OK- second chapter in Reliant. Aren't you impressed? I thought I'd be posting once a week if I was lucky! Now we've got two chapters in as many days! I'm impressed.

Little more of Clint's background story here. I promise soon we'll be delving into Arlie's story. But Clint's is so much more interesting and so much more fun to write. So this has all been from Clint's POV so far but we'll be switching it up eventually with some Arlie and I also have plans for some Phil and Natasha POV. Maybe even some of the other Avengers. I haven't decided yet.

Warning: some child abuse is referenced in this chapter but nothing is explicitly stated.


February 21st, 1989 (Clint)

"Clint," I hear Barney's voice, and he's shaking me. But I'm already awake because of the nightmare so I just turn over to look at him.

"What?" I whisper in the dark room we're sharing with about five other boys. I'm glad I'm not in the single room this month- Mr. McGreevy scares me.

"Do you want to leave here?"

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer this question. Do I want to leave here? Yes- I want to leave here, with Mr. McGreevy and the cold drafty rooms and all the chores and the punishments if you don't do everything right and the suffocating loneliness that I feel even with Barney around because Barney hasn't been really around since the crash but he's still trying, I tell myself. It's hard and he's trying. For me. And Arlie. Because when he's eighteen then we all get out and we'll all be together.

"Yes."

"Grab your stuff." I don't ask where we're going. I don't think to. I'm just grabbing my meager belongings because we're leaving we're getting out we'll get caught but Barney's older he'll know what to do we're leaving we're going away we'll never have to come back here I'll never sleep in that room again I'll never see this place again we're going away we're leaving we're getting out.

We're walking and running with backpacks on our backs when I finally ask.

"We going to get Arlie?"

"I don't know where she is, Clint, so we can't get her."

"But-"

"No buts, Clint. She's fine."

"How do you know?"

"The social worker tells us every time she comes remember?"

But the social worker doesn't know anything. She thinks we're fine too.

"Ok."

A few moments of silence pass as I continue to follow Barney. Then I speak again.

"Where are we going?"

"The circus."

I'm almost ten years old and the circus sounds like magic and all good things and isn't that what the stories always say- the orphan boy runs away to the circus? And I'm lucky- I may be an orphan, but I have Barney, and one day we'll find Arlie and we'll all be together and we can have our own circus act together.

We hide in a trailer that night after sneaking some food from what Barney insists on calling the "galley."

Apples and bread never tasted so good.

I hope Arlie's all right.


March 1st, 1989

It's an acrobat who finds us and brings us to a man called Carson who owns the Carnival. After Barney talks to him for a few minutes he agrees to let us stay. I'm sent to work with the clowns and Barney gets to work with the acrobat who found us.

"Now what's your name, short stuff?" asks one clown as he organizes a big make-up kit with lots of powders and cremes. I do my best to help.

"Clint," I say, not noticing how he follows behind me to fix all the chores I've done so it's done properly.

"What do you like to do, Clint?"

I think for a moment- I haven't really done much for myself in awhile. I like playing with Arlie, but I'm not going to tell this grown-up I like playing dolls with my baby sister. So I pick something I remember playing with other kids my age before it all went wrong.

"I like playing superheroes."

The clown chuckles a little then tells me.

"Well you're in luck, we're all superheroes here."


April 7th, 1989

It's two days after my 11th birthday and one of the performers called Trick Shot is messing around with the girl acrobats and the girl who rides the horses in the rings. He starts shooting a bow and arrows and throwing knives and it looks like the coolest thing I've ever seen.

The girl who rides the horses, Kelly, notices me watching.

"Come here, Clint," she calls to me, "You want to watch with us?" I nod and move so I sit by her. Kelly throws an arm around me and I feel safe and warm and I'm watching Trick Shot throw knives and use a bow and he's the greatest thing I've ever seen and the next thing I know he's asking me if I want to try.

"Yes, please," I say, standing nervously. I don't want to mess up in front of everyone, but at least Barney isn't here to see if I do really bad. Trick Shot spends about five minutes talking to me about how to work the bow and then hands it to me with a single arrow.

"Now be careful with that, it's sharp," Kelly shouts over to us from her seat in the stands.

"He's a clever boy- he'll be fine," is Trick Shot's reply. I'm feeling the pressure now and Trick Shot squeezes my shoulder and says, "Go ahead, kid, give it a go."

I breathe in and out. Focusing on my breathing means I won't notice all the people watching- there are some hands who were chatting while cleaning things up who are watching now too but it all goes away as I force myself to focus on my breathing and the bow in my hands. I look at the target and aim. I pull back the arrow and the amount of strength it takes makes my arm shake a bit. That's no good so I hold it for a second and focus just on breathing again. Then I let it loose.

"WOW! Bullseye, Clint! Bravo!" shouts Kelly and the others all clap.

"Say, kid," says Trick Shot, looking down at me with something new in his eyes, "You've got some talent. You ever do something like this before?" I shake my head no, "Well, I'm gonna teach you. You can be part of the act."

I'm terrified of performing in front of even more people, but I've found something I'm really good at and Trick Shot wants to teach me and the others are applauding and talking about how talented I am "a natural" so I nod my head and feel my soul take off.

I don't notice Barney frowning in the shadows of the tent.


July 9th, 1991

I've been training with Trick Shot forever so when the Swordsman decides to start teaching me things, too, I'm over the moon. They're both teaching me and between them and all my chores and Kelly teaching me reading and math stuff I'm always busy and exhausted by the end of the day.

The Swordsman intimidates me. He's not like Trick Shot who calls me "kid" and claps me on the back and talks about how I'll join the act and bring in more people to see the Kid Wonder Shot. The Swordsman watches me with careful eyes and never smiles. He tried to teach me about swords but I wasn't as good as I was with a bow. He taught me how to throw knives and how to fight with them. When Trick Shot asked him why he was teaching me that last one he just said "Never know what kind of trouble you'll get into out there."

I liked the bow the best. I could shot upside down in the ropes; I could shot with a blindfold on when Trick Shot clapped once where the target was; I could shoot three arrows at a time and not miss a single one; I could shoot fast and far and it was like being free.

I couldn't wait to show Arlie.

Then it all went wrong.


October 31st, 1995

I was walking outside the fairgrounds when I heard a commotion. Thinking one of the animals might have gotten loose, I went to investigate. I saw the Swordsman and he was pointing his sword (a big, gleaming, sharp weapon that I still struggled to lift sometimes) at the paymaster.

"What're you doing Swordsman?"

"Shut up, Joe,"

"Is this why the accounts have been short lately? You been stealing from Carson's?"

"SHUT UP JOE! Now- I got some money owed to people and I need it fast. Just fork it over."

"I can't let you steal from Carson's, Swordsman- how much have you taken already?"

"JUST GIVE ME THE CASH, DAMN IT!"

"Swordsman!" I yell, jumping in, "What's going on. Why are you stealing from Carson?"

"It's none of your business, now go back to the tent and forget you saw anything."

"No- Carson took us in- I can't let you steal from him." I was upset- Swordsman was one of my teachers, yes, but Carson took in me and Barney. Let us stay. And Barney said Carson told him he'd help us look for Arlie in every city we stopped in. We'd no luck yet, but we'd find her soon.

"Oh, don't be so righteous, boy- Carson just wanted cheap labor and that's all you and your brother ever were to him. Now just go back to the big top."

"That's not true!" I shouted.

"Now, Clint," his voice suddenly had gone cold and reminded me of the sword that was now pointed at me, "I don't want to hurt you, I can cut you in if you want."

"You-you-you can't steal from Carson's." I repeated, my eyes on the blade before me.

"Clint-" his voice was a warning.

"NO!" I shouted and I tried to get the sword out of my way with a knife I had tucked in my boot. I was still in my costume from the act so I had knives stashed all over me and my quiver and bow on my back.

Never bring a knife to a sword fight.

I was bleeding from a cut on my arm, a gash on my thigh, and a slice across my chest that had cut through my quiver and caused it to tumble to the ground. I had a knife in each hand and was suddenly grateful the Swordsman had taught me how to fight with all the weapons I did tricks with.

Then he lunged at me and I stopped being grateful to him.

I ducked and rolled through his legs. Benefits of being friends with acrobats. He pivoted and was about to get a good slice through me when a voice boomed.

"STOP!"

It was Mr. Carson and I fell to the ground in relief.

"Clint!" I heard Kelly and Trick Shot shout. I saw Trick Shot punch Swordsman across the face so hard my old weapons teacher fell to the ground. Kelly bent over me and the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Barney looking down on me from over her shoulder.