𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. | ❛ Pang. ❜

"AVENGERS, TIME TO WORK FOR A LIVING." Iron Man announced, flying in the air as he sped towards the church. The rest of the team joined Thor and Vision, fighting off Ultron's army of robots. Jamie's students ended up showing up, with their handmade weapons respectively.

     "You good?" Pietro turned to his sister, his eyes tinted with concern.

     "Yeah." Wanda reassured, giving him a nod.

     "Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing "hide the zucchini."" Tony retorted, making Natasha roll her eyes.

     "Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly. What's the drill?"

     Tony pointed at the Vibranum core. "This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose." he informed, but halts, as he watches Jamie's students fighting off robots alongside his fellow Avengers. "And what is Paddington doing here? Is that a spiked bat?"

     "It's cool, right, Mr. Stark?" The Paddington boy chimed with a grin, before successfully killing one of Ultron's robots.

     Tony pointed a finger at him, his eyebrows raised. "I knew you were right for this team. You taught him well, Barzinji." he said, giving a salute to the Heroine making her chuckle.

     As the team were gathered, Ultron showed up. Thor gripped on his hammer, his rigid eyes looking at the robot. "Is that the best you can do?"

     Ultron responded with summoring his army, all standing in line. Steve gave him a glare, "You had to ask."

     "This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?" Ultron said, his voice echoing across the damaged ground.

     Tony shruged. "Well, like the old man said. Together."

     "You know, with the benefit of hin." Just like a cinematic sequence, they all collectively fought off Ultron's robots with their own abilties and strenghts. Jamie's students managed to gracefully hit the robots with their weaponds, and Robin pulled out a rifle gun which made the Heroine gawk dumbfounded.

     "Where did that gun came from?" she yelled, her eyes wide as she looked at the young woman.

     Robin pulled the trigger and fired, making Natasha whirl her head towards the pair. She watched the redhead fighting off the robots and fired another shot, giving her a thumbs up. "Honestly, I don't know. It was laying down somewhere, I just took it." she admitted with a shrug, ducking down to prevent getting blasted at.

     Jamie's forehead creased, looking at her with a look. Robin matched her energy, inching closer to ruffle her hair. "What did I say about worrying?" she sang, giving her a grin.

     The Heroine's lips curved upwards. "Worry about yourself." she said, giving her a smile.

     Robin winked, patting her shoulder before leaving her to join her best friend, who was chasing a robot with a scream. Jamie scoffed, shaking her head with a laugh. She turned her attention back to Ultron, brandishing her glistening black sword.

     "They'll try to leave the city." Thor informed.

     "We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!" Tony said to his best friend as they approached the robots.

     "We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you." Steve ordered, giving his team a firm look.

     Clint frowned. "What about the core?"

     "I'll protect it. It's my job." Wanda said, making Clint and Jamie halt with their steps, giving her a worried gaze. Wanda gave the Heroine a reasuring smile. Her eyes turned to her brother. "Get the people on the boats."

▹

     "Thor, I'm gonna need you back in the church." Tony said through the ear comms.

     Thor's eyes narrowed, turning his head to the lifeboats. He turned his attention to Steve and Jamie. "Is this the last of them?"

     The pair nodded. "Yeah. Everyone else is on the carrier." Steve answered, a firm look on his face.

     "You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away." Tony added, making the trio share a look.

     "Maybe not." Jamie sighed, her eyes wandering around the damaged city with a thoughtful look.

     A sound of guns flaring erupted around the area, nearing the trio. Jamie whirled her head to her students, her heart soaring against her chest as she watched Ultron's guns being pointed near Robin. She left the two, fastening her pace to get her. "Robin, watch out!"

     Robin shot her head towards Jamie, a look of confusion plastered on her face. Her smile faltered, moving her head to the side only to be met with her body colliding with hers as they scrambled down the ground. They both groaned, moving away from each other as they took a breather.

     Jamie grunted, shifting her body to the side. Her eyes trailed down Robin's figure, watching her clutching her leg with a small whimper. A tendril of anxiety prickled at her chest. She inched closer, bringing her hand to her injury. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice wavering at the end.

     Tears welled at the corner of Robin's eyes. She clenched her jaw, her bloody hands trying to reach for the bullet inside her skin but Jamie slapped her hand away. "Don't." she warned, a look of worry etched onto her glistening face.

     The young woman gritted her teeth in pain. She squeezed her eyes shut. "God, Jamie, it hurts like hell." she whined, a small cry emitting from her lips.

     Jamie sighed, feeling her chest tighten. She looked up, her eyes darting across the damaged city manically, but stopped when it landed on Pietro's lifeless body on the ground. Her heart squeezed her lungs, and she let out an audible gasp. Tears raced down her cheeks, along with a heavy heart as she broke down.

     Jamie's body wracked with sobs, her shoulders violently shaking as she mourned for his sudden death. Her vision turned blurry with tears and she could no longer hear Robin. Black spots consumed her sight and she had to blink a few times before it regained back to normal.

     "Jamie?" The Heroine whimpered, snapping out of her melancholia. Her heart was hammering loudly against her chest and the buzzing in her brain became louder with every breath she took. She shook her head, quickly wiping away her tears and taking Robin into her arms.

     "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry." Jamie profusely apologized, blindly helping her up and hoisting her arm on her shoulder as they rose up. Guilt engulfed her, her lips emitting small apologies as they near the flying boats.

     Robin's heart clenched, watching the Heroine slowly crumble. It was an odd experience, seeing her so vulnerable—so fragile, like Natasha described. She always held her guard up, but now, watching her crying for Pietro made her heart ache.

     Robin shook her head, squeezing her bicep. "I'm fine, seriously. Stop apologizing." she reassured, wincing as her leg came in contact with her body.

     Jamie sniffled, holding her closer into her arms. A tightening of her throat made her sharply exhale through her nose. She looked up, watching Robin's best friend dashing out the boat, helping her up to the paramedics.

     The Paddington boy brought her to a stretcher with the help of professionals. He sighed, running his hands through his messy hair as he looked around, his eyes landing on the ex-soldier with a soft look. He jogged towards her, his hands placed on her shoulder. "Hey, Jamie. It's okay. She's gonna be okay." he said, patting her shoulder.

     Jamie brought a trembling hand to her temples, feeling another headache forming inside her skull. She let out a soft cry, shaking her head. A reign of pain shot through her body, making her whimper. "Not Pietro. He's–he's fucking dead, Paddington." she hiccuped, her eyes tainted with crimson red.

     Steve frowned, his stomach clenching at the sight of her. He sighed, a look of discomfort etched onto his features. A person who's not good at comforting people, Steve could only rub her back. Luckily, he saw Captain America nearing their way giving him a nod.

     "Jamie, it's gonna be okay." The Paddington boy said gently, squeezing her arms.

     Jamie could only nod, her teary eyes looking into his brown eyes. She felt a pair of warm hands on her waist, and she whirled around only to be met with a hard chest hugging her tightly. She melted into his touch, her hands squeezing his stomach as she hid her face into his chest.

     "I'm sorry." She could hear Steve's muffled voice, but she heard him nonetheless. Jamie slowly pulled away, sheepishly looking at him. She shook her head, watching his worried gaze.

     Steve wiped her tears away with his thumb, his hand holding the back of her neck. He gave her a soft look, giving her a comforting smile. He planted a kiss on her forehead, before guiding them to the boats with him carrying her into his arms.

     Jamie rested her head onto his neck, feeling exhaustion hit her body like a tidal wave. Her eyelids became heavy. She closed her eyes, feeling the darkness welcome her with open arms.