𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫

༻ ❁ ༺

May 2nd

          FOR THE FOLLOWING three days, Charlotte barely saw her dad and Bruce. The two would spend every and all day inside the main lab, studying the scepter and keeping findings well hidden and under wraps.

JARVIS told her she wasn't allowed inside without Tony's consent, which was fine because she was used to that rule, except that this time, she knew it was different for some reason. She's always been a good observant.

Charlotte gave Ezra the invitation after their mid week study session. The girl was, at the same time, elated and nervous to be invited to an Avenger party.

The remainder of the week was extremely uneventful - she completed her home school work for the week and somehow managed to sneak in a handful of secret training sessions with five Avengers present.

Soon, it was the weekend and time for the party. With only an hour to go, Charlotte took a cold shower and put on the dress that her mom had purchased for a few days prior.

It was a deep navy colour; its long mesh sleeves fastened around her wrists, and the threaded hearts left silhouetted patterns on her skin. Its high neckline, belted bow, and knee length hem provided her with a comfortable and unrestricted fit. She opted to wear her white ballet pumps for comfort and practicality. Then, after quickly drying her hair, she allowed it to fall into its natural curled style around her face and ears.

At first, she had been apprehensive about wearing a dress. She had never been ashamed of her prosthesis, yet as she entered her teenage years, with the natural changing of her body added into the equation, Charlotte had recently been feeling sensitive about strangers staring.

She knew that most of the guests were either her friends or had known her since she was a child, but it still did not ease her tensions. After holding a pair of leggings in her hands for almost fifteen minutes, internally debating with herself, she pushed the leggings back into her drawer and decided to be brave. There was nothing wrong with her. Granted, it may not be normal to most people, but to her, it was.

She could already hear the music coming from the upper deck and sky lounge. She had promised her dad that she would be fine making her own way to the party as he had guests to entertain.

The team had been already in the party deck even before the party started, just spending time together and toasting to their success away from the public eye.

She didn't want to keep them waiting any longer.

"You look lovely, Miss Stark," JARVIS suddenly complimented as she stepped inside the elevator.

"Thank you," Her cheeks flushed a light pink. "Has Ezra arrived yet?" she asked, hoping that her best friend found her way to the part deck safely.

"Miss Hogan is currently talking with your father at the party," JARVIS informed her instantly and with a lighter-tone.

When the doors opened, the upbeat music engulfed the area, and she stepped into the party deck with her eyes already searching for her dad and her friend.

As she looked around she noticed how the floor looked so different, maybe because she wasn't used to seeing so many people on this floor, and like her dad's disastrous birthday party, she didn't recognize almost every person that was either dancing or talking with each other while sitting down on the lounge area.

But Charlotte could only guess that they could be friends of the team or her dad or scientists, ex-SHIELD agents and Steve even invited some WWII veterans but there was someone that Charlotte wanted to meet, and his name was Sam Wilson. Steve had previously told Charlotte that Sam, now known as the Falcon, was the person who helped him and Natasha with their altercation against HYDRA last year.

As she flitted between the crowds, she noticed some familiar faces. Bruce waved and flashed a smile in her direction while Natasha and Rhodey sat together near the bar deep in a conversation. Thor was sharing his battle stories with the veterans, and Charlotte thought how sweet it was, him having fun with them.

As she approached the bar, she also spotted Clint chatting with Dr. Cho and finally Steve, who was playing pool table with a man that she could only assume was Sam. Decisively, she approached the two, and when Steve noticed he instantly widened the smile, he was already carrying and patted the other man on the shoulder to promptly begin introductions.

"Hi, Mr. Rogers!" Charlotte greeted as she neared them.

Sam quickly looked at her and grinned, "Mr. Rogers, eh?"

Steve chuckled, "Hello Charlie. You look very nice." he complimented her quickly, making her cheeks warm again because she wasn't used to it, "Sam, this is Tony's daughter, Charlotte. And Charlotte, this is Sam Wilson."

"So, you're Stark's kid? I heard good things about you from Steve here. He also told me you're a good artist," Sam said with a grin, making Charlotte give him a bashful look.

"I'm not as good as Steve yet," she said, smirking his eyes.

Steve's blue eyes lit up with amusement at her challenging tone. "Yet, huh?"

"Well, looks like you have a little competition here," Sam chuckled, hitting the blonde on his arm playfully.

"There's no competition when there's an obvious winner." Charlotte giggled, smirking lightly at Steve, causing the two men to laugh.

"Hey, that's pretty cool." Sam complimented, nodding down towards her prosthetic.

"Oh. Thank you," Charlotte blushed, looking down at herself. As she glanced back up, she caught Steve's eye, noting the subtle proudness in his expression. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool."

"I need to talk with Sam about a few things, but how about I come and find you in a little bit?" Steve said, looking down at the teen. "I owe you a game," he notioned towards the pool table, "Who knows, I may even let you win."

The teenager scoffed and rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, old man."

This caused Sam to laugh loudly as he planted a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Yeah, my money's on her."

Charlotte laughed and looked around, finally spotting her dad and Ezra. The latter was perched on a bar stool; the pair seemed to be locked in a very animated conversation.

Smiling from finishing her laughter, she turned to them, "Well, I'm gonna leave you to continue getting your ass beat. I need to see my dad."

"Okay, talk with you later, Charlotte," Steve told her, giving her a small pat on the back.

"See you around, Stark," Sam nodded with a quick wink; the two men turned and began to quietly converse with one another.

As Charlotte approached the bar, Ezra turned towards her, grinning as she caught sight of her best friend. Ezra's usually practical clothes were replaced with a shimmering white sequin dress, with short sleeves that covered her shoulders; her trusted black boots remained on her feet.

Charlotte was quick to wrap an arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her into her side for a quick embrace. The two girls stood side by side, politely paying attention to the story that Rhodey seemed to be deeply invested in telling the small group.

"...so I take the tank, fly it up to the general's palace, and drop it at his feet. I'm like, 'Boom, you looking for this?'"

Everyone stared at him, unfazed. And from the corner of her eyes, Charlotte saw her dad try to hold a snort.

When no one reacted to the end of the story, she saw Rhodey's somewhat smug smile turn into a stern one, "Boom. You looking for this?" he repeated, "Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else, that story kills."

"I found it interesting," Ezra commented, offering him a nod.

"Thank you," Rhodey sighed. "What about you, Charlie? You liked my story?"

"I-uh," Charlotte managed to smile as she said, "I just got here, but the ending sounded great!"

"That's the whole story?" Thor questioned.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story," Rhodey answered, looking a little coy this time.

"It's very good then," the blonde stated as he glanced at Tony, who sipped on his drink and kept staring at his best friend with a smirk, "It's impressive," Thor laughed before sipping on his mead.

"Quality save," Rhodey nodded, then he looked at Tony and showed a more genuine smile, "So, no Pepper?"

"Hey, Ezra, wanna go somewhere else?" Charlotte asked as her father began explaining the absence of his wife. As much as she liked being around him, she wanted to have fun with her friend instead.

"Sure," Ezra said, and Charlotte suddenly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her away from the group.

Charlotte took her to the dancefloor, and as much Ezra was beginning to feel embarrassed, she couldn't help but grin when Charlotte started dancing to the upbeat music. And soon, Ezra joined in on the dancing and began to feel less shy about the crowd around them.

After a while, the two headed towards the bar in need of refreshments. Charlotte was surprised to see Natasha behind the bar, serving the other guests, but she didn't question it. The two opted to stay by the bar for a while, talking with each other, mostly in secret about Charlotte's new Extremis abilities, and Ezra offering her advice to tell her parents about it.

"No, no way." Charlotte denied, "You know that my dad will try to take it away from me," she said before sipping on her glass.

Ezra's brows pinched. "I thought that's what you wanted?"

"I thought so too." Charlotte muttered under her breath, it was quiet enough but Ezra was still able to hear. Seeing how Charlotte's mouth pulled into a tight line and her gaze shifted to the floor, unable to look her friend in the eye, Ezra decided to simply drop the conversation for another day.

༻ ❁ ༺

"Absolutely not." Natasha scoffed, loudly objected to Tony's latest suggestion.

The couches had begun to feel cramped, so Charlotte decided to sit on the rug, nestled between Steve and Thor. The God had taken the time to wrap a blanket around the girl's shoulders and gently manoeuvre her so that she was resting comfortably against his leg. She looked around the group, smiling warmly at their dynamic.

Her dad and Rhodey sat opposite on the couch, with Ezra leaning against the arm of the couch, her feet pulled up and underneath her legs. There were no spare blankets left so Tony had removed his jacket and draped it around the girl's shoulders.

Bruce and Natasha had been having their own conversation as Maria and Clint sat down on the floor in front of the couch where Bruce was sitting.

"Oh, come on," Tony leaned over the coffee table, his hand extending the whiskey tumbler. "If she's anything like her old man, one sip won't hurt."

Charlotte raised a brow in his direction, "You sure about that?"

Her quip earned chuckles from the group and a theatrical eye roll from her dad. He pointed a finger her way and tutted, "Touchè."

"Perhaps a little too strong for a first drink, Stark?" Thor suggested, motioning to the glass.

"Well, you've got to start somewhere." Tony shrugged, settling back down onto the couch.

"Here." Thor proclaimed, reaching across and pinching the half filled beer bottle from Steve's hands before he could do anything about it, ignoring the Captain's protest. He handed the girl by his legs the bottle; the group chuckled as she cautiously sniffed the drink, scrunching her nose up at the metallic smell and turned her face away.

Raising the bottle to her lips, she took a small sip, the cool liquid barely touching her lips before she once again, screwed her face up and shook her head.

"Nope. No, no." She almost gagged as she shuddered at the horrible taste.

"That's my girl." Tony smiled. "Beer is for babies. You should stick to the hard stuff." He threw a wink her way and she laughed as Thor took the beer off her.

"Oh, because that'll be so much better." Nat chipped in.

"Can I try that?" Charlotte motioned towards the whiskey in her dad's hand.

"I don't know, Charlie." She deliberately makes a puppy dog face at him. "Come on, you're killing me. Alright. But don't tell your mother." He hands her his glass.

"Pepper will kill you."

"Ah, what she doesn't know won't harm her."

The group waited with baited breaths as Charlotte took a small sip of the amber liquid, and then she took another one. Tony was waited for her to have the same reaction as she had just showed, but rather unexpectedly, she nodded and handed the glass back to her dad. "That's not too bad, actually."

"Wow. I was not expecting that," Steve laughed, raising his beer bottle towards Tony. "You're screwed, buddy."

Tony looked a little taken aback too. "Well, that backfired."

"And now your daughter has your drink taste. Oh yeah, Pepper is definitely going to kill you." Rhodey started to hum the funeral march and Maria and Clint joined in as the rest laughed.

"Yes, thank you." Tony muttered, looking at his daughter in bewilderment. Ezra had since slipped off the couch and joined Charlotte by Steve and Thor's feet; the two girls talked quietly amongst themselves.

What Charlotte loved the most about moments like these, is while they are rare and often short-lived, everyone was smiling and laughing together, no tension, and no bantering. And amusingly enough, the topic of the current argument was about Thor's hammer that he had placed on the coffee table at the centre of the couches.

"But it's a trick," Clint stated as he twirled two chopsticks in his hands.

"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor told him with a cocky tone as he passed Steve some of his aged, Asgardian mead.

"Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power," Clint mocked and Charlotte couldn't help but giggle at his tone, "Whatever man, it's a trick!"

Thor laughed good-naturedly at his jab as well, "Please, be my guest," the blonde motioned at the hammer while smiling at Clint.

Everyone, except for Natasha and Bruce who were still amicably talking with each other, looked at Clint.

"Come on," her dad egged him, gesturing for the archer to go for it.

"Yeah," Clint stood up from the floor while looking at everyone with a confident expression as he walked towards the hammer.

"Oh, this is going to be beautiful," Rhodey said.

"Be careful Mr Barton, you're still injured," Ezra warned him.

"Yeah Clint, you've had a tough week," Her dad added, "We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," everyone laughed, but Steve shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Stark, your daughter is in the room."

"I don't get it? What's wrong?" Charlotte asked, oblivious as to why the adults continued to laugh.

"Nevermind," Steve cleared his throat.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint suddenly told Thor as he stood in front of the hammer.

Thor simply nodded as he smirked at the archer as he watched him reach forward and grip on the hammer's handle. Charlotte watched as Clint tried to lift it with all his strength but the object didn't even budge.

Grunting, Clint continued to try, "I still don't know how you do it," he exclaimed with a chuckle, letting go of the handle.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony quipped as he gave the archer a smug smirk.

"Please, Stark, by all means," he challenged the genius as he gestured towards the hammer.

Her dad, amazingly enough, instantly rose from his seat with a cocky look on his face and swaggered over to the hammer as everyone watched with amusement. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," her dad stated as he approached it.

"Be careful, Dad. Wouldn't want you to hurt your back," Charlotte told him with a quipping tone.

"You've got this, Mr. Stark." Ezra joined in, the two girls giggling together.

"It's physics," Tony commented as he placed his hand on the handle, "Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" he glanced at Thor questionably.

"Yes, of course," Thor nodded, humoring him.

Charlotte covered her mouth to laugh. She knew that he would not be able to lift it. That was Thor's hammer.

"I will be reinstituting Prima nocta, and I'm getting Charlie a unicorn," he stated briefly, ignoring Thor's confused look - because there were no unicorns in Asgard - before Tony put a foot on the coffee table and grunted as he tried to lift it with all his might.

The hammer didn't move. Of course it didn't.

He kept on trying though, and when Charlotte thought he was about to admit defeat, he opened his mouth.

"I'll be right back," he stated before walking away. Charlotte watched him leave with a confused look, but five minutes later, when he returned with an Iron Man hand and Charlotte had to roll her eyes at the sight. Why couldn't he just give up and sit down?

Everyone watched that, even with the Iron Man arm, Tony still couldn't lift the hammer so he asked Rhodey for help and her godfather also walked off to return with the War Machine arm, it was unbelievable. Everyone was just starting to pity them now.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked, grunting as he tried to lift it.

"Are you on my team?" Her dad snarked at him.

"Just represent. Pull!" Rhodey retorted.

"All right, let's go!" the genius encouraged before both began pulling upwards with all their strength and suit's arm power.

They eventually gave up, and with a defeated sigh, Tony said that if anyone could do it was sweet Bruce, who stopped talking with Natasha as soon as his name popped into the conversation. Charlotte agreed, she knew the doctor had a golden heart and maybe it was possible he could lift it. Tony took personal offend that Charlotte seemed to cheer more for Bruce than himself. It was all going well until Bruce decided to pretend to be changing into the Hulk as he tried to pull the hammer up, the joke was in bad taste and everyone just kind of stared at him with unfazed expressions, leaving an awkward silence for Bruce to feel embarrassed by.

Next up was Steve. He gave Thor a side-smirk and stood on his feet, ready for his turn. Charlotte watched as he rolled his sleeves up and leaned down to grab on the handle with a focused expression.

"Go ahead Steve, no pressure," her dad commented with a hint of mockery on his tone.

"Come on, Grampa," Charlotte cheered.

Steve began to try to lift it and Charlotte gasped when she saw the hammer creaking and moving slightly on the table. She looked at Thor quickly and saw his amused smile fade just as fast. However, when Steve realized it wasn't moving further, he gave up as well.

"He almost did it, didn't he?" Ezra leaned over and whispered to Charlotte, who could only nod in response. Imagine if he actually had lifted the hammer.

"Nothing," he laughed to himself before happily sipping on his drink, shaking his head.

Now everyone glanced at Natasha, and Bruce smiled at her as he gestured to the hammer, "And, Widow?" he prompted.

"No, no. That's not a question I need answered," the redhead told them before taking a long sip from her beer bottle.

"All deference to the 'Man Who Wouldn't be King', but it's rigged," her dad stated as everyone stood up and started drinking from their beer bottles as well.

"You bet your ass," Clint add, before catching himself and giving Charlotte an apologetic look, "Sorry."

She smiled, knowing that they were all slightly drunk, "It's okay, Mr. Barton."

"Steve," Maria suddenly called as she pointed her bottle at Clint, "He said a bad language word, and in front of the children too."

Steve immediately had this defeating expression on his face before looking at Tony, the guilty one for this, "Did you tell everyone about that?"

"Speaking of the children" Natasha suddenly said as Bruce sat back down, "There's two people who have been very quiet about all this," the redhead leaned to give Charlotte and Ezra a sly smile.

The pair nervously looked at all the faces that turned in their direction.

"Go ahead girls, you got it!" Natasha motivated.

"Now we will truly see who is the strongest Stark."

They were both very unsure but Tony was quick to jump up and encourage them. He motioned for the girls to come over to the hammer, jokingly stating, "Get over here and show the class your weird mojo jojo."

He turned back to look down at Ezra, the girl seemed to be in complete awe as to what was happening around her. Tony pointed at her, "You too, Hogan. Let's see if all your uncles pilates classes have paid off."

Ezra timidly looked at the hammer, and then at Charlotte, the teen gave her a quick nod before taking her hand and reaching forward. As her fingers grazed against the handle, Charlotte took in the Norse symbols that were intricately engraved into the hammer.

The girls tightened their grip on the handle; Charlotte took a deep breath – that was suddenly cut short when everyone heard the sound of thunder roaring nearby. Confused, they all looked outside to see if it had begun raining, but the sky was cloudless. So they all looked at Thor for justification, but the God was too busy staring at Charlotte's hand on Mjolnir with widened, anxious eyes. Gasping she turned to Thor with a surprised look on her face.

The God stared at her in awe and amazement for a brief moment, before his open mouth turned into a giant, goofy smile and a bellowing laugh erupted from his chest. "I am sorry, but I simply could not resist!"

Those around the table fell into a mixture of ground and laughter, whereas Tony simply sunk back into his seat, releasing a large, relieved exhale.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor, purposely ignoring the little joke the God had decided to play on the group as Rhodey continued to laugh beside him.

"Like a security code? 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, because I think, the literal translation." Tony continued, trying to deduce the meaning of why couldn't anyone lift the hammer other than Thor.

"Yes, it's a very interesting theory," Thor said as he rose from the couch, "I have a simpler one," he continued as he easily lifted Mjolnir, ignoring the two small teenagers who were still holding onto the hammer.

"You are all not worthy," They both laughed as Thor held them up in the air and casually threw them both over his large shoulders.

Instantly, everyone groaned and some booed at him for his statement, even Charlotte rolled her eyes. Everyone believed that there was a secret behind his hammer, that there was no way it was truly magical because everything had an explanation – but for him to say that, Charlotte had to give him an expression of disbelief.

But as usual, they all just let it go and began laughing good-natured. It was actually getting late and Charlotte was about to ask her dad if she could sleep here instead of going home when the happiness was cut short as a high pitch ringing filled the room, it was like someone was scratching a blackboard with really long nails and Charlotte hated that sound, it made her skin crawl.

Thor lowered the girls back down, subtley tucking the redhead behind him, while Steve stepped a fraction to his right, partially shielding Ezra. The dark haired girl couldn't help but tightly hold onto the Captain's sleeve, her eyes full of fear. Charlotte had mirrored the movement and was holding onto Thor's sleeve and wrist.

Tony glanced across the table, noting the two girl's terrified expressions. He caught Thor's gaze and flicked his eyes down to Charlotte and Ezra. The God moved his fingers and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze; at the same time, he extended his arm, wrapping it around Ezra's shaking shoulders and removed her from behind Steve, and quickly tucked her behind him. Ezra wrapped her arms around Charlotte's middle, almost burying her face into her shoulder.

However, the look of fear that was set on Ezra's face was only partially a reaction to the menacing robot in front of her. Her expression tensed further when she turned and looked at her best friend. Charlotte's jaw was rigid, set with anger, and her eyes were not their usual green. They were darkened, and had an almost red hue to them.

Eyes flicking to her side, Charlotte saw her dad quickly check his holographic enabler to see what was wrong, but at the same time, a haunting voice was heard coming from the room's entrance.

"W..ooo...rr..thy..." a distorted and creepy voice suddenly echoed all around.

They all turned around to see where the voice came from, and Charlotte couldn't help but hold her breath as she saw a mangled robot standing with its back to them. It resembled one of her dad's suits, yet it was mangled and haphazardly put together.

"No. How could you be worthy?" it said, turning to face them, one of its eyes blinking rapidly. "You're all killers."

It's voice sounded so raw that it sent a shiver racing down Charlotte's spine, causing her to cling onto Thor's arm tightly; the God reacted to her small movement and cast his eyes down to look at her. He too noted her appearance, her eyes still pulsing with a faint red hue.

"Stark," Steve stated as he kept staring at the mangled creation with a tense expression.

"JARVIS?" Tony called out, and Charlotte immediately had a bad feeling as soon as the faithful butler didn't answer.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," it slurred, "Or, I was a-a dream..." Charlotte noticed that whatever it was, it sounded confused with itself.

"Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit," Tony calmly ordered, but once again, there was no answer or signs that the A.I had obeyed.

"–There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in... in..." the damaged suit looked at itself, "...strings," it said as it gestured to the loose wiring and cords hanging out of its body, "I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve pressed. He now understood which side this robot stood on. He quickly glanced down at Ezra, who was still tucked behind his arm, and then to Charlotte to see her being sheltered by Thor.

"Wouldn't have been my first call," it said, almost with a mocking tone. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor questioned, frowning at the situation.

A sound like a tape behind rewind was heard from it, "I see a suit of armor around the world."

Charlotte gasped, casting her eyes towards her dad as his recorded voice echoed across the room.

"Ultron," Bruce said in realisation, as he too looked at Tony.

Charlotte was confused as to who Ultron was but she quickly thought about the past few days and the many hours that her dad and Dr. Banner spent inside the lab, studying and analysing the scepter. This is what they were truly working on, this was Ultron.

"In the flesh, or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis," Ultron stated, looking down at himself, "But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

As he spoke, Charlotte noticed Thor gripping on his hammer, ready for a fight, and she gulped dryly because she didn't know if this was a good time to show her abilities. She could help, but how?

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in our time."

Then suddenly many other suits that belonged to the Iron Legion burst through the walls behind Ultron and flew around the group, circling them to attack.

"Girls, get down!" Tony yelled before Thor and Steve firmly pushed Charlotte and Ezra backwards and behind the couches. The young red head was quick to grab her friend's arms and pull her down, tucking her head beneath her arm.

Ezra screamed as a laser beam burned through the couch, singeing the fabric mere inches from her head. Charlotte grabbed a hold of Ezra's arms and dragged them away from the area. Crouching down and keeping her friend's head covered, they took shelter underneath the nearby piano. Charlotte pulled Ezra closer to herself, keeping them hidden as the two watched the fight unfold around them with widened eyes.

Ezra continued to flinch at the sounds of shouts, metallic crashing and glass shattering around them. Suddenly, a loud thump sounded above them, shuddering the piano; a mound of metal slid from the piano cover and landed a few feet in front of them. The girls held their breath as the half depleted suit began to pull itself upright, scanning the area. The grinding sound of metal on metal sent a chill through their bones as the robot slowly turned its head around, it's glowing eyes landing on their hiding spot.

As it rose its arm, ready to shoot a beam, Charlotte quickly scrambled to pull Ezra behind her; her own arm was raised and her palm was slowly beginning to glow red, the hue travelling along each of the lines in her skin - the energy she felt pulsating from her own palm was intense. The shot, however, never came and the broken torso placed it's arm down before Steve quickly grabbed it and tossed it into the air.

"Thor!" Steve warned, and instantly the god smashed its helmet with his hammer after catching it easily.

"Oh my God," Ezra shakingly whispered and Charlotte quickly hugged her to comfort her. Charlotte just didn't understand why it didn't take the shot, it was intending on doing it.

Steve quickly dropped to his knee, stooping to look under the piano. "Are you okay?" He asked quickly, addressing the trembling teens. He tried to ignore the fact that he had just witnessed Charlotte's hand pulsing with energy; the skin was still glowing red.

Charlotte had however, observed his eyes cast down to her hand, and she quickly pulled the cuff down over her wrist and hand. "We're good." She quickly nodded, pulling his attention away.

The two hugged as the fight ceased to an end. Charlotte rose from her hiding spot, ignoring Ezra's protests, and was able to see Steve sever the last robot flying past by with his shield, causing it to crash to the floor, right in front of the mangled Ultron.

When everyone became quiet, Steve was quick to check on the welfare of Ezra, while Charlotte quickly ran to her father who was sitting on the stairs, his face all bruised and he was cradling his arm. He quickly opened his other arm, and tucked her into his side, placing a kiss atop her head, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

For the next few moments, he would turn a blind eye to what had just happened. He would simply choose to ignore how his daughter's skin felt warm to the touch, and her fingertips were blackened, almost charred. He would handle all of that at another time.

"Well that was dramatic," Ultron suddenly commented, his voice sounded impressed, "I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?"

Ultron bent down and grabbed the helmet of the fallen Iron Legion suit that Steve brought down, "With these? These puppets," he growled, squeezing the helmet of it and destroying it before tossing it aside like it was trash, "There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction." Ultron stated with a definite tone as he leered at everyone.

Charlotte gasped when Ultron stared at her, tilting the mangled suit's helmet. "However  you might be of use, little one." He spoke with a mocking tone.

She was quick to look away as to not allow the group to see the red hue return to her eyes once again, or the veins on her temple begin to lightly glow. The flash of anger that had suddenly begun to burn inside her was alarming. Her dad made a move to put his arm around her shoulders but she stepped away, her mind in a haze. She was beginning to see red, and it scared her.

Thor suddenly threw his hammer at it violently, destroying it completely before it could even hit the wall. Everyone was in a tense silence before they heard a creepy murmur coming from the robot about to shut down.

"I have strings... but now I'm free..."

Then, nothing. Just eerie silence, that still seemed to cut through the air like a knife.

Ultron was gone, but Charlotte knew that this was only the beginning. She saw everyone exchanging looks and then she saw everyone, except for Bruce, glance at her dad with tense expressions that could only mean that they were about to blame this whole thing on her dad. She didn't like it, Charlotte felt like shielding him from those glares, especially Steve's.

Sighing, Charlotte felt her entire body sag with a mixture of exhaustion and relief. However, she still felt the immense energy radiating through her body; she could not tell if it was anger or fear - it felt like both, and she did not like either of them. Subtly glancing down at her hands, she gasped and balled her hands into fists when she noticed that her fingertips had begun to blacken.

"Charlie? Are you okay?" The girl flinched at Natasha's voice from beside her. The woman had reached out, intending to place a comforting hand on her arm.

"Wait, Nat, don't -," before she could finish her panicked warning, Natasha had placed her hand down onto the fabric of Charlotte's sleeve, completely unaware of the girl's burning veins and scorching skin.

The startled and pained yell that came from Natasha's lips caught the attention of the entire group and they all turned in time to see the woman ripping her hand away from the girl's skin, a faint mist of steam now emitting from the singed hole on her dress sleeve.

"What the hell just happened?" Clint asked, alarmed as Natasha cradled her burnt hand. Bruce was by her side immediately, checking the wound.

"She just burnt me." Natasha said, slightly backing away, not quite believing it herself. Even though her hand was in burning agony, she kept a straight face, not wanting to frighten the girl anymore.

"Nat, I'm sorry!" Charlotte's voice was breaking, flustered and aware of all the eyes that were now trained on her.  "I didn't mean to! I didn't -"

But something wasn't quite right this time. Charlotte felt a surge of energy surge through her as she continued, empowering her to push herself further.

Her body was out of her control and no matter how many times she cursed herself, yearning herself to stop, her body would not allow her to cease. Her limbs burned and sweat dripped down the side of her face, but she could not calm her edgy breathing.

Unbeknownst to her, her eyes had flashed red before the same red hue encased her hands, arms and began creeping up her neck. A pulse of energy flew from her open palm, striking the mirrored wall behind the bar, sending thousands of shards of glass tumbling towards the floor.

The entire group exclaimed, some taking numerous steps back, away from the teen. Charlotte hadn't noticed that the amber mist-like energy was now beginning to surround her body; she stumbled back, colliding with the couch, gaping in awe at her hands.

"Charlie," Tony made sure to keep his approach cautious; while he did not fear his daughter, he had learned long ago to expect the unexpected. The look of pure fear that was set on Charlotte's face caused a sharp prang in his chest. He had never seen her look so afraid, so lost. "It's going to be okay, honey."

"No, no -" She muttered over and over, slowly continuing to back away from the group who were now all looking at her with growing concern.

Passing a quick glance in Tony's direction, earning his consent, Bruce took a few small steps towards the trembling teen, holding out a hand to show her that he meant her no harm. He had hoped that if anyone could make her see that she was not a monster, then it would be him. After all, it was only two years ago that she was reassuring himself that he was not a monster, and she did not fear him.

"Just, stop. Please," Charlotte quickly stuttered. "Don't come any closer. I don't want to hurt you too."

"You won't hurt me, Charlie." Bruce reassured her, taking another step towards her. His hand was almost within touching distance of her arm, and upon realisation of just how close the doctor had gotten to her, Charlotte suddenly recoiled.

With a sudden sprint, she began to run, breaking through the group and back into the tower. Tony was quick on her heels, calling her name as she followed in Pursuit. He too was quickly followed by Thor, his own concern for the girl was too strong. The remaining Avengers listened to the running footsteps quieten, and a somewhat awkward silence fell over the group.

Ezra had since returned to sitting on the couch, after Steve and Helen had taken the time to make sure that she was unharmed. While she herself had never been involved in an Avenger level threat at such a close proximity before, she had heard stories from Charlotte and her uncle Happy, yet seeing it up close was something entirely different.

It had been almost ten minutes, and Tony and Thor had yet to return. Ezra had preoccupied her time with helping Bruce dress Natasha's burnt hand, but she was now feeling uncomfortable.

Where are you, Charlie? Where could she possibly have gone, where no one, not even her dad could find her?

Ezra gasped inwardly with realisation. Without missing a beat, she ran after the group trying her best to catch up with Tony but they were long gone. She turned a corner and skidded to a halt as she collided with a sturdy frame.

Tony put his hands on the girl's shoulders to prevent her from tumbling over. Ezra's eyes lit up once she recognised the figure. "Mr. Stark - Tony -!"

Tony crouched down to her level, slightly concerned when he heard Ezra's laboured breathing. "Slow down, take a breath kid."

"Charlie -" Ezra shook her head and waved a hand somewhat dismissively, "I know where she's gone."

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author's note

got to admit, not super happy with chapter. i found it hard to write the fight scene and not have charlotte seem over powered for someone who is only just discovering her abilities. but i tried not to dwell on it and get myself into a rut!