𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍➳𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍

006. OKAY, MR. GIRLFRIEND

"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place." Maria informed the Avengers at the tower. "Fatalities?" Steve asked. "Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see." Maria explained.

"Maximoffs." Max said. "Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common." El added. "Not anymore." Maria says and hands Elisia a tablet that she, Steve, and Max look at that shows Strucker's dead body with the word PEACE written in blood on the wall behind him. 

"Ew, man. Gross." El whispered. Further away from them, Clint was on the phone.

"That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes ma'am." Clint said as if he were talking to an authoritative figure or his mother. Max, El and Steve walk over and interrupt him.

"Barton, we might have something." Steve said. "Gotta go." Clint said and hung up. "Who was that?" El asked. "Girlfriend." Clint said. "Wh-" El said. 

Max and El gathered the rest of the team and El showed the picture of Strucker. "What's this?" Tony asked. 

"A message." Max said. "Ultron killed Strucker." El added. "And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony remarked. "This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked. 

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Max said. "Yeah I bet he..." Natasha looked at the computer monitor, "yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."

"I just wanna say, this little duo right here is giving me major Nat and Steve vibes." Tony said. The group looked back and forth between the two duos who looked between themselves.

"Eh." The 4 said. "And also, not everything." Tony said.

Not even 20 minutes later was the entire team looking through physical files. There was paper and files everywhere. "Known associates. Well, Strucker had a lot of friends." Steve said. "Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce stated.

"Wait. I know that guy," Tony said pointing to a photo of a man in the file Bruce was holding. Bruce hands it to him. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." Tony explained.

El and Steve gave Tony accusing looks. "There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything." Tony defended. Steve and El didn't lighten. 

El peeked at the photo. "Hey, I know him too. That's Ulysses Klaue." El informed. Now everyone looked at El questionably. "Hey, just because I was experimented on doesn't mean I was kept inside all my life. I had missions, and one of them was to bust this guy." El explained.

"So what went wrong?" Max asked. "Uh- he electrocuted me making me catatonic for 48 hours and he got away." El explained. "Is that-" Natasha began. "Why I get nose bleeds when I use my powers? Precisely." El said. 

"El," Max began walking closer to her best friend, "are you dying?" 

"No! What? It's just draining to use my powers... it's not killing me or anything." El said. "Well, that's great." Steve said. "Now back on topic." Clint said. "Okay, Mr. Girlfriend." El said. 

Clint gave her a 'haha you're so funny bitch' look and El gave him a 'and I don't give a fuck' look back. 

"He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very "Ahab."" Tony explained. "This," Thor points to the scar on the back of Klaue's neck. "Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it..." 

"No, those are tattoos," Thor says pointing to the tats on Klaue's body, "this is a brand."

Bruce identifies the brand on Klaue's neck and looks at Thor and Tony, "it's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way." 

"What dialect?" Steve asks. "Wakanda? Wa..Wa..Wakanda?" Bruce asks. "Wakanda." El says. "You know it?" Clint asks. 

"Of course." El says. "If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony said. "I thought your father got the last of it?" Max asked. 

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce asks. Tony, Max, and El look at Steve's shield. "Only the strongest metal on Earth." El said. Steve looks at Tony. "Where is this guy now?" 

"Salvage Yard, African Coast." Max said looking at the computer monitor. "Pack it up boys and girls. We're going back to the Mother Land." El said.