Chapter 15: Give 'em HellSummary:The Avengers try to prevent Ultron from building himself a new body...how will it turn out with Quake in play?
Notes:So...I did not intend to take 2 months writing this. I've been writing it on and off, and I'm so glad I finally finished this chapter! Although I'm really glad E8 of Wandavision came out before finishing this so I had a better idea of Wanda's story for her scene!
Chapter TextThe flight to South Korea to intercept Dr Cho was a long one, despite the Quinjet's superior flight speed, they'd be flying all night and would arrive sometime in the morning. Or rather, South Korea's morning, which was a whole day after they left Clint's house.
Nat let her rest her head on her shoulder, like she had on accident in the tower – an incident was only a few days ago but felt like a lifetime. She hadn't let go of their entangled fingers either, simply pulling their joint hands into her lap.
The Quinjet was on autopilot. Steve was lying asleep across a row of folded chairs, taking what Clint affectionately called a 'cap-nap'. His back was ramrod straight as though he was ready for action even in his sleep.
The steady hum of the engine was soothing. Nat was idly drawing patterns into the back of Daisy's hand, sending occasional shivers down her spine as her fingertips ghosted over her skin. The shoulder muscles under Daisy's cheek felt surprisingly relaxed and Nat's body language was open, inviting. Daisy wasn't sure what this meant, but it felt like more than friends with benefits. She hadn't had much luck with relationships, so she tried not to think too much into it. Clint watched them from his position in an opposite seat – arms crossed, stance wide and eyes slightly narrowed as he observed them.
"So, Daisy," Clint started, and Daisy got the uncanny feeling of being interrogated on her relationship by a protective older brother. Nat's protective older brother.
"Don't start," Nat grumbled close to Daisy's ear and interrupting him before he could finish his sentence. Clint chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright," he assuaged, "I just wanted to get to know the newest member of our team."
Daisy lifted her head from Nat's shoulder, clearing her throat, "What do you want to know?"
He leant forward, hands steepled in front of him like he was about to read her tarot cards and tell her about her future, "What are your thoughts on Budapest?"
Daisy scrunched her face up at the odd question, "Pretty city. Never been there."
"Good," Clint nodded, leaning back, and rummaging through the open popcorn packet at his side, "She didn't tell you."
"Tell me what?" Dread settled in Daisy's stomach. Was this some horrible secret she should know…? Was this Nat's Bahrain?
"Clint is worried I told you about our mission in Budapest," Nat filled in, smile in her voice, "See, he got stuck with his pants down when the chickens-"
"That is highly classified information," Clint scolded loudly over Nat's talking, and threw a piece of popcorn at her, being the secret agent she was, she caught it in her mouth. Nat let out a small chuckle.
"But Daisy's an ex-SHIELD agent," Nat pointed out with a pout, "She has clearance for certain important team-bonding information."
"Clearance my ass," Clint scoffed, "Kid was barely Level 1 when she was in SHIELD." His voice took on a high girlish tone as he mocked her, "'Oh no I'm being chased by a bear, oh save me Natasha save me!'"
Daisy reached out and quaked the packet of popcorn. It spilled out all over the floor – some pieces finding their way through the cracks in the grate. He flipped her the bird, grumbling as he tried to salvage as many less-tarnished pieces as he could. Daisy relaxed some of the tension in her shoulders, realising that Clint wasn't averse to her presence or about to interrogate her on SHIELD or the ATCU lie or the multitude of uncomfortable topics he could have chosen.
Cap stirred in his sleep – lifting his head a few inches to survey the commotion, before dropping right back into slumber.
"We should get some sleep," Nat announced, "Long day ahead. We'll need to be sharp."
Daisy nodded, a yawn already on her lips.
"This isn't over," Clint warned teasingly with a raised finger, and a grumpy crunch of a rescued piece of popcorn. However, he twisted in his seat, pulling his detachable hood down to cover his eyes as he followed Nat's silent order.
Daisy settled back on Nat's shoulder, momentarily startled by the soft press of lips against her temple. She sighed, wiggling to get more comfortable at the awkward angle and gave their conjoined hands a squeeze.
Nat leant back against the wall and Daisy felt her breathing even out as she performed some superspy technique and dropped into sleep. It was more similar to May's light sleeping meditation than Daisy's 'I'm dead to the world' slumber.
It took Daisy much longer, but the soothing vibrations of the engine and the steady breaths from Nat soon allowed her mind to drift away.
***
"He's uploading himself into the body," Steve's voice filtered through the Quinjet speakers.
Daisy glanced up from her tablet, sharing as grim look with Nat. Clint cursed from the pilot seat. They were hovering above a city in South Korea. Daisy should be excited, she'd never been to South Korea before. Instead, all she felt was dread.
"Where?"
Daisy glanced down to her tablet, trying to track possible movement from Ultron, but the cities' travel data was immense.
"The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark," Dr Cho informed Steve, sounding in pain.
"First I have to find it."
Daisy got a hit. There was strange data activity from the airport. She sent it to the Nat, catching her eyes from across the table. Nat's mouth pressed in a tight line as she nodded.
"Go," Dr Cho urged.
"Did you guys copy that?" Steve asked over comms.
"We did," Clint affirmed.
"We got a private jet taking off across town," Daisy announced.
"No manifest, it could be him," Nat agreed.
"I see him," Clint said, "Truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver."
" Negative! If that truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron."
"I can do that," Daisy said, abandoning the tablet to tighten her gauntlets. Nat's eyes twinkled as she glanced over her, searching for something, Daisy wasn't sure what, but it felt a lot like sizing her up.
Nat nodded.
"We'll take the bike," Nat affirmed, stalking over to the impressive motorbike in the hanger. Daisy couldn't help but get distracted momentarily by the sway of Nat's hips as she sauntered. She swung her legs over, tossing back her hair as she tightened her grip on the handlebars. She cocked an eyebrow at Daisy, obviously catching on to the staring judging by the small, amused smile on her perfectly kissable lips, and jerked her head to the space behind her, "Hop on."
Daisy scrambled to follow, swinging up behind Nat. It felt as natural as breathing to loop her arms around Nat's waist. Nat cradled her where her hands were locked together almost tenderly, before gripping the handles again.
"Got a window in 3!" Clint yelled.
"Hold tight, baby," Nat purred, turning around to plant a quick kiss to Daisy's cheek.
Daisy squeezed her hands tighter around Nat's waist feeling her muscles tensing underneath her hand. She rested her chin on Nat's shoulder as she braced herself for the stomach-churning drop and significant risk to their lives. Just another day in the office.
"Give 'em hell," Clint yelled, as the ground opened up.
Daisy struggled to hold in her yelp as the hangar door opened and they dropped to the ground below. The impact was jarring but she held fast as Nat fearlessly zipped through traffic. She kept her balance, the wind whipping so fast into her eyes it was hard to see. A car swerved closer and Daisy tensed for impact, but Nat dodged easily, her vibrations as steady as ever.
"Always picking up after those boys," Nat muttered, leaning down to scoop Cap's shield off the road. Daisy barely noticed the small shield and her adrenaline spiked as the bike careened to the side. Her short stint on a moped in San Juan was not good preparation for this, but at least she had superpowers. All Nat had was nerves of steel.
"They're heading over the overpass, I've got no shot," Clint filtered through comms.
"Which way?" Nat yelled over the wind.
"Hard right…now!"
Nat suddenly turned down them right down an alleyway. A pedestrian leapt out of the way, Daisy pushed out a vibrational field around them – shoving a few more pedestrians aside. It wasn't subtle, but it certainly beat running them over.
They skidded, down another tight alleyway, which was thankfully empty. The truck came up in front of them, Nat sped up to drive alongside it. Cap was on top, in a chokehold by Ultron.
"I'm gonna jump!" Daisy decided, even as fear shot through her at the very thought of leaping from the speeding motorbike, "Hold steady!"
Daisy used Nat's shoulders to steady herself, the leather soft underneath her fingers as she climbed to her feet on the seat. She was loathe to let go of the support, but steeled herself and thrust her hands down under her to build up some vibrations against the fast-speeding tarmac.
Nat flung the shield up to Cap, just as Daisy flung her arms out and shot into the air, stomach dropping out as she swung in an arc toward the van. She barely managed it, fingernails scraping against the harsh metal as she grappled for purchase. She was hanging off the lip of the van, legs swinging where the door should be. Her heart was in her throat, arms straining as she swung herself up before the two bots could emerge from the belly of the truck. She grappled to her feet as Steve rammed the shield into Ultron. He fell to his feet but send out some form of energy blast – forcefully tearing up a chunk of tarmac to block Nat's path.
"Nat!" Daisy cried out, as spike of fear flooded through Daisy when Nat barrelled towards it. She managed to swerve, skidding the bike in an impressive manoeuvre, balancing on the front wheel. She breathed a sigh of relief and caught Nat's gaze – but Nat looked panicked herself. Daisy frowned, as Nat's panicked face formed the words Daisy! –
Something hit her right in the chest, and she went flying. The wind was knocked right out of her in one long wheeze. She felt weightless for one spine chilling second then - her fall was broken as her back smashed into the windscreen of the car behind. Dull pain flared up her spine as the owner in the car screamed an ear piercing terrified shrieked. Ultron looked gloating as Cap followed, his body flung into the car next to her. Ultron clenched his fist. The car began to flip with his same energy force, but Daisy countered the attack, clenching her teeth at the strain to keep the car level with her counter vibrations. Cap wasn't saved, the car he'd landed on flipping over in an arc, the cars behind following, barely missing Cap as they skidded upside down.
The grating of metal against tarmac was awful to her ears, as were the screams from the cars as they flew. Cap was up on his feet in a flash, leaping back up to challenge Ultron, Daisy couldn't get a clear shot to blast him from without catching Steve as they sped away. The cars piled up around her and Daisy swore, leaping off the hood of the car as terrified screams arose from the upturned car carnage surrounding her.
"Daisy do you copy? Do you need back-up?" Nat's panicked voice flooded through comms, "Daisy!"
"All clear," Daisy said, breath still knocked out of her, but a rush of affection flooded through her at Nat's sudden loss of composure on her behalf, "I've lost sight of Ultron. Civilian casualties need evac – I'm gonna try help – shit."
Daisy watched in horror as Ultron flipped another car behind him, blocking her way but the family van upturned and careened into onlookers. Daisy sent out a quake as she ran toward them, slowing down it's trajectory – the car suspended in mid-air as a terrified Korean commuter trembled just below, hands raised to face certain catastrophe. She quaked the car backwards, righting it the right way up before it smashed back on the ground. An upturned car behind was full of screaming. Daisy rushed over just as a fire broke out from the engine.
"Get them out Daisy, Cap's got Ultron. Clint can you draw out the guards?" Nat's voice was back in mission-mode.
"Let's find out," Clint affirmed.
Daisy could hear machine gunshots from the quinjet in the distance, but she was focused on grasping the bloodied hand of the terrified woman in the flames. She yanked her out, checking her over for injuries – she would live.
"Hey, it's okay, it's going to be okay," Daisy tried to comfort the hysterical woman, "Was there anyone with you?"
The woman didn't speak English. Daisy felt with the vibrations, locating two small children from the wreckage. She got them out, quaking anything in her path – ripping through crumpled seats. Commuters around her gawked, holding phones out as they filmed her. She growled at one of them, ordering him to comfort the crying child in her arms.
The sound of sirens approached, and Daisy breathed a sigh of relief, glancing around her to see the rest of the wreckages. She pulled out two more casualties by the time the emergency services were able to rush to their rescue. They shot her surprised but thankful looks, awe in their faces as they took in the new superhero.
Daisy tampered down the uncomfortable feeling and looked around. She spotted an unfortunate moped rider gawking at the scene.
***
Daisy sped along the overpass on the stolen moped, following the carnage in Ultron's wake under the bridge. She did ask the guy for the moped but she's fairly sure he didn't understand her. Saving civilians would have won her superhero brownie points at least, even if stealing from one might take them away.
"The bots are headed back toward you Nat. So, whatever you're going to do, do it now," Clint warned.
"I'm going in, Cap can you keep Ultron occupied?"Nat murmured.
"What do you think I've been doing?" Steve huffed, sounding exhausted. She could hear the distant screeching of a train in the background.
Daisy could see the truck ahead, just as Nat caught up to it, standing up on the bike and leaping into the vehicle. It swerved and crashed into a bunch of crates, Daisy skirted the discarded bottles, speeding up to be level with the edge of the truck.
"Nat, I've got eyes on you," Daisy said, just as the two specs of Iron Legion bots sped from the sky down towards them, "Two bots incoming."
The bots sped down toward the ground, Daisy reached out, sending a quake blast toward them. They scattered backward, flung through the air. The truck juddered, the whites of Nat's eyes glancing up toward her before the bots circled back again.
Daisy prepared herself, but the bots ignored her, surging toward the bottom of the truck. She tried to reach out with an arm to quake the bots apart, but a piece of shrapnel appeared from nowhere. She ducked – it scraped the top of her ear, barely a whisper away from clarting her in the head.
The moped jerked, speeding out of control and she had to launch herself off to avoid a collision with a solid pillar. The ground came toward her fast and she tucked in with the roll, grunting at the impact as the tarmac scraped her cheek.
She could hear distant yells and the cocking of guns. The van was speeding toward a defence line of Korean cops. She cursed, rushing to her feet to sprint toward them and stop the van somehow, without setting off the stone, but she was too late. The van was lifted into the air by the pair of Iron Legion bots, surging into the air with Nat still inside.
A third bot shot down in front of her appearing from above, she ducked just as it swung an arm and grabbed her by the shoulder – slamming her into a pillar nearby.
"The package is airborne. I have a clean shot," Clint said, and Daisy could see past the bot to the quinjet in the direct path of the airborne truck.
"Negative!" Daisy yelled, evading the metal punch that cracked the cement pillar behind her, "Do NOT take the shot, Nat's still in there!"
"Why the hell is she...?" Clint retaliated. Daisy grappled with the bot, sensing a protective blend of vibranium buzzing beneath the metal, but she twisted – jerking the head right from its body. It fell apart at her feet.
"Just be ready," Nat interrupted, "I'm sending the package to you."
"How do you want me to take it?" Clint asked calmly.
"Uhh, you might wish you hadn't asked that".
Way up in the sky she spied the quinjet closing in on the truck, Nat obviously wrestling with the cradle inside.
In front of her the Korean cops had their guns raised, shouting commands at her, but they didn't shoot. Likely didn't know if she was an Avenger or not. There was no time for her to give back-up to Steve, but she could here the commotion through comms.
She raised her arms in peace to the cops, keeping her eyes fixed on the sky. Daisy saw the moment Ultron flew upwards the cradle, a spec streaking through the sky headed straight toward the truck and to Nat. Then suddenly, an explosion blasts through the air, red hot. Smoke obscuring the blip in the sky.
"Has anyone got eyes on Nat!?" Clint yelled, terror and fear in his voice for Nat, "Cap!? Daisy!?"
She rushed to the edge of the dock, hands shooting out beneath her to draw on the vibrations in the ground. A rumble proceeded her, cracks appearing beneath her as the force rattling her gauntlets with the strain. She built it up, gritting her teeth that felt like they'd shoot of her skull before she pushed.
She shot up into the air, trajectory heading towards Ultron, she was climbing higher, the wind getting stronger, she pushed down more on the ground. Fighting to get more vibration underneath her. The smoke obscured her vision, her chest tight, gritting her teeth in determination as she sailed higher.
She saw it, Nat dangling in the arms of Ultron as the smoke cleared.
"I see her!" Daisy yelled back, barely able to garble out the words over the wind, that springs tears into her eyes, "Ultron has her!"
He was hovering, fighting against a faulty jet, but glancing around as if gloating. The quinjet swooped out of reach.
"Clint, if you have the package get it to Stark! Go!" Steve ordered.
Her method of flight was choppy and haphazard at best, but she managed to reach up and grapple one of Ultron's legs.
"Get off!" Ultron huffed and kicked down at her like she's a stray dog grappling onto his leg, kicking as swinging at Daisy's purchase. She gripped tighter, hearing Agent May's chiding about her lack of clear planning and irrational thinking as she holds on for dear life.
She tried to quake him apart like she had with the Iron Legion bots, but before she could even try Ultron reached out a blast. She could barely hear or see through the wind, but she could faintly tell Nat was yelling. He hit her in the shoulder as he lashed out, squishing her fingers and her grip slackened.
She was falling. Limbs flailing uselessly as she plummeted backward through the air, Ultron glanced down apathetically, and zoomed away with Nat captured in his arms.
Daisy could barely remember to cushion her fall – a free fall lasting a horribly long couple of seconds. She reached out, grateful for water to cushion her landing at least a little, a tidal wave crashing around her as she splashed into the river.
She plunged under, fighting to orient herself and kicking wildly to the surface she could barely see. She crashed through the surface, gasping and coughing as more water filled her lungs.
She can swim, just not very well. Not all the way out here in such a large body of water.
"Daisy!" Clint yelled, concern in his voice for her this time. She thought vaguely he must have seen her plummet to the ground, "Do you copy?"
"I'm alive. Take the cradle," she managed to say, pushing down fear as she tread the water below and forced herself to keep calm and collected. Conserve energy, wait for rescue. Her limbs feel heavy, but she couldn't be more grateful for skin-tight tactical suits and waterproof Stark tech. "Cap, some help might be good?"
"Where are you?" Steve asks.
Daisy glanced around, fighting to keep afloat in the choppy waters. If Nat were here, she'd probably tease her and call her 'rybka' again, but Nat's not here and she failed to stop Ultron. Daisy wasn't sure how much of the panic and adrenaline is from the sudden expanse of water surrounding her, or of the knowledge that Nat is in Ultron's clutches.
"In the river. Highway on my right."
A small beeping sound pierced the still air from her right. She frowned, floating on her back so she could see that underwater. There was a red blinking light. It's coming from her right gauntlet. She lifted it up and only then she could hear the faint and tinny robotic voice.
"Emergency situation detected. GPS systems activated. Would you like me to send co-ordinates?"
She's not sure whether to be touched by Starks' innate desire to protect his team or pissed off that he'd placed an AI and a tracker in her gauntlets.
"Send them."
Within two minutes a blur appeared, and suddenly she was being wrenched out of the water. An uncomfortable g-forced pulled against her entire body as the wind ravaged her face, then as sudden as it appeared the world jerked to a halt. Suddenly she was on dry land, head spinning but glorious dirt at her feet. She would be concerned it was an attack from Ultron, if not for her double vision of Steve looking somewhat relaxed not them.
Pietro still had a hand steadying around her back, but he swayed a little, looking dead on his feet.
"Thanks dude," Daisy said, clapping him on the back, "Batting for our team now, huh?"
He gave her a weary smile, plonking down onto a nearby chunk of debris. Daisy could barely register the fully extent of the wreckage behind – how much property damage can the Avengers manage in one day? Who cleans up? Certainly not SHIELD anymore.
"The Cradle?" Wanda turned to Daisy, eyes intense, "Did you get it?"
She nodded, eyeing Wanda cautiously, but their last-minute alliance didn't surprise her. Something about the pair had screamed 'misguided childhood seeking guidance' rather than evil Nazi soldiers. With a quick glance over at Wanda, she determined she couldn't be much older than a teenager anyway.
"He doesn't have it," she reassured Wanda, and turned to Steve, "But he has Nat."
Her side ached and she was drenched, hair plastered to her forehead and teeth chattering despite the relative heat of the day. She needed to find Nat.
"Stark will take care of the cradle," Steve assured the twins before levelling her with an assure nod, "We'll get Nat back."
"No Stark won't take care of it," Wanda argued.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Stark's not crazy," Steve defended, jaw set tight. Daisy raised an eyebrow at his quick defence of the guy he seemed to forever be at odds with.
"No, he won't," Wanda rebutted, and she seemed very sure of herself, "He will do anything to make things right."
"Ultron 2.0," Daisy said, biting her lip, "It's not impossible."
"Stark come in," Steve frowned, "Anyone on comms?"
"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it," Wanda muttered, "Where do you think he gets that?"
***
Nat came to sharply – a ringing in her ears, the smell of dirt and gasoline and smoke burning her nostrils. She was on the ground – it was stone, hard and paved underneath her prone body.
She pried her eyelids open, registering that the ringing wasn't only in her head. Hammers were hammering metal in the distance, a great big vat of molten steel on her right, providing dim lighting for the dreary scene.
"I wasn't sure you'd wake up," Ultron drawled.
She staggered onto her elbow, side blossoming with the painful ache of bruise. She couldn't remember much, only the wide desperate eyes of Daisy as she clung unto Ultron's leg before the panicked surprised as she plummeted down to the ground. Then – now. Ultron must have knocked her out and carried her all the way to…wherever here was.
"I hoped you would, I wanted to show you something. I don't have anyone else," Ultron continued, his voice dripping with self-pity. Nat winced, struggling to stay balanced on her trembling arm. "She abandoned me, hates me. Same as Stark. Both as bad as each other."
Nat registered despite the pounding in her head that Ultron must've been talking about Daisy.
"Why create something just to destroy it?" Ultron mused. Nat shuffled, fingers scrambling about to find purchase on any sort of weapon. "As if I'm anything less than what they intended."
Behind Ultron many other versions of him worked to build something, but she wouldn't have a clue what it was. She was outnumbered. Badly.
"I think a lot about meteors, the purity of them…" Ultron monologued. If Nat weren't so afraid of provoking the metal weapon, she'd scoff, but it was an excellent way to gather intel. She tried to catalogue his words and apply meaning to them, find out his play. "Boom!" he yelled, "The end. Start again. The world made clean for the new man to rebuild."
He looked up from the parts he was tinkering with, red eyes glowing in the dim light as he cocked his head at her.
"I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful. The world would've looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy. Instead, they'll look up in horror because of you. You've wounded me. I give you full marks for that. But, like the man said, "What doesn't kill me…"
Suddenly his body exploded into shards of shrapnel, a metal hard clamped around his heart. The parts fell away to reveal a towering version of Ultron. She crawled backward, desperate to get away from the greater danger, but even more desperate to position herself closer to the spare parts she'd noticed behind her.
"Just makes me stronger."
She shuffled back until her head hit a box of spare electrical parts, Ultron took the chance to slide the grid closed – enclosing her into a make-shift cell.
"I hope she'll come," Ultron mused, peering at Natasha through the grid, "Witness the end of the world she helped destroy. Witness the end of you."
***
Daisy followed the weary three as they trudged into the spare quinjet. The twins looked around in reserved awe at the high-tech specs of the futuristic aircraft. It wasn't as large or high-tech as Starks' main jet and resembled more of SHIELD's current quinjet than the Avenger's one. Daisy relaxed her shoulders as soon as the doors closed, surprised to find how tight her muscles had been coiled.
Her suit was still wet, and her boots left wet imprints on the metal, the squeaking sound awkwardly loud amidst the silence. She dropped into the fold-out seats with relief, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath before reaching for the tablet by the missile controls.
Steve emerged with an emergency blanket, draping it over her shoulders, she took it with a grateful smile, wrapping up tight to stave-off the damp cold seeping into her bones.
"Do you guys have any communication methods that might be off book?" Daisy asked him, "Any specific frequencies or…?"
Steve shook his head, "I wouldn't know I'm afraid," he checked his watch, "Barton might be back on base. Give him a call, he'll know where to look."
He left with a friendly pat on her shoulder, she shot him back a tight-lipped smile, turning her attention to the tablet. She tried to call Clint, but he wasn't answering. She turned her attention to known SHIELD frequencies, but it was a hopeless task when she didn't know if Nat was even conscious – let alone able to access equipment to get a message out.
Daisy felt Wanda's presence sliding into the seat next to her, but she kept her eyes on the static waves from the channels. Some SHIELD chatter was coming through, but nothing relevant.
"You care about them," Wanda said, her voice assured in her own observations. Daisy glanced up from her typing to acknowledge Wanda's presence momentarily, before dropping her attention back to the scrolling signal frequencies.
"Hard not to," Daisy answered honestly, a little un-nerved by Wanda's ability to stare at the side of her head like she could read Daisy's entire life story on her face. Maybe she could, she'd already been inside her mind once.
Wanda's head cocked as though she were listening ordetecting something.
"Stay out of my head," Daisy muttered darkly in warning, but she couldn't feel the tendrils of Wanda's power and her eyes were decidedly normal in her periphery. She had a specific vibration frequency that was…chaotic, to say the least. She'd never felt it in anyone else before.
"I am not inside your head," Wanda assured her, but had the sense to look apologetic, "I'm sorry. I would not wish to do that again."
"Good," Daisy remarked, but there was no malice in her tone, and she could see Wanda relax a little.
Across them Daisy could see Pietro listening in, ready to jump to his sister's rescue if needed.
"You have not known them long," Wanda pointed out, "Yet you fight for them…"
Daisy did look up at this, tearing her attention away from the fruitless backscatter channels. Wanda was searching her face, a certain vulnerability behind her hardened eyes and tightly controlled expression. The eyes of someone who couldn't possibly comprehend such quick loyalty to a bunch of strangers, because why would it ever be worth fighting for someone you barely knew, when there was no-one fighting for you? Daisy wondered if it was only obvious to her because she knew that feeling too.
"We want the same thing," Daisy said, "To protect people. Help people. Stop the bad guys from hurting more."
Wanda nodded solemnly, "I thought Hydra and then Ultron was a good way to get back at Stark for…" she stopped, seeming to reconsider whether she wanted to continue. Daisy could feel the anger radiating from her, "I wanted to help protect my people, but they were not good."
"You know, technically I used to be a cyber terrorist," Daisy admitted, seeing the curious and amused tilt to Wanda's head at that, "A hacking group called the Rising Tide. We'd leak mission secrets. Some from SHIELD, some even, from them," she gestured her head to where Steve was piloting the quinjet, "I always thought we had a right to know these secrets, and the information I hacked had no consequences. No-one was going to die if I told them about an alien invasion cover-up. Now I know it put a lot of lives in danger."
Wanda nodded, her face contemplative.
"SHIELD was easy to hate," Daisy confessed, "When I had no trust in them."
"I was under the impression that SHIELD was betrayed by Hydra. Perhaps your trust was not misplaced…" Wanda glanced toward Rogers at the front, a sneaky gleam in her eye – a secret shared in the curl of her lip as she looked back to Daisy, "You trust them now?"
"With my life."
Wanda nodded and fell quiet. Daisy sensed an end to their discussion, turning back to the channels – waiting for Clint to finally pick up his damn phone. Wanda shifted, and spoke again.
"You are afraid of hurting the ones you love the most," Wanda pointed out, "I find it…noble."
Daisy did frown at that, feeling herself shutting down at the mention of the vision. She would never hurt Mack, or get back with Ward, so it was irrelevant.
"Why did you show me that?" Daisy asked instead, "That vision? Why?"
"I do not control what you see," Wanda shrugged, "I have never been able to. It comes from somewhere…. else."
"From the victim's emotions?" Daisy inquired. She caught Wanda's flinch at the word 'victims'.
"Perhaps."
At least Daisy got the sense that Wanda wasn't being cryptic on purpose, she was just as clueless to the extent of her powers as anyone else.
"You say you're not an inhuman?" Daisy probed. Wanda shook her head. "Then how…?"
"I touched the sceptre," Wanda said, "There was power there. Pietro and I were the only ones who could."
Daisy's confusion only deepened at that, if they were not genetically inhuman, then why did only the Maximoff twins survive and evolve?
Well, she supposed, the sceptre was Asgardian, and they have a magical hammer. Or well, Simmons would adamantly tell her that 'magic wasn't real, it's science'. However, all bets were off with where aliens were involved.
So, she nodded.
"My team wanted to bring you two in to help you," Daisy said, "I could still help you get control of your powers, learn what you can do in a safe environment-"
"I appreciate the offer," Wanda shot her down, "But I have only known control."
Daisy sighed, "It's still worth considering the option."
She could tell Wanda was not convinced and a small smile tugged on her lips. Wanda reminded her a lot of her younger self – determined that she had everything under control and didn't need external help at all. It must be disorientating to say the least – Hydra to Ultron to the Avengers within a week. This must be how Coulson felt bringing her naïve, untrained self onto the Bus only a few years ago. Protective, worried, concerned.
"What will you do after this?" Wanda inquired.
Daisy was spared from her reply – she hadn't even formed one yet – by Clint finally picking up.
"Have you got anything?" she rushed out before he could start.
"Tapped into an old analogue frequency," Clint said, "Morse code. I've got co-ordinates. She's in Sokovia."
Daisy breathed a sigh of relief, slumping in the chair. At least now they had a location, they can form a plan. Nat might be okay. She might be unharmed.
"We'll rescue your girlfriend-in-distress soon, sweetheart," Clint teased. Daisy blushed at the idea of Nat being her girlfriend, although she could hear the concern still underlying his voice.
"I'm sure The Black Widow can handle herself," Daisy shot back.
She could sense his smile even if she couldn't see it.
"Right you are, kid. Right you are."
He exited the call and Daisy finally leant her head back onto the headrest.
They'd get her back.
Chapter 16: I Adore YouNotes:That moment when you haven't updated your fic since February…I've been working on this chapter sentence by sentence for almost a whole year. Hope you enjoy anyway!
Chapter Text"No way we all get through this," Tony muttered, taking a shot of his favourite pre-battle scotch whisky, "If even one tin solider is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor."
Daisy adjusted her gauntlets, tightening the straps and rolling out her shoulders. Across from her she saw Clint folding up his family photo and tuck it into his breast pocket. He nodded to her solemnly when they caught eyes.
"Well, I've got no plans tomorrow night," Steve uttered.
"I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for," Tony demanded.
"That's true, he hates you the most," said Jarvis 2.0 as he strode past. Daisy held in her little jump at the sound, still getting used to new vibration of the strange human-robot vibranium hybrid.
It was funny how quickly they could go from tearing each other's throats out, to getting back to the mission. If Thor hadn't made the decision for them, she honestly wasn't sure how it would have gone. Personally, she was in favour of whatever caused the least damage.
"I agree with the purple man," Daisy forcing on the light-hearted smirk, "He'd have made a move already if he wasn't waiting for Stark."
"Who says he only hates me?" Stark scoffed, "It takes two to tango."
Steve shot her a sympathetic smile, "Ultron took Natasha for a reason, Daisy."
Daisy swallowed nervously, "I'm still taking point on Nat."
"You're walking into an ambush," Clint muttered, shaking his head as he stared at her, but his resigned posture told her he didn't believe she'd back down.
"We'll be fine with reinforcements," Daisy retorted.
"What reinforcements?" Stark scoffed, "I don't think your ATCU buddies have got enough fire power to defeat a robot."
"Not that you know of," Daisy scowled.
"Could you get more cryptic?" Stark scoffed sarcastically.
"The point is Ultron knows we're coming," Steve interrupted loudly, "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."
**
Daisy stared outside of the Quinjet window as they passed over the cotton clouds below, back towards were it all began. Mind fill of thoughts of Natasha, and thoughts of how attached she was, and how concerning that should be.
"Suit-up soldier," Tony commanded, startling Daisy out of her thoughts.
She frowned – she was already suited up.
She glanced at his outstretched hand to where he was almost pushing a new field-suit into her hands. She paused, taking the fabric hesitantly as her fingers passed over the material. It was black, very light weight, hints of the same blue light as her gauntlets but it was still a similar design to her usual field suit.
"Tony, I can't…" she began to protest half-heartedly since she knew he wouldn't really be swayed.
"Take it," Tony said with a shrug, "I already made it, so you might as well wear it."
Daisy took it with a grumble, she didn't like owing possessions to Stark, but she had to admit his upgrades and modifications could be the difference between saving her life and by proxy, maybe saving someone else's life. At least Fitz could break it down to check for anything unusual. Like another stupid tracking device.
"Thank you," she said sincerely.
He merely nodded, and said with a terse but friendly, "Just don't die on us, squirt."
Daisy protested the childish nickname, but Stark had already wandered off to the front to act like he had important things to fiddle around with.
Across from her Wanda offered her a tiny comforting smile and Daisy's eyes narrowed as she could have sworn the witch was wearing one of Nat's jackets…
"Touch down," Steve called.
Daisy rose from her seat, checking her gauntlets one last time. They gathered around Steve, his face pensive, the image of Mr America with his broad shoulders outlined by the blue lights of the screen behind him.
His eyes surveyed the apprehensive group, "All the people of Sokovia want is peace, and that's not going to happen today, but our job is to protect them. And we get the job done, and we find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff," Daisy nodded in affirmation, "and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."
The group nodded in agreement, "Stay on comms. Stay alive." The doors to the Quinjet opened and Daisy locked eyes with Clint, giving him a quick nod, before turning on her heels and jogging into town.
She dodged past Sokovian's with spooky red eyes, their bodies guiding them without a thought behind their eyes. She shivered as chills ran down her back. The air was quiet and calm, but they all knew it would change in a matter of seconds. Right now Pietro would be alerting the authorities and Wanda had already started leading the civilians to safety. It wasn't hard to find where she was going – she had already studied maps of the Hydra Sokovian base over and over again and she knew the quickest route to the armoury where she'd seen Natasha on the CCTV.
It was eerily quiet as she jogged up the stone passage, she sent out vibrations, but it was hard to pin down what was animated metal and what was scrap in the massive junkyard. She paused at the entrance, breathing a little sigh of relief as she felt the steady heartbeat of a human in the room – Natasha.
"Here goes nothing," she whispered, emerging into the room – hands held up, ready. She frowned, the room seemed empty, and she crept further, her instincts telling her to be careful as she rounded another cast iron furnace. She could see Natasha at the end, resting against a heavy metal crate, in a literal cell. She looked fine, a small cut on her forehead maybe-
Daisy felt the hairs on her neck rise before she ducked, and the spinning disk of hurled metal flew past her head by a hair's width.
"Ah, Daisy," Ultron drawled, and she whipped around to see the huge, hulking form of animated metal striding towards her, "Come to save the human?"
Even as Daisy squared up to him she could tell he was distracted – this wasn't his main form, that one was being stalled by Stark so that she could take Natasha to safety.
"Ultron you look different," she quipped, bracing herself, "New veneers?"
"And you claim you're not like Stark," he scoffed, she inched her way backwards towards Natasha's spot, he titled his head – taking notice, "No matter. You'll die the same."
He launched at her, and she threw her arm out, only for the force of the blast to knock her back instead. He laughed, sending out a blast from his shooters, she ducked and rolled out of the way as the ground beneath her smoked from the scorch. As she rolled she noticed a large metal cauldron far above brimming with molten metal suspended above their heads, hot enough to cause damage to even vibranium. He caught up to her and she backed up on her hands, dodging a blow from his heavy feet as she scrambled backwards on her hands.
"What are you hoping to achieve," he laughed, toying with her as he sent one of his robot minions flying at her. This one was only spare parts of metal so she easily shattered it apart before it could touch her.
Natasha caught quickly onto her plan, hurling insults at Ultron until he turned away from Daisy with a growl of "Silence!" but it was too late and he had stepped right where Daisy needed him. She sent a quake blast at the bolt holding the chain in place, diving out of the way as molten metal poured onto him.
He didn't even get a chance to so much as stutter as his wires short circuited and he collapsed, the smell of burning metal heavy in the air. Daisy scrambled to her feet, kicking dust into the air as she ran to Nat.
"Stay back," Daisy warned, aiming a quake blast at the lock, it shattered open with a crack.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Daisy rushed out as soon as the gate was pried open, cradling Nat's face in her hands to check her over. She looked fine, but she kissed her on the cheeks and forehead – just to make sure she was healthy and alive, and her skin still warm. Nat's hand was a steady presence on her waist, hooking into her utility belt to pull them closer together.
Nat smiled at her fondly, "I'm fine, ribka, thanks for being my knight in shining lycra," she teased, gesturing to the new Stark fitted suit, "Or is it Kevlar…" she mused, fingering the material in her hands.
Daisy rolled her eyes, but kissed Nat on the nose. She could see Natasha's eyes sparkling with mirth and really wanted to kiss her properly, but Nat straightened up, glancing past Daisy to the robot remains that littered the floor. Her hand remained tightly pressing Daisy closer by her waist.
"So, what's our play?" she asked.
"Smash things, stop Ultron?" Daisy answered hesitantly, running an unsure hand through her hair.
Nat chuckled, "That doesn't sound like a very sound plan, baby."
Daisy tried to hide the blush that crept up her cheeks at the way Nat's voice easily drawled out the endearment.
"Then give me something better," she challenged, and Nat smirked but before Nat could dignify that with an answer the earth began to shake, dust and dirt raining from the ceiling around them as the building's foundations shifted.
"Daisy…" Nat intoned warningly.
"That's not me!" Daisy protested, reluctantly letting go of Nat to assess her surroundings.
"We need to go," Nat ordered, grabbing her by the hand to run out of the building quickly, arms up to avoid chunks of stone falling in top of their heads and trying to brush the dust of their eyes.
When they emerged into daylight again Nat whistled in awe.
Daisy glanced up at the floating city with a jolt, it was an entire chunk of earth, rising fast.
"Want a ride?" She yelled at Nat over the wind, and crouched down, indicating for Nat to hop on her back. Nat nodded, hopping onto her back with practiced ease, face tucked into Daisy's shoulder as she squeezed her legs tightly around her waist.
Daisy crouched, building up power in her arms, the vibrations visibly shaking her arms under the strain, but the improved gauntlets still held.
"You're crazy and I adore you!" Nat yelled, over the building sound of the wind and vibrations.
"Tell me that again when I land us safely!" Daisy cried, just before pushing off. The wind whipped around them, and Daisy had to squint through the raining shards of dirt and rocks before spying the floating island above them. Her stomach dropped at the g-force, and she was still rocky on landing so with the extra unbalanced weight they were sent tumbling to the ground above.
Daisy dropped and rolled, Nat launching herself off her back and into her own tuck and roll, somehow managing to upright herself flawlessly. Daisy couldn't help the laugh of exhilaration as she felt the mud under her fingers. Dirt coated Daisy, her hair mussed from the wind but never feeling more alive. Daisy took Nat's offered hand, Nat easily pulling her to her feet.
Nat's thumb came up to rub off some dirt from Daisy's cheek, Daisy's breath hitching as she watch Nat's mouth quirk into a tiny smile, before Nat was gripping her by the chin and pulling Daisy into a kiss. One that had Daisy's head spinning, toes curling, and fingers gripping into Nat's hair to hold onto her for dear life. One that said they were glad to be here, glad to be alive. Nat tasted like gunpowder and fire, and Daisy wanted nothing more than to kiss her until the world ended.
"You're crazy," Nat murmured against her lips when they parted, voice amused, "And I love you."
Daisy's stomach did a series of flipflops that had nothing to do with the fact they were standing on a chunk of flying city. Perhaps Nat hadn't noticed the slip-up, but Daisy's heart raced and suddenly words had failed her entirely.
Nat turned to the forest around them, spying the fight in the distance, "Let's go smash up some robots then sweetheart."
Daisy nodded mutely, Nat's hand curled within hers, tugging them forwards as Daisy followed her blindly into the fray.
Chapter 17: TogetherNotes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextAn explosion erupted behind her as Daisy jumped and skidded over the hood of a car, kicking out to land a solid kick on a robot's head. It shattered apart as she rolled off the hood onto the ground into the metal scraps. Around her the city erupted as bots ran amok, surrounding them with the stench of cement and petrol.
"How many of them are there!" she growled, blasting away a bot to her left with a quick quake, and shooting another through it's processer, "They seem to appear from nowhere."
"Multiplying like catholic rabbits on steroids," Clint agreed, exhaustion thick in his voice.
Daisy dived for an upturned truck as three bots came at her from the air, ducking behind the car to find Nat already taking cover as the bots rained fire over them, the sparks hot as they simmered against the metal above their heads. Natasha's eyes ran over her, assessing her for injuries quickly, before checking the bullets in the barrel of her pistol.
She tutted as she came up empty and grabbed her Escrima sticks from where they were crossed at her back. She twirled them in her hands, and they crackled to life with blue electricity, the light dancing prettily across Natasha's jaw.
"Huh," Daisy remarked, and Nat looked up with her signature smirk.
"Get back to work, agent."
"Yes ma'am," Daisy replied, slipping from behind the car to stand in the middle of the road.
"The Vibranium core has a magnetic field," Stark relayed to the team over comms, as Daisy smashed two robot's heads together, "That's what's keeping the rock together."
"If the rock drops?" Daisy asked, hopping over debris to reach a family trapped inside a car.
"Right now the impact would kill thousands," Stark said, "Once it gets high enough: global extinction…"
"Delightful!" Clint retorted, "Just what I ordered for Christmas."
"Cap, you got incoming!" they heard Stark mention over comms, and Daisy scoffed as she hurled a piece of debris at a robot approaching on Steve's six.
"Incoming already came in," Steve muttered, "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."
"Copy that," Daisy said.
Civilians were running to take cover in the building behind her, bots advancing hot on their heels on the road ahead. She titled her head curiously and knelt down, closing her eyes before sending a quick blast threw the earth – exploding the bits of metal she found as the road cracked beneath her hands.
She caught Natasha's barely concealed impressed look as she rushed over to help a family trapped under some rubble.
A bot flew into a building to her right, exploding glass shards into the air around and raining them on top of her.
She felt the vibrations intensify at her feet in one direction – a deep rumble proceeding it and she turned just in time to see the building to her right tipping toward the ground with the strain of the churning earth beneath as they ascended higher into the sky.
She lifted up her arms, shooting out with a forcefield to keep the building upright, yelling as the strain hit her arms and thrummed throughout her body.
"Stark! Any life forms in there!" she yelled.
"Just a second!"
"I don't have a second!" she gasped out, the weight of the building as it wanted to fall immense.
"Negative. Drop the building."
"Everyone clear the area!" Daisy shouted as civilians scattered the area and she let go, ducking and covering as she attempted to shield herself from the rubble. A force zipped past her and her stomach churned, the world spinning and wind rushing through her ears before it suddenly stopped. She swayed dizzily as Pietro yelled, "You're welcome!" before zipping away.
She shook her head to clear it and gather her bearings, finding herself in a completely new district. She turned around, hearing a small cry. In the wreckage was a small child, she looked to be about 6 years old, tear tracks running down her face as she wailed.
"Hey it's okay!" Daisy called out, approaching closer but the girl screeched and took off, running back towards the sound of gunfire.
"No, no this way!" Daisy tried to yell, but the girl only ran faster, stumbling over rubble and exposed wiring that had Daisy panicking. They rounded the corner as she caught up to her, and Daisy tackled an Ultron bot that was about to blindside the child. When it collapsed at her feet she saw the girl yell out for an elderly lady being guided by Wanda.
Wanda was hurrying along her grandma, turning as the girl yelled out for her. They were overwhelmed, robots flying at them from all sides. The girl flew into her grandmother's arms. Daisy tried to yell out but had to duck as a blaster skimmed past her head.
Clint grabbed Wanda just in time for a second blast as Daisy put up a force shield around them, diving into a wrecked bar nearby. Wanda immediately folded herself into a corner, hands raking through her hair as her breathing picked up.
"How could I let this happen?" She whimpered, on the verge of a breakdown as her eyes filled with tears. Clint looked toward her a little wide eyed.
"You okay?" he asked, voice thick with concern. Daisy immediately crouched down in front of her.
"Take a deep breath for me Wanda, okay?" Daisy calmed, reaching a steadying hand to Wanda's knee, hoping to use it ground her.
"This is all our fault," Wanda panicked.
"Hey, hey, look at me," Daisy implored, a hand on Wanda's cheek as she continued to spiral, "Deep breaths. You need to stay grounded. Trust me, I know this is all too overwhelming right now, but we really need you."
Wanda's eyes were wide with panic still, but she was listening intently to her.
"It doesn't matter what happened before, what matters is what you do now."
"Daisy we're running out of time here," Clint warned as another hole was blasted into the door, he turned and shot through the gap, "Kid, are you up for this? I just need to know, cause the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I've got you two aliens and a bow and arrow."
"Not an alien," Wanda muttered, but it was working to draw her out of her spiral.
"Well, none of this makes sense anyway. I'm going back out there because it's our job. Okay? It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were or whatever happened. You buck up, go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill, because I'd really appreciate some red wiggly woos on my side."
He kicked open the door, arrows zinging out of the bow.
Daisy turned back to Wanda, "Feel my pulse." She urged, "Match my breath. Okay, okay good you're calmer and present. Wanda, you know your own strength and you are in control. I was scared too, believe me, but you were given powers for a reason. Okay?"
She nodded frantically.
"Take a minute, get on your feet and get back out there," Daisy finished, scrambling to her feet as she heard Clint's curses as he fought the swarm. She jumped in, crushing a few with her blasts and dodging swinging fists before she could blast them away.
"Now would be an excellent time Coulson," Daisy muttered, as she peered around the side to see more bots flying toward them.
The door behind her suddenly burst open, wood splintering at the hinges and Wanda came storming out with murder in her eyes. She threw out her magic, obliterating the bots all around them.
Silence swept through the courtyard.
"You go girl.." Daisy breathed out in awe.
Wanda nodded to Daisy, a little speechless.
"Alright we're all clear here," Clint said over comms.
"We are NOT clear! We are very not clear!" Steve exclaimed, explosions clear in the background.
Clint chuckled, "Alright we're coming to you."
Pietro appeared within a second, whisking Wanda away with a "Keep up old man!". Clint narrowed his eyes in annoyance, staring at the empty space behind them.
Daisy shrugged and patted his back in support before shooting up and into the air.
Clint stared into the air after her as she disappeared further into the already too high clouds, "God really has his favourites," he grumbled as he set off in a jog, "Bloody super juiced kids."
**
"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?" Steve ordered, one finger pressed to his ear as they herded the last stragglers into the sturdiest apartment building they could find. The smoke made it hard to see the survivors as Daisy ushered them in.
It was getting harder to breathe, and Daisy's ears had long since dampened with the increased pressure as they rose to a higher altitude. She tried to shake her head to clear it and take deeper breaths, calling to mind her training.
"Well, I've got nothing great," Tony replied, sounding defeated, "Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."
"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan," Steve frowned, eyes scanning the remains of the city before them. Nat doubled back towards them, hopping over rubble.
"I could quake it apart," Daisy offered hesitantly, "I've never tried something this big but it's possible. Lowest level of risk. If we blow it up using whatever contraption Ultron built it could be dangerous."
"Well, it is atomic," Tony sighed, "Can you guarantee if you quake this earth apart that the breakup will be small enough? Even a car could create a blast crater that would wipe out at least a 20m radius and the impact radius is getting bigger every second."
"I can do it," Daisy affirmed, only 90% confident that she even could, "There's no guarantee that thing will explode properly either."
Daisy didn't tell them that she didn't think she'd be able to actually stay conscious if she did create a quake blast so strong it tore even the atoms apart.
"But you would all need to go," Daisy demanded, whirling around to glare at Natasha who was watching her with a sad smile.
"These people aren't going anywhere, Daisy," Natasha replied softly, "We'll have to blow this rock whether or not-"
"No!" she scowled at the same time as Steve interjected, "Not 'till everyone's safe."
"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there," Nat argued, shaking her head.
"We can't just leave-" Daisy protested.
"I didn't say we should leave," Nat said, and she gently took Daisy's hand from where it been clenched as she stressed over what to do, unfurling her fist and gently squeezing it as she intertwined their fingers.
Daisy turned to her, surprised at the soft gesture and even softer expression on her face as she looked out over the clouds, and to the snowy mountain range below. Her hair blew gently in the wind, fire raging on overturned the truck behind her – somehow serene against the devastated landscape.
"There's worse ways to go," she turned to Daisy with her smile, "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"
A bit of static flickered to life over their comms and Daisy's heart leapt as another voice infiltrated their comms, "Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get a whole lot better."
From the depths of the sky rose the great air ship carrier, a great behemoth engineering as it rose into the sky on a level with their airborne city. Steve could barely hold back is huff of disbelief. Behind her, Daisy could see the civilians pressing up against the windows to take a look.
Daisy couldn't help the smile lighting up her own face, and she shared a relieved look with Nat.
"Nice, right?" Nick Fury continued, "I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."
Daisy's heart leapt in delight and her grin widened when she heard May's voice filter through with a scoff, "We're not that old Fury."
He chuckled and Steve rose an eyebrow as the Zephyr uncloaked right above them, the great eagle shaped plane looming over their heads as it faced them. The S.H.I.E.L.D. logo was clearly visible on the exterior.
"Lifeboats secure to deploy. Disengage in three, two... take 'em out," Agent Davis said over comms.
"Cleared for landing, Agent Johnson, get as many injured civilians to us as you can. We've got medical onboard," May added as the Zephyr lowered to the ground.
Steve turned to Daisy with a betrayed frown, eyes narrowing as he said through comms instead, "Fury you son of a bitch."
"Ooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" He replied jovially.
The lifeboats disengaged from the helicarrier, flying over them on the city, civilians stumbling through the wind to reach them – panicked hope in their eyes as they sought the safety of the vessels.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D?" Pietro questioned in awe.
"Apparently," Steve said with a raised eyebrow to Daisy.
She smiled sheepishly, "It's under new management."
"This is not so bad," Pietro complimented as the first boats docked.
"Let's load them up," Rogers ordered, shelving his questions for another day.
"Copy that," Daisy said, turning to direct a hobbling man with a bleeding leg towards where the Zephyr ramp was being lowered.
Nat followed her lead, scooping up a child with a head wound, keeping the surprise from her face as she got her first look at the updated plane.
Daisy helped the man inside, giving him words of encouragement and gentle smiles she hoped got through to him despite the language barrier. Bobbi was there to greet her on the other side, white coat thrown on as she guided the man to the med-bay.
"I like the fancy suit, Tremors," Mack greeted from behind her, "You look like a million dollars." Daisy turned and sank into his giant arms with relief.
"Oh my god it is so good to see you," she breathed out, enveloped in his arms and the familiar smell of his favourite cheap aftershave.
"Now, now I missed you too," Mack said gently prising her arms from his waist, "but I'm not about to let my partner fight death robots on her own," he grabbed the shotgun axe from his back, flicking it to life in his hands, "Lead the way."
Daisy beamed, turning on her heel out of the hangar.
"I know you've been busy," Mack said, turning to Natasha as the jogged, "But have none of you Avengers ever seen a movie in the last 30 years?" She raised an eyebrow, as Mack grumbled, "The robots always attack."
"Well it wasn't my bright idea to build one in the first place," Nat said, hands up as she turned to Daisy with a pointed look.
Steve was handling most of the crowd, directing them onto the lifeboats so that there were only a few bots and stragglers to worry about.
Daisy rolled her eyes, "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"
"Absolutely not!" Mack sassed, splitting the closest robot clean down the middle with his sharpened axe.
Steve was handling most of the crowd, directing them onto the lifeboats so that there were only a few bots and stragglers to worry about.
"Quake, I have an update to the plan," Tony ordered, and Daisy could just make out the blur of his suit as he fought the bots attacking the life boats.
"Now that's a superhero name," Mack smirked.
"You can crack the earth apart," Tony continued, "but there's no guarantee that a quake that high on the richter scale won't make the atomic core unstable anyway."
"Then we've got nothing!" she growled in annoyance, throwing up some shrapnel off of a civilian trapped in the rubble.
"I never said that," Tony retorted, "I create a heat seal. I can supercharge the spire from below. Seal it in, keep the atomic action from doubling back. If you can quake the earth apart at the point of the vibranium core it will disperse and amplify the vibration and well, we've got ourselves a superhuman bomb."
"We are running out of time," Thor said, "They're coming for the core, no more time to waste on thinking."
"Avengers," Tony said, "Time to start working for a living. SHIELD can deal with the civvies. If Ultron gets hands on the core, we lose."
"Copy that," Daisy said amongst a chorus of replies, she nodded to Nat, and she climbed onto her back without a second thought.
Mack's eyes twinkled as he looked between them, an eyebrow clearly raised in question to Daisy. Nat winked at Mack, pressing a kiss to Daisy's cheek just to see her blush before she shot them both up and into the air.
**
They hurried into the church, joining the rest of the team at the core.
"Took you two long enough," Stark huffed when he saw Daisy and Natasha looking suspiciously tousled (wind swept, but Stark never claimed to have a pure mind), "Had a quickie on route?"
Nat rolled her eyes, "One of us can fly, dumbass."
"TMI ladies," he smirked, "TMI."
Ultron lowered himself from the sky, posture smug as he looked down at them as casually as if he had just invited them over to brunch.
Thor growled, "Is that the best you can do?"
Ultron tilted his head, lifting one hand as a sea of robots came scrambling over in unison, the ominous sound of marching metal hurrying toward them.
"You just had to ask," Steve muttered as more robots kept coming forward.
"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"
"Well, like the old man said," Stark said, looking around to the team, "Together."
Hulk roared his war cry and the bots lurched forward, scrambling up the side of the building.
They team worked together to protect the core, weaving around each other like dancers. Nat would kick one in the head and Daisy would then take apart with her bare hands.
Wanda was a force to be reckoned with, red tendrils wrapped around multiple bots at once and tearing their limbs apart. Daisy blasted as many of them away as she could, blasting back the masses a good 20ft away, giving the others time to take point on Ultron.
Iron Man, Vision and Thor worked together to cripple Ultron, his circuits melting as he bore the brunt of their power.
Ultron chuckled mockingly, even defeated as he stumbled, "You know, with the benefit of hindsight-"
A hole was suddenly blasted through his chest, vibranium ripping to shreds and steaming as his circuits short wired and sparked. He stumbled back, looking at down the gaping hole with shock before Hulk appeared from above and sent him flying with a fist, revealing….
"Thanks, buddy," Coulson remarked, stood before them, clad in his favourite pressed suit with barely a wrinkle and a familiar dopey smile fixed on his face.
In his arms was his favourite two-handed alien blaster. Daisy would recognise the blaster that he initially shot Loki and then Garett with it and he had displayed it proudly in his office ever since. He lowered it slowly as his grin turned sheepish.
The Avengers gaped at him, Steve stumbling back in rage and confusion and betrayal.
"What dark magic is this!?" Thor exclaimed in horror.
Daisy ignored them all, hurrying down the church steps and into his waiting arms. He caught her with grace, a steady hand on the back of her head as he squeezed her tight. Over her shoulder he nodded to Natasha, and Steve rounded on her with a hiss.
"What the hell is this?" he seethed.
"I.." Nat faltered, unsure how to diffuse the situation.
"You just had to make a dramatic entrance didn't you, Director," they heard Daisy tease Coulson, shaking her head as she turned to the others.
"Look," Daisy began, "It is a really long story, so can we please defeat the evil robot who wants to destroy the earth before we get into it?"
"Ultron's minions trying to leave the city," Coulson offered.
"We can't let them," Tony said, still eyeing Coulson with suspicion, "Not even one. Rhodey!"
"I'm on it," Rhodey said over comms.
"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you," Steve said, before turning to point at Coulson, "And when we get out of this you owe all of us an explanation. A long one."
"Understood, sir," Coulson replied, "All the civilians are being taken onboard as we speak,"
"What about the core?" Clint asked, whirling around to face the drill.
"I'll stay and protect it. It's my job," Wanda offered with an affirmative nod to Daisy.
Daisy nodded back, turning to Natasha, grabbing her forearm to get her to look her in the eye, "We don't have a lot of time," Daisy ordered, "Get to a boat and for the love of God stay there, okay?"
Nat looked as though she wanted to refuse, but she simply nodded, and Daisy let her go.
"You too, old man," she ordered to Coulson, who was staring at the two of them in giddy disbelief.
Nat grabbed him for a quick hug and Daisy watched as they rushed over to where Lola was parked a few feet away. Coulson searching his breast pocket for the keys as Natasha leapt into the front seat and jammed them into the ignition.
"You are damn lucky you're my favourite," he grumbled, hopping into the back as Clint took shotgun and Nat sped away.
Tony turned to Daisy, "Alright big shot, we got one go at this. You stay with Wanda, we're in the centre so this will be the best point to break up the earth."
"Copy that."
"On my signal," he nodded and sped away.
Daisy waited with bated breath besides Wanda, the occasional robot becoming obliterated in a sea of red. Above they could see a commandeered Quinjet flying rogue in the air, followed closely by the Zephyr.
Their part of the city was empty, and it was eery to see the remnants of life before Ultron wrecked the city.
"You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away," Tony said quietly to her on a private channel, "It might be time to say your goodbyes."
"I know," Daisy replied solemnly, "Tell her-"
Wanda stilled, something terrible in the air as her breath hitched and her face drained of all colour. Daisy felt as if the temperature had dropped several degrees before she ducked for cover, anticipating as Wanda exploded in a rage, screaming pain and grief from her lungs with such intensity that Daisy's own heart broke to hear it.
"Wanda-" she tried gasping out, not sure whether it was to comfort or get her to stop but Wanda was gone, anger in every line of her face as every single bot dropped like a puppet cut from string.
She stormed away, eyes a deep red and Daisy was distracted looking after where Wanda disappeared that she didn't see the bot crawl up to the core and turn the key. The city started to fall, her stomach plummeting into her throat and she let out a breathless scream.
"Daisy on my mark!"
Daisy kept her palms pressed to the ground, feeling the vibration of the falling chunk of city. The soil beneath her palms, the fallen skyscrapers, the metal wreckage of cars and robots and trees ripped from their roots.
"Now!"
Daisy barely remembered what happened next.
The earth cracked apart underneath her hands. The quake blast exploding from every cell within her body. Raw power blasting through her to a height she hadn't reached since she emerged from the chrysalis. Powerful. The vibranium from the core sung through her body; amplified her powers to a magnitude that rattled her teeth in her skull.
She could feel each atom pulling apart as chunks of earth and rubble were reduced to dust; the blast obliterating through the city as she broke apart the rock. Abruptly, as abruptly as the earth had shattered into tiny pieces…
She was falling through the sky, a serene expression on her face as the wind tunnelled around her. Her hair billowing around her face, arms wide and floating through the air like wings. The rubble from the city billowed around her like snow and ash, as though she was an angel falling from the sky with the very clouds.
Natasha watched from the life boat, her heart in her throat as Stark surged down after her, jets running overtime to spur him on. There was a terrible second where she thought he must have overshot, grasping out for the falling body -
Daisy was in his arms. She took a deep breath, and all was calm and the air still as he glided up and toward the safety boat.
Daisy's head hung limply against his breast plate, cheek illuminated by the arc reactor as he gently hovered down onto the boat. He deposited her gently onto the chairs beside Nat, Daisy's head resting in her lap. Nat's fingers found Daisy's pulse beating steadily. She relaxed back in the hard chair with relief, finally letting the exhaustion wash over her.
"Her vitals are fine," Tony reassured, taking a deep breath as he unhinged his mask, "The earthquake must've taken it all out of her."
"Thank you, Tony," Nat said softly.
"Always a pleasure."
She closed her eyes as the wind felt good in her hair, her other hand absentmindedly stroking Daisy's cheek as they descended. The battle finally over.
**
Daisy was glad to be finally out of the med bay, having been forced to stay there by the doctors for at least 24hrs after she landed safely back to earth. Consequently she had missed Thor's departure, and had barely had time to see the others.
She sighed, watching the gym from the mezzanine above.
"So what are you going to do now?" Steve asked, coming to join her as glanced down at the gym where Nat was showing a determined Wanda how to use the punching bag. The poor girl had barely been able to pull herself to get out of bed in the morning, but Nat had derived a strict therapy plan disguised as a training schedule and so far Wanda had not protested it.
Daisy sighed, leaning against the railing as she ran a hand through her hair, "I need to be covert if I want to help other Inhumans, and so…"
"SHIELD," Steve finished for her.
"Yeah."
"And this so called ATCU?" Steve asked, only slightly accusingly. He had had a lot of time to think over everything in the past few hours, not least helped by keeping watch of Daisy's recovery in the med bay and by a very heated argument with Director Coulson himself.
"I promise you they are real," Daisy sighed, "But in truth I don't trust them. I certainly won't work for them. At the time it just seemed…"
"Like a good cover, I know," Steve said, "I've been friends with Romanoff long enough to know a thing or two about spies."
Daisy offered him a sheepish smile, "I am sorry for lying to you though, I hope you know that."
He nodded in understanding but clapped her on the back in a friendly gesture, "Hey you saved our asses out there, so I should be thanking you."
She nodded in acceptance, although she still fiddled nervously with her fingers when she thought about the final moments cracking the earth apart.
"Couldn't do it without a team."
Steve nodded.
"When we're next in trouble," He aid slowly, "And we will be, I'll call you. I'd like to think you'd do the same. SHIELD or no SHIELD."
It was Daisy's turn to nod, "Alright," she said, turning around to acknowledge Steve's handshake firmly. It felt like an empty promise, even as she took his hand – the future was always uncertain, and her vision from Wanda still plagued her in her sleep.
"Ah Johnson!" Stark called out, "How do you like the new head quarters?"
Steve smiled pleasantly as Tony strode up to them.
"Very nice," Daisy complimented, "Only I wish you wouldn't insist on monitoring my every move. There are far too many sensors in the medbay for an AI-less building."
"Well keeping you on your ass is a fulltime occupation," he shrugged, "And, speaking of AI's…"
"Tony, no…" she protested as he began to drag her in the direction of his lab, "We said no AI!"
"Technically it's not-"
"Oh well 'technically' I don't -"
"You stay safe now, Johnson," Steve called out, interrupting their bickering.
She whirled around to him, walking backwards as Tony kept his grip on her elbow, "You too, Rogers. You too."
**
"Where do we go from here, ribka?" Nat wondered aloud, staring out at the expanse of grass before them, the sun's rays casting the quinjets' long shadows across the lawn as it dipped behind the clouds.
Daisy slid her fingers into the warmth of Nat's, intertwining their hands as she stepped up to her side. The sky was turning a pretty shade of light pink and they could hear the sound of a few staff workers laughing together as they headed across the lawn to their cars.
"Come with me," Daisy urged softly, gently squeezing her hand for emphasis, "Let Steve handle the new recruits, and Wanda is free to visit the Playground at any time. I'm sure May would even help beat her into shape."
Nat's eyes didn't leave the calming sun before them, the shadow beginning to pass over her face as it lowered further beyond the horizon. Daisy stared at the side of her face, memorising the moment whilst also pleading for her to say yes.
She looked beautiful under the soft light, and Daisy just wanted to kiss her gently, and smooth out the frown on her brow.
"Alright," Nat finally spoke, turning her searching eyes onto Daisy's. It took Daisy a minute to register what she'd said, considering her mind had been set on the words being no.
"Alright," Daisy repeated with a nod, unable to help keep away the giddy smile from her face.
Nat shook her head, but she was unable to help the affectionate roll of her eyes and smile at Daisy's enthusiasm as she swung their hands lightly at their sides. Daisy was still unable to help get rid of the giddy smile as she looked out at the clouds, appreciating the comfort in the silence, The moment didn't last forever, as none ever do, and soon May was calling her back for wheels up.
"You better not steal the covers," Nat warned as Daisy dragged her away to the awaiting Zephyr.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Daisy sang, voice echoing as they disappeared down the corridor, "And you better not snore."
"I'm insulted, Johnson," Nat rebuked, punching Daisy lightly on the shoulder.
Daisy's reply faded into the night, only the sound of Nat's laughter echoing behind them as they disappeared down the corridor. At least for now, they'd face the future together.
Notes: Thank you everyone for all your lovely comments and kudos on this fic xx
This is the end of this part of the series, and I don't think I can ever do another one that is quite this long or following a film (I swear to God I know every line in Ultron). However, I do have an exciting new mini story in mind for the next part of the series, following a Season 4 Daisy, after the events of Hive in Season 3 and Natasha after the events of Black Widow, sort of in the midst of Civil War.
So…here's a little teaser 😉 :
Nat whirled around to Yelena, "What the hell were you thinking!?"
Yelena shrugged, "I'm the little sister, I have to be dramatic sometimes to get your attention,"
"You kidnapped my girlfriend," Natasha exasperated, gesturing to Daisy's unconscious form sprawled out on the bed, one wrist handcuffed to the frame.
A little smirk crossed her features, "I thought you said you two weren't talking?"
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