seem happy about that at all.
“I might be able to help with that.” Wanda said.
“No offense Wanda, but I don’t think Bucky wants anyone digging into his mind.” Steve said, standing and taking his plate to the sink.
“I don’t need to change anything if that makes you uncomfortable. But I can look and see where the... “ Wanda paused, seeming to search for a word. She muttered something in Sokovian. “Anchors? Where the programming points are. I’ve seen Hydra’s programming before. They tried to use it on my brother and I. It did not work because I could see what they were doing.”
Wanda didn’t talk much about her time in Hydra. Or her brother. Clint felt the gravity of what she was offering.
“Steve,” Sam said. “I think Bucky would let her do it.”
“I don’t like the idea of someone messing around in his head.” Steve said.
“Someone’s gonna have to in order to fix it.” Sam argued. “And Wanda’s seen it before. Firsthand. Shuri hasn’t been able to make much progress, it could take months or longer. Wanda might be able to fix him today.”
“I cannot fix him.” Wanda interjected quickly. “Only remove the programming. If what I have heard about him is true, he is going to need time to heal.”
Clint wasn’t sure what to think about all this. Barnes had seemed fine enough to him in the twenty minutes he spent with him before the battle. They hadn’t really spoken and the guy had seemed twitchy, sure, but not broken. But Clint had heard about the trigger words used against Barnes. Had been questioned about it at one point on the raft in fact. And he knew what it was like to have control taken away from you. To be turned into nothing more than a weapon.
Blue flashed in front of his eyes for a moment, but he blinked it away. Not now , he told himself.
“None of that can happen right now.” Clint said. “We all need sleep. Wanda especially. She’s been awake for days.” So had Clint for that matter. He couldn’t bring himself to sleep when Wanda was so far gone. She did nothing but stare at the wall for hours, and he had been helpless-
He cut off the thought. They were fine now. Wanda was free, they were both free.
“You guys get some sleep. I want to check on Bucky.” Steve said. “I can discuss the possibility of Wanda helping with the Wakandans. See what they think.”
“I’ll come with you.” Sam said, standing from his seat. “I don’t need sleep right now.”
That was interesting. Clint glanced at Natasha to see if she noticed it too. Sam didn’t want to leave Steve. If Natasha noticed anything she wasn’t letting it show. He needed to talk with her alone at some point soon.
“Give us six hours.” Clint said. It was still early in the day in Wakanda. If they wanted to set their circadian rhythms properly they shouldn’t sleep at all until later. But Clint figured they could pass on that for now. He would want to sneak around tonight anyway to get a good feel for the place.
They each had their own room with a large bed, a desk area, a dresser, and their own bathroom. They seemed to be in some kind of guest wing for what Clint would call the Wakandan Palace. T’Challa was a king right? Kings lived in Palaces? He’d taken a long shower and came out into the room with only a towel around his hips. He didn’t want to put the prison scrubs back on. If they let him, he’d burn them later.
Fortunately there were clothes in his size in the dresser. He pulled on underwear and soft black sleep pants. The room was warm enough that he didn’t bother with a shirt, instead he fell facedown onto the bed and let out a long groan. That prison cot had sucked. His feet always hung off the edge unless he curled himself up. Now he could be spread-eagle on the bed and still have enough room to roll over.
Clint fell asleep.