Chapter 2
“Where did you go last night?” Bruce muttered, sitting down next to Natasha in the quin jet.
“What do you mean, Bruce?” Natasha mused, flipping over a page of her small book of poetry.
“You left in the middle of the night last night and didn't come back,” He frowned. “And now, the first time I see you, you’re wearing a hoodie I’ve never seen over your suit with a random book I’ve never heard of.”
“It’s only a random book to you.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“It isn’t,” Natasha sighed, looking around to ensure no one else was listening. “It isn’t about you. I made a mistake because I can’t live with reality.” Natasha wanted nothing more than to spill her guts to the man who had done the same for her, but once she started, there was nothing to keep her from saying more than she could ever possibly mean to. So, she remained silent.
“Did I ever stand a chance with you?”
“That’s what's so sad.” Her eyes refused to pull themselves from the pages. “You did at one point.”
After a moment of standing, hoping for even the smallest bit more from her, Bruce sighed, and returned to his corner, slipping on his headphones.
“How are you liking it?” Yelena whispered, sliding into a kneeling position next to Natasha.
“I don’t think you'd like my answer if I told you,” Natasha replied, looking up.
Yelena frowned. “You don’t need to keep reading if you do not like it.”
Natasha let through a twinge of a smile as she turned back to the book, starting to read once more.
Yelena stood, addressing the group. “I didn’t want to tell any of you when you could still get rid of me, but since we are almost there, we will need to fend off any sort of press. Being seen with me would very much test the limits of all publicity being good publicity.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony asked, turning his chair around to stand. Yelena shrugged in response, causing Tony to turn and project a screen, now speaking to his AI. “F.R.I.D.A.Y? Run a criminal background check on Yelena Belova through what we gathered from S.H.I.E.L.D's database.”
“Who the hell’s F.R.I.D.A.Y?” Clint snorted.
“Something I put together this morning,” Tony replied, shifting his stance defensively. “Think of her as a woman J.A.R.V.I.S.”
“Does Pepper know you built a robot girlfriend? And does the name relate at all to the fact that today is Friday?”
“Shut up, Barton.”
Dozens of crime scene photos flooded the screen like a waterfall, along with image after image of Yelena spotted in that area under any alias they could gather. The images digitally stacked over each other in a way that seemed endless. The team collectively paused, gaping at the hundreds of victims piling in front of them, Kate’s eyes widening across from her.
“To be fair, two of those weren't me,” Yelena said after the images had stopped, then proceeded to move to the other side of Natasha, curling up in a manner that made her almost invisible to the rest of the group.
“Are you seriously hiding behind me?” Natasha was confounded, sliding the book closed next to her.
“Well, I did just reveal that I am an assassin in my free time to what is basically the world’s greatest heroes. So, yes, I am.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tony sighed, pressing his palm into his face. “We’re definitely addressing this later. Anyone else have anything pertinent they'd like to share?”
“My foot really hurts,” Kate whispered, staring.
“I think I busted a hearing aid tossing Cooper around earlier,” Clint added.
“Don't you have anywhere else you two can go be stupid?” Tony retorted, turning back to the front of the jet.
“Not until this afternoon.”
“I’m canceling the company credit cards when we get home.”
Natasha groaned, slumping into the side of the vehicle. “What did the rest of us do?”
Their thoughts were interrupted by an alert from FRIDAY informing them that they were approaching the landing zone. Yelena watched as Natasha slipped off her sweatshirt before making her way to the jet's collection of weapons. She opened the container labeled Romanoff, pulling out a large rifle and throwing it over her shoulder.
“Hey, that’s mine,” Natasha remarked, coming up behind Yelena to grab the same gun from the case.
“Too bad. You bought the ones I like,” Yelena replied, turning to face her, their shoulders brushed as they moved.
Natasha let out a small smile as Yelena turned to rush through the bustling group to her bag. She pulled out a small handgun, sliding it across the floor for Natasha to grab as she followed behind. The next, Yelena slid in her belt line along with various knives and her baton. Finally, she slid her widow bites over her wrists as the jet doors opened with a loud clatter.
She could see Clint eyeing her as she stepped off the ramp onto the grass of Sokovia, though what confused her is Natasha did not seem to be following her lead.
“Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia? They didn't. So our priority is getting them out,” Steve began, stepping off the ramp with the rest of the group. “We need to find the Maximoff twins.”
“FRIDAY’s picking up three human heat signatures under the city,” Tony added. “Probably our guys. There also seems to be a pressing amount of heat coming from the city's center and around it. Not human levels, leaning more towards dangerous amounts.”
Yelena set out into the streets, instantly melting against the bland walls as though she belonged there. Kate and Clint followed close behind as she made her way up an outdoor set of stairs, grappling herself onto one of the lower roofs. Yelena could see Tony flying overhead in his suit, somehow dragging Steve along by the hand.
Yelena jumped, grabbing the ledge of a taller roof and pulling herself up.
“How are you two so agile?” Kate wheezed as she pulled herself up the building. “Especially you, Clint, aren’t you, like, old or something?”
“You know we are almost the same age?” Yelena asked her, referring to Clint, watching as they gaped at her in confusion as she leaped to a neighboring building. “And if I had to guess as to how, I would have to say conditioning made me this way.”
Kate laughed. “So are you kinda like a gym guy? Likes to hit the weights… or whatever it is gym people do.”
“Not exactly.” Yelena gritted her teeth as she stared at a door below them. It looked vaguely like the door to a basement, except it was hidden under an elevated walkway, far from any sort of housing.
The loud boom of the Hulk’s roar resonated overhead, the sudden noise making Yelena’s gaze snap back in the direction of the jet.
“I am so glad Laura isn't here to tell me that she told me so,” Clint muttered under his breath.
Yelena didn’t wait to continue a conversation, throwing herself over the edge of the building onto a balcony. She dropped down the edge of the balcony's railing, falling to the concrete below.
“Okay, now how are we supposed to do that,” Kate groaned, looking around at Clint. “We aren't Spider-man.”
Clint grabbed an oddly shaped arrow from his pack, smashing it against the wall. It opened up into multiple legs that buried themselves into the concrete. A thick wire shot out the other end, Clint grabbing it to slide his body down the side of the wall.
“Holy shit, we are Spider-man,” Kate exclaimed, following suit.
Yelena made her way to the doors, unsurprised to find that the adorned lock was fake. Entering the cool dark hallway, Yelena ran her finger over the concrete wall, rubbing them together in search of dust.
The room smelt of sulfur and antiseptic as they treaded further down.
“Dust,” Yelena muttered. “Anyone hiding would come this way. Less traffic.”
“So, were you ever going to tell me about the mass murdering thing?” Kate inclined, walking slightly faster to catch up. “Because I feel like that’s commonly something that would be a dealbreaker.”
“Kate, do you tell people that the only thing you eat for dinner in your home is mac and cheese from the box?” Kate shook her head at the question. “You are embarrassed by it?”
“Well, yeah, It’s pretty embarrassing that it’s the only thing I can make. Especially when my mother made risotto, or whatever, all the time.”
“Then you understand.”
Finally, the group rounded a corner, coming face to face with the three heat signatures they were looking for. Closest to them was Helen Cho, staring at them with momentary fear. The speedster was behind them in an instant, though the girl seemed to cower behind Dr. Cho despite being more assertive.
“Oh, thank God,” Cho exclaimed, embracing Clint in a brief hug before turning to Yelena and Kate. “Who’re the new guys?”
“That one’s my friend, and that one’s a serial killer,” Clint replied, giving Cho no time for confusion before addressing the group. “Kate, show Dr. Cho back to the jet. Maximoffs, you’re with us. We need you two to help us get everyone out of the city.”
Pietro gave a swift nod before scooping his sister into his arms and rushing from the underground, Kate and Cho following behind at a much slower pace. Clint and Yelena moved forward into the underground bunker, looking for a separate way out to cover more ground and collect more civilians.
“Ultron didn't go after J.A.R.V.I.S. cause he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do,” Yelena heard Tony say as they approached a doorway splitting off from the hall. “So J.A.R.V.I.S. went underground. Okay? Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together.”
As they came in view of what was inside the room, they spotted not only Tony but Natasha standing next to him in front of what Yelena could only assume was the cradle they had discussed in their briefing.
“So, you want me to help you put J.A.R.V.I.S. into this thing?” Natasha asked incredulously. "Because I'm not sure if something like that is in my current paygrade."
Tony scoffed. “No, of course not. I want you to watch me put JARVIS into this thing and tell everyone Brucie did it and not me.”
“And you just assume that J.A.R.V.I.S's operational matrix can beat Ultron's?”
“I’m surprised, Natalie. Did you study robotics while I wasn't looking?”
“I’ve studied a lot of things while you weren't looking,” Natasha glared, moving her way around the cradle, staring in.
“We need to stop them,” Clint whispered, looking as though he were about to burst into the room.
Yelena put a hand over his chest, holding him back. She peered into the room, allowing herself to be in Natasha’s sight. They locked eyes, but as expected, Natasha made no announcement of her presence. Instead, the other woman gave a slight nod, and Yelena took it to heart, shoving Clint past the door to keep him from entering.
She dragged Clint down the hall, eventually coming upon a door to the surface. They went through house after house, getting as many people out as they could, until a sudden quake in the ground threw them both, and everyone around them, off their balance. Clint seemed to have forgotten about their short-lived difference in opinion, and for that Yelena was grateful. After a short while, the city began to shake and lift up from the surrounding earth. Yelena stared in awe as she watched what she had thought was a grounded city begin to fly.
“You know, I’ve been on a helicarrier this massive before, but somehow this is still so awesome,” Yelena beamed with a wide smile.
“How do you kill so many people with such a sweet smile?” Clint teased, coming over to help her back on her feet.
“You shut your mouth, or you get front row seating to my process.” Yelena paused as she watched a figure exit the tunnels they had once come from. “Thor is here?”
By this point, Yelena was practically shrieking where she stood. “You are so fucking cool, man.”
“And I’m not cool?” Natasha questioned cooly as she followed Thor to the surface, along with a red man Yelena didn't dare question.
Before Yelena could think of a response, the earth shook even further as smaller, inferior versions of what Yelena assumed was Ultron began springing from the midst. Some from the tunnel exit behind them, and some from neighboring buildings. Yelena could even see some flying overhead, but she tried her best not to think about it.
“Guys,” Yelena could hear Tony say over the comms. “There's a vibranium core at the center of the city; only thing keeping this hunk of rock together. If it drops, we’re looking at hundreds of thousands dead, if not everyone.”
Natasha cursed under her breath as the red being slipped from the crowd with Thor.
“Cap, you got incoming,” Tony spoke again after Yelena and the rest began fending off the starts of Ultron’s robotic army.
“Incoming already came in." Steve groaned, before speaking with great diction once more. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed; walk it off.”
Clint bolted from where they had begun to take a stand towards Wanda, Yelena following close behind. Though looking back for Natasha, Yelena found nothing but Ultron’s robots. She felt as though a hole had been drilled through her stomach, and its contents had begun spilling themselves over the ground. Not knowing where Natasha was, was somehow worse than knowing if she were in danger.
Clint grabbed Wanda, shoving her into a building as Yelena barricaded the door behind them, leaving only one other possible entrance for the robotic beings to rush them from.
“How could I let this happen?” Wanda murmured, sliding into a sitting position against the nearest wall. She dropped her head into her hands, running her fingers through her hair like it was the last thing she could ever do.
Clint crouched down in front of her in an attempt to console her the best he could. “Hey, hey, you okay?”
“This is all our fault.”
Yelena let out an exaggerated groan, moving around the room almost as if she were antsy. Well, because she was antsy. She was plagued with worry and dread. Usually, she was able to tune everything else out while on a mission, but something was different. Natasha pulled at her mind like a cat with yarn. “It's your fault, it's everyone's fault; who cares? We are literally risking everyone's lives by not being out there.”
Wanda paused, staring up at her for a moment as if realization had washed over her. “It’s you; I know you.”
Yelena’s mouth went dry, her eyes widening. She already knew the answer to what she was about to ask. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“In her dream, you were there. I remember seeing you there.”
“Listen. Stop groveling. You were molded to be this way.” Clint’s face contorted at Yelena’s choice of words. “So you are going to get out there and do what you were made to do, just like Natasha did and just like I am going to do.”
Yelena pulled Wanda to her feet by the collar of her jacket, pushing her out the front door. Yelena had no backup plan. She rode forward on one single plan. If she believed in God, she’d simply have to pray that it worked.
Luckily, it wasn't long before Wanda had begun to use her powers against the robots. She’d torn one in half by the time Yelena had started fighting them off by hand with a quick stun to the chest. The electricity would run through the bot in an instant from where it had been shocked out to its fingertip before it would collapse lifelessly to the ground.
Clint had followed them, shooting bots as they approached in the distance. They made quick work, leaving them in momentary, bot-less peace.