Marvel Infinite: The Incredible Hawkeye #1

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TommytheHitman

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Clint Barton thinks he has what it takes to be a superhero. Truth is… he doesn’t. He has the guts, some of the skills… and the heart (which at one point explodes like that scene in Kill Bill)!

But what he doesn’t have is… well… everything else. Superpowers and money being the top two of the ever expanding list of important items on the superhero requirement list. But Clint’s seen Fight Club… and if there’s anything he doesn’t do (that he’s capable of) it’s listen to some imaginary list that the guy writing this has just made up! “Sigh” welcome to… the Incredible Adventures of Hawkguy! I mean Hawkeye!

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Girl You Know It's True: Part 1

Monty’s Circus was not what many people would call… a 'masterpiece' of entertainment. Quite the opposite actually, many of the acts were old, the actors were even older… and many of the show’s structures seemed to be crumbling to dust. Similar to the circus tent that was used to host the circus’ fortnightly shows.

In recent years the circus had begun to wane in its popularity, having been formed in Pittsburgh by a man known as Montgomery Flounder with the intent of making money by entertaining others. All during the year 1898, the same year as when H.G. Wells published War of the World’s, showing a vast difference in the qualities of entertainment.

Over the years, the circus travelled the width and distance of America, performing large shows everywhere it stopped and picking up new cast members at each destination. At the time it was very popular, with its name being known to many throughout the country it was proud to be a part of. Of course… when Montgomery died during 1933 due to an accident involving several Elephants and a Toddler, the circus began to lose some of its spirit and charm. Eventually the entire production began to fade into obscurity with very few people ever remembering the name, “Monty’s Circus”. That was until recently anyway.

Granted the vast majority of the shows were still awful, the cast members were somewhat less amusing then the members of the past and in general the entire attraction was gone, but there were a few small redeeming factors to the circus that had begun to spring up from the late 1980s. Buck Chisholm was the first.

He was talented with the bow and arrow and claimed to have woken up from a hangover one morning to find himself in the middle of performing an act in front of a live audience. Nobody was certain how Buck had arrived… but he’d done so in the year 1989. Buck’s claims as ‘The World’s Greatest Marksman’ were well founded and his skill with his weapon ended up drawing a few extra people to the show.

Several years later in the year 1994, a mysterious figure known as Jacques DuQuesne showed up at the circus’ metaphorical doorstep dressed in tattered rags and armed with a steel sword, he asked to be allowed into the circus as an act and was accepted. He proved to be skilled with the blade as well as an expert with throwing knives.

However he never achieved the level of fame that Mister Chisholm had claimed. Finally… in the year 1999, two young boys showed up at the circus, claiming to have run away from a nearby orphanage. Their names were Clint and Barney Barton… and their parents had died in a car crash several years earlier.

The circus took them in and Jacques along with Buck began to train the brothers with their own respective weapons, Buck focusing on Clint’s training with the Bow, and Jacques focusing on Barney’s training with the sword.

However both boys received training with the other’s mentor at different points. 16 years passed by… and at this point, it’s fair to say that both Clint and Barney are almost as skilled as their mentors’ when it comes to the art of their own personal weapons.

“You’ll never make the shot, Clint.” Bertha, the circus’ Fat Lady said whilst looking at the target ahead.

By this point, Monty’s Circus had taken residence in New York City, having rented an area in Brooklyn to prepare for the show premiering that evening.

“Sure I’ll make it.” Clint Barton said, aiming his bow at the small archery target 300 feet away. “S’just like riding a bicycle. You never fail.”

George, the circus’ resident Wolf-Man smirked slightly. “I don’t think that’s how the saying goes, Clint.”

“Sure it is.” George wiped some of the thick, brown hair covering his face out of his eyes and looked to the old man in his 60s standing next to him.

“What do you reckon, Buck?” He asked. “Do you think he’ll make it?” Buck Chisholm kept his eyes locked on his young student. His face as focused and unmoving as a rock.

“We’ll see.” He muttered in a dry voice that sounded like a bag of marbles being smashed against the ground. Clint lined the arrow up with the centre of the target, he wasn’t wearing the right outfit… casual clothes were too confining.

Purple shirt and black jeans… not the right type of uniform. He pulled the arrow back, the wire tensed, he slowed his breathing, exhaled, relaxed his hand and let the shot fly.

THUNK!

The arrow shattered as it smacked into the concrete floor right beside the target. Clint felt a lurch in his stomach as he released the bow and held it firmly by his side. Behind him, Bertha and George were laughing.

“Great job, Clint.” Buck patted his student on the shoulder. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

Clint grinned. “Thanks, old man.” He replied.

“Didn’t you miss?” Bertha asked, her voice filled with confusion. Clint pointed towards the target, Bertha and George following his finger.

It took them a couple of seconds… however they finally noticed a piece of wooden shrapnel from the arrow’s shaft sticking out from the middle of the target.

“How boring would it've been if I’d just shot it?” Clint asked while turning to walk away.

“You couldn’t have shot it if you’d wanted to.” A voice called out. Clint knew the voice immediately.

“Hello, Barney.” He grumbled while turning towards his big brother. Barney was stood by Clint’s trailer, a smug look on his face. The two brothers walked towards each other, both locking eyes. “What were you saying?” He asked.

“My hearing’s been a little off lately.”

“I said…” Barney was taller than his younger brother. Not quite towering… but still tall enough to make a noticeable difference. “…you couldn’t have made that shot if you wanted, because you couldn’t care less.”

“It’s shooting arrows.” Clint was fixated on the scar running down Barney’s cheek. “What’s there to care about?”

Barney’s smirk grew into a large smile. “Fair point.” He admitted. “But try to at least LOOK like you give a damn, Clint. It’s not exciting otherwise.”

“Boys!” A loud, stern voice filled the air. “I hope you’re not fighting.” Jacques DuQuesne stepped forward, already dressed in his ‘Swordsman’ outfit, an outfit of dark purple and bright pink colours, his signature weapon hung at his side.

“Of course not, sir.” Barney said quickly. “We were simply discussing our plans for tonight.”

Jacques stared at his pupil’s face. A squint appearing in his eyes. “Good.” He finally said, turning towards Clint. “How have you been recently, Clint?” He asked.

“Fine.” Clint answered. “Hearing’s been a little choppy but other than th-“

“Good.” The Swordsman interrupted, clearly not actually giving a damn. “I trust you have something special planned for tonight?” Clint nodded.

“Excellent.” The Swordsman said, his face not actually yielding any emotion. He looked back to Barney.

“And you, Barney?” He asked.

“Yes, sir.” He answered.

“Good.” The Swordsman looked past the two young adults and glared at his friend, Buck who was busy firing off some practice shots on the range, nailing each one with a perfect bullseye.

“I won’t keep you boys any longer.” He muttered while walking past towards some of the sparring targets he had arranged many years ago. Barney wrapped his arm around his younger brother’s shoulder and lead him towards his trailer.

“We’ve gotta make tonight special.” Barney told Clint. “Wow the audience.” Clint opened the door to his small, tacky room and stepped inside. “Do you understand what I mean?”

“Sure do.” Clint walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a yellow, perfectly knitted outfit that had only recently been finished. He tossed it over to his brother who stared at it in surprise.

“They’re already done?”

“Yep.” Clint stared at his own outfit. A costume of purple and blue design along with a small domino mask to cover his face. “George came through for us.”

“Sweet.” Barney was busy unfolding his own costume which was yellow and red. “Let’s go look amazing.” Night came quickly, and it took all that Clint had to not start shaking from nerves. Performing in front of a crowd was never easy. It was less easy when he was wearing a weird, brightly coloured costume.

__________________________

“Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages!” Maynard Tiboldt, the circus’ ringmaster said from the front of the tent out before the audience. “I bring you… the amazing…. BARNEY BARTON!”

Barney stepped out to the front, dressed in his costume, his sword already in hand. He took a quick bow for the crowd and mentally prepared himself for the task at hand. Several stuntmen dressed in black robes appeared out of nowhere, each carrying a practice sword in hand. Each took a different position around Barney, just as rehearsed and charged forward.

Barney focused on the attacker to his left, simply swatting his sword to the side and knocking the weapon out of his enemy’s hand before pretending to kick him in the chest. The man tumbled backwards and quickly vanished off the main viewing area.

Barney dodged out of the way of another of the stuntmen’s attacks, he ducked beneath a sideways swipe and swept under the man’s legs knocking him to the ground before picking up his fallen sword and attacking his final opponent, bring both his swords crashing downwards smashing the man’s fake sword into pieces.

The crowd broke into tremendous applause as the shattered weapon fell to the ground. There were quite a few of them this evening. More than usual. Over half the seats in the circus had become full. “Thank you.” Barney smiled as the last of the stuntmen walked off. “Thank you very much.”

The last part of that fight hadn’t been the one rehearsed… originally it was going to be made to show Barney having trouble with his opponents… but Barney didn’t like to look like he was losing. The crowd had enjoyed it anyway.

“But that isn’t the end of the show.” On cue, several assistants wheeled a woman strapped to… well, a wheel into the area. One of them passed Barney a blind fold as well as several throwing daggers before spinning the wheel around so that it was in continuous motion. Upon the wheel were 4 bright red circles.

“The aim of this game, ladies and gentlemen…” Barney explained. “Is to hit EACH of the circles. Preferably without hitting the woman.” The crowd laughed.

Barney wasn’t joking. He pulled the blind fold down tightly around his eyes and pulled his throwing hand back. TUNK TUNK TUNK TUNK!!!! Barney pulled the blind fold back up to see that each of his knives had met the mark. He grinned before politely stopping the wheel and helping the woman (or in actuality, the victim) down from the target. The crowd lit up with thunderous applause.

A few cheers could be heard as well, Barney and his assistant took a bow before walking off. The Ringmaster stepped back into frame, his top hat’s microphone sending his voice all throughout the tent.

“Finally, ladies and gentlemen…” He said. “It’s time for our FINAL ACT! It’s time for the World’s Greatest Marksman! Clint…” Clint took a deep breath, his bow was at the ready. He wondered if the domino mask would be able to hide the fear on his face. “…BARTON!”

He stepped through the curtain to bright lights shining all around him. It took him a couple of seconds to adjust to the brightness.

“Um… hello everybody!” Clint said, trying not to sound too nervous. Around him his assistants wheeled his props into the area. “Pre… prepare to be amazed!”

There were several contraptions that the circus’ mechanic had worked up for him. A device that looked surprisingly similar to a park bench was wheeled out before him, designed to spring up targets for him to shoot. In 7 seconds they would begin. Clint drew the bow back… and prepared to fire.

BRAKKAAABBRRAAAKA!

The sounds of gun fire filled the tent, several people screamed. Clint turned in surprise to see a man dressed entirely in black dash into the area, his arm wrapped around a woman’s neck and what appeared to be a Sub Machine Gun in his hand.

“Everyone stay back!” He screamed, his hostage trying to wiggle free from his grasp. “STAY BACK OR SHE DIES!” He snapped. “I wouldn’t recommend that.” A voice called. Clint noticed a figure dressed in what looked like the American Flag step into the tent.

By his side was a shield with a white star directly in the middle of a blue centre. “You could get hurt.” He threatened.

“Captain America?” Clint muttered to nobody in particular. “Drop the girl.” The Captain ordered, a determine look in his eyes. “You’ve got no leverage!”

The man snapped. “Nothing to stop me!” He glanced towards the back entrance of the tent. “Let me go. Or she di-” THUNK! The sudden sight of an arrow piercing the man’s hand was enough to catch everyone off guard. Even Captain America seemed surprised for a second.

A few seconds later, another arrow knocked the SMG out of the man’s hand knocking it to the floor. A shrill shriek filled the air, escaping from the criminal’s mouth and before he was finished screaming, the Captain’s shield had knocked him to the ground.

“Are you alright?” Clint helped the criminal’s hostage up off the floor.

“I… I’m fine.” The woman said, her body shaking. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” The sound of Police Sirens filled the air… someone must have dialled 911. “You shot the arrow?” Captain America approached the archer, his shield already back upon his wrist. Clint stared at the soldier who was towering above him. His huge frame making Clint Barton’s well toned body seem small in comparison. “Yes.”

“Good job.” The Captain nodded giving off a sign of respect before walking back to the unconscious criminal he’d captured.

“Clint. Are you alright?” Barney asked, suddenly appearing behind his brother. Clint let the events of the last few seconds catch up to him… he’d just captured a criminal and received a compliment from the greatest figure on the planet.

“I’m freakin’ amazing.”

To be continued...

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ImpurestCheese

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#3  Edited By ImpurestCheese

@tommythehitman: Hmm looks like an interesting retelling of one of my favourite Thunderbolts origin stories. Tag me for the next section.

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TommytheHitman

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@impurestcheese: Sure will. Prime Fiction are letting me put up my stories on other sites.

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#5  Edited By ImpurestCheese