I recommend you listen to the song Oblivion by M83 (feat. Susanne Sundfør) it is above or on the side.
We were given a location where Ultron could be. During our few days in training and a long talk on the ride there, I've been updated about the Ultron issue. The fact that Ultron and his characteristics were created by Tony Stark doesn't surprise me. What did was that apparently, the Avengers had a run-in with the twins before on an earlier mission to extract Loki's scepter. The thing that gave me my powers. Man, if only I knew how dangerous that thing was beforehand. . .
Once we reach the Salvage Yard at the African Coast, we knew we would be late. Steve gave us our orders and we prepare ourselves to exit the aircraft. After we land on the cargo ship, we all sneak inside. And all I could think about was how this is going to be my chance to see my friends again.
Bruce stayed behind the aircraft instead of coming with us. Natasha and Clint run in a different direction, separating themselves from us. The rest of us go in the original way like Steve planned even though Tony tries arguing about making a dramatic entrance.
Inside the ship, we hear faint echoes close by. I teleport around to check for anything suspicious but unfortunately, we end up finding Ultron the hard way. A man's scream rings through our ears and we meet Ultron and Pietro and Wanda at one of the metal bridges.
I teleport myself beside Steve just as Tony starts a conversation with Ultron. Oh, this is not gonna go well. Meanwhile, Natasha and Clint get theirselves to their positions to sneak around Ultron and the twins.
The twins, I think, they're here.
But with Ultron?
"Ah, Junior," Tony still got his entrance. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."
"If I have to," Ultron says numbly.
"We don't have to break anything," Thor speaks, confidence ringing in his voice.
"Clearly you never made an omelet," Ultron jokes with his dull, emotionless tone. His dry humor must be hereditary. It sends shivers down my spine but I start to tense up by the fact that this intelligent and dangerous machine has my friends on his side.
"He beat me by one second," Tony says facetiously. Thor and I share a look, the same confused facial expression towards Tony. I guess I'm not the only one who dislikes him for his sense of humor. Really? Right now you make a joke?
Pietro steps towards us from behind Ultron. "Ah, this is funny Mr. Stark," Pietro says, mocking Tony. "Is more comfortable, like old times?" I follow where Pietro's eyes meet as they look somewhere else other than Tony. Then it clicks.
He means the bombings.
"This was never my life," Tony quickly defends himself with a more serious tone in his voice after he realizes what Pietro meant by "old times" for himself. There's a small pang in my heart, but the tremor that goes through my chest burns like I'm trying to swallow fire.
Without thinking, I take a few steps to let myself be visible. "Pietro," I say, acknowledging him as his eyes do. But as silent as they greet me, I can see the alarm in them. I try to hold back the urge to run up to him and hug him and apologize for leaving him with Strucker. I want to tell him how happy I am to see him again and alive. But he's not the only one I'm happy to see again, he's not the only one I left either. I turn to see her standing beside her brother. "Wanda."
She glances at her brother and I turn back to him. Pietro's mouth opens agape. His eyes widen for a second and then narrow into slits. "Andryea?" It comes out more as a question. Pietro says my name like it is the hardest word to pronounce. "You're one of them?" he asks surprised, addressing the Avengers like they're trash. It breaks my heart a little when he says it like that, to think he's thinking of me like that.
Luckily, Steve changes the subject, "You two can still walk away from this," he tells them, hoping he can maybe influence them in some way at the eleventh hour.
"No, we will," Wanda says, meaning it in a different way. If only I knew what she's thinking of. . .
"We know you suffered," Steve pushes.
Ultron rolls his eyes, funny to say that because he's a robot. "Ugh," Ultron pretends to barf. "Captain America, God's righteous man, pretending you can live without war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth."
"If you believe in peace, let us keep it." Thor says, trying to negotiate.
"I think you're confusing peace with quiet," Ultron says as he steps closer to us.
My eyes trail back to the twins, "Listen to them, they're right. You both can still back down from this before it's too late." And I hope my eyes to say what else I cannot.
I hope I can be the one to convince the twins to back down, but I know they have as much fire in them as I do when we want something done. I remember every night we stayed up to study for exams in school. I remember all the rallies and protests we went to together because of the bombs. And now. . .the way they look at me like I stabbed them in the back, it feels like I only imagined it.
"Oh, is that the Andreya Bach, or is it now Andi Brave?" Ultron says my name, turning my attention to him. "You're the other experiment of Strucker to survive, who also changed her name in hope of helping the Avengers to create world peace." I swallow hard at what he says next, "It just makes you sound like you belong at a beauty pageant."
Even though it's the truth, the truth tastes bile from the way Ultron says it. I close my mouth at his words that takes a toll on me. I stay silent, not knowing how to respond from being criticized just like Steve. Before I look away in shame of the truth, I gaze at both Wanda and Pietro individually.
After the silent pause, Tony speaks up to ask about Ultron's plan. It only leads Ultron in attacking Tony and they both take off in the air to battle. Then, Thor makes his way to start attacking Ultron's clones. Pietro takes off, running between Steve and I and passes by me without stopping.
Steve tries to attack Wanda but he fails as she uses her energy to push him back. I have to admit, it was breathtaking to watch what comes from Wanda. How powerful and badass she looks. Scarlet is definitely her color.
If anything could be worse than us battling each other, it's men with guns shooting at us. It causes Natasha and Clint who are higher up to attack from their positions.
I watch every battle around me like it was meant to occur. Like a chain reaction. I study everyone's skills and it looks as if they mean to attack and had prepared for this. As if they prepared for a war.
I understand the Avengers, it is their purpose as to why they're created. But Wanda and Pietro, we're cut from the same cloth. They're shouldn't be fighting this war or any war to begin with. But that would be the same as saying I shouldn't be an agent. We all have reason.
Something triggered this battle to happen to make everyone and everything turn to fight. As I look to my left, I feel a gust of wind past behind me. Just as I turn to my right, I catch a flash of blue. Only then I end up using my power, preventing Steve from falling when he gets hit after he threw his shield in the air.
I teleport myself to catch the flash of blue. Pietro. I have to act fast to get my chance to stop him, or at least try to. I find myself standing by Thor while he throws his hammer at another machine. Right in front of me, I catch a glimpse of Pietro flying towards the ground with Thor's hammer in hand. What was he thinking?
I let out a gasp, pressing my hand to my stomach. I burst out in a run while one of Ultron's machines makes its way towards me, letting me know it's a good time to teleport. Once I find myself on the lower level, I'm still running and I stop myself, planting my feet on the ground.
I stare down at Pietro. "Are you alright?" I ask him after I decide to let him get up on his own.
Just as he was going to tell me something, Steve clashes his shield against Pietro, making him fall back on the crates behind him. "Stay down, kid." He warns Pietro. Then Steve turns to me and says, "Make sure he says put."
I nod, turning back my attention on Pietro. Just by his eyes, I could tell he was angry, and a part of me feared his anger. "You can't be involved in this," I warn him, listening to the hurt in my voice.
"I already am," Pietro intensely responds. Then, he flashes his way out of our conversation before I could stop him. He is too ignorant to listen to me. He is blinded by the destruction of our past to see Ultron is the real enemy here.
While I look up, I see Clint standing on the upper level, and I also could see Wanda sneaking behind him. Then, he fires an arrow on her forehead that starts to shock her. I watch in fear of my friend's pain once again. I prepare myself to teleport to her but Pietro gets there first. He appears beside her to catch her. Of course he would. She's not only his sister, but his twin sister. Wanda's his other half. I could never forget that. Pietro pushes Clint away from them after hurting his sister and runs away with her.
I run towards the stairs then teleport myself outside. This can be my chance where I can talk to them without the Avengers around. Without all the fighting and maybe get through to them about working with Ultron. I find myself close to Wanda and Pietro as I hide behind a crate, patiently waiting for my moment to come out and talk.
"What can I do?" Pietro asks in sympathy of his twin sister's pain.
"It hurts," Wanda groans in pain as she holds her head in her hands.
Pietro continues to study the look of his sister in pain. "I'll kill him," he whispers to no one. "I'll be right back."
This is my cue. I take a few steps forward so they can see me. "Hey, are you—"
"I'm alright," Wanda says, pulling Pietro close to her.
"Worse will happen to you if you stay around us," Pietro threatens me, but I try to ignore it as I focus on his sister who's hurt.
All I can do is stare at the people in front of me. The people who used to be my friends, the people who I used to feel welcomed and loved and cared from. But all of that is gone by the fact that I sided with the Avengers.
I look up at Pietro who just glares at me like I'm dirt, maybe even less than dirt. As the sunlight brightens his oceanic eyes, I can definitely tell that that's the way he looks at me now. I can see the disappointment and the anger. It still feels unreal to think how he used to look at me the way he does Wanda. . .like I matter to him. But he only looks at me now like I'm the enemy.
"You don't have to fight," I tell him. "They aren't worth it."
"They started a war with Sokovia!" Pietro yells. "They bombed our streets! They destroyed our homes! They killed innocent people, including our families."
"They didn't do that," I try to defend most of the Avengers. "Remember who you're talking about."
"We want revenge on the ones who made those bombs," Wanda speaks up. "And Stark is working with the Avengers. We will get rid of him and the rest of them, even if that includes you."
"They don't deserve it," I now sound as if I am thinking out loud as I carefully choose my words, "I know that they did bad things, but everyone has done bad things. But the Avengers also do things to give us peace."
"They deserve everything we do!" Wanda argues, trying to not to raise her voice due her head injury. "Do you even remember how we almost died because of Stark."
I stay silent.
I remember when I lost my parents the day of the bombings, I didn't know if I could ever stop feeling the pain that came from their deaths, including the destruction of our home. But when I thought I lost Pietro and Wanda as well, the pain was too unbearable.
Ever since then, I knew that I needed to do more for our country and the world than attend rallies. I volunteered for Project Insight for that reason.
I knew couldn't argue with that in mind. What I can do is convince them, by outsmarting them. "Is that really why you want to get rid of the Avengers? Because of the war in Sokovia?"
"I thought you were dead." Pietro's solid, angry voice had suddenly cracked into a whisper. "We thought you dead." He waves his hand at Wanda to emphasis the 'we'.
I didn't know what to say. Maybe the people I know and love are there, just not completely. "I know," I say, trying to keep my voice together, looking at them both. "But keep doing this and where will it get you?"
"Maybe you should ask yourself that question?" Pietro says, turning my words against me. "You don't look like the Andreya I used to know." Pietro turns away from me and back to his sister whose still in pain.
"You don't even sound like her," Wanda adds.
"Why should we listen to you?" Pietro asks without looking at me, his voice still in an apathetic tone.
"You're right, I'm not the girl I was before any of this happened," I admit. "That doesn't mean you can't be the people that I once knew." They both look up at me now. "All I'm hearing from you two is war and violence and revenge." I have nothing else to say that could make them change their minds. All I have left is the truth. "They will think you're the enemy if you continue this path."
Pietro looks over his shoulder to give me one last look. "You're with them," he says with a tensive tone, "You're now our enemy."
Right at that moment, I knew I wasn't wanted. I had to be the one to walk away. I took a last look at them then I walked away to teleport myself back inside. I just have to keep my focus on my teammates who minds are manipulated. I had to help them now. But at least I get to call them my friends, but will it be the same?