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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃

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Hours passed before they finally arrived at the African Coast before Tony flew them to the Salvage Yard, or what Clint liked to call the boat graveyard. Throughout their journey, Charlie sat on the edge of her seat between her two mentors as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap. The young archer's nerves didn't calm until the Barton man rested his hand on her bouncing leg. That caused Charlie to look up at Clint before the latter sent her a small smile, even though they both knew it wouldn't help settle her thoughts much.

Once the Quinjet landed on the nearest patch of land, everyone grabbed their gear and ran off the plane. The only one who stayed behind was Bruce, who would be their backup in case it turned into a "code green" situation, though none of them thought it would come to that. The other five ran through the muddy landscape as Tony flew above them before they climbed aboard the farthest and largest ship. While Tony, Thor, and Steve went to the lower level to confront Ultron and the Maximoff twins, Natasha, Clint, and Charlie climbed up a steel ladder to the highest level to get a bird's eye view. Once the three former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents got into their positions, they watched the conversation below take place.

The young archer tried to hear what they were saying, only to fail due to the distance. She began to get antsy and shifted her weight from one leg to the other as her eyes wandered to the siblings standing next to Ultron.

"Don't even think about it," Clint warned after sensing the blonde girl's impatience as Charlie's attention left the scene below and landed on him, "stick to the plan."

"Trust me, I will," the Bridger girl responded before casting her gaze back to the party happening on the level below, "I don't really feel like facing a nine-foot robot today."

The Barton man opened his mouth to respond, only to shut it again when he saw the girl's eyes widen at the same time a loud mechanical sound cut through the air. Clint quickly followed Charlie's gaze to find Ultron pulling Tony toward him with some kind of magnet. When the Stark man was just a few feet away, the robot pushed him back through the air using a beam, leaving an Iron Man-sized indent in the wall behind Steve and Thor. After Tony regained his bearings, he and Ultron flew at each other and the fight between the opposing sides began.

Right as the two archers loaded their bows to join the battle below, a loud popping sound cut through the air and they turned to see men coming toward them. Clint and Charlie quickly fired their arrows at them while Natasha took them on at the other end of the hallway. As she continued to fight the men that seemed to be coming out of thin air, the young archer unconsciously looked over her shoulder at the platform below them to find robots flying around and attacking Thor and Steve.

Her eyes scanned the lower level before they landed on a blur racing around before it slowly just enough for her to make out Pietro. The speedster rammed into Captain America before sprinting up a small set of stairs, only for him to fly through the air and land in a pile of crates after he tried to grab Mjolnir. As soon as the speedster got to his feet, Steve came out of nowhere and slammed his shield into the Maximoff boy, causing the latter to fall back into the wooden boxes.

"Thor, status," Steve's voice filled her ears as she took out a couple of men who were trying to sneak up behind Clint.

"The girl tried to warp my mind," the God of Thunder responded before his words were followed by a loud clang then he continued speaking, "take special care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty."

Charlie fired one of her last arrows right as Clint sent one down to the level below, causing a pulse to emit from it and knock out the remainder of the men. The world around them soon fell into an eerie silence before the two archers exchanged a worried look.

"We took care of Klaus' men," Clint announced over the comms, only to be greeted by static as his eyes continued to glance around the ship for any sign of life, "how's everyone else doing?"

The pair waited for a long moment for a response that never came before the Barton man looked over at Charlie once again and sent her a small nod. They quickly loaded their bows and went their separate ways to find any of their teammates that they haven't heard from. The Bridger girl was greeted by nothing but silence as she walked through the dark passages with her hands tightly gripped around her bow. After walking down the third creepy hallway in the last two minutes, Charlie was hit by a gust of wind that quickly made her blood run cold.

A shaky breath passed over her lips as she slowly turned around to find Pietro staring straight back at her. Charlie's instincts took over before she could think as she aimed her arrow straight at the speedster's chest. The two of them just watched each other for what felt like an eternity while trying to anticipate the other's next move. Another long moment passed before the silence was finally broken by Pietro.

"Sorry, anđeo," the speedster told the archer as a small smirk formed on his face, "we really hate to do this but you chose the wrong side."

"I think it's the other way around," Charlie retaliated without moving the arrow an inch while her grip around her bow tightened.

The Bridger girl continued to watch the boy in front of her before she saw his eyes dart to something behind her. His actions made her furrow her eyebrows in confusion before she realized that Pietro wasn't alone. The Maximoff boy was most likely stalling so Wanda could get close enough to force her way into Charlie's head. The young archer kept her arrow pointed at the speedster while he continued to stare back at her with an unreadable look on his face. If she couldn't fight her way out of the situation, maybe she could talk her way out.

"I don't want to hurt you," Charlie told him as she slightly lowered her bow but not enough to show the speedster she was backing down, "you can still come back from this."

Before she could even register what was happening, another gust of wind hit her face and Pietro appeared inches away from her face. His eyes bore into hers as he studied every inch of her face. Charlie didn't know how long this went on for before the platinum-haired boy leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "If you really want to help me, then leave the Avengers. I would hate for something to happen to that pretty face of yours when it can be avoided."

"You've lost a lot, I get that. I've lost people, too," Charlie said without even thinking as she took a small step back, causing a hint of curiosity to appear on his face, "but that doesn't mean you should ally with a psychopathic robot."

As soon as her words registered in his head, Pietro's eyes flickered behind the archer once again. His gesture forced Wanda to stop in her tracks before she sent her brother a confused look. The siblings simply stared at each other for a moment before the speedster's full attention landed back on Charlie. "Who did you lose?"

"My mother and brother," the young archer told him before she watched his facial features soften a bit and she continued speaking, "when your father works for S.H.I.E.L.D., he's bound to make some people mad. Those people got their revenge."

"I'm sorry," the speedster whispered into her ear once again before he vanished, leaving behind another gust of wind as the only sign that he was there.

Charlie just stared at the spot Pietro once stood before she turned around and aimed her arrow at where she expected Wanda to be, only to find empty space. Her eyes scanned the dark corridor as she spun around in a circle to make sure she was truly alone. After she couldn't find any signs of another living soul, the young archer finally realized just how fast her heart was beating and how much her hands were shaking. Her mind tried to figure out why her encounter with the Maximoffs made her so jump as she let out a long breath to settle her nerves. Once Charlie was able to calm herself down a bit, she raised her hand to the comm in her ear.

"Clint," the young archer said with her voice a bit shakier than she would have liked. It wasn't long after that when she let out another long breath and continued. "Where are you?"

"East corridor. You good?" the Barton man responded with a hint of concern in his voice, causing Charlie to let out a relieved sigh when she knew he was okay.

"Fine. I'm coming to you."

After making sure she still had an arrow loaded on her bow, Charlie sprinted down the corridor and raced back into the main room of the ship. Her eyes scanned over the aftermath of the fight that took place not even an hour ago before her eyes landed on Clint. The young archer practically jumped down a small flight of stairs and rushed to her mentor's side.

"Everyone's been compromised except for us and Tony but he flew off to deal with Ultron," he told the girl as soon as she reached his side before he noticed the slightly distressed look on her face, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a little run-in with Pietro and...Wanda? Maybe? I don't know. I never actually saw her."

"Did he hurt you?"

The only response the Barton man received from his protégé was a shake of her head in response before he watched her attention go to something behind him. Clint's eyes never left Charlie as she slightly tilted her head and gestured to whatever caught her attention. When he finally picked up on her warning, the master archer grabbed one of his stun arrows and spun around before sticking the end of it to Wanda's head. The two archers watched a small wave of electricity emitted from the arrow before it immobilized her.

"I've done the whole mind-control thing. Not a fan," Clint stated as he reached up to take the arrow off her forehead, only for Pietro to come out of nowhere and push him away from his sister.

"Dad!"

Time seemed to slow as Charlie watched in horror as her father flew through the air before crashing into the window behind him. The glass shattered into a million pieces from the impact before Clint landed on the other side with a thud followed by his groans from the painful experience. The young archer quickly came back to reality before she placed herself between Clint and the Maximoff twins and aimed an arrow at the speedster. Pietro just stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face and Wanda lying limp in his arms. Before Charlie could make another move, the Maximoff boy sprinted off.

"Yeah, you better run," the Barton man's voice filled her ears before Charlie jumped through the glassless window and into the next room.

"Are you okay?" she asked while her eyes scanned over him for any injury, only to find a few cuts from the glass.

"Yeah," he answered as he sat up and pulled a piece of the window out of his arm, "what about you?"

"Physically, yeah."

"I'm sorry to break up this sweet moment," Tony's voice rang through the comms, "but did Charlie just call you 'dad'?"

A wave of realization washed over her body after she replayed the scene that took place only moments ago in her head. It wasn't long after that when Clint watched his daughter as a guilty expression formed on her face. Charlie tuned out her father's response to the Stark man as she tightly shut her eyes and rubbed her hands down the sides of her face. The biggest rule she was given by her father when she started training at S.H.I.E.L.D. was to not tell anyone they were related. Charlie agreed without an ounce of hesitation because she knew it was one of the only ways to keep Laura and her half-siblings safe.

And she just broke that rule.

Neither of them said a word as Charlie helped Clint out of the small room so they could go look for Natasha. However, they both froze where they stood when they saw Pietro standing in their way. The Barton man instantly pushed his daughter behind him and aimed an arrow at the speedster without an ounce of hesitation. While her father prepared for what he assumed was another fight, the Barton girl just stared at the Maximoff boy in confusion while trying to figure out why he came back. Before either of them had a chance to make another move, Pietro sprinted towards them and picked Charlie up before whisking her away.

The world didn't slow for the young archer until the speedster stopped next to another ship in the boat graveyard. The Maximoff boy set Charlie down so fast that she almost fell into the mud then placed his hands on her shoulders so she couldn't move. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Wanda appeared in front of her before an eerie red mist blocked her view of the girl then the world around Charlie plunged into darkness.

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