AN: This chapter is dedicated to @AbbieGriffen for voting so much! Thank you.

This was it.

Day seven.

I didn't think it would come fast enough.

All of the heroes were gathering together in the hangar where the Blackbird was. I don't even know how they fit a quinjet in there, and I didn't want to ask. They were all getting ready for the battle. The time was now.

Peter had handed me my new uniform and a few weapons. I had asked Storm to find someone to make it for me, and it had finally arrived. The dark blue fabric was insulated and comfy, but also had a tough exterior. The X-Men's symbol adorned one sleeve, while the Avenger's symbol was on the other. The outfit itself was lightweight, and allowed me to use my powers through my gloves. Once I came out of the bathroom, I met Peter in the hall talking to Jake. "Ready," I declared.

Jake quickly followed us as we turned to walk down the hall. His eyebrows scrunched up together in confusion. "Where are you guys going?"

I glanced at Peter quickly. He looked back, but didn't say anything. I looked straight ahead. Pursed my lips. It wasn't fitting to tell this boy the truth. He would find a way to come. I answered simply, "Just on a mission. Nothing special."

"I want to go," a hint of desperation showed in his voice. Fighting alongside heroes against villains and Spider-Man was going to be there? How could Jake just sit this one out?

Peter turned around before putting his mask on and locked eyes with the kid. He sent him a small smile before stating in a calm voice, "You have to stay here and help watch the other kids. We don't want anything happening to you guys."

Frustration reflected in Jake's newfound tone, "But I can fight! You guys taught me." He grabbed his necklace and used his powers to turn his whole body metal. Elemental Mimicry is what Professor Xavier called it. I had never seen it in action before when touch was involved, but there was a first time for everything.

With him being metal, I was able to use my powers against him. I stretched my fingers out and held him in place. Magneto's powers have come more in handy than I thought. Impatience had taken me prisoner. As much as I wanted to calm him down and talk him into staying nicely, we just didn't have that kind of time. Loki was going down. I'd make sure of it. "Jake, we got this."

"Be those kids' hero. It's what I want you to do," Peter pointed at Jake and sent him a thumbs up. Jake nodded reluctantly and watched us leave. My cousin put on his mask before turning around to continue our trek to the hangar.

A small smile crept over my lips. My cousin is a good guy. Aunt May raised him right. I walked alongside him and put my curly brown hair up into a ponytail. I didn't need hair flying around while I fought. I needed all the advantage I could get. I was lucky I put on my contacts earlier today. Peter glanced at me, and I nodded back in response. It's going to be okay. I thought to myself as I tugged on the ends of my gloves.

Peter set his hand on my shoulder before we entered the hangar. We stopped walking, and I turned to look at him. I couldn't tell what his facial expression was like, but I'm sure he wasn't smiling, judging from his somber tone. "Don't lose yourself on the battlefield, please. I've seen you in the training room. It...it wasn't a pretty sight."

I hugged my cousin and wrapped my arms around him tightly. I lay my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to soak in every feeling from this moment. This could be the last hug I ever give Peter. I didn't want to say it out loud, but it was a truth I had to face. "I won't. Stay safe out there. Please."

"I will. I already promised Barton I'd buy him a celebratory pizza once this is all over."

I scoffed as I backed up, feigning hurt. "And you didn't invite me?"

Peter pushed me playfully and walked through the door to the hangar. Everyone was crowded around the Quinjet and Blackbird. Kitty and Bobby were discussing something off to the side, and smiled every so often. Scott glanced around the room as Storm talked to him. Bruce idly stood by the Quinjet in silence, rubbing his arms gently as he focused his brown eyes on the ground. Tony made some repairs to his suit as he listened in on Steve and Natasha's conversation. Everyone had suited up, and it was one of the most relieving things to see. The war could finally end.

Logan carried his yellow and black mask in his hand as he strolled over to Clint. We walked over to overhear a part of their conversation. Logan asked, "You ready to die for this cause? You can always back out."

Clint met his question with a half-smile. He examined the string on his bow as he answered with confidence, "Judge if you want. We are all going to die at some point. I intend to deserve it."

We're all going to die at some point. Maybe that's true. Maybe it isn't. I added onto the conversation, "Going down in battle is more courageous and generous than anything else we can do."

"I couldn't agree more," Clint agreed. He set his bow down and hugged me briefly. When he backed away, his tired brown eyes looked me over. He stifled a chuckle. "You look like hell, Lilly."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Clint. Just what I needed to hear."

He shrugged nonchalantly and counted the number of arrows his quiver contained. "Katie-Kate told me I looked like hell just the other day." Which, was true. He looked exhausted. After running from the government and being put through one week from the depths of hell, I would say he had every reason to be tired.

"Katie-Kate?" I snorted, holding in a laugh. That's probably the cutest nickname I've ever heard Clint say. I covered my mouth quickly to hide my smile.

Clint shot me a glare. He mocked the way I said the nickname, "Yes. Katie-Kate. Took her under my wing a while back. I Skype called her to make sure she was doing okay." He set the quiver on his back and smiled softly at the memory of how that call went. Barton had never talked about this girl before, which surprised me. She sounded important to him, yet we were kept in the dark about it.

Curiosity stirred mixed emotions in my chest. Confusion and a little hurt were the main emotions. Confused because Barton had a secret life we didn't know about; a little hurt for the fact that he kept her a secret. Maybe it was for the best though. I mean, look where we were now. Vigilantes going up against powerful villains that had taken over the White House. Clint wouldn't want Katie-Kate to get mixed up in all of this.

My mind began to wander until Steve cleared his throat loudly from the center of the room. Everyone quieted down and turned to him, confused on what he was doing. Usually, they would go into battle without a grand speech, yet here Steve was changing the norm. Steve looked at each and every one of the heroes standing before him before starting his speech. "People look up to us. We've learned to fight for others, even though others don't want to be fought for. The government and a portion of the population has proven that. Does that stop us? No. Everyone has a purpose for living. Everyone has a reason to fight for something. Everyone should fight for their loved ones, even when they look down on them. That's what we're doing today."

We are fighting to protect every innocent life out there. If we can stand tall and strong during a tough crisis like this, we can show the people that they have the capability of doing the same. If that's the only thing that comes out of this fight, I'm glad we at least achieved something." Steve paused and glanced down at the shield in his hand. It was such a strong symbol to the world. Patriotism. Rebellion. Freedom. Hope. It gave him the strength to keep talking.

"We have no choice. So, we fight..." He peered up from his shield and onto all of us. Tired heroes that yearned to win. Heroes who have fought hard to get where they were today. Not only that, but most were a family that have gone through hell and back. This battle would be no different. Steve continued, "...and we win. There are no other options. Those people out there, the frightened civilians of the United States of America, they're counting on us to fix everything. The whole world is counting on us to fix everything. If we don't, then who will? We can't lose any more innocent lives."

He stood straighter, almost like a soldier in formation. His jaw muscle tightened as he gulped at the words he was about to say. "All of your powers, as of this moment, mean nothing. In a fight for your life on the battlefield, powers are only as useful as the soldier who wields them. They are no excuse to not know how to fight. They are a tool in a fight. They are a tool to defend yourself with. As long as we stay clear-minded about things, we will persevere and win this battle." Cap relaxed himself and softened his tone. "I wanted to thank you all for helping in this dire situation. You're risking your lives for the greater good. Every hero should be as brave and selfless as you are."

Everyone smiled and nodded at his words. Inspiring wasn't enough to describe it. We gathered all of our weapons and other necessities before boarding the ships. I held Steve's hand and squeezed it a bit as we walked up the Quinjet ramp. Tony started the ship and took off before the Blackbird could get into the air.

An unsettling feeling bubbled in my stomach. This was it. It wasn't exactly a war to end all wars type of thing, but right now, it felt close enough. Everything was riding on this huge gamble of a battle. Anxiety started to take over and the stress set in. I spoke up before my voice could waver, "Let's go kick some ass."