Shield

A/N hi again everyone :-)

Clint tails her slowly through the train station after she gets off, two stops before he needed to. But he's sure Stark won't mind if he's a bit late.

He's surprised that she doesn't notice him( the black leather is quite visible in a sea of colour), and kind of disappointed as well. Clearly, since he left to join the Avengers, she hasn't been practicing or anything. True, he doesn't see how she could really, as she hasn't joined a group or anything as far as he knows. But even so, you never know when you might need super hero skills.

Like now, for instance. If she was paying attention, she would have noticed that Clint isn't the only party following her.

A pair of tall men follow her through the large crowds, tailing her. They have obviously noticed the vacant look in her eyes, as their own eyes are focused on her red backpack.

Clint rolls his eyes. Really? Now? Good thing Lena is aware of this danger, anyway.

The men get closer and closer to his old friend, and Clint quickens his pace, until he is only a few metres between the three people. The men step up, either side of Lena, one bumping into her.

When she turns, the other snatches her backpack, running off.

Lena swears under her breath. Great, why wasn't she paying attention.

One of the men, the one with her backpack, has already dissapered, far ahead, but the other one is in her line of sight.

She breaks into a run, earning dissapering glares from other commuters. The man looks behind him, and his brows furrow. Obviously he hasn't dealt with a muggee that is going to fight back. He then has a superior look in his eyes, as though he believes no skill can match his own. Lena grins to herself. He's going to get a shock. Thankfully, she hasn't forgotten everything Clint taught her.

She turns invisible, deciding a surprise attack is the best option. Also, she's in a crowded train station, so if everyone sees her attacking a supposedly random man, she could end up in a spot of bother.

She also has to make it look like any damage caused to the man,- which hopefully will only be enough to stop him running after her, she doesn't want to truly hurt anyone, -will be accidental, and the fault of no one. Another thing people don't do is get attacked by invisible forces.

Clint sighs as Lena dissaperes from view. Of course, she'll turn invisible. At least she remembers the lesson on stealth. But it does make it incredibly difficult to help.

He can't help but grin when the man appears to trip and fall. Lena perfected the trip so it looks like they tripped themselves look within the first week of training, and it's a bit of a signature move. Clint can always tell, but other people can't.

The man sits up, dazed, confused, as people continue to walk past him, talking on phones and to each other.

Clint looks around to see if Lena has become visible again. It's difficult enough to push through train station crowds when you are visible, let alone invisible,

Yes, over there, a flash of brown hair. He sets off quickly in pursuit, clutching the black case tightly in his right hand. He never knows when he might need it.

By the time he sees the man carrying the rucksack, Lena has almost caught up with him.

The man is almost right in front of her, and Lena is just about to reach for the red strap, her arm length thing slightly( not enough to get noticed but almost enough to get the strap) when she crashes into a 'wet floor' sign, and falls on the slippy tiles. She tries to get back up, but her hands slip out from underneath her, and she struggles more, but just gets more panicked.

Lena lifts her head, to find the man, who must be nearing the exit by now. She sees him turn, grin at her. She sighs, and he runs next to the wall, eliminating one side for anyone to attack from.

She would freeze him, of course, but people would notice if a guy just went into Madame Tussaud mode. And anyway, what's to stop someone else taking her backpack from him? Damn you crowded train stations!

Then the man readjusts the bag on his shoulder, and for a split second there is a gap between the strap and him, as wide as Lena's arm. And through that gap, flies an arrow.

Clint, Lena thinks. Thank you Clint.

The arrow sticks into the wall only centimetres behind him, and the backpack swings from it, preventing the man's escape.

The man goes to unhook it, eyes widening when he sees the arrow, but then he hears a shout.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you." Clint voice echoes across the station, which is suddenly silent and frozen. The people look up at Clint, who is holding a bow and a few arrows. Most eyes are fixed on the sharp points of the arrows.

He makes his way through the crowd, trying to ignore he terrified glances he is getting, doing his best to appear calm and sane.

Stark is going to hate him for this.

He also takes care not to push the button on the side of his bow, which would blow up the arrow he's already shot. He only has a few arrows in his case, and all of them were explosive ones. He doesn't want to blow up a wall of a well trafficked service station. That would certainly get him into trouble.

When he reaches Lena, he holds out his hand to help her up. She doesn't look surprised to see him, and he supposes he shouldn't wonder why. Super heroes nowadays use guns and planes, nobody uses arrows anymore( except him.)

Then Clint also falls afoul of the wet floor, and is one is back, groaning. The bow flies out of his hand, sliding across the floor, stopping at the feet of the man Lena tripped, who is looking at the pair them like Christmas has come early.

He picks up the bow, and Clint feels anger surging through him.

"Let go of that bow!" He gasps for breath, winded by the fall.

The man shakes his head, turning the bow over in his hands. And of course, when he finds the button, he pushes it.

"Oh crap." Clint mutters as he braces himself for the explosion.

Lucky no one was hurt, Clint thinks, as he is lead into police custody. Even the man by the backpack should be okay, once he regains consciousness.

The backpack won't make it though, all that's left of it is a few shreds of red material.

The explosives in the arrow were slightly damp and old, so the explosion thankfully wasn't as big as it would have been two years ago.

The man who pressed the button is probably the worst in condition at the moment, as he is going into shock, poor man. Didn't know what he was doing.

Clint can't help but feel a little relieved that it was someone else that blew up the wall. All the police can charge Clint himself for now is the possession of a bow, which he has licence for, and shooting it at a backpack.

Even so, he is trying to find his phone to call Fury. Isn't anyone as good as bailing you out of police custody like the director of Shield.

Let's just hope this doesn't hit the news before he is bailed, otherwise Stark is going to be on his case for HOURS.

Nick Fury pulls his ringing phone out his pocket, and raises his eyebrows when he sees the caller ID.

"Yes Barton?" He says impatiently. He doesn't like phone calls.

He raises his eyebrows when Clint explains the situation, but smiles when Clint explains something else. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, Barton." He ends the call before Clint can say anything else.

On the drive to the police station, Fury phones a confused Stark, who sounds worried to be called by the director, but soon regains his confident exterior.

Stark laughs when Fury tells him that the reason Clint hasn't turned up at work this morning is because he is in police custody, but then says, "you're serious?" When the director doesn't laugh.