For the Love of a Father ✓

Fear Me

It's early the next morning and I'm gently shaken awake. I'm not sure what time I fell asleep, but I can tell from the awful feeling in my head, that it wasn't that long ago. "What happened?" I groggily ask Steve.

"They need you in the lab." He says gently. I nod and follow him out the door.

"Steve, I swear, I have no idea where that came from." I plead with him, hoping he'll understand.

"I'm not scared of you Myrabella. I'm scared for you. Whatever this is... It's powerful." I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat.

I come into the lab and you could cut the tension in here with a dull butter knife. "Hey," I whisper to Dad, placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Wanna talk about what that was last night?" He asks and the rest of the team looks on, everyone expecting an answer.

"I have no idea. I didn't exactly know I could do that."

"It's got to be from the scepter." Bruce reasons, coming up and gently taking my wrist, checking my pulse.

"But the test results came back normal." Dad reasons.

"Well something caused this change in her, and that's the only thing that makes enough sense." Dad nods and after Bruce does enough of an overview check up, he deems me healthy, or at least as healthy as I should be. I go over to stand by Steve while Bruce goes through the computer. "All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron..." Steve mutters under his breath. He's pissed and I honestly don't blame him.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Nat adds.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey asks.

"Nuclear codes." Maria says, eyes wide with panic.

"Exactly. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." I say, speaking up for the first time.

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct." Steve replies. I shiver slightly and he comes over, rubbing my arms to try and heat me up. I don't miss the look on Dad's, or Natasha's faces while they watch our exchange.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint adds.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building." Maria notes.

"Yes, there was." Dad says, walking to the center of the room, flicking his phone out. What pops up is the broken remains of JARVIS.

"What the hell is this?" I ask, my eyes downcast with sadness.

"This is insane." Bruce comments quietly.

Steve's arms cross and he looks down, angry. At the situation, or Dad, I'm not sure. "Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

Bruce shakes his head. "No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy. This is rage." He explains.

Thor lands, having returned from following the Legionnaire. He marches over to Dad, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air. "It's going around." Clint comments.

"Thor, put him down!" I yell, and my hands pulse pink, sending a blinding light through the lab. Everyone covers their eyes and Thor loosens his grip on Dad but doesn't drop him.

"Thor. The Legionnaire." Steve demands.

He throws Dad down before turning to Steve. "Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again."

"Genie's out of that bottle." Nat says. "Clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand." Dr. Cho speaks up for the first time all morning. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Bruce has the decency to look ashamed. But Dad... Dad's trying to start a civil war amongst us. He starts chuckling and I can feel the negative energy in the room start to crackle. Bruce tries to get him to stop, but like usual, Dad doesn't listen. "You think this is funny?" Thor asks, unamused.

"No." Dad tries to say before he starts laughing again. "It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so... It is. It's so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand. And Myra wouldn't be dealing with this now." Thor says, and I look down, trying to keep myself out of it.

"No. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Dad..." I warn at the same time Bruce says, "Tony, maybe this might not be the time."

"Really? That's it?" Dad asks, turning back to us. "You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"I know you didn't direct that to me." I say, narrowing my eyes. Dad backs up, scared. Tears well up in my eyes and I run from the room, desperate for some fresh air.

I make it out to the landing pad for the quinjet, and take in several large breaths as I fall apart. I'm not even aware when I'm joined by someone, and they gather me in their arms and take me back inside. "It's ok, Myra. It's going to be ok." But it wasn't. And it wouldn't be for a long time.