• • 1998 • •

THE OLDER MAN'S favorite tunes came out of the stereo in the living room. His favorite song, Smokestack Lighnin', played throughout the space as he was fixing the coffee table.

"The screwdriver." The man, Stanley, told the eight-year-old.

He got no response as he knelt beside the table and had his hand out to the side. Stanley looked to his right and saw the boy focused on the television nearby.

"Tony."

The boy finally turned to his father. Stanley repeated.

"The screwdriver."

Tony picked it up and handed it to him. Stanley nodded and continued to fix the table, and Tony was willing to see how he did. The older man wanted to show the boy how to be a handyman and complete tasks a man should know how to do.

"It doesn't take much to tighten these." He told the boy. "The right technique and you can pop these in or out in seconds."

Tony watched as the man put in the screws with precision. He was in awe.

"Wow. How did you do that?"

"Something I had to learn in the army, kiddo. Glad I'm able to use those skills here."

"I want those skills." Tony replied.

Stanley chuckled and rubbed the top of his head.

"You're a special boy, Tony. Soon enough you'll find out what you're good at and use that to help people."

The boy smiled. Moments later, there was a call out from the dining room. The lady, Juliette, came out and waved them down.

"Food's ready." She said in her French accent.

"We're coming, Julie." Stanley replied with a smile and patted the boy's back.

They both left the living room and went into the dining room. There, another boy, about six years old, was already sitting and had his plate in front of him. Before Stanley sat down, he kissed his wife.

"Looks good."

"Thank you."

"I'm not talking about the food."

Julie chuckled and playfully slapped his shoulder. Stanley also laughed.

"Been waiting to use that one." He added.

Tony sat down and so did Julie and Stanley. Before they could dine, the Masters family always had to say Grace.

"You wanna go, Tony?" Stanley asked him.

"I already went yesterday."

"And I went the day before."

Julie decided to do it herself. "I'll go."

They nodded. The woman took in a breath as they all held each other's hands.

"Thank you God for not only the supper we have before of us...but for everything else. Our home, our friends, our family. The bond we all share."

She looked up at them, first staring at the younger boy, Stanley Jr.

"For giving me such a lively and happy boy."

She turned to Stanley.

"For giving me such a loving and compassionate husband."

Julie then looked at Tony. Her response wasn't as immediate as the others and she took a moment as she looked at her older son. She softly smiled.

"For giving me such a brave, intelligent, and special son. I could haven't asked for anything else."

Tony smiled back. Julie looked back at the rest of her family and began to tear up. Stanley let go of her hand and rubbed her back. He decided to finish Grace.

"Amen."

Julie and Stanley Jr. repeated the word and the boy started to eat. The elder Masters kept comforting his wife who apologized for her emotional state.

"I'm sorry, honey. You know me."

"No need to apologize." He replied.

Tony looked at his parents in front of him for a moment before looking down at his plate of food. Finally, he repeated what his father said.

"Amen."

• • • 2024 • • •

TONY PACED THROUGHOUT the dimly lit motel room. He had blues tunes playing from the stereo on the nightstand.

He got his supper ready which consisted of a store-bought sandwich, black coffee, and some fruit. He placed them on the small dingy table in the corner of the room and finally sat down.

The six-foot-four burly man settled in the wooden seat and stared idly at the food before him. After a few seconds, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a medal, which looked rather small in proportion to his large hands.

The medal was his late father's from his time during the Vietnam War. He had received it years ago and has kept it with him since. He gently placed it on the table and kept it there.

The lone man then rested both his arms on the table, looking at the well-organized placement of his supper before him. It signified his seemingly sensible and grounded life at the moment.

He closed his eyes. Tony didn't say a word and instead said a personal prayer to himself in his head.

There wasn't much to be thankful for, but he was appreciative of two things: the food and his survival.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and finally spoke.

"Amen."

• • •

THE BARTONS AND CARTERS enjoyed their food. Out of all the kids, Maggie for sure thought she'd explode from the amount of seafood she ate.

Nathaniel and Nikolai, who sat beside each other, were having a staring contest. They were making weird faces as they did so which garnered a laugh from Clint.

"You two look like maniacs." He said and the rest of the table chuckled. "You guys a total crazy people."

Clint turned to the rest. "Is anybody else hungry? For some more, like, some more crabs, or maybe get four more crabs?"

"Yes!" Nathaniel exclaimed.

Maggie waved it off. "No, no, no. Please don't say the word crab or I might hurl."

"I could eat three." Nathaniel added.

Nik chimed in. "I could eat four!"

Lila shook her head. "No."

"Come on, Dad, you ordered food for like thirty people." Cooper said.

"You two are gonna puke if you have any more," Lila told the boys. "Just look at Mags."

"Oh boy..." Maggie began as she stretched. "Poor Sebastian. I literally ate his entire family."

Lila laughed. "If you puke, Cooper is gonna have to clean it up."

He shook his head. "I'm not cleaning it up."

Maggie acted as if she was going to hurl and lunged at Cooper who flinched. Both Maggie and Lila laughed as the older boy scoffed.

"Not funny."

Clint spoke to the children.

"Hey, you know what? You know what's right down the street? The Christmas tree. The biggest one you'll see in your life. It's enormous! You guys want to see that after this?"

There was a collective agreement from the kids and teenagers.

"Yeah!"

"Sounds great."

"Yeah! Let's go!"

The archer's phone buzzed and he picked it up. He saw that it was a call from his wife, Laura.

"Oh, wait, wait, wait. Momma callin'. Momma's calling." He answered it and put it on speaker. "Say hi!"

"Hi, Mom!"

"Hi, Momma!"

"Hey, Aunt Laura!"

She responded from the other end. "Hey, guys! How are ya? I miss you so much!"

"We miss you, too." Clint replied.

"How was the show?"

There was a second of hesitation by Clint as he glanced at Maggie, who looked down at her plate and fiddled at some leftovers with a fork.

"It was, uh—it's over. It was big." He replied then feigned a laugh.

"We left halfway through." Nathaniel added.

"There you have it." Clint said.

Laura chuckled. "Oh, no! You guys all good?"

"Uh, yeah, it'd be a lot easier if you were here. I'd be less likely to strangle these kids." He joked.

"The whole point was for you to spend some alone time with the kids."

Nathaniel looked at Cooper and pointed at Clint, letting him know to throw the napkins at him. Nathaniel did but Cooper went rogue and threw it at the boy instead. It then turned to a brief throwing match with Maggie, Lila, and Nikolai tossing theirs too.

"No, I'm kidding. We're actually having a really great time." Clint caught some of the napkins and continued speaking. "We miss you."

"I miss you. I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Mom!" Lila bid farewell. "Love you."

The rest said bye as well.

"Bye, Mom!"

"Bye, Momma!"

"Bye, Laura!"

"Bye-bye."

"Talk to you later. See you soon." Clint said and ended the call. He then spoke to the kids again.

"Well, look, it's six days until Christmas, okay? We're gonna fill it with a lot of Christmas activities." He quickly pointed at Nathaniel. "What's your favorite one?"

"Um, gingerbread house."

"We're doing that!" He replied then pointed at Nikolai.

"Building a snowman."

"That sounds great!" He pointed at Lila. "What do you got?"

"Uh, Christmas movie marathon."

"Movie marathon, awesome."

He pointed at Maggie next.

"Let's make Eggnog." She said.

"Interesting." He replied.

"Like the alcoholic kind, though."

"Aaaaand now you lost me."

The table laughed. Clint finally pointed at his older son.

"Uh, ugly sweaters."

"Ugly Christmas sweaters!" Clint repeated. "And then we have to decorate the tree. There's a thousand things to do. It's gonna be fun. It's going to be amazing, but the most important thing..."

He reached out and grabbed Nathaniel's and Cooper's hand. Nikola grabbed Nathaniel's and Maggie grabbed Cooper's.

"...we're going to do it all together." Clint finished.

Lila shook her head. "No. Not holding their hands."

"Hold your cousins' hands." Clint said.

She chuckled and finally did so. Clint smiled and looked at everyone on the table: his sons, his daughter, his niece, and his nephew. He felt like things couldn't be any better. Finally, he had a sense of balance and his life was grounded enough to enjoy.

"I love you guys."

"Love you, too." Lila replied.

"Love you." Cooper said.

"Love you, Dad." Nathaniel responded.

Nikola smiled. "I love you too."

Maggie spoke as well. "Love you, Uncle Clint."

"It's going to be the best Barton-Carter Christmas ever!" The man added. "All right?"

A server came over to the table and put down a small plate of Rangoons. Clint expected the check and arched a brow.

"Please." The server said.

"Yeah?"

"Dinner is on us. Thank you."

"Oh...that's—that's not necessary."

"It's necessary." He told Hawkeye. "You saved our city."

The server then shook Clint's hand. The gesture was so sudden and took him aback.

"Oh. Thank you."

The server started walking away. Lila and the kids also thanked him as Clint just sat there in silence and processed the ordeal. After a moment, he finally spoke as he picked up the plate.

"Anyone want a Rangoon before we leave?"

• • •

THE BAR IN Stratford, New Jersey was lively that night. The folk, ranging from older fellers trying to relive their younger days to men spending time with their buddies instead of their wives, drank and dined and basked in the holiday fun.

One older man sat at the bar by himself, a cocktail to his right as he looked at the crossword puzzle in front of him. He had been there for quite a while and was on his third drink. Still, he was rather focused on his puzzle book.

"Good evening, sir."

The man looked to his left and saw the tall and burly man. He wore a black jacket over his black tee and sported faded jeans. He could tell he wasn't a local. Tony stood beside the man and continued.

"You know Jeremy Dawson? He's a regular here."

Before the man could respond, another went up to the two. He was a local at the bar, about the same height as Tony, had a tattooed chest, and hadn't shaved in a while.

"He ain't gonna tell you anything." He said.

Tony faced the man as the older one got out of his seat and walked away. He continued.

"Dawson's a friend and he don't need anyone asking about his business." He shoved Tony with his left hand. "Find yourself another bar."

Tony stood there and stared at the man as if he was taking in the figure before him as well as his surroundings.

"Boxer?" Tony asked. "Southpaw."

He nodded. "Golden gloves."

"You know the thing about boxing? Too many rules."

In an instant, Tony landed a hard hit to the man's groin before elbowing his jaw. With the other elbow, he pummeled his face and forced him to fall on the floor.

Tony bent down and grabbed the bloodied man by the collar.

"Where's Dawson?"

He spat out some blood. "He—He left not that long ago...with a few buddies."

"Where to?"

"He usually plays hoops at this time...right by the swim club. Across the street from it. That's all I know!"

Tony took in the information. He let go of the man and left the bar immediately.

The thirty-three-year-old Jeremy Dawson was playing pickup basketball in the late night hours with his posse. The man scored a layup and cheered out loud.

"Woo! They lucky I ain't in the league."

He gave a high-five to a friend before catching someone coming by in the corner of his eye. The tall man entered the park and walked toward the court they were at.

"Dawson, who the hell is this guy?"

"Don't know."

He started coming closer. Jeremy looked at two of his colleagues and motioned them to confront him. They nodded and made their way towards Masters.

"Hey, big man! You got a problem or some—"

Tony immediately engaged the men. He grabbed the first guy's arm and hit before landing a hard elbow his his face, knocking him down. The other man tried to fight back but was met with a quick elbow to his nose.

The first man was kicked in the stomach before he could get up, knocking the wind out of him. The other guy rolled on the floor holding his bleeding and broken nose. Dawson and his other colleague just stood there in shock.

"Jeremy Dawson." Tony called out.

"Shit!"

He made a run for it. Tony immediately picked up the basketball and with great precision and strength, threw it directly at his head. It hit him hard enough to knock him down and Dawson groaned.

The last guy still stood there in shock and was fearful. Tony glanced at him and gestured toward the exit with a tilt of his head. The man immediately took the hint and ran off.

Dawson continued groaning on the floor and was in a daze. Tony went up to him and turned him from his stomach to his back.

"You know me?" He asked.

"N—No! You Paul Bunyan looking ass freak!"

"Well, I know you." He answered and knelt over him. "And all the folks responsible for what happened up in New Haven."

It took a moment until Dawson knew what he was talking about and with that knew who he was face to face with. He was immediately filled with fear.

"I—I wasn't a part of that. I wasn't!"

Tony said nothing. He stood up as Dawson kept pleading.

"That wasn't me! That—"

He was silenced with a hard stomp to the face. Tony looked down at the unconscious man for a moment before he began to drag him.

"Let's have a little chat."

• • •

CLINT HAD NATHANIEL on his back as he entered the hotel room with the rest of the kids. Maggie closed the door behind them.

"You were right about the tree, Dad." Lila said. "It was amazing."

"I want one that big." Nathaniel added.

"It wouldn't fit in our house, dummy." Cooper replied.

"Please, please, please."

Nikolai chimed in. "How about we cut it in half? You take one and I take one. It will fit then!"

"Yeah!"

"Then we call dibs on the stump," Maggie said. "How else will it stand?"

Lila sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. Clint got Nathaniel off his back and let out a sigh. Cooper and Nikolai sat on the sofa too while Maggie kept standing up and scrolled through her phone.

"It's a little late for TV, guys, I've gotta pack." Clint said.

The news anchor continued to speak on the news they were reporting.

"We are following a breaking news story. A high society gala rocked by an explosion when it went off at Park Avenue and 68th Street tonight. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. But witnesses captured cell phone footage of a masked assailant fleeing the scene."

Clint decided to look at the screen. Lila was in awe at the footage.

"Check it out. A ninja saved a dog."

"Oh, that's amazing." Cooper said.

Maggie looked up from her phone and saw the footage too. There was a freeze frame of the masked assailant and both Clint and Maggie recognized the suit. Clint kept staring.

"Isn't that awesome, Dad?" Lila asked.

The newscaster continued.

"Authorities believe the assailant could be the Ronin...the mysterious figure who terrorized organized crime in New York and elsewhere. This is the first potential sighting of the Ronin in years."

Clint was unresponsive and was deep in thought, still staring at the TV. Lila kept calling out to her dad but it fell on deaf ears. Finally, a nudge from Maggie beside him snapped him out of the trance.

"Clint?" She asked.

He took in a deep breath, glancing at Maggie then at the children on the sofa. He feigned a smile before nodding.

"Come on. Let's all get ready for bed."

Maggie was in the guest room she shared with Nikolai. The windows were open and the natural light from the night sky along with the ones from the buildings lit up the room. She had her hands behind her head as she laid down and looked out of the window.

She thought about the day she had. From her experience walking around Manhattan to the play about her grandfather to the conversation she had with Clint about Pietro. Thinking about the late speedster again made her heart swell and she let out an exhale. She turned to her side and continued looking out the window.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside in the living room. She figured it was either Lila or Cooper getting up for a midnight snack or a glass of water and decided to get up as well. She opened her door but upon spotting a figure by the exit wearing all black, she stopped and only cracked it open.

She looked through the gap and saw that it was Clint. He covered his head with his hoodie and immediately left the hotel room. Maggie arched a brow and whispered to herself.

"Where are you off to, Unc?"

IT WAS THE first time she'd seen a dead body and a vast amount of blood on the floor. Kate Bishop tried to get the image out of her head as she bolted through the streets, panting through the face covering of the Ronin costume.

She came to a halt and caught her breath. Suddenly, a van parked nearby flashed its headlights and got her attention. A few Tracksuit Mafia members came out holding various melee weapons.

"Where do you think you're going?" One of them called out after she ran the other way. "We just want to talk!"

Another van in the street she ran through started and drove up to her. More of the Tracksuits came out to confront her.

"We got eyes everywhere." One man said.

"We missed you, Ronin."

Ivan came out of the van and walked up to the young woman. "We got you now, bro."

"Why you making it so tough on us, bro?" Another shouted.

They surrounded Kate and seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move. She did and swung at one of the men. The man parried her hit and punched her in the stomach, but she ended up trapping his arm and throwing him against a car. Another man kicked her in the abdomen and she hit the side of a car. He grabbed her head as she stumbled and landed a couple more hits on her stomach, but Kate escaped his hold and elbowed him in the face.

Ivan grabbed her from behind and tried putting her in a chokehold. Another man ran up to hit the subdued Ronin but Kate kicked him away. She then hit Ivan in the groin and pulled his head toward a nearby car, where Ivan slammed onto the hood.

Kate grabbed a set of keys that one of the Tracksuits dropped and tried it on the doors of the parked cars nearby. Finally, she found the correct one and entered it, locking the doors before they could try to open them.

Ivan and another Tracksuit elbowed the windows to try and break in. One even leaped onto the hood of the car and tried kicking in the windshield. Ultimately, Ivan broke the window with a punch.

Before he could grab Kate, someone hit Ivan outside and the man fell to the floor. The other Tracksuit by the passenger's side was attacked too. The man on the hood was tripped and fell off the car.

A hooded Clint Barton leaped off the top of the car and stood over the downed Tracksuits. He readied himself as they began to get up.

They engaged Barton again, but he swiftly parried their attacks with a belt he had. He trapped Ivan's arm and dodged a punch coming from one of the Tracksuits, which ended up hitting instead.

"Sorr—" He tried to apologize but Clint quickly kicked him in the face.

While he fought the three men, two more Tracksuits came out of a car that pulled up. Clint noticed this and let out a huff, realizing the job was going to be way harder and more exhausting than he expected. But before they could join the scuffle, one was hit in the head hard by a bottle that was tossed.

"What the?"

The other man looked to his right and saw a petite figure come out of an alley running at him. She also wore all black, had a beanie, and a mask that covered her mouth and nose. She leaped onto the man and brought him down with a hurricanrana grappling move.

He hit the floor. "Argh!"

Maggie hit the man square in the face twice while he was down. She got up and the man was still conscious, so she kicked him in the face to knock him out.

The man who was hit with the bottle recovered and charged at Maggie, grabbing and pinning her to a car. He tried wrapping his hands around her neck but it have the girl a chance to bite his fingers.

"Aaah!"

His grip loosened and she kneed him hard in the groin. He let go of her and doubled over where Maggie clasped both her hands and uppercutted him with them, knocking him down.

"Ugh!" She spit and put her mask back over her mouth. "I don't know where those fingers have been."

Clint ended up defeating the three men he was handling and went over to the car Kate was in. He forcefully pulled her out and basically dragged her across the street. Maggie noticed this and went after them.

She ran into the alley and saw the man pinning an unmasked Kate to the wall. Clint had taken off his hood and looked in shock at the young woman before him. Kate was also stunned.

"Come on!" Clint grumbled.

"You're...you're Hawkeye!"

"And who the hell are you?"

"Uh..I'm...I'm—"

Suddenly, there was a shout from down the alley they were in.

"Clint!"

The man looked to his left and saw them coming, Before he could call out and demand to know who it was, Maggie took off her face mask. Clint was shocked.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"Clint!"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" She looked at the young woman by the wall. "And who's this?"

"I'm Kate Bishop." She finally replied.

Clint looked at her. "You're a kid..." He then turned to Maggie. "And you..."

He let out a sigh and looked around. This was not the situation he thought he'd be in. He figured he'd just knock some sense into some random guy with his suit, but here he stood in between a young woman masquerading as Ronin and his niece who was out tailing him and fighting Tracksuits.

"My God..." He breathed out, then held up the garments toward Kate. "How did you get this suit?"

Kate could only let out gasps as she was still stunned at the presence of her idol, Hawkeye. Maggie noticed the suit and pointed at it.

"No way...she's the dog-saving ninja with your suit?"

"Don't speak." He said.

"I'm just—"

"Uh-uh. Zip it."

She kept quiet. Clint sighed and looked back at Kate.

"Lookit. We gotta get you out of here. Okay? It's not safe for you to be in this. Do you live near here?"

"Yeah." She replied. "I live just—"

"Okay." He picked up the bag.

"Yeah, okay."

"Here take this. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really fine."

"Okay." He grabbed her and started walking before calling out to Maggie. "Come on."

Maggie listened and followed. Kate continued rambling.

"So—so I saw a dead body back there. It was a first."

"Don't worry, we'll talk about it when we get there."

• • •

THE THREE WALKED down the sidewalk. Clint often looked around for any potential threats, which he now needed to do tenfold since Maggie was with them. Still, he decided to make conversation.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" He asked Kate.

"I, uh, started taking martial arts when I was five."

"Wow, so like...a year ago?"

"Don't be mean," Maggie said then turned to Kate. "I started around the same time."

"Wow, really?"

"Don't speak to the tiny redhead." Clint told Kate.

Maggie scoffed. "What?"

"She's grounded."

"You can't do that."

"That's all I'm going to do. Imagine what your mom would do?"

She didn't respond. Kate just looked at them and was trying to figure out how the girl was related to Clint.

"Look, just so you know, I'm not some total noob, right? Um..." Kate began. "I know I was a little overwhelmed but I held my own with those same douchebags. Okay?"

They made it to a pizza shop and Kate let them know her apartment was in the same building upstairs. She continued.

"Um, some people have called me the world's greatest archer."

"Yeah?" Clint turned to her. "Are you one of those people?"

She stuttered. "Well, one—one of them is. Yes."

"That's wonderful. Yeah. Open the door."

"Okay."

Kate unlocked the door with her key and they entered the building. They went upstairs and entered the young woman's apartment. Maggie immediately saw the golden-haired dog by an empty pizza box ahead.

"Oh, my God!" She ran up to it and petted it. "He's so adorable!"

"Isn't he?" Kate replied.

"Look, Clint!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"It's a dog!"

"I can see that." He replied. "Quite the guard dog you got there."

"Oh, he...ain't my dog." Kate said.

"Can we take him, then?" Maggie asked Clint.

"Heh, no."

Maggie pouted but kept playing with the dog and making faces. Maggie had always wanted a dog and that was on her Christmas list for the longest.

Clint looked around the apartment with his hands buried deep in his pockets. Adding the way he was standing along with it, you could say he was doing his best impersonation current Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham.

"Nice place for a kid." He remarked.

"Yeah, I inherited it." Kate said.

"What are you, eighteen?"

"I'm 22."

"Yeah, same thing. So, wanna get that vest off, so I can get going?"

She looked down at the costume she was wearing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll...I'll be right there."

Kate picked up the bag and made her way upstairs to change. The young woman whispered to herself as she did.

"Totally cool. Just stay cool. The Hawkeye in my place."

Clint looked back at Maggie. He wanted to scold her about her antics and the fact she snuck out, but upon seeing the girl playing with the dog, he changed his mind. The man let out a quiet sigh and let her be for now.

"Where'd you get the suit?" He called out to Kate.

"Black market auction."

"And you bought it."

"No. Not exactly."

"Uh-huh." Clint paced around and looked at a crate of trophies belonging to her. "So, what all did you do in this suit?"

"I beat some guys up. Saved the dog. Some light B and E."

"Jesus." He said softly. "Twenty-two-year-old vigilante. Shouldn't you be in school?"

Kate scoffed. "Funny you should ask."

She walked downstairs, now out of the suit and in a baggy purple shirt and pants. She also held one of her bows and a sharpie.

"So, uh, now that I've answered all of your questions, I have so many for you. Uh, starting with..." He held up the bow. "Can you sign this?"

Maggie overheard and stifled a laugh. She spoke under her breath. "Fangirl."

"I'm not done yet." He butted.

"But when you are, can you sign my bow? You're kind of my favorite Avenger."

"Are you okay? By the way?"

"I'm good. Oh, yeah, no, I'm fine. You should see the other guys."

"I did. Tracksuit Mafia."

"That's their name?" Kate asked. "That's a little on the nose, don't you think?"

All Clint did was nod. Kate continued.

"Do you think they're the ones that killed my mom's fiancé's uncle?"

Clint raised a brow. "Your mom's fiancé's uncle?"

"Armand III."

"Ah."

"Of at least seven."

"I do not know," Clint answered her question. "But what I need to know is if anybody saw your face?"

"No. Kept the mask on like a pro." She replied.

"Okay. Because the person who wore this suit made a whole lot of enemies. All right? And the Tracksuits are just one of them."

"That doesn't sound good."

"You told nobody about this suit?"

"No."

"There's no way you're connected to this suit whatsoever?" He asked.

"That's right."

"I need you to be sure."

"I am."

"Certain?"

"Yes."

"The Tracksuits must've followed you from the auction to where I found you. Did you stop anywhere before that?"

She shook her head. "I just dropped off the dog."

Suddenly, a voice shouted from outside.

"Hey, Kate Bishop!"

They all looked back toward the window. Kate turned around and grimaced.

"And my name's on the buzzer."

Clint looked toward the window. He knew what was coming.

"Get down!"

He grabbed Kate and Maggie as they ducked their heads. A Molotov crashed through the window and hit the floor, spreading fire across it. Clint sprinted to the window and saw the Tracksuits outside.

"We got a little surprise for you, bro!"

"Show yourself!"

"Come on! Throw it!"

They threw another Molotov cocktail, but Clint broke the window and caught the bottle. He threw it back and it shattered in front of them.

Another Tracksuit tried to throw another cocktail, but an arrow shot it out of his hand. Clint looked back and saw Kate with her bow.

"Told ya." She said.

World's greatest archer, he remembered her saying.

"Yeah."

Clint, Maggie, and Kate stood beside each other looking ahead at the living room that was ablaze. Within the flames was the Ronin suit.

"I gotta get the suit." Clint said.

Kate immediately aimed her bow and arrow at the fire extinguisher on the wall and shot it. The pressurized capsule began to spill and it detached from the wall, ricocheting off other walls before flying out the window.

"Nice shot...for the most part." Maggie remarked.

Kate looked up the stairs and saw the dog whining. Maggie looked out the broken window and saw another incoming Molotov. Like Clint moments ago, she caught it.

"Returning to sender, asshole!"

She threw it back and it hit by their feet with one trying to help the other put out the fire.

Clint spoke to Kate. "You have a fire escape?"

"My home!" Kate exclaimed and looked around her apartment. "All my stuff!"

"Just grab the dog and go!"

They ran up the stairs and took the dog.

"What about the suit?" Kate asked.

"Leave it. We'll come back for it."

Clint grabbed Maggie and ran with Kate and the dog down the platform toward the exit.

• • •

THE TRIO MADE it to a drug store in the city as Clint wanted to acquire supplies. He took a couple of boxes of Neosporin and cotton swabs from a shelf.

Maggie and Kate were behind him with the dog on a leash. Donde esta Santa Claus? played in the store and the redhead bobbed her head to the tunes.

"Not gonna lie to you, This is a bit of a letdown." Kate remarked.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Clint replied. "Wanna grab some of that rubbing alcohol over there? Lower shelf."

Kate grabbed the item then walked up to Clint and whispered.

"So what's the plan now? Let me guess. We're going to your safe house? Is it in Avengers Tower?"

"No. Tony sold that. A few years ago." He replied and put the items in the basket before walking away.

"Really?" She questioned.

Maggie overheard. "Supposedly. My dad said a company called...Qeng Enterprises or something like that."

The redhead walked off to join her uncle. Kate let out a sigh and muttered.

"Wow. That's so sad on so many levels."

She and the dog regrouped with Clint and Maggie in line in front of the counter. The animal whined and licked the older man's hand.

"What do you want with me? Ugh." He looked at Kate. "Go find him a treat or something."

She rolled her eyes. "All right."

Kate walked away to find something for the dog in the aisle. Maggie stood behind Clint as they waited in line.

"So..." She began.

"You're still grounded."

"You snuck out. If I was Aunt Laura I'd ground you."

He scoffed. "Yeah. All right."

Maggie shook her head. "I didn't know where you were going. All I wanted was to help."

Clint exhaled through his nose. He shook his head.

"I get that...but—"

Kate rejoined the two and had a small bag of dog treats. She put it in Clint's basket. He brushed away the conversation he was having with Maggie and spoke to Kate.

"Look, I gotta find a place to stash you. Safe." He spoke to Kate. "So I can recover the suit and clean your mess."

"Stash me? I'm not a bag of money." Kate replied.

"No, you're not. A bag of money'd be useful to me." Clint shot back, then feigned a smile as he went up to the clerk to pay for the items.

Kate spoke to him as he was at the counter.

"I actually do know a place about ten blocks away. Would a bag of money know a place?"

The three and the dog arrived at an apartment building in Alphabet City. It was where Kate's aunt lived and since she was in Florida for the holidays, Kate felt like it was the best place to lay low.

She picked the lock and entered the room. Clint went in first as the woman turned on the light.

"Are there cats in here?" He asked with a sniff.

"No, just cat hair." She answered.

"Clint's allergic." Maggie remarked.

They walked into the kitchen as the archer responded. "Yeah."

He put down the bow and set the plastic bag on the table. Clint started taking the items out.

"Here. I need you to clean your wounds. Use this. Use soap, this, and disinfect." He made his way to the door. "All right. I'm going back to your apartment to get that suit. Then I'll come back around for Maggie and then I'm going back to my kids."

"So I'm staying here?" Maggie called out.

"Yup!"

"Oh, yes, Clint, you may enter my apartment." She replied sarcastically. "Don't you need my keys?"

"Nope. I'm good. You two stay here. Lock this door."

Clint left the room, leaving Kate staring at the door and letting out a sigh. Maggie sat on the sofa and removed the leash from the dog. She started petting him.

"You're such a good boy."

The dog panted and licked Maggie's face. Kate looked over and smiled.

"He really likes you. You good with dogs?"

"I don't have one...but I love them so much." She replied. "One time when I was little, my...uh...one of my uncles took me to the park and that's where I first saw one. Fun experience."

Kate shrugged and walked over to the couch where Maggie was. She sat on the arm of one of the sofas.

"I never had one either. My mom isn't a fan of pets." She said. "Same with you?"

"No, she likes animals. I guess we just never thought about getting one." She chuckled. "It's on my Christmas list though."

"Then maybe you'll get lucky this year."

They shared a laugh. Kate spoke up again.

"Um...so, what's with you and Clint? He like...your dad or—?"

"Oh, no."

"Ah, all right. I mean, being Hawkeye's daughter would've been cool."

"He's my uncle."

"Oh. That's also cool."

"My parents are Black Widow and Captain America."

"Wow, that's—" She barely processed the teenager's statement. "Wait what?"

"My parents are Natasha Romanoff and Y/N Carter." She clarified. "I'm Margaret Carter. Named after my grandmother."

"Your parents are Black Widow and Captain America?"

"That's...what I said."

"Mom's the super spy? Dad's the super soldier formerly known as Freedom Fighter?"

Maggie put her chin on her hand. "I always thought the name was kinda lame. Don't tell my dad that though."

The archer and Avengers fan took a moment to compose herself and chuckled. "That's insane."

Maggie snickered as well. Seeing Kate fangirling throughout the night reminded her of her close friend from school who loved the Avengers and admired Carol Danvers.

"So you're like half American hero and half Russian spy?" Kate asked.

"I guess you could say that."

"What can you do? If you don't mind me asking. I don't want seem like I'm prying into anything that's not my business."

"It's all right. You're cool." Maggie smirked. "I mean...I can fight like my parents. Move like them. I got that copying thing my dad has."

Kate smiled as she listened. Maggie continued.

"Oh! Not a superpower, but I got handles like no other. I'm thinking of joining the basketball team next semester."

"That's awesome," Kate replied with a laugh. "Maybe down the line, I'll watch you on the court for the New York Liberty."

Maggie chuckled. "That's the goal. Maybe even a few years from now the league will go co-ed and I'll hoop against the men."

"Thinking big." Kate pointed at her. "I like that."

Nearby, the dog whined a bit. Kate went over to the table and got a couple of the treats they bought for him. She tossed it to the dog before going to the fridge and taking out a frozen pizza.

"For the bruising on my forehead. And to thaw out breakfast for..." She glanced at the dog in the living room. "Pizza Dog."

"Pizza Dog?" Maggie asked with a raised brow.

"I don't have a good name for him yet. Look at it as a sort of title of nobility."

"Hey, I like it." She looked at the dog. "A name like Pizza Dog? You lucky animal."

Kate smiled. She then grabbed a notepad from the drawer nearby.

"Uh...I guess I'll sketch how the douchebags on the street looked like."

"You remember them?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah. Not that good at drawing, but I'll try."

She began to draw and suddenly received a call. It was her mother, Eleanor. Kate answered it and spoke to her.

"Hey, Mom. Yeah, I'm fine."

She kept talking and also applied a bandage to the cut on her head. Sometime later, Clint came back to the apartment. Kate was finishing the call with Eleanor and bid farewell to her.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too."

After she hung up, Clint spoke to the young lady as he washed his hands in the kitchen.

"When did everyone start saying I love you to everybody all the time?"

"That was my mom. Since when did your heart shrink three sizes?" She shot back.

"When a little girl in a ninja costume stole my Christmas," Clint said then looked around and called out to his niece. "Mags?"

She replied from the sofa. "I'm right here."

"Just making sure you didn't sneak out again."

"Har-har-har."

Clint looked at Kate as she walked back into the kitchen. The older archer was going to start treating his own injury.

"How's the wound?" He asked her, noticing how she was applying the frozen dinner onto it.

"Uh, all right. Still hurts a little bit." She answered.

Clint looked up at her and noticed the poorly bandaged gash on her forehead. His shoulders dropped.

"Ah, shit."

"What?" Kate asked.

"Did you clean it?"

There was some hesitation. "Yeah."

"You did it all wrong. Let me fix it. Okay?"

"You're taking it off?"

"Yeah. It's on wrong." Clint got up and went up to Kate where he started to tend to her injury. "And I'm just gonna rip it off like a Band-Aid. Okay?"

"Mmhm."

"Ready? One—"

Clint immediately pulled it off and Kate groaned. He grabbed some cotton swabs and alcohol from the table.

"All right. Just gonna clean it up. You don't want this infected, it'll ruin your week."

As he tended to Kate, Maggie got up and went into the kitchen. She watched as Clint helped the young woman, applying a new band-aid and explaining to her why that type worked well with her type of wound.

Clint finished. "All good?"

"Yeah. Mm-hmm." Kate said. "So, how's my place?"

"Crispy." He simply replied and went to the sink.

"Did you get the suit?"

"No." Clint glanced at the sketchbook on the table. "What's this?"

"Oh, I started to describe, um, what I could remember of the Tracksuits' faces."

He looked at the poor sketches of one of the Tracksuits. It looked like the big guy, Ivan.

"I guess you're not an art major." Clint remarked.

"Okay." Kate brushed off his statement. "I would offer to buy you two a hotel, uh, because, from certain angles, I know this all looks like my fault."

"Correct." He said.

"But my mom canceled my credit cards due to the whole clock tower situation." She added.

"That's not necessary. I'm...we're just gonna be another minute."

"Okay." She weakly waved and started to walk away. "I'll see you two tomorrow, I guess."

Kate left the two in the living room. After Clint applied his own first aid, he sat in the living room and scrolled through his phone. Maggie stood behind the sofa he was on and questioned him.

"Peeping the Hawkeye feed?"

"I don't even know what that is." He replied. "But no, I'm chasing a lead on where my suit is."

Maggie nodded. Clint looked back at her.

"We're gonna leave in a bit. Just sit down and have some cereal or something."

All she did was shrug and walk back to the kitchen. Clint ended up finding out who had his suit and saw that it was a local LARPer.

The man then got a text from Lila, who woke up and noticed her dad and cousin were gone. He reassured her that they were okay and to start packing their things.

He put down his phone and was met with a whimpering dog before him. Barton chuckled as he pet the one-eyed Pizza Dog.

"I'll be back in the morning, buddy. You're a good dog."

Meanwhile, Maggie had gone to the rooftop of the apartment. She looked out into the skyline, seeing the late-night-slash-early-morning drivers going down the street along with some shops barely opening.

In the distance, a couple of men were in front of one of the still-closed shops. They looked around before one of them broke the glass of the door. Maggie glared.

"B&E during the holidays? Grinches."

Still wearing her all-black clothing, she lifted her face mask and effortlessly slid down a pipe beside the building until she made it down. Maggie wasn't going to let a couple of burglars ruin the day of a nice store owner.

The two men were about to enter the shop before one of them was kicked in the back and hurled against the wall. The other man looked back and saw the masked girl beside him.

"What the shit?"

"You have some nerve doing this a few days before Christmas."

The man fully turned around and Maggie got a full look at his attire. He had a Tracksuit on.

"You're a part of...?"

The man called out to a group of men in a van nearby. In reality, the attempted break-in was a ruse to lure either the Ronin or his helpers as they knew they were in the area.

"It's the short one! She here!" He yelled.

They all stormed out and ran at her. Maggie, although initially stunned, still put up a fight. A back-kick of hers knocked the wind out of one Tracksuit and then she spun around to land a roundhouse kick at another.

"Damn, bro! She's good!" One exclaimed.

She kept fighting them off until one finally grabbed her from behind. Maggie writhed in the grasp of the large man and tried to escape.

"Let go of me!"

The man covered her mouth with a cloth of chloroform. Moments later, her attempts to escape weakened and she soon was rendered unconscious. The men caught their breath and were relieved that the situation was dealt with.

"Let's go, bro." One said. "Let's take her back to the boss. Maybe she'll tell us where the Ronin is."

The men immediately brought the sleeping Maggie into their van and drove away from the scene.

• • •

CLINT IMMEDIATELY KNEW something was wrong when he couldn't find Maggie. With quickness, he went back to the hotel, helped pack his children's things, and called a private cab to take them to the airport. Before he could look for her, he needed to make sure the rest of his family were safe.

"Okay, guys." He gave the luggage to the driver who was waiting outside the hotel. "This is a car to the airport. Once you get to the airport, Cooper's in charge."

"What? Why's he in charge?" Lila asked. "He's an idiot."

"I may be an idiot but I got seniority." He shot back.

Clint continued. "When you guys land, your mom is gonna be waiting there, okay?"

"Is this about the ninja?" Cooper asked.

"Did the ninja do something to Mags?" Lila also questioned.

"No." He answered both of them before moving on. "Most importantly, remember these words, don't lose the duo, okay?"

He was referring to Nate and Nikolai. They looked around for them.

"Where are they anyway?" Cooper asked.

Clint looked around. "Nate? Nik? Where are they?"

He looked ahead and finally saw them near a wall trying to draw on it with stones. Clint ran up to them.

"Boys! Come on, kiddos."

Clint carried the both of them and let out a laugh. He brought them to the car as Cooper entered with them. Before Nathaniel could go inside, he started to sign.

"I...love...you...Dad."

Clint chuckled and signed back. "I love you more."

Clint kissed him and put him in the car. He helped strap him and Nikolai in.

"Are you and Maggie going to meet us back home?" Nikolai asked.

"Of course, Nik. Don't you worry about it. I promise." He replied.

The boy smiled and Clint kissed the top of his head. He turned around and faced his daughter.

"Come on, Lila. What's with this face?"

"You have a cut on your forehead, Dad. What's going on? Should we be worried?"

"No, no. It's nothing."

"It's not just nothing when you wake up the next day and you have yet to see your cousin. What happened to Maggie?"

"She..." She cleared his throat. "She's fine. Just ran into that friend of hers from school. Wanted to hang out. It's no big deal. Okay? Daddy's got this. Come on."

Lila exhaled. "I just...I really thought you were going to be home for Christmas. That all of us were going to be together."

"Hey, look at me." Clint grabbed her arms. "We'll be home for Christmas."

"Promise me. Promise?"

"Yeah, okay."

They both hugged. Clint parted.

"I said Coop's in charge...he's not. You're in charge. You always have been. Look after these boys."

She nodded and started going into the car.

"Merry Christmas, baby. I'll see you soon." He said.

"Keep your word, okay?"

"I will. I promise."

"And tell Maggie to text me when she gets the chance."

"Of course." He looked at the kids inside. "You guys be safe, okay? Call me when you get home. I love you."

"Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, Uncle Clint!"

"Love you!"

He shut the door and the car drove off. Clint watched the vehicle drive off...and his smile soon faltered. With his family out of harm's way, it was time to get down to business.

• • •

AFTER AN ENTIRE day of escorting Kate and attending a LARPing event, Clint finally acquired the Ronin suit. Now, he needed to find Maggie.

Clint knew that she was most likely taken by the Tracksuit Mafia. In order to get on the inside and get to her, he had to enact a catch and release, something Natasha would often do during missions.

So, Clint let himself get caught by the Tracksuits later that night. They roughed him up and took him to an abandoned KB Toys store in the city.

He sat in the middle of a dark room, with his hands zip-tied behind his back and a bag over his head. One of the Tracksuits went up to him.

"Wakey, wakey, bro."

He pulled the bag off. They laughed at Clint and the man simply looked around the room.

"Nice place you got here. Not creepy at all." He remarked.

"Hey, hey, hey! You kid. I know you kid. So don't kid, okay? Because it was getting too hard to find place, you know, bro? Now, all warehouses are being converted into lofts so how can I get something better?"

Another Tracksuit looked at him. "Come on, bro."

"But he's criticizing!"

"Relax, bro."

"Uh, look, guys, before we start this clownery...tell me where the girl is."

Ivan smirked and played coy. "What girl?"

"I think he means the short redhead we snatched in the morning." Enrique answered abruptly.

Ivan turned to him with an annoyed look. "Bro!"

"What?"

"I was going to mess with him."

"Why didn't you say so?"

"Are you kidding me, bro?"

Clint asked again. "Where is she?"

Ivan crossed his arms. "Not anywhere you would know. She is well-kept and hidden."

Suddenly, a voice called out from an open room nearby.

"Clint! I'm over here!"

Ivan rolled his eyes before turning to Tomas. "Bro, I told you to shut the door earlier!"

"You didn't tell me, bro. You told Enrique."

The other man butted. "No, bro! He told you."

Maggie called out again. "Clint?"

"I hear ya, kiddo!" He shouted back.

Ivan motioned over to the room. "Close the door, bro!"

Tomas went over and did as told. They continued to speak to the tied-up Clint Barton.

"Guys, I'm not who you think I am." He told them.

"Hmm. So, you are not Hawkeye?" Ivan asked.

"Well, I..." Clint shrugged. "I guess I am who you think I am. But I'm not the guy you're looking for."

Ivan nodded before speaking again.

"Kate Bishop."

"Not Kate Bishop." Clint replied.

"Kate Bishop is guy, bro." Ivan added.

Clint shook his head. "Kate Bishop is not guy."

"Kate Bishop is guy in costume."

"Look. Can I speak to your manager? This is like talking to furniture. I came here..." He cleared his throat. "To talk to your boss. Is that possible? I'm trying to be civil here."

"Civil?" Enrique spoke. "We kidnapped you, rozumiesz. You and that girl are our hostages now, rozumiesz to?"

"Well..."

Clint nonchalantly removed the zip ties from his hands and threw them aside. The Tracksuits in front of him immediately aimed their guns at him. Still, Barton was unfazed.

"Is that him there?" He asked as he spotted a better-dressed man by the railing. "I would like to speak to your boss. It's why I came."

"Hey! Look at me, okay?" Tomas exclaimed. "Because I'm interrogating you right now."

"Bro." Ivan said.

"We are now interrogating you, okay? So look at us."

"You're the shift manager." Clint stated.

"Where is Kate Bishop?" Tomas asked.

"I've never met her. I have no idea."

"Come on! Where is Kate Bishop?"

"Who are you talking about?"

Suddenly, they heard thuds and creaking above. Seconds later, the skylight shattered and somebody fell through, landing in front of Clint. The man sighed, knowing exactly who it was.

It was Kate, in her purple archery attire and a bow strapped to her back. The Tracksuits aimed their guns at the groaning woman.

"Bro, I found her." Ivan said.

Kate got on her knees and looked up at the men. "Oh, wow. Didn't realize we were supposed to bring guns."

The Tracksuits cocked their guns and continued aiming at them. Kate chuckled nervously and glanced at Clint, who just looked away and shook his head.

This just got a lot more complicated.