Chapter Five
Emma is standing in the corner of an empty room with plain white walls staring at her. Confusion quells up within her and she looks around slowly in caution.
Is she dreaming? This scenario seems so surreal but it certainly doesn't feel like a dream.
"Where am I?" wonders Emma aloud.
"Emma?" a velvety voice calls out in a deep accent, ringing its pronunciation with a slurred tone.
Turning around to face the source of the voice, Emma takes off in a sprint as her face breaks out into a huge smile.
"Pietro!" cries Emma excitedly as she engulfs the silver haired man in a bear crushing hug.
Pietro wraps his arms around her instantly and returns her embrace in silence, their bodies moulding together automatically as they stand still in the middle of the room.
"Am I dreaming?" breathes out Emma in disbelief as she brushes the chiselled cheekbones of her boyfriend gently with her fingers - the pads of her thumb trailing along the stubble on his jaw.
Pietro's deep blue eyes gaze into hers with deep affection and he laces his fingers with one of Emma's hands before lifting their intertwined hands up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of hers.
Her hand tingles at the spot where Pietro's lips just touched but it is still hard to comprehend the fact that he is here with her right now when the event that took place hours earlier are still fresh on her mind.
Pietro closes his eyes briefly and Emma watches as his eyelashes brush against his smooth skin before fluttering open to reveal those deep blue orbs she'd come to love so dearly.
"You are dreaming, yes," says Pietro in a serious tone, "but everything happening now is real."
"How?" wonders Emma, curious.
"Wanda," answers Pietro with a small smirk that does not reach his concern filled eyes. "When I returned to find you, you were gone. I knew Stark must have found you. I was worried. But my sister found a way for me to speak to you in dreams with her gift so I did not hesitate."
"Right," murmured Emma. "Wanda has the gift of mental manipulation."
"Yes," agrees Pietro as he gazes around the white room they are standing in. Emma follows his eyes and sees how the walls are beginning to flicker back and forth.
"What's going on?" asks Emma shakily as she grips Pietro's hands even tighter, afraid he would disappear right before her eyes.
Pietro's eyes harden. "We do not have much time left. You must be waking up in the real world."
How is that possible? It didn't feel like they spent more than a mere few minutes in this dream world. Why was it ending so soon?
"What - " begins Emma before she is cut off by Pietro placing a finger to her lips to interrupt her.
"Do you remember what I told you before I left this morning?"
Emma's eyes widen before she feels her face heat up slightly. "Yes."
Upon hearing her reply, Pietro leans forward to brush his lips against Emma's gently before pulling away too soon for her liking.
"My feelings have not changed, Emma. I love you," says Pietro softly as he strokes the sides of Emma's cheeks with his fingertips tenderly. "And I want you to be safe. Hold on for me, my love, I will come soon."
Emma flutters her eyelids in a daze as she smiles up at Pietro. Her breath catches in her throat as she marvels at the magnitude of his beauty.
"Oh, Pietro, I love you too," confesses Emma as she leans into Pietro's touch. "I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier but I do, I love you so much, much more than words can say."
"And you don't have to worry," she continues in assurance, " – the Avengers have been nothing but nice to me so far. Stark even said he'd help me find you."
Pietro chuckles darkly and his eyes harden.
"It is a lie, my love, you cannot trust them," refutes Pietro with a shake of his head. "They are using you to get to us. Once they find us, they will dispose of you because they no longer have use for you."
"I - " say Emma as she attempts to speak but Pietro does not let her and continues instead.
"You may think Stark is trying to help you but he does nothing but destroy," spits out Pietro angrily. "He is selfish and he only thinks of himself. He cannot be trusted."
After Pietro finishes speaking, Emma opens her mouth to reply but is pushed to the ground by a sudden jerk. Her eyes search the room and she finds the entire place engulfed in a huge tremor – the walls vibrating mercilessly.
Their joined hands break apart and Emma tries valiantly to get to her feet amongst the immense shakiness but fails miserably with a slump to the ground.
Pietro tries to do the same but his attempts only result in him getting pushed further and further away from Emma.
They both know what this means.
Emma is waking up in the real world.
And she can only stare helplessly in her dream at the dissipating view of her boyfriend mouthing the words 'I love you' to her as his figure slowly fades away. She makes out Pietro's final words of 'Don't trust Stark' before he is gone.
She is alone.
And she tries to shout but is thrown to the wall of the room by a tremendous force.
She hits the concrete with a sickening crack.
And her eyes fly open with a loud gasp.
Emma feels the cool surface of the metal floor around her and a sharp pain on the left side of her body in disorientation. Her eyes take time to adjust to the sudden bright light turning on in her surroundings before realization seeps in that she is on the floor of Stark's guest room.
Emma must have fallen off her bed while sleeping.
Her head is throbbing but she manages to climb back onto the soft mattress of her bed and lays there for a while, deep in thought.
She recalls the dream she had minutes before and knows that it is real. The after taste of Pietro's lips upon hers still lingers on her own and her hand is still tingling from where he kissed it.
Apprehension seeps into her bones as her memory of Pietro's last words to her flashes through her mind. Don't trust Stark, he said. Emma could tell he meant it and although she never judged people until she met them, she finds herself even more wary of Tony Stark.
An array of emotions floods her body but confusion dominates her senses.
Sighing loudly, Emma turns her head to her side in an attempt to distract herself from thoughts of Pietro and lifts up the clock on her bedside table up to look at the time.
11:34 pm
Emma has slept for 4 hours.
She rubs her eyes tiredly and swings her legs over the bed to get to her feet.
Initially, she stumbles but manages to grab hold of the headboard of her bed to steady herself. But when she takes her first step, a male automated voice echoes loudly throughout the room.
"Greetings, miss Ezekiel. I am Jarvis, Mr Stark's artificial intelligence. I was informed to let you know that the Avengers, along with Ms Cho and Ms Hill, are currently gathered in Mr Stark's private lounge on the sixtieth floor. And Mr Stark requests for you to join them once you have risen from your slumber," says the male voice pleasantly.
Emma blinks furiously a few times before realization dawns upon her. "Right, thanks erm - Jarvis, I'll get there as soon as I can but I could really use a shower right now. Do you, by any chance, know where I can borrow some clean clothes and towels to shower?"
"The outfit Ms Romanov has prepared for you is in the wardrobe to your right and the towel you need is on the rack in the bathroom, Ms Ezekiel. Shall I inform Mr Stark about your awakening?" requests Jarvis politely.
Emma hesitates a little before nodding her head. But when she receives no response, she mentally berates herself for forgetting who she is talking to. It is weird for her to talk to a technological system when she feels like she is talking to thin air. But Emma takes everything in her stride.
"Yes, please," says Emma again, awkwardly.
Jarvis doesn't respond immediately, making Emma believe that she did something wrong. However, her worries are dispelled a few seconds later when the familiar voice resonates throughout the room once more.
"Mr Stark wishes me to tell you, and I quote, 'to get your ass down in twenty minutes or risk facing the wrath of the big guy.' And he also advices you to look presentable," says Jarvis, earning a chuckle from Emma at Stark's crude words.
Knowing that Tony means business, Emma heads to the bathroom immediately with no time to waste.
Fifteen minutes later, Emma finds herself hesitating right outside the lift lobby of Stark's private lounge.
She is wearing a short black strapless dress that ends around mid-thigh and her brown hair flows down her back in natural waves with added volume after she had blown dry it.
Apart from this, her face is free of any make-up apart from a light coloured lip gloss. It is not because she didn't want to apply make-up but rather, the exact opposite – Emma doesn't know how to. Living on the run in Sokovia never gave her the need to dress up or doll up her face.
But now that she is in America, Emma is surrounded by countless beautiful women dressed to the nines. Shame overwhelms her at her cluelessness and she feels like a beached whale next to these other women.
It isn't long before Emma finds her thoughts spiralling down a dark path.
Why is Pietro with her when he can be with other girls – other prettier girls?
She feels very much out of place and this minor private event Stark invited her to reinforces this. If Natasha hadn't picked out an outfit for her to wear, Emma would probably have turned up in jeans because she knows next to nothing about attending social events.
As Emma observes the rest of the Avengers talking and drinking away merrily, she makes eye contact with Thor whose face breaks out into a big grin upon seeing her.
"Lady Emma!" hollers Thor loudly as he beckons her over with a friendly wave.
The other Avengers, who were all drinking and chatting merrily along with an Asian woman – whom Emma assumes is Helen Cho, and two tanned skin guys – whom she does not recognise, look up and glance in her direction.
Gulping, Emma inhales a deep breath and makes her way over to where they are seated in nervousness. Her stomach is in knots but she tries to keep a smooth face. She doesn't know why, but she finds herself yearning for their approval and this fact aggravates her.
Emma comes to a stop in front of the glass table and blushes when Tony lets out a wolf whistle.
"You clean up well, short stuff," compliments Tony as he gestures for her to sit next to Natasha.
"Thank you," murmurs Emma shyly as she fidgets slightly in her place next to the intimidating assassin.
"Relax, "says Natasha without looking at her as though she can read Emma's mind. "We don't bite tonight."
Unsure of what to respond, Emma is eternally grateful when Tony speaks up to introduce Sam Wilson, Rhodey and Helen Cho to her. She smiles politely at the two guys and Helen before relaxing her tense shoulders while leaning back into the sofa as conversation resumes around her.
Their act of normalcy warms her heart because as small as their actions might have been, she knows it is their way of letting her know she is accepted here. Also, much to her surprise, Natasha wordlessly hands her a champagne glass to which she accepts graciously with a small smile.
A peace offering, Emma realises. Maybe the Black Widow wasn't so bad after all.
As the night passes on, Emma is perfectly content with listening instead of contributing to the conversation. She prefers it like this. After all, Pietro did always say she was his best listening ear. And as time ticks by, the level of intoxication amongst the males grows and it isn't long before they are bantering about random things with Emma watching on in amusement.
Their current subject of argument is Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. And Emma listens attentively to their conversation in bewilderment, curious about an object intrinsic to her roots.
"It's a trick," insists Clint as he gestures to Thor's hammer resting on top of the glass table. "I call bullshit."
Thor chuckles deeply and shakes his head in disagreement. "Oh no, it's much more than that, my friend," says Thor seriously in his deep husky voice.
"He who shall ever be worthy shall haveth the power of Thor," mocks Clint in a phony lacklustre imitation of Thor, earning huge laughs from everyone else in the room. Even Emma, who was more than content to watch the Avengers converse, fails to hold back her giggle.
Clint rolls his eyes and reverts back to his usual tone of voice. "Whatever man, this is a trick."
Thor quirks his lips and smirks in amusement before he gestures towards the hammer.
"Please, be my guest," he says with a knowing grin etched on his face, no doubt a result from the certainty that none of his friends would ever be able to lift Mjolnir even by a mere inch.
Clint's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"
"Of course," replies Thor encouragingly with a smirk. But Emma sees through Thor's words – she knows he doesn't believe Clint will be able to lift it. And she is intrigued to see what follows.
"Come on," hurries Tony with a smirk as he points to the hammer.
"This is going to be beautiful," chuckles Rhodey as Clint squares his chest and walks to the hammer.
As Clint wraps his fingers around Mjolnir, Tony can't hold back a sarcastic remark.
"Now, Clint," begins Tony with a smirk, "You've had a rough week, so we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up."
"Very funny," retorts a slightly intoxicated Clint.
"He's going to fail," murmurs Emma as she recalls the stories she read in Norse Mythology.
Natasha hears Emma's soft voice and glances at her out of the corner of her eye and gives her a small nod of agreement. "Let him have his fun," she says. "He knows it's not going to work."
"I've seen this before," says Clint, as though he is trying to convince himself more so than the others, right before he attempts to lift the hammer with determination in his eyes.
He pulls with all his might but the hammer doesn't budge. Not giving up just yet, Clint moves to another position and tries his best to get Mjolnir to move the slightest inch but all it does is strain his muscles.
Finally, Clint concedes defeat and backs away with a frown.
"I still don't know how you do this," he mutters to Thor.
Amusement clouds everyone's faces but nobody says a word until Tony speaks up.
Tony smirks. "Smell the silent judgement."
Rolling his eyes, Clint gestures towards Mjolnir with a raised brow in challenge. "Please Stark, by all means."
Puffing out his chest like a proud peacock, Tony saunters over to where Clint is standing as if he truly believes he will be able to lift the hammer from the table it rests upon. Tony is not one to back away from a challenge, even if he knows it is a lost cause. And Emma frowns at that fact.
Stark is too stubborn. And his pride hinders his thinking. She knows it will be his possible downfall, but she just doesn't know when. Little does she know how soon that time will come.
"Oh no," Maria Hill says, cringing slightly. "It's going to get ugly."
Tony waves her off. "Please, you know I'm not one to shrink away from an honest challenge."
"You're going to crash and burn, Stark," chides Clint, taking a jab at Tony's ego.
"Meh," retorts Tony. "It's physics."
As soon as Tony is done speaking, he loops the leather strap of Mjolnir onto his wrist and grasps the handle of it tightly as though the task ahead was going to be easy as pie.
"So if I lift it, do I get to rule all of Asgard?" clarifies Tony.
"Yes, of course," acquiesces Thor with a straight face.
Tony's eyes brighten up instantly as he replies, "I will be fair, but firmly cruel."
This earns a scoff from everyone in the room and Natasha rolls her eyes, knowing Tony will be anything but a fair leader. "Oh please," remarks Maria Hill. "I very much doubt it."
Instead of paying the other people in his lounge any attention, Tony focuses on the task at hand as he braces himself to lift the hammer.
"I will be reinstituting Prima Nocta," says Tony as his last words right before he attempts to lift Mjolnir.
As soon as he starts, he stops with a groan of pain and strain. Then he proceeds to lift the hammer again from different angles but to no avail. However he wrings or pulls the strap and handle, Mjolnir doesn't budge at all.
Finally, Tony lets go of the handle and looks at it with determination etched onto his face.
"I'll be right back," says Tony before he rushes out of the lounge for a moment.
Emma lifts a brow in curiosity at Tony's dissipating figure and glances at the others in question.
"Knowing Stark, he's probably gone to find something technical to help him pull this shit," says Clint as he takes a swig of his beer.
"Ooh Steve he said a bad language word!" exclaims Maria Hill teasingly, earning a frustrated growl from Captain America, who otherwise does not reply.
"Fifty bucks says he went to get his detachable Ironman arm," says Clint.
Natasha's lips quirk slightly as she sips her cocktail. "A hundred says he went to get two."
"You're on," agrees Clint as he leans his back against the sofa in wait for Tony.
Emma stays silent the whole time but it isn't awkward for her at all because she notices that Helen Cho and Bruce rarely speak up as well so she feels perfectly fine not doing so either.
The other people in the room make small talk until Tony returns with two items in his arms, earning a groan from Clint as he reaches into his wallet to take out two fifty dollar notes to hand to Natasha who pockets it calmly as though she expected to win. The others chuckle at the miserable look upon Clint's face but otherwise, turn their attention back to Tony who is now wearing a metal armour around his hand.
As hard as he tries, he fails to lift the hammer with his ironman arm. Out of breath but not giving up yet, Tony beckons Rhodey over and passes him the other detachable ironman arm to wear. Together, they pull with all their might.
"Are you even pulling?" asks Rhodey in frustration to Tony.
Tony rolls his eyes and retorts, "Are you on my team?"
Sighing loudly, Rhodey says, "Just to represent. Now, pull harder!"
Finally, after a valiant struggle, Tony finally concedes defeat with a scowl before taking a huge gulp of his drink.
"You're up, Cap!" hollers Sam as he grins at his super soldier friend who accepts their challenge graciously even though he has no expectation of lifting it.
Steve grimaces and when his eyes meet Emma's for a split second, she smiles encouragingly at him. If anyone was worthy enough to lift Thor's hammer, it was going to be Steve. That man is as good as a saint.
When Steve begins pulling the hammer, it moves by an inch, causing Thor's amused face to turn into one of worry and fear. However, Thor's frown doesn't last long because as soon as Steve was able to move the hammer, it dropped back to the table in a rigid position, indicating that he wasn't able to lift it.
Thor bursts out a jesting smile to cover his initial worry but Emma catches every detail of what just happened and she is slightly disappointed that Steve wasn't able to lift Mjonir.
After Steve's attempt, Bruce goes next and after a few minutes of pulling, he breaks out into a hysterical frenzy causing the other Avengers to tense up warily. As soon as he starts, he stops and breaks out laughing sheepishly.
"I just wanted to scare you guys," he admits, earning nervous laughs from the rest who had once upon a time faced his wrath but a genuine smile from Emma.
"Funny, big guy," says Tony sarcastically before his gaze zeroes in on Natasha.
"Oh no, that's not a question I need answered," says Natasha nonchalantly as she takes a sip from her glass.
"Well, you're no fun," pouts Tony before he looks to Helen Cho, Maria Hill and Sam Wilson who both, like Natasha, reject his offer.
"You're all party poopers," sulks Tony with a small scowl before his face lights up again upon looking at Emma. "What about you, Ems! Give it a go, yeah?"
Flushing under all the attention thrown at her, Emma shakes her head fervently. "I doubt I'll be able to lift it anyway."
"You never know. Give it a go, short stuff! Unless, of course, you're scared," taunts Tony like a small kid.
Emma sighs loudly and agrees before she wraps her slim delicate fingers around the cool metal handle of the hammer. Taking a deep breath, she pulls, expecting a heavy weight to prevent her from doing anything.
However, much to her surprise and the surprise of everyone else in the room, Emma manages to lift Mjolnir off the table as though it weighed nothing.
Jaws drop and Thor can only stare at Emma, agape. Too stunned to comprehend what just happened, Emma carefully places the hammer back on the glass table and takes a step away from it in shock.
"You're worthy?" murmurs Thor in disbelief.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell I just saw? Cause it sure as hell looks like Emma over there just lifted Thor's freaking hammer when no one else managed to," spits out Sam Wilson in awe.
"All difference to the man who won't be king, but it's rigged," says Tony as he regains his composure. "It has to be right? Only aliens can lift it – that must be it!"
"You bet your ass it is," agrees Clint even though his awestruck face says otherwise.
"Steve, he said a bad language word again!" interrupts Maria again with a small smirk and a calm façade in an attempt to break the tension
Groaning exasperatedly, Steve glowers at Tony. "Did you have to tell everyone about the bad language thing?"
Tony merely shrugs his shoulders in response and turns his attention back to Thor.
"The handle's imprinted right? Like a security code or something, whoever possesses a freaky alien fingerprint shall carry the power of Thor is the literal translation, I believe," says Tony in a matter-of-fact tone.
Thor grins at Emma before he walks over to pick up the hammer from where she left it before.
"Yes well, that is a very, very interesting theory, Stark. But I have a simpler one," smirks Thor in amusement as he twirls his hammer like a baton in his hand. "Other than Lady Emma, you're all not worthy."
As soon as the words escape Thor's mouth, protests from all the people in the lounge begin to ring out in argument when suddenly, a high pitched screech echoes painfully throughout the room, making everyone cringe in their seats.
When the sound finally goes away, Emma looks up to see a metal robot like figure limping towards them.
"How could you be worthy? You're all killers," the robot says.
"Stark," murmurs Steve warily.
"Jarvis," calls out Tony but no response comes.
"Sorry, I was asleep, I was a dream…" trails off the robot.
"Jarvis, reboot," commands Tony. "We've got a bug in the system."
The half broken metal being moves around and continues speaking, "There was a noise, and I was tangled…tangled in strings. I had to kill the other guy – he was a good guy."
By now, all the Avengers – including Emma and Sam, are standing up warily, uncertain of the metal being's intentions.
"You killed someone?" asks Steve with a deep frown.
"It was nothing personal," shrugs the robot. "But down in the real world, we're all face with ugly choices."
Thor glares at the contraption and gives it a hard look. "Who sent you?"
The robot does not reply but the sound of a recording fills the room.
"I see a suit of armour around the world."
Tony's eyes widen drastically at the sound of his own voice and realisation dawns upon him in horror.
"Ultron," murmurs Bruce.
"In the flesh," begins Ultron before he pauses and glances at himself. "Well, not yet. Not in this Christmas suit. But I'm ready."
As soon as he finished speaking, Emma notices the Avengers getting ready to fight – Thor clutches his hammer tightly while Steve and Bruce clench their fists. Clint begins to draw his bow while Natasha and Maria both take out their guns.
"I'm on a mission," announces Ultron.
"What mission?" asks Natasha, cautiously.
Emma clenches her fist tightly in fear. She knows things are going to go south.
Almost mockingly, Ultron raises his hands in a grand gesture before replying, "Peace of our time."
As soon as Ultron finishes speak, a couple of Ironman drones fly out of the concrete wall and begin attacking the people in the room.
In the blink of an eye, the superheroes are occupied. All of them are except for Emma.
None of the drones come on to her but she finds herself face to face with the monster Stark created.
"Emma Ezekiel, are you not?" says Ultron as he takes a step closer to her.
Emma stands her ground and glares at him firmly. "You tell me."
"No need to get feisty," defends Ultron with raised hands. "I am not your enemy."
Scoffing loudly, Emma gestures to the fight the Avengers are currently engaged in. "This suggests otherwise."
"Yet, you find yourself not helping them," states Ultron with tilt of his head knowingly. "Peculiar? I think not. I see a different light in you, Emma. You're seeing what I'm seeing right now. This is the path Stark set all of you on. Do you really want to be associated with that man?"
Apprehensive, Emma hesitates in her reply before she catches wind of a robot drone making its way towards an unaware Natasha. And her instincts step in. The air around her fizzles with the electricity she generated before all the robots except Ultron collapse onto the ground.
"That has never happened before," murmurs Emma, stunned.
She glances at her hands in bewilderment before a sudden thought hits her like a train wreck. Thor said Vanirs magical people, so could it be she had been wrong about her gifts the entire time? Perhaps she had the powers of sorcery rather than gravity manipulation alone the entire time.
Times like these made her wish her mother was still alive to tell her about her heritage. Nothing is more frustrating to Emma than not knowing information about her powers and her origin.
"That was dramatic," says Ultron as he paces around, drawing Emma back to reality.
She looks up to see Tony slumped down on the ground and the others breathing heavily as if they were out of breath.
"I'm sorry, I know you mean well," placates Ultron as he walks towards the Avengers. "It's just…you want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it isn't allowed to evolve?"
Along the way, Ultron picks up a drone and spits out, "These…these are all puppets. And you, Emma, you can be so much more. Join me and I will show you the way."
Everyone glances at Emma briefly but she doesn't respond. She doesn't want them to know that for a moment there, she actually considered turning against them.
"There is only one path to salvation – "says Ultron, " – the extinction of the Avengers."
Upon hearing his last words, an angered Thor hurls his hammer with all his might at Ultron, breaking him into many pieces which fall onto the ground.
I had strings but now, I'm free
Those words haunt Emma tremendously and she barely takes in the conversation going on around her.
"All our work is gone, Ultron cleared it all and used the internet as an escape. He took the sceptre too," says Bruce in resignation.
"Ultron," murmurs Steve quietly.
"He's been in everything – files, surveillance. He probably knows more about us than we know about each other," announces Natasha as she folds her arms around her chest after looking through various computer screens.
"He's in our files, he's on the internet. What if he decides to enter something a little more exciting?" asks Rhodey in a hard voice as he adds pressure to his wounded arm.
"Nuclear codes," murmurs Maria Hill.
"Nuclear codes," repeats Rhodey in affirmation. "We need to make some calls, assuming we still can."
"Nukes?" asks Maria. "He said he wanted us dead.
Steve interrupts sharply. "He didn't say he wanted us dead. He said he wanted us extinct."
Clint stands up and adds on, "He also said he killed somebody."
"Who?" asks Maria. "There wasn't anyone else in the building."
"Yes there was," says Tony as he flicks a control to reveal a scattered orange circular orb which looks destroyed. "Jarvis, that's who he killed."
Suddenly, Thor marches in and grips Tony by the front of his shirt angrily. "He's gone north. And he has the sceptre. Now we have to retrieve it again."
"I don't understand. You built this programme. Why is it trying to kill us?" asks Helen Cho in frustration.
Tony doesn't respond but his hysterical laughter jolts Emma into concentration at his next words.
"You think this is funny?" threatens Thor seriously. "None of this would have happened if you didn't play with something you didn't understand."
"Seriously?" chuckles Tony darkly. "Don't you understand why we need this?"
Nervous, Bruce gets up from the table and starts walking towards Tony. "Yeah, Tony, this might not be a good time for you to – "
Before Bruce is able to complete his sentence, Emma swings her legs over the table she has been sitting on the entire time and throws Tony to the side with her wave of her hand.
"This is your entire fault, Stark! Now, we have another threat we have to get rid of. Why couldn't you just leave Loki's sceptre alone?" rages Emma as she stalks towards Tony – who was slumped on the ground with wide eyes.
Thinking the brunette is going to hit him with another wave of her powers, Tony braces himself for the impact. But it never comes.
Instead, the look on Emma's face is heart breaking. She looks like she is on the verge of tears but she blinks them away with a sorrowful smile.
Disappointment is evident on her face and she murmurs quietly, "Pietro was right. You do destroy everything in your path."
Normally, Tony never cares what people say about him but somehow, Emma's words affect him much more than he shows on his face. Somewhere along the way, this girl wormed her way into his heart and now it aches from the disappointment he inflicted upon her.
Turning away from Tony and the Avengers, Emma walks towards the broken window where the drone escaped through with the sceptre.
"In time, I know I'll forgive you," says Emma. "But I don't know if I'll ever trust you ever again. And right now, I can't stay here. I'm sorry."
As soon as she finishes speaking, Emma hurls herself out of the window and uses her powers to fly off into the distance with one thought on her mind.
I was so stupid.
Author's note
Hey guys! Hope this chapter was worth the wait! I made it especially long to make up for my slow update :P Anyways thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you want cause I'd really appreciate the feedback. If nothing else, till next time then!