Riley had been trying to sleep for over an hour now. Her body was exhausted, her eyes were heavy, and yet her mind fought the idea completely. Every time she closed her eyes she had a vision of her mother, the same vision she had been having since Wanda got into her head. It was reminding her of what she was about to head into, what she would be once again up against. But Riley wasn't going to show Wanda any sort of mercy or doubt this time.

There was no way in Hell she was getting back into Riley's head.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Steve asked, his voice jolting Riley's stiff position against the window.

Hey eyes flew open at his words, looking to him with a shrug.

"On top of the world," she answered.

"You've been tapping your foot for twenty minutes," he explained, looking to where her boot was currently knocking continuously against the metal utility box beneath.

Riley hadn't even noticed the sound or the movement, but she could hear the collective sigh from all three on board when she finally ceased.

"Oops," she mumbled quietly, crossing her legs beneath her and stretching out her back with a small wince.

There hadn't been much chatter among the team during their journey, and Riley didn't know if it was because tension was so high thanks to Wanda messing with them all or because Riley had actually made them worry about her involvement in their plans. She wasn't exactly stable or predictable at the moment, and they did have every right to be cautious.

Riley reached down to the almost-empty water bottle and took a few more gulps, wishing the clear liquid was something a lot stronger.

"Nervous?" Steve asked.

"No," she replied immediately, finishing off the water. "I'd kill for a drink, though."

Natasha smirked as she looked over, taking a bite of the apple in her hand while she stretched her legs. Clint's eyes were trained onto the display ahead of them, calculating coordinates and their ETA, but she could see the mirrored smirk on his face too. They didn't seem frightened of her, or threatened in anyway, and Riley found herself somewhat grateful for that.

They hadn't explained much about their plan, in fact they didn't really have one prepared. Their main concern was Dr. Cho, not only her safety but her ability to give Ultron exactly what he wanted. A body, to make him an android, to make him that much more difficult to stop.

"Are you?" Riley asked after a moment, noticing Steve's quiet and blank stare down at the floor.

The soldier's head lifted at Riley's question, looking to her with a small shake of his head.

"Not nervous. Frustrated."

"Well, I can definitely relate to that," she sighed, leaning back against the wall and propping her feet up in front of her.

There was silence between them for a few minutes before Natasha and Clint began chatting quietly among themselves. Riley caught a few words about Clint's house and talk of his kids before she tuned it out, opting instead to look out of the small window by her side. The sun was rising, but it was only just peaking out over the clouds that spread out around them.

It was beautiful and calm and Riley wished she could wake up to the sight every day.

"What are you going to do after all of this?" Steve asked, deciding to keep some conversation going.

Not only did he want to actually understand Riley more, but he had had enough of sitting there with his thoughts. What Wanda had showed him, what she had reminded him of, had been playing out over and over again in his mind. The life he could have had, the life he and Peggy could have had together. He couldn't fixate on it any longer, and the idea of facing Wanda again seemed to be having more of an impact than he would have liked.

"After we stop the lunatic robot and his sidekicks?" Riley asked, turning to him with an amused shake of her head. "It's hard to think past that, actually."

"We'll stop him," Steve assured.

"Yeah, well at the moment it seems like a pipe-dream at best," she sighed. "Not to be pessimistic."

Steve shook his head, folding his arms as he leaned back against the wall opposite her.

"Did you always have such a positive outlook on everything?"

"It's a realistic outlook," she corrected. "And believe it or not, I wasn't always a total asshole."

"You're not a total asshole now," Steve offered.

"But I'm pretty close, right?" she laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe that's what I'll work on when this is all over. But don't hold me to that."

"Being more or less of an asshole?" Clint asked from the front, breaking into the conversation.

Riley smirked, glancing over at the two spies peering back at her.

"Still deciding."

Steve was standing by the back of the jet, putting his earpiece in place and tugging on his cowl. Riley saw the man go from zero to a hundred in seconds of Natasha announcing they were two minutes from the drop zone.

Riley didn't exactly look as professional as she 'suited up'. Unlike Steve, Riley only had to pull on her navy leather jacket, still covered in blood on the inside and still smelling like the whiskey she drowned herself in the night before, and she was ready to go.

"We have to stay low, stay discreet," Steve instructed as Riley moved to stand by his side.

"Discreet? Is that what the costume's for?" she mumbled, folding her arms.

Steve gave her a small glare with a sigh, but otherwise ignored her jab.

"Stay close, we'll be moving fast," he added. "Just keep up."

"Can you keep up with me?" she joked.

"I'm serious,"

"So am I."

"Can you kids cut it with the jabs?" Natasha called back. "You've got thirty seconds to drop,"

They were approaching a roof, one that looked directly out at the building they needed to be at. They were hoping Ultron would be unsuspecting of their presence if he was in fact there, but Riley had a feeling he knew they were coming. They all had that feeling.

Dread.

The door began to fall open on the back of the jet, slowly revealing the drop they would be making. It wasn't too high, but Riley wondered how Steve would manage to land without injuring himself. It was hard to remember this man was not just a soldier, but a super soldier. The world's first and only.

"Alright," Steve began. "Drop in 3, 2, -"

Riley fell into the breeze, falling down onto the roof with an echoing shake throughout the concrete. Her hands were resting by her feet, sending trembles out around her before Steve landed by her side, rolling forward to steady himself. They both remained low and crouched for a moment, scoping their surroundings before they began running. Riley followed behind Steve, wondering how they were meant to make it to that building on these rooftops.

But once Riley saw Steve moving, she realised she had once again managed to forget what he was capable of. The man leapt over the long drops between buildings, hurrying over rooftops and down into alleys to race along the backstreets. Riley stayed closed, following Steve's orders and keeping an eye on every turn and jump he took. They gathered a few looks from the people they passed, but no one stared for too long. They didn't give them time to.

Riley moved every obstacle in their path, flying crates and metal sheets out of their way to clear their route. She was unsure how close they were to the building, but she was trusting Steve to figure that one out. For now, she would just focus on getting through the streets.

"We're a minute out," Steve called back to her. "We'll get through each floor quickly, Cho is on the top-"

"I can get us up there quicker," Riley insisted.

Steve stayed quiet for a moment as they continued their hurried pace, but soon enough he turned slightly to address her once more.

"You sure?"

"As long as you can hang on," she shrugged. "Just tell me when and where,"

They continued running, their speed increasing as they reached an open road. With no cover from buildings, they needed to move as fast as possible to avoid being noticed. When they neared the building, Steve glanced back at Riley and gave a nod that she understood without explanation. Riley moved in front of him, looking up to the clearing they needed to land on, and crouched down to project all of her force into the ground beneath her. With eyes glowing orange and tremors quickly setting in, Riley looked back to Steve and watched his arm reach out to her, wrapping carefully around her waist and securing himself as they launched into the air.

Steve could feel Riley's body shaking, full of so much energy, as they soared up through the air and landed far from gracefully on the floor just outside Cho's main surgery. Steve gathered himself up quickly, rushing inside as he listened for Riley's footsteps following behind.

As soon as Riley walked in through the sliding doors, she could tell Ultron had already stopped by. A few bodies lay around the room, unconscious and injured, in his wake. She could see Steve running ahead of her, his eyes fixed on a limp body in the corner.

"Dr. Cho!" he called, rushing over to the panting woman.

She was bleeding over her chest, her body covered in a sheen of sweat, and her skin growing paler by the second. Her shoulder looked badly injured, and there was blood all over her face. Steve crouched at her side, assessing her injuries, but the woman seemed less concerned for herself at the moment.

"He's uploading himself into the body," she told him, her voice hurried and breathless.

That was nothing they weren't already expecting.

"Where?" Steve asked, eyes wide.

The woman shook her head, unable to even give the answer. She looked confused, dazed, and that's when Riley realised Wanda had gotten to her. Steve's eyes darted around the room, looking to see if the A.I or either of the twins were still here. But Riley was ahead of him, scoping out the rooms attached and searching for any indications.

"The real power is inside the cradle," Dr. Cho explained, refocusing Steve's attention. "The gem...the power inside is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the cradle to Stark,"

The desperation in her voice had Riley concerned. Dr. Cho created the cradle, she knew it's power, and now she was fearful of it. All because it was now in the hands of Ultron. Steve stared back at her, giving a small and unsure nod.

"First, I have to find it."

Cho nodded, looking to Riley.

"Go!"

Steve was up in an instant, pushing Cho's hand toward her shoulder to maintain pressure. The bleeding didn't seem too bad, and medics were already on their way through the building. Riley glanced at the woman as Steve marched toward her to figure out their next move, wondering if Cho looked so bad simply because of Wanda instead of her actual physical injuries.

Wanda had made her do something she didn't want to, something she couldn't control, and it was killing her. Not only did Dr. Cho have broken bones and gashes to attend to, but now she had an immeasurable amount of guilt on her shoulders.

"You guys copy that?" Steve asked, finger pressed to his ear as he spoke to Barton and Romanoff in the jet flying above.

"Yes, we did," Barton assured.

Riley followed Steve out of the building, jumping from ledge to ledge until they made it to the ground. Her eyes were scanning every area around them for the psychotic robot or his two sidekicks, but they were long gone. They knew they were being hunted, and they weren't taking any chances.

"Got a private jet taking off across town. No manifest," Natasha offered. "That could be him."

Barton's eyes scanned the streets, watching Steve and Riley rushing into the traffic beneath the highway, making their way to higher ground.

"There," he called out. "Truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. Three with the cradle, one in the cab. I can take out the driver."

"Negative!" Steve ordered. "If that truck crashed, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron."

They were running on a road just above the truck now, a road the truck was about to drive under, giving them their perfect opportunity. Riley's heart was beating wildly with adrenaline and she knew her eyes would be bright orange when she met Steve's gaze, but she just gave him a nod of assurance.

"I'm with you," she told him.

Steve gave a nod in return, looking over the edge to see the truck approaching before he hurried to the other side, leaping off. Riley following close behind, making sure to land on the roof of the truck just in front of Steve.

Riley felt her hands surging through the vehicle, sending small tremors that she desperately tried to control. Ultron would know it was her, he had to know she would be coming for him. Steve made his way to the back of the truck, climbing down to the back doors and clinging to the bolted locks. But before he had a chance to attempt opening them, Ultron sent a blast outward and sent him flying to the side, desperately gripping the edge of the large metal door.

Riley threw her hand out to him, steadying his body from where she stood and moving the door back to it's original position. But Ultron didn't let up, and soon Steve's body was being thrown up into the air as the back doors were completely blasted off. Steve could see Riley's glowing eyes as she stood on the roof of the vehicle, both arms up toward him as she took over and made sure he didn't hit the ground

It was such an odd sensation. Steve's whole body was in Riley's control, and although he was suspended in the air, he wasn't falling, Riley made sure of that. But Ultron caught on fast. A blast came up through the roof next, knocking Riley's knees to the metal beneath her and breaking her hold on Steve. He fell down to the door hanging off the back of the truck, scraping along the road.

Riley steadied herself, standing back up as she watched Steve cling to the back of the door, but a moment later his body was flung back into the car following behind them, smashing into the windscreen with a pained gasp. Riley reached down and put her hand through the hole that had formed from the blast beneath her feet, gritting her teeth as she peeled back the thick metal roof and revealed Ultron's less-than-happy robotic face.

"Have I mentioned what a waste you're becoming?" he shook his head.

Riley growled down toward him as she dropped through the newly formed opening, standing between the deranged A.I and the cradle containing his new body and the gem that could easily wipe out the city.

"Looking for an upgrade?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the metal man.

"We all need to evolve," he answered. "You seem to be slowly learning that yourself."

"I haven't evolved to full lunatic yet, but believe me, you're pushing it," she bit back.

Ultron watched her carefully, feeling her shake the vehicle with her tremors. She grinned back at him, reaching her hand out in front of her to project the waves of energy down into the cradle, disrupting the upload and all of it's progress. It wasn't enough to crack the cradle, to unleash the gem and it's dangers, but it was enough to piss Ultron off and buy them some more time before the A.I was completely uploaded.

"You're getting on my nerves," Ultron snapped, shooting a beam into Riley's chest.

She stumbled back, feeling blood trickle down her stomach as she looked down at her now-crimson shirt. But she felt no pain, not yet. Her adrenaline was spiking. Ultron sent another blast her way, but this time she countered it with her own, sending the robotic figure out of the vehicle in the same fashion as Steve.

Barton and Romanoff needed to get the cradle, and it was Steve and Riley's job to distract Ultron. But this was quickly becoming a chance for Riley to hurt the A.I, the tear him apart on her own without any sidekicks or team members to get in the way. She was still playing by the rules, she was still holding her end of the deal, but she was going to do this part on her own.

Thanks for continuing to read guys! Sorry for the long wait between updates. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review with any thoughts! x