Ghost and Tricks - Book 1

The Last Fight

"I am Thor, son of Odin, as long as there is life in my breast..."  Thor panted, struggling as Ultron choked him.  "I, am...running out of things to say!  Are you ready?"  

Vision came out and shot as Ultron, and I stumbled forward and back at the same time.  It was a blur, but soon we were fighting and Ultron was...somewhere.  Cap and everyone rallied together.  

"Is that the best you can do?"  Thor shouted.  

Robots swarmed around Ultron, who was floating in the air.  "No.  This is the best I can do."  

Cap sighed and glanced at Thor.  "You just had to ask, didn't you?"  

We fought again.  I took deep breaths,. green energy shooting out the tips of my fingers and crushing robot after robot.  Everything was tinted green.  Power surged through me.  I nearly missed it when everything finished, and we divided up again.  

Ultron was in a jet, firing at the ground.  Clint ran back off the ship to save a boy from the wreckage.  Ultron was getting closer, firing.  He was going to kill them.  I ran.  But I was too late.  He'd open-fired on them and dust was rising up.  

I blinked.  Clint and the boy were fine.  They were okay.  But...my eyes found where Pietro stood shakily in front of them.  He was covered in bullet holes.  He'd ran in front, he'd saved them...but he was about to die.  

"You didn't see that coming?"  He said weakly to Clint, then collapsed on the ground.  

"NO!"  I screamed, running and collapsing next to him.  

His eyes stared unblinkingly in the distance.  Wanda screamed from somewhere behind me.  My vision rimmed with darkness.  It felt like something was eating me from the inside-out.  I could barely feel the tears streaming down my cheeks.  I didn't even know I was screaming until Cap held me back.  

My throat went raw.  I swiped at the tears and blinked.  We were on the ship, Pietro's body lying on the floor next to me.  I crawled over to him, putting my hand up to my chest.  It didn't occur to me what I was doing until after it happened, but energy drained away from me and absorbed into his lifeless body, which was slowly filling with life again.  

His eyes were closed, but he was taking shallow breaths.  I could see the bullet wounds closing up, mending.  I'd transferred my energy into him... 

EVELYN!  

I jolted at the loud scream that went through my head, gasping.  Maddie.  Where was Maddie.  My eyes glanced around, searching for my twin.  She wasn't anywhere on the ship.  I stumbled to my feet and hopped around, looking for her.  I fell off the ship and looked through the wreckage, going in and out of buildings.  

There.  A fallen figure was covered by fallen debrief.  I ran over, crumpling down next to my twin.  She had a trickle of blood from her nose, and she was pale and limp, another trickle of blood coming from her forehead.  

But she was breathing.  

I slung her limp arm over my shoulder, struggling to stand.  A rumble shook the ground, and we toppled over, my unconscious sister landing on top of me.  I groaned and tried to crawl, but she was too heavy.  The ground beneath me was shaking.  It was breaking.  

Sokovia was exploding.  

Soon I was weightless in the air.  Terror struck through my body; I couldn't focus on anything.  My breathing quickened.  But finally, my senses started working again and I looked around for Maddie.  I couldn't find her anywhere.  

"Easy, kid,"  a familiar voice said, and I felt someone grab me.  "I've gotcha."  

I whirled my head around to see a red and gold helmet.  Tony Stark, my dad, had saved us.  He carried us through the sky, and I passed out in his arms.