| 1 | Heart Out || Avengers: Age of Ultron ||

part iii

WARNING: This chapter mentions abuse and mentions rape! If you don't want to read anything like this, skip the bits in italic near the end! You have been formally warned...
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We were gathered in the lab, at Steve's request, looking over a picture of Strucker's dead body.

"What's this?" Tony asked the question playing around in my mind.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker." Steve told us.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Came Stark's sarcastic reply.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha questioned.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve told her coming up to stand beside me, behind Natasha.

"Yeah, I bet he..." Natasha trailed off as she typed Strucker's name into the computer, "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."

"Not everything." Steve disagreed.

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We were all shuffling through the physical files SHIELD had on Strucker when Tony pointed to a photo of a man I had in my hands.

"Wait. I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." At that Steve gave Tony an accusing look, "there are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very 'Ahab.'" Tony said pointing to the photo of Ulysses Klaue.

"This." Thor pointed to a brand on the back of Klaue's neck.

"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it..." I cut Tony off.

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand." I gestured to the differences.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way." Bruce spoke up from the computer.

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanada...? Wa...Wa...Wakanda." Banner stuttered.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony trailed off, confusing everyone except for Steve.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it?" Steve asked Tony, sounding slightly worried.

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce questioned for the rest of us. Both Steve and Tony turned to look at Steve's shield resting against a filling cabinet.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve demanded, looking at Stark. And like that we were all packing up, getting ready to fly, ready to kick some robot ass.

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As Steve, Thor, Stark and I moved silently into the 'office' area we could hear a commotion, letting us know what we needed to know. Ultron was here.

"Stark is, he's a sickness!" The slightly metallic voice snapped from above us.

"Ah, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." Stark said, alerting them to our presence. Ultron looked over and what I saw behind him made me gasp and step back, slightly, making Steve look over at me. Wanda and Pietro were flanking Ultron, both of their eyes watching my every move. Pietro's showed hurt and betrayal while Wanda's eye portrayed anger.

"If I have to." Ultron's voice snapped me back into the present.

"We don't have to break anything." Thor spoke up from in front of me.