Frozen Web

Chapter 12

Natasha stayed in front of Clint protectively as she computed her options. She dreaded getting into another one-on-one fight with Loki; he'd already banged her up pretty well, and her broken hand would be a big liability. But all she had to do was keep Loki at bay until the rest of the team showed up. They'd be here soon… right?

"Your threats are getting a bit repetitive," she said. "Honestly, it's a bit boring."

"Boring?" Loki repeated, almost incredulously, as he took a cautious step closer. He seemed to be a mixture of amused and frustrated. "Then allow me to… spice things up a bit."

"Bring it on."

They watched each other warily, each hesitant to make the first move. Loki struck first, lunging at her with his knife ready to strike. With her bad hand, she knocked his blade away and jabbed up with her own blade, catching him under the arm. He hissed in pain and slammed his arm across her chest, knocking her backwards. Then he hit her across the chin with a punch that lifted her off her feet and slammed her into the wall behind her. She slid to the floor, stars exploding across her vision, but bounded up again quickly, already instinctively shielding herself behind her knife.

But the attack she had braced herself for didn't come. Instead, she looked up to see Loki holding a knife to Clint's throat, and she realized with horror that she had banked on the wrong strategy. Loki didn't want to kill her right now—he wanted to get her away from Clint.

Loki noticed her horror with relish. "It seems the great Black Widow isn't so brilliant after all. You didn't consider this little maneuver, did you?"

"This is between you and me," Natasha said tightly, forcing her voice to stay hard and not reveal the emotion roiling under the surface. "Let him go. He's nothing."

"Nothing?" Loki repeated with a malicious smile. "Then you won't mind if I dispose of him."

He pushed the blade further into Clint's throat, puncturing the surface. Clint grunted in pain as blood started seeping around the blade.

"No, don't!" Natasha cried.

"I knew you had more feeling than that," Loki said smugly as he pulled back the blade. "You can't lie to the god of lies, spider. Throw down your weapons or I'll tear his throat out."

Natasha wavered, gouging the distance between her and the demi-god. He was only feet away; she could lunge forward and reach him. But she didn't know if she could do it fast enough. So with great reluctance, she let the knives go, despairing as they clattered away from her on the ground.

"Good girl," he said. "Now I think it's time I show you what happens when you defy a god."

"What do you want, Loki?" she asked.

"I want you the way you're supposed to be," he hissed, anger once again coloring his voice. "I want you on your knees before me, begging for mercy." When she didn't move, he shouted, "I said on your knees, b***h!"

She would never have taken that on her own, but she had Clint to worry about now. So she dropped to her knees.

"Oh, I like this," he said, his gaze sweeping her body hungrily. "Beg for me, little spider."

"You pathetic asshole," Clint wheezed out. "You can't even fight a woman without hiding behind another man."

"Shut up, archer," Loki snapped, pushing the knife deeper again.

Natasha glanced at Clint worriedly, shooting a look that she hoped he'd understand as SHUT UP! Did he want to get a blade through the throat?

Clint ignored her, continuing his taunt. "You can't kill me yet, or she won't do what you want. Without me, there's nothing to stop her from kicking your ass."

"I said, shut up," Loki growled.

And then Natasha realized what Clint was doing. If she gave in to the demi-god now, it was only going to delay the inevitable; he'd still kill Clint. But if she could lure him away, maybe she could buy enough time for the rest of the team to arrive. It was a dangerous gamble, but she'd have to try it. There was no other choice.

"Clint's right," she said scornfully, standing back up. "You're not even man enough to fight me one-on-one. No wonder your father was ashamed of you. No wonder both of your fathers were ashamed of you."

The temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop twenty degrees. Loki was shaking with rage. He'd completely forgotten Clint as his murderous intentions focused on Natasha.

"I'm going to rip your heart out," he snarled, and he lunged at her.