the battle of sokovia

as the war machine keeps turning,

death and hatred to mankind.

ran out of their homes and drove as fast as the traffic would allow. The streets were in chaos as the group of heroes tried to evacuated the civilians before Ultron put his plan on going. Tendrils of scarlet magic flowed throughout the city and entering people's minds to force them to get out. A girl dressed in black flew above the city, the small accents of gold in her clothing glistened with the weak rays of sun that were still lingering in the sky. She lowered down a bit to scan the buildings surrounding her to see if there was anyone inside. "Hey, WEDNESDAY. You see anyone here?"

"There's a man on the brown building in front, Miss. Sixth floor, left corner."

Bella broke into the old-looking building through the window and set a foot on the small living room. Grunts were coming from the door on the right. The girl moved towards the sound and opened the room's door. A man, probably a teenager, was trapped underneath a bookshelf, he was desperately trying to lift the heavy furniture off his body. "Hold on, hold on!" The girl rushed to the man, who didn't look a day older than twenty-five. "I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" Her armored hands took the wood bookshelf within them and so did the man's in an attempt to help her. "No, no, I'll do this. You just stay still, buddy." The man nodded his head as Arabella pushed with all her strength the bookshelf to the side. The furniture fell next to them with a loud thud, breaking slightly in the process.

The boy's mocha hand took Bella's as he sat down. "Thank you." The girl's lips curved into a small smile but it turned into a frown when her gaze lowered. It was then she saw that one of his shoulders was dislocated.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Charlie. C-Charlie Spencer." The boy introduced himself.

"Well, I'm-"

"I know who you are." Charlie slightly smiled at her.

"Okay. Um, Charlie Spencer, I'm going to have relocate your shoulder." Her finger pointed at the bone that was prodding on his skin in an odd way. Charlie shuddered, was relocating a shoulder painful? He thought that it probably was. "Okay. One. Two." Her metal-clad hands gently positioned themselves on his shoulder. They shared a look before the girl nodded reassuringly and proceeded. "Three."

A strangled scream left Charlie's mouth. He held his now relocated shoulder with his other hand. "You good, Charlie?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you."

"Alright, we're going to get out through the window." She stood up and held a hand out to help him. He stood up and they sprinted to the broken window in the living room. "Come on." The girl motioned the much taller boy to hold on to her, which he relucantly did. "Hold on."Charlie shrieked as Bella jumped off the window, her repulsors activating immediately. The pair smoothly landed on the streets were more civilians were being evacuating.

"Okay, off you go." She gave Charlie a thumbs up. He thanked her once again and began running with the others. Bella was about to take off when legionnares, which now belonged to Ultron, began crawling out from beneath ground. "Go!" The girl began to loudly usher the people away from the robots. "Go! Move!"

Metal hit her side and she fell to the ground. The skin on her forehead tearing to form a small gash. The legionnare hovered over her frame, ready to end her. However, the girl was quicker and shot it right on the head.

"WEDNESDAY, what's going on?" She shot the other two legionnaires who were flying after the civilians.

The A.I. showed her a video of the legionnaires through the contact lenses she had put on before leaving the tower. She figured that if she wasn't going to wear a mask like her dad did, she would create her own lenses; they were comfortable and would go unnoticed by people. What Wednesday showed her was horrifying. The legionnaires were tearing buildings, streets, people apart.

"Stark, watch out!" A voice with a thick Sokovian accent warned her. The girl turn around, thrusters ignited, but the legionnaire was too close. It's metal hand punched her across the face and knocked her off her feet. Once again, a robot was hovering over her. This time however, the Maximoff boy punched the legionnaire and shattered it to pieces. With a sigh, Arabella threw her head backward.

"Thank you, Speedy." She took his large hand on hers and stood up.

"Want a ride?" The boy offered.

"Uh, I think I have one already." She lifted her hands and waved her thrusters. "Thanks, though."

"It'll be fun," Pietro outstretched a hand and raised his brows. "Come on."

Bella scoffed and took his hand once again. "I'm warning you, don't whine If I throw up on you."

The silver-haired boy swooped the smaller girl on his arms and ran towards his sister. He was stopped by a forceful shake on the ground though. He placed the girl back on her feet, giving her a look of confusion.

And then the Earth trembled and shook horrifically. A shocked shriek left her lips as every building's foundation began to crumble down. Pietro and Bella grabbed onto each others arms to try and stay stabilized as the world continued to groan and shake violently. Not long after that, an immense crack began to split the streets apart, circling the city and devouring buildings, bridges and cars. Both of the youngsters hurried backwards as the huge rupture opened beneath their feet. Terror-filled screams were all Arabella could hear. It was overwhelming. Women, men, children, everybody was screaming wildly. Some people even got swallowed by the deep crack.

"Dad! Dad, what's going on?" Not once did her eyes left Pietro's, she was a little too scare to look down. The teenagers coughed and wheezed as the crumbling ground let out thick, grey smoke.

"FRIDAY?" They heard Tony ask through the comms.

The A.I. responded in a slightly wavery voice. "Sokovia is going for a ride."

Her blue eyes widened and her mouth gasped as the city slowly started to detach itself from its foundation. "I don't want a ride."

The Sokovian boy shook his head. "I don't want one either." The grip on their arms grew tighter when they felt as if they were rising, which in fact, they were.

"Do you see the beauty of it? The inevitability." Ultron rose above all who were on the floating city. "You rise only to fall."

The city rose higher and higher, buildings kept on falling and the people's screams for help felt thick on the air. They were screaming for help, their help, and they couldn't save them all. God, it all felt too much.

"You, Avengers, are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure."

Bella let go of Pietro and walked toward the edge of the flying city. Her black boots stepped on the dirt as her legs carried her to the border. They were floating on a piece of land with nothing but pale blue sky surrounding them. "If I didn't throw up then, I think I will now." She whispered to herself.

"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."

Oh, how she hated the sound of his voice. She hated him in general, honestly.

"Alright, this is were we part ways." Bella gave him a salute and took off.

The wind hit her face and swept her hair backward as she flew over to where her father was. She carefully flew on the sides of the floating chunk of land, avoiding the rocks and bits of terrain that were falling from it. Her mind still couldn't grasp the idea that the city was in the middle of the sky. How many times in your life do you see that anyway?

Arabella spotted the all too familiar red metal suit and slowed down. Tony was talking to FRIDAY about the city and what exactly was holding it together, she had heard everything through the comms.

"The vibranium core's got a magnetic field. That's what's keeping the rock together." FRIDAY proceeded to explain.

"What if it drops, FRIDAY?" She asked but that didn't mean she wanted to hear the answer.

"Right now, the impact can kill thousands. Once it gets high enough? Global extinction."

Tony glanced sideways at his daughter. This time, however, it wasn't a look of reassurance. It was quite the opposite actually. He had sad, almost sorry eyes. Maybe this was it, the end of the line.

As a the earth underneath a building that was on the edge began crumbling, the A.I. spoke, "That building's not clear. The tenth floor."

Both Starks didn't even think twice before speeding over the falling building. They busted inside the apartment where a couple was cornering in the kitchen, a small kid between their legs. They three looked immensely scared as their home forcefully shook.

"Hi," Tony smiled through the mask. "Okay, get in the tub!"

"I'll grab the kid!" Bella rushed forward with her arms already outstreched whilethe adults got inside tub. "Come on. I got you, buddy." The little boy held on tightly to the girl, arms and legs wrapped tightly around her neck and torso.

"I got airbone, heading up to the bridge." FRIDAY informed.

"Cap, you've got incoming." Tony warned the Captain as he and his daughter carried the family somewhere safe.

They heard a grunt from the soldier, "Income already came in."

"Be right there." The girl flew to the battlefield once again, thrusters firing at whatever crossed her way.

She landed on the dust-covered streets and began taking down legionnaires by phasing through their metal bodies and ripping them apart. The robots kept on coming and it seemed like they wouldn't stop doing so any time soon. They were extremely outnumbered, even if they could fight all the legionnaires, there was no way the civilians were making it out unharmed.

"Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely." Cap's ever so firm voice was heard through the linked comms. "The rest of us have one job, tear this things apart. If you get hurt, hurt them back. If you get killed . . . walk it off."

Arabella shot a robot charging toward her. "Cool," She destroyed another one. "Walk it off." And then another. "Not bad advice, I guess." She muttered to herself.

The heart of the city was in chaos. Legionnaires were shooting at everything, people were fearfully screaming, and the group of heroes, well, they tried their best to save everyone. They kept fighting, ignoring whatever pain they felt. They couldn't stop. The world counted on them, it was in their hands.

The city continued elevating and the temperature dropped. Thick fog surrounded them as they found themselves floating in the middle of a cloud. It blocked the little sun there was and left the city in a gloomy atmosphere. Goosebumps traveled down Bella's spine as the cold passed through her mom's leather jacket and hit her skin.

"The next wave is going to hit any minute," The team and policemen ushered people off the border to prevent the from falling. "What do you got, Stark?"

"Huh? Nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city." Even through the comms, Bella could see his hopeless face as he sighed. "That'll keep it from impacting the surface, if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

Bella could easily see his frown through the fog and she couldn't blame him for being angry. It was an escape plan, but maybe it was the only way. "I'm not sure there's a solution, Cap."

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second." Tony said, voice heavy with defeatment. "We're gonna have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Nat walked up to them. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock . . . "

"Not till everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" Her red brows dipped as she spoke, face contorting in a soft frown. "There's no math there."

Steve stood as firm as his voice was, "I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

Nat shrugged, "I didn't say we should leave. There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff." The voice of the very man that once was her target sounded through their comms. "It's about to get better."

From beneath, the helicarrier they used back in 2012 came into view, appearing through the clouds and leaving people in awe. It look bigger than the girl expected, which made it ten times cooler.

"Nice, right?" Nick Fury pridefully asked from inside the helicarrier. "Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

Steve grinned and squinted his eyes when the sun hit his face. "Fury, you son of a bitch."

"Oh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Bella chuckled and couldn't help the small rush of hope that spreaded on her body. Perhaps they could save them. And to increase that hope, lifeboats ejected from the helicarrie's sides and flew toward the edge of the floating city.

A rush of wind passed by the girl and suddenly, Pietro was standing next to her with his eyes wide and lips upturned. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be."

The boy glanced back to them, "This is not so bad."

"Let's load 'em up," Cap rushed to where the civilians where hiding, Nat and Bella following behind.

Arabella's armored hands gently pushed people's back forward to keep them moving at a fast pace. Reassuring words repeatedly fell escaped her lips in an attempt to calm people down.

"Yes!" An all too familiar voice broke in her comms.

"Rhodey!" The girl squealed in excitement as her head turned to the side to spot the black and grey suit flying in the sky.

"Bella!" Rhodey squealed with as much excitement as his niece.

Bella laughed, feeling a small stray of somewhat happiness. "Glad you decided to show up. It was about time."

"Well, I had to. This is gonna be one good story."

"Yup," Tony appeared from below the city and curved around, taking down the legionnaires chasing after him. "If you live to tell it."

"You think I can't hold my own?" Rhodey quipped back, going on with their banter as they always did.

Arabella didn't hear the witty comeback of her father because something pulled at her ankle, causing her to trip and fall. However, the impact of the fall never came. A legionnaire grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her up like a rag doll. She phased her foot through the metal and started her repulsors before she collided with the ground. From behind, another legionnaire caught a hold of her calf and lifted her higher. Again, she slipped her leg through the legionnaire just for another to catch her.

"You think you can save everyone?" Ultron's voice taunted her through the legionnaire holding her leg.

"I can try."

She phased again only to be clutched by a legionnaire. It seemed like a never ending cycle until they reached the church at the center of the city, where Ultron was choking Thor and the Vision was unconscious on the floor. The legionnaire violently threw her across the church, her back crashing with the core in the middle. The air left her lungs as her body collapsed on the dirty floor.

"Broken ribs detected, Boss." WEDNESAY informed her.

"Yeah, I think I detected that too."

"Oh! Look who arrived." Ultron received a grunt in response as the girl draped an arm over her aching torso. "You think you're saving anyone?" Ultron pointed a metal finger at the core behind him. "I turn that key and drop this rock a little early and it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that."

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast, I am . . . running out of things to say. Are you ready?"

Ultron glanced back in confusion just to be hit by Mjölnir and shoved outside of the church by Vision. The humanoid stood in front of Thor, wielding the hammer in his hand.

"That was awesome," Bella laughed as she pressed her hands on the ground to boost herself up.

Vision seemed to be inspecting the magical hammer with curious eyes. "It's terribly well balanced."

"Well, if there's too much weight, you lose power on the swing, so . . . "

"Thor, I got a plan!" Bella straightened at the sound of her father's voice.

"We're out of time."

"The legionnaires are coming for the core. Dad, we need to act now."

"Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier."

"On it."

The firing in Tony's side lowered as he flew far from the legionnaires. "Avengers, time to work for a living."

Shortly after, Tony landed right beside his daughter. With his metal-covered hand he gently touched the girl's dirty, bloodied face. He had a soft expression behind the neutral-face mask. "You good, Belles?" She hummed in response, not being able to properly blurt out an answer because of the growing spasm on her chest.

Legionnaires kept on coming, firing and trying to get through Tony, Bella, Thor, and Vision; who were doing their best to stop them from reaching the core. Then Cap, Clint and the twins arrived at the church minutes later. Every robot that attempted to touch the core got wasted by the heroes.

"Romanoff?" Tony called the Russian spy. "You and Banner better not be playing 'hide the zucchini'."

"Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly." A bright yellow truck driven by Natasha made its way near the church, wrecking the legionnaires standing on its way. The truck stopped and the red-haired woman jumped off the driver's seat. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill." Tony motioned to the core. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Hulk was the last one to show up, but when he did, he smashed a good amount of legionnaires with a roar and his bare fists.

Soon after, Ultron descended from the sky and the group of heroes turned around to face him.

Thor stepped forward and outstretched his hands in anger. "Is that the best you can do?!"

The bulky robot hovering over them raised a hand, and in cue a huge amount of legionnaires came in the picture. Bella's eyes opened widely as countless legionnaires crawled on the broken fences and speed their way.

"You had to ask," Steve rolled his eyes at Thor, exhaustation written all over his face.

From afar, the legionnaires looked like ants running to their anthill, or rats running to a piece of cheese. It looked like they were multiplying. As far as her eyes could reach, all she saw was metal glistening with the light.

"This is the best I can do." Ultron extended his arms pridefully. "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"