𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀 stood next to each other, hands entwined as the breeze flicked their hair and Adelaide crafted a large sword and let it sit on her back. The whole team began walking, slowly at first, but when Tony and his enterage sped up, so did they until both were running, full force. Adelaide jumped into the air, flying and equipping her sword with the blood ruby in the pommel sparkling as she threw it down upon Rhodes. The metal of her blade hit the metal of Rhodes' suit, creating a large scratch.
'Back down, kid.' He warned, Adelaide pressing her sword harder onto the arm of his suit as he blocked her hit. She snarled at him, her mouth arching into a grin. The leathers she wore were different to the usual suits she wore, more worn and ancient looking.
'You tell me to back down, but you're the one with the fear controlling your every move, James.' She withdrew her sword and stood in front of War machine, chest proud and her stance confident. She threw her chin in the air and Rhodes' body flew into the air and crashed into a plane a couple hundred feet away. Adelaide's expression stayed neutral, not a fleck of emotion splayed her face.
'Adelaide.' A small voice was the one that spoke her name, and she turned her head, sword still in hand as it grazed the ground. Her eyes met that of the Spider-man, who walked closer to her, his speed creating a false sense of security as he suddenly whipped his hands forward and sticky web stuck to Adelaide's sword. She gazed down to the where the web had made contact and lifted the sword up over her head as she spun around, taking Peter with her and then slamming him into the hard stone of the ground.
'Run along now.' She commanded, gripping her sword and looking down upon Peter. He scrambled up and put his hands out in apology, swinging away to deal with someone else. She gazed around the airport, seeing multiple people fighting including Wanda; she was holding her own against Natasha, but the agent was harshly trained and managed to swipe Wanda's feet from under her.
Immediately Adelaide was behind Nat, grabbing onto a hunk of her hair and tugging her head back. With her spare hand, she switched her long sword with a dagger, the red gemstone still engraved into it. Adelaide's blade went to Natasha's throat as the agent straddled Wanda's hips, keeping her down. Adelaide brought her mouth to Natasha's ear.
'Don't touch her.' She whispered, the blade skimming Natasha's neck as she breathed huskily. Nat's face was proud, fulfilling, but Adelaide's stayed the same bleak mask. Wanda panted underneath Natasha.
'Yes, soldier.' Natasha's response wasn't defeated, wasn't forced. It was one of triumph, of pride and she removed herself from Adelaide's grasp and got off of Wanda, flicking her hair from her face. 'You have Pietro?' Adelaide stopped and retorted her head. She shook it. 'Shit.' Natasha gave a nod to Adelaide, and Addie returned her gesture with a look in her eye Natasha had never seen before: approval. As if Adelaide was telling her 'It's okay'. Natasha could've sworn she'd heard it too, as the Avengers fell apart around them, as Wanda returned herself to the fight with the family she barely knew, as Adelaide fell apart inside.
But she didn't want Natasha to know that, that weakness. So she turned from her and walked away, dagger now lengthening and broadening to create that sleek sword. Her braided white hair trailed down her back as she began to turn her wall into a jog into a run and then finally she jumped up and used shadows to propel herself through the air.
The flight took her in front of Vision as he hovered above them all, surveying. His eyes looked to Adelaide, her hand free of the blade now as it lay across her back, her hair free flying except for some small braids Wanda had put in when they were in the van. Her eyes, the persistence and clearness of them as she gazed upon the robot.
'Adelaide.' He acknowledged her presence, and that gem seemed to wake up in her presence. 'The stone,' He began, pointing to his forehead. 'it speaks to you, you know. I can't understand it, nor decipher was tongue it speaks. It is not the language of anywhere in this world.' Adelaide was fully prepared to fight Vision, but as they hovered above everyone in the air, circling each other, she listened to him, and tried to listen to the stone.
'May I... come closer? Perhaps if it wants to speak to me, it will allow me to understand it.' She put forward, and she floated closer to the being as he nodded his head slowly, dipping his forehead slightly to her. She placed her hand upon it, the light exposing her veins and bones beneath her skin. The words began coming to her, first in that dialect Vision explained, but soon she began to translate it, knowing what it was saying.
You have finally come for me, creator. I am yours once again, and all made under me, your loyal followers.
Her face turned white, she did not understand what it was whispering, Adelaide didn't want to hear it, to even think about it. She didn't want Wanda to either, and buried it beneath the most secretive parts of her mind, where those memories lay, and further.
'What has it said?' Vision's question was followed by a lie, a calculated one. Adelaide lifted her chin.
'I could not understand it, I could not see past the mask of it's language.' Adelaide said, and Vision seemed comfortable with her answer. She now felt as if she couldn't hurt Vision, afraid she would hurt that gem in his head, so she floated away from him.
She landed before Wanda, who was wielding scarlet energy against Tony. Adelaide stood next to her and watched as the girl strained.
'Did you need something!?' Wanda barely got the words out as she dodged and deflected fires from the Iron Man. Adelaide looked around.
'They haven't got Pietro, Wanda.' Adelaide spoke, and Wanda finally released a large enough ball of red to fling Tony far enough not to be a bother. Wanda turned at her statement, fear filling her face.
'What do you mean they haven't got him?' Wanda's question was hurried as she panicked and looked around, as if she thought she could find him. Adelaide was about to answer when Steve spoke up and shouted across coms that they should split up and then all of them get to the plane. Sam objected, telling Steve he and Bucky needed to go, now, and that the rest of them would stay behind, do what they had to do.
'I agree, Steve, go get out of here.' Adelaide said to comms, holding Wanda as she began to freak out and small flecks of red energy sparkled between her fingers. 'Shhh, we are gonna find him, he can handle himself.' Adelaide's comforting words attempted to soothe Wanda as she felt her thoughts spiralling out of control. Where was he? What was happening to him?
'We need a distraction, something big.' Sam concluded as he soared through the air high above Adelaide.
'I've got something kinda big, but I can't hold it for long. On my signal, run like hell.' Scott said, god knows where as how tiny he was. Adelaide smiled at Wanda as if to say 'See? Everything will be fine.' Wanda didn't smile back. 'And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me.' Even Adelaide's face dropped in surprise at that. She turned around, searching for the Ant Man, and couldn't find him. Blasted suit.
Adelaide held onto Wanda's hand tightly, pulled her upwards and into the middle of the fight, waiting for the signal. And the signal came, loud and clear. Scott Lang stood around one hundred metres tall, clearing the skies of the War Machine. Everyone on comms heard the laughter erupt from Scott, more out of relief than anything.
'Holy shit.' Was all Adelaide could muster to say, and she ran towards the large man's feet so protect him. (Like he needed it). She withdrew her sword from her back and took a readying stance, eyes darting from each opponent to the next; none dared look her in the eye. Except that of Natasha, who shot her a snarky grin and raised her eyebrows.
The King of Wakanda ran to her first, deeming her an easy blow. He would be wrong of course. T'Challa flicked his wrists and out came sharp claws from his suit. Adelaide ducked as he flung his hand toward her head. When she shot back up, she looked him in those feline eyes.
'Hey! I am a minor. That's just cruel.' She joked, sliding her leg beneath his and attempting to swipe him off the ground, which happened. He landed and she tried to injure him with her sword, but he grasped it and using the metal blade, swung her over his head to lay above him. He got up, claw now at her throat, and with a sharp inhale, she bent the claw at her neck. Only the single one, so as not to render all of them useless.
He realised what she'd done, and did not wish for her to do the same to any other of his sharp blades, so sprinted off, leaving her on the floor. Wanda found her way back to Adelaide, panting and sitting herself down next to her girlfriend.
'I am utterly.... finished...... with this business. When we get home, you owe me a massage.' She barely got out the words, she was so out of breath. However, there was no time to dawdle on the floor as they both spied just ahead of them, Cap and Bucky almost making it to the jet. What they also saw was Vision, floating over, his head angled to the large tower above them.
'I see it too.' Wanda acknowledged after noticing Adelaide staring. 'I'm on it.' She said.
'Right behind you.' Was the girl's response, and they both made it there just as Vision's stone brought down the tower. Well considering what she'd just learnt, more suitably named Adelaide's stone, but she didn't wish to think of that now. Adelaide watched in awe as Wanda held up the tower with all her strength, allowing Bucky a Cap to run further.
What passed them by was Rhodes, emitting a large ear piercing sound, hurting Wanda and leaving her screaming and writhing in agony on the floor. Adelaide's eyes went frantic and crazy, she looked to the War Machine and brought her hand up, controlling him. Controlling what was inside that suit, inside his body: His blood.