A/N: Well, thank Fairyhaven and Sorceress for this chapter, because I've been so, so busy recently with moving apartments to a totally different part of the city and all the rubbish that goes along with that. Getting their reviews, and everyone else's reviews, really kicked me back into gear. So yaaay, more writing...
...Well, better get started... *groan*
PS who can spot all the pop culture references?
Disclaimer: I feel like I should take the time to confirm that this is purely a work of fiction. Any people or events that are familiar with that of any persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and frankly, I'm just not smart enough for something like that to happen on purpose. This is also a fan work for entertainment purposes only, based on characters and films that I do not own any intellectual right to. Only the characters and plot that are unique to this work are my own invention. I will receive no monetary compensation for this, it is only for the enjoyment of myself and those who read it.
I rolled to the left to dodge the solid metal fist that impacted the ground where my head had been seconds before, with a sound akin to velociraptor screeches coming from my throat. I was pushing myself to my feet faster than a greyhound chasing a rabbit, the sudden surge of adrenaline making me hyper-alert to the beast as it retracted its hand from the small crater in the concrete and rounded on me to continue its murder plan. I was having none of that crap. Was it too late to change my mind? Because I really, really didn't want to die like this any time soon. Forget these damn murderbots, I wanted to die a normal-ass death like everyone else. A stream of all the most colourful curses I knew in three different languages flowed from my mouth like really bad poetry as I sprinted as fast as my noodle-ish little legs could carry me towards where my brother stood stock still, obviously amid a panic attack.
And then those feeble noodles tripped on explosion debris. Traitors.
My hands flew out to catch myself, scraping several layers of skin off before collapsing and allowing my shoulder and cheekbone to collide with the ground anyway. I gasped, trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of me and let out a keening wail at the pain in my ribs. Whelp, gold star for effort, Katja, but it's time for you to go. I made myself look back over my shoulder, not about to pass up on the opportunity for my last moments to be filled with that hell-fire hot silver bod. Too bad for that plan though, because while this Infinitus was in mid-lunge, someone even more appealing came at it from the side, locking his strong mechanical arms around the copycat's middle and sending them both into a toppling wrestle.
I watched, propped up on my elbow, with a slack jaw. They were so equally matched. It seemed like whatever that special stuff Ultron insisted on being remade with was, that the military had used the same or something very similar in Infinitus' makeup. They were both landing some crazy blows on the other, but the damage created seemed minimal. This was good in that our red-eyed ally-ish neutral party didn't look too banged up yet, but he also wasn't making much headway, and I silently egged him on. Wait, why was I choosing now to suddenly become silent? "Hell yeah, Ultron! Show that thing some superior autonomy!"
For a moment, those scarlet-lit optics locked with mine. A moment just long enough for his adversary to land an all-too-solid uppercut on Ultron's chin. I winced. Okay, being quiet now.
At first the fight had seemed totally even, but now the scales were showing their tip. Ultron's fighting seemed more experienced, creative even, with ducks and twists and kicks and elbows to the neck. However, it was becoming clear that the Infinitus had more power behind it. The machine may have been far more predictable, but it was faster and tankier, and as our buddy-bot started to slow, it didn't seem to miss a beat. It may have been the intense amounts of pain and stress my body was in, but tears welled in my eyes and my stomach roiled. Crap, this was turning into a blood bath and here I was, good for nothing much. I felt hands of the squishy kind grasp me by the shoulders, dragging me backwards away from the fray.
"Aleks, Aleks, we have to do something," I choked, putting my hand on top of his and squeezing it for my own comfort more than his. I didn't want to stop watching the brawl for a second but he put himself between me and them, and forced me to meet his deep black eyes. My baby brother, so similar to our father, wearing an expression that was so concerned for me that it made the salty water collecting in my eyes drip down my dirty cheeks. And it seemed that the tears tracks answered a question he hadn't spoken aloud, because he set his jaw, stood, and approached the bots. My heart dropped like a stone. "Aleks!" I screamed, trying to stop him, because, for all my words, there was no way I wanted something to happen to him of all people because of them. I would give up myself and a hundred stinking robots any day for my brother.
My yell alerted at least one of the identical androids that something was happening. Ultron looked away from the clone that had him pinned, to the young man that was putting himself in extreme danger with every step and didn't seem to mind. "Get you and your sister outta here, Aleks," he ground out, urgency in the arrangement of shifting metal plates that made up his face hurting me somewhere deep in my heart.
Infinitus was, apparently, too single minded to pay any attention to anything but its current target. It placed a heavy grip over Ultron's eyes and forehead, pushing his head back into the concrete, holding him still against his struggles while its maw opened to its widest extent, some sort of orange light building in its throat. A mouth laser? Apparently. Both the sassbot and I prepared for the gruesome end of the world's most epic battle ever. Then the light died, and the copybot collapsed forward onto him in a pose right out of some Japanese mech hentai.
"Please proceed into android hell," Aleks said from his place a meter or so away from them, holding the same device I had seen Atyets use on Ultron half a year ago. I blinked for a few long moments, trying to collect myself after that sudden turn of events.
"Dearest brother... why didn't you use that right in the beginning?" I asked through clenched teeth. Finding out that all of that drama could have been avoided was not what I considered a relief.
He did look a little guilty, and immediately tried to hide it behind his back. "Well, there was a reason," he mumbled, shifting from foot to foot. A grunt sounded to the right, and we looked over to see Ultron pushing the impostor's prone form off himself, then heaving himself to his feet. It took only four of his large strides to make it to where we were standing, at which he stuck his hand out pointedly. I wasn't sure what was going on until Aleks begrudgingly placed the device in his metal grip. The android smiled wanly and proceeded to crush it in his fist, sprinkling the pieces on the ground.
"What?" I squeaked, appalled that something so useful had just been wantonly destroyed. There goes any hope of feeling a sense of protection around all these bots that seemed to multiply in my life.
"Hand held, focused EMP rays," the destructo-bot started in that tone that sounded like sunshine and rainbows but really implied doom and rage, "a magnificent piece of ingenuity, years before its time. I really ought to commend your father on it next time I see him." As he spoke he strode past us and proceeded to unleash that anger I had sensed on the wall, making a gaping hole for our escape route, most likely. I was still confused as hell, but Aleks seemed to have been expecting that out of the blue reaction from him.
Ah, wait, I get it. He must have been carrying it in case he needed to use something against Ultron himself at any point, and I guess it makes sense that the robutt wouldn't be too pleased to leave us with the thing that so inconveniently shut him down last time, even if it did just save his life. That was why Aleks was so reluctant to show his cards. Man, that stubborn-ass robot needs to work out his trust issues. I mean, if we can trust him after all he did and meant to do...
Aleks was now latched onto the android in question's left arm, while Ultron extended his right towards me, cutting my realization short. I swallowed thickly and stepped further into the mechanical man's personal space than I ever had while he was online. He kept his luminescent gaze firmly fixed on my dull one as his cold, unyielding arm encircled my waist. Knowing that we were about to take flight and not eager on the thought of falling to my death, I wrapped my arms around his neck, with some difficulty due to his immense height. The first thing I noticed was the extremely faint buzzing sensation wherever my skin touched his metal, and I rationalized that he must have slight electrical currents running over his exterior to supply a sense of touch in place of nerve endings. The android must have found something about my position or puzzled expression humorous, because he smirked down at me and said wryly, "Hold on tight." I heard his repulsers activate.
"Wait," I interrupted, eyes going wide, "what about Atyets?"
And then we were flying.
For the first twenty minutes of the flight out of there I was so sure that at any moment we would be shot out of the sky. After all that time spent imagining it, true escape seemed an impossible concept. Still, here we were, two siblings clutching a anti-human flying robot for dear life as we flew out and away from a top secret facility in a teeny tiny country that I never thought could cause this much trouble for the human race. At first Ultron's flight pattern was fast, evasive, unpredictable, obviously trying to ensure we were not tracked or pursued, so when he slowed slightly and leveled out in the sky over some farmland, I instinctively let out a sigh of relief, my pain filled body knowing that the worst of the danger must have been over. For now.
"Where are we going?" I asked, voice raised to be heard over the wind and sound of propulsion. I desperately wanted to pull the hair that kept flying into my face out of my mouth, but there was no way I was loosening my grip for a second, especially not while we were racing about thirty stories above the ground.
Ultron looked down at me, and for a moment I had to resist the urge to say, 'keep your eyes on the road', and remember that, A, he probably had sensors or something to keep him on track, and B, we were flying and there was no road. His odd version of a mouth twisted in a queer fashion, like he was debating whether or not to say what was on his mind. In the end he did. "Well, to be honest, I'm open to suggestions."
"What?" I shrieked. "You're the one flying and you don't know where we're going?" His expression immediately returned to the familiar one of irritation.
"If you would prefer, I could just drop you."
"Sis," Aleks interjected and probably saved my skin, "we do not know where is safe and where is not at the moment. And a flying robot carrying a couple of fugitives is not exactly, you know, subtle." He shrugged as much as one can while holding a robot arm with all their might. "Also, we did not expect to actually make it this far."
The robot scoffed in an offended tone. "Speak for yourself, I always knew it would work." He paused before adding, "Give or take a casualty or two."
I exhaled through my nose, and tried to keep the exasperation from my voice when I spoke, lest he make good on his threat of letting go of me. "Whatever. Lets just focus on the now, then. Actually, I've got it! If you think you can fly that far, we can hang in my apartment in Chi- wait, no, I haven't exactly been paying rent for the last six months. Prison, y'know. Forget that idea." It was quite the blow to fully realize that my entire life had taken a terrible nosedive into Sucksville. Bye-bye scholarship, hello life of a wanted criminal. How demoralizing. "Don't you have some kind of evil lair we can chill in, Metalhead?"
"Sorry to debunk your stereotypes, but no. My home was destroyed by the Avengers, too."
I had to roll my eyes. "You mean by you when your stupid annihilation plot literally blew up in your face." It was obvious he didn't appreciate the jab when I felt his grip around my middle loosen just a fraction, just enough to give me a heart attack and make me latch onto his neck and shoulders even tighter. "Okay, okay, I get it! Ix-nay on the ailure-fay. Just don't you dare drop me," I said, my voice muffled from my new spot with my face pressed into the plate of metal that made up the crook between complex neck joints and round shoulders. "I do not want the last sound I ever make to be 'splat'; I was hoping for something a little more hipster, like 'Excelsior!'"
"Good to see some time in the clink didn't change you, Katja. You still never shut up," the android muttered, though it was tinged with good humor, reassuringly. Aleks, ever the traitor, didn't even hesitate to laugh at the robutt's comment. I lifted my head just enough to send him my best glare. Betrayed by my own flesh and blood for a sarcasm-spewing bucket of bolts. Harsh.
And then my ears caught something even more worrying than laughter at my expense. I strained to hear more clearly, shushing them. There it was, amid the sound of Ultron's thrusters: shoooooo-oo-um-putt-putt-shoooom-putt. With each hiccup, I now noticed the ever slight faltering in the smoothness of our flight. "Ultron?" I asked hesitantly, becoming very, very concerned for the stability of my makeshift private jet-slash-villainous robo-buddy.
"It's nothing," he insisted, but I wasn't buying anything from that shady lookin' store.
"It ain't 'nothing' enough for me. Take us down. We'll just make do for tonight. I need to lick my wounds, anyway," I said, surveying the setting sun that I ought to have been appreciating more, seeing as it was the first one I'd seen in months, but sadly I was too distracted by the inconvenient severity of our situation. Aleks agreed with me that it would be a good idea to set up camp now, like he knew was best to do when I was in a mood and he was already on thin ice.
He sighed, like only that lung-less metal chassis can, and nodded his consent. "Fine. We'll head for that old barn there. We should have covered enough ground that those military dogs have lost our scent for now."
True to his word we were within minutes lowering to the ground outside the barn's half fallen down, half termite infested doors. I could almost find it funny that out of the abandoned mechanic's and my cell, this was still the worst place I had been subjected to living in since getting on that doomed flight to Sokovia. Almost. Instead, as I detached myself from the robot's body and wiped my sweaty hands on my coveralls, I just found life really unfair. "Honestly, Ultron? Honestly? You expect me to sleep in there?"
"No, of course not," the android assured me as he pushed aside a door, "I expect you to toss and turn all night, jumping at every suspicious sound."
"Oh, ha ha. You're a comedic genius," I deadpanned. There we go. See? I could do sarcasm, too. And I could sigh, as well. Look, there I go, sigh. Okay, so the robot was still cooler at sighing than me, but we can't win 'em all. During my inner monologue and competition I watched Aleks and Ultron pull one side of the double doors off its hinges and toss it aside. Or, rather, Ultron did the real heavy lifting and my brother pointed occasionally to make it seem like he was contributing something worthwhile. I just snickered to myself and followed them through the new entryway. Inside was dark as death and smelled like dust, moldy hay, and rodents. I scrunched my nose up and commented helpfully, "I hope you both realize that I am not, and never will be a country girl. I'm about as city slicker as they come, and me no likey the whole concept of going au natural." Both men or almost-men turned to look at me with quizzical expressions. "What?"
"Do you even understand the words that leave your mouth sometimes?" Ultron questioned me with a tone that was equal parts exasperation and amusement, head tilted to the side as he examined me.
I suddenly felt really self conscious and crossed my arms as my ears burned. "What? What did I say?" Shoot, I was always accidentally saying things that turned out to be innuendos. I just couldn't keep up with every innovation of Modern Dirty Mouth, and it ended up backfiring and making me humiliate myself on multiple occasions.
"Naked, sis. It means going naked," Aleks blurted, obviously very uncomfortable with turn of conversation but unwilling to let Ultron drag it on any further.
I shrugged, relieved it was something as petty as that. Geez, boys were so trivial. "Well, if that's all. What was the big fuss about? I could've said something way worse if I'd actually been trying. Really, don't tempt me."
At this point Aleks, a twenty one year old man himself, clamped his hands over his ears and started humming really loudly as he made a point of walking as far away from us without actually leaving the barn, and in turn, we had to laugh at his reaction. Together. Sharing a laugh. I cut myself off suddenly and looked at the large robot, who was now quieting down himself, wondering why I fell silent so abruptly. I shook my head, not having an answer for any question there might have been bugging around in his computers. Instead I looked up, seeing the sunset sky peering through several large holes in the sheet metal roof. "We can probably start a fire in here without dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. What season is it at the moment? Ah, never mind, the nights are always cold here," I said, trying not to have a breakdown at the mere thought of our situation.
"You never cease to complain, do you?" the resident piece of shiny ass commented, giving me a sideways glance as he walked over to retrieve some large pieces of discarded wood that seemed to have been originally part of the structure that I desperately hoped kept its integrity while it was above our heads. I shrugged in answer as I watched him drag a beam over and then break it into more manageable pieces.
"I don't complain in my sleep."
"I cherish every moment of silence."
"And I cherish your shiny, metal ass, every time your personality doesn't ruin the mood."
His head whipped towards me so fast I felt like his gears should have split in two, but the look on his face was priceless, as was the fact the chunk of firewood that had been in his hand now slipped to the ground in his distraction. I just stared back with an easy grin, knowing I had won this round when he shook his head in wonderment and went back to the task at hand. I don't know when I had become quite so bold, but I guess I had faced some pretty hardcore stuff recently and was still here to tell the tale. Speaking of which...
While Ultron was so determinedly focused on setting up that campfire I unzipped the top of my coveralls and slipped the left sleeve off, trying to inspect the nasty looking bruise that was forming under my bra and turning the skin over my ribs purple. I couldn't really see much of it even contorting my body as far as I possibly could before angering the wound. Therefore, poking it seemed a good idea. Ow, ow, ow, crap, definitely not a good idea. Frowning, I pulled that sleeve back on and pushed down the other one just enough to look at the shoulder I had landed on. Nope, that doesn't look pretty either. I hadn't the faintest idea if I had actually broken anything or not, but I figured it would hurt a hell of a lot worse if it was anything life threatening. Hence, I zipped myself back up looked up.
Ultron, I noticed, had at some point stopped working on his pile of wood, and instead must have found my injury probing more interesting. I pulled a face, unhappy that he had stolen a peak, if just very, very slightly flattered. "You should have taken a picture," I drawled, "it would have lasted longer."
He smirked and raised those funny metal eyebrows of his. "Oh, don't worry, I did," he told me jovially, and my jaw dropped.
"This is one of your jokes, right, robutt? Right?" But, alas, no answer. "Jackass." Oh well, whatever. He was probably kidding, and if he wasn't... Well, I would figure out an appropriate threat later. Meanwhile, he raised a long mechanical finger to point at the pile of wood and shoot out a short spurt of laser. Sure, it got the fire burning but it sure didn't make me feel much more comfortable around him now that I knew he could do that. I had to admit though, even with his new size, bulk, and power, I was less intimidated by him than ever before. It was clear something in the air had changed, though when it had started, I wasn't sure.
"Oh man, you are always two steps ahead of me," the voice of my brother interrupted any conversations internal or external that were going on. He was wearing an expression of disappointment and irritation, probably due to the fact he had just carried an armful of wood and hay over here just to see that we already been there and done that. I shrugged and giggled at him oh-so-very helpfully, to which he returned to favor by sending me a look and rolling his eyes before he dumped his pile of carefully collected kindling and firewood where we would be able to get to it whence the flame began to die down. He plopped himself down on the ground with a tired sigh, watching the orange dancing lights with a thousand-yard stare.
It was like seeing his exhaustion made me realize the extent of my own, and so I quickly followed suit in the whole 'sitting down' trend, finding my own spot around the fire, but for me it was that kind of fatigue that had your whole body and mind twitching, on hyper-alert, most likely from stress. I mean, I had a lot of stress. "Why did we just leave Atyets there?" I questioned, seemingly out of the blue. Truly, I had been trying to bring it up since we had taken off from that awful place, but now was the only time quiet enough to hope for an answer. I worried for him so much, my big teddy bear of a father, and his motor oil stained hands. After that stunt we just pulled, which felt like a lifetime ago but was really closer to a mere hour, what exactly would they do to him? I could only hope that he was too valuable, and that they wouldn't punish him for our actions.
The boys glanced sideways at each other, silently deciding what to tell me. I was definitely confused and curious about all this strange and sudden camaraderie uniting them, seeing as I hadn't seen much of it at all back at the garage. Honestly, I was more than a little annoyed that whatever was going on between them, I was being left out of the loop. "Well," Aleks started rather hesitantly, "it was Pa's decision. He told me that he would rather not get us into any more trouble than we were already in, did not want any part in what we were scheming. I don't think he actually believed that Ultron really would do his part and help us get out."
I exhaled heavily through my nose. "Figures he would pick now to suddenly become the mature one. Doesn't matter though, we still have to go get him. It's not like we can just abandon him." My words were met with silence. "No way, you guys weren't actually considering just leaving him there? Who cares what he said; Atyets says all kinds of crazy things, and we've never held him to it before! What about the time he was utterly set on launching his own satellite into space? He went on about his plans for weeks, and when he eventually worked out what we had known all along, that it just wasn't gonna happen, did we bring it up after he suddenly went quiet on the whole thing?"
Aleks made a noise at the back of his throat and chewed on his lip, and reluctantly gave me the answer, "No, we did not. But this is different. Do you really think we will be able to break in again? They know what to expect now. We got lucky this time, and as it was we barely escaped."
"Katja, going back there is suicide," Ultron confirmed, and while he had remained standing before, now he chose to sit with us. "Aleks," at the mention of his name my brother seemed to shrink in on himself, "stupidly gave them my design's weakness on a silver platter. The EMP. You know what else they have?"
I saw where the robot was going with this and I cringed. "The creator of the EMP that brought it down. Crap. They could force Pa to fix them so that the same thing doesn't happen again."
He nodded. "They probably already have. I doubt these warmongering humans have any problems telling Feliks whatever lies they need to make him dance."
I put my head in my hands and let out a loud groan. What on Earth did I ever do to deserve getting mixed up in all this? "Well, at least I don't feel so bad about you destroying it, now- though it was still super immature of you. What I'm not getting is how you guys even... did all this. Was I the only one locked in a cell with no contact to the outside world?" I kept glancing between them, trying to wrap my head around the fact that their lives were not completely hinged on mine. I felt a little miffed, actually. Since when was I not the center of the universe?
Aleks shrugged, held his cold hands closer to the fire, and replied, "Actually, you did have every opportunity to get out of that cell and join Atyets and I on the research team. All you had to do was tell them what they wanted to hear."
"They were questioning me about Metal Head here, and unlike you, apparently, I don't just sell people out. But that doesn't answer my question."
"It was all very simple," the robot then jumped in, a purr to his metallic voice that suggested he was pleased with something. "We managed to set up a port for communication early on."
"You do not spend your whole life around computers and machines with out learning a thing or two about hacking, sis."
"A thing or two? Okay, I'm pretty sure that was a Top Secret military base, but okay."
Aleks gave me a modest half-smile, not offering any more on it. "Everything had to be planned, down to the timing of our meals, that is why it took so long. Ultron mapped the outside and, in particular, found where you were being kept, and I did what I could on the inside." After he said this he reflected on something for a moment and became sheepish, "Actually, the Infinitus should not have been sent after us at all, according to plan. It was still barely in the testing stages." He sighed and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair, staring into the licking flames. "I wonder if I could have missed something."
I shook my head, not wanting him to over think everything like he was so accustomed to doing. "No, it was just a case of one of the guys in charge there, the bald, creepy one, he's a total case. I'd be willing to bet a hell of a lot that it was him that sent the damn copy after us if it was only in the testing phase, and trust me, there's no way to predict what that nut job will do." Something in there must have been reassuring, because he sent a weak grin to me in thanks.
"Ah, yes," Ultron began, "Vyacheslav Moskvin. He frequently advises the Sokovian President in military matters. Probably the one behind this whole thing."
"You know him?" I asked, wondering how that would work.
"No, my contacts do. Oh, and yeah, I also know how to use the Google on your laptop."
Dread settled in my stomach. "You found my laptop? I thought they would have confiscated my luggage when they got us. Please tell me you didn't break it. Honestly, if you've hurt it, I will just kill you."
The android rolled his bright red eyes at my priorities. "Your computer is fine. Stay focused on the matter at hand."
"Whatever, don't lecture me. Anyway, Moskvin is dead terrified of you. Probably a little less so now that their own little robotic toy knocked you down a few pegs."
He made a noise like a metal grinding infused snort, not enjoying my commentary on today's less than successful points. "He'll be even more scared now if he knows what's good for him."
"I doubt it, the guy's picking a fight with the Avenger's home base, after all." As soon as the words left my mouth I noticed too late my brother making 'cease' motions across his neck out of Ultron's view. Of course, everything that wasn't me was out of his view right now, with that narrow glare he was leveling on me. I didn't care, it's not like he could drop me anymore, and I was sick of being expected to tread on eggshells around him. I was sick of a lot of things. "What? You're such a big baby sore loser you can't even bear the mention of their name? Grow up, Ultron."
At first I thought he would laser me then and there, in fact, I was getting ready to shout 'Excelsior'. But, to my everlasting shock, after minutes of silence and tension as we held an unspoken staring contest, he shrugged, and nodding. "Eh, you're probably right." I blinked trying to process the fact that he had just backed down and admitted to my being right and his being wrong. Who was this and what had they done with my robot? "That is, you're right that I need to move past the unfortunate complications during my first attempt at change. The Avengers will finish killing each other for me soon enough, anyway." Aaaand there he was. I rolled my eyes but chose to let it go for now.
I gingerly touched my cheek, wincing at the sting. True, none of us came out completely unscathed; Aleks was sporting a split lip and favoring his left leg, and Ultron, well, he wasn't black, blue, and bleeding like the rest of use more fleshy creatures, but his tussle with the Infinitus had certainly left him scuffed and ever-so-slightly dented in places. And then there was spluttering of his propulsion systems and the struggle he ended up in during the fight. In the end, he was still running off a secondhand reactor, better than the first one Pa and Aleks had fitted him with, but not new and perfect like that of the copybot.
Aleks noticed my grimace. "Are you okay, sis? That looks nasty."
"Eh, it's just a bruise. I'll be fine when all this is over." I grew further somber at a thought. "Actually, when this is over, we'll be in the middle of the most destructive war in history. I don't think many people anywhere will be fine." Every one was quiet for a minute, and I almost wanted to congratulate myself for ruining the already fairly sour mood so effectively. Well, I doubted Ultron actually cared what trouble we people got ourselves into, to him it probably just proved whatever point he thought he had, but he kept it to himself for the moment, and I appreciated that.
Eventually, it was my brother that broke the silence, with a heavy heave of a sigh. "If there is so much to look forward to, I guess a good night's sleep is the best protection I can ask for." He brought his weary, aged gaze up to mine, and I returned it with sympathy. "You should get some rest, too, sis. I know how you like to worry all night; this time, do not. You will need all of your strength." He pushed himself to his feet and limped away, finding a quiet, mostly intact corner and laying himself down. I doubted it would take him long to nod off, he was always lucky like that. He also didn't seem to care about the awkward positions he tended to force me into.
I glanced sideways at the android who for some reason hadn't ditched us yet, but he seemed engrossed in his thoughts, whatever they were, as he stared off into space. Seeing as, despite my brother's urging, I knew it would be hopeless to go to sleep in this state of mind, and pained body, and how I had deduced Ultron stayed a constant vigil during the night, being a robot and all, I just knew this tension in the air was going to kill me. I had so much I was bursting to say to him, but every time I opened my big mouth, nothing but snark and provocations came out. It was basically the entirety of my social skills in a nutshell, really.
After not as long as I would have liked to brag, I cracked, and broke the silence with a oh-so dignified grunt. "I, uh, did want to thank you, y'know, for coming through and busting us outta there. Even if it took you forever," I said, shifting uncomfortably. Eh, that'll have to do. That's about as smooth as I ever get. When he didn't respond further than turning his head slightly to look at me, I kept talking. "You didn't have to, in fact, I was pretty convinced you wouldn't. Seemed like a pretty generous thing to do. To be honest, I don't even know why on Earth you did."
Again, a pregnant pause, where he did nothing but stop even looking at me, turning back to the apparently fascinating fire. It made embarrassment burn within me, as the chrome android was obviously completely uninterested in anything I had to say at the end of the day. I was getting ready to stand up and leave, to sleep, or at least try to, just to get away from the situation.
"You know," he started suddenly, his voice low, and I halted any idea of standing, "I've thought a lot about where I went wrong. I can't understand it, after all this time. Always this question plays through my mind." Here he paused, and I found myself leaning forward in my interest. What was I about to hear? Something terrible? Something that would give me hope? I didn't know, and the curiosity was about to make me explode. "What would I change?"
"And? What would you change, Ultron?"
He brought his red-lit optics back to me. "I would have kept them with me. My friends. Would have made them understand, to fight with me- no, actually, I wouldn't need them to fight or understand, I just would've kept them safe. You and Aleks are fortunate enough to remind me of them." He thought for a moment than chuckled, shaking his head. "Which is funny, because by all accounts you are nothing alike."
I mulled this over, and wondered what was appropriate to say at a time like this. "Y'know, you big bucket of bolts, I know you made it very clear that core of yours ain't a heart, but I think you've got one in there somewhere. Actually, I know so. You still scare the crap out of me, but today, when, for a teeny, tiny second, it looked like things weren't going so good for ya, you told me and Aleks to run. You..." I searched for the word, "...impressed me."
"Sometimes you impress me, too. Not an easy feat." I noticed that he seemed to have leaned a little closer as some point, too, and a jolt of panic shot through me, wondering if we were having a moment. "You know, Katja," he began in an even lower voice, all drawn out and rumbly and quite frankly, thrilling. Slowly he reached a hand out towards my face, and my inner sirens blared. Mayday, mayday, coming in hot! Contact imminent! I was stiff as a board, dreading the coming touch, but when his cold, metal fingers met my cheek I flinched and hissed for a different reason. "You should really let me check your injuries."
I frowned, and protected my bruised jaw with my hand to fend off further attacks. "Is this your way of getting me out of my clothes?"
"It would be a win-win, yes," he retorted, his grin showing those funny metal teeth of his. "But, in all seriousness, my pressure sensors are much more perceptive that your sense of touch, and I need to know if you'll just be a corpse I'll have to deal with in a week."
I scrunched up my face, not enjoying that mental picture. "Well, when you put it like that..." So, again, I pulled on the zip down my front, hot blood rushing to my face. I tried to remind myself that this was all objective, that it was for purely practical reasons, but a part of me refused to believe it. I hate that part. Next were the sleeves, until I was just a squidgy tummy and plain beige bra from the hips up.
He seemed focused enough on what we were here for, peering closely at the large patch of discoloration. I had to suppress the urge to shiver when he lightly ran his fingers over the affected ribs, but then he applied more pressure, and the pain shooed away any ridiculous notions like that quite effectively. "Ow, ow ow ow. Watch it, Metal Head."
"You don't seem to have broken anything. You might have a slight fracture, but nothing likely to kill you," he said, totally ignoring my complaints. The broad android had a quick look at my shoulder, and got me to raise my arm, but it, too, got his tick of approval. He wasn't exactly a doctor I would usually trust, but I couldn't think of many hospitals that wouldn't result in the returning of me to prison, so his opinion would have to do. I quickly pulled the top of the coveralls back on.
I was finally starting to feel like sleep might be an option when his metallic voice interrupted my plans once more. "Katja," he said, but then stopped, pursing his solid lips as much as he could.
"Yes, Robutt?" I encouraged, my stomach choosing now to do a little belly flop, pun intended.
The robot, my strange, sentient, robot pal, locked eyes with me, and said the words that caused my heart to stop and soar all at the same time.
"I promise we're going to get your father back. Tomorrow."
A/N: Phew! What a doozy! This chapter ended up being two times longer than what I expected it to be, and by far the longest of the series so far. Hopefully you guys think that's a good thing! Heaps of dialogue and action happened, but there's a lot more to come. Next chapter we go on a suicide mission to get Feliks back, and something big happens. I won't say what, but you're more than welcome to guess!
Also, for all you robot lovers, my dear, dear friend Weaponofmasscreationn has an Avengers fanfic called Wonderwall. Not only does it have a fantastic plot and OC, that OC is one of the best android characters I've had the pleasure of reading. If all you guys read and support it, you might kick her hard enough that she updates for me ;)
Also, if you haven't read BabyBaby by a sorceress girl in the Ultron archive, you're an idiot. A bloody idiot. Yes, I see you there. Now go read those fanfics!
But review first, please :D