Stained (N.R)

Chapter 19

"What were you thinking?" Ilya was raging at me. Not without reason. "Disappearing for seven months without contact, reappearing again just to get drunk and hallucinate? To play a game of words with Bruce and Tony over something that's planning on killing all of us?"

"I..."

"What was it that you've been through that made you like this?" She drew closer, looking into my eyes, her thumb caressing the light bags under my eyes. "What did you go through that made you change... so much. Since the Red Room, since..."

"Natalia...." I pulled back. Her sea green eyes looked at me sorrowfully, almost with pity. We all had a dark past, yet she was determined to mend the wounds she had created, as an angel reaching for the light, I had long been accompanied by the foulest of demons. I was a killer, someone who spouted chaos. Without her, I was an ugly, uncontained creature.

She doesn't want me.

She wants another hero as her significant other, but he can live without her, I cannot. My soul would wither and my mind would burn to ashes. Ilya was everything I've had, my only treasure, the one thing which held up my world.

I smiled, turning, hearing my unnatural chuckles becoming laughter, my whole body shaking with laughter as my heart wilted inside me. "Tony's logic is within reason, Natalia, just like HYDRA is, just like all political ideas are. Yet he has a chance of succeeding, a machine that can kill all those poisonous barbs of society, such as me."

"You are not...."

"You are not even close to a monster, Ilya, because I am, and I know. I have killed too many for life to mean something, gone too far into the darkness to step out into the light again. I can be friends with Avengers, I can be an advisor, an ally, but nothing more. You don't want a murderer in your midst do you, especially one that does not repent her deeds."

"Katyusha...."

"I have found clues on Yelena." I said slowly. "After this Ultron business is over, I'm heading back to Russia. I will find her, then settle down, maybe get a dog. Live until one of my past crimes finds me and kills me."

She pursed her lips, her green eyes down casted. "You do not have to...."

"I want to." I insisted, knowing full well that it was a lie, marching for the door. "I'm going to go sleep, Natalia. Then when they found out were the scepter is, I am going to get it back, then leave."

It took two days for the team to find something. In the meantime, I spent my hours training with my automatons and hiding from Natalia. 

Until.....

"Kid, gear up, com'on." Tony grew even closer to me in the past two days. I was the sole supporter of his protection ideology. We make mistakes stepping forward, even causing losses to human lives. Yet if we succeeded to step forward, even after a heavy consequence, then we could save generations. It was sensible thinking, yet not empathetic at all.

"You got news on him?" I raised my head from my wrestling match with Diana, who swiped at me, her claws shrank into her paws so she wouldn't accidentally slash me into jerky. 

"He allied himself with the Maximoffs, killed Strucker and is heading for vibranium."

"Seems like lots of people stole from Wakanda." I smirked.

"A handful." Tony admitted. "So we are heading off to put a cork to his concoction."

Location: African coast, stranded steamliner called Churchill....

"Don't compare me with Stark..k...k.." A metallic bellow came from the hulls of the ship, bouncing and echoing around the rusting structure. "Stark... He is a sickness..."

"The kid's a teenager." I laughed as Tony, Steve and I landed on the other end of the narrow metal bridge, facing off against the now tall, metallically muscular red-eyed robot and the two maximoff twins. Diana looked Ultron up and down as I sat on her back, not impressed with his bulky design.

"Oh Junior." Tony played along with me, freigning hurt with his palm over his chest. "You are gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to." The robot sounded slightly amused. 

Thor flew up from the ground to join us, landing with a small thud. Both Clint and Natalia had found their positions, blocking off the narrower paths to the entrance of the structure. The prey was in the net.

"Nobody has to break anything." Thor huffed. 

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron replied, striding towards us, the Maximoff twins flanking his sides. 

"He beat me to that by one second." Tony chuckled. 

"It's the genes." My sword materialised in my hand.

"Mr Stark." The silver haired young man took a step forwards. "It's what.... comfortable? Like old times?"

"This was never my life." Tony said, insistent, not looking at the various weapons scattered around us. 

"You two can still walk away from this." Steve took a step forwards, trying to negotiate with the twins. 

"Oh, we will." The girl in high ponytail smirked, tilting her head. 

"I know you've suffered...."

I rolled my eyes as Ultron laughed. "Aha... Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war."

It hit a nerve. Steve tensed. 

"I can't physically throw up in my...."

"Can we just... fight already?" I snapped at the robot, who was playing tactics to try to unsettle the team. "Trying to conquer the world with your imaginary tongue? Because I am getting bored here."

The silver head Maximoff smirked and looked at Ultron, who raised a hand as if to say something, then pulled his palm forward, an arc of blue electricity pulling Tony towards him. Ultron smashed Tony into the wall, seemingly amused. Thor and Steve charged forwards to meet the Maximoffs, and Tony shook himself off, his repulsor glowing as he pushed himself off the floor, meeting Ultron in midair, wrestling each other for control. 

Smaller, metallic robots appeared from nowhere, flooding Thor and Steve and stopping their charge. The silver eyed boy focused his gaze on me and I smirked, holding up my sword. 

He was fast, fast as light. However, my senses were a lot stronger than anyone he encountered. His strike missed me as he passed, the tip of my sword just fast enough to nick his arm. 

Steve was smashed on to the floor with glowing red light, gunshots and men's shouting were heard from the higher floors, one grazed me on the shoulder but I shrugged it off. Diana sprang on to the railings, hauling herself up as I clung on to her. Tony was struggling in the sky, surrounded by an angry swarm of Robots. Ultron turned his gaze to me and barreled towards me, Diana leaped towards the robot, landing on its back enough for me to shove my sword through its shoulders. 

It shook us off, chasing Tony away through a hole on the ceiling of the ship, though not before Diana could leave a long line of scratch mark from Ultron's shoulder blade to its heels. 

Diana landed agile on her feet, and I looked round. 

The silver haired boy was sitting amongst some cargo boxes, dazed, shattered pieces of twisted metal were the remnants of Ultron's little army. The gunfire had ceased. 

The Maximoff girl lifted her hands.