American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

136. Old Hawkeye Barton.

Alex didn't have to wait long, or maybe he was just lucky. In the afternoon, Old Hawkeye drove to Tonya's auto repair shop. At first glance, Alex was struck by Old Hawkeye's appearance: a long-haired, bearded old man, still muscular and imposing despite his age.

"Don't tell me that useless ex-husband of mine actually brought the child support," Tonya's tone was calm, indifferent, showing she had no feelings left for the man in front of her.

"Did the spider sense from your father finally kick in?" Old Barton teased.

"No, I smelled the stench of alcohol from you from far away." Tonya set down her work, and Ultron 8 added, "My scan shows his wallet is even thinner than expected."

But Old Barton ignored Ultron 8, or rather, he directly disregarded the robot. He walked up to his ex-wife and placed a wad of cash in her hand. "I brought the money I owed, but you know, work hasn't been smooth."

Tonya could see deep guilt and hidden sorrow in his expression. Because of this, she refrained from further mocking him and silently put the money in a drawer and locked it. There were many gangsters around, and it was necessary to keep a low profile.

After a pause, Tonya spoke, "You didn't just come here to deliver money. So, what exactly are you here for?"

"I just wanted to see my daughter, while I still..." Old Barton opened his mouth but couldn't finish.

As the former Hawkeye, a sharpshooter whose arrows never missed, it was hard for him to admit that he was becoming blind due to glaucoma. Moreover, he didn't want to worry his ex-wife and daughter.

"I bet you're in some kind of trouble again, aren't you?" Tonya sighed. Then she looked up. "Before you see Ashley, you should meet someone else. He claims to be your friend and has been waiting for you upstairs. I told him to wait for you there."

"My friend?" Old Barton was taken aback but quickly became wary, his guilt instantly replaced by deep hostility.

In this broken world, he didn't have many friends, and none of them would know this place and its connection to him. So instead of an 'old friend,' Barton seemed more inclined to believe this person was an 'old enemy.'

"Did he give his name?" Old Barton took out his bow and arrows from his bag.

"I didn't get the chance to ask," Tonya said, her face turning grim. "But I suggest if you need to fight, do it outside. The money you gave won't cover the repair costs."

"Don't worry, ma'am. We won't be fighting." At this point, Alex slowly descended the stairs.

Alex had noticed Hawkeye as soon as he entered, but since the man was chatting with his ex-wife about family matters, Alex didn't want to interrupt and waited for an opportunity. Besides, given Hawkeye's age and not-so-good mental state, any sudden actions could lead to misunderstandings, which would be troublesome.

Sure enough, hearing Alex's voice, Old Barton immediately drew his bow, aiming at Alex's head.

"Who are you? Kid, I don't remember having an 'old friend' like you."

"Calm down, Barton. I'm just here to talk." Alex raised his hands, his expression unchanged.

"Talk about what?"

Hawkeye showed no signs of relaxing, his eyes narrowing dangerously. At that moment, he resembled a wounded beast, ready to retaliate fiercely at the slightest provocation.

"Let's talk about the battle years ago when the criminals triumphed, shall we?"

Alex hadn't finished his sentence before a flying arrow cut him off.

"I knew you were no good!"

Despite his age, Hawkeye's actions were smooth and quick, drawing and shooting in one fluid motion, making it easy to forget that he was over fifty.

This old guy definitely had some issues...

Alex raised his umbrella, deflecting the incoming arrows while silently musing. He probably thought Alex was some villain's descendant, looking to revive his ancestor's glory by hunting down surviving heroes to prove his prowess. In the wasteland, such things were not uncommon. Kraven the Hunter's offspring often did this, sometimes even targeting supervillains for their hunts. It seemed to be their 'family ritual.'

While Alex pondered, Hawkeye closed in. Realizing his arrows were ineffective against the strange umbrella, Barton abandoned ranged attacks for close combat. Indeed, one shouldn't be distracted during a fight. Alex swiftly drew his black blade from the umbrella handle, blocking Hawkeye's alloy compound bow. The bow was specially made, capable of breaking ribs with a single hit to a regular person.

"I said no fighting here!" Tonya's angry voice came from nearby.

But this couldn't stop Hawkeye's nearly frantic assault. The old man was in the zone.

After struggling to fend off several waves of attacks, Alex abandoned the idea of continuing close combat. He hadn't learned any martial arts, and if not for his powerful reflexes, he wouldn't have been able to block Hawkeye's bow techniques.

While Hawkeye was an archer in the Avengers, underestimating him as just a ranged fighter was a big mistake. Besides 'Hawkeye,' Barton had another alias, 'Ronin.' Apart from his unparalleled archery skills, Hawkeye's close combat abilities were formidable, having been trained by a master swordsman known as the Swordsman.

"Enough, Barton. Stop. I'm not here to fight you."

Alex narrowly dodged another attack, retreating several steps before speaking calmly.

"Then you better lie down first!"

But Hawkeye showed no sign of stopping. He held his bow in one hand and a sharp arrow in the other, charging at Alex with fierce determination.

Seeing this, Alex extended his hand.

"I'm not asking."

Without any incantations, Hawkeye's bow suddenly transformed into a steel cable, writhing like a living creature. Barton had no time to react. Mid-air, he couldn't make any effective moves. The weapon-turned-cable bound him, the other end wrapping around a beam, suspending him in mid-air.

.......

20 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
137. Conversation with Hawkeye.
138. The Villains' Information.
139. Hawkeye's Journey.
140. 'Dazzling Confusion' and 'Eye-Popping'.
141. Wasteland.

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM