I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
With navigational feedback from the miniature drones flying through the hive, Ultron led Thor and Loki through the passageways while the giant bees caught a glimpse of them before buzzing off. Carol, of course, still clung onto Ultron as her encounter with the giant bees didn't make the trip any better for her. It took only a while before they reached a large chamber where they could see a hole in the middle while giant bees were storing honey into honeycomb cells.
"Could that be the entrance to the labyrinth?" Thor wondered aloud.
Ultron checked his map from the mini drones, instructing one of them to come over and investigate the hole in the center.
"While our robot friend is busy," Loki suggested, gesturing to the bees in the chamber, "why don't we ask the bees about it?"
Thor nodded in agreement and followed Loki further into the chamber until they passed by a giant bee hovering near the hole.
"Excuse me," Thor called to the bee, "but does this hole lead to a labyrinth?"
The bee spared Thor a glance and then looked to the hole.
"Yes, but it is a long drop," it answered, "too steep and narrow for us to safely fly down."
"We have our own means of traversing it," Thor nodded, "my thanks to you, sir."
The bee tilted its head and then resumed its work as Thor returned to the others.
"Well, now we know for sure that we're at the right place," Loki said, stepping closer to the hole and peering down into the depths, "I don't suppose any of you would be receptive to the idea of going first?"
Ultron shook his head.
"I'm not leaving Carol's side after what just happened," he said, "besides…"
The humor returned to his voice.
"Maybe you'll finally get to do a 'super hero landing'," he continued.
"A…what?" paused Loki.
"You know, a super hero landing! Jump or fly down from a great height and…bam! Hit the ground on your feet, maybe make a little crater while you're at it," Ultron chuckled.
The robot hoped that lightening the atmosphere a bit would help ease Carol back into a more relaxed state.
Thor crossed his arms.
"I'm tempted to see if you can do that, to be honest," Thor told Loki, who frowned as he realized that he may have found himself as the first to go down the hole no matter what he said.
"I must warn you," Loki let out a sigh, "when I fell from the Bifrost, my landing was rather painful."
"The last time you fell from a great height you landed in a cushioned skiff," Thor pointed out, calling back to their escape from Asgard during the crisis with the Aether and Malekith, "you were quite graceful too."
Loki shook his head, but took a step forward and plummeted into the hole below. Thor chuckled and walked to the edge.
"For Asgard," he said in a leisurely tone before stepping over the edge and vanishing from sight, falling after Loki.
After seeing the two Asgardians disappear, Ultron held onto Carol and activated his jet propulsory, floating down the hole. It was really dark, so Ultron started glowing while he landed a few feet near Thor and Loki.
"Carol," Ultron whispered, "we're here."
Carol let out a sigh of relief as Ultron lowered her to the ground.
"I can't believe I just had to travel through a giant beehive and get kidnapped by bees!" Carol complained.
Carol glared at Thor and Loki, much to their confusion.
"Your mom would be ashamed of both of you when she hears about this!" she continued in a harsh tone.
Thor cringed at the mention of his mother while Loki's expression turned suddenly blank…and cold.
"Ultron, I would advise that you keep your woman silent," he hissed, "she speaks of things she knows nothing of…and if she does it again, I can't promise that I won't respond…irrationally."
Loki turned and stormed away.
"Loki!" Thor called after his brother as he vanished into the labyrinth.
Disappointed, the thunder god turned his head at Carol.
"You shouldn't have said that, Carol," Thor scolded, "our mother…she was murdered, and the loss is still fresh in Loki."
He shook his head.
"I imagine it will be several human lifetimes before it isn't."
Carol felt a chill sent down her spine upon hearing those words while her eyes widened. Could her words have such a powerful effect on someone? She tilted her head in Ultron's direction while he gave her a blank stare.
"Ultron?" Carol said.
"Thor…has a point," Ultron admitted.
Carol snapped her head at Thor.
"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry!" Carol panicked, "I didn't know!"
"I know," Thor said gently, "and I do forgive you, Carol…but it is not me that you must apologize to."
Thor turned and followed after Loki, hurrying to catch up to his younger brother before he could encounter any potential dangers in the maze. Once a few drones arrived in the labyrinth seconds later, they disappeared into the maze and started mapping it out, allowing Ultron to lead Carol further into the maze, hoping to catch up with the Asgardians.
"Okay Carol, a few pointers," Ultron instructed, resuming his usual light hearted tone, "we have no idea what's down here so you want to make sure you don't give your position away. Keep your voice low, ears open and don't rush through. If there is anything down here, then you want to know about it before it knows about you."
He had one drone check every corner ahead of them as they walked.
"Second, know where you've been and where you haven't, and more importantly how to get back to square one if you need to," Ultron pointed one arm to the maze wall and used a thin laser to cut an X into the material as well as an arrow pointing back the way they had come from, "if you're in a hurry to get out, you don't want to waste time running in circles."
"I'll keep that in mind," Carol nodded.
Carol continued to follow Ultron as he made more marks on the walls. She tilted her head in all directions to ensure there was no one stalking them as she stayed as close to her boyfriend as possible. She pulled out a flashlight from her backpack and turned it on, allowing her to illuminate the dark corridors. When she pointed it up towards the ceiling, a giant rat-like creature was revealed and when it tilted its head towards the light source, it hissed and scrambled down the wall, scurried past Carol, which startled her before it burrowed itself into a hole. The teenage girl calmed down in less than a second.
"Wow, that was one huge rat," Carol commented in a quiet voice.
"Relax, it was probably more scared of you than you were of it," Ultron assured her.
"I'm more likely wondering how these rats got big," Carol mused.
Nodding in agreement, Ultron tilted his head in multiple directions in case there were any more giant rats wandering in the maze. While they continued wandering through the maze, Carol pointed her flashlight at the source of rustling sounds, revealing giant rats who immediately skittered away. At the same time, the robot kept making marks on the walls, not wanting his girlfriend to get lost. Still, the feedback from the drones allowed Ultron and Carol to venture forth until they finally caught up with Thor, who was just catching up to Loki.
"Say," Ultron called to Thor, "have you found any traps so far?"
Thor and Loki paused in their tracks and tilted their heads towards Ultron.
"So far, no," Thor answered, "all we ran into were skittish rats."
Ultron nodded before tilting his head towards Carol.
"Carol?" he said softly.
Carol gazed into Ultron's optics before she nodded and approached Loki, who gave her a cold stare.
"L-Loki?" Carol confessed, "I know I may have not anticipated the beehive being there, but I also had no idea what happened to your mom until Thor told me about it. Now, I really shouldn't have insulted her like that. I'm sorry."
Carol lowered her head while Loki softened his glance and placed his hand on Carol's shoulder.
"I…accept your apology," Loki advised, "just be careful with your words, all right?"
Carol lifted her head and nodded while Thor smiled.
"Shall we continue?" Thor offered.
Upon cue, Thor, Loki, Ultron and Carol continued to wander through the maze, the robot using his drones for navigation and Loki reading the map from the book. Apart from giant rats skittering in the maze, it seemed too quiet. While anyone could think this would be a sign that this maze was safe, Loki had a sneaky suspicion that something more dangerous could be up ahead.
After a while, Ultron, Thor, Loki and Carol finally arrived in a large chamber in the heart of the labyrinth and atop the pedestal in the center stood an ornate urn.
"Is this it?" Thor asked.
Loki glanced at the map in the book again.
"We should find the Soul Stone here," Loki answered, "I believe it might be hidden."
Loki, Thor and Ultron scanned the chamber while Carol examined the urn at a distance.
"How much do you want to bet that urn would trigger a huge booby trap if we try to take it?" Carol asked, gesturing to the urn.
Ultron tilted his head towards the urn.
"If you'd like," Ultron suggested, "I could scan for booby traps for you."
"Go for it," Carol agreed.
Upon cue, Ultron's sensors scanned the chamber for any unusual triggers. He may not have detected booby traps so far, but he did detect a strong energy signature from the urn.
"It appears to be safe," Ultron said, "would anyone here like to do the honors?"
Loki tilted his head in Thor's direction, eliciting a sigh out of him.
"Well," Thor replied, "if you'd like me to give it a try. I will be happy…to oblige."
Thor stepped towards the center of the chamber, his eyes locked onto the urn while Loki, Ultron and Carol scanned the chamber for any other threats that might strike at any time. Thor was merely inches near the pedestal, so he reached his hand out towards the urn, but…
"If you value your life," a booming voice warned, "you will not touch that Urn."
Startled, Loki snapped his head at the entrance.
"Who goes there?!" Loki demanded.
Seconds later, giant rats poured into the massive chamber and surrounded the Asgardians, the robot and his girlfriend, sending chills down their spines. Minutes later, an even larger rat with an ornate crown on its head entered the chamber, which drew attention from Ultron, Thor, Carol and Loki. Could the giant rats they encountered have alerted their presence to him?
"If you really don't want us to take your precious urn," Carol objected, "then why are there no booby traps?"
The rat king shook his head in disbelief.
"The Urn does not belong to us," he explained, "it was used by another civilization that lived here before we did."
Loki and Thor glanced at the Urn, confusion filling their minds.
"So what is this civilization you speak of?" Ultron asked while tilting his head sideways, "I'm all ears. Or, in your case, I'm all whiskers."
The giant rat king seemed to hesitate in a moment of silence.
"It is," he began, "an ancient civilization who constructed this labyrinth as burial grounds for their dead."
Carol placed her finger on her chin.
"So…an underground graveyard?" Carol clarified.
The rat king nodded.
"This ancient society believed the Urn transported the souls of the dead to the afterlife," he continued, "but we rats fear its power for a reason. If the Urn is opened even slightly, the one who would dare to open it would die."
Carol froze in shock while Ultron placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to give her assurance.
"So are you worried that removing the Urn from its resting place would destroy every living being within a radius?" Thor asked.
"Removing the Urn would not destroy life in a large radius," the rat king corrected Thor, "you would have to leave the Urn open for a long time before that effect would come to pass."
Loki stepped towards the rat king while Thor returned his focus on the Urn.
"Then I assure you that by removing the Urn, we can prevent it from killing your colony," Loki assured him, "but I must warn you that there is another who will do whatever it takes to get his hands on what is inside it."
During a moment of silence, everyone gave each other confused stares. Would Ultron, Thor, Loki and Carol ever gain approval from a leader of giant rats?
"If you wish to remove the Urn," the rat king warned, "then take extra caution while handling it. Negligence of it would plague even the largest civilizations with death."
Thor nodded in agreement.
"We won't let you down," Thor assured the giant rats.
Thor carefully picked up the Urn, checking the locks on its lid to ensure it was secured before he led Loki, Ultron and Carol out of the chamber while the giant rats dispersed. They wandered through the maze while using the marks on the walls as guidelines. It was only a little while before they finally reached the chamber with the entrance at the ceiling. After Thor stashed the Urn into his inventory, he grabbed Loki and raised Mjolnir into the air, letting the hammer fly them out through the hole. Ultron lifted Carol into his arms before he flew out of the maze and back into the chamber of the beehive. Hearing the buzzing of giant bees caused Carol to bury her head into Ultron's shoulder and whimper softly. However, the giant bees were swarming in panic, much to the robot's confusion, so he focused his optics on Thor.
"They were acting like this before we even left the labyrinth," Thor clarified.
"They probably have an oncoming threat," assumed Loki.
"We should get out of the hive and find out what's going on before we return to Asgard," Ultron suggested.
Nodding in agreement, Thor led Loki and Ultron through the beehive, sprinting past any giant bees in a hurry. There couldn't be a possibility that the bees changed their mind, could there? Once they reached a massive chambers, they saw a few giant bees divebombing after Nebula as she tried to fight them off.
"Someone clearly arrived a few hours too late," Loki commented.
"Even with the bees holding her off," Thor reminded Loki, "Nebula could still have reinforcements."
Ultron called over a mini drone and instructed it to send a message to the queen bee, hoping that relaying the message would convince Nebula to leave the beehive…somehow. Ultron carried Carol in his arms while he led Thor and Loki to scramble through the beehive. Once they emerged from the beehive, they could see Kree reinforcements standing outside. Maybe they were waiting for Nebula's signal? When they laid their eyes on the robot, the Asgardians and the teenager, they pulled out their weapons and charged at them while Ultron lowered Carol to the ground.
"Were they expecting us at all?" sighed Carol.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Loki shrugged.
Carol tapped on the screen of her gauntlet which mixed the ingredients she selected and deposited them into a disk. When she pulled it out, she pressed the buttons and threw it at the incoming Kree soldiers. When it detonated, the chemical reaction coated the frontline in ice, freezing it in their place. Thor raised Mjolnir into the air and drew in lightning which caused a storm to roll in. Moments later, Thor smashed Mjolnir into the ground, creating a shockwave that tossed the Kree soldiers into the air while Ultron used his anti-grav tech to yank the rifles out of the hands of the Kree soldiers that managed to outrun the icy explosion. Loki's skin turned blue and his eyes turned red before he blasted a frosty wind that froze the Kree soldiers' feet to the ground. This gave Ultron, Carol, Thor and Loki to break free and run out into the field, sprinting past the stunned Kree soldiers. Once they reached enough distance from the beehive, the Bifrost shot down seconds later and enveloped them in its light. They arrived at the Bifrost Bridge, only to notice a godlike elderly man with a cape, beard and an eyepatch waiting for them in front of Heimdall. Although Carol and Ultron didn't recognize him, Thor and Loki stared in disbelief once they merely glanced at him.
"Welcome back, Thor," he said.
I'm still open to suggestions on how to continue the fanfic.
Please leave a review, so Ultron and Loki would be happy.