A/N: As i kinda predicted, Wanda was chosen! So she'll be Rica's love interest. Also in this chapter, get to learn more about rica, and Elliott will start to be more of that father figure to her! I hope y'all enjoy!
AVENGERS TOWER
ELLIOTT'S POV
All of the avengers were standing in the robotics lab, a somber mood on everyone's faces. In particular Rica was still scared as she stood close to Steve.
Natasha had decided to change into something more comfortable, a black shirt, leggings and a gray jacket. Most of everyone else was still in there party clothes.
Rhodes stood beside me, as I was leaning against a long metal table, Natasha checking a few things on a table.
"All our work is gone" Bruce choked out. "Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch"
"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance" Natasha turned around from her tablet to look at the ground, leaning against the same table as me, her arms crossed under her chest.
"Damn thing probably knows more about us then we know of each other. And you know how many things I tried to keep secret" I picked my hand up pointing at Natasha. She nodded in agreement.
"He's I'm your files, he's in the internet" Rhodes got off the table walking forward into the middle of the room. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"
"Por-"
"Nuclear codes" Maria glared at me. "Oh that's what he meant. . ." I nodded sheepishly. "Well in that case we should make some calls. if we still can"
"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead" Natasha said. "Not the first time someone has wanted us dead" I groaned as I stood up straight.
"He didn't say 'dead' he said 'extinct'" Steve finally spoke up from the other side of the room. Clint stepped forward. "He also said he killed somebody"
Rica's face went from scared to mad in an instant. "Dead? Why? And also I'm not gonna act like I was just chilling in a forest until I got brought into this mess!" She yelled at me.
"Rica please call down" I raised my hand for her to stop.
"Calm down? You want me to call down after we almost just died? Ultron killed someone and we could of been next" she pointed to everyone in the room. "Rica" Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, her expression softened at his touch.
"I don't understand, there wasn't anyone else in the building" hill questioned. "Yes, there was" tony walked forward with Remote in his hand, he clicked something on it. A orang hologram came up in front of us, it was all mangled, it was scattered around the place, Jarvis was destroyed. "Whoa" I stepped closer the orange hologram, Natasha staying close by.
"This is insane" Bruce said in shock, looking down at the destroyed hologram. "This doesn't even look right" I added.
"Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would of shut Ultron down. It makes sense" steve said.
"No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy. This is rage" after Bruce said this loud footsteps walked into the lab. Thor walked into the room picking up tony by his throat. "Oh shit"
"Come on, use your words, buddy" tony choked out.
"I have more then enough words to describe you, stark" Thor said angrily. "Thor! Put tony down, we don't need to fight her" I made a motion with my hand, up to down. "We won't get anywhere like this"
Thor looked at me before dropping tony to the ground. "Okay good, now what about the legionnaire?"
Thor glared at Tony before speaking. "The trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again" Thor put emphasis on the word again.
"Genie's out the bottle. Clear and present is Ultron" Natasha said.
"So he's not an idea no more tony" tony is an amazing person, but he manages to mess up.
"I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Hellen spoke, turning to face tony.
Tony started to chuckle, everyone raised an eyebrow at him. Bruce shook his head for him to stop. "You think this is funny?" Thor asked him.
"No. It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is It's so... is it. Is it so terrible" tony laughed.
"Tony are you fucking kidding me right now, if you didn't mess with something out of this world, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess" I yelled at tony, everyone winced at my tone and use of words, especially cap since I dropped an F-bomb but I highly doubt he cares right now.
"Yeah and now I'm apart of this" rica wined.
"No! I'm sorry. It is funny" tony walked up to me. "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this" he said into my face. "Yeah? maybe you outa re-think that" I said I'm a dark voice, I hardly ever use it, but right now tony is pissing me off.
"Tony, maybe this is not the time—" tony cut Bruce off, turning to face the scientist. "Really? That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"
"Only when I've created a murder bot" Bruce argued.
"We didn't. We weren't even close. We're we close to an Interface?"
"Tony where in this damn lab, all because you did create a murder bot!" I yelled at tony. "Ohh, You really are getting on my last nerves Miller" tony turned around to me, his face showed nothing but anger. "Please explain, I would like to see you try" I threaten, raising my hands in mockery.
"Oh you know what Miller—" tony walked up to me only to be stopped by rica, she put herself in front of me. "Move, I need to show this pup something" tony said darkly. "No" she responded in the same tone.
"We did not create a murder bot" tony pointed to me. I only rolled my eyes. "Elliott" Natasha scolded, pulling me back a little. "Thanks rica" Natasha thanked the blonde girl.
"Well you did something right. And you did it right here. The avengers were supposed to be different then S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve walked closer to the billionaire.
"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked looking around.
"No, it's never come up" Rhodes said shaking his head.
"Saved New York?"
"Never Hurd that" Rhodes continued in a annoyed manner.
"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it" tony pointed up then pointed down to the floor. "We're the avengers we can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's the endgame" tony said. In my mind, we are only a small part in the bigger scheme of things.
"How are you guys planning on beating that?" Tony asked.
"Together" Steve answered.
"We'll lose" damn no faith at all tony.
"Then We'll do that together, too"steve answered again.
"A pack always sticks together" I looked over at rica and Natasha before I looked to tony and Steve. "I may be an ass to you sometimes, and Vice versa. But that doesn't change the fact we all are in this together"
Steve smiled. "I couldn't have put it better myself. But Thor's right. Ultron is calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us, the worlds a big place. Let's start making it smaller"
"Couldn't have said it better myself" I joked. "But first, let's get cleaned up, and maybe let a few of us rest" I looked over at rica in particular.
"First thing, 5 in the morning, meet at the computer labs" Steve ordered.
"See y'all then" everyone left the room. Me and Natasha went to our room, I needed to change out of my suit.
I changed into some basketball shorts, and a muscle shirt. I rolled my shoulders as I looked into the mirror.
"Sometimes I wonder how the hell I got myself into this mess" I mumbled softly, I Hurd light snoring from the bed, I looked over seeing Natasha was asleep.
I walked over to her placing a kiss onto her forehead. "Goodnight love" I whispered.
My ears picked up on something outside of my room, in the destroyed lounge. Sobbing.
I quickly walked out of the door and into the lounge, Rica stood near a window, out looking the city. "Mom. . . dad. . . Leo, I miss y'all so much" she whispered. "If y'all could see what I got myself into, you would say I was crazy"
"I don't think your crazy" I whispered. Rica jumped as she quickly wiped away her tears. "Miller, what are you doing here" she turned to face me. "I could as you the same thing"
"I-I don't want to talk to you about it" I know she still hates me for what happened to her family. I nodded agreeing with her. "Yeah, maybe talk to steve" I suggested as I stood next to her.
"I don't know what I did, but from what you said, I could only feel sorry about what I did" I apologized, my voice barley above a whisper.
Rica shook her head. "No, I understand... surprisingly. But I now know you had no control over it"
"Steve tell you?" I asked. She nodded. "Everything"
"He tell you I lost my parents as well?" I added.
She nodded pressing her lips into a thin line. "We aren't so different"
I placed my hand on her shoulder, I squeezed her shoulder to comfort her. "Wanna see something?"
"What?" She looked up to me curiously.
"Follow me" I removed my hand from her shoulder, we walked down a few hallways until we made it to a large door, I pushed it open revealing a small makeshift forest, a small lake on the side, flowers littered the ground. "What's this place?" Rica asked, her voice so innocent.
"Tony made this, you could say it's a wolf home but I see it as a hangout area" I smiled as I shifted into my wolf form. "Come on" rica shifted, following me into the little forest.
We didn't talk, we didn't need to, the quiet was calming, everything felt at ease in these moments. "How do you get over it?" Rica asked me, she stepped onto a flat rock taking a seat on her hind legs. I stepped up as well, sitting next to her. "You don't, you just learn to live with it"
"Well how do you do that?" Her tail wagged slowly across the rock.
I looked up to the ceiling, it was made of glass and showed the moon perfectly. I looked back down to rica. "There's only one way I was able to keep myself composed"
"And what's that?"
"A howl, just let it all out" she nodded. We both raised our heads into the air, letting out a sorrowful but beautiful howling, both of our howls complimenting each other.
The melody showed so much emotions with such little words, everything that's happened, all the bottled up emotions finally being let out, into the world.
We finished the song in a minute, I looked to rica noticing she looked more at ease. "See it works" I laughed.
She looked at me thankful. "It really did, and that was the first time I've really ever howled"
She went through a lot, she went through things no one should go through. "Of course it worked kid, it's fun and relaxing"
Rica nodded, she lowered her body onto the rock, placing her head onto her paws. "You tired?" I asked. She hummed, conforming that she was in fact tired. "Get some sleep"
She closed her eyes, drifting into a calm quiet sleep. I stepped off the rock and laid down on the grass, rolling into a ball.
It's wired, me and her are enhanced wolves, meant to kill, and here we are, at peace. Both of us calmly laying down.
It's wired how things work sometimes, you would expect one thing, only for it to be completely different.
Sleep wouldn't be hard to come across, as today was very eventful, along with some alcohol doing the trick. "The pack is always put first" I shut my eyes closed, letting myself drift into a deep slumber, for a second I forgot about Ultron, and the threat that was presented before us, and just calmly went to sleep.
Nothing but happy dreams, Natasha being the main factor in them.
"The pack it always put first" I mumbled softly.