Wild Hearts

~ A Different Five Years ~

What if Clint's family survived instead of him.

~~~~~

As she stood there, above Vision's lifeless body, she struggled to comprehend what had just taken place.

"What is this?" She heard Rhodey question. "What's happening?"

Steve mumbled something that she couldn't make out as he collapsed on the ground.

As she looked around, taking note of who was missing, it hit her, "Clint!" She shouted and quickly started running as fast as she could back toward the palace, where her phone was.

"Nat!" Bruce called after her, as Steve moved to follow her.

"What's the rush?" She heard the raccoon ask, but she ignored him and kept running.

She ignored everyone she passed until she finally made it to where she had left her bag.

"Nat? Natasha! Show down!" Steve called as she dropped to her knees and rapidly dug through her duffel bag.

"I can't, I've gotta make sure they're okay." Natasha said as she finally pulled an old SHIELD issued phone out of her bag. "Half of the world just turned to dust, half of it survived, simple statistics prove that at least one of them survived. So potentially, there's a four year old, alone, at a house in the middle of nowhere Iowa." She explained as she quickly dialed a number she knew by heart.

After a few rings, she heard the panicked voice of her niece on the other end of the call, "Auntie Nat?"

"Lila." Natasha said as she released a relieved but shaky breath, falling back into a sitting position.

"Auntie Nat, what's happening?" Lila questioned frantically, between sobs.

"Lila, sweetie, I need you to take a few deep breaths for me, alright?" Natasha asked calmly.

"Okay..." The young girl asked slowly taking three deep, but shaky breaths.

"Good girl." Nat said as she listened to her niece's sobs turn into sniffles, "Lila, are you there by yourself?" She asked softly.

"Nates here too." Lila answered. "We were having a picnic and Dad, Mom, and Coop turned to dust."

"Alright," Nat took a deep breath, "Okay, I want you to take Nate in the house and turn him on a movie to watch. I'll stay on the phone while you do it."

"Okay." Lila answered, nodded to herself as she lifted her little brother into her arms and took him into the house.

"Here, talk to Auntie Nat, while I fix a movie to watch, okay?" Lila sat her brother on the couch and handed him the phone.

"Hi, Auntie Nat." Nathaniel's sweet voice trembled slightly.

"Hey, little buddy." Natasha smiled softly.

"I'm scared." He told his aunt, "Mama and Daddy and bubba disappeared."

"I know, baby." Natasha's eyes filled with tears, at her nephews fear.

Steve, who had been watching silently, sat on the floor beside his partner and gently gripped her hand.

"I'm gonna come get you and Lila, but I need you to listen to what Lila tells until I get there, alright." Natasha told him.

"Okay." Nate answered softly.

Natasha heard some shuffling and Lila's voice filled her ears once again. "He's watching Toy Story now."

"Okay, now I want you to get your bow and keep it with you, and lock all of the doors and windows." Nat instructed her niece.

"Okay." Lila told her brother to keep watching the movie and quickly ran to get her bow from where she dropped it out by the barn.