Summary: Clint's past catches up with him and his new team. Can he trust them enough to tell them, or will his old enemies kill him before he even has a chance?

Disclaimer: Considering I only know the Avengers due to the Marvel Website and the movies, I don't own them.

Chapter One: Memory Lane Nightmare

Seventeen year old Clint walked around the carnival, looking for one of his mentors. He had just finished archery with Trickshot. Now, he wanted to ask Jacques for some advice on an acrobatic stunt. Then, he'd go practice before crawling into his bunk under Barney's. They had a big show in Vegas tomorrow and he wanted to get his new trick perfect for it.

"Hey, Jacques, can you-" Clint cut off, staring at his mentor, Swordsmen. "What are you doing?"

Swordsmen whipped around and smiled slyly at his apprentice. "Clint, what are you doing here? You should be practicing. We have a big show tomorrow."

"I wanted you to check something… what are you doing in the manager's office?" Clint asked, his brown eye confused.

"Clint, this is adult matters." Jacques hissed.

"I am an adult. I turn eighteen tomorrow." Clint insisted.

Jacques chuckled and snaked around Clint. His positioned himself between Clint and the door. "Indeed you do. We'll have to do something special at the show. Our little Hawkeye is all grown up. Maybe Trick and I will take you to the casino. We are in Vegas after all."

Clint smirked. Out of curiosity, or maybe early instinct, he looked back to where Jacques had been. The managers desk. Clint's eyes locked on a stack of money. "What were you doing with the managers desk?"

"Nothing, kid."

Clint's eyes locked on the money sticking out of Jacques's pocket. "You're… are you… you were stealing from the manager?"

Jacques sighed "Now, what do you say you calm down and we have an adult conversation?"

"What are you doing?" Clint growled.

"Clint, there is something you should know. Everyone at Carson's is talented, but many of us are criminals. I stole the money to pay gambling debts." Jacques continued, standing over the child.

"But… How could you steal from this place? It's not right!" A young, scared Hawkeye cried. The feeling of the world being ripped out from under him rippled through his veins.

Jacques smiled falsely at the boy. "Clint, you are too naïve. Listen to me, you will never speak of what you just saw."

"Why shouldn't I?" Clint growled.

"Because if you don't, I'll make you my partner in crime. You will be extremely rich and powerful. You won't have to work a day in your life. After all, child, what career could you get? You have no high school education, you'll never afford college, and you have nowhere to go. Join me, and together we can make millions." Jacques whispered into his ear.

Clint hesitated. His mentor was right. Clint had no high school education, nowhere to run, and nowhere to go. Carson's was all he knew. His parents had died nearly four years ago, and he didn't have any other family other than Barney. Yet, a large part of him felt disgusted at the thought of criminal life. "No, it's not right."

Jacques gritted his teeth. "Either you join me or I kill you."

Clint blinked and backed away from the man. "You wouldn't kill me. You always say I'm like a son to you."

"Son's die all the time. It would be a pity but all well." Jacques said, taking out one of his knives.

"Swordsman," Clint began. He froze as he felt his back hit the desk. Nowhere to go but forward.

Jacques smirked and walked slowly towards him. "Child, you were always too sweet for your own good."

Clint did the only thing that he could think of. He stepped forward and kicked the knife out of Swordsman's hand before punching his mentor squarely in the jaw. Shocked, Jacques took a step back and Clint used this as an excuse to run. He sprinted out the door, sprinting even faster when he heard Jacques's cry of anger. He ran towards the circus tent, hoping someone would be there to help. Upon entering the tent and seeing no one, Clint's eyes darted to the tightrope. Swordsman didn't like heights, so if Clint could get up there and hide in the trap door that was hidden in the thick ladder, he could possibly wait for Swordsman to leave. He shook his head and sprinted over to the ladder before climbing. As he lifted the trap door, a voice rang out "freeze, twit."

Clint closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened them and turned to the Swordsman. "You won't come up here. I know you. You hate heights."

Swordsman gritted his teeth. "Come down here, brat."

"Why don't you come up here, or are you too much of a coward?" Clint taunted.

Swordsman shook his head and began to climb the ladder.

Clint gulped and looked at the wire. His other mentor, Trickshot, had been teaching him in the art of tightrope as a side project, and he had gotten fairly decent. Right now, fairly decent had to be good enough. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. He began to walk the tightrope, arms out, steading his balance.

Swordsman shook his head and eyed the tightrope. He needed to kill the child, but all he had was a knife. He could fling it at the knife straight into Clint Barton's heart, or…

Swordsman grinned ruthlessly before bending down over the wire. He took out his sharpest knife and began to cut the rope.

Clint glanced behind him as the wire began to shake. His eyes went wide as he saw his old mentor cutting the tightrope. "Jacques!" He yelled, eyes full of terror.

Jacques grinned further before letting the cord snap.

Clint yelled as he fell to the ground. He screamed in pain as his leg snapped, along with ribs. He whimpered as he lay sprawled across the rough sandy dirt ground. Blood poured out his leg where his tibia had broken through the skin. His broken ribs made it hard to breath.

Jacques walked over slowly to the hurt boy. He shook his head as a small amount of guilt and fatherly instinct told him to call an ambulance. He squatted next to the young boy that was destined to be a superhero. "Pity, you could have been a brilliant criminal."

Clint whimpered, a tear of pain caressing down his cheek. "Jacques, please…"

Jacques shook his head, and put his hands around Clint's neck. He began strangling the child, hoping he would die before someone entered the tent. He ignored Clint's cries of pain and fear. He snapped the child's arm with his foot when Clint reached for his bow. This caused his little apprentice to scream in pain before whimpering Jacques's name over and over.

"Jacques…" Clint begged, closing his eyes.

The world closed around him and the last thing he saw was Jacques Duquesne, aka Swordsman, squeezing the neck of the child he thought of as a son.

Jacques kissed his apprentice's forehead. "Goodbye, little Hawkeye."

He walked out of the room and waited for someone to find the dead seventeen year old star. He needed to worry about how to make a profit when the child he just killed was the star attraction.

There it is: the first chapter. I have the entire story written, but it's up to you how you want it to end. Either it ends as is or I tweak it to make a sequel. Anyway, I'll upload the second chapter either tomorrow night or Tuesday. Have a nice day/night.