Run to You|Pietro Maximoff

Chapter 06*

Her heart pounded, the beats echoing through her ears as Clint led the Enhanced through the lavish halls of the Avengers Tower. Ira felt dread clasping its claws over her heart at the prospect of returning to Sokovia. Even worse, returning to Sokovia to fight Ultron.

She knew she wasn't ready to see him again, let alone destroy him. And worse, she didn't think she could. She felt weak and useless, knowing how powerful Ultron and the army that he had created were. Would they even stand a chance?

But she pushed these dark thoughts aside for the moment, choosing to focus on putting one foot in front of the other as they were taken to a room branching off the lounge. Clint opened the door, ushering them inside without so much as a word.

"Gear's in there," he told them gruffly, hooking a thumb towards the cabinets set against the back wall of the room.

"Thank you," Ira called as he started to walk away. He turned back and nodded. The corners of his mouth tugged up for a split second, so quick she wasn't sure that she hadn't imagined it. And then he was gone.

Ira turned back to the room. It was small and well-lit, with most of the space occupied by the white cabinets that rested across the back wall. She walked over to the cabinets, which the others were already rifling through to find the gear they needed.

A heavy silence hung over the room, and no one made any move to break it. Ira searched for something to say while she looked through the clothes, finally deciding on a shawl similar to the one she had abandoned at Strucker's base. She slipped it over her shoulders, the deafening quiet gnawing at her until she finally snapped.

"I'm not ready," she admitted, and the others turned with her declaration. "I can't go back there, I can't see him. I'm not ready to fight alongside the Avengers," she admitted, feeling like a frightened child hiding behind the folds of its mother's skirts.

"But we have to," Wanda told her gently, placing an arm on her friend's shoulder and turning her to look at her. "Even if we don't want to, we have to make up for what we've done."

"We owe it to them, and to the people of Sokovia," Pietro supplied, before tossing a red leather jacket to Wanda, who caught it and slipped it on.

"And it's okay to be scared," Wanda continued, warmth in her soft green eyes. "I'm scared, too."

"So am I," Pietro agreed, then looked at Emilia.

"I'm terrified," she admitted, but turned away quickly. "But we still have to defeat Ultron. He'll kill us all if we don't," she told them, still not facing them. Ira watched curiously as Emilia dragged a hand across her face, rapidly wiping something from her eye, before slipping something into her pocket. She turned back to face them, eyes glistening slightly, and Ira's heart wrenched.

"So are you ready?" Wanda asked, and Ira managed a small smile, nodding.

They gathered what gear they had found and left the room, following Clint towards the hangar. When they reached the massive space, Ira spied a large grey Quinjet sitting on the tarmac. The other Avengers were loading up, and her stomach roiled with nerves and anticipation.

They entered the jet, and Ira looked around, her jaw slack with amazement. The body of the plane was lined with seats against the walls, and the cockpit was filled with a dashboard and an array of buttons and switches. But that wasn't at what she stared in wonder.

Sitting in the seats, talking and prepping, were the Avengers. The real Avengers. The ones that the world couldn't see. The people who were willing to fight and die for what was right, and to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. And she was a part of them.