I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
For a while, the Avengers couldn't come up with something to say to Carol. Steve eventually let out a sigh, figuring that he should try to learn her motive.
"So how are you going to prevent Thanos from stealing these…Infinity Stones?" asked Steve.
"Well, I was thinking of joining you guys," answered Carol.
Ultron groaned as he rolled his optics.
"Carol, are you sure about this?" objected Ultron, "they aren't the best at helping the human race improve."
"Ok, now you're starting to piss me off," barked Bruce.
Bruce stomped towards Ultron, but Natasha blocked his path, holding him back.
"Don't turn green," warned Natasha.
"Buzzkill," muttered Bruce.
Steve ignored the tiny squabble between Bruce and Natasha and focused on Carol.
"So," continued Steve, "what do you want to do for the team?"
"Maybe I could try mixing chemicals and creating explosives at the touch of a button," suggested Carol.
"Uh-oh," teased Tony in a singsong voice, "dangerous."
"What?" objected Carol, "you don't like my idea?"
"I'm joking," blurted Tony.
Tony began pacing around the room, his mind filled with thoughts of the events of today. Did Ultron really hate him that much? He had a feeling that the robot he created was starting to grow protective of Carol. Maybe this could keep her from acting reckless if she were ever to join the Avengers.
"We'll talk about designing a mixing weapon after I get Jarvis back online," said Tony.
Ultron lowered his head, shame and guilt filling his processor.
"You could let me revive your butler for you," Ultron offered softly.
"I have a better suggestion," corrected Tony, "you could tell me where to find Jarvis…unless you killed him."
While Ultron began searching the Internet, Thor placed the scepter onto the stand on the counter.
"I thought you were going to take the scepter to Asgard," reminded Natasha.
"I was," lied Thor, "but Heimdall suggested I hold onto it."
With Ultron still searching on the Internet, Carol began wandering around the room, catching Clint's attention.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" called Clint.
Carol paused in her tracks and turned to face Clint.
"Where are the guest bedrooms?" asked Carol.
"Why do you ask?" paused Clint, scratching his head.
"Well," stammered Carol, fiddling with her hands, "I just want to stay with Ultron for a while, but his base is not in full operation yet."
Carol didn't know that Steve heard her until…
"You've been to his base?!" exclaimed Steve.
Startled, Carol yelped and snapped her head at Steve.
"He…allowed me to visit, I guess," admitted Carol.
Steve placed a finger on his chin, taking a moment to think.
"Ultron seems to trust Carol the most," Steve muttered to himself.
Steve approached Thor and Tony, catching their attention.
"Mr. Stark," suggested Steve, "may I ask that we let Carol and Ultron stay at our tower for the night?"
Tony stared at Steve in disbelief.
"Are you kidding?" objected Tony.
Ultron folded his arms and stared at Steve.
"I hope you have a good reason why," warned Ultron.
Steve ignored Ultron's words and kept his eyes focused on Tony and Thor.
"I know you made this artificial intelligence and it almost went wrong," explained Steve, "and Ultron here may have did some things that some people on Earth are not happy about. But then, if it weren't for Carol, Ultron would've done much worse."
Ultron couldn't help but chuckle as he tilted his head.
"Captain America," mused Ultron, "God's righteous man, pretending you could live without war. I wanted to hate you, but I'm rather impressed with your reason."
Tony let out a sigh.
"Fine," groaned Tony, pointing at Ultron, "but if Ultron causes any trouble, he's out of here."
Carol sat down on the couch and pulled her clipboard case from her handbag before she started sketching out a potential design for a mixing gauntlet. No one noticed Andrew stepping into the room, until…
"Carolyn Sierra Harvey," demanded Andrew, "what are you doing at the tower?!"
Startled, Carol and the Avengers snapped their heads at Andrew as he laid his eyes on Ultron and pointed at him.
"And what is that robot doing here?!" continued Andrew.
Tony stepped towards Andrew.
"Sorry if this was so sudden," explained Tony, gesturing to Ultron, "but your daughter here managed to befriend Ultron before he got out of control. Thor just helped him rescue her from a dangerous alien mastermind."
"Oh," sighed Andrew, glancing at Ultron, "I thought I was seeing a walking hazard when I saw your robot."
"I have a name, you know," reminded Ultron, placing his hand on his hips.
Andrew stepped towards Ultron, showing no signs of anger or fear.
"I thank you for protecting my daughter," warned Andrew, "but please don't let her die. I just don't want to outlive her."
"That can be easily arranged," nodded Ultron.
Andrew turned his head away from Ultron and approached Carol.
"Carol, have you been hanging out with Ultron?" demanded Andrew, gesturing to Ultron.
Carol nervously fiddled with her hands.
"Yeah," admitted Carol, "a couple times."
"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" insisted Andrew.
"Because I thought you would freak out if you knew about Ultron," explained Carol.
Andrew placed his hand on Carol's shoulder.
"You're lucky I didn't," replied Andrew, "Nelson, on the other hand, is more likely to freak out about Ultron."
Carol nodded in agreement before she returned to designing her Avengers costume and equipment, catching Andrew's attention.
"Say," asked Andrew, "is that a design for your new character?"
"Actually," answered Carol, "that's my Avengers costume."
Andrew sighed as he facepalmed.
"Please tell me you're not planning to join the Avengers," objected Andrew.
"What's wrong with joining the Avengers?" paused Carol.
Andrew started pacing around the room with thoughts filling his head.
"Carol," said Andrew, "I know you didn't take any martial arts classes, so you don't seem to have combat training. Look at me! I'm a tech, not a soldier!"
"You don't have to be a soldier if you don't want to," assured Carol.
"That's not the point, Carol!" protested Andrew, "I feel that you are too young for this. You have a bright future out there, especially with your art."
"That's why I thought I could try protecting that future," clarified Carol.
"By putting yourself in danger again?" sighed Andrew.
Ultron overheard this, so he approached Carol and Andrew.
"He's got a point," nodded Ultron.
"I don't have to fight alone," replied Carol, "Ultron could fight alongside me, right?"
Ultron and Andrew couldn't help but facepalm. Was Carol that dead set on becoming an Avenger? Andrew stepped towards Steve.
"Did Carol say anything about joining the Avengers?" asked Andrew.
"She said that she wanted to fight alongside us," nodded Steve, "but I'm not sure if Director Fury would allow it. For now, I was thinking of letting Carol stay here for the night."
"Why?" paused Andrew.
"It would be easier for Ultron to keep her safe," explained Steve, "we initially thought he was a threat, but it seems Carol proved us otherwise."
"Ok then," nodded Andrew, "I'll bring a set of clothes from the apartment."
Andrew approached Carol while she continued sketching her design.
"Carol, do you need anything from the apartment?" asked Andrew.
Carol stopped what she was doing and focused her eyes on Andrew.
"Maybe my 3DS and a few games," requested Carol, "and don't forget my laptop!"
"Ok," sighed Andrew, "but you're going to have to ask Mr. Stark for the password if you want to access the Internet here. I'll be right back."
Andrew left the room, and after several minutes, Carol finished the design.
"Ok, it's ready!" Carol chirped in a singsong voice.
Carol scurried towards Tony with the sketch in her hands, allowing him to examine it.
"Nice!" commented Tony, "it'll take me a few days to develop your invention."
"Are you sure I can't help you out?" remarked Ultron, tilting his head.
Tony turned his head at Ultron.
"What?" blurted Tony, "you want to help your old man?"
"I could hate you less that way," replied Ultron.
Thor couldn't help but laugh at that comment.
"I wonder where he gets that," Thor said to himself.
After a long while, Ultron helped Tony get Jarvis back online, which allowed them to start developing the invention Carol designed. Ultron calculated which chemical combinations she could use based on what chemicals were abundant on Earth and recorded the most plausible ones into a database. A few drones brought in a few vials of vibranium upon their master's request so he could use it as a base for the equipment. At the same time, Tony ordered the material for the backpack and the costume. By evening, they got the basic layout prepared when Clint stepped into the lab.
"Steve and Bruce are making parmesan crusted tilapia fillets for dinner," said Clint, "are you going to help them out?"
"Sorry, Clint," declined Tony, "I'll pass on the cooking."
"Why is that?" asked Ultron.
"I don't want to risk turning dinner into a disaster," Tony muttered to himself.
Little did anyone know, Carol stepped into the lab and overheard Tony's words.
"What?" paused Carol, "does someone have bad cooking skills?"
Startled, Tony, Clint and Ultron turned their heads at Carol.
"Goddamn it, Carol," groaned Tony, "you sound like Pepper!"
Ultron and Carol couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Yeah," admitted Clint, "I remember hearing from Pepper that he burns everything he cooks."
"Maybe Stark needs to take some cooking classes," suggested Ultron.
Tony glared at Ultron and jabbed a finger at the mech's chest.
"Shut up, you big pile of bolts!" snapped Tony.
Tony stomped out of the lab, only to notice Steve and Bruce in the kitchen making dinner. He didn't even pay attention as Carol, Ultron and Clint followed him out of the lab. Thor was trying to figure out how to operate the rice cooker, which caught Steve's attention.
"Need some help?" asked Steve.
"How many cups of rice should I add?" asked Thor.
"You basically add two cups of water for every one cup of rice," advised Bruce.
"Thanks," replied Thor, "but I need to know how many cups of rice will feed the Avengers and our guests."
"I know Ultron doesn't eat," said Steve, "so we can cross him out. If you add six of us and then add Pietro, Wanda and Carol, that would make nine people."
At a distance, Ultron calculated the cups of rice to equate with the people eating before stepping into the kitchen.
"Why don't I make this simple for you?" advised Ultron.
Ultron nudged Thor out of the way and added six cups of rice into the rice cooker, followed by twelve cups of water. He closed the lid and activated the rice cooker.
"You could've allowed me to do that," protested Thor.
Ultron turned his head at Thor.
"You're welcome," Ultron said.
Ultron left the kitchen so Steve and Bruce could continue cooking the fillets. After a while, dinner was ready, so the Avengers, Pietro, Wanda and Carol gathered at the table and served themselves. Carol took a bite out of the tilapia crusted with parmesan.
"Hey, these are great!" chirped Carol.
"Thanks," replied Bruce, "Steve found the recipe on the Internet."
While Tony was eating, he noticed Wanda and Pietro were staring at him.
"What?" paused Tony, "do I have something on my face?"
"Your fear," replied Wanda.
"Oh, that," mused Tony, "you really must hate me for some reason."
"I think you already know the reason," retorted Wanda.
Ultron scanned Wanda and Pietro before doing a search on the Internet.
"You lost your parents in the bombings," commented Ultron, "I've seen the records."
Wanda and Pietro turned their heads at Ultron and gave him a blank stare.
"We were ten years old," explained Pietro, "the four of us were having dinner. That was when the first shell hit two floors beneath us, making a hole. Our parents went in, and then the whole building started to fall apart. I grabbed my sister and we rolled under the bed. That's when the second shell hit, but it didn't go off. It just sat there in the rubble. On the side of the shell, the word painted on it was Stark."
"We were trapped for two days," added Wanda, "curled under that bed. Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think, this will set it off. We waited for two days for Tony Stark to kill us."
"And yet you survived that and Strucker's experiments," replied Ultron.
Of course, Steve listened in on the conversation.
"You don't have to seek vengeance, right?" called Steve.
Wanda scoffed, although it was playful.
"You try enduring the scepter's power," beckoned Wanda.
"I did," remarked Clint, "and it was awful."
Natasha placed her hand on Clint's shoulder.
"Clint, it's ok," Natasha assured Clint.
"You could always join the Avengers instead of destroying them," Carol suggested to Pietro and Wanda.
"We'll see," replied Wanda.
Once the Avengers finished dinner, Carol and Ultron wandered through the tower until they reached the guest bedroom.
"Ok, Ultron," announced Carol, "I'm going to change clothes, so I need you to wait outside for a bit."
"What?" paused Ultron, "I can't help you change clothes?"
"I'm not ready to show you my body yet!" snapped Carol, "we haven't even had our first date!"
"Ok, ok," sighed Ultron, "I just don't understand why humans need to conceal their bodies. They're supposed to be natural."
"Haven't you heard of privacy?" retorted Carol.
"At least I don't have to worry about others seeing my body," replied Ultron, "since I don't wear clothes."
Carol scurried into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Ultron outside. After a few minutes of waiting, Carol finally opened the door while wearing her pajamas.
"So now you finished changing clothes?" asked Ultron.
"Yeah," admitted Carol, "I've never been in a relationship before, so I'm trying to take it a little slowly."
Carol led Ultron into the guest bedroom and she jumped onto the bed, covering herself under the blanket.
"Well," said Ultron, "I guess I'll see you in the morning."
Ultron turned to leave, but Carol grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"Wait," requested Carol, "could you keep me company?"
Ultron turned until his frame faced Carol and knelt down.
"What's the magic word?" quipped Ultron.
Carol let out a sigh.
"Please?" begged Carol.
Ultron couldn't help but chuckle.
"All right," nodded Ultron.
Ultron laid down next to Carol and placed his arm around her protectively. She turned over and snuggled into his chest. He couldn't help but let out a pleased sigh, knowing that she's safe as long as he's around. He never tried sleeping before, yet the thought of starting a relationship with her was still stuck in his processor. Strange, he was starting to care for her already. Ultron figured he could do research on relationships while he held Carol close to him while she fell asleep.
Please leave a review, so Ultron and Loki would be happy.