We Can't Go Back

No Unnecessary Risks

She sat next to Steve on the quinjet. She could have teleported all of them to Sokovia but she had no idea what that would do to her and it was better to have an exit strategy in case something happened to her.

"He'll forgive you, you know?" Steve said.

"You didn't see him, Steve. I was the only thing holding him together and I left him," she said.

"I didn't need to see him to know that that man would forgive you for anything," Steve said.

She knew that Steve was wrong. If she died, Bucky would never forgive her. When she thought Bucky had died, part of her never forgave him no matter how much she loved him. It didn't matter that he didn't want to leave her, he still did it. The same would happen to him if she died.

"I wrote him something," she said as she pulled out an envelope. "In case something happens. If... I know I might not walk away from this and if that happens... I want him to know," she said.

She could tell that Steve wanted to argue that she would survive this but there was no use. There was no promise that anyone would survive this.

She then realized that Steve wasn't the only one who had his eyes on her. "You sure you're ready for this? You're a year out of practice. We don't need a liability," Clint said.

She didn't know Barton well. He came around a few times while Natasha was training her but it was very occasional. Still, she didn't like the challenging tone in his voice.

She teleported behind him and put him in a chokehold. She kept it loose because they needed to fight but he didn't throw her from his back for the same reason. He tapped her arm and she released him.

"I had to check. The last thing we need is to be worried about you out there," he said.

His words weren't to her though, they were for Steve. She would be Steve's liability the same way he would be hers.

"We need to team up in pairs. We will probably get separated but we need someone to watch our six," Clint said.

"I'll get Natasha," Bruce immediately volunteered.

It made sense to keep him out of the bulk of the fighting until Romanoff was around to control the hulk.

"Pietro and I-"

"No," Clint immediately interrupted. "You will be with me. Pietro will go with Lizzie." His tone left no room for discussion though both sets of twins tried.

"You can't make the hard decisions when someone you love is involved. You would let the world burn for them. Trust me, I get it, but we can't let the mission be compromised for love," he said.

They all knew it was true but it didn't make it any easier. "What about me?" Steve asked.

"Go where you're needed and strategize. Just... no matter what happens, keep your head," Clint said.

"Fine, what's the rest of the strategy oh wise one," Tony asked.

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. 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 but that's not going to 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 and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us," Steve said.

He paused for a long moment before he continued but everyone in the cockpit hung on every word.

"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," Steve said.