Chapter 1
Clint shot off arrow after arrow trying to make as much of a dent as he could in the wave of aliens falling from the sky. He reached for explosive arrows and tried to shoot into clusters of Chutari in hopes of blowing several up at once. As he found civilian after civilian he sent them to the safe locations Cap had set up protected by the boys in blue.
Find civilians, set up a perimeter, look for anything that could help them stop this mess. Those were his orders. He might not be great at following all of his orders and he might be a carnie at heart but right now with aliens coming out of a worm hole above New York City he was damned glad have them. Orders made sense, orders he could follow.
He rounded the next corner and stopped for a second to try to catch his breath.
“Hawkeye- report.” Cap’s voice came over his com.
“Just a couple of stragglers- civilians. I’m running out of arrows- maybe two dozen left. I don’t see anything yet but give me a minute- I might have an idea.” Clint quickly reported.
“Good, Hulk is smashing the enemy, Widow is doing something- I’m not sure what but it’s working. Ironman has some sort of a plan- be ready for it.” Captain America reported back.
“Where’s Thor?” Clint asked quickly looking around for the Norse god.
“Working out some family issues.” Captain America said dryly.
“Good, nothing like hitting each other for therapy.” Clint responded back in the same dry humor. “I’m going to clear another couple of blocks, when the party goes down we want civilians out of here.” In the back of his mind he wondered with Phil would think of Captain America being a snark but there wasn’t time for that yet. Clint was one of the best because he could push those thoughts away.
“Good. I’ll let you know what we need.” With that the com clicked out letting Clint know that it was time to get back to work.
“FUCK, SHIT, COCKSUCK!” An angry voice cried out behind him, “You! In the spandex. You’re one of those superhero’s, right? That’s why you’re wearing the outfit?”
Clint turned around to find a petit brunette pointing at him standing next to a pile of rubble. He nodded with his hand gripping his bow a little tighter.
“Good, get over here. There’s a little girl under here and I can’t lift this shit myself.” She pointed to the rubble.
Clint didn’t hesitate as he ran over to the young woman. He quickly examined the destruction in front of him. By some miracle the concrete had fallen in such a way that it formed almost a perfect box around the child. The little girl crouched huddled and terrified. Clint felt his heart clench- the child couldn’t be older than two or three.
“Hi sweetie, my names Hawkeye and…” he trailed off looking at the woman.
“Charlotte.” she supplied.
“Charlotte and I are going to get you out of here ok?” He tried to keep his voice as soothing as possible as he assessed the best way to extract the child. The little girl nodded but he didn’t know how much she understood. Clint stood up from his crouch and looked at Charlotte.
“Ok I don’t think the sides will collapse if we lift it but I’m not 100% sure. I think I can lift the top slab and I want you to grab her out. OK?” He asked.
“Ok, hurry up. I get the feeling this isn’t the worst of what we’re going to see. I want her out of here.” Charlotte agreed.
“Ok, on three. One, two, three.” On three Clint lifted as Charlotte ducked her arms into the rubble to pull out the little girl. As soon as she was clear he dropped the stone back down. Charlotte was already looking the girl over for any injuries.
“How is she?” he asked, terrified. It had been a hell week and he wanted this one thing to be good.
“She’s ok, I can’t believe it but she’s ok, maybe a bruise or two but nothing serious.” Charlotte said in amazement. “Honey do you know your name?” she asked the child. The little girl just started crying and threw herself into Charlotte’s arms.
“It’s ok baby girl, you’re safe now. We’ll find your mommy and daddy ok? It’s ok baby girl.” Charlotte said holding the toddler.
“Where would we be as safe as possible?” she asked turning to Clint.
“Outside of the city.” he answered before thinking. Surprisingly Charlotte just smiled.
“And if I left my jet at home?” she asked.
“NYPD is setting up a perimeter four blocks down. Can you get there safely?” he asked.
“I think so. I’ll try to pick up anyone else I see.” Charlotte says as she turns to go holding the girl tight. As she turned Clint saw the wide streak of blood across her right shoulder.
“Wait!” he called before she could walk away. “What happened to your shoulder?”
“What?” Charlotte asked confused. She twisted her head around trying to keep a hold of the toddler and look at her shoulder at the same time.
“Oh,” she said as the movement tugged her wound. “That hurts.”
“Let me look quick.” Clint said. She looked at him for a moment before nodding and turning her back to him to let him get a closer look. Luckily she wore a button down shirt over a camisole so he easily slipped the shirt from her shoulder. An angry, jaded gash stared at him on top of smooth skin. Most of the blood had stopped flowing and began to clot. It would need stitches, but it didn’t look life threatening.
“You should be good to get to the safe zone but I’m coming with as long as I can.” Hve decided. Getting her and the child there would help him finish his sweep anyway. He wanted to get an idea of the destruction also. When it came down to it if they could contain further destruction to a limited area it’d make clean up a lot easier.
“You don’t have too. I’m sure you have to save the city and all that.” Charlotte said as they took off at a jog for the perimeter. Clint kept glancing over at Charlotte worriedly, every couple of steps her face pulled into a wince of pain.
“I need to clear as much of this area as I can. Escorting you is just an added bonus.” He said light heartedly. Charlotte nodded her understanding even as her shoulder pulled again causing to gasp slightly.
“Do you want me to take her?” He asked as they jogged down the block.
“I want you to keep your bow up.” Charlotte told him, “Besides, I don’t think she’ll go to you right now. She’s gripping me pretty tight.”
Clint nodded and notched an arrow into his bow. As they rounded the corner he went first before waving her to come forward. As they weaved their way through the city blocks they picked up about fifteen more civilians. Clint breathed a small sigh of relief when they made it to the perimeter. He worked better alone and seventeen people trailing after him meant seventeen people he had to keep safe.
After he handed Charlotte, the child and the others over to the NYPD Clint pressed his com.
“Cap,” he said, “I got the blocks we already destroyed cleared. You’re plan involve you staying in that area?”
“It does. Where are you?” Steve asked.
“In the main “safe zone” you coming for me?” Clint asked.
“Yeah, Tony will pick you up in five. He’s on his way.” Steve answered. They quickly signed off the coms.
“Charlotte!” Clint called, seeing her sitting on an ambulance gurney. The little girl clung to her lap as a medic did field treatment to her shoulder. She turned her neck toward his voice as he jogged over to meet her.
“Stay here.” Clint told her, “I have to go help finish cleaning up this mess- you’ll be safe here.”
“Thanks Hawkeye, for me and baby girl here.” Charlotte gestured to the little one on her lap.
“Don’t mention it.” Clint brushed the thanks off. He still wasn’t used to people knowing when he was involved in anything. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Too much visibility made it harder for him to move silently in shadows, made it harder for him to do his job. He ran again to the edge of the perimeter as Tony swooped down to collect him. Clint was used to a lot of weird shit but getting picked up and flown through the air wasn’t one of them.
~&~
Charlotte watched as the archer was picked up in the air by Ironman. She shook her head in the last few years the world had gotten stranger. There were superheroes now. There were demons now. Well there had always been demons but now they showed their faces more clearly. Either way it was bigger, and it was messier, and more people were getting hurt.
“Ma’am,” the medic looking at her shoulder said, “We’re not bringing non-emergency to the hospital, but I have a doctor over here who’s going to come look at your shoulder. It’s not too deep, probably just need stitches.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte said. A young doctor came up to her wearing a stained white coat with her black hair pulled back into a sharp pony tail.
“Hi, my name is Doctor Martins,” She said snapping on a clean pair of rubber gloves, “What’s yours?”
“Charlotte Mathews.” Charlotte answered.
“Is this your daughter?” Dr. Martins asked as she peeled the gauze bandage back to get a look at the gash.
“No, I found her in the rubble. I’m looking for her parents.” Charlotte winced as the doctor poked her wound.
“I’ll keep an ear out for anyone missing kids. You need stitches.”
“So I’ve been told.” Charlotte said dryly.
“If I send you to a hospital it’ll be days before you’re seen. The worst cases are going there. I can sterilize the gash and put in field stitches here. I have a local, so you won’t feel anything but a shot. Under the circumstances I want to get this closed and covered as soon as possible.” Dr. Martins explained.
“Shoot me up doc. Let’s get this taken care of.” Charlotte said shifting the toddler’s weight in her lap. She winced a bit as the doctor plunged a needle full of local anesthetic into her arm.
“Sorry about that.” Doctor Martins apologized, “You’ll feel a few more pokes and a bit of a burn but then you’re good.”
“Don’t worry about it, never been a fan of shots.” Charlotte told her. Dr. Martins nodded sympathetically as she began to stitch up Charlotte’s right shoulder.
After a few minutes the doctor stepped around to stand in front of Charlotte.
“Alright, I got it sewed up. Be careful with it you don’t want the stitches to rip now. That’d be bad. The cut was pretty deep so there’s going to be some scaring. If the stitches rip, you’ll start to bleed and will need to get to a hospital. Keep it clean. Go to your doctor or a hospital in two weeks to get them out. If it becomes hot to the touch it’s probably infected, and you need to get to a doctor right away. If there’s puss it’s definitely infected and you need to go to a hospital. The city is going to be in chaos for a while. If for some reason you can’t get to a doctor the stitches will dissolve eventually but it’s better to get them taken out. Understand?” The doctor fired off orders at Charlotte.
“Yes, be careful, keep it clean, don’t get it infected and see a doc in two weeks. Got it.” Charlotte replied.
“Good. I’m going to look over the little girl now. Does she have a name?” Dr. Martins asked.
“I don’t know it. She hasn’t said anything. I’ve been calling her Baby Girl but it’s not really a name.”
“It’s good enough.” Dr. Martins quickly checked the toddler over. “Well she’s not hurt. Some scrapes and bruises. All superficial. Looks like she’s about two to three years old, healthy weight. She’s been well taken care of at least. If her parents made it out they’ll be looking for her.”
“I hope so.” Charlotte told her.
“I have to check on other people. If you need anything or have any questions flag me down.”
“Will do.”
Charlotte rested her head against the top of the toddlers in her lap. All around her she heard explosions and buildings collapsing. The world was going to hell or, so it seemed. Then it stopped. The explosions stopped, the giant hole in the sky closed. The world stopped ending and people rushed in and out trying to find their loved ones, trying to go home. Charlotte asked everybody if they lost a little girl. The cleanup was going to take forever. The list of the missing and the dead was going to take weeks. A police officer took her name and number. Baby Girl clung to her the entire time. A lady from social services found her waiting in a long line and asked if she’d take care of the girl for now. At least until there’s order. Until they could come up with a new plan.
Charlotte nodded and hugged Baby Girl closer realizing she didn’t want to give the toddler to strangers. She wanted to take care of the little girl if someone had to. The social worker thanked her tiredly and went to see who else needed to have their name and number taken down. Charlotte adjusted Baby Girl on her hip and looked around before she started to walk. Her apartment was over two miles from the destruction. She’d taken the train for a day out. A day of window shopping and overpriced coffee.
The trains weren’t running after the mayhem.
After the first five blocks her feet started to blister. After the 12th block they began to bleed. Her arms went numb after the first twenty minutes. She didn’t stop walking though. She was terrified if she sat down before she got to her apartment she’d never get back up. Baby Girl fell asleep around the same time she stopped feeling her arms.
It took her over an hour to walk the two miles home. She thanked whatever deity existed that she’d been at the edge of the destruction and her apartment was at the edge of Harlem. She unlocked her door and stumbled into her apartment trying not to wake the sleeping child. She quickly carried the girl into her bedroom and laid her gently in the bed covering her with the blankets. She’d figure out something for them in the morning but for now the couch would work for her. Charlotte left the door cracked open in case something happened during the night. Stumbling back into her living room she sat on the couch and breathed for a few minutes before reaching down to take off her shoes. She winced when she saw her bloody socks. She cried out in pain as she peeled them off her feet. She limped in to the kitchen to grab a roasting pan and her first aid kit. She filled the pan with warm water before carefully carrying it back to the living room.
She sunk her feet into the hot water and leaned back into her worn second hand couch. She let her feet soak for several minutes before lifting them out of the water. She hissed as she rubbed antibacterial cream on them before painstakingly putting band aids on each bleeding sore. She grabbed an extra pillow and one of the many throws laying around the room and curled herself into a ball on the couch and finally let herself cry.