𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨

༻ ❁ ༺

THE CAR CLINT WAS DRIVING nipped quickly through the debris of the city; Natasha sat idle in the passenger seat while Charlotte clung to the seat, her eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"I know what I need to do. The dining room. If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workplace for Laura." Clint said casually, as if the city wasn't crumbling around them. "Put up some buffering. She can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?" he asked the redhead while dodging other cars and debris.

Charlotte wasn't scared of his fast driving, even when he made a turn close to a cliff she didn't bat an eye, she found their conversation more interesting.

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway," Natasha told him; the archer stopped the car next to a lifeboat.

Charlotte watched with anxious eyes as the citizens of Sokovia were led into the lifeboat by Fury's agents, just as he did, an apartment building not far from them looked to be about to collapse.

Clint and Natasha exchanged looks as they noticed that the air was growing thinner and that more buildings around were in danger of collapsing as the city continued to soar skyward.

"We don't have a lot of time," Clint told the two, glancing at Charlotte momentarily.

"So get your asses on a boat," Natasha stated casually before opening her door and hastily stepping out of the car.

"Come on, Charlie," Clint called her, "I'm not gonna open the door for you," he quipped quickly before opening his door.

She rolled her eyes and hopped out of the convertible, landing next to Clint with a challenging look. He arched his eyebrows as the two began walking towards the lifeboat.

"Don't become a show-off," he mumbled, making Charlotte smile.

Charlotte let out a breath of relief as they entered the boat and instantly sat down as Clint stood. Numerous residents appeared to be terrified as she turned to glance around. Some people firmly clutched their loved ones; some didn't even bother to mask their emotions or their anguish.

They lost everything. In a matter of hours, their homes, possessions, and sanctuary were all gone. The idea that some of these folks possibly lost relatives and friends today made Charlotte scowl regretfully.

When Clint unexpectedly put his hand on Charlotte's head, she jumped. She glanced up at him and saw him softly smiling as if he could read her mind and was attempting to reassure her. leaned into his hand.

"You did well, kid. You can rest now."

His words almost made her tear up, perhaps now that the adrenaline began feeling exhausted. She hasn't seen her mom since Ultron happened and all she wanted to do right now was hug her and feel her arms around her, holding her safely.

"Costel!"

Both Clint and Charlotte turned their head to a blonde woman, bleeding from her forehead as she looked around pleadingly, "We were in the market," she cried, "Costel!"

When Clint stepped away from her, Charlotte squinted at him. He appeared to be scanning the area until his gaze fixed on some nearby fallen debris. She rose to her feet as well, straining her eyes in the direction he was gazing, and she screamed In surprise as she saw Costel, the boy, writhing beneath the rubble.

"I'll go get him, stay here."

Without waiting for her reply, Clint went off to go get the boy and Charlotte watched him closely, afraid that something might happen right when they were both safe.

And of course, her fear had to become real when suddenly a Quinjet started to fly over the street where Steve and Thor were, raining down hell in the form of a machine gun - coming straight towards Clint and the little boy he was now carrying. Charlotte's first instincts were to run at them, so she did, without a plan in her head and without any way of getting to them on time.

She screamed and stopped, covering her eyes, when the Quinjet fired on Clint and the kid, leaving the dust to settle. Charlotte was terrified as she continued to run, pleading with anybody who might hear her for Clint to be alive. 't been there before, which had stopped the bullets from striking the boy and the archer as she neared the zone while Steve was also rushing in that direction.

And to her shock, Pietro, with his torso covered with bullet holes on critical areas, looking behind the car at who Charlotte realized was Clint, smiling weakly.

"You didn't see that coming..." the nineteen-year-old drawn his quip before falling heavily on the ground.

"Pietro!" Charlotte screamed, "No, no, no..." approaching them quickly, Charlieose gasped when she felt a pulse of energy, Wanda's psionic energy, coming from the church.

Charlotte was certain that Wanda's pulse was a response to her twin brother's demise as it was so intense and raw. She wasn't sure how she felt it; she thought perhaps it was related to her Extremis, but Charlotte believed it was Wanda that's abilities likely made it possible for her to feel her brother's suffering.

Clint placed the injured boy gently on the floor before quickly hovering Pietro, checking his pulse as Steve came into a halt next to them. The archer looked up at Steve with sad eyes. A quick shake of his head gave the Captain the only signal he needed.

Without wasting time, he lifted Pietro, using his strength to carry him as best as he could, "Charlie?"

"On it!" Charlotte didn't need to be told twice as she walked towards the little boy, her enhanced ability allowing her to pull the kid from the ground into her arms, carrying him bridal style, "Hi, you must be Costel , I'm Charlie, you're safe now," she whispered at him before following Clint back to the lifeboat.

When they arrived, Clint set Pietro gently on the ground. As soon as the mother saw Charlotte, she began to cry in relief and instantly rushed out to grab her son. As the mother and child cried for one, Charlotte smiled and gratefully returned the kid to his mother's arms. Charlotte didn't linger for very long to see the touching reunion; instead, she rushed over to Pietro just as Clint laid his hands to his chest, brushing his own hand over the young man's eyes, gently closing them .

The teen and the archer didn't need to speak - they knew. Pietro was gone, having sacrificed himself to save Clint and the child. Soon the pair felt something shift within the city. Her eyes widened when she looked at Steve, the only person outside of the lifeboat, they both looked at each other before she screamed.

"Steve, jump!!"

And he did, landing in the lifeboat just in time before the city dropped hauntingly fast.

Ultron had got to the core - whilst her dad, Thor, and Wanda were still there. They were stuck.

Where was Natasha? Where's Hulk?

Charlotte placed her earpiece closer to her ear, listening to her dad. "Thor, on my mark!"

Charlotte eagerly climbed to the edge of the lifeboat as she peered down at the city that had transformed into a meteor that was ready to wipe out all life. Her eyes were widening as she considered how terrifying it would be if the meteor hit the earth while her dad was still trapped inside.

She was safe up here, but the people she loved were down there.

"Now!" her dad yelled.

Charlotte gasped as thunder and lightning struck the church in the center of the city from above, causing the entire city to erupt and shattering the meteor into smaller pieces that started falling on the lake below them.

"Dad!" she screamed, the shrill tone was that of a child that was experiencing genuine fear at the thought that something bad had happened to their parents.

There was silence for a moment, and Charlotte kept her eyes down on the lake where the meteor pieces were now falling.

"I'm alright! We're all okay!" Although the connection was a little shaky when she heard him grunt. Charlotte fell to her back in relief as she heard him affirm that he was still alive. Steve huffed next to her as well, and the two exchanged glances before grinning.

"Crazy son of a bitch!" Clint yelled, his mood now better.

Charlotte chuckled, before pressing her earpiece again, "You really need to stop almost dying."

༻ ❁ ༺

Once they were reunited on the Helicarrier, Tony and Charlotte seemed to be inseparable. The billionaire jumped out of his almost destroyed suit and snatched Charlotte in a hug she was about to give. They clutched one other for several minutes without speaking, save for Tony's reassuring whispers, while those around gave them some privacy.

They would talk soon, Tony needed to have a really serious conversation with his disobeying and courageous daughter.

True to his word, everyone was spared and unhurt - at least physically.

Vision saved Wanda before the city's explosion, Thor survived the explosion by falling on the lake and Natasha had been inside the Helicarrier. However, the Hulk and Bruce were gone. Natasha told the team with a strained tone of voice that the Hulk had jumped on the Quinjet and simply disappeared. The jet was now in stealth mode - not allowing it to be tracked.

Charlotte was confused about what led him to do this, but then she remembered what Wanda did to him. Maybe Bruce went stealth, to keep his promise to himself that he will never become an angry, green monster, for the good of the world. And that was completely stupid. Charlotte wanted him back, he has been around her for three years and aside from Natasha, she was closer to him than to everyone on the team.

He helped her with the Extremis, he became her dad's close friend and lab partner - he didn't even say goodbye. Charlotte was hurt, but she hoped wherever he was, he was happy.

As soon as they returned to the tower in New York, a team of medics were waiting. Clint silently led them to Pietro's body, instructing them to be as careful as possible; Wanda never left his side, a haunted and lost expression on her dirty face.

In addition to the medics, Pepper was also on the facilities landing pad, waiting for her husband and daughter to return. Initially, she did not know if she was going to hug them or throttle them. However, as soon as she saw her daughter's Exhausted face, and Tony's worn expression as he tightly clutched Charlotte's hand, Pepper quickened her pace and met the pair with a relieved embrace.

Even though she wanted to yell at Tony for taking their daughter to Sokovia, Pepper didn't find the strength. She was too relieved that Charlotte and him - and the team - were all alive.

Later that afternoon, Charlotte and Tony talked with her about the Extremis, and although Pepper was hesitant on accepting that a virus was what allowed her daughter to fight for her life in Sokovia, she couldn't be too surprised when Tony said that Charlotte was secretly training behind their backs - Charlotte was just like her father and there was nothing they could do about it.

Well, Charlotte was grounded. But what lesson could she learn with that?

The rest of the day went by quickly, due to Charlotte falling asleep and resting for half a day and all night. The toll of fighting against Ultron got to her.

༻ ❁ ༺

Within the week, the construction to turn a Stark Industries facility based in upstate New York into a New Avengers Facility.

Her dad explained that the project was created to be used for scientific research, military training, weapon development and training of the new Avengers and their recruits. The base was going to be run by Nick Fury, Helen Cho, Maria Hill, and Erik Selvig .

And Charlotte, now fully rested and feeling much better, was excited about it. She instantly asked her dad if she could be trained as a recruit, and he quickly shut down that idea. He told that they still needed to talk about her Extremis and that if she thought she was now an Avenger, she thought wrong.

Charlotte was disappointed, but she saw it coming. She was only relieved when he said that he would ' think about it ' - which, if she knew her dad, basically meant yes.

However, he did allow Natasha to train her, not only because Charlotte kept on insisting but because it would worry him less if Charlotte knew how to defend herself better. The training would begin when the facility was done being built.

After getting access to her phone, Charlotte saw numerous unread messages from Ezra. Charlotte sent a quick text to Ezra which started a tirade of messages from her friend - it was nice to be missed.

༻ ❁ ༺

After disappearing for almost two weeks, Thor returned from London crestfallen after leaving to visit Jane. He didn't talk with anyone for a while and the team was worried.

That was until Charlotte approached him when she spotted him alone in the balcony, stargazing. Maybe it was because he was feeling melancholic or perhaps because he needed to vent, but he told her that Jane had ended the relationship.

Whilst she felt sad for him, Charlotte didn't really know how to comfort the Thunder God. She ended up bringing him to the kitchen, handed him a large spoon and held out the gallon tub of ice cream her mom had bought the day before. The small smile that crept onto Thor's face made her feel giddy; grabbing his hand, she led him to the living room, sat him on the sofa and turned on a movie.

Neither of them could recall the end of the movie as they had fallen asleep less than an hour later. Tony found them in the morning - half a gallon of ice cream sat melted on the coffee table, Thor's arm wrapped protectively around Charlotte's shoulder as she used the large bicep as her pillow.

༻ ❁ ༺

May 28th

With the New Avengers Facility now officially operational, Clint finally returned to his family, now including his newborn son.

Her dad seemingly retired, and Charlotte is still supportive of his idea, although she has a feeling it won't last long - especially now that he had promoted her to 'part-time' Avenger, much to her mother's disapproval.

Bruce was still missing. It had been twenty one days since Sokovia days, and Natasha still appeared hell bent on finding him.

Pepper let Charlotte go with her dad to the New Avengers Facility, she was very curious about how it looked now it was finished.

It was nice seeing everyone again, Steve was now in charge of training the new Avengers, which consisted of Falcon, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Vision and to some people's surprise, Charlotte.

Charlotte realised then that if she wanted to be an honorary member of the team, she needed an alias. And at the moment, nothing was springing to mind - she would have to ask Ezra for help at a later date.

"The rules have changed," Steve said as walked her, Tony and Thor out of the facility.

"We're dealing with something new," Tony commented.

"The Vision is artificial intelligence," Steve continued.

"A machine," the genius nodded.

"So, does it not count?" Steve asked Thor, who was smiling bemusedly.

Ever since the dispute to see who could lift Mjolnir, they have been discussing the possibilities of who or what could lift the hammer without being worthy. Charlotte smiled as Steve and her dad casually discussed it in front of Thor, humouring him.

"No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer," Tony concluded.

"Right, different rules for us," Steve agreed as he gestured between him and the genius.

"Nice guy, but artificial," Tony concurred.

"Thank you."

"He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone," Thor stated as he looked between Tony and Steve pointedly, "It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safety is in short supply.

There was a pregnant silence as they took in Thor's words seemingly with a serious mood, but then, Steve spoke.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator"

"It would still go up!" Tony finished for him.

"Elevator's not worthy," the Captain sighed, shaking his head, lips pursed.

Charlotte laughed at the trio. She was grateful that her dad had friends like Thor and Steve, they were a good balance for one another.

Thor's smile was admirable as he glanced down at the teen, ruffling her hair in the process, ignoring the girl's attempt to duck out of his reach. Instead the God wrapped an arm around her shoulders; Charlotte was more than happy to lean back against Thor's chest and the group continued to walk.

"I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours," Thor began as he placed his free hand on Tony's shoulder. He felt guilty about what he did to him, right in front of Charlotte, and he was glad forgiveness had come his way.

"Not if you don't leave," Tony told him, motioning down to his daughter who was looking up at the God with pleasing eyes.

"I have no choice," Thor responded, his tone a little more serious than his previously lighter one. They continued walking as he began explaining why he needed to depart, "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence."

They exited the tunnel, and Charlotte felt the fresh hair and the sun kiss her skin. Above them, army recruits were jogging together, training. They continued walking until they reached a patch of grass that surrounded the road where her dad parked the car in.

"Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us," Thor continued, and Charlotte let her father put on his sunglasses before she reached for his hand, which he instantly took and squeezed to comfort her, "And once all these pieces are in position."

"Triple Yahtzee," her dad sighed.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"I do," Thor replied with a nod, "Besides this one," the God said as he patted Tony's chest as a goodbye gesture, "there's nothing that can't be explained," he stated before planting a quick kiss to Charlotte's crown. Even Thor himself was amazed at just how quickly the young girl had become like a daughter to him; he would miss her company while he was away.

"I'll miss you, Thor," Charlotte meekly said, hating that he was leaving.

"You'll see me again, Charlie," He said, walking further away from the three as they stopped walking to watch Thor. The blonde stopped and turned towards them, nodding as his final goodbye.

With one last wink, he raised Mjolnir and called out the Bifrost, bright light with colourful rainbow reflections beamed from the clouds and took Thor with them, upward towards Asgard and leaving behind Asgardian symbols burned on the grass.

"Cool," Charlotte stated as she inspected them for her own curiosity.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Her dad commented out loud, trying to sound outraged. They turned around as he began to lead them towards the car, with Steve walking by his side, "I'm gonna miss him, though."

"And you're gonna miss me," Steve said, joking a little bit but speaking from his heart at the same time.

"There's gonna be a lot of manful tears," her dad sighed as he unlocked the car.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, 'manful' was unnecessary, she thinks men were allowed to cry as hard as they wanted.

"I will miss you, Tony," Steve told him earnestly.

"Yeah?" Tony wondered, "Well it's time for me to tap out," he retorted. "Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up, spend more time with Charlie while I still can. They don't stay kids forever.," when he said the last part, Charlotte felt the hand that she was holding squeeze hers tightly, she smiled up at him.

Steve smiled, wanting Tony to have everything for his family. "Simple life."

"You'll get there one day," the genius stated solemnly, wanting his friend to also have a life outside of being just an Avenger.

"I don't know. Family, stability" the teen looked at Steve with a sad look as he spoke, "The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy years ago. I think someone else came out."

Her dad didn't say anything for a moment. Charlotte let go of his hand when she felt that it was time to go, as she rounded the car to enter the passenger's side as she heard her dad open his door. But before entering it, he turned to Steve again after taking in his words and feeling bad for the soldier out of time, "You all right?" he asked quietly.

The blonde looked around the facility and nodded, "I'm home."

"Are you gonna miss me, Steve?" Charlotte asked shyly, using his first name experimentally.

The blonde didn't seem to mind as he nodded, "I'll miss you more than your dad," he said softly, making her smile.

"You heard that?" Charlotte stuck her tongue to her dad before getting inside the car and closing the door after her.

Tony scoffed, feigning offence while Steve chuckled a little.

"You see that? It's only going to get worse. Teenagers, right?" With one last playful glance towards Steve, Tony got inside his car and drove off, seeing Steve still waving at them through the rear-view mirror.

"We're going to come back and visit, aren't we?" Charlotte asked as she put on her seat belt.

Tony exhaled through his nose and smiled, "Yeah, we will. But now, we gotta pick where we're going this summer."

"Do you think we could just stay home?" Charlotte asked, fiddling with the buttons on her shirt.

"Honey," Tony sighed, leaning over to kiss his daughter's head. "That is the best suggestion I've heard all day."

"If there's a chance that things could get as bad as Thor thinks, then I want to spend my time with you and mom." Charlotte sighed, looking out to the forest from her window with a somewhat vacant gaze.

Tony glanced at his daughter, and a soft expression of guilt took over his face. If only she could stay his sweet little girl forever.

༻ ❁ ༺

author's note

we've finally reached the end of age of ultron!

i have the next section of charlotte's story sketched out. i'm a little nervous because it will be the first time i'm writing something completely new and away from the source material.

thanks for sticking with me!