"So," came Clint's voice from his comms unit. "Whose turn is it for movie night?"
Natasha, who was to the right of Grant, slammed two opponents' heads together. "Mine."
Grant scowled, dodging a kick and sending his bow into the man's face. "You picked last time."
Natasha bashed another guy's head in with a stapler, a frown on her face. "Really? I thought it was Clint."
Laughter echoed on his comms. "Nah, I'm pretty sure it was you, Nat. Why don't we just let Arsenal pick?"
Grant, nicknamed Arsenal by the lower level S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, smiled, firing an arrow into someone's shoulder before turning around and jabbing the edge of his bow into a man's stomach. The man doubled over and Grant finished him with a knee to the jaw. "I choose The Dark Knight."
Clint crashed into the room via a glass door, groaning as he collided with an office desk. "You love Batman."
Grant pulled the string taut before releasing, an arrow piercing another one of his attackers. "Well yeah, he's Batman."
Clint pulled himself to his feet before once again joining the fight. "You act like he's some sort of undefeatable guy."
Natasha dodged a blow, planting her shin in the side of her attacker's head. "Because Batman with prep time always wins," she said sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes, stepping to the side of a knife, jamming his elbow into the man's nose, and kicking him to the side. He jumped backward to avoid another slice, drawing in arrow and firing it into the other assailant's shoulder. He was grabbed from behind. Struggling in the grip, he flung himself backward. The force caused his attacker to back up, knocking his head into a wall. With a gasp, he let Grant go. That was all the room he needed. He slammed his bow into the man's forehead.
Grant exited the room, moving down a corridor in the high-rise that they were currently located in. "Moving to intercept the target."
"Why do we even need this guy? What's his name again? Alejandro Ramirez?" asked Clint.
"Sources say he might have information on alien technology," informed Natasha. "Fury wants him brought in for questioning."
"Remind me why we're the ones who have to do this?" grumbled Clint.
The redhead scoffed. "Because we're Fury's best and most trusted team."
"What about that Melinda May person?" whined the archer. "Can't she and Coulson do it?"
"Clint, quit being a whiny bitch and let me focus," growled Grant.
Natasha roared with laughter.
Grant turned a corner and spotted a fleeing Ramirez. "He's heading west on this floor, moving toward the elevator. I'm in pursuit."
Ramirez turned the corner and disappeared. He accelerated, sprinting throughout the maze of hallways. Every time he turned a corner, his target had already slipped into another hallway. Grumbling, he watched as Ramirez turned left up ahead. He slid a door open, entering an office. On the other side of the large space, was another door. Perfect. He ran toward it, pulling down on the handle. Locked. Damn it. Using as much force and precision as he could muster, he placed a well-aimed kick, knocking the door down. He entered the hallway, coming face to face with a shocked Ramirez. Smiling to himself, he drew an arrow and aimed it at Ramirez chest. "Stand down!" he growled.
Instead of listening, Ramirez, being a complete idiot, dove forward to try and tackle him. He took several steps backward, lowering his aim and firing an arrow into the man's thigh. He howled in pain as he collapsed in a heap.
"Got him," notified Grant, a smug smile on his face.
"Nice job, meet Clint and I at the roof for extraction."
"Copy that." Grant grabbed Ramirez by the shoulder and lifted him to his feet, which caused the man to cry out again. "Come on, dipshit, we've gotta go."
"Good work today," congratulated Fury as they sat in leather chairs on the other side of his desk.
"Thank you sir," they said at the same time.
His eyes lingered on Grant. "Ward, you look like a damned vigilante."
Fury had given Grant a new uniform to go along with the name Arsenal. It was supposed to be a funny joke, but everyone took a liking to the name and suit. It was a dark red full-body leather outfit with a bulletproof vest weaved into the material. He had a red eye mask that covered most of the top portion of his face, while the lowered hood cast a shadow over the rest. Flechettes were strapped to his waist and lower leg while a quiver was attached to his back. He grinned. "Thank you sir. I'll take that as a compliment."
Fury chuckled before getting to the point. "I'd like you to merge teams."
Grant stiffened. Despite being at S.H.I.E.L.D. for over a year and a half, he barely knew anybody besides the people in this room. He knew Tony Stark, but he technically wasn't even a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He had spoken to Agent Hand several times, but he didn't like her all that much. Clint noticed his reaction and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze for reassurance.
"Merge with who?" asked Natasha.
Fury smiled. "Coulson and May."
He frowned. Their names had been mentioned earlier that day. He knew a bit about Coulson from Tasha and Clint. He was a Captain America fanatic who believed in everything S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for. He was also pretty much the Director's favorite person besides Maria Hill.
The redhead assassin nodded before speaking. "With all due respect, Director Fury, Grant doesn't really work well with anybody besides us. In fact, I don't think he likes anybody besides the people in this room. I do not think this is a good idea."
Fury's smile remained intact as he turned to Natasha. "I am well aware that Grant dislikes ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people working for S.H.I.E.L.D., hell probably even the world. However, I think this is a good idea. Besides, you'll probably be the greatest Strike team that S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever assembled. And, since I'm in charge, you can't really say no."
Grant clenched his fist tightly. He respected Director Fury a lot, but this made him angry. What was the point even? He was doing fine with Tasha and Clint, he didn't need two random people. Besides, we are already the ultimate team. It took all of his self-restraint to not give Fury another eyepatch.
The Director continued. "You'll be meeting them in the briefing room downstairs in fifteen minutes. Dismissed."
They rose and exited like they were told.
And then Grant exploded.
"Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit," he fumed.
Sighing, Clint put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, kid. Everything'll be just fine. I'm sure everyone'll get along."
Grant could tell the archer sounded doubtful.
Yeah, remember when I called bullshit?
Phil Coulson was a nice guy, sure. Grant was professional…scratch that. He was semi-professional around other people, but not with his adoptive family. But Coulson…he took professional to an unheard of level. Everything about the guy reeked of justice, freedom, and work. Maybe Tasha could teach him a thing or two about how to actually live a little. He was Caucasian, in his early thirties, had brunette close-cropped hair, and wore a suit everywhere. Grant wouldn't be surprised if he slept in them.
And then there was Melinda May. The Asian woman in her early thirties was nice, loved to pull pranks, and was supposedly a very good agent. In all honesty, he could see a bit of himself in her…although he couldn't quite place what exactly it was.
So, why don't I like them?
And the more he thought about it as Coulson continued talking about their job as Strike Team Delta, he realized it wasn't that he didn't like them.
It was that he didn't trust them.
Trust had been his biggest issue, especially since Skye.
"I am well aware that Grant dislikes ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people working for S.H.I.E.L.D., hell probably even the world."
No, he didn't dislike ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people in the world.
He just didn't trust ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people in the world.
AN: So, this is my AU version of Strike Team Delta. Yes, I threw in a DC reference by giving Grant the Arsenal look and name. Again, this is how I feel he would be like if Natasha and Clint found him. Plus, each of the main characters in the MCU has their own definitive suit, so I thought I'd give Grant one. Next chapter involves a lot of time skips. Then, I believe the chapter after that will begin my take on the plot of season one. There will be flashback references to Strike Team Delta in later chapters, so the next chapter isn't the last you'll see of them, especially because they were just introduced.
Also, I had to throw in the Batman with prep time line.
