Location: Ulysses Klaue's ship, Salvage Yard, South African Coast
"Ultron's here." said Abby, as they landed near Klaue's ship and walked inside.
"The twins?" asked Steve.
"Yeah, they're here as well." she replied. "Ultron's definitely after the vibranium. Uh oh."
"What?" asked Tony.
"Ultron just quoted you and he's pissed off Klaue."
"What did he say?"
"Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which." she quoted.
"I...don't remember saying that."
"Well, apparently you did and now Klaue's pissed off. Wait, now he's pissed Ultron off by comparing him to you. Apparently Ultron doesn't like being compared to you. Oh, ew! Really? I did not need to see that!"
"See what?" asked Clint.
"Ultron just cut off Klaue's arm."
The teams came to where Ultron and the twins were. Tony, Andy, Steve, Ben, Thor, Erik and Chris stood on the walkway where the three of them were whilst the Bartons and Chris stayed in the corridor below as backup.
"Don't compare me to Stark!" Ultron exclaimed. "He's a sickness!"
"Oh, Junior." said Tony, landing. Ultron turned. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."
"Wait, does this mean that Ultron's technically my little brother?" asked Andy.
"Yep." Barney and Abby both replied over the earpiece.
"Good luck with that." she said.
"If I have to." said Ultron, as he and the twins faced them.
"You don't have to break anything." said Thor.
"Clearly you've never made an omelette." said Ultron.
"He beat me by one second." said Tony.
"Ah, it's funny, Mr Stark." said Pietro, walking forward. "It's what, comfortable?" He glanced down to the pile of missiles below. "Like old times?"
"This was never my life." said Tony, glancing briefly at them as well.
"You can still walk away from this." said Steve.
"Oh, we will." said Wanda.
"I know you've suffered..." Ultron laughed.
"Ah, Captain America! God's righteous man! Pretending you could live without war." he said. "I can't physically throw up in my mouth..."
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Erik. He turned to Ben, Andy and Chris. "Did he seriously just say that?"
"He did." said Ben. The four boys laughed.
"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." said Thor.
"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." said Ultron.
"What's the vibranium for?" asked Tony.
"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan..." said Ultron. He then blasted Tony and Andy into the wall behind them.
"Wow, a bad guy who doesn't reveal their entire plan?" asked Abby. "Finally!"
Tony and Andy flew towards Ultron, who flew towards them, and the two Starks had a mid-air fight. Steve, Ben, Chris, Thor and Erik fought Ultron drones that attacked them. Pietro ran past Thor and Erik, knocking them off balance, whilst Wanda fired a blast of energy at Steve and Ben.
Abby psychically heard Klaue telling his men to attack "all of them!" and warned everyone.
"Cap, we'll deal with Klaue's men!" Natasha said.
Immediately, the Bartons advanced on the incoming soldiers. Bobbi pulled out her battle staves and used them to hit their opponents. Natasha and Scarlett used their Widow Bites and the bursts of electricity from their suits. Barney, Clint and Peter found a high vantage point and fired arrows. Chloe and Izzy were firing their guns and using knives. Abby was using a mixture of hand-to-hand combat and telekinesis. Her psychic powers also helped her to keep an eye out for danger, as well as protecting herself and her family. Bobbi pulled some discs from her suit and threw them at Klaue's men. After a few seconds, the men disintegrated.
"What was that?" asked Barney, casually fighting off some more of Klaue's men with his crossbow.
"Splinter bomb." she replied, also casually fighting some men. "HYDRA weapons. We have a box of them at base. Scarlotti once used them."
"Scarlotti?" asked Clint. "As in Marcus Scarlotti? The guy that almost killed me?"
"Yes, him." said Bobbi. "And did you seriously just mention a guy who tried to kill you right in front of your overprotective brother and wife?"
"Yes." Clint then realised. "Oh."
"Yeah, you didn't think that one through, did you, Clint?"
"Well, you were the one who mentioned him, Bob." Clint reminded his sister-in-law.
"Fair point."
"And besides." said Barney. "I don't know where he is, so I can't go and kill him for almost killing Clint."
"General Talbot took him into custody." Bobbi informed him. "But I doubt you'd be able to get to Scarlotti. This is Talbot we're talking about here."
"Bobbi, we grew up in a circus, remember?" Barney asked her. "You know that I could get to Scarlotti and kill him without raising any alarms."
"I don't know, Barn." said Clint. "Scarlotti's a pretty skilled fighter. The fact that he almost killed me is proof of that."
"Yeah, but I'm your big brother, and you know how I get when someone tries to kill you, no matter how good they are."
"Good point."
"And he did lose a fight against May." Natasha pointed out. "Although this is May we're talking about."
"Yeah." said Clint. "It's like if Scarlotti tried to fight you, Nat. He'd definitely lose."
Meanwhile, Tony and Andy were still fighting Ultron, whilst Steve, Ben, Thor, Erik and Chris were fighting the Ultron drones. Steve threw his shield at a drone. Pietro saw this and ran up to Steve, punching him in the face as he passed the super soldier. He then passed Mjolnir, which Thor had just thrown at him. Pietro doubled back and tried to catch the hammer, but it pulled him back and he fell down to the corridor below, landing by a pile of crates.
Tony, Andy and Ultron took the fight outside the ship as they flew out and continued fighting above it.
Ben used his shield to behead a drone and Chris fired bullets at some of Klaue's men who had tried to sneak up on them.
Below, Pietro tried to stand up, but was hit by Steve's shield and fell back down.
"Stay down, kid." said Steve, before running off.
Thor walked down the corridor, not noticing Wanda sneaking up on him until she stepped out of the shadows and used her mind control on him before slipping back into the darkness.
"Thor!" said Steve, coming towards him.
"The girl is trying to warp my mind." said Thor. "Take special care, I doubt a human would keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty."
Steve and Ben were continuing to fight Ultron drones when Pietro sped up to them and knocked them both backwards. Wanda crept up and used her mind control on Steve, then she and Pietro slipped away.
She found that the Bartons had split up and used her mind control on Natasha, Bobbi and Barney. She tried to sneak up on Clint, but he spun round and used a taser arrow on her.
"Done the whole mind control thing." he said. "Not a fan." He was knocked through the glass window of the observation booth by Pietro, who pulled the arrow off of Wanda then picked her up in his arms and sped off. "Yeah, you better run." He got on the earpiece. "If you're still standing, we gotta move." There was no answer. "Guys?"
Natasha
Natasha was walking down the staircase of a large manor house, passing ballerinas as she went. In front of her was a glass window. She walked up to it and watched six ballerinas practising.
"Again!" a man's voice said.
"He'll break them." Natasha said, as she saw six little girls watching the ballerinas.
"Only the breakable ones." replied her instructor, Madame B. "You are made of marble. We'll celebrate after the graduation ceremony."
Natasha was lying on a hospital gurney, dressed in a hospital gown. A gloved hand picked up medical tools from a tray. More ballerinas.
"What if I fail?" asked Natasha.
She was a teenager, firing guns at a practice target.
"You never fail." said Madame B.
Natasha was now aiming at a bound prisoner with a bag over his head.
She pulled the trigger.
Now she was combat training. She was in a chokehold. She broke out of it.
"Welcome." said Madame B. "You did not fail. The ceremony is next."
More ballerinas.
"Are you going to take your place in the world?" Madame B asked. Natasha was lying on the hospital gurney
"I have no place in the world." replied Natasha. Now she was sitting up on the gurney.
"Exactly."
Natasha was pushed down onto the gurney and pushed down a corridor, past young girls with no mouths.
Steve
A bottle of champagne was popped open. Steve walked into a ballroom with a jazz band playing and people celebrating the end of the war.
He looked round at the people sitting at the tables, laughing. This including soldiers, both American and German, who were bleeding.
"Are you ready for our dance?" came a familiar female voice from behind him. He turned.
Peggy.
"The war is over, Steve." she said. "We can go home. Imagine it."
Steve turned and the ballroom was empty and quiet. It changed between that and everyone - including himself and Peggy - dancing. But it was all quiet.
Thor
Thor walked into a large banquet hall in Asgard with people partying.
"Is it him?" he heard a voice say. He looked and saw Heimdall. "Is that the first son of Odin?"
"Heimdall." said Thor. "Your eyes." Heimdall's eyes were completely white.
"Oh, I see everything." said Heimdall, putting his hands either side of Thor's head. He then moved his hands to Thor's shoulders. "They see you leading us to Hel!" Then he got more aggressive. "Wake up!"
"I can still save you!" Thor exclaimed.
"We are you dead!" Heimdall shouted. "You cannot see!" Thor managed to push Heimdall off him.
Then Thor was losing control of his powers.
"You're a destroyer, Odinson!" said Heimdall. "See where your power leads."
Then Thor was seeing things.
A gold gauntlet with six gems. Eyes opening.
Bobbi
Bobbi was back in the Playground. It was deserted, which was unusual as there were often people walking around. She called out for the team.
"Coulson?" she asked. "Hunter? Simmons?" She heard a noise behind her and spun round.
"Hunter!" she exclaimed, seeing her ex-husband. "Where is everyone?"
"You should know." he said, coldly.
"Should I?" she asked, not surprised by his tone. They didn't exactly have a close relationship.
"Yes." he said. "You drove everyone out, remember?"
"What? No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did. You led Gonzales here."
"So did Mack!" She reminded him. "It wasn't just me! It was Mack as well!"
"Yes, that's right." said Hunter. "Put the blame on someone else. No surprise there, Bobbi."
"I'm not!" she argued.
"Why did you do it, Bob?" he asked. "Why?"
"I was undercover." she explained, knowing that he wouldn't believe her. "I was told to keep an eye on Gonzales' S.H.I.E.L.D., see if they were going to cause problems for Coulson." She saw the disbelieving look on his face. "I'm on your side, Hunter! I don't care if you don't believe me! I'm on your side!"
"No, you're not." came a new voice. Bobbi turned and saw Coulson. "You're not on our side, Bobbi. You're not our friend."
"Coulson..." she said.
"He's right." Simmons agreed. "You betrayed us, Bobbi."
"I didn't..." said Bobbi.
"We trusted you!" said Fitz.
"It's like Ward all over again." said Skye. Bobbi was surprised that Skye, of all people, would mention Ward, considering how much the hacker hated the HYDRA agent.
"I'm nothing like Ward!" Bobbi exclaimed. "He's HYDRA, I'm not!"
"Agent Calderon was going to shoot me." Skye said.
"I called out to you, warned you." Bobbi reminded her. "I was against Gonzales sending men after you. When I realised that he was serious, I told the men to use ICERs. It's not my fault Calderon went against that!"
"If you were undercover, why didn't you tell us?" asked May.
"I was undercover!" Bobbi replied. "I couldn't tell anyone!" She didn't say that the rest of her family knew about her being undercover.
"You could have told us, though." said Coulson. Bobbi winced.
"You're right." she said. "And I wanted to tell you. Really, I did."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because you weren't supposed to know about the "Real" S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury's orders."
"No one was supposed to know about us, Barbara." Bobbi turned and saw Gonzales standing behind her.
"Go away, Gonzales." she said. "This is just between me and Coulson's team."
"No, it's just between us." he replied.
Suddenly, everyone apart from Coulson and Gonzales disappeared. They spoke in unison.
Trust. Betrayal. Friendship. Loyalty.
Bobbi tried to run but it was like a nightmare - she was rooted to the spot. She listened to Coulson and Gonzales talking.
Guilt. Anger. Distrust.
"Stop." said Bobbi. "Please just...stop."
Coulson and Gonzales continued. Bobbi eventually couldn't take it anymore and reached for her gun.
Barney
Barney was back in the circus. He heard a familiar scream and ran towards it.
"Clint!" he called out, panicking.
"Barney!" Clint called back, also panicking. Barney found his little brother lying on the ground, bleeding, and knelt down next to him.
"Clint. What happened?" he asked.
"Buck... and Jacques..." Movement caught Barney's attention and looked up.
Trick Shot and Swordsman.
"Leave him alone!" Barney exclaimed, angrily.
"That's not going to happen, Barney." said Trick Shot.
"No." said Barney, taking Clint in his arms and holding him close.
Tony and Andy were continuing to fight Ultron in the air.
"Tony!" Clint's voice came over the earpiece. "The Maximoff girl's messed with everyone's minds. No one's responding. And Abby's psychic powers are going crazy."
"The kids are ok, right?" asked Tony, firing a repulsor blast at Ultron.
"I've sent Lettie to go find them."
"Ok, keep me posted."
"Will do."
Tony and Andy managed to blast Ultron to the ground and landed in front of him.
"The vibranium's getting away." said Ultron.
"And you're not going anywhere." said Tony.
"Of course not, I'm already there." said Ultron. "You'll catch on. But first, you might want to catch Dr. Banner."
Tony and Andy looked at each other.
Oh crap.
They shot Ultron again then flew off into the air.
"Andy, go back to the ship!" Tony told his son. "I'll deal with the Hulk."
"And what if Nathan's Hulked out as well?" asked Andy. "You'll need someone to deal with him."
"...Good point." Tony agreed.
"No..." said Abby, as her mind replayed the visions. "No, no, no! Please...stop..." She clutched her head and winced as she experienced what they were.
"Abby?" She looked up and saw her father looking at her, concerned.
"Dad..." she said. "There's too much...too much pain, too much...trauma..."
"You're safe, Abby." said Clint, gently moving her hands from her head and holding them. "You wanna talk about it?"
"She's messed with their minds." said Abby. "Wanda. She's got into their heads."
"Whose heads?"
"Mom. Uncle Barney. Aunt Bobbi. Uncle Steve. Uncle Thor." she said. "I'm...I'm seeing them..."
"That explains why none of them are responding." Clint realised. He pressed his earpiece. "Lettie!"
"Dad?"
"Is your brother with you?"
"Yeah. Did you find Abby?"
"Yes, I did." said Clint. "Listen, I need you to go find your cousins, Ben, Chris and Erik. Ok?"
"Ok."
"Thanks. Tony! The Maximoff girl's messed with everyone's minds. No one's responding. And Abby's psychic powers are going crazy."
"The kids are ok, right?" Tony asked. Clint heard him fire a repulsor.
"I've sent Lettie go find them."
"Ok, keep me posted."
"Will do." Clint looked at Abby. "Come on." They started walking, then she suddenly stopped.
A flash of green. A roar.
"Oh no." she said.
"What's wrong?"
"Uncle Bruce and Nathan have Hulked out." She tilted her head. "Uncle Tony and Andy are dealing with them."
"That's good."
Outside the ship, Wanda looked up.
"Wanda?" asked Pietro.
"The psychic..." she said. "Her mind is vulnerable."
"So is yours." he pointed out. "You have already used up a lot of your energy. You need to rest."
"No!" she exclaimed. "I...I need to do this, Pietro!" He looked at her then nodded.
"If you say so." he said.