06|| the man with a plan- and a hot bod

"Now get in the van and shut up before I actually gag you with duct tape and bind you to your seat with the seatbelt."

France, April 2016-

"Why are we doing this?" Alison hopped out of the van that was their mode of transportation. After the plane, Clint had rented out another white van, although he hadn't told the French car renting company that it probably wouldn't come back.

"I mean, I get that you're going to Siberia or something to stop some crazy assassins, but what does me knowing hand to hand combat do with anything?" She asked, her feet landing on the gravel like road that the van had pulled onto.

They were in a remote French town, one that looked like a small farm town that was straight out of Heidi or Sound of Music. Completely wrong country, but the same exact vibe. The place was complete with an old rustic town square, and fields of lavender flowers surrounded the farms.

Currently, the group was in front of one of those large lavender flower fields. The wind was blowing at a nice breeze around the field, the lavender brushing together in soft patterns. It was a nice area to stop and stretch your legs at, and, apparently to Clint, to train a 15 year old how to fight.

"Because, I'm not just gonna leave you on a flight back to New York. That is, unless you don't pick up on fighting. Then maybe I'll consider just throwing you on a plane back." Clint shrugged, taking off his black leather jacket.

"Great." Alison gave him a pointed look, shrugging off her own brown leather jacket. "But I'm pretty sure that I can't learn combat in a dress that was supposed to be for a high school party." She retorted, trying to find an excuse to get out of hand to hand combat training.

"You can deal. Wanda wears a corset every single time she goes on a mission that's formal. I'm sure you can learn to fight in a dress." Clint dismissed, giving Ali the same pointed look back. "I've found from my wife- and kids- that a women's willpower can overrule a man's. Especially on take out night."

"So superheroes actually do have lives! And they order take out too!" Alison exclaimed with fake shock, sarcasm dripping like venom in her voice. "Wow, the things that you learn when a superhero kidnaps you." Brushing off the gravel from her clothes, Alison walked towards Clint, fake clapping as she did so. "Kudos to you, kidnapping a heavily drunk teenager in the middle of the night."

Clint shoved Alison towards the soft area of the lavender field, shaking his head as he stopped at a spot. "Come on, get into stance." He motioned, looking over at Alison. He paused as he realized that she probably wouldn't know the SHIELD standard stance. "It means,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know the stance." Alison shifted her feet to mimic the stance of a normal SHIELD agent. "My mom taught me a few things when I was a kid." She blew a piece of hair out of her face, prepping her fists for a mimic of a fight.

"So when you were seven your mom taught you how to fight?" Wanda retorted, finally making it up to the two. It seemed that she wanted to see Alison get taken down, or just encourage the girl. And, hey, if Clint got taken down by surprise, that would be fun to see as well. Thinking about it for a moment, Wanda shrugged. "Eh, seems like something a SHIELD agent would teach their kids."

"SHIELD agents teach their kids how to do a lot of things." Clint agreed, smiling at the thought of what he taught his kids. "You know, I taught my kids how to shoot a bow and arrow as soon as they could walk. Granted, they were mini bows, but still." He cocked his head to the side, dismissing any other further tangents from the event on hand. "Now let's get started, blocking a punch isn't easy, but this is the-"

Throwing a punch at Alison, Clint expected for the girl to dodge it. Or, even better, just to knock it aside like a standard start out to a SHIELD combat trainee would. Unfortunately for Clint, Alison did what Clint would consider the impossible. She caught the punch.

"I'm sorry, this is the what?" Alison asked, holding Clint's hand in her own. "I can't-I can't hear you over the sound of your shock." The man was, in fact, silent in shock from the fact that she caught the punch. An audible snort from Wanda could be heard as Clint was still sputtering silently in stupor.

"But-but- I'm sorry, but how are you able to- to catch a punch like that?" Clint asked, still unable to comprehend how a 15 year old could do such a thing. Granted, he also hadn't had his morning coffee. Coffee was everything to the father of three.

"Uhm, a badess mom, some experience, and a little bit of a power set." Alison shrugged, letting go of his punch. She listed off the ideas, one of them actually saying she had superpowers, quite casually. Alison wasn't even sure if Clint would catch the small remark she had made.

While Clint didn't really hear her entire words- as Ali was using teenage grumble and a mix of her super speed to rush out her words- he didn't comprehend what she had entirely said. Unfortunately for Alison, Wanda could hear most of what she said.

"Could you repeat that again?" Wanda asked, stepping closer and inserting herself into the conversation. "Because I heard something about a power set, and there's really no way in hell that I could believe that a girl like you could-"

"Could what?" Alison interrupted, arching an eyebrow as she did so. "Have superpowers? I mean, it's totally plausible in life, and for a teenager like me." She gestured to herself. "It's the type of powers that would make you say 'there's really no way in hell'."

Clint finally had the sense to join in on the banter between the two girls. "So if I get this correct, this- this little training session was all for nothing. You have superpowers, and- what?- didn't bother to tell me when we started training?" He gave a wide throw of his arms in exasperation.

"Nah." Alison scrunched her face up in amusement. "I wanted to see the look on your face if I just kinda ambushed you with the news. It's more fun that way." She shifted her position from the SHIELD stance to one that was more casual, a smirk forming on her face.

"Then let's get out of here." Wanda stated, starting to walk back through the brushes of lavender, ready to leave. "There's no point in training if she already knows the basics." Her feet stomped through the bushes, hitting the gravel path in no time.

"Yeah, yeah." Clint agreed, starting to walk back himself. "We can start heading towards Cap, 'cause you know how that man gets on your ass about being late to important things like killing some psycho assassins."

Before Clint's feet could even take another step further, there was a rush of wind going past him, the lavender and grass waving wildly in the wind. Alison was no longer behind him, instead, already climbing into the van. "You better keep up, old man." She remarked, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. "Otherwise you're going to be left behind." Alison slammed the door in his face, leaving Clint to walk the rest of the way and not fire back with a witty response.

The ride to the German airport was long. Being stuck in a car for over 8 hours with people who were sleep deprived and who hadn't showered since they had gotten in that airport in France was very exhausting. The car was quiet the whole way there, although Scott Lang kept Alison entertained with a few questions every now and then. The heroes had given Scott coffee, and as soon as that rush of caffeine wore off 5 hours into the ride, he fell fast asleep.

The van pulled into the Germany parking lot early in the afternoon, about 45 minutes before Steve Rogers had told them to arrive at the airport. As Clint shut off the car, the brakes stalling for one second, he turned around to see Alison slouched across the two chairs, kicking Scott Lang to the third row.

"Alright, since you're a newbie, we need to go over some things. First, don't embarrass me. This is Captain America we're talking about. This man is the most patriotic being in the universe, he's offended even if you let loose a curse word." Clint starts, his face a serious stare. His stare seemed to tell Alison that if she even fired off a snide remark, she was basically screwed.

"I bet you he's so old fashioned that he still politely calls women m'lady." Alison snorted, giving a small laugh. Her smirk slipped away when Clint stared at her dryly again, although Wanda let loose a smile. "Right, no talking."

Clint continued on with his lecture, giving Wanda a look as if he was lecturing her as well. "Second, you listen to me. Whatever orders Cap gives, you listen to those as well. My job is to keep you safe, and to give you a little taste of adventure. I'll be damned if I didn't follow the guidelines Kira told me I had to-"

"You knew my mom?" Alison interrupted, shocked at this new revelation. "You knew my mom- and what?- didn't even care to tell me?" Her face stared back at Clint, starting to get a little flustered and irritated at the man. "What other secrets are you hiding from me about my mom? That you were her SHIELD mission partner?" Ali threw out a crazy idea, not even thinking that Clint would agree with the idea.

"Well, that's not wrong." Clint stated, deviating from his lecture. "But that's beside the point. Your mom and I knew each other, and we were close friends. We always had an 'If We Die' pact, and I'm just following what she said to do in hers."

Alison offered the man a shrug, seeing him justify his point. It made sense, and Alison couldn't argue that point. "Okay, continue on. I'm sure you'll have time to explain to me on the flight to Siberia or whatever cold arctic area we're going to."

"Third, no snide remarks. I don't need to hear you chattering away on comms or just blabbing your mouth. This is a mission and a favor Cap cashed in, not a chance to talk everyone's ear off." Clint looked at Alison, and then back at Scott. "That would go for the both of you, but seeing as Lang's asleep, it's just to you at the moment. And fourth-"

"Don't die." Wanda finished for Clint, having heard this lecture a few times before. Wanda knew that the last point would merit some questions, so she answered them before Alison could even ask. "He likes to be reminded that every single time we go on mission. Although, I haven't been on any with him in a while, he's been 'retired.' " Wanda put quotes around retired, clearly not believing the man could ever retire.

"And that's about it." Clint finished, punching Wanda in the arm for teasing him. "Now all we have to do is wait for the rest of them to show up, and we'll be ready to go." He twisted around to face forward again, leaving Alison to wait for another 30 minutes for the superheroes to arrive.

Captain America was five minutes late when he pulled into the parking lot. They were in an old worn out blue punch bug, and it wasn't a car that Alison would consider inconspicuous. The three men got out of the blue car, and Alison almost wanted to laugh. They looked like three clowns getting out of a small clown car.

"That's our cue." Clint muttered, opening his car door. "Now, please, for the love of god, don't embarrass me." He motioned for Wanda to get out, and for Alison to move Scott to the second row. It seemed like Alison would be occupying the last row as a stowaway for the next 10-15 minutes.

Walking around the edge of the van, Clint smiled as he saw Steve Rogers. "Cap." He greeted, holding out his hand to shake. The two men had met before, (obviously, as saving the world together twice was a thing to remember), but Clint was always polite and Steve was always old fashioned.

"You know I wouldn't of called if I had any other choice." Steve greeted back, shaking Clint's hand firmly. He was decked out in what Alison could deduce was something he wore from day-to-day, a basic t shirt and some denim pants. Captain America was most definitely an All-American boy.

"Yeah, well, you're doing me a favor." Clint disagreed, letting go of Steve's hand. Clint looked less formidable next to Cap, and it made Alison ever wonder how anyone got their job done working beside Captain America. "Besides, I owe a debt." He glanced back at Wanda, who was creeping towards the two men as they exchanged their hellos.

Steve's attention turned to Wanda, who he greeted with a dip of his head. "Thanks for having my back." He stated, a small and reassuring smile trying to comfort the 18 year old girl. The men behind him slammed their car doors, not causing anyone to jump.

"It was time to get off my ass." Wanda reiterated, staring forward at Clint. It seemed as if the two were recalling a memory from earlier. Perhaps it was of another mission, or the very reason why Clint even convinced Wanda to come and do this mission.

"How's your thing going with the lawyer?" Clint asked, interrupting the short and sweet exchange between Steve and Wanda. "Breaking through to her yet?" He gave Steve a look that seemed to tease the poor man, and Steve's cheeks flushed for a second.

"It's... not going well. She still hasn't responded to my emails, and she probably never will. I'd prefer to not talk about it at the moment." Steve replied, the slight pink tinge in his cheeks fading away as quickly as it came. "How about our other recruit?" Steve asked, obviously oblivious to the fact that Clint had brought along another to the fight.

"He's rarin' to go." Clint answered, whirling around to slide open the van door. Pulling on the handle firmly, the car opened without a hassle, the loud slam from the door opening waking up Scott Lang with a jolt. "Had to put a little coffee in him, but he should be good."

Sam Wilson walked up to meet Steve's side, inspecting the man that Clint had brought to the mission. It was clear that the two had had a run-in before, and it might of not gone well for the man known as the Falcon.

Clint peeked inside of the van, motioning for Scott to come out of the van and talk. to the superheroes that waited outside. A slightly audible "What time zone is this?" could be heard out of Clint, which made Clint just shove Scott out even further. Meanwhile Alison slid towards Clint, crouching down so his figure blocked her from their line of view. "And when are you going to tell them about your little captive?"

"Just shut up." Clint rolled his eyes at her, pivoting towards the heroes once again. "I'll introduce you in good time, probably not even a minute. You need to listen and sit back, or I'm actually going to restrain you to your seatbelt." He muttered, keeping a stoic face as he threatened Ali.

Scott was giving Steve an awkward handshake, looking at the man in front of him in awe. "Look, I know you know a lot of super people so, I just wanted to say, thinks for thanking of me." He said, still in shock and a little drowsy from his slumber in the car.

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked, still shaking Scott's hand. The man had a firm grip, and Scott wasn't about to just let go of Captain America's hand. But before Steve could get an answer out of Scott, Clint interjected.

"Uh- Cap?" Clint asked, seeing the hero's face look up to meet his. "We've got another passenger in the car." He didn't even look nervous as he started to speak, instead leaning casually up against the van to quell his (probably nonexistent) nerves. "She's-"

"Tired of hearing you guys ramble." Alison slid out of the car, interjecting Clint's sentence. When she hopped out, Clint gave her a nasty glare, which she responded by flipping the man off behind her back. "Alison Marnell." She playfully nudged Scott to the side, which he did, still staring at the superheroes in awe.

"Steve Rogers." Captain America offered a hand out to Alison for her to shake, which Ali countered with a side high five. It wasn't an awkward sight to see, as a smirk was plastered on the teenager's face the whole time.

"It's a pleasure, really. I would be more in awe if, you know, your good pal Clint hadn't kidnapped me while I was at a party, but, it's an honor." Alison greeted, adding in the last remark out of pure nature. Clint gave her a glare, to which Alison grumbled an excuse. "It just slipped out."

Steve gave her a skeptical look, then glanced back at Clint, who gave him a look that told Steve there was more to the story than what the girl was saying. "So, Alison, what's your skill set?" He asked, doing a quick assessment on the girl who had been unexpectedly brought onto the team.

"She's a decent fighter and has the pesky power of super speed." Clint answered for Alison, giving Cap the answers he needed before Alison could open her mouth. He knew that she would probably add in another remark to the skill set, one that would probably be particularly dumb, so he stopped her from even speaking.

"I caught his punch." Alison smiled, proud by the small achievement she had completed just a few hours before. "Clint's, I mean." She clarified, pretty sure that no one really needed the clarification anyways.

"So her powers are like Pietro's?" Steve offered up, looking back at Wanda as he did so. He knew that Wanda's brother was still a sore subject, but all he got from the 18 year old was a firm nod. "That's good. We have an element of speed and surprise on our side then. I'm sure that it'll come to good use. Do you know what we're up against?" He restated, never getting the closure on the other question he asked.

"Something about some psycho assassins?" Scott offered up, getting a firm nod from Steve. Scott was probably partially kidding, but the fact that he was right made Alison looked a little surprised. Apparently jokes didn't really pass as jokes to Captain America.

"We're outside the law on this one, so if you come with us, you're a wanted man." Steve warned, looking gravely stoic. It wasn't a warning, it was an advisory, in Alison's opinion. The man looked serious, as if this was the biggest disaster ever, and that was even comparing it against saving the world- twice, three times even. Perhaps this was even worse?

"Yeah well, what else is new." Scott countered, agreeing to the mission indefinitely. Steve gave a firm nod of thanks to the man, grateful he would join him. Then, Steve's eyes rested upon Alison, waiting for an answer from her.

"Well, I'm going to get grounded anyways." Alison sighed, agreeing to the mission as well. A small smile could be seen on Steve's face. Ali flashed him a small and mischievous smile back, shrugging as she spoke. "So why the hell not?"

"We should get moving." Bucky Barnes advised, speaking for the first time during the meet up. He seemed anxious to leave, and no one could blame him for it. He was basically a wanted man in every territory he stepped in.

"We've got a chopper lined up." Clint pushed himself off the van, preparing himself for the walk onto the tarmac. It would seem suspicious for world fugitives, a retired man, an ex-criminal, and some missing teenagers to walk through TSA and not be immediately arrested.

As soon as Clint spoke, the parking lot began to blare sirens, and yellow lights began to flash in a circling pattern. Over the PA, a man began speaking rapid German. The message kept repeating and repeating, signaling that there was something wrong.

"They're evacuating the airport." Bucky translated, letting his arm (the human one) that was resting on the blue car fall off. His face looked more concerned and concerned with every word the German PA spoke.

Sam Wilson looked back at Bucky, uneasily at that. "Stark." He muttered, turning back around to face the rest of the group. Sam's arms were crossed, worry folding into the creases of his face even as he spoke the word "Stark."

"Stark?" Alison and Scott both chorused in, their voices surprised and scared by the idea that Iron Man himself would be here. "What would Stark be doing here?!" Alison exclaimed, still mind blown about even being in the proximity of superheroes.

Before Alison could get her answer, Steve looked to Clint, Wanda, Alison, and Scott, before glancing behind at Bucky and Sam. Assessing the group of people before him, confident in their abilities (if Sam had been taken down by Scott and Clint trusted Alison enough to be here, then he was confident enough) Steve's expression was stoic as he stated his next words.

"Suit up."

<~*~>

I'M SORRY MY FINGER SLIPPED AND I MAY OF WROTE TOO MUCH

haha you wish my finger slipped it didn't

IS 3800 WORDS TO MUCH FOR YOU GUYS?

PFFFFH NAH

this still remains to be one of my favorite chapters that I've ever written, for the sole fact that I love the scene when Clint meets up with Cap and figuring how Ali would insert herself into that conversation

did any of you catch that sly reference to another book of mine? I NEED TO UPDATE THAT ONE I KNOW, I WILL SOON I PROMISE

regardless, I hope you all enjoyed!

see you in the next chapter!

bye

:))