A New Generation, a New Villain (An Avengers Fan Fiction)

A New Generation, a New Villain - Chapter Six

I gritted my teeth.

"Arm back, squirt," Tony said.

I slowly pulled my arm back a little.

"Bring your bow higher."

I whirled around, exasperated, and glared at Tony.

"Would you be quiet?" I looked at Clint pleadingly. "Aren't you going to make him be quiet? You're supposed to be teaching me, not him."

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Tony. Don't you have anything better to do?"

Tony grinned.

"Nope."

"Everyone else is training," I retorted.

"I don't need to."

"Of course," I replied under my breath, and resumed my bow position. Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Okay, bring your hand up so that it's right beside your mouth-parallel."

Tony strode out of the room, much to my satisfaction.

"Focus...focus," Clint said quietly.

I ran through my brain, chucking out everything, scraping it clean. And then I focused my attention in on one thing. That little target several yards away.

"Release," Clint said suddenly.

I released-whizz!

I took a deep breath and realized my eyes were closed. I opened them and glanced up at Clint. He smiled that slight, satisfied smile and nodded.

"Good job," he said. "Just try not to close your eyes next time."

I turned my eyes to the target. It was in the center, but I hadn't quite made a bullseye.

"It's not...good enough."

"Good enough?"

"You make a bullseye every time. I've only made two or three since I began training with you."

He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned against the wall.

"They call me Hawkeye for a reason."

"I know that."

"Then why are you beating yourself up about not making a bullseye?"

"Because I should be able to make one almost every time by now."

He let out a noise that sounded like a snort.

"Yeah, no. Reni, you just started training."

"But I've been training so hard."

"That doesn't matter. It takes time."

I replied with silence. I was a bit surprised-Clint was usually a man of few words.

Clint fiddled with his bow.

"You know...you're going to be in a whole new world now. More responsibilities. More power. More danger. But I'll guarantee you one thing. You'll have more respect after this. You won't be seen as a kid anymore. You'll be treated like an adult by almost everyone you know."

My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I felt conflicted-excited, yet anxious. Eager, yet a bit sad at the thought that this might just be the final end of my childhood.

"Well..." Now my voice trailed off. "Well, that's good."

Good? I screamed inside. Is that all you can think of to say? You're weak. You really need to grow up.

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow.

"Good..."

A rather awkward silence hung in the air.

"I um...better go find my mom or Natasha. I've got a long day of training ahead of me." My voice was strained.

Clint nodded.

"See you later."

Feeling cornered and pressured, I made my escape from the room and hurried down the hall. I'm such a perfectionist, I thought. And a failure, came a voice from within me. I am not, I argued. Yeah, whatever.

I quickly made my way toward the center of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. I stuck my head in Natasha's training room. No one there. I wandered over to the shooting range. No one there, either. I crossed my arms and looked around. "Where is everyone?" I asked out loud. Silence replied. Things seemed...deserted. I decided to head for the conference room and hurried in that direction.

Something made me slow my steps. I don't know what it was, but it made me stop. Maybe it was the stillness. The silence. Not a placid silence, but a rather uneasy silence. Everything seemed so...deserted. Usually, the headquarters were abuzz with activity. I began to take small, quiet steps toward the conference room door. It was slightly ajar-just slightly. As I came very near to it, I could hear murmuring voices. They sounded tense. I put my eye to the crack. I could see Fury and one of the on-staff doctors inside, and Agent Maria Hill standing to the side, her arms crossed in that usual manner of hers. I turned my head and put my ear against the crack so I could hear the conversation, trying to quiet my seemingly loud breathing.

"I've doctored up many bullet wounds for Miss Natasha. Never have I seen her take one so hard," came a somewhat unfamiliar voice. The doctor's.

"So, what are you saying?" came the commanding, deep-voiced reply from Fury.

"I'm saying-" he paused. "I'm saying that whoever these people are...Loki, Alexius, the Ferox...they have produced some sort of superior bullet. You better figure it out, or it'll cause real problems."

I raised an eyebrow. Superior bullets? Real problems?

Just then, I saw a figure come quickly toward the door. I backed up frantically, turned the corner just outside the door, and did my best to lean non-chalantly against the wall and stare at my shoes as Fury and the doctor passed. Fury and the doctor passed silently, looking straight ahead, still tense, but Agent Hill gave me a sharp look as she passed. Everyone often said that if looks could kill, Agent Hill would be an assassin.

I let out a deep breath and looked around. Everything was still silent. I dove my hands into my pockets and set off to find Natasha.