A/N Thanks so much for all the reviews! The first part of this is the Opening Ceremony and I used the U.S news commentators Bob Costas and Matt Lauer. The outfits I described are what the U.S athletes wore during the Opening Ceremony. I don't know all of the ins and outs of the Olympic process. I tried to get it as accurate as possible but Google only takes you so far. So some aspects of this story will be of my own imagining.
Thanks to Cari over on The Beta Branch for looking over this for me.
End of obscenely long author's note :)
Disclaimer: If you live in a world where I own the Avengers, then please let me come live with you.
Chapter 1
And we're back with The Thirtieth Olympiad. Earlier the crowd got a surprise when the queen and James Bond parachuted from a helicopter into the Olympic stadium.
But as great as that was, Bob, there was another moment that had the crowd buzzing and it will probably be talked about a lot tomorrow.
That's right, Matt. We received a surprise visit from some very familiar faces as well as an interesting bit of news that has apparently been kept under wraps until now.
The camera showed Tony, Steve, Thor, and Bruce sitting in the crowd. They were talking and pointing toward the stadium floor. Tony and Bruce seemed to be trying to explain something to Steve and Thor, who both had confused expressions.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Avengers are here in The Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony. Some of you may have noticed two members missing. That is the news we received. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, better known as Hawkeye and Black Widow, are absent from the stands tonight because they will be walking in with the U.S. athletes later on and will be competing in the Olympics later this week.
Bob, this has got to be the biggest surprise and perhaps even the biggest highlight, at least for the American people, of these games. I would not be surprised if the Avengers' appearance ends up outshining the queen.
Neither would I, Matt, and I am very much looking forward to seeing Barton and Romanoff compete. I mean they have to be the favorites in their events now, wouldn't you think?
Oh, I agree completely, Bob. If they don't dominate in all of their competitions I would be shocked.
Oh, here comes Greece, now entering the stadium as the Parade of Nations begins. As is tradition, Greece enters first, all other nations in alphabetical order, and the host nation, in this case Great Britain, will enter last.
And being in alphabetical order the United States will, of course, be toward the end. But for now we will return to London shortly for more of the Parade of Nations.
)()()(
And we are back with the 2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremony. The delegation from The United States is just about to enter the stadium and they will be led by two very well known people. And here they come. You probably recognize the flag bearer and the lovely lady walking beside him. That is Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, also known as Hawkeye and Black Widow. Two delightfully surprising last minute qualifiers in the marksmanship categories.
Barton will obviously be taking part in archery while Romanoff will be in the pistol competitions.
And Matt, due to their fame and heroics they were offered the honor of carrying the American flag. Barton apparently agreed to carry it but only if Romanoff would walk beside him. So here they are, leading the American delegation together.
And this really is so great, Bob. I mean what better representative for The United States than two Avengers?
How about six Avengers?
Yes, that would definitely top this.
And Captain America wouldn't even need to wear the U.S. Outfits. He could just wear his suit and they wouldn't even need a flag, they could just wave him.
That would be a sight to behold all right, Bob. The avengers leading the Americans into the stadium and Captain America playing the flag. But getting serious again, this is a great moment for The United States. Two Avengers on the floor and the other four in the stands. This is a historic moment.
Still to come, the host nation and the lighting of the Olympic Torch, when we return to London.
)()()(
"Okay, seriously, I hate these clothes," Natasha said.
Clint looked at her and made very sure not to laugh. She was wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt, a white skirt, and a blue beret. She didn't look bad. Natasha never looked bad. She could make anything look good. She just didn't look like her. The outfit didn't match her style or personality at all. In all honesty he wasn't much better off. He was wearing white pants, a blue jacket, and a beret just like Natasha. Neither one of them was made for the Scottish look.
"It's not so bad," Clint tried.
"Easy for you to say. You've got pants," she snapped.
"Look, it will be over before you know it. Then you can pretend it never happened. Okay? Just remember why we're doing this."
She looked at him sourly but nodded.
"Now smile and wave. Smile and wave," Clint said. He walked forward into the stadium, Natasha right beside him. They had asked him to carry (or rather roped him into carrying) the flag.
He was approached by an American official carrying the American Flag.
"Mr. Barton?" the man asked.
"Yes?"
"We would like for you to carry the flag," the man said holding out the banner.
"Oh, no, I couldn't," Clint said kindly.
"The athletes unanimously agreed that one of the Avengers should represent our nation," he replied.
"Well how about Natasha?" Clint asked out of curiosity.
"Well, to be honest, I'm kind of afraid to ask her," he said sheepishly.
Clint chuckled. "Well can't blame you for that. She can be pretty intimidating. All right, I'll do it but only if Natasha walks beside me."
"That would be perfect! Both of you leading the American Delegation. That's great! You ask her," the man said, shoving the flag into Clint's hands and disappearing before the archer could even blink.
He glanced down at the flag in his hands, then walked toward where he had last seen Natasha. After a few minutes of searching, he found her.
"Hey. Well, apparently I'm the new flag bearer. Whether I like it or not. They decided they wanted an Avenger to carry the flag," he told her.
She chuckled. "Better you than me. Can you imagine me not only wearing these ridiculous clothes, but carrying the flag too." She laughed. "I'll let you wave the flag in the silly outfit." She laughed again.
"Yeah, laugh it up, but you're walking beside me," he said.
Her laugh cut off abruptly. "Oh no. Not me."
"Too late, it's already set," he said grinning.
"I hate you."
They entered the arena side-by-side to thundering applause. Playing the part of Olympians, Clint waved the flag back and forth and Natasha (at Clint's urging) waved to the crowd a bit. Amazingly enough, they actually heard their teammates over the cheering. Well, they heard Thor over the cheering and Clint was kind of glad he was on the floor instead of beside the booming Asgardian. They could see their teammates cheering and waving from the crowd, and as expected of them, they waved back. The crowd ate it up. Clint couldn't help but play to the excited crowd. He gave another little wave and the crowd went ballistic.
He turned to Natasha and laughed as she just rolled her eyes at him. His laughter was contagious and she smirked at him before waving at the crowd herself. She gave Clint a smug grin as the crowd cheered even louder. Not to be outdone, Clint gave his best award-winning smile, held the flag over his head with one hand, and waved to the crowd with the other. The applause was deafening. Natasha just shook her head at him and smiled at his cheeky grin.
"Hey you guys look great. Those outfits really do it for you," Tony said through the ear pieces they were wearing.
"Stark, if you ever want to have children you will shut up," Natasha growled.
Their was a long pause. "Understood."
"Guys ignore him. You don't look bad, and the crowd loves it," Bruce said.
"Any sign of anything suspicious?" Steve asked.
"Nothing yet, but I've got my eyes peeled," Clint replied.
"Same here," Natasha added.
"Good. Just keep on your toes. If there is an attack, the opening ceremony would be a high profile target," Steve cautioned.
"We're ready," Clint assured him.
They were all ready. Tony had his bracelets on, ready to call the suit at a moment's notice. Steve had a backpack that Tony made for him to carry his shield in. Thor could call Mjolnir if needed. Clint had his bow folded and hidden under his jacket as well as several arrows that Tony had made. They collapsed into themselves like an old fashioned telescope. Right now they were about four inches long and were inside his breast pockets. All it would take was Clint hitting a switch on the nock of the arrow and the projectile would spring to full length. Natasha had her guns hidden on her somewhere and her bracelets on her wrists, covered by her jacket sleeves.
Clint and Natasha finished their walk around the stadium and joined the other delegations in the center. They watched as the last of the athletes joined them in the center of the arena, followed by the Olympic flag, and finally, the lighting of the torch.
"Okay, that's kind of cool," Clint said as he watched the copper bowls rise off the floor.
"I agree, Robin Hood. I think this might actually beat the run around the stadium ceiling they did in Beijing," Tony said over the comms.
"It's like all of the countries together make up the torch. I like it," Steve added.
"I am quite enjoying this display of fire," Thor boomed, causing the others to wince at the volume.
"That is pretty inspiring," Bruce added.
"Not bad," Natasha agreed.
Fortunately, the night ended without incident and the Avengers heaved a collective sigh of relief as they returned to their hotel to get some sleep. The Thirtieth Olympiad was off without a hitch. So far so good.
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