The taxi Anton was driving didn't stop.
He continued at a steady pace, observing everything through the rearview mirror before leaving the area straightaway.
A few minutes later, he found a parking lot and stopped.
By now, the sky had turned completely dark.
The neon lights had begun to flicker once more.
Anton transformed into the black bat, darting into the shadows between buildings, swiftly moving through the darkness until he reached the rooftop of the building Natasha had entered.
Using the sensors in his suit, he pinpointed the locations of Natasha and the others inside. With a quick, silent movement, he perched on the window ledge, intending to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"I can't determine if Anton is Batman representative or if he is Batman himself, but I believe he harbors some rejection toward us…"
Natasha voice was the first to break the silence. "His attitude at least reflects part of Batman perspective."
At this moment, another voice chimed in.
"Every appearance of Batman has been highly purposeful. Whether it the Life Foundation, the Kingpin incident, the Lizard, the Green Goblin, or the Bigfoot gang annihilation… In the past six months, he dismantled quite a few factions!"
Anton recognized the speaker—it was Hawkeye.
"That sounds like a good thing,"
spoke Coulson now. "We share the same goal as Batman: to safeguard peace."
"But that doesn't mean he wants to do this good thing with us,"
Hawkeye countered. "We all know he not someone who takes orders. If we want him to join a team, we either make him the leader or find someone stronger to keep him in check."
"And that the problem,"
Coulson mused after a moment thought. "Natasha, keep an eye on Anton. Whether he Batman or not, we can use him to maintain communication with Batman. Even if we can't convince Batman to join us, we need to ensure he stays in contact with us."
Then, Coulson turned to Hawkeye. "Barton, you seem more hostile toward Batman than the situation warrants."
"Maybe it because Batman beat him up once,"
Natasha said with a playful smile.
"That won't affect my judgment, even if I don't like him personally,"
Hawkeye replied calmly.
As an agent, he had decent control over his emotions.
However, compared to others, Hawkeye was noticeably weaker in this regard.
When anger clouded his judgment, he was capable of doing just about anything.
In the original storyline, after Hawkeye wife and children disappeared in the snap, he went on a killing spree in Japan, turning into a remorseless killer.
This showed that while Hawkeye was competent in his role as an agent, he lacked the dedication of people like Coulson or Fury.
"What the situation with Obadiah?"
Coulson suddenly shifted the topic, looking at Hawkeye. "With Tony abilities, if he investigating Obadiah, he won't be slower than us."
"We've discovered that after Tony returned, Obadiah secretly went to Afghanistan. He probably brought something back… something that might be related to Tony Stark," Hawkeye said, shaking his head. "But we don't have evidence to arrest Obadiah."
"Take it slow, no rush,"
Coulson nodded. "This time, we have enough time to deal with him."
"The Artificial Sun experiment!"
Hawkeye said. "I'm certain Obadiah involvement in the Artificial Sun experiment isn't just about entering the energy sector. He has his own agenda."
"Proceed according to your plan,"
Coulson said without questioning Hawkeye.
His current primary responsibilities were to stay in New York, extend an invitation to Batman, and keep an eye on Obadiah.
With Black Widow and Hawkeye, S.H.I.E.L.D. top agents and Fury trusted aides, he had a strong team supporting him.
Typically, with these three on the job, there was no mission they couldn't handle.
Outside the window ledge—
Anton listened to the conversation between Coulson and his team, realizing they had indeed targeted the right person.
Whether it was Anton or Obadiah, they were both targets of interest for S.H.I.E.L.D.
The actions they took were logical, but the outcomes often seemed separated by an elusive, almost impenetrable barrier.
From this perspective, S.H.I.E.L.D. indeed had considerable competence. However, their arrogance—often cloaked under the guise of "we're doing this for your own good"—was inevitably irritating.
"Let leave it at that."
With the conversation concluded, Coulson and Hawkeye prepared to leave.
Hearing this, Anton shifted his position.
Inside the house, the two bid farewell to Natasha and made their way to the front door. Just as they were about to leave—
Creak—
The moment they opened the door.
Hawkeye pupils contracted as he caught sight of a dark figure standing in the doorway. His expression changed drastically.
The shadowy figure even had the leisure to wave at him with a smile.
"Long time no see, Hawkeye."
"Batman!"
Hawkeye instinctively clenched his fists.
Beside him, Coulson, and Natasha, who had been seeing them off, were equally stunned.
The three had considered the possibility of Batman approaching them directly.
But none of them had expected it to be now.
It was especially awkward since they had just been discussing him moments ago.
"Shit!"
Hawkeye was inwardly furious.
He guessed that Batman had likely been here for a while. It was entirely possible that their entire conversation had been overheard by him.
With new grudges added to old, Hawkeye didn't hesitate and charged forward with a swing of his fist.
"Barton!"
Coulson tried to stop him but couldn't intervene in time.
"Let them fight."
Natasha, however, remained remarkably calm, quickly collecting herself. "Don't forget, Hawkeye just said, if we want Batman to join us, we either make him the leader or find someone capable of overpowering him…"
"And you think he that person?" Coulson asked with a wry smile.
"Who knows?"
Natasha shrugged. "Even if Barton gets beaten up again, it no loss to us. After all, Batman doesn't kill."
The hallmark of a true agent mindset.
It was evident that Natasha and Hawkeye shared a strong sense of camaraderie at this point.
Meanwhile—
As Hawkeye charged toward him, Anton remained unfazed. Without turning his head, he subtly tilted it to the side.
Whoosh!
Behind him, a sharp arrow sliced through the night, narrowly brushing past Anton ear, and shot straight toward Hawkeye.
"What?"
Hawkeye heart raced as he performed an aerial flip to evade the arrow.
Thud!
The arrow embedded itself in the ground, its shaft quivering slightly.
"Who there?"
Hawkeye looked past Batman to see a man dressed in green combat gear, carrying a quiver on his back and holding a bow, stepping out from the shadows.
"If you're looking for a fight…"
The green-clad man spoke in a calm tone, his eyes devoid of any emotion, making him appear even more like a professional agent than Hawkeye himself.
"Your opponent is me."
Natasha and Coulson exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of astonishment in the other eyes.
Who was this man?
And why had another "green Hawkeye" suddenly appeared?
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