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.