I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 41

"No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. There's gonna be blood on the floor" Tony states while him, Steve, Rachel and Bruce wait for everyone else. "We've got no plans tomorrow night" Steve states as he looks at Rachel, who's sat beside him. "I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's been waiting for" Tony adds. "That's true, he hates you the most" Vision confirms as he walks past and Rachel chuckles at Tony's unimpressed expression.

"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" Steve starts his speech when everyone is gathered on the jet. "We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff and we clear the field. 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" he finishes and assigns everyone their tasks.

They arrive in Sokovia and Wanda, Pietro, Clint, Steve and Rachel start evacuating the city while Bruce and Thor enter Ultron's hideout to find what Ultron has been building and Natasha. Meanwhile, Tony prepares to confront Ultron. While the civilians are evacuating a swarm of Ultron's bots enter the city and start attacking. Everyone starts protecting the Sokovians and fighting the bots. Meanwhile, Vision blocks Ultron from using the net as an escape route.

Suddenly, the city starts to shake and the ground separates. Rachel feels the ground beneath her feet move and looks to see the ground in front of her crack. She feels the ground begin to lower and when it starts to give out, she dives forwards. "Rachel!" Steve shouts as he sees her jump and runs towards her. She just about reaches the edge of the bridge and climbs up, "Rach" he calls and helps her to her feet and she takes a deep breath when her feet are on solid ground. "I'm okay" she assures him as she glances out to see the city below them. A bot charges at Steve from behind him and Steve raises his fist to hit it without taking his eyes off Rachel.

"Steve, we need to focus on the civilians. We can't be worrying about each other, we'll get distracted" she tells him and he sighs, knowing she's right. "I know" he nods. "We'll be okay. I'll see you when this is over, I promise" she assures him as she cups his face. "Just be careful" he states and tightens his grip on her waist. "You too. Promise?" she replies and he responds by crashing his lips to hers. "I promise" he assures her and she smiles before running into the city.

"Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job; tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off" Steve tells everyone and Rachel chuckles at him as she separates a bot's upper body from its legs. She continues to protect civilians by throwing balls of energy at the bots and creating barriers in front of the civilians. "Vi, you've got incoming" Tony informs her and she turns around to see a swarm of bots flying straight towards her. "Ya think?" she replies before she creates a barrier in front of herself. The bots fly straight into the barrier and the force almost causes her to falter. She takes a deep breath and thrusts her hands forwards, sending the barrier into the bots and dismembering them.

Rachel guides a group of civilians into a safe building, just as the rest of the team are doing. "The next wave is gonna hit any minute. What do you got, Stark?" Steve asks Tony. "Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear" Tony states sadly. "I asked for a solution, not an escape plan" Steve objects. "Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice" Tony tells everyone. "Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock-" Nat tells Steve. "Not till everyone's safe" he interrupts her. "Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there" she argues. "I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it" Steve states sternly. "I didn't say we should leave" Nat states and Steve looks at her surprised and his mind goes straight to Rachel. "There's worse ways to go" Nat nods in acceptance.

"Besides, where else are we gonna get a view like this" Rachel interjects and gestures to the beautiful view in front of them. Steve looks at her quickly as he hears her voice and she gives him a smile. She walks towards him and takes his hand. "Glad you like the view, Forbes. It's about to get better" Fury suddenly says through their comms system. The three look in shock at the helicarriers that appear besides the flying city. "Fury, you son of a bitch" Steve says with a grin. "Ohh. You kiss you mother with that mouth?" Fury asks, joining their 'language' joke. "This is Shield?" Pietro asks as the lifeboats are deployed from the carrier. "This is what Shield's supposed to be" Steve answers with a smile. "This is not so bad" Pietro comments and Rachel smiles at him. "Let's load them up" Steve orders and they all run in to get the civilians.

The civilians rush out of the buildings and onto the lifeboats, eager to get somewhere safe. When a group of civilians are running to the lifeboat, a group of bots fly straight towards them. Rachel quickly throws balls of energy at the bots and she feels her energy start to drain but doesn't stop. She finishes and leans forward to catch her breath. "Avengers, it's time to work for a living" Tony states and everyone makes their way to the church. "What's the drill?" Nat asks as she arrives. "This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose" Tony explains.