The Shadow of a Hero

Chapter 8

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to cat25314   for helping me with my writer's block.

By the time I exit the stairwell, I find myself in the lobby, out of breath. Seriously. Who needs a building with so many floors? I'm getting distracted. Focusing back on the task at hand, I take a look at my surroundings. The lobby is of a simple design, a waiting area complete with chairs is on the far side of the room and is being used by one person with earbuds in. A receptionist is stationed closer to where I am, talking to another person, but I can't hear what they're saying. Over all, no Ultron in sight. Only one thing I can do now. Putting on what I hope looks like a kind smile, I walk over to the front desk where the two ladies are talking.

"Excuse me." I interrupt the women's conversation. The receptionist turns to me and flashes me a welcoming smile. The other one smiles thinly before grabbing a magazine off a rack and sitting in the seat farthest from headphone guy. "This might be a weird question, but have you seen a robot go through here?"

The receptionist shakes her head. "Not that I can think-" She does't even finish her comment as her eyes go wide. I follow her line a sight down to my hands that are still covered in the doctor's blood. An "Oh my" escapes her lips. Guilt surges through me. I'm an idiot, I was so focused on finding Ultron that I forgot to mention the doctor bleeding to death upstairs.

"Look, I need you to call for an ambulance, there is a lady on floor," I try to remember if I ever saw a floor number, but come up with nothing. "maybe 20 levels up who is injured." The receptionist's eyes somehow widen even more before she grabs the nearest phone and punches in three numbers. I turn away from her as she talks to someone on the other line, trying to think of what I should do next. Either I could wait for the avengers and Will to show up and hope Ultron hasn't gotten to far away, or I could leave now to look for Ultron on my own with no back up.

"Sir?" The woman at the desk (I really need to find out her name) says to get my attention. I turn back just enough to talk to her. "Medics and the police are on their way." I find myself breathing a sigh of relief. "They said that they would like you to stay here so that they can ask you some questions." Instantly the relief I just felt is gone. One thing I don't need is to get cornered by the cops. Though I can't say that at loud, so instead I give a small nod. As soon as she turns away I hurry out the door, only stopping to wipe the blood off of my hands in the grass.

I make it a couple of blocks away when the sirens reach my ears.  Cars make their way over to the side of the road to allow the cop cars and ambulance to get through. The sirens fade rather quickly and the curbed cars go on their way, well most of them do. A large truck baring the name of the lab I was just at draws my eye. While the vehicles around it come and go, the truck doesn't move. I start walking closer when I hear a noise from behind me. The sound of metal hitting the pavement prompts me to draw my sword.

"Nico diAngelo?" A sickly sweet voice asks. I whirl around and point my weapon at the throat of the person behind me. People don't usually sneak up on me, and after seeing who it is only puts me more on guard. The woman standing on the the receiving end of my blade is the lady who was talking to the receptionist back at the lab.

"Who's asking?" I question. Now that I'm taking a closer look, I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before today. She has fiery red hair like Rachel, but no where near as curly, and stands so that more weight is one leg than the other which makes her come off as slightly lopsided.

"Did I really make such a fleeting expression?" Her lips pull up to make the smallest of smirks while her eyes looks me up and down before finally settling to look down her nose at me. "Especially after all the fun we had together in Tartarus." The very mention of that place sends shivers crawling along my spine. The woman, no thats not right, the monster seems to notice my discomfort. Either that or something else causes her smile to grow enough that I get a clear view of her fangs.