Age of Ultron

[Cassandra]

​

When Tony woke up the next morning, he had not forgotten about the night before. He was beginning to come to terms with the fact that Serena may not be as forgettable as he would have desired. He had to get these god forsaken twins out of his life, before they did something catastrophic.


Taking his hidden bottle of whiskey out of his bedside cabinet, he screwed it lose and swigged straight from the bottle. His face tightened with the bitter taste, but with the second gulp it was bearable.


Now that he was finally back, he could move on with his life. He had a great big list of things that he needed to do, and they only seemed to be getting bigger. Putting the bottle down, Stark made his way through the door and down to the living quarters. He switched the morning news on straight away. It seemed that he was first awake, which was no surprise given the late night that everyone had endured.


To say that he was startled to see Ana walking out of the kitchen, would have been an under exaggeration. She had slept blissfully last night, in the arms of her new Russian friend. It had been a long time since she had endured a sleep as nice. However, she had awoken, only two hours later, because of nightmares. With a long list of things to do, she had left Pietro asleep and gotten changed, then made her way to the training room. It was approximately twelve o'clock in the afternoon, which meant that she had to have been training for at least six hours.


"Look who's finally awake," she said, wiping her neck with a towel. "I thought the whole team had died overnight. Other than Cap, he trained with me for a couple of hours, then went out for a run..." She took a deep breath, and drank half a litre of water in almost one gulp.


"You look shattered, and I can smell you from my room," Tony said plainly, wrinkling his nose.


Anaiah just smiled, laughed it off. "Give me a hug, Stark," she joked, lifting up her sweaty arms and approaching him to pull him into an embrace. He ran, like seriously ran, as fast as his legs could carry him. She was quicker though, and jumped on top of him. She straddled him to the floor, made a gun shape with her hands, and pretended to shoot him in the head. "Bang. You'd be dead".


"Jeez, kids, do you not know how to be quiet?" Natasha's voice came from the corner. "God forbid Natasha has a sleep in or anything," she rubbed her neck sorely. "Has anyone seen the twins, by the way? I went to check on Pietro and Serena before, I couldn't find the boy. He's not in his room".


"He went out, I think. I couldn't be sure," Anaiah shrugged. She knew very well where he was, and Nat knew it. "Tony will know where the girl is. She's his new girlfriend. You know how he can't keep it in his pants for longer than a day".

 

[SerenaStark]

Serena slept fairly well that night but woke up rather early. She had gone out to look around at all the little things the Avenger's tower had to offer. She had made her way down to the lab and looked around. Wow this place was kind of sweet. She touched basically anything and everything as she really didn't care what Tony would say. Besides there was no one down here with her, he probably wouldn't figure out she had even been there anyway.


Banner walked into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. "I already found her," he said quietly to Ana, "She's down in the lab. I saw her as I was going up the stairs." He knew Tony really only reserved the lab for Bruce and himself so he probably wouldn't be too thrilled that one of the twins was down there. He shook his head slightly before looking at Ana and Tasha. "Good morning," he said gently, "Did you guys sleep alright?"


Pietro rolled over in bed and didn't feel Ana next to him. He quickly sat up and looked around. He saw her tshirt that she had worn to bed on the floor and she figured that she had already been up and moving. He smiled slightly as he got up and threw on a pair of shorts before walking out into the kitchen shirtless. "Good morning," he said with his wicked smirk as he looked around at the rest of the team before looking at Banner, "Ah you are the giant green thing, yes?"


Banner sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately," he replied, "You must be Pietro. I'm Dr. Banner." Bruce held out his hand to shake it and Pietro shook it slightly. "Pleasure," he said before looking at Ana, "Are you cooking for us today, Ms. Ana?" He liked teasing her especially when he would receive a small smirk back from her.

 

[Cassandra]

"You're fucking kidding me," Tony had had it with that Russian. "Can she not be left alone for one minute?" He pushed Ana aside, climbing up from where he had fell and pinched the bridge of his nose. Serena was going to be the death of him, if he didn't end up killing her first.


He knew he was going to have to string her out of there. So, reluctantly, he made his way in that direction. He paused in his tracks, in the corner of the living quarters, and spun on his heel. "Banner, Farouk, I need your help a little bit later on a new project of mine. It's just a small science experiment, if you're interested?"


Ana offered him a warm smile, "count me in," she replied, downing the remnants of her water bottle. "What time should I meet you?"


"About 1, is that okay with you, big man? He turned to banner, leaning his weight on the wall.


Natasha rolled her eyes. She wasn't invited, as per usual. Not like she wanted to be, she didn't have the slightest clue about science. She couldn't care less. Yet, since everyone was making themselves busy, she wondered if she should find something for herself to do. "Stark, do you mind asking Serena if she wants to join me in training?" She asked, "I wouldn't mind having a girly day, and clearly Ana here has already chosen her favourites".


Ana laughed, shrugging, and made her way past Pietro. She smacked him lightly and playfully on the bottom as she walked past, having heard his comment. "What do you think I am, Maximoff?" Her voice was melodic. "Make your own breakfast. I had mine at about 6 in the morning. Technically, it's closer to lunch time now".


Sliding past, she thought about pulling banner into a hug, but remembered her sweaty state. "Hey, Bruce. I slept great, thank you," she throw a hidden smirk Pietro's way. "I've missed you though. I'm just about to go shower, but you owe me a hug when I get out".

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner smiled slightly as Tony started to head towards the lab. Was actually into this girl? That would be a sight to see. Tony Stark actually settling down with a woman. Of course, he would encourage it as best he could and hope that Tony wouldn't either blow it or get hurt. "I was actually going to head down there now Tony," he replied as he grabbed one of his granola bars from a cabinet shelf, "But ya we can work around 1 with your little project." Banner looked over at Ana after a moment and nodded quickly. "Of course I do, AnaBear," he replied with a slight smile before following Tony downstairs to the lab.


Pietro gave her a smirk as she spoke and grabbed her up before tossing her over his shoulder. "So is that a no on making me breakfast," he asked her showing off his winning smile. He knew she wasn't going to but he also was a little too lazy to make his own. Maybe he could talk Serena into doing it? It would be a long shot but hey can't blame a guy for trying.


He gave a nod and a smile and Tasha's direction as he made his way back to her room to drop her off so he could shower. "You ditched me this morning," Pietro said once he knew he was far enough away from the team before giving her a fake sad look, "It hurt my feelings."


Serena meandered around the lab before she heard voices coming down the steps. She didn't bother to hide or anything as she didn't really care if they saw her or not. She saw Tony with a man by his side. She had been briefed on Dr. Banner when she was with Hydra. He had the whole place practically shaking their boots. She was looking at one of the Iron Man suits when they walked in. "Hey Tony what does this do?" she asked before pressing a button. Suddenly a missile shot by Tony's head and exploded against a wall behind him. "O nevermind," she chirped as she looked at the suit again.

 

[Cassandra]

"Pietroo" Ana whinged, as he threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. "Get off! I need to shower, you absolute crank". She slid off his shoulder, landing on her feet. Her peridot eyes fluttered to his face. He looked so cute when he was sad, or pretending to be sad in this case. A light laugh escaped her lips, like a breeze in midsummers day. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips, something she had made a habit of doing.


"I had to train," she explained, biting her bottom lip, another thing she was in the habit of doing. She smirked. "Some of us aren't gifted with special powers, we have to work for some talent".


Not at all modest, for obvious reasons, she pulled off her dirty gym top and flung it to the side of the room. Making her way to the wardrobe, she pulled out her suit, and then found a towel. "For someone so quick, you were slow to wake up," she taunted him with a smirk. "Извините. Ты в моем пути , ангел".


Tony walked side by side with Banner. Bruce was one of the only people that he almost always got along with. Of course, there was the occasional banterous argument, but never anything serious. They were both science nerds, and bonded over their passion. He was somewhat of a friend, in a way.


"What do you think you're fucking doing, Serena?" Tony hissed, dragging her away from his stuff by her shoulder. "Not only are you going to kill some one. Me, probably, since that's what you seemed to be aiming for. You're also going to start a code green with your stupid bangs". He turned to face the wall, and pinched the bridge of his nose. That was going to cost a shitload to fix. Not that he cared about money, he didn't. It was just an inconvenience to have to hire people to come in.


"Anyway, I've found you a babysitter," he stated blandly, "since you clearly need one. Natasha wanted to know if you wanted to join her. She's going training, wants some girl bonding. I don't know, whatever it is that you girls do".

 

[SerenaStark]

Pietro snickered as she whined to him about needing to shower. "O please I have talent," he said as he pulled her back into his arms as she grabbed her things she would need for her shower, "I'm gifted and talented. I am one of a kind." He smirked at her as he brushed a sweaty piece of hair out of her face. "I am not slow in any meaning of the word, моя любовь," he said before letting himself kiss her gently.


He pulled his lips back and put his forehead to her's. He got lost in her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "How come you get to shower now?" he asked with his sad little puppy dog eyes, "I didn't get to last night. I think its only fair if we both shower at the same time."


"What the hell's a code green?" Serena asked as she looked at Tony and crossed her arms.


Bruce cleared his throat and rose an eyebrow at her. "Ooo," she said as she looked over at Banner and then at Tony, "Wow really code green? That was the best you could come up with. Your brain is just filled with creativity.


Banner snickered quietly at Serena's comment before looking at him. "I give you my blessing. She's a female version of you," he said before walking over to his work station. "Ew," Serena said as she looked at Tony, "I don't think I want to be a female version of you. And I don't need a babysitter. I just wanted to see how that thing worked and I managed to figure it out. But I guess its better than sitting here listening to you yap all day long." She looked over at Banner quietly. "Condolences," she said as she walked upstairs to go and talk to Tasha.


"How does it feel to finally get a taste of your own medicine?" Banner said as she walked upstairs.

 

[Cassandra]

Ana glanced at the door nervously. Clearly Pietro hadn't got the message that there was no such thing as privacy in the tower. If they started any funny business, they were definitely going to be caught. Unlike Stark and Serena, their relationship, as complicated as it was, was not publicised. She liked it that way, no one knowing her business. If they were to start being risky now, they would soon be caught out.


Ana wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him in. She stepped backwards, until her own back hit the wall. Her legs wrapped around his muscular figure. She kissed him a little passionately, before pulling her head back a little. "As tempting as that sounds, it's too risky. We can't have any funny business in here". She kissed his neck regardless of her words. He was just too seducing. She was scarcely in control of her actions.


"I don't know what you're on about," Tony said, tinkering with the suit that she and just messed with. He couldn't have it break on him, not now. It took him a whole lot of time to work on that. Then she had to come in and mess with it.


Tony huffed a sigh of relief, seeing that everything was okay. He then rose, and turned to face Banner. "Onto the more important topic, though," he replied, wiping his hands on his bottoms. "How are you feeling? And... how's it going with Nat?" He flashed his buddy a cheeky wink.

 

[SerenaStark]

Pietro held her close and tilted his head at her. Why did she care about whether the rest of the team knew of them being together? He was about to ask her but before he could he felt her kiss his lips and his neck. He smiled at her slightly as he picked her up and helped her wrap her legs around him as he kissed her. "Why does it matter if they know?" he whispered to her before pressing his lips against her's again.


He didn't care about the consequences (mainly because he didn't know what they were) he just wanted to be with her.


Banner smiled at Tony and shook his head. "Tony, I'm serious. She's like a female you. I mean maybe minus the whole science brain thing, but don't you ever think about...settling down and having a family?"


He sighed when he brought up Natasha. He was always so nervous around her. He wanted to talk to her and tell her how he really felt about her but he was really just too shy. "We're good," he replied quietly, "Just I get kind of nervous around her. I mean its understandable because she's just so pretty, but I feel like no one else gets like that."


Serena walked up to the kitchen to find Natasha there. "You must be Tasha," she said with a cross of her arms.

 

[Cassandra]

Ana released a small sigh. She placed her hand on his cheek and pulled back. "It's not-" She stopped as soon as she had begun. They weren't the right words. "They won't approve. You don't understand. It's just..." She shook her head. She didn't want to explain. This was real, it was. It wasn't like the other times. Yet, she felt guilty, and could not suppress the feeling.


Squirming out of his grip, her chest sank. "Pietro, when I was a little girl I was taken from my parents. I was taken into the secret service, and 20 hours a day was dedicated towards becoming the perfect weapon. The people I was with, they would- they'd give me certain things. Things that I couldn't name for the life of me". She shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is that Cap thinks it is unfair for me to have relationships. I was experimented on, given hormones. Hormones that attract men to me, regardless of whether they like me. I-"


She grabbed her towel. "I'm sorry. I'm just going to shower".


She brushed past him, her shoulder knocking his own, and entered her bathroom. She locked the door as soon as she had entered. Her back slid down it, defeated. She felt like crying, hitting someone. She shouldn't have taken advantage of Pietro. The more time she was with him, the more she fell for him. It was ridiculous, because nothing he could feel could be real. It was all just a consequence of urges triggered by the scent that her hormones released.


The Siren, she hated the name and she hated herself. For not the first time in her life, she wished that she could be normal.


***


Tony slid under the vehicle he was working on. "I don't see it," he lied. "She's annoying, loud, and invasive. I'm at least a little nice to have around". He turned the wrench right three times. "You know, Cap said they would only be staying a while. Just until they landed on their feet. I was thinking about helping them out. Finding them a job or two. The sooner the leave, the better". He slid out from beneath, stood and stretched.


His eyes scanned the surroundings before settling on Banner. He seemed to be tinkering with something himself, though Stark couldn't quite see what. It probably wasn't anything, he was probably just trying to keep himself busy.


"Nope. No family, no problems," Tony declared, like he was worry free. "I'm perfectly happy on my own, never been better actually". He wasn't fooling anyone. "Anyway, I don't get why you feel so nervous. It's obvious that Natasha reciprocates everything you're feeling. Have you seen how she fawns over you? Trust me".


***


Natasha smiled upon seeing the newcomer, having been sat at the bar alone. She finished her drink, then waved her hand.


"Hey!" She greeted. "I would be Natasha, yeah. Although, most people just stick with Nat. Serena, right?"

 

[SerenaStark]

Pietro listened to her gently and tilted his head. He listened to her and soon his smile sank away. He watched as she sank away from him, but he didn't dare speak as she tried to explain. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could she was gone and the door was locked behind her. He sighed quietly but didn't hear the water running so he figured he would go ahead and try to speak to her.


"Ana I know what I feel," he said gently, "It's more than just...wanting to sleep with you. I mean yes it started out like that but I feel like you and I understand each other better than anyone that I've ever known before. Well except maybe for Serena because...well there's never been a moment that we weren't together. But anyway, I want to hold you and talk to you and protect you from anything and everything. This is more than just...sex to me. This is me caring about you despite your flaws and my own. I know I'm not perfect even though I try to act like I am, and one of my flaws is even though you try to push me away I will still have feelings for you. Even if they take me all the way back to Russia and you stay here, I won't be able to get you out of my head whether I'm near those hormones or not."


Banner smirked slightly as he spoke. "Tony," he said, "You just described yourself. Like literally if we all got together and came up with three adjectives for you those would definitely be in the top ten. Besides, she's clearly into you. What says love better than almost shooting your head off with a missile?"


Banner cracked a smile as he spoke the last part. He knew Tony was stubborn but he could see a connection between them. "I mean you're talking to me about not being scared to be connected with a woman and hear you are hiding under a car from her. Literally," he said as he looked under the car at him.


"Besides Tasha deserves someone better than me, Tony. I don't want to get her hurt because something happens and I can't control myself. I think it may be best to steer clear," he replied rather quietly.


~~


"Yep I'm the pain in the ass Tony told you about yesterday," she replied with a slight smirk on her lips, "So you were planning on doing some training? What's with the sudden interest in me?"

 

[Cassandra]

"I'm hardly hiding, look-" Tony rolled his eyes and slid out from under the car. "Look," he repeated, "Women don't scare me, Bruce. I've lost count of how many I've slept with. Serena doesn't scare me either. At least, not in the sexual way, but more in a way like... Oh, she's a psychopath, who is likely to kill us all. You know what I mean?"


He wiped the oil from his hand onto an old rag and leaned against the car. It was nice to hear about Bruce and Nat, that there was some functional relationships in the team.


What says I love you better than being nearly shot in the head with a missile? Hm, Tony thought, what a difficult one. Not. He could think of about twenty different ways of showing affection. "I don't know, what about being punched in the face even? You know, something that you can generally survive" Stark replied.


***


Natasha nodded her head. "Well, it's nice to meet you, pain in the ass," she laughed. "Trust me, there's no sudden interest. After a few days in this place, you'll be wriggling for company. The boys mean good and all, but they're a little exhausting to be around, you pknow?"


Nat picked up the bottle of 'Baileys' and refilled half of her glass. "Want a drink?" She offered, picking up an empty glass. "I always tell the boys I'm training, but really I'm just preparing for my retirement. If that day will ever come". She rolled her eyes, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "How are you finding it here?"


***


When Ana finished showering and dressing, she decided to pull her back into two braids and try something different. When she first joined the team, Nat used to braid her hair all of the time. Nowadays, they were lucky enough to spend five minutes together. She missed their relationship.


She opened the door, to a rather panic stricken Pietro. He hadn't moved an inch. Her forest green eyes consuming his appearance, she studied his behaviour. He didn't understand, this thing of hers didn't just trigger sexual feelings, it triggered obsession, lust, admiration. The men in the van, whether they had prior been convicted of assault before, reacted to her hormones bad because of how little control they had over herself. Pietro was convinced the feelings were genuine, but how could they know? She didn't want to live her life in wonder, in guilt.


"I feel the same way about you.. Stronger, even," she replied meekly, "but you don't understand. I don't expect you to understand. It's just different than you think".

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner smiled at him slightly. "I know you're not afraid of them sexually Tony. You're afraid of commitment. A lot of guys are but you...I think you have a pathological fear of it. But maybe she can help you over come all that. But you have to admit to yourself that you do have a fear of women who want something more than just a one night stand.


~


Serena smiled at Natasha and laughed. She liked this girl already. She understood Serena and kind of where he was coming from. "I have heard of you Nat," she replied, "I don't think the boys want you to retire. I would assume you keep them in line."


She brushed her hair back behind her ear. "So what can you tell him about Tony Stark?"


~


"So you...you don't want to be with me then?" he asked as he tilted his head. He had a hurt expression over his usually cocky face, "Why did you sleep with me then if you were just going to send me away a few days later? I do care for you a lot. So what if it's because of hormones. Isn't me caring about you enough?"

 

[Cassandra]

"Thank you for your diagnosis, Dr," Tony replied darkly. "I didn't know that you was a doctor of psychological problems. Here I was thinking that you were a scientist".


Tony rested on the hood of the car. "Look, Bruce. This relationship crashed before it could fly, I crashed it myself. Less people got hurt that way, it was less of a casualty, okay?"


Tony winced. It took a lot for him to admit that. He never opened up, to anybody, much less to his team.


***


"Stark, hey?" Nat asked. She held up her hands mocking surrender, "I'm not judging, I've had much older, but isn't he like old enough to be your dad. Look at you! You're beautiful. Tony he's... Tony"


She meant it, every word of it. Nevertheless, if the young girl wanted to know about Tony she would tell her. It wasn't like it was something that you couldn't find on Wikipedia.


"Stark was an only child. His mum and dad died in a car crash when he was in college, your typical tragedy. I guess from there, he took over his fathers business and blossomed it into what it became today," Nat explained. "It screwed him up though. He may have inherited money, but he lost out on a lot. It changes you, don't you think? The trauma of losing your parents? Some handle it worse than others, I suppose".


Nat downed another glass of baileys, and gave a sad smile.


***


"It's not like that at all Pietro Maximoff, and you know it!" Ana half shouted, she pushed him in the chest, hard. She had been accused of many things in her life but none that had hurt her so much. She had deep feeing already, for this pain in the ass Russian. Couldn't he understand why she was doing this?


"Don't you understand?" She said, ignoring the tears that swelled in her eyes. "I want you to be with someone who deserves you. Someone who gradually wins you over because you love their personality, their quirks and traits. These feelings you feel for me aren't real, Pietro. You've known me for two days. With any other woman, they wouldn't even be anything so big".

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner sighed and shook his head. "I'm a doctor and a scientist Tony, you know that," Bruce said as he took a seat to his lab table, "And the doctor in me says that you are saying that because you're trying to deflect me away from your problems."


Banner looked at Tony gently. "Did you sleep with her already?" he asked as he crossed his arms, "Tony, you know you can't keep doing this especially with teammates."


~


Serena listened and shrugged. She knew she was pretty. It sounded bad to just admit it but she did. She heard it from every man who crossed paths with her. For some reason could see power behind the pretty face.


"Ya I know what it feels like to lose both parents at the same time. I was lucky...I had Pietro to keep me sane. Well I mean as sane as I could be."


~


Pietro sighed and turned away from her as he put his hands through his hair. He looked back after a moment and quietly shook his head. "What if it's not because of all that? What if I was meant to love you and you were meant to love me? I don't care if this is spontaneous and I don't care if it's not real to you, but it's real to me. If you have feelings for me and I have them for you then...why does it matter how they came about?"

 

[Cassandra]

"Well, I did. What's done is done, isn't it?" Tony retorted, he brushed both of his hands through his hair. "I don't have commitment problems. I just enjoy sleeping around. Potayto, potahto, what does it matter?"


He walked over to the place where Loki's sceptre hovered. Eying it carefully, for possibly places he could attach things to harness its power. He still had yet to reveal his big plan, but he'd wait until Ana arrived. She loved science stuff like this.


***


Nat nodded. "Ah well, you're saner than me. I lost my parents, a different way than you, but still the same".


She propped her elbows on the counter, and rested her head in her hands. "I think it's the what ifs that kills a person inside, you know. Like that feeling you get at first. The I-could-have-stopped-that feeing. The 'what if I would have done that?' questions. I don't think Tony ever let go off that mindset. It's toxic, and that's why he's so hostile.


***


"But what if it's not, P?" She whispered. "I've spend my whole life seducing men into death traps. To think I could have done to you what I did to them..."


She looked to the floor. Her cheeks burned bright red. She was just so confused. Her head told her that it would be cruel to stay with him. Her heart wanted nothing more than to hold him tight. How could two major parts of her be involved in such a conflict?


She didn't know what to do. Ana had never had a boyfriend in her life. She'd never loved anyone. She'd had no family, no lovers. Her team, she cared for but in a different way. She reached out a hand and rested in on his chest.


"P?"

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner sighed and rubbed his face. Tony just didn't seem to grasp what he was doing, or if he did get it he was just in complete denial. "Remind me again why sleeping with women and then leaving them behind is a good idea. I mean if I did that to Tasha you guys would try to kill me," Banner said as he tinkered with something on his desk.


Serena listened quietly as she stole a glass and filled it with a bit of alcohol. She too felt guilty about her parent's death. So guilty that her and Pietro acquired their powers to try and take down the evil that Tony had initiated.


"My brother and I do the same thing," she replied, "We blame ourselves for letting them go to work that day. But hindsight is 20/20. There's no way we could have known."


~


Pietro sighed and rubbed his face as she spoke. He knew what she was trying to do. She wanted to protect him from feeling something false for her but what she didn't understand was to him those feelings were genuine. It would break his heart not to be with her.


He looked down at her. "Ana I do not care what other people think about this relationship, but all I want is for you to be happy and if that means I have to be out of your life for that to happen then I'll do it. It will hurt me more than anything but I will do it for you because that's how much I care."

 

[Cassandra]

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Bruce," Tony explained. "You've never had the experience. It's understandable that you can't comprehend. Besides, if you did that to Tasha, she'd kill you herself". He sat down at his work bench and began to flick through some room settings on a holographic screen. The lights dimmed. Stark checked his watch. "It's five to one. Ana Banana has five minutes and then im starting without her".


***


Nat smiled, as she stood up and made her way to the fridge. She pulled out some soft juice, something that wouldn't make her drunk. She'd lost track of how much alcohol she'd had.


"Yeah, well. Tony's still stuck in that little bubble of his," She replied pouring a drink. "When people get too close, he removes them. There's no exceptions. He doesn't want his bubble of heartlessness to pop. It's better be heartless than broken hearted. So he thinks".


***


"That's not what I-" Anaiah glanced at the clock on the wall. She had five minutes to make her way down to Stark and Banner.


She approached the Russian, wrapping her arm around his neck as she kissed him lightly on the forehead. "I need to go. I- this doesn't need to be talked about, right now. Just forget it".


She made her way through the door, trailing her hands along the walls as she walked. Her mind was dead, having searched for a solution, anything. She just needed not to think for a while.

 

[SerenaStark]

Bruce sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned back. He looked at the clock for a moment as Tony did. Almost time to get to work and thank god because he didn't want to have to have this conversation anymore. Tony was right. He didn't understand his friends motive for doing that kind of stuff. Or well maybe he did but he didn't think he was doing the right thing.


~


Serena sighed and downed another gulp of the alcohol. She wanted to get Tony out of her head. "Where do you go for fun around here?" she asked, "This is a big city yes? Surely there is something to do here."


~


Pietro shook his head as he crossed his arms. How was he supposed to just casually forget about all the things she had just told him. He watched as she made her way out and he rubbed his face in his hands. Why had he let himself become so absorbed with this girl? He should have seen all of this coming from the beginning. He should have known he would get his heart broken.

 

[Cassandra]

Ana didn't know what to think, what to focus on. Frankly, at the moment, she was thankful for some work. A distraction was just the thing she needed. If she allowed herself to think any longer of her relationship, or lack relationship now, with Pietro, she was going to go insane.


She took the long way, to avoid having to talk to Nat, and Pietro's sister about why she looked so stressed out. He looked stressed out, in fact he had looked heartbroken. He just didn't realise yet that she was freeing him from something he didn't even know was lethal. A siren didn't fall in love, she seduced men to death, and that's what she was. A siren.


As she entered the workshop, the door flung against the wall. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," she declared, a glare upheld. "I don't want to talk about it, not even to you Doctor Banner. Speaking of who..." She ran up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you. It's nice to have you back around".


Tony rolled his eyes. "No love for me?" He taunted. There was no reply. Honestly, she was done with arguing today. She just wanted to get on with it, then go to bed.


"What's the sitch then, stark?" She demanded.


"Well, ahem. Before you scold me- this is specifically to you the most Banner- I've been developing suits, unmanned, that can go in and fight our battles for us. You know how we always joke about wanting to retire? Well, if this works then we can. We can live our own lives," he paused, to ensure everyone was keeping up. This was the important part. "What I need though is some of that technology," he glanced to the sceptre. "Into that," he pointed at a suit with his wrench. "It's called Ultron, and if it works it will change our lives - and the world - forever".


***


Natasha tried to smile, but couldn't. She was to exhausted with keeping up appearances, and honestly she was tired. Serena seemed nice, she'd understand.


"That depends what type of stuff you're looking for," she replied. "There's tourist stuff. Shops, lots of shops. Nice food places. Why? What were you thinking of?"

 

[SerenaStark]

Pietro went to his room to try and process what just happened. He kept trying to convince himself to get over Ana, because he could find someone better to spend time with but it was no use. He laid back on his bed and rubbed his face. So this is what heartbreak felt like. No wonder no one ever wanted to open up about what they were feeling to their significant other. If it went south then they just felt like an empty shell as well as like an idiot for believing that they could have something special like that.


Serena shrugged slightly and looked out of one of the windows. "The nearest bar in town," she replied as she looked into the empty bottle of alcohol that she and Tasha had been drinking. She could handle a lot. That whole bottle alone would probably make her tipsy at best.


Banner looked at Ana as she came down the stairs and smiled slightly at her, but it soon faded when she requested no questions be asked about what was going on in her life. O geez what had happened now? Maybe if he gave her a while to just relax she would talk to him about it. He nodded slightly, agreeing to go along with her wishes before turning his attention back to his work.


His mind remained there until Tony announced that he had some big news that he wanted to tell them about. Bruce leaned back in his chair and listened to his talk. Retiring? Banner didn't really have the luxury of retirement as his 'other guy' was part of his life, but maybe removing himself from the stressful environment would help the incidents become less frequent. "So you're going to use robots to save the world instead of us?" Banner asked to clarify, "Have you run this by Steve yet?" He knew the answer would be no but he had to ask as Tony would get annoyed if he just assumed.

 

[Cassandra]

"Have I run this by Steve?" Tony paraphrased his words. "You know what, that is such a good idea. Why didn't I think of that in the first place?" His voice was dripping with so much sarcasm, Ana was surprised that the room wasn't flooded. He shook his head. "No, Bruce, I haven't. Captain is righteous, selfless, and he wouldn't understand that some of us don't want to serve our countries until we die". It was a valid point, and he knew it. "I figured if I make it first, and he doesn't like it, then we can always shut it down. It'll just be like Jarvis 2.0".


Anaiah struggled to believe that something so powerful would be willing to succumb to the demand of a man. Jarvis was powerful though, so Tony had a point there. "Exactly like Jarvis?" She questioned, "then why do we need it?"


"Not exactly, Ana," he rolled his eyes. "Like I said, it's Jarvis but more advanced. He'll be able to do stuff that Jarvis can't".


"You mean like breach national security?"


"No. Maybe, but Ultron will be under control of the team. He won't be doing anything that we don't tell him to do," Tony explained to them. "You've been quiet, Banner. Tell me, what do you think?"


***


Natasha her lip pensively. "A bar? Trying to forget something?" She questioned. It was clearly none of her business, but the girl had problems and Nat wanted to help. She knew half of the time she drowned her sorrows in a bottle of gin, or two, it could have been prevented by some good company.

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner rubbed his face and shook his head as Tony gave him a bit of sarcasm. He listened as he and Ana spoke about what to do with the robot, but really didn't contribute much. This was a bad idea. A cool idea but a bad one. If Steve didn't know about this stuff, it could quickly backfire on them. "Tony the only way this is going to work is if everyone is onboard with it. You're going to be telling this robot one thing while Cap is telling it something entirely different," he replied, "Besides you're implying that this thing will be able to think for itself. Who says that its going to want to listen to anyone and not be as stubborn as you are?"


Banner crossed his arms across his chest. He really wasn't fully onboard with any of this. Yes it would be good if it worked and if the whole team wanted to surrender to it, but that wasn't going to be the case. He knew Steve wasn't going to let a heartless hunk of metal go around and save the day while he sat on the sidelines. "We need to run this by Steve," Banner said as he looked at Tony.


Serena sighed and shrugged. "Tony and I slept together the other night and I just don't want to think about it anymore," she replied as she played with the bottle, "He's just so frustrating."

 

[Cassandra]

She choked on her drink as it flooded through her throat. "You slept with Stark?" Natasha said breathless, "oh, man. That's definitely something that I'd want to forget too. You poor thing".


Feeling a little bit of pity for her new Russian friend, Nat approached the door and grabbed her jacket. "I know a good place in Brooklyn. Fancy seeing the big apple?"


***


"No," Tony stood his ground firmly. He was not going to let this idea crumble before him, before it was even fully born. "Come on, Bruce. You know that Cap doesn't understand science, not like us. Think of the things that this could do! The possibilities are endless, it could... It could save lives, heal people... maybe even heal you".


Anaiah recognized the emotional blackmail in its purest form. Tony was using Bruce's condition against him, because he knew how insecure he felt about it. "Stop, Stark. You're blemishing the facts, and trying to persuade us with shit," she said, "you don't know what this thing could do, or the powers it could have. This could go wrong, backfire and kill us all".


"Ana Banana! Always the optimist, aren't you?" He smiled falsely and pinched her cheeks. "So, it could go wrong, and what? I say we make a prototype. If you feel so uncomfortable, we just make the one. We only add a small amount of the energy from the sceptre and disable it if Cap says no. At least with a prototype we can show Captain how it could work, hm?"


Anaiah wasn't convinced, but she was no longer dissuaded. "What do you think, Bruce?" She asked, ignoring Stark's puppy dog face. "Do we give it a shot? Tesla would never have invented anything if he was too scared to try".

 

[SerenaStark]

Serena looked up quickly at Natasha as she choked on her drink. "Exactly and he acts like it never happened and like I don't exist," she replied. She watched as Natasha got up from her chair and she too got up as well. "Better than just sitting around here," she replied as she walked out with her new friend.


~


Banner listened as Tony began to speak but he lost control for a split second when he mentioned that this robot might be able to fix him. "Stop, Tony!" he yelled as he hit his desk and looked up at the billionaire, but before anything else could go down he managed to catch his breath and calm himself down. He sighed as he rubbed his face.


Ana's voice came into the air and he shook his head and listened. He listened to the duos conversation before the attention was turned back to him. "I'll help you build it but you're taking full responsibility for it, Tony," he said trying to keep his cool, "But we have to tell Steve soon. He has the right to know what's going on within our team. I don't want to cause any problems."

 

[Cassandra]

As she walked, Natasha thought about the relationships, or rather lack of relationships, that Tony had had in the past. He was a horror, the biggest bastard she knew but, underneath his façade, he cared. She knew it. It wasn't like she knew if he liked Serena - she wasn't psychic - but he probably cared way more than he let on.


"Have you travelled much before?" She questioned, as they walked the busy streets of New York.


* * *


After Tony had agreed to take responsibility, the three of them got cracking. The task proved difficult, more than the three would care to admit, but Ana liked it. It gave her something to do, to distract herself.


The two had been working for over an hour, and the stupid artificial intelligence had not showed any sign of existence. Ana was ready to give up. She was just waiting for Banner to give up too, so that she wouldn't have to be the first.


"Tony, I don't think it's working," she sighed, feeing deflated.


"Shut up Ana, I'm concentrating"


"Maybe we should take a break? We can go back later, maybe explain to Cap in the mean time?" Stark ignored her. She turned to Banner. "Bruce?"