Avengers: Age of Ultron | Saviors | War is Upon Us
Avery stands in the doorway to one of the clothing rooms as she watches the twins finish getting themselves ready for the big fight. The one main thing occurred to her after talking to James and that was the fact that she hasn't really talked to the twins as of yet. Not really, anyway. She can understand that they are making a huge decision on changing sides because they hate Tony Stark and his weaponry - it's the reason their parents are dead. It's the reason why Winter went and recruited them in the first place under Hydra's orders.
"You two ready?" She announces her presence to them, making them jump just a little in their skin. In her hand are two small earpieces; the instruments they use during missions to communicate to each other on the field. She already has hers in and ready to use but the twins still need them. They are, of course, a part of the Avengers now.
Wanda is the first to speak up, her voice hesitant. "Winter? Uh, I mean yeah, we-we're ready." Quickly putting on the red jacket Pietro threw at her earlier. It does look pretty nice and it suits her hair color.
The moment the name 'Winter' is mentioned, Ava can't help but grimace although doesn't react as badly as she used to. "Call me Ava," she tells the pair, rather using that name. "But on the field, you can call me that if you want."
Pietro can't help it, the question that's been buzzing around in his head for ages is now slipping out. "Why didn't you tell us your name was Avery Rogers?" He asks, remembering the hurt he felt and he's sure his sister felt the same the moment they found out the truth. Winter was someone they could count on at that point in their life and she just vanished. It was like she never existed and no one ever breathed her name again.
Ava bows her head, sighing in the realization that they don't know yet. Part of her thought Ultron would have told them after finding her with the Avengers…obviously not. "Because I didn't know," she simply replies, looking back up at them, still leaning against the doorway. This is still a touchy subject for her. "Back when you met me, I really was just The Winter Soldier and I was just Hydra's tool. They made me become one back in 1949 when I was presumed dead…they erased my memories and completely eradicated me anything to do with who I was."
Wanda doesn't understand but is listening intently. "Why would they do that?"
Avery just sends a humorless smile. "Let's just say that I was the convenient choice." She's closer than anyone to the American hero and the fact of who she was made it even sweeter for Hydra, she was the best choice in so many ways. She lets out a breath, ready to direct the conversation somewhere else. "Anyway…" she begins, pushing herself off the doorway. "We'll be heading out any minute now and you two need one of these." Holding out her hand to show the two ear buds.
"What are they?" Pietro inquires, but can quickly guess by the looks of them. Both he and his sister each grab one, looking down at them.
"They're earpieces," Ava replies, gesturing to her ear to show them she has one in. "It'll keep us connected with you and, officially, the both of you are now Avengers, if you want to be." The others had no disagreements with it…maybe Banner but that's about all. He's still touchy about what Wanda made him do but he knows if any of them are to survive today, they'll need the twins help in order to do so.
He just made it clear that if Wanda decides to warp his mind again, he'll most likely snap her neck without a second thought.
"Come on," she gestures them to follow her. "We have to meet up with the others now." Walking out the door first before hearing them follow close behind, putting in the little earpieces she handed over to them just a second ago.
…
Avery has been looking for her brother after getting the Maximoff's into the QuinJet with the others and she finally finds him standing outside, looking towards the city from above. She makes her way over, standing beside to look out with him. There's a deep look of thought planted in his features, his arms crossed over his chest. Where they are right now, it's dark in the sky and despite the lights of the city beaming about the place, you can still see many stars, some brighter than the rest.
It's a moment but it's Steve who speaks first. "Do you remember the time after dad's death?" He asks, going a direction that both of them are pretty surprised about. Ava looks over at him, her own arms crossed now but she sends him a bewildered look, not understanding where this conversation might now be heading.
After a second, Ava starts to nod, she remembers that very well alone with other certain memories. Many of them are still quite a blur but others are as clear as day. "Why?"
"Did something else happen?" He says instead, looking over to her this time with question in his eyes. Those few weeks after their father's death is something that always comes back to him clearly. Especially how his twin acted for a long time after his passing. "I mean, it never really came to me fully at the time but…there was something you weren't telling me. I can still see it now and it's something I really don't get…what aren't you telling me?"
"Steve-" she tries to direct the conversation way but he's having none of it because his head shakes defiantly.
"No," he says, not letting the subject go this time. He turns his body around so he faces her. Her own still facing outwards towards the city. "If it's about our dad…then I have the right to know," he insists.
That gets Ava silent and she feels water appearing in the corners of her eyes. Steve pauses for a second, just looking at her and at this point, he's completely sure there's something being hidden - something about their father in particular. He gently places a hand on her shoulder, turning her around so she faces him and this time, she doesn't fight him. "Please," he pleads, wanting so badly to know. "Tell me. You don't have to keep this to yourself and I'm always going to be here for you, just as Bucky will be."
Avery stays silent for a few more seconds before finally speaking. "I think he did this to me." Her voice is a little weak but there's an undeniable crack in it.
Steve's brow furrows, not fully understanding. "What?"
"Dad," she tells him, her voice stronger this time. Getting something off her chest that, like the pregnancy issue, has been on her chest for a very long time, even if her memories were gone for most of the duration. "I think…he's the reason I am the way I am today. The reason I have this metal arm…and the reason why Hydra chose me specifically."
Steve just isn't understanding why she'd think that. She's the daddy's girl, why the hell would their father even think about doing something like that? "Why the hell would you think something like that?" He asks, concerned. Their father can't possibly have sided with Hydra? Right?
"His last words to me were 'Don't let them change you. Follow your own path.' And at first, I really didn't understand but…it wasn't until Zola got me the second time that it all made sense," she pauses, gathering herself, now isn't the time to be falling apart when they have the world to save. "He…dad was an inventor, Steve. We were never actually told what he invented and it wasn't until Zola told me that it all fit into place. The solution that runs through my veins and the one that screwed with my brain was dad's invention."
Steve never really did know their father as well as Ava did. But, all he can hear in her voice is the truth and his heart breaks. Not only because he never realized that their father might have been a part of Hydra but the fact that he wasn't able to protect his sister from them. If what she's saying is correct, she was doomed from the moment she was born and that angers him to the core.
Without another word, he just brings her into his chest, crushing her into a brotherly hug. Her head rests again his chest and she accepts it, needing this kind of interaction right now after spouting out what she has just said. And again, it feels like another weight has been lifted off her chest, however, she knows that Steve will now have a different opinion against their father and that…she isn't sure is a good or bad thing.
…
About ten minutes later, in the QuinJet, everyone is ready and waiting as they fly over several cities and much more. The Avengers are sitting around, Steve and Bucky standing in front of them and Ava is close by Wanda and Pietro with her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the wall. The QuinJet is being flown by one of Tony's AI's, and because Jarvis is now installed in the Vision, he's now having to use Friday - his second most precious AI.
"Ultron knows we're coming," Steve says, looking to his team like a leader, much like Bucky is. Being Captain America and Sergeant America gives them a lot of experience in making good speeches. "Odds are…we'll be riding into heavy fire, but that's what we signed up for."
Bucky nods along, before continuing for his best friend. "But the people of Sokovia didn't." His eyes flicker over to the twins briefly, noticing the two holding hands and comforting each other in a way only twins know. He's seen the same looks form on both Ava and Steve once upon a time too, back before all of the evil came into play. "Our priority, first and foremost, is getting as many people out of Sokovia."
…
Pietro walks into Sokovia's only and local police station with his lightning speed. The officer's that notice the way he came in, don't react to it. They all figure they are seeing things, because really, it's been happening a lot lately. Nothing seems to surprise them too much anymore.
"We're under attack!" Pietro is shouting to everyone, looking around as he gains everyone's attention. Their heads perk up but they don't seem to take him seriously. "Clear the city! Now!" Once he finishes talking, he vanishes into thing air again. After blinking several times, the officers return to their work and ignore the plea. One of the men even go back to playing a game of Solitaire on his computer.
Pietro must have known they wouldn't take him seriously, but what he does next, makes them. He zooms back in with a large machine gun in hand. He shoots several rounds into the ceiling to once again gain everyone's full attention. They all gasp, some of them in fright. "Get off your asses!" He snaps with order in his voice, his accent coming out strong.
…
"All they want is to live their lives in peace…"
Wanda is successfully using her powers tog et into the minds of town's people; using her skill to change everyone's actions and start making them head out of town in a peaceful manner. Unfortunately, her power isn't as strong as can be because she can't get into everyone's heads. Someone would need to be extremely powerful in order to do something like that.
You can see the red flakes fluttering around the citizens, they are all clearly under Wanda's control.
"And that's not going to happen today…but, we can do our best to protect them and get the job done…"
…
Thor smashes his way through tunnels and Earth in order to reach the core of the city underground; he's tasked in finding out what Ultron's plan is and what he's about to find is the key to everything.
"We'll find out what Ultron's been building…"
Bruce walks in from the hole Thor made; he's tasked with finding Natasha and he plans on getting her out of the line of fire. He knows she's down here somewhere - Ultron would have kept her close, and this is where Clint said the signal was coming from, according to the codes that were shared.
"We find Romanoff and clear the field…we keep the fight between us…"
…
Back in the QuinJet, Steve looks down. "Ultron thinks we're monsters," he repeats the words of the bot they are trying to take down. "That we're what's wrong with the world." Behind him, Bruce bows his head in shame, because he knows that's exactly what he is, the green man inside of him is a monster just waiting to be free again.
Ava does something similar; she looks away for a second because she knows that even if most of her 'Avery-side' is back - there's still that nagging portion of the monster that kept her alive all these years.
"This isn't just about beating him," Steve continues, having seen his sister look away the moment he said his last words. "It's about whether he's right." Even he and Bucky aren't too sure anymore about what they are. Whether they are truly good and stand up for the right reasons or are slowly and discreetly being shifted to the side they promised each other they'd never fight for? During their time at SHIELD, they were basically tricked into helping Hydra reach its near full potential. Maybe they are monsters too?
Everyone in this room has a monster within them - it's just the matter of whose is bigger, and who will cave into it eventually.
…
People are running, cars are honking and the Avengers are trying all in their power to make sure everything stays in order without chaos. They dot themselves around enough to evacuate all the people Wanda isn't able to reach with her powers and so far; there are a lot more people than originally thought. For such a small town compared to places like New York City, there are still a vast amount of people.
Clint, Ava, Bucky and Steve are the only ones trying to move the mass along the best they can - the others are obviously doing their part of the plan.
…
Tony is flying up in the air; heading towards a certain part of town the moment Friday says, "Your man's in the church, boss." Friday has almost a female Irish accent to her voice. "I think he's waiting for you." According to the Vision; Ultron hates him the most, almost full-on hatred. Well, that's obviously what he gets for trying to make the world a better place.
Tony's feet touch down in the church Friday directed him to, his heavy metal feet clinking against the stone floor. Ultron stands there behind without saying anything for a moment - inside his mind, he knows his plan is working out perfectly. "Come to confess your sins?" His grave voice asks in his usual robotic yet human voice.
"I don't know," Tony plays along when Ultron's voice is heard from behind. He's tasked in stalling Ultron as long as possible while the others get the civilians out of town. "How much time you got?"
The sound of very heavy metal feet sounds, the noise echoing through the church dome. Tony spins around in surprise and his head has to turn upwards when he gets a full sight at what Ultron looks like now. He's double, almost triple the size of what he used to be - in other words, he looks like a robotic giant.
"Uh…" Tony murmurs uneasily, actually taking a few steps back when Ultron moves closer to him. "Have you been juicing? A little Vibranium cocktail?" He questions in a distracting way. He figured he would be fighting the Ultron they've seen before. The one that was about the same size as him, maybe just a touch bigger. "You're looking…I don't want to say 'puffy-'" Ultron stops him.
"You're stalling to protect the people." The bot already knows what they have planned to a degree. The Avengers decisions can be very foreseeable.
Tony can't disagree. "Well, that is the mission. Or did you forget?"
"I've moved beyond your mission," Ultron replies. "I'm free."
Suddenly, the ground starts shaking and within a second, something smashes its way up to the surface from beneath the church, right in the center of it. Tony stumbles back but doesn't fall when he's almost knocked off balance. He stares at the machine that now pins itself to the surface and he realizes something in that moment - Ultron was stalling too. The notion is confirmed by what the bat says next.
"What?" Ultron almost has a mocking tone to his voice as he tilts his head. "You think you were the only one stalling?"
The machine has three flaps that secure itself to the ground and a main console stationed in the middle, at the height of a small table. The design looks very complicating, but Tony is only worried about what it'll do. Friday quickly examines the device from what Tony can see and her report comes immediately after. "There's the rest of the Vibranium," she informs him. Inside Tony's helmet, he can see the schematic of how far the machine goes down beneath the surface, and it's very far down. It's past the two-thousand meter marker. "Function, still unclear."
This is how you end, Tony," Ultron continues, breaking Tony out of his examining mode. "This is peace in my time."
…
On the surface of Sokovia, hundreds, probably thousands of Ultron bots start breaking out of the ground, dragging themselves out of rivers, climbing up the side of the city and a lot of them are just simply flying into the city. People start screaming, running away from them as explosions burst from many places around them.
At this point, the Avengers are now fighting, yelling at all the civilians to run towards the opposite directions of the fights. Vision, however, is about to complete his main part of the plan.
"Ultron," Vision's voice appears above the robotic man, he's flying down slowly with his feet underneath him. Upon hearing this new being hovering down, Ultron slowly flies up to meet him in the air, both now suspended in the middle of the old church ruins.
"My vision," Ultron murmurs, looking completely crushed within but doesn't let it fully show. The thing in front of him is the exact vision he was dreaming of making since his own birth into this world and now it's gone. Something he can never get back because of those wretched Avengers. "They really did take everything from me."
Vision wants to get down to business because like he said back at the tower, he doesn't want to destroy Ultron, but if he doesn't stop what's happening, thousands or more people will die because of it. "You set the terms," he says, hoping to change Ultron's mind about what he's planning. "You can change them."
At this point, anger is now set in. "All right," Ultron replies but only a second later, his metal hands are tightly wrapped around the Vision's neck, intent on destroying what was once his creation. The one thing he doesn't expect is what come after and that is Vision's fingers connecting with his head. A strange sensation quickly covers his body. Something inside of him is changing - something he doesn't want to happen. Vision is ripping away something he dearly needs if things should go south.
Vision is killing every cell in his make-up that is connected to the internet - the thing that brought him into what he is today. Ultron tries in earnest to get the being off him but doesn't succeed, he's too deeply connected and the process is almost over by that point.
The moment Vision lets go of Ultron, he passes out and the bot recoils while holding his head. "You shut me out," he growls, glaring at the Vision's falling body. He grabs the being around the neck against before slamming him into the ground with a little too much force than necessary.
"You think I care?" At that moment, he decides what to do next. "You take away my world; I'll take away yours." Are the last words spoken out of his mouth before he flies over to the device in the middle of the church - he twists a dial, and thus, revealing his true plan for the city of Sokovia.
…
All around the city, the ground rumbles and shakes, almost knocking many people over. Some would think it's just an earthquake but the magnitude just doesn't feel right. The fact that other circumstances don't fit the situation is also another fact. At the edges of Sokovia, a circle around the city begins to form and spread apart, a long river of pavement and roads start falling through the ground and down to the deep below. Anyone still left in the city is being cut off from freedom - there's no way off or out of the city now.
Each of the Avengers are each near the edges of these falling parts to the city and they can do nothing but watch in horror as many of the civilians become victims of the rubble. And suddenly, the part of the city they are on start to rise into the air, the other half of the city they are cut off from being left on the ground. It's like they are on a hovercraft and by the looks of it, the city is going for a ride.
"Can you see…" an echoed voice appears around the city - it's Ultron's voice coming out of his lackey bits that are trying to destroy the city from within. "The beauty of it?" The real Ultron is hovering high up in the sky, watching as his creation does exactly what he expects. "The inevitability…you rise, only to fall…and you, Avengers, you are my meteor…"
As the city rises higher into the sky, several thousand meters above where the city originally was, houses and buildings begin crumbling at the sides along with any wildlife and people around them.
"My swift and terrible sword…and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. You purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me…it means nothing and when the dust settles, the only thing living in this world…will be metal."
…
Ava grunts when the back of her heard smacks into a pane of glass, her body having been thrown back into the side of a car. Without a care about what injuries she might have gained, she quickly gets up before the bot has a chance to finish what it started. She grabs a large sliver of metal that was probably part of the metal army they've been fighting. When the bot comes flying back to her, she throws it with exact precision and it slices the metal being in half, severing its power connection from the rest of its body.
Tony's voice suddenly appears in her ear. "Cap, Sarge, Winter, you've got incoming."
Bucky throws his shield into one of his own while several dozens more bots start appearing around the three. "You think?" He mutters sarcastically.
Steve has also been thrown into something, a truck. "Incoming already came in," he groans, the hit to his stomach giving him after-grief.
People around them are still screaming but this is because they literally have no where to go and these bots are now everywhere. They have nowhere to hide but pray that they don't get killed.
Ava doesn't really care about the fact that he called her Winter this time, she's gotten over it at this point. And besides, now really isn't the time to dance around the subject. People's lives are at stake. "Stark, just find a way to bring this city down safely, we'll deal with the rest."
Steve and Bucky agree. "The rest of us have one job and that's tear these things apart," Steve says, knowing that everyone can hear him through the channel. "You get hurt, hurt 'em back. If you get killed…walk it off."
…
"All right…we're all clear here," Clint's voice appears in the earpiece the moment Steve throws his shield into several metal beings one by one - sort of like a ping pong machine, each of them crumbling to the ground the moment they get hit.
"We not clear!" Bucky yells back, there are dozens around the three of them right now and they just keep on coming. They're like cockroaches; you kill on but more just come back to bite you in the ass. "We are very not clear." Ava catches the shield Bucky throws to her and crushes her next incoming machine with it successfully before throwing it back. She has already used up all her rounds so now all she has are little electricity batons and anything around her. The electrifying batons are similar to the ones Natasha is using on her side of the city with the green guy right now.
"All right, coming to you," Clint says before the radio goes silent once again.
…
Way over to the side of the rising city, Tony is still struggling as he tries to figure out a susceptible way of getting Sokovia back down safely with no loss of life. And so far, he's had the definition of nothing at this point.
"The anti-gravs are rigged to flip," Friday's voice replies to his previous inquiry on a plan. Tony misses Jarvis but Friday is also great at her job. "If you touch them, they'll just go full-reverse thrust." Tony curses under his breath, another hypothetical plan destroyed. "The city's not coming down slow."
His mind is reeling. "The spire is Vibranium, so maybe if I can get Thor to hit it…" But Friday puts a stop to that one too.
"It'll crack," she tells him. "That's not enough and the impact would still be devastating."
Tony is now flying beneath the city, watching the waves of blue fire and exhausts underneath, the very things that are propelling Sokovia further upwards. "Maybe we can cap the other end and keep the stomach action doubling back?"
"That could vaporize the city…and everyone on it."
…
A bit later, the first round of bots is nothing but extinct, however, sure enough there could be a lot more on their way. Many people have stopped screaming, mostly because of sore throats and right now there isn't much to scream about…unless you count how high they've risen in the sky. Dust and smoke is covering the buildings and all the places explosions have occurred. Mostly everything is finding shelter within the best standing buildings that are left. The Avengers, however, are still outside, trying to figure out what their next move will be.
They can't keep fighting these things forever and the city may begin falling any second - it really depends on what mood Ultron's in at that point.
"The next wave's gonna hit any minute," Bucky says, and he's sure everyone's body is panting with exhaustion by this time. "Stark, what have you got?" Ava and Steve are next to him, making sure everyone is running into the buildings for shelter. They looks strong enough that they won't collapse in and right now, the civilians need extreme cover if another round is going to be coming in again.
There's a moments pause before Tony's voice finally comes through. "Well, it's nothing great," he says with a sad and disappointed tone. "Maybe a way to blow up the city…that'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."
"No way," Ava counters back, shaking her head. There is no way in hell that she's jumping off this rock and leaving all these people to die. There's already so much death under her that it's unbearable to begin with - if this rock is going to be blown out of the sky, then she'll stay instead of running away like a wimp. "There's no way in hell that we can leave these people on this rock just to save ourselves." They'll become Hydra if that plan goes through.
Steve agrees, "Buck asked for a solution, not an escape plan."
"The impact radius is getting bigger and bigger every second." Tony is at a loss for what to do. As of right now, he can't think of any other plan that might have a possibility of working where everyone survives. Both them and whoever's left in the rising part of Sokovia. "We're gonna have to make a choice."
Natasha walks up to them from the side after having gotten everyone into the building. The four of them are now near the edge of the city, watching the clouds pass as the city continues to rise. "Guys, these people aren't going anywhere." There's a look of acceptance on her face. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock…" Her words drain out.
"Not until everyone's safe," Bucky says in a hard tone. They shouldn't call themselves the Avengers if they are going to leave hundreds, maybe thousands to die.
"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" Natasha counters, knowing which logic she'd choose but does agree with the three of them on one point. She won't leave this rock to save herself either - she's had a good enough life, maybe its time to finally go out swinging? "There's no math there."
Ava shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not leaving this rock with one person left on it," she states, acceptance and power in her voice. She looks between the three. "After everything I've done since becoming Winter…not after that, I couldn't live with myself if I even thought of going along with that plan."
Natasha smiles slightly, looking saddened at what she's about to say. "I never said we should leave and besides, there's worse ways to die." She shrugs, seeing confused look on their face. Realizing what she has said also. All four of them are on the same page about something. Natasha turns to Ava full on. "You know, Ava, you were the one who taught me everything I know today, especially how much someone can change. And…even though I thought you left me back then, I understand, I really do."
There's a moment of silence, mostly because the boys have absolutely no idea what Natasha is talking about but Ava, on the other hand, just sends a grateful look towards the redhead. There's an understanding between them - they are teammates and friends. But the bond between them is more than that. Natasha grew up looking up to Winter as a form of a sister, one that Ava will now do anything to protect. The two of them went through something that no one else will be able to understand and that's what keeps them as equal.
"And besides…" Natasha continues, looking towards the sky, this time, seeing the beautiful blue sky with a dozen or so pearly white clouds. "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"
Suddenly there's a crackle in the earpieces and a familiar voice appears in them, one the Avengers haven't heard in a while. "Glad you like the view, Romanoff." Nick Fury. "It's about to get better."
Not even a second later, something massive appears in front of them but is rising faster than the city is. And it's very familiar too, something of the past some would say for everything but the Maximoff's. Appearing before them is the Heli carrier that was used during the battle of New York a few years ago, the one that was shut down during the take down of both SHIELD and Hydra.
Everyone in the buildings run to the windows and look out with awe and hope, seeing the familiar thing that appeared on TV many years ago. They know deep down that they are saved now - they are going to get out of this alive.
"Nice, right?" You can almost hear the smirk in Fury's proud voice. "Pulled her out of the mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do." This is the reason why he left - a part of him knew he needed to get this bird flying again if something big were to happen, and it's a good thing he did just that.
A chuckle leaves Steve's lips. "Fury, you son of a bitch." This reaction causes the three beside him to chuckle also, but it's mostly because of the unexpected language he just used.
"Ooh!" Fury exclaims, pleasantly surprised. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" He's just like Stark in that department, no matter how much either of them hate each other's guts. At this point, Pietro has sped over to the, stopping just beside Ava and looking out - just as hover transports start making their way towards the city. They are transport pods for people; every civilians is getting off this rock and not one is going to be left behind.
Pietro is looking at the sight with amazement. "This is SHIELD?"
Ava glances over to him with a smile. "This is what SHIELD is supposed to be." Not having a problem with it if they are saving people right now. When the massive amount of guns come in, then she'll have a problem.
He smiles, looking actually excited because he knows he's an Avenger now. "This is not so bad." Any kind of hatred or loathing he had for Stark or anything else that's happened has pretty much been wiped away after today. Because, if it wasn't for him and Wanda, Ultron wouldn't have gotten as far as he did. And, this battle right now is pretty much all their fault on some level.
But no more - he wants to save people and he wants to use this power of his for good, just as the others are doing.
…
As soon as the hover pods touch the ground, people start rushing out of the buildings in order to get into one. The town's officers start to help get everyone on board, putting the people first instead of their one safety like they should do.
Back in the church, Ultron has Thor in his grasp, the metal hand grips tightly around the God's neck much like he did to Vision earlier. "You think your saving anyone?" Ultron questions him, the man struggling in his hold. "I turn that key and drop this rock a little early and its still billions dead." The dial is slowly turning like a ticking clock, a reminder to what's really happening. "Even you can't stop that."
Thor grunts, trying to struggle out of the hold but it isn't doing any good, it's just making the grip tighter. "I am Thor, son of Odin…" he speaks, and Ultron doesn't realize but he's actually being stalled. There's a small plan in this. "And as long as there is life in my breast…" His mind mind goes blank and he mentally groans, although, the thing he has been waiting for just appears behind the main bot of the operation. "I am running out of things to say! Are you ready?"
Before Ultron can even be able to fully comprehend what Thor means, he feels something smash into his face so hard that his body goes flying back at a very fast speed, smashing through various buildings and away from the church. Vision has used Thor's hammer in order to achieve this - saving Thor in the process of being strangled.
Thor coughs while regaining his breath, heaving himself up before calling Mjolnir back into his hand. There are many bruises and cuts on his skin, especially his face but all the Avengers look like hell at this point.
"It's terribly well-balanced," Vision comments, referring to the hammer he has just used to save the God.
Thor pants a little, more than slightly exhausted. "Well, if there's too much weight, you lose power on the swing, so…" his words drown out as he makes a small example of a swing.
…
While Tony is firing out at bots that have appeared in the air, trying to take down the Heli carrier, the right plan forms in his head. "I got it!" He cries, knowing exactly what they can do. "Create a heat seal. I could-" He narrowly dodges a bit trying to ram into him. "I could supercharge the spire from below."
Friday seems to think it's a viable plan. "Running numbers!" It's almost an excited tone she uses. While she's calculating everything to see if the plan will work, Tony saves one of the falling transporters one of the bots was able to blow a thruster out of. "A heat seal could work with enough power," she reveals.
Tony grunts, the transporter is very heavy, especially while holding it thousands of feet in the air. "Thor," he calls loudly, knowing the earpiece will work. "I got a plan."
"We're out of time," Thor replies, sounding grim. "They're coming for the core."
"Damn it," Tony swears under his breath before turning his attention to someone else. "Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier." He makes sure to get the transporter vehicle from his back and into the Heli carrier.
"On it."
Tony starts flying towards the church where Thor is, doubling his speed tog et their faster. "Avengers…it's time to work for a living."
In soon enough time, all the Avengers are gathered in the church, protecting the machine that decides whether or not the city will start crashing towards the Earth, obliterating billions. There's only one person mission, Natasha, something of which Tony notices. The big guy is also non-existent within the church too.
"Romanoff…" Tony's voice comes out as partially teasing. "You and Banner better not be playing 'Hide the Zucchini.'" He would tease Bruce too but as the man is most likely the big guy right now - it's safe to just not to.
"Relax, shellhead," she replies back through the earpiece, and on the other side of the line she just happened to be rolling her eyes at the question. It's very typical of Tony to say something like that. "Not all of us can fly." About a second after saying this, she appears before them, driving towards the church in a massive truck, hitting as many bots in the process.
The other Avengers are finishing up the last of the machines coming at them as she runs over, killing another herself. Natasha looks around, "What's the drill?"
Tony points towards the metal machine in the middle of the church. "This is the drill," he says. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose." A humongous smash sounds from outside. The big guy has arrived for the part and still looks to be itching for some more action.
Everyone turns to look outside one of the church's arches when Ultron can be seen from afar, slowly beginning himself down to the ground in a hover. There are a few bots around him, waiting, but none of the others can be seen. Thor takes this the wrong way - thinking there isn't many left after all the ones they've destroyed. "Is that the best you can do?!" He yells out, looking completely fearless but most of all, stupid.
They don't see it but Ultron smirks and the moment his arm rises, hundreds of his disciples come running towards him - like he's the master calling upon his servants to come to him. Everyone's eyes widen at the church at the mass of them heading their way.
Ava lets out an annoyed huff. "Seriously?" She gives Thor a look as to which he has the decency to shrug apologetically with a sheepish look. "You just had to ask?" He basically just jinxed the entire thing. Others around him are also sending a similar looks but stay silent as the crowd of bots start to stop, waiting for their next orders.
"This," Ultron gestures to all his little minions. "Is the best I can do." Answering Thor's previous yet stupid question. "This is exactly what I wanted…all of you…against all of me," he pauses. "How can you possibly hope to stop me?"
"Well, like the elders said…" Gesturing over to Steve, Bucky, and Ava who frown with narrowed eyes at the term he has just used for them. "Together."
At that moment the big guy lets out a massive roar - Ultron's lackeys start bolting towards them, ready to fight. It's less than a few seconds before the things are crawling around the church ruins, trying to get in from every angle and entrance they way they can. But the more that come, the more the Avengers destroy each with weapons and their bare hands.
They work in union…as a team and one by one, bots are smashed to smithereens.
No matter how hard the bots try, one of the Avengers always seem to catch them in time before reaching the machine in the middle. They don't have a chance and the Avengers seem to be doing quite well so far - no matter how much damage was done to them before this final showdown.
When Ultron notices that all his efforts aren't enough and that none of his creations are getting anywhere; he decides to take matters into his own hands. But it doesn't work out too well; Vision is able to get to him, throwing him over to the side of the building while the others continue to destroy the bots. Vision creates some kind of beam that comes out of the amber jewel in his head and it hits Ultron with full force - making Ultron crash into the wall again the moment he tries to get up. And at one point, another ripple causes him to fly through the wall this time and flies out of the building.
Thor joins the Vision outside, using electricity that flows through his hammer to hit Ultron. Now, two power sources are counteracting with the metal man's current body, and not too soon after, Tony joins in with both his hands sending out power beams. Now there are four sources taking him down.
Slowly but surely, Ultron's body begins melting under the pressure and heated cracks start to appear. At the point that each Avenger knows enough damage has been done, tye stop. Ultron groans from where he's lying down on the ground and his body slowly heaves up with several uneasy grunts. "You know," his voice crackles like part of his voice is damaged. "With the benefit of hindsight…" he starts but can no longer talk because suddenly he feels himself fly through the sky.
The big guy, aka, Bruce Banner, punched him square in the face with so much force that Ultron's body will probably end up landing at the edge of this rock with a dented metal skull. The big guy growls and turns, and upon seeing a line of bots that are still left, he growls again and bolts towards them. They try running away from the big guy but it does no use - they are ripped to pieces within seconds.
Many of the surviving bots begin trying to fly away in order to save themselves for their master. This is something Thor notices right away. "They're trying to leave the city."
"We can't let them, not even one," Tony says, knowing how disastrous that could end up becoming. It could easily become a second Sokovia event in the near future if something like that should happen. There can't be any surviving bots left…no matter what. "Rhodey," he prompts through the earpiece, communicating with his fellow friend and War Machine.
"I'm on it," Rhodey replies in an affirmative tone.
…
As the last bot is destroyed within the vicinity, Steve turns to everyone left in the church and just like he thought, they all survived the attack. "All right, we gotta move out," he says, breathing a little deeper than he usually would and he can tell the others are too. It could just be the exhaustion but it isn't just that, they are getting to the point in the sky where air will soon become non-existent if the city doesn't stop rising. "Even I can tell the air is getting thin."
Bucky turns to Natasha and Clint. "You two get to the boats and we'll sweep for stragglers." Referring to him, Steve and Ava. The three of them were basically built to get through anything and they can get through with little air. Natasha and Clint however, well, they are human, no matter how good their battle talents are. "We'll be right behind you."
Clint frowns, not liking the idea of leaving the three to do the rest of the work. "What about the core?"
Wanda quickly makes the snap decision, but she knows it's the right one. "I'll protect it," she tells them, refusing them to take that job away from her. She has a lot to make up for and this is a good start towards that redemption she needs. She notices Clint sending her a concerned look, but she sends him a reassuring one back. "It's my job."
Clint sighs but nods anyway. "Nat," he says, getting his best friend's attention. "This way." He gestures through a hole in the wall, letting her know which way they need to go.
As Bucky and Steve start to go the other way, Ava turns to the Maximoff's with a stern look. "You two be careful," she tells them, not wanting anything to happen to either of them. The twins give a nod of promise before Pietro stands beside his sister, ready to help her protect the machine for as long as it takes.
…
Tony is flying towards the bottom of the city, about to initiate the plan in his head. "Boss," Friday interrupts his thoughts. "Power levels are way below-" he interrupts her.
"Reroute everything," he tells her. "We only have one shot at this." He's more than determined to end this once and for all and get everyone out of here safely.
Including them.
…
About ten minutes later, every civilian is on a boat and Steve, Thor, and Ava are together. Bucky is making a quick second round in the area just to be completely sure everyone is out of Sokovia. "Is this the last of them?" Thor questions the Rogers twins the moment the last few people make it onto the hover transporter.
"Yeah," Steve nods, breathing deeper. "Everyone else is on the carrier.
Tony's voice comes through again. "You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away."
"Maybe not," Thor agrees, their chances were slim as it was.
Ava is looking around as they speak and she can't see James anywhere. He must still be looking around and with that thought, she looks between the boys. "I'm gonna go find James," she tells them, starting to walk back. She turns to her brother for a second. "And Steve." Directing her voice to her brother this time. "Get your ass on a boat."
…
Bucky hears a small voice from the side which catches his heightened hearing. He was on his way back towards the Heli carrier when he stops, walking towards the voice he heard. He notices a small boy over to the side with a gash on the side of his head, his skin covered in dirt. He's stuck in a hole, one that was probably caused by an explosion and then the kid fell in at some point.
"Hey," Bucky immediately goes over to the kid and bends down in order to get him out. He's able to pull the boy up and the moment he does, there's a small body clutching onto his upper body. Bucky holds him in his arms tightly; the kid is under seven years old by the looks of it.
After getting a good enough grip on him, he turns around and is ready to head towards the hovers…but something makes him stop dead in his tracks. There's a glider flying in the sky, continuously shooting out and it's heading towards their direction. The thought suddenly occurs to him; he forgot to pick up his shield and it's probably still by the hovers where he left it. He has no barrier and he only has a second to react, he doesn't have enough time to duck for cover because there's none.
So, with a split decision, he makes his choice. He turns around quickly in order to protect the boy from getting hurt and clenches his eyes shut in anticipation.
He waits for the impact to hit.
Except…nothing comes. And the only thing he hears is a loud shift and a startling gasp coming from a woman's mouth.
When his mind processes the fact that no bullets have gone through him…he looks up. And when he does, his whole body shakes with horror at the sight before him. There is a scrunched up car on its side behind him and the boy like it was used as a shield, but that isn't what rips his heart out. Barely standing there is Avery to the side of the car shield and there are several bloody bullet holes through her entire body, but one, in particular, goes right through her chest.
No words come out of either of their mouths until Ava's last words are spoken, her breath a little breathy but slowly dies as they arrive. "I love you." Uttering the three words she hasn't spoken since the day she 'died.'
And, as those finally words are spoken, her eyes roll back and her body falls forwards to the ground.
Her last breath releasing into the thin air.