Doctor Stark (C. Barton)

Chapter Thirty One

*Time Skip - Eleven Months*

Mercedes and Clint hadn't heard from Steve since the second letter that came with an old flip phone. They had put the flip phone in a drawer in the kitchen, and decided to ignore it. Mercedes wanted nothing to do with the man, and Clint didn't want to upset her in any way by talking to or wondering about Steve.

Some time had passed, and through that time, Pumpkin had turned one, and Bean had turned four. Tony was around a lot with Pepper for Mercedes and the kids. Clint and Tony worked together a lot on the farmhouse when Tony was around. It became a normal thing, and nothing really bad happened during that time.

Over time though, Mercedes and Clint had come to realize that bad things happened to them when things were too good. With that being said, only eleven months after the Civil War between the Avengers, more bad things seemed to happen.

Mercedes didn't know what was coming, and neither did Clint. They had gotten use to their regular lives as the farmhouse. Mercedes was fixing plates inside, while Clint sat outside with the children and Moxley. Bean was playing fetch with Moxley, and Pumpkin was watching Clint blow bubbles. Pumpkin loved bubbles, and every time they popped on her fingers, she'd laugh her ass off.

"Bean, what do you want with your hotdogs?!" Mercedes exclaimed out the window, catching the boy's attention.

"Ketchup!" He yelled, making Mercedes laugh.

Mercedes knew exactly what Clint liked on his hotdogs, but Pumpkin always made a mess with dip, so they didn't often give her dip for some things. They'd give her dip for chicken nuggets and fries, but not things like hotdogs or steak fries. It was just something they learned to do when her messes became a bit much.

Mercedes grabbed the plates to carry them out, but a moment before she could walk out the door, things happened. Mercedes felt her body start to tingle, before everything turned dark. Clint heard the plates drop, but when he looked over he didn't see his wife. He stood up, worried that something was wrong.

Before he could move from his spot, Moxley came running over to him. Moxley was barking frantically, and Clint could tell something was wrong with him. Clint quickly looked around, and realized that both of his children were gone. His heart began to beat frantically in his chest, as he started to run around and call for them.

"Bean! Mercy! Megan!" He yelled, but he never recieved a reply.

After almost three hours of searching every inch of their house and yard, Clint realized that his family was gone. He grabbed his phone and he called Natasha. When the woman answered, he felt tears swell in his eyes. His family was gone, but Natasha was still alive.

"Come get Moxley. I've got things I need to take care of." Clint stated, before he hung up the phone.

Moxley followed Clint through the house, and he was whining the entire time. Clint could see tears in the dog's eyes, which made the man feel even worse. He didn't know what to do to make the dog feel better, and he didn't know how to get his family back. They were taken from him, and he was going to do something to take out his anger and grief.

Only a few hours later, Natasha arrived to get Moxley. She went to ask Clint where he was going, but she realized he was upset. She then realized that nobody was there but Clint and Moxley. His family was gone, and that made Natasha's heart shatter in her chest.

"I've got him." Natasha promised, and Clint simply nodded.

Natasha headed back to the compound where she knew the others would regroup. When she arrived with only Moxley, Pepper had broke down in tears. She had lost Mercedes, Bean, and Pumpkin. They were gone, and she was afraid Tony was gone, too.

"How was Clint?" Steve asked, causing Natasha to sigh.

"They're all gone, Steve. His family is gone, and he feels like he has no one left." Natasha replied, and Steve simply frowned.

Natasha had gone to her room in the compound and closed the door. She let Moxley stay with her, even though the dog was as sad as her. She laid in bed and let tears cascade down her face as she thought about everyone she had lost. In losing Mercedes and the kids, she had also lost Clint as well. He couldn't handle it, and Natasha understood, even though it hurt her to see him leave as well.

In another room, Pepper sat crying, but she was also trying to find a way to reach Tony. She hoped the man was alive somewhere, even if that meant she had to wait days to see him. She wouldn't be able to handle losing him, too. He was all she had left, and if she lost him, she'd be devastated.

Tony was currently in space, unsure of who all was still on Earth waiting for him. He didn't know who all he lost, but he wasn't sure if he'd ever even get back to them. He believed he was stuck in space, so he was going to try his best to get a transmission to Pepper, Mercedes, and the kids.

He hoped he would see them again, but he wasn't sure if or when he'd get back to Earth. He had to keep the thought alive that they were all there waiting on him. He was scared to even think that they may be gone. He didn't want to feel more of the pain that he had felt when he watched Peter disappear in front of his eyes. The boy dusted, and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't save him, and he was scared that he might not have been able to save his family either. If they were all gone, he didn't want to go back to Earth...