Dreams Best Left Alone - Book 4 (Age of Ultron)

Chapter 5 - Things Carried with Us

The Avengers snuck on Klaue's boat in time to see Ultron kick Klaue down the stairs.

"It's a thing with me," Ultron tried to explain. "Stark is- He's a sickness!"

"Aw, junior," Tony let out, making Ultron spin around, but this time he was made out of a large, intricate metal. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to."

"Nobody has to break anything," Thor said from where he and Steve flanked Tony while Natasha, Clint, and Annebelle hid in the other floors of the ship. Bruce had stayed behind in the jet.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet."

"He beat me by one second." Thor gave Tony a strange look.

"Ah, yes. He's funny. Mr. Stark," Pietro stepped closer. "It's what? Comfortable?" He looked down at the crates of weapons on the floor below. "Like old times?"

"This was never my life."

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

"Oh, we will," Wanda nodded.

"I know you've suffered-"

"Ah, Captain America," Ultron chuckled. "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," Thor cut Ultron off, "then let us keep it."

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

"Uh-huh," Tony nodded. "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." He lifted his hand, Tony's suit being pulled closer to him before he sent a red beam at him. Tony hit the wall before quickly powering up his suit and flying towards Ultron. They flew at each other, beginning to fight in the air while the former Iron Legion suits attacked Thor and Steve and Pietro took off. Soon, Klaue's men started firing at everyone in the building. Annabelle pulled out her staff, hitting away Ultron's robots before shooting Klaue's men. She turned suddenly as she felt a large prescenese of heat, finding Pietro's body laying on the ground after he fell from the level above. They looked at each other for a moment before she was pulled away by one of Klaue's men. He grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards, but she spun around and punched him in the jaw, swiftly knocking him out. By the time she looked back at where Pietro had been, he was gone. She ran through the corridors of the ship, taking out Klaue's men and stealing their guns.

"Thor, status," Steve called as he lost sight of him.

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care. I doubt a human can keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty."

"Annabelle?"

"Working my way through the ship." She stopped again, feeling the strange attraction to the heat. "I know you're here," she called. She groaned as a punch was delivered to her stomach, the blue blur disappearing again. "You feel it too, right?" she tried, closing her eyes and managing to duck before he could deliver a blow to her face. She steadied her breathing and tried to focus on the heat that surrounded her, seeming to travel in a circle around her body. She suddenly thrusted her leg out, feeling the impact of hitting someone. She opened her eyes to find Pietro laying on the ground. His chest heaved as he stared up at her, but made no other move.

"It's like a fire," he finally spoke. "But inviting." Annabelle went to respond before a red wisp came into her vision. She turned around, but suddenly she was in a blank room, blinding white. She turned in a circle, but there seemed to be no end to the white abyss. When she turned back around, a single filing cabinet sat in front of her. She slowly reached forwards and opened the top drawer. It squeaked a bit, but the sound almost fell deaf on her ears, like she only half heard it. She looked down at the brown folder, a date and time stamped across the front. She opened it, her head suddenly filled with loud noises and bright lights. She slammed the folder shut, her chest heaving as she squenched her eyes. She swallowed before opening her eyes, shocked to find herself surrounded by filing cabinets everywhere she could see. Suddenly, the all started shaking, falling over and causing the files to fall out and open on the ground. Annabelle heard the sound of gunshots and voices overlapping each other. She clapped her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to drown out the sounds as they became louder and were accompanied by unending images from her past.