Novi Grad, Sokovia

Spring 2015

She knew she'd been told in no uncertain terms that she had to stay on the Quinjet, but Nina couldn't fight the feeling that she had to do something. She couldn't just sit back while the people she cared about risked their lives to try and stop Ultron; her mom, the Twins, even Black Widow. She just couldn't do it! She'd already done enough sitting as Ultron's hostage.

So, even knowing her mother would be furious, no sooner had Nadine disappeared into the narrow streets of Novi Grad then Nina was following.

Only to find herself staring out at a veritable battlefield. Immediately she was choking back a cry of alarm as debris hurtled through the air around her, diving for cover behind a particularly large scattering of rubble. The central square of Novi Grad was strewn with cars, chunks of buildings and the lifeless bodies of Ultron's sentries. People were darting this way and that, a few, straggling civilians desperately trying to reach shelter while members of the city's police force tried to fight back as best they could. Gunshots echoed through the air, one particularly loud and powerful sounding set carrying above the others, nearly causing her ears to ring with the report. But the sentries seemed to be paying little real attention to most of what was going on around them.

The sentries were far more interested in the Avengers scattered throughout the square. Off across the expanse, heading deeper into the city, Hulk was roaring and smashing his way through any sentry that dared go up against him. The massive Avenger even seemed to be almost gleeful as he chased down any that tried to flee from his crushing fists.

Nearer to the edge of the chunk of city they were all trapped on was Black Widow, darting and leaping around the robots attacking her almost too quickly for Nina to follow. It felt almost surreal, watching the lone female Avenger and her teammates fighting in the flesh. She certainly couldn't help the anxious sense of amazement and fear as she watched the woman who apparently should have been her Aunt going up against robots that virtually dwarfed her in size. But there was no doubt that the redhead was perfectly capable of going up against Ultron's sentries on her own, her Widow's Bites and electrified batons proving more than effective against the aggressive robots. But even though part of her wanted to focus on the Avenger she'd come to know personally—that still felt like part of a dream, knowing that she could say she knew Black Widow—she couldn't quite manage it. Not when there was an Avenger fighting fiercely barely a few feet away from where Nina had taken cover.

There was no mistaking who he was. Even if she'd never seen a picture or a video of him, she'd have recognized him from the descriptions she'd heard alone. His distinctive star and ring-painted shield? Red, white and blue uniform? She was only feet away from Captain America. And she was not ashamed to admit she was a little star-struck. Though, the attacking sentries also barely a few feet away had that feeling fading fast, freezing Nina in her tracks.

Her heart in her throat, Nina could only watch in a mix of awe and terror as Captain America made short work of the Ultron sentries coming at him. But more and more kept coming, beginning to overwhelm the supersoldier through sheer numbers alone. But there was no one close. None of his teammates were nearby to back him up.

Besides, all of his teammates were dealing with their own onslaught of sentries.

With a pained grunt, a sentry landed heavily on the Captain's back as he was finishing up with another pair of them, the machine's weight and momentum nearly bowling him over. Unconsciously, Nina's fingers closed around a thick piece of rebar protruding from the rubble as she ducked down behind the heap of debris as a chunk from one of its fellows came flying toward her, eyes still locked anxiously on Captain Rogers. Her knuckles quickly went white from the pressure as she clung to the iron wreckage, her racing heart trying desperately to leap into her throat as the Captain struggled against the sentry latched onto his back even as he was fending off another with a hard impact from his shield. As the sentry in front of him collapsed in a lifeless heap, he was immediately trying to dislodge the one clinging to him, grimacing as the robot's arms tightened as he twisted in an effort to shake it off.

Only for the iron bar to smash into the sentry's head, the metal skull caving as the machine's neck torqued with a metallic crunch. The body went limp, crumpling off Rogers' back. His expression incredulous, Rogers turned, lips parted and speechless with shock.

But no one could have been more shocked than Nina.

With a dull clang the rebar fell from her suddenly trembling hands.

At once Nina was stumbling back, her eyes wide as she looked up to the Captain. She barely noticed the way he started minutely when she turned to face him, she was so blown away by her own nearly involuntary action. Had she really just done that? She'd attacked a sentry! She'd helped Captain America! She had never done anything like that before. All at once she was feeling a little light-headed, staggering as her heels met the pile of debris she'd just leapt over.

A firm hand closed around her arm, keeping her from falling against the ragged chunks of stone and metal.

"Nina?" She looked up at the Captain, another wave of shock crashing in on her with a vengeance at the recognition that surfaced in his eyes. Not only had she helped him, but the Avenger knew her name! He recognized her! But almost immediately she was shaking the astonished thought from her head. Of course he would; her mom had been working with him, Natasha and their team. If Natasha had known her, why wouldn't the Captain? But even as she was absently nodding in confirmation a harsh glint of movement appeared over his shoulder, a cry ripping from her throat before she could even fully process it.

'Look out!" In a blur of motion the Avenger was spinning to face the sentry rushing up behind him, sending it crashing to the ground in pieces with a solid kick to the legs and a sharp, downward blow from his shield's edge. Then he was turning back to Nina, a hand held out toward her in question.

"You're okay?" She nodded, the gesture feeling odd and spastic with the way her mind was still reeling over what had just happened. She'd smashed a sentry's head like a pop can! Her gut twisted uncomfortably; she didn't even know she had it in her. Maybe before Strucker's Experiments had severely messed with her body, but certainly not in the days since. She must have been recovering better than she'd thought. Not only that, but the closest thing to a fight she'd ever been in before was facing off against Strucker's goons had been sparring matches in one of her class' handful of showcases. She'd never even competed!

His own chin dipping sharply in acknowledgement, Captain Rogers fixed her with a firm look. "Stay here, and stay down." Immediately Nina's lingering shock and astonishment was taking a backseat.

"I can take care of myself!" Bizarrely, a trace of a smile threatened the Captain's serious expression.

"After what you just did, I don't doubt it," he responded wryly before his face grew firm again. "But you're not ready for a fight like this." Nina's jaw clenched with irritation. Who was he to know that, her thoughts supplied rebelliously.

But at the same time she knew he was right. His words echoed her own thoughts. Adrenaline had fuelled her swing at the sentry, and already she could feel her still limited energy beginning to wane; she knew full well she wasn't wholly recovered from the effects of the Sceptre's energy, no matter that she still felt stronger than she had in days. She thought she could handle joining the fight when her mom had ordered her to stay on the jet, but the run after Nadine alone was threatening her still recovering strength.

Reluctantly, she nodded.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was right.

Her heart once again anxiously rising to her throat, Nina watched as the Captain leapt back into action, rejoining the fray as he charged toward Black Widow, his shield glinting in the sun as it soared through the air to lodge in the back of the sentry attacking his teammate.

Her awe was immediately returning as she watched the two Avengers fighting seamlessly side by side, an odd sense of longing twisting deep in her gut even as her anxiously racing pulse threatened to choke her.

But for every sentry they took out, more just kept coming. And Nina found herself beginning to tense again, her muscles, tired though they were, coiling as though ready jump into the fray. She couldn't though. The Captain was right. Her mom may have taught her how to fight, to protect herself, but this? This was a battle, and she was not a soldier...she was not an Avenger.

Her head whipped around then at a scream, her attempt to convince herself that she had to lie low, that she wasn't cut out for this kind of fight, immediately forgotten. It was an older man and two young girls, the oldest no more than thirteen or so. It was that girl who had screamed, the man—her grandfather perhaps—throwing himself over her and the other girl as a sentry descended, one of its energy pulses just barely missing them, sending a gout of dirt and concrete pebbles raining down on them. Anger was suddenly building in Nina's chest, her thoughts going oddly silent.

Just like she had with the Captain, Nina was moving, a hunk of concrete suddenly clutched tight in her hand. Then it was hurtling toward the sentry, Nina's hand stinging from the chunk biting into her palm as she threw it, her arm tingling.

The hunk of rubble collided sharply against the sentry's metal-clad shoulder with a dull clang. And those sinister blue eyes had turned to her.

Then it was barrelling toward her. Immediately her stomach leapt to her throat, competing for space with her heart as panic threatened the confidence her earlier actions had woken and the resolve that had fuelled her throw.

But before it could overwhelm her, before she could decide to do so, she was moving again. As the sentry dived for her she was running, eyes raking her surroundings, mind racing.

And then the Captain and Natasha were in her line of sight, and between her and them, a pair of cars, one hitched up on the bumper of the other.

She knew what to do.

Digging deep, she propelled herself forward, pushing her weakened body to go faster, not daring to pause for even a split-second to see how close the sentry was. She knew he was closing in fast; she could practically hear his repulsors droning behind her.

And she launched herself at the cars with a flying leap, skidding across the hood of the top one to drop off the other side. As her feet hit the ground she let herself crumple, pushing herself back against the creased door of the bottom car.

The sentry went blasting over her head, overshooting her, not expecting her to do anything but keep running. Even though it was going far too fast, as soon as it cleared the cars it was twisting, angling its arm cannon around toward her. Nina's heart nearly stopped as a crackling pulse began to flare in the throat of its cannon.

It was then that the Captain's shield slammed into its body, ricocheting off it to tear through another not ten feet away. The pieces of Nina's sentry plummeted, scattering across the pavement.

Triumph flared through Nina.

She may not be ready for this fight, but she wasn't helpless, either. She glanced up from the wreckage of the sentry.

Only to notice that the fighting had stopped. With a start Nina realized the sentries were no longer pouring into the square. But even as she realized as much, a thick layer of cloud descended on the city, making it almost impossible to see anything. It certainly did little to ease the anxious fear thrumming in her chest. Cautiously she straightened, looking warily around the square. Even though the sentries had paused in their attack, the Avengers hadn't stopped moving, darting through the mist, urging the remaining civilians to take cover in the nearby buildings.

But as the clouds began to clear, she was immediately looking for the people she knew. It proved easy enough. Captain Rogers and Black Widow were standing near the edge of the city speaking quietly. But it was a third figure that truly caught her attention, causing the twisting in her stomach to ease as relief rushed in. It was her mom. Nadine was alright, looking a little dusty, but no worse for wear.

Nina had known thanks to Ultron and Natasha that her mom was far more than she appeared, that there were things about Nadine that Nina would never have even thought to imagine. Part of her hadn't quite been able to believe it, part of her sure there had to be some mistake. Surely her mom would've told her! Wouldn't she?

But when Nadine had appeared in the bowels of Ultron's base? As much as part of her still didn't want to believe it, there had been no denying it. The way she was dressed? The way she moved? Hell, even the way she held that rifle against her shoulder, her familiar grey eyes cool and intent as they'd scanned the dim cavern before Nina had called out to her.

Her mom was far, far more than a simple ballet mistress.

She was some sort of super secret agent. A spy. A...well, something on par with the Avengers if she was teaming up with them. A powerful mix of relief, admiration and betrayed disbelief had crashed through her even as her mom had pulled her into her familiar, comforting embrace back in the bowels of Ultron's base. Echoes of which still rippled through her despite everything that was going on. She still couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that her mom had a whole other life she'd been hiding from Nina. One where she looked every inch as powerful and capable and dangerous as Black Widow or Captain America.

Because her mom did look dangerous. Even as she stared at Nadine where the older blonde stood looking out beyond the edge of the city, Nina couldn't help but swallow convulsively at the realization. Though she was no longer carrying the high-powered rifle she'd had when she'd left Nina in the Quinjet, she was still unmistakably armed, sidearms holstered on each hip—though she held one in a loose grip by her side, ready should she need it—and what looked like at least two knives poking out from the back of her thick, well-appointed utility belt. And that was saying nothing of the almost predatory way she moved, the coolly impassive look on her face or the keen glint in her eyes. There was little doubt her body and her mind was just as much weapons as the guns on her hips.

'The Ghost', Ultron had called her.

Nina actually shivered.

It seemed appropriate.

Nervously, she tucked her pale blue jacket—Pietro's gift, she couldn't help but remember fondly—tighter around herself, tearing her attention away from her mother. Though, as soon as she looked out past where her mom and the pair of Avengers ahead of her were standing, it was easy enough to do.

There was a ship rising up through the air beyond the edge of the city. A flying ship. Nina's jaw physically dropped as her eyes went wide at the sight. It was only as the giant turbines came into view that her shock-overloaded mind was able to supply what it was. It was a Helicarrier. She'd never seen anything like it before. Sure, she'd seen them on tv, a year or so before when three of them had fallen out of the sky over Washington DC in the United States; even in Vienna it had been big news...things like that didn't just happen. But seeing one in person?

She certainly wasn't thinking about the Helicarriers in Washington when one was hovering next to the city right in front of her. And certainly not when smaller ships disengaged from the sides of the massive craft, soaring toward the city.

She couldn't even properly process when Pietro appeared next to Captain Rogers, just as transfixed by the flying ship as she was. At least, he was until he glanced back toward the Captain.

And toward Nina.

All at once he was beaming at her and before she could do more than take an unconscious step toward him he had appeared at her side.

"You're okay," he blurted out around his grin, sounding just as relieved as he looked. She couldn't do more than nod, overwhelmed in that moment. It was quickly becoming too much for her already overloaded brain; her mom's secrets, her kidnapping, Strucker's Experiments, Ultron's threats, her worry for the Twins, her fear at what was happening around them, her disbelief at the ship hovering out beyond the city...

But even as her hand was lifting to grasp at Pietro's arm, her knees beginning to feel weak, another voice snapped across her awareness.

"Nina!"

The blonde teen once more swallowed convulsively.

Oh man, did her mom sound angry.

A/N: Thanks for Reading!

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