A/N – Happy Cinco de Mayo! May your tacos always be delicious!


Chapter 52

Skynet

Artificial Intelligence. Angry, powerful, artificial intelligence that was set on hurting people. That Kyle had been joking around about it earlier didn't make Natasha's stomach any happier. That Jarvis' program had been attacked and wrecked in what Bruce dubbed an act of rage made worms of unease wriggle madly.

"Great. Tony and Bruce built Skynet." Emily muttered. "And we don't have a John Connor to stop it."

"He doesn't have access to nuclear codes." Tony objected. "Or anything I didn't."

"That doesn't leave out much, you pain in the ass." Emily growled. "What he doesn't have, he can probably figure out how to get. Not to mention the fact that Ultron killed our friend! And don't even try to pretend that you didn't think of Jarvis as a friend, Tony."

Features pinched, and he looked away.

Bruce made a motion. "We can't be sure that Ultron is full Skynet. He just came into existence."

"And tried to kill us." Natasha let an ounce of her fury seep into her cold tone. "He was fully aware of what he was doing. He said as much. Don't go trying to defend your homicidal creation."

"A powerful, scepter-wielding child." Emily scrubbed at her face. Makeup smeared. "Dammit, Tony. I'm not in a good place to deal with this kind of shit!"

Guilt twisted his mouth.

Would he even feel that guilt if Emily wasn't hurting? was her unfair thought.

In one sharp movement, Emily stood. "I'm going to bed."

Bed sounded fantastic, and she wanted to make sure Emily was okay, but she also wanted to stick around and make sure the boys didn't do anything more foolish than mixing untested ideas with alien technology. Like chasing after it without a plan or possibility of winning.

Emily took a step toward the elevator. She whirled. "You know what?" seethed from her. "All of you. Bed. Now." Nothing about her furious tone was a request.

Hill cocked an eyebrow. "We have a rogue robot loose, Fortune. We need to put a plan together to take care of it."

"And who's going to do that?" Emily demanded. "A bunch of emotional, drunk idiots? Steve is the only sober, clear headed one here. He can stay up to think. Inform Coulson, keep watch, and wait for Thor." She ordered. "The rest of you drunk idiots will march your asses to your rooms and go to bed!"

The room stared at her.

"Now!"

Bucky did as ordered. Hill rose with her chin high and went next. Clint grinned, clapped Bruce on the back, nodded at Cho. The three of them finished filling the elevator. The doors closed. Rhodes looked at Tony, who was having a staring contest with furious black eyes. Rhodes shook his head. Holding his ribs, he limped across the room. The call button was pushed.

Tears tracked down Emily's cheeks. Tony's expression changed. He dropped the stare, swore something under his breath, and joined Rhodes at the elevator. When it arrived and accepted the old friends, Emily's body sagged, turning to Natasha with arms reaching out. She accepted the bundle of fried emotions and kissed her hair.

"Assholes are stupid." Emily whined.

"They are." Natasha agreed. She moved them toward the elevator, hit the call button. When they reached their floor, she was glad to see the hallway empty. No one to harass Emily's fragile state more.

Makeup was washed off. Hair pins were pulled. Natasha considered a shower. The sight of Emily crawling into bed and curling around a pillow made her decision. A silk nightie replaced her dress, and she joined Emily in bed. The pillow was immediately discarded. Emily nearly crawled into Natasha's skin with how tightly she grabbed hold.

"We're okay, Em."

"I love you." Lips pressed to her chin.

"I love you too."

Sobs burst out of her, great heaving motions that rocked the bed. If only she could shoot Emily's fears and be done with it! Natasha kissed and soothed and did her best to be strong while Emily cried herself to sleep. She texted Alan that sightseeing might not be happening tomorrow.


Shattered glass, demolished furniture, destroyed art, and the offensive stench of spilled alcohol and machine lubricant filled the massive room and the upper level overlooking it. Boots crunched as the sober, hungover group surveyed the damage. It was worse in the daylight.

"This is going to take a while to repair." Tony muttered at the mess. He was a fan of the modern chic that involved so much glass and metal.

Thor pointed a massive, angry paw at Tony. "This never would have happened if you hadn't been toying with things you do not understand."

When had he gotten back?

"We weren't even close to an interface." Tony objected, whirling to Bruce. "Were we close?"

Bruce made a noncommittal shrug.

Thor took angry steps toward him. "You should no-"
"Stop!" Emily barked.

Thor puffed up, angry brow angling at her. Natasha readied herself to test her upgraded tasers.

"I don't care how old and powerful you are! We aren't doing this testosterone, pointing fingers crap." She wagged a finger at him. "Do you know where the robot went?"

Lips pressed tight together. Thor looked away. "I lost his trail a few hundred miles north."

"Steve, any intel?"

There was a shotgun on the table beside him. Several shells bulged in his pocket. "Coulson said he'd contact us if he heard anything."

Emily looked at Hill.

"I've sent out requests." Hill reported. Her makeup did a great job of hiding the bags under her eyes. Had she powered through the alcohol and avoided sleep to do her spycraft? Probably.

"As have I." Natasha added for the group's benefit. She'd told Emily when they woke.

Clint yawned. "Yea. Same."

Rhodes rubbed his eyes. "I made a few phone calls." Mostly to his superiors, no doubt, warning them about Ultron. "I haven't gotten any back yet."

"Jarvis, can you..." Tony frowned, swallowed. He turned and started poking at a keyboard.

Cho looked lost.

So did the rest of the team.

"Okay. Breakfast." Emily took charge. "Steve, once you've eaten, bed. Bruce, Tony. You're on breakfast duty."

"I have work to do." Tony didn't look at her.

Black eyes flashed. "Anthony Edward Stark. Get down to the kitchen and help make breakfast." Voice pitched low, calm and rigid, Emily carefully punctuated each word. "Or did you want to be on bathroom duty instead?"

Indignant, he turned. "Excuse me, Se-"

"Are you cooking breakfast or scrubbing toilets?"

Oh, there was fight in his eyes. Natasha carefully kept her expression neutral even as she hoped that Tony would choose family over ego. Shoulders drew back. Damn. He was going to choose ego.

"Please, choose breakfast." Emily's tone shifted to soft, pleading.

His eyes closed, and he deflated. "Come on Bruce, there's bacon screaming our names." He opened his eyes, refused to look at anyone, and strode purposefully for the elevator. "Hey, Legolas, wanna make waffles?"

Clint grinned. "I think I saw some leftover blueberries. I'll make a few stacks of pancakes too."

Proud eyes followed the boys' progress until the elevator doors cut off their view. Emily turned to Hill. "Contact Coulson with Ultron's last known location." She changed targets. "Helen, Sam, were either of you hurt last night?" They'd run into Rhodes on the way up, had already taken care of bruised ribs and strained knee.

"A little rug burn. Nothing you need to worry about." Sam shrugged.

Dr. Cho shook her head. "No."

Emily took their word. "Okay. You two, see what kind of giant trash bins you can get up here. Rhodie, Thor, Bucky, Nat, we're on cleanup."

"I will not do servants' work." Thor objected.

"Yes, you will. Get changed if you need. I'm going to get us some gloves. Bucky, brooms and stuff."

Bucky nodded, headed to the janitor closet.

Thor stared as Emily proceeded to ignore him and the rest followed her orders. He turned to Steve, demanding in a whisper, "I thought you were in command."

A smile quirked. "Not when it comes to cleaning up. I'll go help Buck with the brooms."

Thor was left in the middle of the room. Natasha watched him while she went to the bar and started putting what few unbroken bottles there were into cupboards. When Steve returned and held out a broom, Thor glared at it.

"Don't tell me the prince of Asgard is afraid of a little hard labor?"

His frowned changed, and he accepted the servant's weapon. It was a push style. Steve had a similar one that he set to use. Thor copied him, his movements awkward, yet determined.

Arms full of gloves, Emily reappeared. The pile was dropped on the section of bar that Natasha had just cleared. A pair was chosen for her hands, a broom was grabbed, and a section of floor was attacked. The sound of glass shards cackling over each other filled the air.

The elevator dinged, admitting a rolling dumpster, Cho and Sam behind it. Steve and Thor exchanged brooms for shovels. More hands found gloves. Cho took over sweeping while Sam started tossing pieces of furniture into the dumpster.

About an hour later, Bucky arrived with news that breakfast was ready. The quiet room waited for Emily to nod and head to the elevator. Brooms and shovels were set aside, gloves were jammed into pockets, and looks were exchanged.

Incredible smells crashed into them as the elevator opened. Natasha's stomach growled noisily, and Emily grinned at her. She tangled their fingers as the massive spread of breakfast was admired. Stacks and stacks of pancakes and waffles, piles of breakfast meats, layers of scrambled eggs, and mountains of hashbrowns, all steaming and beautiful. Beside them were bowls of fresh fruit, cut melon, and berries.

Natasha eyed a box in the corner. "Fruit delivery?"

Tony handed her a plate. "Yea. Turned out, we used everything up in drinks last night."

Cho eyed the meal. "Good, because I don't think I can eat anything else. Too heavy."

"Average people first." Emily put Cho at the front, Sam next. "Get what you want, because there won't be any left after Steve gets his."

A quip made Tony's mouth move. He pressed his lips together and picked up a plate. Breakfast went as quietly as cleanup had. Mouths opened as though to converse, then eyes would dart to Emily or Tony, and nothing would be said. Forks hit plates. Glasses clinked. Massive amounts of food disappeared.

Thor belched. Impressively. He looked very pleased with himself and the bulge in his stomach.

"Classy." Hill sneered.

Cho looked ready to puke.

Tony again closed his mouth and kept silent.

Steve's brow rose at the uncommon restraint.

"Thank you, Tony, Bruce, Clint. Breakfast was fantastic." Emily smiled at each of them.

Echoes bubbled up around the room.

"Yes. A fine breakfast indeed." Thor announced. "Fit for a king!"

Laughter followed, as did louder proclamations of the boys' hard work. Before the mood could be soured by the simmering tension, Emily stood. "Tony and I will take care of the dishes. The rest of you can get back to work upstairs when you're done."

Not stay down here with Em?

"Not you, Steve. You're going to bed." Emily pointed a fork down the hall.

"I c-"
"Bed."

Smiling in defeat, he put up his hands. "Yes, ma'am."

Natasha picked at the fruit in her bowl until she was last one left. Dishes clanked as they were loaded in the dishwasher. Water splashed. She rose with her dishes and caught Emily's eye. The empty room was surveyed.

Emily leaned close to kiss her jaw. "Go on, Nat. We're good here."

Tony was elbow deep in soap suds. He glanced up from the vigorous scrub he was giving a skillet. His expression said he'd figured out what Natasha had. Emily didn't only want an escape from the crowd, she wanted to talk to him alone. It wasn't going to be a fun talk.

Natasha gave Emily the space she was asking for and returned to the wreckage. "Music, anyone?" She asked of the cleanup crew.

"God yes." Hill groaned. "If I have to feel like a scolded teenager again, I better get the loud music to go with it."

Chuckling, Natasha brought up the music program, set the access to a holographic display at the bar. She started the mood with something Hill would enjoy. Carrie Underwood, Church Bells.

Hill rolled her eyes at Natasha's spycraft before letting out a laugh and tossing trash into the dumpster as the intro spilled from the speakers. She straightened in time to join the artist singing. As planned, her reaction broke the tension. Hill's voice was good. Incredible. She had considered a career in it before life had hit her sideways in late teens and pushed her toward the military.

Cheers and conversation followed. Music was discussed. Pop culture referenced. Favorite moments brought up. Sam changed up the tunes after a while.

"Alright, alright. That's enough of that country white bread." He grinned at Hill's middle finger. Thrumming bass rolled through the room, and he winked at his audience.

Sweet, sweet soul burst from the man. A gorgeous modern remix of classic Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. His voice was rich and deep, beautifully sultry. Bucky's jaw dropped.

"Sam, you dog. Why didn't you tell me you could sing too?" Natasha teased.

He winked at her, at Bucky, kept on with the song. Smiles were on everyone's faces. Good.

Natasha made another comment to finish cutting the head off the tension in the room, watched in satisfaction as it worked. Conversation picked up. Laughs poked up between piles of trash. Natasha carefully listened and guided conversation, made sure it was productive, useful. She saw Clint and Hill pick up on her plan and work with it.

When they allowed the discussion to shift back to the previous night, the group was mostly objective, full of ideas and practical solutions. Natasha would have to tell Em later that the manual labor of cleaning had been a good decision. Getting people to burn off fear and anger with physical movement helped open the mind to clear, objective thinking. And there was something in particular about cleaning up too. Prepping for a new future maybe. A smile curled thinking about the future she had growing with Emily.

The ding of the elevators came as Bucky's stomach rumbled loud enough for Thor to make a joke about it.

"Anyone hungry?" Emily's smile was bright, unfettered by dangerous or sad undertones. "Chef Tony and I have put together a few sandwiches."

Thor elbowed Bucky. As one, they dove for the stairwell.

"Wash your hands first!" Emily yelled after them.

"Yes, ma'am!" Bucky yelled, had to allow Thor to the door first for it. He swore and bounded down the flight. The door thunked.

Emily laughed, a sweet, happy note. She surveyed the disaster zone. "You guys look like you're almost done up here. Great job!"

Sam bowed. Hill visibly refrained from rolling her eyes. Cho looked ready for a nap.

"Anyone have word on our newest problem?"

Phones were checked. Heads shook.

"Okay. Everyone in." Emily watched the elevator fill, tugged Natasha aside, stayed with her as the elevator went down. The warm smile faded.

It was an effort to keep her hands calmly at her sides. "Em?"

"Tony is the biggest pain in the ass." Emily grumbled.

Natasha snorted her agreement.

"He apologized about keeping us in the dark, but not about the attempt to create a peacekeeping program." Hands went to hips. She glared out the broken window. "I don't exactly disagree with him."

She felt like she should be shocked.

"We are woefully unprepared to fight off another alien invasion. We have a baby on the way. The more help we have, the better."

"Ugh! I know! It was like arguing with Coulson and Bobbi all over again." Emily's arms flailed. "No good answers!"

"It's okay, Em. We'll figure it out." Natasha closed the short distance, gathered Em to her, kissed her, distracted her, made them late to lunch.


A/N – I, um, I might have spent a few dozen hours watching old X-factor and the Voice auditions before I wrote this chapter… it was perfect for some comedy relief.

And we needed some comedy relief after Endgame. Omg. Such a good movie, definitely one of the best MCU movies they've made. Can't be the best, because… well, if you've seen it you know why. Then I watched GoT right after. Damn my heart hurt that day! I was exhausted!

Thank you, to all my readers, but new and veteran for sticking with me for so long!