The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

The Cradle

Shaking it off, I looked to him and gave a small nod, noting that he had also gotten his magic ready, along with a pair of daggers.

Man, I want one!

"You know what's in that cradle?" The robot asked, shooting at us, pulling from my admiring gaze.

I hastily put up a shield, so no serious harm was done, but if it hadn't been there, we'd be as good as dead.

"The power to make real change. And that terrifies you." He continued, his voice sounding more human by the second.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "I wouldn't exactly call it a comfort." I retorted, throwing balls of energy at him.

The black energy surprised me. I had never used my magic this way before. Black mist was usually the route I took, but this was pretty damn effective.

Ultron took the hits and stumbled back, shocked by my display of power.

I'll admit. That felt good.

But my victory was short-lived, however, as he blasted me and Loki back, making us almost hit the road behind us.

Loki got up first, leaving me to hold onto the windshield for dear life. He extended his hand and pulled me up.

"Thanks." I smiled, out of breath.

"Anytime." He smiled at me before turning back to Ultron.

That's when the blessed sound of the quinjet's engines graced my ears and the aircraft passed overhead.

We had backup! Thank God...

The two former assassins used the jet's turret to shoot at the van, drawing out the three guard bots that Steve had mentioned before.

And soon, there was only one bot left.

Ultron, who was still recovering from the hits I had delivered a minute prior.

We had to get him off this truck so that we could get to the cradle. But how?

"Get the cradle to Barton and Romanoff. I'll distract him." Loki's voice spoke in my head again, making my heart race.

What? No!

Before I could stop him, he used his green magic and threw Ultron into a passing train, following him shortly after, to continue the fight.

I was all alone. All alone with a gem that could potentially destroy an entire city.

No pressure.

I took a deep breath and jumped down into the open back of the truck to see the target, clear as day, glowing in the middle of the truck.

As I was about to teleport the cradle out, the truck lifted into the air, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground.

What the hell?! Come on! I was so close!

"Okay, the package is airborne. I have a clean shot." I heard Clint over the radio.

No!

"No, you don't! I'm still in the truck, Barton!" I called through my earpiece, panicked.

I am not dying today. Especially not by Vent Spy shooting me down.

"What the hell are you still doing in there?" I heard Natasha ask, like I chose to be stuck in the back of a levitating death truck.

I groaned. "Just be ready. I'm sending the package to you," I said into my earpiece before teleporting myself and the cradle into the back of the quinjet.

I'll admit. That was easier than I thought.

I mean, I didn't run into the Maximoffs once!

"Package delivered." I smiled at the former Shield agents and stood by the cradle in the back of the jet, where the cargo door was still open.

Natasha looked like she was about to say something when I felt someone grab me from behind and pull me out of the quinjet.

"Catherine!" I heard Clint call after me as I fell through the clouds.

Seconds later, I blacked out.

~~~Steve's pov~~~

"Cap, can you see Catherine?" I heard Barton over the comms.

"No. But if you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" I yelled, trying to deal with the runaway train situation that Ultron had caused.

"Do you have eyes on Catherine?!" Natasha asked this time.

"Go!" I repeated.

What happened to Catherine?

I shook it off. The train's passengers are the priority.

I turned to the Maximoffs, who were apparently on our side now. "Civilians in our path," I said to the fast one, and he sped out of the train to move the possible casualties.

"Can you stop this thing?" I asked Wanda desperately.

She nodded and used her red magic to slow the brakes on the train, but she wasn't fast enough.

The train crashed through several brick walls before coming to a halt.

That was exhausting.

Now that I had a second to breathe, I needed to find out what happened to Catherine.

"Barton, what's the situation? Did Catherine get the cradle?" I asked, my breathing uneven.

"She's gone. Ultron got her."

Dear Lord, Stark is going to murder me...

I shook my head. "We'll figure something out. For now, just get the cradle to Stark. I'll tell him."

~~~Loki's pov~~~

"What's going on?" I asked the soldier once the train had stopped and I had a moment to actually process what had happened.

"Ultron took Catherine. She's gone."

My blood boiled at his answer, though I'm not sure why.

I just knew I was going to get her back. He wasn't going to get away with this.