Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Last issue the Clown and the Tracksuit Draculas gang invaded the apartment building that Clint Barton (Hawkeye) 'owns' (but not legally). The tenants fought back. Clown and the TD leader Ivan Banionis left Clint and brother Barney Barton injured on the rooftop with 3 of the Draculas. The brothers defeated the foes but Barney was stabbed, apparently fatally. Then Lucky the Pizza Dog showed up with an arrow in his mouth.
1st we see that Clown and Ivan have gone to the Bartons' apartment where Cherry/Penny greets them with the safe from #8. She's opened it for them (despite having forgotten the combination in #8). They want the documents she stole revealing the illegalities behind the real-estate deal that requires the building to be emptied of tenants. She tells them she only wants her passport and some cash, but then pulls a gun out and says she's taking the incriminating evidence too. But then an arrow followed by Clint crashing through a window interrupts the standoff. Clown reloads his shotgun but Lucky runs in and savages Ivan. Cherry and Clint now have the upper hand.
10 minutes ago Kate Bishop (the other Hawkeye) and Lucky turned up outside (having driven here from Los Angeles (#20)) and surveyed the mayhem. She made sure that Aimee was alright (last issue she crashed Clint's car into the Draculas at the front of the building). Then she entered the building and found some TDs dismantling the blockade of furniture leading up to a higher floor. A blast arrow took them out, and she sent Lucky upstairs with a spare arrow.
Now Kate joins the tableau in Clint's apartment. Clint calls Lucky off the Russian. Kate shoots the gun out of Cherry's hand. Lucky leaps towards the Clown but he shoots him. Barton barrels into Clown and they fight as Kate cradles their injured dog. They take the fight out of the room. Cherry and Ivan eye the gun on the floor but Kate gets it and holds them off. The men's fight continues until Clint separates Clown from his shotgun and menaces the villain with an arrow. But he hesitates to kill and the foe reveals a concealed pistol in his sleeve and shoots the hero, but only in the shoulder (in revenge for getting an arrow in *his* shoulder last issue?).
The other tenants round up injured Draculas. Cherry tells Kate she only wants her passport out of the safe, Clint can have the documents to save the building. Ivan dares Kate to shoot him because his men will hunt both women down. Kate admits she's not a killer and tosses the gun towards Ivan. But as he reaches for him she puts an arrow through his wrist - for Lucky. And then she produces some handcuffs. Clown has Clint at his mercy with his pistol. But Kate bursts in and deflects his aim. Clown mercilessly beats her and reclaims his pistol. But Clint pulls the shotgun round(?) out of his wound and snap-flicks it into the villain's eye. And then he knees him, headbutts him and beats him unconscious. And goes to get some cables from the AV system to tie him up with.
Later police are on hand to take over. Even later Clint and Kate are on the roof with Grills' dad and others. It seems that after Clint went downstairs Barney followed. Grills' dad figured he went to help. But Clint suddenly remembers all the money in the basement that he told Barney about last issue. The 2 Hawkeyes go down there to discover it all gone. Later still Bobbi Morse, Jessica Drew and Natasha Romanoff are round helping tidy up Clint's apartment. Lucky is alive and bandaged up. Clint's hands are bandaged too (and he's got a sling and a crutch) so Bobbi's forging his signature on some documents (probably making his ownership of the apartment building legal). Cherry/Penny leaves again, and later we see her on the same plane as the Tracksuit Draculas' old man boss and the apartment woman who was mother of 1 of the TDs.
Then we see a meeting of some villains we saw in #8 (Kingpin, Madame Masque, Hammerhead, Owl, Tombstone, Mr Negative, Ringmaster and his aide Swordsman), this time joined by Silvermane and Kate's dad Derek Bishop. They're angry (again) at their plans being thwarted and agree that both Hawkeyes must die. Even Mr Bishop agrees that his daughter must be killed.
Even later Clint's practising his archery and we see that he's got a hearing aid (again). (Clint was rendered deaf (again) last issue.) He gets a call from Barney on a yacht with Simone and her kids, and he's going to enjoy all that money. Then once-again-partner Kate joins him for practise.