Chapter Two

Eleven Years Ago, Paris, France…

The room Peter was in was filled with kids his age. He felt at home in its atmosphere of dark and dank, used to it from home; Papa said big boys could sleep in the basement for "training," so that's what Peter did. The shirts with their names and a number (Peter's was seven, his favorite) was new, but they were comfortable.

The other kids were crying a lot, though. It confused him; weren't they sent here to be trained? Papa had told him he would be going to Hydra to change the world, whatever that meant. Had these kids not been told the same by their Papas?

One other boy wasn't crying, however. He looked like Peter's neighbor, a lady from Japan that had pretty flowers and let him water them, but his hair was shaved. Peter was happy for someone being normal, and so he decided that he would be friends with this boy.

Peter walked over and held out his hand. "I'm Peter, nice to meet cha."

"Fuck off," the boy said and kicked him in the stomach. Peter collapsed in on himself, and grabbed the decidedly mean boy's foot. He was used to being hurt during spars at home, but this wasn't a spar. The boy was breaking the rules!

Peter twisted the ankle like he had been taught and jabbed his elbow into the boy's throat. The boy collapsed, gagging.

"What the, what the hell" the boy gasped.

"I'm Peter, and you aren't very nice."

"Well I'm Hayate, and I'll kill you," Hayate said, and glared at him. Peter did not like that look, not one bit. It reminded him of his Papa's friend who came over to make Peter sick to help him stay strong. Almost like he wanted Peter to never wake up.

Hayate scrambled up and got into a loose fighting pose. Peter stepped back, not wanting to fight anymore.

His back collided with a knee. He looked up, meeting his new trainer's eyes, the man who had picked him up from Papa's.

"I see Seven and Eight want to be the first to spar, eh?" His voice was rough and filled with glee.

"N-no, sir," Peter said.

A gun was pointed at his head. The other kids screamed and moved away. Even Hayate backed up.

"If you don't beat this brat into unconsciousness I will kill you and let your father know he raised a weakling."

Peter gulped. No matter how much Papa wanted him here, he wanted to go home. He got into his ready pose that his Papa taught him this year.

"I'm sorry, Hayate."

Peter charged forward.

Present day, London, England, six days after the escape…

"I got you, Peter! Sneak attack!"

Peter plucked Lila out of the air as she dropped from a ceiling beam. She shrieked as he slammed her down onto the improvised mat, though not in pain. He rarely made her suffer in training. Peter refused to teach like he had been taught. Lila would become the best fighter the world had seen, but not through cruelty.

"Sneak attacks only work if your target can't sense you and you don't give yourself away by announcing it," he said with a raised brow. She glared up at him.

"I thought it could work."

"Not with me, my adorable little apprentice. Fifteen laps around the room, go."

Lila bit her cheek to keep from complaining, which would add thirty more to her punishment. Peter sat on an old shipping crate to keep watch over her while reading a cleverly disguised travel guide.

They were holed up in an old warehouse so that Peter could get Lila her daily training in. A small part of his brain wanted to just keep them moving from warehouses to safe houses, and just keep making her more able to kill those that wanted her dead.

But he pushed that part away. Lila deserved better, and Peter would make her have a childhood.

"Keep with that crappy form and you're doing pushups next," he said in a monotone. He started reading a section on a fairground nearby.

"Ack! You aren't even watching," she complained.

"I'm always watching, Bug."

In truth, Lila was correct; Peter wasn't watching her. Rather he had listened to her footfalls, and how uneven they were. Still, she didn't need to know that.

Being a trainer, or master as Hayate required his student to call him (likely due to their old master), had its perks. When he was first told by Master Igor that he was getting his first student. Peter's mind had begged him to beat the crap out of the kid and pray for them to transfer it away. He had it all planned out, how his training would be ineffective, and even how he would cope with the resulting punishment.

Peter had been Hydra's best in his age group. None could match his speed, grace, or mission success rate. He refused to be a teacher, not when he was making his Papa proud somewhere, and showing up Hayate. That was what brought him joy so to speak, and no way would a little kid be allowed to screw that up.

Then Lila was led out of the room Peter had been in when he first "joined", having passed the initial exam by the skin of her teeth. She had shook like a leaf in a hurricane, blood oozing from her mouth and pee emanating from her feet.

He couldn't help the sudden requirement his very soul had to keep her safe. She was a twig even then, before the Hydra rations, all knobby joints and tangled locks, but she was his responsibility.

The several shots that echoed from the room after several more children were led out, followed by heart beats stopping, only made Peter's secret vow of protection stronger.

His thoughts on the past were interrupted by Lila.

"I'm done!"

He gazed impassively at her, making her squirm. Then, he let a smile break out.

"So you are, Bug. Guess what we're doing next?"

"Suicides?" She looked so tired at the thought.

"Hmm," Peter let himself think. "How about… a tour of London?"

Lila screeched way too much for a Hydra recruit. Then again, they weren't in Hydra anymore, so he let it go.

With the Bartons…

Clint held Laura, like always. She sobbed into his chest, and Cooper was looking at a pink DS sadly.

It was an accident, of course. His son did not mean to trigger a memory of his little sister, but bringing down Lila's favorite game and system was not the wisest choice.

"It's okay, buddy," he signed. Cooper ran upstairs anyway. Later, Clint would have to comfort him, let him know it was alright, that Mom just gets overwhelmed sometimes.

But for now, Laura had to be his focus.

"I need her back! I need my baby back! Please, Clint. Please."

Always the same chant. Over and over, begging her husband to make it right like he did. It was irrational, that Clint could save the world and track a hawk on a cloudy day, but couldn't save his little girl.

"I need her back too."

Clint Barton had failed Lila when she got taken at Disney World. And now he was failing the rest of his family.

His phone rang, loud and with a flashing light to alert him. He ignored it in favor of hugging his wife. They sank to the floor, and he rocked her. Whatever was destroying the world did not interest him. The Avengers could screw themselves. First they were useless in helping him find Lila before she was on the wind, and then could find no leads.

Clint had gone home after the fourth month, Laura had been wasting away, and he could not lose her to grief, not so soon after Lila.

The phone rang again. And again. Then Nat's emergency ringer went off and Clint knew he had to answer it.

Laura was fading into an exhausted sleep, completely ignoring the phone, so he picked her up with one arm. She was out by the time he made his way to their couch, and he let her lay in his lap.

"Hello?"

He kept his voice low, in case Laura was not quite in dreamland.

"Clint, I'll be at your place in five," Nat's voice was pitched, full of emotion. She had been crying. Clint knew the worst had been discovered.

"Please no, I can't take it," he said. Sobs ripped through his throat despite decades of training.

"That's not it," Nat said, voice cracking. "Lila isn't dead, Clint. We have proof now."

The world began to shift, hope that he had not let grow bloomed. They found her? That was it, right? His little girl was alive?

"Clint? Clint?"

"Y-yeah Nat, I'm here. What's the status?"

"We found her, Clint. She's in Europe, but…"

"But, what?"

"Security cameras in a Belgium station caught her traveling with a Hydra agent."

"...Which one?"

"It's Spider, Clint; she was with Spider. I'm so sorry."

Clint dropped the phone. Why was fate such a bastard?

Back with Peter and Lila..

Peter peaked around a corner, and scanned the crowd. No one seemed like a Hydra goon, and his sense was silent. He sighed in relief and turned back to look at Lila.

"Rules?"

Lila stood at attention. "No talking to anyone without the signal!"

"What do we wear?"

"Our hats, glasses, and wig!" She pointed to each item. Both wore baseball caps, tinted glasses, and now sported dirty blond hair.

"Now, einleiten."

That was the activation word Hydra recruits were taught to help them get into character for undercover. Instantly Lila was a whiny six year old, and Peter was a tired young dad. It worked, and most of the crowd that would have balked at the small mannerisms that screamed dangerously trained assassins looked over them without a second thought.

"But daddy, I want that one," Lila said with a thick English accent. She pointed to a pink bear, rather than the black one Peter was attempting to buy her. He blinked in confusion, as pink was a terrible color if she was to use it during the night. It would attract light, and that was not something Peter wanted to deal with from a comfort item.

"Of course, Bug," he said. Her face lit up, and he knew he chose the right path. If anyone tried to hurt her, Peter would kill them anyway.

They continued down the street, towards a mini fair that had been set up for the week. Lila was very proficient at the shooting games, something Peter was proud of. They stuffed themselves on cotton candy, apples, and popcorn.

At one point a suspicious looking woman was speaking into her comms by a ferris wheel. Peter rolled his eyes at how pathetic her attempts at not being noticed were. Even Lila could probably wipe the floor with her! He motioned for Lila to blend into a family of five playing for a goldfish and ambled over to the still chattering woman.

"Yes sir, observe until you get here. When will that be? Fourteen minutes?"

"Do not fail, Helga; Hydra must have their corpses at least."

"Yes sir, thank you for this opportunity sir."

Peter crept behind her, and tapped on her shoulder. She startled, and whipped around. He smiled at her, and gave a finger gun aimed at her head. She fumbled for her weapon (which was very obviously on her hip). He tensed his hand, before jabbing his three middle fingers into her trachea. With the precision of years under his handlers, she died with just a cough of blood escaping.

He leaned in, catching her body and making it look to the world that he had surprised a lover and was giving her a passionate hug. Before anyone gave a second glance he had stored her in the back of a booth, slipping in and out with no notice.

Lila came to him on a hand signal, and they were off. As they walked purposefully through the grounds, they changed jackets, hats, and Lila even snagged a black costume wig. They became a sibling pair searching for parents, and loading up into the trunk of a large group of French tourists that were leaving was easy.

By the time Hydra arrived, Peter and his adorable little apprentice were halfway across the city, quietly snacking on peanuts and listening to angry French people arguing about which game was the best.

End! Just another chapter. Please let me know how y'all like the Barton family scene, and the flashback at the beginning! I'm trying to flesh out Peter's past, as of course it plays a huge roll in who he is in the current story.

Now… anyone got any fics where Peter is trained by Hawkeye? I'm desperate for content still!

Have a fantastic week,

Riku.

(ps. Join our discord . Shout out to Dragon my beta- may you survive this summer!)

discord. gg/ K5C8SYh

(Just take the spaces out)