Dreams

Everyone had dreams. And Clinton Francis Barton, the Avenger Hawkeye, was no exception. He had a dream, back when everyone was well…not like this, and he dreamt of Wanda. Of course he did. The scarlet clad witch just captivating, stealing away his breath every-time he looked at her.

And that was all fine for all the years that they were on The Avengers roster. But then she made one of the biggest mistakes in his eyes.

She shattered the dream.

And no one does that without dealing getting revenge served back piping hot. But he couldn't do that, because Wanda Maximoff was the type of person you could never be mad at, not matter how big the disaster she caused. She had a lot of issues in her life, her memory altered more times than anyone could count, her children going through disaster after disaster and the family troubles she had to deal with, but this time, though, she crossed the line.

She broke him. She broke his heart. Little shattered pieces scattered across reality as he knew it, and it would take an eternity to pull them back again. It was then, that one shining moment, when he realized that everything that had happened; the Mansion, Scott Lang, the soon-to-be disassembling of the Avengers, was really…her fault.

And he could never love someone who put his friends in danger, no matter how important, no matter how easy it was to forgive them. It was just too much.

That morning, before it all went to hell, when he was asked who his number one 'can't have' was, he said Madam Hydra to satisfy and to maybe get with She-Hulk that night with his totally sexually intended 'green' joke, but he knew who the number one 'can't have' was.

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful mutants in the world. And the one person he knew was totally off limits, you know, with her being married and all. He could get Wanda, he knows he could if he tried. But Vision was in the way, and well, taking out a robot was all kind of cruel. Vision was a nice guy- and he didn't want to steal Wanda away from him even though Wanda and he could share something she and Vision couldn't.

And he knows what if feels like to have something that you can't.

The Avengers are in the pits of hell, and everything's gone downhill. After this, there will be no more Avengers. They're done for. Earths Mightiest Heroes …not so mighty anymore. Wanda's missing, Scott Lang and Vision are dead, he knows what's coming, he can feel the battle heat rising as Captain America leads the charge of a team that is shattered beyond words. They've lost, they've got no hope in hell against someone who can fix anything she wants if she doesn't like it.

Steve and Tony haven't figured it out yet, Jennifer, Kelsey, Hank, Sam and every other Avenger on the current team don't see it. Clint knows. Think about it. Who was the one Avenger who didn't show up in the big as hell gathering at the Mansion? Wanda. Who wasn't there at the hospital where her friends were, most of them in critical conditions? Wanda.

Where did she go after the disaster of a meeting of the UN with Tony? She was somewhere, plotting her revenge- even though not consciously. She was tearing down one of the things that mattered to him -to every Avenger- the most. His team. His family. And here she was, slowly taking it all away because she wasn't in control of anything anymore.

Funny thing was, no one noticed she wasn't missing. He'd expected Steve to mention the whereabouts of the witch because he sees the connection they have, but he doesn't. Maybe she wanted no one to worry, she wanted this all over and done with. And what Wanda Maximoff wants, wether it's a good idea or not, she gets. And that was the problem in the end. Everyone always wants something, and they hurt people trying to get it.

He would give anything to go back. Back to Cap's Kooky Quartet. Him, Cap, Wanda and Pietro. Perfect. Maybe a little team roster changes here and there in the form of Pietro, but still perfect.

This was it. The Last Stand. For him anyway. He knows this battle aint gonna end well as he spots the Kree Militia just appear in the sky. Just like that.

Maybe it's just a well-timed, impromptu attack? Nope. It's Wanda. She'll do anything to protect those twins of hers, even if they don't exist. He loads arrows into his bow and snarls at the Kree. If this was how it was going to end, he was going to do it in style, and the only way he knew how.

But while he fights, he wishes, just wishes, that maybe in the corner of his eye, just for a second, he could get a glimpse of Wanda- just to see her battling this, telling him that maybe he was wrong about her, maybe his judgment is just biased because she broke his heart.

He stuffed up.

His arrows were on fire and there was no time left, quickly he grabs onto a Kree soldier. "Not like this!" he yells. "NOT LIKE THIS!" He can see Cap yelling at him. Sorry, Cap."LIKE THIS!"

As he is dragged up, he quickly looks around trying to find Wanda. But he doesn't, and then he knows he was right. At least he isn't going to live to see the end of it.

After all, his dream was already torn apart.


End