'The World's Greatest Marksman' now this, she had to see. The circus was in town for the weekend. This particular one had been on her radar for sometime now. As Lucy looked around at the men, women, and children, she was brought back to a time long, long ago. To a pavilion that was one of the biggest attractions of her time. The air was thick inside the tent; scents of every kind were intensified by the humidity. Buttered popcorn, burnt sugar, and fried treats wafted back and forth, each fighting for dominance. She could almost picture the fireworks; almost hear the oohs and aahs of the mass as Howard revealed his latest inventions. A nostalgic grin spread across her lips as she remembered the failed Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology. Then a voice next to her caused her to reopen her eyes.
"I cannot believe you dragged me here." Fury grumbled in his seat next to her, crossing his arms resolutely, "I ask for one favor and this," he lingered, nodding to the bumbling crowd, blissfully ignorant that they were in the elite presence of two master espionage agents, "is what I get." He stern countenance made him stand out like a sore thumb in an audience of excited twittering civilians.
Lucy turned to her long time friend with a dry smile, "Humor me." The stage lights flickered, signaling the start of the performance, the horde hushed. She added in a whisper, "Besides, I have a feeling when this is over, you're going to be glad you came."
-permafrost-
"So, what did you think?" Lucy probed, as they remained seated, waiting for the people to trickle out of the arena. She was picking at the last of her popcorn, trying to keep her face neutral.
Fury gave her a sarcastic sidelong glance, then reluctantly reached into this trench coat and handed her a ten-dollar bill.
"Excellent." Lucy beamed triumphantly, pocketing the money. "Shall we go meet this 'Hawkeye' then?"
Sighing he nodded. "What's his real name?" the Director ignored her jovial tone and continued as if he hadn't just lost a bet. One day, one day he would win. "I'm sure you've done your research, save me the time of trying to find him."
"The name's Clinton Francis Barton and you're welcome."
-permafrost-
"These are amazing, Ree!" Clint was staring in awe at the gift Lucy had just given him. "Thank you so much." He gave her a quick side huge before running over to the archery range.
It wasn't often Lucy found herself back in the lab designing weapons. Most of the time she just utilized whatever was available when she found herself in a fight. She discovered an indefinable beauty and thrill when accomplishing missions without the use of any firearm. In her experience, humans had too short a life to end one unnecessarily nowadays. However, that did not mean she was a saint on any grounds or that she wouldn't take a life when the time called for it.
When Clint joined SHIELD, he revealed his mastery in archery. The bow and arrow seemed to sing when he wielded them. Together they were like a choir that responded to every minute flick of the conductor's baton. Pity he only had a limited supply of arrows. Which is what brought her back to the lab. No friend of hers was going to go about their missions with subpar weapons, no sir, not if she had anything to do with it.
Thwap! Clint was currently trying out the case of arrows Lucy had given him. Each arrow had a tiny tracking device installed onto it. After contact with its target, and after Clint had used a certain number of arrows, they would be called back to him. The little motor however, made the arrows heavier so they were more for short range shooting and the battery did not last too long before it had to be recharged. These were made for emergencies, when every other arrow in the case had been used up.
The second case was more for one time use. She had given him color-coded tips that could attach to his arrows. They consisted of explosives, flares, smoke bombs, knock out gas, and one of her personal favorites electric shock.
"You know, for someone who doesn't know how to shoot a bow and arrow," Clint called out to her, "you sure know how to make them." he laughed as he shot time and time again at the bulls eye only to have them come back to him when he was close to running out.
"I think you're having too much fun Clinton." She rolled her eyes, "Besides, you can't teach an old dog new tricks."
"Psh." Clint waved away her remark, "I just don't want to teach you cause you'll be better than me. We can't have that, I'll be out of a job."
-permafrost-
"Nicholas, I'll ask one last time, don't do this." Lucy beguiled her friend over the phone. She was currently overseas and couldn't make the trip back to D.C. as soon as she would've liked.
"It's too late Agent Zero." Fury's voice crackled up from the speaker, "I already sent Barton on his way."
She slammed the phone back into its holder and pinched the bridge of her nose. As per his name, Fury sometimes infuriated her. A few hours later she was still pacing when the phone rang.
"Yes?" she answered brusquely.
"Ree?" Clint questioned hesitantly, "I'm going to need your help on this one."
"Is she alive?"
"Yeah. I couldn't do it I disagreed with my orders. I think she could help us."
"Oh thank god." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, "Stay there, I'm coming to get you."
-permafrost-
After Fury lost his temper for a bit, Strike Team Delta was formed, of which Lucy was an unofficial member. She, Talia, and Clinton had a strong group dynamic. Their first mission, the Abidjan Operation was a complete success. Each member had a unique style that complemented the others well. Someone pulled and the other pushed, one member threw and the next caught. The trio functioned as a well-oiled machine that was a force to be reckoned with. However it wasn't until Budapest that the triad solidified their friendship.
In the dusty and painful aftermath of that mission, Lucy decided to tell Talia about her past. The Black Widow just stared at her, unfazed when she finished.
"Is that way you aren't dating anybody?" Natasha queried nonchalantly, pouring herself another glass of kvass.
Clint stared at her, "Is that all you have to say? I think I almost wet myself." Then he winced replacing the ice bag on his leg with a hot water bottle and sighing in relief.
"Actually, I think you went into slight shock." Lucy reminded him, smirking, as she cleaned his cuts and placed butterfly bandages on his face.
Natasha ignored them, "I've got to get you a date…" she trailed off lost in her thoughts.