Roxi Ryder had a bad past, like the kind your whole body tries to forget to make it easier, but your mind won't let you. That was one of the reasons she never told anyone her first name; she was paranoid they would look her up in the database of S.H...
"I'm glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better." Roxi nearly froze as Fury's voice rung through the comms, hearing the massive whir of a familiar engine, a tide of relief surging through her with more force than she had expected as she poked her head out of one of the shattered windows to find a helicarrier hovering before them in all its splendour. They had a way out. These people would live. In that moment, that was all Roxi could ask for, and it seemed to give her a burst of energy that let her finally find a way through to the building-free area that Natasha and Steve stood in, on top of one of the destroyed roads.
"Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do. Roxi had never felt so glad. They were relieved of half of their worries now that they would be able to evacuate people, and Roxi allowed a proper smile to stretch across her face as she walked up towards her two friends.
"Fury, you son of a bitch." Surprisingly, it was Steve that had spoken, Roxi raising an eyebrow at him that he couldn't see, but doing it anyway out of curiosity.
"Oo. You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Fury replied, and she could hear the pride and relief in his tone, knowing that he had been able to save half a cities' worth of people by just showing up at the right time. Pietro reached Steve and Natasha first, speeding to a stop a few meters in front of them, staring at the helicarrier as they sent down airborne lifeboats to dock on the edge of the island.
"This is SHIELD?" He seemed pleasantly surprised by the idea that the organisation could do so much good, that they could help his people so much, and it took Roxi back to a time where she had been amazed at what they could do as well.
"This is what SHIELD is supposed to be," Steve corrected, his face etched with the same emotions as Fury. Roxi finally reached the three of them, meeting Pietro's eyes with a nod, almost as a promise that SHIELD could do this. They would protect his people, they would help him fight, they would help him.
"Damn right it is," she announced, not missing the way that Natasha started slightly before spinning around, the redhead's smile growing at the sight of Roxi as she walked the final few meters towards them, the two greeting each other with a short hug and a twinkle in their eyes that said they would talk later, when all of this was over.
"This is not so bad," the resident Sokovian admitted, and Roxi found her fondness for him growing. He wasn't much older than she had been when she'd joined SHIELD, and with his attitude and accent, Roxi couldn't help but find herself seeing some of who she had been in him. She hoped that he wouldn't make the same mistakes that she had with his life, that he didn't shut people out, though that didn't seem like it would be an issue.
"Let's load 'em up," Steve ordered, looking much more confident now, with much more spring in his step as he went to find people to herd onto the lifeboats. Roxi couldn't help finding that the confidence was beginning to bubble inside her as well, to give her hope that this might end well, that these people would get off of this floating city that had once been their home. Roxi found her faith in herself finally being restored, even if it was just for the next few hours. They needed to act without hesitation, and that's what she was going to do. It didn't matter if it cost her more than it should, these people were innocent; she was not. Their lives needed saving, and if Roxi came out of this well, maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't just survive. She would live.
{A/N:} I'm actually slightly happier with this chapter, not too sure why. Anyway, it's Saturday, enjoy the update :) I'm finally on half term, and I am officially half way through the school year (which is a weird thought tbh). I do have some plans for the next few chapters that set up what happens in Civil War with Roxi because that's going to be a bit messier than normal but oh well.
Honestly, I think part of the reason why these chapters aren't so long and aren't as good as others is because I'm more focused on getting the chapters out on time than the content behind them, but seeing as I'm off school, I'll try to write more chapters in the next few days and focus more about what goes into them so that I don't have to worry about the time.
Like I said, nothing too big with Natasha and Roxi this chapter, but I promise it'll come soon. I honestly have no idea how many more chapters Age of Ultron's going to have, but I'm probably going to aim for 25 because it will annoy the hell out of me otherwise. So, like I said, bear with me, hopefully more updates for books I haven't updated in a while this week (no promises). Also I love the AoS reference that Fury makes this chapter so Imma just say this:
Theta Protocol :).
Anyways, please vote, comment, let me know what you think, etc.,
2400 Words
Written: 13 / 02 / 2021
Published: 13 / 02 / 2021
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