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(𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒)
CHAPTER TEN----▹

"Natasha!" Leigh called out breathlessly, she had already run up and down several flights of stone stairs, and was not having it. "Leigh?" she called out, "There you are," the brunette breathed leaning against the old metal cell door, "What happened to you?" Natasha asked with a small teasing smile, "Stairs." Leigh replied dryly. 

"Maybe you and May were onto something about keeping a consistent training schedule." Natasha laughed, "Don't be mean." Leigh grimaced. "Anyways,"  Leigh glanced around, "We're here and this city is about to be slightly crispy." Natasha raised an eyebrow, "I don't suppose you saw a key around here somewhere?"

"Ehh, you could say that. Stand back, Romanoff." Leigh blasted the door, "Thanks, Strange." Leigh shrugged, "Anytime."

"Let's go kick some homicidal robot ass." Leigh cheered, "Oh, I forgot, here you go." the brunette handed Nat an earpiece, "Damn, I have to go back on the stairs again." Leigh muttered, and Natasha rolled her eyes, "Let's go, Strange. We don't have time for this."

---

"Barton, where are you all?" Leigh asked, he replied quickly with a location, "This is such a mess," the brunette noted, looking at the bots that seemed to come from anywhere and everywhere. "I got, Romanoff. We're on our way."

Leigh whisked her hands around slowing the motions of about a dozen bots, "Nat, do your thing." the redhead nodded, shooting at the bots, "We always have made a good team." the green magic dissolved away, bots crumpling to the ground.

The gravel crumbled underneath Leigh's feet, "What the hell is going on?" her voice called through the comms, there was no response, everyone preoccupied, "Do you see?" Ultron spoke, and Leigh's heart dropped chills running down her back, "The beauty of it? The inevitability."

"You rise, only to fall." the mechanical voice echoed, "You, Avengers, you are my meteor." A chunk of the city continued to lift off the ground, "My swift and terrible sword. And the Earth will crack. With the weight of your failure."

An alien army reigned down on New York in 2012, but yet this was somehow more terrifying to Leigh. "Purge me from your computers. Turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing." Barton shot down one of the robots, another one taking its place. Leigh shared a look with him, she wanted to go home. To pretend that the world wasn't ending. That everything wasn't falling apart around her. "When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

Leigh lost her balance stumbling backward slightly, red mist catching her arm at the last second, "God, I hate heights." she nodded a quick thank you in Wanda's direction. "Stark you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart." Steve spoke, "Copy that Cap." Leigh replied. "You get hurt 'em back. You get killed...walk it off."

"Oh yeah, real helpful, Rogers." the brunette quipped, waving her arms around in strong motions slowing down the bots that reigned down on them, green mist falling away from them once Clint or Natasha took them out. Clint shoved both, Wanda and Leigh, out of the way,  "How...how could I let this happen?" Wanda asked, voice shaking, "Hey, hey. You ok?" Clint asked, "This is all our fault." 

"Hey look at me." Clint directed, "It's your fault, it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this?" he asked, "Are you? Look, I just need to know. Because the city is flying."Clint spoke, "That it is." Leigh added in, "Okay, look. The city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense." Something shot through the wall and the man effortlessly drew back an arrow and shot back, "But I'm gonna go back out there, cause it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did or what you were." he paused, "You go out there, you fight and you fight to kill." and Leigh nodded, knowing very well whether she wanted to or not that's what she would be doing. "Stay in here, you're good. I'll send your brother to come to find you. But if you step out that door. You are an Avenger."

They held eye contact for a minute, "Alright, good chat." Clint said, "Wait Clint, one more thing before we go back out there." Leigh spoke, finding her way to her feet, "If we all die out there, and the world ends. Just know that I love you and that you are ten times the father that my own is, so thank you." he smiled at her, "Love you too, Leigh. Now let's go annihilate that robot army."

He drew back some arrows, "Yeah the city is flying." he exhaled, "And you have a stick and a string." he nodded, "Let's go." Clint kicked out of the door, and Leigh punched and kicked her way through falling rubble and Robots, using her Sheild training to get through all of this. "Ow," Barton groaned, taking cover behind a car. 

"That fucking hurt," Leigh groaned holding her side, pressing her back into the brick wall, the door flew open, revealing Wanda, "There she is." Leigh smiled, "Nice of you to join us, Witchy." the brunette quipped as red sparks tore apart robots, "All right. We're all clear here." Barton noted, "We are not clear. We are very not clear." Cap's voice came through the comms, "Alright, coming to you." 

Pietro sped by swooping up his sister, "Keep up, old man." Pietro stated, Clint shook his head drawing back an arrow, "Nobody would know." Leigh stared at him, "I would. I would know." the brunette noted, "'The last I saw him, an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.'" Clint spoke jogging alongside Leigh, who laughed, "Barton, you're not supposed to be plotting the murder of your co-workers."

---

"What do you got Stark?" Cap questioned, "Huh? Nothing great." Stark answered, "Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface." Leigh's heart sank, "I asked for a solution not an escape plan." Steve said, "This is not looking good," Leigh breathed, "Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere." Natasha spoke, "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..." Steve shook his head, "Not till everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there." Natasha said, "I'm not leaving this rock with on civilian on it." Cap replied, "I didn't say we should leave." 

"Tasha," Leigh spoke into the comms, "What do you mean?"  Natasha shook her head, "There's worse ways to go." she paused looking at the clouds around them, "Where else am I going to get a view like this."

"Glad, you like the view, Romanoff." Fury spoke through the comms, "How did you get on the system?" Leigh questioned. "It's about to get better." 

Leigh stared at the Helicarrier, "Nice right? She's dusty, but she'll do." Fury continued, "Fury, you son of a bitch." Steve shook his head, "Oh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Altitude is 18,000 and climbing." Maria spoke, "Hill, good to hear your voice," Leigh smiled, they were all rushing around doing their best to get all of the civilians on board the lifeboats. "Here we go, here we go, let's move." Clint urged, "That way to safety, wanna avoid death, go right there." Leigh said directing the civilians. 

---

"Avengers, time to work for a living." Stark spoke, "Copy that, Stark." Leigh spoke, walking alongside Barton, "What's the drill?" The redhead asked, finding her way next to all of them. "This is the drill." Stark pointed to the core, "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose." Leigh nodded, "Alright, Metal Man. Let's not lose." Leigh quipped.

"Is that the best you can do?" Thor shouted,  Ultron raised his metal hand the robots swarming around him, "You had to ask." Steve spoke side-eyeing Thor, "This is the best I can do." Ultron whirred.  "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me." 

Leigh cringed, again wishing she was anywhere but here, "How can you possibly hope to stop me?" Ultron asked, "Well, like the old man said, together."

They all stood blocking the core, using their various abilities to take out each bot that came their way. Metal clanged together, slamming, breaking. Red energy sparkled around them, green slowing down their movements, taking away their momentum. Lighting killing their power source, arrows, and bullets, cutting through their wires.

Ultron and Vison fighting above them, the red AI using his abilities to blast Ultron backward, Thor and Tony joining in, knocking the metal robot down. "You know, with the benefit of hindsight..." he was cut off with a punch from the green rage monster. 

"They're trying to leave the city." Thor alerted, "We can't let them not even one. Rhodey?" Stark spoke, "I'm on it." Rhodey was left confused as Vision came through tearing apart the bots, "Ok, what?"

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin." Steve spoke, "You think?" Leigh panted, "You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you." he finished. "What about the core?" Barton asked, "I'll protect it." Wanda stated, "It's my job." 

Leigh looked at her, "I know it's not really the time, but since likelihood is we're all about to die, your accent is really hot." Leigh stated to Wanda who rose an eyebrow at the girl, "See ya later witchy."

"Nat." Barton nodded, "Leigh, let's go." He urged, "Yeah, yeah." she waved him off. 

"I know what I need to do." Clint spoke driving the car, they had found, "Yeah? And what's that?" Leigh asked from the backseat, "If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura." Leigh rolled her eyes at the archer. "You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway." Nat noted, "No one eats in a dining room." Clint shook his head, "Really fancy, bad father, surgeons do. Forced Family togetherness." Leigh noted.

"We don't have a lot of time." Clint spoke parking the car, "So get your ass on a boat. Both of you." Nat responded. 

---

Clint spotted the child, and shook his head, about to run off the boat, "Where are you going?" Leigh asked panicked, chasing after him, "Go back to the boat." he ordered, "No. I'm not leaving you here." Leigh replied, "Please, Leigh." he said and she shook her head. 

They got to the kid and Clint scooped him up, but Ultron was reigning down on them bullets spewing all around them, "Oh hell no." Leigh spoke spotting Pietro, she used her last bit of energy to slow all the bullets that were about to embed themselves into the speedster's back. "You didn't see that coming?" Leigh asked seeing the bullet casings fall to the ground, "You could've gotten yourself killed. You're welcome." she noted, imitating his accent, and doing a pretty damn good job of it if she did say so herself.

"Let's go home."