Chapter 8 - A dangerous but tempting offer (Part 2)

Hospital Room, Somewhere.

Ben's P.O.V.

Rolling her eyes with her arms crossed, she said. "Jokes aside, we need to talk business, Ben." Intrigued, the injured man asked. "What's it about?" With a look of seriousness, she replied. "It's about a proposition... I understand that you're retired but..." She hesitated with her question, implying the weight of that offer.

As Clint seemingly became impatient, he intervened without letting the silence linger for too long. "What Natasha is trying to say, is that Nick Fury wants you in the team. So, are you in?" Looking at his smug face, as if Ben was supposed to understand what he was talking about, created some intrusive thoughts in his mind. 'I wonder how far that moron would fly if I punched him in the face with my new strength? I'd need to aim at the door if I want to maximize the distance.'

"Barton, can you stop acting like a kid for a minute? It's an important decision Ben has to make." She said with her eyes narrowing. Lifting his hands in the air to signify his surrender, the man replied. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. I just missed the guy and I couldn't help but bicker with him." 

That made Ben chuckle a little as he defended his friend. "It's fine, Nat. I also missed making fun of him." "My man!" The other said while slapping his shoulder in approval. Unfortunately, that rattled his injuries, drawing a gasp of pain from him. "Fuck! Barton, I'm freaking hurt over here."

"Sorry, I forgot." Barton replied embarrassed. As the two were finished with their comedic display, the beautiful woman continued her explanation. "Alright, I'll start over. Nick Fury, SHIELD's director, wants you to join the Avengers initiative. You already know about the organization, since you worked with the two of us. And The Avengers initiative is a team of Superhuman beings who are called when the Earth is in danger. Just so you know, Clint and I are two of its members."

Not wanting to be hasty, the raven-haired man decided to ask a few questions before making any decisions. "What of the others? Who're they?" To which Clint replied. "Tony Stark, the billionaire in a flying metal suit. Steve Rogers, A.K.A Captain America, A.K.A the legend himself. Thor Odinson, the blond Nordic God who loves hammers and battles. Bruce Banner, A.K.A. The Hulk... He's strong and green, that's all I can say. Oh, and he likes to smash things, so don't annoy him too much or you'll repeat your previous performance."

Hearing his description made the other man laugh at the seemingly absurd lineup. "That sounds terrible. You're telling me that with you six, you'd be able to save Earth from extraterrestrial threats? No offense, but that seems far-fetched even to me despite becoming a superhuman through the previous invasion. By the way, are you the only normal human on the team, Clint?"

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he answered. "No, Stark is even weaker than me. Without his armor, that is." To that, Ben gave him a gaze of pity. "I feel your pain, Barton." Nodding his head in appreciation, the blond man replied. "Thanks, pal. I'm still wondering if I've made the right decision. Especially since Nat became a superhuman and I got married."

It took a few seconds before Ben's mind comprehended his friend's words. "Hold up! You said you're married? Since when?" Chuckling at Ben's reaction, Barton answered quickly. "It was after you left the special forces. I even got two kids. The two of them are super adorable, by the way."

"They are." Nat confirmed. Shaking his head in disbelief, the black-haired man retorted. "I see. Well, congratulations. I've never thought I'd hear that about you in particular, but I'm happy for you, pal. Does she know about what you do?"

His lips twitching a little, Clint replied. "I'll just ignore the first part of what you said. And thanks. And yes, she does. She used to work for SHIELD. She did retire though when we had our first child." Thinking about something amusing, a smile appeared on his face. "Now that I think about it, you've actually met her before."

With a curious look, the other man said. "So she used to work there. It makes more sense now. Unless you retire, having a 'normal' spouse is too dangerous... Anyway, you said I met her before? Who is it then?" To which the other answered. "Remember that mission in Iraq?" "Which one? We had several there." "The Mosul one." "Ten Rings?" "Yep. That one." "What about it?"

"Do you remember the dark-haired woman that came at the end of the mission?" Pondering for a second, a face started to appear in his mind. "Do you mean... Agent 19? What was her name again? Lana, Lola... No, Laura! That's it! I never got her last name though." Nodding his head while wearing a proud smile on his face, Clint retorted. "That's her exactly. I'm very lucky to be able to marry her. *Sigh* Sometimes I feel like this is a dream..."

"I got you. I feel the same way about my wife. I'm still wondering how she can put up with me, and we've been together for a few years now." "Right, I just heard you got married too. Congrats! I guess we both got lucky." He said while fist-bumping Ben. "That we did, pal. That we did." He finished with a happy smile on his face, not noticing the woman on his side flinching slightly.

After a few seconds of silence, Ben's mind returned to the present. "Anyway, we were talking about the Avengers. I need to think about it. After all, I'm not alone anymore. I've got people who care about me and they might not like the idea of me playing superhero. They might also be in danger because of that."

The other two nodded, with Clint even adding. "Yeah, that's why I asked Fury to delete any mention of my family from SHIELD's database. They could be used to threaten me otherwise." Feeling perplexed, the injured man asked. "If you did that, then why did you tell me everything? And why here in particular? I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm monitored 24/7 since I've arrived, aren't I?"

Chuckling, the archer confirmed his hunch. "Of course, you are. Otherwise, SHIELD wouldn't be SHIELD and Fury wouldn't be Fury. As for your first two questions, I trust you to keep it to yourself. And I asked Fury to delete any footage and audio from any conversation we'd have with you. Although I'm pretty sure that he'd do it himself anyway, with how paranoid he is..." He finished in a whisper.

Nodding his head, Ben then continued. "As long as it's fine... So, back to the proposition. I'll talk with May and decide if I want to join. If I do, I'll have to find a way to protect my family like you Clint before starting this crazy adventure... How about you give me a secure way to contact you guys to let you know about my decision? Is that okay with Fury?"

"Let me check with..." Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a voice coming from the TV's speakers. ["I'm fine with that Parker. Just don't take too long."] When the silence came back, he looked at the other two with a questioning look. The other two had wry smiles on their faces at the one-eye-man intervention. 

"I forgot to tell you that he likes to listen to other people without their knowledge. It can get on your nerves before you get used to it." Nat said apologetically. "You don't say..." The raven-haired man replied while shaking his head in disbelief. After that interlude, the three friends went on talking about their lives since the last time they saw each other, discussing for a few hours until the two agents had to leave due to receiving a work-related summon.

"See you later, guys." "See ya, Parker. Get better soon. We need the Terminator back." Clint retorted, laughing. "It's 'The Machine', not 'Terminator'." The other responded while rolling his eyes. "Potato, potato." Shaking her head, Natalia also said her goodbyes. "Don't disappear on us this time, okay?" Nodding his head, he said full of seriousness. "I promise." "Mmhh!" She nodded before leaving with Barton, leaving Ben alone in the room.

Natalia's P.O.V.

As she was walking alongside Clint, she could not help herself from thinking about Ben Parker and what she learned about his recent life. Noticing her distracted expression, Clint suddenly asked with an unusually serious tone. "You're thinking about Parker?" Not expecting the question, she reflexively denied it. "Of course not! I was thinking about the ramifications of the Chitauri attack and who gave that army to Loki."

Cocking his eyebrow, the blond man retorted. "As if. You're too obvious, Nat." Pausing for a second, he then added. "It doesn't matter anyway... I think you should forget about him. He's married now and from his facial expression, I can tell he loves her at least as much as I do Laura."

Clenching her fists in frustration, the attractive woman muttered, feeling hopeless. "I've known him before her..." Patting her shoulder, he responded. "I'm no love specialist, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter. If you keep trying, it'll end badly for everyone involved... I don't think that's what you want, is it?"

Keeping her silence for a few seconds, Natalia then replied in a voice as neutral as she could keep it. "You know, since I was a little girl I had to go through so much shit that would break at least 99% of people. But I held on again and again. Always alone with no one I could trust. Even the two people I more or less considered as my parents betrayed me in the end..."

Listening to her 'confession', Clint kept quiet, letting the silence linger for a few seconds before it was broken by her words. "Only when I met you two doofus did I start to trust again. To me, you're both my best friends. But with Ben... There's something more... Something I can't explain... Maybe I'm delusional..."

Her monologue was suddenly interrupted by Barton who lifted his hand to stop her. "Alright, I get it! You've ambiguous feelings for him. Do you know what you're gonna do about it?" Shaking her head, she retorted. "Not really." Rubbing his face with his hand, her friend replied. "I don't know what I should tell you. Times are changing, but I'm not sure if you can realize your wish."

A smile laced with some hope appeared on her face as she replied. "What if it can work, though? I've lived with regrets my whole life, about things I should have done, could have done, etc. I want to change that.

Nodding slightly, Clint declared decisively. "I understand. Whatever you do though, don't push it too far. After all, with your current lifespan and his, you're not pressed for time." Nodding to his words, she replied. "I know. I'm not even certain of what I'm feeling, so I'm not stupid enough to go all in right now." After talking with Barton, she felt lighter, as if a burden was lifted, making her ponder as the two kept moving toward their next mission.