I'm back! With a short introductory chapter. Huge shout out to everyone who reviewed and messaged me who wanted me to come back.

I made Eva specifically for this fic because I didn't think Eve would be a good fit, but I kept the name similar because, again, I really love Eve. This will be a Ulysses Klaue fic, obviously, because I still catch feelings for characters that I shouldn't catch feelings for, even after all these years. If you have any suggestions for the plot then leave them in my inbox or in a review. Sorry if you're not into Klaue, I don't blame you honestly. But I am and there isn't much for him in the way of fanfic so I thought I would contribute.

That's it for this section I suppose. Thank you, everyone, for your support and I hope you enjoy! 3 3 3

"You know full well I can't do anything for you if I don't get paid first." Evangeline Kinsey stated impatiently, sick of having the same conversation with her client, one of the several underground bosses that hired her from time to time.

"I know, luv, I know. But you charge so much and-"

"Yes, I do, why do you think that is?" She interrupted, folding her arms across her chest. The man before her floundered for a moment before she answered her own question. "Because I need to buy the materials and any specific tools or parts that I'll need to make what you're asking me. Plus a little extra so that I can afford my shitty apartment until the next job I get."

"Of course, of course, but I don't have all of it now and my best interrogator lost his leg, he needs to be able to stand." Eva sighed impatiently as the man pleaded with her. "I don't trust anyone else to make a functional one for him. I can pay you for materials now, and by the time it's finished I'll have the rest."

"Knuckles," She addressed him with his preferred "nickname" while trying not to crack a smile at the ridiculous moniker, "I like you, you know I do, and I appreciate that you're so loyal to my work, that's why I keep taking your business even though you keep trying to make this same argument. But I really can't take IOU's. For you, I'll reduce my price and give you a little more time to get it all together. If I happen across any materials I can use then I'll get started, but I need to be paid."

He didn't look too happy about her proposition, but Knuckles knew Eva well enough from their past dealings to know that she wouldn't budge if she didn't want to. So he nodded wordlessly. The two debated a little more over the reduced price until they reached an agreement. They shook hands and kissed cheeks, and Eva left Knuckles's warehouse.

Knuckles was a low-level arms dealer who had come to her by recommendation. They had an excellent working relationship because Eva specialized in making bionic prosthetics, and Knuckles had loose requirements when it came to the muscle her hired; as a result, he ended up needing her products more often than any of her other regulars.

Once she got home to her meager apartment, she flipped the old television on to the news channel. She found half of her clients by catching the local news about new gangs and organizations, and if poor old Knuckles and his were running dry then she would have to find at least two more gangs to buy from her to make up for it.

"-spotted Iron-Man and the Hulk battling it out on the coast of South Africa, nearly decimating the small town." The anchorwoman on the TV said as she flickered to life on screen. Shoddy phone camera footage was played on the screen while the woman continued to speak about the civilians who had lost their homes in the fight.

Eva's eyes caught something in the background of the video. She paused and moved closer to the screen.

A small gray blur, vaguely human-shaped. It was flying in the background and appeared to be moving upward Her first thought was that it was one of Stark's suits. She hit play and watched the shape closely and realized that based on the faint flight trail left behind, the shape was flying away from the scene.

As she thought about it, she realized that there was no sense in the thought that the suit was an Iron Man mech. If Stark was calling in armor to help him, why would he call just one? Come to think of it, what were the Avengers doing in South Africa?

"Must be something to do with why they were there." She said quietly to herself. The screen changed as the news reports steadily declined in severity, leaving Eva to wonder after what she had seen.

"The mundane news pulled her thoughts away from the Avengers, and instead, she focused on finding something to eat while she listened to the rest of the reports.

Eventually, after sleepily determining that she might have to go into a new line of work or at least move to a more crime-ridden city (neither of which would ever happen), she switched off the television and readied herself for bed. Something in the back of her mind told her that there was something important about what she had seen. Consciously, she didn't particularly care about what the Avengers did, but there was something about that footage that continued to niggle at the corners of her thoughts.

She fell asleep and dreamed about a dancing troupe of robots and Knuckles chasing after her with someone's severed arm.