The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

Age of Ultron: Chapter Four

The shock of the unexpected battle still lingered in Tony's lab, where the Avengers attempted to regroup. Marie sucked in a deep breath as Helen Cho cleaned the gash on her arm. The smell of rubbing alcohol made her nauseated; every time she shut her eyes, she was back in that room with HYDRA.

Helen paused and grabbed the surgical needle and thread. Marie immediately stood, shaking out her limbs and the adrenaline that spiked in her body.

"Marie, I really need you to sit down for this—"

"Nope." She aggressively shook her head, making her ponytail bounce and whack her face. "I am-I am perfectly fine standing."

The woman eyed her but relented as Marie clenched and unclenched her hands. Marie looked away as her skin was dutifully pulled back into place. Her gaze fell on Maria Hill, who silently pulled glass shards from her feet, and moved to the others.

Thor had flown after the Legionnaire that escaped. The rest of the Avengers were littered throughout the lab, trying to understand what happened. Steve stood stoically in the corner, anger pulling at his taut shoulders. Clint was, per usual, on the platform above and looking out over the room. Nat had changed out of her ruined dress and huddled in one of her stolen hoodies. Tony and Bruce were occupied by their computer screens, trying to figure out the damage done to the Tower.

Marie thanked Helen and wrapped gauze around the injury. She ran through everything she knew. Tony and Bruce's secret project turned out to be a killer robot, that was certainly something. Bruce had called it something... Ultron. Why was it after them? How did a computer program turn against them? Where was JARVIS in all of this?

"All our work is gone," Bruce announced, turning to the group. "Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape route."

Steve shook his head and muttered under his breath. "Ultron."

Marie eyed him warily. Steve hadn't been this angry since finding HYDRA weapons on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier. Nothing good ever came out of his silent anger; simmering just below the surface and threatening to boil over at any moment.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance..." Natasha trailed off, crossing her arms. "He probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

Marie flinched. Her mind snapped back to HYDRA. Everything always went back to HYDRA. The interrogation video was, supposedly, wiped from the internet. But the internet was a confusing place, and Marie doubted Ultron missed that file.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet, what if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey asked, cradling his injured arm.

Maria looked up. "Nuclear codes."

"Nuclear Codes." He nodded in agreement. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Nat pointed out.

"He didn't say dead," Marie interjected. "He said—"

"—extinct," Steve said through gritted teeth. Marie nodded and glanced at him. She tried to give him an at-ease smile, but it twisted into a grimace as Steve's jaw clenched and he looked away.

Clint spoke from above them. "He also said he killed somebody."

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Maria said, calmly pulling another piece of glass from her foot.

"Yes, there was." Tony tapped a button and a projection appeared in the middle of the lab. Orange, holographic pieces filled the space. JARVIS. The program had, somehow, been ripped apart and shredded.