Stained (N.R)

Chapter 27

It was then that I saw her, Natalia, slicing her way through the fray. Clint raised a brow at me. "Need to go somewhere again?"

I heard a snicker, and a grey shadow zoomed past, wiggling his eyebrows at me before picking up his sister. "Go help, we will deal with the other side."

I pursed my lips, stuffing my makeshift bombs into Clint's arms before dashing in Natalia's direction. "Merry Christmas."

"For me?" He asked gleefully, like a child with some new toys. "Thanks, kid."

Steve was by my side as we charged towards Natalia, who seemed to be surrounded in the thick of robots. 

Diana tore through one as I slapped a rune on another. Steve was using his shield like a giant frisbee, slicing robots in half. 

"Romanoff." He called. 

She nodded her thanks to us, then turned to speak in the coms. "Tony, you got any solutions yet?"

"I'm thinking that we might have to blow this rock up."

"I'm not...." Steve started but I cut him off.

"It's either the rock goes or the whole planet goes, Cap, we have to make a choice."I interrupted.

"Everyone up here against everyone down there." Natalia softly sighed. "There is no maths here."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on here." Steve insisted. 

"I didn't say we should leave." Natasha smiled softly. "There's worst ways to go."

She then turned to me. "Katya, you must leave before it's too late, bring as much civilians with you as possible and..."

I closed my eyes as I tried to calm my angry breathing, shutting her up by pulling her roughly to me and pressing my lips to hers. She stopped midspeach, shock and stiff under my embrace as I dominated over her, softening and relaxing after a few seconds. 

Moments later, we parted, yet not before I bit down gently on her lip. "Natalia Alianovna Romanova." Her green eyes were wide with shock as she looked into my angry brown ones, surprised both at the kiss, and at the Russian accent that was slipping through, not an usual occurrence, only when I was extremely angry. "You are a fool."  

Her gaze softened as she smiled, pulling me to her, pressing her lips on my cheek, the corner of my lips, then my lips themselves, leading the kiss as she had done on the elevator all those months ago. "I am a fool." She breathed, breaking away from me. "A very big fool."

Steve coughed from an arms length away, shifting slightly uncomfortably. "I hate to break it to you guys and the view up here is great and all but..."

That was when I heard cheering, turning to see a very familiar looking airship, slightly tattered but working primely. Its crew lined the decks, cheering and wolf whistling. Nick was in the lead, giving me a wink which may have been a blink. 

"Nice, right?" His voice appeared in my coms. "Pulled her out of the mothballs with a few old friends."

"You are late." I bit back, trying to hide my blush.

"Just in time for the show." He sniggered. 

Just as his voice disappeared, hundreds of lifeboats appeared from the sides, spilling out and landing by the edge of the rising city. 

"I'll go get the civilians, you guys get Ultron." I quickly made my escape, Diana in tow, chuffing at me. "Oh stop it."

She didn't.

Jupiter joined me as I was scouting the city, pointing out a herd of robots gathering at the centre of the city, where I headed, and was stopped half way.

"Katyusha, my friend." Ultron, or, at least, a part of him, stood before me, his hands held up, pleading. "Don't do this."

"Neither of us can stop now." I shielded my eyes from the rising sun, smiling at it. "It seems that fate has played a cruel joke on us again."

"You were my only friend." It mourned. "If only you we were born together, sharing the same experiences, perhaps you would have been by my side through this."

"You still are mine." I insisted. 

It looked at me, puzzled, as if thinking, then nodded slowly. "Perhaps, in another world, we could have achieved something together."

"I don't doubt it." I slowly began drawing a rune in the air, feeling all of my tiredness and aches  washing away, and also my sense of touch. At the same time,  the robot raised its hand. 

"Farewell." It said. 

"Farewell." I replied.

A energy beam clashed against my glowing rune, ricocheting off it, hitting the robot square in the chest. Its glowing eyes dimmed, but its voice seemed to have lingered. 

"Farewell...."

"If only you were human," I whispered. "If only there was someone who could have changed your mind, even slightly, into believing that there is beauty in this dark world after all."

Diana purred slightly, and I raised my head and chuckled humorlessly. "Lets go, Diana, no time to mourn, as always."

Jupiter cawed slightly, updating me on the news. I frowned. 

"They are shipping the last of the civilians?"

He nodded. 

"Right." I turned. "Let's go back where we came."

By the time I arrived, the city seemed to be mostly empty. Pluto was carrying some of the last survivors on his back, and wagged his tail at me. Jupiter immediately took off to help with the remnants of Ultron's army, clawing at them and ripping them apart.

I turned my head to see Natalia approaching Mr Angry Green Bean, reaching a hand out towards him, and whipped my head to the other side.

 And that was when a vested shadow of what seemed to be like Clint flashed by the corner of my eye, running towards a young boy in the rubble, behind me, Pietro was racing with the bullets from a stray jet to rescue the both of them. 

"Oh no," I breathed, racing towards the both of them whilst drawing a rune in the air. "No you don't."

Diana leaped into the air, tearing a wing off the jet which tumbled in the air, the bullets flying in all directions, some into the tarmac. 

Pietro was just able to push Clint to the side when I arrived, my shield half formed as I threw myself at the both of them.

"Katyusha? What the..." Pietro swore as he stared wide eyed at me, my left side unharmed and my right sprouting three little red, flower like stains. 

"I was gonna give that jacket back to you." I laughed, tasting the blood in my mouth, yet fortunately not feeling anything. "These things don't hurt as much as I thought."

He looked at me like I was crazy, and I yawned. "Are these tranquilizing darts? They make your head feel light. I feel like I can sleep for...."

I pitched forwards and was caught by Pietro, grinning back at him. "Woah, it's getting dark." 

The last thing I remembered was his half terrified, half hysterical voice. "I... I don't know if they drugged her or shot her... She... She's going a bit weird.