Ten

"No, no, no!" I shouted, my hands reflexively shooting up and gripping her nerves tight to freeze her in place. I hadn't planned on using my ability on any of them at this point, but to be fair, I also hadn't planned on one of them pointing a gun at me. "I am not going to hurt you. Okay? I am on your side."

Even though I was only holding her arms and legs in place, her face remained completely expressionless. It was even more eerie than Ultron showing emotion. "Were you on our side when you attacked us in Wakanda?"

This is what I had been afraid of. I sighed and shook my head, glancing behind her to make sure that the bots weren't coming back yet. "No, I was not. But this is different. We do not have the time to argue, but you must believe me. I can not say that I trust you, but I can say that I do not trust Ultron either. I have come to realize that he is... not what he claimed to be. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?"

The Black Widow was silent for much too long for me to be comfortable, but I knew that the fact that I was physically restraining her wouldn't be a comfort for her. So, hesitantly, I wiggled my fingers to draw her attention to my hands and lowered them to my side, releasing my hold on her. "I am not going to hurt you," I repeated, keeping my eyes carefully trained on the woman. "I want to help you."

When I was no longer controlling her, she paused for only a moment before returning the gun to its holster on her hip. I let out the breath I'd been holding since she jumped into the truck and turned to face the cradle when she went to the side opposite of me. "Natasha."

It took a minute for me to register that she had just told me her name. I watched the realization flicker on her face as she tapped on the Cradle's screen, seeing for the first time what Ultron was using the vibranium for. "My name is Maia."

"What about your friends? Do they want to help us?" she asked while kneeling and studying the machine, most likely trying to figure out how to move it.

"I cannot speak for Wanda or Pietro," I answered, directing her to the straps holding the Cradle in place. "But I do know them, more than anybody else in the world, and I trust that they would want to help if at all possible."

"Where are they?"

"I do not know." She glanced up from the straps, raising a brow towards me in question. "We were separated. When Ultron turned on us, I told them to run. I was their distraction."

"Nice friends."

I knew that she was being sarcastic, but I agreed with her anyway. "They are my family. I am glad that they got to safety."

Before she could reply, we were shaken by the Iron Legion bots returning from their attack on the jet to attach themselves to the sides of the truck. I had been holding onto a black strap, and when Natasha almost tumbled outside of the truck I gripped her forearm to keep her inside. It wasn't until the truck leveled out that I realized we were flying.

When I was sure Natasha was not in danger of falling anymore, I let go of her arm. "Do we have a plan?"

Instead of answering me, she pressed a hand to her ear. "Negative, I am still in the truck." I don't know who she was talking to or what they planned on doing to the truck, but I was very glad that she was in here with me to tell them to not do it. "Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you." Natasha glanced at me with a smirk- the first real expression I'd seen her display. "With a little surprise on top... Eh, you might wish you hadn't asked that."

Natasha tossed me a knife and pulled out a second one. "Cut that," she instructed, pointing towards the closest black strap. "We need to get this thing out and we don't have time to untie all of these." No further explanation needed. I started sawing away at the thick fabric while Natasha cut the one on the opposite end of the Cradle. The jet from earlier flew into view outside the truck just as I finished cutting the first strap. "Hold on to the Cradle."

This is the point where I realized what her plan was, and I did not like it one bit. With no time to argue, however, I simply did as she told me and gripped the Cradle as tightly as I could. Natasha slit the last strap and attached what I assumed was a bomb, judging by the countdown, to the truck's wall and jumped on the Cradle as it started to slip out of the truck.

Soon enough we were dropping through the air and I was fighting the urge to scream. Needless to say I had never done anything like this, and experiencing it for the first time- especially without the twins at my side- was completely terrifying.

My fear only worsened when right before we landed inside of the waiting jet, Ultron appeared out of nowhere, flying in on my right. "Natasha!" I shouted over the whipping wind, hoping she would have some idea of what to do in this situation.

To my surprise, she suddenly pushed me off the Cradle. I dropped off the machine and straight through the open door of the jet. I landed with a thud that knocked the breath out of me, and not even a second later the Cradle dropped on my left. Groaning, I pushed myself up onto my knees as the door closed behind me.

"Nat! Cap, you seen Nat? Wait, what the hell?"

I knew that voice. I looked up and straight into the eyes of the man piloting the jet, my already quickened heartbeat speeding even further. It was the same man that I had threatened not too long ago, and now I was in front of him after his friend was kidnapped by Ultron in my place. Why do I constantly find myself in these situations?

Hawkeye stared at me with confusion mixed with poorly disguised anger before he turned back to the front and continued talking to somebody I couldn't see. "Do you have eyes on Nat?" He was silent while the other person replied. He must not have been happy with the answer, because he hit the palms of his hands against the steering wheel and muttered curses as we flew further and further from Seoul.

I stood quietly with the help of the Cradle, keeping my eyes on Hawkeye. I think he sensed me looking at him, because soon enough he returned to glaring at me. "Why are you here?"

"I am here to help," I explained carefully. I knew that if one of the twins had sacrificed themselves for one of the Avengers I would not be very keen on listening to what they had to say, so I was going to be very cautious with this man. "I explained to Natasha. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Ultron is your enemy, yes?" He nodded once. "Then for the time being, you are my friend."

He put the pieces together in his head and nodded once more before returning his attention to flying the jet. Glad that he wasn't intent on killing me, at least for the moment, I sat back down with a sigh and pulled one knee up to rest my arm on. Everything had become much more complicated since leaving Sokovia.

"I am sorry about Natasha," I offered. I didn't know these people, but I knew what it was like to be separated from somebody you care about. "I am sure you will get her back."

"Yeah, well I won't stop until I do."

I nodded even though he wasn't looking at me. I could recognize the determination in his gruff voice well enough to know what his expression would look like. Natasha was this man's family. Even without knowing where I was going, or what the future held for any of us, I did not doubt that he would bring Natasha back.