𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{3¹⁵} {EVOLVE}

∆ {3¹⁵} {EVOLVE} ∆

BUT THE WORLD didn't stop turning. It kept going around the two women; it didn't give them time to help pull each other out of the traps of their own minds, it simply kept moving. Theirs may have stopped, but no-one else's had. So, Fury and the others continued to plan as Roxi sat there distantly, ensnared in her thoughts and lost in her emotions, Natasha focused on trying to bring her back. 

Roxi could hear what the people around her were saying, and could make out the words, but no meanings came with it, it sounded as though someone were talking in a foreign language that she'd never heard before. She could barely feel Natasha's firm hold on her hand, could only just make out the redhead's worried face hovering before her own. She didn't notice the metal coffee mug in her other hand begin to scrunch into a ball, which Natasha quickly took from her, putting it on the table next to them. The action drew Fury's attention, who faltered in what he was saying, properly noticing what was happening for the first time. The irregularity in the steady stream of words that all Roxi could hear made her start slightly, and it took her a split-second for her to realise where she was.

She was in Clint's house, surrounded by not only his family, but hers. These people had fought aliens, HYDRA, and even killer robots with her. They wouldn't judge her, but she managed to pull herself together anyway. These people needed her, more than she'd ever been needed before. She needed to be strong for them, for herself, for Natasha. So, she took a deep, slightly shaky breath, focused on slowing her mind down, and fixed her eyes on a knot in the wood of the table, until she was confident that she could focus on the situation. She looked up at Natasha, who was still watching her carefully, and gave the woman a slight nod, squeezing her hand gently to let the woman know that she was okay. It took her another couple of seconds to look up, where almost everyone's gaze was on her. Tony and Fury seemed to understand that most people didn't want to be the centre of attention when they'd just had a panic attack, and had turned their eyes anywhere other than at her. She was glad about that, she didn't want everyone's curious looks focused on her. She cleared her throat slightly, allowing her normal mask to sweep back over her face as if nothing had happened, and met each one of Steve, Bruce, and Clint's looks with her own calm, cold one.

Laura, who sat in the living room, had frowned slightly at her, while trying to keep Lila occupied so that she wouldn't interfere while the group of adults spoke. Roxi met her gaze for a split second before moving on, and gestured to the room in general, telling them to carry on with the planning. There was a slightly awkward pause before Fury cleared the air.

"Right."

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was hoping when I saw you you'd have more than that,"  Natasha drew everyone's attention, her voice wavering as she spoke, glancing down at the table as she spoke, leaning on her elbows.

"I do; I have you." Fury's statement brought everyone's eyes to him as he took another bite of his sandwich. The sentiment hung in the thick air for a few minutes as they all considered it.

"Back in the day I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else," he began to explain as Roxi listened closely to his words, "You kids had all the tech you could dream of. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission; and whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this.. Laid in a grave." Clint looked away uncomfortably at Fury's last sentence as Roxi shifted in her seat. Everything around her, everyone she'd ever gotten remotely close to, they'd all be gone, as fast as she could blink.

It brought a crushing reality down on Roxi's shoulders as she realised just how much they were fighting Ultron for. Millions of lives, billions of people, that could all be gone, with a simple command written by Ultron. He would be able to effectively erase the world as if it were just a simple hard drive containing information he didn't want to get out; information that he could control, and he could destroy. In Ultron's eyes, they were all simply strings of numbers, and he would do anything he could to wipe out the competition. Even if it meant quite literally starting from scratch, destroying almost everything except what he wanted to remain. And then, through the broken rock and dust that would be all that was left of civilisation, robots would rule, though this time, Roxi wouldn't simply be able to crush them by balling her hand. Because she too, would be dead, maybe literally 6 feet under, along with all the people that sat around her, as well as Natasha. There would be no gravestones, no monuments for anyone to grieve at, because there would be no-one left to grieve. All the recognition they would get, if they failed, would be the people who couldn't save the world.