∆ {3²⁰} {TWISTED FAITH} ∆

ROXI, TO EVERYONE'S surprise, was the first one to move. She moved her hand slightly, and with a twitch of her fingers, her quarterstaff flew at her after it managed to unearth itself from the mess in Tony's lab. Both Pietro and Clint only just dodged out of the way of the flying weapon, Clint rolling his eyes with a slight smirk as Roxi caught it and strode away into the corridors of the tower. He and Steve exchanged a look, both worried about the woman who refused to show emotion. They both knew that she would be holding back her emotions. Clint had known her even longer than he had known Natasha, and Steve had seen a glimpse of it at Sam's house the previous year, and even that small look had shown him how much raw emotion that she withheld, regardless of how blank she tried to seem. All they could do was hope she would be ready to apply herself fully to the oncoming battle, though there wasn't much doubt there, no matter how wild her emotions might grow. Pietro still seemed slightly unnerved by Roxi's powers, and didn't seem pleased by almost being whacked in the head by her weapon, while Wanda was watching her retreating form with a cautious curiosity that was mirrored in Vision's face. Tony and Bruce, on the other hand, didn't seem too bothered by her, and simply exchanged quick glances before moving to get their own things ready, consequentially forcing the rest of the room into motion.

Roxi took off the suit that she'd worn once she was in her room, ignoring the tears as she tried to keep herself from falling apart now that she was on her own. Her back had begun to bruise from the impact in Tony's lab, and her neck was aching from whiplash. Her fingers drifted to the fresh injury on her side as she clenched her jaw with the memory of Natasha's touch on her flesh when she'd taken care of it. If they didn't manage to get her back on this mission, Roxi didn't know what she would do. Maybe she would fall apart, loose any part of control she had, or maybe she would shut down, go back to who she'd been before she'd met Natasha, maybe worse. Either way, it wouldn't be good for her, or the people around her. It was almost unnerving how drastic the change in her character had become when she didn't know if Natasha was safe, and Roxi knew that she was becoming dependant on the beautiful redhead with softly spoken words and the ability to kick whoever's ass she chose to. That, in itself, wasn't the issue, but instead, it was exactly what she was doing. She was allowing her emotions  to get in the way of whatever it was that she needed to do.

So, she put on a fresh version of the suit, not even bothering to wash the blood off of her hands as she picked up one of Natasha's leather jackets that hung in her closet in one hand, her quarterstaff in the other. She hadn't cleaned up at all except changing her suit, and pulling her hair up into a simply braid to keep it out of her vision while she fought. She had known that someone had been standing outside her door from the moment they had been there, she just hadn't expected to be met with the slightly nervous face of Wanda Maximoff. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw Roxi in front of her, something that made the latter want to smirk. This girl, the one who had single-handedly messed up a good deal of the Avengers brains, and who could throw something through the air without touching it, was scared of her. Instead, she simply raised an eyebrow in question as to what Wanda wanted.

"Steve said I should ask you for a jacket.." she trailed off at the end of the sentence, her eyes flicking to the one Roxi held in her hand. Though, Roxi didn't give her that one, instead grabbing one of her own redder jackets, holding it out to Wanda.

"Here," Roxi's voice was slightly hoarse from its sudden lack of use, but the situation would've become uncomfortable if she hadn't said anything, and while Roxi normally wouldn't mind that, the situation they were in was a rather desperate one, and tense relationships with teammates would've help, so she would have to trust these people, even if she didn't want to. Wanda took it, with a slight murmur of 

"Thanks," before she retreated back into the corridors, no doubt trying to find her brother. Roxi let out a soft sigh, glancing over the room behind her before she closed the door, and made her way towards the hangar bay.

{~}

IT WASN'T LONG before they were all gathered in the Quinjet, Roxi sat next to Clint in the cockpit, once again in the co-pilot chair as she let her eyes ghost over the many switches and lights on the display in front of her, only just managing to settle herself into the seat as the Quinjet's engines began to hum and they took off. Every now and then, Clint would glance sideways at her, as if he was determined to catch her falling apart in that very moment. But no, she kept her stony façade up, piecing together her crumbling walls for as long as she could, putting weight on the trapdoor with weakening hinges, determined to prove to herself that she could do this. 

It wasn't silent, even if you ignored the mechanical throb of the engines, as the group behind them split into pairs and began to talk in hushed voices. They were only simple sentences, phrases whispered to each other as if Ultron could somehow listen to the inside of the Quinjet. While that wasn't impossible, it was highly unlikely with Tony's programming and now, Vision's defence. The android was standing to one side, his orange cloak rippling slightly in the still air, simply listening, observing, like he was hoping to learn something from the worried words that were being muttered inside the jet.

"We'll find her." Clint's voice wasn't nearly as quiet as anyone else's, and from the sudden lack of sound coming from behind them, they had all heard what he'd said. It continued as he, and probably they, waited for a reply. Roxi didn't change the path of her vision, instead leaning forwards and flicking a few switches to adjust for their altitude, only granting the man an

"I know," before she leaned back in her seat and watched the rain hammer against the window. It reminded her of the very first mission they'd been on as a half-formed team, going to Germany to pick up Loki. She had allowed her past to catch up with her then, to taunt her about who she had been, but she knew better now. Or she thought she did. Now, visions of her past were replaced with glimpses of the moments she'd shared with Natasha, and the familiar smell drifting from the jacket she wore didn't help. She had most certainly begun to develop a fondness towards Natasha, one that was stronger than she would ever admit, though she supposed she would have to at some point, even if the feeling was unreciprocated. She needed to get it off the chest, and those moments she'd had with the redhead, even if she'd been a shaking, scared mess, the first time, were something that had shared a sort of tender energy, both normally confident women slightly afraid of overstepping. Steve seemed to have no regard for the stew of thoughts that Roxi was wallowing, because he interrupted it a moment later, this time speaking to everyone in the jet.

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are, we'll be riding into heavy fire. And, that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't; so our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them, and we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, we clear the field." At the mention of Natasha, Roxi felt that white flame inside of her spike once again, determination and anticipation blooding through her veins in a white hot cloud that took her back to just before New York. The whole world was riding on their shoulders, and they, their group of ten, not nine (she reminded herself), were about to fly into the fight of their lives.

"Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters; that we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right." The whole jet stilled at the words, everyone freezing in their preparations, Roxi's hand stopping mid-air with her comms in hand as she processed what Steve had said. She could see other people calling her a monster, but Roxi didn't think that she truly was one. She could well be fighting on the wrong side, and just not know it, but the word 'monster' was far more extreme in every way. But then she thought back over what she'd done, who she'd fought and killed simply because she'd been ordered to do it. Yes, she decided, she probably was a monster, but now, the only thing she could do about that, was use it to her own advantage, and she was going to.

{~}

AS SOON AS the Quinjet landed, the group of 9 split into their separate groups to carry out their part of the plan. Thor and Bruce were going to get Natasha out, and though Roxi had been offered a spot with them, she'd declined, already in the mindset of doing whatever she could to win the battle. Seeing Natasha when the battle hadn't started would probably shatter that mentality, and distract her from fighting as well as she could. She knew that Natasha would understand where she was coming from, so instead she accompanied Steve, Clint, Wanda and Pietro as they started to evacuate the city. All Roxi could do was call out directions in Russian and hope that they got the general gist of what she was saying, acting as some what of a marshal as she made sure that everyone was following the river of people that had begun to flow sluggishly through the city. She could see hints of vibrant red flashing in the crowd every now and then, knowing that most of these people had left their homes sue to Wanda's instruction. While they didn't have the choice to stay, they were saving lives, and that was all the group could focus on with the threat of Ultron dangling above their heads.

It was eerie, watching the people march on with no intention other than to follow what Wanda had told them, like some kind of army of civilians marching towards a life where they would have no home, none of their belongings, but they would live, and that was the best they could do. She kept getting glances of Clint holed up in buildings from the corner of her eye, knowing that he was doing the same as she was, just from a better vantage point. They needed to get as many people out as they could. That, unfortunately, wouldn't be everyone; that would be impossible, but as many lives as they could save, well, she would take that.

A few faces in the crowd stood out to Roxi. A young girl, her face wet with tears, a doll in one hand as she was lead along by her father, his eyes glowing a vibrant red. A dark-skinned boy about the same age as Wanda and Pietro, stopping to help someone who'd tripped, a look of concentration on his face. A mother, cradling a small bundle to her heart. Roxi's chest began to ache with the strain of what she was seeing, the pain and confusion on these people's faces, even before Ultron had released his bots and began his attack. She sucked in a deep breath, a small amount of dust hitting the back of her throat as she reminded herself that she needed to have confidence. She needed to contain faith in herself and her team; they all did if they were going to pull this off. It may have been misplaced; they'd all (with the exception of Vision), done some dubious things, but they needed to get through this fight. She could deal with the trust issues that lingered at the back of her mind after this, after Ultron's wires no longer trailed over the surface of the world, leaving nothing instead of the dark, blood and death in its wake.

They needed to fight, and Roxi had every plan to.

{A/N:} Very much a filler chapter, the battle actually starts next chapter so I'm sorry about the lack of actual content in the last few chapters. I literally only just finished this on time but I did it :). So to those of you who haven't seen, the first chapter of another Natasha fic (ik) that I started, called 'Alias' is up, if any of you want to go and check that out. Also, last week we reached 2k votes on this book, tyvm for all of your support :).

I think I have 2 weeks of school left (finally) and then half term so hopefully I'll be able to really focus on chapters and make them better soon. Please vote, comment, etc., let me know what you think, and I'll see you next week.

Thanks for reading,

2300 Words

Written: 30 / 01 / 2021

Published: 20 / 01 / 2021