"And help you did!"
They all spun around to see the Ringmaster standing on the stage, circus members pouring into the room as they surrounded the Avengers.
The Ringmaster smirked as he moved closer, not seeming to be afraid that his mere humans were facing off against the world's greatest heroes.
"Thousands of beings have tried and failed to get where I am right now." He turned to Clint, "I knew you'd be useful to me one day."
"What are you talking about?" Coulson's tone was completely neutral, as was his face, making it difficult for Clint to figure out exactly what he was thinking.
"Why, he led me right to you! Right in through the front doors!"
"You're a liar!" Tony snapped, "There's no way he- You know what forget it. I'm done with this. Jarvis!"
Silence.
"Jarvis?"
"Hmmm, seems like you've had a power outage." The Ringmaster smirked, waving another man forward and turning to him, "You have less than three minutes to get them all under control and out of here before the system reboots."
The man nodded, pulling a pocket watch out of an inside pocket.
"DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES." He ordered the Avengers, as many of them saw what was coming and attempted to do just that. His voice seemed to fill the room, and they felt compelled to obey… all except Clint.
His hearing aids were currently in an acrobat's hands.
"YOU ARE ALL FEELING VERY, VERY SLEEPY. VERY SLEEPY INDEED. WHEN I CLICK MY FINGERS, YOU WILL ALL FALL INTO A DEEP SLUMBER."
He clicked his fingers, and the Avengers, plus Coulson, all fell to the ground.
As the group was pulled away, Clint reached out and grabbed the Ringmaster's leg, stopping him from leaving. "Please!" He begged, voice sounding muffled in his eyes, "Please!"
The Ringmaster sneered down at him, gesturing to a couple of his men, "Take him back to the carriages…. And make sure he stays there."
….
The sun fell, and so the crowds started to gather.
The Ringmaster had promised that this show would not be one to miss, taking advantage of human curiosity, which meant that it was no surprise when the big tent was packed in mere minutes.
None of the audience knew that the people in the deadly traps were actually the Avengers, not with the masks that the Ringmaster had shoved onto them, and with the hypnotism still in place, they couldn't call out for help.
"Will they all get out alive?!" The Ringmaster was most of the way through his grandiose speech, smirking as the crowd all chattered in excitement, "Or will we see a tragedy today?!"
…..
Up above, where none of the lights shone, Clint was tied to one of the tightrope masts, desperately tugging on the ropes. When they showed no sign of giving, he slumped back against the pole and groaned.
"This is all my fault." He whispered to himself, as the Ringmaster finished his speech down below.
"… now, for the moment of truth! Start the timer!"
Tony in the Iron Maiden with spikes that grew.
Thor in a glass box of extremely poisonous snakes, movements almost sluggish as he tried to shake off whatever drug he'd been given.
Natasha chained to a table with a swinging axe.
Steve in a metal box, that was then dunked into water.
Bruce unconscious somewhere because even the Ringmaster didn't have a suitable trap for the Hulk.
And Coulson… Coulson tied to a stake on top of kindling that was about to be set on fire.
Really, all of these things should have been clues for the crowd to be concerned, but morbid fascination and curiosity often got the best of people, and they couldn't see past their own noses.
The timer started and Clint realised that he couldn't just let them get away with this.
Taking a deep breath, trying not to focus on the commotion going on down below, he dislocated the thumb of his right hand, allowing him to wriggle one hand free. He re-set it and got his other hand free.
Due to his act, he knew that he had at least one arrow and a spare bow up here.
Finding them quickly enough, he nocked the arrow and examined the scene. His shot needed to be perfect…. He needed to make the best decision.
There!
He drew the arrow back and fired, the arrow slicing through the leather that kept Natasha's legs pinned to the table. In one swift motion, she had twisted herself until her lower half was up and twisted away from the blade, balancing on her top half. Using her feet, she stopped the blades pendulum movements.
SNAP.
The wood of the blade staff splintered and mere seconds later, Natasha was free, and tearing her mask off.
This only seemed to get louder cheers from the crowd, who were still completely oblivious!
She smashed the glass that kept Thor contained, pulling him out, not seeming to care that there were a ton of poisonous snakes that were now crowding around her ankles.
"Free Steve!" She ordered him, as she turned her attention to the Iron Maiden that Tony was trapped in.
As they rescued them, Clint was already swinging down to the arena, slicing through the ropes that kept Coulson bound to the stake.
"No Tony! Don't wake the Hulk up like- "
"HULK SMASH!"
"- that."
Pulling a coughing Coulson to safety, Clint watched as the Hulk went on a rampage, with the crowd finally seeming to get what was going on, as they screamed and raced out of the tent.
"Are you okay?" He asked Coulson, desperately trying not to look at the patch of skin that was exposed by the partially unbuttoned shirt.
"I wouldn't be much of an agent if I couldn't hold my breath a little longer than the average person." Coulson gave him a reassuring smile, "I knew you'd come through."
"That makes one of us." Clint muttered, before his eyes widened and he pushed Coulson to the ground, rising his arm up, hissing as a whip wrapped around at with a sharp SNAP.
"Clint!"
Clint yelped as he was then yanked to the ground, almost swallowing a mouthful of dirt.
"You selfish brat!" The Ringmaster sneered, pulling Clint to his feet, pulling the archer in front of him as the Avengers all froze, just as Clint felt the cold steel of a knife pressed against his neck.
"Seems you've found yourself some new friends." The Ringmaster hissed into his ear, "Did you tell them some sad story? Did you make out like we forced you to join us? Because as I recall it, you and your brother joined us willingly."
Clint rolled his eyes, "You talk too much."
"… I beg your pardon?"
Clint smirked, "I see 5 Avengers in front of me."
"… And?"
"You're forgetting the most dangerous one." Clint only just managed to wrench himself forwards, hissing lightly as the knife scraped across his skin, the Ringmaster jerking and falling to the ground as electricity coursed through his body, a stern-looking Coulson on the other end of the taser.
With the other circus members having been dealt with (with various degrees of violence), Clint finally felt like he could relax, moving to press at his wound, only for a hand on his chin to stop him.
Natasha leaned in to examine the wound… before giving it a vicious poke.
"Ow! Natasha, no!"
"I can't believe you called Coulson the most dangerous avenger." She scolded.
"It was for dramatic effect!"
Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying I'm not the most dangerous avenger?"
Clint looked between the pair of them, mouth dropping open as he tried to find the words to say. Eventually, Phil took pity on him.
"Don't worry. I would be a fool to challenge Natasha for that role."
They all ignored Tony's muttering about how he thought he was the most dangerous avenger.
"You know…" Phil smirked, "… I think there's a place in the avengers for a 'world's greatest marksman'."
"… I can join just like that?! Isn't there some sort of… big boss that I need to convince?"
"Let me worry about the 'big boss'."
….
Fury eyed the new Avenger submission report and swore colourfully.