~~~~~~
"Jack, no!" Kate yelled
"What the hell is going on? And why is there an Avenger in my dining room?" Eleanor came in
"Oh my god...you're ....you're Archer" Jack said
"Hawkeye"
"Clint" he answered
"It's the branding issue, I'm telling you" she said
__________________________________
"The three of us are working on a case, and we needed to use the bathroom. He did. So, we were by the house, we dropped in. No big deal."
"Working on a case together?" Eleanor asked
"They're my partners" she said
"Nope not partners" Leo replied
"Well, we're friends-slash-partners" she said
"Wouldn't really describe you two as friends" Clint smirked, Leo's eyes widen knowing what he meant
"Someone used my laptop to sign onto my work account ten minutes ago. Any thoughts, Kate?" Eleanor asked "Hawkeye? Leo?"
"You'll never get anything outta them. See, CB-Ones has trouble opening up." Kate said
Then the conversation went on for a few more minutes until Clint and Leo stood up and went over to the door with Eleanor
"Uhh...Leo step outside for a minute?" Clint asked as he nodded and went outside
A few minutes later Clint came out
"Come on lets go" he said as they left the building
As soon as they made it downstairs Clint called
his wife as Leo stood there looking at his phone
"Come lets go back to the apartment" Clint said
__________________________________
The two made it to the apartment were they first went when the tracksuits were going after Kate
Leo took out a frozen pizza and put it on his head, and Clint went to go to sleep, a few minutes later Leo heard the intercom buzz, he went over to it and heard a familiar voice
"It's me. I come beating pizza and holiday cheer. Let me in" Kate said as he chuckled
Then suddenly the door opened with Kate carrying a lot of stuff
"Hey!" Kate said
"Oh hey" He replied
"All right, this is the classic Hawkeye costume we've been waitin' for" Kate said as Clint awoke from his nap
"What is all this?" Clint asked
"This is me saving the holidays" Kate said
"Is that right?"
"I'll get you home in time for the big day. Figured in the meantime, we could celebrate. It's movie marathon night, right? Check this out. I got movies" She said taking out movies to watch
"Well that's thoughtful of you Bishop" Leo said
"yeah, can we put a pause on that and talk about Sword Boy for a minute? You got good instincts, kid." Clint said to Kate
"What do you mean?"
"So, I did a little digging and turns out, Sloan's a shell company that launders money for the Tracksuits. And Jack Duquesne is the CEO." He said
"You sure?"
"Mhm."
"Okay, well, we're just gonna have to come up with a plan to take down my mom's fiancé's organized crime ring while simultaneously having a heartwarming holiday celebration." She said as she tossed both Clint and Leo a Christmas sweater
"Got any more of that slushy stuff?" She asked
"In the kitchen"
__________________________________
Leo and Clint watched Kate point at a board
"Okay, cops. We need to get the cops off my back.
TSM, we need to get them to leave us alone. And we need to figure out why and how Jack is connected to it all." She said
"Yea right"
"This the part where one of you finish my sentence with a plan." She said
"Planning's not really my thing." Leo said
"Are you sure that's dry erase?" Clint asked as Kate tried removing the marker from board but it doesn't come off, Leo snickered at her
__________________________________
The trio were now watching movies
"How do we get more trick arrows?" Kate asked
"Well, there are no more trick arrows." Leo said
"Like in the world?"
"Basically. I have a few more trick arrowheads. But you can't just put 'em on any shaft." He answered
"So, we really have to get these back."
__________________________________
Then they finished the movie and Kate was over by the tree doing who knows what
"What are you doing?"
"See? Tree covers the parts that won't come off." She said
"Well, now you're problem-solving."
__________________________________
"Have you ever heard of boomerang arrows?" Kate asked
"Why would I ever want to use a boomerang arrow?" Clint asked like she was crazy
"Because they come back" Kate said
"Exactly"
"Yeah, well, if all trick arrows were boomerangs, then we'd have them all." Kate
"Yea coming back at us probably almost taking our eye out" Leo said
"You'd have to... You'd have to dodge." She said
__________________________________
Leo and Kate were now decorating the tree
"No, it's not impossible. The first arrow you release just has to be wood. So when you release the second one, it splits it up the middle." He explained
"I call bullshit. I've tried it." Kate said
"Well, I've done it a few times." He answered grabbing an ornament
"You got any other cool tricks?" She asked
"Well, I can knock somebody unconscious with that, like, 20 feet away." He said with a smirk
"No, you can't." Kate scoffed
"I'd use a quarter or a nickel. A dime's too light." He said
"Prove it."
"What, knock you unconscious? I'd be happy to" he said as Kate rolled her eyes
"No genius, I want you to hit something." She said as Leo shook his head
"Fine, live forever without me believing you. I'll just tell every stranger that I see that Titan is full of bullshit." She said
Leo then threw the coin and landed on the power off on the tv
"Whoa! You've got to show me how you did that." Kate said
__________________________________
The two of them stood in the hallway
"All right, you ready?" He asked
"Yeah"
"You have a nice snap. Make sure you get that curve. Just a little one. Right, you got it, right?" Zack explained
Kate tried it but instead of hitting the tv she hit the dog
"Oh god" Leo said shaking his head as Kate laughed
"What are you doing?" Kate asked
"Ring finger. Grip it tight." He said as Kate tried it again
"That was way better" he said
"You can do it this time." He said
"Okay okay" she said as she did it again and turned on the tv
"Oh my God! I did it!" She said as she brought Leo for a tight hug and kissed his cheek without realizing, Leo blushed a bit when she did, then Kate pulled away and went over to the tv as Leo followed
"That was impressive" Clint said from the couch
"Thanks" Kate said with a smile
"Best shot you took so far" Clint said
"Yea! Best shot you ever took?" She asked Clint
"Uh, the one I didn't take." He answered
"What does that mean?" She asked
"Uh, it means... Never mind, shouldn't have said it." He said
"Oh, come on, you can't do that." Kate whined
"Never mind, it's nothin'."
"What? Come on, consider it my Christmas present." She said
"No, it's not the right time."
"Yes."
"Look, it'll be a good story, I'm sure..." Kate said
"It's just not a good story, okay?" Clint said
It's... about the time I met someone. I was sent to take her out. And when I got there, when it was time... Um... I couldn't do it. I just had this feeling that she wanted out. Turns out, I was right." He explained
"You mean Natasha." Leo said
"Yeah. She as the best there was" he said
"I'm sorry" Kate said
"It's all right. It's, uh... When you do what I do for a living, it... It's just a game of managing loss, right? So..." Clint said as he shifted in his seat
They looked at the tv and saw a dad hugging his kids
"You lost your family in the Blip?" Kate asked
"Yeah, like half the world" he said
"God, that must have been devastating." She said
"Yeah, there are no words." He said
"Is that we're you met Ronin?" She asked as Leo and Clint looked at each other and stayed silent
"It's you, isn't it?"
"Everybody dealt with the Blip in their own way. I continued doing what I was trained to do." He said
"Protect people." Kate said
"Hurting people. Investigating first, but in the end, my job has always been to hurt people." He said
"You were a hero." Kate said tears forming in her eyes
"I was a weapon." He said "I was aimed by the right people at the right targets, so..."
"Look, you made mistakes, but those are behind you." Kate said
No, it's tied to me. Tied to my family. That's why I'm here. And I can't go home till I fix it. I really appreciate what you did tonight. It means a lot.
You know, you two should get some rest. You got a big day tomorrow." Clint said
"Yes, boss. Good night."
"Night."
Leo and Kate both headed to their rooms thinking about the talk they just had
__________________________________
It was the morning and Leo woke up and went to the kitchen to see his dad
"Morning dad"
"Morning son, how'd you sleep?" He asked
"Okay, I guess" then Kate came out
"Mornin'" she said
"Want some coffee?" Clint asked the two as they nodded
"Okay, this morning, I'm gonna have a talk with our friend, Kazi. What I want you two to do is track down the trick arrows from our friends, the LARPers." He ordered
"Wait, what?" Kate said
"My tracer arrow stopped moving, and it's over by an NYPD facility down by the bridge. And now the LARPers, they're mostly first responders, one's a cop. See if they can get access to that NYPD facility." He said
"LARPer friends? Seriously" Leo said
"Yeah, they're... They're colorful. You're gonna love 'em." He said
"You know, I like to think of them more as our arrows." Kate said
"Okay. Go get our arrows."
__________________________________
Soon Leo and Kate made it to a park with the dog and saw a bunch of people with swords....well fake swords
Then Leo and Kate walked over in front of them
"Hey, I, uh... I don't mean to interrupt..." she said but they didn't hear her probably they were yelling
"Well.....these guys are surly.....dedicated" Leo said
"Who are you two?" A woman said
"Uh, Hawkeye sent us here on official Avengers business. I'm his partner-slash-best-friend, Kate." Kate said
"He also said you guys could help us out. One of you is a cop?" Leo asked
"That's me, Officer Wendy Conrad. Better as Els-Bath of Deepdale." A woman said
"Officer. Basically, all we need is some casual, run-of-the-mill evidence tampering. Hawkeye's trick arrows are in an NYPD facility near the Manhattan Bridge." Kate said
"I can probably help you out I can probably help you out if you make it worth my while."Wendy said
"Worth our while" a dark skin man said
"Yeah. Yeah, sure, totally. Whatever you want. All right. All in? Okay. This is gonna be great. You guys are awesome, outfits, the... It's just really awesome." Kate said as a guy fist bumped her
Leo shook his head
"This outta be fun"
__________________________________
Clint then made it to the apartment both Leo and Kate were in
"Hey Clint. How'd your day go?" Kate asked as
Leo turned to see his dad standing in the doorway
"Thank god your here dad" Leo mumbled
"My, uh.... Days been fine, how are you doing?" He asked
"Great, yeah. Better than yours, I'd say." Kate said trying on clothes
"So did you guys, uh, get my gear?"
"They're on the way." Leo said from the couch
"Yeah they should be here any minute. Yeah, relax." Kate said
"Check that out." A woman said as She looked at Kate who was wearing a Viking costume
"Not gonna lie, I look pretty good as a Viking." She aid
"I... You know, I made this myself." The woman said
"No way!" Kate exclaimed
"By hand."
"Could I hire you to make my next one?" Kate asked
"Oh, yeah. I would love to."
"Hey, wait a second. What if that's our deal?" Grills said
"What deal?" Clint asked
"We get you the arrows and info, and you get us materials for a new costume." He said
"Okay, how about enough materials to make your costumes plus three more? I know a 2 certain someones who needs a little help with theirs."
Kate said looking at Zack and Clint but Leo just glared at her
"I'm in."
"Great!" Kate said
"Hey, Orval, you hear that? We gettin' new costumes." Grills said
"Uh, Kate, I asked you two to simply retrieve my arrows, not stage a play."
"Uh, we're a... We're a guild." The woman next to Kate said
"No one cares" Leo said in a annoyed tone then Clint got a text message and showed Leo
"Okay. The two of us gotta go." Leo said
"The three of us gotta go. We're in this together, right?" Kate said
"You're gonna have to change." Leo said standing up from the couch
"Hawkeye." Wendy said "Arrow Retrieval Mission complete."
"Oh, yes. Thank you so much. Appreciate it." Clint said as he grabbed the bag but couldn't
"This is my bag." She said
"Okay?"
"You didn't bring your own bag? My wife gave me this bag. It's embroidered. It says "Bombshell."" She said
"I... I can see that, that it's very important to you." Clint said
"He'll get it back to you. Yeah, I'll make sure of it." Kate said
"Right?" Clint said
"I promise."
"Thank you. See ya." Clint said as Wendy finally gave the bag to him
"Thank you so much." Kate said
"Thank you." Leo said as they left
__________________________________
The trio were now standing on the roof
"You wanna tell me what we're doing here?" Kate asked
"Something very important to me is pinging inside that apartment. It was stolen from a black market auction. I need it back. No lights, no movement. This is our chance."
"This would have been easier if we were on a higher rooftop" Kate said
"Yeah it would've but bad if someone fell off the rooftop and died" Leo said
"Kate, you always wanna prioritize a quick exit over a quick entrance so when things go sideways, and they usually do, you have an exit strategy. That's why I chose this spot. It's got good sightlines for all my exits. Entry should be easy. Think it should take me about three and half minutes to get in. So, if you see anything out here, just give me a signal, Kate. All right? Kate?" Clint said but Kate was now where to be found
"Think she fell off the rooftop?" Leo asked
Then they hard cara honking below them and there they saw Kate walking down the street
"I told you you're supposed to be lookout" Clint said into the earpiece
"Yeah, but of the two of us, who do you trust up there not to get distracted?" She said
"That's not fair, that your inability to act like a grown-up helps you get your way." Leo said
"No, it's not. But it is what it is." She said
"I need you to use your grappling hook arrow to anchor yourself in. Propel down the side of the building to the window. If it's locked, break in quietly." Clint ordered
"Yeah, love all of that. Great plan, just a slight tweak though. Good evening, sir. Can I help you with your bags?" Kate asked the man
"Is she- what the hell is she doing?" Leo asked
"No, no, no. Don't... Don't engage....Kate! Where the hell are you?" Leo asked
"Oh, relax. I'm taking the elevator." She said
"Oh, I, uh... I'm sorry, I wasn't talking to you." Kate said to the old man
"Can I tell you a secret?" Kate said to the man
"Please don't do this." Leo begged
"I was talking to an Avenger. He's in my ear." She said
"Maybe you should stop talking." Clint said
"Yeah, I'm his partner." She said as the man left the elevator with his his bags
"What do you do with this giant bow problem?" She asked
"I have a collapsible one." Clint said
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Okay. I'm at the door." She said
"Okay. Living room's all clear. Oh, shit." Kate said
"What was that?" Clint said looking at the window
"I don't know. There are, like, strobe lights attached to the wall." She said
"What do you mean, strobe lights?" Leo asked
"I don't know."
"Yeah, what do you see?" Clint asked
"Okay, what am I lookin' for?" Kate asked
"A watch, vintage Rolex." Clint replied
"Belongs to someone I used to work with." He said
"Is that the whole story, Clint?"
"They've been out of the game a long time, but their identity is still attached to that watch." He said
"Hmm. And if the Tracksuits find out about it?" Kate asked
"It would blow their cover." Leo answered
"Got the watch." Kate said as put the watch in her pocket
"Hang on a minute. Clint, somebody is taking notes on your family." She said
"What?"
"Clint Barton, wife, Laura, son, Leo age 22, daughter, Lila, age 14, son, Cooper, age 16, son, Nate. What..."
"Kate, get out of there now." Leo said
"What? Why?"
"That light's an alarm. It's a silent alarm for people that can't hear." Clint said
"Oh, my God."
"It's Maya's apartment." Leo said "All right, were coming..."
But then both Clint and Leo were hit hard in the face by an unknown person
"Mayas here" Kate said as Leo kicked the person in the face
"Yea we can see that" he said breathless
"Then why didn't you tell me?" She asked
"I did, mayas on the roof with us" he answered
"No maya is definitely here" she said
"Then who the hell are we fighting" He asked
"A little help?" Kate said fighting Maya
"Give me a second. Incoming." Leo said as he aimed a zip line near the apartment window
"Get on the zip line." He said as he punched the unknown person
Kate got on the zip line but stopped mid-way
"Oh, this is great." She said sarcastically then suddenly Kate was about the kick the person in the face but the person grabbed her leg and stopped her
"That hurt." She said standing up but the masked figure cocked their gun and aimed it at them suddenly Maya came out of nowhere and kicked all of them which made them fall back, Kate got up and kicked Maya in the face
The mask figured threw electricity at Maya which made her fall to the ground, Then Kate attempted to kick the person but failed and the masked person threw her off the rooftop
"No, no, no! No, no!" Leo rushed to roof hoping she wasn't hurt but luckily she was alright
"Pull me up!" She yelled
"Get outta here." Leo said cutting the string which made her fall
Then he felt someone garb him by the shoulders choking him as he tried to get out the person grip
Kate then made it to the roof again and shot an arrow which made everyone's ears ring
Then Kate aimed a arrow at Maya and hit her shoulder, Maya then took out the arrow and left
Which left them with the masked figure, Leo went over beside Kate
"I thought I told you to leave" he said as they both aimed their arrows at the person who now had their mask off and back turned to them
The person turned around and it revealed a blonde woman who shook her head at them telling them not to shoot
Leo lowered his bow but Kate was still aiming her arrow at her
"Don't shoot" Leo warned her
Then the woman left
"Who the hell was that?"
"You don't wanna know" Leo said
"I cannot be your partner and best friend if you don't tell me what's going on."
"You're not my partner nor my best friend. You never were." Leo said as Kate had tears in her eyes
"Someone has hired a Black Widow assassin. This has gotten very real, very quickly. So me and
Leo doing this alone." Clint said
"No, you guys are not. Look, I know that tonight didn't go as planned, but I chose to be here. I understand the risk, I understand all of that." She said
"Kate we can't risk you coming with us anymore"
Leo said
"Go home, Kate" he said as he walked over to her
"It's over."
Kate then left with tears in her eyes
'Well things just got crazier'