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"You very clearly adore being saved by me," Loki teased, his voice raised over the loud wind whipping past us.
Somehow, he'd managed to dig his dagger into the metal of the truck container's side, while simultaneously grabbing hold of me by the waist.
"We're not in the clear yet," I warned, as his dagger began to crave a trail down the length of the truck, straining against our weight. I groaned, realizing I'd have to wrap my legs around him to avoid them hitting the road, which was moving dangerously fast beneath us.
Rogers was still engaging with Ultron, so luckily, falling to our deaths was the only current threat we faced.
When we sunk even lower, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he did nothing to hide his proud smirk. I avoided his gaze, searching our surroundings for a way out of this predicament.
"On your left," Nat's voice pulled my attention to the road. She was driving a motorcycle alongside the car in the next lane, pushing closer to it, and forcing it to near the truck. Luckily, the car hit the side of the truck just as Loki's knife cracked, and we fell. We hit the hood of the car, him on top of me.
I cast a pained glance at the driver, an elderly woman who looked angry more than scared.
We wasted no time, launching ourselves back up onto the truck as the car swerved out of the way. Ahead of us, Ultron aimed a blast at Natasha, forcing her to screech to a halt. But she was back on our tail in minutes.
I dropped back down to the Cradle, sweeping flame up at the bots that guarded it. They managed to stay upright, but the heat began to melt their parts.
"Al, can you take out the guards?" Nat asked through her earpiece as she peeled off road, finding a way to catch up to the truck.
"Yes ma'am," I said back to her, pulling out two knives from their sheaths. I flipped them, as flame coated their tips. Then, with a confidence I'd never had before all of this, I pounced.
I ducked and rolled, moving out of the way of their shots. I dug one knife up through the abdomen of one of the bots, and it staggered backwards, stumbling over the edge. The other swung an arm at me, and I ducked again, planting my knife into the joint that connected its leg.
It shuddered and I stood. "This is Sparta!" I shouted dramatically, before delivering a swift kick to its midsection, sending it reeling backwards into the oncoming traffic.
I lifted myself up through the hole, assessing the situation above. My timing was impeccable, because just as I poked my head through the hole like a groundhog, Ultron slammed Loki into a train running alongside the truck. My heart leapt into my throat, as Cap barrel-rolled through the gaping hole they'd left behind.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Loki stand, raising his remaining dagger to continue fighting beside Cap, which was a truly odd sight to behold.
"I'm going in," Nat said, and I eyed her motorbike approaching from the left, "Can you keep him occupied, boys?"
"What do you think we've been doing?" Cap shot back over the earpiece.
I dropped back down into the truck, making for the edge and holding out my hand to Nat. She stood on her bike, and jumped inside, grabbing my hand. I pulled her in, and we both hit the floor, panting.
"So," Nat said, standing and making for the Cradle, "How's your first day back on the job?"
"Exciting. I'll say that much."
I approached the side of the Cradle, peering inside beside her. It was eerie. Beneath the glass, a human body was being, well pretty much 3D printed. I shuddered.
"Shit, I thought you'd taken care of those?" Nat said, and I turned.
Outside, the two bots I'd fought were flying towards us.
"Do you not see the knives sticking out of them? I kinda thought they were taken care of!"
The bots dipped down, and suddenly, the truck lifted off the ground. Shit, I realized. They were lifting us into the air.
Nat stumbled backwards, and I fell on my ass, the both of us sliding towards the edge. Beneath us, the ground grew smaller and smaller.
I reached out a hand to her, steadying myself. She took my hand, and we both righted ourselves.
"Okay," Clint's voice sounded over the earpieces, "Package is airborne. I have a clean shot."
"Bad idea!" I shouted.
"Negative, Barton, we're still in the truck," Nat explained.
"What the hell are you—"
"Just be ready, we're sending the package to you," Nat cut him off.
"We are?"
Nat glanced dangerously at me. I swallowed, hard.
"How do you want me to take it?" Clint pressed.
"Uh... You might wish you hadn't asked that."
Nat proceeded to cut at the straps securing the Cradle in place. I looked outside. Clint hovered beneath us. And below that... I hardened my jaw. I couldn't even see what was below that. All I could see was sky.
And suddenly, Steve's voice sounded over my earpiece. "I lost him, he's headed your way."
"Guys, we gotta go," Clint warned. Ultron was coming.
"Hop on," Nat gestured at the Cradle.
"You've got to be shitting me," I breathed out, seating myself on top of the Cradle and holding on to the edges for dear life.
Nat placed an explosive on the wall of the truck, severing the final strap and jumping on herself.
The Cradle began to slide toward the edge. This was like some fucked up rollercoaster where everybody dies.
I let out a string of curse words as the Cradle spilled over the edge, nose diving into the quinjet that hovered below.
Several things happened at once, then. The wind was knocked from my lungs as the Cradle crashed into the jet. The truck container exploded behind us. Nat was forcibly pulled away, and Clint called out her name.
I turned. One of the bots had seized her by the ankle, and was dragging her away.
"Natasha!" I called, reaching for her hand.
Our fingers brushed together, just a fraction too far apart. The bot pulled her out of reach. And in seconds, she was gone.
"Cap, you see Nat?" Hawkeye asked through his earpiece.
"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Now!" Came the frantic response.
"Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint pressed.
"Go!" Cap shouted back.
"Dammit," Clint cursed.
"We can't leave her!"
"She'll be okay, Al," he said, righting the quinjet, "She'll be okay."
It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than me.
With that, we picked up speed, shooting out over the water toward the tower. I spared one last glance out the window at the city behind me. Nat was no where in sight.
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Fanfiction"You are unimaginably precious when you're flustered, my dear," he said lowly, "And I can assure you that while I often find you distracting, you are much more than just a distraction to me. Why do you think I haven't killed you yet?" "Because you'd...
