This directly follows events in my story Shadows. You don't have to read that story to get this one but if you want to know my take on how Clint's hearing was damaged just skip to chap.3 (of Shadows) for the details.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Shout out to ELOSHAZZY and Rose Demica! Eloshazzy had a brilliant idea that I am totally using and they both kickstarted my attempt at this story with their kind reviews. Thank you!

Rated T for language.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers...shocker right.

Bird On The Wire

By: GalInTheMoon

"Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it."-Hunter S. Thompson

Tony looked at the latest schematics coming in from Stark Industries. He was going to have to go down there and give the gang a little pep talk. This stuff was just unimaginative. The ice cubes shifted in his glass of scotch, reminding him of the drinks presence. He finished it off in one gulp before the ice cubes could melt any more than they already had. Waste not, want not, he thought as he walked over to the make shift mini-bar in his lab to refill his glass. He passed Banner who was deep into samples taken from a bad guy with a knack for disappearing...literally.

Tony paused, having heard steps coming, he watched a moment to see who it was. Clint walked through the doorway.

"Barton." Tony said as he walked back to his work station, placing the drink on its glass surface. "To what do we owe the honor?"

Clint nodded to Stark as he came in slowly, looking around at the floating graphs and numbers that surrounded Tony before catching sight of Banner, "Hey Bruce."

The doctor held up his hand before returning to work.

"Want a drink?" Tony asked.

"No thanks." He bit his lip as he continued to look around.

Tony watched him, curious, and followed his line of sight. "Come down here for the view?"

Clint glanced his way, "I uh...I thought we could talk about those arrowheads."

He had been pushing Clint to talk shop with him about some new tips. He was always ready for a new project and he saw a beautiful opportunity in Barton's weapon. After all, the man was walking around with little more than a stick and some string. It just rubbed his soul the wrong way. "Finally, Cupid, I was starting to think you were blowing off my advances."

"I doubt anyone could keep you off their back for long Stark." He walked around the table, still looking at the glowing information.

Tony raised his glass, "You and Pepper should talk."

Clint glared his way, "That's not happening."

Tony shrugged, "I'm just saying. That woman can tease..." he stopped and looked at Clint, who was clearly begging him to shut-up with his eyes. Some things even he knew to drop."So, you got ideas for me?"

"Roses and chocolate." Clint grinned. It was too easy to pass up.

"And all this time I thought it was diamonds and skyscrapers." He brought up an empty file already titled Cupid. "Hit me with 'em." Tony said.

Clint scratched the top of his ear,"Think you could make a boomerang-style head, ya'know get it to come back to me."

"I can make anything Barton. It's just a question of how long it will take."

Clint tightened his lips into a thin line before he continued, "Alright how about one that pops open into cuffs, maybe a lightweight stunner, a drill tip..."

Tony stared at him a moment, curious as to when exactly he would need a drill.

Reading the look, Clint shrugged, "Could be useful."

Tony brushed it aside, "Question." he raised a finger, "You would have to hit someones wrist to open the handcuffs. I can make them so they open instantaneously on contact but uh...broken wrists not an issue for you?"

"Not really, beats some of the alternatives. Anyway, the wrists in question would probably be too strong to break."
Tony pursed his lips, "Fair enough and by stunner, you're thinking, like, a stun gun?"

"Yeah."

"Should be easy."

"Not too heavy though. Don't want it to go deep."

"Sure." Tony shrugged as if it were the most normal, obvious point, the ice in his glass clinked from the movement. They grew silent a moment. Stark was already mocking up the prototypes in his head. "The boomerang heads'll be tricky. Could take me a while."

"I'll just be impressed if you pull it off." Clint folded his arms.

"Consider yourself impressed feathers." He moved around some of the screens floating before him.

Clint switched his weight from one foot to the other, his hands going into his jean pockets, "One more thing Stark."

He glanced back at Barton who was taking a deep breath. "You do much work in bio-tech? Integrated prosthetics, implants, that sort of thing?"

Stark stole a glance toward Banner who was still wrapped up in his work. His look saying, you believe this guy. He raised his hand to the glowing disc on his chest, "A little." When Barton dropped his head but didn't continue he added before taking a drink, "This about your hearing aids Barton?"

"Yeah." Clint looked over his shoulder at Banner who, though still immersed in his work, stole a quick glance at the two. Barton hadn't wanted to discuss this with what felt like a roomful. But he had to take the opportunity when he could get it, even if it wasn't ideal. But he couldn't hide his unease.

Seeing his discomfort Tony said, "Don't get your panties in a wad. It's been all over the place this week. It's not like you had much chance of any of us not knowing." He wasn't trying to be insensitive, but if he knew anything about Barton it was that the man didn't take to being obviously coddled. He paused before continuing, "Let me see 'em." When Clint started to remove one Tony stopped him, waving the penlight that was suddenly in his hand, "Leave it." He shone the light into Clint's left ear. The implant was small, about the size of a watch battery, nestled just inside his ear canal. Hidden but accessible. Only the edge showed as a thin rim around the aid placed on top of it. Wires that looked like nothing more than veins beneath the skin ran down to his inner ear. "Looks like a nice piece of work. You wanting me to work on them?" He took a quick glance behind Barton's ear at the small scar that ran along his head where his ear met his scalp. He was trying to figure the tech involved and he'd had a nagging suspicion since first hearing of Barton's deficit. There was just something familiar. He went back to examining the device when Clint answered, "No just trying to plan ahead."

Tony stepped back. He was frowning, "Go ahead and take one out will ya." When Clint looked at him questioning the change, he added, "I'm working on an idea."

Clint removed the left and placed it in Tony's open hand. Tony quickly moved it to the table in front of him. He moved some of the glowing screen around, and within seconds, a scanned and enlarged image of the aid was floating before them. Tony turned it around and zoomed in a little more.

Bruce got up, now interested, he walked over to the glowing image, and stood beside Barton's right. "How small is this?" He asked the archer. Clint held up two pinched fingers to show the size. Bruce readjusted his glasses. He had already heard about Clint's hearing. Tony wasn't kidding when he said it was all-over the place. The media loved to show the more "human" side of the heroes since New York. Once S.H.I.E.L.D came down with not so little noise, and all their secret files were released, the human interest stories turned less innocent. Someone was on the hunt for more than a good headline. The stories were taking on an angry, and suspicious tone. The exploitation of Clint's supposed impairment was being used as a passive aggressive stab at the Avengers themselves on a very public scale.

And so, even though Bruce had been surprised when he had first heard of it. He was more intrigued now, as a doctor and a scientist, at the technology involved in Barton's implanted device. It was the sort of thing that could change the lives of millions. It was revolutionary and no one but the S.H.I.E.L.D techs involved knew how it worked. Clint's aids held a great deal of hope and possibility. "What's your hearing loss without these?" Bruce asked in the neutral professional tone doctors could slide into when focusing, out of necessity, on the condition more than the person.

"Ninety to ninety-five decibels." Clint answered in the same emotionless tone.

"Ninety-five." Banner's eyes went wide. "And with them?"

"Average."

Any hope Bruce had for the implants grew. There was no known device that could do what his aids were doing.

"Funny thing." Tony spoke up before he turned the image around once more so that the other two men could see what had his attention at the moment. It was the Stark Industries logo. Microscopically small, stamped into the back of the device."You are fucking kidding me." Clint spoke up.

Tony shrugged, "We probably just manufactured that particular component." Tony was leaving out the still nagging suspicion that there was more involvement of Stark Industries at play, but some suspicions were better left unannounced.

"You don't know?" Banner asked.

Tony wiggled his fingers, "Lots of fingers in lots of cookie jars doc." He looked back at Clint, "I'll check into it."

Clint nodded and picked the aid back up, making the image shift but not disappear. He grasped it in his hand.

"Care if I take a look?" Banner asked him.

Clint went to hand it over, but Bruce smiled, held up his hand, looking embarrassed, and said, "In your ear?"

Clint pulled his hand away and turned his head "knock your socks off."

Tony handed his penlight over to Banner. "Amazing." was all he said at first. After a minute he looked around Clint's head at Tony, "Why the removable aid with all of this integration?"

Tony shrugged, "I was thinking the same thing but the exterior microphone would be the weakest link along the line. Maybe it was a precaution. If it broke down it would be easy enough to switch it out. Could be related to the kinetics. Could just be a poor design choice. I'll have to get a better idea what's going on before I can say for sure." Banner nodded and went back to looking into Barton's ear. Clint shifted uncomfortably at being the lab rat of the moment.

"Care if I get some imaging?" Tony was still staring at the floating image, Banner was still staring into his ear.

"Do what you gotta do." He stepped away from Banner, "But not right now." He looked between the two men who were now looking utterly dejected. "I'm supposed to be drinking as we speak." He looked between the two, "Caps birthday...the pub crawl you two chose to avoid." He said as a simple explanation.

"Sure. What is he now, a spry hundred?" Stark mocked.

"Counting his push-pop years?" Barton asked.

They shrugged off the topic."Think you could come down here later? Let us see what kind of scans we can do, get some images, possibly see if there is a brain inside that rock?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. Soon as I can." Barton said as he headed back upstairs.

Banner looked at Tony, "Do you think you could recreate it?"

"You thinking of mass production Banner?"

"It crossed my mind. Ninety decibels Tony is a profound loss. If this can..."

Tony raised his hands, "I love the enthusiasm Gumby, I do, but let's focus on one thing at a time." He could get as wrapped up in the possibilities as Banner, and there were times the doc had to pull him back. But this time around he was the one more focused on the person involved. It wasn't that Banner cared any less for Barton than Tony, but Tony related all too well. Some things just served to remind you of your fragility, your mortality. Even in the face of all the wonderful, life-changing or life-saving benefits they offered, the fact that they were needed was a weight in and of itself.

The glowing disc on his chest was what it was, no denying it, and so it had had to become a badge of his strength, a mark of his survival. His ego would allow for nothing else. But it was different for Barton. He didn't have the over-sized, reflexive self-exaltation of Tony and he could live life as usual thanks to the discreet and efficient technology within his ears. He could deny, to even himself, that he had been broken. That he was as fragile as any human being. It was an ego driven self-defense that mirrored Tony's, but lacked the show and dazzle. But truths denied, no matter the reasons, were usually the ones that brought you down, Tony knew. Massive ego or not. So while Banner was dreaming of what could be on a larger scale, Tony was focused on Clint. He would be patient but he would also be there to push Barton. Letting him ultimately guide the direction and timing of their work. It was a fine line to walk and he would, of course, continue to berate the Hawk and come across as arrogant an ass he could. He would play and jibe his way through Barton's avoidance. After all, you had to be choosy about when to show your heart and when to show your ass, and people generally responded far better to Tony's ass.