DESTRUCTION.
( chapter twenty-two. )

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ANDREA HAD NO GRAND expectations for her arrival.

As the quin-jet landed, she found herself resolved to facing the team's anger. Their mistrust— their lectures. She could handle it, maybe even deserved it.

  But, then Steve was there. His arms wrapped around her, pulling Andy from the ground and holding her close. Like he might never hold her again.

And she knew it was more than just anger Steve felt. It was grief. Tangible and too close for her to resist the sobs building in her chest.

What they felt was the horror of not knowing whether you might see your family again.

  Andy held him tightly, feeling sick. He was shaking. She didn't want to imagine being in his shoes; nearly losing her best friend. They had already lived that reality and Andrea wasn't sure if she could survive that again.

  "I'm so sorry," she whispered, feeling the words tighten in her throat.

  "Don't," Steve spoke quickly. There were no apologies needed between them. "Just don't do it again." He held her tighter and Andy bit back tears.

"You know what I promised him," Steve whispered. The air between them was punctured with a familiar ache. A knee-jerk response to Bucky's memory.

Andy gave a breathy chuckle. "I know," she said, pulling away. It was best not to dwell too much on Bucky.

She kept her eyes averted, feeling guilty as the pair looked each other over. Steve's smile was nervous and Andy was struck by how much he resembled that small boy from Brooklyn. A vision of the past.

"Til' the end of the line," he promised.

The words stung. What would he do when he found out what she was hiding? Andy swallowed her nausea and stared blankly at his smile.

  "Always," she echoed back. Lying because she had to. Didn't she?

Steve took her arm, supporting Andrea as he led her towards the safe house. His presence did little to comfort her guilty conscience, but it was grounding. Steve served as a calm to her storm as Andy ran through the events of their last mission and what it meant.

  However, exhaustion was quick to set in. With the understanding that she was safe, Andy had no more energy to cling to. Her body had experienced something traumatic. It would need time to recover.

And time was running out.

Once inside, Steve gently settled her on the couch. Andy took deep breaths to calm her racing heart and the thoughts that accompanied it. When coffee was finally brought to her, she drank greedily, the scalding heat warming her from the inside.

Across from her, Clint leaned against the frame of the dining room entrance. "You gave us a good scare, you know."

He wasn't exactly scolding, but that tone... it was the reprimand of a father (as made evident by the children milling about the house.) Andy figured the worry for anyone he considered family was to be expected.

  And who was Andy, if not family?

  She nodded, solemn. "I know. I'm sorry."

  "Don't be sorry," Clint told her. "You knew what you had to do and you saved a lot of people in the process."

  She looked away. "Not enough," Andy muttered, recalling the articles and news outlets reporting the tragedy; how it surely marked the downfall of the Avengers. Henry had cautioned her against reading it, but she had to know.

  Andrea couldn't absolve herself of the fault, either. She should have been prepared. She should have been stronger, or just strong enough to stop that Maximoff girl from getting in their heads.

  But, what Andy felt most guilty for was that she hadn't seen Bruce since arriving. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel that it was his burden to bear. It might have been hypocritical coming from her, but it wasn't fair.

  A lot of what had happened to them wasn't fair, but that sentiment wouldn't undo the damage.

She got up, setting down the coffee mug. "I'll be right back," Andy said softly, leaving the room without waiting for approval. She didn't need anyone hovering.

Andrea found her way up the stairs, peering through the spare rooms until she found the one Bruce was in. He was alone, hair still wet from a shower. His back was turned to her, features turned to the wide expanse of green hills and endless trees.

It was a lonely sight.

"Bruce?" She greeted gently, though he didn't startle. When he shifted, she could see that his arms were crossed. A protective stance.

  "We don't have to do this," he told her.

  Andy ventured further into the room, taking a seat on the bed. Bruce wasn't capable of chasing her off. Whether it be through anger, despair, or otherwise. She wouldn't let him.

  "It's not your fault. You have to know that."

  He made his exasperation evident, "You know, it doesn't matter how many times everyone keeps saying it. People died, Andrea."

  He turned fully and his expression was twisted with grief. "They died because of me."

  Andy bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't know what to say. There were no words of comfort for her to spare. Nothing to ease that pain. That all-consuming weight.

And how could she, when she was the exact same; carrying the guilt for something that wasn't wholly her responsibility.

  "Maybe it is our fault," she whispered, letting her gaze fall. It stung to speak the words out loud, but it was true. "It doesn't matter how good we play at being heroes, someone always gets hurt. Always."

Andy thought back to the media and its lashings. "We were never going to get it right," she realized, speaking her thoughts to Bruce alone. One of few who just might understand.

The world would always have its judgements, that was never going to change. Andy wasn't entirely sure if she wanted it to. Otherwise, who would there to stop them when things went too far?

"We don't get to save everyone," she told him, closing her eyes for a brief moment. It was hard not to let her thoughts drift to Bucky.

"What a long way to fall," Bruce said, finally looking at her.

And he was hurting. She could see it in his face. But, what he wanted wasn't comfort; it was to make things right. It was punishment— or revenge.

"We let them put us on pedestals. We were always going to fall," she replied, toying with a loose thread on the blanket.

The bitterness in both of them was comforting, somehow. It seemed that finally there was someone who understood her. Someone who shared her sentiments. But, Andy would trade that comfort in a heartbeat if it meant saving Bruce from sharing her fate.

"So, what now?" He asked, taking the seat next to her. Tired, Andy rested her head against his shoulder.

"We finish what Ultron started," she said. "I'll feel better knowing that hunk of metal is destroyed, even if it means enjoying my safety from a jail cell."

Bruce gave a smile. An infinitesimal smile, brief in its appearance, but a smile nonetheless. They both knew they had to be strong, just a little while longer.

Stopping Ultron wasn't going to come without consequences, but they were consequences Andrea was ready to bear. The world could hate her if that was what it needed, but at least there would be a world left to care.

It was a risk worth taking— as long as they were taking it together.

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From the dinner table, Andrea watched with narrow eyes as Tony claimed the seat next to her.

The action itself wouldn't usually warrant suspicion, but seeing as she had yet to speak to Tony (due to some heavy avoidance on his part), it set off enough warning signs in Andrea's head. That he was seeking her out now rather than earlier was troubling. She braced herself.

  "You know, no one will blame you if you sit this one out," he said. Feigning casual as he reached for a pitcher of iced tea.

With Clint's children tucked safely into bed, Andy had no problem speaking her mind. "It took you all day to say that?" She was unimpressed. "You could've saved your breath, asshole, because the answer is no."

  Tony tsked, but kept his gaze averted. Almost like he was ashamed to even ask it of her. Andrea wouldn't lie and say his words didn't sting. She also wouldn't lie and say she hadn't expected it either— she just didn't imagine it would come from him; the man who had always given her a choice, regardless of the risk.

"You've never coddled me before," Andy mused, thinking back to the file debriefing her on the team's status post-mission. Wanda had gotten into nearly everyone's heads. They were all shown something different. Terrifying.

  "What did she show you?" She asked, deflecting his concern.

  It was clear that Tony's deep-held fears had startled something in him. Andy didn't have to wonder to know what her own nightmare would have been. She'd lived through it once already.

  Tony's wince was subtle. "You've lost the fight once, I don't want to see it happen again," was all he told her. He was trying to be stern.

  Andrea watched him carefully. It wasn't much of an answer and the response usually would have pissed her off. She just knew better now; because this clearly wasn't just about her.

Whatever Wanda had shown him, it was bad.

  "I joined this team and this fight knowing what it could end in, Tony. We all did." Andy looked down at her food. She thought back to his fight with Thor and what the experimentation with Ultron had led to.

"No one will blame you if you sit this one out," she said, meeting his eyes. He let out a sound that settled somewhere between a scoff and a laugh.

"This is my mistake," he told her. "If I don't fix it, then what kind of Avenger am I?"

She rolled her eyes. "We don't always get to be the hero." Andrea was proof enough of that. "We're human, too. We have to let ourselves make mistakes," she said, getting up to take her dishes to the sink.

  "No, not when those mistakes get people killed," Tony muttered.

  Andy set her plate back on the table with a slam. "Then we learn," she hissed, turning her steel gaze to his. "We move on— but we don't stop, because if we aren't there to end these threats, then who does? If protecting this world means being the hero and the villain, I'll play that role."

  Andy pulled back from the table, trying to reign in her anger. "If we make a mistake, Tony, we fix it. We do what's right. Always."

  "Live, learn, grow," he replied. His smirk wasn't mocking when he looked at her, but it was sarcastic. "That's nice, where'd you get that one from?"

  She gave a sweet smile. "My therapist," she crooned, giving him the finger with as much love as she could muster.

  Tony's smile was rueful. Obviously he'd been hoping to deter her from their mission. But, Andrea had made her choice. If they were going to fall, they were doing it together.

Before either of them could say more, Fury spoke up. "My contacts all tell me that Ultron is building something, but with the amount of vibranium he ran off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

With the team all gathered the dining room, it didn't take much to get their attention. The silence that followed was unsettling. Everyone was tense, given that Ultron's newfound allies were stronger than anticipated. If he was attempting to add onto his power, there was no telling what it might mean, or who might get hurt this time around.

"And Ultron?" Steve asked, coming up to stand behind Andrea. His presence was calming.

"He's easy enough to track," Fury replied. "The guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. He's everywhere." Andrea let out an indecent chortle, which was met with a humoured grin from Natasha.

"Still going after launch codes?"

Fury brought out some glasses and a bottle of whiskey before answering Tony's question. "Yes, he is, but he's not making much progress."

Tony scoffed, "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall when I was in high school."

Andrea rolled her eyes, getting up to pour her own drink. She wasn't much an alcohol enjoyer, but listening to them explain what the Nexus was to Steve was enough to make her crave a glass. She joined Fury at the kitchen counter and he handed her the bottle.

"So what did our friends at the Nexus say?" Clint asked, throwing darts with that immaculate aim.

"The codes are being changed, too fast for even Ultron to catch," Nick explained.

Natasha perked up. "Do we have an ally?"

"An enemy of Ultron doesn't make them a friend to us," Andrea cut in, sipping at the drink that burned a path down her throat.

Clint gaped at her and Fury, "I don't recall letting either of you into the adults-only cabinet."

  Fury deflected the change in topic. "I'd pay good money to know who our third party is."

  Andrea nodded her agreement. If there was someone who could change the codes quick enough to keep them out of Ultron's reach... it was worth looking into. They needed all the help they could get.

  Tony seemed to have the same idea. "I'll take a visit to Oslo."

  Natasha looked a little defeated as she sank back in her chair. "As much as I enjoy our little get togethers, I was kinda hoping you had a little more than that, boss."

  Fury rose a brow. "I do. I have you."

  Andy smile was bitter, "A heartwarming sentiment, but I doubt it's enough to secure our victory." She drained her glass.

  "You all faced down a portal from space with nothing but your wit and your will to save the world," Fury said plainly. "You can do it again."

  Andrea tried to find solace in the confidence he had in them. Regardless, he was right. It didn't matter if they failed, they still had to try. Andy couldn't imagine not choosing to fight for this world. Her home.

  Her family.

  "Ultron knows that the Avengers are the only thing standing between him and his mission— and whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. So, outwit the platinum bastard." Fury finished with a long drink from his own whiskey glass.

  "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha said, her grin feline and teasing. Andrea snickered as Steve gave a good-humoured roll of his eyes.

  "So, what does Ultron want?"

  The question mostly led to deliberation between the group, who mused their thoughts and bounced them off of each other. They all knew Ultron viewed them as inferior, but was infatuated with the human design. It didn't change the fact that he desired a different world. A different people.

  It was Andy who noted Bruce's silence. She watched him approach the picture that Clint's daughter had painted. A butterfly. Vibrant with colour. Life. The wonder of a child.

"When you two programmed Ultron to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," Natasha said, a hint of irritation to her teasing.

  "They don't need to be protected," Bruce spoke softly, "They need to evolve— Ultron's going to evolve."

  Andrea felt something inside her go cold. Those words... what was it Ultron had said? 'How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?'

And the last stage in his evolution was humanity's extinction.

"How?" She asked, hesitant because she knew the answer wouldn't be good.

  "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

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AN: ME VS GOING IA FOR TWO-SIX MONTHS... Thank you to those who've been waiting so patiently! Life has been hectic. I've started a new, amazing job. It takes up quite a bit of time but also allows me enough days off to write! So, I've been trying to focus on finishing up Destruction. There are an estimated four or more chapters left until we're finished... I've also been seeing Demons on TikTok? It's been added to a few Bucky Barnes fan-fiction recommendations which is so nice to see. If you came here from one of them, hi! I hope you enjoy these books as much as I enjoy writing them! Anyways, I'll wrap this up and get started on the next chapter. Please vote if you enjoyed & comment your thoughts! I know it's been a while since we've seen Andy and the team together!