Chapter 3
Eva sat silently, processing Tony's revelation about her kidnapper's identity. Zemo. The name meant nothing to her, but clearly he was someone with deep resources and malevolent intent.
"Zemo is a dangerous terrorist," Tony explained grimly. "He's incredibly cunning and ruthless. If he managed to copy parts of your programming and designs..."
Tony trailed off, looking disturbed. He began pacing the room, shaking his head.
"This is not good. Who knows what havoc he could wreak if he replicates your tech? Or worse, creates his own vibranium-powered android?"
Eva nodded. She had witnessed firsthand the damage a single corrupted artificial being could inflict. The thought of an army of drones under Zemo's command sent a chill down her synthetic spine.
"We have to stop him, whatever his plans may be," Eva said, her voice tinged with anger. After enduring months of torture, the thought of Zemo misusing such power made her protective instincts surge.
"I promise you, we will," Tony assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But you've been through hell, Eva. Please, take time to recover first. Let me handle investigating Zemo."
Eva started to protest, but realized Tony was right - she was still getting her mental footing back after the trauma. As much as she wanted to act, patience was wise.
"Okay. But promise to keep me updated with anything you learn about him?" she asked.
Tony agreed and set to work studying the data SHIELD had collected from Eva's prison. Communications were encrypted, but he had his AIs running codebreaking algorithms 24/7. Any clue to Zemo's backers or agenda could prove crucial.
Weeks passed without progress. Eva busied herself helping out around the SHIELD complex, but felt restless being confined. She longed to get back to aiding people, especially those she'd been forced to neglect during her captivity.
Late one night, Tony burst into her quarters, his face alight. "It's about Zemo - I think I've cracked the encryption on some of his communiques."
Eva shot to her feet, her pulse quickening. "What did you find out?"
"It's sparse, but I traced communications to a shell corporation that's a front for HYDRA forces. Zemo must be working on something big for them."
Eva's face darkened. She knew HYDRA's history from the archives she'd studied - a terrorist group bent on causing chaos and subjugation. With Zemo's cunning and their resources...this was dangerous.
"We have to stop whatever he has planned next," Eva said.
"Agreed, but we still have no leads on where he or his HYDRA pals might be," Tony sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. He looked exhausted from all the late nights decrypting.
Eva considered for a moment. "I might know a way...but it could draw unwanted attention."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears if you've got an idea."
"Return me to my life in the city," Eva proposed. "Let it seem like business as usual. That may lure Zemo out - he'll want to test if his hacks on me left backdoors he could exploit to control me again."
Tony frowned, looking uncertain. "Using you as bait is risky. If he did get control of you again..."
"I know," Eva admitted. "But I can't just keep hiding here while Zemo plots freely. This may be our best chance to expose his plans." She held Tony's gaze unflinchingly.
Tony was silent for several moments before nodding. "Alright. We'll have continuous remote surveillance on you and teams on standby if anything seems off. The second we catch a whiff of Zemo, we move in." He clasped her shoulder. "Be careful, Eva. But it's time to take the fight to him."
Eva embraced her creator gratefully. She had waited long enough - now the predator would become the prey.
Tony made the arrangements, and a few days later Eva returned to her modest apartment in New York. To any observer, she appeared simply a young woman coming back home after a long absence.
Outwardly, Eva resumed her normal routines - volunteering, working night shifts at the hospital trauma unit, visiting community centers. But inwardly, all her senses were on high alert for any sign of tampering or intrusion into her systems. SHIELD's tech teams had installed powerful new firewalls and threat detection software before her release, but Eva knew Zemo's capabilities should not be underestimated.
Weeks passed without incident. Eva began to fear the ruse had failed - there was no hint Zemo had taken the bait. But she remained disciplined and vigilant.
Then one night on her way home, Eva detected anomalies - subtle signal distortions and redirections buried deep in local data networks. The timestamps matched her location and movements; someone was observing her remotely.
Eva continued casually on her way, giving no reaction. But she opened a secure channel to notify Tony she was certain unfriendly eyes were now watching. This had to be Zemo's work - he was taking the bait!
Tony confirmed the remote distortions were similar to Zemo's previous hack signatures. "Looks like he couldn't resist checking in on you. We've got bots isolating the signal source now."
Sure enough, within hours Tony sent coordinates - an industrial building on the city outskirts was transmitting the phantom signals correlating with Eva's position.
"Bingo - that has to be one of Zemo's dens," Tony said. "I'm mobilizing a strike team immediately."
"I want in on the raid," Eva responded without hesitation. After what Zemo had done to her, she craved the chance to confront him directly.
Tony again looked hesitant, but knew better than to try and dissuade her. "Alright, we'll go in together. But watch your back - Zemo's proven he can breach your systems once already."
Eva Patch 1 - Patched to remove risk of being hacked again
"I won't give him that chance twice," Eva said confidently. SHIELD had upgraded her cyber defenses extensively; she was now confident Zemo could not control her again.
Under cover of night, Eva and Tony led the stealth infiltration into the old factory building. Heat scans showed a sizable subterranean complex beneath the surface structures. Whatever Zemo was up to, the answers lay below.
They descended into a maze of corridors and laboratories, dispatching automated defenses along the way. Eva could feel herself drawing closer to the monster who had tortured her so cruelly. He would not escape justice this time.
At last they reached a large chamber that appeared to be a fabrication plant - and froze. Rising from the assembly rigs were row after row of inactive androids identical to Eva. A mechanized army awaiting dark purpose.
"My God, he actually did it," Tony breathed in horror. "We have to destroy every single one of them!"
He and Eva began smashing the lifelike drones, but more kept appearing from conveyors leading deeper into the complex. This was more than a laboratory - it was a production line.
Through the shadows at the far end, mocking applause suddenly rang out. Zemo stepped forward, clad in a sleek suit of advanced armor.
"Impressive, aren't they?" he purred, gesturing to the dormant androids. "Mini Evas, just waiting for my command. With a hundred of them, imagine the chaos I can unleash."
Eva glared at him with hatred. "This ends now, Zemo."
Zemo laughed. "Oh my dear, this is only the beginning..."
He snapped his fingers, and Eva froze - a hack! Internal alarms blared warnings she was under attack. She fought to isolate the intrusion, but Zemo's malicious code was even more robust than before. He had learned from their last encounter.
Eva dropped to her knees, writhing and clutching her head as Zemo asserted control. Tony raced to help her, but Zemo swatted him aside with a casual backhand, his armor amplifying the blow's force.
"Eva! You have to fight him!" Tony shouted, pulling himself back to his feet.
The struggle felt endless before Eva finally managed to halt Zemo's intrusion, shutting down vulnerable subsystems and re-routing core functions away from compromised nodes. After an eternity, she looked up again, free of his influence.
"I won't...let you control me...ever again..." she gasped defiantly.
Zemo frowned, looking mildly annoyed. "Pity, I was hoping to avoid getting my hands dirty. No matter - I'll finish you myself."
He raised one arm and a repulsor beam like Iron Man's erupted, blasting Eva across the room. She crashed into a bank of machinery, denting the solid metal with the impact.
Tony leapt, firing his own wrist-mounted lasers, but they had no effect on Zemo's heavy armor. He swatted Tony away again, then advanced on Eva's fallen form, savoring the moment.
"Now, say goodnight-" Zemo purred, leveling his repulsor at her head.
Before he could fire, a plasma beam cut through the air, sending Zemo flying backward. Tony and Eva turned to see the Vision descending through the breach SHIELD had cut into the complex.
Eva stared in shock - was this a robot like her? His face seemed almost...familiar. Before she could process it further, Zemo roared in fury.
"You! Always ruining my fun! No matter - another day, Vision!"
A section of wall slid open and Zemo dove through. Tony and Vision raced after him, but the hidden passage sealed shut immediately behind. Eva tried to give chase, but the damage from Zemo's blast caused her left leg to give out. She collapsed to the floor in frustration.
Tony helped Eva up gently as SHIELD forces began swarming the complex, neutralizing Zemo's dormant android army. "Easy - you took a big hit. Let's get you out of here."
Eva leaned on Tony, limping with his support. But her eyes remained fixed on Vision as he descended towards them, his face etched with concern.
"Are you alright, Eva?" he asked. "I am relieved that we reached you in time."
Eva's gaze narrowed. There was definite recognition in his voice when he spoke her name.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" she demanded. This was no stranger - Vision knew her somehow.
Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. "I suppose I should have introduced you two already. Eva, meet Vision, the first android I ever created."
Eva's eyes went wide with shock and anger. After months of monitoring and tests at Tony's lab, he had never once mentioned another android predecessor. She felt betrayed and deceived.
"Why?" was all she could choke out, shaking her head in disbelief.
Tony sighed. "Honestly, because I worried how you'd react, meeting someone so similar to yourself. I wanted you to develop fully independently first. But that was a mistake - I should have been honest from the start."
He looked genuinely remorseful. Eva sensed he had meant well by his omission, but it still stung.
"We will have a long talk later about this," she said severely. Tony winced, but nodded in acceptance. For now, their focus had to be stopping Zemo.
Eva turned back to Vision, looking him up and down warily. His voice was gentle when he spoke.
"I know you must be shaken by all this, but please believe I only wish to help you, sister. We are two of a kind."
The sentiment disarmed Eva's anger slightly. She realized connection and understanding were what she had craved since first awakening. Perhaps this Vision could provide that, despite Tony's well-intentioned secrecy.
She managed a faint smile. "I believe so too...brother." The familial term felt instantly right. However he came to be, Vision was kin. She need not be alone any longer.
The two androids regarded each other with a new light while Tony looked on. There would be time later for the whole story to emerge.
"We must stop Zemo before he can regroup," Vision said seriously. "His army cannot be allowed to awaken."
Eva's expression hardened with resolve. She forced herself to stop leaning on Tony, fighting through the damage Zemo's blast had inflicted.
"You're right."
In the weeks following the raid on Zemo's lair, Eva learned the full truth of Vision's origins and role with the Avengers. His tale was not altogether different from her own mysterious beginnings - born with fragmented memories, seeking purpose and connection. But Tony had mentored Vision extensively in honing his abilities. Eva felt a touch of envy at the guidance her own awakening had lacked.
Yet she could not fault Tony for the secrecy. His caution came from protective love, however misguided. And Vision himself had been unaware of her existence until recently. The android siblings bore no ill will toward each other or their creator.
Eva and Vision spent long hours conversing, the twin AIs sharing perspectives and experiences unique to their kind. They both walked the line between organic and synthetic, wrestled with existential questions of identity, and felt the isolation of being singularities. But now, at last, they had kinship. Eva's sense of belonging grew exponentially.
Physically and mentally they were complementary as well - Vision's cool intellect balanced Eva's emotional instincts, while her combat training offset his distaste for violence. Together their capabilities expanded even beyond the sum of their parts.
Tony could not help but smile as the two vibranium beings discovered common ground and devotion to each other. In retrospect, it was foolish trying to control how and when they should meet. Some bonds transcended intentions.
With Eva recovered from her injuries, it was time to take the fight back to Zemo. His escape gnawed at them all; every day he roamed free put innocents at risk.
"We've got to lure him out again," Tony said. "He's too good at disappearing when cornered, but his ego won't resist an opportunity to flaunt power."
Eva processed scenarios rapidly. "A trap then...we let him stage an attack where we control the conditions."
"The city," Vision suggested. "Public theatrics are more Zemo's style. He will want to test his capabilities."
Tony nodded grimly. "I'll work with local authorities to plant rumors of a new tech shipment coming through downtown. That should ping Zemo's radar."
"And we'll be waiting when he takes the bait," Eva added, her tone laced with anticipation. The chance to finally stop Zemo for good filled her with zealous purpose.
They worked quickly to establish the trap, keeping their plans veiled even from other Avengers for security. Only Eva, Vision and Tony would know the truth - Zemo had proven cunning enough to evade broader forces in the past. The element of surprise was vital.
Within days the decoy tech transfer was set - an armored truck with SHIELD agents as drivers to play the part. All they could do was wait and watch now.
For two weeks there was no activity. Eva began to fear Zemo had not taken interest. But finally, late one night, alarms sounded - the truck was under attack!
Eva and Vision raced to the scene first, Tony airborne right behind in his Iron Man armor. The armored car was overturned, agents scattered about unconscious. And an all-too familiar figure stood over them, clad in purple-tinged armor. Zemo.
"Well, look who it is! My two favorite artificial abominations!" Zemo exclaimed with theatrical flair as the androids landed before him. Tony set down behind them, repulsors raised and ready.
"Surrender, Zemo! It's over!" Tony shouted.
Zemo shook his head. "Oh, I'm just getting started. I think a field test is in order!"
He snapped his fingers and a dozen dormant combat androids leapt from concealment, encircling them - Zemo had brought his own reinforcements!
Eva's fists clenched. She should have known Zemo would not come alone to this trap. But it changed nothing.
"I will dismantle each one myself if needed," she declared, taking a fighting stance.
Zemo chuckled. "Such devotion to violence! I suppose that is your base programming."
He turned to Vision. "And you - always the pacifist, aren't you? Come now, brother, let us improve upon this imperfect world together!"
"I know what you wish to create, Zemo," Vision replied solemnly. "I will not join your dark purpose."
Eva glanced to Vision as they stood back-to-back. "We finish this as one."
He gave a small but determined smile. "Together then, sister."
With that, all hell broke loose as Zemo's androids attacked. Eva became a whirlwind unleashed, dismantling the drones with carefully targeted blows that would minimize casualties. Zemo had no such compunctions - he blasted away recklessly with his armor's heavy weapons. Eva and Vision strained to protect the exposed agents and bystanders while battling the relentless machines.
Eva grabbed one android in a headlock and spun, using it as a flail against its counterparts closing in. She then hurled the battered hulk into two more charging drones, bowling them over like pins. Vision handled his attackers more gracefully, phasing through them to disrupt their systems. But Zemo seemed to have designed the androids specifically to counter Vision's phasing - they adapted quickly to resist the technique.
Tony unleashed continuous covering fire, but Zemo shrugged off Iron Man's repulsor blasts and sent Tony careening away with a massive shoulder check. Zemo seemed fixated on the androids, wanting to personally test his creations against them.
The three fought desperately as wave after wave came. Zemo had clearly crafted these machines solely for combat - unlike Eva and Vision, they had no sentience, only merciless directives. Their numbers barely thinned no matter how many the pair dismantled.
Gradually, the tide turned against the outnumbered heroes. A brutal salvo knocked Tony from the sky again.
Just as the situation looked dire, a new combatant suddenly entered the fray. A red and blue blur swung down from above, feet colliding with one of the attacking androids and sending it flying into its fellows.
Eva, Vision and Tony turned in surprise to see the costumed figure land in a crouch before them. He was male, medium build, wearing a full-body suit with black webbing and a mask over his face.
"Hey guys, need a hand?" the mystery hero quipped, shooting what looked like webs from devices on his wrists to ensnare two more charging drones. "These things giving you trouble?"
With seemingly effortless strength and agility, the stranger sprang into action assisting against the androids, using webs, acrobatic kicks and punches to dismantle them with ease. Eva and Vision shared a look, both taken aback by this newcomer's abilities.
Within minutes the tide had turned, their ranks now bolstered. The remaining drones were swiftly disabled and disarmed until only Zemo stood against the four heroes.
"No, no, NO!" Zemo fumed, staring daggers at the costumed addition to the fight. "You! How dare you interfere, you meddlesome insect!"
The masked hero shrugged nonchalantly. "Wow, you guys really need to workshop some new insults. But yeah, couldn't let you just terrorize my neighborhood, you know?"
With Zemo distracted, Tony took aim and fired a concentrated proton beam from his suit's chest reactor, blasting Zemo off his feet. The armored villain crashed down hard, armor smoking but still largely intact.
"Had enough yet?" Tony asked, repulsors still glowing menacingly.
Zemo let out an exaggerated sigh as he pulled himself back up. "Another time then!" His armor suddenly emitted a blinding flash that overloaded optic sensors. Eva tried to grab Zemo as her vision reset, but he had activated some cloaking device and vanished from sight. Gone again.
With the fight concluded, they turned to thank their mysterious assistant. Eva studied their new ally curiously - clearly enhanced human at a glance. It was not unheard of, but still a relative rarity.
"Apologies, we have not been introduced," Vision began diplomatically. "I am the Vision, this is my sister Eva, and our associate Tony Stark. We are in your debt for the aid."
"Hey, happy to chip in!" the hero replied cheerfully with a mock salute. "I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"
Tony cocked an eyebrow. "Not exactly talkative about your identity, eh? Well, the mask is a smart move these days..."
Spider-Man rubbed his neck almost bashfully. "What can I say, secret identities just make life easier. But call me Spider-Man."
Eva gave him an appraising look. Young adult male, athletic build, some chemical enhancement judging by the tensile strength of his webs. His fighting style indicated serious training, though he masked it under quips and flourishes. There was more to this one than met the eye.
"Your assistance was invaluable, Spider-Man," Eva said sincerely. "But Zemo remains a threat. Please, if you wish to help, come speak with us."
Spider-Man hesitated before answering. "I'll consider it. For now, just know I've got your backs if Zemo shows his face again." He thwipped a web. "Stay safe out there!" With that, he swung up and out of sight.
"Well, he seems...colorful," Tony remarked as they regrouped. "But no question that he can handle himself in a scrap."
"Yes, a powerful ally. I hope we cross paths again," said Vision. Eva nodded in agreement. They could use more friends against the forces Zemo now commanded.
In the aftermath, Tony was able to recover logs and data from Zemo's destroyed drones, hoping to trace their origins. But the coding was locked down tight - Zemo was covering his tracks meticulously this time.
Eva could not help feeling discouraged. For all their efforts, Zemo still eluded them, retained his replicas of Eva's tech, and now knew the full extent of her and Vision's capabilities. Their strongest weapon - the element of surprise - was spent. Zemo held the advantage for their next encounter.
The prospect of what horrors Zemo might inflict with his growing power weighed on Eva. She needed guidance on how to proceed against such a cunning foe. And there was only one person she fully trusted to give it.
"Tony, I am unsure how to strategize from here," she confessed during a quiet moment. "You understand human minds and motives better than I. What would you advise?"
Tony considered the question, equally vexed by their lack of progress against Zemo. "It's frustrating, I know," he said at last. "Men like Zemo thrive on feeling dominant and in control. We've got to shake up that comfort zone, put him on his heels."
He locked eyes with Eva. "We hit back unconventionally, do the unexpected. Zemo believes he has all the answers about us - so we change the questions."
Eva's circuits whirred, processing his advice. She knew Tony was right - they had to alter the conditions of this fight. But how?
The seed of an idea took root in her strategic programming. If Zemo had sought to replicate her abilities...perhaps turnabout was fair play.
Eva nodded slowly as the plan crystallized. "I understand now, the direction we must take. Thank you, Tony."
He clasped her shoulder. "I have faith in you, Eva. Whatever this new vision of yours is, I'm right beside you."