One Man's Hero Is Another Man's Villain
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The Avengers and everything associated with them such as Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D. etc. and Fate are owned by Marvel and Type-Moon respectively.
Nomad-117: So, no idea how I got this idea but here were are. Truth be told I know way too little about Fate and probably about Marvel as well to attempt something like this and the two of them are from what I do know probably kinda incompatible. Anyway, this is just a short little one-shot without too much sense in it I fear. Still hope it is at least somewhat enjoyable and decent.
Summary: What defines a hero? Is it someone who fights for what he believes in? Someone that helps people? Or perhaps it is someone willing to kill the few to save the many. One way or another S.H.I.E.L.D. is always interested in such people.
Chapter 1: Hero Of Justice
Clint Barton went through the data for the sixth time that evening before he sighed in annoyance and turned to look at Natasha. "This doesn't make any sense. That guy should have died over a dozen times by now and yet somehow always manages to survive against impossible odds… and there is no pattern I can see in his appearances."
"I agree." The former russian spy said, her voice cool and collected betraying nothing of her true emotions. "He seems to wander from one warzone to the other, occasionally stopping at refugee camps before disappearing again."
"Remind me again why Fury told us to chase down this guy?"
"Because everyone else failed." Natasha fired back absentmindedly as her eyes flickered across the various folders and documents stewn out in front of them. "For all he has done we know next to nothing about him." She reminded him. "Shirou Emiya, true age unknown, assumed to be around his late thirties early forties, grew up in Fuyuki city, once graduated he moved to London for but a year before-"
"He went on to travel the world and kill countless people." Clint took over with an eye roll. "Tracing his steps has done nothing so far, no explanation as to why some ordinary guy just decided to start jumping head first into one warzone after another. Coupled with the fact that his appearance changed in a relatively short amount of time from that-" He pointed at the picture of a red haired teenager, "-to that-" Now his finger rested on one of the few pictures they had of their elusive mark, tall, tanned skin and hair the colour of freshly fallen snow. "-our eggheads think that he might have partaken in some experiment. Possibly yet another attempt to recreate Captain America. Would certainly go a long way to explain how he did some of the things he pulled of."
"Agreed." The Black Widow muttered as she lifted another folder. "Though thus far we have nothing but assumptions to support that idea. For now I'd like to try and predict his next move. His MO seems decidedly different from his adopted father, Kiritsugu Emiya." Natasha would know, being older than she appeared to be this was not the first Emiya she tried to apprehend, but her current marks father had dropped off the grid for years, impossible to find, until they started to look into Shirou Emiya and discovered that the deadly assassin had lived his last years in Fuyuki city. "Kiritsugu usually went with the money, he was hired by someone, travelled to the location, completed the mission and disappeared before repeating the process. Shirou though? He just seems to travel from one hell to another for no reason and fights for one of the opposing sides, sometimes turning on his comrades shortly after… and there is the business with the power plant."
"Yeah, when he tried to recreate Tschernobyl and the reactor overload was prevented through nothing short of a miracle?" Clint asked, even though he already knew the answer. "Honestly, Nat? I think our man here has a few screws loose, I mean why would anyone sane even attempt to do half the things he did?"
"It's our job to find out." The russian told him with a frown. She had to admit that Shirou Emiya's actions certainly had the mark of a madman, or at the very least the mark of a man obsessed, she couldn't help but feel that there was a certain method to his madness that she failed to see.
"I knew you'd say that, but that still doesn't help us find him." Clint reminded her with an annoyed sigh. "You and I both know just how many hellholes are on this planet right now, and given his MO he could be in any of them. We can't even say that he'd be at the worst because he just seems to wander into problems the moment he lays eyes on them."
"I know, so what are you suggesting?" Natasha nearly growled at her partner as he flippiantly reminded her that they were not one step closer to finding their mystery man.
"Well, we know S.H.I.E.L.D. got contacts in all of these hotspots right? So why not use that to pull something? Given that he seems to be drawn to stuff like that and kill everyone involved we could use the chance to both reveal his location and have him rid us of a few undesirables." Romanov paused, it was unusual for Hawkeye to suggest such a callous way of action, but you didn't get far as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. if you couldn't be ruthless when the situation called for it. Clint continued before she could voice her opinion. "Just stir up the local terrorists, gangs or whatever, once they start killing each other he'll march right in."
"You sure? I mean there are already wars being fought in those places right now. Why would he care about a little more battle."
Clints smile didn't reach his eyes, which stayed as cold as an arctic night. "When has that ever been enough for this guy? He is acting less like a human and more like a machine, this should trigger his programming, don't you think?"
"That will not be necessary, not anymore." A voice informed them from the doorway as Nick Fury marched in, his features twisted by a scowl. "Roughly thirty minutes ago Shirou Emiya was captured, and convicted for starting the massive civil war in the middle east that has given us headaches for the last three years."
"Sir?" Clint blinked in surprise before shaking his head to refocus himself. "But that can't be right intelligence indicates that at that time-"
"He was still in Africa." Fury finished for him scowl deepening. "My guess is that he is supposed to be the scapegoat for all the bloodshed that happened over there."
"Well guilty or not guilty, can't say the guy didn't have it coming." Hawkeye muttered lowly, his eyes though shone with determination. "So when are we going?" When Fury only gave him a flat look in return he scoffed. "Emiya managed to avoid the whole world for years, they wouldn't have managed to captured him if he didn't want to be captured that's what you are thinking, isn't it?"
"Correct, so I want you two there making sure he doesn't just disappear after he managed to avoid his execution. Bring him to S.H.I.E.L.D. alive if possible, otherwise we want his body. Might give us a clue as to how he pulled of all this nonsense." Fury growled and twitched his head towards the still open door. "Jet is waiting, your gear is already on board, get moving."
"Where to exactly?" Clint questioned even as he moved past Fury and through the doorway.
"To the city of Amman, it took quite a beating in the war but it's where they plan to execute him for his crimes." Their boss told them objectively. "Exact location has yet to be announced, I guess they are worried about someone breaking him out. Though given the state of the city there are only a couple of buildings that qualify."
"Got it, we'll find him." Black Widow assured Fury as she moved to follow Clint. "Any competition we should know about?"
"None we are aware of." Fury told her which was essentially the same as telling her and by extension Hawkeye to stay vigilant. They were not the only ones interested Emiya. The two agents made their way to the Jet without another word lost. Both of them were focused at the matter at hand, a mission neither of them even thought of making light of. Shirou Emiya had marched into one hell on this planet after another, always surviving, always improving, all the while being hunted by dozens of organizations and killers.
His march across the globe had taken roughly two decades and only now people were able to capture him, or rather only now had he allowed himself to be captured. They intended to find out how and why, to do so they would have to apprehend him and take him in for questioning. Two of the world's deadliest assassins against one man who had seemingly fought against all the world could throw at him on his own.
Neither side of this struggle was to be underestimated, and that was without considering the possibility of others interfering. The number of potential enemies within the ranks of their allies was large enough without even considering those that openly opposed them.
In theory the world security council could pull some political strings to make their job easier for them but reality often was quite different. Regardless of whom they ordered not to interfere, whom they bribed, in the end there would always be someone of those that had agreed not to come, or at least that's what their experience told them.
Thus it was only natural for the two of them to check and double check their equipment, their intelligence and the radar. Once they landed in Amman the two assassins would be in their element, able to disappear easily only to reappear again whenever they wished, but while they were in the air they were significantly more vulnerable. Considering that it only made sense for someone to attack them in transit if they didn't want them to attend the execution of Shirou Emiya.
In the end they needn't have worried for their safety on board of the plane. Perhaps the enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. were too confident, too weak or perhaps even too ignorant to try anything against them when they were at their most vulnerable. Regardless of reason they arrived in Amman safe and sound, though Fury had informed them that the personnel on site had already spotted members of essentially every intelligence service worth their salt.
"Our friend sure is popular isn't he?" Hawkeye remarked with an annoyed frown. "Would make this whole thing much easier if he wasn't."
"We wouldn't be here in the first place if that were the case." Natasha reminded him even as she straightened her business suit. Leaving him in combat gear, the same old dance they had performed dozens of times, she would infiltrate the gathering itself while he would make his own way inside providing overwatch and fire support if things went south.
"I know." Clint shot back with an amused eye roll. "So you got a plan to capture our uncapturable man?"
"Force him into close quarters and use narcotic gas."
"Not very original but as long as it works I won't complain. I guess it's my job to force him somewhere suitable."
Black Widow didn't even blink at his reply. "Once he breaks free I want you to start shooting at him, make him retreat back into one of the corridors, once he is in there we'll have him."
"And what about everyone else in there?"
"If they get in the way I'll either take care of them or you have to take them down. Furys orders were clear, we bring him back with us and no one else." She reminded him with a shrug, as if the consequences of their actions don't concern her.
"Yeah, can't say I blame him. If more people like start running around… It'd be bad for S.H.I.E.L.D. if they were not friendly." Clint sighed and grabbed his bow. "Now then, shall we?" He received no answer from Natasha as she made her way to the door. He followed her dutifully, for the time being, their paths would diverge very soon.
She would make her way with a Limousine and appear as an official representative of the United States while he would use the rooftops of the nearby buildings to approach and enter the building. Giving him a birds eye view just as he prefered it. Given that it was an execution a surprising number of people was allowed to attend, even elements of the mass media were allowed to attend, undoubtedly to report and spread the news of the 'terrorist's' demise.
Hawkeye was no fool, he was well aware of just what Emiya had done, kidnappings, murder, assassinations, and countless more. The mere sight of the damaged buildings all across Amman was enough to get the picture across, Emiya had made his way through dozens of such cities all across the world. Wartorn, and at the very least some of the damage and carnage in those wars could be attributed to him, but right now he was about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. He deserved such a fate probably anyway, but in doing so the true mastermind was allowed to leave unhindered, a fact that Clint despised deeply.
None of his thoughts and emotions on the matter could be guessed from looking at him as he methodically made his way across the rooftops, or at least over the rooftops that were still intact enough for him to do so. Not even two days ago this city had been in the middle of a massive battle, but now it was silent. The war was over, and all that remained were the ruins of buildings and the scars of combat. Truth be told, a metropolis of such size shouldn't be as quiet as Amman was, at least not in Clints mind.
The fact that the execution was held in such a place was indubitably to showcase the horror and destruction that Shirou Emiya brought with him. As if to remind everyone in attendance that he deserved his sentence. Unfortunately in doing so they had just made it easier for Emiya to disappear once he freed himself, the man in question had proven multiple times already that such situations were but inconveniences to him.
Knowing this everyone with even a lick of interest had sent their agents, by this point Clint was certain that a disturbingly high amount of representatives inside the building as well as people waiting outside were actually intelligence service agents and military assets in service of foreign nations. A situation that would inevitably lead to chaos, though hopefully Natasha and he would be able to use that to their advantage. Or it just kill them, business as usual as far as the two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were concerned.
Thus in his typical manner he entered the Ministry of Justice via the rooftops and air ducts. The security was decent he decided with a frown. Just decent, no more, no less, someone as skilled as he and Natasha still had no problem to waltz right in and back out with the security measures that were currently in place. Which meant Emiya would easily be able to do the same.
He couldn't help but wonder if it was confidence, or rather hubris, that caused the authorities to act this way or if he was giving them to little credit, and they actually had additional measures in place, or perhaps even managed to outsmart them all. "Hawkeye here, everything just going dandy. How does it look on your end?" He muttered quietly into this radio as he continued to crawl through the air duct that would take him to the execution chamber. All he received in return was the sound of teeth clicking together twice in rapid succession. Meaning that everything was going smoothly for his partner as well even though she couldn't speak without drawing attention. "Understood, I am just about to enter, see you there."
He got no reply this time, not that he expected one. With practiced ease he pulled himself out of the air duct and set his feet down onto the steel beams that held up the buildings roof like skeleton would support a body. Up this close to the roof he could see the hints of fine and hastily repaired cracks in it, the Ministry of Justice had not escaped the bombardment as unscathed as it had first appeared. Cables spanned through the gaps between the steel beams providing energy to the dozens of lamps beneath him.
Excellent the amount of light would make it almost impossible for someone to spot him from beneath. He silently made his way across the beams and through the net of cables till he had a good vantage point of the gallows. The manner of execution hadn't been known to the two agents, after all it was irrelevant, no one had any doubts that the man in question would be able to avoid his fate.
And even on the off chance that they were mistaken they would just have to haul his corpse back to S.H.I.E.L.D. so that their doctors could begin to figure out just what made him so special. One way or another their mission would be over soon enough. Well unless things got really interesting, personally he hoped things would stay boring. Boring meant that he didn't have to worry about getting a bullet in his brain any time soon.
With a shrug, seeing that Emiya had yet to appear, he let his eyes wander over the crowd of onlookers, officials, reporters, agents and whatever else was down there. His keen eyes had little trouble spotting Natasha in the middle of it all. Her red hair certainly stood out in her surroundings, as did the red jacket of another woman who stood near the front, encircled by black suits and other formal wear her own deep red cloth made her stand out like a bonfire. From his position he couldn't make out many details save for the fact that she had long wavy black hair.
Even though he couldn't see more of her Hawkeye felt reasonably certain that she didn't belong to any intelligence service. The idea was after all to blend in with one's surroundings not to stand out. Still, her positioning would allow her to interfere in the execution if she so desired thus he opted to keep an eye on her nonetheless.
Letting his gaze wander he spotted a few familiar faces, some he recognized from his run ins with the KGB or other intelligence services, another one was agent Ross of the CIA as well as a couple of freelancers. Everyone in attendance, regardless whether they were civilians or not, seemed to tensely await the arrival Shirou Emiya.
Hawkeye could understand after all he felt the same way, the minutes seemed to tick by unnaturally slowly as everyone slowly but surely began to shuffle impatiently. The authorities indeed took their time to arrive but probably only to prevent someone from freeing their captive during transport. When they did finally enter the hall Hawkeye immediately understood why it had taken them longer, and why the security in the building itself had seemed somewhat lax.
The sheer amount of soldiers that filled into the hall and lined its sides was surprising to put it mildly. Natasha and he had taken on more enemies at once before and had come out on top but they've had cover on their side as well. Usually urban combat where numbers did not always equate to an irrevocable advantage.
Coulson would probably disagree with him but Clint doubted that even Captain America would stand a chance if he tried to escape in such a situation. Of course there was the possibility of people in the crowd interfering but given that more than two dozen soldiers watched every participant like a hawk meant the moment they tried something they'd be gunned down. Hawkeye felt rather certain that that fact alone was enough to dissuade even the most devoted helpers of Emiya, at least somewhat.
A motion in the front rows caught his attention, the red clad woman had clasped a sapphire pendant between her hands as at long last Shirou Emiya was brought in. He was unusually tall, standing taller than any of his guards that led him forward, his tanned skin appeared to be an lighter hue beneath the artificial light, while his snow white hair seemed to literally shine. His gray eyes seemed to take everything in with calm indifference.
Hawkeye squinted, he had been mistaken, Emiya had hesitated only for the fraction of a second but his gaze had been fixed somewhere. The lady in red it seemed, and hadn't he intently watched the two of them in right this very moment he never would have noticed the miniscule almost invisible shake of the prisoners head. The woman's hands fell to her sides, her pendant forgotten, hands clenching into fists instead even as they softly trembled for but a moment.
So, they actually know each other. Interesting, might be a good idea to find her later then. Hawkeye concluded, making a mental note of the fact, and resumed watching Emiya's slow march towards the gallows. He couldn't help but lean slightly forward in anticipation, curious what Emiya would do now.
Shirou Emiya came to a stop right in front of the noose, a guard behind him pulling out a rough black cloth to cover his face with. Emiya closed his eyes and smiled. A calm, happy, satisfied, even carefree smile that struck Clint to the core. No man about to be killed should be able to smile like that.
The cloth was pulled over his head, hiding the expression that unsettled Hawkeye from the world, only to be shortly followed by the noose. Clint knew what was about to happen, even when not everyone else had caught up to it yet. With a snap the rope became taunt, the force of the fall snapping Emiya's neck, and mercifully killing him instantly.
A quick downward look revealed more than a few shocked faces. Apparently they hadn't been the only ones who had their expectations turned upside down. "Hawkeye." Natashas soft voice rang out from his radio and he twitched ever so slightly in surprise at being contacted in this moment. "Move towards the Morgue in the back… we'll bring him back with us."
The slightest pause in her speech told him enough, she was just as shocked as he was by this turn of events but like any good agent they couldn't allow the unexpected to paralyze them. "Copy that." He replied curtly, his body moving on auto-pilot towards the his new objective even as he turned to look back at the body that was slowly being lifted back up and put on a stretcher.
Framed or not, he was certain that the authorities were just as curious as S.H.I.E.L.D. about how he did what he did. He was about to turn back around when he noticed that the red clad woman had seemingly disappeared. As he made his way to the morgue he contacted Natasha once more. "Widow, be advised. The red clad woman in the front possibly, probably knew Emiya. She disappeared, could try to stop us."
"Got it." Natasha told him quietly and severed the connection again. Hawkeye just continued moving, thoughts zeroing back in on the mission, even as the last image of that smile seemed to haunt him from the back of his mind. Along with the question why it bothered him so much, he had seen and experienced a lot of worse things during his time with S.H.I.E.L.D. so he had trouble nailing down just why that image wouldn't leave him alone.
Exhaling slowly he decided to leave that train of thought for later and first get the mission over and done with. Peering through the grid of the air duct he saw and heard no one, and with the earlier assurances of Fury not to worry about the security camera he deemed it safe enough to drop down straight into the Morgue.
The shrouded corpse of Shirou Emiya was already waiting for him along with a suspiciously still Natasha Romanov who remained facing in the other direction. "Widow?" He managed to get out before a noise behind him caused him to whirl around. He briefly saw a flash of aqua eyes and then… he was suddenly sitting in a cafe in the city of Amman, Natasha opposite of him clearly just as confused as he was.
"What-" He stopped himself from making a scene and let out a breath. "What happened we were in the morgue and now we are-"
"We were in the morgue? I only remember leaving the room and- there was someone? I think- I can't remember. There had to be…" She trailed of, clearly unsettled by the thought that someone had so easily been able to get the drop on her.
Not that Hawkeye could blame her, he felt the same way, and he had the nagging suspicion that he was forgetting something as well. He had warned Natasha about someone, or at least he thought but no he wasn't sure anymore. He recalled a smile that unsettled him, making his way to the Morgue, his arrival and then nothing. "Lets- Let's get out of here for now." He suggested quietly and stood up. "Fury will wanna hear this."
Author Notes:
Nomad-117: So yeah, that was… something. I kinda watched Unlimited Blade Works, and a few days later might have gotten my hands on Infinity War and here we are I guess. At least that's the only thing that makes any sense to me as to how I got here. Anyway, I really tried to make it clear how Emiya travelled the world, was willing to get his hands dirty to safe the majority while also never being understood. Not exactly sure how to put this but… well people like S.H.I.E.L.D. probably go into Super-paranoia mode when they see someone travelling across the world killing people left and right, pulling of stuff that he shouldn't be able to, and the whole time they just can't figure out his motive. Well, at least thats what would worry me if I worked for a secret government agency thingy, I guess.
Meh, whatever. At least I got one crazy idea less bouncing around my head now. Yay me?
PS: What defines a hero? When does someone actually qualify, is there are singular correct concept of being a hero?