Ash Blackheart: The Blackheart

An Ally and a Threat

Dr. Ian's face didn't change the entire time I spoke. When I was finished he too a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Nick Fury is rarely, if ever wrong, but I'll believe you. If you had power, I doubt you would be wandering around with some of Tony's inventions." He said, handing me a cup full of something hot. I nodded. 

"Exactly. I mean, I wouldn't mind helping if I had something to offer, but I don't. Do you know what they're talking about?" Dr. Ian shrugged. 

"Let me tell you about our first attack. A purple space grape came through a space hole with six magic stones that allowed him to destroy half of all living matter. The Avengers stopped him with help from most of the universe. Even so, we all barely made it. If there is a bigger threat, I don't know if we can make it." I nodded, and took a sip of my drink. This alien stuff didn't sound good, but then again, what could I do about it.

"Well, thanks for letting me crash here for tonight." I said, finishing and standing. Dr. Ian nodded and stood. 

"Let me show you to your room." I followed him to a small room in the back of the house. "Sleep well, Ashley." He said and left, shutting the door. I locked in and flopped down on the bed. 

"Etat, wake me if anyone comes." I said, closing my eyes and falling fast asleep. Bright sunlight streaming through the window above my head woke me. I sat up and looked around. I had slept in the Etat glasses all night, and some how hadn't noticed. "Etat?" I asked, waking my AI friend. 

"Good morning Ashley. I suggest you get something to eat." He said. I nodded and stood. Right at that moment a knock sounded on my door.

"Yes?" I called tentatively.

"Hello, its just me, I left breakfast outside the door. Hurry before my cat gets into it." Dr. Ian called through my door. I hurried over and opened it. He was gone, but a tray with food, and a glass of milk was on the door step. About five feet away a black and white cat sat in the center of the hallway eyeing the milk. I don't like milk, so I brought the tray in and set the glass on the floor, and ate the food. The cat ran in quickly, and began to down the milk. I ate the egg burrito Dr. Ian had made. For a solitary science man, he wasn't a bad cook. When the cat and I had finished my food, I took the dishes out and hunted around for the kitchen. Dr. Ian was inside when I managed to find it. "Ah, there you are. I have an idea that might work for you." He said as I put them in the sink and cleaned them.

"Okay." I said, trying not to sound uneasy.

"How would it be if I took you in as my assistant? This place needs some help, but I'm to busy in my lab to do anything about it. I'll provide food and board, you can just do chores around the house, and if I need it, I'll let you help me in my lab." He offered looking up from his cup of coffee. 

"This sounds like a good offer." Etat instructed. I nodded. 

"That would be great, thank you!" I said with relief. This would solve many of my problems, and since the Avengers were an American based group, there wasn't much chance they would come to Russia.

"Perfect, I'll leave a list of chores for you to do on your bed for when you're done with the dishes. There will also be a little bit of money for extra clothes and hygiene." He said standing and walking off with his coffee. I just nodded and began to work on the dishes. It was obvious he spent little to no time doing any sort of cleaning. There were at least three loads of dishes stacked around the kitchen. When I finally had one load going and the next soaking in the sink, my hands looked a little like raisins. I went to my room to find this list he'd talked about. There were a lot of things on it, probably because he'd done next to nothing with the house.

"Looks like we have a lot to do." Etat said quietly. 

"We?" I asked a little suspiciously. The robot in the corner came to life. "Tony gifted me to you, so I will continue to help until I am no longer needed." Not like you were helpful in the beginning. I thought as I nodded.

"Well, lets get to it."

(A few weeks later)

I didn't spend all my time doing chores. Once I was able to get the house into a decent state of cleanliness, my chores were cut in half. But I hadn't yet been allowed into the lab. That was the only place I was never allowed. Most people there knew a little English, which was nice any time I went to the store for something. By this time though, I could say a few words in Russian, with Etat's help. Overall, I was just glad to be left alone. I watched the news, and never heard anything about the Avengers, which pleased me. I was sure they were good people, but I was never going to let someone mess with my mind. All in all, life was going pretty well for me. I missed my home and family, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I did my best to get over it. The only thing that I kept thinking about was that the Avengers had my back pack. I swore that if I ever got the chance, I would take it back. Etat assured me there were ways I could do it with robots, but I wanted to do it myself. But the day had to come where all that would change. Dr.Ian and I sat at the small dining room table eating breakfast he had made for both of us, and watching the international news like we did every day, when suddenly the head of the world security council's face appeared on the screen. 

"Well, this is going to get interesting." Dr. Ian said leaning back in his chair with his mug of coffee and kicking his feet up on the table.

"Citizens around the world, thank you for your attention. At this point in our history, I think most of us have finally recovered from the Blip, and our heroes fight with Thanos. But we have just been alerted to an even greater threat. One larger than Thanos." At this, Dr. Ian snorted loudly as he took a sip of coffee. "The Avengers are preparing for battle, but, they are missing something. We are declaring a world wide search for the girl named Ashley Victor. She is currently in possession of Mr. Stark's E.T.A.T glasses, and is extremely powerful, which we need in our up coming fight. Any information of her whereabouts will be paid for by the World Security Council. Find her, and bring her in as quickly as possible."