"Agent Barton."

"Hmm. Five more minutes, Steve..." Clint slowly rolled on to his back and his good arm lay over his eyes, shielding them from the light. He was still on his low cot.

"Agent Barton!" The guard roughly grabbed Clint's shirt and pulled him up. The archer snapped awake and looked at the guard in fear. The man only smirked. He was glad to be bringing him pain.

"You are to answer me when I call you," the guard growled. Clint's expression didn't change. He was thrown back down against the cot. "Didn't you hear me!?"

Clint quickly lifted up his thin pillow and grabbed two tiny, SHIELD issued, devices. Hearing aids. He shakily put them in his ears.

The guard smirked again. "Perfect."

Clint winced as he adjusted the hearing aid in his right ear. "What?"

"You're deaf." The guard span around and exited the room before Clint could say anything else.

The archer laid back down on the cot and looked up at the white ceiling. He soon heard the familiar click of heels on the tile floor.

Hawkeye sat up just in time to lock eyes with Red Nails.

"Hey, baby," she purred. Clint wished he hadn't put his hearing aids in. "I just came to give you some medicine." She took out a little black zip up bag.

Clint eyed the bag. "What's that for?"

"You're medicine." She unzipped the bag and pulled out just what Clint didn't want to see: another needle.

"No thanks."

"You have no choice."

"Figured." He reluctantly held his good arm out.

She did not go for his arm. Instead, Red Nails went for his neck. She quickly tilted his head to the side, then jabbed the needle into his neck.

Clint cringed in pain and tightly shut his eyes. Soon after the needle was removed, Clint felt a warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside. It took over his whole body. He didn't even notice two guards enter and pull him upward. The archer let them drag him away.

"W-where are you taking me?" Clint asked, trying to shake the dizzy feeling off.

"The doctor wants to see you," Red Nails said flatly, not turning around as she led them to the makeshift operating room.

"Doctor wants to see me again?" Clint ducked his head, suddenly feeling like it felt ten times heavier.

The guards didn't say anything until they arrived in the dark room. Clint was pulled up onto the metal table and held down.

"Wait..." His mind was clearing up.

Straps were tightened across his body.

"Stop!"

They didn't listen again. His hearing aids were taken out. They could hear him, but he couldn't understand them.

"Help!" Clint yelped, trying to squirm away from them. He felt the guards trying to keep him still.

Hawkeye read the lips of one doctor and made out the word: 'begin'.

He felt firm hands roughly hold his head down so that his left ear was centered under the light.

"What're you doing?!" Clint cried, trying to force the hands away from his head. His wrists were grabbed and restrained to the table.

His 'deer caught in headlights' expression did not change until he felt something cutting into his ear. He felt blood pour out of the incision and down his face. There was pressure, then Clint didn't feel anything else. He was out for the rest of the second forced operation.

21 Days

Beep...beep...beep...

Steady beeping of a monitor was the first thing Clint heard when he woke up.

Wait. Heard?

His hearing was back. Hawkeye was afraid to learn how he regained his hearing, though.

The archer cracked his eyes open to see hazy forms of people in front of and beside his bed.

"Clint..." A woman's voice quietly called out. Her voice echoed in his ears. He felt her hand gently latch on to and hold his hand.

"Natasha?" Clint's vision cleared and he noticed his Budapest partner in front of him.

Except Natasha couldn't hear him. His voice only sounded like mumbling and whimpering.

Natasha ran her hand through his extremely short hair. "Why is it so short?"

Clint watched his teammates shake their heads or shrug.

They operated on me twice! Please help me! Clint's eyes begged. The only sympathy he got was Natasha giving him a kiss on his forehead.

"You'll be home soon."

They're giving me twenty-one days to live! Help!

21 Days

A doctor and Red Nails watched from behind a mirrored window. They could see into Clint's temporary room, but the Avengers couldn't see them. Steve kept looking at the mirror, having suspicions.

"Captain America knows something," the heavily-Russian accented doctor told Red Nails.

"Relax. They'll be back to see their friend. If they find out about Barton having twenty-one days to live, we'll kill them all. Go out there and act like nothing is wrong."

Just something for you guys!

By the way, feel free to check out my new Avengers/ Supernatural story: Branded. It's about Bucky Barnes and Castiel teaming up and running from Hydra and Shield.