"Come on J.A.R.V.I.S., it'll be fun," Jade said putting a earpiece in. She had just finished her checkup for the day. Dr. Cho had been nice, and she had given Jade 'a clean bill of health', whatever that meant. When she asked Jade to use her powers Jade had complied. All she had to do was put her hand through a table, not to strenuous. Dr. Cho had given Jade a pain killer for her headache and told her that it would take a few days for her test results to come back. Apparently, she thought that her powers were a few milliseconds out of sync with the rest of her body, which was sending incorrect signals to her brain giving her a headache. That was all Jade could understand.
Before her checkup she had given Bruce her files. She had decided to throw away her old training. It wasn't worth the work it would need repairing it so she had decided to just be rid of it.
"I don't think this is a very good idea," J.A.R.V.I.S. said through her earpiece. When she had dropped off the files she asked to borrow one, and he had miraculously said yes. He seemed very preoccupied, but he had asked her how her night was. Her night had been fine, up until the point she had fallen through her bed and had gotten trapped underneath. It had been alright. J.A.R.V.I.S. had turned on the lights and she had crawled out. It was the same nightmare as the night before. She still didn't know what to make of it.
"You have no imagination," Jade said back. She was standing in the elevator waiting for it to arrive on the floor with the living room on it. She hoped Clint would be there, and that he wouldn't be off somewhere getting ready for the party tonight.
Jade wasn't aloud to go. Steve said it would be better to waiting until most of the people to leave before she should come out. Jade agreed. She wasn't that great with large groups of people, and her social skills were not exactly what you'd call perfect.
"Well, I am a program." Jade nodded her head back and forth. The night before she had come up with a plan to beat Clint. It was simple if you thought about it. There was no way she was going to win playing fair, so she decided to enlist the help of J.A.R.V.I.S., as a joke of course.
The door opened and Jade walked off. She went to the living room. Clint and Natasha both sat on the couch, Thor was in the kitchen and it looked like he was making a sandwich.
"I'm just saying," Natasha said just as Jade walked in.
"Sometimes I wonder about you," Clint said shaking his head. Jade sat down beside him.
"What are just saying?" Jade asked. She sat cross legged and sat straighter.
"Nothing," Clint snapped at Natasha. Nat rolled her eyes.
"All I said was that it's only murder if they find the body, otherwise it's just a missing persons case," Nat explained. Jade mad and 'O' shape with her mouth and nodded. Clint violently shook his head.
"That's not how it works, and you shouldn't be saying things like that in front of Jade." Now it was Jade's turn to roll her eyes.
"I've heard worse things than that," Jade said patting Clint's knee. "But on different note, I want a rematch." Clint looked over at her and smiled. Natasha raised her eyebrows.
"Really? I didn't beat you bad enough last time?" He teased.
"What are you trying to pull?" Natasha narrowed her eyes at Jade. Jade gave her the most innocent smile she could.
"Me? Trying to pull something? You wound me." Jade put her hand over her heart dramatically. Clint smiled between the two of them.
"If you think you're ready for it, then let's go for it," He said. Jade jumped off her seat and zipped to the game. She checked to make sure her earpeice was still there.
"I'm here." She heard J.A.R.V.I.S. say to her. They set up the game quickly and Clint made the first move.
"B-4," He said. Jade gaped at her board.
"Hit," She mumbled. Clint let out a victories hoot and placed a red pin on his board. Nat shook her head sure this was going to end like last night. "H-7," Jade said. Clint stopped for a moment.
"Uh, hit," He replied. Jade tried to hide a smile, but Nat saw it. They played for another half an hour. Clint would occasionally miss, but with J.A.R.V.I.S's help, Jade got it right every single time.
"A-9," Jade said triumphantly. Clint let out a defeated squeak.
"Hit and sunk," He said miserably. A smile spread across Jade's face.
"What was that?" Jade asked placing a hand behind her ear. Clint gave her a fake glare.
"I'm not saying it again," He answered. Nat clapped him on the back and stood.
"We should start getting ready," Natasha said. Clint nodded and stood next to her.
"I agree. Winner picks up the game by the way," Clint sad to Jade.
"Fair enough," She said. She started to pick up the scattered pieces and neatly put them back in the box. Clint left with Thor. Jade smiled as she heard Thor teasing Clint about losing to 'a child'. Natasha stayed.
"That was a impressive game, Jade," She said after Jade had finished picking up. Jade stood to face her. 'She knows,' Jade thought to herself, but quickly expelled the idea from her brain. How could she know?
"Beginners luck?" Jade stated it as a question. She was trying to keep the guilty look off her face. Natasha shrugged.
"I'll see you later tonight." She said. Natasha started to walk out, but stopped when she got to the doorway. "Oh and Jade," Jade looked back at her. "If you ever pull a stunt like that with me, I'll make sure you become one of those missing person cases." Jade's eyes widened, and Natasha walked out of sight. Jade hoped she was kidding.
-o-X-o-
Jade had been in the movie room most of the night. She had been banished to the room after the first of the guests arrived. Tony had told her that she was aloud to watch anything in the collection. She had chosen and animated one about this little Hawaiian girl who accidentally adopts an alien. Jade thought it was cute.
She watched two more movies and ate leftover pizza. After the third movie she thought she might be able to come out.
"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., is everyone gone yet?" She asked. She waited, but no response came. "Weird," She said out loud. She walked out of the room and to the stairs. The Avenger's party was only on the floor below her so she didn't think she needed to take the elevator.
"I have a simpler theory," Jade heard Thor say as she came down the stairs. "You're all not worthy." Jade heard the group groan. Jade smiled just as a high pitched noise reached her ears. Jade brought her hands up to her ears and looked around. After a second she saw a figure.
"No," It said turning around. "How could you be worthy? You're all killers." It waved in their direction. The Avengers focused on the creature, and Jade realized they hadn't even seen her yet.
"Stark," Steve said.
"J.A.R.V.I.S." Tony ignored Steve.
"I'm sorry I was asleep, or I was a dream," The thing said. Tony said something to is phone. "There was this terrible noise and I was tangled in...in..strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy." Jade stepped forward to hear better.
"You killed someone?" Steve asked. Natasha looked at Tony.
"Oh gosh, where's Jade?" She asked.
"Right hear," Jade said. Nat turned around to look at her. Jade nodded at her then turned back to look at the machine.
"Wouldn't have been my first call, but down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices," The machine answered. The thing stepped closer.
"Who sent you?" Thor asked. Tony Stark's voice filled the room.
"I see a suit of armor around the world." Bruce's head snapped up to look at Tony.
"Ultron," He said.
"In the flesh, or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis, but I'm ready," Who Jade assumed Ultron replied. Agent Hill slowly stood up, and Jade saw she was holding a gun at the ready. "I'm on a mission."
"What mission?" Natasha asked.
"Peace in our time." Two iron legion machines flew out and Jade ducked down beneath a table. Steve kicked up a table. The machines hit it. Jade saw Thor hit one with his hammer. Clint ran over and slid down next to Jade.
"Run," Clint managed to get out before energy bolts flew at them. Clint grabbed onto Jade and they ran out from behind the table. Clint slid down a ramp, but Jade continued to run. Thor threw half a legionnaire over a railing. It slowly flew up and pointed a hand at Dr. Cho. Jade ran faster. Not thinking she ran right through it, but she took a few out it's circuits on the way out. It collapsed on the floor. Jade slid down next to the Doctor.
"Thanks," Cho breathed. Jade nodded.
"Don't thank me yet," She said. Her heart thrummed in her ear.
"Cap!" Clint called. Clint threw his shield. Steve caught it, spun, and threw it. It hit it's make and smashed a legionnaire to pieces. Jade stood up and Cho followed her motion. The chaos stopped for a moment.
"That was dramatic," Ultron said. Jade looked over to him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tony sit on the stairs. "I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not aloud to evolve?" Ultron continued. He walked over to a destroyed legionnaire and picked it up. "With these? These puppets?" He snapped off the face cover. Jade slowly walked over to where Clint was standing.
"There's only one path to peace: the Avengers extinction." Thor threw his hammer and destroyed it before it could say anything else. "I had strings, but now I'm free," Ultron said before the light in his eyes went out.
