Warnings: Heavy Angst! Language! Canon Typical Violence!
"You know when I said I might have a headache in the morning, I thought it would be because of the alcohol" Steve groaned rubbing his forehead tiredly as you walk towards the lab.
"Have you taken any painkillers?" You ask him.
"Doubt they'd do any good, wear off too quickly, it'll pass soon" he sighs as you step into the elevator.
Just as the doors were about to close Maria steps in tablet in hand "I've got some updates on Ultron" she says as the door close behind her.
"Has he had a change of heart and become a pacifist?" You ask her.
"Unfortunately no" she sighs.
"Right well let's hear it" Steve says.
"They're all over the globe, robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs" Maria says as the elevator doors open.
The three of you step out careful to avoid the shattered glass that still littered the floor as you head towards the stairs.
"Reports of a metal man, or men coming in and emptying the place" Maria continues.
"Fatalities?" Steve asks.
"Only when engaged, mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears and something too fast to see" Maria explains making you sigh deeply.
"Maximoff's" you say shaking your head.
"That makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common" Steve adds.
"Not anymore" Maria says passing Steve the tablet.
He sighs shaking his head before turning it towards you. As you look down at the screen you see Strucker with a large wound on his chest. The word Peace written on the wall behind him in what you could only guess was his own blood. Despite the distaste you had towards the guy for stealing the sceptre and what he did with it, seeing his body didn't give you any pleasure.
"Well that's kind of a mixed message" you mutter.
"Is it? If it was my mission, world peace I'd probably take out Strucker too" Maria says with a small shrug.
"Ultron could be in any system, he could be pulling planes down from the sky, what if he's just doing what he's supposed to?" She continues.
"If I thought Ultron were bringing peace, I'd hang up my shield" Steve says shaking his head looking down at the tablet.
"Would you?" Maria says her brow raised in disbelief.
Steve looks up at her before glancing down at you. You knew this was a topic that had been on his mind recently, just last night he brought up his desire for 'a normal life' but you both knew your lives would never be normal like everyone else's. You also knew how much Steve loved what he did, serving, helping people.
"Let us know if he leaves any more messages" you tell Maria.
She nods her head and starts walking back down the stairs. You glance up at Steve go see his brows furrowed in thought. You give him a reassuring smile before running your hand up and down his arm, slipping your hand into his. He gives you a small thankful smile before the two of you continue up the stairs.
As you round the corner you could hear Clint on the phone.
"Don't worry about the wolf, leave the nightlight off" you hear him say.
"That's a negative I answer to you, yes ma'am" he says as you and Steve stop to look down the corridor at him.
"I gotta go, girlfriend" Clint says hanging up when he spots you.
You furrow your brows slightly trying to work out if he was joking or not. As far as you were aware he didn't have a girlfriend. He said so himself.
"Any of your old contacts come through?" Steve asks.
"Still waiting" Clint answers.
"Wait faster" Steve says before the two of you carry on towards the lab.
"I thought he didn't have a girlfriend" Steve says quietly to you.
"That's what I thought" you say glance over your shoulder at Clint.
As the two of you walk into the labs you see Nat and Tony at the computer talking to Rhodey. You then notice Thor walking down the stairs into the lab.
"Any help from on high?" Steve asks as Thor walks over.
"Heimdall's either away from his post or he's been ordered not to answer" Thor sighs.
You look over at him confused "why would father order him not to respond" you question.
"I don't know, but hopefully with good reason either way Ultron can't hide forever we'll find him" Thor says as the three of you walk over towards Nat and Tony.
"Well he's not exactly hiding" Steve says passing Thor the tablet.
"What's this?" Tony asks walking over.
"It's a message" you say as Thor slaps the tablet into Tony's chest.
"Ultron killed Strucker" Steve explains.
"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene just for us" Tony comments looking down at the tablet.
"This is good" Nat says as Tony put the tablet down.
"No that's not good" Bruce says shaking his head at her.
"He's showing us his hand, this isn't his pattern. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" She points out.
"Strucker knew something Ultron wanted us to miss" Steve sighs.
"I bet he...yeah look everything we had on Strucker has been wiped" Nat says as she taps away at the computer.
"Not everything" you say glancing over at Tony.
"Yeah it looks like your old fashioned habits might pay off" Tony agrees.
"Well when I said technology is evil, it wasn't an invitation for you to prove me right" you say crossing your arm over your chest.
"You're not gonna drop that are you?" Tony sighs.
"Nope, everyone let go grab a box" Steve says walking off towards the archives.
Soon enough everyone has gathered in one of the larger and nicer conference rooms. Boxes of files from SHIELD and intel the Avengers had gathered over the years. Everyone sifting through the files trying to find something of importance. It was a long, painstaking process that took a large majority of the day.
"Known associates" Steve sighs putting a box down on the table.
"Baron Strucker had a lot of friends" you comment as Steve passes out a couple files to you and Bruce.
"Well these people are all horrible" Bruce mutters as he flips through the file.
"Wait I know that guy" Tony says pointing to the file in Bruce's hands.
"From back in the day, he operates off the African coast, black market arms" Tony explains as Bruce passes him the file.
"There are conventions all right? You meet people I didn't sell him anything" Tony says when he sees the look you and Steve gave him.
"He was talking about finding something new, a game changer" He continues passing a picture to Thor.
"This?" Thor asks pointing to a mark on the guy's neck.
"Ah it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it" Tony says.
"No those are tattoos, this is a brand" you say taking a closer look at the photo.
"Pass it here I'll look it up" Bruce says taking the photo from Thor and walking over to the computer.
He taps away for a moment before a march was found "oh yeah its a word in an African dialect meaning thief in a much less friendly way" Bruce explains.
"What dialect?" Steve asks.
"Um Wakanada... wa wa wakanda" Bruce says stumbling slightly on his words.
Tony and Steve glance over at each other at the mention of the country "if this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods" Tony says.
"I thought your father said he got the last of it" Steve asks.
"I don't follow what comes out if Wakanda?" Bruce asks walking back over.
"The strongest metal on earth" Tony sighs as everyone looks over at Steve's shield.
"Where is this guy now?" Steve asks.
"My best guess would be South Africa" Tony says.
"Alright, we need to beat Ultron there, everyone suit up and on the jet in 5" Steve orders looking around at everyone.
*
When you arrived it looked like Ultron was already there. So instead of going in all guns blazing, you chose a more stealthier approach. You, Steve, Tony and Thor would approach from the front while Nat and Clint would hide in the shadows on the sides. Bruce opted to stay in the jet since the ship meant enclosed spaces.
As you arrived you could hear Ultron giving a speech about how much he hated Tony.
"Ah junior you're gonna break your old man's heart" Tony says landing in front of you, steve and Thor.
"If I have too" Ultron say stepping closer.
You looked up at him taking in his new form. He was now easily 7 feet tall, a clear show of strength and power, as he made even Thor look small.
"Nobody has to break anything" Thor states.
"Clearly you've never made an omelette" Ultron responds.
"He beat me by one second" Tony says glancing over his shoulder.
"Like father like son" you mutter under your breath.
"Ah yes he's funny. Mr Stark. It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro says walking forward.
"This was never my life" Tony says glancing down at the multiple firearms on the deck below.
"You two can still walk away from this" you say stepping forward holding your hands out in a calming manner.
"Oh we will" Wanda says with a condescending tone.
"We know you've suffered" Steve adds.
Ultron scoffs "Captain America, God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war" Ultron says and you could see Steve jaw clench.
"And his firecracker girlfriend" Ultron continues looking over at you "who doesn't know how dangerous she really is, especially to those she loves"
You glare over at him, insulted at his insinuation. You could and would never hurt the people you loved. It killed you enough that you couldn't protect your mother or brother. You see Thor look over at you a look for anguish on his face. You both felt to blame for your loved ones deaths.
"Enough! If you believe in peace, then let us keep it" Thor demands.
"I think you're confusing peace with quiet" Ultron counters stepping forward.
"Uh huh what's the vibranium for?" Tony interrupts.
"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan" Ultron smirks.
Suddenly three smaller versions of Ultron land in front of you, Steve and Thor. Ultron pulling Tony forwards towards him. Tony then gets blasted back but you don't have time to think about that as the robot attacks you.
You duck down avoiding the hand that grabbed for your neck, swinging your leg around to knock it to the ground. You then grab it around the neck, you heat up your other hand before hitting the robot in the chest. You melt the metal grabbing its inner workings and ripping them out. You then throw the robot over the railing to the deck below.
As you turn back around Pietro wizzes past you knocking you off balance. You nearly fall over the railing yourself but use your powers to keep yourself upright. You see Steve kick the robot attacking him down and the two of you turn to face Wanda. You both run towards her, but you get blasted back by a wave of red energy.
As you sit back up you see the robot that Steve had kicked down getting up and walking over to you. Albeit with a slight limp and a dent in the head. You use your powers to form ice up around its legs and chest stopping it. Steve then throws his shield at it decapitating it.
As quickly as he threw it you saw him get knocked down, you didn't have time to react as you felt yourself get tackled and thrown against the metal wall.
"Pietro" you grumble as you stand back up.
You turn to offer Steve a hand up but as you do you spot Thor's hammer and Pietro flying back towards you. So, you push Steve back down to the floor but don't have time to duck yourself so take to full brunt of both the hammer and Pietro flying into you. It knocks you onto the deck below, falling with a heavy thud.
You groan rolling over onto your back, clutching your chest. You were fairly certain you'd broken a rib or two. You see Steve jump over the railing landing just behind you. You glance over to see him hit Pietro in the head with his shield warning him to stay down.
He quickly turns kneeling down beside you, helping you sit up.
"You okay?" He asks.
"Peachy, maybe a broken rib but I'll walk it off" you groan rubbing your head slightly.
"Guys is this a code green?" You hear Bruce say over the comms.
"Negative, stay on the jet" Steve says as he helps you stand back up.
"Sure you're okay?" He questions once more.
"I'm fine, we've got more important things to worry about" you tell him.
You could see he was hesitant but he nods his head "okay, you go find Wanda, I'll deal with the pirates" he says.
You nod in agreement before using your powers to fly back up to the deck above after Wanda. As you walk through the deck you see Thor storm past pushing a pirate to the floor.
"The girl tried to warp my mind, take special care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay, fortunately I am mighty" he grumbles before suddenly stumbling falling to his knees.
"Thor?" You question heading over to him.
You'd only taken a couple of steps when a hot flash of white, almost like an explosion pushes you back. You instinctively hold up your hand to shield your face from the blast. When you lower them, you see the room around you in flames. Except the room wasn't on the boat, it was an old apartment. Through the flames you could hear a baby screaming.
The heat around you was more intense than you've ever felt before. Normally you could deal with extreme heat and cold but this was a new level. You fought your way through the flames to get to the child. Eventually you found the crib, the baby inside seemed perfectly fine the flames avoiding it. You then spot the body of a women on the floor, her skin completely blackened and burnt. You could tell by looking at her she was long gone. You went to reach for the baby but a voice stopped you dead in your tracks.
"Father what are we going here?" You hear Thor say.
"Saving a life" you heard your father say.
Through the smoke you see your Odin reach into the crib pulling out the baby.
"Who is she?" Thor questions looking down at the baby.
"Your half-sister" Odin answer with a sigh.
"Why are we taking her? Should we not find her a home on this planet?" Thor questions shaking his head.
"No she's too dangerous to stay here" Odin explains, his voice grave.
As he does so you feel the floor give out and you fall through the hole in the floor. As you fall the scene changes, you see flashes of different memories. You see Frigga's body, Loki's death. Flashes of destruction, large fireballs and explosions, the earth tearing itself apart, cities flying. You see a wasteland full of fire and damage, the earth still smouldering, you recognise the area it was the land where the compound was being built. You could hear screaming again but you soon realise it was yourself. Screaming in pain, anguish and anger.
You finally feel yourself hit the floor the impact of cold metal flooring jarring you. You reluctantly open your eyes scared of what you might see next. To your relief to see the familiar surroundings of the ship. You go to push yourself up but hear the metal floor hiss as your press your hands against it. You instantly recoil your hands staring at them, flames erupting from your hands without you wanting them too.
You hear Steve groaning, spotting him lying on his back a few meters away. You desperately wanted to make sure he was okay, but you could feel your powers going out of control. As you stand ice shoots out as you step forward. You ignore it running out of the ship to get yourself a safe distance away from everyone leaving frozen footprints in your wake.
As he lay on the ground Steve spots you running past him tears streaming down your face.
"Y/N?" He questions confused, blinking a couple times.
"Y/N wait!" He shouts getting up and running after you, stumbling slightly as he got up.
You ignore his calls running out onto the beach, you want to try and fly away but nothing was working.
"Y/N stop!" Steve says finally catching up with you putting a hand in your shoulder.
You instantly recoil away from his grasp "no stay away it's not safe!" You beg taking more steps away from him.
"Hey whoa it's okay you're safe" Steve says not approaching again holding his hands up.
"No you're not safe, safe from me, you need to go" you stutter tears streaming down your face.
"It's okay, I know you're not going to hurt me, I trust you" Steve says calmly taking a step closer.
"I can't... I can't stop it" you cry holding your hands close to your chest out of his grasp.
"You can just look at me doll, it's over, it's okay, just take a couple deep breaths" he tells you taking another small step closer.
You shake your head not believing him despite desperately wanting to. You wanted nothing more than to step towards him and fall into his arms. Be comforted by him, but you couldn't. You didn't want to hurt him. You couldn't hurt him.
"Sweetheart, you trust me right?" Steve asks you.
"Yes of course, I just don't wanna-" you tell him but he interrupts you.
"Then listen to me, just focus on me and my voice and take some deep breaths" he tells you calmly.
"C'mon doll you can do it, close your eyes if you have to, just listen to my voice" he says when he sees you hesitate.
You take a deep shaky breath as you close your eyes. You listen as he tells you to breath in and out. His voice gets gradually louder before suddenly your feel his arms wrap around you. Your eyes fly open expecting him to recoil away in pain but he doesn't. Relief floods your body as your break down again clinging onto him. Your legs give out beneath you but Steve holds you steady dropping down to his knees pulling you close.
"Its okay, you're okay" he whispers kissing the top of your head.
"You're safe nothing is gonna happen" he tells you as you bury your head in his chest sobbing.
The wind picks up around you and you start to shiver, a mix of the breeze and the adrenaline leaving your body.
"Let's get you back to the jet" Steve says hooking his arm underneath your legs picking you up.
You wrap your arms around his neck burying your head into his shoulders, tears still falling as he carried you back to the jet.
Your tears had started to subside when you got back to the jet. As Steve sits down you spot Thor on the opposite side of the jet placing a blanket around Nat's shoulders. The red head looking the most shaken you've ever seen her.
He glances over at you and his face fills with worry instantly "sister" he questions walking over to you.
He goes to place his hand on your shoulder, but you flinch away from him. The memory of him in your vision still painfully present. He glances up at Steve who looks back down at you sadly.
"It's okay I've got her" Steve says quietly.
Thor clears his throat taking a small step away "yes of course, thank you" he nods before turning away.
You could see the pain on Thor's face and you really didn't want to hurt him. But deep down you felt betrayed, he knew something about your past and never told you.
You felt a fresh set of tears falling as you looked away from your brother turning back towards Steve who held you close. Whispering reassuring words in your ear, trying to calm you back down.