See Chapter One for Disclaimer
"Who's the idiot?"
"That's…" Maddie paused, as if looking for an easy explanation, but she came up blank. "Okay, so, he's actually,"
But suddenly the lights were dimming and a man wearing a gray suit appeared at Maddie's side, pulling on her arm and intent on whisking her away.
"It's time," The new arrival squeaked in a high voice.
Maddie smiled apologetically at Dean, shot a look at the other man, and then moved towards the stage. The man – Theo, Maddie had called him, shrugged and watched her walk away with a smile.
"You know this guy how?" Tasha asked her boyfriend in a loud whisper. Reid shrugged, just as confused as everyone else.
"Theo Bradley," He introduced slowly. "Our newest recruit."
"I don't like him," Clint, Dean, and Steve, spoke up at the same time.
And Theo Bradley simply smiled genially at the group.
Everyone stared dumbly at each other, then at Theo, and Theo maintained his easy smile despite the scrutiny he was under from everyone, his team included. Dean opened his mouth, eyebrows furrowed, and everyone leaned forward in anticipation, but then a man on stage was clearing his throat into the mic, quickly gathering everyone's attention.
"Welcome," he smiled brightly at the crowd, "For joining us for this auspicious moment. Alexander Operations," He began, "a small organization twenty years ago, is now a household name. You wear our clothing brands, read authors born out of our publishing company, eat and drink from restaurants and bars and shops that we've founded, and use technology created from our own labs. And this year," the man raised a glass, "was our best year yet, and so we gather together to celebrate!
"Scientists and authors and shop owners and clothing designers, you work in different fields, but creativity runs strong in each and every one of your veins! Creativity and uniqueness are what Alexander Operations is all about, and we would like to celebrate a few specific individuals that have really made Alexander Operations GREAT." The man pulled out a stack of index cards.
"We'll start with coffee enthusiast Brock DiStefano, who started this year with one small coffee shop and now has hundreds, all across the united states!"
A short, thin man with long brown hair pulled into half bun smiled and waved, stepping onto the stage. He spoke for a few moments, but the group surrounding stranger Theo James preferred to watch him with narrowed eyes than to listen. After the man was finished speaking, he moved to the side of the stage, and a clothing designer stepped up next, speaking as well before joining DiStefano on the side of the stage. Then the host stepped forward, beaming.
"The reveal most of you have been waiting for," he began excitedly, and Dean finally looked away from Theo James to look at the stage, "the versatile author talented enough to enthrall readers of all ages, who has released three successful series in the last 9 months, and has only recently been found out to be one author, instead of three. And now, you get a real name AND a face, to assign all that brilliance to: introducing, Madison Sinclair!"
Maddie climbed onto the stage, smiling and shooting a wink in her friends direction, pausing on Dean's face. He smiled and hooted, the others around him raising their voices as well, Clint and Bucky amongst the loudest. "Sup," She said, and the room went silent, waiting for more words of wisdom from the famous author. Maddie chose instead to smirk and stand there silently.
"Tell us, Miss Sinclair," The host said when he realized Maddie wasn't going to continue speaking, "where do you get your ideas?"
Maddie tilted her head as she thought, then she nodded. "Reality," She began seriously, "is often disgustingly normal. But if you look hard enough, there's always a string of crazy buried deep within the tangles of that normality. All I do," she smiled, "Is pull on that thread. And sometimes, I don't even have to pull on it; it unravels all on its own." She shot an unreadable look at Theo, and he beamed back. "I guess," she concluded with a sigh, "Crazy doesn't always equate bad. Uncomfortable, yes," She nodded. "unwelcome? Always." She tilted her head, and the audience hung on her every word. "But bad? Not so much.
"Crazy is a lot of things – but my favorite thing about crazy? It always makes for a great story." She winked and then stepped away from the mic, and the audience burst into loud applause.
"Miss Sinclair has the final installment of both her adult and young adult novels coming out this fall, and two more installments of her children's novel due this year, with more to come the following year. And perhaps," the host smiled at Maddie, "a new series or two?"
"We'll see," Maddie rolled her eyes. "Until today, life has been surprisingly lacking in the crazy department."
"Well," the host smiled slyly, "Perhaps our final honoree will help you in that regard." He turned to regard the audience.
"It is a great honor to introduce to you all The Founder and CEO of Alexander Operations, Brian Alexander!"
The applause was quiet in surprise, but at the sight of a tall man stepping onto the stage, his gray suit immaculate, his smile charming, his gray hair thinning, the applause picked up quickly. The man approached the mic, his eyes randomly darting towards Maddie, who raised in eyebrow in surprise at the direct eye contact. Both of her eyebrows rose at the quick wink he shot her way – did she know him?
"It is an honor," The deep voice spoke confidently, "to stand alongside so many successful people. The knowledge that I was able to offer them that outlet for their creativity is so humbling. I am proud to know that I have been a part of the effort to change this world, and for the better. My aim is to continue to affect this world in a positive manner, and I am pleased to announce that just today, I have been a part of a wonderful opportunity that will change the world as we know it." Maddie, along with most of the audience, murmured to themselves in surprise. Mr. Alexander simply smiled and continued to speak. "Allow me to introduce Dr. Url Knott, who will explain further."
And suddenly Brian Alexander was standing beside Maddie, as an older man wearing a rumpled suit, strode up. He spoke without breathing, so close to the mic that it shrieked with feedback every few moments, using six syllable words that no one could follow.
"Hey," Maddie leaned closer to the man at her side, voice low, "Mind interpreting what the brainiac is saying – into English?" Brian Alexander shot Maddie a look that was too familiar. "Come on, Miss Sinclair," he teased, "you're bright. I'm sure you can follow along."
Maddie furrowed her eyebrows as she listened for a few minutes.
"Why is everyone acting like they know Maddie?" Dean growled.
"What do you mean?" His brother asked, confused.
"First pretty boy over there," Theo made a face, objecting to the nickname, but Dean continued, "and then that clown."
For Maddie was intent on listening, and she didn't notice the way Brian Alexander leaned closely to her, a large smile on his face as he watched her think.
"You mean her boss?" Cas shook his head. "She does work for him. The likelihood that they have met –"
"Is slim," Reid said suddenly. "Brian Alexander has thousands of employees, and though she's helped him make a lot of money, Maddie is still just one of many authors that his publishing company represents.
"So could he stop looking at her like he knows her?" Dean grumbled.
"Well," Pietro spoke up diplomatically, "It might not be very likely, but maybe they do know each other."
"Okay," Maddie finally said lowly, unaware of the scrutiny she was under. "So this dude somehow hardwired your brain to the internet – or something?"
Alexander inclined his head. "In layman's terms, yes." He agreed.
"So it's all in there then?" Maddie stared in interest at the man's head. "Everything the internet has to offer is rumbling around in that skull of yours?"
Alexander shot her an amused look. "Yes."
"Well – is that very safe?" Maddie asked crossing her arms. "I mean, there's a lot of scary things on the web."
"Too right you are," Alexander's voice was light, his smile sly. Maddie's eyes narrowed. "Too bad Mr. Alexander here didn't realize that before he opened his mind up to a well of dark databytes."
"Why did you just refer to yourself in the third person?" Maddie asked lowly.
But instead of answering Maddie's question, Mr. Alexander, or whoever he was, asked a question of his own.
"And what do you think?" He turned to make direct eye contact with Maddie.
"Of what?" She asked warily.
"Of Mr. Brian Alexander's legacy?" Maddie furrowed her eyebrows, because the way this guy was speaking was so familiar –
"Of what he's created, of the reflection of himself?" Okay, that was VERY familiar to Maddie, and she inhaled slowly through her mouth – because she thought she'd been thinking crazy thoughts about Reid's co-worker earlier? THESE thoughts were the real crazy ones.
"What's the likelihood that Stark was capable of completely wiping Ultron out of the internet like he said?" She probed. Either the man at her side would think she was crazy, or,
"Miniscule." Brian Alexander, who Maddie was realizing was no longer Brian Alexander, smirked. "The internet is vast, and the nooks and crannies are many. To say that hiding from Mr. Stark's bloodhound AI is an understatement.
"So Brian Alexander opened up his mind to an avalanche of information and you took your chance and overrode his system then? Is that what happened…Ultron?"
Blue eyes smiled proudly down at Maddie. "You were always smart," He said approvingly. "Perhaps your son will blessed with your intelligence, hmm?"
The mention of Orie was a douse of freezing water on Maddie's system. "What are you doing?" She snapped.
Ultron, raised one of Brian Alexander's eyebrows. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked lihglty. "I'm saying hello – to my favorite person."
Maddie would've said more – or maybe punched the guy in the face – or done something dramatic, but then he was stepping back towards the mic and speaking and then there was clapping and then the music resumed, and Ultron took his stolen body and disappeared into the crowd – and Maddie's mind was whirling.
She was in desperate need of an objective perspective, and so she jumped off the stage and hurried towards her friends.
"Bradley," She spoke harshly, reaching for a warm hand, "How about that dance now?"
Dean watched the blonde stranger whirl HIS girlfriend into a waltz, the two speaking quickly, heads bent together, and he groaned in frustration.
"What," He turned to the equally bewildered group beside him, "the HELL," he turned back to his girlfriend, who'd been acting funny since that co-worker of Reid's had shown up, "is going on?"
But his brother, his best friend, and the rest of the group, despite their closeness to Maddie, were just as bewildered.
SO MUCH IS HAPPENING.
But Ultron though...am I right?!
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~CLC~