EXTENDED SUMMARY
Pietro and Wanda Maximoff weren't the only enhancements in the world. There was Heather Stark, niece of the eccentric billionaire Tony Stark. Abducted by the authoritarian terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization called HYDRA at the age of sixteen, Heather was tortured and experimented on. As a result of the horrified events, she possessed the power of electricity manipulation.
After escaping two years later, Heather is now nineteen-years-old and enrolled in college, in hopes of moving on from her dark, secretive past.
But what happens after she visits her uncle in New York and must stand along with the avengers to defeat Ultron and The Maximoff Twins?
Book One
[AGE OF ULTRON]
CHAPTER ONE - Robots and what the hell . . .
Oh, No. Not this again. . .
The ragged leather dug into my open wounds with every wrench the men gave to the straps bound on my wrists. All I could manage was to frantically wobble my eyes from side to side. Anything to achieve detail as to why these men were doing what they were. My eyes fell upon a name printed on the men's bulletproof tactical vests. HYDRA, it read.
"Please don't do this!" I screamed, staring over at the man with the crystal eyeglass across the dim room that was known as the Red Room.
"Proceed with protocol 01," He instructed, giving a gesture of his hands towards his assistant. No remorse laced in his voice; it was spread clear and impervious. The man stared back into my wide eyes, a sadistic reflection in his own.
"Please," I mouthed to him. I felt a cold, metal mask being placed over my nose and mouth, cutting off ability to move my lips and adding a hissing effect to my uneven breathing. I tried to scream. Nobody heard my cries. It was all just a muffled noise. That brought a smile to the eye glass man's face which I soon learned to be Baron Strucker.
The surgery table beneath me motioned downward. With every second, the table lowered into the tank beneath filled with water.
The brown pigment which was my irises coasted by the caving, pale color that now covered my entire eyes. As the surgery table dipped into the artic water, I sensed a sudden jolt in my heart. There was that feeling again. I couldn't control it. . .
The tingly spark licked through my arms. From my hands sprang small amounts of tiny electrical bolts. Azure and striking white. There was a large, disturbing pop in the water as the electrons that had been released, backfired. The burning zap that coursed back through my nerves and veins was excruciating. I wiggled violently in the water, curling my fingers up tightly as I let out a painful roar.
Strucker's voice cut through the water swiftly to my ears. "Wake up. . . "
"Wake up!" yelled a stern voice.
It was so loud that I was rattled out of slumber, gasping for the thick, humid classroom air. I whipped my head from side to side. Hundreds of blurred faces cleared as I blinked, all wavering along the curved tables below and above me.
"Ms. Stark, am I boring you?" The professor at floor level asked with annoyance, knotting his hands over his midsection.
I snapped my head down at professor Ford, shaking my head apologetically. I tried catching my breath between words, but it expelled like unsteady stutters. "N-no, not at—" The chime of a cellphone ringing from the corner of the table cut off the running excuse from my mouth. It was my iPhone. Everyone's attention snapped from their work. Damn it, must have forgotten to turn it off.
I closed my eyes briefly before swiping up the phone and checking the caller ID. It was my uncle—Tony Stark. I had told him before to never call during class hours, but whoever knows Tony Stark knows he has trouble listening.
"Ms. Stark!" Ford scolded again, "This is the second time that has happened! Put it away."
I grabbed my shoulder bag from the side of my chair, awkwardly mumbling. "Um . . . well, about that." Quickly, I began to gather my notebooks and pens from the table. "I am so sorry but I really, really have to take this."
I rose the phone to my ear.
"Tony? Are you serious?" I asked, sliding towards the end of the table where the column of stairs was.
"That's right. College hours," He said, dully. "I forgot to actually care."
We continued the small talk as I exited the classroom and wandered into the large, marble corridors before the lobby. I made a turn towards the hall that led to the restrooms and pushed the door open to the Women's Restroom. Thankfully it was empty.
"Who majors in Journalism anyways?"
I rolled my eyes and slid the leather bag off my shoulder, placing it on the countertop of the sink. "People who aren't billionaires. Not everyone can be Tony Stark." I pulled the phone from my ear and put it on speaker, then set it next to my bag. Looking into the mirror of clear glass, I splashed some cold water onto my face.
"But you're Heather Stark. That should mean something."
"Should, but doesn't."
Resting my wet palms on the rim of marble surface, I stared blankly at the tired little girl looking back. From those puppy brown eyes to the beautifully waved brown locks that fell just below her breasts. Why did the most delicate things in this world have to be ruinous?
"Heather?" Tony noticed the drawing silence. I tried to ignore.
My eyes gazed deeper. There was a familiar tug at my heart. As I watched the reflection, whiteness poured from the edges of my eyes and began to spread until my eyes were pale as the moon. Was this really me? Was the girl staring back really me?
"Heather? You still there?"
His voice immediately cut off my concentration, causing my eyes to return to its normal state.
"Yeah . . . I'm here." I grabbed my bag and slid it back onto my shoulder, sighing. "So why did you call anyway?"
"Can I not call to see how my lovely niece is doing?" Tony mocked.
I exited the bathroom. "Nope."
"I just really want you to come to New York and stay for a while," It sounded so genuine it might have hurt to hear, "There's a party tonight. The Avengers will be there, it'll be great. You can grab a autograph and who knows, maybe even fall in love."
Hearing his words brought a smile to my face as I let out a small laugh. "Sounds uh, tempting but we've been over this, Tony. I told you I can't be there tonight. Tomorrow is my big majors test."
I made my way through the lobby and pushed open the big double doors that led to the evergreen main campus grounds. Before I even took a foot down the stone steps, I stopped when my eyes laid on him. The dark, chestnut hair. Deep Brown eyes. Clean suit. Snarky smile. All those things, but how could it be him—Tony? Time had done so much damage. Too much damage.
"Yeah, I don't know about that," Tony said, before tossing his cell phone through the window of his car. His snarky smile shifted to something more meaningful; something . . . warm. I had not seen him smile in such a long time, not that way. He didn't even need to open his arms, I was already running to him.
"Tony!" I cried, charging towards the sidewalk. I slammed into his chest. Hard. But I didn't care; my uncle was here again. An actual human being. I held him tightly and rested my head on his chest. I felt my cheek brush against the cold, metal disc inserted in his chest underneath his shirt. I thought he had that removed. . .
"Missed you, Heath." Tony squeezed my ribs, lifting me up slightly, but I was dropped back down again—and his arms left me. His warmth.
"W-what the hell are you doing?" I demanded, shocked. The smile wouldn't wain from my face. I haven't seen him in nearly over two months—no, maybe longer. It had to be. We had talked non stop about the arrangements for my visit to New York City but after so many denials thrown his way, I thought he would have given up by now. I never imagined this. I never thought he would actually show up.
"I told you." He said, sounding blunt. "We got a party to get to. So let's go."
He slipped his hand around mine, his insistent grip pulling me towards the passenger side door of his car—a more fresher model than the one I had ever seen before. An improved version of his beaming Audi R8. He tugged the passenger door wide open and gestured to enter. But I held back with the force I knew I was conjuring in my body. That inhuman strength.
"I really want to, Tony. But. . ." I scooted back. ". . .like I said, Majors test tomorrow."
"Then you don't have to stay in New York! I'll drive you back down here tomorrow morning. I promise you won't miss your boring majors test. . ." He rolled his eyes and once again, gestured towards the empty seat. This time his grip on my hand tightened and I knew just by that, I would not be getting out of this one. Not right now.
Maybe one party wouldn't hurt anyone.
I gave in. "Fine . . . fine. But I better not be late tomorrow."
"You worry too much. You need to loosen up and have fun."
After everything I had been through in the past—the things I still keep secret deep in my heart, there seemed to be only one appropriate answer. "I wish I had a choice."
The party was amazing and carried on pretty swiftly throughout the night hours. I was given an opportunity to meet the Avengers. What more could anyone ask for? After the battle of New York, every single one of them were heroes—the people others dreamed of thanking. And I sat in the room with them. They were very kind towards me—I didn't expect anything less from professionals—but also pretty surprised to had learned I was Tony's niece. My guess was that they didn't believe him when he mentioned me to his teammates prior to the event tonight.
Now, everyone gathered in the living room, socializing with each other and just generally having a good time. The main topic however, seemed to be the focus of Thor and his legendary hammer. I was quite curious about it also but thought it was rude and not in my place to speak about it. It was something that was passed onto him from generations of his family—god knows who. . .
"You know I have to admit," Steve's voice drew the conversation to the background like white noise and I looked over at him. He was just a couch cushion away. His smile seemed forced, but I wouldn't blame him; we didn't seem to connect on an emotional level when we met, which was solidly formal. "I didn't think Tony was capable of caring for anyone else but himself."
I was sensitive when people spoke condescendingly about my uncle. I knew the Captain didn't mean it. He was a soldier. He recognized the meaning of reverence. But . . . still. I offered a small smile. "Tony's a good guy. Complicated . . . but a good man. He's been there for me since I was pretty young."
"So I've heard. . ." His words drifted faintly, almost awkwardly and he surprised me when he started the talk again. "What's your story?" He asked, toying with the glass in his hand. The clear liquid bounced around. Water. What was the point in drinking if your body scientifically could not endure the effects? "You Starks seem to have everything all mapped out."
"Well . . . I assure you I have my interesting traits, Mr. Rogers."
Steve's mouth opened. I actually hoped he would say something more—something about himself. I wanted to know the man behind the name Captain America. But amusingly, Clint had other plans. His diction drew our attention from the small talk and into the large discussion.
"But it's a trick!" He argued.
Were they still arguing about Thor's hammer? I wanted to shake my head, laugh it off, say something back to Steve. I even glanced at him from the slightest corner of my eyes—I was good at that, spying—but his blue eyes were elsewhere, into the broader discussion. Without a bother, I just turned my head back to Thor. He was tipping his beer back into his lips, chugging and laughing like a barbarian. It made me laugh. Asgardians were . . . weird.
He had said something along the lines of: "No. It's much more than that."
There was shallow silence as I watched Clint glare at the hammer which sat firmly on the glass surface of the coffee table. I could see the thoughts running behind his head. Even the way he drummed the sticks between his hands—it was thoughtful. Just a few more seconds and he would say something, I knew that. But that's when I decided to poke some fun, tired of just sitting around.
"I think it's a trick," I shrugged.
Most of the Avengers' eyebrows rose up at my sudden statement or possibly the fact I actually said something more than five words.
"Well, she's got the Stark ego." Banner commented.
My lips nearly fell into a frown: was that a bad thing?
However, Thor smiled at me. Shifting his large weight—which almost toppled the whole leather couch over—he turned and I swore his blue eyes sparkled like a thousand-year-old diamonds. Maybe it was an Asgardian characteristic. "I'll tell you what, if you are able to lift Mjölnir then the throne of Asgard is yours for the taking."
Oh, he's kidding. My mouth was parted, surely shocked, and my eyes swept the room before returning to Thor. "Really?" I had to remind myself to raise my voice an octave higher. His presence was just overwhelming. . .
Thor nodded. "Yes. Go on."
I slowly stood up from the couch, brushing off my navy blue dress. Confidence was the key. I walked over to the hammer with bounce in my stride, as if I was not about to try and wield a god's weapon.
"This is gonna be good. . ." Rhodey mumbled.
"Don't hurt yourself, sweetie. We won't hold it against you if you can't lift it up." Tony coughed, smiling.
It was hard to stifle a smile. All of this felt normal—felt fun. I had my hands placed on the solid handle of the hammer, gripping it firmly. Applying all strength, I pulled. It was like trying to rip concrete apart. Either it weighed tons or I was truly not worthy. I even tried a second time, groaning and biting my bottom lip. I nearly felt electricity flare from all corners of my body, and that's when I immediately stopped with a startled breath. I made it seem like I gave up seeing as the hammer wasn't going anywhere.
"I-I thought I had it," I muttered and began walking back to the couch. My fists warmed and then clenched and unclenched—anything to calm the nerves in my body, the electricity raging through like a fire that could not be contained. It had been so long since I . . . used.
"It was a brave try," Thor said as I sat back down.
Since then, every Avenger in the room attempted lifting Mjölnir, but none seemed to be worthy enough to wield the legendary weapon heard in fables and myths. Steve might have come pretty close, I'm not certain if I was looking close enough. But all I knew was that Thor did not appreciate the soldier's attempt and instantly relished the moment Steve decided to press back into his seat with the others.
"Whoever is holding Thor's fingerprints I think is the literal translation," Tony said, handing his alcohol to Clint.
"Ah yes, that's uh, very, very interesting theory." Thor rose from his seat. "I have a simpler one. You're all not worthy." He lifted his hammer like it was weightless as a feather and flipped it in the air, catching it swiftly with the broad strength of his people. I smiled to myself, shaking my head as everyone else booed, but I remained quiet.
At the peak of the party, the sun was already down. It was getting late. I looked down at my watch and collected the time—9:50 pm. Time had flown by faster than I would have expected. I realized when giving everyone a brief overlook, that I would miss this. This felt more normal than the circumstances of my life. But reality called and I had to answer, whether I wanted to or not. I stood from the couch and made my way over to my uncle.
"It's getting late and I need to head back to campus now if I wanna get there before the doors close."
Tony sucked his teeth. "Just stay a little longer. You're having fun. We're having fun. Five more minutes—"
An ear stabbing screech of white noise sliced through the thick air with a purge on ears. Everyone shrunk against themselves.
I immediately covered my ears. "What the hell is that!"
Tony shoved his hand in his pants pocket and pulled out a clear glass remote; one of his advanced technologies. "I don't know. . ."
The sound of joints clicking and heavy footsteps drifted into the living space. Tony and I spun around towards the source of the noise to see a crippled robotic figure limping towards us. "No . . ." It said, its cracking voice signaling how broken it truly was.
"Tony." I grabbed his wrist, tightly. "What . . . is that?" I took a step in front of him, almost as a protective shield.
"How could you be worthy?" It spoke again. "You're all killers."
What was he talking about? Did he know? My heart raced.
"Stark," Steve called.
"I'm sorry. I was asleep or I was dreaming. . ."
Tony began tapping on his device several times but nothing seemed to happen. I saw the panic on his face when he realized he couldn't stop this thing. "Jarvis—reboot. Got a buggy suit."
"That. . ." It continued, stumbling as it observed its own broken structure. ". . .I was tangled in strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."
"You killed someone?" I asked. I kept a leveled step forward, counting how much more it would take to reach the android.
"Wouldn't have been my first call but in the real world we're faced with ugly choices."
"Who sent you?" Thor asked.
Instead of answering Thor's question, it played a clip of a voice, Tony's voice. "I see a suit of armor around the world," The clip played back.
Banner blinked. "Ultron."
"In the flesh . . . or no, not yet."
"What the hell is Ultron?" The demand held strongly in my voice. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes bled roughly into Tony and Banner.
"Heather, get back here." Tony took hold of my wrist quickly, pulling me behind him. "Hide. Now."
"But, Tony—"
"Go." He ordered, squeezing my wrist, but didn't allow his eyes to leave Ultron. Not once. He knew what this thing was.
I hesitated for a few seconds before doing as he told, backing up behind the leather couch. I lowered myself enough to be out of sight but I still kept an eye peeled around the corner of the couch.
"I'm on a mission." I heard Ultron say. "Peace at our time."
The sound of concrete being busted echoed throughout the penthouse. Several pieces of plaster scattered past the couch, proving what I heard. Gunfire erupted after that, shot after shot, amplified by the distressed voices of the Avengers.
You can help them. You have to.
I took a deep breath and quickly crawled from behind the couch. I paused almost instantly when I looked above and saw some of Tony's suits flying around and—attacking the Avengers?
I scrambled to my feet, staring around at the chaos unfolding. It happened so fast that I couldn't even process it. Like a speeding blur. But I knew now was the time. I held my hands close, strongly focused on them. There was that familiar jolt of vibrations in my heart. It slithered and coursed through my nerves and veins, into my arms and to my hands. Zapping, bright blue lines shot from one palm of my hand to the other. I pulled my palm of hands out of distance with each other and aimed my hands towards one of the suits flying above me. As it soared down, I shot bolts of electricity.
It was strong enough to penetrate the suit's armor and knock it to the ground.
My lips twitched into a proud smile. But my smile was short lived when I felt strong, metal hands lift me into the air.
"Heather!" I heard Maria Hill's voice shout from below. Sounds of gunshots being fired at the suit's armor caused me to shrink, afraid of being hit.
I gripped the hands of the suit that was wrapped around my waist, focusing as I felt the suits electron particles being sucked and absorbed into my hands. All that pure energy felt good.
I heard the failing processor of the suit before the hands dropped from my waist and I luckily fell onto the couch cushions. I immediately rolled off just in time as the suit came plunging down on the couch. Before it got a chance to recover from its drained energy, I penetrated the chest.
Maria Hill stared at me with widened eyes. Her steps stuttered slightly as she approached. I could tell she was afraid even though she tried her best not display it. Was it my eyes? Or the fact she just saw me shoot electricity from my hands? I thought it was best not to confront her about what she just witnessed and ran off to help the rest of the Avengers.
I spotted Tony hanging onto one of his suits, trying to drive a screwdriver through its neck.
"Tony!" I shouted, gazing up. "Watch out!"
I didn't allow him much time to react and sprang my palms upward. A bolt of Electricity shot from my hand and electrified the suit. I covered my mouth as I watched Tony tremor from the shocking aura the suit gave off from the result of the attack. He failed to keep his grip and slipped from above, falling onto the staircase below him. I winced when I heard the terrible impact and raced over. The suit fell from the sky and Thor finished it off, crushing its head with his hammer.
"Tony! I'm sorry!" I grabbed his shaking body and pulled it into mine. I squeezed tightly in hopes he would stop shaking. "You're going to be okay. I promise."
"H-heather?" He stuttered through his fading tremors.
"Shh! Just shut up and catch your breath. I don't think I generated too much to harm you. . ."
I felt his face bury deeper into my slim shoulder. It only made me rest my cheek on top of his head of dark hair as I began to run my fingers through. I could feel the electric surges that ran through my body, the tranquility causing my irises to return to its original color.
"That was dramatic. . ." Ultron said.
I released Tony and whipped my head over my shoulder, rising to my feet.
"I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't make it through."
As I took a step forward, Tony grabbed my hand. I glanced down at him. Those wide eyes that looked back up. Fear? Maybe even disbelief? I gave him reassuring eyes. He understood and allowed his hand to drop from mine. I continued my steps back into the center of the living room space. I stared along with everyone at Ultron. That sickening urge to just end him there. How dare he?
Ultron continued, "You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How do you save men if they aren't allowed to evolve?"
Reaching down, he picked up a crippled suit from the floor.
"These puppets—" His hand squeezed at the head, causing it to crumble to the floor before he threw the suit like it meant nothing. "There's only one path to peace. The Avengers extinction—"
Thor's hammer flew past my shoulder, slamming into Ultron hard enough to shatter him.
Silence lingered for minutes. Until a demand of answers prompted Maria Hill to speak.
"You're an enhancement?" She asked.
I turned to her, shaking my head. "W-what? An enhancement?" I wasn't familiar with the term.
Steve furrowed his brows. "Enhancement? You mean one of Strucker's experiments?"
Strucker? How did they know Baron Strucker?
"That's impossible." I heard Tony's voice say from behind.
"You shot electrical balls from your own bare hands. I watched you as you did it . . . Electricity Manipulation?" Hill asked again.
"She doesn't even know what HYDRA is," Tony argued, stepping in front of me.
HYDRA? Strucker? This was too much to process. . .
"Then how do you explain her ability to generate electricity from her body? People don't just get these powers overnight." Hill spat, well aware she was correct. "Strucker is the only man capable of doing this. He did it before."
"She's right, Tony," Steve said.
I watched as the three bickered back and forth. How did they know these things? Did they personally know Strucker?
"You're saying that my niece volunteered for Strucker's experiments? She is not those Maximoff Twins—"
"Maximoff twins?" I snapped the question from my tongue, recognizing that name from anywhere. "Wanda and Pietro?"
Steve crossed his arms. The muscles rippled underneath his plaid button down shirt. It was not meant to be a friendly gesture, but neither was his voice. "You know the Maximoff Twins?"
"Yes." I couldn't lie, not right now. "I mean . . . I did a long time ago. I didn't know—damn it." Grabbing Tony's hand, I led him over to the couch but despite the glass that was lying around, I took a seat anyways. "I have to tell you something," I pressed, and watched Tony slowly take a seat beside me, his hand still remaining in mine. It was violently shaking. "I actually have to tell all of you something."
I signaled for the Avengers to take a seat and thankfully they were willingly to do so.
"When mom, me, and dad were visiting Sokovia, I was walking home by myself one day. Too much of my attention was spent on my phone that I didn't even notice a van approaching from behind. Men rushed out, grabbed me and. . ." I swallowed, the memory faint but always there. ". . .they took me somewhere and did horrible things to me."
Tony stared into my eyes. "When you went missing. . ." He knew the day—the entire Stark family did.
"Every day," I swallowed again, "I waited to die, wondering was this gonna be the day? But, Strucker had other plans. He tortured me and taught me these things. Like how to kill. Trained me. One day these twins came. Wanda and Pietro. Luckily Strucker moved them to a different base in Sokovia. It saved their lives."
Steve rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'saved their lives'?"
I thought I might as well told them, and after a steady pause, I unleashed the truth. "I killed them all. Every last bit of HYDRA agent I came across. I burned them all in the fire except for Strucker. He wasn't there or I just couldn't find his body. My guess is that he thought I died in the fire, too."
I felt Tony wrap his arm around my waist, squeezing. Reassuring. The look in his eyes . . . they were frozen. Chilled over in fear and angst.
"I spent the rest of my life trying to bring things back to the way they were, but how could I?"
Steve—who had turned his head away during the story—showed me his blue eyes. He unhooked his arms and his fingers twitched at his side. Did he want to touch me—console me like Tony? I wasn't sure. His words spoke for himself when uttered, "I'm sorry."
I knew he was.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked.
"Tell you?" My mouth nearly remained open. "I was traumatized. Hell, I nearly gave mom a heart attack when I came back. I couldn't tell anyone this. Not them. Not you. And it hurt so bad. . ."
"That's never gonna happen again." Tony said. His words were truthful—they felt that way.
"Maybe she can join the Avengers. . ." Clint suggested. "We could use someone like that on the team. The type that's able to fry someone in an instant—"
I knew he didn't mean it an amusing manner, just in an honest one, but I didn't think Natasha took it that way when she slapped his arm to silent him. "Not a good time." She whispered.
But, it wasn't a bad idea. Not to me. I squeezed Tony's hand, hard. Accidentally, I felt a small string of electricity shoot from my fingers.
Clint had just offered up an opportunity of a life time. I felt ready to uptake this responsibility. I was ready.
Tony shrieked from burning sting, tugging his hand from mine. He sucked in a breath and began wiggling his hand.
"Sorry. . ." I pinned my hands in my lap but still looked at him. "But can I? Think about it. Uncle and niece kicking ass together."
His eyes were doubtful, but I could see a crack of approval somewhere.
"I can't. What we do is dangerous, Heather. Just because you can shoot a few bolts of electricity out of your hands doesn't mean that'll save you when it comes down to it."
"But I know I can do this! I can use my powers for good except for evil like I was trained. I can protect you. . ." I tried, softly. "We can protect each other. Starks against the world."
A sigh escaped Steve's lips. "I hate to admit this Tony but your niece is right. Those Maximoff twins will be back and with our own enhancement on our side, we might just be able to even the playing field next time."
"See!" I pointed. "C'mon. Just trust me, Tony."
"That's not a risk I'm willing to take."
"But I am. It's my choice. We can do this together."
"And if we lose?"
Steve always had the right answer. "Then we'll do that together too."
"I won't let you down, Tony," I promised.