Chapter Text
Grace opened the door to her apartment with a sigh, walking in and putting her backpack on the counter. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, she slumped at the sparse groceries inside. Ever since her father had been hospitalized, she’d had to get by on her own, all the while avoiding CPS’s involvement. Since he was not capable of taking care of her, they’d place her somewhere else.
And she did not want that.
She debated calling her dad to see how he was doing, then stopped herself. She’d called him this morning. He didn’t need her constant nagging.
A small noise coming from her bedroom made her freeze. There was someone in there. She crept down the hall, eyes narrowing at the light coming from her room. Why would they be in there? Narrowing her eyes, she crouched down before disappearing in a blink of amber light.
Inside her bedroom, she reappeared, hooking her legs around the neck of the intruder and sending them to the ground with a pained groan.
She flashed up, putting a knee on their chest with a snarl before paling as she saw the intruder’s face.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She apologized to Hawkeye, releasing him immediately. Clint chuckled and took her outstretched hand.
“No, no. Don’t apologize. I’m the one who broke in. Your reaction was pretty appropriate.” He scanned her. “Though, if you’re trying to keep your identity secret, I’d suggest covering your face next time.” Grace blushed in embarrassment.
“Right.” She cleared her throat. “So what can I do for you Mr. Hawkeye? Sir? It’s totally an honor to meet you, by the way. You’re awesome.” She stumbled over her words in nervousness.
Clint chuckled. “Thanks. I came because there’s something that I could potentially need your help with.”
Grace’s eyes bulged. “My help? What could you possibly need me for?”
Clint smiled, sitting on her bed and patting the spot next to him as he pulled out his phone, Grace plopping down next to him. “My kids were showing me this youtube video the other day, of this masked person evacuating a derailed train.” He pulled up the video, showing somebody videoing the train, which was headed right for the water. Gasps and screams of terror came from the people inside as the conductor frantically tried to pull the brakes.
Suddenly, a flash of amber light appeared and a girl in dark goggles that obscured her identity, wearing a black suit with amber accents that clung tightly to her figure appeared. It had a honey colored accent on the front that was v shaped, the sides of the letter reaching up to her cleeves that exposed her upper arm, the shoulder slightly pointed. Her gloves reached over her elbow, covering the rest of her arm. On her feet she wore wedge heels which were clearly more for aesthetic than anything.
She surveyed the train, then grabbed a little girl and her mother, disappearing in a flash of amber light then reappearing almost immediately. She grabbed a man, doing the same. Soon the video only consisted of flashes of amber light and finally whoever was holding the camera was on the sidewalk below, videoing as the amber light kept appearing in the train, and a new person would land on the sidewalk. Less than thirty seconds later the train was empty and the masked person appeared on the sidewalk as they all watched the now empty train barrel through the last barrier into the bay.
The girl turned to the crowd, scanning everyone for injuries before saluting the camera and disappearing in a flash of light.
“That’s you.” Clint said and she fidgeted uncomfortably before nodding.
“Yeah.”
He smiled. “So how does this work, can you appear anywhere or…”
“Well,” Grace started. “Usually it has to be in eyesight. But if I know the place I’m going really well, I don't have to see it. Or if I’ve already been there.” She smiled. “One time, I accidentally went to Hawaii. I landed in the middle of nowhere where I’d gone hiking with my parents when I was like eight, and this giant spider started crawling up my arm, so I panicked, and the next second I was in my room again.”
Clint smiled. “So if you were ever in a sticky situation, you can just come right home?” She nodded. “How would you feel about taking a trip to Germany to stop the release of some master assassins?”
Grace jumped to her feet. “Germany?” She sputtered. “Wha-why do you want me to go to Germany?”
The older man got to his feet. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Oh it’s not that I don’t want to! It’s just, why me?” She asked. “Don’t you guys know like a million super people?”
Clint smirked, holding up her tinted goggles which she’d modified to stick to her face like a mask, the shape sleek and pointed to look less like the welding goggles they were made from.
“Because you can hit somebody and be gone in less than a second, leaving them none the wiser. And what’s harder to hit than something that’s already gone?” He smirked. “And we need somebody who can get us somewhere faster. You wouldn’t actually meet the assassins, by the way. No, you’re not ready for something like that. ” He handed her the goggles, seeing her dumbstruck face. “I can call your dad and ask him to sign a permission slip if you want.” He teased.
“No!” Grace blurted. “My dad doesn’t know about–” She gestured to herself, a faint amber energy flowing from her before it faded away again. “–this. He can’t know. It would actually kill him.” At Clint’s confused look, she elaborated. “My dad has Congestive Heart Failure. He’s stable right now, but if he found out his daughter had superpowers and was jumping into dangerous situations, he wouldn’t be able to take the stress.” Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes that she blinked away. “I want to go to Germany. I can go to Germany. My dad’s going to be in the hospital for at least a few more days while he waits for a transplant, so he won’t know I’m gone. Please, you can’t tell him.”
Clint put away his phone, his face understanding. “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed. Now I know you have a suit around here somewhere. Grab it and let’s go. I’ll explain more about the situation on the way.”
Grace immediately scrambled around her room, grabbing essentials she’d need before reaching under her bed and pulling out a neatly folded suit.
“How did you get that, by the way?” Clint asked. “Because that looks a lot like the same materials that I know Tony used to make Nat’s suit.” At Grace’s guilty look he let out a bark of laughter. “You stole it?”
“I needed something better than a hoodie and leggings, and I figured if I grabbed a little fabric, Mr. Stark wouldn’t notice.” She stuffed it into her bag along with her mask. “And well, nobody’s come knocking on my door till now, so I figured I was in the clear. It’s not like I stole nuclear plans or an Iron Man suit.” She defended.
Clint gaped at her. “Well kid, if I wasn’t impressed before, I am now. And why did you make it so tight?”
Grace slung her bag over her shoulder. “After I got my abilities, I realized that I could suddenly do like, acrobatic stuff I couldn’t do before. I needed something that would give me the best range of motion possible. So I blended the material with a gymnast’s leotard to make it work better for me.”
Clint laughed. “That’s awesome. C’mon, we gotta go.”
Grace grinned. “Germany or bust?”
“Well,” Clint paused. “We actually have one more stop to make.”
~0~
An explosion rocked through the avengers compound and Wanda’s blood ran cold. “What is it?” She asked as Vision floated next to her.
“Stay here, please.” Was all the android said before he phased through the wall to investigate.
A small noise behind her had her telekinetically grabbing a knife from the cutting board, shooting it at the intruder and stopping an inch from their face. There stood Clint, seeming completely at ease with a knife pointed at his eye.
He smirked. “I guess I shoulda knocked. That’s the second time today I’ve been attacked for doing that.”
“Oh my god,” She breathed, the red energy around the weapon disappearing as she dropped the knife, walking toward her. “What are you doing here?”
“Disappointing my kids.” He shot an arrow into the wall, followed by another in the opposite wall. Then he typed a quick text on his phone, but didn’t press send. “We were supposed to go water skiing. Cap needs our help, c’mon.” He then grabbed Wanda’s hand and began to pull her toward the door.
“Clint,” The Vision said as he phased through the wall, glaring at the archer. “You should not be here.”
Clint stopped, turning to face the android. “Really? I retire for what, like five minutes, and it all goes to shit.”
The Vision began moving forward. “Please consider the consequences of your actions.”
Clint glanced at the two arrows. “Okay, they’re considered.” The arrows sparked with electricity before catching Vision, immobilizing him momentarily in an electric field. “Okay, we gotta go.” He grabbed Wanda’s hand and began to pull her toward the door again but she stayed put. “It’s this way.” He pointed at the door.
Wanda fiddled with her sleeve anxiously. “I’ve caused enough problems.”
Clint sighed before moving back to Wanda’s side. “You gotta help me, Wanda. Look, you wanna mope, you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass.” He swore as Vision blasted one of the arrows. He pulled out his phone.
He pressed send. The message read We need a quick exit. Eighth floor, east side. The windows are big. Great view.
He was pushed back by Vision, rolling and landing in a crouched position. “Any second now, kid.” Clint grinned when an amber light blinked outside the window. “There we go.” Vision hit Clint to the ground and moved forward to grab him in a chokehold when a flash of amber light temporarily blinded those in the room. Grace, now dressed in her suit and mask, jumped at Vision, delivering a roundhouse kick in the air. Vision stumbled back, glaring at the girl.
“Who are you?” Vision asked as the girl disappeared and reappeared, sliding down to kick him in the back of the knees. Vision let her phase through him and grabbed her by the neck. Grace smirked as they both disappeared and she grabbed his arm, throwing him at the wall.
“You can call me Venus.” She said and he flew at her, Clint and Wanda watching the scene anxiously, both nearly unable to keep up with the fight. She disappeared and appeared above him, grabbing his head and flipping backwards, disappearing again. They reappeared a millisecond later in the same spot, only turned at a different angle so Vision flew into the floor.
Vision recovered quickly, making himself more dense as she tried to punch him again, only for her to cry out as her fist met titanium. She was strong, but punching solid titanium will give anybody who isn’t prepared a nasty bruise at the very least. He grabbed her fist and then threw the girl to the side before charging at Clint.
Clint ran at Vision, trying to hit him, only for Vision to phase, making Clint stumble through him. He grabbed Clint by the throat, holding him in a chokehold.
“Clint, you can’t overpower me.” He said with a glare.
Clint waved at Grace, who had gotten to her feet to charge at Vision again, silently telling her to stand down. “I know I can’t.” He looked to Wanda, who now held a ball of energy in her hands. “But she can.”
“Vision, that’s enough. Let him go.” Vision had the audacity to look betrayed. “I’m leaving.”
“I can’t let you.” The android retorted. Grace watched with an open mouth as Wanda used the gem in his forehead against him, forcing him to release Clint. She flashed forward, helping him to his feet and he nodded in thanks.
“I’m sorry.” Wanda said, bringing him to his knees as the floor cracked. Grace’s eyes widened.
“If you do this,” Vision struggled to get the words out. “They will never stop being afraid of you.”
“I can’t control their fear. Only my own.” And with that, Wanda shot him through the floor. And the next floor. And the next. All the way to the bottom.
Grace and Clint looked into the hole, impressed. “Wow.” The younger girl breathed. “That was badass.” Clint and Wanda looked at her as she took off her mask, running a hand through her hair. “I’m Grace, by the way. Big fan.” She held out her gloved hand and Wanda shook it, a tiny smile creeping on her lips.
“Come on,” Clint said. “We got one more stop.” Grace grinned, placing a hand on their shoulders and with a small flash of amber light, the three disappeared.