The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Sixteen: Wanda

**Warning: Descriptions of Violence and A/U (alternate universe to Canon) begins:

(Natasha's POV)

After the South Africa debacle, it took me awhile to clear my head. Thankfully, nothing provides clarity like a little time with Clint's family. It was the closest thing to a family of my own that I was likely to ever have, and for whatever reason his little rugrats loved me. Good thing, too, because I adored them. I swung Lila up into my arms for an extra hug, while ruffling Cooper's hair. We had a lot to figure out but being here in a place like this certainly couldn't hurt. The Maximoff girl could pack a punch. There was a reason I didn't spend a lot of time reminiscing about my past, and having it brought up again in living color was something I didn't enjoy. Clint was insistent about taking care of me, which I appreciated, but I caught myself thinking about Claray. I shook my head. Not going to help, Romanoff. I knew she was at the tower assisting with clean up, but after that she was going to go look for the twins again. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her, and I couldn't shake this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was about to go wrong. Very, very wrong.

(Claray's POV)

The next day, I heard a commotion in the tower just as I was helping to wrap up the cleanup from Ultron's impromptu attack. I groaned to myself, following the noise, hoping against all hope that no one was creating another mess that I would inevitably have to clean up. I was anxious to get back to my research. When I got to the lab, I was surprised to see the Maximoff twins standing there. Also, a strange, purple-colored creature that I didn't know. It looks like the rest of the team was squaring off against each other, and I glanced around, looking for Natasha. I frowned, approaching Clint.

"Barton, where's Romanoff?" He looked at me.

"Ultron took her." I felt my eyes immediately darken as worry lines crisscrossed my face. He put a steadying hand on my shoulder. "She's fine, Claray, I've tracked her down. She left a message for us." I nodded, glancing over towards the Maximoff girl.

"What are they doing here?" I snarled. She girl approached. Getting a good look at her now, she was stunning, even with the worry etched across her face.

"We were wrong," she said softly. I nodded.

"You think?" I snapped. She looked up at me, and I felt slightly bad.

"Hey it's okay, I'm sorry." I offered. She gave me a small smile in return.

"Claray, we're heading to Sokovia," Steve called over to me. I nodded. "It's going to be a mess, and we need you to organize backup. I raised my eyebrows.

"Backup? Rogers I could help more than that." He pursed his lips, looking at me.

"I know, but if we don't get some help, there's going to be a lot more casualties." I nodded slightly. Clint squeezed my arm again.

"We'll get her, don't worry." The Maximoff girl looked at me curiously before I heard an intrusive voice in my head.

"Can you hear me?" The voice asked. I looked over to her in shock.

"Yes," my brain answered. The girl smiled, and I returned the gesture. As the team packed up and grabbed their supplies, I head to the command center to try to oversee the operation and keep tabs on what was happening. When they left, my first phone call was to Agent Hill.

"They're heading for Sokovia," I stated bluntly as soon as she answered the phone.

"On it," she answered before hanging up. A few minutes later, I received a call on my cell from Fury.