Chapter Text
Meredith follows Natasha into center of the flying city and needs to keep her tempo slow. She is normally faster than a normal human, not like Pietro, but faster than a usual people. Natasha looks always over to Meredith to make sure she is close by her and doesn't get lost.
"What ever you did in the cell, do it also with the androids when they are to close!", Natasha orders Meredith to fight with them and to defend herself against the robots, "But stay close with me!"
Meredith nods, understanding that she needs to stay close to Natasha. The woman feels responsible for the young teenager. So Meredith decides to do what the widow is telling her. She stays close and fights, stops her childish act.
"Yes, ma'am", Meredith answers respectfully and runs beside the widow. Natasha notices already that the girl isn't a normal human being. She isn't even out of breath from the running all the way. Normal people in her age would be already exhausted to keep up with her. And more, normal kids don't own abilities.
Both arrive in the city soon. Meredith looks around for some orientation before she creates a long blade made of light. She holds it tight and get in a position for a fight that made even Natasha proud. The girl has obviously experience in fights and no problem to keep up with adults.
"That's a useful power", Natasha says as she watches the creation of a glowing blade, made of pure light, while Meredith cuts an android in two pieces with it. Meredith breathes deep and nods again, looks concentrated for the coming androids. She tries to find the twins in her sight while staying close to Natasha.
Meredith jumps up at an android that tries to kill Natasha from behind, cuts the head of the android.
"Meredith, that's Steve", Natasha introduces a blond, tall man to the girl as the new introduced man begins to lead both to a building. Meredith looks around, her eyes are meeting Steve's eyes.
"Hi", Meredith says shyly to Steve with a small wave. Steve nods calm to her and leads them with civilians out from the place.
"The next wave of enemies is gonna hit any minute", Steve says and looks at them while talking to Tony Stark over radio, "What do you got, Stark? Could need an update" Meredith walks beside Natasha, a small light in her hands to lead the civilian with them through the smoke. It's easier to follow a light as a person.
Meredith looks around.
"How do we gonna save all these people?", Meredith asks both Avengers unsure how to make that possible in the current situation. Natasha looks around. It's obvious that no one knows a good plan for it. It seems hopeless in this moment.
"Cap, these people couldn't go anywhere now", Natasha says to Steve, "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..."
"Not till everyone is safe", Steve disagrees with her. Meredith understands now that the Avengers are like the Guardians of the Galaxy. They just have more than one or two brain cells for the complete group in a situation like this, when she compares the groups with each other.
"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there", Natasha say back to Steve.
"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it", Steve answers serious and doesn't accepts a other opinion as answer.
"I didn't say we should leave", Natasha responds and looks at the sight, "There's worse ways to go." Meredith nods agreeing, just thinking back to the ways how her father and she almost died multiple times, especially after meeting the other guardians, like Rocket or Gamora.
"I can only agree. The sight is beautiful", Meredith says calmer and smiles weak. She looks to the sky.
"Where else am I gonna get a view like this?", Natasha asks them calm.
"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better", a voice from Natasha and Steve's earpieces comes into Meredith's ear. She looks up. A gigantic ship, the heliacarrier, comes up to their sight. Meredith looks at ship. It's nothing special for her but she feels a massive relief right now. She will not die here and today.
"Fury, you son of a bitch", Steve says with a smirk. Meredith looks up and chuckles about his chosen curse. Her father would curse her to use these kind of words, even when he said it himself multiple times while scolding her for saying exactly the same word before.
"Meredith!", Pietro calls her out as he arrives by them. He pulls her close in his arms, making sure she isn't injured. She returns the hug, while he looks to the ship and the small boats. Meredith closes her eyes for a moment, leaning on Pietro.
"That's Shield?", Pietro asks the two Avengers behind himself. His eyes are on the Heliacarrie in the sky. It's impressive how real attempts to save people can look.
"This is what shield is supposed to be", Steve answers Pietro's question. Meredith is still clinging on Pietro.
"This is not so bad", Pietro says and pats Meredith's back in the meanwhile, before he brings her on small distance. He wants to continue to check her out for injuries on the first sight.
"I'm okay... Natasha took me under her wings after we came out of Ultron's cell together", Meredith says to him and smiles at him. Pietro nods and pats her head calmer, ruffles through her hair.
"Let's load them", Steve says and runs back to the civilians. Meredith stays with Pietro. She can hear Steve's voice from behind.
"I got about 50 to hundred more coming in after this group", Steve shouts to some shield agents by the boats. It's so many people.
"Let's go!", Meredith calls and shows some civilians the way to the boats. She looks as more androids are coming, again she creates a light blade and follows Pietro, cuts some androids. Wanda comes to them.
"Wanda!", Meredith calls her out and runs over, hugs her in relief. Wanda is surprised about the light blade in Meredith's hand.
"You have powers. Since when do you have powers?", she says, but holds Meredith close to her. Meredith nods weak and breathes deep.
"Born with it, just didn't want Ultron to know about them", she mutters the answer and steps back. She looks around and sees Ultron arriving.
"Guys....", she says insecure and still scared of Ultron, even when she is surrounded by so many powerful people. Wanda and Pietro pull Meredith behind them to keep her safe from them. Even that she seems to be able to keep herself alive, she is a thirteen year old girl.
"Is that the best you can do?", the blonde god with his hammer, Thor, yells his question against the android. Meredith looks to him like he is crazy for even asking that. What do he expect as answer? A no? That's crazy to believe.
Ultron moves his arm in the air and an amount of androids are arriving.
"You had to ask", Steve scolds to the god.
"Oh fuck...", Meredith mutters.
"Language", Pietro reminds her on her young age. She rolls her eyes, getting more confident now that she is surrounded by a group of strong people, something familiar.
"This is the best I can do", Ultron says to the Avengers and presents all his androids, "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"
Meredith creates again a blade made of light, ready to destroy the androids with the Avengers.
"Well, like the old man said... together", Stark says and a moment later Hulk groans agreeing. The androids are coming running to them into the citadel.
They all are concentrated to eliminate much as possible. Meredith pants and swings her blade focused, but her powers need much control of her own concentration and a high amount of energy. She stays close to Pietro all the time, knowing well that Wanda is stronger than her and everyone else with her powers in this area.
As the amount of androids shrinks they cool down. Meredith breath hard and is tired from the fight. She needs a break, so it's welcome as Steve calls them together.
"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin", Steve says to the others, "You guys get to the boats. I will sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."
"What is about the core?", the archer asks Steve. Wanda looks serious.
"I will protect it", Wanda answers. Meredith is against it, wants to disagree, but she sees it in Wanda's eyes, a no is not an acceptable answer for her. Wanda already made her mind up to it.
"It's my job", Wanda says, her look shortly on the archer. The others nod weak.
"Natasha", the archer calls her, "This way." Pietro looks at his twin.
"Bring the people and Mere to the boats", Wanda says seriously to her twin.
"I'm not gonna leave you here", Pietro says. Meredith looks at them.
"I don't go without you", Meredith answers and will not leave them.
"I can handle it", Wanda says calm while destroying an android without even looking in the direction.
"I think she can handle it", Meredith agrees fast and looks to Pietro. He shrugs his shoulders while nodding.
"Come back for me when everyone else is off", Wanda says to her brother, "Not before."
Pietro grunts in annoyance.
"You understand?", Wanda asks him serious. Pietro smirks and looks at his twin.
"You know, I'm 12 minutes older than you", he says. Wanda chuckles.
"Go", she says to them. Meredith follows him and looks around for civilians.
"You okay?", Pietro asks the girl calm. She nods.
"Yes", she mutters and looks up to him. He nods and lays a hand on her shoulder while they go looking for strugglers.
Pietro sees how the archer with a child in his arms is in the line to get killed by Ultron. Without hesitation, he starts running and pushes a car in front of the archer. Meredith runs after him.
"Pietro!", she screams and runs after him. The shooting sounds are loud and fast.
Just a moment later it's all silent again. Pietro stands there, multiple wounds from bullets in his body.
„You didn't see that coming", he says to the archer, before falling down to the ground.
Meredith screams heartbroken at the moment his body hits the ground, and a bright light comes out of her body, a warm white wave of light. Pietro's wounds begin to heal, also all of Clint's small injuries heal, while the androids around them get destroyed from the same energy of the light that healed Clint and Pietro.
The speedster opens his eyes, breathes heavily in shock. He was sure he was dead a moment ago, so also Clint was sure about it. The archer looks from Pietro to the girl. Meredith looks relieved at Pietro before she passes out on the spot. Pietro can catch her in time before her body can hit the ground, picks her up.
"It's okay. You saved me, Mere", Pietro whispers to her, even when he is unsure if she even hears him. Physical he feels like nothing happened, almost better as before.
"What was that, Clint?", Steve asks them as he sees them. Also his injuries were healed after Meredith's power explosion. How wide was the radius that was under the influence of her?
"I think it was the kid", Clint answers and picks up the Sokovian child again, he was holding before.
They carry them to last boat. Pietro holds Meredith strong in his arms. He is completely aware that she has saved his life. Without her he would be already dead with the look of a Swiss cheese.
Steve keeps his eye on them. He is irritated by the girl. A child with such strong powers. There must be more behind it. But no one says anything about her, concentrating of the end of the evacuation.
Pietro holds Meredith as he sits down, makes sure no one comes too close to her. His view stays on his home, the place that will no longer exist in few minutes. This thought makes him even more protective for what he can't risk to loose now.
A second later the city begins to fall. Everyone can only watch what is happening as their home explodes while the fall down.
The grip from Pietro gets stronger at Meredith.
He looks as the boat arrives the heliacarrier. Pietro watches how his sister got saved by Vision in relief. He stands up and carries Meredith silent as they are allowed to leave the boat inside the heliacarrier. Wanda comes fast over to them, checking on her brother and Meredith.
"What happened there?", Wanda asks him and looks worried to her brother.
"She saved my life. Mere is exhausted", Pietro answers and looks soft to his sister and then to the girl in his arms.
Natasha comes over to them. She watches Meredith in Pietro's arms. She doesn't seem to be injured, but they need to check out that there is nothing inside.
"Come. Let the doctors check her out", Natasha says to them and leads them in the medical area.
It's overfilled with all the injured people which need medical care. Some agents observe the situation. Pietro carries Meredith, following Natasha to an empty bed. He lays Meredith in the bed and makes sure she is alright, watching that no one comes to close to her.
Meredith wakes up just a minute later and sits up straight immediately.
"Dad!", she calls for him, before she even notices that she is still separated from him on Earth. She looks to her hands and breathes deep. Single tears roll down her cheeks, she misses him and wants to go back to him.
Pietro and Wanda know this well. This happens everyday as soon she realizes she is still sticking up here.
"It's okay, Mere", Wanda says calm and strokes through Meredith's hair, "We will find a way to bring you to him." Meredith nods, even knowing that their technology is this far when she compares it with other civilizations in space. They are sticking few years behind any other civilization that can travel into outer space.
„I— I know", she mutters and lay back.
"Are you okay?", Pietro asks her worried.
„Yes. I just used to much of my powers at once...", Meredith mutters.
"Meredith. I need to ask you, are you an Hydra experiment?", Natasha asks, standing on the end of the bed. She looks irritated about the question, doesn't even know who or what Hydra is. She never heard this word before.
"What is Hydra?", the girl asks. Natasha looks at her.
"Also no", she responds and looks at her.
"No. I am not like Wanda or Pietro, when this is the question you ask", Meredith answers and looks to the red head.
Pietro looks to Natasha.
"What will happen now?", he asks the widow. Natasha looks at all three.
"You will come with us for the first. We will see how the way will go as soon we know more about you three", Natasha answers, "But for the first time, you three stay by the Avengers."
Meredith nods and falls back asleep in exhaustion.