Ice and Defenders: The New Age// Book 4 of the Frostbite Series

The Search for Ultron

When I woke up in the morning, I instantly buried my face into my pillow to shield my eyes from the sun peaking in through the window over my bed and to muffle the ringing in my ears. Hangover. 

I groaned into my pillow and pulled my blanket over my body, the night's events coming back to me. I turned my head over to look at the clock, but my eyes set their attention to a glass of water and a pill next to it. I sat up and looked closer at the pill, it was ibuprofen.

"Oh, thank God." I sighed and grabbed the pill, popped it into my mouth and gulped down the water. 

I looked back at the clock. 9:34. I pushed back the blanket and got out of bed, went up to my closet and put on my robe. When I got to the main floor, Steve and Maria were walking out of the elevator and towards the stairs to the lab. 

"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place." Maria explained.

My morning got even worse with that news, knowing that it was Ultron. This had happened in one night. 

"Morning, Ellie." Steve said as I approached before looking to Maria. "Fatalities?"

"Only when engaged," Maria answered. "Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"The Maximoffs." I guess as we walked up the stairs.

"Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common." Steve said, referring to Strucker.

"Not anymore." Maria handed Steve a tablet. 

I looked over to see a photo of Strucker's dead body with the word 'PEACE' written in blood on the wall next to him. 

"Oh," I tilted my head.

"We gotta show everyone this." Steve said.

As we headed towards the lab, Clint was standing in the hallway on the phone.

"That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes ma'am."

"Barton, we might have something." Steve interrupted him.

Clint nodded. "Got to go." And he hung up.

"Who was that?" Steve asked.

"Girlfriend," Clint hesitated and I smirked.

We gathered the rest of the team in the lab and Steve handed photo of Strucker's body to Thor.

"What's this?" Tony asked. 

Thor shoved the tablet into Tony's chest.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker." Steve answered.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony said, setting down the tablet.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve deduced.

"Did he delete anything?" I asked and Natasha searched the computer.

"Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased." Natasha nodded.

"Not everything," Tony said and we looked at him. "Have you guys ever read before?"

We got out boxes of SHIELD files and began searching for anything we have on Strucker. I sat on the floor with a circle of files around me.

"Known associates." Steve set down another box. "Well, Strucker had a lot of friends."

Bruce, Tony and Steve began searching through those files.