HESTIA ━ marvel

1.7 | BLOOD IN THE WATER

ANASTASIYA STARTED TO guide the people of Sokovia to the ships which Shield had provided for evacuation. Screams of panicked people could be heard throughout the city, as well as the whirring of the ship's engines.

"Everybody move!" Anastasiya called, as she helped a middle age woman who had fallen to her feet. Debris was littering every corner of the streets, and people were finding it hard to keep their footing as they ran over it. Flames that hadn't been put out were still burning on the stone walkway.

"Avengers! Time to work for a living!" Tony called, and Anastasiya ran off to join the rest of her teammates at the core, killing robots which were in her path.

***

"You good!" Pietro asked her as she walked up the steps. Wanda ignored her, and continued to fight the metal bots.

"Yeah, I'm good," Anastasiya replied, a look of sadness crossing her face at her sister's behaviour.

"Romanoff. You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini," Tony called, making Anastasiya chuckle.

"Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly," Nat responded, as she jumped out of a truck and joined the rest of them. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose." Suddenly a metallic thud could be heard as the Hulk jumped down, crushing several robots beneath him. He joined the team, and they all turned to face their enemy.

"Is that the best you can do?" Thor shouted.

Anastasiya groaned as Ultron raised his arms, hundreds of metal soldiers running to join their leader.

"You had to ask," Steve said sourly.

"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said... together." And with that, the remaining robots flung themselves at the team, attempting to fight for what their leader thought was right. The team fought, metallic bodies flying in every direction possible, red and orange surges of energy following.

The robots were getting closer and closer to the core, but before they could reach it, they were stopped, showing the team in all its glory. The smell of singed metal lingered around them, several metallic bodies lying lifeless on the ground outside the church.

A clang could be heard above as Ultron forced his body into Vision's, and the two Androids began to fight. A beam from the mind stone caused Ultron to lose his balance, flinging him outside, where Tony and Thor both helped Vision to defeat him. The rest of the team watched, unable to help, as they saw the trio starting to become too much for the robot to handle.

"You know, with the benefit of a hindsight..." Ultron began, before the Hulk punched him in the jaw and sent him flying into the sky.

"They're trying to leave the city!" Thor shouted, as he saw the final group of robots fly off into the distance.

"We can't let them, not even one. Rhodey!"

"Got it!" Rhodey yelled, as he flew off on pursuit.

"We gotta move out, the air is getting thin," Steve said. "You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?"

"I'll protect it," Wanda spoke up. "It's my job."

Clint paused for a second as if he was going to disagree with her, but he nodded. "Nat, Anastasiya, we need to leave. This way." The trio got in the nearest car they could find, Nat in the passenger seat, Clint in the driver's, and Anastasiya in the back.

"I know what I need to do. The dining room. If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura huh? Put up some baffling, she can't hear the kids running round. What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good. Can I come and visit soon?" Anastasiya asked.

"Whenever you want, kid. Nat? What do you think?"

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway."

"No one eats in a dining room," Clint scoffed.

The car pulled up to the final boat. "We don't have a lot of time," Clint said.

"Get your asses on a boat," Natasha said as she climbed out of the car. Clint turned around and nodded at Anastasiya, gesturing for her to get out the car. "It's time to go," he said, whilst him and the girl started to run.

As they entered, Anastasiya heard a woman shouting. "Costel!" The teenager turned around and saw her child was still on the floating island. "We were in the market." Anastasiya started to sprint over to the child, desperate to keep to her promise to not leave anyone behind.

"Anastasiya! Get back here!"

"No! I promised to save everyone! So that's what I'm doing." She reaches him quickly, but when she turned around she gasped. She quickly grabbed him and pulled him into her chest as laser beams stormed through into their path. She grimaced, waiting for them to hit; but they never did.

She screamed as she saw it. Pietro, her brother, with several bullets lodged into his chest, blood leaking through his grey shirt. "I'm sorry. Tell Wanda I'm sorry." And with that, he fell to the floor, the light leaving his eyes as Anastasiya sobbed. Clint ran out to reach her along with another man who picked up Costel.

"Kid? We gotta go."

"I'm not leaving him here," Anastasiya screamed, as she scrambled to get out of Clint's arms and hold her brother. Clint forced her away, and heaved Pietro's body over his shoulder, hugging Anastasiya close to his other. Steve hurried over and took the sobbing teenage girl from the archer.

"Shh. It's okay. It's okay," he said to her, hugging her close to his chest as she stained his uniform with tears.

"It's all my fault," she sobbed, as Steve tried to reassure her.

"It's not. But we need to leave now, Ana, it's not safe here for us anymore," Steve whispered, carrying Anastasiya in his arms as she quickly fell asleep from exhaustion and from crying. When he reached the boat he laid her down on the chair, wiping the tears off her face.

"Let her sleep," he said to one of the men nearby who was trying to wake her, as they took off from the ground, "she's had a long day."