Doctor Stark (C. Barton)

Chapter Thirty Two

*Time Skip - 5 Years*

Clint hadn't kept in contact with anyone over the years. He simply became a vigilante, killing the criminals that had gotten the chance to live when his family didn't. He did to them what he believed they deserved. He didn't know why his family didn't get to live, but these horrible criminals did, so he did what he thought was best.

When Natasha found him, he was scared that she was lying. There was no way that they could've found a way to bring his family back. He didn't need the fake hope, not when he lost everything in seconds. He couldn't deal with the pain of losing them again, and that's what it would feel like if he couldn't save them, and the hope was only fake.

Over the five years, Tony and Pepper had gotten married. After finding out he had lost his daughter and grandchildren, he was crushed. He had failed them, and that guilt was never going to leave him. He had been surprised when Pepper had announced she was pregnant. She later gave birth to a little girl, a girl they named Morgan.

Pepper wanted her to have a similar name to Mercedes, so she chose a name with an 'M.' Tony and Pepper had taken Moxley with them to the house Tony made for him and Pepper. Moxley seemed to thrive, especially once Morgan was born, and he had someone to take care of and play with.

Every night at bedtime, Pepper or Tony would tell Morgan a story about her big sister. Morgan thought the world of Mercedes. She admired the girl, and hoped to be like her when she grew up. Morgan actually reminded the parents so much of Mercedes, that some nights it was harder for them to deal than others.

Tony truly missed Mercedes, Peter, Bean, and Pumpkin more than anything in the world. He blamed himself for what happened to them. If he had tried harder, they'd still be here. If he had been a real super hero like he claimed to be, nothing bad would've happened.

Over the five years, Natasha hadn't had it easy. She tried to stay strong, but she still often cried when she was alone. Some nights she'd cry herself to sleep, but she didn't let anyone know that. She hated crying, it made her feel weak, but honestly, she did feel weak. Her family was gone, and she couldn't protect them.

When she and the others found a way to bring everyone back, she felt her heart beginning to piece back together. She had been worried about telling Clint, but she had a feeling this was their shot. They could get their family back, and that was something she couldn't pass up.

It took a bit of convincing and time to get both Tony and Clint on board. Clint didn't want false hope, and Tony didn't want more bad things to happen. Neither could handle anymore loss or pain, and that was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes. Both men had lost so much, they felt each other's pain, and they seemed to understand each other more than they ever had before.

Everyone worked together to get the stones that Thanos used to make half the universe to disappear. In the effort to get the stones, Clint lost Natasha. One of them had to sacrifice the other to get the soul stone. Natasha sacrificed herself so Clint could see his family again. She did what she had to do to help him and everyone else. She knew what she had to so, and she accepted it.

When Clint got back to their time, he fell to his knees with anguish. When everyone seen that Natasha wasn't there, they realized what had happened, or at least had an idea of what had happened. Nobody seemed to move to console Clint, but Thor did comment about getting Natasha back. Clint became angry with him, snapped at him, and became silent for the rest of the time. He knew Thor didn't know, but he couldn't stop his anger, and he wasn't about to apologize either.

Only a couple of hours later, did Clint actually feel like the hope wasn't false. They had made their own gauntlet to hold the stones, and Tony was sure it would be able to handle the power without becoming dust itself. It took a little time to choose who would wear the gauntlet and snap their families and everyone else back.

After much debate, Hulk had decided to be the person to wear the gauntlet. Over the five years that the world was getting use to losing half its population, Dr. Banner had figured out how to merge himself and Hulk. This meant he would still be himself, but he would be in his Hulk form. Honestly, that would be a pretty cool feat on its own, if it wasn't for half the world being gone.

Tony held a shield in front of Clint, as they watched Dr. Banner get ready to snap. Tony told him to make sure he thought about bringing back their own people, and Dr. Banner promised that he knew what he was doing. They watched as he snapped, before he hit the ground and withered in pain. His arm seemed to burn up, and everyone could tell it was going to be very damaged because of the stones.

The moment Clint's phone rang, his heart stopped for a second in his chest. He quickly went over to his phone and grabbed it. He looked at the screen and there was his wife's contact. It ready "Mercy" and the picture was of her, Bean, Pumpkin, and Moxley.

He quickly picked up the phone and answered it. When he heard her voice on the other end,"Clint?" he knew that they had succeeded. They had brought everyone back, but at what cost. Before he could truly celebrate, things became bad once again, and Clint's vision went dark...