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You were no longer chilled as you stood behind Thor, barely noticeable. In fact, you were pretty sure Ultron and the Maximoff twins hadn’t noticed you at all, because none of them acknowledged your existence. Ultron hadn’t made any snippy remark about you, too focused on Tony, and you could feel the ire emanating off Pietro and Wanda towards the Stark. You were still tired from your spontaneous two day nap, and staying behind the God of Thunder himself seemed like a good idea. You weren’t sure you could bring up a barrier in your current condition.
Drifting off, you couldn’t help but notice how soft Thor’s cap looked. It would be so perfect to use as a blanket or even bunched up as a pillow. You were so busy staring longingly at it that you didn’t have time to jump back as it came flying at you, the other Avengers leaping into action.
Tony shot off into the air after Ultron while Captain America raised his shield. Thor stumbled backwards into you as a silver blur darted to your right. Two robots jump down from above as Wanda sent a bolt of red energy at Captain America, striking his shield. Now the only Avengers near you were occupied, and you didn’t know what to do. Again.
You ran to your right in an attempt to distance yourself from the battle on the platform. There wasn’t much room between you and the Norse God or the super-soldier, and on the tiny metal grate floor it felt like you would fall right through. There was a strange sensation of absence all around you, and every step you took made you more and more unsure of yourself. You could see what was around you, but you couldn’t feel it. It felt like you were running along a fake town, where all the houses were painted on cardboard—there were details there but they were flat. Nothing you could touch.
Ducking around a stack of crates you eyed the battle, hoping to find an opportunity to help. As Wanda sent another bolt of energy at Captain America you raised a barrier in front of him to block it, but rather than dissipating it reflected away and came right at you.
“Y/N!” Steve shouted at you. Your heart leapt into your throat as the energy smashed into the boxes in front of you. Your eyes squeezed shut and as you tried to raise a barrier you realized you couldn’t. As the box began to explode you felt wind rush over you and the sudden urge to vomit. When the wind stopped you opened your eyes and someone was letting you down from their arms.
Your mouth hung open as the person let you go but when you wavered on your feet they gripped your shoulders. Your stomach rolled, the edges of your vision becoming a little clearer.
“You will be safe here,” a voice said, one with a familiar accent. You whirled, making your nausea worse. Stumbling away from Pietro, he reached for you but you took two quick steps back. Your foot hit something on the ground and you nearly fell when he was behind you, holding you up. This time you didn’t jump, your knees giving out on you.
Pietro moved his hands under your arms and slowly lowered you to the muddied ground. You sat there, your world spinning. You could make out large shapes; a large tanker ship. sat in the distance, the water rolling beyond it. Beside you was the remnants of what looked like an engine, and various odds and ends of metal that used to make up a ship. Your fingers griped at the concrete that sat just below the mud and water beneath you.
There was no way of knowing if it was because of the super-speed you’d just travelled at or something more, but you would have to mention it to Tony later. If there was a later. Being in the arms of the enemy didn’t make you feel sure of your future.
“Get away from me,” you muttered, shoving at Pietro. He moved, but not because of your weak push. You inched away from him as he sped in front of you, kneeling down. Again, he was watching you. “What?” you challenged.
“You are with Stark?” he questioned. His eyes narrowed.
Your jaw clenched. If you said yes, would he kill you then and there? You felt an odd loyalty to Tony even after knowing him only a week. You said, “You’re one to judge, considering your boss is a homicidal robot.”
Pietro’s lips twitched into a grimace. “He is not my boss.”
“If you take orders from someone, that makes them your boss,” you countered. Another twitch ran over Pietro’s features, making his nose crinkle a moment. He lifted his chin in the air, still kneeling in front of you and appearing to have no interest in leaving just yet. You inched back again, finding the world was still two-dimensional around you.
Pietro noticed your movement and pursed his lips. His head nodded slightly, as if understanding something you didn’t. “You are confused—you think Stark is the hero.”
“He’s saved a hell of a lot of people,” you said.
“He has killed a hell of a lot, too,” Pietro countered. You flinched, not expecting that. You’d heard all about the weapons that Stark Industries had made—the way they were used in war and at one point sold to the enemy. But you had never really thought that was Tony’s fault, even before you’d met him. Corporations weren’t under one man’s control—Tony might have invented the weapons but he wasn’t the one using them. Still…you knew he was partly responsible for the pain they brought.
“Ultron’s trying to destroy the world,” you explained to Pietro. You took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “And so are you!” With one big push you shoved the heel of your boot into his chin and he fell backwards. You scrambled to your feet, slipping in the mud but getting up. You mustered up as much strength as you could to form a barrier around yourself. Just like in the snowy forest, Pietro ran into it. His silver blur circled you you didn’t know how many times, and when he finally stopped, his chest moving up and down rapidly.
He pressed one finger against the shield. “I will show you what Stark really is.” He nodded, his lip quivering. You were taken aback by how watery his eyes looked, but chalked it up to the sand surrounding you; you could feel your own eyes watering a bit. Pietro repeated, “I will help you.”
Twisting his neck Pietro’s eyes widened and he vanished back into the building in a blur. Unable to hold your barrier any longer you let it drop, and with it you fell to your knees.
“Help?” you wondered aloud. Of all the things you thought the Maximoff twins would want to do to you, help was not one of them. But as you laced your icy fingers through the warm mud beneath you, help was something you sorely needed. You watched as drops fell through your fingers—at one point you would have been able to catch them individually, but now you barely had the strength to shift them into any shape other than what gravity made them.
Resisting the urge to let your eyelids stay shut you pushed yourself to your feet. Your legs shook, struggling to keep you upright but you had to get back inside. You weren’t about to leave your team behind. You inhaled sharply at thinking of the Avengers as “your team”. You blinked and carried on through the shipyard.
The metal steps inside caught you off guard. As you peered through them to the bottom of the building you could hear the echoes of Thor’s voice. “Fortunately I am mighty…”
The world spun as you stared down the steps, but with each one you conquered you felt a little more in control, a little more aligned. Still, you had to grip the railing just to ensure you didn’t topple downward.
You wanted to find Tony first. He’d been the one facing Ultron, and you had seen the guilt all over his features. You thought Tony might go easy on Ultron and attempt to convince him over to SHIELD’s side, but you knew that wasn’t possible. You hoped Tony knew that, too.
When you made it to the bottom of the stairs Hawkeye was there, hauling Natasha to her feet. Your earpiece finally came back online and you heard Tony say, “Natasha I could really use a lullaby.”
Hawkeye looked at you and replied, “That’s not gonna happen, not for a while. The whole team is down; you got no backup here.”
Tony didn’t hesitate. “I’m calling in Veronica.”
“The whole team?” you whispered, looking around for Steve and Thor. “What happened?”
“The witch is good,” Hawkeye replied.
“Are you…?”
“I was prepared for it,” he interrupted. Beside him Natasha’s eyes were distant, her mouth slightly open. You studied her, and then looked over your shoulder at whatever she could be staring at but there was nothing there. You didn’t want to know what she saw inside her head.
“You were prepared for…what? Mind control?” you questioned.
Clint’s jaw was clenched. “Yup. Think you can help Cap out?” He nodded his head over his shoulder.
Your eyes followed to find Captain America laying on the ground, his eyes just as confused as Natasha’s. You nodded, unsure if you could even get yourself back up the stairs.
You stepped over to Steve regardless and as you took his hand he did most of the work getting up. From the bottom of the stairs Clint asked, “Where did you get off to?”
Unexpectedly, Steve put some of his weight on your shoulders as his heavy arm swing across them. You braced yourself, unable to make a barrier to help. Clint stared at you as if he already knew the answer. Why did you feel so guilty for something that was so out of your control?
“We should hurry,” you replied. “Tony could need our help.”
Clint didn’t pry any further, but you knew that wasn’t the last of it. The fact that Pietro Maximoff had gotten you alone and not injured or killed you might slide by once with Tony, but not a second time with an agent of SHIELD. You gulped as you started walking with Steve at your side.
You didn’t know any of them well enough to anticipate how they would react to the news, but you knew it wasn’t going to be good.