Chapter 25- Star-spangled Man With a Plan

For once Clint didn't grumble when his alarm clock sounded off. He really hated the thing, but Coulson had given him a severely disappointed look when he broke the first one on the first morning with SHIELD. So he tolerated the stupid thing and put it on the dresser across the room from his bed so he couldn't break it in his sleep. But that meant he had to get out of bed to turn it off, so he couldn't just hit snooze and roll over. The whole routine just made him hate mornings more than ever.

But not this morning because today Logan was coming to get him. His time with Agent Coulson and SHIELD was finally coming to an end. And he was supposed to meet Captain America today too. If anyone asked him which had him more excited, he wouldn't be able to give a coherent answer. Today was just going to be awesome.

The blond teenager took his time in the bathroom for once, trying to get his unruly hair to behave. He brushed his teeth and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his purple t-shirt (it didn't work) and finally went out to meet Phil.

Agent Phil Coulson was pristine as usual in his suit, though Clint noticed he took extra care today too. Clint tried not to smirk as he slid into his chair at the table. Phil already had a plate of pancakes ready for him and he dug in gleefully, hiding his amusement in his joy of his favorite breakfast. Seriously, Phil's hero worship for Captain America was worse than Clint's and he worked with the man. After Clint learned what to look for, he could always tell when the agent had a meeting with the hero. It was kinda funny.

"Are you all packed?" Phil asked as he sat down with his own plate. "Logan said he was hoping to get on the road today. Don't want to keep him waiting."

Clint nodded and took the time to swallow before answering. "Yep! Everything is ready to go except my bow and arrows. I'll need those to test Tony's prototypes."

Coulson sighed at the reminder of Stark and his meddling. The inventor had been less of an ass after the impromptu pizza party, but he was still a source of stress. "I know. Agent Reynolds will be here to direct you to the testing field while I wait for your mentor. Please don't get into trouble before I get there."

Clint laughed and shoveled the last of his pancakes into his mouth. He almost choked but quickly washed it down with a glass of milk. "Don't worry, I'm sure Captain America will keep us under control."

Coulson chuckled. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

A knock on the door prevented Clint from answering. Instead he saluted the agent with two fingers as he dashed for the door, grabbing his bow case on the way, and left with Agent Reynolds who just laughed at his excitement.

"Someone's chipper this morning,"Reynolds teased as he directed Clint into one of the base's golf carts.

Clint couldn't stop the grin stretching across his face. "Today is just a good day," he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

The young agent saw right through him. "Uh huh, sure. So what is it? The exploding arrows? The hero out of time? Or is it finally getting out of here?"

Clint just laughed. "All of the above!" He kicked his legs up on the dash, just to annoy the agent. Reynolds rolled his eyes and batted at Clint's legs. It was kind of a routine for them by now and Clint wasn't going to miss his last chance. Reynolds seemed to feel the same, and the two passed the rest of the short trip with good natured teasing.

Soon they reached their destination. Coulson had set aside a section of the artillery range for Stark's tests. Clint got a glance at the paperwork and he was surprised it took so much work to schedule this thing. It gave him more respect for the unassuming agent and all the work he does.

Clint knew he and Reynolds were early, so he was surprised to see Stark already setting up. The billionaire had several of his fancy cameras laying around and his own targets which he was calibrating as they drove up.

"Hey! Agent Junior and Mini-Hood! Good to see you. Where's Agent Agent?" Stark asked without looking up from what he was doing.

"Agent Coulson will join us as soon as Clint's mentor arrives," Reynolds answered as he got out of the cart. "He asked that you wait for him before you begin."

"Yes, yes of course. Need parental consent before giving high yield explosives to a minor. I remember the lecture. And I'm excited to see the elusive mentor who shall not be named. Seriously, is it that big a deal? Why the big secret?"

Clint shrugged. "I don't think it matters, since you're going to meet him anyway, but now it's a thing. So I'm not saying a word." He tried to look around without being too obvious. He didn't see anyone who could be Captain America. He tried to not be too disappointed. He should be happy with the exploding arrows.

"Yeah, yeah, Agent said the same thing. I think he just likes that he knows something I don't. Anyway, as soon as my muscle gets back from setting up the distance targets, we can set these babies up. I'm testing all kinds of stuff today. If these sensors work, I'll incorporate them into my suit. And I had to make a new high-speed camera to capture the release mechanism in action, twice as sensitive as anything on the market," Tony rambled, mostly to himself but he liked having an audience. Clint could respect that.

Clint turned to look for Tony's assistant. A tall man in a leather jacket and ballcap was jogging up to them but he was definitely moving faster than his casual jog should be. Clint blinked and before he knew it the man was standing before them. He was tall with broad shoulders that looked like he could carry the world without flinching. Blond hair peaked out from under the Brooklyn baseball cap that shaded his bright blue eyes.

"You must be Clint, right? It's very nice to meet you," Captain America said, holding out his hand.

Clint felt tongue tied as he took the hero's hand. It was warm and soft and very nice. The starstruck teenager opened his mouth to try to say something, anything but he just stood there holding Captain America's hand. He was shaking Captain America's hand. He was never washing that hand.

Thankfully, Tony broke in before Clint could embarrass himself. "Yeah, yeah. Meet and greet later. First help me set up these last few targets, Capsicle. Then I need help putting the cameras up. Then maybe we can finally get this show on the road. Clint, do you think your mysterious guardian will be joining us soon?"

Clint blinked and when Captain America released his hand he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, um, sure. Yeah, he'll be here soon," he said.

"We'll talk later. Let me help Tony before he gets too worked up. Then you can tell me more about your archery and how SHIELD has been treating you," Captain America said before picking up two of the targets, one in each arm and striding off to where Tony indicated.

"He's pretty impressive, isn't he?" Agent Reynolds said with a smile and a shoulder bump.

Clint shook his head to clear it. A wide grin stretched across his face and he looked down at his hand. The grin only got bigger. "Yes he is. He's so cool and nice," Clint agreed in a small voice.

The agent leaned down to whisper in Clint's ear. "Don't worry about embarrassing yourself. Trust me, you can't be worse than Coulson's first impression. Apparently, he couldn't hardly string two coherent words together. Of course, no one can prove it since all the security footage was deleted, but he still gets teased about it," Reynolds said in a conspiring whisper.

The young archer giggled, letting out some of the tension in his shoulders. "What about you?"

Reynolds barked a laugh, making Tony turn around to give them an odd look. Reynolds waved a hand at the genius and told Clint out the side of his mouth, "I got stuck saluting him at attention. We stood there for a long minute while he held out his hand to shake and I just stood at attention until Agent Coulson kicked my ankle. It was all cool after that." He shook his head and watched as Captain America jogged back to them. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Captain Rogers's very nice once you get to know him."

Clint nodded and decided to turn his attention to something he was more comfortable with like checking his bow and looking at the arrows Tony brought. He knew better than to touch until Tony told him, but he couldn't help looking and getting excited. He couldn't wait to show off.

They finished setting up and Tony took control. He gave Clint a quiver of ordinary arrows to start with. The inventor needed a series of control shots before they started the testing and it gave Clint a chance to warm up. Clint used his new bow from the Renaissance fair, the purple wooden bow he called Princess, because she was better and he'd need the extra strength for the distance targets that were at the edge of his range. Reynolds, Tony and Captain America stood back to watch him do his thing.

Clint took a deep breath and tried to relax as he grabbed the first arrow. He knew he could do this, literally with his eyes shut, but he took the time to settle into position and breathe. He was going to do this right. He nocked the arrow and pulled back, sighted down the shaft and released the arrow. Bullseye. He grabbed the next arrow and repeated the cycle, keeping his breathing steady. Perfect. He grabbed the next arrow, and continued until he had put two arrows into all six targets. He held his breath for a second as he lowered his bow and released it in a rush as he turned to his audience.

"Good job, bub. Looks like you've kept up your practice just fine without me," Logan said, striding out from behind the other three observers.

"Logan!" Clint exclaimed. He rushed over but came to a halt right in front of his mentor. He wasn't sure if he should hug him or shake hands or what. Suddenly, he felt very awkward.

Logan took the decision out of his hands by pulling him into a one armed hug before holding him at arm's length. "You've grown. I think you're taller than me now. Not that it's all that hard to beat me."

Clint blushed and ducked his head but he had to admit that yes, now he was at least an inch or more taller than the short mutant. "Coulson made sure I had enough to eat and he's all about vegetables and stuff," he mumbled.

Tony , not about to be ignored during their reunion, stepped forward with his hand out. "Tony Stark, and you are?" he introduced himself.

Logan looked at the outstretched hand and raised an eyebrow before taking it for politeness sake. "Wolverine," he said, watching for the genius's reaction. He was not disappointed.

Tony dropped his hand quickly and took a step back before remembering himself. "I've read a lot about you," he said carefully. "You're with the X-Men, right? They do good work despite what the press says."

Logan grinned while Clint's eyes got big as he looked back and forth between the two heroes. He wasn't expecting this to go badly? No, wrong word. There was just so much tension in the air.

Then Captain America stepped forward and held out his hand. Logan's feral grin turned into a genuine smile as he accepted the handshake but then the supersoldier used it to pull him into an awkward hug. Tony choked.

"Logan!" Captain America said warmly when he let go and took a step back. "It's been a while. What have you been up to? What are you doing taking care of a kid?"

Logan took out a cigar and lit it. "Just doing what I do best, sniffing out trouble. Kid got Hydra's attention somehow. What about you, Steve? Doing anything more interesting than kissing babies for the cameras?"

"Wait, you already know Captain America?" Clint squeaked. "Seriously, all those talks and you never mentioned Captain America?! How could you?"

"I'd like to know that too. Anything you'd like to share with the class, Spangles?" Tony asked, glaring at the two men. "Is this why Agent keeps putting Wolverine's file in the pile for membership?"

Logan shrugged. "You didn't ask. And I already told Coulson that I ain't joining his little club."

Clint punched Logan's arm. "You never said anything!" he repeated. It bears repeating because now Clint was feeling a little foolish. "You could have introduced me, then I wouldn't have to wait for Ironman to do it."

"I was waiting till our next poker game. Figured you could be my guest this time. Then the three of us would be the only sober ones and you could clean them all out," Logan said as if that was his plan all along. He puffed on his cigar and looked smug.

While Clint tried to wrap his mind around that revelation, Coulson spoke up. "What poker game? When did this happen?" he asked. He sounded like he was only curious but his body language betrayed how invested he was in the answer.

"We started having a poker game every couple months pretty soon after they found me in the ice. It was Fury's idea to get me more connected to this time. The location and players tend to change. Logan usually brings a guest. Last time was Dr. McCoy, I believe," Captain America answered. "I thought you knew, since Fury usually hosts."

Coulson smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Clint figured that Director Fury was going to get an earful soon. "Believe me, I will be asking him about it," Coulson said carefully.

"We'll crash the next one together, Agent. I guess I didn't rate an invite either," Stark said, walking over to throw his arm around the agent's shoulders. "We'll say it's a team building exercise."

"No need to do that, Agent Coulson. You can be my guest next time," Captain America told him quietly. Logan turned his head so Stark couldn't see his smirk.

"Well, I can see where I rate. Come on, Clint. Let's blow some stuff up before I feel left out," Tony said, turning away from Coulson to pull Clint back over to where everything was set up.

Clint glanced back at Logan as the billionaire pulled him away, making sure that the mutant wasn't insulted or going to leave. Logan raised an eyebrow, but followed in Tony's wake to see what they were up to. It was Clint's turn to take center stage.

Well, sort of. He had to share with Tony Stark. "This first set is testing my release mechanism. So instead of explosions, there will be a burst of colored powder. Not sure how useful these would be in real life but I bet you could have fun with them. World's first archer artist, maybe?" the inventor explained.

Clint thought paint arrows would be pretty cool but he didn't say anything as he shot the first arrow. It struck the bullseye and there was a burst of red that covered the target. Clint whooped and high fives Tony before shooting the rest of the arrows. Each one burst in a cloud of red or purple.

"Congratulations, Stark, you made tagging arrows," Logan said, deadpan. His arms were crossed with his cigar between his teeth. His favorite cowboy hat shaded his yes so he looked kind of menacing, but he was grinning so Clint knew he was only picking on Stark.. "Got any ideas for them, Hawk?"

Clint danced a little in place. "Oh, man yeah. Obviously the prank options are limitless, but even in a mission I bet they can be useful. Marking a target in a crowd, or signaling a team, or…" he trailed off then whirled to look at Stark. "Can you put a scent in it?"

Logan smiled, already seeing where Clint was going but Stark looked confused. Coulson nodded like he saw it too. He and Reynolds had stepped to the side so they could observe without intruding.

"Why?" Stark asked, looking around at the others to see if he was the only one missing something. He was. Even Captain America seemed to understand what Clint wanted.

"A scent that Logan could trace. I shoot an arrow like that into a room full of bad guys, then Wolverine could track them down whenever he wanted," Clint explained, already excited.

Stark looked around and when he saw Logan just raise an eyebrow, he wasn't about to back down from the challenge. "Of course I can. I could even make an invisible tracking dye that my sensors could follow so you don't have to rely on having a sniffer hound with you. But that's a good idea Clint. Nice work. Now let's see how you do with my exploding arrows. Those were the whole point, right?"

Clint felt a hundred feet tall as he accepted the first arrow. Not only was Captain America, THE Captain America, watching him with a smile; not only was he impressing two secret agents and a superhero; but his guardian, Wolverine, looked incredibly proud of him. Clint was on top of the world. Today was the best day ever.

\\\/\\\/

Logan couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he watched Clint whoop and cheer as he and Stark tested the explosive arrows. The teenager had really grown in the last few weeks, both physically (he was definitely taller than Logan now) and mentally. He was surrounded by strange men but he was confident and excited. Though, one of the strangers was Captain America, so that made sense.

"He's pretty impressive," Steve said, leaning over to talk quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "You should be proud."

Logan nodded. "I am. He's a good kid. Reminds me of you." Steve shot him a look for that, which made Logan chuckle. "Small blond kid with more guts than brains, but full of heart," he explained.

"Well, hopefully he'll grow into without the help I needed," Steve said ruefully.

"I'm not worried. Now that he's getting fed regular, he's growing like a weed."

"He's already taller than you," Steve mused, one corner of his mouth lifting up.

Logan snorted. "Like that's hard. I'll wait for when he's taller than you."

"Where'd you find him?" the super soldier asked.

Logan had to wait until Clint finished shooting three arrows in quick succession and the resulting booms cleared. He shook his head to stop the ringing, his ears were sensitive but his healing cleared it up real quick. "The circus," he said finally. "Kid had crap teachers and rogue SHIELD agents after him."

Steve whistled. "So he's yours now?"

"As long as he wants to be. I'm not sure I'm up to the job but I ain't takin' the choice away from him. He's had too much of that in his life already."

Steve frowned and shook his head. "He's so young," he murmured before forcing a smile and waving when Clint turned to get their reaction.

Logan tipped his hat at Clint. The young archer was certainly in his element. He looked the same as back at the Renaissance fair, performing for the crowd, like he was finally comfortable with himself. Logan promised himself that he would make Clint feel like that more often.

"Did you see that?" Clint asked, dancing in place a little.

"Nice explosions," Logan agreed. "Those aren't going to go off by accident, are they?" he asked Stark pointedly. "Kid doesn't heal like I do."

Stark scoffed. "Like I'd give him something that dangerous. Really? Where is the faith?"

"Tony," Steve interrupted. "It's a valid concern. You blew up your lab last week working on something for your suit."

Stark opened his mouth to argue but stopped to consider it. "Okay, I'll admit I'm not the most careful of individuals. But I would never risk a kid with faulty equipment. I'll be running a huge battery of tests before I give him a quiver. Scouts honor."

Logan nodded, appeased for now. Steve chuckled. Clint rolled his eyes before redirecting Stark to the next test. Stark had tried to make a net arrow and the boy really liked the idea.

"You look good," Steve murmured. Logan shot him a glare. "No, really. I mean, I haven't seen you at that school you talk about but seeing you with him, I understand. Taking care of him suits you."

Logan scoffed. "Just doing my best by him."

"You've always been a better man than you would admit to. He's a lucky kid to have you on his corner."

Logan shook his head but allowed himself to accept the praise. "But I'm not as cool as Captain America," he teased. "I think we'll be keeping in touch." It would be nice to have more back up and Clint would love having Captain America's phone number.

Steve blushed, like he usually did when faced with hero worship. His mouth twisted as he tried to find a comeback but they were distracted when one of Stark's arrows burst.

Stark and Clint were covered in a weird pink goo that stuck to everything. Clint tried to shake it off with no effect beyond getting him more stuck while Stark fought to pull away from where he was attached to the archer's back.

"Aw, putty arrow, no."

Steve bust out laughing at how ridiculous they looked. Even Coulson and the younger agent were fighting chuckles. Logan grinned as he stepped forward to try and cut them out of the mess. He noticed that Clint was blushing when he glanced at Captain America. It is kind of hard to appear cool when stuck to the back of a cussing genius by a ton of pink putty. He'd be okay though. He had a lot of superheroes looking out for him now. Not even Hydra stands a chance against them.