Novi Grad, Sokovia

Spring 2015

The City was rising. Literally. It was rising into the air. Nadine had seen a lot of things—so had the rest of the world, really; aliens; Enhanced people; killer robots—but this was in a whole other league of unbelievable. Unbelievable and terrifying.

Next to her, Nina was edging closer to Nadine, her eyes wide as they roved the cavern, taking in the streams of dislodged dirt falling all around them and the machinery trembling out in the chasm ahead of them. All around them the base—the very earth itself, it felt like—seemed to be groaning under the strain, a bone-rattling rumble vibrating up through the ground and into their bodies, the sound of it nearly thunderous.

"Mom?" Nadine nearly couldn't hear Nina, the angry rumbling pressing in on them drowning out her daughter's voice. "What's happening?"

Nadine's practical, rational side automatically took charge as it always did in instances of extreme stress, danger or focus. She had been trained that way. It helped her keep a clear head, keeping her emotions under tight control where they couldn't interfere and jeopardize her mission or her life. As soon as the base began to quake around them, those deeply ingrained instincts had taken over. They'd really kicked into high gear as Stark and his new U.I., FRIDAY, had once again rejoined on their comm channel, the lilting female voice sounding grim as it confirmed what was happening. She was only barely able to keep her own anxiety in check as Ultron declared his manifesto—the speech loud enough that most of it carried through the Team's earpieces down in the city to reach those still in former HYDRA base.

But hearing the threads of panic in Nina's barely-audible voice? Seeing it in her already pale face? It nearly undid Nadine's carefully maintained control.

They had to get out of there.

The base was shuddering around them, earth and dust filling the air. Many, many stories below their feet, Nadine swore she could hear the dull rumble of tunnels and passageways caving, unable to survive the stress and strain as the roots of the city were torn away from the mountains it was nestled against. Pushing aside her own panic, she let her training take over, eyes darting around, looking for the quickest, safest route out, analysing their surroundings, taking in the changing situation around them and far above them.

As the lurching ground began to calm, the nearly deafening roar around them turning to a dull hum, Banner was the first to speak, his hand still grasping Natasha's arm from when they'd grabbed each other for balance.

"We gotta move." Wholeheartedly, Nadine agreed, silently urging Nina forward again. But they'd barely taken a full step before Natasha pulled the doctor to a stop, turning him back to face her serious, questioning expression. It had the two blondes turning back toward the pair in bewilderment at the holdup.

"You're not going to turn green?" A hint of a smile appeared on Banner's face.

"I've got a compelling reason not to lose my cool," he answered earnestly. Nadine wasn't sure she'd ever seen Natasha smile like she did then; it was so happy. But it wasn't quite enough to drown out the resolve—or the remorse—growing in her little sister's eyes.

"I adore you." And then Natasha was pulling the mild-mannered doctor in for an emotional kiss. Nadine sighed, nearly grinning in fond exasperation. Not that it entirely distracted from the wariness growing in her gut; it was certainly not unfounded.

In the blink of an eye Natasha's hands had slipped down from their hold on Banner's head to his chest. And she shoved. He didn't even have time to shoot her more than a bewildered look as he toppled backward into the chasm behind him. "But I need the other guy."

Nina shrieked, stumbling back against Nadine's side as her hands clamped over her mouth. Nadine shook her head, sending Natasha a disparaging look even as she soothingly rubbed Nina's back in reassurance.

"You know he's going to be pissed about that, right?" Natasha only grinned at the blonde assassin's wry tone. Not that it lessened the grim conviction and remorse clouding her vibrant eyes. A bellowing roar echoed up the shaft and, with a ground-shaking impact that had Nina struggling to swallow back another startled cry, Hulk landed in front of Natasha, his large mouth twisting with what looked oddly like approval and even amusement. Natasha smirked as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, but he's okay with it. Bruce'll understand."

"You're not going to run?" Natasha glanced to Nadine with surprise. The blonde just smiled knowingly back. Natasha slowly shook her head.

"This is my team, my...family. And we have a job to do. I can't run now. Not anymore. It's not just me, anymore. It's bigger than that." Nadine could feel her smile fading as a knowing look of her own grew on her little sister's face. With a slow, understanding nod, redhead turned to the Hulk, resolve settling over her as she unwaveringly met her massive teammate's eye.

"Let's finish the job." With a rumbling huff and a curt nod, Hulk held out a huge hand to Natasha. The redheaded spy didn't hesitate. In the blink of an eye, Hulk had swung his petite teammate onto his back as though she were no more than a rag-doll, leaping away with earth-shaking force almost before Natasha had gotten a good grip.

Leaving Nadine and Nina alone in Ultron's abandoned base.

Sparing Nina little more than a glance, Nadine was moving almost the instant Hulk had hurtled himself up the shaft to toward the shimmer of daylight above. Not that the teen needed any prompting; she was hot on Nadine's heels as the blonde assassin led them out of the depths of the base and back to the courtyard where the Quinjet still sat, mercifully undamaged by the falling chunks of rock the rising city was raining down on the ground below.

Not far away, on the opposite end of the courtyard, stood the base's garages. It didn't take long at all for Nadine to break in and locate a truck that suited her purposes—hardy and fast. All with Nina looking on in a state of wary awe.

"Nina," Nadine called, unable to keep the urgency from her voice as she climbed into the truck, gesturing for her to get in before ducking beneath the console. "We're getting out of here." It was a rhetorical comment, one not even wholly intended for Nina, but Nina started anyway, her eyes latching onto her mother in bewilderment.

"What?!" Nadine paid her little attention, her focus on getting them as far away as fast as possible. They could take the time to talk after that. In seconds she had the engine growling to life; hotwiring a vehicle was child's play, after all. But Nina hadn't budged from outside the garage door.

"Mom, we can't! We have to help. We can't just run away!" Nadine looked up to her daughter in surprise where she stood in front of the truck, astonishment written clearly on her face and her eyes glinting with determination and entreaty. Nadine fixed Nina with a firm look.

"This isn't our fight, Nicola! I'm not going to put you in that kind of danger. Not when I just got you back."

"But they need you!" Nadine nearly drew back in bewilderment at the declaration, her heart beginning to thrum anxiously as her eyes widened.

"Nadine." It was Steve's voice that had Nadine freezing, every muscle going tense at the lingering threads of reluctance running through the Captain's grim tone. "If we lose here, she won't be safe no matter where you go. I know you can do the math. There's no running from this." Nadine's resolve threatened to falter, her pulse thundering in her ears.

"He's right, Ryker," Barton's voice broke in, still managing to sound sympathetic despite the obvious strain in it. "There's no escaping this if we lose." Her jaw clenched painfully, her knuckles turning white where they gripped the steering wheel. She looked to Nina. Her daughter's blue-grey eyes stared unwaveringly up at her, her own jaw set with certainty despite the shadow of fear mingling in her features. Despite her own pervading fear, pride swelled in her chest.

Sharply Nadine jerked her head toward the Quinjet where it sat abandoned in the centre of the courtyard.

She didn't need to say a word.

A beaming smile broke out on Nina's face. Snatching up her rifle again, Nadine leapt from the truck to follow her daughter.

"Strap in, Nina," Nadine instructed the instant they were on board, her fist hitting the control to seal the boarding ramp. In nearly no time at all, the blonde assassin had the Quinjet humming to life, running through a makeshift preflight checklist before preparing to take it up, quickly familiarizing herself with the controls. It was, in some ways, a mix between a harrier jet and a helicopter, all while managing to be more streamlined and user-friendly than either, not to mention more intuitive.

It had been years since Nadine had flown anything. Yet the brief lessons Natasha had given her in the Quinjet during their days following the attack on Strucker's base—a means of keeping Nadine from running off by keeping her occupied, not that the blonde had minded all that much—were certainly proving their value. She was never one to pass up on picking up potentially useful skills, after all.

In minutes she had the Quinjet in the air.

Nadine had debated taking the Quinjet when she'd been making her own plans on the way to the small country. But Ultron's Endgame had changed everything. Her stomach had already been churning uncomfortably at the idea of leaving the Avengers to fight Ultron without her in the first place. She couldn't even fathom taking off with their only means of escape.

Not that she believed for a moment in her heart of hearts that they would even dream of abandoning the city now. Not with so many innocents still trapped up there with them. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably, trying to get her to admit what she feared was ultimately going to happen to the Team.

And it seemed she was about to join them...

Soon enough the Quinjet had taken them up to the quickly rising city, leaving Nadine with the tricky task of landing the thing on a moving, climbing piece of land. Luckily for the blonde assassin, her limited skills combined with the smart, intuitive pilot-assist systems programmed into the Quinjet meant that it wasn't nearly so tricky a process as she feared. Still, Nadine wasn't above letting out a small breath of relief as the Quinjet settled heavily on the cracked pavement of a small public square not far from the edge of the city.

In bringing up the Quinjet, Nadine had gotten a fairly good look at what was going on in the chunk of Novi Grad being propelled into the upper atmosphere. The main fighting seemed to be concentrated near the edge of the city, centring around the large city square and the main bridge that had once crossed the river that bisected the city. From what she had glimpsed and what she had picked up from the comms, Rogers and Natasha were there. Not all that far away, there was a small pocket of fighting where Hawkeye and the Maximoff girl seemed to be holding their own while Hulk was off on his own—having little trouble ripping Ultron's sentries apart, she imagined—and the Maximoff brother was zipping around the city causing mayhem for the robots by himself.

Even as she set the Quinjet down, Hawkeye and the girl seemed to have wrapped up where they were and were heading to join up with the Captain and Natasha. It was where the fighting was still the thickest. So that was where Nadine would go.

As she grabbed up her rifle again as she abandoned the pilot's seat, absently checking it over before priming the chamber, she fixed Nina with a firm stare.

"You'll stay here." Nina's eyes went wide with indignation and disbelief.

"But Mom—"

"No, Nina," Nadine snapped, her barely contained anxiety and her waning patience already creating a tense knot in her chest. "I can't go out there unless I know you're safe. You need to stay here." Nina glared back at her, her eyes glinting rebelliously. But after a moment she caved beneath her mother's unrelenting expression, sinking down into the bank of seats behind her. Satisfied, Nadine strode over to her, pulling her into a tight, one-armed hug and placing a kiss on the crown of her pale head. The knot in her chest eased slightly when Nina's arms snaked around her waist, hugging her tightly back.

"I love you, solnyshko," she murmured, looking down at Nina. "Stay here and stay safe. I'll be back." Her jaw still clenched unhappily, Nina nodded stiffly.

Then, taking a deep breath, Nadine left the Quinjet.

Most of Ultron's sentries seemed to be converging where Rogers, Natasha and the Twins were, so Nadine paused at the bottom of the ramp only long enough to get her bearings before dashing off through the maze of streets between her and them.

She hadn't even reached the city square before she could hear the sound of fighting. All at once, the Ghost was taking over as Nadine's focus narrowed in on the task ahead of her as the square came into view. There were sentries everywhere.

"You didn't invite me to the party?" The quip was out of her mouth before she could help herself. A bark of laughter sounded in her ear, coming, Nadine suspected, from Barton.

"We really need to redefine what counts as a party!" Natasha burst out indignantly. Nadine couldn't help but grin.

With a few leaping strides she was clambering up over cars and swinging herself up onto a balcony overlooking the scene before her. From what she could see, Rogers, Natasha and the Twins were really having little trouble against the sentries themselves...there were simply too many of them. Well, she couldn't help but think as her rifle materialized in her hands, her keen eyes sighting down the barrel as her breathing evened out, that was something she could certainly help with.

And she took her first shot.

A/N: Thanks for Reading!

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