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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐓'𝐒 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇

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After the incident with Ultron, Charlie found herself in Tony's workshop with the Avengers, Agent Hill, Dr. Cho, and Rhodey as they tried to figure out exactly what Ultron was planning. The young archer stood next to Clint while everyone else had a conversation that the young archer unconsciously tuned out. She barely heard their voices as she became trapped in a current of thoughts that raced through her head about why the robot was so heart-set on singling her out when she was nothing compared to the Avengers.

The Bridger girl had practically no résumé to her name except for their mission in Sokovia and a few times she went with Clint and Natasha. But she was only their backup on covert assignments and the two spies never needed her to assist them. She'd never gone on a mission on her own and she doubted that anyone even thought about sending her out alone. If she was being honest, Charlie was even surprised that her mentors even let her go to Sokovia with them.

When she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent before Clint and Natasha took her under their wings, Charlie never went out into the field. Instead, she was stationed in a lab and assigned to invent new gadgets. If she wasn't building something, she would help others come up with strategies for more experienced agents on their missions. She was a novice and pretty naïve when it came to all the superhero stuff. The blonde girl was basically nothing compared to the Avengers. So why was Ultron so interested in singling out a rookie as opposed to someone with more experience and who had actually made a difference in the world?

"All our work is gone," Bruce stated, derailing the Bridger girl's train of thought before her eyes landed on the scientist as she focused back on the situation at hand, "Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch."

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance," Natasha announced while subtly glancing over at Clint and Charlie before she turned to the rest of the team with a quiet sigh, "probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

The young archer's blood ran cold as the Romanoff woman's words hit her like a speeding car. She stayed frozen in place for another moment before looking up at her mentor, only to find him gazing back at her with a concerned look on his face. They just stared at each other for a moment longer before Rhodey continued the discussion and drew the archers' attention to him.

"He's in your files. He's in the Internet," the Rhodes man stated as he walked across the room and sat down on the small sofa next to Maria Hill, "what if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," Charlie sighed while silently hoping she was wrong, only for her fears to be realized when the War Machine repeated the two words she previously spoke.

Rhodey let out a long sigh before he turned around to face Tony once again. "Look we need to make some calls...assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha questioned as she glanced between the Bridger girl and the Rhodes man then she turned her attention toward the rest of her team, "he said he wanted us dead-"

"He didn't say 'dead,'" Steve interrupted the redheaded spy as he stood across from her with his hands crossed over his chest while leaning against the desk behind him, "he said 'extinct.'"

"He also said he killed somebody," Clint told them.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Charlie responded.

"Yes, there was," Tony muttered as he walked into the center of the room before flicking his wrist that held his high-tech phone and making a destroyed orange hologram appear. Chills run up and down Charlie's spine while she stared at the image in front of her that almost looked like the globe shattering into a million pieces. Her attention didn't leave the hologram as Bruce walked up to it with a confused expression on his face.

"What?" he muttered while his eyes scanned over the picture displayed in front of him before he turned to face the Stark man once again, "this is insane."

"J.A.R.V.I.S. was the first line of defense. He would have shut Ultron down," Steve sighed then looked over at the two scientists that created their newest problem while the Bridger girl unconsciously began to fiddle her fingers, "it makes sense."

"No. Ultron could have assimilated J.A.R.V.I.S.. This isn't strategy. This is...rage."

As soon as Bruce finished speaking, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching cut through the room. Charlie and Clint exchanged another look before they turned toward the source of the sound to see Thor walking straight at Tony. Shock replaced every other emotion the young archer was feeling when she watched the God of Thunder grab the billionaire by the neck and lift him into the air.

"It's going around," Clint muttered as they watched Tony say something inaudible to Thor while he continued to struggle in the blonde man's grip.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark."

"Thor!" The Man Out of Time shouted, causing the God of Thunder to shoot Tony another irritated look as he put the brunette man down before Steve continued speaking, "the Legionnaire?"

"Trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter," he answered before looking back at the Stark man with an unamused look on his face, "now we have to retrieve it, again."

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the glass window behind her, "clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand," Charlie muttered under her breath as she stared down at her intertwined fingers while her thoughts bounced around in her head once again. She continued to stare at her hands for another short moment before Clint gently nudged her. That caused her to look back up to find everyone watching her with curiosity in their eyes before her attention landed on Tony. The two of them just stared at each other before Charlie gained enough courage to resume speaking. "You built this...robot...thing...whatever you wanna call it. Why is it trying to kill us?"

As soon as she voiced her question, the Stark man turned his back to her and began to laugh hysterically. Charlie kept her eyes glued to him as the confusion that was flowing through her veins doubled while everyone else slowly turned to look at the Iron Man. His sudden joyful outburst made the Bridger girl let out an annoyed groan as her eyes fell back on her intertwined fingers while she silently questioned her life choices.

"You think this is funny?" Thor questioned as Tony continued to laugh like he just heard the best joke in the world while Bruce rapidly shook his head in an attempt to stop his partner's antics.

"No," the billionaire finally responded before turning around to face the God of Thunder, "it's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny," the Stark man told the God of Thunder as he slowly approached the blonde man before the two had another staredown, "it's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time," the Banner man said in a tone that matched the discomfort on his face while he stared at his fellow genius.

"Really?! That's it?!" Tony exclaimed with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he threw his hands in the air and turned to face the scientist, "you just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot."

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?"

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here," Steve told him as he slowly approached Tony until he was standing a foot away from him, "the Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D.."

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

"No," Rhodey sighed as soon as those words left the Stark man's mouth before he brought his hand up to hold the bridge of his nose, "it's never come up."

"Saved New York?"

"Never heard that."

"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it," Tony rambled before Charlie caught Clint tensing up out of the corner of her before the brunette man continued speaking, "we're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's...that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together."

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together, too," the Man Out of Time paused as he and Tony had another staring contest before Steve gestured over to the God of Thunder and continued his speech, "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."

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Charlie leaned against a railing located in one of the halls of Avengers Tower as she looked out at the New York cityscape. While her mind replayed the events of the robot attack from the previous night, she listened to Clint's conversation with his wife and how badly she wants him to retire from this life. Especially now that she knew he got injured when they were in Sokovia. The Bridger girl's attention didn't leave the busy city below until she heard the elevator doors open. Her eyes traveled to the source of the sound to see Steve coming out with Agent Hill while she read information off the tablet in her hands. The brunette woman scanned the screen in her hands as she easily kept up with the Man Out of Time as they entered the lounge.

"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs," Maria told the Roger man before they started to walk up the stairs that led to where the two archers stood, "reports of a metalman, or men, coming in and emptying the place."

"Fatalities?"

"Only when engaged," the Hill woman responded to Steve while continuing to read the information off the tablet in her hands, "mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and 'something too fast to see.'"

As soon as Charlie heard those words, her whole body became as still as a statue. Even though she knew only two people whose abilities fit that description, she didn't want it to be true. Her brain replayed what Agent Hill said over and over again until the Bridger girl came to the conclusion that there was no one else that they could cause what those people experienced. Charlie didn't have a clue how the giant robot found them or why he wanted their help. But what she did know was that the Maximoff twins were helping Ultron.

Charlie's suspicions were only confirmed when Steve responded to the brunette woman. "Maximoffs. That makes sense he'd go to them. They have someone in common."

"Not anymore."

Charlie couldn't help but look over the railing to see Maria hand the Man Out of Time the tablet she was holding. She unconsciously fiddled with her fingers as she watched Steve's eyes scan over the device. The young archer wanted nothing more than to know exactly what the man was reading, but she had a very slim chance of that happening.

"Don't worry about the wolf, leave the nightlight on," Charlie heard Clint say, causing her to turn her attention back toward her mentor to find him already staring back at her, "that's a negative, I answer to you. Yes, ma'am. Charlie's fine and she's gonna stay that way."

"Charlie. Barton," Steve called out to the duo before the two of them turned around to face the Man Out of Time.

"I gotta go," the Barton man told his wife then hung up as he and his trainee made their way over to Steve.

"Who's that?"

"Girlfriend."

"Any of your old contacts come through?" Steve questioned while he continued to stare at the two archers with a hint of skepticism in his eyes.

"Still waiting," Clint responded as his grip around his phone slightly tightened while Charlie continued to watch the two men with a blank expression on her face.

"Well, we might have something."

A sigh passed over the Bridger girl's lips as she walked between the two men through the destroyed lounge and into the lab. When the three of them entered the room, the rest of the Avengers glanced over at them as they walked over to join them in the center of the room. It wasn't long after that when the young archer realized that all six of the heroes were staring at her with unreadable expressions on their faces. The sudden attention on her caused Charlie's nerves to skyrocket like never before.

"Don't you think Charlie's had enough excitement?" Natasha asked with her eyes glued to Clint while the blonde girl fought the urge to look away from everyone, "she's done her part. She can sit the rest out."

"Nat, I'm fine," the Bridger girl told the redheaded woman while mentally trying to convince herself that she could actually help them, "I'm fine. I can handle this."

"Unfortunately, Ultron specifically called her out. Twice. So now she's in on this, too," Steve responded as he shot Tony an irritated look before he handed Thor the tablet, "plus we could use all the assistance we can get."

"She's good with computers," the Barton man told them before he sent Charlie a look as if asking if she was okay, only for her to respond with a nod.

After letting out another long breath in an attempt to relax her nerves, Charlie sent the heroes in front of her a small smile and walked over to the computer. The young archer immediately began to type as soon as she got to the device to try and find anything that could lead them to Ultron and the Twins. The Avengers soon surrounded the desk she was sitting at, which only made her heart race faster than before while she continued to listen to their conversation.

"What's this?" Tony questioned before everyone's attention left the young girl and landed back on the tablet in Thor's hands. The God of Thunder studied the object for a long moment before an irritated look slowly formed on his face.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker," Steve answered while Thor slammed the tablet into Tony's chest before the latter took it into his hands to study the picture.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us."

"This is good. He's showing us his hand. This isn't his pattern," Natasha stated after she caught a glimpse of the image being displayed on the small screen, "this is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," the Man Out of Time concluded while Charlie typed the man's name into the computer, only to be greeted by two bright red words.

"You guys are gonna wanna see this," the young archer told them, causing all of their attention to land on her once again. The heroes exchanged a quick look before they walked around the desk until all of them were standing right behind the Bridger girl so that could see the words RECORDS DELETED. "Everything you had on Strucker's been erased."

"Not everything."

After checking through the computer one last time to make sure she didn't miss anything, Charlie followed everyone into another room to find boxes of files stacked on top of one another. The young archer stood in the doorway for a moment as they pulled some out and set them on the table. Another silent sigh passed over her lips as she made her way over to Clint's side before the two of them soon began to dig through the files.

Charlie glanced around a few times at everyone in the room to make sure their attention was elsewhere. As soon as she knew everyone was too busy to pay attention to her and Clint, the Bridger girl opened her mouth to start a conversation with her mentor. "How's the girlfriend?"

The immediate response she received was the Barton man glancing up at her with an expressionless look on his face. His eyes scanned over the young girl in front of him for a long moment as he thought back to the conversation he had with Laura. She'd end him if anything happened to Charlie. "She's fine. Just a little worried."

"She has every right to be," the Bridger girl responded as she thought back to what his family had to experience when Clint was under Loki's control.

"She's worried about you too, Char, and so am I," the Barton man responded with more worry in his voice than his trainee thought was humanly possible, "I've never seen someone look as exhausted as you do right now. Maybe Nat's right."

"I'm not backing out. There are people out there who need help," the blonde girl responded as she closed a folder and placed it back in the box before grabbing another one, "and the Maximoffs-"

"What about the Maximoffs?"

Charlie's body became as stiff as a board before she looked up to meet the man's eyes. By the expression on his face, she instantly knew there was no way out of this one. "When I saw Pietro in the forest, he had a look in his eyes that I'll never forget. It was like I took everything he had away. I'm sure his sister is the same way. Now they're both working with Ultron without realizing what they really got themselves into."

"You were always one to help a lost puppy...even if it bit your hand while you were trying to pet it."

"Are you gonna stop me?"

"No. You wouldn't stop even if I tried."

The two archers exchanged smiles before Tony announced that he knew someone in one of the pictures they were looking at. After quickly putting the papers they were looking at back in the box, Clint and Charlie walked over to see them staring at a picture of a man with a lot of tattoos.

"From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms," Tony explained, causing everyone to send him judgemental looks before he held his hands up in mock surrender after Thor took the picture from him, "there are conventions, alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

"This," the God of Thunder said while pointing to the man's neck.

"Ah, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it."

"Those are tattoos. This is a brand," the long-haired god explained as he showed everyone the differences between the symbols.

"Let me see that," Charlie told them. Before anyone could protest, the Bridger girl grabbed the picture and walked over to the computer. Her fingers flew across the keyboard faster than anyone expected before the young archer pulled up everything she could find about the symbol.

"You're right. She is good with computers," Bruce whispered to Clint as his protégé read over the information on the screen before Charlie turned around to face the heroes.

"It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'...in a much less...friendly way."

"What dialect?" Steve asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Wakanda."

As soon as the country's name left the girl's mouth, Tony and Steve looked at each other so fast they should've gotten whiplash. The two men continued to stare at each other as if having a silent conversation while the rest of their teammates watched them with worry in their eyes.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..."

"I thought your father got the last of it all," Steve cut off Tony before he could continue before they had a staredown once again.

"I don't follow," Bruce spoke what everyone else was thinking, drawing both Tony's and Steve's attention towards him before he resumed speaking, "what comes out of Wakanda?"

The immediate response the scientist received was a blank stare from the Stark man while the Man Out of Time looked down at his shield. It only took the Roger man's small gesture for Charlie to figure out what their silent conversation was truly about and for a pit to form in her stomach. Without thinking, she found herself looking up at Clint while Tony opened his mouth to respond to the Banner man's question.

"The strongest metal on Earth."

"Where is this guy now?"

As soon as they determined what Ultron is after, everyone suited up then quickly boarded the Quinjet and set their course to Africa.

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