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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

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Once Charlie finally let Wanda and Bucky's words sink in, the arrow slipped from its notch and dropped to the floor with her bow quick to follow. Her eyes continued to study Pietro's face as tears fell from her eyes before her knees gave out beneath her. Just as she was about to join her equipment on the ground, the Maximoff boy appeared in front of her and grabbed Charlie by her elbows to keep her on her feet.

Pietro's attention stayed on her as he watched her closely and took in every aspect of her features. While his eyes continued to scan over her, Charlie kept trying to figure out if this was truly real or if her guilty conscience was just playing tricks on her again at the worst possible time.

"You didn't see that coming?" the speedster whispered, forcing her breath to get caught in her throat at the sound of his voice before her brain finally comprehended the feeling of his hands on her elbows, "I am so sorry, anđeo. I should have come back sooner."

"How? How are you here?" Charlie whispered just loud enough for him to hear before she took his hands into her own. Shock and confusion continued to fill every inch of her body as she looked him over one more time. "I watched you...how are you...how are you alive?"

"I wish I could tell you," he responded before letting out a humorless laugh, "the first thing I remember since Sokovia is waking up in some sort of hospital. When I couldn't find any trace of you or Wanda in the building, I ran away from that place as fast as I could."

Questions filled every inch of Charlie's brain before she forced herself to brush them aside. A small smile formed on her face as she pulled Pietro in for the tightest hug she'd given a person since her father came home after being freed from Loki's mind games. The tears she was trying to hold back throughout their entire conversation finally broke free and streamed down her face before landing on the shoulder of his shirt.

An unknown amount of time passed of them staying in the other's arms before they ended their moment and shared another smile. His fingers came up to wipe away the tears on Charlie's face before Pietro pulled her in for another hug. As his arms wrapped around her, the Barton girl continued to take in the fact that he was actually in her grasp.

"Why did it take you so long to tell me?" the archer whispered into the speedster's ear after building up enough courage to voice the thoughts going through her head, "after all this time, why come back now?"

"At first, I was trying to figure out what happened. When I woke up with no memories since Sokovia, I needed to get some more information about the world before looking for you and Wanda," Pietro answered before Charlie felt him stiffen up in her arms then he ended their hug to look her in the eyes while keeping his arms on her waist.

The two of them stood like that for a short moment as they took in every detail on the other's face before the Maximoff boy let out a long sigh. "After that, I needed to make sure that I should come back. I needed to know that coming back wouldn't mess up anything in your lives."

"Always come back to me," Charlie told him while keeping her eyes locked with his before she did something that took them both by surprise. She pulled him closer to her and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

When they pulled apart to look at each other, Charlie's mind began to race with memories that occurred since Sokovia before they landed on the redheaded girl she met a few weeks ago. "Wait, so it really was you who led me to Alexandria?"

At the sound of the girl's name, Pietro's body stiffened once again as shock replaced the happiness that was previously plastered onto his face. "Dria's alive?"

Confusion made its way through Charlie once again as the speedster stared back at her with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. When she opened her mouth to respond, the archer's voice was cut off by Steve's coming in through the comms. "We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision, you get to the jet."

After taking in the Man Out of Time's words, Charlie exchanged a look with Pietro, knowing he heard exactly what was said. Her eyes took in every feature of the speedster's face one more time before an idea came to her. A hesitant sigh passed over her lips as she brought her hand up to respond to the Man Out of Time while ignoring the reluctance that was flowing through her veins.

"No, you get to the jet. Both you and Bucky," she told him as she looked up to meet Pietro's gaze before he sent her a small nod in understanding, "the rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it," her father sighed, knowing that he was going to get an earful from Laura when he saw her again...if he saw her again.

"This isn't the real fight, Steve," Sam added while Charlie and Pietro watched the two super-soldiers exchange a look from their place in the alleyway.

"Alright, Charlie, what's the play?" the Man Out of Time said, causing the Barton girl's heart to skip a beat at the thought of coming up with a plan that could make or break what they're trying to do.

"You're asking me? Seriously?" the young archer questioned in disbelief as she and Pietro made their way out of the alley while continuing to watch the numerous mini-battles taking place in front of them, "all of you have a lot, and I really do mean a lot, more experience with this kinda stuff than I do. Shouldn't one of you come up with something?"

"You are the one who spoke up first," Bucky replied which only made her eyes roll as she imagined the smug smirk on his face, "plus it was your idea for Steve and me to make a break for the jet to begin with."

After shaking her head at the ex-HYDRA agent's words, Charlie's eyes glanced around the landing strip of the airport before she finally realized how evenly matched everyone was. Even with the addition of Pietro, there was no way they could get around all of them. If they wanted to get the super-soldiers to the Quinjet, she needed to come up with something the heroes keeping them there wouldn't expect.

"The only thing I can think of is creating a diversion," the Barton girl finally said after watching Tony and Rhodey fly through the sky above them, "something big would be nice."

"I got something kinda big. But I can't hold it very long," Scott announced through what sounded like labored breaths after Charlie handed Pietro her extra earpiece, "on my signal, run like h*ll. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."

"He's gonna tear himself in half?" Pietro questioned while quirking an eyebrow at the girl next to him, who simply shrugged in response.

"You sure about this, Scott?" Steve asked with uncertainty in his voice.

"I do it all the time. I mean, once. In a lab. Then I passed out."

After exchanging another look with the speedster, movement in the distance caught both Charlie's and Pietro's attention. They instantly turned to look in that direction to find a gigantic Scott Lang with one of his hands wrapped around Rhodey's ankle. The Barton girl's jaw dropped as she stared at his new form in awe while trying to comprehend how that just happened.

"Way to go, Tic Tac!" Sam exclaimed before he kicked Tony out of the sky at the same moment Scott threw Rhodey toward a plane. Just as the Rhodes man was about to hit the large vehicle, Peter caught him with his webs before War Machine turned around to get back into the action.

Charlie was snapped back to reality when the fighting resumed before Steve and Bucky raced towards the Quinjet. After Pietro gave the girl next to him a quick peck on the cheek, he sped off to help Wanda before the archer's eyes were drawn to Rhodey closing in on the two World War II veterans. A silent breath passed over her lips as she loaded her bow then she shot a few stun arrows at the flying man and knocked him off course. Her hand went to grab another arrow from her quiver when her attention was drawn to a yellow beam of light slicing through a tower in the distance.

The blonde's whole body froze as she watched pieces from the building begin to crumble and descend to the earth, threatening to block Steve and Bucky's. Charlie reached up for her earpiece without an ounce of hesitation and called out to Wanda. The telekinetic's attention instantly turned to the situation at hand before she used her abilities to hold the pieces of the pillar in the air for the two Men Out of Time to make it through.

Once they were out of sight, Charlie turned back towards the action to see Peter roping Scott's ankles together with his webbing before Tony and Rhodey punched the Lang man in the face. The force from the two flying men caused Ant-Man to stumble backward and into a plane behind him before his hand knocked the Parker boy out of the sky and into a pile of crates.

"No," the Barton girl whispered under her breath as the memory of Pietro in Sokovia went through her head.

She placed her bow on her back as she sprinted towards Peter. As soon as she reached the teen, Charlie found him lying unmoving on his side before she squatted down next to him. Just as she was about to reach out to the boy, the sound of a machine charging filled her ears. Irritation mixed with the concern that was flowing through her veins as she looked up to see Tony standing a few feet away with both his repulsors aimed at her.

"Shoot me after I know he's okay, alright?" Charlie hissed at the man before he slowly lowered his arms while she turned her attention back to Peter. As soon as her hand landed on his shoulder, the boy's arms quickly flailed around in the air in a frenzy. The archer got smacked in the face a few times as he tried to fight against her before she grabbed both his wrists. "Hey, hey, hey! It's me!"

"Oh, hey, Lottie," he sighed before his body visibly relaxed while he kept eye contact with the girl standing over him, "that was scary."

After letting a relieved breath pass over her lips, a small smile formed on Charlie's face, which was quickly returned by an apologetic one from the Parker boy. The Barton girl's eyes scanned over Peter one last time for any visible injuries before she stepped aside to let Tony talk to him.

"You're done, alright? Stay down," the Iron Man told the young hero, who was staring at the Stark man as if he grew a second head, "you did a good job. Stay down."

"What? I'm good, I'm fine. No, it's good. I gotta get him back," Peter responded as he tried to get to his feet, only for both Charlie and Tony to push him back to the ground.

"You're going home or I'll call Aunt May!" the Stark man exclaimed, causing the boy to get a defeated look on his face. Tony just stared at him for a moment longer before their attention turned to the Quinjet taking off.

After watching Rhodey fly after the plane, the Stark man turned around to face Charlie while gesturing towards the Parker boy on the ground, "you make sure he stays down. And Peter, you make sure she doesn't try to make a run for it."

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