It took an amazingly long time for Clint to wake up. He was warm, nearing hot and sweaty, a mix that normally left him rather sleepy. A hitch in his chest every time he took a breath forced him to take stock in his injuries and what was going on. It was hard to breath and not just because of the pain in his chest from what Clint could easily tell was a gun wound. The air tasted and smelt smoky like something was on fire and considering he was warm, Clint wasn't all that mentally surprised. But he had been home and there should have been an alarm if there was a fire, right? And then Clint heard it. The crackle of a nearby flame. That information woke Clint up faster than his nightmares normally would.

"Shit!" the archer complained when he woke up so fast that it hurt his wound. Looking to his right, Clint could see the kitchen was on fire. Looked like someone rigged the oven to explode. Thankfully Clint's triple enforced safety procedures made it that the explosion didn't leave the kitchen. Sadly, as no one was around/awake to deal with it, the fire quickly spread. Clint grunted as he got up onto his knees. His back ached something fierce but apparently the faux Kevlar shirt Lila had given him that morning was working well. It had been a Christmas gift from Tony after the archer had gotten shot one to many times for the genius's liking. Clint had laughed until Tony mentioned that he would be the test subject for the military. That sobered the archer into willing to try it, especially on missions. Smoke filled the house, making it hard to see and even harder to breath. Right, fire. Where was his family? And what happened to the alarm? "Cooper!?" Clint cried into the house, slowly crawling further into the living room where he last knew his family to be. They were supposed to be watching TV, right? No... No! Panic filled the archer as he cried out again. "Laura!? Lila?"

There was no response. Not even a cough of someone trying to breath. Clint moved further into the room and touched something that was still wet but nearly cool to the touch. He looked down, distantly noting that either enough time had passed or a cloud was covering the sun to make the room dark. Though in the flickering firelight Clint could tell what he had touched was blood. His heart sank. Mentally he knew he hadn't been injured other than a bruise, but he still had no idea where his family was. Course, there had to be no way that this was real. But as his eyes followed the path of the blood flow, he saw a small body of a blond haired boy.

"Cooper?" Clint whined, not even caring how pathetic he sounded. The body didn't move. Somehow that made it real for Clint and he shuffled closer. "Oh god, Cooper!"

Clint shimmied himself even closer to the body. In doing so, his vision field was opened up to an even worse sight. Laura, still holding the body of a baby (Nate!), and Lila reaching out for her. The girls' dolls eyes staring in Cooper's direction. Lila still even had, now dried, tear stains down her face. Nate's head was obliterated and for some reason that made Clint feel better. A head shot meant the babe felt nothing before dying. Clint gasped and just stared at the bodies of his family in horror. He didn't move, didn't reach for them. Heck, he couldn't even cry.

He was still sitting there a few minutes later when the proximity alarm started going off again. Still, he didn't move. Then the front door suddenly burst in and an actual S.H.I.E.L.D team, led by Phil Coulson, came through the burning door. Clint didn't even twitch. He just stared into the living room, feeling a lot like the living dead.

"Find all survivors!" Coulson's voice demanded from behind the archer. Clint barely turned to look for the man he once thought was dead. There was no point. Apparently he had dead and he was now in Hell. Soon, Coulson would be calling him a loser, a deadbeat, maybe even murderer.

"Phil?" he whispered, his voice lost in the roar of the fire around him. Why he called out to the man, Clint couldn't clearly recall, just that he did. It didn't take much longer before someone grabbed at Clint. Instinctively, Clint attacked. Whoever it was clearly expected this and defended themselves with trained precision. A distant part of Clint's mind connected with the fact that only two people could successfully do that. Natasha and Coulson.

"Agent! Stand down!" Coulson's voice ordered. Clint immediately froze. Even after so long of not hearing the older man's voice, it still had an authority over him. Slowly, Clint looked up into Coulson's face. "We're here to help."

"They're dead," Clint moaned as if the older agent couldn't already tell. Coulson wrapped his arms around Clint's shoulders and lifted the archer to his feet. Numbly, Clint followed. Slowly, the two began to walk through the slowly disappearing flames. Clint barely even noticed. He was in shock that his family was dead, his home was burning and his mentor was suddenly alive again. "They're dead."

"I know. I'm sorry," Coulson soothed as if that would solve all of Clint's emotional issues. Something about those words had Clint stop speaking and it was only a few more steps before the duo was outside. Coulson turned to look back at the team that was clearing the inside. One person was coming out the doorway after them. It was Agent May. Her gaze met with Coulson's and she slowly shook her head. No one else in the house was alive. Coulson sighed, he had hoped the fire and smoke was playing tricks on the rest of the Barton family and that at least one of them would be alive. Another agent that Coulson didn't recognize came out after May.

"Agent Coulson, sir. We found the bodies of two S.H.I.E.L.D agents in the kitchen," the agent reported without being asked. Coulson's eyes darkened. What happened in this house before they got here? From Coulson's understanding, the alarm went off and within minutes he and his team were on a Quinjet to the Barton farm. It was only a two hour Quinjet flight, so what happened?

"Not S.H.I.E.L.D," Clint mumbled softly, dropping down onto the ground as if he could really care less what happened anymore. And considering what happened in the house, no one truly blamed him. Coulson turned to look at the archer in surprise. How could S.H.I.E.L.D agents not actually be S.H.I.E.L.D agents? And was Clint really mentally sound enough to be believed?

"But..." the other agent tried to argue. Clint looked up at the group. His eyes had hardened and showed the fire that Coulson had seen in the young archer when Fury and him first enlisted the teen.

"Hydra," Clint stated as if it was a well known fact that Hydra was actually inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. The agents surrounding Clint, Coulson and May all just stared at the archer. Okay… Maybe something else happened here that Coulson couldn't predict. A head injury? Something?

"What are you saying?" Coulson asked, kneeling down to get closer to Clint. He needed to make sure this was a serious accusation. No, he needed to make sure Clint was of sound mind. The archer focused on the older agent. Still, his eyes held that hardened look that burned as brightly as the fire the agents had just put out.

"Hydra, it's part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Has been since the beginning," Clint told the man with a tone that verged on worry. The archer was beginning to understand that he was the only one with these memories but he had no idea why. But some of what Jasper said hinted that someone in Hydra knew about it as well. Slowly, his mind began to try and put aside the horror of his family's death and start figuring out what was going on around him. Something was going on, something bigger than Sitwell coming and killing his family.

"Coulson, we should discuss this elsewhere," May suggested, glancing around at the mingling agents. Some had paused at Clint's words and were now avidly watching the group. She had also taken a close look at the bodies. A few agents on site had been friends with the now dead agents. Clint accusing them of being part of an evil organization would not look good right now. Even if it was true. Coulson nodded, not looking away from his charge. Clint turned away from the agent to look to the ground. He needed to think. Focus, what had Jasper said? Something about him remembering the other place? What had that meant?

"Fury will want to hear this," Coulson agreed as if he wasn't trying to protect one of his favorite agents. Clint smartly remained silent even as he looked over the group to see what they thought of this turn of events. Everyone seemed shocked at his words. But to Clint, this information had been known for nearly nine months. He drifted off in thought and shock as Coulson began to get him back to his feet.

Things moved quickly after Clint lost himself. Coulson ordered a small team to stay behind and clean up the mess inside the Barton household. They were to collect all the bodies, the Barton family was to be properly buried near the barn while the unconfirmed Hydra agents will be packed up and brought back to the Helicarrier. Once he was certain that everyone understood their orders and wouldn't start gossiping about what they overheard, Coulson looked to the rest.

Some of the agents the handler knew, others he didn't. He didn't want to leave anyone here he didn't trust to deal with the household. A part of cleaning up the mess meant looking for clues as to why this happened and what could have been done differently. Coulson feared that one or more of them would try and mess with the evidence and so he made them all pack up and leave.

He ended up taking May, a pilot and Clint back to the Helicarrier early along with a few agents that he didn't trust to stay on sight, the rest had been dismissed to the nearby S.H.I.E.L.D HQ. Once they arrived, nearly an hour later, the pilot dropped the group off before turning back around to go to the Barton farm to pick up the others that needed to return. Without a word otherwise, Coulson, May and Clint headed straight for Fury's office leaving the rest of the agents to wander back to wherever they wanted.

The trio arrived at the office just as Jasper Sitwell was leaving. Sitwell took one look in Clint's direction and nearly turned sheet white. Coulson's hands turned to fists as he suddenly got a bit of a bigger picture as to what happened. Clint growled at the agent, wanting so badly to take revenge for his family but knowing that surrounded by May and Coulson he may not be able to. Even so, he had to try. For his family's honor.

"You son of a bitch!" the archer hollered before rushing between Coulson and May to try and attack the other agent. Jasper had enough time to put his arm up to defend himself before May had her arms wrapped around Clint and the two backed away. It was almost as if the female agent had sensed that Clint was going to attack, and considering May tended to train with Clint a lot, it wasn't surprising. But now May had a hard time keeping Clint under control as he was a lot stronger and far more trained then she last remembered, which was strange as she had trained with him only two weeks prior before he went on leave for his newborn. Coulson stood in the middle of the hall, holding his arms out to Jasper and in Clint's direction, acting as the last stand in case May failed. Seeing Clint under control did nothing to soothe Jasper as he seemed rooted to the spot in fear. Fury came out of his doorway and took one look over the situation. Considering what Jasper had reported to him moments before, he wasn't all that surprised that the archer wanted to kill the other agent. Hell, he half wanted to let Clint do it. But, he was the Director and he needed to find out the full truth of what was going on.

"BARTON! STAND THE FUCK DOWN!" the Director roared. Within the span of a few seconds, Clint froze and May spun him around to lay on the ground and she kneeled down on top of him. Clint didn't even twitch to get comfortable. But he did send an evil warning glare in Jasper's direction. If at all possible, Sitwell paled even more. Fury turned his attention to the frozen Hydra agent. Hill appeared behind the man and Fury nodded his head even as he spoke to the other agent. "Sitwell, get out of here. We'll discuss your actions later."

"Don't let him go! Lock him up!" Clint cried from below May even as Jasper rushed off without a second thought. Hill turned and followed, ignoring Clint's cry for justice. Fury turned back to Clint. He needed to get a handle on this situation. Already a crowd was beginning to draw.

"Shut up and get in here," Fury ordered before turning around and entering his office. Coulson turned to May even as the woman got off of Clint. The archer waited a few seconds before slowly getting to his feet. Both older agents waited for the archer to head off after Sitwell but when Clint just glared in the man's direction, they realized it was over for now. Nodding, Coulson turned and entered the office first. May paused to let Clint go in after the older agent. Once inside, May closed the door. Clint moved to sit on the couch on the far side of the room. May stood at attention near the door and Coulson stood before Fury's desk. Fury was already sitting in his chair, staring at them. "So. What the fuck happened?"

"Sir?" Coulson questioned, not understanding what the Director was asking. He had assumed that Jasper had reported an attack on the Barton Farm and that he tried to help but was too late. Maybe accidentally left Clint dying in the living room. Why none of that information had been reported to Coulson, the man would never think about, but he could only assume his friend went to help.

"Report, dumbass," Fury cussed. Coulson nodded, realizing that what Clint had told him may actually be terrifyingly true. This whole situation was too messed up. Coulson glanced at Clint to see if the archer would report but when Clint didn't even twitch at Fury's words, the man sighed.

"At around 1:20 pm earlier today, the alarm at the Barton farm went off signaling that intruders had entered the area. A team of agents and myself headed out. Two hours later we arrived to see the household in flame. We breached the entrance to see Agent Barton sitting in the living room. A..." Coulson paused to look back over at Clint but the archer was distantly staring at the ground. Certain the archer wasn't fully paying attention, Coulson turned back to Fury. The Director didn't seem to care if Clint was listening or not but he was interested in seeing how Clint would react to Coulson's report. "A body was laying near him. It was confirmed to be Cooper Barton."

"Is anyone left?" Fury demanded. Clint winced and looked at a different spot. The only tell that he actually was listening but trying to separate his emotions from the situation. Coulson frowned, wishing so badly that he could help support the archer rather than go through this. May shifted on her feet, she had no idea what it was like to lose her entire family but she could only imagine the types of feelings rolling through Clint at that moment. Fury's eye twitched toward Clint before focusing again on Coulson... His only sign that he also worried about the archer's state of mind.

"No," Coulson muttered. Fury nodded and looked to Clint. He was half surprised that the agent was doing as well as he appeared. Clint was never all that good at blocking his emotions before. If something shook the archer up, people could tell. Right now, the man looked like the hardened assassin that S.H.I.E.L.D first met. "Sir... We also found the body of two S.H.I.E.L.D agents."

"Oh?" Fury wondered, looking back at Coulson. Coulson could tell that this news surprised Fury unlike the news of the Barton family. Jasper must have mentioned everyone was dead, but not that he had apparently been there doing the actual attack. Before Coulson could say any more, Clint spoke up.

"Not S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra," Clint snapped, reporting the same information he had told Coulson and May while at the house. He was determined to make the others understand what he was saying. It was not his fault. Coulson sighed, his head dropping as he mentally prayed that Clint was wrong. He almost wished Clint had been able to debrief with him before now. If they had, Coulson would have been able to explain what Clint meant better. May again shifted, the news still bothering her. She almost felt like Hydra wouldn't have been able to hide. Their ideals were supposed to be nearly complete opposite of S.H.I.E.L.D but... There was something about the way that Clint said it. He was certain.

"What?" Fury questioned, turning to Clint. The archer was still looking at the ground and continued to not look up as he spoke. Almost as if he was afraid of their disbelieving faces.

"Hydra agents. They've been part of S.H.I.E.L.D since the beginning. Zola... Arnim Zola has been building a cult inside of S.H.I.E.L.D since we were first created," Clint added. Fury stood up and moved around his desk to get closer to Clint. The archer looked up at the first sign of movement. Coulson turned to watch the Director. Fury stopped before Clint. No one but Fury, Hill, Coulson and the World Security Counsel knew of Arnim Zola and many of them tried to forget about the old scientist that had somehow trapped his mind in a computer.

"Are you certain?" Fury demanded, believing this news faster now that Clint had private information. There was no way Clint could have learned of Zola on his own. Clint furrowed his brow, not understanding how this world could be so different from what he remembered. What had Jasper done to everyone? And was it permanent?

"Nine months ago, Tasha and Steve already leaked this information to world," Clint growled, pissed off at the situation rather than the people around him. May glanced at Coulson as if the agent had any answer as to what Clint was talking about. Coulson frowned, not knowing who Clint meant. And he knew everyone Clint came in contact with. There were various reports from everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D... But no Tasha and Steve. (Amazingly enough considering Steve is a popular name.)

"Who are they?" Fury asked, knowing without even looking at Coulson that these are not people that he was familiar with. Clint frowned. Could this world be that different? No, there was no way. Coulson only joined S.H.I.E.L.D because of Steve's legacy. And Natasha had to of left some type of ripple.

"Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow and Steve Rogers, Captain America. Two of the Avengers," Clint claimed. May raised an eyebrow. Her version of a laugh of disbelief. Coulson shook his head in regret, thinking now that Clint may have been hit on the head and lost his mind. Even Fury gave an air of disbelief, though his face showed no reaction.

"Clint, Captain America went missing after defeating the Red Skull in the war," Coulson tried to remind. Clint's frowned deepened as he shook his head. Everything was too different. He needed to get away soon so he could research it all. How messed up was this life? Especially if Steve was never found. Did Loki win? Had Loki even happened? What about Stark? Banner? Thor?

"No, we found Steve in the arctic. He was alive, just... Frozen," Clint claimed. Fury shook his head and looked to Coulson. Coulson shook his head. There was no story about that. And he would know as the Captain's number one fan. Sighing, Fury turned to May. The director could tell they weren't going to get anywhere with Clint at the moment. Whether it was the loss of his family or something else, Fury knew that Clint needed a minute to get things together in his head.

"Agent May, if you would bring Agent Barton back to his quarters," Fury ordered. Clint stood up, not willing to argue his stance anymore. He needed information now. His friends were too important. If they were in danger, he needed to do something.

"Where are the other Avengers? What's going on?" Clint cried. Coulson looked to the archer surprised. He had thought he had heard the man wrong. But, if the Avengers existed, something drastic must have happened. May nodded, moving to open the door but paused at Clint's words.

"Agent Barton, we will discuss this later," Fury snapped, giving the archer a glare that tried to tell him what the Director actually thought. Clint's mouth shut but he glared at the Director. It was a true sign of respect that Clint actually did quite down, even if he did glare at Fury. After a moment, the glare lessened and Fury knew that Clint understood. The Avenger Initiative was a private matter that only Fury, Hill and Coulson knew about. In fact, it wasn't even on record of existing full yet. Just an idea with a few names jotted down. And Clint was not one of them. "Do not speak to anyone else until we talk again. And Agent May, don't let him leave his room."

"Understood, sir," May stated. She opened the door and moved to walk out, expecting Clint to follow but the archer still stood in front of the couch, glaring at Fury. Fury's eyes narrowed as he began glaring back. Clint needed one answer right here and right now.

"Where is Natasha?" Clint growled, needing this before he could do anything else. If anything, he'd ask for her to met him at his quarters so they could talk. Right now, he could use his best friend. She'd be one of the only two who could help him figure out the differences in this fucked up world.

"The Black Widow was killed six years ago in Russia," Coulson calmly stated. Clint paled. "You were the one to take the kill shot."

"No... No, I asked to recruit her," Clint muttered, shaking his head and feeling more lost then when he found Cooper earlier. Coulson shook his head, feeling even worse for the archer. Fury and May stared in silence. It had been a simple mission, no if ands or buts about it. In and out.

"I was the lead and you never questioned the order," Coulson mentioned. Clint shook his head. Tears were starting to form. He had lost his family, his best friend, what else was going to happen here? Rather than deal with the archer breaking down in his office, Fury intervened.

"Agent Barton. Please, return to your quarters and think over everything you want to talk about," Fury suggested, sounding much more sincere and saddened then before. Clint frowned and looked to the Director. Slowly he understood what was going on. Jasper had been in here before them. The other agent probably told Fury that he had turned rouge before he was forced to put down his family and now here the archer was demanding to speak to people that they didn't know or assumed were dead. With a confused and worried mind, Clint nodded his head and turned to follow Agent May back to his quarters. Neither of them spoke as they left and as soon as they were out, Fury closed his door and spun onto Coulson. "What the fuck is he talking about?"

"Sir, I don't know. There were no signs of a head injury at the scene," Coulson replied as if that was what Fury was asking. Fury shook his head and moved back to the seat behind his desk. Coulson turned and watched him.

"Sitwell was in here earlier," Fury mumbled thinking that Clint had told Coulson what had happened. When Coulson didn't say anything, Fury frowned. "He didn't tell you?"

"Clint just said that his family was dead and Hydra was behind it," Coulson explained. Fury sighed.

"Sitwell claimed that he heard Agent Barton had gone rouge. To prove that theory, Sitwell took a team and infiltrated the Barton Farm. Clint was there waiting with weapons and a trained family. They fought before they were all taken down," Fury clarified. Coulson scowled. While there was still some evidence of a fire fight, Laura and the kids had been found completely unarmed. Arrow had even been found without anything but his blood on him and it was well known that Arrow had been trained to protect his family.

"You don't believe him, do you?" Coulson questioned, for the first time in a long time truly worrying about the archer's safety. Fury exhaled deeply as he mentally sorted through everything he learned in the past few hours.

"Doesn't matter. Sitwell already informed the Council," Fury grumbled. Coulson groaned and dropped down onto the seat that Clint had left. Fury dropped his head onto his hands. "The Council has claimed that Sitwell's actions on killing Barton and his family was just. And now, if Sitwell tells them that Clint is alive, well..."

"They'll order him to be terminated with extreme prejudice," Coulson finished. Fury nodded. "But what of Clint's claim. Could Sitwell and others actually be Hydra?"

"I... I pray not," Fury moaned. He then shook his head. "I'm gonna put Barton on MIA status. Watch over him until I settle this issue. If he's right and Hydra is real, his looming death sentence will be the least of our worries."

"Understood," Coulson responded. But then he paused. "What should I do with him?"

"Let him do whatever he wants. As long as he stays far away from S.H.I.E.L.D and any suspected Hydra agents. Take May with you and whoever else you want," Fury commanded. Coulson nodded.

"Yes, sir."

I am just as bad as before. Sorry for the long wait everyone. I totally lost track of time.

So today, September 13th, is Little Clint's 4th birthday! YAY! Currently he is on a walk with his dad and Darius to Dunkin Donuts. Hopefully they return with something good, lol. Both boys are well. Clint's attitude it slowly going away but rears it's ugly head when he is tired. Not surprised but we just can't get this kid to sleep. He refuses too. Darius is doing fine. Talking a bit more and walking more than crawling now.

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Reviews:

Sammygirl1963 - I hope no one was around when you screamed, lol. Emotions, got to love them, lol. And the scene with Clint and Nate was actually something that legit happened to me with Darius. I was like, 'I know how to do this! Why am I failing so bad?' You have no idea how much the scene with the family fighting over what to watch gave me so much trouble. I had no idea what to write there and then when I did, I had to research movies that were out around the time frame I wanted this to be around and then make sure it fit with the family. The attack, well… That's the whole reason for the story… lol. And of course I'd use Jasper as the villain after finding out he was Hydra in CA: Winter Soldier. Ultimate cliffhanger… Hmm… Interesting, guess I should do that more often, lol. Just kidding. And yeah... Sorry for this chapter considering what you wished for.

Angel1D98 - lol, hopefully this chapter helped answer your questions. If not, sorry and hope you enjoy as it is explained in more chapters ahead.