"Hawkwing, come in. This is Captain Mary Falconer. Do you have a visual?"
Kate glanced down at the ship's instruments and let out a calming breath. This would work. It had to. "Ten-ten," she replied, before switching frequencies. "You ready for this, Hawkeye?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," came the response, and Kate nodded to the voice. It would be fine. Hopefully. This was one of the most difficult operations they'd ever attempted, requiring pin-point accuracy and nerves of steel. Without Hawkeye's calming influence, Kate probably would have bottled out long ago.
"We're coming within range," Hawkeye announced into his headset. Kate was sure she could hear the smile in his voice, and found herself echoing it despite herself. "Think we can hit it?" She asked.
"Why not? We've done crazier."
"Not helping, Hawkeye." Her gunner's apology was lost to the lurch in her stomach as the Hawkwing banked sharply, leveling out as the horizon rose before them, the target waiting in the distance. From where she sat, Kate could see Tiger, Mary and Hiro all standing as near to the target as they could safely manage. She'd tried to warn them away before taking off, but Tiger in particular had insisted on being present to see her hit the target. She assumed that the other two had hung around simply for the sake of curiosity. She couldn't blame them; this was unprecedented, with failure a guaranteed certainty for any pilot team other than her and Hawkeye. Even for them, the odds looked grim. (Of course, this was exactly why Hawkeye – ever the show-off - had been so insistent that they try it. Kate made a mental note to switch his toothpaste with glue once they'd landed.)
The target was getting close now; Kate gripped the controls tightly and turned, feeling the entire plane tilt onto its side. The wing tip barely brushed the ground, kicking up clouds of dirt as it went. Kate watched her friends back away quickly, all except Tiger, who narrowed his eyes critically as the massive jet approached. Kate held her breath, felt time slow around her, and -
"Now!"
The Hawkwing swung on its axis suddenly, its trailing wing tip lifting off the ground in a single, effortless swoop. The football planted by Tiger's feet was sent arcing over the Hawknest by the force of the wing tilt, flying over the roof of the building and out of sight. Kate let out an audible sigh of relief, grinning at the sound of laughter coming in through her headset.
"Well, you saw it, Tiger," Hawkeye jovially crowed. "You lost the bet, so drinks are on you tonight!" Kate could hear a grumbled "I just don't believe it," from her boss, and it made her laugh harder than ever as she looped the Hawkwing around ready to come into land. Maybe Hawkeye could be spared the glue this time around, she thought to herself. Just this once.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know that in the show itself Hawkeye is considered a gunner rather than a pilot, but given the awkward shape of the Hawkwing and the fact that it consists of two conjoined vehicles, my own personal headcanon is that Hawkeye would assist Kate in controlling the jet when he's not shooting. Therefore, I like to refer to them both as pilots. :)