Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any of the characters in the story except for Cole Williams. If I did, there would totally be a Hawkeye/Black Widow movie in the works.

Author's Note: This is my first story to post on this site and my husband had to talk me into it. That being said, while I embrace constructive criticism remember this old saying if you choose to leave a review "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"

This chapter is a little slower than the previous ones but more action is coming, I promise :)

Thank you to SPN4eva556 for pointing out that I had been spelling SHIELD wrong! LOL! I hadn't even noticed!

Enjoy!

Last Time:

"You had no control, Clint. Loki stole that from you. By doing this to yourself, you're letting him win even though he lost." With that Steve turned and walked away. He closed his eyes in sadness when he heard a crash and then the sound of multiple arrows scattering across the floor.

"Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy." F. Scott Fitzgerald

Clint was balancing, upside down, with his hands wrapped around a gymnast's bar. His body was ramrod straight, his toes pointed, his grey blue eyes boring a hole in the floor. This was how Tony found him.

"Jarvis?" Tony asked his AI system curiously.

"Two hours and forty three minutes." Jarvis replied helpfully.

"How has his head not exploded from the blood rushing into it?" Tony wondered aloud as he headed to the treadmill. And then, almost as if in response, Clint shifted his weight so he was only supported by one arm.

Tony nodded that he was impressed and clapped sarcastically.

"Now let go with the other hand!" Tony suggested with a smirk. Clint, predictably, ignored him.

"You know this whole soul-crushed, drama queen vibe you give off is really lame." Tony informed as he started walking on the treadmill. He wasn't expecting a response so he continued his one sided conversation.

"And so is blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault. I should know, I've been blamed for plenty of things that weren't my fault."

"Have you considered the possibility that you may have slight anti-social tendencies? You don't ever find yourself fantasizing about sniping people from a bell tower do you?"

"So how long have you and the Russian time bomb been sleeping together? Cuz it's so obvious…"

Huh, he'd really thought that one would get an acknowledgement.

"When they said elevate your bullet wound, I'm not quite sure this is what they had in mind."

Tony paused, glancing at his silent companion.

"I don't think anyone has ever ignored me for so long. I'm marginally impressed."

He stepped off the treadmill that had never gotten faster than a meandering walk. He regarded the young assassin with a weighing expression.

"I knew Coulson, not as well as you obviously, but well enough."

Still no response.

"I knew him for two years and I didn't learn his first name until he came to tell me the world was in danger six months ago…We all have our share of regrets, kid…it's the way of life. You just got to accept it and move on.

"And this whole sniper vendetta thing…don't even think about handling it alone…of all of us, you're one of the only ones that isn't bulletproof." With that he walked away. Clint didn't move.

"It's a lost cause." Tony announced, coming into the living room. "The kid didn't say a word while I was in there spinning my words of wisdom."

"Did you give him a chance?" Steve asked with a slight chuckle. Tony glared at him.

"He's dealing with a lot." Natasha defended. "Just give it time." She ordered, stalking out. Bruce stayed silent in the corner, where he'd been sorting through the mail. He stared down at a yellow padded envelope addressed to Clint. That in itself was surprising since the guy hadn't even unpacked. But the return address was what shocked him. One simple word.

Coulson

He was eating in the kitchen alone at 3 am when Bruce quietly entered. Clint sighed.

"Next in line for the pep talk?" He questioned harshly.

"No…I know I probably couldn't say anything to help…but I have something for you, from someone who can."

Clint's eyes flew up to meet his and Bruce slid the envelope, unopened, across the table.

"He knew you'd be here, that has to mean something, right?" Bruce asked quietly before turning back to the door. He paused one more time, his voice almost too low to hear when he spoke, "And I know what it feels like to wake up and realize you've done terrible things…and I know that whether or not you were in control doesn't really matter…you're not alone in that." The scientist didn't look back as he walked out, leaving the assassin alone. Clint stared after him, hearing the truth in the man's words. If anybody understood losing control of your actions, it was the man behind the Hulk. He glanced down at the envelope and stared at the name in the top left corner, his heart constricting. He tore it open and out slipped a DVD in a clear plastic case. His own name written in Coulson's wildly perfect handwriting on the disk.

In his room, he stared at his laptop as the DVD loaded. Quite suddenly his friend's face consumed the screen. Clint felt his breath leave him in a sharp exhalation, his chest constricting.

"Hey Clint…at the risk of sounding cliché, if you're watching this, then I'm dead…I decided to record this after you were taken by Loki. I left strict instructions for it to be sent to you in the event of my death, six months after we won, because I know we'll win. Just like I know you'll find a way to break this hold he has on you.

I know that if I died, it probably had something to do with Loki and that you were probably still blaming yourself because you were under his control…This is me, telling you to knock it the hell off."

Clint couldn't help but breathe a laugh, remembering Croatia and him telling Coulson those exact words.

"If I couldn't get away with it then neither can you. Loki was wielding a power none of us could possibly understand. You couldn't help anything that happened. So stop beating yourself up over it. And as for me…I chose to be here…to be in this fight…I knew the risks and I did it anyway. It's no less than you do everyday…I know it's hard for you to lay down your burdens, but this is one that you should never have carried in the first place…So forgive yourself, Barton…and let yourself move on…

That being said… I hope you got this because you're with the Avengers, and they didn't have to forward it to you. You belong with them, Clint. You are as much of a hero as any of them. More maybe, because you and Natasha are so painfully and beautifully human. It's not the ones with super powers that make the best heroes…they have an obligation to use their powers for good…it's the people like you and Nat…the ordinaryones, that don't have to fight, but choose to anyway…you're the ones that are the real heroes in my book…remember that.

Coulson sighed on the screen, looking down for a moment. His eyes were sad when he looked back up.

"I know it's hard for you to let people in. I know I promised you that I would always have your back…so I'm sorry, I let you down. I hope that one day you'll forgive me, but more than that, I hope you forgive yourself... I don't blame you Clint…None of this was your fault…Now my last order is a standing one, so listen up…don't ever make the mistake of thinking you're alone. You're not alone, Clint. You have an entire team of extraordinary men, and you have Natasha. I promised you nine years ago that you would never be truly alone again and I meant it. Let them in, kid…they'll surprise you.

"I'll leave you with this…Don't hide from who you could become, you're capable of a greatness you can't even fathom. Goodbye, Agent Barton."

The screen went black abruptly and Clint was horrified to realize his eyes were wet with tears that had yet to fall. He blinked them away, closing his laptop carefully. Even in death Coulson had told him exactly what he'd needed to hear.

Goodbye, Phil…thanks for kicking my ass into gear one last time.

"Williams is a bonafide psychopath. Everything is a game to him." Clint was outlining for the team. He was leaning back against the wall in their briefing room, his arms crossed across his chest. His stormy eyes were staring darkly at the picture of Williams they'd gotten from his military file that was projected holographically in the center of the room.

"How well did you know each other?" Steve asked calmly, his eyes on his teammate. In less than 24 hours, Clint's attitude had vastly improved. He was still quiet and withdrawn. But he hadn't missed a meal the team had together. He still pushed himself to the limit in training, but his hands didn't shake anymore. Steve didn't know what had changed, but he had hope that their team might finally become whole.

"We were on the same sniper team, we did missions together. He never liked that a kid ten years his junior could outshoot him."

"Ten years?" Tony wondered, doing the math in his head. "You were eighteen when SHIELD recruited you?" He didn't know why he was so surprised.

"Youngest in history." Natasha smiled at her partner. Clint all but ignored them, continuing with his briefing.

"He made everything a challenge, everything…he also didn't care who he hurt to prove a point. He was bloodthirsty and had a wild temper."

"Why didn't you report him?" Steve asked gently.

"I did." Clint scowled. "In return he told them I was underage and we both got arrested by the military police and confined for court martial."

"What happened?" Steve asked, his tone hard. He knew about lying to enlist, and sympathized.

Clint smirked darkly.

"I escaped…he didn't."

"How?" Bruce questioned.

Clint just smiled deviously.

"He served time and I disappeared, working as a gun for hire until SHIELD found me a year later."

They all stood silent for a moment, absorbing the new information about their teammate.

"That wasn't in your file." Tony ventured finally. He got a scowl for his snooping and Clint's tone was a little harder.

"SHIELD expunged my military record when I was recruited."

"Nice of them." Tony muttered.

"How good is he?" Steve asked, purposefully ignoring the physicist.

"Not as good as me." Clint smirked again, this time with cool confidence.

Natasha nudged him and rolled her eyes. Clint sighed and answered differently.

"He's good…and crazy enough to be really dangerous. He could start killing civilians for no reason and we wouldn't be able to stop him."

"He's focused on you right now though, why?" Natasha asked.

"I ruined his life." Clint sighed. "He was sent to military prison because of me and dishonorably discharged."

"This is revenge then." Bruce realized.

"And one last chance to try and prove he's better." Clint finished.

"What will he do?" Tony asked.

"That's the problem…the only thing the guy is predictable about is that he's going to start killing…there's no way to know where or when, just that he will."

"So what do we do?" Bruce asked.

"We wait." Steve surmised, glancing at Clint for conformation. The archer nodded.

"He wanted my attention, he's got it…soon he'll let me know what he wants."

"Great." Tony clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "I excel at waiting."

End of Chapter 4

If anyone thinks it was OOC for Phil to send the video, to each his own. I'm going of the theory that they had worked together for 9 years and Coulson had saved Clint from his previous life. As the story has stated Phil knew Clint better than anyone, maybe even Natasha. The movies didn't show much interaction between the two so i'm embracing the "creative license" :D

The action returns in the next chapter! Look for it later this afternoon!

Here's Your Preview:

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" He whispered. His sharp eyes caught the glint of the rifle on the roof of a building at the edge of the river. He drew his bow just as he heard Natasha cry out. He turned in time to see her spin to the ground, clutching her shoulder.

"No!" He shouted, he turned and sighted, loosing the arrow a fraction of a second later.