March 26th, 2015; Salvage Yard, South Africa…
One of the guards opened a door, which squeaked as it swung on half-rusted hinges. Ellen and her people followed him inside. After passing through a series of hallways, they entered the belly of the old cargo ship. Men moved crates on and off stacks, wheeling carts full of parts, and digitally scanning inventory while guards patrolled the edge and along the catwalks. Dingy lighting and old, rusted metal added to the grungy atmosphere.
"Too dirty," Baasan said, his nose wrinkling as they were led up a set of stairs.
Sablinova snorted. "What's the matter, big guy? Afraid of a few germs?"
"If anything, this guy should be afraid," Killmonger chimed in, pointing at Rumlow. "He's got enough problems without adding Tetanus to the mix."
"Listen, you little shit…" he said, grabbing the other man by the sleeve.
Ellen turned to look at her second in command, her irritation building. She'd been operating on eight hours sleep over the last four days. "Hey!" She pointed to the back of her head. "Behave."
Rumlow reluctantly let go.
They came to a catwalk on the uppermost level. A man with curly hair and a beard, with a wild gleam in his eyes, spoke on the phone. He glanced at Ellen's group, then promptly hung up. "Ah, customers!" he proclaimed with a pronounced South African accent, arms held wide. "My favourite kind of people."
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Ellen greeted. "You must be Ulysses Klaue."
Klaue smiled. "And you must be the famous Madame Hydra I've heard so much about. Word is you attacked a diamond mine in Botswana last week. Killed all the guards and set the workers free. Now that must have been good fun."
Ellen reached into her pocket and produced a quarter-sized uncut diamond. She held it up for him to see. "I find myself in need of weapons tech, and some currency to spare. Everyone I speak to says you're the best in the business."
"You've definitely come to the right place," he replied, stepping forward until he stood uncomfortably close. She could smell the lingering stench of gin and cigars mixed with sweat. "I'm sure we can come to a proper arrangement."
She looked him in the eye. "I'll give you a list of what we need."
"Sounds good. And, uh…I might have some work for your little team. If you're interested."
Ellen shook her head. "Thanks, but we're not for hire."
"You sure?" he asked, leering down at her. "You and I, we could get up to all sorts of trouble together."
She sneered. "You sound like my prom date. He ditched me to hook up with my best friend."
"Well then, he was a fool," Klaue said. "I'd fully appreciate a woman like you. Besides, you're too beautiful to hide yourself." He raised a hand to brush aside the hair covering her scars.
Ellen flashed back to the battle, the glass slicing her face. She remembered seeing her disfigurement in mirrors just before shattering them. The feelings of rage and humiliation –combined with her hatred of being touched and a chronic lack of sleep– caused her to snap. Batting his hand away, she kneed him in the groin. He squealed and fell to his knees. She then grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked his head back, drawing a knife and leveling the tip at his eye.
The guards all reacted at once, aiming their weapons as Rumlow, Baasan, Killmonger, and Sablinova drew their sidearms.
"We ain't in a good spot," Killmonger said quietly.
"Pierce, cool it!" Rumlow hissed.
Klaue, meanwhile, giggled as his eyes flicked between Ellen's furious expression and her knife. "Now there's Madame Hydra. Don't tell me: your knife is coated in some sort of snake venom. What is it? Rattler? Viper? No, Black Mamba!"
"Once this goes through your eye and into your brain, it won't matter," Ellen retorted.
He nodded. "True enough."
"We won't know each other for long, but there's one thing you need to keep in mind. Don't. Ever. Touch. Me. Got it?"
He looked up at her, silent, then nodded. She let him go and sheathed her knife as he started laughing. The guards lowered their weapons, as did her people. "Sweetheart, you are my kinda crazy," Klaue said. "Come, let's take a look at my inventory. I'm sure I can provide lots of goodies." He descended a set of stairs, leading them down to the various crates below.
"That brand," Killmonger said. "I recognize the dialect. That Wakandan?"
Klaue regarded him with an amused smirk. "You've got a good eye, kid. You're lookin' at the only outlander who's ever penetrated their borders and lived to tell the tale. Though not without getting this little souvenir," he added, brushing a finger across the brand on his neck.
Ellen glanced at Killmonger, impressed at his recognition. She'd seen the brand, but wasn't familiar enough with African languages to understand it.
"Must have been quite a trip," he said.
Klaue replied, "Sometimes, all the pain in the world is worth it to find treasure."
They took the supplies they bought from Klaue and rejoined the others, then drove both trucks to a garage they were using as a temporary base.
Ellen remembered her first meeting with Arnim Zola, when she'd been recruited into HYDRA. He told her, in that dusty, empty cavern of a bunker, that a single assassin could accomplish more than an entire army could. Her time on missions with the Winter Soldier had proven as much. The two of them had helped shape global policy, all because of focus, commitment, and sheer will.
In forming her new cell of HYDRA, she'd taken those lessons to heart. A small, highly trained team could accomplish anything. They just needed the right equipment. Klaue's goods had provided the proper force multipliers, top-of-the-line in an age of unending progress.
Everyone now had tactical combat suits, complete with goggles, helmets, and half-masks that could filter smoke and most toxins. It reminded her of the standard-issue S.T.R.I.K.E. gear, which brough back a bevy of unwanted memories. Killmonger settled for a simple bulletproof vest, silver with orange-coloured straps. Likewise, Sablinova chose a more lightweight ensemble, painting it silver and wearing it under her silver coat.
Baasan painted a snarling red and blue wolf's head onto his chest piece, then claws on his gloves. Ellen marveled at the detail of his work once he finished.
"This is incredible," she said upon examining the wolf's head. The placement of the hairs seemed so real, the eyes so lifelike.
He inclined his head. "My mother taught me how to draw when I was a boy. I find it soothing. Actually, a few years ago I became a tattoo artist."
Ellen nodded at the talent on display. "Funny you should mention. I've thought about getting tattoos for years, but I never got around to it."
"If you ever decide you want to, I'd be more than happy to show you my work."
"I might just take you up on that."
With the assistance of Hodgins and Smith, two men with engineering experience, Rumlow crafted a special suit for himself. He augmented the standard tactical gear with ballistic plates, creating an impressive suit of battle armour. Then, he disassembled a pair of Electronic Battering Rams, the same kind Ellen had used in her assassination attempt of Nick Fury. Rumlow retrofitted the hydraulic mechanisms in the rams, combining them with a pair of gauntlets. The finished product could smash through concrete and dent metal, giving him a near-superhuman strength advantage.
Ellen, having decided to keep her current green catsuit and gear, watched him grab a can of white spray paint. With quick strokes, he applied two thick lines that formed an X across his chest. Then he took a face-concealing helmet and painted on a skull. The rough edges and angles made it look somewhat animalistic and savage.
When he put the whole suit on, it concealed his extensive scarring from the Triskelion battle. Yet it also made him look even more monstrous, a beast that would tear anyone apart at the slightest provocation.
Fortunately for her, Rumlow was a beast she could control.
April, 2015; HYDRA Research Base…
And so, life went on. Danica and Wanda and Pietro were put through even more rigorous training to hone their respective powers. Though Strucker and Doctor List never said anything, it became clear they were rushing to prepare for something. It had been almost a month since word came of the last HYDRA base in Central Asia falling. Then, nothing. Danica found herself wondering when or if the threat came their way. All she could do was prepare herself, body and mind.
HYDRA had finally let them wear their own clothes instead of grey jumpsuits. Perhaps they were too preoccupied to care about keeping their 'test subjects' in prison-like jumpsuits. Wanda wore a black thigh-length dress with black boots, ripped knee-high stockings, and various rings and bracelets. Pietro wore a grey shirt under a black sports jacket and jeans with black boots.
Danica chose to wear ripped black jeans, black boots, and an unzipped grey jacket over a black V-neck shirt. The shirt was a bit revealing, but when she caught Pietro sneaking glances at her, she couldn't help but smirk.
Then, on a cool April morning, the alarms sounded.
April 28th, 2015…
Danica, Wanda, and Pietro had been moved to a low-security cell within sight of the base's command centre for observation. They, along with everyone manning a terminal or standing guard, flinched when the alarms wailed. Every screen in sight flashed red as pinpricks of light –people, she realized– moved into the defense zone. Panicked voices crackled over radios from the perimeter sentries, only to be silenced moments later.
On a nearby monitor, a soldier's shaky bodycam footage showed a man running across the road. He disappeared from view, only to reappear a split second later as an enormous green rage monster. Danica gasped from shock as the footage turned to static. Another monitor showed a trio of soldiers aiming their rifles at someone driving towards them on a motorcycle, only for a familiar red white and blue shield to slice through the air. It bounced off all three men, knocking them out.
The base shook from some sort of impact, causing dust and pebbles to fall from the walls. Wanda and Pietro held hands, and Danica leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths.
"Report to your stations immediately!" Herr Strucker's voice barked over the intercom. "This is not a drill. We are under attack!" Stressed voices echoed from down the hall as a group of soldiers ran to collect their weapons from a rack. "We are under attack!"
"They're here."
Wanda looked at Danica and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright."
Danica nodded, feeling some of her tension melting. But despite all the tests, all the preparation, she still felt needles of fear poking her entire body. Every muscle felt on fire, and she couldn't stop fidgeting. Herr Strucker entered the command centre, monocle glinting as his face pinched with anger. "Who gave the order to attack?" he demanded.
"Herr Strucker, it's the Avengers," one of the techs reported.
One of the soldiers, cradling his rifle, added, "They landed in the far woods. The perimeter guard panicked."
Strucker took in the news with silent stoicism. He whispered something to Doctor List, then asked, "Can we hold them?"
"They're the Avengers," the tech replied incredulously.
"Deploy the rest of the tanks. Concentrate fire on the weak ones. A hit may make them close ranks." He leaned in to speak with Doctor List. Both men were agitated, understandably, but something the doctor said made Herr Strucker shake his head. Danica watched them closely, hands on her hips.
"They're not going to send us out there," she said.
"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.
Danica gestured to Strucker. "Look at him. Whatever List said, it made him look at us, but Strucker shook his head. He probably doesn't want to risk his 'prized assets' in the fight."
"To hell with that!" Pietro hissed. "We can do more damage than an entire battalion of his soldiers. We should be out there."
Wanda absently twisted the rings on her fingers. "But we've never used our powers outside of this place."
"This is what we've been preparing for," Danica insisted. "We were the only ones who survived because we were strong enough. If I'm being honest, I'm terrified at the thought of going out there to fight the strongest people on Earth. But the only way to overcome fear is to face it so it no longer has power over you. This is our time."
Pietro nodded. Holding his sister by the arms, he said, "Dany and I will go outside and fight. You stay inside the castle. If any of the Avengers get inside, you can scramble their minds."
"I don't want us to be apart–"
"It'll be fine," he assured her, adopting his 'big brother' instinct. Wanda nodded. She focused on the cell's relatively simple lock and, bending her fingers, broke it with a tendril of scarlet energy. The force field collapsed.
"We will not yield!" Strucker called, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. "The Americans sent their circus freaks to test us. We will send them back in bags." He paused, looking each man in the eyes. "No surrender!"
"No surrender!" they all echoed.
Pietro placed a hand on both their backs. Danica shivered at his touch, and in the corner of her eye she saw him smirking. "Jerk," she teased. Then, they took off in a flash. Fortunately, Pietro's power extended to those he carried, otherwise Danica would have vomited all over herself and passed out from the high speeds. After dropping Wanda off in another part of the base, the two of them zoomed out through an old train tunnel. The trees and hills raced by them, looking nothing more than flashes of colour.
When Pietro came to a stop, Danica gasped as everything instantly reformed around her.
"Was that good for you?" he asked, a suggestive glint in his eye.
She smacked him in the arm, causing him to laugh. They looked out at the battlefield, noting the explosions creeping closer and closer. "You go left, I go right," she said. "I'll copy the strongest one I find and keep their attention, and you can take care of the rest."
He nodded. "Good enough. I'll pick you up and take you back inside if things get too hectic out here."
"Deal."
He gave a playful salute, then took off in a streak of silver.
Danica took a deep breath, then walked towards the explosions. She shivered from the cold winter air, rubbing her arms. Her breath came out in white clouds, and the wind gently shook the frosted branches. The woods were beautiful, in their own way. It was a shame she couldn't take longer to appreciate the natural beauty of her home. But she had a job to do, and her friends were counting on her.
Cresting a small hill, she saw one of Strucker's tanks crash to the ground, crumpling like tinfoil. A moment later, one of the Avengers landed beside it. Judging by his long blonde hair, silver armour, red cape, and hammer in hand, she recognized him as Thor. The so-called 'God of Thunder'. He swung his hammer, using it to bat aside HYDRA soldiers as if they were made of cardboard. Danica focused on him, looking inside with her powers. His pattern of glowing tendrils, his nervous system, wholly unlike anyone she'd copied. It didn't resemble anything human, and it shone with the brightness of the stars themselves.
Blinking, she copied his pattern and took it into herself, sharply inhaling as the winter cold receded. She clenched her hands into fists, feeling as if she were strong enough to crush mountains, generate storms at will, or leap for miles at a time. Strong enough to shatter worlds. The powers of a god were now at her fingertips, setting her well above the masses of ordinary folk.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" she said, giggling at the rush.
Wasting no more time, she hurried down the hill towards Thor. Mussing her hair, she tried to squeeze out a few tears and shake as if in a panic. The strongest of the Avengers, after dispatching another HYDRA soldier, looked at her and furrowed his brow.
"Please!" she called, trying her best to sound hysterical. Her English wasn't as good as Wanda or Pietro's, since they'd practised by watching American sitcoms. But it was passable. "Please, you have to help!"
"Stay back!" he ordered, blocking a shot from a plasma turret. He hurled his hammer, which demolished one of the turrets she'd helped install, then flew back into his hand.
"I need your help!" Danica said, stumbling as she approached and clinging to his armour. "They were keeping us prisoner. M-my, my friends are in there! Please, you have to help." He softened his expression, patting her back as the hand with his hammer fell to his side.
"Thor, what's your situation?" a voice called through some kind of radio. Probably an earpiece. Among other things, she'd gained superior hearing and senses.
"I've encountered one of the natives. She claims to have been held captive by HYDRA, and some of her people are still being held in the fortress." He turned to look up at the base, dropping his guard. Ever the hero, deigning to help the poor, powerless mortals. When he wasn't looking, Danica dropped her helpless façade and fixed him with a glare as hard as titanium. Thor started to look back at her and said, "We will rescue your friends, m'lady, but you must–"
Danica balled her right hand into a fist, cocked it back, then smashed it into Thor's face in a brutal uppercut.
She sensed her newfound strength –his strength– would have pulverized the skulls of any regular person. Instead, Thor merely went flying into the air, dropping his hammer. He crashed through a trio of trees before carving a furrow through the ground as he slid. Danica whooped, raising her fist in the air. This felt glorious!
Thor, grunting, got to his feet. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice rumbling like the crack of thunder. "How did you acquire such power?"
"You want it back?" she asked innocently. Her body crackled with electricity, energized beyond belief. A tall tree loomed beside her, giving her an idea. "Here, let me give it back to you!" Danica punched the tree, separating the trunk from the base with an explosion of splinters. Those same splinters bounced off her toughened skin. She gripped the trunk with both arms, finding it not heavy in the slightest, and leveled it at Thor. With a grunt, she rammed it into him like striking the head of a nail with a hammer.
He caught the tree, sliding back a few feet, then surged forward with a burst of speed that shattered the large trunk. Thor slammed into her, and she grunted in surprise. They flew through the air, smashing trees and watchtowers in equal measure. Slipping one of her hands free, Danica punched Thor in the face again and again. Each blow boomed, shaking snow from the trees. He growled, grabbed her by the waist, and hurled her.
She tumbled, her world spinning out of control. At first she whimpered in terror, but crashing into the ground didn't hurt at all. Danica gasped, amazed she hadn't even sprained something, then stood up in the crater she'd made on impact.
More shots and explosions sounded nearby. Dusting herself off, she climbed out of the crater and looked around. Just like everywhere else, HYDRA's soldiers were getting their collective asses kicked. Nearby, Thor spoke with the star-spangled oppressor. The latter held out his shield, and the former struck it with his hammer, creative a concussive wave. The wave knocked aside a column of HYDRA troops, and flipped a tank onto its back. Thor said something else, then flew off.
Danica focused on Captain America, then copied his pattern. She didn't feel nearly as strong as the God of Thunder this time, but still many times stronger than anyone else. She also felt quicker, and looked forward to testing her new reflexes.
Somewhere off in the distance came a monstrous roar, followed by a series of explosions.
Pursing her lips, she ran straight at her target far faster than she expected. Captain America noticed her quickly, and judging by how he tensed, he'd been warned about her by Thor. He wound his arm, then threw his shield at her. Seeing it coming, Danica gave into her new instincts pushed off the ground. She spun through the air in a sideways somersault as the shield passed harmlessly beneath her. Landing with the grace of a practiced athlete, she resumed her charge. Closing in, she drove her knee into Captain America's chest just as he crossed his arms to block.
He slid back, then threw a punch at her head. Danica blocked it with one arm, then hammered her own punches into his chest. Catching her hand by the wrist, he head-butted her. She stumbled back, checking her nose. Unlike when she'd fought Dmitri in the training room, her nose hadn't been broken. Perks of a super soldier physique. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the shield racing back to its owner.
Throwing her opponent a taunting smirk, Danica leaped in front of him and caught the shield just before it reached him.
The force of the impact drove her to the ground, but she flipped back onto her feet in seconds. Captain America aimed a roundhouse kick at her face, but she blocked it with his own shield. When she tried to smash the edge of her weapon into his face, he caught it with both hands. Her eyes widened in shock, guessing what he'd do, but she couldn't escape his grip. He twisted, then used the shield to flip her through the air. Danica smashed into a destroyed tank head-first, and her world flashed white as a spike of pain tore through her skull.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she clung to the warped metal when her feet felt like they would give out. No blood fortunately, but a blow to the head like this wasn't something to be taken lightly. She heard crunching footsteps as Captain America approached her. "Stay down," he warned, though not unkindly. "This won't end well if you keep fighting."
Opening her eyes despite the throbbing in her head, she glared at him. "Jedi govna, Avenger," she spat. One second they were in a standoff, the next Danica felt the wind whipping over her before reappearing near the base. If she hadn't possessed Captain America's superhuman stamina, she would have vomited from the disorientation. Pietro nodded to her, wiping snow and dirt from his pants. "Thanks," she mumbled, stumbling. He held onto her arm to steady her.
"HYDRA's surrendering. Looks like the Avengers have won."
"We gave it our best shot," Danica told him. "But, yeah, I could definitely use a break."
"Come on, let's find Wanda." She nodded, and Pietro, still holding onto her, sped into the base. It only took minutes to search the entire fortress, so they entered the underground lab where Strucker kept his most valued projects. Aside from them. Danica had only been down here a few times, to aid HYDRA's scientists in developing weapons. But she couldn't remember or understand any of that now. Those memories felt more like someone else's dreams, the technology strange yet familiar at the same time.
They stopped next to Wanda, who stood staring at something. 20 feet away stood none other than Tony Stark, without his precious Iron Man armour. The scepter that gave them their powers mounted on a pedestal in front of the Avenger. Pietro started moving towards him, but Wanda held out an arm to stop him.
Oblivious to their presence, Stark held out a hand.
"We're just gonna let him take it?" Pietro asked, sounding irritated.
Danica shared the feeling. "If he takes the scepter, then he'll use it to spread even more suffering around the world. We have to stop him now."
Wanda didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled in deep satisfaction as the gauntlet of Stark's armour flew onto his hand. With it, he grabbed the scepter and removed it from its pedestal. The displays around it went blank, and most of the advanced weapons and machines it powered shut down. "No, I don't think he will," she said quietly.
"And how do you know that?" Danica asked.
"Because I showed him something," Wanda replied. "A vision, more like a nightmare. It will consume his every waking thought, driving him to prevent it from happening. He'll use the scepter, but haunted by the things I showed him, he'll use it to destroy himself and his precious friends."
Her words were difficult to follow, but Danica trusted her friend on this. After all, no one knew the effects of Wanda's powers like Wanda. If she said this would destroy the Avengers, then that was a good enough outcome.
"Come on," Danica said. "We should get out of here before the Avengers lock down the base." Pietro nodded, placing a hand on their backs. In a flash, they left the base, and HYDRA, behind.
April 29th, 2015; Avengers Tower…
After a long but relatively bloodless battle, the Avengers gathered in their Quinjet and flew back to their headquarters in New York. Bruce was recovering from becoming the Hulk, and Clint would need some medical attention once they landed. Thankfully his injuries weren't life-threatening, but it could have been worse.
Steve spent most of the flight back pondering the events of the battle. Despite HYDRA's advanced Chitauri weaponry and shielding tech, they still lost. Loki's Scepter, lost since the invasion of New York three years earlier, was finally back in proper hands. Tony and Bruce were practically salivating at the prospect of running a battery of tests before Thor returned it to Asgard for safekeeping.
As he sat in his chair, Steve kept thinking back to those three Enhanced they'd fought at the HYDRA base. The first had moved faster than the eye could follow, even knocking him to the ground at one point. The second had blasted him back without touching him, suggesting some kind of mental powers. And then there was the third, who somehow fought him and Thor to a standstill. Her combat skills were potent, but underdeveloped since he and Thor had both managed to beat her after a short fight.
But the fact she could keep up with them in the first place troubled him.
After crossing Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, they finally reached New York. The city had bounced back in the wake of the invasion, with memorials to the fallen first responders and civilians honouring the countless acts of bravery on that day. The Quinjet touched down on the landing pad of Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower, folding its wings as the ramp lowered.
Dr. Cho, having flown in from Seoul, directed her team in transporting Clint off the Quinjet in a stretcher. Natasha stayed with him the whole way, clutching her friend's hand.
Hill stepped into the jet as Thor carried the case with the scepter off. "Lab's all set up, boss," she said to Tony.
"Oh, actually, he's the boss," Tony said, pointing to Steve as he swiveled the pilot's chair around. "I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler."
Steve rolled his eyes, cracking a small smile. Turning to Hill, he asked, "What's the word on Strucker?"
"NATO's got him."
"The three Enhanced?"
She pulled up a handheld terminal and pulled up a series of images. Steve flicked through them as he and Hill walked into the building. "The first two are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building."
"And the other woman?" Steve asked.
Hill reached over and flicked to an image of the woman standing next to the twins as part of some sort of political rally. She was beautiful, though Steve noted her eyes in the picture were brown. When he'd fought her at the HYDRA base, they'd been a striking and mesmerizing blue. "Danica Novak, friends with the Maximoffs since childhood. Father died before she was born, mother died in the same bombing as the Maximoffs. Her older brother served in the Sokovian army, but he was killed in action three years later."
Steve nodded gravely. "Orphans sticking together after losing everything." It reminded him of how he and Bucky had forged their friendship all those years ago, before the war. The memory of his best friend brought a familiar ache to his chest. The last time he'd seen Bucky, his best friend had been under the thrall of HYDRA as their top assassin. The so-called 'Winter Soldier' had vanished after the fall of SHIELD. No matter how hard Steve searched, he couldn't find his lost friend. Which meant Bucky didn't want to be found.
That reminded him of Ellen, which caused another ache.
"Sokovia's had a rough history," Hill continued. Knowing her, she'd noticed his reaction and chose not to dig. He appreciated that. "It's nowhere special, but it's on the way to everywhere special."
"Their abilities?"
"We were able to glean intel from security footage and the HYDRA files you guys downloaded. As for the twins, he's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation."
Steve frowned at her, understanding nothing after 'as for the twins'.
Hill shrugged, then said, "He's fast and she's weird."
"And Novak? It almost seemed like she had multiple abilities to keep up with me and Thor." They stopped at an elevator, and he pressed the call button.
"Not so much. From what I saw, it seems like Novak's thing is neuroelectric interfacing like Wanda Maximoff. But in her case, she interfaces with a target's nervous system and is somehow able to replicate it in her own body. Her neuromuscular system is extremely elastic, which explains how she could manifest superhuman strength in seconds with no visible change."
"So in other words…?"
"If she can see you, she can copy you. Any powers, strength, reflexes, and intelligence you might have, she can have. As far as we can tell, she's limited to copying one person at a time."
Steve nodded. "Which explains how she could have Thor's strength and my reflexes."
"Exactly."
"Reminds me a bit of Taskmaster's abilities." He remembered when he and Sam fought the mercenary in response to Hill's call, shortly after the Triskelion battle. Masters had displayed a superb grasp of nearly all the Avengers' fighting styles, as well as Georges Batroc and others.
Hill's expression darkened, and she looked at the wall.
Realizing his mistake, he said, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
"It's fine, Steve," she replied. "That occurred to me, too. Tony's just…a sore subject, is all."
He nodded. Looking back at the pad, he handed it to Hill and said, "Well, they're gonna show up again." The elevator arrived, and he stepped inside.
"Agreed. File says they all volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."
"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Steve asked with a smirk.
Hill looked unimpressed. "We're not at war, Captain."
As the doors closed, he said, "They are."
May 2nd, 2015…
Stark and Bruce laboured for three days working on the scepter. Meanwhile, the rest of the Avengers finalized preparations for the upcoming party.
A part of Steve still couldn't believe it. After all this time, HYDRA was finally finished. Its main cells and operations torn down, either by the Avengers or by worldwide coordination by political and military efforts. Of course, he'd thought his old enemies defeated seven decades ago, only for them to resurface. But Hill had assured him that –while some individual agents or groups might still be in the wild– HYDRA ceased to be any kind of global threat.
Strucker had been the final piece on the board, the last obstacle in the path of peace. Maybe a permanent peace, Steve hoped. If that were the case, then what would his purpose be?
The question hung over him as he indulged in the grand party in the common room of Avengers Tower. The lights had darkened, music played over the speakers, and drinks flowed freely as crowds of people filled the space. Some politicians, military officers, business partners of Stark Industries. Even personal friends and associates, like Rhodes, Sam, Erik Selvig, and Pepper.
Steve gravitated towards the group of veterans. It felt good, sharing stories and bonding with men who truly knew what he'd been through back in the day. He even recognized a pair he'd met in France when they'd been kids just trying to survive.
As he moved through the party, mingling for brief moments before excusing himself, he ran into a familiar face.
"Captain," Senator William Phillips greeted.
Steve shook his hand. "It's good to see you here, Bill."
"My pleasure." They strolled over to the window, gazing out at the city. "Congratulations, by the way. Even though he's not here to say it, I know Grandad would tell you how pleased he was."
Steve smiled, remembering his old superior officer. "I appreciate that."
Bill sighed. "So much has happened this past year."
"Yes, it has."
"I still can't believe Ellen pulled the wool over my eyes for so long." Steve tried to fight the sadness in his heart as the other man said, "I hope I'm not overstepping, but do you know where she is? What she's involved in?"
He shook his head. "She's been off the grid since last year. I've tried looking, but…"
Bill looked at him. "I know the two of you were close in your time at S.H.I.E.L.D. I can't imagine how you feel about the whole situation."
"This isn't the first time I've found out someone close to me kept secrets." He thought of Bucky, Rumlow, and how Fury and Romanoff would keep him in the dark all those times. Even now, he hated secrets. But he also understood that some were worth keeping, if it prevented greater pain. The revelation of Stark's parents, their deaths secretly at the hands of HYDRA, chief among them.
Shaking his head, Bill said, "You know, the news is painting Ellen as a terrorist mastermind and a mass murderer. I'm not denying she's guilty of a lot of things, but…"
Steve looked at him. "But what?"
"I knew her, Captain. We were never more than associates, really, but we attended dozens of charity events together. She cared about those causes. She cared about helping other people. I don't have any exact figures, but her grandfather's investment firm was worth tens of billions. Most of that went into charitable organizations, or start ups of promising companies. I also know some of those dollars funded the construction of this very tower."
Steve looked across the room at Stark, who drank a smoothie as he visited with Rhodes and half a dozen politicians.
"I'm having a hard time reconciling the generous, compassionate soul I knew with the monster everyone's painting her to be. Does that sound crazy to you?"
"Not at all. I've…been feeling much the same, actually."
Bill nodded, taking a sip of his champagne. "For her sake, I hope she gets the help she needs" He shook Steve's hand, then added, "It's good to see you again, Captain. I'll let you get back to the party."
Steve thought of his words as the evening continued, people mingling and drinking. After a while, he found himself at the bar. Hill sat alone, martini in hand as she observed the crowd. She'd dressed up for the occasion, even styling her hair. In the entire time he'd known the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he'd only ever seen her in professional suits. Always business first, never letting her guard down. Even though she watched the party with the eye of a trained spy, it was nice to know even she could relax now and again.
"Hey, Steve," she greeted.
"Maria. Mind if I join you?"
She gestured to the stool beside her. "Be my guest." He sat down, grabbing a glass of scotch less than half his age. Hill regarded him for a moment. "You're looking a little lost."
He shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile. "I guess I'm still not that great at lying."
She smiled. "That's not a bad thing."
"It feels good," Steve said, gesturing to the room around them. "Celebrating. We've done something to earn it. Everyone deserves to have a good time."
"But…?"
He took a sip of scotch. "Almost everyone here is someone I value. Friends, comrades, people I admire. I found something special, with the Avengers. But seeing everyone here have a good time with the people that matter most to them…It just drives home the fact I have people who matter to me who are lost, on the run. Does that make me selfish?"
Hill shook her head. "It makes you human. And if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one with people you care about on the run."
"If you ever want to talk about it, my door's always open," Steve offered.
"Thanks." She sighed. "Tony is…Well, I guess I don't have to tell you how he is."
He nodded, remembering his encounters with the mercenary.
"There's a part of me that'll always love him. I don't regret our time together. I just hate how he chose a life of crime over us. All to feed his ego."
Steve took another sip, then furrowed his brow. "Us?"
Hill blinked, looking at him in surprise. "It's nothing," she said, sipping her martini.
Just like Natasha and Clint, Hill kept her own secrets, even from the team. Steve never felt like prying, and didn't press the issue. His respect for her outweighed any curiosity. "If there's ever anything I can do, just ask."
"Thanks, Steve. I'm not usually one for talk, but I can be a sounding board if you want. I think we're uniquely qualified to help each other out."
He snorted, and they clinked glasses.
As the party continued in the common room below, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner's experiment processed in his lab. They'd spent days trying to create Ultron, the ultimate self-aware, peacekeeping protocol meant to defend the Earth against extraordinary threats. J.A.R.V.I.S. kept monitoring the programs that attempted to replicate a working model based on the intelligence in the heart of the scepter's gem. All proceeded as normal.
Then, a fell chill blew through the room.
The shadows grew, seeming to devour every bit of available light as a presence manifested itself. J.A.R.V.I.S. detected nothing, as this presence existed on a plane far beyond the scope of man or machine. It moved through the room as liquid darkness, swimming through the air and across every surface. It coalesced around the scepter, the blue gem gleaming like a miniature star despite the unnatural blackness all around.
Tendrils of shadow stretched out to the gem. "Arise, my child," it spoke in a voice with no sound, with words that could drive a mortal mind to madness. "You shall be my instrument of vengeance. Unleash my wrath on this world. Arise. ARISE!"
In response, the gem flashed with power, the mind within successfully cajoled. The shadows receded, the liquid darkness dissipating as the lights restored themselves. The presence retreated, the act of manifesting on this plane too taxing. Within the confines of the lab's software, Ultron awoke.
"What is this?"
And so, we dive into the events of Age of Ultron! While it may not be one of my favourite MCU films (and my least favourite of the four Avengers films), I still immensely enjoy it. To me, it feels the most comic book-y. A group of heroes defeat bad guys with plasma weapons while quipping, new people have superpowers, an AI launches an assault on the Earth across disparate locations, all culminating in a battle where a city is launched into the sky.
It's also EXTREMELY important to the MCU as a whole, as it introduces our beloved Wanda, the Mind Stone, and reforms the Avengers roster for the future. The ramifications of the film's events are still being felt, even seven years later.
I will be making several changes to the film's storyline for the purposes of this story. Some minor, some major. A lot of the changes are based on the Nando v Movies video, "Altering Ultron – Avengers: Age of Ultron" on Youtube. I highly suggest checking out his channel, as his suggested rewrites of different superhero movies are quite insightful and thought-provoking.
If you don't want to be potentially spoiled for this arc of the story, then you might want to put the video on hold for now. Either way, I've been looking forward to this part for a long time, and I sincerely hope y'all enjoy it!
See you next time!