Philophobia ➤ W.M.

| 05 |

  "Astrilde?" Bruce then asked.

  "Sure," The Asgardian agreed, confident that she would be able to lift the hammer like she had done before.

  Astrilde grabbed the hammer's handle, and lifted it barely before it went crashing down onto the table. Astrilde jumped back in horror, it wasn't supposed to be like that. She was supposed to be able to lift the hammer, she was able to lift the hammer even when her brother couldn't.

  She didn't have to look up to know that the group was looking at her in surprise, while her brother was looking at her with worry and a tinge of fear. He probably thought that Astrilde was turning into Loki or something, but she had a feeling she knew why she couldn't lift Mjolnir. She came to a silent mental agreement that it was due to her denial of love, which caused her emotions to get out of whack. She was an unpredictable cannon, and that showed how unworthy she was.

  Her lips pursed, and she backed away from the group. Luckily, they had gone back to the conversation of the hammer again and how it was "rigged". Astrilde slipped into a chair away from the main seating area. Without thinking, she materialized a knife in her hand to twirl nonchalantly while the group chattered on.

  A high pitched screech suddenly rang through the room, resulting in Astrilde almost dropping her dagger and stabbing her thigh. She stood at the noise, readying for a fight, just like the rest of the group in the room.

  She moved towards the people she could maybe consider her friends, adrenaline caused by fear filling her veins. The sound of metal hitting the ground sounded behind the staircase near Astrilde.

  A creepy looking Iron Legion suit limped out from the shadows, several parts missing from it's armor. Deadly wires were exposed on the suit, and it's blue eyes gleamed ominously, the only bright part about it.

  "No, how could you be worthy? You're all killers," The suit said in a creepy voice that was a mix between robotic and gravelly. They must have been talking about Mjolnir and the robot heard them. After all, you must be worthy to hold it and Thor loves to confirm that fact quite often.

  "Stark," Steve said, but he still kept his eye on the robot.

  "J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Tony asked quietly.

  "Sorry, I was asleep. Ah, I was a... dream," The robot said, looking down in thought.

  "Reboot.." Stark murmured, the rest of his statement too quiet for Astrilde to hear.

  "All that noise. And I was tangled in... strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy," The suit said, waving his arms. Astrilde's heart dropped in her chest, she had a very bad feeling that it was going to get ugly.

  "You killed someone?" Steve asked.

  "Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices," The suit responded. She frowned. Something about the robot seemed familiar. Maybe it was his way of speech?

  "Who sent you?" Thor asked.

  "I see a suit of armor around the world," Came out of the robot's mouth, but it was Tony's voice. Everybody paused for a moment, paralyzed by confusion.

  "Ultron!" Bruce exclaimed in surprise, glancing towards Tony.

  "In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis," Ultron responded, looking down at his... body? "But I'm ready," Ultron exclaimed as everyone prepared their weapons. Even Hill cocked her gun, but Astrilde was sure it wouldn't even damage the suit. "I'm on a mission!" Ultron continued.

  "What mission?" Natasha asked hesitantly. Astrilde readied her dagger.

  "Peace of our time," Ultron turned to the Avengers. The glass around him then broke, and other Iron Legion suits flew at the group. Astrilde ducked, throwing a dagger between one's armor, cutting the wires as it flew past. It crashed to the ground, broken more than it already looked. Another, with less damaged armor, hit the girl from behind. She cried out, her dagger disappearing as she lost her focus.

  Another robot, this time in front of her, rammed into her gut, and didn't stop until she was thrown through the glass window. Pain echoed throughout her being when the glass cut through parts of her dress. She was more focused on plummeting to her death, however.

  A few seconds later, she felt a metal arm wrap around her own, and she was carried off to who knows where. "Brother!" Astrilde screamed, the lights of hundreds of buildings beneath her.

  "Don't worry, you may prove useful to me," The robot said in Ultron's voice, and she hissed in pain as the suit's grip tightened around her arms. Why me?

  That was the question, wasn't it? Why her?

~=~

So, y'all may be wondering why I had Ultron basically kidnap Astrilde. I know, common tropes and all that, but I admit that it does spice things up. Really though, Astrilde's views are different from the rest of the Avengers, and it's interesting to see her thinking process in situations like this one.