Disclaimer – I do not own anything you recognise. The Avengers and the characters therein, belong to Marvel.
Chapter Twenty-One
They flew in relative silence, Clint pushing the quinjet to its limits to get them to Sokovia as fast as possible. They came up with a plan – Tony would engage Ultron and distract him for as long as possible, so that Vision could come in and lock him out of the internet. Without that escape route, it would make it easier to destroy him completely.
While they did that, Thor and Bruce would go to find Natasha and to discover what Ultron had been building. Clint, Steve, Nadia and the twins would go into the city and evacuate all the people. Rhodey had been contacted and told of the situation and he had assured them that he would inform the authorities.
Nadia now sat on the floor of the quinjet, her eyes watching the young teenagers across from her as they bent their heads together, whispering quietly. A pang of nostalgia ran through her as she watched them, thinking of herself and Josef. There was a time that they had been that close, had known each other's deepest wishes and fears, before they had been forced to part in order to stay alive. Part of her wondered what her life would have been like if they had been able to stay together as children. If they hadn't been separated by the foster system and instead were raised together. They may have even been adopted by a nice couple. Would they be as close as the Maximoff twins?
Her thoughts turned back to the conversation she'd had with her brother. It had only been…four? Maybe five days since then and so much had happened. She had barely had time to think about everything that Josef had told her about their parents. Nadia's origins were more tragic than most, but she took comfort in knowing that she had her brother. Was that how the Maximoff twins had survived too? By relying on each other?
She mused quietly to herself in her corner through the flight, breathing slowly to control her anxiety. Nadia could admit that she was worried about what was to come. She didn't know if her best friend was okay. She didn't know if they would all make it out of this fight. She didn't even know what Ultron was planning. But letting her fear control her wouldn't help anyone, and so she sat, and she breathed.
'Coming up on the landing point.' Clint called from the pilot's seat and Nadia got to her feet, brushing off the back of her pants. She gripped the back of the seat in front of her as Clint manoeuvred the quinjet to land in an old parking lot. She did a quick check to ensure she had her knives with her and her small emergency medical kit. Steve met her eyes briefly and winked. Nadia handed over the bag of ammunition, the guns and Natasha's batons to Bruce to pass on once he had located her.
Clint powered down the quinjet and lowered the ramp. Tony took off first, armoured in his Iron Man suit, followed quickly by Thor and Bruce, who looked less than thrilled to be flying through the air clinging to a god. Vision disembarked calmly before he too took the sky.
Clint, Wanda, Pietro and Nadia clambered down the ramp and Nadia glanced around them, checking for any hostiles. It was still early in Sokovia – the sun was just peeking over the horizon.
Steve was the last to leave the jet, slinging his shield onto his back and scooping up his cowl, but he stopped when his eyes met the wall of graffiti opposite them. Nadia turned to look as well, and scowled at the cartoonish picture of Steve's face, along with the word FASISTA spray painted in red across it. Steve turned back to the jet and tossed his cowl back.
'The bridge is the main route out of the city.' Wanda said, looking to Steve.
'We can cover the others.' Pietro added. Steve nodded, looking around at the tall buildings surrounding them.
'Wake everyone up.'
Wanda looked back at Nadia once before she took off with her brother. Clint looked at the graffiti and smirked at Steve.
'It's not bad,' He chuckled, jogging down the street. Steve shook his head in dismay before he and Nadia followed Clint into the city, and the Avengers got to work.
Clint posted himself up high to keep an eye out for Ultron and any other potential threats. Wanda used her powers to influence the minds of the people by the hundreds, urging them to leave their homes and to evacuate the city. Pietro had alerted the local police to the danger and the officers were helping to corral people from their homes. Steve stood by the main bridge out of the city, directing traffic and Nadia had created a number of rocky paths for the people on foot to take across to speed up the evacuation. The people of Sokovia were scared and confused, but they understood that they were in danger and didn't dawdle on their way out of Novi Grad.
A bell started to toll somewhere, and Nadia continued to urge people to cross the bridge and get out of the city. Every moment that passed brought them closer to danger. The sun had fully risen which provided light for people to cross. She witnessed an older woman being carried by a young man, her grandson perhaps, as she was too weak to shuffle along in the big crowds. Nadia witnessed children holding hands like they were crossing the street, determined not to get lost in the chaos. Everyone was helping and coming together in this time of danger, which warmed Nadia's heart.
The ground rumbled beneath her and Nadia frowned, looking around for the cause. She didn't have to wait long, as Ultron's sentries emerged from all around the city, clawing their way up the walls of buildings, bursting from the earth itself and advancing on the innocents that the Avengers were trying to protect. It felt like something from a horror movie, where the dead turned on the living.
Shots were fired from two robots that hovered above them and Nadia threw two short knives at them. The blades buried themselves into the eye sockets of the machines and they dropped to the ground like marionettes whose strings had been cut. The people around her picked up their pace, frightened and startled cries drawn from their lips as the danger suddenly became extremely real.
'Keep going!' Nadia shouted to the civilians as more sentries flew towards her. She drew her long knives from their sheathes. 'Don't stop!'
Nadia flew up into the air to meet her attackers and engaged. They did not last long against her knives and her fire. She showed them no mercy, protecting the people who were scrambling in their panic to escape. Dropping to the ground she could see Steve ripping the robots apart with his bare hands.
Her senses prickled before large cracks started to form in the ground, the earth beneath her shifting and changing. A child hovered near the edge of one of the cracks and Nadia darted forward, snatching the child into her arms and backing away quickly. His mother ran forwards to claim him, terror in her eyes.
'Back away!' Nadia shouted, flinging her arms out to stop people from crossing the rocky bridges she herself had erected, as before her eyes they crumbled into the chasm that was quickly forming. 'Get back! It's not safe!'
It felt like an earthquake, but there was something off. The ground wasn't just shifting beneath her feet, it was moving, as if the earth had a purpose. The rumbling and shaking only increased and the civilians around her screamed. Looking around, Nadia spotted a large apartment building nearby and pointed to it.
'Get inside! It's not safe! Go!'
The rock on which they stood was slowly rising and lead seemed to settle into Nadia's stomach. Wide-eyed, she looked around, and saw that half the city was climbing slowly into the sky, the edges crumbling.
'Do you see?'
Nadia whipped around at the sound of Ultron's voice, and saw a legionnaire sentry hovering nearby. Ultron was broadcasting his voice through it and anger seized Nadia's heart. With a violent motion, she threw a knife at the robot and it dropped, only to be replaced by another.
'The beauty of it, the inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal.'
Horror washed over Nadia like a wave. Immediately she realised what Ultron's plan was. He had created a meteor, one that he launched into the sky and would subsequently fall to earth, wiping the planet of life. Nadia knew that she could destroy the rock they were standing on, but then thousands of innocent civilians would fall to their deaths. She entertained the idea of halting the meteor's descent, but she doubted that she had the strength to do so.
More sentries descended on Nadia and she launched herself into battle. It seemed that no matter how many of the metal monsters she disabled, there was always another to take its place. However, Nadia knew that so long as they were focused on her, the people in her part of the city were able to run and hide, to find some relative safety.
'Cap, you got incoming.' Tony's voice came through on the commlink.
There was a pause and then Steve grunted, 'Incoming already came in. Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off.'
Rolling her eyes, Nadia turned to face her new enemy and a grim smile settled onto her face. The heat of battle is a blur. An hour seems like a moment. Adrenaline courses through your veins and you cease to think. Instincts that have been honed over years take over and a warrior emerges to defend those who cannot do so themselves. She had cuts and bruises, her hair was wild about her face and she was covered in dirt and dust, but Nadia carried on fighting.
'Avengers, we're leading the civilians to the town hall, try to meet us there.' Steve instructed and Nadia immediately glanced around to the people who were cowering nearby. The robots had been defeated for now, but no doubt there would be more coming.
'Let's go!' Nadia called, waving her arm at the people closeby. 'Come on, let's go!'
They didn't waste time debating, running to follow her through the city and towards the town hall. She caught sight of Steve's uniform and couldn't help the relief that spread through her. She jogged over to him and touched his arm gently. He was dirty and bleeding, but otherwise looked okay. He shot her a small smile.
Wanda came out of the building looking a little shaken but determined, her eyes fierce. Steve looked over Nadia's shoulder and moved away, towards a figure that approached them through the dust. Nadia's heart clenched – she would know those footsteps anywhere.
'Rogers. Doc.' Natasha greeted, apparently unharmed. Nadia surged forward and embraced Natasha quickly, checking her for any injuries.
'Romanoff.' Steve replied. Wanda caught up to them and stopped in her tracks when she spotted Natasha.
Natasha's eyes narrowed in on the teenage girl. 'Is that my jacket?'
'She's with us.' Steve said.
'That still doesn't explain the jacket.' She countered. A short laugh burst from Nadia before she could stop it, and some the tension in her back eased. Wanda looked away awkwardly and Clint jogged up to them, his bow in his hands and his jacket over his arm.
'Fighting these robots is getting us nowhere.' Steve sighed.
'They're like cockroaches.' Nadia agreed.
'The air is getting pretty thin too.' Clint added. 'We go up much higher people will start dropping.'
'There are still people hiding in the city.' Wanda intoned, her gaze faraway. Nadia wondered for a moment if the girl could sense the minds of the people who were hiding.
'Root them out.' Steve commanded and Wanda brooked no argument, racing off into the dust cloud that had settled over them. 'Barton?'
'I got her six.' He replied readily. Natasha shot her friend a look and he lifted his eyebrows defensively. 'What?
He took off after Wanda and Natasha stepped towards both Steve and Nadia. 'And us?'
Steve grinned wryly. 'We fight robots.'
Under normal circumstances, those words would be ridiculous but the situation was so serious that Nadia was determined not to laugh. In response, Natasha activated her batons, which glowed and hummed with electricity. Steve adjusted his grip on his shield and Nadia grabbed her matching long knives from her back.
Pietro skidded into their line of vision, his speed so intense that he appeared blurred around the edges for a moment. He was clutching the dismembered arm of a robot. 'Today?' he mocked. 'We fight robots today? Or is next month better for you?'
Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared again. The three remaining Avengers jogged back into the courtyard where most of the fighting seemed to be concentrated. Natasha and Nadia fought back to back mostly, protecting one another as they fought the onslaught of robots. Steve moved among them, covering the gaps in their protective circle. Thor soon joined them, his lightning destroying everything it met and his hammer crushing his opponents. Nadia flashed back to New York, where she had again fought beside these very people and they had won the day. A new sense of hope filled her and strength flooded her body again.
Thor threw a robot into a fuel truck nearby, and the collision caused a massive explosion. Nadia used the fire that had erupted to destroy more opponents, their metal bodies melting under the heat of her fingers.
'Alright, we're all clear here.' Clint reported.
'We are not clear! We are very not clear!' Steve replied frantically. It was true. Because they had gathered most of the people in the town hall, the robots were drawn to that area. They were inundated with the blasted things and were having a hard time keeping them under control.
'Alright, coming to you!'
They worked to clear the area, rotating and moving around each other. It was just like they had trained – Nadia using her powers and her knives, Natasha flitting from one place to the next, moving like a fox to take down her enemies and Steve crashing through their defences like a battering ram. More people from within the city were pouring into the town hall, dishevelled and frightened with many injured.
After what felt like a lifetime, there were no remaining robots in their area, and they set to work on ushering people inside.
'The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?' Steve asked.
'Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear.' Tony replied.
'I asked for a solution, not an escape plan.' Steve said sternly.
'Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice.'
Nadia placed her hands on her hips and sighed. She had figured that this would be their only option if Tony couldn't figure out something. Her heart sank.
'Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock...' Natasha said softly, reasonably.
Steve shook his head adamantly. 'Not 'til everyone's safe.'
'Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there.'
'I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it.'
'I didn't say we should leave.' Both Steve and Nadia turned to look at the redhead. She lifted a single shoulder in a lazy shrug, but her eyes were shining slightly. 'There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?'
They all turned to look, and the view was incredible. The sun on the horizon, with nothing but blue sky and white clouds in front of them. It was peaceful and beautiful, but Nadia couldn't appreciate it.
She didn't want to die. It was that simple. She wanted to go home with Steve and build a life with him. She wanted to travel and practise medicine again. She wanted to spend more time with her brother. It wasn't fair that this choice had been thrust upon them. It wasn't fair what Ultron had done and for a moment Nadia wanted to scream at the universe at the injustice of it all.
A warm hand slipped into hers and Nadia looked up. Steve was looking down at her, his blue eyes bright but also sad. His skin was grey with dirt and dust, blood tricking down his cheek. His suit was ripped and his hair was sweat-soaked, but to Nadia he had never looked more beautiful. He squeezed her fingers tightly and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She supposed Natasha was right; there were worse ways to go. At least she was here, with him and they were together.
He seemed to be struggling with something, his jaw ticking before he apparently decided on something. 'Nadia…'
A crackle sounded over the commlink and then a deep, familiar voice came through. 'Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better.'
A muted humming noise filled the air, like a helicopter was approaching. Through the clouds emerged a shadow, one with a runway, and four large engines. It was the old helicarrier, the one that Fury had used during the invasion of New York years ago. It hovered there, close to the rising city.
'Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do.' Fury explained.
'Fury, you son of a bitch.' Steve joked, a grin stretched across his face.
'Oooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?'
Nadia lifted her free hand to her belly as her chest seemed to expand and lighten at the same time. She felt delirious at that moment, happiness filling her entire body. She had thought they were all doomed. She had given them all up for dead and then Nick Fury swoops in to save the day. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but all she could manage to do was grin stupidly.
Pietro Maximoff materialised in front of them, his young face full of wonder as he watched the helicarrier's side open and a dozen small ships launched, approaching the flying city.
'This is SHIELD?' Pietro asked wondrously.
'This is what SHIELD's supposed to be.' Steve replied.
Pietro nodded. 'This is not so bad.'
Steve squeezed Nadia's hand one more time before releasing it, turning back towards the city to the waiting civilians. 'Let's load 'em up.'
Nadia took off into the sky, flying towards one of the many building that the people of Sokovia had hidden in and guiding one of the lifeboats along with her. Rhodey took over defending the helicarrier from any attacking sentries, sharing some playful banter with Tony as he did so.
Nadia guided the frightened people onto the boat, offering them reassurances and soothing words. Once it was full, it took off, ferrying the people towards safety. She continued to flag down ships and sweep through the city, getting as many people to safety as possible.
'Thor, I got a plan!' Tony called through the comms.
'We're out of time. They're coming for the core.' The demigod replied grimly.
'Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier.'
'On it.' Rhodey replied readily.
'Avengers, time to work for a living.'
Nadia finished loading up the lifeboat and then took off into the air. 'Where are you guys?' she asked.
'The church.' Thor said.
Nadia turned and flew towards the centre of the city. She was tailed by several robots, who tasted the steel of her knives. She landed softly in the middle of the church, where a strange metal contraption was set up. It spun in circles ominously and she glanced around. Steve crashed through an outer wall, tumbling over a robot that had latched onto him and smashing its head in with his shield. He looked up and met her gaze.
'Can't you just walk into a room like a normal person?' she quipped. Steve only grinned at her, his teeth startling white against his dirty face.
Vision, Thor and Tony were already gathered around the core, their backs to it as they protected it. Pietro skidded into the room and immediately sought out his sister, who had just arrived with Clint. A few straggling robots tried to get past the gathered Avengers, but were easily handled.
'Romanoff?' Tony asked, his voice echoing in his suit. 'You and Banner better not be playing "hide the zucchini."'
'Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly.' Natasha replied drily. A moment later, she entered the church and looked around. 'What's the drill?'
Tony pointed to the core in the centre of the room. 'This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.'
Nadia jumped when the Hulk landed at the church, the entire side of the wall had been destroyed and he strolled right in, ripping two robots apart in his hands like they were made of cotton candy.
Ultron descended from the sky, a smug look on his metal face as he took in the battered, bruised and dirty Avengers.
Thor stepped forward challengingly. 'Is that the best you can do?!'
Ultron lifted his hand. Scraping and rusting filled the area as an entire army of sentries stood ready to do battle. Nadia swallowed thickly. They were outnumbered, tired and bruised. This wasn't like storming a HYDRA base or taking down terrorists and arms dealers. If they failed, the world ended.
Steve turned to Thor. 'You had to ask,' he said, annoyed.
'This is the best I can do.' Ultron said. 'This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?'
'Well, like the old man said. Together.'