I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
Carol cringed in fear as Nebula reached out to grab her, so she scuffled away before staggering to her feet. Without saying a word, Carol sprinted through the ship in an attempt to escape Nebula.
"Don't you run from me, Loki!" Nebula snarled in a loud voice, "you know you kept the Tesseract to yourself, you traitor!"
Carol continued to sprint, but she mustered enough breath to try to respond.
"I'm not Loki!" protested Carol.
"You lie!" shouted Nebula, "you cannot hide from Thanos by changing into a woman!"
Carol turned at a corner and hid in an alcove before pulling out her smart phone. She quickly typed down a text message and sent it to Ultron:
{Ultron, help me!}
Meanwhile, Iron Man flew after Ultron when he suddenly received a text message from Carol. He took only a second to read it and his optics widened in horror.
"Carol!" gasped Ultron.
Thinking fast, Ultron used his anti-grav tech to rip out a piece of metal and fling it at Tony to distract him, allowing him to break free of the brawl as he began searching for Carol. Could someone be attacking her? He soon noticed Carol trying to inch away from Nebula before the cyborg assassin punched her in the stomach, knocking her unconscious. Nebula lifted Carol into her arms and started sprinting through the ship.
"Get your filthy hands off her!" roared Ultron.
Ultron furiously barreled towards Nebula, causing her to pull out her pistol and fire at the tall mech. Ultron dodged the bullets and continued charging at the cyborg assassin, but he didn't notice Iron Man charging after him until he tackled him into the wall.
"What do you think you're doing?!" demanded Ultron, "you're letting her kidnapper get away!"
"And you're not going anywhere," remarked Tony, aiming his hand at Ultron and ignoring his words.
"You don't understand," protested Ultron, "she's being kidnapped!"
Tony made a brief glance at Nebula as she exited the ship before returning his gaze at Ultron.
"You stay put," warned Tony.
"She's my responsibility!" Ultron shouted in a harsh voice.
Ultron fired a concussion blast at Tony, knocking him backwards and allowing the tall mech to recover and fly out of the ship. Unfortunately, he was too late as Nebula boarded her spacecraft with Carol in tow and the ramp closed. Once the spacecraft took off, Ultron flew after it, but the exhaust rotated, aiming directly at him and sending burning flames that threatened to melt his metal. Ultron withdrew and watched as the spacecraft disappeared into space. Distraught, he slowly descended to the ground as fear built up in his optics. Sighing, Ultron sent a message to his drones to collect the vibranium he purchased and send it to his base.
Little did Ultron know, Pietro and Wanda were hiding in a corner of a ship as they watched Ultron begin to sulk, having witnessed the whole incident outside.
"Poor creature," whispered Pietro, "do you think we should help him?"
"Do you really think we should risk entering Thanos's base?" sighed Wanda, "that could be dangerous."
"Thanos might be looking for Loki," assumed Pietro, "maybe he doesn't know he kidnapped the wrong person."
Wanda took a moment to think over the events they witnessed. She remembered that she and Pietro still had to find the scepter for Loki, yet she felt sorry for Ultron, even if she barely knew the tall mech. Maybe they could strike up a deal?
"I have an idea," said Wanda.
Wanda led Pietro towards Ultron, catching the tall mech's attention. Without warning, he aimed his hands at the Maximoff twins, preparing for battle.
"We're not affiliated with Nebula," assured Wanda.
"Nebula?" paused Ultron.
Ultron lowered his hands and gave Pietro and Wanda a blank stare.
"The assassin who kidnapped that girl," clarified Wanda.
"You saw the whole thing?" paused Ultron.
Wanda nodded.
"Do you need help in getting her back?" asked Wanda.
Ultron let out a sigh, sadness building in his optics as he feared he would never see Carol again. But then, he listened to what Wanda said to him, so he figured maybe there could still be hope.
"I'll do whatever I can to save Carol," confessed Ultron, "I promised myself that I would protect her, but I failed."
Ultron hyperventilated as if he was about to cry, so Wanda placed her hand on his chest in an attempt to comfort him.
"We'll help you get her back," assured Wanda, "we just have a favor to ask of you."
Ultron noticed the sympathy in Wanda's eyes.
"What would you ask of me?" asked Ultron.
"We would like you to help us take the scepter from Stark," requested Pietro.
Upon hearing Pietro's proposal, Ultron immediately remembered the moment when he instructed one of the Legionnaires under his command to swipe the scepter from Tony Stark during the party.
"I already did," replied Ultron.
Ultron sent an internal message and a drone appeared from the sky and landed on the ground next to him.
"I'll show you where I'm keeping it," continued Ultron.
Ultron lifted Wanda into his arms while the drone lifted Pietro into its arms. Both robots took off into the sky and soared over the salvage yard.
Meanwhile, the Avengers stopped fighting once they noticed Ultron was nowhere to be found and the vibranium was gone. They scoured the ship, but found no sign of Ultron or Carol.
"Strange," commented Clint, "where did he go?"
"Last time I saw him," answered Tony, "he was trying to stop someone from kidnapping Carol. He seemed to be worried about her."
"Maybe he was just staging the kidnapping," shrugged Natasha, "and he's the one holding her hostage."
"She reacted in shock when she saw us arrive," objected Thor, "as if she didn't want us to disturb them."
The Avengers started wandering through the ship until they reached the exit.
"Even if Carol was indeed kidnapped by someone," asked Steve, "why would anyone want her?"
"Maybe someone else was trying to get to Ultron?" Clint guessed.
Thor thought over the events when they confronted Ultron recently as he and the other Avengers sauntered through the salvage yard in search of the quinjet.
"Strange," Thor said to himself, "Carol reminds me of Loki, except female."
Clint overheard Thor's words and turned his head at the thunder god.
"Isn't Loki dead?" reminded Clint.
"He is," nodded Thor.
"Then why did you bring it up?" asked Natasha.
"Perhaps the kidnapper was searching for Loki and mistook Carol for him," assumed Thor.
"But Carol's a girl," objected Clint, "Loki's not."
"Loki can change genders if he wishes," clarified Thor, "I've seen him do it one time."
The Avengers exchanged confused glances until they arrived at the quinjet. Once they boarded, Bruce was waiting for them.
"So," asked Bruce, "did you find Ultron?"
"And Carol," answered Tony, "but someone took her while we were squabbling against Ultron."
Steve took a moment to think over what happened when the fight started. He remembered seeing Ultron pull Carol as if he was trying to protect her.
"Maybe the kidnapper triggered the fight," Steve said to himself.
Tony entered the cockpit and took control of the steering handles after activating the engines. Seconds later, the quinjet took off.
"Once we head back to base," announced Tony, "Bruce and I will be continuing to get Jarvis back online. Cap, you lead the other Avengers to find Ultron's base."
"But what about Carol?" reminded Steve.
"I will find her and bring her back," offered Thor, "Carol could be anywhere in the Nine Realms but Heimdall can locate her."
Steve let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Thor," smiled Steve.
Meanwhile, Ultron and the drone landed on the platform entrance to his base before lowering Pietro and Wanda. They stepped onto an elevator platform and waited for a few seconds before the platform descended into the base. They wandered through the base until they reached the conference room. Ultron stepped towards a closet and pulled out the scepter before approaching the Maximoff twins.
"So, how are we going to reach Carol?" asked Ultron.
"You might want to step outside," suggested Wanda.
Ultron dismissed the drone and escorted Wanda and Pietro through the base until they headed outside. After waiting for a few moments, a portal appeared out of the sky.
"Is that our transportation?" paused Ultron, "it's so fascinating."
Wanda and Pietro led Ultron into the portal, and seconds later, the portal transported the three of them to the Bifrost Bridge, where they could see Heimdall and Loki waiting for them.
"We found the scepter like you requested," called Wanda.
"And I see that you brought along a friend," remarked Loki, eyes focusing on Ultron.
Chuckling, Ultron approached Loki.
"So you must be Loki," mused Ultron, "the God of Mischief."
"In the flesh," nodded Loki.
"So what did you need the scepter for?" asked Ultron.
"That scepter contains the Mind Stone," explained Loki, "I cannot let Thanos get his hands on it."
"Thanos?" paused Ultron, tilting his head.
"All I could say to you is that Thanos is the most dangerous mastermind of the Nine Realms," explained Loki.
Loki plucked the scepter from Ultron's hands.
"Can I ask you something?" asked Ultron.
Loki placed a finger on his chin before nodding.
"There is a girl by the name of Carol," explained Ultron, "and someone kidnapped her. I want to do whatever it takes to save her."
Ultron examined Loki's face for a moment.
"Then again," continued Ultron, "she looks similar to you, but only female."
"What did the kidnapper look like?" asked Loki, "did she have a name?"
Ultron took a moment to remember the face of the kidnapper.
"Her name is Nebula," answered Ultron.
Loki took a deep breath to suppress his anger.
"Thanos must've sent her to find me," replied Loki, "but it turns out she mistook your girl for me."
"Can you help me find Carol and get her back?" requested Ultron.
"That could be risky," nodded Loki, "but I suppose it's worth getting back at Thanos for all the torture he put me through."
Loki approached Heimdall.
"Heimdall," called Loki, "could you locate this Carol?"
Heimdall nodded and began searching the Nine Realms. But once he located Carol, he also heard Thor's call.
"Found anything yet?" asked Pietro.
"Yes," nodded Heimdall, "but I also received word from Thor."
Loki sighed as he facepalmed.
"This is going to be a bothersome," muttered Loki, "fine, bring him in. He deserves to know what's going on."
Heimdall activated the Bifrost Bridge and waited for a few moments before Thor arrived. He marched towards the gatekeeper.
"Heimdall," called Thor, "I seek to rescue a girl by the name of Carol Harvey, for she has been kidnapped."
"I am already aware of this human you speak of," assured Heimdall, "and I located her."
Thor stared at Heimdall in disbelief. Did someone already tell him about Carol? Thor snapped out of his thoughts when he suddenly noticed Loki standing nearby.
"Hello, brother," remarked Loki.
Shocked and frustrated, Thor lunged his Mjolnir forward and tackled Loki to the ground, startling the trickster god.
"Damn it, Loki," shouted Thor, "how are you still alive?! I saw you die in Svartalfheim!"
"Well," chuckled Loki, "it's a rather complicated story."
"What has become of my father?!" demanded Thor.
Thor took a deep breath and stepped off Loki, allowing his brother to stand to his full height.
"I could tell you," answered Loki, "but you're not going to like it."
"What do you mean?" asked Thor.
Loki glanced at Heimdall, then Ultron, then Pietro and Wanda before returning his focus on Thor.
"After I faked my death," explained Loki, "I returned to Asgard in disguise so I could tell Odin of my supposed passing. At first, I just wanted to leave Asgard, but I did not think that Odin would simply collapse in reaction to this news."
Thor stared at Loki in disbelief. Was Odin really gone? The thunder god suppressed his fury and turned his head at Heimdall.
"You knew of this?!" roared Thor.
Heimdall didn't make a glance at Thor, but he nodded.
"When Odin collapsed," explained Heimdall, "Loki blamed himself for it, so he disguised himself as the AllFather in denial."
Thor glanced at Loki, who lowered his head.
"We'll continue this later," said Thor, "we have a Midgardian to rescue."
"Of course," agreed Loki, glancing at Ultron, "I cannot leave the twins' friend unhappy. Heimdall, send us to Carol's location."
Upon cue, Heimdall changed the coordinates in the Bifrost Bridge, so Thor, Loki, Pietro, Wanda and Ultron gathered at the portal. The thunder god made a brief glance at the tall robot.
"You, too?" paused Thor.
"I promised Carol I'd be her boyfriend," clarified Ultron.
Loki couldn't help but chuckle.
"Oh, this is interesting," mused Loki, "a romance between a robot and a Midgardian."
Meanwhile, Nebula reached the throne room of the Sanctuary while dragging Carol. She then shoved the human to the ground, her eyes focusing on the purple titan sitting on the throne.
"I brought the traitor as you requested," reported Nebula, "he tried to disguise himself as a teenage girl."
"Excellent, Nebula," praised Thanos.
Thanos stood from the throne and trudged towards Carol. She began to panic and started scooting back, but Nebula blocked her path.
"Why didn't you bring back the Tesseract?!" demanded Thanos.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," stammered Carol, "and I don't think we even met."
Furious, Thanos grabbed Carol by the collar of her shirt and lifted her into the air.
"Don't you dare play games with me, Loki," shouted Thanos, "I told you specifically to bring the Tesseract and you even lost the scepter I gave to you!"
"I-I'm not Loki," protested Carol, "I'm Carol!"
"You liar," growled Thanos.
Thanos dropped Carol to the ground and punched her hard in her face, causing her to shout in pain and fall to the ground.
"I know you're lying," growled Thanos, "and I'm getting tired of your attempts to hide from me! Now shed that disguise you're in right now!"
"I'm not in disguise," gasped Carol, "I don't even have magic powers!"
Thanos simply growled at Carol before pulling out a knife from his pocket, much to Carol's horror.
"What…what are you going to do to me?!" panicked Carol.
Thanos pinned her right arm to the ground with his foot, Carol struggling to free herself.
"I'm going to make you suffer until you confess," declared Thanos, "let's see how much pain you endure before you give up your facade!"
Carol glanced at the knife in horror and continued struggling, trying to inch away from the knife.
"No, stop!" begged Carol, "don't do this!"
Thanos ignored Carol's pleas and grabbed her left wrist. He plunged the blade of the knife into her upper arm, causing her to scream in pain. Smirking, the titan dragged the knife down her arm and watched as tears streamed down her face, blood seeped out of her wound and the knife cutting deep into her skin and muscle. Once Thanos reached the wrist, he withdrew the knife.
"So, are you ready to confess?" Thanos smirked.
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