Howdy, there peeps! It's chapter time again.
Little bit filler I guess, but this scene in the movie is really a sort of filler scene between the two meetings with Ultron. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
Please don't mention any Black Panther spoilers to me. I haven't seen it (yet!) and I don't want any surprises to be spoiled. Thanks.
As always, I own only my OCs and any own plot points.
Enjoy.
Where the hell is Wakanda?
"Sweet banana fudge cakes, what the bloody hell was that thing?" Astraea spins round to question Bruce and Tony as soon as Thor leaves to track the spectre-stealing Iron Legion bot. Madison has already headed upstairs, complaining about an ear-splitting headache and a need for sleep.
"Ultron." Bruce states, simple and to the point. "All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, using the internet as an escape hatch."
"Ultron," Steve repeats, an uncertain look on his face.
"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other," Natasha murmurs softly, casting glances at everyone in the group, camped out in one the workshops. They're all in constant motion: shifty glances and pacing the room, unnerved by an attack from something in the building that should be safe. It's been an hour since the attack and they're all dog-tired.
"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey paces the room, steps echoing on the floor.
"Something like?" Astraea starts scanning faces.
"Nuclear codes." Maria Hill, ex-SHIELD(?) agent, cuts straight to the mark.
"Nuclear codes." Rhodey nods in agreement. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can," Rhodey states.
The conversation continues as Astraea zones out. Her eyelids are dropping, and the room is spinning slightly. The pain caused by squeezing a metal robot and the screeching noise hasn't yet gone away. Astraea is struggling to stay awake and slumps down in a cold metal chair. Maybe being uncomfortable will help her keep awake. She needs to listen to this talk – it affects her, too. Now that Astraea is an Avenger, she's going to be expected to step up and fight alongside the rest. Manic robots never seemed to a possible threat to her life and the lives of her loved ones, but now? Seems like just anything could be possible. Especially in a world where gods drop from the sky, men fly in armoured suits, and super soldiers can survive being frozen for almost 70 years. A strange ass world. Terrifying, but worth saving.
Thor bursts into the room just as Bruce finishes his statement:
"This isn't strategy, this is … rage."
The thunder god strides across the room in five steps and seizes Tony by the throat. He hoists the inventor into the air amid the shocked looks of his teammates.
Clint raises an eyebrow. "Woah, woah, woah. It's going around!"
"Come on," Tony still manages to make jokes with an angry Asgardian (literally) at his throat. "Use your words, buddy."
"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor intensifies his glare, but still maintains his grip on Tony's neck.
Steve steps forward, ever the peacemaker. "Thor! The Legionnaire."
Astraea jolts upwards from her slumbering position, trying to shake herself back into focus. It's tough, though. She's had a long morning walking and shopping with Madison, followed by an exhausting party, and a robot attack. There are plenty of reasons for Astraea to be collapsing into sweet dreams right now but the turn of the conversation isn't one of them. If she's to be an Avenger, to really be part of the team, Astraea has got to listen and take in everything they say. Which means she should probably get back to actually listening and not just deciding to listen.
"– carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony is talking again, and it sounds as though he's halfway through some sort of rant.
"No, it's never come up," Rhodey sounds a little bored. Everyone else is shaking their heads, looking around the room but not really focusing on Tony.
"Saved New York?"
"Never heard of that."
Which means he probably heard it a lot. But maybe not for the reasons most would think. Being in an alien invasion and having to deal with all the horrors of what the creatures did to the poor people in New York – it'd give anyone nightmares and maybe even PTSD. But going through that wormhole and seeing the sheer numbers those things had has got to be soul-crushing. On Earth, you go through life happily without knowing about the species out there, among the vastness of space. Maybe some are good, like Thor, but there also the bad and the ugly that just want to bring chaos and havoc to any world. More than enough reason to talk about something so terrifying it would keep anyone awake at night. Even genius billionaires. Especially ones that have already been through a whole host of terrible experiences.
"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it." Tony points upwards, gesturing to the now-closed wormhole that opened above the tower and let loose a horde of aliens. "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's ... that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?" There's a touch of defeat in his voice, hidden amongst the anger. Tony is worried, more worried than he plans on letting on.
"Together." Steve stands taller, looking at the group around him with confidence and pride. His gaze focuses on Tony.
"We'll lose."
"Then we'll do that together, too." He switches his gaze away from Tony and switches to look at Thor. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."
Everyone starts engaging in work. Astraea can barely contain a sigh. She knows it's important, but this is really taking the biscuit. She's been for times longer than this before but never has it included party time and robot attacks. It's an effort to give her eyes open but Astraea is determined to be part of this team. Which means trying to track down Ultron when she wants nothing more than to collapse onto her bed and sleep the day away. That's not possible so she'll settle for a cup of coffee and a computer.
As everyone starts working, Steve walks over to Astraea and steers them into a quieter corner. "Look, I noticed you zoning out a couple of times back there. If you need to get some sleep, you can go. You've only just been on a mission and I think we can manage here."
Ouch. That less bit seems a lot like a dismissal.
"Um … I'm good, like, really. That pep-talk really … really gave me an energy boost." Astraea is lying through her teeth right now. She wants nothing more than to say yes, yes, yes, and just go to sleep. But there's a job to be done and she's determined to prove herself to them. "I'm great at computer stuff – learnt a bunch from my Mum before she … Anyway, I'm good solving problems and hacking computer stuff. Did computer science for A-level and some electric and mechanic stuff for my physics degree. I just need a computer, some coffee, and a rubber duck. I'll be good to go then."
"A rubber … duck?"
"Mmm … for the explain-y thingy." Astraea half-smiles at his confused face. "It's a thing that some hackers and coders use to try and find problems in the code. You explain it to a rubber duck and you can often figure out what's wrong with the explanation. It's pretty cool."
"I see. Guess you'll have to go for a quick stop to Thor's cupboard." Astraea tilts her head at him. "It's where he keeps Earth things that he finds amusing or interesting. There's a bunch of rubber ducks in there."
"And where is it?"
"Common floor."
"Thanks." Astraea flashes him a bright smile and jogs out the room. Maybe she'll bring some coffee and have a quicker first. She needs to get out of this dress.
oOo
By the time Astraea returns, dressed in leggings and an oversized 'I-am-SHERLOCKED' hoodie, the rest of the team has also switched to more casual clothes. They're tapping away on laptops, computer keyboards, and using holographic screens. The latter has always seemed a futuristic fantasy to Astraea but now she's living in a building where that fantasy is a reality.
It's exciting and humbling. Time is skipping on around them all and the dreams of yesterday are becoming the reality of today. Hopefully, Astraea will be around to see more of it. Hopefully.
oOo
As the small hours of the morning begin to grow larger Steve sends them all to get some rest. They've all been awake for over 24 hours, and honestly, Astraea was just about ready to sleep on the nearest thing she could sit on. It had been simply exhausting to search CCTV and social media for any hints of Ultron. But the robot was so far proving slippery and they all needed sleep. A few reports come in every now and then but not enough to pinpoint a location. It's sporadic and confusing.
So, Astraea just about sprints from the room when Steve suggests they all go sleep for a bit. JARVIS would exactly where she wanted to go the minutes she stepped into the elevator. But he's not here now because of that bastard, Ultron. He would wish her a good rest and remind her to have a drink of something that's not coffee and to eat something more than a handful of biscuits.
"Alright, J," she murmurs to the ceiling. "I will. Don't worry about me."
There's no response. Why would there be? Ultron destroyed the friendly AI and Astraea is ready to tear the robot apart with her bare hands for that. JARVIS only ever tried to help people and defend those he carried about. Now he's the first victim in this war Ultron seems keen to wage against the Avengers and the rest of humanity. The rest of the world, really. He wants the world to evolve but that doesn't happen very quickly at all. There's something else behind those words, and Astraea doesn't think he means to help humanity at all. The world had a lot of evolution after the dinosaurs extinct, but hopefully, they won't have any meteors this time.
Madison is still asleep when Astraea unlocks the door, stumbling over the threshold. Once she makes it to her bedroom her hoodie is tossed off and she collapses on the comfy bed, still wearing the leggings and t-shirt from earlier. Astraea slips into dreams that are anything but pleasant.
oOo
Astraea is standing in a run-down city: stone streets that wind around houses of the same colour rock. There's a chorus of panicked screams reverberating through the air, throwing Astraea off balance from all the noise. She runs towards them, but the screams seem to come from everywhere. Astraea just spins on the spot trying to decide who needs her help most.
The ground starts to vibrate, as though it's being ripped away from the rest of the world. Astraea sprints away from the widening gap, shouting for people to run, run, run. The screams change into shouting voices, and Astraea knows exactly who they belong to. Her legs direct her closer to the crack as the earth rumbles and shakes. Madison, her father, and a dozen nameless people are hanging onto the rocky edge of the rising chunk of earth. She skids to a stop, realising she can only save maybe two people. Desperate pleas echo around: they have children, they'll miss their sister's wedding, they were on holiday, etc… They go on and on and Astraea staggers around, trying to choose. Her father and Madison are hanging next to each other.
An impossible choice.
She may be able to save one of them, but if she tries to grab both Astraea could bring them all down. Her mind whirls, trying to choose Madison or her father. Madison, the best friend who has been like a sister, or her father, who was both mum and dad to her. The rocky chunk of earth shivers, sending a few people tumbling into the depths. Astraea cries out for them. Tears prick at her eyes.
An Ultron robot appears.
"Choose," he says. "Choose whom you couldn't live without. You cannot have them all. Choose."
Astraea screams out loud, lunging for both with her arms outstretched to grab them. Two hands find hers and she starts to pull them up. Her father clambers up first, tanned arms shaking. As the rock begins to crumble, Madison is unable to grasp the final section to reach safety.
"You have chosen, little one." The robot laughs, staring at her with strange white-blue eyes.
In a last-ditch effort, Astraea flings Madison upwards and backwards towards her father. Momentum carries her forwards, and she tumbles over the edge. She screams for Madison, her arms flapping around in the open air for a second. She plummets towards the ground, far, far below.
oOo
Astraea wakes up in a cold sweat, screaming Madison's name. The latter comes running, slamming the door open and rushing to her friend's side.
She explains her dream, shivering slightly. "It felt so … so real … and I just can't … can't even think about that happening. I don't want to lose you. Or die. I don't want to die, Mads." Tears streamed silently down her cheeks.
"I know. It was just a dream, yeah? We're all fine now. Everything will be – "
There's a knock at the door; Madison opens it to find Clint.
"Tell Astraea to suit-up. We've found a lead on Ultron."
Astraea stumbles out of her room, pushing the door open and blinking blearily at Clint. "Where?"
"Wakanda. Shoulda know you'd hear that, super ears."
She threw her arms up, turning her back to the room and going through her bedroom door. "Ugh! Why does everyone call me that?" A moment later Astraea popped her head out again. "Wait – where the hell is Wakanda?"
Whoop, there you go. Off to Wakanda and the second fight with Ultron next. Stay tuned for some good ol' fight scenes and Wanda-induced fears. Good stuff.
Anyways, please share your thoughts with me (though without any spoilers, hehe).
Hope you've enjoyed this latest chapter.
Until the next week,
Look-for-the-miracles