shards - pietro maximoff

chapter seven ; arguments and apologies

Maria Hill was being shown on a small screen that was placed on Tony's wrist. She was giving him a briefing of the damage and what they were to do forward.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

The room remained silent, and only Tony's voice was the only one that could be heard. "Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

Tony gulped and looked around at the members of the team inside the plane.

Thor was being uncharacteristically silent, staring down at the floor.

Steve was thumbing through some files, trying to rid the vision from his mind.

Clint was quiet, but seemed to be in a better shape then everyone else.

Bruce was curled into a ball, physically drained.

Natasha was all but unconscious, staring blankly at the wall.

And Dahlia... Her silence was the most unsettling of all. She was sat criss crossed, twirling a strand of her hair and letting it spin, over and over again. After knowing her for the majority of her life, Tony knew she only did that when she was thinking far too hard than she ought to.

He, himself, wasn't doing all too well. The stress of the situation was wearing down on him, and he kept blaming himself for everything bad that happened. He caused this, he knew that.

"Everyone's... we took a hit. We'll shake it off." Tony said honestly.

Dahlia, though Tony knew her well, wasn't feeling exactly as he thought she was. In fact, she was feeling quite guilty for lying. Maybe she had been wrong to let them go, maybe helping them was the wrong choice.

But she just couldn't let Wanda bleed out, she couldn't be responsible for her death.

No matter what they did, Dahlia couldn't help but feel like there was good in them. They were being manipulated by Ultron, that much was clear, but Tony and the others were too blinded by fear and hatred to see that the two were really just two scared, lonely kids.

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?" Tony asked tentatively, trying to hold back his annoyance at the situation.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer." Maria sighed.

"Neither do we."

Tony shut off the computer and turned to Clint, who was flying the jet. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"

"No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, cause we're still a few hours out." Clint said, readjusting the steering wheel.

"A few hours from where?"

"A safe house."

•

Dahlia found herself in a field of lavender, with the sound of a creek coming from right behind her.

The air was light and breezy, the sun basking on her face, providing a warmth like no other.

She heard the grass crunch beside her, and as she turned to see what caused it, Dahlia caught a glimpse of white-blonde hair.

Pietro.

At her other side, Wanda was stood there.