Love Me (Steve Rogers Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

AMERICA'S POV

"You guys need to move! Come on!" I yell at the civilians mingling on the bridge. "Come on!" I start pushing them in one direction, and while they recognize me as an Avenger, they still have no idea what I'm saying. "The city is under attack! Move!" 

In my native language, especially with the dialect, they finally understand. Everyone starts screaming and running and it's total chaos. I scan the area for stragglers and find a group of children alone on the bridge. They're all probably orphans, younger than eight with grime on their faces and sadness in their eyes. I speed over and quickly glance over the group, ignoring their gasps of awe.

"It's okay. You all are going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here. Here, come on." I let one of them climb on my back and I pick another one up before speeding off. Once we reach the end of the bridge, I put them down. "Get somewhere safe. Hide." They run away, and I run back on the bridge, making the trip over and over. Finally, there's only one child left, a little girl with big brown eyes. I scoop her up and run, but I scream when a metal robot bursts out of the ground. It's not Ultron, but it's one of his. It lunges for me, but I dodge and use this second to take off again. I let the little girl run away to safety and come face to face with another robot.

"Everyone seeing this?" I hiss as I kick through it. I get nothing but static in response. It takes a minute to dislodge my foot from the middle of the robot, so that might not be a wise call in the future, but at least it worked, and it didn't shred up my hand. I might have to try that painful trick again later, though. My knuckles are still bandaged, which might provide some protection. Not much, though. "Guys?!?" 

"Do you see? The beauty of it, 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." I cover my ears, but the robots are everywhere, all projecting Ultron's message. "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."

The ground shakes below my feet, and it starts to move. I gasp as Sokovia rises in the air, away from the earth. "Seriously, someone tell me what's going on!" 

"Mer, you okay?" It's Steve's voice. He's alive, at least. I dodge a blast from another robot and duck behind a wall, trying to assess the situation without dying. It's hard.

"Yeah, but Steve, we're flying."

"Believe it or not, I noticed."

"I mean, you can be a little dense sometimes, but not that dense," I acknowledge. "Where are you?"

"The edge. Near the big hospital that's collapsing right now."

"I'm coming." 

"Not yet. Is everyone off of the bridge?" 

I glance up and immediately find the building. "Yeah, Wanda and I got them all off safely. I'll be right there."

It takes little to no time for me to arrive at his side, and he's not alone. Nat stands with him, both taking a breather from the fight as they assess the situation. Thank God Bruce found her. I expected worse. Steve's worried eyes soften the slightest bit with relief when he sees me. He quickly explains how Ultron is using the vibranium to make the city fly. 

"When's it going to happen again?" I ask, choosing not to ask questions. Steve speaks into the comms, trying to contact Tony, who must be somewhere above us. Dust flies all around us, creating a gray fog. 

"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?"

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..." Nat reasons, but she's uncomfortable with the idea. I am, too.

"Not 'til everyone's safe," Steve insists.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

I love him so much.

"I didn't say we should leave." She shrugs. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

She's right. Even though we're floating above the earth in the last few minutes of our lives, it's really beautiful being up here in the clouds.

A new voice fills my earpiece, one that actually brings hope to our situation. "Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better." A Helicarrier rises in the sky and I grin as Fury continues to speak. He really pulled this off. We might not die after all. "Nice, right? I pulled her out of the mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch," I say, completely forgetting that Steve is right next to me and then deciding that I don't care.

"Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Nope," I reply, not missing a beat. "I do kiss Steve with it." He, of course, turns beet red at my comment, and I kiss him to embarrass him further. He obviously can't tell whether he should lean in or pull back. Natasha smirks and folds her arms, enjoying the show.

Pietro appears next to me as Fury sends in the life planes. A look of admiration mixed with wonder replaces the previous disapproval of me kissing someone. And he has the biggest smile on his face. "This is SHIELD?"

I smile and shake my head. "This is what SHIELD is supposed to be."

"This is not so bad." He puts an arm around my shoulders, and for the first time, I truly feel like I have a brother.

"Let's load them up," Steve says. With a new hope and a new plan, he is once again alive with authority. 

I mock salute. "You've got it, Cap." Then I turn to Pietro, an amusing idea in my mind. "Race you?" 

"Valeria, this is a mission, not a game," he tuts. For a minute, I actually think he's upset with me, but then his eyes shift with mischief and he takes off. "You didn't see that coming!" 

"Pietro!"