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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎

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Charlie continued to run through the destroyed city with her father and Wanda for what felt like an eternity until they finally reached a demolished church in the center of the city. Right as the two girls made their way into the crumbling structure, Pietro sprinted over to meet with them before making sure they were both okay. A relieved sigh passed over the speedster's lips after both of them reassured him that they were fine. It wasn't long after that when the three of them walked further into the building to join the rest of the heroes.

The Barton girl's eyes scanned over the broken robots that littered the ground of the building until her attention landed on movement behind the God of Thunder. She loaded her bow without an ounce of hesitation and fired her arrow at a metal man trying to sneak up behind Thor. Once he realized what just happened, the Odinson man sent the young archer a grateful nod before they waited for the rest of the team to show up.

"Romanoff, you and Banner better be on your way."

"Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly," Natasha responded to Tony with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Not even a second after she finished speaking passed when the sound of an engine revving filled the air. Charlie quickly turned her attention to the source of the noise to see a bulldozer stopping outside the church after smashing all of the robots that were in its path. A small smile formed on the blonde girl's face as she watched the redheaded spy climb out of the large vehicle and casually walk up to the Stark man. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill," Tony responded while gesturing towards the metal object in the center of the destroyed structure, "if Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Because her attention was on the two Avengers talking, Charlie jumped when the Hulk landed right outside of the deteriorating structure while smashing a herd of Ultron's minions. Clint laughed at his daughter's reaction before she playfully nudged him with her elbow. However, their small moment of fun came to an end when the leader of the robot army flew into view, causing everyone to turn toward him.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Thor yelled at the nine-foot robot while tightening his grip around Mjolnir.

The Barton girl glanced over at the God of Thunder for a moment before turning her attention back to Ultron, only to find him holding one arm up in the air. The next thing any of them knew, the remaining robots in his army ran and flew toward their leader. More and more metal men came out of nowhere to join the fight, causing Steve to let out a long sigh and look over at Thor. "You had to ask."

"This is the best I can do," Ultron responded to the Odinson man while holding his arms out as if he was their savior before gesturing towards the heroes gathered in front of him, "this is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said," Tony answered as he looked over at the Man Out of Time before his glowing eyes landed back on his disastrous creation, "together."

As soon as the last word was spoken, Hulk roared at the robot and his army before Ultron pointed at the Avengers and their three young allies, sending his minions towards them. Charlie began to shoot and kick at the metal men as soon as they were close enough with her father at her side. On her left, Wanda used her telekinesis to send the robots into one another or to disintegrate them into nothing at the same time Pietro sped around the room and smashed as many robots as he could. The sounds of Thor's hammer and Steve's shield meeting metal cut through the air while Tony and Vision flew above them and fired at the robots who decided to fly in. More and more androids filled the room as the heroes continued to take them out, making it seem like they were barely doing anything.

Soon Ultron flew straight into the destroyed building and fought against the Keeper of the Mind Stone before slamming Vision into a wall. However, before the nine-foot robot could land another hit, the android used the Mind Stone to shoot a beam at the leader of the robots and pushed him out of the destroyed building. Thor and Tony joined Vision outside as the android continued to fire a beam out of the stone in his head. It wasn't long before the God of Thunder used his hammer to shoot lightning at the same moment the Stark man used his repulsors against his creation.

When they were done firing at the metal beast, Ultron stood as tall as he could and began to speak, only to be interrupted when Hulk ran toward him and punched him as hard as he could. Charlie watched with a smile on her face as the nine-foot robot flew through the air before Hulk turned his attention towards the remaining metal men. Not even a second passed before the rest of the robot army started to flee.

"They're trying to leave the city," Thor said after watching a group of metal men take off from the floating country.

"We can't let them, not even one," Tony responded then looked up to the sky and called out to Rhodey.

"I'm on it," War Machine responded before Charlie watched the man fly across the sky towards the runaway robots before Vision joined him on his quest.

The heroes remaining inside the church gathered around the metal object stationed in the center. While they took a moment to catch their breath, Charlie placed her bow on her back and grabbed a few arrows from the floor to refill her quiver. As soon as she was satisfied with the number of arrows she was able to save, the Barton girl turned her attention back to Steve when he began speaking.

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin," the Man Out of Time told them before he looked away from them and towards the demolished city that surrounded them, "you guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?" the Barton girl asked while she gestured over toward the vibranium object.

"I'll protect it," Wanda announced then looked over at Clint, who was staring back at her with a bit of shock in his eyes, "it's my job."

The Barton man sent her a small nod while his daughter flashed the Maximoff girl a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie watched her father look over at her and Natasha before he took a few steps closer to them. "Nat. Char. This way."

"I'll catch up," the Barton girl told him, receiving a skeptical look from both her mentors before Clint sent her a hesitant nod and rushed out of the building with Natasha.

Once they were gone, Charlie climbed the small set of stairs that led to the core before pulling Wanda in for a tight hug and whispering in her ear to be careful. Right as their quick moment ended, Pietro appeared out of nowhere and smashed a straggling robot that was trying to sneak up behind the two girls.

"Get the people on the boats," Wanda told the two heroes that were still with her, only for her brother to let out a scoff and take a few steps closer to her.

"I'm not going to leave you here," the Maximoff boy responded with determination in his voice, only for his sister to send him a serious look.

"I can handle this," the telekinetic responded to her brother before firing a red beam at a metal man coming towards her as if to prove to the speedster that she could take care of herself, "come back for me when everyone else is off. Not before."

Pietro let out an annoyed grunt before he walked past his sister and towards Charlie. The Barton girl just stared at the boy in confusion for a moment before she realized what he was about to do. Just as she was about to protest, the Maximoff boy picked the archer up and turned his attention back to his sister when she spoke again. "You understand?"

"You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

"Go," Wanda laughed while her brother sent her one last smug smirk before he sped off with Charlie in his arms.

The world around the archer became a blur as Pietro sprinted through the streets of his destroyed home. What felt like an eternity passed until everything returned to normal for the Barton girl before she was set back down on her feet. Once she regained her bearings, her eyes took in her surroundings until she realized they ended up near the lifeboats. A relieved sigh passed over Charlie's lips as soon as she saw her father safely sitting in one of the small aircrafts. She then turned around to face the speedster once again, only to find him staring back at her with a worried look on his face. It didn't take a genius to know what he was thinking.

The Barton girl surprised Pietro by placing a gentle kiss on his cheek before taking his hands into hers. "Go get Wanda and meet me in one of the boats. And please do it before this rock is blown to pebbles."

The speedster sent the archer a giant grin before he sprinted off toward where they left Wanda. Charlie stood there for a moment and stared in the direction he ran off in then she turned and walked towards the boat her father was on. As soon as her feet came in contact with the ramp, she heard the sound of a panicked voice, causing her eyes to scan over the civilians until they landed on a blonde woman who looked barely older than she was.

"Costel! He was in the market! Costel!"

The Barton girl exchanged a look with her father before she turned her back to him and scanned her surroundings for any signs of life. It only took her a moment for her to spot the young boy hiding among the rubble in the distance. Charlie's feet moved in the direction of the child before her mind even told her to until she reached the terrified boy. The young brunette stared up at the archer with tearful eyes then she quickly took him into his arms and turned to make her way back to the lifeboats.

All positive emotions faded from within her and her body became as still as a statue when she heard a loud popping cut through the air. Charlie instantly turned in the direction of the sound to see a plane flying straight toward her while firing at the ground. After managing to meet her father's gaze in the distance, the Barton girl turned her back towards the oncoming danger in an attempt to shield the boy before she closed her eyes and waited for her fate to be sealed. But she was only greeted by a gust of wind.

It didn't take Charlie long to figure out why that feeling was so familiar before she turned around to find Pietro looking back at her with wide eyes. Panic filled every inch of her as tears formed in her eyes scanned over the speedster then she looked back up to meet his gaze.

"You didn't see that coming?"

The Maximoff boy sent the Barton girl one last small smile then he fell to the earth in front of her. The world around her seemed to slow as her eyes stayed glued to the speedster before Clint appeared at her side and took the boy from her. As soon as the child was out of her arms, Charlie rushed to Pietro and fell to the ground at his side before she carefully flipped him over and pulled his head into my lap.

"No, no, no," the girl whispered in a frenzy as her watery eyes scanned over the wounds that covered his boy.

"Hey, anđeo," Pietro whispered, drawing Charlie's attention back to his face before he slowly reached up and yanked his dog tags off his neck and placed them in her hand, "thank you."

Before the archer had a chance to respond, she watched the life slowly fade from his eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks as Charlie's eyes stayed glued to his expressionless face. Another moment passed before the young archer reached up with a shaky hand and gently closed his eyes. A few choked sobs escaped the girl as she tightened her grip around the speedster. The Barton girl was quickly brought out of her daze when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder, causing her to look up to see Steve and her father, who still had the boy in his arms, staring down at her with sadness on their faces.

"We gotta go, Char," Clint told his daughter while Steve bent down and gently picked Pietro up before he began to walk towards the lifeboats. After staring at his retreating figure for a long moment, Charlie allowed her father to help her to her feet then their eyes locked once again. "I'm sorry."

A numbness that she hadn't felt since she lost her mother and brother began to fill every inch of her body as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Clint instantly wrapped the arm that wasn't holding the child around his daughter's shoulders and escorted her towards the lifeboats. Once they reached their destination, the Barton girl's eyes followed her father while he gave the boy back to the blonde woman. Charlie continued to watch their reunion for a moment longer before her attention landed on Steve as he carefully laid Pietro down on the floor where no one was sitting.

Without thinking twice, the archer walked through the aisle of the aircraft and towards Steve, who placed a hand on her shoulder and sent her a small smile. She continued to watch the Man Out of Time as he walked back towards the ramp of the lifeboat before she sat down on the floor beside the speedster. Charlie leaned back on the seats as tears continued to stream down her cheeks then carefully place Pietro's head in her lap.

When she rested her head on the seat behind her, the Barton girl looked up at the blue sky. It wasn't long after that when her father lay down on the seats behind her after ushering a medic away. The next thing anyone knew, the ground began to plunge back to Earth while leaving the lifeboats in the air as it started its journey back to the Helicarrier.

When Charlie looked away from the falling rock and back up at the sky, Vision came into view as he flew above us before all her thoughts turned to one thing. "Vision," the archer said into her communicator, causing the red and gray man to look down at her, "Wanda."

As soon as her name left her mouth, the Keeper of the Mind Stone looked back at the falling city and flew off to save the telekinetic. When Vision was out of sight, the Barton girl looked down at the Maximoff boy before she forced a small smile onto her face.

"I'll watch out for her...I promise."

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