Follow Your Arrow

3: 05

AVENGERS HEADQUARTERS

"He's all over the place," Hill said. "Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place."

"Facilities?" Steve repeated.

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"Maximoffs. Well, that means he'd go for them, they have someone in common."

"Not anymore." She handed Steve a tablet, showing a photo of Strucker's dead body with the word PEACE written in blood on the wall next to him.

Clint was talking on his phone. "That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am."

Steve interrupted him. "Barton, we might have something."

"Gotta go."

"Who was that?"

"Girlfriend."

Elliot smiled slyly and nodded. "Yup."

After Steve had gathered the rest of the team, he showed the photo of Strucker's body.

"What's this?" Tony wondered.

"A message," Steve replied. "Ultron killed Strucker."

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us."

"This is a smokescreen," Natasha realized. "Why send a message when you've just given it a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," Steve said.

"Yeah, I bet he..." She looked at the computer monitor. "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."

"Not everything," Tony corrected.

The team went through the physical files they had on Strucker.

"Known associates. Well, Strucker had a lot of friends."

"Well, these people are all horrible," Bruce stated.

"Wait. I know that guy," Tony realized as Bruce passed him the photo he was looking at. "From back in the day. He operates the African coast, black market arms." Steve gave him an accusing look. "There are conventions, all right? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything." The photo was of a man named Ulysses Klaue. "He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very "Ahab.""

Thor pointed to the scar on the back of Klaue's neck and asked, "What's this?"

"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it..."

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand."

Bruce identified the brand on Klaue's neck on the computer and said, "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way."

"What dialect?" Steve questioned.

"Wakanada...? Wa... Wa... Wakanda. If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..."

"I thought your father said he got the last of it?"

"I don't follow," Bruce said. "What comes out of Wakanda?"

Tony looked at Steve's shield and answered, "The strongest metal on earth."

Steve turned to Tony and asked, "Where is this guy now?"

SALVAGE YARD, AFRICAN COAST

Klaue was talking on the phone in his office. "Don't tell me your man swindled you. I sent you six short range heat seekers and got a boat full of rusted parts. Now, you will make it right, or the next missile I send you will come very much faster." He ended the call and connected to another call. "Now, minister, where were we?" Suddenly, the lights went out causing a commotion in the salvage yard and the twins entered Klaue's office. "Yeah. The enhanced. Strucker's prized pupils." He picked up a dish of candies from his desk. "Want a candy? Oh, sorry to hear about Strucker. But then, he knew what kind of world he was helping create. Human life, not a growth market." The twins looked at each other. "You... you didn't know? Is this your first time intimidating someone? I'm afraid that I'm not afraid."

"Everybody's afraid of something," Wanda told him.

"Cuttlefish. Deep fish sea. They make lights. Disco lights. Whoom, whoom, whoom! To hyptonize their prey, then whoom! I saw a documentary, it was terrifying!" Pietro sped over to pick up a candy from Klaue's desk, and Klaue jerked at the sudden movement. "So if you're going to fiddle with my brain, and make me see a giant cuttlefish, then I know you don't do business, and I know you're not in charge, and I only deal with the man in charge."

As if on cue, Ultron broke through a glass window and knocked down Klaue before saying, "There is no "man" in charge. Let's talk business." He gave Ultron some Vibranium from his stash. "Upon this rock I will build my church. Vibranium."

"You know, it came at personal cost. It's worth billions."

Ultron chuckled and remotely put money in Klaue's bank account. "Now, so are you. It's all under your dummy holdings? Finance is so weird. But I always say, "Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which.""

"Stark."

"What?"

"Tony Stark used to say that... to me. You're one of his."

"What?! I'm not...!" He grabbed Klaue. "I'm not! You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men? I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is-" He chopped off Klaue's arm. "I'm sorry. I am sor -- Ooh, I'm sure that's going to be okay. I'm sorry, it's just I don't understand. Don't compare me with Stark! It's a thing with me. Stark is, he's a sickness!"

Tony appeared in his Iron Man suit and said, "Ahh, Junior." He landed, and Thor and Steve came up behind him. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to."

"We don't have to break anything," Thor told him.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet."

"He beat me by one second," Tony commented.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark," Pietro said. "It's what, comfortable? Like old times?"

"This was never my life."

Steve told the twins, "You two can still walk away from this."

"Oh, we will," Wanda shot back.

"I know you've suffered."

"Uuughh!" Ultron complained. "Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..."

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it," Thor told him.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

"Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium?" Tony wondered.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan-"

Ultron attacked Tony and his drones dropped down to attack Steve and Thor. The twins joined the fight.