Chapter 4
What did she do to deserve this? Hadn’t she been put through enough in life?
After dragging the unconscious body of Clint Barton to Kate Bishop's apartment, Yelena had to put up with Kate’s infatuation with the supposed hero - Barton was everything but a hero, Yelena thought.
She couldn’t understand Kate’s admiration. The guy was nothing but a coward.
Everyone around her should be thankful that Yelena had years of intensive training masking her emotions and keeping them well controlled. At the moment, she didn’t even know herself what she would be capable of if she were to unleash and act on her anger and frustrations.
Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be Clint Barton who had somehow found his way into this predicament?
Clint Barton: Hawkeye, Avenger, a hero….and her sister's best friend. At least that’s what Natasha had told her, and yet, he was the reason her sestra was dead.
If her sister hadn’t always spoken so highly of him, Yelena would have killed him a long time ago, but she promised herself not to disrespect Natasha's memories or her legacy. Disappointingly, Clint Barton was a big part of both.
He was the reason Yelena had to put up with this ridiculous job in the first place. When Valentina had approached her for a new hit, stating that it was Clint Barton who had killed her sister, Yelena wanted to take the job. It wasn’t fair that the man who was responsible for Natasha's death got so much time with her.
Even after they had found each other again, it was Clint Barton and the other Avengers her sister chose to go back to - What did they have that Yelena didn’t? Why wasn’t she enough? Why is she never enough?
Caught in her own grief and anger, the offer Valentina made her was like a golden opportunity. She could avenge her sister and maybe soothe her anger along the way. Yelena was close to accepting the hit, but she had to remind herself that that wasn’t who she was anymore.
After breaking free from mind control and regaining control of her life, she promised herself that she would do better. Now, make no mistake, she was no hero, and she definitely didn’t want to be – they were all such posers - but she didn’t want to be the cause of any more unnecessary deaths. So, with great effort, she declined the job.
Surprised by Yelena's answer, Valentina then offered her this job as a bodyguard. It's not something Yelena would ever consider doing, but then again, when Valentina starts threatening their partnership, it causes one to change their mind. Especially when there are still widows out there who need to be freed, who deserve a chance to create their own lives.
With the position she now found herself in, she was already beginning to regret her decision. First, the description of bodyguard was a joke. How had Kate put it? A Babysitter? Yes, that fit what she was doing far better. However, Yelena was a professional, so she continued to play her part.
Second, Yelena took this job to get away from Barton, and yet they ended up crossing paths anyway. This entire situation was frustrating. It was as if the Universe was laughing right in her face.
The only thing offering Yelena some semblance of comfort in this bewildering scenario was the presence of the dog that Kate Bishop had rescued. Dogs were a blessing in Yelena’s life, and she truly believed there was nothing as loyal and pure; they deserved the world.
This made her think of her own dog. She missed Fanny. It seemed like Fanny was the only one who could put a smile on her face these days. Yelena knew that no matter what, Fanny would always stay by her side. She didn’t have to worry about ulterior motives or someone needing something from her. Fanny was just happy to be there.
“I still don’t understand why you tied him to a chair. He’s a hero. He’s not going to hurt us.” Kate questioned, pacing back and forth.
“In case you forgot, Ms. Bishop, this man was about to attack you from behind. We don’t know what he is going to do when he wakes up,” Yelena rolled her eyes - how could Kate be this naive?
“I guess, but he’s one of the good guys. He’s not just going to attack us for no reason.” Kate tried to reason.
Yelena met Kate’s gaze, her expression hardening. “Good guy or not, we don’t know why he came after you. We don’t know his motives or what he’s truly capable of,” she replied, her tone firm and matter-of-fact.
Yelena knew what could happen if you underestimated an enemy. Sometimes they could surprise you. She would not take that chance with Barton. Even if he was supposed to be one of the good guys, they didn’t know his agenda, what secrets and shadows of his lurked beneath the surface. The world was too complex for it to be this simple.
Kate’s idealistic view and unwavering belief clashed with Yelena’s pragmatic realism. The Avenger title didn’t guarantee their safety, especially when personal vendettas and hidden agendas were at play.
“Look, I know you see him as a hero, but even heroes have their flaws. You don’t know him or what he has done, how many people he has hurt or killed.” Yelena reasoned.
“Oh, come on. He’s an Avenger. I’m sure he has made mistakes, but at the end of the day, he chose to help people. To make sacrifices to save the world,” Kate argued.
“Avenger? What does that word even mean? Do you know how many people suffered from his hands? How much pain even a supposed hero can cause?” Yelena rose, hands forming into fists.
“I’ll be back,” Yelena took a deep breath and headed towards the apartment door. “Do NOT under any circumstances untie him.”
She needed to get out of here. Away from this situation, away from him.
“Wait, Nadine…,” Kate started, knowing she had upset Nadine but not sure what she could say to make her stay. Kate’s struggles were broken by a groan.
The groan shifted both Yelena’s and Kate’s attention back to the waking form of Clint Barton – great, now Yelena had to actually deal with him.
“Ugh, where am I?” Clint's eyes fluttered open as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Confusion flickered across his face, replaced by a momentary realization as he noticed the restraints binding him to a chair.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” Clint's voice was gruff, his gaze locking onto Yelena, then Kate.
“Oh, I’m ….” Kate started excitedly but was disrupted by a hard cough from Yelena.
“We are not answering any question until we get some answers ourselves. Now, why don’t you tell us why you tried to attack my friend here?” Yelena questioned, pointing towards Kate.
“We’re friends?” Kate asked hopeful, to which Yelena shot her a glare – this was not the time to define their relationship, or if they even had one beyond her current employment.
Yelena focused back on Clint. “I would start answering the question. You’re not going anywhere until you do.”
“Why don’t you untie me, and we can have a civil conversation.”
“Ha, you tried to sneak up and attack us, remember? And you think we are just going to let you go? Very funny,” Yelena laughed but changed her demeanor back to a serious one very quickly.
“I don’t care that you are an Avenger. You are not getting out of that chair until I see fit. What were you doing helping the tracksuits?”
“Pff, tracksuits. That’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Kate commented.
“The tracksuits?” Clint's expression shifted from confusion to realization, his memory slowly piecing together the events that led to his current predicament.
“Look,” Clint let out with a sigh, “this is all just a big misunderstanding. I wasn’t helping the tracksuits. I didn’t know they were going to be there. I was just trying to get the suit.”
“The suit?” Yelena questioned.
“Yeah, Ronin's suit. The suit one of you was wearing. If you hand it over, I’ll be on my way, and we can forget this ever happened, all right?”
“Wait, you’re after the suit?” Kate interrupted a mix of surprise and confusion on her face. “Why do you want it?”
Clint hesitated, assessing the two women before him. "It's not something you need to worry about. I just need it back."
Yelena exchanged a skeptical glance with Kate. "You expect us to believe you just wanted the suit and had no idea about the tracksuits? Why should we trust you?"
"Because I'm not your enemy here. I've been trying to clean up my mess, and that suit is part of it," Clint replied, frustration evident in his voice.
Yelena crossed her arms, clearly unconvinced. "Cleaning up your mess? With a suit? How are we supposed to believe any of this?"
“You don’t have to believe me. All I want is the suit. If you give it to me, you won’t have to see me again.”
“We’ll see, but only if you tell us why the suit is so important,” Yelena stated.
“The suit has a lot of enemies, and in the wrong hands, it can cause a lot of harm,” Clint explained.
Yelena narrowed her eyes, studying Clint for any signs of deceit. “Enemies? Like the tracksuit?”
Clint nodded, his expression grim. “Among others. The suit has a history, a dark one. I don’t know why the tracksuits are after Ronin, but they are. The suit needs to be kept safe so no one is put in danger. But because one of you wore his suit, it seems like they are now after you too.”
“So, you attacked us just to get the suit?” Kate asked, still processing the information.
“I didn’t know a kid was wearing it,” Clint defended.
“Hey, I’m 22!” Kate exclaimed.
“Exactly.”
“ So, you're not here to harm us,” Yelena sighed, contemplating the situation. “Do we have to be worried about anyone else coming after us?”
“As far as I know, people believe the Ronin is back. So as long as no one has seen that one of you wore the suit and followed you here, you should be safe,” Clint reasoned.
“Ok, good,” Yelena replied shortly.
“ Since that’s all cleared up now, hi, I’m Kate, and that’s Nadine. I can’t believe you’re actually here right now. In my apartment. This is so cool. You’re my favorite Avenger.” Kate rambled excitedly, happy to have all the misunderstandings behind them. “You know, people have called me the world's greatest archer.”
“That’s nice, kid. Would you mind untying me now?” Clint asked.
“Oh yeah, totally,” Kate replied, moving to untie him. However, she wasn’t able to.
“Hey, Nadine, how the heck did you get this knot so tight? It won’t unit.”
Nadine walked over to inspect the knot and untied it with ease.
“What, how did you do that?” Kate asked in disbelief, while Clint gave his thanks as he stood up, rubbing his wrists that were sore from being bound together.
“Well, this has been fun, but I’d really like the suit now. Come to think of it, where did you even find it in the first place?” Clint questioned.
“Oh right, well, I kind of found it at an auction,” Kate answered on her way to get the suit.
“So, you stole it,” Clint surmised.
“What? No! I would never. I found this underground auction at my mom's fundraiser when these guys, the tracksuits? came crashing the party. Like literally. They had a bomb and guns. And then I saw the suit lying in the rubble and just decided to put it on.” Kate recollected the events.
“That’s … very stupid,” Clint commented.
“Hey! I was just trying to help people. How was I supposed to know people would come after me just because of the suit, “ Kate tried to justify herself.
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t have put it on in the first place, Ms. Bishop. You should have come and found me. That’s exactly what I’m here for.” Yelena remarked.
“Ms. Bishop? What are you, her butler? I thought you were friends.” Clint asked humorously.
“I am no one’s butler.”
“Okay…”
“Yeah, Nadine is not a butler. She’s my bodyguard. My mom thought I needed one, but I don’t. I’m fine on my own.” Kate explained.
“Yeah, right, because tonight went so well for you,” Yelena replied sarcastically.
“Hey, I took out like five of those guys at the auction and did it just fine,” Kate defended herself.
“That may be so, but then you let them trail and surround you. If I hadn’t shown up when I did, who knows what would have happened,” Yelena went on.
“Whatever, I’m gonna go get the suit now,” Kate mumbled defeatedly as she left to grab the suit.
“Yes, please. Thank you,” Clint let out in desperation, just wanting to go back to his kids and for this night to be over.
Kate, however, would not be able to bring Clint the suit, as a bottle was thrown into her apartment that lit everything on fire.