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Chapter Text

Panic.

That was the only word that could describe what little Kate was feeling at that moment. She was stunned, nothing seemed to make sense in her mind.

The little girl only remembered her mother telling her to get the checkers so they could play a game together, but when Kate was in her room getting the board game, she saw strange things flying outside her bedroom window, and that's when the nightmare began.

Little Kate was running down the stairs desperately trying to find one of her parents.

She didn't know what was happening, or what those things flying in the sky were. The only thing Kate wanted was to find her parents, she was scared, she wanted to find them and be held close to them until it was all over.

"MOMMY?! DADDY?!" Kate screamed crying as she ran down the stairs.

Part of the ceiling collapsed, making Kate scream in fear. She put her arms around her head, trying her best to protect her face from the falling debris. Removing her arms from her face, the little girl then saw a scene that left her completely paralyzed.

A huge hole was open in the middle of the room. She walked slowly, staying on the edge, from there she could see all the chaos that was in the city.

There were monsters in the sky flying and attacking people, attacking anything around them. People in the streets were running desperately, each trying to find some way to save their own life.

Right in front of her, Kate could see Stark Tower, which was destroyed and only the letter "A" of the name remained.

Kate didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed.

What was happening?

Kate's thoughts were interrupted when she saw one of the flying monsters coming towards her. She screamed covering her head with her arms. She braced for the impact, but nothing happened. Kate removed her arms from her face and saw an arrow being fired, exploding the monster and preventing it from hurting her.

Kate looked up, stunned, seeing the figure that had saved her life.

It was a man on top of a building, using a bow and arrow, fighting the monsters without showing any fear on his face.

Suddenly, Kate felt the world slow down, the sounds of the monsters and the screams of the people were gone. The only thing Kate focused on was the man fighting on top of the building. She gasped in surprise when the archer jumped off the building, fired an arrow at the wall, and swung until he broke the glass and entered the building.

Kate was in a trance watching that scene. That archer jumped off the building even though he couldn't fly, he wasn't like Iron Man, he didn't have any kind of power, all he had was a bow and arrow, and yet he was fighting the aliens without hesitation.

At that moment, Kate felt something being born inside her, like a flame of courage ignite.

If that archer could do that without any kind of superpower, she didn't need to be afraid.

She had to be brave, she was going to find her parents, they needed her!

➵

Clint really miscalculated when he jumped off the building and launched that arrow. The archer could still feel some shards of glass against his skin, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment.

He was now in the street firing his arrows at Loki's army and helping some civilians get to safety from the aliens.

"Legolas, I detected heat signatures coming from the coverage in front of you, it looks like there are still people inside." Tony's voice caught Clint's attention, and he quickly glanced at the building in front of him. He could see all the holes and cracks, that coverage wouldn't hold much longer.

"I'm on my way!" Clint didn't wait another second and ran towards the roof.

It didn't take long for Clint to be inside the house. He crept through the rubble trying to find someone. There was a lot of rubble and collapsed walls that could easily crush someone to death. Clint shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts from his mind.

"HELLO?! IS ANYONE HERE?!" He shouted as loudly as he could, trying to find any sign of life in that place.

➵

"What would you do in a hurricane?"

"I would do what I always do, protect you."

Those were the last words Kate's father spoke to her before leaving her room, and now he was here, lying on the floor with a huge pillar on top of him.

Kate could see a huge pool of blood forming on her father's stomach, she didn't know what to do.

"Dad, please, you have to get up." Kate cried. She tried with all her might to lift the pillar, but no matter how much force she used, nothing seemed to move that wall. "Please, Dad, I'm scared, I need you..."

"Katie...you have to...get out of here." Derek forced himself to say those words. He knew there was no saving him anymore, but he would never forgive himself knowing his little girl would get hurt. "Go away, Kate..."

"No! I won't leave you here!" Kate shook her head quickly, more tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to lift the pillar once more; she couldn't give up.

"Katie..." The girl's father forced himself to continue speaking; he was too weak.

"Please, Daddy...you have to get out of there...I need you." Kate cried collapsing onto her father's body, hugging his chest tightly.

Footsteps were heard behind Kate. She didn't bother to look, she just wanted to stay there, embraced by her father while she still had time.

"We need to get out of here, the roof is collapsing." A voice Kate didn't recognize spoke behind her.

The girl finally looked back, she was surprised to see that the owner of the voice was the same archer who had jumped from the building and saved her life a few minutes earlier.

Suddenly, a spark of hope ignited in Kate's chest.

That archer saved her life, he was a hero.

Maybe he could save her father's life too.

"Please, you have to help me! My father is trapped." Little Kate pleaded looking at the man. She knew heroes helped people, so she knew the archer would help save her father.

A loud crash was heard, making Kate let out a frightened scream.

Clint looked up, seeing the ceiling about to collapse completely, it wasn't safe for them to stay there any longer.

"Okay, I'll help." Clint replied quickly, going to the man lying on the ground. He held the pillar with both hands, trying to lift it, but it was too heavy, after all, it was a huge piece of wall fallen on top of the man.

Small pieces of concrete began to fall from the ceiling.

Looking up and seeing that they didn't have much time left, Clint strained as hard as he could to lift the pillar.

Kate stood up and ran towards the archer, stopping beside him and gripping the wall with her small hands, joining him in trying to help.

She needed to help, she needed to save her father's life.

"Please... get her out of here." Clint heard the man plead.

"You'll be alright, I'll help you."

Together, Clint and Kate managed to lift the top part of the wall off the man. Clint let out a relieved sigh; now they could get out of there.

He looked at the man and his blood ran cold, he was paralyzed by the scene before him.

A piece of metal was embedded right in the middle of his abdomen.

Clint saw the little girl beside him fall to her knees on the ground, a river of tears streaming down her face as she watched her father in that state.

"Get her out of here." Derek spat out a few drops of blood. He didn't have much time.

"I won't leave you, Dad!" Kate sobbed shaking her head.

Pieces of the ceiling began to fall, and Clint knew he only had a few seconds left.

"Please... promise you'll keep her safe... promise you'll take care of her." Derek forced himself to say, looking into Clint's eyes.

"I promise." Clint grabbed Kate's body, pulling her away from her father. They had to get out of there right now, otherwise they wouldn't escape alive.

"No, no! Let me go!" Kate cried, struggling to break free from the archer's arms.

She didn't want to leave her father, she knew he was scared; she wanted to stay with him.

"I love you, daughter." Hearing her father's last words, Kate's body froze.

She saw her father's breath stop and his eyes, now devoid of any life, staring at Kate.

Seeing her father die in front of her, Kate closed her eyes and screamed, her scream filled with pain and sorrow.

While Kate wept, Clint gripped her body tighter and ran with the girl in his arms out of the building.

They reached the street so quickly that for a moment Clint himself was surprised by his agility.

Reaching the street, Clint looked back and saw the entire building collapse at once, a huge wave of dust forming and heading towards them.

Clint's only reaction was to turn his body onto his back, burying the little girl in his chest to protect her from the collapsing building. The archer forced himself to stand still, the enormous wave of dust trying to knock him down.

They remained like that for a minute, frozen in place. Clint raised his head and looked at the little girl in his arms, who was paralyzed.

"Hey girl, are you okay?" He asked, the girl still in his arms. Clint knew that had been a stupid question. Obviously she wasn't okay; her father had just died in front of her.

Little Kate couldn't answer, she moved her head, looking over the archer's shoulder, staring at the place where her house used to be.

Nothing was left.

Only the wreckage of a place Kate once called home remained.

Kate's house no longer existed.

All that remained was a huge void, and perhaps it wasn't just the emptiness of the place that Kate was feeling, she also felt a empty inside her.

"It's going to be alright, I'll take you to a safe place." Clint said, walking quickly with the girl in his arms.

They went to a shelter where some people were staying, along with firefighters who were tending to the civilians' injuries.

Clint didn't know what to say to the little girl. She had just seen her father die in front of her, and her mother was probably dead too; no one could have survived that collapse.

The archer put the girl down near some children who were having their injuries treated by some firefighters.

"They'll take care of you."

"Are you going to leave me here?" Kate asked. She was afraid to be alone.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." Clint assured her. "What's your name?"

"Kate Bishop." The girl whispered, wiping away some tears that still insisted on falling from her eyes.

"You don't need to worry, Kate, I'll come back and I'll help you a..." Before Clint could even finish speaking, Kate interrupted him.

"Find my mother?" She asked with a small spark of hope in her eyes.

Clint froze.

He didn't want to lie to the little girl, but he also didn't want to say that her mother was probably also dead under the rubble.

"When I come back I'll help you, Kate, I guarantee you that." He said firmly.

"You'll come back, right?" Kate asked. Clint could notice the insecurity in her voice.

"Yes, I'll come back."

"Pinky promise?" Kate showed her pinky to the archer.

"Pinky promise." Clint gave a small smile, joining his pinky finger with the little girl's, making the oath.

Clint stood up and left. Stopping at the door, he glanced back, giving Kate one last look. She gave him a small nod, and he returned the gesture.

He then ran back into the battle and quickly resumed fighting the aliens.

One thing Clint was sure of.

He would help that little girl, after all, he had made a pinky promise.

And also, he promised her father that he would keep the girl safe and take care of her.

Two promises.

And Clint Barton didn't intend to break either of them.

Chapter Text

Little Kate was very tired, she didn't know how many hours she had been in that hospital.

Hours after the archer left her at the shelter, everyone there – including Kate – was transferred to hospitals to treat their injuries.

Kate didn't know if she was injured, she didn't feel any pain.

Well, apart from the burning sensation she felt on her forehead, and the same thing on her cheek, and a severe headache.

But none of that mattered to Kate at the moment, she felt no pain, as if she were numb, because all she felt now was the pain of losing her parents.

A silent tear fell from Kate's face as she remembered what happened to her father. Every time the little girl tried to close her eyes, the image of her father bloodied on the floor appeared in her mind.

I wish you were here, Dad.

Kate took a deep breath, lying down on her hospital bed. At the moment she was alone in the room, before, she had two kids with her, but they left when a doctor arrived with their parents. From what Kate could hear, it seemed that in the middle of the battle they had become separated from their parents and lost each other.

Kate wished that had happened to her.

She wished she had only gotten separated from her parents.

Kate wished her parents would come through that door, give her a tight hug, and tell her that everything would be alright.

She looked towards the door, hoping something would appear, hoping someone would show up.

But nothing happened.

And it seemed the archer had broken the promise he made to Kate and wasn't going to come back to help her.

Tears began to fall from the girl's face, she started to cry softly, afraid someone would hear. She didn't want to explain to anyone why she was crying.

Kate isn't naive, on the contrary, she's quite smart for her age. She knew the kind of situation she was in.

Her father was dead, her mother was probably dead too, and the archer had broken his promise and wouldn't return.

She was alone, and she was very scared.

✧

In Stark Tower – or at least what was left of it – the Avengers surrounded Loki after he had finally been defeated.

"Okay, lift him up. We can stay here posing for the photo later." Tony said turning his back to Loki and walking away in his armor.

Clint was leaning against a wall, thinking about everything that had happened, it was too much information for his brain to process at once.

He had been mind-controlled by a Norse god, aliens had invaded through a wormhole in the sky, and on top of everything, he had a terrible headache.

Clint's thoughts were interrupted by Natasha appearing in front of him with two glasses of whiskey in her hands.

The redhead gave a small smile, extending her arm and offering one of the drinks to the archer.

"Thanks, Nath. But I have to go somewhere now." Clint gently declined.

"It must be serious, you never refuse a drink after a fight." Natasha raised an eyebrow as she took a sip from her glass.

"More or less. There's a little girl I rescued from a collapsing roof, she saw her father die in front of her, and honestly, I don't know if there's any chance her mother is alive." He sighed remembering how frightened the little girl had been.

Natasha's expression fell upon hearing her friend's words. She knew the consequences of that battle would be immense, and one of those consequences would be many families losing their loved ones and many children becoming orphans.

Natasha couldn't help but feel sadness for the people going through this right now.

The Avengers managed to save the Earth, but how much that must have cost so many people.

The Russian felt sorry for the little girl, even without knowing her.

After all, Natasha knew the feeling the little girl was experiencing at that moment.

"Where is she now?" The redhead asked.

"I left her at a shelter, but they certainly took the people who were there to the hospitals, I don't know how I'm going to find her." Clint lowered his guilty gaze. He didn't want to break his promise; the archer promised he would help her.

And he also promised the girl's father that he would take care of her. He still doesn't know exactly how he's going to do it.

Maybe he could leave Kate safe in an orphanage.

But there was a part of Clint that didn't like that idea at all, and he was sure the little girl wouldn't like it either.

"What's her name?" Natasha asked her expression focused on her face. Clint could swear he could see the gears turning in the redhead's head.

"Kate Bishop."

"Let's go." Natasha said, downing her glass and taking a last sip of her drink. She quickly turned her back and walked towards the elevator.

"What? Where are we going?" Clint asked confused as he followed the woman.

"We're going to the girl."

"I told you, I don't know which hospital she might be in."

"My dear Barton, I think you forget you have a spy friend who knows how to hack computers to find information." Natasha gave a small smile looking at the archer.

Clint chuckled in disbelief. He had completely forgotten that Natasha could find Kate's location in the blink of an eye.

The archer sighed in relief, he hadn't even realized he was so worried about not finding the little girl again.

But now he had a promise to keep.

✧

"You need to talk to me. Is there anyone in your family who can pick you up?" A blonde woman asked. She was standing in front of Kate, waiting for the little girl to answer the question, but no answer came from Kate's lips.

She had seen this woman asking the same question to other children, and Kate wasn't stupid, just by the clothes the woman was wearing, you could tell she was a social worker.

And if she was a social worker, it meant she was there to take children who had lost their families to an orphanage.

"My little girl, do you have anyone in your family who could pick you up?" The woman asked again, beginning to lose patience.

Kate didn't answer.

Her father was dead, and as much as she wanted to believe otherwise, her mother was probably dead too.

The girl lowered her head, staring at the white sheet of the hospital bed.

No.

Kate had no one in her family who could pick her up

But Kate refused to go to an orphanage! So if necessary, she would remain mute for the rest of her life, but she wouldn't answer that question.

"You have a difficult patient." The social worker took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. She glanced at the doctor who was also in the room.

Her name was Leah Miller. Kate liked her, she was the only one who hadn't forced Kate to talk if she didn't want to.

And also, Dr.Miller gave Kate a small chocolate bar when she saw the girl having one of her crying fits.

That certainly earned Dr.Miller some points with Kate.

"If you weren't forcing her to talk, she might cooperate a little." Dr.Miller stared at the social worker, who rolled her eyes at the doctor's words. "Give her some time, she's had a hard day."

"We all had a hard day! Aliens invaded the city through a hole in the sky, she's not the only one suffering." The blonde raised her voice, clearly impatient.

"She's a child!" the doctor exclaimed, disbelieving the kind of comparison the blonde was making. "For someone who works with children, you don't have much empathy."

"You know what, you're coming with me." The older woman looked back at Kate, who stared at her, confused. "If anyone in your family is still alive, they might find you at the orphanage." She took a step towards the bed, getting closer to Kate.

"No! You can't take me!" Kate shouted loudly, standing on the edge of the bed, trying her best to get away from the woman. Which was rather difficult, since half an hour ago Dr.Miller had punctured Kate's IV and put arm the little girl on an IV drip.

On impulse, Dr.Miller ended up standing in front of Kate, staring at the blonde woman with a serious look.

"Listen, she's a child who's scared and on an IV drip." The doctor gritted her teeth, staring at the blonde woman in front of her. "I know this is your job, but I'm sorry to tell you that you have no power here. I'm the doctor, and this is my shift, so I'm telling you that you're not taking her away until I confirm that she's well and discharge her!" Dr.Miller narrowed her eyes, staring fiercely at the blonde woman in front of her. "Was I clear?"

"As clear as water." The blonde muttered, giving a slight nod.

Kate looked at the doctor, shocked.

In the time she'd known the doctor – about three hours – she'd never seen her confront anyone like that. Kate loved seeing Dr.Miller put that snobbish blonde in her place.

"But I'll take her away as soon as you discharge her." The blonde clarified.

"Take who away?" A male voice caught the attention of the three.

Kate quickly looked towards the door, seeing the archer and a redhead she'd seen in the newspaper with the group people were calling the Avengers.

"You're back!" Kate couldn't contain the smile that formed on her face. She was happy that the archer hadn't broken his promise.

"I promised I'd come back to help you, didn't I?" Clint walked to Kate's bed along with the redhead who looked more like a bodyguard inspecting the place.

"Excuse me, would you be?" The social worker stared at the man confused.

"We're here to help the girl." Natasha said drawing the blonde's attention.

"What kind of help?" The social worker asked. The social worker crossed her arms, staring at the two.

"Did you find my mother?" Kate asked hopefully, covering her eyes.

Clint lowered his gaze, unable to look at the girl.

He didn't want to tell her what he and Natasha had discovered while the redhead hacked hospital records looking for Kate.

"Can you give us a minute?" Natasha looked at the two women.

She knew her best friend needed help.

"Of course." The doctor agreed.

"Five minutes." The blonde declared.

"We will take all the time we need!" Natasha gave the woman a death glare, she didn't like her at all.

The blonde shuddered at the look she received from the Russian woman. She had seen the footage of that woman fighting the aliens, it would be better if she didn't get angry.

"Okay." was all the blonde said before turning her back and quickly leaving the room.

Dr.Miller looked at the scene with a satisfied smile on her face.

"I've already become a fan of yours." The doctor chuckled softly, leaving the room and leaving Clint, Natasha, and Kate alone.

"So, did you find my mother?" Kate repeated the curious question.

Clint couldn't answer. He knew he had to tell the truth, but he didn't want to see Kate crying and suffering like she did when she saw her father die.

She was just a child.

Seeing that Clint wouldn't be able to break the news to the little girl, Natasha took a deep breath, taking charge of the situation.

"Kate, we're so sorry, dear, but we've discovered that your mother has died." The Russian woman delivered the news, watching Kate's hopeful gaze slowly fade.

Kate could swear she heard a piece of her heart crack with the news that came out of the redhead's mouth, her chest was tight and her breathing rapid, a buzzing in her ear, it felt like a bomb had exploded beside her.

Her father was dead, her mother was dead, she had no one left.

Kate slowly leaned back on the bed, hugging her knees and hiding her head, letting tears of sadness fall from her eyes.

She didn't care if the two heroes were still there watching her cry.

She felt like a part of her had died.

Now it was over.

Kate Bishop was officially alone.