Raptor

Chapter 8

Pietro looked up from where he sat beside his sister. They had been instructed to stay put in the sanctuary ever since they had gotten back. Since then Ultron had disappeared with Raptor and the vibranium and Wanda got a worried expression once she could no longer enter the shifter's mind. But it wasn't the appearance of one of them that made him look up, no; he had looked up because the agonized screams had finally stopped. Even the inhuman shrieks had ceased. He wasn't sure whether to be more worried, or grateful.

"Do you think...?" Wanda didn't have to finish the question.

He shook his head roughly, refusing to believe it; Ultron had sworn he'd fix her. "Ultron povedal, že by ju zachránil."

"It didn't sound like he was saving her." She muttered back to him.

A clacking sound made them glance towards the entrance way and Pietro sucked in a breath as a night sky black scaled head looked into the room, one eye was a glowing robotic red while the other was a familiar amber. As its entire body finally appeared he could make out a metallic tail, claws, and strip down its spine. For one moment he thought this new raptor was actually the result of Ultron's work but then a second raptor, this one a silver-white scaled with the same robotic assets entered with a royal blue scaled one right behind it. The three Utahraptor cyborgs stared at the two of them, still as statues as they lined up side by side menacingly.

"How do you like my newest additions to our team?" Ultron asked as he walked into the room, a fully metal raptor at his side. It was obviously another body for him to use if he needed.

"Where's Raptor?" He asked, tearing his gaze away from the three monstrous creatures in front of him.

"Recovering from her wounds." Ultron replied simply. "But don't worry, we will never be idle. I have the vibranium prepared for the final strike, but I have one last thing I need before the war begins... a new body. This one will let me become invincible."

The twins didn't like what they were hearing, sure they wanted revenge, but Ultron suddenly sounded like he wanted to bloody his hands. He watched as Ultron left the room to finish whatever business he needed to attend to before leaving, his other body following closely behind, leaving Pietro and Wanda with the three half raptors. He stood up to go check on Raptor, not believing Ultron about her being fine, but that triggered a violent reaction in the beasts, as they growled and ran forward only to freeze and glance back at the door with rumbles that reminded him of a cat's purr.

"Sorry about that." Raptor rasped as she limped over with a pained expression. "They were only grown a few minutes ago, they're just children."

The blue raptor rubbed its head affectionately against her hand, begging for attention but she ignored it as she caught her breath from the strength it took to walk out.

"You should be resting." Wanda informed her.

Raptor shot her a glare. "It's hard to rest when you have three robotic voices going around your head."

"What did Ultron do to you?" Pietro thought the worst by her concerning condition.

"Took blood samples, put a chip in my head allowing me to communicate and control those three, and some other modifications..." She trailed off tiredly before continuing. "... That could help me in a fight."

A heavy and scaly figure brushed around him, making him flinch, before the shimmering black scaled face of the first beast bent down a bit to smell his throat. Pietro glanced at Raptor, wondering if she was going to order them to kill him and Wanda, but it merely stood back up and looked around the room with the interest of a small child.

"They grew... fast." Wanda commented as the silvery one took its interest off her and ran after its pack mate. "Why were they created?"

"They had to grow quickly, the other two didn't make it, but Ultron says it will make me feel... more at home. Like it should have been, like he knows what it had been like." She sighed and sank to the ground while leaning against the wall. "I will admit, it is nice to have others like me... even if they aren't human."

The blue one raced back over to her and shook itself before giving a startled screech as its pack mates tousled it to the ground in a mock fight. Pietro dodged the metal and scaly mass, not liking the new additions at all. He didn't agree with what Raptor said they were for. Ultron was going to use these three to kill, who was killed could depend on all of their choices. A pained shriek came from the blue one and Raptor shifted into her Utahraptor form before limping over and snarling at the other two, the three of them broke apart and crouched down low in submission before going off in separate directions to explore. Raptor shifted back and felt Pietro support her before she collapsed.

"Can't you... turn the chip off so you can't hear them?" He asked worriedly as she fought to keep her eyes open.

"They would kill on sight, I can only control them with the chip unless I had time to earn their obedience." She shook her head as their thoughts went through her as they explored their new surroundings. "The one they love to bully at the moment, the dark blue one, his name's Sigma. The black one, Omega, he's the one you need to look out for. He'll rip you to pieces without a second's hesitation. Then Delta, he enjoys observing more than anything."

"So... you die and Omega kills us." Wanda simplified. "While Delta watches and Sigma tried to make our copses rub his head like he was a pet."

Raptor nodded but gave a weak smirk. "Though I'm sure with both your abilities you could kill them."

"Are you warning us because you're dying?" Pietro questioned uneasily.

"We're going on another mission soon, the Avengers will no doubt show up with a vengeance, who knows which of us may not make it." She numbly felt Wanda going into her head before feeling darkness cover her as she was forced to sleep.

Pietro stood up and nodded in thanks to his sister before going to his room. If they were going on another mission he would need a new pair of running shoes. He'd experienced running in bad shoes and it hadn't turned out well, he wouldn't let that happen again.

I've been on a role with inspiration for this lately! I was wondering what you thought of the new Utahraptors and Ultron's possible plans for them in the future battles/ Pietro's feelings for Raptor herself and her responses.