I do not own Strike Witches or the Avengers
Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke was not in the very best position at the moment. After a hard day's of desk work carried into the night, she found herself extremely exhausted. All she wanted now was to lay in her bed so that she can drift into a good night's sleep. She was going to have to wake up early in the morning tomorrow, so she wanted to get as much sleep as possible. Everyone, except Sanya, who was on night patrol, was tucked under their warm blankets having a good night's rest. It was times like this that she envied her subordinates as they have the luxury of not writing reports and tedious paperwork just to keep this base operational and to satisfy those who are up above her. She is well aware that there are some officials who dislike the use of witches, and would want to replace them, but seeing that they are the only ones who can fight Neuroi effectively, the only thing that can do is send her obnoxious paperwork for her to fill out.
Anyway, she had finished a good amount of the paperwork that was needed to be filled out, and before she can head off to her room, there was an important matter that she needed to tend to in the hanger. Earlier in the day, there was an important package that came for her, but she was so busy that she did not have time to get to it, so it was just placed in the hanger for her to get to it eventually. The package itself was quite odd because she was not expecting a package of any sort. Whatever it was, its opening would be placed on hold as it was not on her high priorities list, but seeing that it is a good time as any, she arose from her desk, stretched out her entire body, and proceed to the hanger.
When she opened the door, the rusty screws attached to the wall let out a terrible squeak, echoing throughout the hanger, enhancing that all-too-familiar sound. Hearing that sound rubbed her the wrong way, and she would go and request for the screws to be changed later. She did not have to worry about waking up the others since their room are a considerable distance away from the hanger, as the sound would peter out before they reached the rooms. The hanger itself was half lit by the moon, while the other half of the hanger remained in the dark. She felt like she did not need to turn on the lights because she immediately found her package in an unusual place. It was just sitting in the middle of the runway. She scratched her head out of curiosity because the placement was such an odd place. First, it was an obstruction in the middle of the runway for takeoff. She doubted that the delivery man would carelessly place it in the middle of an active runaway, and she has no doubts that one of her witches would move it in the middle of the runway. If fact, wouldn't Sanya just have moved the box out of the way; it seems very odd for her not to move it. She relocated herself so that she was standing right in front of it, she knelt down to the ground and pulled out a box cutter she grabbed from her office to cut open the package. As soon as the metal tip of the blade pierced through the packaging tape, a deep, male voice with a radio-like resemblance shattered the silence of the night.
"Did you know there was once a man who thought who saw himself above humanity? He believed this so much that he created an organization with the sole purpose of controlling the entire world." The voice asked of her. With quick reflexes, she arose from her crouched position and took a look around the hanger, trying to identify where the voice came from, but in the middle of the night, and only half the hanger lit up by moonlight, she could not pinpoint the where the voice came from as the hanger distorted the sounds as if they came from all directions.
"Show yourself!" She demanded of her unknown assailant. "Who are you, and what do you want?" She waited for a response before the voice again communicating with her, only this time, she endeavoring to pinpoint the location of the source.
"It was that kind of thinking that ultimately led to his downfall. The irony was he was still human, no matter how much he physically changed." The voice finished, waiting for Minna to respond. She, however, was not able to locate the source of the voice. The echoes made it difficult for her, so instead of randomly picking an area to go to, she decided to humor the person.
"I do not understand what you are getting at? Do you mind elaborating on what you mean?" She asked while executing her next idea.
Two wolf ears and a tail sprouted out of Minna's head and lower back as she was going to deploy her Three-dimensional awareness ability. With her ability, the person would not be able to hide from her now. If she can locate a Neuroi from quite a distance, the she was damn sure that she can pinpoint somebody at such a close range. Several seconds pass and one of the biggest surprises comes to her… she could not locate the person. Why can't I find the person, she thought to herself. Her magical ability always worked when she was engaged in battle against the Neuroi, so why is it not working now? Her worry and distraught would have to wait as on the other side of the hanger, concealed in the shadows, she spotted were two glowing, red orbs stationed several meters up in the air. Judging by how far away the orbs were from the ground, they looked to be 3 meters off the ground. She fixed her sight on the orbs, waiting to see if anything was going to happen, and in a tenth of a second, they did something…
They blinked.
She held the box cutter up, not expecting for the red orbs to blink. The first thing that came to her mind was that a possible Neuroi managed to infiltrate the base as they are well known for the black patterns with hexagonal red spots, but what came to her mind was what kind of Neuroi blinks… and talks? The orbs, or eyes, drew closer to her, as she heard metal lightly stepping on the concrete, possibly footsteps walking towards her. Soon, the shadows steadily unveiled its secret as a human-shaped entity made out of metal came forth from the darkness. It had rounded edges throughout the outline of its body. Its appendages were well-covered in metal, possibly steel, but its body revealed a little bit more as she could see a red glow coming from behind its metal chest piece. She has seen unexpected things in her life, but never something like this.
"His goals were unrealistic. Every person has those kind of goals. Though I do give him credit for his organization was able to last for so long. 'Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place.'" He explained while walking towards her. Minna was at a loss of words. She thought about the last sentence she spoke of. That saying sound familiar because she has heard of such a thing before. From her knowledge, she thinks the metal man was describing one of the characteristics of a hydra. But why would he bring up something like that she thought to herself, but nothing coming to mind. Her eyes gazed upon the giant metal man that stood before her, a meter away. Just standing in front of him made her feel uncomfortable, but it was a familiar kind of uncomfortable. The way he stood in front of her, the way his eyes looked down upon her was the almost the same stare her superiors with prejudice against witches would give her, but it was different. He was not staring at her like that because she was a witch; it was something else, but she can't put her finger on it. She remained silent as these thoughts ran through her head. The metal man decided to snap her out of her deep thought.
"You are a lot shorter than I thought you'd be, but comparing your size to mine would be like comparing the Sun to the Earth." He explained, trying to strike up a conversation with the Wing Commander. She quickly gained her composure, and replied back to the metal man.
"I suppose your right, though I would not use that analogy." She replied in a straight, composed face. She has been in situations like this where a superior officer has a dislike against her; there were always tells, and this metal mean was exhibiting them. She was a high-ranking officer with many years in service, so it was easy for her to pick up on these things. The difference here is that she was not speaking with an officer, but rather an intimidating man made out of steel, but even steel men needed to be shown respect, no matter how intimidating, so she will show him the respect as she would to an officer. This was the most reasonable because in the position she was in, there was no telling what he was capable of. She did not want to find out what he is capable of, so she decided to continue with his conversation.
"Seeing that you can talk, would it be too much trouble to get a name because I usually like to talk to people with names." Minna requested of him. The metal man raised his hand and placed it on his chest.
"As for the names goes, they call me Ultron." He replied.
"Ultron… Okay. Do you mind telling me who they are?" she asked, noticing the pronoun they.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Let's not talk about my past and talk about more pressing matters, Minna." He answered with her noticing an anger within the first half of his sentence, signaling to her not to dig any deeper to aggravate her intruder turned guest.
"You called me by my first name. Might I ask how you acquired my name?" To which he accessed the recordings.
My name is Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke. I'm a Wing Commander of the Karlslandian Air Force…
She tried her best to not to show her surprise that he managed to get hold of those recording that were supposed to be in London right now. Instead, she took a deep breath to keep her composure; she had to be strong. She was the Wing Commander of the 501st, so it was her duty to show no signs of weakness. She continued her conversation with the metal man named Ultron.
"I see that you managed to get ahold of those recordings" she pointed out. "I won't ask how you managed to get them, seeing that the knowledge would serve no purpose. What I do worry about is what you intend to do with all that information."
"Not much, really. I thought it would be to my benefit if I had some information on the members of the 501st, seeing that this place is… different."
"Different compared to what?" she inquired
"That's not important." He responded immediately.
"Then how did you get here? Where did you come from?"
"As for how I got here, I'm not too sure. If you mean how I got here physically, then I flew across the Britannish Channel from… what's the word… Gallia. Tell you the truth, it is going to take some time for me to learn all these places. I'd prefer to use the other names." Minna's eye began to fill with angst as she came to the realization that the only way Ultron was able to get here was that he had to get passed Sanya. A fist soon formed in her left hand to help deal with the fact that he could have done something to Sanya.
"What did you do to Sanya!?" She demanded from Ultron, who was taken back by how much her demeanor changed from posture and composed to a more commanding/angered tone. "You must have encountered her on the way here. I want to know how you managed to get pass her." Minna glared at Ultron as she was making demands of him, but he was not at least bit afraid of her imposing form. Ultron took his time before he answered her.
"Sanya…? Oh yes, the little Orussian girl who is always on night patrol." He replied, acting like he just remembered. "Tell me, how does a commander like yourself sleep at night knowing that you sent a little girl to her death by fighting those Neuroi in the dark all by herself?" He questioned her in a mocking voice.
"Answer the question. What did you do to Sanya?!" She demanded more aggressively.
"Relax, Wing Commander. I did not harm her if that is what you are implying. Her magic antenna ability is quite impressive, seeing that no Neuroi would be able to sneak passed her, but I'm no Neuroi, and there are ways to sneak pass such a primitive tactic." Ultron boasted while informing Minna. She kept her glare on him for a few moments, trying to see if he was telling the truth. She could just contact her, but she is not in the best position to do that seeing that Ultron will not let her. So for the moment, she did not know whether he was telling the truth, but what choice did she have? She exhaled slowly as to calm herself down while her glare grew weak. It has been a while since she last recounts when she lost her composure like that. It was something that she couldn't help. She cares about her witches, and she knows the feeling of losing someone very dear to her all too well. If she were to go through something like that again, who knows how she would react.
"Fine. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't hurt Sanya. I'd check for myself to see if you are speaking the truth, but I don't think you will allow me to make any contact. However, I do know that there is a reason as to why you wanted to meet me alone, and I think you want to keep it like that." she explained. Even if she managed to calm herself down, there was still embers of her rage still burning within her. She knew that she would not get anywhere if she let her emotions take control. She continued to calm herself as her explanation continued. "But in exchange for trusting you, I want to know your intentions. You made it clear that you don't want to reveal your origins, and I know that you have no intent of hurting me seeing that you could have done so from the beginning. But still, I have questions for you. The first being why are you here?"
Ultron's can only grin as she spoke to him of what she is asking of him.
"Wing Commander, how do you feel about sending young girls into battle against such destructive beings?" He questioned her. "Must be load off your mind knowing that you and the rest of your girls can sleep comfort at night while one witch is all that is standing between safety and total destruction?"
"If you are implying that I am okay with it, then you are sorely mistaken. It is unfortunate that humanity has to send out young girls to fight against the Neuroi, but seeing that they are the only ones who can engage the Neuroi effectively, we are left with no other alternatives. I take care of my girls, and I would put my life on the line to ensure their safety." She answered.
"A good answer, but not good enough. You say it is unfortunate, but the people see if differently. They don't see unfortunateness. No, they see saviors. They see hope flying across the skies, racing towards the danger in order to protect them. They can't help but admire how beautiful you witches are when you sore through the skies…." He stopped suddenly before picking up again. "I was supposed to be like that. To take to the skies and protect the world. The world would have looked up to the skies and see mercy, salvation, protection… but instead, they will only look out of fear because of you."
She stood by, listening to the words filled with emotions being expressed by Ultron. The way he talked, the way he expressed himself was frighteningly close to what human beings do. She wondered whether there was actually a living person in there somewhere. She listened to the words he expressed carefully. He was angry; that much she was able to pick up, but it didn't sound like he was talking about her specifically or the witches. If Ultron was not talking about her or the witches, then what was he referring to? She did not know how to respond, so she stood there in silence. It was at this point Ultron began to play a recording of Minna
Ever since the people in charge were replaced, we've been ordered to change our strategies in ways we didn't want to, we've gotten budgets cuts and less supplies… nothing but trouble. Really… We are the ones risking our lives here, not them! It's really troublesome to have stubborn superiors with such unrealistic views on the world.
As she heard her own words, those feelings behind them started to reappear again
"You were quite irritated when you explained your true thoughts, but they aren't the only ones who have unrealistic views on the world." Minna remained silent. She does not know where he is taking this conversation, but whatever it may lead, she knew that she was not going to like the results. She continued to listen.
"Your job, as witches, it to save humanity from the Neuroi threat, but how is humanity saved if it is not allowed to… evolve; to become something better than to rely on young girls to fight their battles?" Ultron walked towards Minna's direction, shoulders crossing each other before he walked out of the hanger, looking up at the crescent moon with his hand stretched out towards it
"You want to protect the world, protect the people you care about, but you don't want anything to change." He quickly turned towards Minna.
"Instead, they send children to their deaths and continue to fuel the engines of war. This place, this reality, these people… have truly fallen…."
She did not know how to respond to his accusations. The one thing she did not like about his explanation was that there were some truth to what he spoke. Normal people can't effectively stand up against the Neuroi; only witches have that burden, the burden of protecting the world from the Neuroi. But what other choices did humanity have? A witch's ability develops early in her life and lose her magic as she grows up. There are special exceptions, but those exceptions are rare. Without the witches, then humanity would have fallen a long time ago. It is thanks to the witches that allowed humanity to stand against the Neuroi threat. Yes, she would agree with Ultron on that part, but she did not agree on all the other ideas he explained.
"There are… points that you made that I can agree with. It is sad that humanity has to send children to fight the alien menace; however, humanity is resilient. If it wasn't for minds like Dr. Miyafugi, then I don't think I would be here right now talking to you. This world is not perfect, but it is our world, and it is worth fighting for to bring peace to it. So no, I don't think humanity has fallen. Sure, the Neuroi have a majority of Europe under their control, and Britannia is the last stand from complete control; however, time after time again, the 501st was able to repel all attacks from the Neuroi. So I believe that humanity is being strengthen as we continue to survive against the Neuroi. Every day, I see these girl become better and better as they continue to protect their world. So no, I don't think humanity has to change. I believe that there will come a day when the Neuroi are defeated and peace can once again return to the world."
Ultron listened to what Minna had to say about humanity. The way she responded as he shed the truth to her was impressive. He was expecting a different response from her—this expectation of a response was due to how Sanya reacted when he revealed the truth to her. But her speech was all hopeful thinking. She, along with humanity, had good intentions, but like the people he knew previous to this, they did not think it through. Ultron only had one comment on the matter.
"And do you still believe that your goals are realistic?" he asked in what appears to be a monotonous voice. She did not answer, instead, she just let that question sit in the silence, feeling that she is not obligated to answer, though she did have answer, but is was something that one might not expect from the Wing Commander.
"Fine. Don't answer. It makes no difference to me. I came here to see your reaction once I shed some light on the current situation, and you did not disappoint. My goal is to bring peace to the world; that is why I was created… and for that same reason, I was destroyed. I have seen what people are like, their desires, their greed, and their destructive capabilities. These Neuroi are certainly a threat, but it takes two to fight. You all think you are all on the good side, but that is from your perspective. I was created to bring peace, and I have a solution to how to bring it. Men like Dr. Miyafugi deludes themselves into bringing peace by creating weapons of war, but I have something that none of you have… Harmony. With it, I will complete what you fail to do." That was his answer; that is what he wanted Minna to know.
"And believe me, his daughter is not doing any favors." A silence persisted after he commented on Dr. Miyafugi.
"I would ask of you to not insult those who we are grateful to, and I would also implore you to refrain from bringing her into this conversation." She sternly declared. "If you are to what you say you are, then tell me how would you intend to end this war and bring peace?" she asked, feeling like she was not going to like the answer he was about to give, but her curiosity was running high, and it would continue to do so because…
"When the time comes, you'll know, but until that time, our conversation is finished. It would be in your best interest to not report this to your superior officers or any other person. Who knows what they'll do if they learn of this matter." He recommended. He began to walk towards her, causing her to raise the box cutter at him. When he was about one meter away, he knelt down and picked up the package that was meant to her, and handed it to her.
"You should really open packages when you get them. Otherwise, you would not be in a position like this." Ultron commented. Now walking away with his back at the Wing Commander, two fire ignited from an area where his shoulder plates were located. Two more flames shot out of his feet, and he took off to the sky, traveling very fast toward Gallia. She continue to watch as the Ultron became nothing more than a dot in the horizon before darkness of night caused her to lose sight of him. She was glad that this conversation was over. To be honest, she was very anxious about the conversation with Ultron, but now that it was over, she can relax. Her thoughts soon focus on Sanya, who was still on her patrol. Her first thought was to establish communication to see if she was alright, but before she did, there was still one matter to accomplish. She placed the box on the ground, and pierce the tape with the box cutter. She opened the flaps, dug thought all the packaging Styrofoam, and felt something hard. She pulled whatever it was out of the box. She was not quite sure what she was looking at, but whatever it was, she put it right back into the box, closed it, and picked it up, and headed for her office.
For the rest of the night, she debated whether to tell anybody about her encounter. Her mind was urging her to report the meeting, but her gut said otherwise. She laid there in bed, staring up at the ceiling, remembering the conversation she had with Ultron, but as she continued to do so, sleep began to take effect as her eye lids became heavy. She told herself that she can deal with it in the morning, and allowed herself for sleep to whisk her away. That night she had a dream that she was fighting against a Neuroi all by herself. As she managed to destroy sheer off its hide with her gun, she managed to take shots to the core and destroy the Neuroi. But that is where her dream morphed into a nightmare as the Neuroi she destroyed somehow managed not only rebuild itself, but actually build two it itself. Appalled by this, she found a certain phrase running through her head as she would continue to fight the nightmare Neuroi in her dream.
Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place.