Ororo woke up and headed downstairs. Clint and Logan were the only other ones in the kitchen. Logan looked like he was drawing. He whisked it out of sight before Ororo could see it. Clint was cooking.

"Erm… Clint, you know your toast is burning?"

"Shit!" came the mature response.

He turned and fiddled with the toast for a minute before turning back to face Ororo.

"I hear you can control the weather. Do you all have codenames here or somethin'?"

"Yes. Well, the older ones do. Most of us already had nicknames before we came here. I'm Storm."

Clint nodded and his eyes darkened slightly. "I'm Hawkeye. You want scrambled eggs? I'm makin' some."

Ororo smiled and sat down next to Logan.

"So Clint, what are your powers?"

Clint looked uncomfortable and ignored her question.

Logan answered for him. "He can turn into a hawk. He can also just grow the wings and feet but I've seen him with a beak before. His wings are bullet-proof and can cut through most metals. He's also bullet-proof when he's a hawk. Kid's got the best goddamn sight on Earth. He just struggles to accept he's a mutant."

Clint handed her the eggs and smiled apologetically. Ororo grinned back. Logan started whistling. Clint dumped the food in front of him.

"Hey Logan, is there a good bar round here?"

Logan answered, "Yeah but we'd better wait 'til the weekend. Then the others can come with us."

Clint nodded and wolfed his food down. The two did eat in a similar way.

"You two have the most disgusting eating habits I have ever seen." complained Ororo.

Logan laughed. "Sorry darlin'. Forgot ya were used to the regal eatin' habits of King Scooter."

Ororo elbowed him in the ribs, laughing. Clint grinned.

"I'm gonna go get a newspaper. Want anythin'?"

"No thank you."

"Nah, yeah. Get me a pack o' cigars will ya?"

Clint nodded. "Sure. Back in ten."

Ororo frowned. It was a fifteen-minute drive to the town. Clint opened the back door, jumped into the air and transformed into a hawk. He flew off.

"Wow."

Logan glanced up. "Yeah. Kid's got a lotta skill. Only problem is… he had a tough life. Father beat the shit outta him, when he died brother beat the shit outta him. Especially when he found out Clint was a mutant. He never really got over it."

Ororo felt a pang of sympathy for the new mutant. Logan grinned at her.

"So, on the weekend can we count on ya?"

"For what?"

She was struggling not to remember the conversation they'd had before Clint had arrived.

"Drinkin' buddy. We're gonna get everybody down to the school. Except the professor. He'd disapprove and someone's gotta look after the kids."

Ororo rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just do not try anything on with Jean."

Logan looked up at her. "I won't. Just with ya."

She glared at him as the others walked in. Clint shot the doors with a few feathers still clinging to his hair. He handed Logan the cigars and opened the newspaper. He flicked through as though he was looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Scott.

"The Avengers. If they're in the news then they're OK. It's stupid, I know but they were the closest thing I had to family at that damn place. Hah! Found somethin', Logan look!"

Logan leaned round to look as did Ororo. There was a picture of four men and a woman, stood in front of a huge billboard that read 'The Avengers!' The headline screamed 'Hawkeye's flown the roost!' Clint groaned as Logan whispered something into his ear.

"They coulda come up with a better headline. Hey Logan, will you do me a favour?"

Logan sighed. "I thought ya got education in that place."

Clint looked guilty but Logan picked up the paper, cleared his throat and began reading.

"The Avengers made headlines a few weeks ago when they rid New York of an evil alien invasion. This super team had Bruce Banner, formerly outlawed as the Incredible Hulk, Steve Rogers, a super-soldier if ever there was one, Tony Stark, well-known playboy and Iron Man, Thor, deadly with a war hammer and Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye for his unerring skill with a bow and arrow. Finally there's Black Widow, just to prove that it isn't all boys and toys. Just as deadly as the spider whose name she shares Widow certainly adds a little eye-candy to this deadly ensemble."

Logan paused for breath and Ororo looked up at Clint. He was smiling, a sad, sort of wistful smile. Scott, Jean, Hank, Kurt, Professor Xavier, Bobby, Rogue, Peter and Kitty had gathered in the kitchen to listen to the newspaper article. Clint prodded Logan.

"Keep reading. I want to know what they say about my exit. Dammit, I miss them."

Logan grinned at him and continued. "However, it would seem is not well in this company of superheroes. Hawkeye mysteriously disappeared from the scene. At press conferences Hawkeye failed to make an appearance whereas the rest of his fellow alien-fighters did. When pressed Stark admitted that Hawkeye had left the team and his current job. The team were reluctant to give reasons for their archer's disappearance with Rogers' lame explanation 'he had personal issues.'"

"Gee, thanks Stevey. That won't make me seem like a screwed-up freak." Muttered Clint sarcastically.

Logan snapped, "Are ya gonna let me continue this?"

"Sorry."

"This explanation didn't satisfy New York and with good reason. Before long Thor cracked and confessed that Hawkeye had taken a bullet wound on a mission saving yet another town. After this injury he suddenly announced his desire to leave the Avengers. The team appeared to be shocked by his sudden departure each expressing sorrow. In an exclusive interview with New York's favourite superheroes Banner openly admitted that he missed the archer and would be pleased to see him again. Stark and Rogers were more guarded in their statements and Thor longed to see his friend come back to the group. Romanoff's reaction was similar to Banner's claiming that 'Hawkeye is a good friend to me and he is my oldest friend. I would love to see him again, or even just know his whereabouts.' It would seem that Hawkeye is the outsider in this makeshift group, leaving perhaps not because of a brush with death but because of unrequited feelings for Black Widow. Our loyal readers will remember that when asked if they were a couple or had any intention to be Hawkeye jokingly stated 'Maybe one day. If Tasha doesn't kill me first.' Romanoff's response was far different. Snapping out 'That would never happen, I have taste in men and Clint doesn't have any taste in women' we saw a look of shock and hurt cross the archer's face. Could the division in the Avengers be nothing grander than a simple case of love unrequited by the Hawk for the Spider?"

Ororo turned to look at Clint to see anger flash over his face.

"Fuckin' bastards! It's none of their fuckin' business whether or not I love Tasha!"

He whirled round and was about to slam his fist into the kitchen side when Logan jumped to his feet, wrapping a muscular arm round his neck.

"Take it easy, kid. Go outside, now!"

Clint glared at Logan before storming out leaving several very startled X-Men behind.

"He has anger issues." was Logan's explanation.

Nobody argued. Ororo saw Clint slamming his fist into a tree at the edge of the lawn.