A/N: I was wondering why it took me SO FREAKING LONG to type this. Until I realized just HOW MUCH was coming out. (chuckles) Oh, my dear readers, this is gonna be a THUNDERSTORM…!

FIRST, though… THANK YOU, so much, for all your love and support! It means A LOT that you're all still out there. (HUGS)

Awkay, because I've kept you waiting… Let's go! Just…

BRACE YOURSELVES, THIS'LL BE A MASSIVE RIDE, AND NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE CHAPTER'S SIZE…!

SONG OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS ONE: 'My songs know what you did in the dark' (/'Light 'em up') from Fall Out Boy

The One in Charge

/ Thunder had already roused a six-year-old Clint twice when he woke up to something else entirely. Loud voices could be heard from the tiny house's living room. Angry voices. His mother and a considerably calmer man whose voice he couldn't recognize. Why would they have someone visiting in the night-time? Was it one of his dad's… friends from the bar?

"Barn", Clint whispered. For once he didn't care that his panic could be heard. "Barney, wake up. We… There's someone…" He trailed off.

His brother, however, continued snoring on the room's other bed. Clint swallowed thickly, wondering if he should've just pretended that he was asleep, too. In the end he found himself moving slowly towards the still ongoing argument.

"… the fire." The man's voice was warm and kind but carried a hint of steel even a child noticed. "Your son is special. He'd benefit of a place where he can be taught how to control his powers."

Clint frowned. What was that fire they talked about? And… Special? He wasn't anything special. His father always told him so. As curious as he was wary, he peered into the room. The stranger, who sat in a wheelchair, had his back towards the child. Clint saw slightly overgrown brown hair. And sensed something in the air between the adults he was too young to understand. It made him feel uncomfortable.

His mother snorted in the middle of his inspection, making him jump. "And this so-called school of yours would be that place? With all due respect, Dr…"

"Professor Xa…"

Thunder clapped incredibly loudly just then, striking a nearby tree. It was too much for the child who'd already been on the edge. He dashed into the room he shared with his brother and covered himself completely with a blanket. It took over an hour before he finally fell into an uneasy slumber.

Clint only asked his mother about the bizarre meeting once, the following morning while his father still slept off his hangover. She smiled and kissed his hair, claiming that it was all a dream. Of course he believed her. Still he hated thunderstorms ever since. /

Almost above all else Clint disliked doctors. Some of them, like Dr. Cho, he could tolerate. But the second she walked into the fireproof sick-room, which he labelled a prison, he tensed up painfully. Because she wasn't alone and her companion was someone he'd never seen before.

And here he'd honestly imagined that this day couldn't get any worse…

To her credit, she attempted to ease his discomfort with a kind smile. "Clint… I have to be completely honest with you. The treatment methods I have don't seem to be working very well. These powers… They're too much on your body. And we're running out of time." She gave him a moment. "Dr. Karl Malus is my former teacher. He might be able to help you."

Clint didn't want this stranger anywhere near him. Especially when he was feeling sick and vulnerable. But he'd never been a big fan of denial so he squeezed his bedsheets so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Doesn't sound like I've got much choice, doc." His tone wasn't as light as he'd hoped.

The man took a couple of cautious steps closer. "I'm here to help you, agent Barton. But in order to do that I'd have to take you to my laboratory. I have all the necessary equipment there."

Clint's eyebrow bounced up with alarm. He didn't like the sound of that. "That's a fancy way of saying that I'll be your very own little lab-rat, right?" Reminding himself that this stranger was only trying to help didn't do much good when a loud voice in the back of his head was screaming warnings.

Clint's powers were also reacting, activating, rising for an attack. He didn't even notice until he smelled smoke and the room's alarm systems went off. His bedsheets weren't quite on fire yet but not far from that point. He stared at the smoke and blackened fabric, nausea swirling in the pit of his stomach.

Just then Tony barged into the room and would've startled him with catastrophic results if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing. "What the hell is going on here?" The sheer volume made the archer's skull feel like it'd been torn apart.

Dr. Malus cleared his throat. "I, ah… I need to make a phone-call."

Dr. Cho gave Clint a look of sympathy and would've probably squeezed his shoulders comfortingly if it would've been safe to touch him. "Why don't you take a moment to catch your breath? I'll be back soon. Then we can talk more."

Clint barely noticed the room emptying. All he saw was the damaged fabric underneath him. All he realized was that absolutely nothing about his life was under his control anymore. Including his body. And the only way to keep everything from turning into ashes was to trust a man who instantly made his skin crawl.

Letting frustration bubble over, Clint closed his eyes. Then howled. And let the bedsheets burn.

Dr. Cho fought the urge to wince when she followed Tony to where the rest of the Avengers were waiting with gloomy expressions. This was going just about as well as she'd expected. "I'm truly sorry that I had to bring in a stranger. That I'll have to send Clint away from here. I wouldn't even suggest any of that without your and Clint's consent if it wasn't absolutely necessary." She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Nothing in this Tower will help Clint for long. Dr. Malus has treated several patients with… similar problems before. It's the only way to save his life."

"You may trust this guy with his life." Tony's tone was sharper than a knife. "But we sure as hell don't."

"Language", the rest of the team chorused, only Steve in all seriousness.

The mood lightened for barely even five seconds. Natasha's narrowed eyes would've chilled anyone. "How much do you trust that doctor?" From the look in the redhead's eyes it was apparent just how much she would trust her with if she'd agree to this plan. How much was at stake for her.

Cho sighed heavily again. "This isn't about trust", she pointed out. "We just don't have any other choice left."

Clint heard each and every word, as hard as he tried not to. He understood that they were worried. But it still stung that they were talking about this without him. Especially because he was perfectly capable of forming his own opinion. Especially when he was the one whose powers threatened to get out of control whenever he stopped focusing for even a second.

Walking was a challenge with the way his head kept spinning and every little bit of him ached from how tense he was all the time. But Clint soldiered on with his usual stubbornness. Determined to have as much control over the decisions concerning his life as he could, pathetically little as it was.

"Look, guys…" He sighed and rubbed his hair roughly with one hand. He couldn't look at any of his friends. "I can't go anywhere. Not when I could torch everyone and everything around me in a flash." Even the mental image made him feel sick to his stomach. "You've seen how dangerous I am. So, I'm stuck here and… As great as this Tower is… Even if these changes wouldn't be basically killing me I can't live like this indefinitely. Maybe for the rest of my life."

Tony's mouth opened. Someone else was faster. "It's adorable how you seem to imagine that there's any actual choice." Thaddeus Ross marched into the room like he owned the place with five of his men. Behind them all followed Dr. Malus with a deeply remorseful look on his face. Ross revealed a very official-looking document. "Your little stunt at that burning building made you quite famous, Barton. And I just heard from your very own mouth that you're in no control over your powers. Which is why I have a presidential order to have you in custody until the… problem is under control. You'll help us with that, won't you, Dr. Malus?"

The addressed doctor nodded barely visibly. Pointedly not meeting anyone's eyes. "I will."

The explosion of protests was painfully loud. Natasha snarled something that made no sense to Clint, seeming ready to tear people apart with her bare hands. Steve's fists clenched and the soldier took what was clearly a battle stance. Bruce's eyes flashed green. Tony was immediately in Ross' face, explaining in no uncertain terms how unhappy he was with all this. Clint was touched by the realization that he had so many people who cared about him. But it was also a clear indication of how much was at stake.

"Guys, stop!" Somehow Clint's voice, feeble as it was, succeeded in making the room grow deadly quiet. He lifted his chin and glared at Ross. "There was a time when I would've let you end me right here, right now, to make sure that I won't hurt anyone. But I owe it to too many people that I try to fix myself. Because unlike you, I have people who care about me. And the only reason you and your merry little band haven't been torn apart yet is that my friends know I wouldn't approve." He let all the pain he was feeling transform into acid and ice on his tongue. He marched so close to Ross that their noses almost touched. "You didn't have to arrange this childish spectacle because I'm coming with you willingly. Not because of presidential orders, not in cuffs. But because I choose to. Because I'm not going to be a threat to those around me, and I'm not going to be your excuse to tear apart this whole team. That's the other reason why you're here, right? Is it also in that fancy presidential order of yours that the Avengers Initiative needs to be shut down?"

Ross didn't speak for a few moments. But his clenched jaw replied faster than his tongue. "This team consists of highly unstable individuals with immense powers they can't or won't control. You are the final proof. The president has wanted to shut down the team since the disaster of New York…"

"Yeah, about that." Tony took a step closer as well, his eyes blazing. "I'm throwing a wild guess, here… But does Mr. President know about the bomb that was supposed to take down the city?" Just one look was enough to reveal the answer. "Yeah, that's what I though. You go after the team and he will know. Guess how long your career would be after that?"

Clint took a deep breath, did whatever he could to appear stronger than he felt. "How about I offer you a deal?" He hated what he'd have to do from the bottom his heart. But he wasn't about to let the team suffer because of his… problem. And he was done being a threat to those closest to him. "You cancel the shutdown… Get to keep your pathetic career… And I'll come willingly to become your little lab-rat."

"Barton…!" Natasha snarled but Clint barreled on before she got the chance to complete the sentence. "Which one matters more to you, Ross? The destruction of the Avengers? Or your career? Because I can tell that you want me for something and if you take down the team, keep them from protecting the world… You won't get me alive."

Ross' genuine surprise was almost satisfying. "You'd rather die than let the Avengers be shut down?"

"I would", Clint affirmed without a beat of hesitation. "Because the world doesn't need me. But something like New York will happen again, or something infinitely worse. And then you'll be begging for the Avengers to take a stand to help." He snorted. "You're really bad at seeing the bigger picture, aren't you?" Do you honestly think that you could capture me against my will?

Ross' eyes flashed. But surprisingly the man held his tongue. "We'll leave in five minutes. And you're going with us. In cuffs or without." With those words that failed to be intimidating the man and his crew retreated, even if it was only to the other end of the room.

The rest of the team stared at Clint in a state of enraged shock. "We're not letting you do this!" Natasha hissed. "You have no idea what he's going to do to you!"

Clint groaned. "I know that it's stupid. But what am I supposed to do when the only other option is to die or get others killed?" His friends didn't know what to say to that.

"I could come with you", Bruce offered. "To make sure that…"

"No", Clint denied instantly. "You're Ross' favorite target. He'd go after you if he dared to. Besides, you've gotta keep working with Cho. Try to come up with something."

Tony swore. Loudly. "You're a moron, Feathers." The billionaire's tone was sharp but the worry clouding his eyes revealed how he really felt.

Clint snorted. "Yeah. I know."

Every single one of Steve's muscles was tense as the soldier stood a respectful distance away. Visibly fighting with himself to not do something stupid. "We won't stop trying to help you."

Clint couldn't help smiling. Even if he ached horribly all over and felt ready to pass out any given second. This time the warmth swelling inside him was the good kind. "I know. Because you guys are the only people on this planet who may be more stubborn than I am." It was selfish of him, he knew, but it was easier to go through with this remembering that he had people fighting for him. People who believed in him.

He tensed up from pure surprise when Natasha wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to a tight, almost desperate hug that was only partially for a show. "Want me to call Laura?" she whispered in his ear. So quietly that no one else had any hope of hearing.

He shook his head the best as he could. He didn't want Laura to know, to worry. "Only if I don't… come back." He didn't want to think about it but he had to. Just in case. "If I don't… Tell her to read the letter."

Natasha didn't have to ask which letter he was talking about. Instead she hugged him tighter for a fraction of a second. Then let go, pushed him further and scowled. "We're going to get you back, Barton. And when we do there'll be words."

Clint grinned with glee he didn't feel. "Something to look forward to." It was a testament to how badly things sucked at the moment that he was genuinely looking forward to a thorough scolding from Natasha.

That was when Dr. Malus stepped forward. There was apology in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but… It's time to go."

Clint nodded. Apparently he'd said everything necessary because there wasn't a single word left in his buzzing and screaming, chaotic mind. Ross' merry five joined them to the elevator, which didn't surprise the archer. Nor did he care.

Clint imagined that he had nothing left to say until he lifted his gaze to see his friends. Misery, frustration and rage were all heavy in the air. He did his best to smile. Desperate to let them see him brave and at peace with what he was doing, in case this would be the last time… "Hey, enough with the frownie faces. It'll be okay."

Tony shuddered like someone who'd been shot and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare…" … try to say goodbye! There was no time for the final words but they were audible in the air, anyway.

When the elevator's doors closed, separating him from his friends and from what was his whole world, Clint had only fool's hope to take with him.

The incredibly heavy silence Clint's departure left behind could've been cut by a knife. Dr. Cho was the one who spoke first, misery all over her face. "I… I'm so sorry…! If I'd known…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Few people mean crap like this to happen but it does, anyway. Save your breath." Tony knew, on a level of reason, that this wasn't her fault. That she only tried to help Clint. But reason had very little impact on how he felt at the moment. He took several deep breaths in a futile effort to calm down, then looked towards Natasha. The billionaire didn't speak until he was sure that Ross, who was currently on the phone, wouldn't be listening. "Did you put the tracking device on Clint?"

Natasha nodded, the fury in her eyes mirroring his.

"Good. And I've got Clint's speech and Ross' admission recorded. If he hurts Barton it'll all go public." The billionaire turned sharply, desperate to have something to do. Desperate to fix this mess. "I'll call Happy to activate the tracking device. He's got the code."

The others were left into a very awkward silence, all of them so deep in thought that even Natasha didn't notice Ross following Tony. That was how Thor found them when he appeared twenty seconds later. And here he imagined that his visit to Asgard was tense and uncomfortable… (It was almost inevitable how his father would react when he asked for help to a Midgardian.) He frowned. "Did something happen while I was away?"

Tony shuddered when he finished his brief talk with Happy to hear Ross' voice. "I have to go now. But before that… I'm going to let you know something. Because I have a feeling that out of the whole team you may be the one most… receptive to my observations of how dangerous the Avengers are."

Tony glared at the older man. It took a lot not to throw something at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Ross scoffed. "Really, Tony? You think I don't know about some of your inventions, such as the Hulkbuster?" The man entered the room with a despicable aura of confidence. "You work with the most dangerous people and beings on this planet. They're capable of an incredible amount of destruction. New York proved as much. You shouldn't feel guilty about taking precautions."

"Is this little talk going anywhere?" Tony growled.

"Yes", Ross replied immediately, not in the slightest bothered by his hostility. The man placed a thick file with Clint's name on the top to the desk beside them. "Agent Barton may just be the most dangerous of you all. He isn't even a human being. This…" Ross tapped at the file with a single finger. "… is something I think you all deserve to know. It's up to you whether you'll tell the others, of course, but I trust you to do the right thing. Read it carefully. Then decide how far you're willing to go to protect Clint." The man turned around and began to walk away, a sickening flash of triumph in his eyes. "Consider this a friendly little warning."

The mood wasn't joyous in the vehicle Clint and Dr. Malus occupied. In the end the older man broke the silence. "I truly am sorry, that I had to do this. But I really am going to try and help you."

Clint nodded mechanically, barely listening. He didn't even glance towards the other man. It was almost inevitable that a thunderstorm raged outside.

In… what, less than twenty-four hours he'd gone from feeling the best he ever had to feeling absolutely horrible. From imagining that he might get a hang of this whole mess, after all, to hearing that he was dying. And a mutant. From dreaming of going home to having everything torn away from him. It was all far too much for him to handle, especially in his current condition.

Malus, however, wasn't done yet. "Maybe… it's a good thing that I found you. Before things were as bad as the last time we met."

Clint frowned. "What are you talking about? We've never met before."

/ Before the mysterious Professor's visit there was another night of thunder and lightning. Clint couldn't remember much about what happened before he fell asleep. But he woke up to a horrible amount of pain. And to the sounds of two people arguing in hushed voices.

"… dosage may kill him!" a man he'd much later know as Dr. Malus exclaimed.

"Karl, he burned down his school today after those students attacked him! Three people died and ten more were injured! If I wasn't so high on Hydra's food chain he might be dead or worse right now. We have to fix him!"

Clint whimpered, terror washing through him like a tsunami. A fire…? People were dead…?

No, no, no, no, NO…!

The beeping he was only becoming aware of intensified. Soon there was a familiar hand stroking his sweaty hair. "Shh, shh… Go to sleep, sweetheart. You'll feel better when you wake up. This is all a dream."

Of course he believed her, and soon forgot the whole nightmare.

He woke up in his own bed, recovering from a horrible stomach flu. A couple of days later they moved to another city far away, to a neighborhood they all hated. And had to use a new surname. Clint always felt like it was all his fault. His dad and Barney were also quick to blame him. /

Ross arched an eyebrow when his car joined the one Dr. Malus and Clint were climbing out of. He was quick to notice the look of complete, utter shock on the archer's unhealthily pale face. The man's dazed eyes suggested that his mind was somewhere a million miles away. "What did you do to him? Did you have to give the sedative?"

"No." Dr. Malus seemed nauseous and refused to meet his eyes. "I only told him something he'd blocked from his memories."

Tony had always been far too nosy for his own good. He knew, with absolute certainty, that it was a bad idea to read the file Ross left. He couldn't resist going through it, anyway. In minutes he wished dearly that he never touched it.

It revealed that Clint was a mutant. That he'd had powers even before the recent capture. Tony discovered a lot of information on his friend's parents. And then there was a detailed description of the fire that claimed the lives of three small children, no older than ten-years-old.

"Oh god…"

At the same time Natasha received a phone-call from Fury she'd been anticipating for what felt like ages. She answered with very little patience. "Well?"

"We… finally succeeded in identifying the woman who came to the Tower and gave Barton the substance that almost killed him. We widened the search a little bit." Fury… actually sounded slightly shaken. Which alone would've been shocking. "The reason we couldn't find her from any database at first is that she isn't supposed to be alive."

Clint just sat there at the laboratory Dr. Malus dragged him to. Staring at the file in front of him, containing a Hydra-symbol and all existing data of the school fire. Officially it was a tragic accident. Now he knew what the actual truth was. And his frail, few pieces of memories began to clash together violently in his throbbing skull.

/ Clint cried tears of terror and despair. The tingling under his skin hurt far worse than his fresh bruises and bleeding, possibly broken nose. Worse than the wound left by a stone that'd been thrown at his head. He was only six. But even though he'd never felt like this before he knew, with all too much certainty, that bad things would happen if he'd lose control. "Go away, please!" He wasn't begging and pleading for himself, couldn't they see? "Go away!"

One of the five bullies, who were at least three years older, snorted. "What is it, Freak? You're such a pathetic crybaby." A new stone came flying and hit his cheek when he attempted to dodge it. "The likes of your mom should be the ones to go away!"

Clint couldn't help it. He was only a small child, far too young to control the kind of a horrible power he possessed. The world exploded to flames and screams.

Later, when adults finally appeared to the scene of horrors, no one believed the surviving children when they said that a child burst into flames. No one but a young man named Thaddeus Ross. /

The last piece of paper to find its way to Clint's unsteady hands was a death certificate with the name 'Allerdyce, Clint'.

"Your family had no other choice", Dr. Malus explained softly. "After what happened… You had to escape, before things would've gotten even worse."

Clint snorted bitterly. "Worse?" That was somehow possible after what he did? What was worse than being a murderer? A monster?

How was he ever supposed to return to his friends? Let alone to his children? Knowing what he'd done, what he was?

Dr. Malus went on almost cautiously. "I… was there to help your mother, that night. We both worked for Hydra at the time and used all our connections. Over the night we had you stabilized and had a new home arranged for your family. Under your late uncle's surname."

Hydra? Just that one word snapped Clint right back to present. He stared at the man, feeling sick to his stomach. And he began to realize that this actually was even worse than he'd imagined.

Which didn't mean that the situation didn't have the potential to become even worse still.

"You'll have to cut the story time short, Karl", a woman's voice announced from somewhere behind him. A familiar voice. Impossible voice. "You're overwhelming him."

Slowly, slowly – his heart hammering and stumbling – Clint turned his gaze. She'd aged, of course, but he would've recognized her face anywhere. She was supposed to be dead. She even had a grave. Yet there she was.

The smile she gave him wasn't the one he remembered. There was something incredibly cold in the look she gave him. "Hey, sweetheart. Long time no see."

Clint swallowed thickly. His heart raced at an unhealthy pace while he stared, unable to comprehend. "Mom?"

Ignoring him for a few moments, she looked towards Dr. Malus. "Leave us, now. We're about to have a long overdue mother and son moment." As soon as the man had complied with visible reluctance her eyes were on him once more. Was there sentiment in her gaze? Or was it just an echo of something he used to believe in? She made her way to him tantalizingly slowly. Brushed his hair and cheek with a cool hand. "I took risks… First arranging you to be captured with Dr. Banner and experimented on… Then going to the Tower to give you that serum… I was worried that it'd be too much. That it might kill you. But then I saw that video of you saving that child." Was the pride in her eyes? "I knew, right then, that I should've just trusted you. Because you've always been my special boy. And now you're finally ready to let the whole world see it."

Clint wanted to fight her. Knew that he should've. But it was like he was paralyzed. He had no idea of the tears rolling down his cheeks.

She leaned closer. Began to whisper in his ear. "Don't look so scared. You've always been special. I… will turn you into something phenomenal." She ran a hand through his hair, like she once did so many times. "Thunderstorm… Seven… Guilt… Arrow…"

Clint frowned. His head was spinning, so overwhelmed that it was impossible to think. "What are you…?" He trailed off, all the words bouncing in his head tangling together.

"Tightrope… Brother… Mother…"

Clint wasn't entirely sure what she was doing but he felt himself slipping. Almost like… The memory of Loki made his eyes widen. "Don't…!" he wheezed, breathless. He should've fought back with all his might. But he couldn't focus enough to lift his hand. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, struggled to command his own mind. Nothing happened. "Please… Don't…!"

His mother went on. As though deaf to his desperate pleas. "Family… Loyalty…"

Clint opened his mouth for a holler that refused to come out.

His mother stroked his hair again. Then delivered the finishing blow. "Fire."

Ten simple words – and Clint was undone once more.

/ Two pairs of eyes observed as paramedics reached the car the Bartons crashed with. Both of them wore suits and worked under the command of S.H.I.E.L.D. The more solemn one of them saw a suffering child. The other an opportunity. A potential weapon.

"See? Didn't I tell you that it was the same boy I saw years ago?" Thaddeus Ross grinned. "With an army of those like him… We'll be unstoppable."

Beside him Nick Fury was silent. Because they were the ones the family was running away from. It was because of them the parents were dead and the boys orphans facing a future of uncertainty. He found it impossible to imagine that they were the good guys when the boy woke up, startling the medics, and called out desperately for his mother.

By the time they found the hospital the boys had been taken to they'd vanished. Apparently a social worker had appeared to get them just before they arrive. It was the first and only time Fury heard Ross curse. And it was the last day they were teamed up.

It took years before either of them encountered Clint Barton again. /

A couple of hours after the chilling reunion of the mother and son Ross received a text message.

'It's been done. And if you want to start using my son as your war-machine… Then I'll be the one in charge.'

TBC

A/N: Okay, deep breaths, now. That was A LOT to take in. Poor, poor Clint! To say that he just had his world turned upside down is an understatement… But WHAT will they do to him next?

SOOOOO… Any good, at all? Way too much? PLEASE, do let me know! I LOVE hearing from you.

Until next time, folks! I REALLY, REALLY HOPE that you'll all join in for that one.

Take care!

SomeRandomHuman: Yuuuup, you read that part correctly. Oh boy…! Poor Clint…!

I'm really happy that you enjoyed the chapter! (BEAMS) We'll see what horrors the next one brings…

Massive thank yous for the review!