Second Sphere

Peace in our time

Avengers tower is different. There are no guards, I know I'm being watched still by Jarvis. But no guards. Natasha stopped training with me and instead Steve took over. A couple of hours every day. Tony stays in his lab most of the time but I go in often so he can poke and prod and mostly just so I can listen to him talk. There is no pity there for what I went through, and I definitely don't want it either. I can see it from Clint and Bruce. Natasha, not so much. Instead of trying to kill me she now just avoids me which is fine by me.

When I'm not training or being tested on, I keep to myself. For the first time since 1945 I've been able to go day to day without torture, without having to kill. But now there is a lot of emptiness. Blank space. Tony has been catching me up on technology and pop culture but there still feels like something is missing. Is it the absence of soldier by my side or something else entirely?

I'm lurking in the kitchen nibbling on grapes and trying to get used to a cell phone Tony gave me when Steve walks in.

"A lot of things have changed since the 1940s." He says while grabbing some water from the fridge.

"Yes, but it's good in some ways, we can use this," I lift the phone, "to find Hydra."

Steve laughs, "Close, we need something a little more technically capable than that. Have you tried to find anything from your life before Hydra yet?" He's picking his words carefully trying to gauge what my reaction will be.

I furrow my brows, "I don't know where to start. I don't know my last name, the file- my file, only says Magdalene. I would have lived close to the Danube, but that's a long river." I look up at Steve, "I can't even remember my parents, their faces. I have vague feelings of a home, but those feel like a dream, like they aren't even my memories."

Steve comes around the counter and puts a hand on my shoulder, "Give it time, your memories will come back to you. How about a walk before things get crazier tonight. You're still welcome to come."

Ah, Tony's party. I had forgotten that was tonight. "I think that will be a bit much but a walk would be nice."

The walk proved nice, neither of us talked much. And with my wings hidden away I could walk around without attracting attention. And I was right about the party being a bit much, it was a lot much. Even in my room, hidden away from all the chaos the noise was still pretty loud. It wasn't until things went quiet that I finally emerged from hiding. I walk in on Clint attempting to lift Thor's hammer, not surprisingly it doesn't budge. I learned that lesson the hard way during a training session.

"I still don't know how you do it" Clint laughs.

"Still don't smell the silent judgement?" Tony remarks.

Clint sarcastically gestures towards him, "Please, Stark, by all means."

A chorus of complaints echo around as Stark gets up, "Never been one to shrink from an honest challenge. It's physics." He wraps the strap around his wrist, "Right, so if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course." Thor doesn't seem at all concerned.

"I will be reinstating prima nocta." He groans trying to lift it, even putting one foot on the table for leverage. "I'll be right back."

Oh no. It doesn't take long for it to turn into a challenge everyone takes part in. That is except for Natasha who sits out saying that's not a question she needs answered. Unsurprisingly my turn at it resulted in nothing. The only one to achieve any result was Steve who managed to get it to budge slightly, the hammer squeaking on the table. As the challenge ends with idol chatter about worthiness a shrill sound echoes through the building.

"Worthy. No. How could you be worthy?" We all turn to face the broken robot that was speaking, no more than a tangle of parts and wires. It continues gesturing to us all. "You're all killers."

"Stark" Steve says.

"Jarvis." Tony calls on his ai system.

The robot continues to shuffle forward. "I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a- dream."

Stark gives commands to his phone. "Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit."

The robot pays no mind. "There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in..." it looks down at itself, "in... strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Steve is the only one to say anything, "You killed someone?"

The robot finally pays attention to us, "Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asks.

The feeling that things will go wrong very quickly begins to rise up in my throat and I mentally prepare to release my sword so that I can fight if needs be.

Instead of replying the robot plays a recording and we all here Stark say 'I see a suit of armour around the world.'

Banner looks to Tony, "Ultron."

Ultron is quick to reply, "In the flesh. Or, no, not yet." It looks down at itself again, "Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready."

Around the room knowing glances are shot to one another as we all prepare to fight.

Ultron continues, "I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Natasha asks warily.

"Peace in our time." As he finishes speaking more robots burst through the wall from behind Ultron.