Author's Note: Time to finally hear from Wolverine again. Kind of missed the hairy little guy. Thank you everyone for sticking with me.

Chapter 24- Ironman- Steppingstone to a Better Hero

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Wolverine sat hunched over in the pilot seat of the Blackbird, fidgeting with the communication equipment. They were parked in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi or Missouri or something. It was hot and humid and Logan was sick of Bobby complaining about melting. He had asked his team for some privacy so he could call Clint, but now he was stalling. If he waited too long someone would come in to check on him. He growled at himself and hit the button to send the call.

As expected, Agent Phil Coulson picked up right away. "Logan, it is good to hear from you. How are things on your end?" the SHIELD agent said. Logan couldn't help noticing that he sounded strained, maybe tired.

"The mission is turning into a bust, but my primary objective of being easy for Creed to find is working fine," Logan answered. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes to focus on the conversation. He idly picked at a hole in his uniform and wondered where Clint was.

"Yes, I saw the news footage. Nice work on taking down that rogue mutant," Coulson acknowledged.

Logan let his voice deepen into a growl when he replied, "Not a rogue, just scared."

"Understandable. I would be too if I suddenly grew a tail and scales."

"And I'm sure the armed mob and giant robot had nothing to do with it. Anyway, I'm not calling to talk about alligator boy. Where's Clint?" Logan redirected the conversation. He was still waiting for some of the buckshot from that mob to work its way out and he was not in the mood to talk about it. Besides, the boy was better off at the school anyhow.

Coulson cleared his throat. "Well, he's at the range of course. He is a very dedicated young man."

Logan sat forward and scowled at the console. He wished he was there to see what Coulson was hiding from him. "Coulson," he growled.

"Agent Reynolds is fetching him now. He's fine, Logan. He was just in a bit of a mood this morning, so I sent him to blow off some steam. Other than today, he's been great once I found something to motivate him with," Coulson said. He sounded sincere but he was a spy. Hard to trust what you can't see or smell.

"What did you find?" Logan asked suspiciously.

Coulson chuckled. "I've been teaching him to shoot every weapon in our armory. And I've been encouraging pranks on my junior agents. Keeps them on their toes and keeps him entertained."

Logan relaxed a touch. "He's enjoying himself then?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'd much rather be with you. I can't give him all the attention he deserves. Did Director Fury tell you about my project?"

"He might have mentioned it after chewing me out for using his best agent as a babysitter," Logan admitted, giving into a smile that the other man couldn't see.

Coulson snorted. "If he had a problem with me being a babysitter, he wouldn't have given me this project. Clint is easy in comparison." Coulson paused and sighed, the sound full of stress. "Though I might give you a heads up, Stark has taken an interest in the boy. Don't ask me why, he won't say, but he'll be digging."

"Should I be worried?" Logan asked. He pushed his cowl up off his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't have a headache but he felt like he should. Trust the kid to find trouble again. At least Stark was better than Hydra, probably, maybe.

"No, he's a good man most of the time. I think Clint's choice of weapon intrigued him and he can't help meddling. Though if you are still worried, you know the solution, right?" Coulson said, the humor obvious in his voice.

Logan let out a breath in a silent sigh. "I'm not joining your little team, Coulson. I have enough on my plate."

"If you say so, though my research shows you might have history with some of the leadership," Coulson hinted.

"Coulson," Logan warned. Of course he knew about Coulson's little team and he knew who was in the running for membership. At least one of those names had him keeping his distance, unless he needed a good work out.

"Oh, look. Here's Clint. I'll talk to you later, Logan," Coulson said, apparently dropping the subject. Logan knew better. This was going to be a reoccurring conversation.

"Hey, Logan!" Clint's voice came over the radio. He sounded excited about something.

"Hey, Hawkeye," Logan answered with a smile. "How's SHIELD treating you this time around?"

"Pretty good. Coulson makes me do my schoolwork, but he's been teaching me all kinds of weapons. Turns out I'm a great shot with anything," the kid bragged.

"Never doubted you," Logan agreed warmly.

"Yeah and guess who I met?"

Logan fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing what was coming. "Who?"

"Ironman, though I didn't know it at first. I thought he was just a weird rich guy. But he offered to make me trick arrows and a new bow. Isn't that cool?" Clint exclaimed.

Logan shook his head but answered in as positively as he could, "Sounds pretty cool, bub. Not really his usual speed though, is it?"

"I guess not. I think I surprised him. I bet him that I could split an arrow and he said that was a trick from the movies, not real life. I bet him $50."

"Did you win?"

"Of course. Actually I won $250, because he kept doubting me. I proved him wrong though. I'm the best," the kid boasted with pardonable pride.

"Don't surprise me. Stark needs a computer and a targeting array to hit anything."

"He's not that bad. I mean, today he was trying to shoot a bow. He did pretty good considering the pull weight was too high and it was his first time. He did have an arrow in the ceiling though," Clint laughed. "Oh, yeah, guess what else he promised?"

Logan grunted.

Clint didn't need Logan's encouragement to get excited. "He said he'd introduce me to Captain America! Isn't that just the coolest? The Captain America!"

Logan chuckled, remembering a punk in a spangled outfit punching Nazis. He didn't remember a lot of his past but there were some long stretches during World War II that were pretty clear. The memories of fighting with Steve Rogers are some of the clearest and best from that time. "That is pretty cool. Think he'd want to meet me too?"

"Oh that would be so awesome! You would have so much in common, and then maybe you could be friends and I could see him again. Wouldn't that just be awesome? If I could be friends with Captain America?" Clint rambled. It wasn't often that Clint really sounded like the boy he was, though dogs could usually pull it out of him.

Logan remembered Rogers giving part of his rations to a stray mutt in France somewhere, he didn't really remember where they had been at the time, and smiled. "I'm sure you'll be great friends, Hawkeye," he said warmly. "I'll be there to pick you up and see you palling around with a national icon and the iron menace in two weeks. I should be clear of my problem next week. Give me a week to shake him, then I'll be there."

"Really?" Clint said softly.

Logan rubbed a hand over his face and tried not to growl. That one word was all he needed to hear the kid's worries and insecurities. This is why Logan hated leaving in the first place but he could not risk Creed getting wind of the boy. "I promise, Clint. I'll be there in two weeks. Be ready for me. If something changes, I'll send Kurt to pick you up instead. Got it? I ain't leaving you there, not even if Captain America is there."

A heavy sigh came over the radio and Clint had some of his energy back. "That's great. Maybe Tony will have some of the arrows we talked about made and I can show off for you. I've been diligent about my homework and training, I promise."

"I trust you, bub. Just stick it out for a little while longer," Logan said, shaking his head. "Get Coulson for me. I need to confirm the details with him."

"Okay, sure," Clint said cheerfully. But his voice shook a little when he added, "See you in two weeks?"

"Two weeks, I promise."

"Good, um, okay. I'll just get Coulson then. Bye Logan," the teenager said and hurried off. Logan could hear him stumble over a chair as he left.

After a minute, Coulson returned. "Two weeks?" he asked without preamble.

"Yeah, I'll be there to pick him up in two weeks regardless of what the rest of my team is doing. Keep him out of trouble until then. Apparently he'll introduce me to Captain America?" Logan said, letting the last sentence trail off into a question. He just wanted to fluster the agent.

It worked. Coulson coughed and cleared his throat. "Apparently, Stark has been talking out of turn."

Logan leaned back in the chair and threw his feet up on the dash. "No surprise there," he chuckled.

"We'll, I was hoping to convince you to meet with Stark and Captain Rogers anyway. Your ward is in the center of this whole mess. You should stay in touch, even if I can't convince you to join the team."

"You're hoping Steve will convince me," Logan accused.

"Good bye, Logan. See you in two weeks," Coulson said, neatly sidestepping the question.

"Two weeks," Logan agreed and signed off.

He sat in the chair, his feet up, and stared at the roof of the jet. Two weeks. They were going to go by fast, but he wasn't worried. He actually looked forward to seeing the kid again and getting back on the road. It meant getting away from Scott and some of the more frustrating members of the team. He'd miss Kitty and Storm. Maybe Kurt, but the one he'd really miss decided just then to come into the Blackbird.

"Logan, are you done talking to your little friend?" Jean Grey said with a knowing smirk. She was young and beautiful and Logan was more than a little infatuated with her.

"Been peeking, Jeannie?" he teased.

Jean smiled and brushed her brilliant red hair back in a move that she had to know drove him crazy. "Just a little. Clint sounds amazing the way you and Kurt talk about him."

"You could come with me, you know," Logan pointed out with his most charming smile. "Ditch the beanpole and go on the road with me an' the kid."

Jean shook her head. "You know I can't do that, Logan. But you could bring him back to the school. He'd be safe there and could focus on his schooling."

Logan dropped his feet and stood up. "Wish I could, darlin', but I'm not risking the school with Hydra and SHIELD issues. We got enough on our plate."

Jean smiled sadly at him and he wished he could give her what she wanted; be who she wanted. Instead he stalked out of the jet and joined the rest of the team as they planned their next move in the wild goose chase Slim had them on.

The last two weeks of Clint's time on the base went faster than he expected. Surprisingly, he only saw Tony two more times. The first time happened in the cafeteria. The genius strode in like he owned the place and stole the seat next to where Clint was eating his macaroni and cheese with ketchup. Stark made a disgusted face and declared that he couldn't stand to see anyone eat that slop. He tried to steal Clint's tray, but the teen still had some hang ups regarding food. He grabbed the man's wrist and took him to the ground like Logan taught him, only without the pressure points that would have seriously hurt the inventor. Stark had been properly apologetic and not only let Clint finish his macaroni, but ordered some amazing pizza flown in from New York. It had been nice to just sit and talk and eat, especially when Coulson and Reynolds joined them and they spent the night razzing all each other.

The second encounter was at the range. Tony had several prototypes of his arrows for Clint to test. None of them exploded, yet, but he had the weight and design figured out and wanted to see how they flew.

"Simulations and equations only tell you so much, Mini-Hood. Experimentation is where it's at. You can learn more from a mistake than a success," Stark told Clint as he laid out the arrows. They all looked kinda bulky.

"So you're hoping to fail?" Clint asked as he checked his bow. He was using his old circus bow for this. He wasn't risking Princess on untested arrows.

"Well, no, not really. I know my math is perfect because I'm me, but there are variables even I can't account for. Even after my lesson in humility the other day," Stark admitted.

"That was pretty funny,"Clint admitted and grabbed an arrow.

"Wait, let me set up my recording equipment," Stark insisted. He set up three really fancy looking camcorders: one to record Clint, one to record the flight of the arrow and one to record the target. "Okay, light 'em up, hotshot."

They spent the rest of the morning working with Tony's designs. A couple of them were way too heavy to be effective. Clint just couldn't get the power he needed to make them fly accurately. One was too light and shattered completely on impact. The rest were a mixed lot of almost working but not quite there. Tony was excited about the results.

"I'll have a couple working prototypes to test before you leave. When was that again?" Tony asked absently as he took down his cameras.

"Next week, Tuesday probably," Clint answered as he checked his bow for damage.

"So that'll be December…"Tony mused out loud. "Oh, whatever. I'll be here."

Clint turned to look at the inventor. There was something he had been meaning to ask but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He decided to just go for it. No beating around the bush. "Tony, you said you'd introduce me to Captain America. Are you or…"

"I see how it is, I bring the shiny new toys but you only care about the star spangled PJs. Well, you're in luck. I was planning on bringing him with me next time anyway," Tony teased.

Clint sighed in relief. "It's not that I'm not grateful, I am," he promised. He really was. He never had a stranger give him things before, not without a hefty cost attached. Well except Logan, but he didn't count. Clint still wasn't 100% sure that cost wasn't coming, but he was trying to learn how to trust and Tony was a superhero. "I just promised to introduce my guardian to him too and I didn't want to be a liar."

"Telling tales, Clint?" Tony asked with an arched eyebrow. It would have been intimidating except Clint had seen the same look from Wolverine. It was hard to compete with that.

"I don't keep anything from him. It's one of our rules. But you can trust him. Phil does, and Director Fury too," Clint said quickly.

"Really? You've met the old pirate? Color me impressed."

"I bought him a pirate hat."

Tony stopped what he was doing to blink at Clint. "Okay, that sounds like a story I need to hear."

Clint grinned mischievously. "Sorry, that's classified," he said and while Tony stood there in shock, he made his getaway. After all he had schoolwork to do. He couldn't spend all his time playing around like some people.