A/N: I make no profit from this nor do I own any of the characters.
Flasback/Dreams
'Thoughts'
"Speaking over the phone"
"Speaking"
Chapter 9: Caught In A Snare
"Wow, where'd you get this stuff?" Joey asked staring at the box of electronics on the dining table.
"Work." Clint replied simply.
"You didn't steal this stuff, did you?" Joey asked bluntly as he stared at his pseudo-guardian with some small amount of suspicion.
Clint raised a brow. "You think I'd really steal this junk? Besides, St-someone said it was gonna get thrown out anyway."
"Well, alright." Joey said as he stared back at the box and didn't appear to notice the man's slip up. "Think though, if I can control my powers properly, no one will have to suffer for my mistakes again."
"Joey-"
"I know." Joey held up a hand. "The apartment going up in flames was an accident since it was done in self-defence, but people were still left without a home because of me. That fire could also have been easily been an electrical fire just the same." He said sighing.
To get out of the depressing line of conversation, Clint picked out a digital clock that had been broken with some wires missing. "Now, since your techno ability is able to affect things around you, you should by default be able to make it so tech also works around you; so I want you to concentrate on making this clock work."
"But it's already scrapped." Joey pointed out.
"Even so, you should be able to work around that and make it work." Clint explained as he set the clock on the table. "Even if it's just a blink of the numbers, it'll be a start."
Joey stared dubiously at Clint for a second before relenting. "Oh alright." He said and stared down at the clock, focusing on controlling his emotions. He tried to siphon through his feelings about what might be appropriate to try, then the unbidden memory of Sofen threatening him appeared in his mind and he glared.
The clock then had spontaneously burst into flames.
As Joey's eye twitched, Clint calmly got the fire extinguisher and put the fire out. "Well, that wasn't exactly the power we were working on." He deadpanned.
Joey slumped in his chair. "Sorry, it's just…" he trailed off and wondered if he should tell him what went on earlier in the day. Then he remembered that Clint was one of the adults that actually gave a damn about him. "It's the school counsellor, I've been told to take sessions with her from the principal to talk about my feelings." He explained.
"Is there something wrong?" The older man asked.
"All the students know and worry about going to see Dr. Sofen, as a lot of kids have gone in okay, but come out with breakdowns that send them to a hospital." Joey replied seriously. "I only agreed to go because I thought I could see what she was up to; and today when she asked how I felt about my parent's divorce, she asked if I was staying with a teacher with this look on her face." he continued. "Then when I said no she said how inappropriate it would be if I was staying with a teacher; I lost it then and called her out on how she's been sending kids out with breakdowns and how she looks at me-"
"Wait, what?" Clint interrupted sharply and sat up in his chair. "This woman…she hasn't done anything to you, has she?"
Recognizing the question for what Clint was really asking, Joey shook his head. "She hasn't done anything like...that to me." He replied. "She threatened me though, three times, the last being just as I was leaving."
"What the hell kind of school system does your school have to turn a blind eye to someone who's supposed to help kids only to screw with their heads without an investigation?" Clint asked angrily.
"That's what I always thought." Joey replied. "Though I never acted on this because I figured no one would ever believe me."
"Well I believe you, and these threats stop here." Clint replied as he got out of his seat and went to retrieve his coat.
"You're not gonna kill are you?" Joey asked, thinking that it was starting to sound strange for that question to become almost automatic.
"No." Clint said as he put on the coat and went to get his keys from his room. When he came back, he took a twenty out of his pocket and put it on the table. "Here's money for pizza, I'll be back late, so lock the door and keep working on your control." He instructed before going out the door.
Joey stared at the door, before looking back at the box and rummaging through it. He found an old cell phone in it and a more materialistic thought came over him. If he could get this phone to work, then he wouldn't have to endure teasing from his classmates about not having one.
His more practical side made him more aware of the fact that if he had a phone he could use it for any emergencies now. He looked through the box again for any other stuff that he could use.
Not bothering to switch into his costume, Clint flashed his Avengers card at the gate and after the scan was done, the gate opened up and he drove his car in. The thought that someone could be so cruel as to create problems for kids truly sickened him; and the fact this woman had threatened Joey only made him angrier.
Once he found substantial enough evidence, that woman was going down.
Clint logged onto the main computer, as Stark's tech was the fastest and he'd be able to gather the evidence needed to make the police start an investigation. He types in 'Dr. Sofen' as he recalled what Joey had called the woman and 'Domino High.'
Pay dirt! He read through the information offered about how several students each year got sent to asylums because they would break down after seeing Dr. Sofen. Several of the parents tried to make the school check her background, but nothing ever came of it.
Printing out the number of students that either suffered from breakdowns or mental problems that were not ever noticed before he then looked up more on the woman and found even more articles about how she had been fired from various mental clinics because patients she worked with began developing severe depression and committed suicide.
Clint gathered up his research and headed off to change into his spare costume. Seeing this would probably be more useful coming from a sanctioned superhero than just a concerned parent. Or, parental substitute in this case.
People tended to work more on things if they believed the government would swoop in. And after having been undermined once, he was sure they'd take the opportunity to put away a psycho.
Captain Stacy was looking through another case file when the window to his office opened up and a man in a purple outfit jumped in, a bow and arrow quiver on his back. "There is a door." He said dryly.
"Yes, I know, but I'm sure your people aren't too pleased with the Avengers taking over Chisholm's murder." Hawkeye replied casually.
"You'd by right." George replied and looked over at the man. "Now why are you here?"
Hawkeye walked over and dropped a folder on the man's desk. "There's a woman, Dr. Karla Sofen. There's reason to believe that she is a serious threat to the mental health of the Domino High students. Three emotional breakdowns reported just this month."
George looked through the file at the papers. "Why bring this to me? Why not do your own investigation."
"Because I can't let this be connected to me, too many questions will be asked." Hawkeye replied solemnly.
Captain Stacy raised a brow at the uncharacteristically serious expression. "'Too many questions?'" he repeated. "Then I take it the rest of your team doesn't know about this?"
"No, I'd prefer it that way if they didn't." Hawkeye confirmed.
"May I ask the reason why you want this woman to be arrested? Other than the fact you believe she's a serious threat to children." George questioned.
Hawkeye stared at the man, and then sighed. "You have a kid, right?" When the captain nodded, he continued. "And you'd do anything to keep them safe, right?"
A look of dawning comprehension passed over Captain Stacy's face. "You have a child that goes to Domino?"
"My son." Hawkeye replied bluntly. 'Well, he's practically my son anyway.' He thought. "He alluded that Sofen has acted rather…inappropriately around him and that she threatened him." He explained. "Now, I want the police to handle this, because I don't think I could stop myself from killing her if I handled it."
"I see your point." There was a pause. "As much as I'm sure you wanna hear that'll this will be priority number one, there's still other cases."
"Just make it a priority." Hawkeye said keeping his voice carefully neutral. "Though I do swear that if this is handled very soon, I'll handle it myself."
"Hey guys, check it out!" Joey boasted as he showed his friends his new-old-cellphone. It had taken him about an hour to get it to work and another two hours to get it too stay working. But now his hard work had paid off and he had a cell.
"So you finally got a phone huh?" Tristan asked in amusement.
"Did your…" Téa trailed off uncomfortably. "Um, how'd you come across it?" she asked instead.
"Clint got it for me." Joey answered bluntly, as it wasn't really a lie. The man had gotten it for him, Joey though just left out the part where he made it work.
"Uh oh, some kid's getting picked on by Alexis and her posse." Téa said sympathetically.
Joey looked over his shoulder and saw the blond and her friends harassing a girl he recognized from his science class. He detested it when others thought they could bully people just because they felt entitled to it. He walked over to the red-haired girl and made a point of ignoring Alexis and her friends. "Hey, Andrea right?"
The girl looked at him. "Yes."
"I'm Joey; I'm in your Science class." Joey replied genially as he put his hand out and smiled at her. "How about I walk you to class?"
Andrea stared at his hand before tentatively touching it, her expression turning to astonishment as she grasped it and smiled back. "That would be wonderful, Joey."
They both walked away from the three girls and up the stairs of the school. Andrea kept her hand firmly held in Joey's even when the blond tried to pry his hand free gently. He decided to just let her have the comfort as he often saw the girl sitting alone and being picked on by other girls.
When they reached class, some of the students were already there, but made no notice of Joey or Andrea. Jessica looked up though and smiled. "Mr. Wheeler, I need to speak with you, outside please."
The students snickered and Joey scowled at them before Andrea released his hand. "Sure teach." He said and they both stepped out of the classroom. "What is it?"
Jessica's smile widened. "I have been asked by a colleague from Empire State University's science center if I anyone who might be interested in an internship there, and while I know you may be a bit younger…I recommended you."
Joey stared at her; then gave a real grin. "You serious? Me?"
Jessica nodded. "You're very intelligent, and this will help give you a variety of options to think about."
Joey's smile dimmed somewhat. "But you didn't answer my other question? Why me? Why not," he grimaced, "Kaiba or even Bastion?"
"Because neither of them have any use for it." Jessica replied. "And before you start thinking you're second best, neither of them has the flair for Science that you have. That's why I chose you, because I know you'll work hard at it and not just be there thinking it's a waste of time."
"Thanks Miss Drew." Joey said gratefully. "Would it be okay if I go call my dad-er, my guardian?"
Jessica gave him an odd look, but smiled again. "Class starts in 5 minutes, make it quick. Oh, and the internship starts tomorrow at 3:30 and ends at 6:00." She explained before going back into the class room.
Joey took out his new-old cell and dialed the number Clint had given him. The phone on the other line rang a few times before the other line was acknowledged.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Clint, it's me, Joey." The younger blond replied.
"What are you calling at this hour?" There was an underlining of surprise in Clint's voice. "Shouldn't you be at…you know?"
Joey's brow furrowed at the change of tone, before remembering that Clint was probably at work right now and was being careful to make it sound like he was not talking to a kid. "I'm here. I was just calling from the cell I found in the box of stuff you gave me to work."
"You managed to get it to work?" Clint asked. "Anything else?"
"Sorta; I'm almost done fixing up a laptop and just need to get a PDA working." Joey answered.
"That's great."
"Thanks Clint." Joey preened, even though the man couldn't see it. "I called to tell you that I got to be an intern at ESU that starts tomorrow after school."
"Terrific." There was a cough in the background and Joey had the feeling he'd probably just interrupted a meeting.
"Sorry for disturbing your meeting." He said remorsefully.
"You didn't interrupt anything, just an egghead talking, that's all."
"Hey, I'm an egghead too you know." Joey retorted.
"I know you are, but you're not insufferable and I can stand you." There was a beat of silence. "Got to go, see you later."
"Bye." Joey replied and the other line hung up. He put his cell in his pocket and headed back into the classroom just as the bell rung.
He hoped his call hadn't interrupted anything important.
Hawkeye just put his cell away when he noticed the look Stark was still giving him. "What?"
"Insufferable egghead?" he repeated crossing his arms.
"Well that's what you are." Hawkeye retorted cheekily, though he was glad to get any distraction from this boring meeting, even if they were still trying to track leads. He though had his own leads to who might have killed his old trainer.
What Joey had told him had unsettled him greatly. The dead ends he had to his brother being alive even more so.
Before there was any more talk, the hologram in the center of the table lit up and Phil Coulson appeared. "Hello everyone." He said flatly.
"Hi Phil!" Hawkeye replied cheekily and waved mockingly at him. The only thing missing was Joey laughing at the gesture.
Phil stared at him distastefully, probably reminded of the two hundred or so teenagers he had to help manage as a vice principal for a cover job. Apparently the mutant rate in schools had increased and he had been sent to several schools to keep tabs on certain individuals to assess their threat level before the X-Men tried to recruit them, or at the worst the Brotherhood.
"I have recently been transferred to Domino High and I have already detected very high class and powerful mutant-or what is believed to be a mutant, with the detector I was given." Phil continued.
Hawkeye looked up sharply, his expression turning grave, though his visage wasn't singled out since everyone else looked worried too. Powerful mutants were more of a risk because they were more likely to have trouble controlling their powers, but he had another reason to be worried.
'Don't say Joey Wheeler, don't say Joey Wheeler, don't say-'
"The mutant boy's name is Joey Wheeler."
'Damn it!'
"I have seen the videos of the lights flickering and then computers acting strange whenever he shows emotion, and while he has a high intelligence, that doesn't appear to be a mutant ability." Phil explained.
"Wait, you said 'maybe' a mutant, is there reason to believe he maybe something else?" Pym questioned, and Hawkeye straightened up.
"Yes, the detector I have has given off strange readings that do not indicate mutant activity for the most part, and I have speculated that the boy has several abilities he may not be aware of or are dormant; thus cancelling out the normalcy of the mutant gene." Agent Coulson explained.
'I have found it strange that Joey seems to have more powers than the normal one or two.' Hawkeye thought frowning in thought. Joey seemed to be a mutant, but he was something else?
The interest in Joey was getting too high now, he had to make his move to adopt him soon, or even try and he didn't think his pseudo-guardianship was going to hold up much. It had to be more official than just it being word of mouth.
Coulson looked off to the side for a moment and his eyes narrowed. "There's has just been activity moments ago picked up from Stark's cell phone."
Hawkeye sunk into his seat. 'Oh no.'
"What? But I've got my cell, unless someone got their hands on one of my old ones…" Stark trailed off and gave the archer a look. "You took the box of old gadgets and equipment I was going to throw away home, one of which was a cell phone I hadn't bothered to cancel the plan on," he said somewhat flatly, "now how did you get the phone to work?"
"I didn't." Hawkeye replied shortly as he tried no to feel unsettled by their stares.
"Who were you talking to on the phone just now?" Natasha asked him.
Hawkeye was very reluctant to answer the question, but he knew they would pester him until he gave the name up. "It was Joey."
"As in the mutant boy?" Janet asked in disbelief.
Hawkeye glared at her. "Don't call him that."
"And why exactly are you in communication with him?" Phil questioned going into agent mode.
"Because I'm his guardian." Hawkeye retorted. "Sort of guardian anyway, nothing official as of yet." He didn't know why he was saying this, it was just going to put a nail in his plans to keep Joey away from all this. It was like…it was like…The man's eyes narrowed slightly. If was rather strange he was saying things suddenly that he had no intention of telling the rest of the team, so why was he saying it now?
At least no one knew about the side ordeal he had instigated.
"I will have to check the rules about you being able to remain the boy's guardian." Phil said sternly.
"What? He's a lot happier with me than he's been with his so-called parents! There's no way you're sending him back to either of them!" Hawkeye shouted glaring at the hologram.
"There's still legal issues, Hawkeye." Coulson retorted calmly. "If you want to be the boy's parent I suggest you hurry up about it."