Novi Grad, Sokovia

Spring 2015

Nadine let out a long slow breath, her index finger firm on the trigger, the familiar feel and weight of her rifle grounding in her hands as her focus narrowed on her target.

And she took her first shot.

Then another. And another. Round after round she fired into the fray, each one unerringly finding its mark. As the reverberation of the first gunshot echoed through the square, Nadine could swear she saw her little sister spin to glance her way out of the corner of her eye, a grin on her face, but she didn't pause to look. She was far too focused on finding her next target. Though, a small, mischievous, even petty side of her couldn't help but grin as the Captain started when she used his shield to ricochet one of her bullets into a sentry charging toward Rogers that she couldn't quite get a clean shot at.

But all too soon she was running short on ammo. Even more worrisome, Ultron's sentries had finally caught on to what she was doing and subsequently her position. It was time to truly join the fight, it seemed. Inhaling deeply, she leapt from her perch as the first sentry dove toward her, rolling to her feet just in time to catch a second sentry in the face with a point-blank shot from her rifle. As the robot crumpled at her feet she was already moving.

And then, just like her sister and the rest of the Avengers, Nadine was in the thick of it. Ultron's sentries just kept coming, lunging and grabbing at her almost too quickly to combat. But Nadine was just that little bit faster, spinning and lunging herself, ducking and dodging around the metal-fisted blows the robots tried to land. Her rifle quickly became a contact weapon in her hands instead of a firearm, crashing into the nearest sentry with a strident clang. It didn't last as long as she would've liked, though—it wasn't intended for that kind of combat, sturdy as it was—not against robots; flesh and other organic materials, maybe, but it wasn't up to withstanding repeated abuse from the tempered metal bodies of Ultron's sentries. With a well-placed slash, one of the robots caught the main mass of the gun's body, shearing through the weapon. Nadine was only just able to back-pedal in time to keep the same blow from catching her square in the chest, rolling backward into a low crouch.

In a flash her sidearms were in her hands, bullets pinging off the metallic body before a couple finally penetrated. With a hiss and grinding squeal, the sentry collapsed. Only for another one to appear behind it before Nadine could even think of catching her breath. So she dispatched that one too, diving around him to rip out one of his spinal processing cables and firing off two rounds into the gap, severing its main power supply.

But as she spun, ready to face the next one, she realized there were no more. Nadine's body tensed in wary anticipation as the square was suddenly empty save for the Avengers and the lifeless bodies of Ultron's sentries littering the ground. But Nadine's instincts told her it was far from over. It couldn't be the end of it . As her keen eyes roamed the square, searching for any hint of a renewed onslaught, she caught her sister's eye where Natasha stood a few dozen yards away. The redhead looked just as wary and uneasy as Nadine felt.

Then she was gone, disappearing as the city was suddenly blanketed in a dense, eerie mist. Nadine blinked in momentary bewilderment before she realized the city must have entered a thick bank of cloud. Sure enough, the chilled air seemed to cling damply to her skin as she struggled to pick out her surroundings. As the clouds shifted and rippled around her, buildings and people slowly came back into view.

The rest of the team was taking advantage of the lull in Ultron's attack to move the civilians left in the city, directing them to more centralized locations, trying to keep them together as they got them to shelter. But Nadine couldn't focus on them; her attention was still fixed on scanning their surroundings, senses peeled in effort to detect the next wave as quickly as possible when it inevitably came.

"The next wave's gonna hit any minute," Rogers' voice sounded in her ear, echoing what her own instincts were all but screaming at her. "What have you got, Stark?"

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear." Though trying to sound optimistic, there was no hiding the grim cast to the billionaire's tone. Rogers was not happy with the implications of Stark's answer.

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second," Stark countered soberly, undeterred by Steve's terse response, "we're going to have to make a choice." The city, still rising relentlessly, was beginning to clear the cloudbank, the air clearing further with each passing moment. Not far away, Nadine caught sight of Rogers and Natasha standing near the edge of the city, looking out over the empty sky surrounding them.

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Nadine heard her sister say quietly, the earpiece only barely picking it up. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock—"

"Not 'til everyone's safe." She didn't have to see Natasha's face to imagine her disbelieving expression in response to the Captain's firm declaration. Her voice made it clear exactly what Natasha thought.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"I didn't say we should leave." Nadine's chest clenched at her little sister's resigned tone, her pulse thrumming with panic as her thoughts immediately turned to Nina where she waited back on the Quinjet. Natasha nodded sedately, the gesture just barely visible far away as Nadine was. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" Unintentionally Nadine found her own gaze drawn to the vista spread out before them as the city continued to rise higher. There was nothing but an ocean of dense, pale cloud below them, obscuring all but the barest glimpses of the ground thousands of feet below them. A hollow yet strangely resigned ache spread through Nadine's chest at the sight.

It really was beautiful.

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better." Nadine nearly choked, her eyes going wide as a voice she certainly hadn't expected came over the comm. But that was nothing compared to the shock she felt at what emerged through the cloudbank.

A S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

In that moment she wasn't sure she'd seen anything so beautiful.

"Nice, right?" Nick Fury asked wryly, obviously enjoying his dramatic and perfectly timed entrance immensely, "I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch." A small burst of laughter escaped Nadine as Rogers' incredulous curse perfectly summed up what Nadine felt in that moment. She could swear she nearly felt Fury's amusement through their earpieces.

"Oo-oh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" The Helicarrier had settled into a matching climb, easily keeping pace with the rising city. As Nadine watched, deep, groaning clanks sounded as huge doors opened and retracted along the hull of the massive ship, revealing smaller ships that she could only label as lifeboats. Relief hummed in her chest as they soared toward the city, two angling in toward the cliff-like edge not far from Steve and Natasha while the others passed overhead on their way deeper into the city.

With a blur the Maximoff brother appeared next to the Captain, looking out on the sight in awe. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supposed to be." There was no denying the soft pride in Rogers' voice as he too looked out at the Helicarrier and its promise of rescue for the trapped people of Novi Grad. Pietro glanced back to Steve, a grin lighting up his face.

"This is not so bad." But then he was glancing back over his shoulder again even as Steve gave the order to start loading the boats, his attention no longer on the Captain or the lifeboats as the first one settled against what remained of the city's central bridge. A wide, relieved smile appeared on the Sokovian boy's face as he turned, looking past where Nadine stood. Before she could even frown, he was blurring away again, only to come to an abrupt halt behind Nadine. Spinning around, her stomach clenched at the familiar figure standing in the middle of the square, her blue-grey eyes wide with stunned disbelief as she watched the incoming lifeboats even as Pietro reached out, his hand landing lightly on her shoulder.

"Nina!" The teen spun at the sound of Nadine's shout, the awe in her eyes quickly overtaken by an expression of guilt. In an instant Nadine was striding toward her daughter where she stood with the Sokovian boy, panic once again threatening to rise in her chest. "I told you to stay on the Quinjet!"

"But Mom—" Nina objected plaintively, glancing between her mother and the Enhanced boy next to her. But Nadine wasn't having any of it, her temper rising in the face of her sudden fear. Nina wasn't safe here! Around them people were beginning to stream to from the buildings surrounding the square, hurrying across the battle-scarred pavement toward the lifeboats.

"No, Nicola," she snapped, cutting her daughter off sharply, "you purposefully ignored my instructions." Nina's eyes flashed angrily again, the determined expression she'd fixed Nadine with down in the base reemerging with a vengeance.

"You couldn't just sit back! How could you think I could? I can help!" the young blonde snapped right back. Nadine was momentarily taken aback but her daughter's sudden vehemence, the swelling of pride she'd felt earlier traitorously returning. She shoved it aside. Admirable as her daughter's conviction might be, it was far more important that she stay safe! Distantly she registered the rest of the Team speaking over the comms, Thor warning them all that Ultron was about to make a final play for the Core to drop the city. But Nadine couldn't focus on that just now. Next to Nina, looking visibly uncomfortable but not quite willing to slip away, Pietro looked suddenly torn as Stark called the rest of the Team to arms. She all but glared at her daughter.

"It's too dangerous, Nina!" Nina glared right back.

"Then you shouldn't have taught me how to fight!" But even as Nadine opened her mouth to respond, Rogers was approaching them, sending Pietro off with pointed glance. Reluctantly the Sokovian boy complied, sparing Nina a final look as he did. But Nadine paid him little mind, her gaze still locked impassively with her daughter's. Steve ignored the tension between them, fixing Nadine with an authoritative look.

"Ryker? We need you to do a final sweep of the streets; make sure we got everyone."

"I'm not leaving my daughter alone, Rogers," she objected, her eyes narrowing at the Captain as her gaze snapped to him. He narrowed his eyes right back, irritation flickering in his usually warm eyes.

"She won't be alone. There are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents here who can keep an eye on her. But we need someone capable—"

"—I don't need a babysitter! I can take care of myself—" Nina broke in heatedly, her eyes flashing. Nadine nearly growled in frustration.

"Nina—"

"She'll be fine, Ryker," Steve cut in, shooting the younger blonde an approving, even fond grin. Nadine nearly started at the shift. What had she missed?

But before she could think on it further, a flash of movement appeared in her peripheral vision.

With an irritated grumble, Nadine snatched the automatic rifle from one of the Sokovian officers rushing past her and, shoving Nina behind her, swung the gun up to her shoulder. In a handful of seconds and a precise spray of bullets, two Ultron sentries dropped limp to the ground with grating, metallic crashes as a third exploded in a fiery cascade.

Jaw clenched with a mix of satisfaction with herself and exasperation at her daughter's stubbornness, she made to hand the gun back, nearly shoving it toward the stunned officer. Blinking at the gesture for a moment, the officer took a half-step back, an expression of admiration flickering over his face as he held up his hands in deference. Her jaw clenched tighter as her sense of exasperation deepened, only to be brought up short when she caught sight of Nina's own wide-eyed astonishment. Steve grinned with vindication.

"You know what you're doing," he declared with a tone of conclusiveness, a trace of amusement surfacing in his eyes. Grumbling, Nadine turned and demanded the soldier's spare clips with a silent gesture, shoving them in her belt when he handed them over without hesitation.

"Fine," she ground out before turning and glaring at her daughter, her finger snapping out to point to the nearby life-raft, "but you're getting on that boat." Nina scowled.

With a satisfied nod, Steve turned, heading for the church where the rest of the Team was converging for their last stand against Ultron. Unable to help it, Nadine felt her gut twist with worry as she watched him go. But she forcefully shoved it aside, turning her attention back to Nina. It was only once she was satisfied that her daughter was going to heed her instructions this time, not moving an inch until she saw Nina step foot on the lifeboat, that she set to the task the Captain had left her.

And with each step she took, she couldn't quite manage to hold back the feeling of dread clenching uncomfortably from her chest down to the pit of her stomach.

A/N: Thanks for Reading!

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