Author's Note: Basically I've had this idea bouncing around my head ever since I saw The Avengers earlier this summer. If you have read any of my previous works, I apologize for not writing on those, but I have been out of ideas for a while. So until school starts, I won't write that much (probably)

This is AU where Bruce and Clint are teenagers! And where Clint is in the circus.

Warnings/Triggers: Attempted suicide, abusive/absentee father, orphaned teen, and forced performance (kinda).


Beyond the Masks We Wear

Bruce Banner never had any special memories or feelings about the circus that appeared near his neighborhood every summer. He wasn't a fan of it but that didn't mean he outright hated it. Most of the time, he avoided the area around the location of the big red and white tents mainly due to the fact that the library was located in the opposite direction.

"Bruce, honey! Could you please come help me set the table for dinner?" He heard his mother calling from the kitchen. Hopping off the edge of the window, as he was currently straddling the edge, dangling one of his legs in the cool night air. Walking down the hall and into the living/dinning room combo, noticing an envelope where he usually sat for dinner.

"Mom, did I get this in the mail? It only has my name on it." Bruce asked holding the envelope like it would grow teeth and bite him. His mother walked in holding two plates and two sets of silverware.

"It's a gift from me, for your wonderful academic progress this past school year. It's a week-long pass to the circus."

After dinner, Bruce offered to help with dishes but his mother refused, telling him that the opening day of the circus was tomorrow and she expected him to use it at least once. (It wasn't cheap to buy a week pass, even if the owner practically gave it to her for free, but Bruce didn't need to know that)

Glancing around his room, Bruce opted to just go to bed instead of reading the book on radiation theories or medicinal book. He had a standard room, four walls covered in posters of various scientists and periodic table. Books scattered over any surface where Bruce deemed readable, his bed, desk, and the floor near the window and stacked in random piles.

Lying on his bed, he stared out the window where he was previously at, watching the stars come in and out of visibility behind the clouds that rolled in. He planned on going to the circus to please his mother who decided that a pass to the circus was a good gift. While he laid there he got a sudden sharp pain in his side, pulling his shirt up and pressing his hand to the right side of his torso, he felt the scars that remained from his childhood.


Waking up to the warm summer breeze wafting in through his open window, Bruce stretched and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Grabbing a maroon shirt and black plaid shorts from his dresser, he headed towards the shower. Washing the remaining sleep from his body, Bruce woke up and quickly turned knob towards the cold side. Normally he finished his showers by running ice-cold water over his face.

Stepping into the kitchen, he noticed a note from his mother on the fridge. Quickly glancing through the curly handwriting that was indicative to his mother, he noticed that she didn't leave a few chores for him to do, instead all that she had written was 'Have fun at the circus!'

Grabbing a thin jacket, his keys, the pass, wallet and iPod, Bruce walked out of his house and into a slightly warm summer day. Though with the clouds that loomed in the distance, he knew that a summer storm was on its way. He started walking in the direction of the circus, noticing as the closer he got, the more people were walking in the same direction.

He walked up to the ticket booth, not knowing where else to go, and waited in the relatively short line. He showed the person behind the protective Plexiglas shield his pass, and he got a bright orange wristband, just like everybody else there. Heading towards the main tent, he started looking for show times, and the next one would be starting in half an hour, so he had time to kill by wandering around the various attractions.

Passing the cages of lions, tigers and bear, he noticed a guy about his age sitting on the wooden fence that blocked the caged animal from the general public. He looked unafraid of being so close to the animal, as if they were friends.

Bruce shook his head trying to lose the train of thought that he was currently on. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was almost time for the first show. Turning around, he quickly headed back towards the main tent, walking right in and taking a seat on the bench near the front.

He watched in awe as the performers did their acts, cringing as the clown slipped on a banana peel, but laughed at the colorful explosion that resulted from said cliché slip. It wasn't until the ringleader announced that their next act would require a volunteer, and the light landed on him that he regretted coming to the circus.

Bruce walked down and stood there in the center of the ring, with an apple on his head before they announced the title of the next act. "The Blind Archer"

A familiar figure walked towards him and Bruce gasped when he recognized the teen sitting so close to the cage. Except he was wearing a purple costume and wielding a bow, he walked up to the quiver of arrows on the ground a good ways away from Bruce when he stopped. He tied a thick black cloth around his head, effectively blocking his vision and grabbed an arrow. Bruce gulped when he pulled back on the bowstring, and snapped his eyes shut when he heard the snap of the same string.

He heard the crowd cheer and noticed that the apple had been shot off his head. He released the breath that he hadn't noticed he was holding. The ringleader thanked Bruce for his participation and welcomed him to meet the archer after the show. Numbly nodding, Bruce walked back to his seat still receiving applause. For the rest of the act, Bruce couldn't keep his eyes off the archer who still had the blindfold on while still managing to hit the bull's-eye every time.

Bruce would definitely want to talk to this guy, even if he was still shaking from earlier.


A/N: How does the meeting between Bruce and this Blind Archer go? Find out in the next chapter!