Synopsis
This issue mainly concentrates on the present-day action with the childhood flashback restricted to the bottom panels of each page until it expands to all but the top panels of the last page. But I'll still cover the flashbacks 1st for a reason that will become obvious.
Flashbacks:-
Previously orphans Clint and Barney Barton ran away from their abusive foster-father and took refuge in the Carson Travelling Carnival. Swordsman drove the foster-father away and persuaded the bearded lady owner Mrs Carson to hire the young lads as roustabouts. #2 ended with Clint spotting a penknife that Swordsman had dropped. He thanked the boy, calling him Hawkeye, and explained that it was the 1st knife he owned, a present from his father.
The boys do menial jobs like shovelling (elephant) shit when they're not sneaking into the big tent to marvel at the acts, including the young female aerialist they met last issue leaping from her suspended hoop to land on a tilted target where Swordsman surrounds her with arrows and knives, before she throws round fruit at him which he slices in midair with his sword.
Afterwards the lads play with the clowns' dog which also befriended them last issue. When Swordsman catches them goofing off he (pretends to be) angry. Barney tries to take all the blame, but Jacques DuQuesne tosses the special knife to 'Hawkeye' and says that if they want to break the rules then they're going to play a little game.
Present day:-
In #1-2 the 2 Hawkeyes (Clint Barton & Kate Bishop) went on a mission for SHIELD to uncover Hydra's secret Project Communion which turned out to be 3 young children with electrodes in their heads - who Hydra seemed frightened of. They rescued the kids and SHIELD took all 5 of them away.
Now the Hawkeyes are on a SHIELD helicarrier stuck in a bare room waiting to be debriefed on the mission. As in their previous series Clint sports the usual array of sticking plasters from the mission but Kate got off unscathed. She notices that the table has messages carved into it like Clint + Bobbie (his ex-wife) in a heart. It turns our he's cooled his heels here many times before. He hands her a penknife and suggests she add her own artwork. She claims she's never seen this knife before but he swears he's had it forever, it's his good luck charm. (And it's obviously Swordsman's little blade.)
Eventually SHIELD Director Maria Hill comes to see them. Kate complains about the wait and wants to know what she's done with the children. Hill gives a political non-answer and tells her to calm down. Despite Clint metaphorically kicking her under the table Kate angrily points out that she's not a SHIELD Agent so Hill can't tell her what to do. Hill barks back that she didn't *want* Clint to take her with him on the mission because she doesn't like *children* on SHIELD ops.
Things are still icy between the 2 women but Clint's willing to listen to what Maria has to say. She claims that she didn't know that Project Communion was 3 kids, in fact the intel she was given seemed deliberately vague. She lowers her voice to tell them that she's *not* implying that someone doesn't want anything on record about the reality of Communion. Clint despairs that SHIELD just want to use them as weapons like Hydra did. Kate demands to see the kids but Hill tells even *she* can't see them, Codename Communion is officially in quarantine. She emphasises that it took all her authority just to keep them on the helicarrier for a couple of hours.
Kate twigs immediately, and after a token protest she gets up to leave because there's nothing they can do. Confused Clint still blusters at Maria until she leans in to his hearing aid and whispers to make it clear to him. It's not SHIELD pulling the strings but she has to follow orders from higher up. The Hawkeyes however *don't*.
On their way out Clint asks Kate if she really wants to do this because they don't know what the kids are capable of. Kate responds that the kids mentally killed Hydra agents last issue but they didn't hurt *her* - they can obviously control what they do. Clint then admits that he doesn't want her to get too attached to them. *She* angrily points out that it's *him* who never wants to take any responsibility. She stalks off to rescue the children again. And he reluctantly follows her.
SHIELD have the kids back in individual transparent containment tubes with wires back attached to their electrodes. They're surrounded by armed Agents but the kids just sit doing nothing although they're not sedated. The scientists are happy that they seem to present no danger but they've got to find some way of making the kids attack on command at designated targets.
Then the Hawkeyes pop in. Kate says Director Hill sent her down to check security, and Clint nonchalantly mentions she's a Young Avenger. The confused scientists insist that they leave. Clint-eye suggests he uses 1 of his trick arrows, and Kate-eye agrees with an exasperated sigh. A smoke arrow has scientists and Agents coughing and part-blinded. Then Clint leans back to watch as his young partner acrobatically takes out all the opposition. He's impressed.
Clint wakes 1 of the scientists and Kate asks him to let the kids out. The scientist protests that they're too dangerous. Kate knocks an arrow and points it at his head at close range, and points out that *she*'s dangerous too. The man raises the tubes which removes the wires from the electrodes but still the children don't do anything. Until Kate approaches and they happily greet her as "Kate Katie Hawkeye" and ask her to take them home. Clint-eye leads them all to a hanger containing SHIELD's flying cars and soon they're off. The kids call him "Clint Hawkeye" and claim they don't like him. Clint takes it in good heart.
He drives them back to the brownstone that he owns and lives in 1 of the apartments. Inside the kids meet Lucky the dog. Both sides are initially wary but are soon fast friends. Clint opens his penknife and tells them not to worry as he cuts off their identification bands. They now admit that they like him, but they still like Kate Katie more. (Kate hates Clint calling her Katie but she's having to put up with the kids using the double name.)