Power Within Her

Ulysses Klaue's warehouse is located in a junkyard off the African coast; since most of the crew on board, including Klaue himself, are distracted by Ultron and the twin's surprise appearance, it is easy for them to sneak on board.

Clint and Natasha quietly take out the remaining mercenaries while Thor, Steve, and Nikolina move closer to the catwalk across from Ultron. Tony slowly descends over the boat's top, and Bruce stays on the quinjet until a code green is needed.

"Don't compare me with Stark," Ultron exclaims, and a loud thump sounds, followed by several more, which suspiciously sounds like a body tumbling downstairs. "It's a thing with me, Stark is. He's a sickness!"

"Aw, Junior," Tony says in a mock-reprimanding tone, "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to," Ultron quickly replies, standing straighter. The twin's expressions change from calm to incensed at the sight of the Avengers, specifically Tony Stark. Pietro tosses the vibranium aside and moves to flank Ultron.

"Nobody has to break anything," Thor warns calmly.

"Clearly, you've never made an omelet," Ultron mocks, waving his hand casually, and Tony tosses over his shoulder, "He beat me by one second."

Nikolina rolls her eyes at the man before returning to studying the twins, her eyes narrowing on the female.

Thor gives him a confused look, but his eyes quickly flicker back to Ultron and the twins as Pietro speaks, "Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable?" His eyes move down to the missiles below that are lining the catwalk. "Like old times?"

"This is never my life," Tony disagrees miserably.

"But it is mine," Nikolina warns, causing every person and Ultron to cast her a wary look.

Steve steps forward, ignoring Ultron entirely, his eyes on the Maximoff twins as he says, "You two can still walk away from this."

"Oh, we will," Wanda answers with a pretend sad pout before she smiles wolfishly.

"I know you've suffered," Steve begins, sincerely hoping to reach out to them, believing that he can get them to see down a different path. They are only kids in this world, but Ultron cuts in with a loud groan.

"Captain America," He says, throwing his head back. "God's righteous man, pretending you can live without a war," Steve's jaw clenches, staring at the robot with a blank look, "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but...,"

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it," Thor interrupts sharply.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet," Ultron counters as he steps forward.

"Yuh-huh," Tony chimes in, nodding impatiently. "What's the Vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that," Ultron answers, "because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan!"

He says, tossing his hand again. Then he suddenly activates a magnet, dragging Tony forward by his metal suit before blasting him backward. At the same time, Iron Legions appears out of nowhere, landing on the catwalk to attack Nikolina, Steve, and Thor.

Tony fires his repulsions to shoot back at Ultron, the two meeting in mid-air and beginning to fight high above everyone else. The other three have their hands full as they battle the Iron Legion and the twins, but before Natasha and Clint can help, machine guns begin firing from all around. Klaue's men have joined in and are shooting at everyone.

Nikolina rips a few of the robot's limbs from their bodies with her nails while Steve and Thor handle them with their shield and hammer, respectively. Then a blur runs through the middle of them, shoving Nikolina off the catwalk and punching Steve in the face. Nikolina twists in the air to land on her feet; once on solid ground, a low growl revibrates off the metal walls. She grabs a railing, swings her body up, and stares at the fighting. Seconds later, Pietro comes flying past her while holding onto Mjölnir; the boy crashes into the crates from which Nikolina just pulled herself. Walking to the railing, she leans over and stares at the boy, who groans in pain.

"How did you think that went?" Pietro makes eye contact and glares hatefully, "dumbass." With that last insult, Nikolina shoves off the railing and heads to the nearest robot.

The dark-haired assassin jumps onto the robot, pinning its arms to its body with her thighs before her clawed hands grab the sides of the robot's head and twist. Sparks fly as the cables snap and metal rubs against itself; the body falls to the ground, and Nikolina finally lets it go.

She walks over to Thor, who has just dealt with another robot, "nicely done," she motions with her left hand to where the Sokovian boy was dragged. There is a noise above, and Nikolina looks at Thor and nods, silently telling him she will deal with it.

As she goes to jump, Nikolina turns back to Thor, "oh here, hold this." She shoves the object into Thor and jumps up to the platform. Thor stands there, ensuring she makes it before looking at what she gives him. Confusion runs through his body before turning the object over; staring right back at him is one of Ultron's minions. It takes a moment to register that he is holding a dismembered head in his hands, but once he realizes this, his hands snap back, causing the head to clang to the ground and roll away from him.

"She needs help," he mutters to himself.

"Thor, status," Steve suddenly calls through the coms.

"The girl tries to warp my mind," Thor grunts, taking down another mercenary, "Take special care; I doubt a human can keep her at bay; fortunately, I am mighty."

He trails off when he turns a corner and suddenly finds himself back on Asgard in one of the palace halls—filled to the brim with people dancing close together. He immediately looks around for Nikolina, wondering if she too is experiencing whatever this is; when he catches sight of a figure cloaked in black heading for the hallway, he makes to follow when the figure suddenly disappears.

"Is it him?" a deep voice speaks behind him, making him spin around; his eyes widen when he sees Heimdall approach, his eyes entirely white instead of their usual gold color as if he is blind. "Is it the first son of Odin?"

"Heimdall," he breathes when Heimdall places his hands on his shoulders, "Your eyes."

"Oh, they see everything," Heimdall waves it off, though his expression and tone grow harder, "They see you leading us to Hel!" he declares, glaring at Thor with such hatred. "Wake up!" he snaps, lunging forward suddenly, his hands moving to Thor's neck, trying to strangle him.

"I can still save you!" Thor struggles to get Heimdall off of him without injuring his friend.

"We are all dead!" Heimdall snarled, "Can you not see?"

"Let go," Thor snaps, shoving him off; as he does, lightning overtakes his body and lashes out, hitting one of the Asgardians, killing them instantly.

"You're a destroyer, Odinson," Heimdall says, nodding knowingly. "See where your power leads!"

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Nikolina's voice comes over the comms, but Steve can't hear her because he just stepped back into a ballroom in 1940. Music is blasting; everyone looks carefree and happy as they dance around.

Steve moves through the crowd but flinches when a camera flashes nearby; it looks like the flash of gunshots, and a bottle being uncorked sounds like one. A man is laughing on the ground with red wine spilled on his shirt; it looks like he has just been shot. That's what Steve sees. People around him are having fun, the time of their lives. But all he can see is war.

"Can I have that dance?" To his shock, Peggy is standing behind him, looking young and healthy, dressed in 40s attire with couples dancing around them.

"The war's over, Steve," she tells him, smiling. "We can go home."

The party in the ballroom stops, everyone disappears, and the room goes deathly silent. He is alone in the room, standing and looking around in confusion. He hears clicking behind him, and he spins to confront the sound, only to come face to face with Nikolina, wearing a beautiful red dress and a small smile.

"What's wrong, Cap?"

Before he can answer the question, a gunshot sounds, and Steve ducks his head to avoid the bullet, only it isn't him that is hit; a raspy gasp rings out, and Steve whips his head to look at Nikolina. A hole in the middle of her chest and her blood staining the dress a deeper red. Her face starts to crumple in pain, and as she goes to touch the wound, she stumbles and falls onto the floor.

Steve rushes forward, slides on his knees to catch her, and pulls her to his chest, gently cradling her body, trying not to hurt her anymore. Nikolina looks like she is trying to say something, but the only thing that comes out is blood. Her eyes show pain as she grabs Steve's hand and cradles it to her chest before her body turns limp.

Steve closes his eyes when he feels Nikki stop breathing; after a moment, he opens his eyes again, only to find Nikolina gone, but he is still kneeling on the floor in a pool of blood, and his hand, chest, and arm are crimson.

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"Natasha, I can really use a lullaby," Tony begs through the coms.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Clint says sadly, pulling Natasha to her feet. "The whole team's down; you've got no backup here."

"I'm calling in Veronica," Tony says, then it is silent on his end.

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Nikolina feels pressure in the back of her mind and spins around, throwing a shield around her mind, making the girl freeze in shock when her eyes meet Nikolina's pitch-black ones.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Nikolina taunts, Wanda glares at her, and her hands begin twisting with the red mist. Nikolina smirks lightly before lowering her mental shield; just at the same time, Wanda thrusts her powers forward, giving the illusion that Wanda can overpower her.

Wanda's plan to make Nikolina see a traumatizing moment doesn't go as planned. The minute Wanda plunges her powers into the assassin's mind, it feels like her whole body is being sucked in and warped in unnatural ways. Wanda opens her eyes and sees a metal hallway with only one door.

She takes a shaky breath before shuffling her feet forward as if walking past an invisible barrier; she is assaulted with shrilling screams, the sound of gunfire, and the overwhelming scent of blood. Wanda's body begins shaking, and as she walks forward, a hand grabs her foot, causing her to scream in fear. Her eyes see a man who looks like he has been ripped apart by a rabid animal.

His voice is barely audible; Wanda crouches down to try and help him. "What? I can't hear you." The man tries twice more before Wanda moves her ear closer to his mouth, "RUN!" The man yells, causing Wanda to stumble back and hit the opposite side of the wall. She watches as the man dies, his face forever in horror and anguish, but his eyes stare down the hall.

Following his eyes, the once closed door is now slightly cracked open, and that is when Wanda notices the screams have stopped and a low growl sounds from behind her. Turning, she comes face-to-face with a giant wolf, blood covering its teeth and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Wanda sends a ball of red mist into the wolf's chest, sliding it back, but it quickly regains its footing; starting slowly but gradually turning into a trot, the wolf makes its way closer to Wanda. In a panic, Wanda sprints to the room, trying to avoid the wolf; she slams into the stumbling through and slams the door shut just in time.

Trying to catch her breath, Wanda notices that there is the sound of another person breathing. Turning around, only a single light shows a figure suspended in mid-air, cuffs around the wrist with blood trailing down covering each inch of the body due to deep slashes on the body. Wanda can't see the person's face; their hair is dangling down, covering the facial features. There is a large pool of blood at the person's feet; walking closer, Wanda's body begins shaking harder, and as she goes to move the hair aside, a voice sounds.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" The voice and familiar words cause the younger woman to freeze. Whipping around and trying to summon her powers while attempting to find the Russian, Wanda realizes that her powers don't work.

"Where are you?" While staring at the tortured body, Wanda spits out through grit teeth, "what is this? Who is that?"

Instead of responding verbally, a hand reaches forward into the light. The hand grabs the front of the person's hair and whips the head back, causing the neck to crack loudly. Wanda looks closely, eyes widening in horror as she recognizes the figure of Nikolina Volkova.

"Oh, don't look so scared." The hand lets go of Nikolina, causing her head to hang. Nikolina's figure is slowly pushed to the side, and a figure steps into the light. Wanda sees a different version of Nikolina, one with black eyes, all her teeth razor sharp, and nails long and poised, but the thing that sticks out the most is Nikolina, covered from head to toe in blood, but it is not hers.

"How-?" Wanda tries to choke out but fails, trying again, "How are you doing this? Where are we?"

"Technically, we are still in Wakanda on the ship. Here," Nikolina motions to the surroundings, "we are in my mind, my memories. And she," pointing to the mutilated version of herself, "was in a Hydra facility."

Walking toward the body, Nikolina stares at her past self, "see, I knew you try to make us see things that we could never have or that we were traumatized," Nikolina brushes past her body, "so I figured might as well traumatize you too. Can't say this encounter is the most traumatizing, but if I showed you that, you wouldn't live past 6 hours."

"Why is there that huge wolf?" Wanda points to the door, and Nikolina smirks to herself.

"So many questions," she teases the younger girl, "but this," motioning to her body again, "is only one piece of the puzzle." The lights flicker on, and Wanda whips around, staring at dead bodies strewn across the room, all in similar conditions to the man in the hallway.

"What are you?"

"A monster."

Nikolina forces them out of her mind; when she opens her eyes and realizes that Wanda is still regaining her bearings, she lifts her knee to her chest, and her combat boot makes contact with Wanda's chest, sending the girl flying back. Pietro catches his sister before she can hit the ground and glares at Nikolina before speeding off with her in his arms.

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"Whoever's left standing, we need to move," Clint's voice comes urgently, "Guys?" he questions when he gets no response.

"I'm here, Clint. What do you need?" Nikolina asks before she hears a nearby thud; she turns to see Steve dropping his helmet and then stumbling down to a knee. "Steve?"

Nikolina runs to the soldier and kneels next to his figure, looking him over for injuries; he is lying on his back, staring at the ceiling with a faraway look.

"Clint, it's the girl," she reports looking into Steve's glassy eyes, "She's messed with their minds."

"Copy," Clint responds while dealing with Natasha, trying to get her back to the present. "I'm with Nat. She isn't in good shape."

"Clint, get Nat out of here," Nikolina instructs the archer, "I'll get Steve and Thor."

"Roger that."

Nikolina places her hand on Steve's head and stares at him momentarily, trying to think of the best way to wake him without entering his mind. Nikolina grabs his shoulders and shakes them a little; when no reaction comes, she jerks him again much harder. Steve still won't respond; Nikolina licks her lips, mulling over her next decision.

"Sorry, but I need you to wake up," Nikolina leans forward, and in one motion, her right hand's palm swings down and across Steve's face.

Steve gasps like he is starving for air, and his eyes blink furiously, trying to clear the fog from his mind. Nikolina sighs in relief, seeing that Steve is coming back, only to hold her breath again when his hand approaches the side of his face.

"Why does my face hurt so bad?"

Nikolina's eyes shift side-to-side, "Uh, because you tripped and fell right on your face."

Before Steve can even question her sentence, she cuts him off, "come on, I need to get you back to the ship before I can find Thor."

Steve uses Nikolina as support as they slowly walk to the Quinjet. They stumble up the ramp, and Nikolina half pushes, half drops Steve into one of the seats.

Clint is walking in with Natasha, and they make eye contact, "I am going back for Thor."

Clint nods in understanding before settling Natasha onto the floor, who quickly scurries into a corner, clutching her body and shaking. Nikolina stares momentarily before exiting the plane and trekking back into the boat. She quickly scans each room and hall, following her ears to the rapid heartbeat. Thor is on his hands and knees, lying discarded to the side when Nikolina finds him.

She crouches in front of him, pushing his head back with her grip on his chin. "Thor?"

He doesn't respond; his panting breathes fan over her face as she studies him. Nikolina sucks air into her mouth before puffing her cheeks full and shifting side to side; after a moment, she lets it out in a giant huff.

"Let's hope this works," she pushes on a pressure point on his should hard, and it is like he is struck by lightning the way his body spasms.

"Nikolina?" he croaks while the pain brings him back to his senses.

"The one and only," she grabs his upper arm, "c'mon, big guy, let's get out of here." Like Steve, Thor uses the more petite woman as a crutch to help him navigate out of the boat. Finally, they stumble into the jet, and she leans him against the seats. Grabbing a couple of blankets, she places them on the legs of the members before heading to the cockpit to talk to Clint.

"How are they?" Clint asks Nikolina, seeing the physical exhaustion and the mental fatigue.

Raising both brows, "about as good as one can be in this type of situation. What about you? She didn't get to you?"

"She tried," Clint confesses to his teammate; Nikolina cocks a brow at him to tell him to elaborate, "stuck an electric arrow to her forehead before she had a chance."

"Nice." Nikolina holds a fist out to the archer, who can tell she is attempting to lighten up some of the burdens on him: his teammates being hurt mentally. He concedes to the younger teammate; his knuckles meet hers, and they exchange weak smiles.

"She get to you?" At his question, Nikolina turns her chair to face forward and looks out the windows.

There is a moment of silence before she speaks, "in a way."

Then, Tony climbs on board the jet dragging Bruce behind him. Tony tells his two teammates that he has already taken care of it with some cognitive recalibration.

Nikolina knows what that means; Tony punched the shit out of Bruce.

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The ride in the quinjet is silent, and the only noise that can be heard is the hum of the jet's engines. Everyone keeps to themselves on entirely different sides of the plane.

"The news is loving you guys," Maria Hill's voice echoes through the aircraft. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air," she informs sympathetically, and Bruce tries his best to bury himself in his blanket.

"Yeah, you could have kept that to yourself, Hill." Nikolina chirps from the passenger pilot seat.

"Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene," She replies, then pauses before asking, "How's the team?"

"Everyone's," Tony pauses, glancing at Nikolina, who rolls her head to look at him before they glance over at the teammates staring into space. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here," Hill advises as if that is a solution to the problem, which Nikolina vocalizes.

"That's a shit plan."

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

"Neither do we," He says, turning and ending the call before turning off the screen; Tony directs his attention to Clint, who is currently flying the jet. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"

"No, I'm good," He says calmly, looking over his shoulder at Tony. "If you want to get some sleep, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out."

"A few hours from where?" At his question, Clint and Nikolina share a look before she goes back to staring out the windshield.

"Safehouse."

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They arrive at the so-called safe house early the following day, everyone stretching their limbs, following Clint as he confidently leads them up to the porch.

"What is this place?" Steve asks softly, sticking close to the rest of the team, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"A safe house?" Tony responds, unsure.

"Let's hope," Clint opens the door and steps inside, with everyone else curiously following close behind. "Honey? I'm home."

To nearly everyone's surprise, a woman walks out of the kitchen and into the living room. She has long brown hair and holds many coloring books in one hand, but one thing that is hard to miss is that she is heavily pregnant.

"I brought company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead," Clint tells the woman as he walks up to her and kisses her.

"This is an agent of some kind," Tony mutters, pointing at the couple, trying to understand what he sees.

The archer faces the team with his arms still wrapped around the woman's waist. "Guys, this is Laura."

"Hi," she greets awkwardly with a slight nod, "I know all of your names," Tony, not knowing how else to react, gives a small wave that is just as awkward.

"Oh, incoming!" Clint warns playfully as the scampering of feet is heard. Voices of young children are loud, running down the halls. Everyone looks down and sees two kids, a boy, and a girl, scurrying over to Hawkeye as they yell, "daddy." He opens his arms, and the two children waste no time hugging their father.

"Hi, sweetheart! Hey buddy!" exclaims Clint while kissing the top of their heads. "How are you guys doing?"

"These are smaller agents," babbles Tony, adding to his previous statement.

"Did you bring Aunty Nat and Aunt Nikki?" the little girl questions innocently.

Natasha plasters a smirk on her face to hide how negatively she was affected while stepping toward the girl with her arms open, "why don't you hug her and find out?"

"Yeah, I'm here, ya ребятишек (rebiatyszek)." Nikolina chimes up, using her nickname for them, which meant 'brats' in Russian.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve says, always one for keeping his manners.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed," Tony remarks with his usual sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined," Clint explains, "Kept it off SHIELDs files; like to keep it that way. I figured it's a good place to lay low."

Thor, who has been extremely quiet since arriving, steps closer to Nikolina, who has been just as quiet, but a loud crunching noise stops him. He raises his boot, seeing the toy house he has just crushed. He glances upwards and catches Steve's eye as he kicks the broken pieces underneath the coffee table.

Nikolina gives both males a deadpan look before she turns her attention back to the little girl pulling on her arm, trying to get her attention. Nikolina nods to whatever the girl is saying, not even paying attention to the words, her mind a million miles away.

Nikki's attention snaps to Thor when he stomps out of the room with Steve tailing him. She turns to the little girl, pushes her toward Nat, and makes her way to the front door after the two huge men.

"Thor?" Steve calls out to the God.

Thor turns, not wanting to explain but knowing that he owes Steve an answer, "I saw something. I need answers. I won't find them here." Thor gestures to the house where Nikolina is leaning against the door frame, silently watching the interaction.

Thor turns and leaves without another word, and Steve hears "we could go home" ring through his head when he lifts his eyes; they make contact with Nikki, who is staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. The words are taunting him as Steve stares at her, and Nikolina casts a glance to the tree line and sweeps over the land before pushing off the door frame and turning back into the house, leaving Steve staring after her, the image of her bloody and dead running through his mind.

Nikolina retreats into the house, thinking over Thor's words and the look Steve gives her, a mix of sadness and fear. She pushes that to the back of her mind as she recalls the interaction she made the little freak see in her mind.

Something about it didn't feel right, as if it was out of place and not because she pulled the girl into her mind. Something isn't adding up in her memories, and it is driving her crazy, constantly reliving the experience over and over again.

"Hey," Natasha's voice snaps Nikolina from the memory, "you okay?"

Nikolina gives a wordless nod, "yeah." She goes to say more but stops herself.

"Was it what she made you see?" Natasha is the only one who can relate to Nikki's past, if only a fraction.

"No," Nikolina sighs in frustration, "yes. Maybe. I don't know. Something isn't adding up, and it is pissing me off."

"What do you mean?" This time, Clint questions the girl after eavesdropping on the conversation.

"The memories," shaking her head and squinting her eyes, "it doesn't make any sense."

"What do you need to do?"

Nikolina looks at the two people she has known the longest, "I need to go back to Russia."

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Tony slams his axe down on the piece of wood, trying to get his anger out. Right when he finishes, Steve does the same thing. "Thor didn't say where he is going for answers?" Tony asks the Captain getting back on track with the conversation.

Steve huffs, setting up another log. "Well, sometimes my teammates don't tell me things," he says, looking up at the Barton house and then around at the farm. "I was hoping Thor might be the exception," He adds as an afterthought.

"Yeah, give 'em time," Tony shrugs, "We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed Thor. What about Nikolina?"

"Earth's Mightiest Heroes," Steve scoffs. "Pulled us apart like cotton candy," he continues on, ignoring that Nikolina left without a word to anyone, not knowing she talked to Clint and Natasha.

"Seems like you and Nikolina walked away all right," he says casually, staring up at him.

"Is that a problem?" Steve challenges, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side," Tony shrugs, slamming his axe down, and Steve doesn't know whether it is a threat. "Call me old-fashioned. But that also raises the question of why Nikolina left."

"Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet," Steve warns while swinging his axe down on the wood. "As for Nikolina, I don't know anything."

"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right?"

"Well, I guess you'd know," Tony's frown deepens at Steve's immediate response. "Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question."

"Banner and I are doing research!" Tony tries to defend himself, raising his voice, but Steve is unbothered and continues chopping his wood.

"That would affect the team!" Steve finally responds, setting down his axe to pick up another piece of wood; Tony does the same, setting his axe on the side of his stump.

"That would end the team!" Tony shouts, taking a step closer. "Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'Why We Fight'? So we can end the fight. So, we get to go home!"

Steve's anger spikes, and without the buffer of Nikolina there to step in and separate them and keep him calm, he takes it out on the log in his hands, ripping it loudly in half. "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time."

"Mr. Stark?" a different voice calls out shyly, and they both turn to find Mrs. Laura Barton as the source. "I'm sorry, but Clint says you wouldn't mind. Our tractor just doesn't seem to want to start at all?"

"Yeah, it's fine; I'll take a look at it," Tony says, waving off her explanations; he's more than happy to look at the machine and get his mind off this Ultron mess. "Don't take from my pile," he warns Steve as maturely as possible after looking at the differences between their two wood piles.

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*With Nikolina*

Sitting quietly on a plane she keeps stowed away after borrowing it from SHIELD over three years ago, Nikolina allows the jet to fly as she goes over the memory, moment by moment.

It takes about 8 hours for her to arrive in Russia, thanks to the speed of the modified plane. She parks it on the grass behind her house before disembarking and striding to the house's back door. Unlocking the door and disarming all the security measures, Nikolina enters the eerily silent house.

Ignoring everything else, Nikki heads straight to her basement and beginnings digging through numerous boxes of files, audio recordings, videotapes, evidence bags, and pictures before finding the material she needs.

Slamming all the files onto a table and turning all the lights on, Nikki pulls off her coat and ties her hair up in a top knot before turning to numerous blank walls and whiteboards. Starting at a specific date, she grabs all the pictures and begins lining them up in numerical order, reading all the reports and notes that correspond, highlighting, circling, and writing notes on the sides.

Papers fall to the floor as she discards them. She plays the videos and audio recordings while taping all the information and notes onto the whiteboard, making lines and comments about each piece of information.

"What the hell?" Nikolina begins muttering to herself as it is still not adding up. Fists clenching in frustration, she grabs a sketchbook and pencils before sketching out every moment. Barely stopping for bathroom breaks, food, or water, Nikolina has a detailed photographic and drawing timeline on the walls.

Nikolina sits in the middle of the room, headphones in and analyzing everything when she finds the man she is looking for. Tearing the buds out of her ears, she realizes the man she saw isn't correct; the face has changed.

She draws another sketch with extreme detail of the man in the memory and hangs the portrait beside the TV, where she watches all the videotapes, comparing every person, male or female, to the sketch. Nikolina is on tape 38, day 152, when she finds it. The millisecond of his face barely comes into the camera, but she understands now. Her memories weren't making sense when she was going back over them, the confusion, the feeling of something being wrong.

She knows exactly who the man is. She now knows why the faces changed, how the memory changed, and what really happened.

Nikolina stares at the screen for hours, reviewing her memories, correcting and placing everything in its proper place. A humorless chuckle leaves her lips as she blinks, her eyes burning from staring at the TV for so long.

She is pulled out of her trance-like state by her phone buzzing; pulling it off the charger, she reads over Clint's message.

Come back to base. Nat has been taken.

Nikolina flies into hyper-speed, putting everything back in the correct files, using her powers to put files away while working on the sketches and photos. Everything flies around the room, and she keeps the copies of the original documents and the ones she had written on in two separate folders. She also heads into the security room and downloads the video from the days she was in the workroom, ensuring it is the only copy before closing up the files so securely that dropping a nuke on it wouldn't be able to open it.

She rushes upstairs and into her shower, scrubbing all the grease from her hair and relishing in the relief that courses through her scalp now that her hair is released from the bun. Making quick work of cleaning off all the grime, she throws on new clothes before rearming her house and running to the jet. Hair still wet and stale food shoved into her mouth, she starts the jet and sets the coordinates.

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*With Thor and the team*

Thor storms into Tony's lab for the second time in a few very long days, but with a different goal this time.

Thor jumps on top of the cradle, ignoring Bruce's warning, and lifts his hammer, summoning the amount of lightning it will take to power the machine. He brings his hammer down on top of the cradle, powering it exponentially to the point where the engines around start beeping insistently with the electricity overload.

Everything is silent for a moment, and Thor looks slightly worried, glancing at his teammates when the machine explodes, and he flies back.

Smoke poured out of the cradle, and a man emerged crouching on the edge of the cradle. He is red in color, with a vibrant gold gem shining in the middle of his forehead.

He casts a cursory glance around the room before his eyes land on the Norse God in front of him; Thor bristles slightly while staring at the man, but in the next moment, the man is flying straight toward Thor, who throws the man through a glass wall, and over the sitting area before stopping himself before the skyline view of New York. He stares curiously at the view before looking at his reflection.

Thor quickly follows through the broken window, watching as the man floats back down, covering himself in a green suit. Thor holds out his hand to stop the others who have gone down from advancing further. Then places his hammer on a nearby table from the party before he makes his way closer to the red man who gently lands to meet them.

"I'm sorry," he says sincerely, "That is odd. Thank you," He adds, nodding respectfully to them before his unnervingly human-looking eyes trail over their capes thoughtfully. Then he rolls his shoulders, and a cape of his own appears and flows down his back.

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve asks, glaring at the man who only wore a look of curiosity.

"I've had a vision, the world, where its starts, all hope and life, and at its center, it that," Thor responds, pointing to the gold stone in the middle of the man's forehead.

"What the gem?" Banner asks in confusion. Thor nods.

"It's the Mind Stone," Thor explains. "One of the six infinity stones, the greatest power in the universe, and it is unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

"Then why would you bring it to life?"

"Because Stark is right."

"Oh, it's definitely the end of times," Bruce says sarcastically to Tony's shocked but proud expression, but all of that comes to a halt when a voice rings out.

"What the fuck?" Everyone's eyes turn to the elevator doors closing and Nikolina standing before them, staring at the scene unfolding. Taking a deep breath, Nikolina turns to the rest of the team, not noticing the Maximoff twins staring at her with wide eyes.

"Can someone explain to me why there is a red man levitating?" Thor goes to answer her, but she cuts him off, "you know what? No, what I want to know is how badly did you guys fuck up for Tony to be right?"

"Hey!" Tony yells, looking offended at the brunette, who rolls her eyes.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor tells the team, and the red man politely cuts in.

"Not alone," The red man adds; Nikolina raises an eyebrow at the red man's words.

"So, what? You are supposed to be the key to all of this?" The sarcasm and doubt coming from Nikki cause everyone to stiffen. "Well, this is fan-fucking-tastic. Let's place billions of lives on a thing created 5 minutes ago. That sounds like a great fucking plan."

"Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?" Steve questions, still cautious of this new being while trying not to anger the woman any more than she already is.

"We reconfigured Jarvis' matrix to create something new," Tony replies, walking up toward his masterpiece and examining him.

"I think I've had my fill of new," Steve replies sarcastically, and Nikolina nods at Steve's words wholeheartedly.

"You think I am a child of Ultron," The red man states rather than asking.

"You're not?" Steve replies suspiciously, still glaring.

"I am not Ultron," He says, "I am not Jarvis. I am" he looks down at his hands as if they would hold the answer. "...I am," He finally says after a pause.

"I looked in your head," Wanda states stepping toward him, and that is the first time Nikolina notes that she and her brother are there. "I saw annihilation."

"Look again," He responds in the same straightforward tone he's been using.

"Ha, her seal of approval means jack to me," Clint states snorting while motioning to Nikolina to keep quiet for the moment, noting that she is shaking with rage.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all come from the Mind Stone. And that is nothing compared to what it can unleash, but with it on our side-"

"Is it?" Steve cuts Thor off, then turns, aiming his next question at him toward the red man, "Are you on our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple," He answers truthfully.

"Well, it better get real simple real soon," Clint says seriously.

"I am on the side of life," The man continues, "Ultron isn't; he will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asks, wondering if he wants to know the answer.

"You," He states quickly.

"Where?"

"Sokovia," Clint supplies helpfully. "He's got Nat there too."

"If we're wrong about you," Bruce says, approaching the man. "If you're the monster Ultron created you to be."

"What will you do?" The red man asks, and Bruce stays silent. "I don't want to kill Ultron, he is unique, and he's in pain," The man paces slowly around the room, "and that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace and presence of him. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the other," he says, turning back to face everyone and looking at them individually.

Then he does something completely unexpected as he picks up Thor's hammer. "There may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go." He finishes lifting the hammer for Thor to take. Thor looks at him in confusion and shock, he takes his weapon back, and the man walks away.

"Right, well done," Thor says awkwardly, patting Tony on the shoulder, and follows the red man out of the room.

"Three minutes, get what you need," Steve announces to the group before quickly rushing toward Nikolina and taking her by the elbow, stopping her from following Thor out of the room.

"You wanna tell me where you went?" Steve questions her as she pulls her arm from his grip.

"Not particularly. It isn't anything that concerns anyone here."

Frustration takes over Steve's demeanor, and he notices how angry she is before deciding to finish the conversation at another time, so no one else dies. He gives a stiff nod before taking a step back.

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"Nik," Clint's voice calls out from the lab, and he motions for her to come up.

Nikolina walks around Steve and under the opening where the glass wall was, before jumping up and grabbing the ledge, uncaring of the glass and it digging into her skin. She pulls herself up and stands while beginning to take note of the destruction.

"How are you feeling?"

"Homicidal."

"Welp. Let's change so you can question the rest of the team. I got food for you too. And before you ask, yes, I have Mountain Dew too."

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Tony murmurs to the other two men in the lounge, "No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor."

"I've got no plans tomorrow night," Steve says cheekily, looking up at the billionaire; at the same time.

"Well, I get the first crack at the big guy," Stark butts in. "Iron Man's the one he's waiting for."

"That's true he hates you the most," Vision says casually, walking into the jet; Tony pauses, staring after the android in disbelief, then at the amused faces of Bruce and Steve. Clint and Nikolina laugh at the comment, everyone watches as she has her hands full with food and her pop, but that isn't what caught their attention. Clint keeps one hand on the side of her eyes, where everyone is gathered while pushing her into the jet.

When the Maximoff twins board the jet and everyone is accounted for, Clint starts the plane and sets the course for Sokovia.

"Ultron knows we're coming," Steve says, suddenly standing, cutting through the silence that has settled in the jet bringing everyone from their thoughts and turning their attention to him.

"Odds are we'll be running into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for, but the people of Sokovia didn't. That's why our priority is getting them out." He looks toward the Maximoffs, as the least experienced in battle and with the best knowledge of the city, they'd start the evacuation; Wanda looks down while Pietro nods.

"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 and get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building," Tony nods, and Thor straightens up.

"We find Romanoff," He looks to Bruce, then follows up with a look to Nikolina and Clint. "We clear the field and keep the fight between us."

Steve pauses and stares at the ground for a few beats, "Ultron thinks we're monsters."

Tony looks down, and Bruce gives little reaction, "and that we're what's wrong with the world, but this isn't just about beating him, it's about whether he's right."

"Would now be a bad time to point out that I am here?" Nikolina questions, using it as a way to get everyone's attention.

"Nikolina," Steve sighs in exasperation at her cheerful expression.

"Oh, good, now that we are talking. Does someone want to explain to me how Natasha got taken?" Her fake cheerfulness falls from her face, and a murderous aura surrounds her, causing everyone to shift uncomfortably.

Tony can't take the silence and says, "We were on the mission, and when she was transporting the cradle into the quinjet, a bot grabbed her and took her."

"I know that," her eyes flash to everyone before landing on Steve, "I want to know why you didn't get her back at that moment?"

Steve gulps, "we needed to get the cradle to safety."

Nikolina is silent as she mulls over the Captain's words, "so you left her because you thought that a red man in a giant incubator is more important than my sister."

"Going after her at that moment would have caused more people to die, Nikki." Tony tries to reason with her.

"God!" She yells, causing everyone but Clint to jump, "You know, it is times like these that your morals really fucking bug me. I don't give a shit about a couple of people dying if it means my teammates or, better yet, my family is safe."

"Nikolina!" Steve barks at her, slightly appalled at her lack of caring toward other people's lives.

She snaps over to him, "What? Don't bitch at me when you are the one who made the call to abandon my sister for a little robot. Not to mention you bring those fuckers," she points to the Maximoff twins, who flinch away from her harsh tone and finger, "here. You want to give me a lecture about my actions? Go ahead, but don't tell me to watch myself when they are part of the reason my sister was taken."

"We didn't mean for that to happen," Wanda mutters remorsefully.

Nikolina whirls around, eyes wild with rage, "I wasn't talking to you!" The other telekinetic flinches at the rage, causing Pietro to move in front of her, taking a "threatening" step toward the angry Russian. "What are you going to do? Huh? You don't scare me, boy."

Clint stands up and moves toward Nikki, placing a hand on her shoulder and making her take a deep breath.

"Nat is fine, Nikki. You don't have to get so angry." Tony comments and Clint hangs his head at Stark's words before glaring at him.

Nikolina turns to Tony, "I don't give a shit that she wasn't hurt. It is the fact that you allowed her to be taken, and no one made even a stitch effort to save her. That is what angers me."

The team begins to see why she is so upset and hangs their heads, "I'm sorry. It was me who made the call." Steve is the one to speak up, and Tony apologizes as well.

Staring at them, Nikolina's stare makes them squirm even more, she rolls her eyes at their antics, "whatever, piss me off again, and I'll stab you." Everyone on the team smiles at her words, knowing they are forgiven when she threatens them.

Clint returns to the cockpit while Nikki sits next to Steve, who gives her a gentle nudge with his shoulder; she gives one back and pulls out another snack from one of her compartments.

The Maximoff twins are staring at her, unsure of what to do. "Do you have a problem with your eyes?"

"No."

"Then stop staring at me before I take them." However, everyone can tell this is a genuine threat; her anger at the twins is not disappearing or lessening.

"Nikolina," and the trademark eyebrows of disappointment and sigh come from Steve.

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The jet lands in Sokovia early that morning; the city has barely even begun to wake up when they are suddenly ushered out of their homes. Thor and Bruce go underground to Strucker's base to find Natasha and the vibranium; Tony and Vision go off to locate where Ultron is and confront him so that Vision can do his part.

Clint is perched somewhere on a rooftop overlooking the evacuations, and Steve is on one side of the bridge urging the cars out of the city. Nikolina runs through the streets, yelling at people to escape the city while shoving people forward with her black mist. She lunges at one robot about to fire at a small family, and they go flying into the air. The robot trying to pry Nikolina off, who has sunken in her claws, starts tearing apart the wires. After cutting hundreds of cables, the robot begins to jolt before the eyes dim, and the body with Nikolina goes plummeting to the ground.

There is a loud boom when the two make contact with the asphalt, and all is still for a moment before the dead robot's body flies off to the side. Nikolina is lying on her back, trying to catch her breath, "I really didn't think that one through."

Groaning, Nikki forces herself into a sitting position while staring at the surrounding damage. Fighting is going on behind her, and she contemplates rejoining the fight or lying there for a couple more minutes. The answer is made for her when she hears the sounds of her teammates struggling.

With a heaving sigh, Nikki rolls onto her knees and slowly pushes herself into a standing position, ignoring the cracking in her knees and back, "Oh, fuck me." The words grumble out as she straightens her spine fully.

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The sun has just risen over the horizon when the sound of clanging metal is heard; robots begin to appear, climbing over the edge of the bridge and immediately beginning to fire repulsion beams. They fall dead when Clint starts to fire his arrows at them from his perch, but ten more take place for everyone he kills.

"C'mon," Nikolina yells at the citizens, using a car door to block the repulsion beams from the offending robots. Hearing a yell, she looks to her left and sees a man that has fallen to the ground and is struggling to get up.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Nikki runs over to the man, shielding herself and grabbing the arm of the person, hoisting them to their feet in one fluid motion. "Now is not the time to fall flat on your face!"

The guy nods in fear and runs across the bridge as Nikki shoves him forward. She trails behind, ensuring no one else has fallen or gotten stuck.

"Get off the bridge," Wanda shouts at her group, creating a force field of her own, "Run."

"Friday?" Tony's voice suddenly through the comms. "The Vision?"

"Boss, it's working," The new UI responds. "He's burning Ultron out of the net; he won't escape through there." How can Tony make it seem as though his machines have emotions? Friday almost sounds excited?

While everyone else in the streets is fighting, Thor is still in the underground, waiting to get Bruce and Natasha out safely while fighting off the robots down there he can; when he comes upon the epicenter of the vibranium, he stops to stare at it in shock not sure where to begin destroying it. That is when the earth around him begins to shake, and he covers his head as debris and large pieces of rock start raining down on him.

When the ground begins to split, Nikolina pushes the last citizens off the bridge but notices she is standing on the other side where the crack is forming. Clint turns and sees the situation, panic begins to overtake him, and he runs to the bridge.

"Back up," she urges Clint while creating a barrier to prevent him from coming any closer.

"Nikki, get off of there!" Clint shouts to the woman looking around to see if she can use anything to help make the jump.

She stops her search at his words, "No, really? Why didn't I think of that?"

Tony flies around the land, slowly rising higher into the air, and stares at the city, more than confused. "Friday?"

"Sokovia is going for a ride," She sounds terrified as she confirms what is happening.

"Do you see...the beauty of it?" Everyone still in the city begins to look around, trying to find where the voice is coming from. All the Avengers stop what they are doing. "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall."

Nikolina looks around in a slight panic as the ground begins crumbling beneath her feet. She knows she won't be able to make the jump, so she goes for the next best thing. She takes a few steps backward before launching herself to the rising city, grabbing one of the cables used to support bridges.

Her hands wrap securely around the metal wire, and she grits her teeth when she feels the palm of her hands being shredded as she slides down slightly.

"I fucking hate my job," she grumbles before placing one bloody hand above the other and climbing up to the city.

Nikolina finally makes it to the top of the floating city, and her nails elongate, and she slams her nails deep into the asphalt, making it crack and crumble. She uses her other hand to do the same and begins dragging her body up.

The Russian pulls her body over the edge and continues army crawling until she is far away from the edge and no longer in danger of falling off again. She flops onto her back and lies momentarily, contemplating her decision to join the team.

Tony flies to the land that keeps rising high and is clueless about how to stop it. "You, Avengers, your meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers; turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing."

"When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

In response to Ultron's shitty monologue, Nikolina raises her middle fingers in the arm before allowing them down and covering her eyes from the sunlight.

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"The vibranium core's got a magnetic field, and that's what's keeping the rock together," Friday explains, analyzing the structure.

"If it drops?" Tony urges, already dreading the answer.

"Right now," Friday starts, sounding nervous for the whole team. "The impact can kill thousands. Once it gets high enough? Global extinction."

"Clint," Nikolina huffs, now off the ground, getting the archer's attention. "You ever look around and wonder how you ended up here?"

Clint stares at her for a moment, the memory of seeing her crawl from under the bridge like a zombie fresh in his mind. He looks around at the flying city, robots, and destruction "all the time."

"Beautiful."

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Steve and Wanda run under a building after guiding the civilians to the Town Hall.

"Avengers," Steve's voice comes over the comms, "we are leading the civilians to the Town Hall; try to meet us there."

Steve begins walking through the streets with Wanda tailing him, "Rogers," Steve looks and sees Natasha getting closer.

"Romanoff," Steve states, and relief flood his body as he sees Nikolina walking closer to them. Natasha stops short and runs her eyes over Wanda.

"Is that my jacket?" Natasha looks at Rogers, and his eyes shift to Wanda slightly, who looks away at the new knowledge.

"She's with us," Steve states, and Wanda rolls her shoulders, trying to calm herself.

"Fuck this shit," is how Nikolina greets the small group, and Natasha smiles at her. Nikolina returns it as she looks to Steve, who flashes one in return; however, her smile is quickly gone.

"Is that MY jacket?" Nikolina asks Steve with a raised eyebrow, and his eyes widen slightly.

He shoots a look at Natasha, "I thought it was yours," Natasha internally winces as she looks at Nikolina.

"You bitch," Nikolina glares at her, "you're the one who took my jacket! I have been looking for it for two months!"

"Fight about it later," Steve commands, trying not to wilt under the dark glare Nikolina sends him. "The main thing is, she is with us." The woman they are talking about it is shifting even more so now that she knows that this jacket belongs to Nikolina.

"And that has to do with my jacket; how exactly?" Nikolina asks, clearly not letting it go.

Steve chimes up, diverting the team's attention to a more serious matter than the jacket, "fighting these robots is getting us nowhere."

Clint runs up to the group, "the air is getting thin; we go up much higher people are going to start dropping."

"There are people in the city still hiding," Wanda calls out while scanning the nearby buildings, trying to escape the angry woman.

"Clear them out," The captain's order puts the girl into motion, and she takes off down the road.

"Barton"

"I got her six."

"How did we get to this point? I have had enough."

"We fight robots," Steve looks at the two Russian women in amusement, not believing they had ended up in this situation.

Natasha whips her arms downward; the force of the movement causes the batons in her hand to open, and she presses a button, causing them to crackle with electricity.

"Today? We fight robots today? Or is next month better for you?" Pietro flips a robot hand at Steve, who catches it.

Nikolina pulls out her gun and aims after the blur, her enhanced eyesight letting her keep the target in sight. Her finger dances over the trigger momentarily before she releases it; the bullet zooms through the air and pierces a metal wall millimeters from Pietro's face.

"Nikolina!" Steve yells in exasperation after hearing the yelp that comes from Pietro.

She lets her eyes wander away from the irritating man to Steve, "I didn't hit him. I aimed so that I ALMOST hit him."

"You can't just shoot people or things that irritate you," Steve tries to begin to lecture her on the subject for about the 100th time.

She cuts him off, knowing the whole speech and not inclined to listen or change her ways, "watch me."

Steve's eyes cut over to Natasha, hoping for some form of backup, only to give a deadpan stare when he sees Natasha's amused face. Steve raises his eyes to the sky, hoping for help from the beings from above. He snaps out of his trance when he hears four gunshots and a high-pitched giggle following them.

"Nikolina, stop shooting at that!" Steve yells, and he and Natasha break into a run, chasing after the hazard to society. The object in question is the motor of a car that is slowly leaking gas onto the ground.

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Across the city, Steve grunts as he slams into a windshield after a robot tackles him sending him flying back. He engages the robots after losing Nikolina in the chaos of robots diving at him, saving civilians, and protecting his teammates.

"Cap, you've got incoming," Tony warns a second too late.

"Incoming already came in," Steve groans as he pulls himself from the windshield and then jumps at the sound of shattering glass as the next wave of robots hits. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job," Steve continues as he stands up. "Tear these things apart; you get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed...walk it off."

"What if I am missing a leg?" Steve hears Nikolina's voice over the line and rolls his eyes at her question.

"Then hop it off, Nikolina."

"You got it, Captain." Her voice sounds amused, evident from his response.

Pietro stands leaning against a building for support as he catches his breath from the Captain's message, but he then shrugs, figuring it is good enough. He let out a huff before hurrying through the streets again.

As the fight continues in another part of the city, Wanda panics, looking around at all the destruction and robots. She ducks behind a car as one of the robots hurries toward her, and Clint flips over the car to shoot an arrow in its head.

Wanda starts to hyperventilate as more robots come their way, and Clint quickly grabs her, diving through the window of one of the abandoned houses. Clint pokes his head out the window as Wanda crawls on her hands and knees like a child; she suddenly feels like hiding underneath the window.

"How can I let this happen?" She whispers to herself. Clint turns around to look at her.

"Hey, hey, you okay?" Clint questions the young girl while keeping an eye out for any approaching enemies.

"This is all our fault," She whimpered. Clint gives her a frown leaning down to meet her eye.

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault; it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this?" She continues to look up at him with panic in her eyes. "Are you? Look, I just need to know. Because the city is flying," Once Clint says that, he realizes that nothing can really surprise him anymore. "Okay. Look, the city's flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense," One of the robots shoots through the wall, and Clint shoots right back with an arrow, not missing a single beat before turning back to her. "But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay?"

Wanda watches him talk, taking what he is saying very seriously. "And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did or what you are. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here; you're good. I'll tell your brother to come and find you. But if you step out that door, you are an Avenger."

Wanda sits there, letting everything he says genuinely sink in. He is right, and she has to make a decision. "All right. Good chat," Clint says as he pats her leg, then stands up and moves to the door, leaving Wanda to think. "Yeah, the city is flying," he mutters before kicking the door open and continuing fighting.

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Steve runs to the edge of the bridge, hurrying to a car that is about to fall off. He grabs the bumper and grits his teeth, trying to pull it up, but it separates from the vehicle and falls over the edge. He stares at the bumper in his hands in shock but is relieved when he sees a familiar red cape.

Thor flies to the city and dodges the falling cars before realizing that people are in them and changing his course. He lands on the convertible first, grabbing the woman's arm and then glancing back up at the bridge where Steve is waiting before giving her a bright smile and tossing her upward to his teammate.

She screams so loud that it can destroy anyone's eardrums before Steve jumps down, grabs onto the bridge's road for support, and grips the woman's hand tight. "You're all right," He promises the woman as she screams, urging her to look up at him and not at the long way down. "Just look at me."

Once they are on the bridge again, a robot begins to hurry toward them. "You can't save them all, and you'll never–" Ultron speaks just before Steve throws his shield into its chest, then calls it back to him using the magnets on his arm and throws the robot off the bridge.

"Never what?" Steve quips at the falling remains. "You didn't finish!"

Then an SUV lands beside him, and Thor climbs off the top. Then the two return to the city where the largest congregation of robots is gathered. "What?" Steve scoffed at Thor. "Were you napping?"

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On the other side of the city, Nikolina is surrounded by eight robots who are intent on killing her. She takes a deep breath while slowly spinning in a circle and analyzing her situation. Only one solution comes to mind, and she springs without hesitation.

Jumping on the nearest robot, she climbs to the back and pulls at the wires exposed at the neck. In an attempt to get her off, the robot flies into the nearest wall, back first, causing Nikolina to groan at the force of the hit.

After nearly decapitating the robot, they fall to the ground; Nikolina uses the robot to soften her fall, which doesn't really work, as it is made of metal. She stands and grabs two knives from their holders and flings them into the throats of two robots, killing them instantly.

The remaining five decide to fight the woman simultaneously, and using the thrusters at full force, they all grab a limb, and this time, the brick wall crumbles under the immense pressure of six bodies hitting it.

They throw her onto the floor, and she turns to her side and coughs, a mouthful of blood covers the dusty ground. Hearing a repulsor warming up, she is on her feet in one moment and out of sight in the next. Nikolina grabs her gun and empties an entire clip into a robot from her hiding position behind a pillar.

The other four fly to the hiding spot, but Nikolina is ready for them. She grabs one and throws her knee into the chest, causing it to go backward, but she continues her assault by holding the arms and swinging the robot into a pillar, causing it to break and fall apart.

Using what is around her, Nikolina grabs one of the robot's detached arms and begins hitting the other robots with it. What a slap to the face. The constant hits cause cracks to appear in the armor, noticing this Nikolina smiles devilishly. She reloads her gun and fires at the breaking material, needing only three bullets to kill the thing.

She uses the same method to kill the second to last one, and it takes the remaining bullets in her magazine to take it down. Still pissed about being thrown through the wall, she runs at the last robot and forces it through the opposite wall, landing in the streets where Steve and Thor are fighting yards away.

Both men turn their heads when they hear the sound of metal screeching, wondering what is making that sound. A second later, their question is answered in the form of Nikolina using a robot as a battering ram and crashing into the streets.

She ignores the men in favor of using a brick lying nearby to bash the robot's head in, killing it almost instantly, but Nikolina continues to hit the robot, taking her anger out on it.

"Nikolina!" A voice screams her name, snapping her out of her task.

Looking up, Nikolina sees Steve and Thor staring at her in concern. She rolls her eyes and stands from her previous position of straddling the robot to get leverage to inflict the most damage. She walks closer to the men and drops what was a brick, now just a tiny piece of concrete, into Steve's hand.

"I didn't appreciate being thrown into a wall." She continues walking to the opening, and her teammates let her have a couple of moments to herself, so she doesn't end up killing a human next and continue fighting.

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Natasha and the Hulk come tearing through the fight, the Hulk smashing and tearing apart everything he can and Natasha electrocuting the robots with her batons.

Thor throws his hammer and calls it back to him after it removes a line of robots. Steve kicks his shield in the air, and Thor hits it with his hammer, taking out more of the robots.

Thor then flies in the air, throwing one of the robots into a nearby gas truck and making it explode.

Ultron looks around as he flies through the city, noticing how much damage the pair of them are causing to his bots and deciding he has to separate them. "Thor," he speaks before flying in his direction. "You're bothering me." He then grabs Thor and flies away, fighting him.

Nikolina hears Ultron speak and turns in time to see Ultron swoop down and pick up Thor and fly off. "Holy hell."

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Clint is getting surrounded; he is shooting as many arrows as he can but is hardly making a dent. He flips over the side of a car to avoid the blasts and lands hard.

"Ow," he groans as the robot blasts rock the car he hides behind. He sighs and is about to continue when a noise stops him.

Wanda throws open doors to the house, removing all the robots she can with her red energy. She is crushing them with her power and throwing them into the ground, giving Clint a chance to get up and take out the remaining few. Once they have gotten all the robots in their area, Clint gives her a little smile, and she responds with a shy smile.

"All right," Clint speaks into the com as they walk, looking around to ensure there are no straggling robots. "We're all clear here."

"We are not clear!" Steve snaps. "We are very not clear!" He shoves his shield into one of the robots and jumps up, kicking through it, severing its head.

"All right," Clint picked up into a jog. "Coming to you!" He says calmly.

That's when Pietro speeds past him, letting the wind blow up Clint's jacket as he picks up Wanda. "Keep up, old man!" Then in a flash, they are gone, sending debris in Clint's face as he brings up his bow, keeping Pietro's blur in his sight while letting out an angry sigh.

"Nobody would know. Nobody," with another angry sigh, Clint tucked his arrow back into his quiver before jogging after them. "'Where's the kid? Last I saw him; an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.' Maybe I can get Nikki to do it. Yeah, she enjoys violence."

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"The anti-gravs are rigged to flip," Friday informs, and Tony curses under his breath, figuring out what is coming next. "Touch em' they'll go full reverse thrust. The city's not coming down slow."

"Well, the spire's vibranium. If I get Thor to hit it-"

"It'll crack; that's not enough."

"If Nikolina caps the other ends, we can keep the atomic action doubling back."

"That can vaporize the city and everyone on it."

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There is another short lull in the robots, so the Avengers focus on getting the civilians into the buildings that aren't completely destroyed.

"The next wave is gonna hit any minute," Steve announces as he guides another group. "What do you got, Stark?"

"Nothing great," Tony sighs. "Maybe a way to blow up the city," He says quietly. "That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan," Steve says firmly.

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Natasha says, knowing that it is the only option that might work. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock."

"Not till everyone's safe," Steve insists.

"Cap," Nikolina speaks out, causing his attention to snap to her, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the number of people up here compared to down there, there is no math."

Steve turns to her. "I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"We didn't say we should leave," Natasha says softly, and Nikolina nods quietly before Natasha's words sink in.

"Wait, what?" The younger woman doubles while Steve turns to look at the older Russian.

"There are worse ways to go," she says, responding to his silent question.

"Besides," Natasha shrugs before looking out at the morning sky. "At least we've got a good view," both women look out at the endless clouds in the sky, Natasha's one of acceptance and Nikolina's face showing irritation and disgust. "This is some bullshit."

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff," Everyone starts at the familiar voice that comes through the coms. "It's about to get better."

That's when the Helicarrier comes into view, and they all smile for the first time.

"Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty," Nick Fury says nonchalantly. "But she'll do," Slowly, Wanda and Pietro leave the store in awe while citizens go to the windows to watch.

"Fury, you son of a bitch," Steve speaks almost in a whisper while shaking his head.

Fury let out a whistle before responding to Steve teasingly. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The Helicarrier's lifeboats then come out, going toward the land. Pietro has a little smile on his face as he watches.

"This is Shield?"

"This is what Shield's supposed to be," Steve tells the two. Nikolina watches as lifeboats land and open to accept the civilians.

Pietro's smile gets just a little wider. "This is not so bad."

As the people begin exiting their hiding places and heading for the lifeboats, the second wave of bots hits, but before they can do any damage, War Machine comes out of nowhere, firing down every single one of them.

"Yes!" Rhodey cheers. "Now, this is gonna be a good story!"

"Yeah, if you live to tell it," Tony mocks, flying beside his best friend.

"You think I can't hold my own?"

"If we make it through this, I'll hold your own,"

"You have to make it weird," Rhodey sighs.

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"You think you're saving anyone?" Ultron asks, wrapping his hand around Thor's throat. "I turn that key and drop this rock a little early, and it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that."

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast..." his voice is getting hoarse as he is running out of air. "I am running out of things to say!" He looks to Vision behind Ultron, giving him a little smile and a nod. "Are you ready?"

When Ultron turns around in confusion, Vision hits him with Thor's hammer, sending him flying back a few hundred feet before tossing the hammer back to Thor.

"It's terribly well-balanced," Vision compliments.

"Well," Thor speaks while moving in a swinging motion. "If there's too much weight, you lose power on the swing, so...," he shrugs.

"I got it!" Tony suddenly speaks while continuing to take out robots. "Create a heat seal. I can supercharge the spire from below."

"Running numbers!" Friday yells just as the first boat makes it into the Helicarrier. "A heat seal can work with enough power."

"Thor! I've got a plan! Nikolina, I'm gonna need you too!"

"This better be fucking good! You are pulling me away from the killing!" The woman in question responds.

"We're out of time!" Thor yells back. "They're coming for the core."

"Rhodey," Tony commands while switching gears to fly toward the church. "Get the rest of the people on board that carrier."

"On it," he reports before flying off.

"Avengers!" Tony calls out, "Time to work for a living."

Pietro and Tony meet Thor at the church, thanks to them having their own speed advantages. They work to take out as many robots as they can. When the robots that escape are trying to make it out, Nikolina grabs them and rips off the head before crushing it and flinging the body to the side. Steve arrives just in time to take them out with his shield. Wanda then shows up, and Pietro goes to her immediately to check on her.

Tony looks around, knowing only two people are missing. "Romanoff, you and Banner better not be playing 'hide the zucchini.'"

"Relax, shell head," Natasha responds dryly, mowing down robots and cars in the truck she's abducted. "Not all of us can fly," when she arrives at the church, she hops out and quickly jogs to the rest of the group. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill," Tony says, pointing to the core before looking back at Natasha. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Hulk finally joins the group just as Ultron flies across from them, near the church. Thor moves forward. "Is that best you can do?!" He yells at the android.

Ultron is unbothered as he picks his hand up, and what seems like a million robots begin to advance toward them.

Everyone's jaw drops at the swarm. Steve turns to look at Thor, annoyance all over his face. "You has to ask," he deadpans, and Thor at least has the decency to look sheepish. That look doesn't seem to stop Nikolina as she walks forward and slaps the backside of Thor's head.

"This is the best I can do," Ultron continues. "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man says," They all turn to Tony, and he smirks, looking at Steve. "Together," Hulk then lets out a warning roar, and the swarm of robots attack.

The robots seem to begin running into the church by the hundreds, but everyone is ready. Clint fires his bow in succession at the first of the robots to enter the church. Steve slams his shield and fists into as many as he can. Wanda rips dozens of the robots apart with her red energy. Thor smashes every one of them that gets close enough with his hammer while Tony shoots at them with his repulsion beams.

Natasha uses her guns to shoot and fight with those she doesn't. Nikolina pierces her nails and teeth in the metal, ripping robots apart while black mist crushes the robots flying near her. Pietro is everywhere, leaving just nuts and bolts in his path. Hulk slams them all into walls, and Vision flies around the group, vaporizing them. Tony then flies through the air, shooting ones that got particularly close to the rest of the team, shocking Wanda as he fires at one of the robots she has frozen with her powers, as Vision rips the insides out of the one robot he is struggling with.

Vision then flies above the core and grabs one of the robots in the air, crushing it in his hands. Nikolina jumps in the air and holds a robot around the neck before twisting sharply, dismantling it.

The church is lit up momentarily with the bright flash of the lightning Thor brings down on the robots, but that is not stopping Hulk from ripping open one of the robots and going onto the next one on his back and yanking it off before tearing it apart with his teeth.

Ultron joins the fray and punches Vision into the wall, but he retaliates by using the Mind Stone in his forehead to shoot at Ultron, making him stagger back and out of the church.

Vision doesn't let up even as Thor and Tony join him on either side, with lightning and repulsion beams, respectively. The three combined melt away the outer layer of vibranium that covers Ultron, which is when they stop. He can be taken out quickly now.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight – " Ultron begins to say, and two bullets hit him in the forehead and eye before Hulk punches him so hard he flies across the city. Hulk growls at the remaining robots, who immediately turn and run away.

"They'll try to leave the city," Thor calls out.

"We can't let them, not even one," Tony speaks frantically, calling on their other eye in the sky. "Rhodey."

"I'm on it!" He announces over the radio right when Vision flies off after them to help.

Thor stops momentarily and turns to speak to the brunette Russian woman making her way out of the church, "did you really fire two bullets at Ultron?"

"Yeah," Nikki shrugs, "using my powers means more effort, and I am not really feeling like it."

"We gotta move out," Steve speaks, "Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Clint asks while turning to look at it.

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Pietro runs back into the church and hurries to his sister, giving her a worried glance. "Get the people on the boats," She orders, not sparing him a glance.

"I'm not going to leave you here," he protests.

"I can handle this," she takes down another robot with complete ease, leading to Pietro shrugging, knowing she is qualified to handle it, but he still doesn't like the thought. "Come back for me when everyone else is off. Not before," Pietro purses his lips, still not liking the idea, but he will do what she says. "You understand?"

Pietro turns to look at her, a smirk on his face from how commanding her voice is. He doesn't know what happened to her earlier, but she is much more confident. "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

Nikolina leads the last of the people onto the boats, then joins Thor and Steve on the outside of it. Tony is beneath the floating city, still working on disabling the core. "Thor," Tony speaks through the radio. "I'm gonna need you back at the church. Nikolina gets to the outskirts of the city."

They nod even though he can't see them; Thor looks at Steve, breathing heavily, feeling exhausted. "Is that the last of them?" He asks him.

"Yeah," Nikolina answers, quickly looking around at the evacuations.

"Everyone else is on board the carriers," Steve finishes.

"You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away," Tony says quietly,

"Maybe not," Thor agrees in a whisper.

"We could just not die; there is that option."

The three of them share a glance, and before they can say another word, a hail of gunfire suddenly erupts where they are standing. Steve holds his shield up just in time, and Thor grabs Nikolina, diving to the side and covering her body with his avoiding the bullets that have luckily been fired in a straight line between them.

Coughing and waving away the dust that Ultron's attack has stirred up, the three begin to stand again to assess the damage. Across the lot, Clint turns and shields the little boy in his arms and waits for the inevitable piercing of the bullets. But it never comes; Clint slowly lifts his head and is shocked to see Pietro standing there with bullet holes riddling his torso.

"You didn't see that coming?" the blonde man attempts to joke weakly, then wobbles before falling face-first into the ground. Nikolina desperately wants to make a comment but keeps her mouth shut, knowing it will result in a long lecture from Steve and Clint.

Steve immediately jogs over to them while Thor and Nikolina turn away to prepare and do what needs to be done.

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"Nikolina?" Tony calls while firing the repulsion beam from his chest into the center point of the vibranium. She is attaching the repulsion boots that Tony built for her, allowing her to fly or hover.

"That's me," Nikolina responds, knowing that is not what he wanted to hear, her hands looking like they are dripping black paint with smoke. She extends her arms, and soon her entire arms are covered.

"Are you ready?"

"To die protecting a big rock, I will never be ready, so might as well get this shitshow on the road."

"I'm taking that as 'I'm ready,'" Tony responds to the woman.

The church is at the center of the city; Thor thrusts his hammer and calls down as much lightning as needed to destroy the city.

"Thor on my mark," Tony continues waiting until the sight of black smoke slash sludge slithers quickly through the buildings and to the core.

"Now!" he shouts. Thor strikes the top of the core with his hammer; Nikolina lets out a groan of pain, feeling the force of the lightning and the pressure of the rock trying to expand past her hold. With a loud yell of pain, Nikolina brings her arms to her chest, causing the rock to unite and help destroy the pieces under her powers.

The city of Sokovia explodes from the inside out, crumbling to pieces and raining heavily into the ocean.

Nikolina uses her powers from her position in the air to push any large piece of rubble or hazards into the water. After scanning the air and ensuring no debris can fall on land, she calls back her power, and when it is reabsorbed, Nikolina takes it as a sign to rest and loses consciousness a moment later. The boots no longer hold her in the air, and she falls into the water. Nikolina can vaguely remember her body hitting the water, looking up, and seeing parts of Sokovia floating around her.

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Nikolina's eyes snap open, and she realizes she is still underwater. She begins swimming to the top when something red floating catches her eye; changing her course, Nikolina swims to the red object and pulls on it. It comes closer to her, and she finds Thor attached to the other end; she quickly grabs his armor and swims to the surface, dodging any obstacles.

Breaking through the top, Nikolina takes a much-needed breath before swimming to shore, tugging Thor with her. It takes a minute for her to drag Thor through the water due to the waves and floating material, but she soon makes it onto land and pulls Thor along the gravel.

"Fuck, dude," Nikolina mutters as she struggles to lift the large man, "if you could work with me a little, it would be much appreciated."

Thor makes no movement and rolls her eyes; once she is safe from the water, Thor's body flops to the ground, and she moves her arms, trying to elevate the pain she accumulated.

Nikolina crouches down and places her ear near Thor's mouth, not hearing any sound. She tilts his head back and pushes air into his lungs before placing her hands on his sternum and beginning chest compressions. The process is repeated twice before Thor opens his eyes, and she rolls him to the side, helping expel the water from his lungs.

"What happened?" Thor questions when he finally catches his breath, looking over at Nikolina, who is dripping wet and panting.

"I saved your life. You're welcome."

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"The rules have changed," Steve continues discussing Thor's hammer as they walk.

"We're dealing with something new," Tony agrees.

"Well, technically, the Vision's artificial intelligence," Steve tosses, and Tony adds, backing him up, "a machine."

"So, it doesn't count," Steve finishes, satisfied with the conclusion he'd come to, and Tony continues to back him, unwilling to admit defeat.

"No. It's not like a person lifting the hammer."

Thor smiles as he walks between the two men, wholly amused as Steve goes on, eager to express his point, even extending his hand in Tony's direction, "Right. Different rules for us."

"Nice guy, but artificial," Tony continues with a shrug.

"Thank you," Steve says smugly.

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone," Thor interjects, stopping the petty but highly entertaining conversation and turning a bit serious. "It's safest with the Vision; these days, safe is in short supply."

There is a moment of silence, but Steve can't help but pipe up again about the previous conversation, "But if you put the hammer in an elevator..."

"It would still go up," Tony is quick to agree.

"Elevator's not worthy," Steve sings, fighting a smile.

Thor laughs before he pats Steve on the back mockingly, "I'm going to miss these little talks of ours."

"Well, not if you don't leave," Tony points out as he gives the taller blonde man a meaningful look.

Thor chuckles again but grows serious as he explains why he must leave, "I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. I don't think that's a coincidence," The three of them step out onto the green grass as Thor continues, "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position..."

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony suggests as he reaches into his suit jacket, retrieving his sunglasses.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asks curiously.

Thor looks thoughtful but nods as he responds, "I will."

"Then besides this one," Thor pats Tony on the chest, "there's nothing that can't be explained."

Thor steps forward, turning back to nod one more to his teammates before he raises his hammer to the air, the Bifrost opens, and he disappears. The only thing that is left behind is the Bifrost trademark symbol.

Steve glances down, feeling some sadness at his friend's departure. Still, his lips quirk when Tony breaks the silence with a quip, "That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." He glances at Steve as the blond gives him an amused grin before the pair begins walking down the driveway.

"I'm gonna miss him, though," Tony adds suddenly, and Steve raises a brow in question and surprise. "And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

Steve has to smile at Tony's jesting tone, knowing that the man isn't that great at expressing his feelings, "I will miss you, Tony," He says seriously as the billionaire's obnoxiously bright orange sports car pulls up.

"Yeah?" Tony answers cockily. "Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up."

"The simple life," Steve muses beside the car.

"You'll get there one day," Tony says meaningfully as he glances at Steve and back at the facility.

Steve smiles then his expression turns thoughtful, "I don't know. A part of me still wants that- family and stability. But I don't think simple life is meant for me. Maybe the guy who wanted only that went into the ice seventy-five years ago. Someone else came out."

Tony nods once in understanding, trying to get into his car but stops. Turning back to Steve, he asks earnestly, "You all right?"

Steve takes a deep breath and looks back at the facility, thinking about the brunette Russian woman inside it. "I'm home," Steve murmurs.

Tony nods again and extends his hand out, "Take it easy, Cap."

Steve takes his hand and shakes it firmly. "Take care, Tony."

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Nikolina is still in her room, her body still sore and with a migraine from using her powers at a large scale for quite some time. The lights are off, but Nikolina can see perfectly, lying on the bed, deciding to test her powers. Her hand opens, and her powers bloom from the middle of her palm before spreading outward. Nikolina thinks of her power taking form as an extension of herself; she can feel everything with her tentacles.

There is a knock on the door, and Nikolina groans at the noise before using her powers to slither across the floor and open the door. Natasha stands on the other side with her phone in hand.

"You are using your powers again?" The question is laced with shock; Natasha knows that Nikolina hates relying on her powers but also knows that Nikolina needs to use them more often.

"Yeah," Nikolina whispers, "you know, when I was helping Tony and Thor with Sokovia, it had been quite some time since I used my powers. It felt like my mind was splitting open and that my body was on fire. It shouldn't hurt like that, and it is my fault."

"What does it feel like?" While watching Nikolina's hands, Natasha wonders about the black mist and liquid moving around the room.

Nikolina thinks momentarily, "It feels like one of my limbs; I use it to feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch, but it doesn't have to be like that. When I was younger, I didn't like that I couldn't see where my powers were, but also, I was just starting training. As I progressed in training and missions, the darker my powers got."

"Why are Wanda's mist and yours a liquid and mist?"

"I did that on purpose. It was a technique I often used when working in Hydra, and I allowed it to take an actual manifestation and would use it to scare people. It would slither along a person like a snake or would chase them if they ran. I have just gotten so used to it that it happens without thinking about it."

"Do you want to change it?"

"Maybe," Nikolina looks at her hands, "it will certainly help by pulling the senses from it."

The two women are quiet momentarily while staring at Nikolina's hands, good and bad memories flashing through their minds.

"Come on," Natasha snaps Nikolina out of her thoughts, "we have to talk with Steve."

"Ugh," Nikolina throws her head back and groans loudly, "I already told him that I wouldn't murder Wanda as long as she stays out of my way."

"Good to know, but no, it is about the team."

Both women get up and begin walking to the training areas. While they walk, a chime from Natasha's and Nikolina's phones sounds simultaneously; they pull out their phone and open the message. It is a photo of the newest member of the Barton clan. The baby boy is wearing a shirt that states his full name, 'Nathaniel Pietro Barton.'

"Fat" falls from Natasha's smiling lips.

Nikolina stares at the photo, "мальчишка" (malchishka), fondly smiling at the new brat in her life.

Tucking their phones away, the women look up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Natasha gets straight to the point, "how do we look?"

Steve hands over the tablet, and Natasha skims through it. "Well, we're not the 27 Yankees."

"We've got some hitters," Natasha replies; the playful nature between them comes quickly as the three approach the hangar where the recruits are waiting.

"They're good," Steve acknowledges, shrugging, then adds, "They're not a team."

"I can't wait to beat them into submission then," Nikolina adds from his other side as they stand outside the doors.

Natasha grins at Nikolina's words while Steve rolls his eyes, both used to her comments. The two follow Steve inside as he pushes the doors open, flanking him on either side as Rhodey lifts the visor of his War Machine suit; Vision turns to face them expectantly. Behind them, Sam lands in his Falcon suit and folds back his wings, and Wanda floats down gently from the upper level.

Natasha stands at ease with her hands behind her back, the tablet within them, while Nikolina looks out at the recruits, unimpressed by what she sees. Steve straightens his back as he surveys the group, who watches the trio on the steps with varying degrees of anticipation and respect before he calls, "Avengers...!"

"Fuck off!"