I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
The following morning, Andrew left for work, and Ultron left earlier after explaining that he was going to browse through multiple grocery markets so he could send the food most people wouldn't bother buying to the highest concentration of homeless and impoverished people in the United States and in Africa. Carol didn't feel like having breakfast at home, so she pulled out two sugar cookies from the pantry so she would feel full long enough until she reached this morning's destination. She gathered her handbag and stepped out of the apartment, taking care to lock the door behind her before she wandered down the stairs and stepped out of the building. She walked down the street and turned at a few corners while trying to avoid staring at anyone.
After half an hour or so, Carol stopped at the entrance to Café Centro. She stepped inside and began searching for a table. While she was searching, she noticed a strange man with a hooded jacket and gloves. Wait a minute, she remembered seeing him at the subway eight days ago while she, Steve and Ultron were on their way to the aquarium! Curiosity filling her mind, she approached his table and sat across from him while he was reading the menu, but he paused in his tracks and glanced up at Carol.
"May I help you?" he asked.
"Are you…having breakfast here?" inquired Carol.
The stranger nodded.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Carol Harvey," chirped Carol.
The stranger placed his menu on the table.
"Why are you here at my table?" he questioned.
Carol placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head.
"Didn't I recognize you from somewhere?" mentioned Carol.
The stranger gave Carol a blank stare.
"You do look familiar now that I think of it," he gasped, "at the subway station."
"Yeah," nodded Carol, "Ultron was with me at that time."
Before the stranger could respond, a waitress emerged from the kitchen and approached the table he and Carol were sitting at.
"Good morning," smiled the waitress, "what can I get you two lovely people today?"
Carol skimmed through the menu before focusing her eyes on the waitress.
"Can I get some coffee?" Carol requested.
"I'll have green tea," added Bucky.
The waitress wrote down the items on her notepad.
"Coming right up," replied the waitress.
The waitress stepped back into the kitchen. Carol leaned forward across the table.
"Do you…happen to remember Mr. Steve Rogers?" whispered Carol.
"Yes," the stranger nodded, "why?"
Carol pulled out her smart phone and accessed the Internet before searching for Captain America's profile. Once she found it, she looked for a list of loved ones.
"Could you," Carol said softly, "possibly be…Bucky Barnes?"
The stranger stared at Carol in disbelief during a moment of silence.
"Y-Yes," he admitted.
Carol scanned the dining area in an attempt to find anyone suspicious. Yet, none of the customers seemed shady nor were they staring at Bucky.
"Strange," Carol muttered to herself, "there doesn't seem to be any Hydra members here."
"So where's Steve?" Bucky asked.
"He's at the new Avengers facility in upstate New York," Carol answered quietly.
"Could you…uh," Bucky stammered.
Before Bucky could finish the question, the waitress returned with the beverages on a tray.
"Ok, here you go," the waitress announced.
The waitress placed the beverages on the table.
"Oh, sweet! Thanks," chirped Carol.
Carol grabbed several sugar packs, ripped them open and poured the sugar into her coffee and poured a container of cream into her coffee before mixing it up. After that, Carol took a sip of her coffee while Bucky poured a couple packages of sugar into his tea.
"Do you need a few more minutes or are you ready to order?" asked the waitress.
Carol read the breakfast section of the menu.
"I'd like two eggs with bacon," requested Carol.
"And how would you like your eggs?" inquired the waitress.
"Over-easy," answered Carol.
"I'll go with buttermilk pancakes and Vermont maple syrup with bacon on the side," added Bucky.
The waitress jotted down the orders onto her notepad.
"Coming right up," replied the waitress, "by the way, are you two dating?"
Bucky almost snorted into his tea as Carol's eyes widened in shock. Why would they be even dating? She barely knew him!
"What?!" exclaimed Carol.
"No," protested Bucky, "we're not."
"Oh, that's a shame," cooed the waitress, "you two would've made great kids."
Carol felt a chill sent down her spine.
"I-I don't want to have any kids," stammered Carol.
"Me neither," added Bucky.
The waitress gave Carol a stern expression.
"But you would make such a great parent," the waitress told Carol.
Carol glared at the waitress, who sighed as she stepped towards the kitchen.
"So, how did you know Steve?" asked Bucky.
"Ultron and I helped him save the world five days ago," answered Carol.
"You mean that incident in Sokovia?" paused Bucky.
Carol nodded. Bucky scratched his head in confusion, wondering how she could even fight.
"I know how Steve fights," Bucky said, "but you?"
"I can whip up explosives," Carol whispered, "chemical explosives."
"Oh," advised Bucky, "in that case, you shouldn't tell anyone how you operate it or even how it works. Someone could copy it and use it for bad purposes."
"Ok," nodded Carol.
Carol brought her smart phone and put on some headphones before she started listening to a video from DarkMatter2525 while Bucky scanned the dining area. Several minutes later, the waitress returned with the breakfast orders on the tray.
"Here you go," she said, "one order of fried eggs and bacon."
The waitress placed Carol's order on the table.
"And pancakes with bacon and syrup," the waitress continued.
The waitress placed Bucky's order on the table.
"Thanks!" chirped Carol.
Once the waitress left, Carol and Bucky started eating their breakfast. Carol dipped the pieces of bacon into the yolk and bit off the pieces covered in yolk. Bucky drizzled his pancakes with the syrup.
"Aside from Steve," asked Bucky, "what can you tell me about Ultron?"
"Well, he has seen the problems we humans have," explained Carol, "and he's trying to improve them."
"And you're helping him out?" clarified Bucky.
Carol couldn't help but blush, but she nodded.
"In a way," blurted Carol.
Bucky couldn't help but let out a playful scoff. Before Carol could continue, she heard her smart phone go off, compelling her to answer it.
"Who is it?" sang Carol.
"This is Vision," Vision answered over the phone, "do you have a moment?"
"Sure," nodded Carol.
"The abortion was a success," Vision explained over the phone, "and we have confirmed a match with Pastor Milford."
"And Delilah?" asked Carol.
"Ultron's drone is carrying her back to her mother," Vision replied over the phone.
Carol gave a gentle smile, much to Bucky's confusion.
"Well, thanks for the heads up!" chirped Carol.
"I'll take my leave," Vision said over the phone.
Carol hung up before she focused her eyes on Bucky.
"Eh, it's a personal issue I was involved in," clarified Carol, "it has nothing to do with you."
"Oh," replied Bucky.
Carol and Bucky continued to eat their breakfast until they finished after a long while. Once the waitress returned, they both paid their bill and left behind a tip. After that, they stepped out of the restaurant. The Winter Soldier scanned the surrounding area in case anyone was spying on them. Once the coast was clear, he motioned Carol to follow him into an alleyway.
"Promise me something," Bucky requested softly, "if anyone asks you where I am, don't tell them anything about me, ok?"
Carol took a few seconds to think over the request. She did hear of the Winter Soldier working for Hydra, but figured that Bucky didn't want to work for them regardless.
"Not even Steve?" paused Carol.
"Well," admitted Bucky, "I still trust him. Do you have his number?"
"Why?" asked Carol.
"If something should happen to me," explained Bucky, "I'd like to notify either you or Steve."
"Will my number suffice?" replied Carol.
Bucky nodded. Carol pulled out her smart phone and accessed the contact app, allowing Bucky to record her phone number. After that, she stashed her smart phone into her handbag.
"Thanks," warned Bucky, "just because Hydra has been dismantled doesn't mean they're no longer existent. There are still those loyal to it, and they won't even tell you about it."
"Right," nodded Carol.
Without warning, Bucky sped off, leaving Carol behind. She stepped out of the alleyway and wandered through the street, figuring that she could spend the rest of the day working on art commissions. She typed down a note in her smart phone so she would remind herself to tell Steve in the event Bucky would give her the signal. She avoided the occasional comments from a few sleazy guys hanging by the sidewalk, and when she heard one of them hollering out to her, she would shoot a deadly glare at him before continuing on.
It was only a long while before Carol finally reached her apartment, but she noticed a police car parked up next to it. She brushed it off before heading inside, but just as she was ascending the stairs, she heard shouting, so she sprinted up the stairs and gasped in shock as she saw Nelson's son, Isaiah, fist fighting with a police officer as he tried to keep them from entering the Todds' apartment.
"Hey, kid!" snapped the first police officer, "settle down, will you?"
"My dad didn't do anything wrong!" snarled Isaiah.
Isaiah reached for the pistol in the police officer's pocket, but the cop thought fast and yanked his hand away.
"Isaiah, we have a search warrant," warned the second police officer, "now step aside so we can talk to Pastor Milford and Mr. Todd."
"No!" barked Isaiah, "I will defend them from servants of Satan in the name of God!"
"That does not excuse them from breaking the law," snapped the second police officer.
"They're innocent!" protested Isaiah.
Carol hesitated, unsure whether she should either step in or avoid the conflict when the first police officer noticed her.
"Excuse me," he called, "are you Miss Carol Harvey?"
Carol almost took a step back when she froze and snapped her head at the first police officer.
"Y-Yeah?" paused Carol.
The first police officer approached Carol in a calm manner, much to her confusion.
"I'm Officer Carter, and we're part of the Special Victims Unit," he explained, "we received word from Director Fury about the incident with the Todds, so we applied for a search warrant after he sent us evidence."
"Oh, Delilah and Claudia?" clarified Carol, "how long have you known either of them?"
"I've known Mrs. Todd for a few months," answered Carter, "I visited her in the hospital while she was recovering from surgery after a violent incident happened a while ago. I personally suspected domestic violence, even if she didn't say anything about Mr. Todd."
Carol gave away no expression, not wanting anyone to see her reaction of surprise.
"Did she say anything about Pastor Milford?" asked Carol.
"Not much," answered Carter, "she did say something about Delilah complaining to her about getting a new pastor for a while."
Just then, the second police officer successfully pushed Isaiah aside.
"We're clear!" he announced.
Upon cue, Officer Carter turned on his foot.
"Thank you for your time," he said.
Officer Carter joined his fellow officer as they entered the apartment. Isaiah recovered from the confusion and glared at Carol.
"What did you do to my dad?!" demanded Isaiah.
"W-What are you talking about?" paused Carol.
Furious, Isaiah stomped towards Carol, causing her to flinch. Still, she stood her ground.
"Don't lie to me," snarled Isaiah, "you did something and now the cops are arresting my dad for something he didn't do!"
"Then why do you think Mrs. Todd and Delilah leave?" remarked Carol.
"How should I know?!" growled Isaiah.
Carol clenched her fists.
"Do you find anything suspicious about Pastor Milford?" asked Carol.
"No!" denied Isaiah, "no, of course not! Pastor Milford is God's gift to the children in our community. Where is my sister?!"
"I-I don't know," Carol lied.
"Then you need to help me find her before she commits the greatest sin she'll ever make," begged Isaiah, "she keeps whining about Pastor Milford hurting her even though she's lying!"
Carol paused in a moment of silence. She knew she would have to do whatever it took to protect Delilah, and she was worried that if Isaiah or Nelson found out, someone would probably be murdered.
"S-Sorry, Isaiah," stammered Carol, "you're on your own."
Carol pushed past Isaiah and stormed off just as Officer Carter and his coworker emerged from the apartment with Pastor Milford in handcuffs.
"Mr. Todd doesn't seem to be here," Carter muttered to himself.
Carol left the third floor and continued walking up the stairs until she finally reached the door to her apartment. She unlocked the door and stepped inside before heading into her room. Of course, Snoofles was still sleeping on her bed, yet Carol set down her handbag and turned on her laptop before browsing her account for any new commission orders. Once she found a few, she pulled out her clipboard case and started drawing.
I would also like an RP partner to help me write out the next chapters of this fanfic.
I'm still open to suggestions on how to continue the fanfic.
Please leave a review, so Ultron and Loki would be happy.