Mischief on Midgard

God of lies

Strucker was dead.

Strucker, the last remaining Hydra leader, the last true leader of Hydra itself, was dead.

And yet, to the Avengers, it didn't feel like a victory to be celebrated. It felt like a bitter defeat. Fury had sent them photos of the scene that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had found, a computer hard drive, and a literal ton of paperwork stored in boxes and filing cabinets. One photo was of Strucker's lifeless body was slumped against a gold, metal-grey wall. His neck had been slit open. Splashes of arterial blood had sprayed outwards to paint the walls, his clothes, and the furniture in the room. Upon the wall was a single word, painted with Strucker's own blood as if in mockery of their efforts, was the word 'Peace.'

It was a message to the Avengers. A clear and terrifying message. Despite their best efforts, the Avengers hadn't been able to track down Strucker on their own. Even Loki's aid had done nothing to assist them. And yet, Ultron... Ultron had done what they could not, and he was mocking them. Showing them that he had resources they didn't.

Look... that message said. Look at this. I killed this man when you couldn't. I did this, and I didn't even have to.

"Why do all of the super-villains we run into think that killing someone to achieve lasting peace is a good idea?" Tony asked darkly, rubbing at his face. "Shit, wasn't Loki the same way too?"

Loki didn't respond to Tony's words beyond looking down and away from the group.

"And then, there's the bullshit being spouted by the so-called 'freedom fighters' that used my weapons to aid their causes," Tony ranted, kicking a chair and sending it rolling until it hit the wall with a bang. "Oh sure, they might say they're fighting in the name of peace. They'll even say 'it's for the Greater Good!' Well, they can fuck off with that bullshit!"

"There will always be men like you..." Loki said in a soft, distant voice, thinking that Tony was being immensely hypocritical at that moment.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Tony asked, turned to look at Loki with a frown.

"Nothing," Loki said with a shake of his head as he looked up to meet Tony's eyes. "Regardless, this murder seems rather sloppy, does it not? As if it were rushed? Strucker may well have been aware of something that Ultron does not want us to know. There is no other logical reason for him to have been tracked down and targeted so. Ultron could have killed anyone at all and gotten the same results from us. Hell, killing the President of the USA or another world leader would probably have sent an even bigger message.

"Dude," Tony started to say with a shudder. "Can you not say that so casually? Please?

"I am merely saying that he could have done so," Loki said pointed. "He simply chose not to because he could not be bothered with such a thing, I imagine."

Natasha hummed from her spot next to one of Tony's computers. She'd connected the hard drive to it to try to search for information.

"All the files on the computer are gone. Of course, they are," she said with a sigh as she stepped away from the bloodstained table. "Ultron must have deleted them all. We have nothing."

"Well..." Tony said as he looked around the room. "We have nothing in digital format... "

What they did have, again, was paperwork. Files that had originally been stored away in various folders, boxes, and cabinets throughout the outpost itself. All gathered up and sent their way. It was rather amusing, really. Here they were, the greatest fighters on Earth, and they were stuck sorting through paperwork. Everyone pitched in to try to sort through the mess.