Notes: Welcome back! As promised, here I am, continuing this universe. If you're new, let me catch you up: This is an AU with a tiny Clint (de-aged a bit from the comics universe for reasons you will see shortly) and his new mom, K, a character of Canucklehead Cowgirl's who is frankly amazing.

In this volume, now that the Barton boys are more or less settled... it's time to throw a wrench in the works.

Chapter 1: The Net Is Closing

Clint liked Barney's new mentor.

Miranda was tall and had long, dark hair. She liked to wear long coattails like a magician that flew out behind her when she spun, and she let Barney pick the purple lining of his costume.

And best of all, she was nice.

It wasn't the kind of sickly sweet nice some of the other adults in the circus tried to be to the younger kids, with candies and smiles and baby talk. Miranda was just… nice. She talked to Clint and seemed genuinely interested when he said he wanted to be Robin Hood. And K had even pointed out how much Barney had grown. Not just in his skills but physically…

Not getting the crap beat out of him was doing wonders for Barney.

And Miranda was nice enough to understand why K and Clint wanted to know more about her. She had been totally open to going out to eat with them and was willing to answer questions. There was something comforting about listening to K interrogate her, too. Like it was further proof that K cared even if Jacques was gone.

Not that Clint didn't know that. It was just nice to see it.

Miranda, too, was open and honest. The ringmaster had let her in on some of the history, so she had been sure to tell K that she had been snatched up as a child and taken to an institute that had been destroyed when another, more powerful mutant escaped. She had run away in the chaos and found a home in the circus — and never looked back.

"I've known Paul, the ringmaster, for years, ever since we were kids," she said.

"That had to be a shock, then — breaking out after a stretch of time only to end up near an old friend," K said with her brows furrowed.

Miranda shook her head lightly. "I ran to Paul; I knew I could trust him."

K rested her chin in her hand and arched one eyebrow as a crooked smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. "Oh. Did you now?"

Miranda let out a light laugh. "What can I say? Childhood best friends are irreplaceable."

"Mmhmm," K said, nodding slowly once. "So, what do you think you can teach Barney? I have a solid start on him, in spite of Jacques insistence on being a pain."

Miranda smiled. "Well, I was always more of a fencer than a projectile weapons master — but he is quite the knife wielder."

"He's worked hard to get where he is, skills-wise," K replied, watching Barney as she said it — and Barney, for his part, looked pleased with himself, even if he was also fairly red-faced from the high praise.

"I practice every day," he promised earnestly.

Miranda smiled. "We have a schedule. Every morning, we practice on a cycle. Knives, swords, and bows. He will be doing his own act soon enough; I can do swords, and he can do distance. One day, he might even help me pull off a sliced arrow trick," she added with a little laugh.

"I'm sure he'd enjoy that," K said, shaking her head before she let out a little sigh. "We don't know when we'll be through. So there's not usually any warning between. I hope that won't be an issue for you."

Miranda looked surprised. "No, of course not," she said. "Circus life is always unpredictable. And I don't dictate what he does after the shows; he usually plays with the other kids."

"In that case, I look forward to the next time we meet up," K said before she looked to Barney. "What do you think, big guy?"

Barney smiled shyly. "I think I am learning swordplay pretty fast," he said. "I like it."

"I'm not surprised in the least," K said easily.

"Me either," Clint piped up quickly. "You're gonna be the best ever, Barney."

When dinner was over, the little group began to walk back toward the car that Miranda had borrowed from Paul to get there. She'd parked well off from the rest of the cars in the lot, and the two women were chatting easily between themselves when very suddenly, K stopped and blinked a few times. Her lips were parted, and her brows drawn together as she looked up and turned — in time for a second dart to hit her.

"Run," she said quietly before she started to head forward again herself — though she was trying very hard to keep from letting her heart get away from her as more darts found their target. "Get out of here," she called out a little louder — not up to the same spot the other three were still.

It was pretty clear, though, that she was having some trouble, and they weren't quite to the car before she had to adjust her stance, setting her feet wider to keep from falling over as she ducked for cover behind someone's van. K leaned her head back against the side panel, but when she heard the far-off movement of the group moving in to pick her up, she realized she wasn't getting up on her own. Her limbs were getting heavier by the second, and she simply didn't have the energy; she simply let her arms slide off of her lap as she leaned back.

Clint had of course ignored Miranda when she told the boys to get in the car and rushed over to K. "Mom?" he asked, looking concerned.

Miranda narrowed her eyes before she headed back. "Clint, come on."

"Go with your brother," K said thickly, though her eyes were barely open, and her tone was very soft.

"Come on, Mom," Clint said. "You too!"

When it was clear Clint was not going to leave K, Miranda crouched down to pull K up, one arm under K's shoulders as she let out an oof. "You are heavier than you look," she said as she started to pull K along.

Clint ducked under K's arm as well, his eyes wide, clearly trying to help, before the too-loud voice of a nearby soldier rang out: "Step away from her. You don't know what she is capable of. She's incredibly dangerous."

Miranda raised an eyebrow as she faced the soldiers, looking confused as she let out a string of words that Clint didn't understand. It must have been a different language, but it didn't sound like Swedish or French or anything.

The soldiers looked frustrated by Miranda's response, and Clint could hear the terrifying sound of guns around them, a clear message to Miranda in any language.

"Don't you hurt her," Clint blurred out, his lip trembling but his chin thrust out.

"Tell your mom to step away from the girl, kid," one of the soldiers said. "We won't ask again."

Clint took in a breath and shrank back, shaking his head and nearly hiding in K's side.

"Clint," Miranda said softly.

"But—"

"Clint." Miranda's tone was sharp and got him to look up quickly. She met his gaze and tipped her head to the car, and he shook his head again.

But just as the soldiers stepped forward, something landed at Clint's feet, and then there was a flash of light, and Clint could feel himself being lifted off his feet.

He clung onto K tighter and refused to let go, his eyes squeezed shut. He was so scared that he couldn't hear anything but his heart pounding in his ears. All he knew was that he was not going to let anyone take his mom away from him.

Not again.

He was so focused on holding on that he didn't really know what was going on. He felt leather underneath him and movement, but it wasn't until someone put a hand on his arm that his eyes snapped open and he was ready to fight—

It was Barney.

"It's okay," Barney said, speaking slowly and signing it as well. "It's okay. I had a flashy thing from the show."

Clint picked his head up a little more to see that he was in Miranda's car, and she was driving as fast as she could. "Did we get away?"

"Not yet," Miranda said, still driving fast as they went around the corner.

Clint frowned at that and held onto K a little tighter, though he was surprised when Miranda didn't go straight back to the circus, instead veering off a side road and onto a dirt path shrouded in trees. She quickly shut off the car and motioned for the boys to be silent before she turned to look at K, who was clearly struggling with the effects of the drug — but not quite as badly as before.

Silently, Miranda slipped out of the car and headed to the edge of the dirt path. Clint had his nose nearly to the window as he watched, completely unsure what she was doing, until he saw her uproot a tree and simply lay it in the path, blocking it from access from the main road.

Clint glanced to Barney. "Did you know she could do that?"

Barney shook his head quickly. "News to me."

Clint raised both eyebrows but didn't say anything further as the two of them watched Miranda head back to the car, looking serious as she looked K over and let out a breath. "Alright. They shouldn't see the road, but I'm going to stay with you guys a little longer," she said. "I'll tell Paul to report the car stolen when we get back so they can't trace it back to him, and you can take it in the meantime," she told K

"Got a ride back there," K replied.

Miranda nodded and looked over the boys. "I can take these two back—"

"No way," Clint said quickly. "I'm not leaving my mom. No way."

"It's okay, Clint," K said in a slow meter. "You'd be safer if you want to stay with Barney …"

Clint shook his head harder. "I'm not gonna leave you," he said. "We're family; we gotta stick together!"

"I don't know how they found me though," K said. "They were downwind even."

Miranda put a hand on Barney's shoulder. "It's no problem, Clint; we could let you stay with us until your mom is safe."

"No." Clint crossed his arms and looked even more adamant — though his tone was anxious and it was clear that the very idea had him on the edge of panicking. "I finally got a mom, and I ain't gonna let her go."

K let out a little breath and pulled him over into a tight bear hug. "I just need to know where this came from."

"I… I bet one of Jacques' friends said something," Barney said quietly, his eyes wide. "They were real mad about how that went down and how the ringmaster kicked 'em out."

"Are they still with the circus?" K asked, barely loosening her grip on Clint.

Miranda shook her head. "No, Paul cleaned out the cast. He's not going to tolerate anyone that enabled Jacques."

K pulled back enough to look Clint in the face. "That actually complicates things."

Clint met her gaze. "I won't let 'em get you," he promised quietly.

"You might want to stay away from the circus for a while if they know you're attached," Miranda said.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," K agreed. "But I don't want to keep these two apart."

Barney took a deep breath as he looked between K and Clint and then straightened up a little and shook his head. "Don't worry 'bout it," he said. "As long as you come get me for holidays and stuff, right? Like Christmas?" He gave K a brilliant smile that he was obviously trying to make brighter than normal to keep her from feeling too bad about the separation.

K nodded. "If I have to put on witch makeup, I will."

Clint smiled at that. "You could have a green face," he laughed.

"That's what I'm thinking. It will be Halloween," K reasoned. "I'll wear a dress and use stilts so I'm taller." She cracked a little smile Barney's way. "Even without makeup, the stilts might do it."

Barney nodded. "You just… you just keep Clint safe, okay, Aunt K?" he said, still with that same little forced smile. "I'll be just fine with Miranda and everybody, really."

K let out a weary sigh and waved Barney over. "I'm sorry about this, buddy."

Barney shook his head quickly. "It ain't your fault," he said. "That's what you're always telling me, right? Can't take responsibility for bad people."

Clint nodded. "Yeah, that's what you say."

"Doesn't make it feel any less like it's my issue," K pointed out. "But we'll see you as soon as we can."

Barney nodded. "Maybe I'll surprise you with how good I am when you come back!" he said.

"We'll keep him safe," Miranda promised, making sure to meet K's gaze. "If anyone comes asking questions, he's my nephew. Paul will back me up."

"If you run across anyone with three slashes across their face — don't even talk to them," K advised.

"That's not too hard to find," Barney said.

"We might scout out a few stops ahead of you," K said. "If you see three lines at your venue … at least you'll know we've been through."

"Looking out for you," Clint said with a small smile. "Because we gotta watch out for each other."

"We have such a weird family," Barney said, shaking his head.

"Break a leg, Barney," K said before she kissed his temple.

"Don't break anything yourself," Barney said with a little smile.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Yeah, I won't let it," Clint agreed.

Barney smirked and reached over to shove Clint in the shoulder. "Of course."

"Alright," K said. "I have an idea. But you're going to have to trust me, Clint."

Clint nodded seriously, his eyes wide. "Whatcha got?"

"Miranda can move the tree, and you three head back. I'll take a different path to get to the Jeep — just to make sure they didn't wire it or anything, alright? We'll head out — but I want them to see you with your brother and Miranda."

Clint frowned and shrank a little more into K's side. "But I wanna stay with you," he said.

"And you will. I won't go anywhere but to the Jeep," she promised.

"And that way, the bad guys will think you went with me," Miranda explained gently. "They won't be looking for you." She smiled encouragingly. "That's good. That means they won't be looking for a mom and her son."

Clint bit his lip as he thought about it. "Like…. I get to be your cover again?" he asked K.

"As long as they don't know you're with me? Yeah," K agreed.

Clint nodded at that. "Okay. I can do that," he said, and Barney gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

"See you soon," Barney told K.

"Just act like everything is normal without me around. They'll probably expect all of you to look anxious after that."

"Pretty sure we won't have to do too much acting on that part," Barney said with a little smile.

"I'll make sure to keep them both close," Miranda said. She met Clint's gaze. "I'll be acting like an upset aunt — is it okay if I hug you both like I'm worried?"

Clint nodded. "Yeah, we can do that."

"See you soon," K said before she gave both boys a quick hug and then took a moment to make sure she was back to herself. "If they stop you, or ask you questions, don't tell them anything. Make it work. Whatever you come up with." She winked at Clint and thanked Miranda before she positively disappeared into the forest without a sound — moving at a near-dead run.

Miranda took a moment to make sure that K had some good distance before she turned to the boys. "If they stop us, let me do a little of the talking. I can do a passable Romanian confused aunt. And if they ask you anything, you boys are my nephews, and K was a nice woman who didn't like Jacques." She gave Barney a look in particular. "You — you don't know why she defended you, but you're very glad she did."

Barney nodded quickly. "Got it. Mysterious hero, right?"

"Right," Miranda said with a smirk before she slipped out to quickly move the tree and get back to the car. She set her jaw as she headed out to the road and then kept driving until they got back to the circus.

When they arrived, they were upset to see that there were already several soldiers there. Paul was talking with a few of them, and both of the Barton boys could see the other mutants in the show trying to look smaller, obviously nervous.

"Stay close," Miranda whispered to the boys, one hand on each of their shoulders.

She didn't have to tell them twice, and both Barton boys were keeping close as several soldiers approached the group of them, and Clint couldn't help but hold onto Miranda a little tighter - worried that he was going to get K in trouble somehow.

"Where did she go?" one of the soldiers demanded.

Miranda frowned at the soldiers and gestured to their guns, once again speaking a language that it didn't look like the soldiers understood.

When the soldier took a step forward, Barney swallowed and shook his head. "She says she doesn't want to get anyone in trouble," he said softly.

"That woman is dangerous," the soldier snapped.

"She was real nice to me," Barney said quietly, and Miranda pulled him a little closer to her.

The soldier frowned between the three of them. "We need to know where she's gone. No matter how nice she might have seemed, she's more dangerous than you know. She could have killed you all."

"Really?" Clint asked, his eyes wide and his voice soft.

"How did you cross paths with that woman?" the soldier asked, still glaring at the group of them.

Clint and Barney glanced at each other before Clint cleared his throat. "She… she helped me and my brother," he said quietly. "Stopped … she didn't want no one hitting us."

He frowned deeper, and the corner of his mouth tightened up. "Tell me what happened, son."

Clint glanced at Barney again before he took a deep breath. "She um…" He bit his lip. "Jacques beat the crap outta my brother and — and she made him stop." He tipped his head toward Barney. "Show 'im, Barn," he said, raising one eyebrow toward his brother and hoping Barney would follow his lead.

Barney looked frustrated — he didn't like people to see that he'd been hurt — but he rolled his eyes and then rolled up his shirt a little, revealing the still-yellow marks. "He's not lyin'," Barney said before he rolled his shirt back down.

"Looks old, kid," the soldier replied.

Barney nodded. "Nobody's seen him for a while," he said. "And she came to check on me, so …" He glanced up at Miranda. "My aunt wanted to thank her and treat her to dinner for taking care of me."

"She seemed real nice," Clint put in. "She showed me how to hold my pocket knife." He reached into his pocket and produced the knife with a shy smile. "See?"

The soldier frowned at the knife in Clint's hand and nodded slowly. "You really shouldn't talk to dangerous strangers, kid. That woman is an assassin and the next closest thing to a rabid animal."

Clint frowned at that and held onto his knife tighter. "She … are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he replied. "We got a hold of the body of Jacques Dusquene, and there were marks there that matched up with her style perfectly." He tipped his chin up. "A rational person would turn him into the authorities. Not murder him in cold blood."

Barney glanced at Clint. "So… so he's dead? Like, dead?"

"Three holes in his shoulder, one that cut an artery there and one through his heart. Yes. He's very dead."

"That's gross," Clint said, wrinkling his nose.

"Shuddup, Clint," Barney said, watching the soldier with his eyes as wide as they could get. "We just… we just wanted to help," he said. "We didn't know she's a bad guy."

"I already told you gentlemen that if you needed something, you should come to me," Paul said as he joined the group. He put a bracing hand on Barney's shoulder and pulled Clint over next to him. "We don't want any trouble. We can't afford the kind of attention you're giving us either, so … if you want anything else, you just have to tell me what it is."

When the soldier frowned between the four of them for a while longer, Clint turned his head into Paul's side and let out a little whimpering sound and started to let his shoulders shake, keeping his face hidden.

The soldier seemed to lose some of his glare at that and took half a step back. "If she shows up again, we need to know immediately. It's not like her to show up at any place like this more than once. Not unless she's after something."

"I won't let her near my family," Paul said, meeting the soldier's gaze. "I have your card. Now if you'll excuse me…" He scooped Clint up, making sure to keep a hand on the back of his head. "I need to take care of my crew."

The group of them headed back to Paul's trailer, and they waited until the soldiers had moved on before Clint picked up his head, his cheeks perfectly dry, and Paul chuckled and ruffled Clint's hair. "Smart move, kiddo."

Clint grinned. "Grown-ups don't know how to deal with crying kids," he said.

"Especially not men like that," Miranda said, shaking her head, one hand still on Barney's shoulder.

"Still." Paul smirked at Clint. "That was good acting. You sure you don't want to join up?"

"I'm good," Clint said. "I just wanna stay with my mom."

Paul nodded at that. "We'll keep an eye out for her. If she said she was going to come back for you, she will."

It was still several hours before the soldiers seemed to slowly disappear — though it looked like they went all at once. Clint spotted one on a rooftop near the grounds with a rifle ... watching. But when he nervously checked to see if the guy was still up there half an hour later ... the rooftop was empty.

All the lights were off but for a few little nightlights in the trailer as he waited — honestly starting to wonder if K wasn't coming back … when Sicem nuzzled his head under Clint's hand suddenly.

"Took a little longer than I expected," K said quietly.

Clint let out a little noise before he threw himself into a hug. "I thought you mighta forgotten me," he muttered into the hug.

"Not a chance," she replied, wrapping him up a little better. "I just had to make sure all of the ones they left to watch weren't watching anymore."

Clint nodded, hugging her tighter. "They were really unhappy you weren't there."

"Yeah, I saw," K said, nodding.

"I scared 'em off, though," Clint said, picking his head back up. "They're scareda crying kids."

"I doubt they're scared of crying kids," K said. "They just don't know how to react to crying kids."

Clint nodded. "Paul said I'm a real good actor. Pretty cool, right?"

"I'm not surprised," she said, nodding. "But we'll have to get moving pretty quickly here unless you want to stay. Did anyone get hurt?"

Clint shook his head. "Lotsa people were scared, but everybody's okay, I think," he promised, grabbing her hand. "C'mon. Let's get you outta here so they don't come try and hurt you, okay?"

"We've got a few hours," K replied. "Should be enough to make some distance and change cars."

"Okay. Lemme just tell Miranda so she doesn't think I disappeared," Clint whispered, rushing off to go do just that — and get a hug for his troubles and a warning to be careful before he rushed back to K, climbing into the Jeep with her and Sicem.

K was quiet for a little while as she got them out of the area, though Clint gave her a sidelong glance, bit his lip, and tried for a small smile. "Don't worry," he said. "Me and Barney used to get split all the time. We're gonna be just fine."

"It's just cruel," she replied in a flat tone.

Clint frowned and shook his head. "I'm okay. Are you okay? You got some blood on you," he said, gesturing to her shirt.

"Yeah," K said, glancing down at herself. "It's not mine. I'm fine."

Clint frowned down at his hands for a moment. "Didja kill someone again?" he asked.

"No. I just injured them enough to end their careers hunting mutants."

Clint nodded, glancing up at her again. "They said ... they said you kill people."

She nodded lightly. "I have. But rarely was it ever my idea. They made me do all kinds of things, and killing was on the list."

"That's not right," Clint said, frowning harder. "People shouldn't make you do things that aren't right."

"That's part of why I'm not letting them catch me if I can help it," she agreed. "I know they can make me, so I'm trying not to let them get the chance to."

Clint nodded and then let his shoulders drop. "I was real scared," he admitted. "There's lots of them, and they had guns and stuff."

"I'll have to do better to keep them from getting around you then," she replied, frowning lightly.

Clint shook his head. "I can take 'em! I can! I just… I just gotta get bigger," he added softer.

"You shouldn't have to take them," K said.

"Well, they shouldn'ta made you do bad stuff," Clint said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That's what they do, honey," K said.

"That's wrong," Clint said. "I don't like them, and I'm gonna get real good and shoot 'em next time they try and get you."

"You're darling," she said before she rested her hand on his shoulder, letting Clint curl up with her until he felt a little less like the world was ending.