Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers, Marvel's characters or content
Lila Barton was currently outside with her family.
It was her thirteenth birthday and she had received the present she had been begging for years.
A bow!
Just like her dad.
Sure it was a simple one with regular arrows compared to his but it was what she always wanted!
So to celebrate they were having "family time"
Which meant no phones or electronics.
That rule mainly applying to her and Cooper.
Her brothers Cooper and Nathaniel were playing catch with their gloves by the picnic table.
Her mom was setting up the food for the picnic on the crystal clear day at the farm.
She knew her dad was an Avenger and that his job was dangerous.
Which was why they lived on a secluded farm in Iowa.
She was currently carrying her new bow to a target that her dad had pinned to one of the maple trees on the large property.
The trees were bare of leaves and it was chilly on the early spring day.
It was out in the field.
Right next to one of the sheds near the farmhouse.
She strapped the Velcro straps of her arm guard on and looked back at her dad.
"Ok…" Clint said while walking back to her.
"First thing is safety. Rule one. This isn't a toy so treat your bow with respect." Clint said seriously.
"Yes, dad." she nodded.
"Rule number two. When you knock your arrow. Never point it at anyone…" he warned.
"I know that dad…" she repeated.
"Ok, here's your arrow…" he said while putting it in her hand.
"Knock it." he asked.
She placed it on the arrow rest and her left hand on the grip below it.
"Good. Now you need to spread your feet out like this…" Clint gently pushed her sneakers apart while holding her so she wouldn't lose her footing.
She looked down at them, and also at her dad's tracking device strapped around his ankle and frowned.
But she then planted them firmly on the grass.
"Got it." she nodded.
"Okay, hold on. Don't shoot. You see where you're going?" he asked.
"Mm." she nodded while looking down at the target.
"Okay, now let's worry about how you get there." he adjusted her shoulders so she was in the correct stance.
"How about now?" he asked while moving a long strand of her brunette hair in her eyes jokingly.
They both giggled and Laura Barton looked over to her husband and daughter laughing.
She smiled and then looked to her sons playing catch with each other.
"Alright. Ready your fingers." he asked.
She gripped the grip with her left hand and then the arrow with her right.
"Hey, you guys want mayo or mustard, or both?" Laura asked them.
"Who wants mayo on a hotdog?" Lila asked her dad, grossed out.
"Probably your brothers. Uh, two mustard, please! Thanks, mama." Clint shouted back at her.
Lila raised her bow at the target and pulled back the arrow.
"Watch your elbow." Clint suggested.
She closed her left eye and narrowed in on the bullseye.
She fired the arrow, hitting the bullseye directly.
She laughed and looked back at her dad proudly.
"Hahaha! Good job Hawkeye." he gave her a high five.
"Go get your arrow." he asked and she began to walk towards the target.
"Hey guys! Enough practice. Soups on!" Laura called for them.
"Alright, we're coming we're…" she heard her dad's voice behind her but stopped in the middle of the sentence.
She turned around but only saw flakes of dust blow away from right where he was standing.
The arrows he was holding were dropped on the ground.
"Dad?" she asked confused.
She looked over to the picnic table across the trail to see no one.
"Mom!" she shouted.
The only response she got was a crack of thunder in the distance and the birds stop chirping.
"Alright guys! Very funny birthday surprise! You got me!" she smiled while running towards the table.
She peaked underneath to not see them underneath it or behind.
She looked back to see Cooper's and Nathaniel's gloves on the grass from where there were standing.
The baseball still in Nathaniel's gloves.
"Alright Cooper, you got me! You all can come out now!" she laughed again but a horrible feeling slowly began to creep up on her.
"Mom! Dad! " she began to run back to where the target was and looked behind the large tree.
Seeing there was nothing there the teenaged girl began to hyperventilate.
"Mom, Dad, Cooper! This isn't funny anymore! Nate!" she screamed while running inside the wood shed.
She looked through the whole thing only to find it empty.
"Mom! Dad! Where are you!" she screamed desperately.
She was running around frantically, still holding her birthday gift but she couldn't find what she was looking for.
"No, no, no, no this isn't happening…" she collapsed onto her knees and began to sob.
Alone.
The silence of the farm was deafening.
She dropped her bow and ran back to her house.
She shoved through the screen door, it bouncing against the wall and into the living room.
Blinded by her tears streaming down her cheeks she reached for the phone and began to call someone.
The only person she could think of.
Meanwhile… In Wakanda.
The defeated remaining Avengers were still in shock after watching their fallen comrades dust away.
"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey asked while panicking.
Nat's phone vibrated in her pocket and she frowned.
This was her emergency personal phone that only had only had three contacts on it.
She pulled it out and went wide eyed, seeing it was Clint's farm private number.
"Clint?" she greeted quickly.
"Auntie Nat…" she heard Lila's voice between her sobs.
She paled, fearing the worst.
"Lila, Lila it's me. What's wrong sweetheart?" she asked in a comforting voice.
"It's mom, dad… everyone they just disappeared. I don't know what's happening… They're gone please... Auntie Nat.." she choked out between her loud sobs and Nat's heart broke.
"Lila, Lila sweetheart. Can you hear me sweetheart?" Nat asked gently.
"Yes, Auntie Nat." she forced out.
"Lila it's hard to explain but something horrible has just happened. Now what I need you to do is lock the doors and head to your room. Can you do that for me?" Nat asked, ignoring the curious gazes from the other Avengers.
"Okay." Lila forced out while pushing herself off the floor.
She rushed to the front door to lock it while carrying the phone and then ran to the back door through the kitchen to do the same.
"Okay Auntie Nat." she said sadly.
"You're doing good Lila. Now I need you to go to your room and pack at least of week of clothes. I'm going to fly over there and pick you up. Don't answer the door until you hear my voice okay?" Nat asked gently.
"Okay..." she continued to sob.
"It's going to be okay Lila. I promise it's going to be okay. I'll be there soon." she promised.
"Please hurry." Lila said quietly.
Nat hanged up but it forced all of her strength to prevent her knees from buckling.
"Nat? What's wrong?" she looked up to see Steve's worried face.
"I gotta go!" she said simply before running back to the city.
Lila hanged up and then ran up the stairs.
She opened up the closet in the hallway and pulled out two suitcases.
Running back to her room, she wiped away the tears that were still streaming from her eyes while she placed them on her bed.
She rushed over to open up her dresser and began stuffing the cases with pairs of jeans, plaid shirts, long sleeve shirts and hoodies.
She grabbed her MP3 player, phone, headphones, tablet, and headphones and placed them on top of her clothes.
She grabbed her laptop, school books, binders, and notebooks to place in her second suitcase along with her personal belongings.
Still crying, she zipped up the cases and rushed downstairs with them in her hands.
She sat on the living room couch and brought her knees up so she could rest her head on them.
All of this just felt like a horrible nightmare.
She pulled out her phone to search to see what was going on.
A quick search brought up an alien ship in New York.
She dropped her mouth in shock at the video of the ship over Manhattan.
And the next story showed Mr. Stark missing.
She remembered him and the others that showed up to her farmhouse when she was younger.
The she clicked on a trend that said "Vanished"
It showed amateur cellphone videos of people disappearing in dust.
Of a helicopter crashing into a building in a fiery inferno in New York.
It was horrifying.
Was that what happened to her family?
She sniffed and put her phone away.
It was too much.
Maybe if she closed her eyes all of this would be just a horrible nightmare.
She would then wake up and it would be her thirteenth birthday all over again.
A roar of an jet engine snapped Lila up.
She didn't mean to fall asleep and saw it was dark outside.
She saw the lights of a Qunjet land in the front yard, illuminating the living room and she tensed.
She forced herself upwards and turned off the lights.
She crawled and hid underneath the coffee table and heard the jet engines shut off.
She held her breath while she heard footsteps walk up to the front porch.
"Lila, Lila it's me." she heard Nat's voice.
She sighed with relief as she crawled out from the table to turn the lights back on.
She slowly open the door and saw Nat.
Surprised by her blonde hair briefly who was in her jumpsuit and leapt towards her.
It had been two years since she saw her.
"Auntie Nat! What's happening. Mom, Dad, Cooper, Nathaniel are all gone. One minute they were here and now…" she said hysterically, the tears once again filling her eyes.
Nat's heart broke again while she hugged her niece.
"It's going to be okay Lila." she promised.
"Now are you all packed? We're going to stay at the Avenger facility for a little while. Is that okay with you?" she asked softly.
"Yes." she nodded slightly.
"Good. Now let me just grab a few things and we'll head out together?" Nat asked.
Lila simply nodded and Nat got a good look of her.
Her eyes were red and puffy.
Clearly from her crying.
She felt her heart break once again.
After Nat grabbed some personal belongings in the family safe in Clint and Laura's bedroom which included Laura's jewelry, their emergency cash, Clint's bow, and some personal belongings and family photos around the house.
"Ready to go Lila?" Nat asked gently while carrying all of the belongings.
"No." Lila shook her head.
Nat frowned but picked up the suitcases.
She gently lead her out.
She turned off the lights and locked the door behind her.
"Wait!" Lila said while stopping in place.
She ran in the darkness back towards the target.
"Lila!" Nat called out for her but she ignored her to grab her bow that was still on the ground
Clenching it tightly while slowly walking back to Nat who was chasing after her.
"What's that Lila?" she asked, never seeing it before.
"My birthday gift. Dad gave it to me." she said quietly.
Nat wasn't sure what to say.
Of course she couldn't just say Happy Birthday.
Today was the worst day of her life.
"I'm here Lila. It's gonna be okay."
The ride back to the compound was silent.
Lila was sitting on one of the bench's in the back
Nat worryingly looked back to her constantly while piloting the jet.
She just stared out at the wall.
She tried to get her to talk, engage in conversation to no avail.
Not that she could blame her.
Nat landed the jet at the compound the two walked inside.
"I'll uh show you to your room Lila." Nat said.
Lila didn't respond but Nat grabbed her hand.
The two walked through the front doors while the other Avengers were returning in the common room where they saw Nat walking down the hall.
Steve silently watched them, seeing Lila herself, carrying her bow and frowned.
Nat opened up the door to one of the bedrooms and turned on the lights.
It was right next to her old room.
"Well here is your room. It's large and has a bathroom." Nat explained.
Lila looked around it with her eyes and frowned.
There was a large bed in the middle of the room with a headframe against the wall.
A master bathroom to their left.
Bookshelves and a TV mounted to the wall in front of the bed.
It wasn't her room at the farm.
She hated it.
Nat looked at her worryingly since she didn't talk.
"I will let you get some sleep. I'll wake you in the morning." Nat said sadly and began to turn around.
Lila grabbed her and hugged her tightly.
"Please don't leave me Auntie Nat! Don't go like they did!" she cried out in agony.
"Come here Lila…" she reached her hand to stroke her hair soothingly.
"I promise you I'll always be here for you. We're going to do everything to get them back…" After calming her niece down she moved her to the bed.
Lila took a while Nat laid beside her.
Just realizing how much she had grown up in the two years she was on the run.
Two years she had missed of her childhood.
Listening to her breathing finally become even, indicating she was asleep while she continued to stroke her hair.
She brushed a strain out of her eye but felt a presence at the door.
"Steve." she said, not looking back at him.
"Is that Clint's daughter?" he asked sadly.
"Lila. And yes. She watched her parents and brothers turn to dust." she whispered, not wanting to wake her up.
Steve frowned while Nat slowly got off the bed.
The two walked back to the door.
"They were all outside… celebrating her birthday…" Nat said and he gasped in shock.
"God…" he sighed.
"She has no one left." Nat stated.
"She has you, Nat. She's going to need you." Steve replied.
"That's not enough Steve." she argued.
"No… no, it's not." he agreed with her.
"Rhodey and I are gonna continue the deep space scans for Stark. He's still out there." he replied.
She raised an eyebrow but looked back to Lila who was still sound asleep.
"We need to find Thanos. Find him and bring everyone back!" Steve said with determination.
Nat looked back to see Lila stir in her sleep, facing away from them.
"Actually, I have a bigger priority to worry about now."