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.

She and the others sat in the corner seats, distancing themselves from the team that they still didn't feel like they belonged to. Ira prepped herself silently, slipping a comm device into her ear that Steve had given her.

Pietro sat next to her, doing the same. From time to time, he would glance over at her, his azure eyes softening every time he saw how determined she was to help. When she finally caught his gaze, she furrowed her brow, mouthing 'what?' To which he simply smiled.

"We're taking off," Clint announced from his spot in the pilot's seat. Ira strapped herself in, her fingers worrying at the fraying edge of the seatbelt. She turned to Pietro, questions falling from her lips.

"If you had to do all of this over, would you do it the same way?" She blurted, unsure from where the question had stemmed.

He thought for a moment, his face scrunched in fake concentration, causing a soft laugh to bubble from her lips. "No," he said finally. "I wouldn't change a thing."

A smile graced her lips, mirrored by a grin on Pietro's. "Not even the murdering robot?" She teased.

"Okay, well I'd definitely change that," he amended, running a hand through his silver hair, and the two laughed before falling into a content silence.

Ira drummed her fingers against the side of the seat, watching the others preparing for their mission. She noticed their cool expressions, their calm demeanor. She couldn't fathom how they could remain so collected when oceans of fear and dread swirled within her stomach.

Steve stood from his spot at the front of the jet, and Ira intently watched him. His expression was grim, and his eyes were stormy. And as he addressed the team, she could see tension in the way he carried himself. In her mind, she imagined that he had changed. He was no longer Steve Rogers. He was now Captain America, ready to lead his team to victory or death.

"Ultron knows we're coming," he began, gazing over them. "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." Ira stiffened at the mention of her home, but Steve continued. "So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and 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, and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him, it's about whether he's right."

Determination grew in her heart, filling her chest until she raised her head proudly, ready to do anything she could to help the Sokovians. Sokovia was her home, and its people were the closest thing Ira had to a family. But as she looked around at the calm yet inviting faces of the other Avengers, she realized that that might not be true. But she was given no more time to mull over these thoughts. "We're landing," Clint called from the cockpit.

The Quinjet began to descend, and Ira's stomach clenched and flipped. As they lowered, Steve came over to the corner where the Enhanced sat. "Your job is to get the citizens to safety," Steve instructed them, and they nodded eagerly at him.. "Pietro, tell the officials to clear the city. Wanda, Ira, and Emilia, help the citizens to leave safely and protect them." They nodded, eyes shining with anticipation and fear.

"This is it," Steve announced as the Quinjet touched down on the ground. "Let's move."

The doors of the Quinjet opened, and Ira caught a glimpse of her home. It was as if she was seeing it in a whole new light. The cobbled streets and assortment of rickety buildings were the same, but now she saw it from the view of an Avenger. And she saw an entire city that she had to protect.

They left the jet, Ira warily sticking close to the other Enhanced as the team split up. She walked along the empty streets, gazing at the houses, and thinking about the people inside of them. They probably didn't expect today to be any different than any other day. But some of them could die today. Ira inhaled sharply, forcing the thought from her mind. No, she swore. I won't let that happen.

They soon reached the city square, and Pietro ran off to the police station, leaving Ira, Wanda, and Emilia behind. Wanda took a deep breath, and let energy fall from her hands. The crimson mist swelled through the city, entering every home and building, and every mind of every person in the city.

Through the links, Wanda convinced the people to leave their houses. They flocked out of their houses in droves, great crowds of people swarming through the square to get away. Ira and Emilia helped the citizens, Ira casting shields around them and Emilia helping everyone move along.

In a few minutes, the streets were clearing, and the people were being evacuated successfully. But still Ira waited warily. "Do you think they did it?" She asked after a brief moment of silence.

Suddenly, robots appeared from every crack and crevice of the city. They flew down from the sky and emerged from every street. Climbing over buildings they came, crawling towards the Enhanced with malice in their bright blue eyes. "I'd say not," Emilia replied, stunned at the sight before her.

"Get off the bridge!" Wanda yelled, pushing people to safety and throwing up a shield along with Ira. Blue and red mingled, creating a protective barrier over the citizens. Emilia helped them along, struggling to herd the frightened and screaming civilians out of harm's way.

As they stood, Wanda was struck with a blast from a robot, and fell, the shield disappearing. Ira soon dropped, too, and the people were once again unprotected. But not for long.

Ira rose to her feet, cobalt energy gathering in the palms of her hands. She hurled a sphere of energy towards a robot, crushing its metal shell until it crumpled. She threw another blast at an approaching robot, and another, and another, taking down a dozen of the bots as they got near the civilians.

Wanda joined her, sending bolts of crimson at the robots, whose numbers soon dwindled. Red and blue flew through the air, taking down the bots until there were only a dozen left.

But these were clever, six robots surrounding each girl, effectively separating them from the safety of the group. Ira surrounded one in energy, controlling its movements with sweeps of her arm through the air. The robot followed, plowing into another two and sending them all crashing to the earth. With a few bolts of energy, another four were destroyed.

Ira turned, seeing that Wanda had incapacitated the robots that had surrounded her. A small smile lit her face, confidence rushing through her with their small victory. But it wasn't over.

One of the robots had risen from the ground, heavily damaged but not destroyed. It raised its hand at Ira, who was turned, unaware at the danger behind her. But Emilia was. The girl let out a yell, alerting Ira to the robot. But as she turned, energy fizzling out of her fingertips, Emilia knew that Ira would not be fast enough to save herself.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She reached into her jacket pocked, and pulled out a gun. She had found it with the gear and had slipped it away when the others weren't looking. But now she gripped the cold weapon tightly, pointing it at the metal beast, her finger brushing against the trigger.

Bam. A bullet hurtled through the air and struck the bot through the head, sending it falling to the ground. Ira turned, surprise overtaking her features to see Emilia with the gun still outstretched. Hastily she shoved it back in her pocket.

"Thank you," Ira breathed, giving Emilia a small smile.

Emilia nodded, and she smiled, too. "Why didn't you use your powers?" Wanda asked, panting heavily.

"The robots aren't organic beings," Emilia explained with a shrug.

"Well I'm just glad you're good with a gun," Ira laughed.

A blur of blue caught her eye, and she saw Pietro speeding up to them. "We're clear here," she told him, and he nodded. Wanda and Emilia hung back to help the civilians, but they told Ira to go destroy more robots. So that's what she did.

Pietro scooped her up in his arms and sped her towards a street corner crawling with robots. They got to work; Ira using her powers to destroy them and Pietro running through them, tearing them apart.

"Do you see? The beauty of it, the inevitability." Ira jerked back, alarmed as a Ultron's voice suddenly filled the air. She craned her head, seeing that his voice was being projected through the robots. "You rise, only to fall. You Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword, and the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure." Ira could only watch with mute fascination as Ultron declared his power from above. "Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

And suddenly, the earth began to crack and shudder beneath Ira's feet. She watched, horrified, as the cobblestones split in half. The ground continued to quake, and soon she knew why. A massive portion of Sokovia had lifted from the ground, and was now rising towards the sky above.

Ira leapt back, peering over the edge to see the ground below. She turned to Pietro, seeing the same horror and confusion on his face that echoed through her mind. "Let's go," he told her, and she nodded.

They sped away from the edge, stopping for Pietro to catch his breath at a street corner. "Cap, you got incoming," Stark's voice echoed through the comms.

"Incoming already came in," came the pained reply from Steve. "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 announced.

Ira looked at Pietro, determination taking over her features. An unspoken communication passed between them. He picked her up again, zooming through the city. They soon met up with Wanda and Emilia, who were finishing off the last of the robots on a street along with Clint Barton.

Emilia slid the gun, which she now held proudly, back in her pocket, and turned her gaze to Ira and Pietro. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"To end this," Ira replied, and Emilia smirked.

"Let's go then."

The Enhanced took off; Ira and Emilia running on their own behind Pietro, who had Wanda cradled in his arms. "Keep up old man!" He called to Clint, eliciting a small smile from Ira.

Their made their way through the streets, finishing off any stray robots that happened to wander their way. They soon reached the middle of the city, where a groups of police officers were firing, rather unsuccessfully, at a group of robots in the streets.

Pietro set Wanda down among them, and as the others caught up, they immediately got to work. Ira and Wanda worked in tandem; sending blasts of energy at groups of robots who never stood a chance against the combined power. Emilia fired shot after shot, striking the robots where their heads attaches to their torsos, which she found to be the weakest spot. The robots shot here soon crumpled, their metallic heads severed from their bodies. And Pietro sped through them, tearing them apart and sending shards of metal flying through the air.

After she had taken out the bots in her area, Ira noticed Pietro gesture angrily at an officer who had accidentally grazed him in the shoulder with a stray bullet. Without a word she walked over, placing a hand on his arm and sending energy from her to him. The wound quickly healed, and he sent her a brief smile of gratitude.

A noise sounded in her ears. Ira pressed her finger to the communication device nestled in her ear, surprised to hear an unfamiliar voice echoing through it. "Glad you like the view, Romanoff," the voice was saying. "It's about to get better."

She startled as she saw movement in the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and her jaw dropped. Rising out of the clouds near the edge of the city was a massive airship, of sorts. It was ginormous; hundreds of yards of rooms and people dominated by a giant tarmac on which plans were perched. She ran to the edge of the city to get a better look. She could see that it belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D, but she still wasn't sure why it was there. But soon the purpose became clear.

Dozens of smaller ships detached from the carrier, supposedly to help ferry people to the safety of the ship. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D?" Pietro asked Steve and Natasha from beside Ira.

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D is supposed to be," Steve replied proudly.

"This is not so bad," Pietro smiled, looking at Ira, and she smiled back.

The slight calm was interrupted when citizens, seeing the safety of the lifeboats ahead, streamed from the shops and buildings where they had been hiding. Ira began helping them to the boats, urgently hurrying them along to safety.

As she looked around at the citizens reaching safety, and the carrier in the air, a small smile crossed Ira's lips. The sight brought something she hadn't had before: hope. A belief that they might actually pull through.

But it wouldn't last.