∆ {3¹⁵} {EVOLVE} ∆

BUT THE WORLD didn't stop turning. It kept going around the two women; it didn't give them time to help pull each other out of the traps of their own minds, it simply kept moving. Theirs may have stopped, but no-one else's had. So, Fury and the others continued to plan as Roxi sat there distantly, ensnared in her thoughts and lost in her emotions, Natasha focused on trying to bring her back. 

Roxi could hear what the people around her were saying, and could make out the words, but no meanings came with it, it sounded as though someone were talking in a foreign language that she'd never heard before. She could barely feel Natasha's firm hold on her hand, could only just make out the redhead's worried face hovering before her own. She didn't notice the metal coffee mug in her other hand begin to scrunch into a ball, which Natasha quickly took from her, putting it on the table next to them. The action drew Fury's attention, who faltered in what he was saying, properly noticing what was happening for the first time. The irregularity in the steady stream of words that all Roxi could hear made her start slightly, and it took her a split-second for her to realise where she was.

She was in Clint's house, surrounded by not only his family, but hers. These people had fought aliens, HYDRA, and even killer robots with her. They wouldn't judge her, but she managed to pull herself together anyway. These people needed her, more than she'd ever been needed before. She needed to be strong for them, for herself, for Natasha. So, she took a deep, slightly shaky breath, focused on slowing her mind down, and fixed her eyes on a knot in the wood of the table, until she was confident that she could focus on the situation. She looked up at Natasha, who was still watching her carefully, and gave the woman a slight nod, squeezing her hand gently to let the woman know that she was okay. It took her another couple of seconds to look up, where almost everyone's gaze was on her. Tony and Fury seemed to understand that most people didn't want to be the centre of attention when they'd just had a panic attack, and had turned their eyes anywhere other than at her. She was glad about that, she didn't want everyone's curious looks focused on her. She cleared her throat slightly, allowing her normal mask to sweep back over her face as if nothing had happened, and met each one of Steve, Bruce, and Clint's looks with her own calm, cold one.

Laura, who sat in the living room, had frowned slightly at her, while trying to keep Lila occupied so that she wouldn't interfere while the group of adults spoke. Roxi met her gaze for a split second before moving on, and gestured to the room in general, telling them to carry on with the planning. There was a slightly awkward pause before Fury cleared the air.

"Right."

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was hoping when I saw you you'd have more than that,"  Natasha drew everyone's attention, her voice wavering as she spoke, glancing down at the table as she spoke, leaning on her elbows.

"I do; I have you." Fury's statement brought everyone's eyes to him as he took another bite of his sandwich. The sentiment hung in the thick air for a few minutes as they all considered it.

"Back in the day I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else," he began to explain as Roxi listened closely to his words, "You kids had all the tech you could dream of. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission; and whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this.. Laid in a grave." Clint looked away uncomfortably at Fury's last sentence as Roxi shifted in her seat. Everything around her, everyone she'd ever gotten remotely close to, they'd all be gone, as fast as she could blink.

It brought a crushing reality down on Roxi's shoulders as she realised just how much they were fighting Ultron for. Millions of lives, billions of people, that could all be gone, with a simple command written by Ultron. He would be able to effectively erase the world as if it were just a simple hard drive containing information he didn't want to get out; information that he could control, and he could destroy. In Ultron's eyes, they were all simply strings of numbers, and he would do anything he could to wipe out the competition. Even if it meant quite literally starting from scratch, destroying almost everything except what he wanted to remain. And then, through the broken rock and dust that would be all that was left of civilisation, robots would rule, though this time, Roxi wouldn't simply be able to crush them by balling her hand. Because she too, would be dead, maybe literally 6 feet under, along with all the people that sat around her, as well as Natasha. There would be no gravestones, no monuments for anyone to grieve at, because there would be no-one left to grieve. All the recognition they would get, if they failed, would be the people who couldn't save the world.

Strangely enough, out of all those thoughts, it was the gravestones that stood out to her most. She couldn't imagine not being able to go to Ara's grave after she died. It'd helped her through it, helped her become stronger again. But if that wasn't there, the survivors (if by some chance they didn't die), would probably go mad from isolation and pure grief. They would be living on a field of the dead, no matter where they went. Roxi was caught up from her spiralling thoughts when someone spoke again. It was still Fury, but this time, he had a determined voice.

"So stand; outwit the platinum bastard." A new sense of resolve settled in Roxi's mind. She would do anything she could to make sure they won this fight; if they lost, the repercussions would be worse than what she'd imagined.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha said into the stirring silence from next to her, and a smile slipped involuntarily onto Roxi's face.

"You know what, Romanoff," Steve pretended to threatened from where he leaned in the doorframe, causing Natasha to let out a light scoff and smirk at him, letting her and Roxi's hands dangle in the air. It was a pleasant atmosphere, and with the resolve in Roxi's chest (Fury could be amazingly good at inspirational speeches when he wanted to), she wasn't sure if there was anywhere else that she'd rather be in that moment. It was almost perfect, and if she could, Roxi would've taken a picture, so she instead tried to memorise every detail, knowing that she would look back on it with fond eyes in years to come.

"So what does he want?" Fury's voice broke through Roxi's mist of thoughts, and she met his gaze as he glanced at her, just as he did for every member of the room.

"To become better," Steve answered decidedly, after no-one else spoke up, though everyone in general seemed to agree with his statement, "better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies," Tony specified, a thinking face set onto his features as he considered what Ultron's final goal might be, "The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it." Roxi didn't have a clue where he was going with his train of thoughts, but decided that if she sat still and listened, she would probably find out.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," Natasha complimented him and Bruce, who was now looking over the shoulder facing away from Roxi, and while both women were sure that he could see their linked hands, he ignored them, and focused on one of Lila's drawings that'd been left there, above Natasha's. It was a colourful butterfly against a light blue background, but Roxi was pretty that that wasn't what he was focusing on. He could see another meaning that she couldn't, and he was probably going to explain what he saw to her too. She wasn't stupid, but science, much like hacking, wasn't one of her fields of experience, and she'd never been particularly fond of it, even if it provided medicine and saved lives. She just didn't like the principle; that you had to trust every piece of information that was given to you, and you couldn't question it, because no-one would ever answer you properly.

"They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve," Bruce began to explain as he put together what Ultron had planned, "Ultron's going to evolve."

"How?" It was a simply question, and thankfully one that gained a simple answer. Roxi didn't want to have to listen to twenty minutes of science talk and not have a clue what was going on.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

And suddenly, everything got worse. Roxi couldn't help but remember what the Doctor had done for Clint. She had fixed a huge hole in his side, literally making flesh, and she hadn't even had her proper machinery. Who knew what she could do with her best machinery and almost unlimited resources and free reign over what she was asked to do.

For some reason, it was only now that Roxi felt the sudden pain in her side from where the bullet had grazed it, only now that she remembered it was there. It hurt. More than it should've, and that was because she hadn't had it treated, and she jerked sideways slightly, as if that would help the pain, and covered the spot on her waist with her hand, sucking in a sharp breath. Thankfully, Steve, Tony, Fury and Clint were busy trying to figure out the best course of action, but Natasha and Bruce both turned to her. Natasha just gave her a look, but Bruce seemed genuinely confused.

"What is it?" Natasha asked in a low voice, trying to catch Roxi's eye, which the woman deliberately avoided. She simply pulled up her t-shirt just high enough to look at the injury, which was angry and raw, a line etched into the flesh of her side. Natasha's jaw dropped slightly, and she glared protectively at Roxi, pulling up the side of her top a little to get a slightly better look at it.

"Roxi," Natasha hissed, and the woman in question's eyes flashed to Bruce, with a slight panic, hoping he hadn't heard. He didn't seem to have, and was instead looking at the wound in an analysing way, as if trying to figure out if he could treat it. She only met Natasha's gaze after she was certain the scientist hadn't heard, a small amount of guilt pooling in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" This question was more deploring, and Natasha sounded worried and slightly annoyed that she hadn't known about the injury.

"I forgot about it," Roxi almost whispered. Natasha rolled her eyes and let go of Roxi's hand, gesturing for the woman to follow her upstairs so they could have some privacy where the redhead could try and clean the wound. 

Natasha was worried, though that was mixed wit ha large amount of protectiveness, and pity for the woman next to her that she would never show, because Roxi would hate it.

Roxi herself was thinking about two things. One, was how lucky she was to have someone in her life like Natasha. The other, wasn't something she'd considered up until that moment. When Wanda Maximoff had messed with her brain, she'd heard voices she recognised from her past whispering her name. The question now, was if Maximoff had heard them too, because if she had, Ultron would have a lot more information on her than anyone apart from Fury had had in her life. She would be lying if she said the thought didn't make her nervous. But it was forgotten as Natasha sat her down gently on the bed (Roxi wasn't going to try and take control of the situation, it wouldn't work out for her), and carefully examined her injury. The feeling of Natasha's fingers brushing her skin made all her nerves spark and spit, as if an electric current had been pushed through them. At the moment, she didn't need to worry about her name, Ultron, or Wanda Maximoff. In fact, all her worries were forgotten as the two women sat there in a comfortable silence, Natasha cleaning and eventually closing the injury.

{A/N:} Okay, this chapter's not great. On the plus side, I did write a chapter for Nyctophilia, Point Blank and this today, which I'm proud of.

This will be one of two updates published on my catch-up day, so I hope you enjoy the,. Please comment and vote, let me know what you think.

Thanks.

2250 Words

Written: 03 / 01 / 2021

Published: 05 / 01 / 2021