Chapter 22

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.

"Tony, circle the area, see if you can find what Ultron's up to. If you find him, do not engage. Take me with you when you do."

"Got it Blues," Tony took off for the city and began to circle it as I told him to.

From a distance, the sound of tolling bells could be heard.

A warning meant to alert civilians.

Meanwhile, I was helping Scarlet get the rest of the civilians away from the City.

She was using her mental manipulation to get them out of their houses and towards the outer bridge.

The people were moving through in a calm and orderly line, less we risk a stampede.

It was painfully slow progress but the team was doing everything they could to get them out.

Even as I speak, Steve and Thor were forming a perimeter line, whilst Snow White and Clint was somewhere up the blocks from here.

Bruce was on recon duty, his main job being; find Natasha.

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 we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building.

"Did you inform the police?" I asked Snow White after he appeared beside me, trails of white light blurring from behind his steps.

"I told them to get off their asses," He smirked at me, winking.

Cocky.

Rolling my eyes dramatically, I weave my fingers and the lights swirl themselves beneath the city.

I was trying to find out what Ultron was doing.

Why did he need all that Vibranium in the first place?

"Steve, how's everything looking?" I asked, putting a hand to the comm, as I continued my search.

Nothing was pinging off my threads. Ultron remained hidden.

"They're getting out as fast as they can, but it's taking too long."

The Super Soldier sounds worried and I understood why.

The attack could happen any minute.

"Hey Scarlet, move it up a notch," I tell her as I pillared myself above a roof and landed gracefully on the top.

With one knee, I kneeled so I could better stabilize myself against the snowy rooftop. It was slippery so I reminded myself not to abruptly stand up.

It was the least of my worries.

From above, I could see dozens of civilians and cars, making their way to the overpopulated bridges, blocking both ends from going any further.

It was an increasing bottleneck.

We find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us.

Steve sure knows how to make a speech. It still rings clear in my mind. The speech he gave us in the Quinjet before we all descended to do our jobs.

Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right.

"Got him," Tony's voice rings in victory. "Let's go Blues."

His flying suit does a circle around the skies before it hovers mid-air before me.

"Steve, Tony and I will intercept Ultron, try to buy you as much time as possible."

I start to stand, one hand reaching out to grasp hold of Tony's shoulder.

"Alright, stick to the plan." Steve reply was brief, but I could hear the concern in his voice. "You know what to do."

Stay safe.

Was what he wanted to say.

Tony is quick to grab hold of me, and I let him wrap his arms around my body, making sure I was secure before blasting off.

He carries us over to an abandoned area of the City. Clearly, no one lived in this part of town anymore.

A perfect place to stay hidden.

"Your man's in the church Boss," FRIDAY announces. "I think he's waiting for you,"

We passed a market before an old broken down concrete church revealed itself in the cloudy light.

Talk about biblical.

"Great," I grumbled, tapping Tony's metal suit so he'd release me.

He obeys and I fell forward, shooting up pillars that eases me downwards.

I land gracefully within the walls of the church whilst Tony's landing is harsher. The metal suit practically clangs against the floor.

The two of us looked around for the threat, exchanging looks when nothing comes out.

"Find anything?" My fingers spark on their own accord to find Ultron's body signature. 

Nothing yet. 

"Negative," Tony mutters as he walks a couple of steps ahead, scanning the area for anything amiss. "This looks like a dead-end."

I came to a stop before a crater in the centre of the church. My abilities picking up on something. It was directly beneath us.

"Wait, hold on," My hand shoots up, halting Tony in his tracks.

"What is it?"

I shake my head. "There's something here,"

Something big.

"Came to confess your sins?" A dark voice called out, followed by thunderous steps.

Ultron.

"I don't know, how much time you got?" Tony replied just as snappy, as he places himself in front of me protectively.

His metal frame was practically shoving itself in front of my face and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

A large thud resounded from behind us. We turned around to see a newly improved Ultron. All shiny and new.

"Jesus Christ," I mumbled, watching his metal being.

How ironic we were in a church.

I couldn't detect his energy wave because his whole system had been replaced with Vibranium. That made it virtually impossible to detect where he was.

"Uh... have you been juicing? A little Vibranium cocktail?" Tony mentions, slightly alarmed at the change.

"You're looking, I don't wanna say, puffy..."

I slap at Tony's arm to stop him from saying anything else more stupid.

"You're stalling to protect the people," Ultron takes a step forward and his frame is so large that the two of us had to back up before he could get any closer.

"Well, that is the mission." My brother's tone dropped. "Did you forget?"

He still blames himself for what he created.

Nudging my boot over to Tony's leg, I gaze a slight budge to his knee.

A sliver of blue green light slipped out of my hand and into the ground beneath, momentarily capturing Tony's attention.

He realizes what I'm trying to do.

Which was to tell him that there was something beneath us.

"I've moved beyond your mission," Ultron snapped, pivoting himself towards the crater in the middle. "I'm free."

"Back up!" Grabbing Tony, I pull him backwards with my abilities when I felt a large amount of energy--barrel out in the middle of the area we were just standing on.

Coughing, I wave away the dust that was created, erupting a barrier wave to clear out the area and disintegrate any of the remaining rubble.

A huge machine reveal itself as the dust dispersed.

It was latched onto the ground by the crater, spiked out clamps embedding themselves deep in the earth.

"Tony," I called out a warning as he does his job, quickly analyzing the machine with his suit.

My fingers spark with the tell-tale bluish green, the air trepid with anticipation. Beneath us, there came a grating buzz.

The machine was practically overloading with energy and I could feel it all the way down to the centre of the earth.

Jesus, this thing was huge.

"You think you're the only one stalling?" Ultron walks to the side, one hand out, avoiding the large metal machinery.

"There's the rest of the Vibranium," FRIDAY tells us. "Function, still unclear."

Tony's shock hits me like a tsunami. I could sense it come out of him in waves. I think he knows exactly what this was. And it wasn't good.

"This is how you end, Tony."

Something moved beneath the earth and my echolocation is suddenly filled with new patterns of energy signals.

Bots.

"You bastard, what did you do?!" I shout, swirls of blue green and gold, surrounding my body.

Ultron gives me a small, dark, crooked smile. "This is peace in my time."

Explosions start to happen around us and I watch in horror as Ultron's bots flood the city.

Screams of panic erupt up in the air.

My blood turned cold.

Civilians.

I pillared myself out of the church and ran towards the fight, gliding through rooftops and structures knowing Tony had flown away to do the same.

"Steve, incoming--move!" Letting myself drop in front of a bot behind the Super Soldier, I wrap my legs around its neck.

The bot tries to fight back but I'm quicker having squeezed my fingers, breaking the bot from the inside out and making it crumble to pieces of metal.

Fire and debris were exploding in all different directions.

The sounds of sobs and wails were deafening. 

Civilians were running away from the fight but the bots flying above us were shooting at the perimeter, blocking all chances of escape and making them run back into the Square.

Ultron was trapping them.

"Run! Get away from the fight!" I command loudly, eliciting enough energy to form a blockade around the cove that was built.

The shield blocks Ultron's attacks but I can't reach everybody, not like this.

Civilians go down as the bots shoot at a concrete structure.

The building shattered, rubble and debris falling like dominos across anyone who failed to escape.

"FRIDAY! The vision?" Tony shouts.

"Boss, it's working. He's burning Ultron out of the net, he won't escape through there."

Okay, one step down. A few more to go.

"Scarlet, Clint, how you hanging there?" Dodging another light beam at a bot, I manifest an energy blade.

The blade cuts through it and I flipped around, striking another in the back.

"Well, Wanda just got her ass handed back to her," Clint speaks breathlessly. "Tell me why I'm fighting with a bow and arrow again?"

"Beats me," I huff, running towards the bridge. "You know it could be worse--"

There's a loud crack, followed by thunderous movements as rock and concrete began to shift endlessly.

I stop in my tracks and felt my abilities go haywire.

Oh my god.

Definitely worse.

The city of Sokovia splintered like nothing and I watch in absolute terror as the ground beneath our feet began to crackle and burst open.

The ground lifted like nothing, earth and gravity fighting against one another.

In my desperation, I slam my palms onto the base of the ground, fueling my energy to force the ground steady.

"Come on!" I shout, the lights branching out, threading through the earth and digging in like spikes.

Ultron's machinery is stronger, it fights against my abilities like a tug of war and just as my threads grasp for the last piece of still land, I don't make it.

The lights are unable to wrap themselves around the city in completion and the last of gravity falls apart.

The city began to levitate, and we along with it.

Oh, we're screwed.

~~@ @ @~~

A/N

We're getting closer to Civil War guys, I'm feeling a bit queasy. 

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