Martha didn't have time to fully digest what was happening around her. She just had two prevailing thoughts, survive and protect. "You need to get somewhere safe," she quickly told Tish.

"And leave you? Not bloody likely."

"I'll be fine," Martha insisted. "Take Bruce and run. We don't need him hulking out." She didn't know if Bruce was ultimately the man Tish had chosen, but either way she knew that her sister would be better off with him than anywhere else. Bruce would go green before he'd let anything happen to Tish. Martha also had a feeling that if the Hulk did emerge, Tish could be the key to soothing the beast.

Tish pursed her lips but nodded. "Alright." Martha kept her eyes on her sister long enough to see her take Bruce by the hand and head for safety. "Don't turn green," Tish begged with a pant.

"I won't," Bruce promised just before they ran out of earshot.

The exchange with Tish had taken less than a minute and in the meantime outright chaos had ensued all around Martha. Sentries were attacking from all directions with Steve and the others fighting them off at every turn. Martha armed herself with a splintered bit of wood that used to be part of Tony's coffee table and batted away her metal attackers whenever they got too close.

She saw a sentry advancing on Helen, who was crouched behind the piano. Despite the fact that it wasn't actively attacking Dr. Cho, it still showed a keen interest in her. Before Martha could get to Helen, Steve had grabbed it and Thor took it down with his hammer.

Steve briefly met Martha's eyes. "I'm fine," she insisted before he could ask. "Go." He pursed his lips and gave a curt nod before getting back into the fray. "You alright?" Martha asked Helen as she knelt beside her.

"I think so," Helen answered. The sentry hadn't hurt her but she was clearly unnerved by the situation.

Once the threat had been dealt with, Martha instantly flew into doctor mode and began assessing the physical damage. Though Maria had glass embedded in her foot, the majority the injuries consisted of minor cuts and bruises. Tish and Bruce had managed to escape unscathed and Steve was more concerned with Martha's wellbeing than his own.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing has changed in the last five seconds," she assured him with a quiet sigh.

"Physically maybe, but killer robots? Are you sure you're not—"

"Thinking about Cybermen?" Martha guessed. It was true that Ultron and the rogue sentries had momentarily reminded her of that other silver nightmare. The only difference was that while the Cybermen wanted to convert humanity by deleting their emotions, Ultron sought to eradicate them outright. "It's not the same," she said. "But I think UNIT needs to know about Ultron. Maybe our past experience with Cybermen could be put to good use."

"Are you going now?" Steve asked.

"The sooner we can resolve this the better, don't you think?"

Steve nodded. "Yea. But just be safe, alright?"

"You're telling me to be safe?" she teased.

"I'm being serious." Steve cupped her face between his hands. "We still don't know exactly what we're dealing with here."

Martha leaned into his palm. "As you wish."

"I love you too," Steve told her with a weak smile.

Martha stole a quick kiss then rushed off back to their flat to change before heading over to UNIT headquarters. Kate was back in London, but Martha left word for her to contact her as soon as possible.

Martha and Steve didn't see much of each other during the next twenty-four hours. Most of her time was spent with UNIT trying to coordinate their efforts with Rhodey's contacts in the military. Steve was kept busy by the Avengers attempts to track Ultron and determine his next move. Their search ultimately led them to South Africa. Communication wasn't easy to come by, but soon the entire world knew what was going on.

"Are you bloody seeing this?" Tish asked, sounding more than a little shaken.

"Yea," Martha muttered softly. It was unbelievable, but the footage was hard to refute. The Hulk's rampage in a crowded civilian area of Johannesburg was world news and it had been playing nonstop since the story broke. Tish had been on edge ever since. Martha secretly wondered if it was because of the unresolved romantic issues still hanging over her head, but Tish insisted that her agitation was a direct result of being tasked to deal with the media fallout of this latest debacle.

"How in the hell am I supposed to spin this?" she demanded of Maria, who so far had been the only one in contact with the Avengers. "Everyone is going to think Bruce is a monster. That is if they didn't already."

"I have no idea," Maria answered candidly. "But this is the job you were hired for so I'd advise you to think of something fast."

"No, I was hired to do public relations for Stark Industries," Tish shot back. "This is way above my paygrade!"

"Well congratulations," Maria said. "You've just been promoted to media liaison for the Avengers. I'd keep my phone handy if I were you."

No sooner than the words left Maria's mouth did Tish's phone began to ring. Tish cut her eyes at Maria before taking what would be the first of many calls.

"Maria," Martha called out as she pulled the other woman aside just before she could rush off to put out another fire. "I know you said they're all fine but…did Steve…"

"He said for you not to worry and to stay safe," Maria replied gently. To her credit, she didn't seem as annoyed or put out as she could have been about having to give romantic updates in the middle of a crisis.

Martha nodded quickly and a small bit of the tension she felt melted away. "If you speak with him again, please tell him…" She paused to find the right words. "Just tell him I said…'as you wish.'"

Martha spent the next day and a half and a constant state of anxiety, which was only exacerbated by the news of yet another international incident. This time it was in Seoul and the conflict originated at the U-GIN Genetic Research Facility. Not long after, Clint returned to the Tower with Dr. Cho's synthetic tissue generating device. Suddenly, Ultron's interest in Helen made a lot more sense.

Slowly, the Avengers returned to the Tower, minus Natasha and plus two tenuous new allies. Martha cast a wary glance at the Maximoff twins as she and Steve enjoyed a brief reunion. "They look so young to be drawn into the middle of all this."

"They're just kids," Steve agreed. "A bunch of misguided kids. Strucker exploited their fear and Ultron fueled their anger."

"And anger leads to hate. And hate leads to suffering," Martha said.

Steve responded with his usual half smile. "I understood that reference."

"Told you that Star Wars marathon would pay off," she joked.

Steve laughed softly. "You were right." He slipped his hand behind her neck and caressed her nape tenderly. "You always are," he said while staring into her eyes. It was obvious that there was so much he wanted to say and yet he didn't seemed to know where to start.

"How do you feel about eloping?" Martha asked suddenly.

Steve's eyebrows shot upward. "I feel like you mother would kill us," he answered seriously.

Martha scrunched her nose. "Well at this rate she'd probably have to get in line, wouldn't she?" she quipped.

The corner of his mouth turned upward. "Are you that eager to marry me?"

"Yes." Martha looped her arms around his waist. "And you promised me a future together. So you better go save it."

Steve tilted her head backward kissed and her deeply. "I love you," he said against her lips.

"I know," she replied, referencing Star Wars again.