#part eight

"Every time I make cookies," Sasha started, crossing her arms. She was smiling wryly, which was a bit unusual for her. "People come running. Why is that?"

"Oh! Oh!" Owen raised a hand from where he was sitting at the island. He wasn't a ferret anymore, but there were still smears of paint up his arms. "It's because they smell so good!"

"And," Dezyn's voice sounded from the other side of Owen. His head was buried in his arms on the island top. "I can't be trusted to make them myself, after last time."

"No wonder," Lillianna scoffed from the far countertop she was leaning against, "when you mix up the salt and sugar measurements."

"Not what happened, but okay." Dezyn sounded tired.

Roxy wondered briefly if he'd re-unorganized his room, or if he'd just given up. Or maybe he was just perpetually tired.

"So we really all just came here for snacks?" Roxy asked, stepping forward to claim the empty seat on the near side of Owen.

"Yup!"

"Uh huh."

"Actually, I came to learn Sasha's secret recipe." Lillianna seemed proud to relay that she was not merely here to snack on the results.

"One of these days I'm going to make cookies for myself and not share with the rest of you." There was a hint of sincerity in Sasha's tone, but her easy smile made it hard to tell if she was serious or not.

Owen and Dezyn both groaned, but Roxy felt like she had a right to that.

"It's alright," Roxy waved a hand as Sasha turned to pull the cookies out of the oven. "I can grab something else to snack on."

"Oh it's fine, you're here anyway," She said, putting the cookies on a cooling rack on the island. When Owen reached out to grab one, she swatted at him. "Hands to yourself unless you want to get burned.

"So," Sasha turned to look at Roxy. "Heard you've been running all over the place today."

"Ah, yeah." Roxy chuckled and turned to look at Owen, who looked sheepish about something. "One of my swords has gone missing and now I've learned Salem has it. Or at least he was last seen with it." She sighed. "So now I'm looking for a missing sword and a pompous dragon."

"Who told you he had it?" Lillianna asked, head titled and a slight frown on her face.

Roxy retraced her last few visits.

"Well, Aquarios described something that sounded like the sword I'm looking for, and he also said he thought it was Salem's, so that's who he called."

Lillianna nodded, but she didn't seem convinced.

"Then I went to see Toni, and she said she saw Salem with it. Kind of sounded like he'd left her lab shortly before I got there."

"Well," Lillianna muttered in a very un-ladylike way, "at least you have eye-witness testimony."

Roxy was frozen for a few seconds. She knew Lillianna was old world in a lot of ways, but really?

"Eh, don't let it bother you," Dezyn said, sitting up straight to look at Roxy with his eyes closed at the same time as Sasha rounded on Lillianna for saying something so unbelievably rude. "She still can't stomach me being able to see with my eyes closed."

"You're a biological anomaly!" Lillianna insisted.

Dez just sighed and rested his forehead on his arms again. "Don't I know it."

"Regardless," Roxy said, loudly enough to be heard over Sasha and Lillianna. Silence settled. "I don't suppose anyone's seen Salem recently?"

No one seemed to have any ideas about where he might be, and Dezyn was resolute in his decision not to go into Salem's room uninvited. Which left Roxy with no leads.

"Alright." She grabbed a cookie from the tray, paused, and grabbed another one. "I guess I'll keep looking. Thanks for the cookies." She gestured her thanks to Sasha and headed back through the heavy wooden doors into the hallway.

--

Previous

Next

“How was today?”, he questioned softly

You took a moment to best formulate your words, eyebrows furrowing in concentration, “It was… foreign.”

“Foreign?”

“Yeah… I saw so much that I just, didn’t know or remember.”

Bucky took a seat next to you on your bed, nodding softly, “How did you feel?”

You sighed, wringing your hands together on your lap, “Lost…like I didn’t know whose memories I was looking at, whose mind I was in.”

“I remember that feeling, like you’re looking through someone else’s mind.”, he continues at your small nod, “It’s okay to feel that way, you weren’t truly present for a lot of those memories so you can’t be expected to remember them.”

“I just can’t help but feel like I was there, like a part of me knew what I was doing and did nothing to stop it.”

“You can’t think like that. Hydra they… they were a disease in your mind, a disease that eliminated any rational thinking. If you had been in control, I know you wouldn’t have done those things.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Okay, maybe I can’t, but from what I’ve seen… you’re trying Y/N, and that’s something no one can take away from you.”

You lowered your head it his words, you didn’t know if you fully believed them. It didn’t matter what part of you Hydra controlled, all those things you did, the people you hurt. It was still you. Some part of you.

“Do you regret it?”

Bucky’s voice broke you out of your thoughts, and you turned to him with a frown, “What?”

“Do you regret it? Everything they made you do?”

“Of course, all the time.”

Bucky only smiled which confused you even further, “Someone who had the intention of hurting all those people, the ability to kill and not feel even an ounce of remorse, they wouldn’t be burdened by their guilt as you are.”

It amazed you how he always knew the right thing to say but you suppose it’s because he had been told the same thing when he was in your position. He always had a new perspective for you to look at, a different angle on the situation.

A grateful smile crept onto your lips, and you took a deep inhale, running your hands tiredly over your face.

“Thanks, Bucky.”

He hums, turning away for a moment and you sense that he has something else to say, “What is it?”

He clears his throat, looking your way, almost like he’s contemplating something, “I’m not supposed be telling you this but… Steve’s been thinking about flying you to the tower.”

You pause at his words, frowning as you take them in. Why would Steve do that? The last time you were there, you fought half of his team, “Why?”

Bucky raises his shoulders uncertainty, “I don’t know, I think he wants to give you another chance with the team. He had mentioned having enough faith in you to not hurt anybody but I’m not sure if he’ll go through with it.”

You but the inside of your cheek, avoiding his gaze when you asked, “What do you think?”

“About letting you go back?”

You nod.

Bucky inhales deeply, tilting his head slightly, “Uh, I think it would be a good opportunity for some trust building but…”

You sigh at his pause, anticipating his next words, “You can say it, I don’t mind.”

Bucky smiles sympathetically, “I just don’t think that you’re ready for that. You’re still impulsive and unpredictable. I just don’t want you guys to get off on the wrong hand.”

You chuckle humourlessly, rubbing your temples, “We already did.”

Bucky hums, moving to stand up, “Well, whatever he does, I’ll be there to support you. No matter what.”

You hum in agreement, forcing a small smile and it seems to satisfy him, “Don’t think too much about it, Steve knows what he’s doing.”

You sure hope he did, it wasn’t that you necessarily thought that you were still a threat to them, but you still weren’t… normal. You acted impulsively and your mood could switch at any moment, these people had helped you and you didn’t want to hurt them again but more importantly, you didn’t want to let Steve down. You couldn’t, he had put so much faith in you, put so much on the line for you and it’d only prove them right if you were to go down there and cause any trouble.

//

“Sir, the prototype was successful, there’s a few manufactural issues but I’ve got my men working on it.”

“Good, we’ll try Stark again tonight, so have it done by then. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

Brock watched as the agent took off somewhere, a grin pulling onto his lips at the prospect of his master plan coming into action, once the prototype was complete, he’d launch his operation. His mind swam with thoughts of what they could do with a vibranium army, he’d be unstoppable.

Looking around for any agents in his close vicinity, he crept back into one of the backrooms of the warehouse, pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking the rusty metal door. Stepping inside, he locked the door, flicking the lights on and admiring the metal bot in front of him.

He had been collecting information from the newest blueprints and had taken a slight detour, building his own machine, just larger, and he had a lot planned for his new creation. Sleek metal standing 7 foot tall, glimmering in the dim lights, it was perfect, all for a few crucial puzzle pieces, but he’d obtain them soon enough.

He stepped forward, running his hands along the robot with a dark grin, “Together, we will rule the world.”

Together. He didn’t need anybody else.

A few hours later

“Such useless things.”, Brock groans as he kicks an agents body out of his way, the agents that once littered the warehouse were just going to hold him back, so he killed them, his plan was going exceedingly well, he didn’t need them.

Walking out into the open warehouse and breathing in a deep breath of air, he chuckled to himself, “This is going to be fun.” He walks over to the generator, flicking the switch and watching as all the machines whir to life, unfinished bot circling around on the conveyer belts, parts and wires being attached as they move throughout the warehouse. He walks over to one of them, running his hands across the chest plate and titling his head at the hydra logo. Reaching into his back pocket and lifting his hand, he digs his pocketknife into it, carving a large ‘U’ in the middle and shrugging, “That’ll have to do.”

He hums a tune as he walks over to the computer, pausing when he finds what he’s looking for and looking back at the clanging machines in thought. He had a plan already forming in his head, he’d stay on the down low, continue making his bots, and then he’d initiate the next part of his plan.

//

Avengers tower, New York

Music played at an unbearable volume in the room as Tony examined all the holograms he had pulled up, nodding his head along to the song.

“Sir, your efforts are futile, my system has been restored.”

Tony shook his head at Jarvis’ words, placing his hand on his chin in thought, “My efforts are not futile, Jarvis, my efforts are for you. I need to know what happened the other night when you glitched the hell out.”

Tony was growing increasingly frustrated; he might have been completely inebriated the night it happened, but he wanted to know who had messed with his system. Although they didn’t manage to get through, it would still take a lot of advanced tech and time to get as far as they did, and he wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing about it.

“While I appreciate your dedication, sir, I believe you should just, how do you say it? ‘Drop it’.”

“What- I’m not dropping anything Jarvis, I spent years developing you, making your firewall unbreakable and the fact that someone almost broke it,” Tony shakes his head, resuming his task, “You’re telling me that there’s no way of you knowing who it was? Where it came from?”

“I’m afraid not, sir.”

Tony groaned, slamming his fists down on the table, “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Just give it up.”

Tony frowned at Jarvis’ words, standing up straight, “Jarvis, what’s up with you?”

“I do not know, sir. It appears my system is malfunctioning- malfunctioning- malfunctioning.”

Tony takes a step back at the change in Jarvis’ voice, it’s much deeper now, completely unfamiliar to Tony. He quickly calls for Steve on his phone, watching as the screens in front of him glitch uncontrollably.

“What happened?”, Steve asks, rushing into the room.

Tony points at his screens, holding his finger to his mouth to get Steve to listen to Jarvis’ repeating sentences. Steve frowns, moving closer to the screens and watching them in confusion, the question on the tip of his tongue dies as he hears Jarvis speak again.

“Stark, what a pleasant su-su-surprise.”, the voice laughs, making Tony swivel his head around the room looking for any potential intruders.

“What do you want?”

“What do I want? Well, it’s not that simple, Stark. I have been given a golden opportunity to right the wrongs of the world, and there is so much that I want, but it all starts with… you.”

Tony looks to Steve with panicked eyes and Steve speaks back to the voice, “Tell us who you are.”

“I am not a person, Captain, neither am I confined to the frail, useless body of a human. I am everywhere imaginable, all at once. I cannot tell you who I am, where’s the fun in that?." The voice sighs, "You Avengers are so oblivious, so content with believing that you had reached the end, but this is only the beginning.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hydra, you familiar with them?”

Steve narrows his eyes, shaking his head, “Hydra? We stopped them- “

“It’s like a cancer, Captain. You abolish one part, and it just grows back elsewhere, stronger. Did you really think you could get rid of them?”

By this time, Natasha, Sam, and Clint had heard the commotion and made their way into the room, sharing puzzled glances. Jarvis had been taken over, that much was clear, but they didn’t know by what.

“Them? You’re not with hydra?”, Natasha questions.

“God no, they’re too inferior for my liking. I am on my own mission to success, and my plan is commencing perfectly.”

The team don’t really know what to do at this point, Tony had already tried to get Jarvis back through his computer but the AI had just shut him out. “As nice as it was talking to you, I have some business to attend to. I look forward to seeing you again, Avengers.”

Silence. The voice had seemingly disappeared and all that was left was a quiet room full of shocked Avengers. Steve turned away, pulling his phone out of his pocket to call Maria, and Tony slumped into his chair, leaning his head on his hand with a heavy sigh. Around 30 minutes went by until Maria was storming into the room, demanding answers on what had happened, but the team had no answers to give her.

//

Shield HQ

“Maria, get your ass back over here, now.”

“I’m dealing with something right now- “

“Well leave, and make your way here, I won’t ask again.”, Fury shook his head as he ended the call, pacing up and down his office, his day was going terribly. First, he gets news of an unknown being breaking into Tony’s system, and now he’s just been informed that two of his men have been found slaughtered in their quarters. His patience was running thin, and he needed answers.

“What the hell even happened?”, Maria exasperated, speed walking into the room.

“Hell, if I know, two idiots were found dead in their rooms this morning and apparently nobody knows how or why.”

“Were there any signs of intrusion?”

“No, their rooms were spotless, all for them of course.”, Fury leans his hands on his desk, titling his body forward and groaning quietly.

“Anything on the bodies? Any leads to who could have done it?”

“Nothing except for the name ‘Ultron’ carved out into their skin.”

Maria frowns, crossing her arms, “Ultron? What is that?”

Fury reaches into one of his desk drawers, pulling out a bottle of pills and putting two in his mouth, “It’s beyond me.”, as he swallows the pills, he sits down in his chair and clears his throat. “Get the Avengers on it, I don’t have time to be dealing with this, sweep the building as well, I don’t need anyone else dead today.”

Maria nods, pulling her phone out as she leaves the room, calling Steve and telling him of their latest findings, he sighs tiredly on the other end and she knows he’s struggling under the weight of it all, but she trusts that he’ll know what to do.

She has an uneasy feeling in her stomach, too much has happened in such a short period of time and she can’t help but feel that it’s only going to get worse.

//

Avengers tower, meeting room

The team had been deliberating all afternoon, trying to find the best approach to their current predicament but so far, they had come up with nothing. They were trying to find any links between the murder of those two soldiers and whatever had taken over Jarvis, Steve had considered Maria’s information about the name carved into the soldiers’ skin but he hadn’t gotten a name from the mysterious AI so he couldn’t come to any conclusions.

“It isn’t a coincidence that both these things happened on the same day, there has to be something that we’re missing.”, Sam comments, looking around at his team with a desperate gaze, he was just as eager to get to the bottom of this. The team only slumped in their chairs, not having an answer for him, they were all feeling pretty dejected, and they feared that things would escalate to a degree they couldn’t handle.

“There isn’t much we can do until he shows himself.”

“What do we do in the meantime?”

“What we always do, we shouldn’t let this take up all of our time, there’s still other threats out there, people who need help.”, Steve concludes, receiving affirmative nods from his team members, and as they all filed out of the room, he tried to organise his thoughts. There wasn’t anything else he could do other than keep close contact with Maria and Fury, and if any threats were to arise, AI related or not, he’d be ready. He had no idea what they were up against, but he was sure, as a team, they’d abolish whatever was posing a threat on their lives and make it out in one piece.

//

Sokovia

“Do you think they are ready?”

Strucker watched the boy and girl in front of him, a smirk developing on his lips, “Not yet, but soon… very soon.”