Steve's eyes widened as they approached the Big Tent. "Wow." He whispered, only to feel a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't get too comfortable Captain." Coulson sighed, "We have some reliable evidence to suggest that this Circus is just a front for a criminal organisation."
"…. And that's why you suggested it to me?" Steve actually felt a little bit disappointed.
When Coulson remained silent, Steve resisted the urge to throw his hands into the air as he headed over to the others.
"Uh-oh…" Tony frowned, "… you're wearing your 'America has disappointed me' face."
"America has disappointed me." Steve muttered, before forcing a smile on his face and straightening up, "C'mon. We don't want to miss the big show."
…
Clint couldn't help but grin as he scurried up the ladder to the tightrope that hung above the circus run, his purple mask and uniform clinging to his body. He could hear the excited chatter of the spectators and the band preparing down below. Taking a deep breath, he knelt down to wait for his cue.
He didn't have to wait long.
"Come one! Come all!" The ringmaster cried out, the crowd falling silent, "Welcome to the Circus and welcome to our Feast of Fools! We will turn this city upside down! On this day, every man's a king and every king's a clown!"
The ring was now full of clowns and acrobats, all preening in the spotlight. Scanning the crowd, he could see other members of the circus pickpocketing those who were stupid enough to leave their wallets in their back pockets.
And then he saw him.
Clint almost fell off of his platform at the sight of the man as the spotlight moved over the crowd, searching for volunteers for the first act.
He was older certainly, with his brown hair receding…. But he was competent. Wearing an average looking suit, he stared out at the performance. What he saw, Clint didn't know, but it was clear that he wasn't like all the other suckers in this place.
When the gaze turned in his direction, Clint winced and drew back into the shadows, not even daring to breath as the man never looked away.
…..
Coulson narrowed his eyes towards the top of the tent, sure that he'd seen some movement up there.
"And now!" The ringmaster drew his attention back done to the ground, "For some death-defying acts, from our amazing Hawkeye!"
Up at the top, a figure clad in purple made their way out onto the tightrope, and from there, Phil was transfixed.
Each movement that the man made was hypnotic. Every muscle was carefully controlled as he flipped and back-flipped on the rope… before deliberately falling off and shooting a tiny pea mid-air, quickly firing a zip-line arrow that slowed his fall back down to the ground.
He landed perfectly, and Phil felt he was the first to start climbing.
"He hit a pea!" Tony was calling out beside him, "He hit an actual pea!"
Coulson wasn't fully paying attention to that though… all he could think about, was the fact that he'd finally found Hawkeye.
As Hawkeye bowed, the Ringmaster started to speak up again, "Yes, yes, yes… very impressive." He wrapped an arm around the younger man, and it was obvious to see how the poor man tensed up at the contact, "Maybe our little archer would like to take part in the next act…. The clowns!"
The Ringmaster moved quickly to one side as the clowns all piled in… and started throwing rotten fruit at Hawkeye.
It was clear that the archer was over-whelmed by the amount of fruit, and it was also clear that nobody in the crowd was finding it funny. When the archer tried to get away, only to slip in the juice that the fruit produced and fall to the ground, the only ones to laugh were the two men standing on the outside of the ring.
"We have to do something." Steve hissed, Tony nodded by his side, "This is just cruel!"
Bruce was starting to turn a little green at the sight, soothed only by Thor wrapping an arm around him.
"Indeed." Thor murmured, "I do not believe this is humorous."
When they all turned to ask Coulson for permission to step in, they frowned.
Phil was already making his way down to the ring.
…
His hearing aid had fallen out due to his panic, and he couldn't see from all the juice that was dripping down his face.
"Hey…"
He couldn't help but flinch at the gentle voice and the soothing hand that was placed on his shoulder.
"Here." A handkerchief was carefully placed in his hand, prompting him to clean his face as best he could. When he next looked up, he flushed at the sight of the handsome, suited man. The man looked like he was in complete control, but even Clint could tell there was something else behind those eyes.
"Sir!" The Ringmaster spoke up, "Please go back to your seat!"
The man didn't look away from Clint, "I will… as soon as I've finished cleaning him up and then getting him out of here."
"You are not going anywhere with him!"
The Ringmaster started to make his way over, only to come face to face with Tony Stark and Captain America themselves.
"Sorry." Tony shrugged, "Can't let you do that."
Captain America turned and helped Clint to his feet.
"That boy belongs to me!" The Ringmaster snarled, "This was an innocent act, which you have ruined!"
"Didn't look so innocent to me." Tony glanced down, picking something off the ground, "Is this a hearing aid? Did you seriously just attack a man to the point where he lost a hearing aid?"
He threw it over to Clint, who caught it with a grateful smile.
"And I notice that no-one else was sticking up for him!" Tony turned to the other performers, "I know what people say about me, what they call me, but I'm still more human than you lot! This is unfair and unjust, and your asses should be sued to high hell!"
"Silence!"
"Justice!"
There was silence for a few seconds, before the Ringmaster eyed Clint angrily, "You think you can leave boy? You think you can just up and leave us?"
"I think he can!" Tony flung an arm around Clint's shoulders, not even seeming to care that rotten fruit was getting all over his clothes, "He's a smart kid, unlike some people I could name and shame.
Behind them, Coulson winced. This was getting out of control very quickly.
"We need to get out of here." He muttered to Nat, "Now, if possible."
"I'll create a distraction."
"Thank you."
However, before Nat could move, Tony took action as circus men started to surround them. "Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… so's there's ten of you against the might of the Avengers? Seriously?"
One man stepped a little too close and grabbed Tony's wrist, only to be blasted away.
"Ah, ah, ah… no touching."
From there, complete and utter chaos broke out, as Clint struggled to break free of it all. As Iron Man taunted strongmen and contortionists alike (jumping behind Captain America afterwards), Clint backed away, towards the exit, only to yelp when his arm was grabbed from behind.
"I suggest you get back to your caravan, brat…" Trickshot hissed in his ear, "… Wait for me there. And I promise, when I'm done with you, you won't disobey me ever again."