Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

52

Steve

"Ultron knows we're coming," I said. Everyone was prepared and in the quinjet. My little speech, as Tori calls it, was specially meant for the Maximoffs. "Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for.  But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether it's right."
     But now we're in the country, ready to fight. I'm on the streets with Tori and Clint. We guide the civilians to safety, as planned. I stand in between cars, motioning them to the bridge.
     "Come on," Tori calls to me.
     I whip my head around to look at her. Her beauty is indescribable. Although the world is dark to match our situation, her piercing brown eyes seem bright. Her loose hair blows behind her in the wind, some strands in her face. Her mouth is slightly open, ready to say more. If we weren't in this situation, I would have already had her in my arms by now. But I have to follow her to the sidewalk instead.
     Before I can ask anything, crashes and screams ring in my ears. I don't have enough time to realize that Tori has the arms of her suit on, and is shooting silver suits that crawl out of the ground—Ultron's suits. People begin to run frantically away from them in fear.
     "Go!" I shout to them.
     A suit jumps on top of a car, shooting at me. I block the blast with my shield. I step back, jutting the edge of the shield into it. Tori blasts it, and continues to do the same to others. I throw one onto the hood of a car, ripping a part of it off.
     There is a rumbling sound all around the city. I attack a suit, throwing it off to the side. The rumbling sounds closer, like it is right in front of me. But that's not the only thing. A scream that I know all too well erupts. I am about to take a step forward, searching for Tori, but I almost fall to my death. The bridge falls, leaving a large abyss.
     I finally spot Tori. I first see her sliding fingertips, then her whole. It makes my heart skip a beat. She holds onto a bar of the bridge that is quickly going down. She would have caught herself now, but a suit clings to her ankle to bring her down with it. Instinctively, I seize her wrist and bring her to me. She kicks the suit off of her leg, holding my hand. She drags me back with her, away from the edge of the bridge.
     Sokovia is in midair.
     "Do you see the beauty of it?" Ultron asks from the sky. "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."
     I elbow a suit that comes behind me. I let the words of Ultron sink in. Tori looks off into the distance, to the left. Our shoulders brush up against each other as her hand interwinds with mine.
     Before I can look into Tori's beautiful eyes, something slams into us. We both let out a grunt as we fly through the air. We land on the windshield of a car.
     "Cap and Elsa, you got incoming," Tony warns through the comms.
     "Incoming already came in," I groan.
     "Elsa," Tori laughs softly. "That's a new one."
     "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely," I order, getting off of the car. "The rest of us have one job—tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off."
     Tori is already on her feet, laughing at my monologue. She just winks at me.
     "Duck," she states with a grin.
     I drop to the ground, watching a suit fly above us. Tori shoots it and sprints to help civilians. I follow her to the bridge. Cars are about to topple over the edge, into the abyss. I grab the bumper of a red one, pulling up on it. The woman in it screams. Tori helps me pull, but it's no use. The car falls.
     I pick up a bar of the bridge and smack a suit in the face with it. Tori looks down into the abyss. She jumps off the side, disappearing underneath. She holds the bottom of the bridge and the screaming woman.
     "Just look at me," Tori shouts to her. "Just look at me."
     The woman glances at her, hope in her eyes. I grab Tori's hand and pull the two up onto the surface.
     "You can't save them all," a suit echoes. I throw my shield at a suit as the woman swiftly thanks us and runs away. "You'll never—"
     I extend my fingers to command my shield to come to me. Grabbing it, I flick off the suit and watch it fall.
     "'Never' what?" I ask. "You didn't finish!"
     Tori snorts and turns around. I do as well, eyeing Thor. The god jumps off a car that collapsed on the bridge.
     "What, were you napping?" I ask him.
     "What made you be so sarcastic?" Tori smirks.
     "Dunno," I grunt, attacking more suits. "Hope?"
     I put her behind me and throw my shield in the air. Thor hits it with his hammer to send in flying with energy. There is an explosion. I go to retrieve my shield while Tori blasts suits.
     "We're all clear here," Clint says through the comms.
     "We are not clear!" Tori shouts.
     "We are very not clear!" I add.
     I throw my shield into a suit's chest, and kick it through with my feet.
     "Alright, coming to you," Clint replies.
     I sprint around cars, attacking suits. Tori follows, doing her own thing.
     "Romanoff!" I warn.
     I throw my shield at a suit near her.
     "Thanks," she responds.
     She uses it to protect herself, but I come and take it away to stop the suit attacking her. Tori comes behind me and blasts another one.
     "Alright, Rogers, we got more civilians," Tori  orders. "Let's go."