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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

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Pain flowed through every inch of Primrose's body as the roaring of water greeted her ears. Another moment passed before she finally forced her eyes open, only to regret it instantly. Pieces of what was once the Compound surrounded her and water was rushing in from all sides. The only thing keeping her from being crushed was Freyr. The Asgardian was using all his energy to hold up a large piece of debris, one that would've crushed Primrose if he wasn't there. Despite the confusion the Quill woman was feeling, she forced it away as she rolled out of danger's way. That allowed the Njördson man to move quickly to the side after dropping the debris. Once they were both out of danger, they took a moment to assess their surroundings, only for them to instantly regret it.

They were surrounded by debris with no visible way of getting out. And what made matters worse was the water that was rushing in by the gallons. Primrose and Freyr were soaked to the bone as they searched their surroundings for any of their allies. Their attention instantly landed on Bruce, who was using all his strength to hold up a very large piece of debris, one that would crush all of them without the Banner man. The God of Peace didn't hesitate to help the Hulk. He managed to get beside him before using all his strength to hold the debris. It was easier to keep it up with the two of them working together, but it was still the heaviest thing they'd ever lifted.

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" a voice shouted from the other side of the room, "Let me up! Let me up! Come on!"

Primrose's blood ran cold as soon as she recognized the voice. Panic soon set in as she scanned her surroundings before finding who she was looking for. Rocket was trapped under a piece of rubble that was ten times his size if not more. The Quill woman didn't hesitate to rush toward him. She got the best grip she could around the debris before trying to lift it, only to fail. But that didn't stop her. She continued to push on the rubble as the panic without her continued to grow.

"Primrose!" a new voice called out to her, causing the woman in question to look down to find Rhodey beside her. In his hand was a very large steel rod, one that he already wedged underneath the debris. The Quill woman soon moved her hands to the rod before she and Rhodey pushed down on it. They repeated their actions a few times before the rubble fell off Rocket. Not even a second after that passed when both of them lay on the ground, exhausted by the energy they used to keep themselves alive.

"Prim!" Freyr shouted over the roaring water, drawing her attention toward him. They just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the Njördson gathered the courage to say what he was thinking. "You need to find a way out!"

A lump instantly formed in Primrose's throat at just the thought of fulfilling his request. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"You have to! Jordan needs her mother!"

"She needs her father too!"

Before their conversation could continue, the roaring of water got louder than ever before. When Primrose turned her attention toward the source of the sound, she saw a very large wave coming straight at them. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around Rocket right before the wave hit, taking them even deeper into what used to be the Compound.

Primrose did her best to keep her head above the water as the room continued to flood. Her feet were no longer touching the floor, which meant she had to use her feet to keep herself above the surface. Beside her, Rocket and Rhodey were going through the same dilemma as she was. While the three of them did their best to stay above the surface, Bruce and Freyr were using all their strength to prevent the debris from crushing them. Little did they know that a tiny bit of help was coming for them.

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On the floor right above them, Pietro was just coming around from his forced slumber. Despite the pain flowing through him, he pushed himself to stand and take in his surroundings. He wished he could say he was surprised by the rubble surrounding him, but he wasn't. The speedster knew an explosion like the one they had just experienced wouldn't leave the Compound standing. But he wasn't worried about the condition of the building at that moment. Instead, all of his thoughts were focused on Charlie, who was nowhere to be seen.

Movement out of the corner of his eyes quickly caught the Maximoff man's attention. When he looked beside him, he found Trina forcing a pile of rubble off her. She didn't have a scratch on her and looked as though nothing had happened. Deep down, that didn't surprise Pietro. He knew the Felicity woman was something else that was completely inhuman. But he was still grateful to see one of his allies.

"We need to find a way out of here," the speedster said after helping Trina to her feet.

The Felicity woman took a moment to look around at their surroundings before letting out a long sigh. "I think it's safe to say blasting a hole in the ceiling is out. Everything looks so unstable."

"Mayday, Mayday! Does anybody copy?!" Rhodey said over the comms, surprising both Pietro and Trina. Neither of them thought their comms still worked after the explosion. It was nice to know they still did. "We're on the lower level! It's flooding!"

"What? What?" a small voice responded, one that seemed very discombobulated. That caused the two heroes to turn toward the sound, only to find a miniature version of Scott pushing his way out of the debris near their feet.

"We are drowning! Does anybody copy?! Mayday!"

"Wait! I'm here!" Scott announced in a much more clear tone, "I'm here. Can you hear me?"

When they didn't receive a response from their allies, the Lang man looked up to meet their gazes. No one said a word for what felt like an eternity, leaving them in an eerie silence. That was until Pietro let out a long sigh. "Go help them. We'll find a way out of here."

After watching the tiny man disappear into the debris, the two remaining heroes continued their search for a way out. A long sigh passed over the speedster's lips as he looked around at their surroundings, only to find nothing but a broken building. Everything was so fragile that it would cave in on them if they tried to touch it. It was like the world's worst game of Jenga. But what he didn't expect was to find Trina staring up at the crumbling ceiling above them with a small smile on her face.

Pietro just stared at her with confusion in his eyes for a long moment before finally asking the question bouncing around in his head. "What are you thinking?"

The smile on the Felicity woman's face did nothing but grow as she looked over at him. "How good are you with flying?"

Before the Maximoff man had a chance to respond, Trina did exactly what she said they shouldn't do. She blasted a hole in the ceiling above them. The debris soon came crashing down on them, but it never made impact. Because before it could hit them, the Felicity woman grabbed Pietro and flew them out of the hole she made.

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"Charlie," Clint called out to his daughter, who he had just found covered in rubble beside him. She hadn't opened her eyes since he pulled her out of the debris, but she was breathing. "Charlie. Come on. Wake up!"

A sharp pain in her head greeted the Barton woman as her eyes flashed open, only for her to see her father's worried face. A shaky breath passed over her lips as she slowly forced herself into a sitting position. Charlie kept her eyes locked with Clint's for another moment before looking around at their surroundings. They had to be on the lowest level of the Compound. There was nothing but debris and broken metal surrounding them in the dark cavern. The only light they received was through the cracks above them and the faint red emergency lights.

It wasn't long after that when Clint helped his daughter to her feet before they began looking for a way out. They barely made it a few steps when Charlie stopped in her tracks. Her eyes now looking around for not only a way out, but for a missing someone she had just realized wasn't with them. When she didn't find him, the Barton woman's attention returned to her father.

"Where's Pietro?" the young archer asked, only to receive a blank stare from Clint. That was all it took for her to realize the master archer had no idea where the speedster was. "We have to find him."

"We will, Char," the Barton man responded in the calmest tone he could, not wanting to upset his daughter even more, "but first we need to find a way out."

"We have to find Pietro right now," Charlie declared without bothering to hide the shakiness of her voice, "he could be hurt."

At that moment, Clint realized the tears in his daughter's eyes weren't because of her pain, but because of the missing speedster. He also realized that while the Barton man had been missing for the past five years, Charlie had Pietro by her side. While her family was gone, the Maximoff man kept her together. He was what kept her going in the darkest of times. Pietro was what kept her happy. And now they had no idea where he was.

Clint didn't hesitate to walk toward his daughter and pull her in for a tight hug. Charlie paused for a moment, unsure as to why her father was hugging her at that moment. But it wasn't long before she returned the gesture. They had no idea how long they stayed like that, but that didn't bother them. They were just happy to share a moment alone. The father-daughter duo let the silence surround them for another moment before Clint knew it was time to break it.

"We'll find him, Char. I promise," the master archer said after ending their embrace and looking his daughter in the eyes, "but first we need to find a way out. We're no help to Pietro trapped down here."

Charlie sent her father a small nod in response, knowing he was right. They soon began walking through the tunnel, hoping to stumble upon a way out of the darkness. But they didn't make it very far when they spotted a faint glow coming from under a pile of debris. Confusion flowed through the Barton woman's veins as she removed the rubble, only to find the Nano Gauntlet underneath. A long sigh passed over her lips as she picked up the object and turned to face Clint. "Why are we the ones stuck with this?"

The Barton man opened his mouth to respond, only for it to slam shut when they heard a low growl coming from behind them. Charlie's grip around the Nano Gauntlet tightened as she and Clint turned toward the sound. Both of them seemed to be holding their breath as the master archer fired a flash arrow in the direction they just came from. Terror instantly began flowing through Charlie's veins when she saw the pack of alien beasts slinking toward them. Before another full thought could go through her head, Clint forced her to move in the opposite direction. It wasn't long after that when the archers sprinted down the tunnel with the alien beasts chasing after them.

Charlie and Clint ran as fast as they could down the dimly lit corridor. While the Barton woman made sure to keep a tight grip on the Nano Gauntlet, her father was planting blast arrows in the walls as they went. They barely made it into the next hall when they went off, sending the father-daughter duo flying forward. They crashed onto the floor, sending pain throughout their entire bodies. But neither of them had time to think about it when they noticed the alien beasts walking out of the fire unscathed. That was all it took to make them jump to their feet. While Clint unsheathed his sword and prepared to fight, Charlie pressed the small button on her wrist.

Unknown to her father, her jetpack soon activated, making her feet lift from the ground. The next thing the master archer knew, his daughter forced the Nano Gauntlet into his hands before she grabbed him by his underarms. Before the Barton man could question what was happening, his daughter flew them through the opening above them. As they made their escape, Clint swung his sword through the air around him, taking out the alien beasts that were trying to come after them. What felt like an eternity passed before they finally made it to safety. A small groan passed over Charlie's lips as they lay on the cool metal floor, unable to completely process what had just happened. Because she was so wrapped up in trying to understand everything that occurred in the last five minutes, she failed to notice the person approaching them. That was until she heard Clint speaking.

"Oh, hey. I know you," the master archer said, drawing Charlie's attention to Nebula, who was standing above the former with a blank expression on her face.

The Luphomoid woman just stared at the Barton man for a moment before taking the Nano Gauntlet from him. She studied it until bringing her hand up to her ear. "Father. I have the Stones."

Before either of the archers had a chance to react, the woman posing as their ally placed a foot on Clint's chest. Fear coursed through Charlie's veins as she stared at the blaster aimed at her father. She had never felt more helpless in her life. But it seemed that luck was on her side when another voice cut through the air.

"Stop," a female voice ordered, causing everyone to look toward the source of the sound to find Gamora making her appearance. A wave of relief flooded through the young archer when she realized the Zehoberei woman was on their side. But she still was uncertain about how this would play out with Nebula still aiming her blaster at Clint.

The Luphomoid woman kept her eyes glued to Gamora as she adjusted her grip on her blaster. "You're betraying us?"

Not even a second after that passed when their Nebula walked into the room with her arms raised in the air. While Thanos' daughter moved her blaster toward her counterpart, Clint forced himself to his feet. The master archer didn't hesitate to grab his daughter's arm and force themselves to the side, not wanting to be caught in the middle of the three women's family drama.

"You don't have to do this," the Luphomoid woman said while keeping her arms held high in the air.

The daughter of Thanos couldn't help but look between the two women standing in front of her, unsure of what to make of their words. It wasn't long after that when she responded with three simple words. "I am this."

"No, you're not. You've seen what we become," Gamora told her without lowering her blaster even an inch, "Nebula, listen to her."

"You can change," Nebula said to her counterpart in the calmest tone ever heard leaving her mouth.

Tears formed in the past Nebula's eyes as she looked back and forth between Gamora and her future self. "He won't let me."

The next thing anyone knew, Nebula moved her blaster to aim at Gamora. But before she had a chance to fire, their Nebula grabbed her blaster from her belt and fired at her alter ego. While the two women stared at the fallen, Clint and Charlie got to their feet. An uncomfortable silence surrounded them as the master archer took a step forward to pick up the Nano Gauntlet. He held it as close to his body as he could while looking over at his daughter, both knowing this battle was far from over.

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