Chapter 6

By: MysticFantasy

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James lightly sighed as he slouched against a cold metal wall. His jacket was able to keep the cold out so it didn't bother him.

Pym and Azari were sound asleep next to him and Torunn was doing everything she could to stay awake.

Francis was standing next to Tony as the older man continued to try to awaken the Avengers from their 'sleep'.

"How are they doing?" Francis asked.

"Nothing's wrong with them." Tony answered. "That's a good sign. I was sure that Ultron would have hurt them in some way."

"Guess they're the lucky ones." Francis said with a tone hinting at resentment and sorrow.

Tony lightly frowned at the young archer. He wished that Clint could have been given the same punishment as the rest of the original Avengers but fate didn't seem to want it that way.

It hurt to know that Clint had died in the fight against Ultron and couldn't be here with all of them. Without him, the Avengers wouldn't be whole again.

"Your father was a great man." Tony said as he pressed a buttons. "He was a stubborn piece of work but he always came through for us. He knew how to stand his ground when he needed to but he also knew how to be there for someone when they needed comfort. He was a great man and a greater friend. I really wish that he could be here with us."

"Who says I'm not?" a voice asked.

Francis felt his body and breath freeze inside him at the sound of the familiar voice. He slowly turned around, not sure if he would be seeing things or not.

When he fully turned around and spotted the figure standing a few feet away, he suddenly felt as if he was going to pass out.

"Clint?" Tony lightly gasped.

"The one and only." the blond man answered with a smirk as he walked over. His famous costume had patches and worn holes at the knees. His mask was nowhere in sight, most likely long gone.

His blond hair had lost some of its golden color and had grown down to his shoulders.

"D-dad?" Francis stuttered.

"Hey Frankie." Clint greeted and was instantly in an intense hug by his son who he happily hugged in return.

"But...how?" Tony asked. "Francis said that he saw what happened to you."

"Remember that 'death beam' Ultron tried to use on Thor a few years ago? Well, he tried something similar to me. Only I got teleported into a jail cell that had intense security. Even I couldn't find a way without getting myself killed. So I waited. Ultron kept me alive because he thought that I knew where you had taken the rest of the kids. But I didn't know where you were. He thought that I was just trying to hold out as long as I could. Then the electric security went down the other day and I've been trying to find my kid the whole time. I found the Savengers and they told me what was going on."

Clint looked down at Francis.

"I'm proud of you kid." he said with a smile. "You really proved that you're an Avenger like your old man. You stood up to Ultron and helped take him down. You helped save the world. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks dad." Francis said with a tearful smile.

Clint looked over to James who was now standing next to Tony.

"James." he said with a smile. "Wow. You look exactly like your dad. But I bet you got your mother's spy nature."

"He's got a little of both of them in him." Tony stated before returning to the control panel.

"Yeah? Did Tony ever tell you that I dated your mom before we found your dad?" Clint asked with a sly smirk.

"What?!" James and Francis exclaimed.

"It's true." Tony said.

"Yeah. Natasha and I dated for a while before we found Cap in that big block of ice." Clint said. "We broke it off before we actually found him. I had been away on a mission when he was found but when I came back I found out that they were together. I wasn't really surprised. Cap had all the ladies falling for him. Before and after being an Avenger and before and after getting married to Natasha. Thank goodness she wasn't the jealous type. As far as I know."

James looked to Tony for confirmation and recieved a nod from him. This was all new to James. He never heard about this side of his father before.

"I actually tried to win Natasha back but she stayed with Cap. If she had come back to me, there's a chance the two of you could have been brothers." Clint said.

Francis and James looked at each other with a bit of surprise before looking back at the two adults.

"How are they doing?" Clint asked seriously as he stared at the cases containing the remaining Avengers.

"They'll be awake soon." Tony answered. "Whatever Ultron had used to keep them like this, it's finally starting to wear off. Cap be awake sooner though because of his metabolism."

James felt his hope rise a little higher than it already was. He heard of his father's super fast metabolism and that it allowed him to not be affected by many things. He quickly recalled the stories Tony had told him about the small bets he had made with Steve in an attempt to get him drunk but it never worked and he would be out a few hundred dollars.

To hear that his father might be awake sooner than expected, James felt all his weariness quickly fade away and his alertness spring back into action.

He walked over and stood near Clint.

"Your dad was a heck of a guy, James." he said. "He was one of the first authority figures that I actually listened to and he helped me be a better person in some ways. I felt really honored to have been able to fight alongside the guy."

James lightly smiled.

Up until now, Tony had been his only source of stories and knowledge about his father. It was very welcoming and comforting to have another source tell him more about his dad.

It made James look up to his dad even more.