THE BATTLE OF LEIPZIG
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The rest of the group had dispersed, Sadie forever the last one ready, and it was only Steve who lingered then. As she pulled on her Aceso cap, he approached, their uniforms a contrast of sky and navy kevlar.

She was nervous- he wasn't.

That was always the drill with these things. Sadie needed him before, and he needed her after. He always needed her after, even if he didn't admit it. And she always made sure she was there, just as he did for her, now.

"You know the plan?" Steve asked, for the millionth time and she rolled her eyes, tracing the star on his chest.

"Well, of course I know the plan, good sir," Sadie grinned, in her best (and worst) attempt at an English accent. She had no clue why she did it. To lighten the air, perhaps.

"I haven't heard that from you in a while," he said, with a sincere smile that was somehow out of place for the circumstances. But then again, so was her joking.

"What?"

"Your voices... impressions, I don't know," Steve chuckled, looking almost bashful, and her heart swelled that he would even notice such a thing, let alone notice the absence of it. Let alone now. "Forget I said anything."

"I didn't realise you liked them so much," Sadie said, honestly. "I've never been told they're anything but bad and cringe-worthy."

"Oh, they're bad and cringe-worthy, make no mistake," he said, sternly, making her laugh stupidly. "But it's still nice to hear you doing them again."

Sadie couldn't help herself then, and so, despite the fact that they were working, she threw her arms around him, and placed a big kiss on his cheek, ignoring his helmet in the way. Steve laughed his gorgeous laugh then, and returned the favour with a quick flurry of kisses- her cheek, her neck, even some caught in her hair.

And then she only held him close as they both stilled their affections, hugged him tighter, and he let her, despite the timing. She was so glad that he let her. The embrace was what she needed- holding him felt like an anchor for her, a weight to steady her anxieties.

"We better get in position," he said, when she finally detached herself from him. "You know where you are?"

"Of course, I know where I am," Sadie laughed. "I'm with the boys!"

"No, you're not with the boys. The boys are the biggest combative targets to ever exist right now. It's why you're not with me, either."

"I was kidding," she said quickly, upon seeing the visible stress on his face. "I'm on the east side parking with Clint and Wanda. We're aiming to get to the Quinjet, all the while warding off anyone trying to stop us."

"Yes, good, perfect," Steve nodded, with a relieved smile. "Now, go."

"Alright, alright," she laughed, jogging away and making sure to stay in the blindspots of the cameras as she reached Clint and Wanda- Clint, who frowned disapprovingly, and Wanda, who only smiled, familiar with Sadie's slow pace to change.

"You're late," Clint said, as she came to a halt. "How can you be late? We started at the same point."

"Sadie is always slow," Wanda said, with a laugh.

"Not in a fight," she shot back, sending a playful blast of blue light Wanda's way, which the hero deflected with the red of her own.

"'Cause she's always kissing her boyfriend bye-bye," Wanda continued, ignoring her argument.

Sadie cringed to hear it said that way. She couldn't lie to Wanda, Wanda Maximoff was the hardest person in the world to lie to, so Sadie kept her mouth shut, so as to not further dig her own grave.

"I leave the team alone for five minutes and the standard drops," Clint sighed, but there was a hint of excitement in his eye.

Sadie hadn't had the chance top get to know him all too well before his retirement, but it was clear as day Hawkeye lived for the thrill of it all.

"It's good to have you back," Sadie said, checking her watch and glancing out of the parking bay.

She couldn't see a lot for their far distance, but as she listened to Steve's voice through the comms, she could see enough for a quick body count.

Most of the figures she recognised- Steve, undoubtedly. But he had no shield, and his hands were cuffed together by some... light material she couldn't understand.

"That's... webbing," Wanda pointed out, and it was so much clearer now.

Sadie pushed it out of her mind, focusing on her count. There was also Tony, Rhody and- Natasha, it looked like. Two unknown figures- one in a matte black suit Sadie could only deduce to be Prince- King T'Challa.

The second figure was less recognisable, clad head to toe in red, not even a face to tell the gender, but she assumed a male. What was most intriguing of all, was that this new guy had managed to snatch Steve's shield, and held it so casually by his side as his arms moved by his side in what looked like a salute.

The source of the webs then, she supposed.

"Who d'you think that is?" Sadie asked, as they watched, waiting and listening to the comms.

"Maybe Tony has a lovechild he's been hiding from the world," Clint mused, only half-jokingly, as he readied his bow. "Come to take us down with the loudest genes known to man."

"No, I don't think so," Sadie said. "I don't think he'd put a kid in something like this."

She was met by a deadpan expression by Wanda: "It's Stark."

"We've found it," Sam's voice crackled in her ear. "Their Quinjet's in hangar five, north runway."

Somewhere between when Sadie had breathed and when she'd blinked, Scott had appeared, and somehow won the shield back, and Clint had let his arrow fly, freeing Steve's web-hold.

Now, was their cue. Hangar five, north runway. All Sadie had to do was get there, praying for the best out of this inevitable conflict.

"And it starts," Sadie muttered, beginning her sprint towards the exit, Clint and Wanda close by her side.

She pushed herself towards daylight, forcing herself to think of nothing but the ground beneath her feet, the breath in her lungs. How she was so much more capable now, so much stronger- she could face this, they could all face this.

Then the explosions started.

Debris flew all around them, crates and boxes exploding- a ploy, to slow them down. And it worked. Sadie glanced behind her to spot none other than Tony Stark hovering in the air, the perpetrator of the crime.

She let her hands glow, a forcefield beginning to extend around them, but she was knocked aside before it was complete, sent rolling across the tarmac. Still, Sadie was quick to get to her feet, not staying down for more than a second as Tony stopped before them.

"Wanda, I think you hurt Vision's feelings," he said, ignoring his attack on them with uncaring grace.

"You locked me in my room," Wanda spat, angrily.

"Okay. First, that's an exaggeration, second, I did it to protect you," Tony's voice sounded metallic through the amplifier's of his suit, his hand still up and trained on them. "Sadie, you signed those Accords. They don't know you're here yet."

Sadie couldn't help but squint at that, cocked her head to the side. What did Tony expect, for her to turn her back on her team and join... her team? Not her team anymore, she had to remind herself.

"The Accords aren't relevant," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Clint signal to Wanda. She ignored it. "Steve already spelled it out. We have to stop those super-soldiers."

"The Accords are blatantly relevant," Tony shot back. "You come with us, we can sort it with the panel. Straightforward."

"The panel isn't going to be fast enough," Sadie started, but stopped herself as she realised Tony was being as hard headed as his helmet was. "You gonna let me look at your face when I'm talking to you?"

"Simple answer is no," he responded, nonchalantly. Wanda and Clint's silent and actionless communications were still going on, and Tony seemed to notice too. "Hey, Clint."

"Hey, man."

"Clearly, retirement doesn't suit you. You got tired of shooting golf?"

"Well, I played eighteen, I shot eighteen," Clint replied, simply. "Just can't seem to miss."

He let an arrow fly in Tony's direction then, and it took their spectacular Iron Man only two shots to deflect it, and Sadie could picture the smug face- curled lip, quipped eyebrow- on his face as he said: "Huh, first time for everything."

Clint only smiled at that. "Made you look."

Sadie caught up with the plan only as Wanda began to row her red glowing hands and a car smashed down past Tony, followed by dozens more slamming and crashing relentlessly until he was completely buried.

It didn't take them long then to start running once more, barely out of breath since they were barely starting.

"That was awesome," she said, to no response besides laughs and shrugs.  "You two are an excellent duo. I'm a third wheel."

"You're away from Cap for two minutes and you're crying already?" Clint teased.

"Is this everyone's new thing now? Pick on the happy couple?" Sadie laughed, but Wanda didn't seem amused at all as they ran, her mind clearly still on the previous confrontation.

"Sadie, we aren't going to get through this by bargaining with Tony Stark," she panted. "You have to fight."

Sadie knew she was right. But she had hoped, somehow, that they could talk about it. That naivety was clear to her now, but still- she needed to hope if she was going to get through this day.

"I think bargaining is exactly what we need," she tried, as they rushed forward.

The northern runway was before them now, a few more paces and they were upon it, the Quinjet in sight as Clint pointed it out. Sadie pushed herself even harder then, beyond relieved to see Steve fall into step in front of them with Scott, Sam and Bucky following not far behind.

The coincidental formation seemed to spur them all on as the team ran further and faster, and Sadie thought they might be able to make it. But still, there was a feeling in her stomach- a wait. How long would it be before they were split again?

The team made it less than ten yards before they were cut off by a beam of light and a line scorched in the ground. Vision, soaring above them.

"Captain Rogers," he started, as the team halted. Tony flew in then, dropping off Natasha with him, and Sadie's fears were confirmed. "I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now."

Rhody now too, T'Challa in tow and the mystery recruit with them. Six in total. The only things in the way of this team, and that Quinjet. Sadie braced herself, let her hands glow. She caught Natasha's eye in the line up, her friend gazing at her blankly, but out of all of them, she looked to have the most regret in her eyes. Sadie looked away.

"At least we outnumber 'em," Scott commented, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh. "You're um... you're all welcome I came."

"They have an aerial advantage," Sadie muttered, putting her hands on her hips. "This won't be easy."

"What do we do, Cap?" Sam voiced, several places down the line from where Sadie stood between Wanda and Steve.

Steve didn't look up then. Not at Sam, or Sadie, or any of them. His eyes were trained forward, a missile locked on a target and there was no way to disengage. In that moment, he looked more dangerous than Sadie had ever seen him.

"We fight," he said, starting forward, and Sadie found herself and the others following, their pace matching his.

Walking when he walked, jogging when he jogged, sprinting when he sprinted. A unit. Facing another solid one, it seemed, as Tony's team came forward just as relentlessly.

Sadie caught Natasha's eye again, thought strangely of black coffee and peach iced tea- she caught the light off Tony's armour and thought of long nights and gene codes- and for a moment, Sadie almost stopped.

But as Natasha came closer, Sadie thought of patronisation, and ignorance-  'conflict of interest' and 'clouded judgement' and the idea that they wouldn't help, they wouldn't listen.

Why? Because of a piece of paper.

After that, there was the clash.

Light whipped from Sadie's hands before Natasha could lay a hand on her, pushing the agent backwards and off her feet. Natasha fell into a roll, back on her feet again, and Sadie channeled her power into her legs, kicking forward as the light travelled up her arms and down her sides.

It was only when Natasha caught her glowing leg, that Sadie remembered it was a move her friend had taught her. Soon, her back slammed against the ground, Natasha's grip strong enough to dislocate if Sadie hadn't wrapped that light so tightly around her ligaments- a cushioning for damage.

She twisted, the light coloured material of her suit scratching against tarmac as she tugged herself free, straddling over Natasha who bucked her off easily by butting her head against Sadie's chin. She didn't let the agent destabilize her though, jumping to her feet and advancing on Natasha, blow after blow, hand to hand- no more of her light to use against her- Sadie would win this fairly.

It wasn't long though, until there were shots behind her, and Sadie realised this team had no intention of fighting fairly. She let her light out then, pushing Natasha backwards and into Clint's line as she whirled on the person behind her. Not shots, she realised- webs.

"Dr Aceso!" the voice of the man in red was higher than she'd expected, as Sadie watched him hopping from car to car that Wanda was levitating, simultaneously firing webs that landed with much more speed around her than Sadie could have expected. "I gotta say I've read a lot about you!"

"Thanks but, you realise it's either Doc or Aceso?" Sadie found herself saying, as he leapt to the ground in front of her, dodging her light just as she'd dodged his webs.

"I do," he said, as she tried again, firing short blasts of light in quick succession, but the man- boy?- avoided them carelessly, barely moving an inch.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, before rolling away from a hammering of webs.

"I'm Spider-Man," he said, extending his arm, and in her shock the web almost hit her.

Still, Sadie threw up a forcefield before it could. Then, in a frenzied panic, she visualised it moving as she pushed the field forward like a wall, knocking down the 'Spider-Man' and sending him barrelling away.

That was when Sadie noticed shots past her, shots aimed at Steve that stood out just as starkly as shots aimed at herself. He had his back turned to it, a point of vulnerability and it was instinct for her to cast a forcefield around him until he was out of harm's way, no matter how frustrated that made Tony Stark.

"I coulda had him," he announced, hovering above her and Sadie couldn't help but laugh for the shock of it.

"Listen to yourself!" she shouted. "He's not some criminal, he's your friend."

"He's both actually- you all are," Tony reasoned, aiming repulsor blasts her way.

Sadie blocked them with her light, sending it on the offensive straight after. She made sure it was enough to knock him, not enough to truly damage his armour.

"You wanted to see my face?" he shouted, and his helmet pulled back to reveal his expression- angry, hurt, betrayed. She felt the same way. "Here it is! Take your shot!"

Sadie didn't, so Tony took it upon himself to send more blasts her way, this time actually knocking her off her feet, sending her Aceso hat flying, but she wasn't worried about the state of her hair anymore.

"Remember how I told you to go home?" he asked, as she threw light toward him. "You still had your job, your mom, to think about?"

He was whipping around her now, the Iron Man suit leaving a blur of red and gold and leaving her attacks useless. Sadie was getting dizzy.

"Well, now you only have your mom," Tony snapped, coming to an abrupt halt. His eyes were blank. "Sorry Chief, but you're fired."

Sadie stopped dead at that. She didn't know why she was so shocked to hear it. Surely, this was a natural consequence of confronting your boss in such a political, public, and violent way. But Tony had never acted like her 'boss' before, always told her he had too much respect for that, even if he did call her Intern for the better half of a year.

Still, maybe Sadie had lost that respect. Second job she'd lost in less than three years, and once again, the loss was directly linked to her life as Aceso.

"After all our work together," she said, more a statement than a question. "That's it?"

"Yeah," Tony replied. "That's it."

He still didn't put his helmet down. Instead, he looked her right in the eye, and she looked him in his, and Sadie saw nothing but coldness there, and contempt. She took a moment, a breath- spat saliva on the ground, thick from fighting- wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Then, with an unconcerned, collected gesture of her glowing hands- the direct opposite of how she felt inside... Aceso knocked Iron Man out of the sky, and turned her back.

Sadie didn't get a moment of rest though, as her flying opponent was replaced with another- Vision, who didn't attempt to talk, or reason. Rather, he knocked her right down with a blast harsher than any she'd experienced, a blast that managed to find its way through her forcefield and into her abdomen.

Pulling herself to her feet, she heaved a breath as she realised that she'd had to do this old fashioned offensive alone, and so she let her attacks take her focus. They went back and forth that way for several minutes, Vision a strong wall of precision, Sadie frantic in comparison, but she held her ground.

"We gotta go," Bucky's voice over the comms. "That guy's probably in Siberia by now."

"We gotta draw out the flyers," Steve responded. "I'll take Vision. You get to the jet."

"No, you get to the jet! Both of you. Sadie has Vision, I got Rhodes, you go," Sam shouted. "The rest of us aren't getting out of here."

That much was clear to Sadie as she darted around Vision's attacks, attempting strategy of her own, but it was hard to find weak spots on an abominable android. It didn't matter though, as long as she kept him distracted for long enough for Steve and Bucky to get away.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Clint added. "if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it."

"This isn't the real fight, Steve," Sam said, firmly.

"Sadie," Steve started, and Sadie ducked for cover temporarily behind some crates, which Vision sliced through.

"Go!" Sadie shouted, in response, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. They couldn't lose this, they couldn't- but they were losing. "We'll think of something just- go, Steve!"

"Alright," he said, his voice heavy, but professional. Sadie pushed down her admiration in favour of a clear head to counteract these attacks. "Sam, what's the play?"

"We need a diversion," Sam said. "Something big."

"I got something kind of big," Scott Lang started, his voice in a tone that already worried her. "But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."

"He's gonna tear himself in half?" Bucky echoed, and Sadie would have rolled her eyes if she had a second to look away from Vision.

"You're sure about this, Scott?" Steve asked.

"I do it all the time," he answered. Once again, worrying. "I mean once... in a lab."

"A lab isn't a battlefield-" Sadie started, only to be interrupted by even more worrying information.

"-Then I passed out."

"Scott, if this isn't safe-"

Scott didn't respond to that, instead just chanting "I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss," until there was a loud rumbling, and Vision's relentless blasts finally halted.

Sadie turned, prompted mainly by the shadow that had fallen over her, and almost had a heart attack at the sight of Scott Lang, suddenly much more giant than ant.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, unable to help herself.

"I guess that's the signal," Steve said, sounding dumbfounded.

"Way to go, Tic Tac!" Sam added, and Sadie still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Oh my fucking- shit!" Sadie laughed, loudly, clasping her hand over her mouth. "Lang, you got a dumb good fucking ace up your humongous fucking sleeve!"

"Moore, I don't think anyone has ever sounded as New York as you, right now," Clint laughed through the comms. "Thought Cap didn't like a curser?"

"She's corrupted him," Sam added, and Sadie could actually roll her eyes then because Vision wasn't on her case anymore- Vision wasn't on her case anymore!

But still, there was no time to find the android as she noticed T'Challa dart past her, hot on the heels of Steve and Bucky so she sent shock waves of light his way, but it only served to slow him down. Scott though, with his newfound size making the ground shake, was able to stop the King long enough for Clint to fire arrows.

That was when Sadie turned her attention back to finding Vision, and making sure his insane power didn't turn on Steve and Bucky.

She found him, after long last, but she also found Wanda, too- holding up a collapsing building with her straining power. Sadie let her own hands glow, envisioned a forcefield around Steve and Bucky as they ran, the building slowly sinking lower and lower until it collapsed completely.

She felt the weight around her field for no more than a second, and let out a sigh of relief that their teammates had reached hangar bay, and thus the Quinjet, she hoped.

Sadie scanned around her for the cause of the collapse and drop of Wanda's power, to find her wailing in response to sonic waves coming from Rhody, if no one else.

Their colleague, their friend. Torturing Wanda. There was a newfound anger in Sadie's stomach as she sent her light crashing into his armour, forcing him to end his attack, as Wanda collapsed yards away.

Rushing towards her, Sadie was cut off by Vision who reached there first- but he didn't attack. Instead, he broke Wanda's fall, supporting her body as Sadie reached them, her glowing hands ready to heal.

"How can I help?" Sadie asked her, desperately. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, I'm just-" Wanda rubbed her temples, her brow knitted. "I just need time to recover."

"If you're hurt, tell me," she insisted. "Is your hearing alright?"

"My hearing is fine, Sadie," Wanda argued, before gesturing behind her. "You might have to go and help him, instead."

Sadie turned just as Scott Lang hit the ground in his giant state, before disappearing again and she could only assume he had shrunk.

Unsatisfied to leave Wanda, but respectful of her wish not to be treated, Sadie hurried back towards where the fight had been, and found Scott among the broken remains of an airplane wing.

"You're crazy," Sadie said, helping him up as he stumbled to his feet.

"Not the first I've heard that," Scott said, pulling off his helmet, and rubbing his neck.

"What have you hurt? I can heal it," she asked, firmly.

"I think they broke my jaw, Dr Moore," he responded, emphasising the half-rhyme and she sighed.

"Don't be dramatic. If they broke your jaw you wouldn't be talking right now," Sadie said. There was a roaring overhead then, and she looked up to see the Quinjet taking off. She tried to ignore how her heart sank as she turned away, back to Scott. "Now, what have you hurt?"

"I told you, my jaw!" Scott argued. "And if you could do my back while you're at it- that was a high fall."

Sadie sucked her teeth, running her glowing hand over his jaw and neck briefly. Scott sighed in relief, stretching out his mouth like a yawn.

"That's great!"

"I'm not doing your back," Sadie said, holding back her smile at his objection. "If you can stand, then you're fine."

"So what do we do now?" he asked her. "What's Plan B?"

"I'm sorry, Scott," she sighed. "We're basically waiting to be arrested. There's no Plan B. I won't hold it against you if you wanna go... ant sized. Slip away, right now."

Scott only frowned at that, looking down at a button on his glove. A faraway look was in his eyes, a worried one that didn't suit him.

"Cassie's my little girl," he said, simply. "All that stuff you researched last time, the robberies, even this Ant-Man suit, all of it was for her. To not disappoint her."

"That's... really noble," Sadie said, trying not to think of her godchildren, who she was terrified to disappoint. Her mother, her friends, her sister.

"Going back inside will disappoint her, sure," Scott concluded. "But I think she'd be more disappointed if I left the Avengers for dead. Especially you, Aceso. You're her favourite."

Their peace was interrupted by Sam's frantic landing beside them, his eyes worried as he called Sadie's name.

"Rhodey's hurt," he said, and Sadie couldn't help but scoff.

"So is Wanda," she said, but she dropped her attitude as soon as she saw the look on Sam's face.

"Rhodey's hurt," Sam repeated, and she rushed over.

"Give me a lift," Sadie said, and he complied, grasping her tight around her shoulders and soaring forward toward the grass, where Rhodey lay.

There was fresh earth all around him- a crash landing. Tony crouched beside him, his face angry and Vision there too, a solemn figure.

"Is he conscious?" Sadie said, rushing forward.

"No," Tony said, his voice strained. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. reads his vitals as... weak."

"How high did he fall?" Sadie said, kneeling beside the unconscious man, running her glowing hands over his armour. "And can I get under this suit?"

"I, I don't know- lower than cruising altitude, higher than the Empire freaking State," Tony snapped. "And the suit's reactor is bust. It's dead metal, we can't open it."

"Probably for the best," she said, remaining calm and collected. "The suit will give him some support. I just need room to work."

As if Sadie had cursed herself, they were suddenly surrounded by armed guards- helmeted men in matte black with CIA printed across their fronts. Sam's hands shot up in surrender straight away, but Sadie didn't do the same. She focused on her power, trying to feel the injury through all the metal.

So far, her attempts were proving fruitless. She envisioned a nervous system, in tact, but she didn't feel Rhodey's changing. She needed more information, she needed to feel for more information.

"Dr Moore, stand down," an agent shouted, and she glanced up briefly to see his weapon trained on her.

"We have a casualty," Tony said quickly, standing. "She's healing him."

"Dr Moore, you are not sanctioned to use your abilities on these premises, at this date or time," the agent continued, but she ignored him, focusing herself.

"Listen to me," Tony started, approaching the agent in front of her, but she could feel that she was surrounded on all sides. She ignored it, focused on her work.

So she can't find the injury. Perhaps if she froze damage to the body... put it on a pause until she had better access to Rhodey's injuries- could she do that? Sadie focused, imagined what her mother would tell her.

To believe in herself. This is what she was here for.

Somebody had a hand on her. Instinctively, Sadie let light extend from her in all directions- forcing everyone away. Tony, Sam, Vision, and the agents alike.

"Do not lay a hand on me while I am working!" she shouted, looking up at them all.

That was when she realised that her hands were still freezing Rhodey's injuries, even as a forcefield was up around her. Sadie let out a shocked gasp. It felt like the strongest field she'd ever made, and somehow, she could upkeep her healing?

Sadie had never used more than one ability at a time- had never thought she was able to!

Now, though, after a minute and a half of fielding and healing, Sadie understood why. The healing took so much of her strength, and still wasn't working. The forcefield stood strong, but every blow to it from the agents attempting to break through took a knock to her composure.

Soon, she was lightheaded.

Soon, she blacked out.

...

..

.

okay so that was eventful! please forgive any small mistakes in continuity- I tried to make the timeline of the fight cohesive, but after watching the scene more times than I can count, I just realised there's a reason why the Marvel Universe is in comics and movies as opposed to 'prose'. It's very hard to get everything in when you don't have advantages of angles and cut scenes- especially in a limited 3rd person narrative.

I've also read over it so many times now that my eyes are beginning to glaze over so if I've mixed up there and their or whatever- it's cause I spent 5 hours writing this, not including editing time. Ya'll I have no life.

that said- it's New Year's Eve, folks! AKA Sadie's birthday lmao, here's my present to her, a good ol' beating. I hope that 2020 treats you all well, and I hope this new decade brings you all the blessings you deserve!

EDIT: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR 30K- this story has just reached 30,000 reads and I can't thank you all enough. Love you all!

See you all in 2020!
-Amber.