𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{3²⁴} {STORM OF BULLETS}

"They're trying to leave the city," Thor informed, confirming Roxi's thoughts as she tore her eyes away from where Ultron had been seconds ago and looked over the group for any serious injuries. Pietro's arm was bleeding through his suit, with a circular entry hole that looked like a gunshot wound, but no-one else seemed to be wounded badly. They all had small cuts and scrapes, but Roxi couldn't feel the dried, cracked blood that coated her hand or the blood running down her arm slightly from where she'd caught herself lightly on a piece of robot carcass. It wasn't the type of injury that you bothered with in the middle of a battlefield.

"We can't let them, not even one. Rhodey!" Roxi wasn't sure exactly when Rhodey had shown up, but she was glad for the support, especially as there was no way that the ones of them that couldn't fly would be able to stop them from leaving at such a distance. Now they had eleven people, and Ultron was looking worse for wear.

"I'm on it!" It was in that moment, while Roxi tried to take a sharp breath in to calm her racing pulse, that she felt the chill of the air was much worse than it had been before, and she wasn't getting as much oxygen through the breath. They were getting too high up.

"We gotta move out; even I can tell the air's getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, I'll be right behind you," Steve instructed, agreeing with Roxi's thoughts and looking away at the end of the sentence when an explosion went off. It was likely to be Rhodey or Vision, who had gone to help, who were trying to stop the dummy bots leaving.

"What about the core?" Clint brought up the hunk of Vibranium that they all stood by, some of its many interlocking parts rotating slowly every few seconds.

"I'll protect it," Wanda decided, her offer cutting through the air in her Sokovian accent, registering Clint's taken aback expression before explaining, "it's my job." Clint nodded before turning to the two women next to him, unsurprised to see that both of them were still solely focused on the job.

"Nat, Ryder, let's move." He had almost been expecting the ice-eyed agent to break down her walls, for Natasha, though when he found her face stony and professional, it didn't bother him too much. He'd known her for a long time, and for as long as he could remember, her first mission, her main job, would just be to get the task done. Here, that was getting these people out.

They left quickly, jogging through the streets in the direction that Roxi had come in from, and they passed a couple of the metallic carcasses she'd left littered around the street, including the one that dangled off of the piece of rebar. While Natasha and Clint exchanged a look upon seeing the damage around them, neither of them commented, and the journey back through the floating city was mostly silent, with the occasional sarcastic comment from Clint and an equally sarcastic reply from Natasha wherever she had the opportunity. Even Roxi contributed occasionally, though mainly to keep her mind off what she'd just managed to do. It unnerved her. She'd been storing that, along with her power, inside of her, shut under the trapdoor, ready to burst at any seconds. Who knew what would've happened if she hadn't got it out like she had. People would've gotten hurt, seriously, because of something she did. And it wouldn't be the first time.

Clint had managed to find a convertible car, that, although dusty and a two seater, had it's keys in the ignition. Roxi had squeezed herself in the small space behind the seats, mainly because she hadn't ever learned how to drive a car and because she didn't like the feel of leather seats. it had taken a moment for the car to start and they'd had to shove a boulder off the front, but it would work well enough for them to get to their destination, and hopefully with time to spare.

"I know what I need to do," Clint offered into the silence that had descended on them. It hadn't been uncomfortable, instead, it was more of an assuring quiet as the three sat in comfort. This wasn't new. This was familiar, with the person that Roxi had known the longest, and the one she was closest to.