Chapter Text
With a heavy sigh, Kate sits down at one of the few tables in the ‘dining area’ of Herman’s Pizza. It's rarely used, but those who do always seem to linger around long after they’ve eaten their slices.
Like Doug, who is a regular - comes in every day around noon, orders four Sicilian slices and a large coke.
Kate likes Doug well enough, he’s nice and doesn't mind chatting while Kate waits for the next delivery to pop up. So when she sits down at the table next to him, she does so making sure she can see him. “Your nose is red,” he says, sipping from his cup as Kate laughs.
“It’s cold out there, and I get so much speed on my bike it’s like being in a wind tunnel.”
This makes him laugh, “I’m telling you girl, you need to get your license.”
“So I can be stuck in traffic and the pizza’s get cold? Nah, this is way better.”
“I keep saying to get one of those electronic bikes!” Herman says from behind the counter, busy with topping a pie.
Kate rolls her eyes, refusing to look at him as she responds. “Then you’d better give me that raise!” She calls out and is, of course, met with silence. “See? My purple ten speed will have to do.”
She watches Doug put his drink down, sitting up a bit in his seat. He’s a big man, but not in a way he doesn’t carry well. More than that, he’s kind - despite outward appearances (he kind of looks like a movie mob boss). So it’s clear he’s going to attempt to give her some wisdom, the same he always does.
“What happened to college, huh? When I came here before you didn’t work here, you were going to school. Now you’re what? Delivering pizza? You should be out there in the world!”
He’s not entirely wrong. Kate’s life has kind of taken a few turns she wasn't ready for, a few of them of her own doing (putting her mom in jail). But it is still her life. “I was going to college to get a degree that would let me take over my family business - but it’s not my business to take over anymore.”
“So what? That’s it? You can't start over? There’s gotta be stuff you’re good at! You’re fit, what happened to your bows and arrows? You used to come in here all the time packing that stuff around.”
Kate laughs, “I don’t think professional archery pays that well.” She says, and it’s true. Neither does using your archery skills to stop muggings and purse snatchers either.
No, all that gets Kate is scrapes, cuts and bruises.
“There’s gotta be something, are you good with computers? My niece Diana, she’s got a little business selling trinkets a few blocks from here. I could get you a job at the desk.”
It’s kind, again, and Kate will always give credit to kindness. “I appreciate that, but then who would you talk to while you eat? Certainly not Herman.”
Doug’s eyes flick over to the counter again where Herman is putting a pizza in the oven. “That’s true, I get more out of the brick walls in my apartment than trying to talk to him.”
“I heard that,” Herman says, but doesn’t comment any further.
“I know it’s not great,” Kate makes the same point she has half a dozen times before. Hoping it’ll stick this time. “But this is just temporary, while I get a little more stability back under my feet. And it’s good, I get to work here and keep my apartment. So that’s a win, right Herman?”
She walks over just in time to see him boxing up a few pizzas and setting them on the delivery tray. “Yeah sure, you still owe me half of last month’s rent.”
“Hey, you said I had time cause you knocked my power out upstairs for four days.”
That was hell, she was so bored and cold and spent more time downstairs with her phone than up in her apartment. “These two go to Cliff and the one in the over is Avalon.”
Kate nods, grabbing the boxes, “I’ll go put these on the bike and come get the other.” She says as she gathers up the two boxes, taking her beanie off the table she was sitting at and tugging it messily back on.
“It’s too cold to be out like that, you need a bigger coat.” Doug says again and this time Kate can't stop her eye roll, but she softens it with a smile.
“You worry too much, Doug. I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine.”
He doesn’t seem to agree, but he puts his hands up in surrender as Kate steps outside.
It is really fucking cold. She almost wishes it would just start snowing but so far no luck. Instead, all they get is gloomy clouds, a little dusting of rain in the early morning and windchill.
That fucking wind.
After racing back inside to grab the last pizza (and give Doug a quick goodbye), Kate pulls a scarf up over her face, tucks deeper into her coat and pulls her beanie down as far as she can.
Just as she’s settling in to make the delivery, she glances up at the skyline and spots the new billboard she’s been actively avoiding for the last four days since it went up.
OUR GREAT CITY THANKS THE NEW AVENGERS
Kate (thankfully) missed the big cloud of darkness that made people disappear. She wasn't in the area then and it all happened so fast that by the time it was over, she only had the news reports.
That, and every radio station in the city talking about the heroes that came out of nowhere to save the day. Then that snake Valentina De Fontaine crowned them the New Avengers and everyone just went with it. Kate was so ready to be against them - to hate them for pretending to be the thing she’s spent her whole adult life chasing.
Until she saw them, or more specifically, saw her. Yelena. The woman who tried to kill Clint. The same woman who broke into her apartment and threatened her…sort of. Well, fed her and threatened her. Also she was very careful not to hurt Kate while trying to kill Clint - even after threatening her (and after Kate slapped her which she still regrets to be honest). Then maybe didn’t turn Kate down when she tried to distract her with a drink (Kate is embarrassed at how much she’s thought about in the weeks after).
Of course, that was years ago and eventually Kate all but forgot about Yelena (as much as anyone can forget a girl that attractive). Until she was suddenly everywhere. Like on a billboard outside of the fucking pizza shop Kate works at, flaunting her new status as if all of this was meant to directly make Kate feel like shit.
She glares up at Yelena’s stupid pretty face. “You don’t even like the Avengers,” she mumbles to no one before settling onto her bike and pedalling off - suddenly grateful for the distraction of the wind.
---------------------------------
A seven hour shift in the cold and twenty-four deliveries later, Kate’s exhausted when she finally clocks out. Her legs burn, her back hurts and the cold has made her fingers and toes basically numb.
She climbs up the stairs to her apartment at a sluggish pace, her red fingers fumbling with the keys as she opens the door and steps inside. Lucky races over to her like he hasn’t seen her all day, even though Kate used her lunch break specifically to take him for a thirty minute walk to stretch his legs and go to the bathroom.
Still, he’s the only person in the city these days she ever gets to come home to, so Kate takes the love he gives with a smile on her face. “I’m happy to see you too, buddy.” Lucky whines as Kate kneels down to pet him, her thighs burning from a full day of pedalling.
Taking a deep breath, Kate feels a strange feeling of sadness wash over her as the day finally weighs her down. Coming home is sometimes a relief but also a harsh reminder of how different her life is now. How, before everything that happened a few Christmases ago, Kate had so much. She had her mom, her friends, she was going to university and had so many outlets in activities. Not to mention she was still pushing herself each day towards the goal of being an Avenger.
Now, so much of that is gone. Her mom is in jail, her friends have moved on ever since Kate dropped out of school (she hasn’t heard from them in months), Clint is back in Iowa with his family and though Kate hears from him more than anyone else, she’s careful not to overstep. He has his own life now, and she should have her own too.
She does, it’s just not what she expected. It’s not very good at all, actually.
So she takes a deep breath to try and settle the anxiety in her chest before leaning forward and burying her face in the neck of Lucky’s fur. She just…holds him and he lets her, which Kate is extremely grateful for.
She sits with him for a few minutes before forcing herself to get up, she has to take Lucky out and then feed him before she can truly relax. Kate knows she should probably patrol or something, do…something. She still wants to be that person, but so often it’s just petty stuff and more often than not she ends up not even getting a thank you from the people she helps.
It’s just so…much.
“Come on, Kate.” She says to herself, running her hands through her hair. “You can rally, you’ll be fine. Bad day, it was just a bad day.”
She repeats that in her head over and over again as she leashes Lucky and takes him back out into the cold. Which is not even worse as the sun has started to go down - but the one nice thing is that it makes the streets a little more bearable.
It’s a short walk to the park that Kate likes to let Lucky run in for a bit after being cooped up inside all day, so she lets him go and watches with a bounce in her feet to try and stay warm.
Since Kate’s mind won’t seem to let her escape itself today, she takes the time while she waits for Lucky to have his fun to think about what she could possibly do to get herself out of this rut she’s been in lately.
It would be great if this trial with her mother would end soon, but given the last time she talked to the lawyer his exact words to her were to “hunker down and prepare for a marathon”, Kate’s pretty sure that’s not going to happen.
Of course, thinking about her mom in any way always makes her feel like shit because that relationship is in the fucking toilet too. She hasn’t visited her mom in three months, ninety-six days to be exact. Because the last time she did, they fought, like a big “what are you doing with your life?” and “you’re one to fucking talk, Mom!” kind of argument.
Which was Kate’s final straw really, because her mom refused to see that the choices she made are why Kate is in the position that she’s in. It’s why she only has the apartment her dad gave her, and why she has to work so many hours every single fucking day just to keep it. It’s why she’s so lonely, why she feels so empty all the time. Because her mom couldn't be a decent fucking person and the more Kate looked into it, her dad wasn't much better.
No, she can't count on her mom anymore, and Kate wouldn't want to take anything from her even if she had something to offer.
She’ll be fine, she keeps telling herself that. She’ll get through this, she gets through everything. This is just a rough patch, but it’ll pass and an opportunity will present itself. She just can't give up.
Which is why, when Lucky makes his way back to her after running his laps and doing his business, Kate decides she will go on patrol tonight instead of sulking on her couch.
---------------------------
Kate’s patrol goes about as well as it has for the last few months. She spends a lot of time walking around, spending her time hopping around on roofs to ignore the weird looks people give her when she walks around with her bow.
Her equipment isn’t exactly at the level she wants it to be, and she spends most of her free time cobbling together what she can from junk and a few of the things leftover from the last time Clint was here.
She doesn’t have any trick arrows or anything so fancy, but she does her best. The new suit, complete with a hood, keeps her warm enough, but what would really help is something actually worth doing.
The first real task offered to her comes in the form of a very public argument between two guys who keep raising their voices and shouting the most ridiculous curse-filled insults at each other.
Which wouldn't be a problem, she’d let two idiots beat the crap out of each other and not her in most situations, but
Kate descends from her perch (which honestly looked pretty cool cause she nailed the landing, just as one guy pushes the other. “Hey, relax!” Kate shouts, moving to step in between them. They’re both bigger than her, but not by much. “No need to start swinging out in the open.” Kate puts her hand on the chest of the one who keeps stepping forward and pushes him back.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” He slaps her hand away and tries to basically step right through her.
Which Kate is not about to let happen, so she jams her shoulder into his chest. “I told you to chill out. There are innocent people on this street and they don’t need to get caught up in all this.”
“It wouldn't be a fucking fight!” The other guys say and Kate looks back to see him smirking as he taunts the other guy. “This fucking pussy thinks he’s getting a fucking dime out of me for some shit he did. Your girl was right, you’re a dumbass motherfucker with no brains.”
Kate frowns, “that’s a bit redundant, don’t you think?”
This, of course, gets their attention. “The fuck does that mean? Did you just call me-”
“It’s not an insult! It’s just a word that means…like…repetitive.”
“Then why not just say repetitive? Why get all fucking fancy with it?” The large man who slapped her hand away says this, suddenly more interested in her than the guy he wanted to fight.
Kate isn’t really sure why they’re having such a hard time with this. “It’s just…it’s just another word for it. I picked that one.”
“Kinda dumb, just say what you mean.”
Okay so first of all Kate isn’t a huge fan of two oversized losers making fun of her very smart and eclectic (another great word) vocabulary choices - but she does see an opening to defuse this. “Do you really think repetitive is the better choice? Even if they mean the same thing.”
Both guys look at each other, then back to her. “Yeah, cause it’s the more common word.” First guy says.
Then the one in the tighter shirt (with an absolutely awful beard) chimes in. “Who the fuck says ‘redondent’.”
Kate frowns, “nobody, it’s redundant.”
This, of course, makes him roll his eyes. “Alright, I’m not out here to speak spelling with you, I’m just…this is stupid. You’re not worth the fight or….talking to this bitch. I’m out.”
When the guy turns on a heel and walks away, Kate decides that was very well played.
However, when she glances back at the other guy, he’s looking at her much differently. Up and down and with a growing smile - like he’s realized she’s a girl. “You look real good in that uh…the full body…actually what the fuck are you wearing?”
Now Kate has a whole new situation to defuse.
--------------------------------
After finally making it home just a little past midnight, Kate is exhausted and mostly done with the human race. Because said guy who was both trying to fight a random person on the street and then started hitting on her, did not take well to Kate flat out turning him down.
He rolled his eyes, called her a weirdo and then left like she was the one who had offended him. It was stupid and it pissed her off and led her to walk six more blocks just to calm herself down enough to forget about it.
These patrols are starting to wear thin on her. Kate thinks she might have to do something drastic soon, she just has no idea what that would actually be.
But she won’t focus on that tonight. No, she’ll go home, take a shower, warm up her leftover Thai food and watch shitty TV until she falls asleep on the couch.
Maybe it’s her training finally getting better, or just her own paranoia after everything, but as soon as Kate makes it into her apartment, she knows someone is there. Lucky doesn’t immediately come racing over to her, there’s a light on, but it’s not one she ever turns on and she can just…tell.
Kate tries not to give herself away. She pulls her keys out of the lock, but leaves the door partially open in case she needs to make a quick exit and sets the keys down on the counter. She then positions herself just close enough to the knives to grab them if she needs to before turning on the big light.
“Kate Bishop,” a voice calls out to her, deep and steady, like they know exactly what Kate is doing.
Even as she reaches for a knife on reflex, her heart starts to race as she sees him sitting on that one weird chair in the corner of her apartment that she mostly uses to help climb out of the window when she needs to get to the street in a hurry.
“You…you’re…” Kate’s inner fangirl is about to explode. “You’re Nick Fury!”
He nods once, looking so fucking cool in her apartment. Leaned back in the chair, with the eyepatch and the big coat. “Not a lot of civilians know who I am.”
Kate scoffs, she fucking scoffs at Nick Fury like an idiot. “I’m not really a civilian. I worked with Hawkeye. Or…no,” She has to make the most of this chance. “I am Hawkeye.” She says with a big smile that does not in any way change Nick Fury’s reaction to her. “And also you’re a super big deal on a lot of Avengers forums.”
“Forums?”
“Yeah they’re like…for fans. To post…stuff about their faves.”
There’s a beat of silence before she speaks again. “We’ll have to have our people look into this.”
Kate’s eyes go wide. “Don’t dig too deep, it gets really weird in some of those spaces.”
“Noted,” his tone is sharp. “You know, your dog growled at me when I tried to open the fridge for a drink.”
“Oh yeah he’s really protective of his food.” She says and then Fury’s (she thinks she can just call him Fury, they’re both heroes after all) eyebrows go up a bit as what she says plays back in her head. “Or…my food, our…our food.” Kate sighs, “It’s ours. He likes pizza.” Fury hums and looks at her, then to the fridge, then back to her. “Oh! Do you want something to drink?”
“Yes, I do,” he answers quickly, sounding just a bit annoyed.
“Right, of course!” Kate turns quickly and opens the fridge, then is immediately met with the sight of…well…absolutely nothing. “Shit.” She mumbles and turns around with a bit of a grimace. “I uh…I don’t actually have any - water?”
“Bottled?”
Another swing and a miss, “no.”
Fury sighs, “I’ll pass.” That’s when he finally starts to move, pushing up out of his seat and taking a few steps towards her. “I shouldn't linger anyway, and we need to talk.”
“Oh my god,” Kate says out loud, not really meaning to but not being able to control it anymore. “Is this…are you recruiting me? Is this me joining the Avengers?!”
Surprisingly, he laughs, “Barton told me you would say that.”
“Well it’s just been my dream for so long! And to be recruited by the Nick Fury is just-”
“Kate, I’m gonna stop you right there. I’m not here to recruit you to the Avengers. There are no Avengers.”
Just like that, Kate’s whole mood sinks just a little. “Oh,” she supposes it makes sense, Yelena’s Avengers (that’s what she calls them) didn’t seem to have any real attachment to the original group, Clint had told her as much. Plus their association with Valentina probably doesn’t paint them in the kind of light that SHIELD or anyone left from the old times would be all that proud of working with.
“I’m here for something a whole lot bigger than that.”:
“Oh?” Well now he’s just fucking with her. “I uh…what’s bigger than the Avengers?”
He takes a breath, “saving the universe.” His voice is steady, but firm - like he means every word of it.
It’s very dramatic and Kate can't help herself. “If this was a movie that would have been the most killer beat drop line ever.”
As soon as she says it, Kate wants to hurl herself out of her own balcony window.
But then something really fucking weird happens, Fury smiles. “You got that right,” he says. “That’s why my recruitment pitches work so well,” he starts bobbing back and forth a bit, “I hear a beat in my head, picture the moment and then drop the damn hammer down like it’s do or die.”
Now all Kate can do is smile. “Well you’re very good at it, and I gotta be honest, you nail the branding. Like the eyepatch, the jacket, sitting in a dark corner - classic.”
Fury shakes his finger at her, “I’m not going to ask how you know my go to for these kinds of things because I might just have to kill you if you’ve got too much information.” She’s pretty sure he’s kidding, but dammit all if his delivery doesn't make her hesitate. He’s so good at it. “I need you to really listen to me on this. Don’t make any decisions about any of this right now, understood?”
Kate nods, her heart racing and her head spinning. She’s already made up her mind, she’ll say yes to whatever he asks her to do. This is what she’s been waiting for ever since The Battle of New York. “Understood, loud and clear. I’m all ears.”
“I’m sure,” Fury starts to move then, pace, like he has to do it to think. “With this job, I can count on one hand the number of people I know that I can say I will take their word without hesitation. Clint Barton is one of those people, and he’s the one who told me that you’re the kind of person I need for this.”
Oh god, Clint. She loves him so much she cannot wait to text him and tell him how grateful she is. “That’s smart, I mean Clint is great and he’s the perfect person to rely on and-” Fury gives her a look. “Oh right, sorry. Continue.” She mimes zipping her mouth shut.
His single eye narrows at her. “Thank you for your permission.” Kate’s really gotta learn to stop talking. “Kate, I need you to do me a favor. Do not commit to this right now. Tell me you won’t.”
“I won’t,” she says, totally selling it.
He sighs, “Don’t lie to me either.”
Kate frowns at that, she was totally lying. “Okay I…I promise to sleep on it.”
He seems to realize that this is the best he’s going to get, but the weight of it all does start to settle in Kate’s chest a little. This is clearly something big, and like…big enough that Nick Fury is in her apartment obviously, but even more than that. It does start to make her nerves spike a bit.
“There’s an invasion coming. It’s already started beyond our planet, out in the galaxy, but it will be here…and beyond here soon enough.”
That is…not what she expected to hear. “An invasion? Like…aliens?” There’s a slight hesitation, but then he nods. Suddenly, all she can think about is her dad, and the things that came into New York and took her from him. “You said…here and beyond like…other planets?”
“Yes, we have established contact with many planets and races well outside of Earth, many of them are just as concerned and prepared to fight this war as we are.”
Nobody has more confidence in their abilities than Kate does, but she’s not arrogant enough to believe that Nick Fury traveled all the way here from…wherever he was, to recruit her to fight an entire alien fleet that has multiple races gathering for a resistance. “You’re not here for my archery skills, are you?”
He seems almost…sympathetic to her. “No, I am not.” He stops his pacing and stares down at her, keeping his tone steady and his words poignant. “I can't go into the specifics of the mission with you, not until you are fully on board and we can trust you. But I can tell you the parameters of what you would be asked.”
Kate swallows the lump of fear growing in her throat. She doesn’t say anything, just nods for him to continue.
“I need you to transport something…through space. A long way through space. We will be doing everything we can to delay their arrival, but a good friend of mine out there who needs something that can help us turn the tide and you, Kate, will be taking the final piece to them.”
Space, they…they want her to go to space? “How ‘long ways’ are we talking?” She asks, not even sure if the question makes sense, but her mind can't really process everything quite right. “How…how long would I be gone?”
“Based on our calculations, eight to twelve months.”
Kate’s eyes feel like they’re going to fall out of her head and her jaw definitely just flopped open. “That’s…” she feels the panic rising up in her chest a little. “A whole year in space? Alone?”
“No,” He says, “you would have someone with you. It’s not a solo job but we can only spare so much.”
“Who…who would come with me?”
Again, Fury shakes his head. “Too many details, if you commit to this, then you will learn everything, but I won’t risk your life or anyone else’s by passing information freely.”
She understands. Like okay she doesn’t because Nick Fury just asked her to go to space on a galaxy saving kind of mission that he won’t give her any real details on and like…how would she even do in space? She doesn’t know anything about it!
“Sleep on it, I’ll be in contact tomorrow morning for your answer.” He then takes a step towards her and puts his hand on her shoulder, getting all of her attention as his voice softens a little. “And Kate, nobody’s gonna judge you or think any less of you if you say no.” He then smiles a little. “And you’ll still be on my list when it comes time to rebuild, Hawkeye.”
Still, she’ll still be on his list! Meaning she is already on his list! And he called her Hawkeye!
She really is Hawkeye now…
Kate doesn’t give him her answer there, because he told her not to, but how could she possibly say no?
------------------------------------
Kate’s exhausted the next day. Because of course she is, because how the fuck was she supposed to sleep after Nick Fury was in her apartment asking her to go to space on a galaxy saving mission?
It still doesn’t feel real, and when she first wakes up a part of her genuinely wonders if she dreamt it.
She lays in her bed for a good thirty minutes just staring up at the ceiling trying to imagine where this whole thing might take her. She thought space was pretty cool when she was little. Then aliens fell from a hole in the sky and killed a bunch of people including her dad.
That moment shaped her entire life going forward. It made her who she is today and some part of that feels almost poetic that the things she’s wanted so much since the Battle of New York could be given to her on a mission like this.
But one year is a long time, especially to be up there with no backup save for one person who Kate doesn't even know and may not even like. It’s so jarring, and that’s not even to talk about all the things she’d have to adjust for here. She has her job, her dog, and her mom who is still in prison.
Would she even tell her? Would this be like…a big news story? Probably not. Fury seemed pretty hell bent on secrecy so this isn’t making the headlines.
Would she even be allowed to tell her mom? Would she want to? She can already hear the big, dramatic speech she’d get about it.
You’re not ready for this
It’s too dangerous
I can't protect you if you’re in space
What if you don’t make it home?
The last thought hits her a little, because what if she doesn't? In theory, Kate has always just assumed being ready to die in this line of work came with the territory. She would say it so loudly and proudly sometimes she almost believed it. That she wasn't afraid to die if it meant saving the world - and she would do it if she had to.
But to be faced with the reality of it now, the weight feels heavier - more visceral and real.
Nick Fury showed up at her apartment to recruit her for this, that tells Kate more than anything that this is not going to be easy. That there is real risk and real danger and she could really fucking die.
Those thoughts (and so many more) keep her busy while she lays in bed, watching the sunrise and waiting to make the call she’s been thinking about since Fury left her apartment.
When she finally can't take it anymore, Kate dials Clint’s number and puts the phone on speaker, lying it down on her chest as it rings.
“Was expecting this call last night,” Clint answers with a lightness in his voice - but quiet and Kate imagines it’s because he’s the only one awake this early.
“I don’t think I would have even been coherent last night.”
This makes him laugh, “so par for the course then?”
“Oh ha ha. You’re so funny I bet you won the funniest Avenger trophy every year.”
“Nah that usually went to Steve,” he says in return and Kate frowns, thinking back to everything she ever read about Steve Rogers. Sweet, stoic, a bit innocent and mostly straight forward.
“Wait, really?”
“See what I mean, par for the course.” Kate sighs at that and Clint laughs again, but when he speaks next, it’s softened. “Where’s your head at, Kate?”
Now it’s her turn to sigh, rolling over and setting her phone on the pillow beside her. She stares out the window of her room towards the city lights outside - her home. The place she would be leaving for a whole fucking year. “It’s…a lot,” she starts and then remembers why Fury was at her apartment at all last night. “Thanks for uh…thanks for putting my name out there.”
“I didn’t want to,” he says back to her and Kate frowns. “Not because I don’t think you can be Hawkeye or anything like that so don’t get all fussy.”
“I don’t get fussy.” She knows she probably sounds a little fussy.
But Clint pushes onward. “What I meant was that this is…a lot. Not just for a newbie, but for anyone. It took me twenty-five years working with SHIELD before I went to space.” Kate expects him to say more, to elaborate or tell a story or something. Instead she’s met with silence and she thinks she knows why.
When he went there, he lost Natasha. “Do you think I should go?” She asks instead, just needing something. Confirmation or support for him to tell her that it’s too risky.
Or maybe she just wants someone to talk to about it. Strangely enough, this whole thing has made Kate’s loneliness feel even bigger than the last few months have.
There’s a smile in his voice when he answers. “We both know you’ve already made up your mind, kid.”
And it’s true, she thinks she made it up the minute she saw Fury in her apartment. That if he offered her anything, she would take it. Her life has become so different than what she hoped. She needs change, she needs her dream back and this is that.
“It’s not how I expected all of this to go.” She admits, “I thought like…I’d go to a compound or something, train up, work with the best and then just slot into a team or something. This? A galaxy saving mission where I’m basically an interstellar UPS? It’s so…” she trails off, with no idea how to finish that thought.
“It’s important though,” Clint tells her, like he’s making sure she understands. “This thing that’s coming, Kate. It’s scary and it’s real.”
There’s something she needs from him, something she’s always needed from him. It’s only now that she realizes what is. “And you think I’m capable of it?”
His answer, this time, has no hesitation. “I know you are. I wouldn't have given your name to Fury if I didn’t.”
A wave of emotion hits her then because it’s real. This is real. She’s felt it at times when she was working with him years ago. When she went to his home, he called her Hawkeye and showed her some of his secrets. When she visited last year and he trained her.
But to hear it so bluntly, that he believes in her, it has tears blooming in her eyes. “Thanks,” she says and grabs her phone, holding it a little closer as she sits up. The sheets fall around her lap, hair a mess as it covers half of her face. She’s exhausted and nervous and excited and on the brink of crying. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
She isn’t sure what answer she’s hoping for when she asks. “Why me? Why do you think I can do this?”
There’s a bit of silence on the other end that lingers for just a bit too long, long enough that Kate sits up to make sure the call is still active.
Then he answers. “Because the way you grew up, you had every chance in the world to become selfish and cruel and thoughtless of the world around you. Because I watched your whole world fall apart and you still only cared about helping people and doing the right thing. And that’s what this mission requires. I can't tell you why, that’s not my place. But there is nobody better suited for this right now than you.”
She’s a fucking mess, but for the first time in forever it feels like her life makes sense again. “I’m gonna do it.” She says, “I have to figure out some stuff. Like my job and my dog and…Eleanor.” The name sounds wrong on her tongue, but sometimes calling her mom just doesn’t feel right.
“We’ll figure all that out. Give your confirmation to Fury and he’s going to take you to one of the facilities where all of this is happening. Bring Lucky, I’ll take him back to the farm while you’re gone so you don’t have to worry.”
Yep, he’s determined to make her cry. “You’ll be there?”
“You think I’m sending you to space without a few more lessons? No chance, Hawkeye.”
---------------------------
It’s all a whirlwind after that. Fury doesn’t stop by again like before, but he messages her (she doesn’t even bother to wonder how he got her number) and then a vehicle shows up at her apartment to pick her up - but only after the driver (and someone related to SHIELD) tell her to pack as many essentials as she can.
Of course, Kate gathers up her clothes and toiletries. She asks about food (they have that covered). She asks about her weapon (they have that covered too) and when she leashes Lucky they try to tell her the dog can't come and Kate snaps back that someone will be taking him and hopes her tone lets it be known that she wasn't going to leave Lucky alone.
Everything happens in such a rush, and suddenly Kate is sitting in the back of a very large black SUV, with her suitcase at her side and Lucky between her legs and it’s all very real.
She’s scared, that’s the only way to put it. She barely had the chance to tell Herman that she couldn't work for him anymore and Doug wasn't there yet to say goodbye to.
That’s not even to mention her mom, who she asked if she could contact and was told to wait. Just wait. Wait until we arrive. Wait until we know more. Wait.
It doesn’t feel like waiting when she’s being driven out of the city. Before nine in the morning.
The drive is long, and the two agents in the car with her don’t speak to her and barely speak to each other. Kate would try normally, but her head is all over the place and she seems to be having a competition over who is more restless with Lucky.
By the time they actually seem to make it to their location, Kate feels itchy all over and needs out of this car.
However, her whole world starts to narrow as they reach the base, because instead of going into the main building (which looks huge and very cool), the car actually goes underground.
“Holy shit,” Kate breathes and then has to soothe Lucky when he starts to whine a little as the interior gets dark. That only lasts a little bit though as suddenly the tunnely they’re going under lights up like something out of a spy movie. Lights start above them and seemingly move faster than they’re driving, racing along the roof and illuminating the rest of it before they’re out of sight.
The tunnel itself stretches longer than Kate would expect, it’s like they’re literally driving into the center of a mountain or something.
Finally, they make a turn and that’s when Kate actually sees where they’re heading. It looks like a hanger - with a vast and open layout, there are various spaces with rows of computers that have people working on them and so many people walking around who all look extremely busy.
Then, at the center of it all, she sees the ship. The giant fucking spaceship that’s apparently going to carry her off the planet and start her journey to being an Avenger.
Seeing the ship itself, with its long wings and thick hull, the nose rounded and all of it looking straight out of a movie - Kate can only think of how bland it is. “Where are the SHIELD logos?”
“Technically, SHIELD no longer exists,” one of the agents who picked her up says - the first words they’ve spoken to her the entire ride. “And we are not looking to broadcast our presence to the world.”
It occurs to Kate more and more with each new thing she learns, that space is a lot more inhabited than she thought.
When they finally park, Kate’s not sure who is more ready to get out of the car between her and Lucky. They both pile out, and Kate watches Lucky shake like he’s been desperate for hours and she feels the itch to follow suit and do a full body shake herself.
Even more so when she’s out of the car, Kate just takes in the sight of this place. It’s huge. The ceilings feel like an entire football field of length above her and there are levels that go up all around the outside of the facility with various rooms and offices, places where she can only assume people do research.
You’d never know this place existed unless you drove in the very specific way they did and Kate can only wonder how many more places like this exist.
“Ms. Bishop?” She turns at the call of her name (her mom’s name really) and sees two men looking very MIB with their suits and sunglasses walk over to her. “We can take your luggage and your dog. Director Fury wants to see you upstairs.”
The man, who is a typical douchebag looking guy with a buzzcut and an impatient tone, goes to reach for Lucky’s leash and Kate pulls it back. “I’m good,” she says and the one guy looks to the other and then back to her.
“You can't take the animal upstairs.”
“His name is Lucky, and I’m not handing him over to someone I don’t know.”
Now she can see him start to get upset, which only makes her feel less inclined to give Lucky to him. “Time is short, and we have a mission to complete. You need to go see Fury and the dog cannot-”
“Why don’t you two go harass Walker some more and leave her alone.”
Kate’s entire world refocuses when Clint pops into view. He’s here and when he sees her he smiles and Kate feels a wave of emotion hit her. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed him.
Moving past the two men, who both seem to lock up as soon as they notice Clint, Kate falls into his arms and hugs him. The impact is enough to make Clint chuckle a little and when he holds her, Kate sinks into it.
She hasn't been held in a while, and when he tries to pull back a bit, Kate holds on tighter. It’s embarrassing as hell, but she’ll worry about that later. For now, she just…missed him.
“Alright, kid.” Clint pats her gently on the back and then finally Kate realizes this is too much and forces herself to let him go. She doesn’t stray too far though and thankfully, his hands still lingering on her shoulder tells Kate that he doesn’t mind. He looks past her to the men and then shakes his head. “I’ll be taking the dog, you can take her bags to her room.”
Kate looks back as they nod and both of them (she has no idea why it takes two of them to drag her two very normal suitcases but whatever), before refocusing on Clint. “My room? I don’t understand. How long am I staying here?”
“Just a few days so they can get you up to speed and do some space training - everything is kind of on the ticking clock so you’re going to be busy.”
That brings the weight of her hurried morning back to her, and all the things she wanted to do. “Will I have time to see my mom?”
“Do you want to?” Clint asks, like he can see the dilemma swimming around in her head. Because she honestly has no idea.
“Shouldn’t I?”
At that, he merely shrugs, “that’s up to you, Kate. But…if you want to you’re going to have to say it pretty soon because you launch in three days.”
Holy fuck this is really happening. “Three days? That’s so soon, I don’t even know if I packed right like…I brought warm clothes, they say space is cold but I don’t know if spaceships are cold, you know? And I only brought one bottle of toothpaste and I was thinking on the way over here like…one bottle for a year? That’s dumb. Will they have extra? Can I even brush my teeth? Or rinse? Is there water?”
She’s rambling because she’s severely out of her element and when that happens her brain usually works overtime trying to force things to make sense. This though, none of it does.
“Trust me, all of that will be sorted out. They’re not going to send you up there without all the bases covered. Both of you will be fine.”
Both of you. Right because she’s not going alone. Someone is going with her and she still doesn’t know who.
That’s when she sees the way Clint is looking at her, like he’s specifically said this to remind her of that fact. Like maybe, finally, she’ll figure out who is going with her. “You know, don’t you? You know who's coming with me.”
“Well he should, he practically begged me.” That voice, the accent, all of it sends a tremble down Kate’s spine. She’s seen that face outside of her work on that stupid billboard for months and yet when she turns around, the sight of her in person still makes her stomach flip.
“Yelena,” Kate breaths. Her hair is longer than the pictures and a little messier. She’s wearing blue eyeliner, a series of varying length necklaces and an extremely tight sweater that hugs every curve of her body. “You…you’re here.”
Maybe it’s Kate’s bashful, uncertain tone or maybe the weight of all of this really is making her pale - but Yelena’s sassy disposition fades a bit when Kate calls her name.
“I’m here, and so are you.”
Kate swallows the lump in her throat. She is so very gay. “You’re going to space?”
Yelena smiles a little, “so it would seem.”
Before Kate can say anything else or really even process how her whole life has been turned on its head, Fury’s voice booms over the loudspeaker. “If you all don’t mind I’ve been sitting up here waiting to give this briefing for thirty minutes.”
“You should go,” Clint says, taking Lucky’s leash from Kate (and that’s when Kate sees that Yelena had been petting him the whole time). “Fury gets cranky when you make him wait and it’s really annoying when he’s cranky.”
“Come on, Kate Bishop.” Yelena hooks her arm through Kate’s and starts dragging her away like they’re best friends. “Let’s go be big heroes.”