Lie To Me
Special thanks too Chris for the epic beta-ness of this chapter. The last two still aren't 'updated' to their full potential but I shall let you all know – somehow – when they have been. ^^
My awesome Reviewers for the last chapter: Sandy-wmd (I'm glad you found it! And I'm glad you enjoyed what you've read so far! lol, it appears most of my readers share my aversion to tomatoes! That's kind of awesome. ^^), kimbee (One test down, one to go. I have another one on Monday. I'm freaking out, but I think I'll do okay…if I study my ass off. ^^ As for the length of this fic…bored already? Lol, um. I sort of mapped it out when I got this review…but I've forgotten. It's up to seven right now and the end is still a ways off. Maybe eleven chapters? Possible more, possibly less. I'm both enjoying writing this and ready to move onto my next story all at the same time. I'm happy to finish this one for its fans though. What little it has left ^^ I love you guys!), sv4me (lol, you may be onto something there. Lol, what kind of prompt do you have in mind? ^^ you might want to get it ready for the next chapter ^^), ZhaLenn (Your wish is my command! Mostly because this was the next chapter and you had perfect timing ^^), jaurspot (True, but in my mind, and I probably should have emphasized this more, his own lies are far more painful. Not something someone would want to experiment with on purpose. Plus, he's prone to headaches and everything is unfamiliar to him. Honestly I don't think Clint at this point wants to figure anything out either. He's accepting the Avengers and part of him wants to believe them and the other half still thinks everything's a trick. Idk, makes sense in my mind, hope you still are enjoying it.) discordchick (nope, but maybe ^^ thanks for the review!) Guest (ME TOO! I really liked writing that chapter because I don't explore their friendship enough in my fics. It was a fun experiment! I love the bubble wrap idea! You are epic!)
Chapter Five
The next person who demanded to spend some alone time with Clint was Tony Stark. It wasn't exactly odd, Tony was usually around if Clint meandered out of his room to socialize with the Avengers. He didn't always say something serious, like Steve or Bruce, but kept things light and relaxed. Clint didn't mind being around him, it helped that his memories of the man were friendly.
Clint was making his best attempt to figure out the overly complex coffee contraption in the kitchen when the billionaire waltzed into the kitchen.
"Clint!" Mr. Stark, Tony, Clint reminded himself, cheered with more excitement than Clint could believe could be genuine in a human being – at least not that early in the morning. "I've got something I want to show you."
Suspicion crashed into Clint's gut as he eyed the other man warily. Clint wasn't sure why he felt so nervous all of a sudden, as if something really bad were about to happen to him. A small part of him wanted to run back to the safety of his room, but a larger part wanted to hear what Tony had to say.
Nervousness was an odd feeling to have since Tony had been more than kind to Clint since he had come to live in the Avengers' tower. Still, there was a part of Clint who felt nervous about everyone and everything and he wasn't quite sure how to get rid of the feelings.
With a frown Clint gave the billionaire a small nod and for some reason Tony reacted by letting out a loud laugh.
Clint raised an eyebrow at Tony, which only caused Stark to smile brightly.
"Don't act too excited." Tony commented with a playful wink.
Ah, Clint thought to himself. Apparently he was being rather transparent with his inner monolog with his facial expressions. Briefly he wondered if he'd been more closed off in his pervious life, but he quickly decided he didn't want to know.
With a shrug Clint motioned for Tony to lead the way. Stark happily turned and headed toward the stairway instead of the elevator, which Clint was silently grateful for as well as slightly embarrassed.
They arrived down in what appeared to be an entire floor of the large tower turned into a rather impressive gym.
Clint frowned and gave Tony a sideways glance. "Are you trying to tell me something?" Tony looked back at him and frowned deeply with a bit of concern barely masked in his eyes, clearly he did not understand. Clint felt a rush of embarrassment and attempted to explain. "It was a joke, you know, about my weight, you think I need to exercise – never mind."
Stark blinked a few times before he broke into a smile, the widest Clint had ever seen within his short span of memory.
"Clint! You just made a joke!" Tony slapped Clint's shoulder before he led the way to a nearby table. Clint froze when he saw what was set on top of it.
"I've been working on something for you for a while now," Tony continued, oblivious to the change of tension behind him. "It's a bit fancier than your original one, which you can still play with if you prefer, but I'm always trying to improve my friend's toys." Tony picked up the bow, admiring his apparent work as he continued. "This baby is made of a lighter weight material that should make it easier to shoot, but I thought you might like to give it a try." Stark turned and handed Clint the bow only to watch the man take a big step back.
"What?" Tony asked, visibly confused as he looked down at the bow. "Do you not like the color? I thought I might have used too much dark purple, I could throw in some silver if you'd like?"
"No." Clint started, but stopped unable to continue. "I can't." He explained badly.
"You, can't? No, you can." Tony assured slowly with a frown that quickly morphed into an enthusiastic smile. "I mean, well, you could. Before, well, you know." Stark waved his hand over Clint's body as a vague explanation. Tony's expression switched to something more serious but still slightly nonchalant. "Look, there's something called muscle memory. Even when the mind forgets the muscle remembers and those who suffer from amnesia find that they can still perform tasks that they were most familiar with. Trust me when I say that you are very familiar with archery."
"I can't do it." Clint snapped with his eyes fixed on the ground. He didn't want to go through this again. This was just like how it was with Reese and Randle. They had wanted him to do this too, but they had told him he'd fail and that it wasn't real. They'd warned him and now Tony was messing with him.
This was some sort of trap – it had to be. Why else would Tony – Mr. Stark want him to try and do this? This was Randle's doing, somewhere he was laughing at his own joke. Clint didn't want to fall for it again. Hope was a joke and Clint wasn't up for being tricked again.
"What are you talking about? You haven't even tried yet." Tony frowned worriedly. "Just give it a shot." Tony giggled. "Ha, you know, shot? Catch the pun? Hey, that was funny. Gee, Clint, stop with the seriousness already!"
"I can't do it." Clint repeated and backed away from the table with the bow and arrows set up. It was pointless. "I've already tried; back at the other place. I already know I can't do it."
"You were drowning in drugs back then, Clint." Tony pointed out, never losing his cheery smile. "Your mind is clearer now and you're stronger. This time it'll be different. You'll see, just give it a try."
"No." Clint backed up further and shook his head. "You're lying. Everyone's lying to me. I can tell, you know?" Clint hesitated and shook his head, "I mean, I think I know. I just – I just don't know."
Tony's face wrinkled up in several emotions Clint was too lazy to define. "I have just a few observations you might be interested in." Tony announced finally, holding up a finger to silence the already silent Clint. "Why the hell would we lie to you at this point? How can you be so sure we're even lying? Clint, you're better than this. Search you feelings, you know it to be true." The last part was said in a strange voice, probably a quote from something.
Clint didn't like that everything was a joke to Tony. For him this was serious. All these questions and uncertainty – it was killing him. Clint wanted something to believe in but the rug kept on being yanked out from underneath him.
"Lie to me then." Clint shouted back. "If you've been telling the truth so far than tell me a lie. Something I know isn't true. Demi gods I can't see. Superheroes. That's not reality. It hasn't been proven. Tell me something I know is false."
Tony eyed him intensely for a moment and then sighed. "Fine. You want me to lie? I can do that. I'm actually very good at doing that. I pretty much lie all the time. That shirt you're wearing? It's not black – it's pink. Not just a normal fluffy girl pink, no, it's hot pink."
Pain stabbed through Clint's head and he winced in pain. It was a lie. Clint looked down at his black shirt and froze. "Keep going." He whispered.
"The sky? You might think it's blue, but you're wrong. Dead wrong, it's actually bright red. All the time." More pain burned through Clint's brain and he smiled. Tony kept going. "By the way my eyes aren't brown, they're as green as caps. Natasha's hair is black, by the way and yours is grey, you really should think of a dye job, cuz come on, standards."
Clint went to his knees from the pain, his hands raised to cradle his throbbing head.
"Holy shit! Clint?" Tony's voice had changed pitch from flamboyant to concerned so quickly Clint looked up at him in confusion. Blood dripped down his chin from his nose and Tony's skin went pale as he knelt next to him on the ground. "What the hell? Are you okay? What's going on?"
Clint smiled and the blood stained his teeth pink. "They lied." He told Tony vaguely. "They said it was the truth that hurt, but that was because they lied and it hurt. They were covering it up. I get it now; it all makes sense. All of it was so confusing, but I think I know now. I do know. It makes sense. You've been telling the truth all along. I just – I wasn't sure until now, but I'm sure. I know!"
"Yeah, well." Tony said in an unsure voice. "I feel like I missed something."
"My head. They did something to me. Said it was an accident but really it wasn't, right? They messed with something." Clint shook his head. "I can tell when people are lying. It makes my head feels like it's being ripped open."
Tony winced deeply and sat back on the floor. "Anytime anyone lies you feel like your head is being torn apart? Then why the hell did you just make me - ?"
"Because I didn't know. I mean, I guessed, but I didn't know. They twisted everything in that place." Clint shook his head and looked at the man in front of him. "They said that it was the truth that hurt, but, but now I think that's because they were lying and they couldn't – I don't know. They didn't want me to stop trusting them. They needed me for something, but I'm not really sure what."
Slowly Stark nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like typical bad guys doing typical bad guy things. Clint, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that."
The sincerity in Tony's voice had Clint confused. From what Clint knew about Tony he got the impression that the man was rarely openly serious.
"I – it wasn't your fault." Clint reasoned. It had been a mission, that's what he had been told anyway.
Tony opened his mouth to say something, but shut it before the words could form. With a shake of his head he smiled and glanced Clint over. "You okay?"
"Yeah, the pain doesn't last that long. Not unless, well, Reese did a few sessions that made it last for hours. That happened just before I – " Clint looked away. "I killed her."
"I know it doesn't feel like it now," Tony spoke after a long pause and a couple gentle pats to Clint's shoulder. "But what you did was self defense. They were holding you captive, took your memories, experimented on you and made you believe something that wasn't true."
Clint shook his head and looked away so Tony wouldn't be able to see the mist of tears in his eyes. "I don't want to be a killer."
"Then don't be a killer." Tony announced. "You can do whatever you want, Clint. Eventually everything will work out, right now just be who you want to be."
Clint took a moment to consider Tony's words. Now that he knew what was true and what was false Clint felt more comfortable than he ever had before. He smiled at Tony and nodded. "I think I can do that."
Tony grinned back and stood with an offered hand to help Clint back up to his feet. "Alright, so how about it?" Tony asked Clint, pointing to the bow and arrows and the range set-up. "Want to give it another try?"
Clint was curious. Before he had failed Clint had felt like the bow was part of him. It had felt right in his hands even if he had missed. The drugs would have thrown off his aim. Clint was acutely aware of the drugs and how they had affected his mind. He knew now how clear it felt to be free of the haze. Maybe this time would be different?
Silently Clint moved forward and gingerly picked up the bow. It was much lighter than the one he'd used before and it felt odd in his grasp. Maybe 'odd' wasn't the right word, but it definitely felt different. "You designed this?"
Tony puffed out his chest and took on a stance that screamed 'proud.' "I'm a mechanic." He explained easily.
With a nod Clint looked down at the target and picked up an arrow carefully and placed it on the string. He hesitated, not even drawing the string back. "What if I miss again?" He frowned at Tony, frightened that everything would be wrong again. Although Clint now knew for sure that he couldn't fall as far as before.
"If you don't hit the center I won't hold it against you. Amnesia is as good of a reason as any to miss for the first time ever." Tony grinned until the grin suddenly slipped off his face. "You mentioned that you tried this before? With Reese and Randle, right? I still blame the drugs for you missing the first time. You should see your blood work from when we first got you back. It's full of crap."
Clint nodded slowly, but that didn't really help his fears. "I was so sure that was the key, back then. I remembered being an archer, I had dreamed about it – but when I missed it was devastating."
"I have to say," Tony's tone caught Clint's attention. He sounded amused for some reason, which felt a bit inappropriate. "You are much more open like this."
"I wasn't, um, open before?" Clint asked weakly, he really didn't want to know.
"Nope." Tony grinned. "I was never really able to read you, well, I could, but you only showed what you wanted me – us – to see." He shrugged and waved the words away. "It's not a big deal."
Clint frowned, the more he learned about his old self the more he didn't want to be that person. Not just because of the killing but – well, Clint didn't have to be that Clint again. Not if he avoided remembering.
Gently Clint pulled back the arrow on the string and took aim. He hesitated for a moment before releasing, holding his breath and exhaling as he let the string go. The arrow flew true, landing with a thud on the smallest circle of the target, an inch off of dead center. Clint repeated the motion of nocking back another arrow and releasing, faster and more assured in his ability. This arrow smacked the center of the target with ease.
Clint smiled. It felt right holding the bow and firing the arrows. It felt real. He smiled a small smile at Tony and the other man gave him a double thumbs-up.
"Told ya so." Tony announced with a goofy grin and Clint returned it in kind.
Another update next Friday.
BTW, it's Friday…lol, 12am, Friday, but still, Friday ^^
Thanks for reading. Reviews are love
