As Natasha was silenced, bringing her hands to her head trying to block out the ringing, and the mangled robot stumbled closer to the team Elizabeth's mind began to race. She could feel the electricity in the air; the crackle and hum of tension and fear; the hush of anticipation. Her skin prickled as the team jumped to their feet and the broken metallic figure lurched towards them.
"You speak of being worthy," his voice hummed, low and contemplative. "How could you be worthy? You are all killers."
Bucky pulled Elizabeth so that she was behind him, his hand gripping her waist as he reached back to her, his touch pulling her mind back to the room and away from the shift in the atmosphere that seemed to race in waves across her very being.
"Who are you and who sent you?" Steve challenged, standing tall, drawing attention away from the others as they slowly assembled around him.
"I am Ultron. I was asleep - no, not asleep -" the robot mused, standing in the centre of the raised entryway, "I had to kill the other guy. Such a shame really. He seemed nice."
Nat looked towards Maria Hill, already gripping the firearm she had concealed against her thigh.
"The other guy?" She whispered.
"All civilians were out before -" the painful screech that had sounded once before seemed to explode from the robot as it stumbled forwards again and Maria couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn't finish her thought.
Bucky's grip tightened as Elizabeth reached her hands up to his back, her fear pulling her closer to him.
"I asked who sent you." Steve clicked his neck as he spoke, his eyes never leaving the glowing red that stared back at him.
"I see a suit of armour around the world." Tony's voice rang out clear as the machine watched Steve. It came from the machine. It came from the past. Realisation dawned on Steve with the force of a train and his eyes darted to where Tony stood silently, shame washing over his features.
"You see a suit of armour." The machine growled. "I see peace in our time."
Instantly the room filled with The Iron Legion. Bricks and rubble were thrown across the space as they crashed through walls and attacked. Natasha flew to action, shooting at a bot as it flew towards Elizabeth and Bucky. When Bucky grabbed it and threw it to the ground it split in two and Elizabeth stumbled backwards. Another robot came at her from the side, its hands outstretched, ready for her, and she threw her hands up to protect herself.
As the cold grip of metal encased her wrists Lizzie threw her weight back, extending her arms and throwing the machine back and into the waiting grip of Clint. He spun quickly, hitting the machine into the pillar behind him and ducking down as another flew towards him.
Where Bruce Banner had been standing The Hulk now ripped through the flying bots as they attacked, their aim to kill, their goal to destroy. He tore them to pieces as he roared and the room shook. Around them all bullets flew through the space and the echo of metal clashing with metal made Elizabeth sick to her stomach.
"Get out of here Kid!" Clint shouted at her as she pulled herself back to her feet. "Now!"
"Clint, I can -" The words were stolen from her as sharp, breaking pain ripped through her chest. The lifeless eyes of the machine stared up at her as she hurtled through the air, knocked back by the strength Hulk had used as he discarded the now destroyed robot that had hit into her, and her head smashed into the cold steel of the window frame. The thick glass cracked on impact and she gasped for air.
Heaving for breath, her mind spinning and her hands scratching against the metal buried in her abdomen, Elizabeth struggled to find herself. Her heart burned and the scream of the very make up of the universe seemed to consume her. She winced as she pulled the sheet of metal from her side and blood began to trickle. She watched in abject horror as Bucky fought alongside Steve and Natasha, as Tony flew through the air in half a suit, exposed to his own villainous creation, as Hill and Clint shot bullets and arrows through the now devastated space.
When she watched Bucky struggle she felt it - that pull of pain, of desperation. With every punch blocked and every hit that connected with his skin Elizabeth grew more afraid, she felt the ripping of her soul at the idea he could be taken from her again. She revelled in the rage that came as she heard the screams of his fall - the screams she had, for so long, blocked from her mind. She felt the fire of power surging in her veins as she gave herself to the shame and guilt she had carried for so many years: the shame and guilt that told her he died because she was too weak. She was no longer weak. She was unstoppable. And Bucky would not die.
Her body lifted from the floor as she focused on the pain, as she drowned in it, as she danced in it. She felt the surge of power, the universe at her fingertips, and she breathed in as she rose into the open air. The crackle and hum that had stuck to her like a rash before now seemed to focus around her hands, ready to be controlled.
Bucky's eyes grew wide with fear as she rose before them all. She was bleeding. The soft droplets falling as she floated in mid air. A blue mist seemed to form around her as she drew in energy from around her. Swirls of cerulean swam out from beneath them all and pulled towards her as her hands twisted and her hair billowed out around her. She was breathtaking. She was devastating.
As Elizabeth released the power building inside her, as she screamed, as flames tore from her soul, the team were thrown back. Steve grabbed hold of Natasha as she was thrown towards him and threw his shield between her and the cold marble floor. Bucky flew backwards, his eyes still glued to her as flames tore around them like wildfire and wind.
Around them all Ultron's robots disintegrated, leaving behind just dust and destruction. Each and every one of them was blasted into oblivion and Elizabeth's scream subsided. As she fell her eyes rolled back and oblivion came. She smashed into the ground with a sickening thud and Bucky scrambled to get to his feet, pushing debris from where it had pinned his chest, and screaming for her.
"Lizzie!?" He ran to where she lay in the middle of the room and dropped to his knees. "Lizzie? Can you hear me?" He brushed her hair from her face and ran his hands across her body, checking her injuries and feeling waves of nausea roll over him as his hands came up bloody. "It's okay Lizzie. Bruce is going to help you, okay? You're going to be okay."
In one swift motion Bucky scooped Elizabeth into his arms and got to his feet. Holding her close to him, her arms hanging limply and her head against his chest, Bucky felt lost and afraid. She was hurt. He could think of nothing past the knowledge that she was hurt. He stood, rooted to the spot, and his eyes shifted around the room in a panic as he searched the eyes of Elizabeth's friends for advice: for someone to tell him what he should do.
"Take her to your room Buck." Steve barked as he pulled Nat to her feet. "Watch her until we rein the green guy back in. Do not leave her side, got it?"
Bucky gave a tense nod before he powered out of the room, leaving the destruction and devastation of what had occurred behind him.
Steve stood, one arm still holding on to Natasha as she struggled to stand, and gazed around the still smouldering room. Clint and Hill both groaned as their burns blistered and raged. He was transfixed on the scene before him and only one thought entered his mind: Elizabeth was more powerful than any of them knew.