Do you find the notes at the end explaining the history annoying? Please let me know.

Otherwise, thank you for reviewing and reading. Please, enjoy.

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Chapter Three

"Tony!"

The engineer stopped and turned to Clint who had called him. The man's sharp eyes zeroed in and he was running over. Tony waited for him to catch up before continuing his way out of the meeting room. Side by side they strolled.

"So! How're you enjoying Asgard?"

Tony blinked. "I've only been here roughly a day, half of which I spent asleep. I don't know yet. Haven't really seen it." He paused with foreboding when he saw the mischievous grin take root on Clint's face. "Oh god… what are you thinking?"

Clint leaned into Tony's personal space and poked his arc reactor. "Wanna go exploring with me? I know the coolest spots."

Tony swatted at the offending finger, while staring him down. "What are you, five? 'The coolest spots?' Seriously? You gotta sell the pitch more before going for broke. 'Cause so far, not interested." Tony started walking again, Clint staying behind.

"How about areas-that-we-aren't-allowed-to-go-to-because-Odin-would-absolutely-kill-us-himself-but-I-know-how-to-get-in-them-anyway-and-can-totally-take-you-there kind of places?" He called out.

Tony froze. Eyes rising to the ceiling, a smirk grew as curiosity took over. He turned to flash Clint his best smile. "Now that was a sales pitch. I'm sold! Lead the way, oh great knowledgeable one."

Clint smirked and took the lead, not without a jab of course. "Now you're finally understanding how things work around here."

"Ha! I bet Natasha has you by the balls with her sharp little claws."

Clint paled and glanced at Tony. "Don't say that so loud… You might give her ideas…"

Tony couldn't tell if he was joking or not and wasn't sure what was scarier. They walked down the halls until the palace swept behind them in stairs and platforms. As normal civilization enclosed around them, Tony decided enough was enough.

"So! What's your story? Brucey said something about asking how old you were."

Clint snorted. "Oh yeah? I bet he was just as ineloquent about it as you were too."

"Yeah, how did ya know," Tony smirked. They stared into each other's eyes, until Clint looked away, expression closed off.

"I'm going to fill you in on one thing now, Mr. Stark. Seeing as how you're new and don't know, consider this your only freebie." He grabbed ahold of Tony's shoulder, forcing them both to stop, his eyes burning. "Don't go around asking people about their past here. Most are dark and they don't like to talk about it. In fact, they might even kill you for it. So, word to the wise, keep your nose out of their business."

With that, Clint let him go and continued walking. Tony stared after him in surprise before continuing after him. The normally chatty man was silent, not a word said between them. The engineer felt he should probably extend an olive branch of roundabout apology.

"… The man I considered my father betrayed me."

After so long in silence, Clint stopped to look at him in surprise. They kept walking at a slower pace as Tony nodded in affirmation. "Yup. Trussed me up, sent me to the enemy served on a silver platter with a shiny red bow right on top."

Tony tapped a finger against the arc reactor. "Learned a valuable lesson the hard way." As thoughts of Pepper and Rhodey began flashing before his eyes, Tony clenched his mouth shut.

"… What lesson was that?"

Tony's hard eyes lifted to pierce into Clint, a frown deeply marring his face. "Even the ones you love most are capable of treachery."

Clint stared at him in silence before an approving nod allowed them to continue at their previous pace. The silence didn't last near as long as last time. "… I worked in a circus with my brother; The great Astley's Royal Amphitheatre!" His hands spread out in the air with the title. "Wonders for everyone to behold!"

He rubbed at the back of his head. "It wasn't bad. We were roustabouts and it paid. Learned my archery there from my mentor."

Tony got the feeling that most of the background to the story was left out. Fair enough, he supposed, seeing as he left about 90% of his history out as well. "… Astley's Royal Amphitheatre… I've never heard of that place."

Clint barked out with laughter. "That's because it's been gone for a very long time."

Perked with intrigue, Tony racked his brain for any circuses that he might have heard of. "How long ago was that? 40, 50 years ago?"

"… Try 120 years ago."

"Okay 120 years ago… 120 years ago?!" Tony stopped walking and stared Clint down. "You worked in a circus 120 years ago? Did you meet Bruce at all?" With a smug smirk, Clint crossed his arms and pointed once more at Tony, his mouth opened to speak. Tony stared at it in absolute distaste and cut him off. "You keep pointing at me with that finger and I'm gonna find a way to chop it off without you realizing until it's too late."

Clint yanked his hand back against his chest with an offended and horrified look. "Hey now, I didn't threaten your livelihood when you were annoying me. I need these, I'm an archer you ass."

"Well then quit picking at me with 'em. I'm not above sabotage and fighting dirty."

The archer's eyes narrowed and he cautiously continued forward. "… You're wrong by the way."

Tony chuckled in exasperation, rubbing at his nasal bridge. "Of course I am. What am I wrong about again?"

"I didn't work in the circus 120 years ago."

Lifting irritated eyes to burn into viciously smug eyes, Tony spoke from behind his palm. "But you said that it—"

"It closed 120 years ago, not that I worked there 120 years ago." Clint's smile grew as the irritation grew in Tony's eyes. "I actually worked in the amphitheater when it was first built. My brother and I were of the original crew. We got to work with Phillip Astley himself."

Tony watched as Clint's chest puffed out with pride, as if Tony would even know who the hell who's-a-ma-what's-its Astley was. "… And that would be?"

Clint's eye bugged out from his head in complete surprise. "You don't know who the great Astley was?! The great ringleader himself, the man of the big top, the father of the circus?!"

Tony stared deadpanned into his outraged eyes. "Well, now I know what titles he more or less held, I can suddenly put one and two together to get three but no, I have no idea who he was."

Clint stopped walking, looking so utterly crestfallen. He stared at the ground before he looked once more to Tony, pouting. "Man, the future sucks. You guys have forgotten all the cool stuff in the world…"

"Heh, I'll have you know. I bet if you were to go to Earth today, you'd be kissing those 'good ol' days' far behind you and embracing the new ways with relish."

Disbelieving eyes ran up and down Tony silently. But, surprisingly the man held his words within. "… Astley's Royal Amphitheatre opened back in 1773."

Taken by surprise Tony stopped walking once more, a poor Asgardian citizen bumping into his back at his sudden cease in momentum. She glared at him as she passed by them both, a respectful nod thrown in Clint's direction. Tony hardly noted her presence as he tried to wrap his mind around the guy in front of him.

And of course, just to add insult to injury, Clint's shit eating grin kept growing. "… You can apologize whenever."

Affronted Tony, jerked back a bit. "Apologize? For what?"

"For being rude to your elder."

Tony couldn't help it, honestly. He burst out laughing. "Oh please, even I act more adult than you, Sideshow. If anything, you should be apologizing to me."

Dubious laughter spilled from Clint as they both began walking once more, steadily leaving the city behind. "Is that really what you think?"

Grass crunched beneath their feet as they entered the forest surrounding. Tony smirked unpleasantly. "Uh, yeah. If I didn't, I wouldn't have said so."

Shaking his head in annoyed amusement, Clint crossed his arms, that damn finger pointing once more at Tony's person. "The people of today sure are cheeky… and disrespectful."

"Only to those we feel need to be taken down a peg or two."

"What?! HA! That's rich coming from you!"

The bickering continued on for long after the people of Asgard could no longer hear. As they disappeared further into the woods, insulting more and more like school children, Tony couldn't help but shake his head in fondness. As annoying as this guy was, he was a keeper. Only handled in small doses, but definitely a keeper.

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At some point, after all insults were spent –both childish and increasingly creative—and silence reigned supreme, Tony noted that the forest around them was also silent. No background noise of strange birds and four legged beasts grazing. The trees were no longer soft and airy with the beauty of golden light.

The air had become heavy and dark, the trees blocking out all brightness, leaving only the gloom. Tony began to wonder just where the hell Clint Barton was taking them. The sky began to darken as well, the rising of mountains all around.

"Um, Clint… Where the hell are we going?"

"Don't worry, we're almost there, but you gotta keep quiet from here on in." His mischievous eyes were serious as he began turning this way and that through the mountains. Tony followed more slowly, having little to no endurance of this kind. He wasn't a man of great physical activity outside the bedroom, so sue him for having trouble keeping up!

Where the ground was icy with cold and the sky black as night where the light couldn't reach, the entrance to a cave was beheld. Tony felt the little hairs all over his body stand on end as foreboding filled him. Clint smirked as he pointed to the entrance.

Clint leaned closer to the hole in the rock, whispering so quietly Tony could hardly hear him. "I found this a few years ago. I haven't actually gone down there because, well ya know—you feel it too, right?" Clint glanced around nervously. "That and there's usually a guard here watching this place like a hawk." He chuckled at his own joke.

Tony glanced around. "I don't see anyone though."

Clint's lips thinned as he nodded. "Yeah… I didn't either. Which is super suspicious…"

Glancing back into the cavern, Tony began to think maybe this wasn't such a good idea when something harsh struck the stone an inch from his head. The high-pitched whine of the projectile embedding into the stone deafened Tony for a moment as he jerked away in fright, Clint yanked him to the ground with a shout.

When they both glanced up, they saw a sword stuck hilt deep into the rock. Eyes wide in horror they both turned to see a man in glittering armor running towards them, his face a mask of fury. His left arm lifted as he leapt from the mountainside to land a few meters away from them. Tony watched in horror as Clint all but jumped up, legs bent and shaking.

"Oh shit! That's him! Tyr! We gotta go! C'mon!" He all but shot off like a bullet as the giant man turned to glare into their souls, his long hair falling over his shoulders. Tony had enough time to zero in on his right arm, mangled and torn without a hand before the still intact left one reached for the sword still in the mountain. The sword was suddenly being swept down towards him and in realization Tony yelped and dodged out of the way.

The ground exploded with grass and rock where he had just been. With debilitating speed, the Asgardian turned and began striking at Tony. All Tony wanted to do was survive, escape, and shove his vengeful foot through Clint's stomach lining! But he couldn't get away!

"Oh shit, what is your problem?!" Tony cried out to the man in hopes of distracting him.

With every lunge he made to escape into the woods, the man would hop in front of him and swing his gleaming sword, forcing Tony to back up towards the cave or be sliced in half. And faster than Tony was really comfortable with, the Asgardian was cornering him.

Quickly evaluating his options, Tony glanced to the fast disappearing distance between himself and the crazed one-handed swordsman and the entrance of the cave of doom. Deciding to take a leap of faith into the unknown, Tony ducked under one final swing before rolling into a run and booking it into the tunnel.

The enraged man outside cried out in alarm and stomped after him.

Tony used everything in his power to lose sight of the man in the dark twisted tunnels; ducking behind rocks, squeezing into tiny crevices, burying himself in holes. But this man was tenacious and he would not stop. Tony had no idea how long he ran for, but he was tired and he was sore and he was quickly losing energy.

It was so dark and it was gloomy and the air held its breath in silent anticipation of something horrible. Somehow, with good fortune or bad, Tony had lost sight of the insane guard. At a more sedate pace, trying to keep as quiet as he could, Tony continued down the path in front of him, hopelessly lost.

All he could tell was that he was going deeper, and had been for quite some time.

That's when he heard it more than felt it, the sounds of breath swishing in and out of lungs. Giant lungs. The whole tunnel filled with warm air followed by icy air being sucked back in before warm air escaped through the cavern once more. Suddenly a lot more cautious, Tony stumbled into what sounded like a giant underground room judging from the reverberations of the echoes.

The sound of rushing water was also heard as he slowly made his way forwards, hands held out in front of him in place of his sightless eyes. The rush of warmth became stronger as he slowly made his way in. Tripping slightly over a rock, Tony stumbled and let out a curse.

"God damn it, I can't see a thing…"

Brushing off his knees and standing up, Tony was stricken with fear as he realized that he could no longer feel the pulse of warm breath against his person and that he could suddenly vaguely see around him. Lifting wary eyes from the ground, Tony looked up. Giant, horrid, glowing green eyes stared at him from a face of black fur. A giant maw was inches from his face, the dim sheen of a sword glittering from within. A deep growl began to shake the ground as those hellish eyes melted his bones. The monstrous beast jerked against the slim chain wrapped around it. The water flowing from its mouth flicked wildly as it thrashed with angry growls filling the cave.

Tony cried out in horror as its great claws dug the rock from beneath it, unbearable in its deafening pitch. He stumbled back from the hideous monster and once more tripped. Vertigo caught him in its grasp, as suddenly there was no ground beneath him. With icy chilled pain of water surrounding him, Tony flailed about as he sucked in a lungful of liquid death.

Gagging and choking for air, Tony was swept away by the vicious current unable to find up from down. With luck, he was able to catch onto a rock and use it to push himself above the merciless force. Head breaking the surface, he gasped and retched as he expelled what water he could from his lungs. The sounds of anguished howls and growls slowly grew quieter as the current carried him further away into complete darkness.

Unable to discern which direction he should swim to safety, Tony just focused on trying to keep his head above water. His lungs burned and his skin was already numb from the cold. His limbs—already overtaxed by all the running and now—they were essentially useless against the foaming river.

Tony cried out in horror, only half a breath in his lungs when he was sucked under by the undertow and the current suddenly picked up in speed. The channel of the river decreased in size drastically as he was pushed through wildly, head and body knocking against rock and root alike. Precious air escaped his lips in bubbles as he shot through the cramped opening and out into deep open water.

He spun lazily in circles as his head swam in a daze, his ears popping from the pressure. His eyes blearily opened as he felt a soft current pulling him along. Giant fish of unknown origin swam past him, their huge eyes watching him in wonder. When one got close enough, he pushed off from its gleaming back, and tiredly swam to the surface.

Able to breathe once more, Tony sucked in greedy mouthfuls, his heart racing a mile a minute even as his body slowed down and tired from the cold. He glanced around him, able to see light and realized he was no longer near the forest. Turning around against the soft current, Tony was shocked to realize that he could see Valhalla behind him, several boats docked on the outskirts of Asgard.

"Help!" He cried out weakly, hoping against hope that someone would hear. His hands flailed against the surface, his legs hardly kicking. His mouth kept ducking beneath, unable to hold above for much longer. He watched as a bridge of many colors passed him by from above. At the sight of a domed building, Tony tried valiantly to swim to it at no avail.

The current wouldn't let him leave and at the sound of falling water, Tony knew without a doubt that there was no point. It was over. He cried out piteously as he thought about how much he really wanted to make Clint eat his own arrows.

Tony went over the edge of the waterfall, a huge sense of vertigo sucking at his stomach and his eyes all but bugged out at the sight of the ceaseless abyss below him. What a way to end an already shitty day. And if Tony wasn't so busy choking on his own lungs, he'd be cursing his luck and wondering how the hell it all even worked out like this. Vaguely he thought about how long he had before the vacuum of space would cause his head to implode. With a helpless scream Tony fell.

Fuck his life with a rusty knife.

Seriously.

In a strange flash of light, he disappeared.

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In an equally as blinding flash, Tony fell and hit the floor with a painful thump. Dazed, tired, and hurting so badly he couldn't move, he just laid there on his stomach. The floor was ice-cold stone, rubbed smooth from the path of traveling feet. He huffed for air greedily as his body slowly began shutting down, needing rest and needing it right away. His head hurt something fierce, he could even feel disconcerting warmth dribbling down the side of his cheek in an odd second hand sort of way.

His eyes fluttered in exhaustion as everything continued to spin even though he wasn't moving, his thoughts blurred and his body heavy as lead. He coughed weakly as the cold drove all sense from his mind.

The sound of angry footsteps approaching reached his waterlogged ears. He could spy the unfocused outline of leather boots a few inches away through his half closed eyes.

"What's this? A lost soul come to play? You are quite lost indeed to find this place, fool."

Tony was too tired to quip, his tongue a weighted obstacle within his mouth. He must have gurgled some response for the voice huffed in disdain.

"Incredibly foolish. How could one such as you have the ability to even find this safe haven? Not even an Asgardian, but a mortal." A boot pushed at Tony's shoulder, roughly flopping him over onto his back. Tony groaned in dissatisfaction. "… Not only a mortal, but one halfway into the grips of Hel herself."

Oh fuck off… Tony thought, sick of the condescension. He was too tired for this shit. So, Tony decided it would be better to sleep it off and closed his eyes. He heard a hiss and the swishing of clothing before a rough jostle against his shoulder jerked him closer to wakefulness.

"Do not sleep, fool. You truly will catch your death then."

Tony's eyes cracked open in irritation, just wanting to sleep. He spied annoyed green glaring back. In his state of half consciousness, Tony feared that the great beast within the mountain had followed him to finish him off. But as his gaze focused he caught sight of a straight nose and pale skin, not the fur of a monster.

He has a very handsome face, Tony chuckled deliriously. He undertook the task of lifting a hand that weighed a thousand kilos to pat the man's face. He giggled some more as he slurred almost unintelligibly. "You're pretty."

The man's eyes widened in surprise, the irritation fleeing his bright eyes as Tony's hand dropped to the ground. Tony didn't remember closing his eyes again either, but he did and he was swiftly being carried away into sleep.

Or that might have been actual hands lifting him from the ground and carrying him to some unknown destination. Tony couldn't say; it was all foggy at that point.

He swore he did hear a, "Foolish mortal…" at some point again though.

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1. Phillip Astley was known as the father of the modern circus. While, back in the day he didn't label his amphitheater as a circus as rivals had already assumed that title. So, Astley's Royal Amphitheatre it was. It was quite famous during the late 18th century and through the 19th. It was torn down in 1893.

We all know Hawkeye started off in a circus with his bro. I just changed the time era, the same issues more or less happened. There will be more background given eventually on Hawkeye.

2. Tyr was the god of war, and also the one who fed Fenrir. When Fenrir was bound by Gleipnir—the thin chain that binds him—Tyr's hand was bitten off by Fenrir. It made sense to me that he would guard the wolf's "lair" so fools like Hawkeye and Iron Man don't accidently release him. Of course, Fenrir was also bound a mile below ground in isolation to also dissuade morons but what can you do? Idiocy begets idiocy regardless of precautions.

3. Fenrir is known as the Vánagandr, 'the monster of the river Ván.' The River 'Expectations.' Again, Norse mythology tied into Marvel verse. Due to his ceaseless thrashing, the river flows from Fenrir's mouth, the sword stopping him from closing his maw. In Marvel verse we all know of the water surrounding Asgard before falling literally over the side in a great waterfall. It made sense to me that an underground river that would flow through the rocks of the mountain and out into the water surrounding: a sieve. (Those things are terrifying. Look it up.) Voilà, Tony à la over-the-edge-of-the-world.

4. Did my Clint seem well enough in character? He gives me trouble, the flighty bird...