Chapter Text
“Whitney Frost, you are under arrest!”
“Show yourself, or we will force entry!”
“Come out of your lab with your hands up!”
That was what Dr. Whitney Frost heard the SHIELD agents cry as they broke into her lab. She was wanted for illegally performing experiments on the blood of different animals. Despite the SHIELD agents demanding that she come out, the black-haired, gray-eyed woman wasn’t going to give up.
That led to the team kicking down the door, and then they pursued Whitney. Nick Fury, who was the team leader, scanned the lab for the criminal, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Look around,” he ordered the others. “She’s around here somewhere.”
Among Fury’s team were Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), and an entire SWAT team. They took the order from their boss to look for Whitney.
“Come out, Dr. Frost!” Black Widow called out. “I know you’re in here.”
“Wanting me so soon?” Whitney asked after she came face-to-face with the hazel-eyed woman with the red side-shave haircut. “Just leave me here in peace. Then, we won’t have to put up a fight.”
“Surrender!” Black Widow threatened Whitney as she held up her taser.
“Do you really think I’ll give up that easily?” Whitney asked before she kicked Black Widow in the face. And then, the two women broke into a fight.
“Hands behind your back!” Black Widow said after she got Whitney pinned down to the ground. “Agents, I have Frost! She is-” Suddenly, Whitney kicked Black Widow off of her back and attempted to fight again when two SWAT agents grabbed ahold of her arms.
“Not today, Dr. Frost,” said one of the SWAT agents before the other one put her in handcuffs. “You’re going to jail where you belong.”
“Where I belong?!” Whitney screamed. “Hey! Let me go! I am a scientist, not a prisoner!” As the SWAT agents carried her away, she squirmed and resisted them. They then threw her in the back of the SHIELD truck and shut the doors.
“Finally, we got her,” said the first SWAT agent. “Nice work.” He and the second SWAT agent then high-fived each other.
As Hawkeye watched Whitney be taken away, he felt sad. He could see that deep inside, she was not bad.
“How serious was her crime?” the archer asked Fury as he collected each of Whitney’s blood samples.
“It was a misdemeanor,” explained Fury, “but she fled once we caught her. From there, she remained on the run for weeks. That is, until we got here.”
“She was also wanted on more misdemeanor-felony charges,” said Hawkeye, “but they were never to hurt anyone.”
“Correct,” said Fury, “but had she succeeded, they could have been very dangerous. Don’t worry, Barton. We’ll get her to the jail, get her processed, and decide what to do from there.”
“I hope it’ll be that simple,” Hawkeye said before he got into the passenger seat of Fury’s truck. And with that, everyone drove back to the SHIELD headquarters.
Hawkeye couldn’t forget about what he had seen in the lab. He had learnt more about her tragic personal life through the handwritten notes he found scattered all over the floor.
“This was per Killmonger’s request… I don’t want to do this… I was silly to think that joining the Shadow Council would help me get over my childhood trauma… I want to end this life.”
That was when Hawkeye figured that he could help Whitney turn her life around. She needed help- and fast.
That night, Whitney was put in a cell, where she would be held until her trial the next morning. Before the black-haired woman went to bed, Hawkeye walked over to talk with her- he was tasked by Fury to serve as her counselor.
“Hey,” the blue-eyed man with a blonde mohawk said. “You ready for our talk?”
“Sure,” Whitney responded bitterly.
“I know that you don’t want anything to do with us right now,” Hawkeye said with a chuckle, “but listen, Miss Frost. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
Whitney wiped away a tear of sadness after Hawkeye figured out the truth. She thought that she’d be considered the villain automatically, simply because she was experimenting with animals’ blood and was being forced to work for Erik Killmonger.
“I’ll work with you if you’ll work with me,” Hawkeye continued.
“Okay,” Whitney replied before she took a minute to admire Hawkeye’s physical appearance. Oh, he was so cute, Whitney thought to herself. His purple sunglasses and short gold chain necklace, as well as the gold rings he wore on his middle fingers, right thumb, and left index finger went well with his purple and black short-sleeved uniform.
“I’m like your counselor around here,” the archer explained to Whitney as he played with the feather ring on his index finger, “so you can tell me about all that’s bugging you.”
“I’m worried about my trial,” said Whitney. “What if they assume that I’m the bad person?”
“I’ll be there to defend you,” Hawkeye said as he then played with the ring on his left middle finger, which had tiny daisies going around the band. “All you’ve gotta do is maintain your composure, tell the truth, and accept whatever sentence you’re given. Oh- and I also discovered these.” He then showed Whitney her notes, which had been in his pocket.
“What- how did you get those?” Whitney gasped. “Those aren’t of your concern!”
“They are now. This is a wake-up call for you, Dr. Frost,” said Hawkeye as he leaned his elbows against the bars of Whitney’s prison cell. “You can still turn your life around. These notes are proof that you’re wanting to be good. They concern me, of course, but these will help us figure out how to help you. Let’s just get through the trial first.”
“Thank you,” Whitney said after looking up from staring at the filigree thumb ring and large, blank signet-like middle finger ring on Hawkeye’s right hand. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Hawkeye repeated before he left the prison and headed to his dorm in the SHIELD HQ.
The next day, Hawkeye stopped by Whitney’s prison cell. “Morning,” he said gently.
Whitney, sitting on her bed, faced the archer sadly, and then turned back towards the wall.
“Today’s the day of your trial,” Hawkeye explained. “I’m gonna take you up there, okay?”
All Whitney did was nod, and she allowed Hawkeye to take her to where her trial would be held. Even the rest of the Avengers would be there because they had dealt with her more than once. This included Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), and Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), among others. They were all curious as to whether Whitney would be incarcerated, or given a second chance.
After Hawkeye and Whitney arrived at the trial, Fury began speaking. “Whitney Frost, you have a lot to think about,” he said. “You’re still young, and have your whole life ahead of you. Why do you want to use it to cause trouble?”
Whitney stayed quiet. She wanted to tell everyone in the room that she didn’t want to be a criminal, but she was scared. But finally, she felt brave enough to tell the truth.
“I didn’t want this life,” she said. “I was forced into it.”
Fury was shocked. “By whom?” he asked.
“Erik… Erik…” Whitney stuttered. “Killmonger…”
“Thank you, Miss Frost,” Fury said. “If you do not wish to say any more, then that is within your rights. Hawkeye, do you have proof that she is being honest?”
“Yes sir,” Hawkeye said before handing Fury the notes from Whitney’s laboratory.
Fury looked at each note. “This is serious,” he said afterwards, “especially since Dr. Frost wrote about considering suicide. For people like her, it really can feel like there’s no way out.”
“Well then, what’s the verdict?” asked Black Widow.
“Which do you find more suitable, Hawkeye?” Fury asked Hawkeye. “Jail or probation?”
Hawkeye turned to Whitney and smiled. “I choose probation,” he said. “Frost deserves a second chance.”
“All those in favor of putting Whitney Frost under probation, raise your hands,” Fury told everyone else.
Surprisingly, everyone voted on probation. They understood- and agreed with- Hawkeye’s reasoning.
“So the sentence has been determined,” said Fury. “Whitney Frost will not remain in jail. Rather, she will be put on probation and forced to do a year of Avengers service. Additionally, she must attend mental health counseling.”
“Thank you, Mr. Fury,” Whitney responded.
“Thank Mr. Hot Guy in particular,” Fury replied. “He’s wanting to go easy on you.”
Hawkeye laughed at the nickname his boss had given him. “Well, as I’ve learnt during my years as an Avenger,” he said, “it’s important to give people second chances.”
“You Avengers keep showing me that an old dog can learn new tricks,” Fury said with a grin. “Trial adjourned.”
Later, Fury detailed all the conditions of Whitney’s probation. For one year, she was required to do community service, attend mental health counseling, and not own or use any weapons. After putting a probation ankle monitor on Whitney’s left ankle, Fury allowed Hawkeye to fly her back to Wakanda, the kingdom the Avengers were helping King T’Challa save.
On the flight, Whitney looked at her ankle monitor. She didn’t know how she was going to deal with probation, since she would be free as long as she didn’t violate any of her conditions, such as using sharp objects. At least this was better than staying in prison.
“And the one on my thumb has this beautiful filigree design,” Hawkeye explained, talking about the story behind his thumb ring to cheer the black-haired woman up. “It is just the cutest thing. I got it during an island vacation, and I never take it off… pretty much because it’s stuck there. It’s like, permanent.” He chuckled before he saw Whitney looking at her ankle monitor sadly.
“Hey, you okay?” Hawkeye asked Whitney.
Whitney shook herself out of her misery. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “I’m excellent. Thank you for sticking up for me.”
“No problem!” Hawkeye happily replied. “I want you to have a better life. I really do.”
Hawkeye knew that this meant that the conditions of Whitney’s year-long probation required him to keep her by his side for the first few weeks. If he was going to allow a probationer to stay with him, then he needed to keep a close eye on her, as well as clear the kingdom of items that she could not possess. The young archer was all in for giving Whitney Frost a second chance at life, even though he, too, had to adhere to her probation conditions as her supervisor.