Lottie and Natasha sat side by side at the dining table of the Barton's home, snacking on the chips that had been laid out on the plate before them. The team stood around, listing to Nick Fury, who had shown up not long ago to help them in their search for Ultron. The woman couldn't even deny that she was slightly happy to see the man. They were on much better terms after the fall of SHIELD.
Lila Barton ran up to the pair, a toothy grin on her face as she handed them a picture she had drawn. Both women smiled at the drawing of the butterfly before them.
"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing," Fury explained to the group. Steve leaned against the wall opposite his girlfriend, standing up a big straighter as he spoke to Fury.
"What about Ultron himself?"
"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit," Fury joked, though no one laughed. "Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though,"
"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony chimed in from across the kitchen, throwing darts at Clint's dart board.
"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway," Tony looked at him incredulously
"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare,"
"I'd say I'm surprised, but I'm not," Lottie mumbled, gaining a glare from Tony and a chuckle from Natasha.
"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that," Fury looked at Steve, immediately seeing his confusion and explaining. "It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth."
"What'd they say?" Clint called out from the couch, twirling his arrows around in his fingers.
"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed,"
"So, we've got an ally?" Natasha questioned Fury, only to gain a shake of the head.
"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is,"
"Fury, this is all kind of helpful, but at the same time it isn't," Lottie told the man as he looked over at her, seeing the rest of the team nod along as well. "I was kinda hoping you'd have more."
"I do, I have you," the team looked around at one another as Fury moved through the kithcen, coming to sit at the dining room table. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."
"Watch it, Stevie doesn't like that kind of talk," Lottie teased, sending Steve a wink in the process.
"Doll-"
"Flirt on your own time, world comes first," Fury interjected, gaining a laugh from Tony across the room. "So, what does Ultron want?"
"To become better-" Steve spoke, only to be cut off by Bruce, who stood behind the two women at the table, holding the photo that Lila Barton had drawn of the butterfly.
"Humans don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. That's what he said. Ultron's going to evolve,"
"That's helpful and all, but how is he going to do that?"
Tony suddenly sprang up, meeting Lottie's eyes with a mischievous smirk. The woman's own eyes widened as she frantically shook her head.
"Tony-"
"Okay, I know what you're going to say-"
"We don't know if it will even work-"
"All you have to do is try!"
"Try what?" Steve cut him, cutting off the incessant rambling of the two. Lottie sighed, looking back at Tony with a glare before looking around at the team.
"Tony and I have been trying to figure out these visions, my power to see the future. It comes at random times, I can never control it, but we were thinking maybe I can-"
"She gets the visions because her mind is always going over every possible outcome of a situation until it finds the right one," Tony interjected to continue explaining. "If she focuses on one situation, guides her mind to think of the possible outcomes, then maybe she can induce her own vision."
The team looked around at one another, before Natasha and Fury looked back at her. Nat gave her a small smile and a nod of her head.
"At least try,"
Lottie locked eyes with Steve, gaining a supportive nod from him. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she willed herself to think of Ultron. She thought of his need to evolve, his obsession with the human body and his need to correct the human race. Then, she let her mind do the work for her.
Steve and Lottie slid to the floor in front of Helen Cho, who was struggling to sit up against the wall with the amount of blood pouring from her wound.
"Dr. Cho!"
Quickly applying pressure to her wound, the pair of soldiers tried to keep her as conscious as possible.
"He's uploading himself into the body," she choked out as Lottie looked back to the empty space behind them, right where the high-tech regeneration cradle was supposed to be located.
"Where?"
Steve went to move away when Helen grabbed his arm, tugging him back as she looked between the pair before her.
"The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark,"
Lottie's eyes shot open as she looked around the room at her team waiting expectantly, and she sighed.
"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"
◼ ◼ ◼
"I'll take Natasha, Clint, and Lottie,"
Tony Stark nodded as he walked along the hallways of Clint's home, Steve and Lottie beside him already dressed in their gear.
"You heading to Oslo?" the woman questioned her best friend, getting a nod.
"Yeah, I'll hit the NEXUS, I'll join you as soon as I can. This is strictly recon,"
The trio was quiet for a second as Steve looked up at Tony.
"If Ultron is really building a body-"
"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot,"
"Truthfully, I miss the days where the weirdest thing created by science was Steve and I," Lottie cut in, gaining a small chuckle from both of the men as Nick Fury appeared beside them, tugging on his jacket.
"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Also, I'm going to borrow Ms. Hill,"
"What are you going to do?"
"Something dramatic, I hope," he told them with a shrug, heading out the front door.
Tony and Steve shared a hand shake quickly before he looked down at his lover, the pair nodding as Steve moved outside to give them a second alone together. Lottie turned to Tony, pulling him into a hug.
"Be careful, okay?"
"I'm going to Oslo, you're the one encountering Ultron. I should be saying that to you,"
"I'm just trying to make sure you don't win that bet," Lottie joked, a small grin on her face as she pulled back, Tony raising his eyebrows as they thought back on their bet made nights ago in the tower in the living room.
"Oh, that's a legitimate bet? You might be a hundred years old but I'm pretty sure I'm going to win,"
"And I would prefer you didn't," Lottie shot back. Tony's smirk dropped into a smile as he hugged her one last time before pushing her toward the door.
"Enough with the sappy shit, save that for Captain Spangles. Just...stay safe,"
"Always do,"
◼ ◼ ◼
If I could give a BROTP award to any two characters, it would be Tony and Lottie. Honest to god they're just like the BEST best friends you could ever ask for in life.
Also, bit of a casting announcement for this book! I've finally given faceclaims to Thomas and Dorothy Watson, so check below!
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MICHAEL FASSBENDER
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JESSICA CHASTAIN