Bruce Confession Short Story P7:
"Oh!" You exclaim, turning your back to them, getting tired of their games. "Forget you! I'm going to get some proper answers!" You shout back behind you and walk purposefully down the hall. You hear shouts behind you and slightly quicken your pace. You set off in search of Natasha, knowing she wouldn't mess with you like they had. You expected her to be in the lab with everyone else but found no one.
But Dr Helen Cho. She was ordering her team when you got there. "Take everything to the plane because we don't know what could happen." She ordered in some other language, meaning you couldn't understand. She took off her coat and you caught up.
"Dr Cho!" You shout after her as she walks into the room. You slip through to see Ultron standing there. You stop immediately with Dr Cho who is watching him.
"Scream and your entire staff dies." He conditioned, as Helen stood there, silent. You came out from behind her and he tilted his head. "Oh, didn't expect you. Oh well, challenges are always appreciated." He spoke, before going off into a trance like state for a moment before looking back at you. "Well, Miss (L/N). Or should I say Dr? I don't address many by their proper names, it's such a… waste. What happened to your wrist? Actually forget it, I don't care." He finished, using hand gestures that seemed so human like it sent a shiver down your spine. "You have a very colourful past. Do the Avengers know?" He asked, tilting his head again, stepping forward a few steps. Your silence only confirmed his preferred answer as he came as close as a robot could to smiling. He carried on. "I could've killed you Helen, the night we met…" He started again, making it clear who he was talking to. "I didn't." He finished.
"Do you expect a "Thank you," Note?" Helen replied, making you smile. At least she wasn't backing down.
"I expect you to know why." Ultron replied, moving forwards some more.
"The cradle." Helen breathed, looking down at the object. "This is the next thing Tony." Helen remembered, as she stared at the cradle. Ultron slammed a hand down on it and looked menacingly at her.
"This. Is the next me." He spoke, looking at her with a smile.
"The regeneration cradle prints tissue. It can't build a living body." Helen countered, as you moved to get help. Slowly, but surely.
"It can." Ultron countered, firmly stating it. "You can." He finished, moving forward as Helen moved back. "You lack the materials." Ultron stated, as another robot moved forward with Loki's spear.
"Ultron." You say, simply using that one word to command his respect. He turned but still looked at you with the same disdain. The robot advanced on you and you held the spear away from you, wrestling with the robot.
"What?" Ultron spat, obviously seeing you as the flaw in his plan.
"Stop it!" You say, trying to keep your voice level so it wouldn't count as shouting. Helen backed into the corner and you kept wrestling with the robot in front of you with one hand. It was obvious he still wanted you alive as a hostage but apart from that, you were dispensable. "Leave me and Helen alone. Why do you need us? Are you not intelligent enough?" You goad, hoping Helen would be able to find some help or a way out of the place.
"Of course I'm not. I have all the knowledge in the world, and you think I can't do this? But this, is delicate. Needs another pair of hands." Ultron stated, making the robot throw you to the floor but not put you under the trance. You held your fractured hand above you holding the handle of the spear away from you. "You're a brilliant woman Helen. But we all have, room to improve." Ultron spoke as the robot used Loki's spear on Helen, turning her to his side. You scrambled to your feet, trying to get to Helen before Loki's spear suddenly appeared at your throat. "I could easily turn you. You could, see the light." Ultron teased, making you gulp at the spear as you focused on it. You took deep breaths, trying not to scream as Helen got to work. "That's better. Don't you see? This is so much easier." Ultron sat, relaxing as Helen opened the cradle, setting it to work.
"It's beautiful. The vibranium atoms aren't just compatible with the tissue cells, they're binding them." Helen explained, looking in wonder at the screen while you watched, being held back by the robot and the spear in your face, threatening you. "And SHIELD never even-" Helen began to add before she was interrupted by Ultron.
"The most versatile substance on the planet, and they used it to make a frisbee. Typical of humans. They scratch the surface and never think, to look within." Ultron went off on another tirade about humans as you scanned the room, trying to find an escape route. But you were entranced by the mind stone that was promptly placed in the body and started to light it all up. You watched in amazement as Helen began to speak again.
"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours but we can initiate the consciousness stream." She explained, strapping Ultron into the cradle with the wires as she began setting up. You took a sharp intake of breath at that. He'd be indestructible if this went any further. You had to stop it. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix. Now." Helen finished as she tapped on the screen, it hid the same tapping from you as you sent out a message to Bruce for help.
"I can read him. He's dreaming." Wanda stepped forward in wonder. You watched warily, you hadn't been there but you'd been given the lowdown on these people. You were glad she was too interested in the body to look at you as you finished the message.
"I wouldn't call it 'dreams'. It's Ultron's base consciousness. Informational noise." Helen explained as Wanda watched. Even Ultron moved his head to listen as you pocketed the phone again. "Soon-" Helen began as Ultron interrupted.
"How soon? I'm not being pushy." He reassured after he snapped, holding a hand out, making you shudder with the human nature of it.
"We're imprinting a physical brain, there are no shortcuts, even if your magic gem is implanted." Helen explained, her personality coming through. It was almost as if it was her, and she had just switched sides. You swallow at the thought and listen as Wanda touches the cradle before crying out. Pietro is immediately by her side and you watch the exchange carefully as he calms her, checking to see if she's alright.
"How could you?" Wanda asks, betrayal highlighting her words. You watch confused. Ultron stands up at her cry, alert and ready to help but putting on a visible mask, acting confused at her words.
"How could I what?" He asked, his voice betraying his question. It seemed like he already knew what she meant.
"Y-you said, we would destroy the Avengers." Wanda confirmed, her voice shaking. "Make a better world." She recalled before being promptly interrupted by Ultron.
"It will be better." He stated firmly.
"When everyone is dead?" Wanda asked, horror highlighting her features as Pietro's head snapped up to see what he had to reply.
"That is NOT-!" Ultron began, before seeing his tone of voice. "The human race would have every opportunity to improve." Ultron began again, trying to get them to understand.
"And if they don't?" Pietro asked, catching on to what Wanda was insinuating.
"Ask Noah." Ultron spoke, making a biblical reference you didn't need to check up on. Even going to school or watching a movie, you always knew the story. Apparently so did Wanda and Pietro as you could visibly see them changing their minds and rethinking their decision to side with Ultron.
"You're a madman." Wanda breathed, moving backwards with Pietro.
"There were more than a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs even got theirs." Ultron reasoned. "When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And believe me, he's winding up." Ultron leaned forward, believing every word he spoke, leaving you to try and control your breaths as you saw both Wanda and Pietro, close to tears. "We have to evolve. There's no room for… the weak." Ultron finished, placing a hand on the cradle, caressing it, and as he looked down, you saw Wanda releasing Helen from her spell. You knew they were good then, they were against Ultron. They may have been blinded by their hate for Tony but they had understood that helping a madman end the world was not how you do it.
"And who decides who's weak?" Pietro questioned, keeping Ultron talking as he moved forwards.
"Life." Ultron replied before laughing. "Life always decides." Ultron carried on. Pietro went to console Wanda as Ultron looked up. "There's incoming." Ultron looked off as you tried not to smile, hoping it would be Bruce. "The Quinjet." Ultron spat with distaste in his mouth. You let out a small smile at the familiar sound of the words. "We have to move." Ultron ordered to Helen who he still believe was with him. She went along with it, keeping her eyes down so he didn't see they weren't the shade of blue he thought they were.
"That's not a problem." Helen spoke, pausing the upload and halting Ultron's progress. He saw this as a sign and sighed before shooting Helen. She crashed backwards into the wall and you tried not to draw attention to yourself, visibly straining to reach her. At the shot Pietro took off with Wanda in tow.
"No! Wait! Guys I-" Ultron stuttered, reminding you of a high school kid who was trying to make new friends. But you guessed a high school kid wasn't planning to make the Avengers and the human race extinct. His other robot forms shot Dr Cho's team and you screamed into your hands muffling the sound as they were all killed on the spot. You bent down and the tears came streaming down. Ultron just sighed. "They'll understand. When they see, they'll understand." He reassured himself, carrying on talking while Helen lay on the floor, bleeding out. "I just need a little more, time." He expressed pulling out the cord from his head, detaching himself and making the screen say, "Connection lost." You couldn't help but feel a sigh of relief at the words. The robots took the body with them as you moved to Dr Cho, hoping she was still alive.
She was, just bleeding heavily. You quickly took off a strip from your shirt, the emotional pain at having to rip it coming through as you tied it around her, hoping to stop the heavy blood flow. You hated having to use your special shirt but it was better than letting her bleed to death. You kept tending to her, ripping off mostly your entire shirt to bandage her wounds. Your fractured hand was crying out in pain but you ignored it as best as you could, knowing this was much more important. When most of her injuries were covered, you went a bit slower on the hand, easing it up as you carefully tied the knots, hoping they wouldn't come loose.
Then Steve came in rushing towards them, seeing Helen and letting out a cry of "Dr Cho!" He quickly bent down and grabbed a stray piece of shirt to bandage around her on top of what you'd already done.
"He's uploading himself into the body." Helen quickly spoke, while you secured the bandages, tightening and adding more where you could.
"Where?" Steve asked, knowing Helen was about to pass out.
"The real power is inside the cradle. The gem. Its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the cradle to Stark." Helen ordered, holding his shoulder to keep him listening as you finished you bandages.
"First I have to find it." Steve answered, looking around, trying to keep an eye out and save Helen's life. You grabbed her uninjured arm and lifted her up.
"Go. I can take her." You say to Steve who assesses the situation quickly, looking from you to Helen before nodding and getting up, chasing after him. You grunt and lift Helen up on the side that was fully operational, trying to support her weight properly. "Come on Dr Cho, stay with me. We're going to get you to another Doctor, he can help you. You won't have to do anything after that, just stay awake for me now and help me get you there and then you can rest." You compromise, trying to keep her talking as you half pulled half dragged her to the roof, making it one step at a time before getting to the Quinjet where Clint was piloting with Natasha waiting to go. You got inside and Clint was obviously confused.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, incredulously. You just rolled your eyes and gave Helen to Natasha who immediately began to tend to her wounds.
"I got captured after you idiots wouldn't give me any information!" You shout back, waiting for his response that never came as Natasha interrupted.
"Clint, we need to go." She commanded as Clint promptly obeyed. She got up, leaving Dr Cho to you. You instantly rushed to support her as she fell forwards and buckled her up, reaching for the first aid kit to stabilise her. You slammed it open and looked for the bandages, promptly unwrapping your shoddy work to replace it carefully and sanitised at the same time. You didn't know how to handle this as Bruce was better with the medical work, so you did what you could and promptly gave her a painkiller and sent her to sleep. She looked peaceful while she slept but you couldn't keep yourself from keeping an eye on her pulse every moment. You barely noticed when Natasha went out on her bike to help Steve. You teared your eyes away for a moment to see the hospital and knew what you had to do.
"Clint, go onto that roof." You ordered, not leaving any room for argument with your tone although you could see many forming in his mind. He did what you asked and you quickly managed to pick up Helen to carry her out of the Quinjet and into the hospital below by kicking the doors open. She was still asleep and drowsy, meaning she was heavy and hard to drag. You felt the blast of heat on your face from the Quinjet moving away and felt a small sense of panic burst in you but you tried to ignore it and get Helen somewhere safe. You ran to the main waiting room and to the desk where the receptionist wasted no time in calling doctors to take Helen away. You wanted to go after them but were ushered back where you couldn't interfere. They didn't word it like that but you knew it was what they meant. You were jittery at first but as the hours ticked on, you remained motionless in your chair, someone many people walked past, not even noticing as a person instead of furniture. You didn't care, the clock ticking by was all you could see, it had become so blurry but you sat there watching as your vision zoned in and out of the clock. Eventually you blinked and came back to reality as a nurse came to re-bandaging your hand with a proper wrist brace before escorting you to Helen's room and answering some questions. You didn't object, walking along into the room as you saw Helen sleeping on the bed, the beep of the heart monitor assuring you of her health without you needing to stare at her.
"What is the patient's full name?" The nurse asked, a clipboard in front of her with a pen clipped to the top, ready to write.
"Dr Helen Cho." You replied simply, not looking away from her as she slept. You knew she was safe and being looked after but it still was a bit weird seeing her like that. You hadn't known her very well but you knew enough to know she was a brilliant scientist and person.
"What is your relationship to the patient?" The nurse asked, after jotting down your first answer and looking up again.
"Work colleague." You spoke without missing a beat. You didn't know her well enough to be a friend and you weren't related to her, you were just her work colleague. Not even that but better than the truth.
"What happened to her?" The nurse asked, again looking from her clipboard to you as she took notes and you steeled yourself for this next part. You could never be mean to people, it just wasn't a part of you. You could stand up for yourself and be hostile to people who you disliked, but you made a huge point out of not blaming anyone and trying to be kind to everyone, even phrasing certain rude words differently.
You remembered Tony saying to you to tell another newbie who was being extremely annoying to "Shut up." And you were horrified at the prospect. He smirked at your discomfort of the words and you tried to gear yourself up while the newbie kept babbling on and on. You'd turned around with a flick and it was going well until he looked at you confused and you lost your resolve and just asked him, "Can you please be quiet?" In a polite but still commanding tone which confused you as you turned back and strode off, Tony hot on your heels. "Seriously?" He asked and you just shrugged, confused at what even you did to try to justify it. This was just as bad.
"Look, I don't want to answer these questions. It's been a tough day and I just want to know if Helen's going to be ok." You snapped, trying to keep your annoyed face on at the poor nurse who seemed taken aback by your reaction when a few moments you'd been quite pleasant.
"Your friend will be fine. Don't worry, I will come back later when you are feeling better for the rest of the questions." The nurse compromised, soothing you with her words as you tried to sooth the guilt settling in your chest. She got up and left and you walked over to Helen, still sleeping and smiled at her hoping she would wake up soon before collapsing in the chair nearer to her bed and flicked out your phone, turning it to be the right way round. You checked for messages and saw nothing, except tons of messages and missed calls from Liv and Mum alike. You sighed and slumped into the chair realising you were going to be there a long time.
5
