Riley felt the whole mood of the Avengers shift once Steve had given the order to get to work. The sun was going to rise in a few hours and although they had all had a long night, especially with the party, no one felt the urge to sleep. They were all too wired. Too rattled by the possibilities of Ultron.

Rattled would be an understatement in Riley's opinion. She had separated from the group moments after they began scrambling, wandering outside to the launchpad in the cool, early morning air. There were no railings along the outline of the Avengers helipad outside, and as Riley looked back at the group wandering around looking over tablets and sifting through the data they had left, she decided to sit here and let her feet dangle off the side of the tall building.

Reaching into the jacket pocket, she pulled out the pack of cigarettes and lit one before sliding them back, looking out at the bright city. She wasn't afraid of Ultron. He was a piece of technology, and ultimately technology could be destroyed, eventually. But Ultron knew everything.

It had been Riley's biggest fear to be found, and after that had unfolded with the Avengers, it seemed that fear just kept growing. Now Ultron knew, and soon enough the whole world would know. She would be the exact freak Strucker had set out to turn her into, and she wasn't ready for it.

"Your disgusting habit is wafting inside," Tony called out, making his way out onto the helipad as well, hands in his pockets.

"Well I'm sure the smell of burning oil and metal will soon cover it up," she sighed. "How many of those things do you even have? They're everywhere.

"The Iron Legion?" Tony asked, shrugging. "The whole point is to have too many."

"Having too many probably sounded a lot better before the idea they'd become possessed, huh?" she quipped. "How are you gonna shut this thing down?"

Tony let out a long sigh, reaching a hand up to wrap around the back of his neck. He felt tense all over.

"That's what we're working on,"

"You and Bruce made the tech, can't you just...delete it?"

"We didn't even know it was complete," he shrugged. "It wasn't even working. Strucker used the Scepter, and whatever that did...it's too powerful to be shut down,"

Riley took one last drag of her cigarette before pressing it down against the concrete, listening to the ash hiss.

"Well then how do we find it?"

Tony looked over to her.

"We?"

Rolling her eyes, Riley folded her arms and looked back out at the city.

"Let me rephrase. How do I find it, huh? Because I'm not sitting here waiting for Ultron to take over my toaster and try to recruit me for a fucking robot war."

"Is that what you think is happening?" Tony asked curiously.

"I don't know what's happening," Riley shrugged. "Why else would I be here?"

Tony stared back at her, feeling the crisp air against his neck. He didn't know how Riley was sitting there comfortably, and as he looked out at the city, he started to think of what the fallout of this mess would be. He and Bruce didn't intentionally set out to create anything that could harm innocent people, that could be so uncontrollable, but it didn't change the fact that they had done so.

Everything that happened and everything that will happen, Tony couldn't help feel it would all be on him. Whatever Ultron was planning, they all knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Whatever Ultron's recruiting for, I'm not the only one he's trying to convince," Riley told him. "He told me I survived for a reason, and that the reason was here. If he's looking for Strucker's loose guinea pigs, my bet is he's going to Wanda and Pietro next,"

"The Maximoffs?" Steve's voice came from behind Tony.

Riley looked over at him, a small sigh escaping her lips.

"Probably," she shrugged. "I'd say for anyone who hates you guys."

"Is that why he went to you?" Tony asked.

Riley turned to the man with another shrug.

"Well he does know everything about me."

Steve cut in then.

"Whatever issues you have with this team, we need to know you're not about to-"

"Fucking hell," Riley whined, shaking her head and looking over at the man with a burning glare. "I'm not about to go running off to swear my allegiance to a piece of batshit insane tech, okay? You think I'd be here if I was about to go marching with the robot?"

"Why are you here, then? You've made it pretty clear you have no interest in actually helping us," Steve argued.

"Pretty clear, huh? Let me make it crystal, you're the last person I want to help," Riley bit back. "But I'm not exactly loving the idea of trying to get some of my life back while this Ultron asshole comes looking for me,"

"So you're here for protection?" Steve asked.

At that, Riley burst out into a bitter laugh. Pulling herself up, ran her hands through her hair and shook her head in disbelief. Right now she didn't know why she had come here in the first place. It seemed every time she came here, she ended up with a boiling rage.

"That has to be a joke," she continued to laugh.

Steve folded his arms and frowned over at the woman, looking back to Tony who was just observing the argument and flickering his glance between the two.

"Look, everyone's pissed off right now," Tony sighed. "We need to work on figuring out Ultron's next move, and I think she's right, he's headed to Sokovia. It's where it originated, it makes sense."

"He's probably a thousand steps in front of you guys, so I wouldn't start in Sokovia," Riley shook her head.

"If he does go for the other two enhanced, if he tries to recruit them or whatever," Tony began, looking to Riley. "They'd help him?"

"He'd be offering them a chance to take down the people they hate the most in this world," she explained. "What do you think?"

There was a moment of silence among them then, all three thinking about how they were going to get ahead of Ultron. It seemed impossible, and they all knew that too. While they stood there in the brisk air, Riley looked over Steve's shoulder toward Tony's small shelf of liquor once again. She could feel the tremble in her body still present, and her chest was growing tighter at just the thought of Ultron coming for her.

"Can you stop him or not?" she asked, her hands balling into fists at her side.

"We'll find him," Steve assured.

Riley stared at him, shaking her head with a small roll of her eyes.

"If he's getting Wanda and Pietro into his fight, you'll all need a lot more than your spangly-ass suits to make it through," she warned.

"We've read the files," Steve told her.

"Reading a file means jack shit," she rolled her eyes. "You read my file, didn't you?"

Steve stared back at her, wondering what she was getting at. He saw her hand lift slightly, facing toward him, and suddenly he felt a pressure building up around his neck. He continued to watch her as she moved her hand, letting him go with a slight shove as Steve grunted in discomfort.

"Reading and feeling is a little different, isn't it?"

"Hey, cut the shit," Tony warned, frowning toward her. "If you've got anything to offer in all your wisdom, go right ahead,"

"You know what they can do, and you haven't got a chance," she shook her head. "If you go straight for them, you won't win this."

Riley looked back at Steve, his arms still folded, and it was obvious he knew she was right. They had never dealt with anyone like the Maximoffs before, and they had never dealt with anything like Ultron before. This was an all new war, and right now they needed to think logically.

"I don't know what you want out of this, but I know you're scared," Steve began. "You can talk all you want and insult everyone on this team, but it comes down to one thing. You're either with Ultron or you're against him, and if you're against him, you're with us."

"I don't want anything to do with this," she muttered.

"A lot of people don't want anything to do with this, and a lot of people can't do anything about it. But we can," Steve told her. "I don't care what you think of us. You have abilities that could help everyone else who is going to be dragged into this."

Riley stared back at him, her arms mirroring his as they folded in front of her. Tony stayed silent off to the side, looking back between the two obviously clashing personalities. He knew that he and Steve had their own issues and clashing traits, but just like Steve pushed his buttons, Riley pushed his.

"Guess the history books got something right about you," Riley began. "How inspiring."

Tony broke into the conversation before another argument erupted.

"He's got a point," Tony looked over. "We've got a better chance together,"

Riley watched him carefully, considering his words. The last thing Riley saw herself as was a hero. She didn't even consider herself a good person, let alone someone selfless enough to fight a war she didn't need to be apart of. But the truth was she was so used to backing away from anything that could expose her to the world, and now that Ultron already knew everything about her, it wouldn't be long before the rest of the world did too.

"I'm not looking to join the super hero gang," she warned.

"I'm not asking you to," Steve bit back. "I'm telling you we've got a better chance stopping Ultron if we work together instead of against each other,"

Staring back at the man, Riley could feel her body beginning to tremble again. At just the thought of going out there fighting again, her whole body began to react. But she couldn't tell if she was feeling more fear, panic or excitement. All she knew was that right now she was filling with adrenaline.

"I've got a few things I need to take care of first," she told him, turning back to the edge of the building.

"We don't plan to stay sitting for long," Steve reminded.

"Then I'll be back when the sun's up," she assured.

Then Tony and Steve were left to watch Riley crouch down slightly, her eyes burning orange as her body flung into the air and the building shook with the force of her power. More glass shattered in the room behind them, but they barely paid any attention to the added destruction as they watched the woman soar into the air and disappear once again.

"I think you found someone who can argue more than me," Tony smirked, turning to Steve.

With a small nod, Steve shook his head with a long sigh. Tony was right about that.

Pietro and Wanda were standing in the same base they had fled days ago. The base they had spent so long, the base where they had suffered through all of their experiments. Except now, Strucker was no longer in charge. No man was in charge.

There were robots all throughout the warehouse they stood in, all moving and brought to life by Ultron himself.

"All of these are..." Wanda trailed off, standing close to her brother.

"Me," Ultron confirmed, now taking on the form of a larger and more sturdier robotic body. "I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant, disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads..."

"Everyone's plan is not to kill them," Pietro shook his head.

"And make them martyrs? You need patience. Need to see the big picture," Ultron continued.

"I don't see the big picture, I have a little picture. I take it out and look at it every day," Pietro explained.

Ultron paused.

"You lost your parents in the bombings. I've seen the records,"

"The records are not the picture."

"Pietro," Wanda warned, not wanting to be reminded.

"No, please," Ultron urged.

"We were ten years old, having dinner, the four of us. When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big," Pietro explained, letting his mind wander back. "Our parents go in, and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed and the second shell hits. But, it doesn't go off. It just...sits there in the rubble, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word..."

Wanda turned to Ultron, her eyes glowing red at just the thought of that memory and the person attached.

"Stark."

"We were trapped two days," Pietro nodded.

"Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think, "This will set it off." We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us," Wanda explained.

"I know what they are," Pietro finished.

"I wondered why you two survived Strucker's experiments, now I don't," Ultron nodded. "The other survivor, you've broken apart from her,"

"She left," Pietro told him. "Months ago. She came back with them, but it wasn't for us."

"Were you close with her?" Ultron dug.

"Us three learned together," Wanda sighed. "Everything that changed within us, everything we couldn't control, we found out together in our cells. Side by side."

"She didn't want powers," Ultron nodded. "She didn't have a war to fight, she didn't have the hate inside, like you two do. The need for revenge, for justice. But she is still one of three survivors. I paid her a visit earlier, and all I saw was a waste of potential."

"She is with them, isn't she?" Pietro asked.

"She's sedating herself, hiding away from everything she was made for," Ultron explained, letting out a sigh. "It's such a waste,"

"Riley made her choice," Wanda snapped. "We know her thoughts of the Avengers, and yet she fought to help them, and once again left us here without a single thought."

"You're hurt by her," Ultron summed up. "She's betrayed you both. The Avengers fear her, they don't understand her and they see her as a creature rather than a person, and she still chooses to put her loyalty in them over you both. Her family."

"She is not our family," Wanda shook her head.

"A bond created at our lowest and weakest points creates a family," Ultron told her. "And she abandoned you both. Its obvious now, what she is. She's chosen to put her power against you rather than with you, and her choice to fight alongside the Avengers makes her our enemy now, too."

Wanda and Pietro shared a look. The girl knew her brother felt more strongly for Riley than she did, especially since they were able to interact much more than Wanda. It took months before Strucker allowed Wanda to see her brother and Riley, before she had enough control over her mind. But Riley and Pietro were able to converse and interact much sooner, testing their abilities and finally feeling a little less alone.

But Pietro felt betrayed too, just as Wanda did. This girl they had shared so much with had chosen their enemies over her friends, and Ultron was right.

"We will make it right," Ultron promised.

The twins looked back at the robot.

"You and I can hurt them," Ultron spoke to Pietro, then turning his glance to Wanda. "But you will tear them apart from the inside."

The sun was a harsh force through Riley's eyelids when morning arrived, much sooner than she expected. She had returned hours ago to her motel room, checking every corner to make sure Ultron wasn't inside waiting. What worried her was his ability to go anywhere, through anything, and get to anyone. Which meant her paranoia was going to be running wild.

Riley had only intended to get a moment's rest once she kicked off her boots, but it had apparently turned into a three hour nap that left her feeling just as tired. And now that the sun was up, it meant she had somewhere to be.

Knowing it might be a while before she was in her own space again, Riley took the time to take a shower and prepare herself for a journey. Unlike her last endeavour with the Avengers, Riley didn't intend to be wearing her work uniform into battle.

Pulling on a sturdy pair of black jeans, Riley slid on her combat boots and made sure their laces were tight before she let out a huff of frustration. Her body had been aching ever since she left the Avengers tower, shaking with anticipation and adrenaline. It was always difficult to control, especially since her whole body wanted to explode with energy all the time, but the idea of a fight had her anxious to let some of it out.

Lighting a cigarette, Riley took a long drag before laying back against the bed once again. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but for the first time in what felt like too long, she didn't care.

It was an hour later when she finally arrived at the Avengers tower once again. She had a black t-shirt on beneath her navy leather jacket, zipped up to shield her from the cold air. She was standing on the roof of a building just next to the tower, and with one hand balancing her paper coffee cup, she leaned down and felt the concrete beneath her shake as she launched into the air.

Riley always enjoyed being up in the sky, it didn't even matter if she could see a single thing or not. The weightless feeling was addictive, and she wished she could stay there forever. But soon enough her feet collided with the landing pad of the Avengers tower.

The whole team was inside, gathered in an office just upstairs from the communal living room she had barged into all those hours ago. She watched Thor rush down the stairs to stare over at her, obviously wondering what the sudden jolt against the tower was.

"Couldn't find the front door," Riley shrugged, walking into the room and watching as the rest of the team made their way downstairs as well.

Steve was the last the trail down behind them, looking over to her with a nod. Riley wondered if the Captain had faith in her returning after their conversation, but it seemed he was pleased they were all gathered here. There was finally a plan forming.

Riley didn't miss the suspicious looks from Natasha, Clint and Thor as they circled the room. This team very obviously didn't trust her, and the two spies in the room were more sceptical than the rest, but Riley really didn't care right now. She was here to find Ultron, not to make friends. Which seemed to work well with everyone else as well.

"This man," Steve announced, handing Riley a picture. "Look familiar?"

Accepting the photograph in her free hand, Riley looked down at the man, but she knew for a fact she had never seen him before in her life. Riley was always good with faces, and this man was a complete stranger.

"Who is he?" she shook her head, handing the photograph back.

"Ulysses Klaue," Bruce explained. "Black market arms dealer,"

"And we're admiring his face because?"

"He's one of Strucker's associates," Natasha chimed in. "Well, he was. Strucker's dead."

Riley's head snapped over to the redhead, her eyes wide.

"Dead?" she asked.

"Courtesy of Ultron," Clint folded his arms.

"Huh," Riley nodded, an odd feeling taking over her at the idea of that man really being dead. "Maybe we should let Ultron cull a few more assholes from the world while he's ahead,"

Steve looked over to her with a small frown and Riley could see Tony standing behind him, suppressing a slight smirk before shaking his head.

The Avengers weren't killers, no matter how terrible and heartless their enemy happened to be. That was something Riley disagreed on, among many other morals and principles held by these people.

"He's really dead?" she asked again.

Tony walked over and handed her the electronic tablet, opening the screen to the image of Strucker's dead body in a cell. Behind the lifeless body, written on the concrete walls in blood, was the word 'peace'.

"How theatrical," Riley muttered, handing Tony the tablet. "And what's this guy have to do with all of this again?"

"We'll brief you during transit," Steve assured, looking around to his team. "Suit up."

Thanks for reading guys! I hope you're enjoying! Also, if anything is having trouble picturing Riley, I do actually have an actress in mind that has helped me visualise her when writing. Rachel Brosnahan is basically my muse for Riley, so I hope that helps.

Please do leave a review for me, I love reading and hearing from you all xx.