Summary: One shots set in the world of Gemini Protocol and Trouble with Triples following the past, present and future lives of our favorite genetically engineered triplets.

Pairings: Clint/Natasha, oblivious!Will/Jane, some Aaron/Marta and Tony/Pepper. Nothing major is really going to happen in terms of romance. This story is mostly about the boys and their adventures…. So bromance all around!

Warnings: Language, I guess, because I have a potty mouth damn it. Also a strong possibility for crackish behaviors. Spoilers for The Avengers, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and The Bourne Legacy. Oh, and whump because… I write fanfiction for The Avengers. Apparently that's reason enough!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Author's Note: So, hey everybody! I'm back again. Hope you enjoy!

What If (3)

Part of being an older sibling is learning to deal with the messes created by the younger siblings. Aaron was actually ok with that part of being the oldest of the triplets. He really enjoyed being called in to help with the craziness that Will and Clint created. For so long he was denied the pleasure of being their older brother and not just another burden on them both. So he really didn't mind cleaning up after them. But he sometimes wondered if anyone else's younger siblings had problems like this? He seriously doubted that anyone had to deal with a brother who went missing on a scarily frequent basis and the other one who ran so much and so far that he backed himself into a corner he couldn't get out. No, the twins created messes that were very far from normal. But Aaron didn't mind cleaning them up. He didn't mind being called to DC to pull Will out of whatever emotional funk he put himself in and remind him that he was still part of a trio no matter what he did. He didn't mind being called by their father or Natasha or Fury at weird hours in the morning so that he could use his almost always open connection to Clint to track the little weirdo down. He really didn't mind. But what he did mind was when someone hurt his brothers. It was a trigger for all of them really but Aaron had twenty years of being unable to protect and/or defend them to make up for. He intended to make up for that all over the face of the idiot that dared to take his baby brother away.

"You ready?" Natasha asked as they stood in front of the doors that would lead them into the New York office of SHIELD. Aaron had never been there before. He really hadn't been in any of the SHIELD offices except for the Providence base. That one was remote and quiet. He enjoyed holing up there for awhile. Especially when Clint and Wade came to visit. Now those were some good times. He jumped as Natasha snapped her fingers in his face. She raised an eyebrow at him once she had his full attention. "You were drifting."

"Yeah, happens sometimes. Part of sharing my brain with two other people," Aaron grinned. He winced as the smile pulled on one of the bruises on his face. He rubbed his cheek absently. "I'm starting to rethink the part of the plan where I let Will beat me up."

"You couldn't just walk in there uninjured. That would be the dead giveaway that something wasn't right."

"But again why did it have to be Will? He doesn't hold back when he's worried about Clint. Even when it's me he's fighting."

"Just be happy that he worked that out on you and not on any agent he even remotely thinks may be involved in Clint's kidnapping like he promised before Phil threatened to have him sedated."

Aaron paused for a moment. "Ok, valid point. Let's get this show on the road!"

Natasha shook her head even as she opened the doors. Aaron slipped into character as he followed in her wake. He kept a very deliberate limp in his walk as he remembered Bruce reporting that Clint's knee was damaged when he fell from the building (apparently that happened a lot. Aaron was concerned). He could feel all eyes on him as he and Natasha paraded through the busy bullpen on their way to Fury's office.

Aaron was grateful to whatever genetic coding combination that allowed him and Clint to have such amazing eyesight (though he was loathe to admit that Clint's was better). Out the corners of his eyes, he could make out the faces of the agents that were blatantly gawking at them as they walked by. Most of them seemed relieved that a missing agent was found. Others annoyed that once again the Black Widow and Hawkeye were making a scene just by walking. But there was one that didn't fit with the others. This was one was confused and slightly panicking. Working on a hunch, he turned to face that particular agent and winked. The man turned various colors of red before stomping off. Bingo.

"So soon?" Natasha complained. Her voice was barely a murmur but he heard her loud and clear. "That is mildly disappointing. Oh, well guess it's time to go to work." She leaned in and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Be careful."

"Like that guy is going to get the drop on me. The only reason he got Clint was because he was hurt already."

"I know that. I meant be careful when you talk to him. You know Will is going to want to have some words too. Leave some for your brother, will you? He's going to be intolerable if you don't." Aaron pulled a face. There wasn't a strong enough word in the English language to describe what Will would be if Aaron didn't let him in on the action.

"You're right. I'll be careful," Aaron sighed, feigning being put out. Natasha stifled a smile before loudly announcing that he should get checked out by Medical. Aaron gave the expected Clint like responses. There was a brief "argument" and then he was on his way.

He didn't make it three feet down the hall before he was being roughly grabbed by a figure waiting in the shadows and pulled into one of the empty offices. Aaron tilted his head to the side studying the man. He was tall. Aaron estimated that he was probably taller than even Thor. His muscles were rippling in the SHIELD issue t-shirt he was wearing. It was beyond obvious that he got by on his size alone because the brains were clearly not operative.

"How the hell did you get out?" his would be abductor hissed, shoving Aaron against a wall. "What kind of game are you playing at here, Barton?"

Aaron smirked, stepping out of character and away from the man. "I'm not Clint Barton and this is very much not a game, my very stupid muscular friend."

"What?" the man muttered. Aaron rolled his eyes before grabbing the man by the throat, flipping their positions and pinning him to the wall. He struggled to escape the hold but that wasn't happening. He was big but Aaron was stronger. He had double the amount of genetic cocktail in his body. He wasn't getting loose until Aaron felt like letting him go. And that wasn't happening until Aaron knew where Clint was. "What the hell is going on?"

"How much do you know about Clint Barton, Agent…? Oh, yeah I've heard a lot about you. Harris, right? Veteran agent. Been here about fifteen years. Thinks he's somehow a better candidate for the Avengers Initiative than Barton. Also thinks that he could be a better deputy director than Maria Hill simply because he's a man and she's not. Yeah, you're a real piece of work. Right then, Harris, how much do you actually know about Agent Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton?"

"Uh…"

"Come on. Don't be shy," Aaron ordered. He reached into his jacket, taking the non SHIELD issued gun from his front pocket. He let go of the man's throat but jabbed the gun into his side. Harris tensed and stopped struggling to move. "Wise choice. Agent Harris, I'd like to introduce to one of my favorite girls in the world. This is Buttercup. Cute name but she really packs a punch. Or rather she punches a hole the size of your head through pretty much anything. That also includes the human body. So I suggest you start talking or you'll get a first hand demonstration of just how beautiful Buttercup can be."

"I don't know anything about you, I mean Barton. No one knows anything about him except that he's somehow been around since he was a teenager and he's a favorite of Coulson. That must be the only way he got here. Why else would they want an orphaned nut job"

"You couldn't be more wrong," Aaron replied coldly. "See the thing is Clint Barton isn't real. Or rather he's not real anymore. When he's not surrounded by the mind numbing stupidity that seems to breed itself in this office he goes by a different name. He goes by his adopted father's name. And so do his brothers. In case you're missing the hint, that would be me and his violent and bordering on psychotic at the moment twin."

"Brothers… twin?!"

"Yeah, he's got an identical twin with really bad impulse control and anger management issues especially when his twin is missing. Also he has this incredibly awesome yet understandably awkward tendency to get really pissed at the person who made him go missing. If I were you I would tell me everything about why you thought it was a good idea to kidnap a fellow agent and where you put him. Or you can do the stupid thing and not say a word. Then I let Will torture you for the information. And he's very creative and angry."

Harris looked around the room wildly as if searching for some help. Aaron laughed. He knew that Natasha already had this area secured. There would be no help for him. Not today. He pressed Buttercup into the taller man's side harder, letting it dig into the flesh painfully.

"Ok, ok. It was just to teach him a lesson. He helped Loki! And nothing happened! He just goes back to work and everything is supposed to be great. How can we trust someone who turned their back on us? How are we supposed to trust someone that helped murder over a hundred people? People that were actually friends of his. Now he's running around with the Super Friends."

Aaron tensed and had to stop himself from shooting the man in front of him. His finger twtiched towards the trigger and everything in him wanted to pull it because how dare he? Harris really thought Clint walked away from this with no damage?! Aaron knew all too well how much the invasion and the events surrounding it hurt his brother. How much Loki's brainwashing hurt his brother. This bastard thought that nothing happened? He was dumber than he looked. And Aaron was really tempted to just end his miserable life right then and there. But he needed a location first. Once he had Clint back, he was more than willing to turn him over to Will and Natasha. But only after creating a few new holes in his body courtesy of Buttercup.

"Where is my brother?" Aaron growled, digging the gun in deeper.

"He's in one of the older SHIELD safe houses. The ones we don't use anymore up in Yonkers," Harris grunted as Aaron continued to dig the gun in.

"Ok, new question, what did you do to him? I haven't been able to sense him in two days. What did you do?"

"He's… in a sensory deprivation chamber."

Aaron's eyes widened and he almost let the gun drop in surprised horror. A sensory deprivation chamber? For someone like Clint that would be… another form of hell. Clint relied on his other senses because of his hearing loss. Whether it was because of he trained them or because of the same formula that gave them life, Clint's senses were heightened to another level. To take them away from him would be nothing short of cruel. Aaron wanted to say something but he couldn't. He didn't get a chance as there as a muffled yell above their heads and then Will was jumping out of a vent.

"How long have you been up there?" Aaron muttered. "When did you even get up there? Why were you up there? Weirdo."

"You named your gun Buttercup. You officially have cornered the market on weird, big brother," Will retorted over his shoulder before all his deadly focus was on Harris.

Harris' eyes widened as he looked between the two brothers. Aaron rolled his eyes. He just told the man that Clint had an identical twin in addition to a triplet. What the hell was he expecting? Well he probably wasn't expecting to have a gun pressed up against the soft flesh of his chin. He probably would've if he was paying attention. Aaron was really going to have to words with their father about the types of recruits SHIELD took in these days.

"What the hell have you done?!" Will asked in a too quiet voice. Aaron tensed knowing that this was not a good sign. It was good when Will yelled. When he was quiet, things tended to end badly. His entire body was coiled tightly and his finger was on scarily close to the trigger of the gun. This was not going to end well. Aaron watched as he grabbed the man by the shoulders only to slam him back against the wall. "Do you have any idea what he's been through? You think he got away with it? The only reason he's back here is because Director Fury knows that no one could ever punish Clint for what happened with Loki more than Clint can. He beats himself up every day for that. And you think you have the right to judge him?!"

"Will, calm down," Aaron said, stepping closer to his younger brother.

"No. Stay out of this, Aaron. Agent Harris and I are having a little chat. So butt out!"

"Dude, you need to calm down." Aaron tried to place a hand on Will's shoulder but instead found was sent flying across the room with simple punch. Yeah, this was definitely not going to end well. The only people that could ever break through to Will when he got like were Clint and….

"William Michael Coulson, put the gun down and step away from the cannon fodder."

"Dad," Aaron sighed in relief. Harris' eyes grew even buggier. Though that might have been because Will was currently choking him with the gun. Maybe.

"William," Phil started gently. He wrapped his hands around the gun and took it out of Will's grasp. "We need to find Clint. He's been in that tank for two days now. We need to find your brother. And then he's going to need you. That means you can't kill Harris. Yet. You can't kill him yet."

Will let out a slow breath and then stepped away. "Fine." He stalked over to where Aaron sat on the floor. He offered him a hand and Aaron accepted the olive branch that it was. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool," Aaron grinned, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I kind of like it when you go all Dark Will. It's scary yet kind of awesome." Will snorted softly, shaking his head.

"No way, you're their father?" Harris gasped. Aaron watched as the full reality of his situation settled in for him. By going after Clint he just managed to piss off the right amount of the wrong people. If there was anything left of the man after Will got done, there were about ten other people that were more than willing to make him bleed for this. And one of them was standing in the doorway watching the scene unfold with a critical eye.

"Yes, I'm their father. I've the adoption certificate to prove it. And unfortunately for you, they consider the Director to be their uncle. It's a role he actually enjoys playing as well. So, yeah, good luck and enjoy that. Come on boys. We have a Hawk to find."

Aaron kept a tight hold on Will's shouldersas they passed by a stunned Harris. He could feel the man watching them even as they left the room.

"That's it? You're just going to let me go?" Harris' voice followed them down the hall.

"Hello, Agent Harris."

"Director Fury!"

Aaron snorted. Will grinned. "Moron."

Will was pacing again. It was an ugly habit he picked up sometime after that nasty business in Croatia. He claimed that it helped him deal with stress. Aaron was privately of the belief that he well aware that his incessant pacing drove his brothers insane and that's really how it helped. This was the third house they checked and still no sign of Clint or the tank. Harris wasn't feeling very helpful at the moment. Or rather he wasn't feeling very conscious at the moment. He apparently fainted from the stress of seeing Nick and the concussion he got from Will ramming his head into the wall. It really did seem like a good idea at the time. Now with three houses down and about eight more to go between them all, Aaron was really regretting not stopping Will sooner.

"Relax," Natasha soothed from her spot against the wall. Aaron looked up at her. "We're going to find him. At least we know that he's alive."

"He's in a sensory deprivation chamber!" Will hissed. "They cut him off from everything. Including us."

"I know," she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Aaron gave Will a look. This was hard for her too. Natasha wasn't just Clint's partner. As weird (read terrible and horrible) as their relationship started out, Natasha was probably the only other person in the world who loved and was loved by Clint more than the other members of their very small, very close family unit. The assassin was kind of an unwelcome addition to the fold in the beginning but they realized her devotion to Clint ran deep which made her a very valuable member. Though she always talked about love being for children, Aaron knew that she loved Clint. So this was just as difficult for her to deal with as it was for them.

Will let out a deep breath before stopping in front of Natasha. She glanced up at him warily. Will gave her a small smile before pulling her into a quick hug. "We're going to get him back, Nat." Natasha nodded mutely and rested her head against his chest briefly before pushing him away. Aaron snorted as Will resumed his pacing though with significantly less annoyance for the rest of them. There was hope for that one yet.

"That's weird," Tony commented almost absently. The trio looked up in unison towards the genius. It was just the four of them at this location. The other Avengers had split up to hit the rest of the houses. Phil was leading the team of Bucky, Steve and Thor. Aaron understood the logic of them splitting up. He really did. Clint was in that tank for two days. He wasn't going to be ok by any stretch of the imagination. And as amazing and connected as the relationships were between all the Avengers, none of them had experience with dealing with a not ok Clint. Not even Natasha really knew how to deal with that. But Phil and Will and Aaron did. So they needed to split up to cover more ground. But right now between Aaron's own concern and anxiety and Will's choking panic, Aaron really wanted their father to be here. Phil had a way of grounding them all. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. They were so taking a much needed break together when this was all over.

"What's weird?" Natasha finally asked when it seemed like Tony was never going to elaborate on his comment. But the man was engrossed in the schematics he was looking at. Aaron looked at the 3D model and saw immediately what the problem was. There was an extra layer to the house that shouldn't have been there. There was a basement. And yet...

"There's no entrance to a basement in this house," Aaron said, rising to his feet. He took a quick glance around and confirmed that there was no visible doorway. "We've been over every inch of this place and I haven't seen anything that would lead to a basement. Yet there's a basement."

Will finally ceased his endless pacing coming to a stop beside Aaron. "So how is there a basement with no entry?"

"Some of these walls don't belong here," Tony flicked an image off the screen. "See there that's the original blueprints. There are no walls in that section you guys are standing in originally. But now there are walls."

"So you think that the entrance to the basement is somehow behind one of these walls?"

"Only one way to find out," Natasha shrugged. "Tony, call Phil and tell him to get Thor and Steve over here. They can bust down the wall and show us what we're working with."

"Meanwhile we just sit here and wait," Will complained. "We need to find him. I don't know what that tank is doing to him. But I can't imagine that it's anything good." He stomped his foot on the floor. Aaron opened his mouth to chastise him about his inappropriate temper tantrums when he heard a cracking sound. The two brothers exchanged wide eyed glances as the floor collapsed beneath them. Taking advantage of his supernatural reflexes, Aaron grabbed Will, rolling them around so that he would be on the bottom when they inevitably landed.

He groaned as they slammed into the concrete floor beneath them. He coughed as dust swirled around them. He heard the echoing cough from above him and sighed in relief. He let his head thump back with a heavy thud. There was a hole in the ceiling. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to estimate how far he they fell. It seemed like it was a good twelve feet or so. Well that explained why his body felt like it was on fire. But it could've been worse. Will could've landed first. Speaking of Will... he nudged the body on top of his.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Will rolled off of him, lying on his back beside his brother. "You?"

"It's cool. My back broke my fall… and it's self," Aaron winced, forcing himself to sit up. He felt a twinge in his back and he could tell the bruising was going to be spectacular but at least they were still alive. He could feel Will's concerned eyes on him and glared in that direction. "This is your fault by the way."

"My fault?! How do you figure that?"

"You were the one running around and stomping your foot like a toddler."

"Oh, shut….." Will trailed off abruptly. Aaron turned on his side to see what caught Will's attention. There in the far corner of the basement was a large tank. He could hear the white noise filter humming in the machine. "That's it?"

"I think so."

"We found him?"

"Yeah, we did," Aaron grinned. He yelled up to Natasha and Tony, who assured them that they were working on a way to get through the wall and into the basement.

The two brothers scrambled to their feet and quickly approached the tank that was cutting them off from their brother. Even now as they hovered uncertainly over the heavy metal chamber door, Aaron could feel the faint stirrings of their connection. Clint was here. He looked up to meet Will's gaze and nodded. Together they pulled the door open and Aaron's world exploded in a painful burst of colors.

Aaron gasped at the various feelings, thoughts and sensations that were crashing into him. He knew they weren't his. But he never felt anything this intense from Clint before. Then again they've never had their connection severed for this length of time in the almost twenty years since they initially formed it. He was so consumed that it took him a moment to register that someone was yelling in pain. It was only when Will put a hand on his shoulder and sending him calm, warm and soothing thoughts that Aaron realized it was him.

"Holy crap that's not cool," he muttered, feeling the burn in his throat. How long and how much was he screaming?

Will placed a finger against his lips before pointing to the thus far silent Clint. Their little brother was sitting upright with his hands pressed tightly against his ears and his eyes were squeezed shut. He didn't even seem aware of them in the room with him. Aaron gave Will a helpless look. Will rolled his eyes before climbing over the edge of the tank and sitting next to Clint. He pulled his twin into his arms, propping Clint's head on his shoulder. He then took the microscopic hearing aids out of Clint's ears and handed them to Aaron for safekeeping. The effect was immediate. The tension in Clint's body drained out and he relaxed back in Will's embrace. Aaron let out a sigh of relief as the connection between him and Clint calmed down.

"What… happened?" Clint asked. His voice sounded raspy but it was the best thing Aaron had heard in a very long time. He grabbed his little brother's hand letting him know that he was there. "Why are you two here?"

"Well, let's see," Will explained gently. Aaron didn't know why either of them bothered replying out loud. Clint couldn't actually hear what they were saying. He didn't need to when they were together. But if helped either of them feel comfortable so be it. "You got kidnapped. So you know your usual Tuesday activities." Clint snickered softly. "And when you went missing Dad called us in to try and find you. Kind of obviously we did."

"Wait… dad… called…. the team knows about us, don't they?"

"Yeah. And they know that Bucky knew about us before them too."

Clint groaned, burrowing his under Will's chin. "They're going to hate me."

"No, they don't," Aaron assured him. "They get it."

"And if they don't then screw them. Besides Aaron is apparently moving in on your floor to keep you company if they ignore you. I might consider it too when I get back. You get in too much trouble when left to your own devices little brother."

Clint shifted back and attempted to open his eyes to look at Will. Aaron was not trying to experience that one again. He quickly placed a gentle hand over the archer's eyes. Clint sighed. "Where are you going?"

"With the Secretary to Russia. I was actually supposed to go earlier this week but I couldn't leave without knowing you were ok. And now you are. I can't put it off much longer. But I'll back as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Yeah," Clint murmured, putting his head back where it was.

"Anyway, I'm not leaving for a few more days. I'm not leaving until you can open your eyes without frying Aaron's brain."

"How are we supposed to know it's fried?" Clint asked, way too innocently. Aaron glared at him prompting him to smirk. He really hated having little brothers sometimes. Especially little brothers that had a psychic connection with you.

"Hmm, that's a valid point," Will murmured thoughtfully. Aaron didn't hesitate to hit him. He wasn't traumatized and injured. He was fair game. Will smirked, resting his chin on Clint's head. "Let's just put it like this, I'm not leaving until I can see your eyes."

"You want to see my eyes, go look in a mirror, perv."

"I'll look in a mirror when you can see me again."

"Aw, you sap," Clint chuckled. "I always knew I was your favorite. Mostly because you're a totally self involved narcissist."

"I take it back. I take it all back!"

Aaron grinned despite himself and listened to his little brothers bickering. He could hear the other Avengers working on the wall up stairs and knew they'd be free soon enough. He smiled brighter when he noticed a certain redhead peeking through the hole in the floor they created. She met his eyes and smiled softly. No, there was nothing left to worry about. Clint went missing and was found. Both of his brothers were in arm's reach and neither of them was dead or dying. Yeah, this was a win. Then the entire wall connected to the basement door went flying off, narrowly missing hitting all three of them. They turned in unison at the very familiar roar.

"I told you it would be way easier to have the Hulk do it!" Tony commented as they stepped into the basement.

"I don't know whether we should be more concerned with the fact that Tony was right or the fact that Bruce actually listened?"

"Both," Clint replied.

"He speaks!" Tony said. "Wait, how did you hear that? Natasha told us Will took out your hearing implants."

"He hears you because we hear you," Will replied.

"What he said," Clint added.

"That's incredible. You three have a hive mind?" Tony murmured, looking for all the world like he was about to start poking them. Luckily the others were way too used to that expression on his face as Natasha intercepted the genuis before he could get any closer. Tony rolled his eyes before taking in the trio in front of him. "I seriously cannot believe Phil managed to keep this one from us. There are three Hawkeye's in this world."

"Actually I think you'll find that there are three of me," Aaron corrected. Will scoffed. Clint splashed some of the water from the tank at him. Aaron dodged the movement without letting go of Clint's hands. "Hey, face facts. I am the oldest. As far as I'm concerned, you two are just piss poor copies of my genetic awesomeness."

"I apologize, Will. Clearly you are not the self absorbed one here."

"As long as you know."

"Clint Barton, we were very concerned about you."

Aaron flinched as Thor's voice aggravated the headache he had since they opened the tank. He could feel the sharp spike of pain that ran through his connection with Clint and squeezed his brother's hand. Will pick up on their discomfort and nodded towards the god. "Hey, Thor, love the enthusiasm but if you could dial it down a bit."

"That was dialed down," Clint and Natasha replied in unison. Clint gave a ghost of a smirk in the direction of his partner. "Missed me?"

"No, I had your clones," she shot back with a smirk of her own.

"For the last time, we're not clones. Clones aren't a thing!"

"Actually…."

"And on that note," Steve said, cutting Tony off before he could crush Will's clone free dreams. "Bruce, how about you give Clint the medical check out he will inevitably avoid and escape otherwise so we can get out of here."

"I'm not letting Bruce near me if he doesn't have pants on," Clint complained. They all paused as they heard the scientist grumbling about how it wasn't his fault that the Hulk broke his pants constantly.

Aaron shook his head and laughed softly. His little brothers certainly did create some interesting messes but he definitely didn't mind cleaning them up. This was the kind of mess he could get used to.

*So as you can see this is somehow set before Ghost Protocol… I don't even know. But it is. I'll probably have another couple of chapters of this little what if world exploring the events of Ghost Protocol with the triplets involved and then it'll be over. Glad you guys have been enjoying it thus far. Ciao for now.

A/N: I made some changes to this chapter. Nothing huge but fixed some typos and plot points that made no sense. So if anyone re-reads this and were wondering, yeah I changed some stuff.