Ultraviolence ☢ Steve Rogers

2.2

PART TWO CHAPTER TWO

VICTORIA

vɪkˈtɔːrɪə/

Victoria was the Latin word for 'victory' or 'conquer.'

Maria Stark had loved British royalty, and had especially loved the name Victoria - her favourite Queen. Thats why, when she learned that she had conceived at quite an old age, she decided her child, should they be female, would be called Victoria- for victory. Victory that her and Howard could expand their family; victory that she had got the baby girl she always wanted. A sister for Tony.

Violet picked up a photo frame that showed four people in: a man, a boy next to him, and a woman sat on a hospital bed cradled a baby. It was old and grainy, and in the bottom right corner, the words 'Victoria Stark, two days old' were written. She wondered if this was her family; the people who gave her life and a name. She wondered what Maria would have been like- she didn't even know how mothers are supposed to be, she never had one. Placing it back down on the shelf it originally sat on, her eyes scanned over other photos in frames that sat on the shelf, which were mostly of a middle aged man with dark hair, and a nicely dressed blond woman.

She wondered if this was the infamous Tony Stark, and his girlfriend Pepper Potts. It seemed as though she had scanned the pictures a thousand times, and the more she looked at them the more the bitter taste in her mouth grew. She hastily turned around, not wanting to face the couple any longer. Instead, she looked at the large living area- in which she remembered she needed to clean. She could easily use her powers to magically clean the room for her whilst she snooped around, but she knew there would be security cameras somewhere watching every move in the house, and that the UI would definitely find out the truth.

So instead she persevered and speedily tidied the apartment space; the living room, kitchen and informal dining room. It was the Stark's main living area and most comfortable- there were an array of books and devices lying around, and the big fur blanket on the large sunken couch in the center of the room suggested that Pepper and Tony spent most of there time there. That only made Violet feel more tense.

After she had finally vacuumed, dusted, and polished the whole room, she leant back against the trolley and sighed with relief. Who knew housework could be so hard? Then again, she had never actually had to do anything of the sort, as her previous bedroom was a blank white tiled room with a bed and a rack for her clothes.

She jumped up to attention as the elevator dinged and two women walked out into the room, one with blonde hair and wore a formal dress and the other with brown hair wearing a suit similar to what Violet herself used to wear during training- a long sleeved black top with the dreaded Shield logo on, and black cargo pants. She recognized her from mission meetings before. Maria Hill, right hand man to Director Nick Fury.

Violet swept aside her surprise and quickly composed herself as she brushed down her creased clothes before she looked back up and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't expect you back so soon, I've just finished cleaning. I'll leave now." She pushed her trolley up to the small two steps of the split level room as Maria and Pepper patiently waited for her to leave before they finished their conversation.

"That's alright, I wasn't expecting anyone cleaning up here today." Pepper smiled sincerely.

Violet gulped holding in a breath as anxiety began to spike throughout her- had she been caught out so soon? She raked through her brain for a lie. Why was it so hard? "I had already finished my floor and my..." She paused and pursed her lips in search of a word. "Superior... told me to dust around up here. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I had time to kill before my assessment later." She mentally sighed a breath of relief, proud that said that so smooth and calmly; she usually told lies easily, but this seemed hard for some reason. Probably because she could completely ruin her mission if she screwed up so soon.

"Valentina Hayes? Yes, you're scheduled for half an hour..." Maria looked at her clip board, then at her watch, "how about if you wait for me in my office- just ask Jarvis to take you there- and I'll meet you in half an hour. Is that okay?" Agent Hill asked kindly to the secret assassin. If only she knew who she was talking to. Violet's heart was tight as she spoke, as though it was about to burst with the pressure of the blood racing to it. She was so close to exposure, to being found out. The adrenaline pumped around her body and her hands began to tingle. There was a thrill to it all that fed Violet courage. How much more could she get away with?

"That sounds great. I'll see you then." Violet smiled before she lifted the trolley full of cleaning supplies up the two steps without any effort whatsoever. She around the two women who were looking at her with regard as she walked towards the elevator. There was an awkward silence in the air as she waited for the lift, and Violet all but dived in when the doors opened. Maria and Pepper mentally reassessed the movement the cleaner just made once the elevator doors closed. They shared a knowing look - where had that super-strength come from?

[sorry its short, but i needed to update. vote and comment!]