CHAPTER EIGHT

"You," Tony said, looking at me. "Want to make yourself useful? Help us look through these files." He led us into an adjacent room started loading the table up with boxes upon boxes of files and paperwork.

"You could be a little nicer to her," Steve said.

"I am being nice," Tony replied. "I'm letting her help. I'm sure that's better than just walking around doing nothing, right?"

"Yeah I'd rather help than do nothing," I said.

"Well, do you know anything about Strucker that might help us?" Steve asked as he handed me a box.

"Not really," I said. "Just that human experimentation is his thing. He's in these movies about the X-Men."

"X-Men?" Tony looked at me. "Sounds dumb."

"So does the Avengers," I snapped. "What are you even avenging?"

"Okay, okay," Steve said. "Human experimentation. That's it?"

I put the box on the table and started flipping through it.

"Yeah," I replied. "I mean, I'm surprised he's here given that he's mostly involved with mutants. But I guess the MCU needed a way to make Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver canon before Fox came for them."

Steve stopped sorting through his box and looked at me. "There were a lot of things you just said that make no sense."

I laughed. "MCU is shorthand for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's the movies you guys are in which are based on the comics. Mutants are people who have this mutant gene which gives them special powers. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, or Wanda and Pietro, are supposed to be mutants but the 20th Century Fox owns the rights to mutants and the X-Men so I guess the MCU had to get clever if they wanted to include Wanda and Pietro. Hence, Strucker."

"None of that is really helpful in this case," Tony said. "But thanks for sharing."

"You're not really helpful in this case," I said. "But thanks for making a murder bot."

Natasha snorted.

Tony glared at her.

"What do you know about the Maximoffs?" Steve asked. "Sounds like we're going to have to fight them to get to Ultron. Anything we should know about them?"

"I don't know how similar they're going to be to their mutant versions," I said. "But Pietro, or Quicksilver, is pretty self-explanatory. He runs fast. Wanda, though, well. She willed the mutant gene out of existence."

"What do you mean she willed the mutant gene out of existence?" Bruce asked, looking at me.

"I mean," I said. "That she didn't want mutants to exist anymore, so they didn't. She used her powers and erased the gene."

"Well, that's not terrifying," Tony said, quietly.

"But again, I don't know how similar they are so she might not be able to do that here," I said. "And mutants don't exist, so you don't have to worry about that."

I dug around in my box still not sure what I was supposed to be looking for. Maybe something Ultron could use for himself or wanted to keep hidden from us. It was hard to tell. Everything I came across felt like it could be important but unimportant at the same time.

"Just watch yourself with her, I guess," Steve said.

"Yeah, she's probably the most powerful Avenger," I said.

"Well," Thor said. "I mean, she's not an Avenger, now is she? And I'm sure there are some very powerful actual Avengers, right? Like, one who might also be a god? Maybe?"

"I think you hurt Thor's feelings," Natasha said.

"She's supposed to be an Avenger," I said. "And until she is one, Thor can be the strongest Avenger, how about that?"

Thor frowned. "I suppose that'll do. For now."

"You seem pretty confident she's going to be an Avenger," Tony said.

I shrugged. "I'm only basing it off the comics. She's definitely not someone you want fighting against you."

"Great," Steve said. "Good to know we don't want her as our enemy now that she's our enemy."

"Wait hold on," Tony said, glancing at a file Bruce was looking through. "I know him." Bruce handed Tony the file. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms."

Steve glared at Tony.

"There are conventions, okay?" Tony said. "Meet people. I didn't sell him anything."

Steve took the file and examined it.

"He talked about finding something new," Tony continued. "A game changer."

Thor held up a photo, "This. It looks like a brand."

Bruce took the photo and scanned it into the computer. "It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief. But in a much meaner way than saying thief."

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanda," Bruce said.

Steve and Tony shared a look.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods," Tony said.

"I though your father said he got the last of it," Steve said quietly.

"I don't follow," Bruce said. "What comes out of Wakanda?"

"The strongest metal on earth," Tony said.

Steve glanced at his shield leaning against a nearby wall. "So where's this guy now?"