Beautiful Disaster | Marvel/AOU {3}

Chapter 7: Past Relived

Twice the pride, double the fall. –Christopher Lee, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

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I try to keep my footsteps as soft as possible as I make my way through the dark hallways of the ship. Someone is shouting nearby, their indistinct words echoing through the damp, humid air. Ultron, I recognize. As I reach the end of the hall, a change in the air tells me that the Maximoff twins are nearby. It reminds me of the power I felt radiating from Loki's scepter, and the feeling sends a chill down my spine. Sparks of silver and scarlet appear around my hands, lightly stinging my skin where they come into contact. I shake the sparks away as I risk a step farther, crouching near the railing of the catwalk I'm now standing on, to get a better look at the cargo hold below.

Ultron's new body is larger than the one he'd possessed at the Tower, taller and with wider shoulders, giving the illusion of more strength. As the metal psychopath continues shouting, I look around and see Clint and Natasha on either side of the room, Thor and Steve at entranced to the cargo hold below, and Tony hovering in the air a few feet ahead of them.

"Ah, Junior," Tony calls, cutting off Ultron's tirade and getting his attention. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

Ultron takes a few menacing steps forward and coldly replies, "If I have to." The twins step out of the shadows behind him, giving me my first look at them. They stand with their backs to me, but I can still make out Pietro's athletic build and the determination in Wanda's stance. They're gonna make this a hell of a lot harder, I decide as I close my hand around the hilt of my sword.

"Nobody has to break anything," Thor speaks up.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet," Ultron says.

"He beat me by one second," Tony comments, looking over his shoulder at the Asgardian.

"Ah, yes." I've never heard the voice, but Pietro Maximoff steps forward as he speaks in a tone dripping with disdain. "He's funny. Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" He waves a hand at the weapons lying about.

Tony shakes his head. "This was never my life."

"You two can still walk away from this," Steve speaks up.

"Oh, we will," the Maximoff girl retorts.

"I know you've suffered—" Steve tries to continue before Ultron cuts him off with a scoff.

"Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..."

"If you believe in peace," Thor says when Ultron doesn't continue, "then let us keep it."

"I think you're confusing 'peace' with 'quiet.'"

Just a few more steps, I silently plead with my teammates. Just keep him talking long enough for him to take a few more steps.

"Uh-huh," Tony hums as if he'd read my mind. "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm so glad you asked that," Ultron states with a wave of his hand, "because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan."

Instead of actually explaining anything, Ultron clenches his fist and Tony lurches forward as if being pulled. When Ultron opens his hand, a bright beam of light is released from it and slams into Tony, throwing him into a wall. More robots appear and, even though Ultron is still almost directly below me and not slightly forward like I would have liked, I draw my sword and throw myself over the railing.

I land on Ultron's back and drive the blade into the joint at his right shoulder. At the same time, I stretch out one leg and drive my heel into Pietro Maximoff's jaw. He staggers backwards into his sister, sending them both sprawling to the floor. Ultron reaches around to grab me, but I'd expected that and throw my weight to the side, twisting the sword so my momentum allows the blade to cleanly slice the metal appendage off.