The Story of Adelaida Barnes | MCU

xv. he's right, you know

"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch." Bruce said. "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha said, and Addi tensed up. Tony couldn't find out. "He's in your files, he's in the Internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey asked. "Erotic porn?" Addi asked and everyone stared at her. "Sorry. Just trying to diffuse the tension." She said. "Nuclear codes." Maria realized as Addi removed the piece of glass from her foot. "Nuclear codes." Rhodey confirmed. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can." "Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Natasha said. "He didn't say 'dead'. He said 'extinct'." Steve clarified.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint chimed in. "There wasn't anyone else in the building." Maria said. "Yes, there was." Tony said, activating JARVIS. "This is insane." Bruce commented. "JARVIS was the first line of defense. He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense." Steve said. "No. Ultron could have assimilated JARVIS. This isn't strategy. This is rage." Bruce said as Thor stormed into the room. He grabbed Tony by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "Come on, use your words buddy." Tony said, struggling. "I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor said.

Steve interrupted them. "Thor. The Legionnaire." Thor set Tony down. "Trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again." Thor explained. "Genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron." Natasha said. "I don't understand." Helen Cho said. Addi kind of forgot she was even there. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Tony started laughing. "You think this is funny?" Thor asked. "No. It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so... Is it so... It Is. It's so terrible." Tony said, still laughing. "This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Thor said.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." Tony said, getting in Thor's face. "Tony, maybe this might not be the time." Bruce said. "Really? That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?" "Only when I've created a murder bot." "We didn't. We weren't even close. We we close to an interface?" "Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD." Steve said.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked. "No, it's never come up." Rhoday said. "Saved New York?" "Never heard that." Addi chimed in. "Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's, that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony questioned. Steve looked at him. "Together." "We'll lose." "Then we'll do that together, too. 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."

                                                                                          ***

Steve entered the room and handed Thor a tablet. "What's this?" Tony asked. "A message. Ultron killed Strucker." Steve said. "And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony said. "This is a smoke screen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked. "Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said. "Yeah, I bet he... Yeah. Everything we had on Strucker's been erased." Natasha said looking at the computer. "Not everything." Steve said.

Everyone looked through the physical, paper files they had on Strucker. "Wait, I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." Tony said, looking at a file on a man. Steve and Addi looked at him. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer. It was all very Ahab." "This?" Thor asked, pointing to a marking on the man's neck. "Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it." Tony said.

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand." Thor pointed out. Bruce pulled it up on the computer. "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'." He said. "In a much less friendly way." "What dialect?" Addi asked. "Wakanada. Wakanda." Bruce stammered out. Tony looked at Steve. "If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony trailed off. "I thought your father said he got the last of it." Steve said, and Addi realized what he was talking about. "I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce asked. Addi, Tony, and Steve looked at Steve's shield. "The strongest metal on earth." Tony said. Steve looked back at Tony. "Where is this guy now?"

                                                                                              ***

Addi, Tony, Thor, and Steve entered the boat. The three men stayed down below while Addi hid in the rafters. "Stark is, he's a sickness!" Ultron shouted out. "Ah, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." Tony said. "If I have to." Ultron said as him and the twins turned to face the trio. "Nobody has to break anything." Thor said. "Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron said, and Addi bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing and exposing herself.

"He beat me by one second." Tony commented. "Ah, yes. He's funny. Mr Stark." Pietro said, and his voice made Addi weak in the knees. "It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" "This was never my life." "You two can still walk away from this." Steve said. "Oh, we will." Wanda said. "He's right, you know." Addi said from her hiding spot, revealing herself and letting her accent slip through. Wanda and Pietro looked up at her. She jumped off and used her powers to help her land softly.

"Addi." Wanda said with an array of emotions. Shock, disgust, anger, but most prominently, hurt. "Wanda. Pietro." Addi said, walking back towards Steve. "What are you doing here? With them?" Wanda asked. "Because they're my family." Addi answered. "Really? What about us? You left us. You left me." Pietro said. Addi turned back to them. "I didn't have a choice." She said, angrily. "Okay, please tell me I'm not the only one who is feeling the major sexual tension between Baby Widow, Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Wicked Witch of the West over here?" Tony asked, and Addi glared at him, eyes flashing a neon green.