╔═══ · 。ﾟ🕸: *.🕷 .* :🕸ﾟ.  ═══╗
WHY DOES IT ALWAYS END
IN A FIGHT?

"Her life is a book, with not enough
pages for her happy ending."
—Unknown
╚═══ · 。ﾟ🕸: *.🕷 .* :🕸ﾟ. ═══╝

Abandon Warehouse

Location: Salvage Yard, South Africa

May 3, 2015

"YOU'RE staying here with Bruce as a backup. One of us will call you when we need you." Tony explained to his daughter once they arrived a few miles away from the abandoned shipyard. The rest of the Avengers assembled their weapons and finalized the details of their plans before opening the hatch, but Aurora wasn't about to be left behind. The teenager grabbed some daggers and a semi-automatic gun as she placed them into her thigh holster prior to placing the fingerless gloves on her hands.

"What?! Like hell, I will!" Aurora remarked angrily, strolling forward to her father with a dangerous glare. After months of living and spending together, Tony was no longer falling for her manipulative and daring personality. Something Tony hates when she does those kinds of things just to get what she wants.

And Aurora knew that well.

"Language!" Steve voiced in firmly, the Starks momentarily glared at the Captain before rolling their eyes at him. Tony sighed loudly whilst shaking his head, placing his hand on her shoulder, causing Aurora to glance at him.

"We talked about this kid. Something terrible might happen to you... and what would I do?" Tony muttered under his breath, retracting his hand to his nose whilst he had the sudden thought of the nightmare he had when they attacked the HYDRA base. He would do anything to keep her alive, and that's a promise he'll continue to do until his last breath.

"I know... But I'm also not going to just be here defenseless when I can help you. We both know I'm the only one who's seen what the twins have." The young girl insisted, her voice utterly calm that slightly confused the team. Aurora was known to be loud spoken when her beliefs were challenged, and she would never back down from a chance of proving them wrong.

"She's got a point, Tony. Aurora could outmatch them while we take care of Ultron." Natasha voiced in her thoughts, briefly nodding at the girl with a ghost smile of reassurance. Aurora appreciated the help she received but this was always something she had to do. Her conscience was livid after the thought of assisting in the creation of Ultron. How else would he have acted as he knows her more than the others?

"Not helping, Nat." Tony groaned softly, running his fingers through his soft brunette hair as he thought about it carefully. Aurora couldn't help but smirk that he was finally considering her join the mission. It's not like she was going to give up easily when she's a fighter. Always has been since birth.

The team accepted the teenager with open arms as they witnessed her progress well within a year. Aurora trusts everyone even if she doesn't trust herself. She would still kill bad guys when the situation gets worse but with a solid reason now. Although her sarcastic humor never seems to go away at any given time, something Tony was proud of her maturity and open communication. Valuable if she was an Avenger... yet again, who said she wouldn't be one?

"Alright, fine you won kid. But you listen to me, you stay close to either Thor or Nat. You hear me?" Tony firmly declared with a tight frown on his lips. Aurora immediately nodded her head stiffly as she delicately hugged him. The rest of the team gave the Starks some time alone since they were still patching up their relationship.

"I hear you, Tony." She whispered to him, letting go too soon as the team finally started heading to the warehouse. The young Stark wearily eyed around with caution as they entered, standing beside Thor and Steve as they stalked behind Ultron. It hasn't been a day, and the robot was now an advanced form of its former self. How did he do it so quickly?

Aurora knew Clint and Nat split up somewhere inside the warehouse, probably hiding in case they would need some backup. A great strategy, except they don't know their enemy well enough for that matter. The teenager already knew her father being the over-the-top man he was, will likely create a dramatic entrance when the time was right. Ultron seemed to be bickering about something to which Aurora didn't notice at the slightest because she didn't care about it. Instead, she prepared herself for the worst, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

"Don't compare me with Stark! Stark is... He's a sickness!" Ultron bellowed after he sliced Klaue's arm off clean. He demanded his army to gather what's left of the vibranium, not focusing that there were intruders nearby.

"Ahh, Junior," Tony answered in mocked pity after appearing in his Iron Man suit in front of the team. Everyone observing Ultron with Wanda and Pietro standing beside him, they turned around slowly as they glanced at one another closely. Tony continued with his playful banter, "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to," Ultron sneered, stalking closely towards the small bridge that connects the opposite teams. The twins curiously glanced at what they once believed was their idol after hearing the infamous experiment in HYDRA history. A biological weapon made from the elements of the Infinity Stones.

"We don't have to break anything." Thor chimed in seriously, gripping his Mjolnir tightly as he slightly pushed Aurora behind him for protection. The girl admired his kind actions, but that didn't stop her from looking at Ultron directly in the eye.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet," Ultron remarked, something which the young Stark didn't understand. On the other hand, Tony rolled his eyes as he strolled forward a bit.

"He beat me by one second," Tony mumbled softly through the comms, causing some to sigh at the billionaire's dry humor.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable?" Pietro voiced in, silently glancing down at the bombshells on the lower level, "Like old times?

"This was never my life," Tony insisted, softly placing his hand over his temples. Aurora understood what he meant by that, the Starks reputation was a controversial start when the company first made machinery during World War II. It wasn't until a few years ago that Tony decided to focus on something less lethal, ultimately trying to fix his father's actions.

Steve stepped slowly towards the twins, making his own comment to them, "You two can still walk away from this."

"Oh, we will," Wanda answered sarcastically, glancing at the young girl with narrowed eyes. Aurora did the same thing for she wasn't scared of her, rather she challenged Wanda with a wicked smirk on her lips.

"Then why are you still here? Don't you see that Ultron is just using you as HYDRA did." Aurora claimed her statement to the twins, Pietro did remember that he was a bit hesitant to join Ultron. But, they were finally going to get their vendetta against Tony Stark after everything he's done. And that was more than enough to join forces with him.

"Please, he's helping us after everything that's happened," Wanda remarked in her thick Sokovian accent, her twin brother nodding in agreement.

"I know you've suffered," Steve said solemnly, understanding what it's like to have everything stripped away from them in a matter of seconds. Wanda grunted softly under her breath, not believing a word any of the Avengers will say to them.

"Ugh! Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war." Ultron declared solemnly as he motioned his robotic arms around. Steve stiffly stares at Ultron with a small frown upon hearing that, bringing back memories of his past. Ultron continued, "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but...."

"Please don't. Just by looking at you is enough." Aurora insisted as she scrunched her nose slightly at the mental image in her mind. The young Stark groaned annoyed as she felt a headache forming from doing nothing.

"Ah, Phantom. HYDRA's greatest creation.... Or should I say the girl with too many secrets. I'm sure you haven't told them everything, correct?" Ultron remarked to her, causing Aurora's breath to hitch against her throat. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles slowly turned pale from lack of blood flow.

Tony briefly caught on what Ultron said, glancing at Aurora with a confused expression. Secrets? What secrets if she doesn't have anything to hide from him, therefore he asked her sincerely, "What is he talking about?"

"N-Nothing." Aurora stuttered nervously since she answered too swiftly. Honestly, she was ashamed of herself for keeping such secrets from them. Her gruesome past was one of the secrets but the rest is not something she would like to share anything soon. The teenager knew what she was doing was wrong... but she's doing it to protect her family.

"Lies! It's only a matter of time before they find out the truth." Ultron sneered almost sinisterly, causing her eyes to shift into a light azure hue whilst the girl felt her blood boil after each crippling moment.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it," Thor interjected calmly, something Aurora was grateful for. The tension between the opposite sides was so thick that someone could slice right through it easily. Now more than never did the young Stark desired to murder the robot into nothing but smithereens.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Ultron snapped at the God of Thunder furiously, his robotic voice boomed louder than Thor's. Ultron took a step forward, so did Tony and Thor as an act of bravery and chivalry. Nearby in another area of the Warehouse, Natasha and Clint heard the conversation as they prepared for the element of surprise.

"Quiet is just another word for ignorance. Something you obviously have." Aurora retorted with narrowed lips. The twins scoffed at the comment, glancing at one another before they got ready to fight against the Avengers.

"Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?" Tony questioned curiously, his Iron Man helmet now covering his face as he lifted his repulsors slowly at Ultron. The rest of the team reciprocated his actions while the twins and Ultron stood still and unfazed by their tactics.

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan!" Ultron answered sarcastically when he used some kind of magnetic energy to make Iron Man come forward before blasting him against the wall. Suddenly, the Iron Legions attack them in a second that Aurora nearly stumbled to the ground. However, she managed to get a grip as she pushed the robot away from her before jumping on it to rip out the head.

"Don't hurt the girl. She must be kept alive," Ultron demanded the twins before flying towards Iron Man which led them to attack one another. Thor and Steve busily helped each other, whilst Aurora took on some Iron Legions on her own. She jumped in the air to create a small shockwave to the robot's path that destroyed them in seconds.

At one point, Steve tried to advance towards Wanda as she used her psionic energy to blast him away. Aurora decided to help Thor destroy one Iron Legion and then she aided Steve before Pietro hyper-speeded by them in surprise. They grunted in pain, but they had to focus on the mission. Therefore she explained to Steve as she destroyed another Iron Legion, "Go, I can fight her."

"Be careful, kid," Steve nodded gently before running towards Thor to help him. Aurora abruptly stood stiffly due to the bruises forming as she observed the enhanced female. She couldn't have been a few years older than herself, Aurora concludes as she strolled forward towards the bridge.

"What are you? A knockoff version of me?" Aurora questioned snarky at the older teenager, glaring into her eyes as she felt the azure mist wrap around her fingers. They ignored everything around them, only focusing on their opponent with their respective abilities.

"Please, I'm an improved one." Wanda scoffed to her, noticing how her powers were eerily similar to Aurora's. Only that her energy manipulation was in a bluish tone that seemed to glow intensely similar to the Tesseract. How strange indeed. However, the young Stark rolled her eyes at the comment while ignoring the stare she was receiving. The only thing that mattered was how she's going to get herself out of this situation.

"Will see about that...." The former assassin retorted as she conjured some energy beams at the enhanced female. Unfortunately, Wanda managed to dodge them before she used her own powers to knock Aurora off her feet. The young Stark grunted under her breath after landing on some crates but she wasn't going to give up so far.

"HYDRA's perfect weapon. And yet... Why am I disappointed to only see failure?" Wanda teases in her thick accent, smirking widely that made Aurora want to wipe it off her face. She growled loudly in anger as she rose from the damaged wooden crates and advanced towards Wanda.

"The only failure around here is when I kick your ass." Aurora practically snapped back as she swiftly slid under her legs before kicking her down. Unfortunately, Wanda used her manipulation to resist Aurora's strength still she countered back with her energy shield.

Meanwhile, the other Avengers fought against incoming Iron Legions or some of Klaue's soldiers. Tony was struggling with Ultron to the point that they brought their battle to the shipyard. Steve managed to help Thor with combining their strengths when he felt a punch out of nowhere. Thor threw his Mjolnir at Pietro's direction, knowing he can't lift the hammer. In a split second, a crashing noise was made below to which Steve jumped down as he covered himself with his shield.

Grunts and groans came from the young man as he tried to stand up again. Still, he was met with Captain's shield on the face that momentarily knocked him out cold. Steve answered to him, "Stay down, kid!"

"You've lost your touch," Wanda observed how Aurora was a bit hesitant to attack or rather— kill her. That bothered her for some unknown reason... perhaps that she no longer works for HYDRA but with the Avengers. Or that she did lose her touch with her assassin skills.

"Who said I did?" Aurora proclaimed with narrowed eyes. She thought of something useful to beat Wanda that she strolled towards the bridge and jumped off. The older teenager was bewildered by her actions that she went to check where she went. However, Aurora actually held a grip at the end of the bridge structure that she lifted herself up and kicked Wanda right on her abdomen.

Wanda smacked her head against the metal ground harshly, causing a decent gush of blood to appear from her hair. The young Stark felt a bit guilty of her actions, therefore she approached Wanda slowly to hear grunts and moaning. She wasn't going to die but definitely lose her consciousness if she continues to use too much of her powers. Aurora felt a trickle of warm liquid flowing down her nose, swiftly she wiped it out with her leather suit.

"Watch out!" Thor shouted to her to find the speeder coming towards her rapidly. In a split second, Aurora formed a small portal to him which he entered and landed on a stairway that made him tumble down in pain. Aurora nodded her head in appreciation to Thor, turning around to find Wanda gone.

"It's time for some mind games." An Iron Legion with Ultron's voice declared to Wanda, before going away to continue stealing the Vibranium. Wanda shook her head softly as she swiftly went to Thor first and then Steve.

"Thor! Status?" Steve called out to the God of Thunder.

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty." Thor declares to them, only for him to not answer after Aurora saw him stumble over his feet. The same went with Steve, Aurora concludes that something was definitely wrong here.

Her enhanced senses blared without a warning upon hearing a faint sound behind her. Immediately, the teenager spun around with her azure mist surrounding Wanda's figure. It didn't take a genius to find out what she was capable of, thus Aurora uttered to her, "Mind games, huh? I got some of my own."

Therefore, Aurora taunted her with some energy spheres until she managed to get inside Wanda's mind. The young Stark couldn't help but smirk softly when she made her deactivate her powers so that she wouldn't manipulate her. The next thing Wanda knew was that she was levitating in the air, helplessly wiggling to be free from Aurora's grasp.

"You think you can control me now? You never could." Aurora declared fiercely, not noticing that Pietro was coming up behind her. She was so caught up with her prideful attitude that Pietro knocked her out with his fists. The young brunette landed against the cool metal ground, her vision becoming blurry and fuzzy from the impact.

Wanda was no longer in Aurora's mind control that she began to free-fall until her brother caught her in his arms. She took a moment to gasp for some air, clinging onto her throat to gently soothe the pain. A moment later, she slowly walked closer, manipulating the red mist before placing it into Aurora's mind. Wanda then muttered in Phantom's ear, "Let's see what's your worst nightmare...."

🕸

With what's left of Aurora's strength, she saw red mist enter her vision, and then everything when black. She felt herself falling down an abyss, only seeing the dark void that reminded her of her days at HYDRA. That was until she saw her new surroundings... she was back at the Research Base. Aurora tried to move her arms and legs but she was restrained somehow. She was stuck, immediately she panicked because she saw the one thing that scarred her for life.

The Chamber Room.

The very place that she thought it would all go away if she imagined it didn't exist. It still looks the same all those years ago, from the familiar faces to the musty smell, she hated so much. Aurora saw their faces staring at her, whilst she tried to break free. The young Stark screamed frantically with all her might, struggling against the chains that bound her to the chair. No one helped her... instead, she was encased inside as she felt her lungs burning and heart beating rapidly almost out of her rib cage.

"STOP!" Aurora shouted at the top of her gut, but they were muffled by the intense humming coming from the machine. The seconds that felt like an eternity made Aurora want to just die. She couldn't take the pain and suffering again, even if she's a miracle for being the only survivor of the serum. Her wrists began to cut itself against the metal, causing blood to drip out a decent amount.

Aurora's nightmare disappeared suddenly before she was placed in a different location, but still at HYDRA. She glanced down at her wrists to find them perfectly cured. Confused, she observed the small room, wondering why it all felt familiar. Her breathing became uneven as she realized that she's in the same place she never wanted to return. Everything was how she remembered it.

"Nice to see you again, Aurora," Someone called out to her, her eyes widened at the calm voice that belonged to one person. Her adoptive grandfather: Alexander Pierce. The man had a wicked grin forming that made her terrified at the thought of her being punished.

"No... you're not real. I saw you... you died." Aurora answered slowly, trying to make sense of her dream— or rather a nightmare. Pierce simply stared at her with a neutral expression, something that she didn't like.

"I am only a figment of your imagination. But I will always be on your mind. After all, it's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember." Pierce answered with his 'famous' quote that he gave her whenever she was punished for any mistakes or failure to complete her mission.

"Just stop please...." Aurora mumbles softly, squeezing her fists upon seeing Pierce get up from his chair and walk towards her. She stepped backward after each step her adoptive grandfather took.

"That's no way to talk to your grandfather. After all, I'm the one who raised you." Alexander proclaimed, however, Aurora glared at him with hatred that she scowled in his direction.

"You will never matter to me. You're no grandfather of mine. Just a malice, cruel man that treated me like a soldier than a granddaughter." She hissed at him.

Pierce only chuckled as he countered with his argument, "I'm not the only one who's not innocent. You can pretend all you want that you changed to the Avengers but deep down... you're just a machine. And no one will ever love you."

"No, Tony loves me," Aurora said, almost second-guessing what she said. Her father loves her... right?

"Does he? Last time I remember he didn't care about you until you showed up. He only took you in because of pity. That's it." Alexander confesses, knowing that Aurora will react violently and ultimately lose control.

"LIAR!" Aurora yelled at him, slamming her fist on the concrete wall, not caring that it would shatter her bones.

"I may be many things but a liar isn't one of them. Remember your place Aurora, you are just a killer. Your past will always haunt you. And killers don't deserve love nor the happiness you deserve." Pierce revealed the truth. Aurora knew the price she paid when she became an assassin. And now... she has blood on her ledger.

"You're right, I am a killer and I can't change what I did in the past... but I sure as hell can change my destiny. And not even you— or anyone can stop me from that." Aurora affirmed, but Alexander roughly gripped her by her shoulders as she felt her head smack against the wall.

"Your destiny is only the beginning. You were meant for more but look at you. A complete waste of what you used to be. We can always take back what we give you. And we'll kill you if we have to," Alexander hissed in her ear before he shot her in the abdomen three times. Aurora glanced down as she felt the warm fluid dripping as she fell to the ground. She cried for anyone to help her... but no one came.

🕸

Meanwhile, Tony managed to blast Ultron only to discover that he stole the vibranium and was heading to South Korea. That was until he flew by the Quinjet to see Hulk leaving the shipyard. Not after hearing an ear-splitting scream that was silenced a second later. "Clint? What's going on?" Tony questioned him, waiting for a prompt response.

The archer tried to answer, seeing Natasha trying to console Aurora as the young girl had tears streaming down her eyes. Thor even tried to comfort Aurora with his cape but nothing was helping. Finally, Clint confesses to him, "It's Aurora, Tony. She's been hit pretty bad."

"Shit! Just stay with her until I get back. Natasha, I could really use a lullaby." Tony told him, but everyone except Clint was shaken up by the Witch. Some took it more wholeheartedly than others.

"Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here." Clint declared through his comms. While Tony went to find Hulk, the rest of the teams settled inside the ship as they couldn't believe their deepest secrets revealed.

And worst of all. Aurora will always fear that she would lose everything she's gained.