Hello everyone! 2020 has certainly become an insane year, and we're only in month three. My university has completely shut, and even though this is a real pain in the a***, this has given me a little time to get some writing done!
Please stay safe out there everyone, and remember not to panic. Life is crazy, but we will get through this as long as we're all sensible. If anyone has any worries about life right now and they don't know who to talk to, please PM and I will cheer you up with some wise Disney reference!
Thanks and enjoy,
Phantomshadow99
XXXXXX
"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch," Bruce tells everyone as we stand in the lab.
"Ultron," Steve mutters.
"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other," Natasha says, and I notice how Clint tenses at her words.
"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodes asks.
"Nuclear codes," Maria realises.
"Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can," Rhodes tells everyone.
"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Natasha says.
"He didn't say dead. He said extinct," Steve says.
"He also said he killed somebody," Clint reminds everyone.
"But there wasn't anyone else in the building," I say.
"Yes, there was," Tony says, bringing up a destroyed image of JARVIS' consciousness, as everyone looks on in silence.
"This is insane," Bruce mutters.
"JARVIS was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense," Steve comments.
"No, Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage," Bruce says, knowing the most about rage than anyone. Thor struts in, grabbing Tony by his neck.
"It's going around," Clint says and I rush to Thor's side, grabbing his arm.
"Come on. Use your words, buddy," Tony says, gripping his hands around his neck.
"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark," Thor says.
"Thor, enough," I say firmly. Thor glances at me before letting Tony go. I make sure to stand between the two as Tony stumbles back, away from Thor.
"The Legionnaire?" Steve asks.
"Trail went cold about a hundred miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again," Thor states angrily.
"The genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron," Natasha says.
"I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Dr Cho asks Tony. Tony starts laughing, while Banner shakes his head at him, trying to get him to stop.
"You think this is funny?" Thor asks.
"No. It's probably not, right? Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible," Tony says.
"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor states.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this," Tony says to everyone.
"Tony, maybe this might not be the time to..." Bruce begins, but is cut off by Tony.
"Really?! That's it? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls," Tony asks.
"Only when I've created a murder bot," Bruce answers.
"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony asks him.
"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD," Steve points out.
"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asks.
"No, it's never come up," Rhodes says sarcastically.
"Saved New York?" Tony asks.
"Never heard that," Rhodes answers the same way.
"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony asks.
"Together," Steve answers.
"We'll lose," Tony says.
"Then we'll do that together, too," Steve tells him. Tony looks at him for a moment before turning away, coming to stand next to me. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."
XXXXXX
The next day, the extent of Ultron surfaces, and I listen with a small amount of dread to Maria.
"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place," she tells Steve and I.
"Fatalities?" Steve asks.
"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see," Maria answers.
"Maximoffs," I say, and Steve nods.
"Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common," Steve agrees.
"Not anymore," Maria says, handing Steve a tablet showing a photo of Strucker's dead body with the word PEACE written in blood on the wall next to him. I sigh, walking beside Steve as we head off to find Clint.
"That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am," I hear Clint say, and we see him around the corner on the phone.
"Barton, we might have something," Steve interrupts him.
"Gotta go," Clint says, hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Steve asks, as Clint walks beside us.
"Girlfriend," Clint answers, not explaining further. We gather in the lab, and Steve shows everyone the photo of Strucker.
"What's this?" Tony asks.
"A message. Ultron killed Strucker," I answer, rolling my eyes as Thor presses the tablet to Tony without looking at him.
"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us," Tony comments.
"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Nat asks.
"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," Steve answers.
"Yeah, I bet he..." Nat mutters, looking at the computer before sighing. "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."
"Not everything," Tony says, and leads us to the physical files we have on Strucker. We each take a box and begin looking through them.
"Known associates. Well, Strucker had a lot of friends," Steve says.
"Well, these people are all horrible," Bruce adds.
"Wait. I know that guy," Tony stops Bruce, taking the photo he was looking at. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms," he explains, ignoring the accusing look Steve gives him. "There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very 'ahab'."
We gather around the photo, and Thor points to the scar on the back of Ulysses Klaue's neck. "This," he points out.
"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it..." Tony begins, but is cut off by Thor.
"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand," Thor says, and Bruce identifies the brand on the computer.
"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way," Bruce tells us.
"What dialect?" Steve asks.
"Wakanada...? Wa...Wa...Wakanda," Bruce says. Tony and Steve look at each other.
"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony trails off.
"I thought your father said he got the last of it?" Steve asks.
"I'm confused. What comes out of Wakanda?" I ask, and the two look at Steve's shield.
"The strongest metal on earth," Tony answers.
"Where is this guy now?" Steve asks.