Disclaimer: I only own Lottie and the plot of the story. Everything else is owned by Marvel, which is sad for me because they killed Pietro.
"You didn't see that coming?" The voice asked, wavering slightly. His body was riddled of bullet marks from the sudden attack from the plane. Hawkeye watched in shock as the white haired speedster's body fell forwards, landing in an uncomfortable looking position. Carefully placing the boy he went to protect by the side of the car, Clint Barton rushed to the side of his fallen ally. He could hear Wanda's screams in the background and the sudden sound of metal crunching.
"No," Clint protested, as Steve came to the other side of the body. "Come on, kid." He checked for a pulse, unable to find one. He rolled Pietro's body so that he was lying on his back. He could see the blood seeping through the wounds. Barton cursed to himself, trying his hardest to stop the bleeding. He could feel Steve pick up Pietro's body, and before he could protest, he remembered the mission. He had to make sure that the kid got back to his mother safely. Tearing his eyes from Pietro's form in Steve's arms, he picked the small boy up, bringing him back to the ship that would lead them to a safer area. As the boy's mother thanked him for saving her child, Clint's mind could not stop thinking about the "punk" that saved him. Those bullets were not meant for the older Maximoff twin; they were meant to kill him.
Shoving away help from an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Clint gracelessly laid down on a few of the seats next to the body of Pietro. Clint felt like he couldn't swallow, like a foreign object blocked his airways. The side of his body twitched, and he lifted up his shirt slightly, touching the smooth skin that was rebuilt by Dr. Helen Cho's machine. And as if a light bulb went off in his head, Clint stood up quickly, trying to find the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D agent.
"Hey!" He said, hoping to get the attention of one of them in front of him. He grumbled to himself when none of them answered. "Hey!" He yelled loudly, this time the agents noticed him. They seemed to stand up straighter, seeing as it was a member of the Avengers talking to them. "I need you to get Maximoff's body on ice as soon as possible." Before any of the younger agents could protest or question the reasoning, Clint gave them a stern look and they all scattered about. Some went to Pietro's body, picking it up to move it to a different location. Others went to the pilot of the carrier, telling him to hurry to ground.
As soon as the carrier dropped off the civilians, it took Clint and the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents to the Helicarrier. Once on the flying base, Clint ordered the agents to hurry with the ice. He watched as the limp body was carried off to another section of the Helicarrier. "This better work," Clint whispered to himself, before going to find Fury and get to Dr. Cho's laboratory as soon as possible.
Clint Barton stood outside the glass room. He had been there for hours, only leaving once to update his wife on where he was and to make sure that Wanda knew they were doing anything possible for her brother. His tired eyes watched as Dr. Cho's machine worked, slowly healing the body of the fallen young man.
"Clint," A voice said. He ignored it, not wanting to take his eyes off of what was happening in the room in front of him, just in case something went wrong. "Clint," the voice repeated. This time a hand went to his shoulder. The physical touch was enough to pull his eyes away from the room. His best friend and colleague stood in front of him. She had a split lip and a faint bruise forming on the side of her side. "He'll be okay. You brought him here just in time." Many people had said that to him, but hearing it from Natasha made it seem real. The other's telling him that seemed like a dream; a far away hope that he had. But, here they were in South Korea, healing Pietro. Clint looked back at the room, his face more at ease.
"Have they found Banner yet?" He asked solemnly. He could see Natasha's reaction to the question in the reflection of the glass. Maybe he shouldn't have asked so soon? The woman quickly composed herself, however.
"No. Not yet."
"They will, Nat." The red head opened her mouth to refute his statement, but Helen Cho stepped out of the room, interrupting them.
"The process is done. His body is completely healed, it is up to him now to wake up." The woman told the two Avengers.
"Get Wanda and the others in here." Clint told Natasha.
"Tony and Steve are back in New York. Pepper's sister came back from South Africa and they both wanted to be there."
Shit. Clint thought to himself. He completely forgot about the younger Potts sister coming back to America after a 2-year stint in South Africa. He had promised the young girl that he would train her how to use the bow and arrow, but right now he had other things on his mind.
"I'll explain it to Tony. Don't worry about Lottie," Natasha said, a small smile appearing on her lips. "I will alert the others, though."
"Thanks Nat." Clint said before walking into the room where Pietro lie. Pulling a chair over, Clint sat down next to the young man.
"Remember what Cap said, 'you get killed, walk it off.' Well now's the time to walk it off, kid." Clint said to the sedated body. "Just walk it off."
When Charlotte Potts stepped off the plane, she was expecting a big welcoming party, not a black car driven by a man she did not know. She at least expected her sister to be there at the airport, but not even Pepper showed up.
"So much for 'oh Lottie, we'll all be there,'" The young woman muttered to herself as the car sped out of the airport parking lot. "I was away for 2 years, 2 fucking years and no welcoming party!" She complained to the driver, who seemed less than interested. But, he made small grunt in response, trying to seem interested in the conversation. "I mean, I get it, they have to save the world and stuff, but really? I didn't even want to go to South Africa, not that it wasn't amazing," she clarified. "I got into the Antarctica program, but Tony was like 'it's for my business and I need you in Africa,' so of course I am going to listen to Tony freaking Stark."
It had been a blessing to Lottie that her older sister worked for Stark Industries and just happened to be in charge of the whole company. It gave the 23 year old some amazing job opportunities. Like her older sister, Lottie was a fierce businesswoman. However, Lottie's specialty was in the analysis department of Stark Industries. She was highly skilled on computers and hacked her way into Tony's personal accounts as a joke when she was visiting her sister one year. Tony, though, caught her antics and was interested in her skills, hiring her immediately. Now, Lottie worked in mostly international settings, making sure the accounts were all in check and that business would run smoothly.
Lottie stopped complaining when she noticed the pattern in the driver's responses. Unlocking her phone, she toyed with the stupid games she had downloaded when she was bored and scrolled aimlessly through the news. She has missed much of what happened in the world, due to poor Internet connection in South Africa. She also did not want to focus what was happening in the outside world, as she took the business venture as an elongated vacation as well. She passed various articles about celebrity antics, from the Kardashian's to who was best/worst dressed at the latest event. Lottie's finger stopped scrolling when she saw a headline that blasted a picture of Iron Man and other Avengers fighting off what seemed to be robots. Interested because it dealt with her friends, Lottie quickly read the article.
"Hey, um…uh…" Lottie started, looking up at the driver. She had forgotten his name. Blushing in embarrassment, she continued with what she was saying, "What is this news with Sokovia?" She noticed the driver look in the rearview mirror at her.
"The Avengers had business to take care of there." He responded shortly.
"But the article says that-"
"I'm sure that Mr. Stark will explain everything to you." He said, interrupting her. Lottie sighed and leaned back in the seat, rereading the article. This explained why no one was there to get her. She suddenly felt horrible about her complaining, but was happy that she stopped herself from calling one of the Avengers to complain. They had enough on their hands and didn't need her nagging to them. Lottie put her phone away, not wanting to be tempted to call her sister or Tony and ask questions about the event. Instead, she looked out the window and the bustling city that she had called home for her whole life. She was glad to be back, but at the same time, Lottie felt as if the events that happened while she was away are just the beginning of something even bigger.
The black car rolled up to the entrance of Stark Tower, a familiar setting for Lottie. She noticed the difference in the building structure and how new it looked from the last time she was in the building. She left for South Africa a couple of days after the Battle of New York and saw the tower in a sad state of destruction. Though, that is how the rest of the beloved city looked as well. Lottie stepped out of the car, smoothing down the black material of her dress. She heard her heels clack on the pavement, the noise something unfamiliar to her ears since she had been wearing sneakers or boots for the past 2 years. Lottie made sure she dressed nicely and looked presentable for when she got home. Her dark auburn hair was straight, lightening slightly at the tips due to the amount of sun exposure. Her hair always lightened when she was in the sun too much, but this time the tips of her hair seemed to be the target. She also rarely tanned, so the small amount of color Lottie did get excited her.
"I'll carry your bags up to your room, Miss." A man in a suit told Lottie. He was making his way toward her from the door. Lottie looked over his shoulder and noticed two more suited men and deducted that they worked for Tony. She nodded slightly, giving the man a small smile before making her way to the door. She hated having other people do things for her, but she knew better than to argue with those older than her. Lottie carried her handbag in with her, however, not trusting anyone with it expect for herself. It's not like anything really important was in it. She could replace her phone easily, and cancel her credit cards if it were ever to be stolen, but the bag itself held importance to her. It had been her mother's before she died and if anything happened to it, Lottie would be devastated.
"Welcome back, Miss Potts," another man in a suit greeted to her as she walked into the building. Lottie smiled at the man and walked right to the elevator. She twirled her keys nervously in her hand. Lottie had no reason to be nervous; this was her family after all. But, she didn't know if what happened in Sokovia injured or killed any of her friends. Was the tall blond god that she occasionally hit on in one piece? Did the redheaded assassin that taught her how to throw a dagger still alive? Or, did something bad happen to the bow-wielding older man that treated Lottie like a younger sister or daughter? Lottie felt her stomach lurch as she thought of something bad happening to Clint Barton. The archer had always made Lottie feel like she mattered and never kept her out of the loop of what was happening, even though she wasn't supposed to know. Even Pepper kept Lottie in the dark about some things, but never Clint. She had been working for Tony since she was 16, and yet she knew more about Clint Barton than she did about Tony.
Lottie was shaken from her thoughts when the elevator made a noise, signaling that she was on the correct floor. When the door opened, she saw Tony in half of the Iron Man suit, flying to get what looked to be a "Welcome Home" sign to hang up. She also saw Steve Rogers telling Tony that a ladder would have done the job just as well. To the left of the two men, she saw her sister talking on the phone. None of them noticed that she was here yet.
"Hey guys," Lottie spoke up, "What happened to J.A.R.V.I.S?" She asked. Steve looked over at her, as did Tony and Pepper, who quickly hung up the phone.
"Lottie, you aren't supposed to be back for another hour!" Pepper said, walking to her younger sister.
"I mean, I can always just leave and come back later." The younger Potts girl responded. Pepper quickly protested and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "It's good to see you too, Virginia." Lottie commented, using her sister's real name.
"Welcome home, kiddo." Tony commented, pulled Lottie into a quick hug. He was no longer in the Iron Man suit. Lottie hugged the man back.
"Jeez, Stark. I'm gone for 24 months and you change the place on me." She joked, earning a laugh from the man.
"Hey, Lottie-Pop." Steve said, using his nickname for her. Lottie had a small obsession with lollypops, always sucking on them as she worked, so Steve started calling her "Lottie-Pop."
"Hey, Cap." She commented, giving him a big hug. When she pulled away, she looked around the room, seeing if anyone else would pop out to say hi.
"Sorry, sis, everyone else is…busy." Pepper commented, quickly looking over at Steve and Tony. This did not go unnoticed by Lottie, who just nodded a bit.
"Yeah, I get it. You gotta save the world and everything. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' and all." Lottie tried to hide the coldness in her tone. "But, I appreciate you guys being here and doing this when you didn't have to." But she really wanted them too.
"Enough about the Avengers," Steve commented, picking up on Lottie's disdain. "Tell us about Africa."
"Actually," Pepper interjected, "Maximoff is healed and Fury wants you two," she said pointing at Steve and Tony, "to fly to South Korea as soon as possible." Lottie's brows furrowed. Steve sighed and gave Lottie a forgiving look.
"Don't worry about it. My wild African adventures aren't going to just disappear." She commented. "Pepper will just have to hear about them twice." Lottie said, wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder. "Plus, as long as there is wine, I will be okay." This earned a laugh from everyone, but the three older adults could all tell Lottie was disappointed with what was happening.
"Well," Tony said, "I guess Cap and I have to get going." He gave Lottie another hug, rustling her hair a bit. "Your 'welcome home' present is in your room." He told her, seeing Lottie's eyes light up.
"I'll get right to that." She said to him, earning a smile. "Fly safely." The two men nodded and left for the elevator. Once Lottie heard the doors closed, she walked towards the kitchen with Pepper.
"So," Lottie started, "tell me about what happened in Sokovia."