Some Things Never Sleep

Chapter Eighteen

Author's Note: So I'm just going to include a trigger warning in this chapter since this chapter alludes to rape and abuse. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.

The next day the Avengers quickly got to work on tracking down Ultron. They awoke bright and and early after a couple of hours of sleep although truthfully none of them had been able to sleep that much. There was way too much on their minds like the potential destruction the world would face as Ultron continued to waltz around. It was certainly a long night they had and today seemed like it would be even longer as they searched aimlessly for anything that might lead them to Ultron. Emma didn't know how they would be able to find anything since Ultron erased a lot of the data files they had. Even McConaughey's database was empty although he was still functioning much to her disbelief. It turned out that Jarvis's database had been synced to McConaughey but not everything else so at least her own AI system was still working somewhat.

Emma helped Natasha search for any of the files on the computer but they kept coming up empty. Dr. Cho and Susan were missing from the group since Tony had sent Susan and Dr. Cho back on separate planes to San Francisco and Seoul for her own safety. Susan seemed worried for them but Steve insisted that they would be alright although Emma wasn't sure if he believed that himself. Rhodey had gone to Washington D.C. to warn government officials about the impending danger. They were now alone in the tower and without any real resources that would aid them in the search for Ultron.

Emma looked up from the computer screen as Steve walked into the room with a grim expression on his face. He held a tablet in his hand that he immediately passed off to Thor who looked down at what was displayed on the screen. Emma and Natasha exchanged curious looks seeing as they couldn't see what was displayed on the tablet from where they were sitting. Whatever was on that tablet wasn't going to be good.

"What's this?" Tony asked from behind her and Natasha. He glanced at the serious looks on both Thor and Steve's faces.

"A message." Steve told them. "Ultron killed Strucker." Emma couldn't stop the audible gasp that left her mouth as her blue eyes widened in shock. Steve gave her a comforting look before giving Tony a more serious one. Emma could hardly believe it. Strucker was dead...he was actually gone. All the memories she had of him flashed through her mind. All the times he experimented on her...the times he tortured her. Emma had hated him almost as much as she hated Pierce and Rumlow but she wasn't sure how she felt now that he was dead. Maybe a little disappointed now that she wouldn't get to have any closure but also a bit relieved to know that the world was rid of one more evil person in it.

Thor shoved the tablet into Tony's general direction, it was clear that he was still angry with the billionaire. Tony glanced at the screen and so had Natasha, Bruce, and Emma. Emma looked coldly at the image of Strucker lying in a pool of his own blood with the word "peace" written in blood on the wall behind him. Ultron really loved some good ole' theatrics.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony retorted sarcastically.

"Yeah, he sure does seem like a drama queen...kind of reminds me of someone else." Emma said as she gave Tony a pointed look. Tony only glared at her before passing the tablet to Bruce.

"This is a smoke screen." Natasha stated. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve answered. Natasha was about to agree with Steve when a message came popping up on the screen. Emma groaned in frustration as she read the message.