Hey guys, I am very sorry for updating a bit late but I had some small bad issues with my family and it is deeply personal so I don't want to talk about it. However it has nothing to do with my parents or anything, just some distant relative from my dad's side, that's all. But anyways, I hope you enjoy this boring chapter I had written. And don't worry, Steve and Helen will have cute and fluffy romantic moments in the near future chapters, I promise you ;)
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*Italics - People speaking in Korean
~April 13, 2015~
The whole Avengers team along with the Maximoff twins met for the final meeting in the quinjet right before they left for Sokovia. While Clint finished prepping the jet, the team took their seats as Steve began to spoke out in a serious commanding tone. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for."
The super-soldier looked at each of them as he continued. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out."
His blue eyes trailed towards its direction at the Maximoffs. The plan was for the untrained pair to focus on helping the citizens get out to safety first. It would still be no easy task as Steve watched the twins with concern, Wanda bowed her head down in despondent while Pietro only nodded in determination.
"All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them."
He looked at each and every member of his team as he said firmly. "And we can get the job done. And find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, and we clear the field." The Captain then glances at Vision and said. "Keep the fight between us." The android bowed his head thoughtfully while Steve paused for a moment before looking at Tony. "Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world."
Tony met Steve's eyes, both in mutual understanding between them as the Captain murmured. "This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."
The billionaire nodded, his face set in determination. The team quietly turned away, preparing themselves mentally for the battle that was about to come as the meeting was adjourned when Clint fired up the quinjet. Steve just stood where he stands as his thoughts began to flow through his mind, mainly thinking of what's going to happen on the battle between him and his team against Ultron and the Iron Legions.
But also… silently thinking of Helen.
~o~
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~o~
Once the team arrived, Steve stood on by one of the bridges, helping the Sokovians to hurry themselves out of the city. Wanda was taking care of the other side of the city, influencing her side to walk calmly out. On Steve's side, the citizens were panicking a little more but the police force that Pietro had alerted moved about to help the Captain to keep ordering amongst those who are alarmed.
Meanwhile, Thor and Bruce had gone to the hidden labs in Strucker's old base, the Norse God had to search for the Vibranium while the scientist had to search for Natasha to rescue her. Tony, on the other hand, was looking for Ultron and Clint had just disappeared into the city amongst the roofs. Steve guessed that the Archer would probably keep close to the female Maximoff, since it was likely Wanda would be in the center of the living quarters in order to reach as many civilians as possible.
Vision was combing the city for any civilians while Pietro will join him soon. Steve moved about, just to help the civilians while continually scanning the area, waiting. It would only be a matter of time before the Iron Legions that Ultron has controlled will be coming after them.
The sun was slowly beginning to rise when Steve tensed as he spotted a movement around the edges of the city. Small figures began to climb out of the rivers and bursting out of the rocks and roads, heading up towards the city. He saw it was hundreds of Ultron's robots as he tries to led the people quickly off the bridge before they took the skies and began to zoom about, firing into the streets.
"Go!" He yelled out at the people urgently.
A robot landed with a crash onto a car behind Steve and began blasting at him as he quickly used his shield to take it out before more robots began landing on the bridge. The super-soldier draws Ultron's robots to the bridge and keeping them engaged and away from the civilians when Tony activated his comms and called out. "FRIDAY! The Vision?"
"Boss, it's working." His new AI, FRIDAY replied before continued. "He's burning Ultron out of the net, he won't escape through there."
'Thank God, at least that's good news.' Steve thought briefly before whacking his shield hard into the robot with a grunt, sharply cutting it in half as he split its power source beyond repair. He grabbed his shield and smashed it towards the robot's head when suddenly there was an almighty crack, and a deep rumble before the whole city began to shake.
Steve staggered about, trying to keep his balance as the ground shook violently, almost like an earthquake. The rumbling continued and the Captain looked over in horror as he continued to fight the robots, to see the bridge cracking down the middle then it slowly lifted up, leaving the other half below as he ran towards the robot in front of him and smashed it before he tossed it over the edge.
He stared down in shock as the ground literally lifted off, leaving the outskirts of the city below while the rest rose into the air. Steve's breathed heavily with his eyes widened at the sight he was seeing as he heard Tony asked quietly. "FRIDAY?"
"Sokovia's going for a ride." FRIDAY replied in a sullen tone.
More robots began flying in on the Captain as he started to fight them off, Ultron began to speak to all the Avengers through each of the robots. "Do you see? The beauty of it, the inevitability. You rise, only to fall."
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in anger before trying to slam the robot with his shield that was speaking but the one behind just continued for Ultron. "You Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and earth will crack with the weight of your failure."
Steve killed the last robot again but Ultron's ominous voice continued from all parts of the city as his robots flew about. "Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me."
The Captain looked down, filled with worry as he heard the maniac android again. "It means nothing. When the dust settles." Steve lifted his arms, punching an approached robot without even looking back. "The only thing living in this world will be metal."
"Oh my God." Steve muttered in shock as the city continued to rise slowly when he heard Tony asked his AI. "FRIDAY?"
FRIDAY explained to them both. "The Vibranium core has a got a magnetic field, that's what's keep the rock together."
"If it drops?" Tony asked again urgently.
"Right now the impact would kill thousands." The AI replied. "Once it gets high enough. GLOBAL EXTINCTION."
"This does not sound good." Steve murmured with a small sigh when suddenly a robot whacked into him then tackled him before sending him flying backwards and crashing onto the hood of an abandoned car as Tony called out sharply. "Cap, you got incoming."
"Incoming already came in." The captain groaned as he got up off the car before glancing in alarm and sighed in relief then ordered his team. "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."
Steve's eyebrows furrowed in determination as he whirled around to throw his shield at the robot in front of him then fights it off with his bare hands. Suddenly, he hears a mighty roar sounded throughout the city as he smirked grimly when the Hulk had joined in the fight. Natasha was probably around somewhere then, and while he was a little worried for the redheaded spy – as he was for everyone else, they really needed all the help they could get.
As though to prove his point, Steve smashed the robot that had been trying to sneak up on him then kicked it hard with his foot furiously.
~o~
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The Captain had slowly made their way across the edge of the flying city as he fought, ending up near another broken bridge that would've led to the city outskirts. Steve smashed the robot with his shield when a scream from the bridge made him turn sharply as he ran for the bridge, dashing his way towards the sound. He quickly spotted the red convertible at the very edge of the bridge, a woman sitting in the driver's seat.
She'd been apparently stuck by a fallen piece of debris on the car hood, trapping her legs, and she was screaming in bloody murder as the car began to tip over the crumbling edge. Steve ran quickly and just managed to grab the rear bumper of the car as it tipped over the edge.
He groaned with his teeth gritted as he tried to pull the car back up, when the bumper broke off. He threw the bumper aside, leaning down in horror as he saw the red convertible and another green SUV fall down off the edge of the flying city. Steve watched helplessly, thinking that he failed to save the citizens until he spotted a familiar red cape flying up, causing the Captain to sigh in relief.
Thor passed the falling cars before he realized what was happening and quickly whipped around and back down. The woman was screaming in fear, her legs now free but nowhere to go as her car fell nose-first towards the Earth. The Norse God flew beside her but he turned incredulously as he heard the male voices screaming.
He saw the two men in the front seats of the SUV, and he almost sighed at this when he quickly landed on the back of the convertible, reaching down for the woman as she lifted her arms. Thor grabbed her and quickly glanced back up at the bridge to see Steve there, who was ready to catch the female sokovian.
Thor hauled the woman out of her seat and then threw her up in the air. She screamed in absolute terror as she went shooting up towards the bridge, and Steve jumped off the edge of the bridge. He hung onto a ledge on the lower part of the broken bridge with one hand and reached down with his other to catch the woman.
She groaned in slight pain, although her screaming stopped as Steve called out reassuringly. "I got you!"
The woman cried in fear as she looked down at the Earth miles below, and the Captain again reassured her. "Just look at me!"
Steve grunted as he heaved himself up, letting go of the bridge to grab a spot higher and closer to the top of the bridge. The woman then begins to use her other hand to climb up with his assistance as he hauled her up, bringing her safely against his chest before hoisted the woman up. The woman reached up to grab the broken cemented rubble and pulled herself up safely onto the bridge. A lone robot flew down onto the bridge, running to charge at the defenseless woman as it snarled in Ultron's voice. "You can't save them all."
The Captain's shield came flying over the edge of the bridge, whacking into the robot and wedging itself into its chest as he pulled himself onto the bridge. He landed on his feet right before the robot began to mock him.
"You'll never—" But was cut off when Steve activated the magnets built into the arm of his suit. The shield came flying back towards his right arm, dragging the robot with it and he spun then whacked the robot and smashed its head with his shield as it attached back onto his harm.
"You'll never what?" Steve quipped as the force of his hit sent the robot remains over the edge of the bridge then shouted out after the robot. "You didn't finish!"
Suddenly an SUV landed on the bridge at that moment with a heavy thud as Thor landed on top of the SUV's car roof when Steve turned around to look at the Norse God.
Thor hopped off the roof, and Steve walked beside him then joked at his blonde headed friend as the two headed back towards the city. "What, were you napping?"
The two men didn't hear or notice the sokovian men climbing out of the SUV and hurled.
~o~
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~o~
The Captain and the Norse God's friendly banter was long gone a few short moments later as they fight against another group of robots. Natasha had found them and joined in as the redheaded agent stabbed at the robots furiously, armed with pulse batons. Trying to avoid the laser fire as more robots continued to fly in, shooting carelessly around in the general direction of the Avengers.
Thor and Steve were working together to take down as many of the airborne robots as possible as they can. The super-soldier throws his shield and the God whacked his Mjonir as Steve leaped towards his shield after his most recent throw, he landed beside Thor. The two exchanged quick looks and then the Captain threw up his shield for his Norse God companion who whacked it with his hammer, sending the shield smashing through an entire line of robots, cutting them all in half if not smashing them completely from the force of the momentum behind the blow. Steve ran after his shield again as it wedged into a car at the end of its rampage, punching and kicking any robots he encountered along the way into pieces.
Thor flew himself up into the sky once more, taking on a whole group of robots. He flew right into the center and spun around to hit all of them with his Mjonir. One of his targets was sent crashing back onto the ground, hitting an oil truck and causing an explosion that effectively took out another ten robots.
Steve ducked behind a car to avoid the heat of the explosion before he leaped out on the opposite side to enter the fray once more as Ultron suddenly swooped in, tackling Thor and the two flew off, wrestling through the air. The super-soldier swung his shield to smash an approaching robot when he hears Clint called out over the comms.
"Alright, we're all clear here."
The Captain bit out in slight annoyance as he punched a robot with his shield and yelled out. "We are not clear! We are very not clear!"
He grunted as he punched the robot again, harder, to wedge his shield into it. He then jumped and kicked his shield, smashing it through the robot and killing its power completely at last.
"Alright, coming to you." Clint sighed tiredly over the comms.
Steve tries to save his energy and contented himself with throwing his shield into the robot's neck, decapitating it when he heard Natasha cried out and spotted her, struggling against the four robots. The redheaded spy whacked one of them before the Captain yelled out to her.
"Romanoff!" He threw his shield, wedging it into one of the robots' armor right in its weak spot and causing it to power down as Steve came running over when Natasha called out to him. "Thanks."
Natasha hit another robot with her pulse batons before grabbing Steve's shield, using it to block the laser fire from the remaining robot, and she crouched low as the two robots landed around her. She used the shield to block their attacks as Steve ran up towards her. The redheaded spy dodged another attack and tossed the shield up before Steve jumped and caught it then smashed onto the remaining robot as he landed.
The two quickly checked that all immediate danger was cleared before they relaxed fractionally. Steve scanned the area one more time while Natasha did the same on the other side. The Captain and the Spy exchange looks before they moved away once more, splitting up slightly to check on the civilians and help any who hadn't yet made it cover to get inside nearby buildings. Steve kept on checking the skies and helped the last woman inside then called out into the comms. "The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?"
"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 quietly.
Steve shortly sighed before saying. "I asked for a solution, not an escape plan." He walked out into the open ground once more then stopped by the edge of the street, looking out into the sky as the city continued to fly higher.
"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. " Tony replied softly, who didn't sound any happier as he told Steve grimly. "We're going to have to make a choice."
Natasha joined in beside Steve as she pointed out. "Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock—"
"Not 'til everyone's safe." He said tensely.
She threw an incredulous look then asked skeptically. "Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."
"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it." Steve answered firmly.
"I didn't say we should leave." Natasha replied quietly.
Steve glanced at her sharply as she added. "There are worse ways to go."
His eyes then slightly softened before averting down. His expression was clearly torn between his firm belief and the sudden fear of not telling Helen his feelings for her, the anxiety increases as he begins to think of her again. It seems that this is the end of him indeed, he solemnly thought. At least Helen was safe from harm and he was honestly glad for it, even though she will never know of his confession towards her.
Natasha gestured at the sky around them, and she turned to look. She hadn't had the time or really thought to appreciate the beauty despite the grim circumstances. The skies were bright blue with hints of pink and yellow from the morning sun as Natasha murmured. "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"
Suddenly, they both heard Fury's voice came over the comms. "Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better."
Steve turns to look in front, searching where the former director is as their jaws just dropped slightly and eyes widened a bit as the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier appeared, flying up out of the clouds. The Captain's breath caught in a stop as Fury said smugly. "Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty but she'll do."
"Fury, you son of a bitch." Steve said flatly but with a hint of a smile was tugging at his lips.
Natasha grinned in amusement as Fury teased. "Oooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
Suddenly another voice was called out, revealing it to be Maria Hill. "Altitude is eighteen thousand and climbing."
"Lifeboats secure to deploy." Another voice called and Natasha was surprised to hear it was Specialist Cameron Klein, an agent she didn't know very well though held respect for him after the events at the Triskelion last year. "Disengage in three, two… take 'em out."
Steve smiled as they saw the lifeboats fly off the Helicarrier and towards the city. There was the sound of rushing wind as he glanced over to see Pietro had come over to stare in amazement then looked into the upcoming lifeboats. The Maximoff male twin asked the Captain in awe. "This is SHIELD?"
"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be." Steve confirmed.
Pietro slightly nodded in approval as he grinned and conceded. "This is not so bad."
Steve smiled at his reply, somehow feeling a closer kinship to the new team member. 'Maybe this boy is not so bad after all.' He thought before called out the rest of his team over the comms. "Let's load 'em up."
The three moved away and separate themselves to help the civilians when Steve heard Fury called out to him over the comms.
"Oh, and uh Captain Rogers. I'm here to inform you that Doctor Cho and her remaining crew are here to treat the civilians who are injured, just so you know."
He stopped his pace when Fury mentions her name and can't help but smile a bit at the information he had just heard. 'Helen is here.' He thought in content and it seems this isn't the end for him after all. Maybe once the battle is completely over, he will go straight to her and tell this woman… that he fell in love with her…
Yes, Steve Rogers is seriously and utterly in love with Helen Cho…
~o~
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~o~
"Is everything ready?"
Helen Cho asked one of her remaining employees while walking through the hallway looking so determined than before, willing to help the people of Sokovia who are injured and in need of help as she hears one of them replied.
"Yes, Dr. Cho."
"Excellent, we first need to bring in the ones who are mortally wounded and tend them before the ones with minor injuries. Are we clear?" She turns her head to her side, waiting for her employees' reply and within less than a second, her loyal workers all said calmly.
"Yes, Doctor."
The Korean geneticist nodded sharply before faces in front to see they are all approaching the main room of the helicarrier where she saw Nick Fury usually standing there in the bridge control center. She gestures her employees to stay where they are at the entrance door then walked towards him before Fury turns around to face with a serious expression and asked her.
"Anything prepared for medical assistance?"
"Yes, Mr. Fury."
Fury nodded in approval. "Good. Very good." He then continues to tell Helen. "And also, I informed Captain Rogers about you coming here for medical help."
Helen's body stiffened a bit when the former director mentioned his name and telling him about her sudden arrival. She immediately remained calm and professional in front of him while Fury eyed her expression and gesture, deeply observing the Korean doctor.
"I see." She nodded slightly, trying to show him her usual expression.
"Alright then." He then turns around sharply and faced in front of the large view with his hands behind his back.
Helen was about to move away when she heard Fury spoke out in a slight amusement tone.
"And don't worry, Dr. Cho… I didn't tell the Captain about your special feelings for him."
Her eyes widened at the words he spoke about. 'What? How does he know about that?' She thought in confusion yet also surprised. Helen lowers her head in deep embarrassment and felt her cheeks growing red because of this. She can feel the former director smirked in amusement.
Knowing a little of this man's history being a former head of SHIELD and his quick on observing people, she thought in slight annoyance. 'Damn his spy skills.'
Helen didn't say a word as her thoughts began to deepen. Ever since she had completely shut Steve off in front of her, two times to be exact. One was at the elevator and the other, at the video call. Day by day, she felt completely guilty for shutting him out. And the reason for this it's not just because she wants to keep on denying her feelings for the Captain…
It's because she is undeniably afraid that he would never feel the same way as hers if she confesses to him.
Yes, it is true. Helen may not experience love in her teenage years but she has seen many of her classmates and a few of her friends at school who are in a romantic relationship got broken off horribly, and it really terrified her to get herself to be heartbroken if her relationship with a man no longer had felt love towards her.
No matter how much she wanted to tell Steve that she undeniably fell in love with him, she honestly didn't have the courage to do so.
OMG! You have no idea how much I wanted to make these two confess to each other quickly and make out so badly but I really have to be patient, so yeah ❤️!
Luckily for you guys, I will be updating the next chapter tomorrow ;)
Yup! That's right, tomorrow. Just to make it up for you guys on the long wait.
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See you soon for the next chapter ;)
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