Instinct set in. Ira threw up a shield, protecting herself and her teammates from the powerful guns. Wanda did the same, and red and blue energy mingled to form a protective barrier from the blasts. The guns deflected off the shield, and some didn't even hit it. They struck the ground next to it, creating craters in the already pock-marked land.

But Ira could feel herself struggling to keep the shield up, and looking over at Wanda, she could see the brunette struggling as well. She gritted her teeth, and tried to keep the shield up. But she soon realized that it was no use. "Get ready," she warned her teammates as the protective barrier flickered. Meanwhile, the guns continued, firing missiles into the ground. "Now!" She yelled. She and Wanda dropped the shield, and everyone dove out of the way. They ducked behind a mound of dirt and rubble created by the missiles, panting heavily after their close-call.

"Why did he stop shooting at us?" Wanda questioned.

"Lenerick's a showman," Tony explained. "He'll want us out in the open so he can publicly beat us."

"So why don't we just destroy the ship with him in it?" Pietro asked. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

Ira shook her head. "It can't be that simple, can it?"

"Let's find out," Natasha said. She stood up, and peered over the top of the mound. She raised one of her guns, and shot three times, hitting the ship square in the center. But the bullets didn't penetrate the sides. In fact, they struck an invisible force and fell harmlessly to the ground. Natasha ducked back behind the pile, her red hair flying as she knelt back down. "There's some kind of shield," she told them. "We can't get through."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, scan the ship," Tony instructed.

"Yes, boss," the A.I replied, her voice echoing through the comms. There was a brief moment of silence as she scanned the ship. And then, "Lenerick is in the cockpit with another pilot," she told them. "There are forty soldiers in the cargo hold, and a core of some sort. I'm picking up an energy signature."

"The core," Steve guessed. He looked around at the others. "How are we going to get to it?"

"We lure the soldiers out," Ira suggested.

"But how are we going to do that?" Sam asked.

"We force him to," Clint suggested. Ira looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

"How?"

"We make him think that it's the only way," Clint explained. "We go out in the open. When he starts firing at us, we dodge the missiles and we keep dodging them. It'll make him think that he has to deploy the soldiers, because the guns aren't working."
They all looked at each other, agreement passing over their faces. "Those guns have a blast radius of at least twenty feet," Tony warned. "It won't be easy."

"Yeah, well what else is new?" Sam asked, smirking.

"Alright, here's the plan. The people who can fly will help the people who can't. Pietro," he said, looking at the silver-haired speedster. "Help people on the ground to avoid the blasts. Ira and Wanda, use your powers." He looked at all of them. "If we work together, we can do this."

"Well then," Tony asked. "What are we waiting for?"

They all stood up, and moved out from behind the mound of rubble that was protecting them, heading out into the open. Almost immediately, the guns swiveled towards them, but they didn't fire. "Have you finally come out of hiding?" Lenerick's sneering voice called from the ship.

"Ready?" Tony murmured into the comms as they all spread out. None of them made a move to answer Lenerick's taunt, which further provoked him. The guns turned towards the separate groups that the Avengers had split into, and began to fire.
Ira saw a missile coming towards her, and used her powers to propel herself over the missile and into safety. She noticed another Clint in the path of a missile, and shot a beam of energy at him, which pushed him out of the reach of the missile's blast. He landed in a crouch, and sent a grateful look her way before leaping out of the way of another missile.

Ira heard a noise, and glanced up, noticing another missile coming towards her. She was about to leap out of the way, when she felt herself being picked up and sped away. Pietro set her down a safe distance away, and pecked her lips before running back to help Wanda. Ira glanced over at her team.

Natasha was leaping and dodging the blasts, landing in graceful crouches safely away from the missiles. Steve was using his shield to deflect the missiles away from some of the other Avengers, and covering the shells with it so the explosions were diminished. Wanda used her powers to launch herself away from the missiles and deflect them away from everyone else. Tony and Rhodey flew to the air, dodging the missiles and shooting at the ship, trying to penetrate the shield. Sam swooped through the air, evading the missiles and retracting his wings at just the perfect moment so they wouldn't get destroyed. Vision flew through the air, perfectly fine with the missiles. He would simply phase through them, then destroy them. Clint rolled and leaped to the side, avoiding the missiles and the blasts they created. The team worked together to avoid the missiles, and to help the others avoid them as well. Soon, they had managed to avoid all of the missiles.

Lenerick cursed as he realized that he was out of shells. Soon, a ramp lowered on the ship, and the soldiers poured out. They swarmed over the pock-marked ground like ants, running towards each person. After dealing with the missiles, it was almost easy to deal with the soldiers.

Ira, using her powers, threw them into each other. She hurled them into the ground, knocking them down successfully. Soon, there were only a few soldiers left. "No, no, no!" She could hear Lenerick yell. Frantic shouting echoed from above in the ship, and Ira allowed herself a small smile as she thought that everything would be alright.

But it so quickly went so terribly wrong.

She could hear yelling as Lenerick argued with the man sitting next to him. Then a great echoing thud. One final missile that must've gotten stuck was finally free from the barrel of the gun. It hurtled toward the ground. Ira barely had time to register what was happening, much less make a shield to protect herself. The missile struck the ground, and exploded.

She could feel herself being blown backward and she struck the ground. She lay on the floor, disoriented and in pain. She blinked blearily for a few seconds, allowing the world to come into focus. And oh, what a world she saw. The missile had struck directly underneath the ship, meaning that most of the team were in the blast radius. She lifted her head, and looked around, but she couldn't see anyone. She slowly sat up. Pain exploded through her chest, and she gasped, bringing a shaking hand to her chest. Something definitely broken or fractured.

She kneeled on the ground, and looked around her. The missile had created huge crater in the ground, and she was kneeling directly on the edge. She looked down into it. Some of Lenerick's soldiers lay at the bottom of it, moving slightly. Glancing around the edge of the crater, she could see her teammates lying unmoving on the ground. Pietro lay a few feet from her, lying still on the ground. Vision was nowhere to be seen, and Sam and Tony lay near each other, with Rhodey a few feet from them. Across from him was Wanda, and Natasha, and Steve, and everyone she knew and cared about, lying vanquished on the cold earth.

And it broke her.

Natasha had told her that to make sure her dream didn't come true, she had to work even harder to protect them. And she tried. She had tried and tried, but she couldn't. She couldn't protect the people she loved most in the world, not even with a warning beforehand. So she did the one thing that she could still do.
She screamed.

She screamed of regret and sorrow, her hoarse voice the only thing heard in the still, quiet air. She screamed her anger, her sadness, her fear. She screamed and screamed until her voice was raw. And as she screamed, pure, raw energy burst from her. In Sokovia, she had heard it happen to Wanda. But now, she was the one who felt so broken that everything poured out of her. Midnight blue energy seeped from her hands, filling the air. It destroyed rubble and knocked down the soldiers that had survived the effects of the blast. It entered through the ship's hatch, and spread throughout the cargo hold, destroying the shield core in the process. The ship soon fell, hitting the ground and breaking into pieces. And even these were soon pulverized by the energy that exploded out of Ira. And once the screams faded and the energy stopped, she fell to the ground, exhausted. Everything had been drained out of her, and soon the world went black.
...............................................................................................................................................
A/N:

We did it! The final battle is officially over, the climax has passed, and the story is winding down. I again want to thank you all for reading, and if any of you want to message me, feel free.

I love you three thousand,

E l i z a b e t h