Disarm • Stark

Mazzy was a tad bit annoyed when she found out she had to wait to get her new pair of hearing aids, but she guessed there was nothing she could really do about it now, so she let it go. Now she was just back at the Avengers Tower, waiting for her dad and the rest of the Avengers to come back.

She was in her bedroom, on her laptop. Now that Jarvis was gone, it was easier for her to research things without anyone knowing. She still hated that Jarvis was gone, though. Part of her felt like it was her fault for ever wishing that he would go away and mind his own business so there would be no one to snitch on her. She wished he was there to snitch on her, now.

But Jarvis was gone and Mazzy was alone in her room. Truly alone in her room.

So, Mazzy scoured the internet for answers on the Winter Soldier. She had already read article after article. Nothing on him was clear. Some of the websites with the articles seemed like they had large missing chunks out of them, and on some of them, Mazzy couldn't even read the words because they had been encrypted or something. Whoever or whatever the Winter Soldier was, someone was trying to keep it a secret.

Blurry images of a man in dark clothes. Long, dark hair. A mask over his face. A ghost story.

Until the time of Steve and Natasha's secret summer mission. There were numerous news articles about Captain America and the Black Widow fighting the Winter Soldier in the streets of New York City. Articles about the Winter Soldier assassinating Nick Fury. Mazzy remembered seeing that on the news, but Nick Fury was alive, according to Natasha.

None of it made sense. The articles gave conflicting information. All of it couldn't be true at the same time, and Mazzy had no way of telling what was true and what wasn't.

One thing was clear, though. The images all showed the same man. Dark clothes. Long, dark hair. A mask over his face. And in the newer, more clear images from the past year, a seemingly prosthetic arm with a bright red star on it. It felt familiar. The whole idea felt familiar. Mazzy couldn't put her finger on it.

And Maria had proven herself useless in letting information slip. She was making dinner for them right that very moment, and Mazzy knew that when they sat down at the dinner table together, even if Mazzy could get her chatting for hours, Maria wouldn't say a thing. She wouldn't even let a crumb drop.

Figuring out secrets from the people in Mazzy's life when so many of them were trained spies had proven itself to be incredibly difficult. Mazzy was beginning to worry that she would never find the answers. Not even Google knew the truth about the Winter Soldier, and Google knows pretty much everything any human being has ever known.

Mazzy growled quietly to herself in frustration, running a hand through her curly, brown hair.

"Something bothering you, Miss Stark?"

Mazzy jumped, slamming her laptop shut. Standing by the window of her bedroom were two people she had never once met before. A young man with white-ish blond hair- the one who spoke- and a young woman with long, dark red hair. Mazzy jumped off of her bed, standing tall and brave.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice strong and firm.

"Eh, let's say we're friends of your brother's," the man spoke. He had an accent. Mazzy wasn't sure where from.

"My brother's?" Mazzy murmured, furrowing her eyebrows with confusion. She didn't have a brother, did she? Her dad didn't have any other children, and she doubted her mother did.

"Ultron," the man said.

Ultron.

"Whatever answers you're looking for, Ultron has them," the woman said.

That was tempting, sure, but Mazzy wasn't an idiot. In fact, she was far from it. She knew Ultron was bad and she wasn't going to be manipulated into helping him if she had any say in it.

"I don't care," Mazzy replied.

"You're coming with us, sweetheart, whether it's with your will or against it," the woman told her. Small, red flares were hovering around her hands in warning.

Mazzy needed to be like her dad, she decided. She needed to be confident. To act like she didn't care. Maybe it would scare them off. But she didn't have any weapons. That totally sucked. The only thing she had was the things at her desk behind her, so she took her scissors from the top drawer and held them tightly in her hand.

After clearing her throat, Mazzy put on a smirk and a heavy transatlantic accent. "Hey," she started with. "I'm gonna give you to the count of ten, to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property, before I pump your guts full of lead!"

The man smirked, glancing at the woman with amusement. "She's funny. I like her," he said.

"One," Mazzy went on, slightly amused with herself, too. "Two..." If only she actually had a gun. "Ten!"

The next thing Mazzy did was drop the scissors and walk calmly over to the strangers' sides. The woman took her hand and the man kindly helped her climb through the window and into their stolen jet. They closed up the door to the jet and Mazzy sat quietly in her seat.

"I'm Wanda. This is my brother, Pietro," Wanda said, giving the girl a friendly smile. "It's very nice to meet you Mazzy."

"This little girl has the serum Captain America does?" Pietro asked Ultron with raised eyebrows. He looked at Mazzy again, and then back at Ultron. "She's very small."

"She's small, yet powerful," Ultron replied. "Like Mighty Mouse."

"I like that. Mighty Mouse," Pietro chuckled with amusement. He sat down in his seat across from Wanda, who was sitting beside Mazzy. Mazzy's face was blank and she was staring at him, probably unintentionally. Her eyes looked cold and empty. "The mind control," he said, looking at his sister, "it won't hurt her, will it?"

"No. She'll be okay," Wanda replied. She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "I thought it would be harder. But she let me in easy. It's strange."

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Ultron murmured with a wave of his hand. If he could roll his eyes, he would. But he couldn't, so he only laughed. "She's a professional at the whole mind control thing."

Mazzy could hear them. She was aware of what she was doing, she was pretty sure. It was weird. She was registering what they were saying, but she couldn't get up and turn the ship around. She couldn't try and stop them. She couldn't move, not even if she wanted to. Wanda was really serious about the whole against her will thing, Mazzy supposed.

This was quite the conundrum. Maybe she should have screamed for help instead of quoting Home Alone as an intimidation tactic.

✭

In Seoul, Korea, at some sort of scientific research lab, Mazzy stood silently beside Wanda. She could hear Dr. Cho's voice. She wanted to scream out in warning, but she couldn't. When she tried to open her mouth and use her voice, it was like someone had sealed her mouth shut. When she tried to knock on the wall as some sort of warning that someone was in there, her arm wouldn't move.

Wanda thought it would be harder to control her. Of course, she thought it would be easier than controlling any adult with a sound, fully developed mind, but Mazzy's mind was exceptionally easy to intrude into. It was like it had been done a thousand times before, like Ultron had said. It was all very strange, and it honestly made Wanda feel bad for the little girl, but she knew it was for the better.

Ultron was going to save the world, and he needed all the help he could get. Mazzy was superpowered, too, but from before that point, she had been put on the bench. Shoved off to the side like she couldn't be any help. But Wanda was sure that Mazzy was stronger and more capable than Tony Stark would ever give her credit for. From what Ultron had told her, Stark wouldn't even allow her to use her strength in any way. It was like he was afraid of it.

But what Wanda was doing wasn't any good for her, either, really. The only thing that would be good for her would be for her to have never been given the strength in the first place, but if that were the case, she might never have been born. The whole reason her mother had her was to put that serum inside of her.

Mazzy Stark would never be normal and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

Still, despite all of Mazzy's power, she still couldn't do anything as Ultron took control of Dr. Cho's mind, too. All she could do was watch.

To Mazzy's best understanding, Ultron was using Dr. Cho to create a human-like, living body for Ultron to inhabit. A body for him to inhabit and use to kill the Avengers.

Her dad. Natasha. Bruce. Clint. Steve. Thor. All of them. They would all be dead and Mazzy couldn't stop it. They would all be dead and Mazzy would be a part of it.

"I know you will miss your dad when he's gone," Wanda suddenly spoke. She sat down on a nearby chair and Mazzy sat in one, too. Pietro stood by the doorway. "But he is not that great of a dad, is he?"

Tony was the best dad he knew how to be. And maybe he wasn't perfect. Maybe he did a hundred things wrong every day, but he was doing his best and Mazzy loved him.

"He's doing his best, yes, but his best is not what you deserve. It isn't good enough," Wanda said.

Was she reading Mazzy's thoughts now, too? Mazzy didn't like being mind-controlled and she especially didn't like having her thoughts read.

"Your father couldn't protect you when you were young, and your father can't protect you now. You deserve a father who can protect you better than anyone else in the world. That's what fathers are for, Mazzy," Wanda explained.

And like magic, Mazzy could speak again. Wanda must have been allowing it. "My dad has always kept me safe. From people like you, especially," she grumbled, glaring up at Wanda's face.

"We're trying to save our world from people like your father, Mighty Mouse," Pietro said from where he was leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

"My dad saves the world," Mazzy insisted.

"Ultron will save the world," Wanda said. She stood up, and Mazzy did, too. Following closely being Pietro and Wanda, Mazzy made her way into the other room, where she knew Dr. Cho and Ultron were working on Ultron's new body.

In the center of the room was the cradle. That was the name of the machine Dr. Cho was using to create the body using the vibranium that Ultron had provided her with. Mazzy could see Dr. Cho leaning over the machine, looking content. But her eyes were a cold blue color. It wasn't actually her.

Dr. Cho plugged something into the back of Ultron's head. "Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream," she explained. She walked back over to the cradle, admiring it. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix now," she said, pressing a button on the machine.

God, Mazzy hoped that this wouldn't work.

"I can read him," Wanda suddenly said. She stared at the cradle, fidgeting with her rings. "He's dreaming."

Mazzy stepped closer to the cradle. It looked sort of like a tank. Sort of like what the human laid in to become one of the blue people in the movie Avatar. It was weird. It didn't look real, but it was. It was real and it was right in front of her.

"I wouldn't call it dreams," Dr. Cho said. She looked over the cradle, a proud smile on her face. Mazzy knew that if Dr. Cho had control over herself, she wouldn't be doing this at all, let alone smiling at it. "It's Ultron's base consciousness. Informational noise," Dr. Cho explained. "Soon-"

"How soon?" Ultron interrupted, turning to look at Dr. Cho.

Just the sight of Ultron made Mazzy's insides churn. He was strong and he was terrifying. He was the creation that would kill Mazzy's father. The creation that Mazzy's father created himself. His own killer. And, technically, Mazzy's brother. That was really weird.

Ultron was very expressive for a robot, though. That added to his weirdness. "I'm not being pushy," he said, holding out his hand at Dr. Cho.

Wanda approached the cradle, too, as Mazzy ran her finger along it.

"We're imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts," Dr. Cho said. That was crazy. Imprinting a brain. Creating a brain. If people could create brains from just streams of consciousness, then any amount of artificially intelligent beings could be created. There would no longer be any need for humans, at that point. "Even if your magic gem is-"

Dr. Cho was interrupted by Wanda letting out a loud, pained scream as she suddenly retracted her hands from the cradle and squeezed her eyes shut. Mazzy jumped, her eyes wide, and Pietro rushed to his sister's side, his hands on her arms as he tried to get her to meet his eyes. Wanda, however, couldn't stop staring at the cradle.

Ultron shot out of his seat. He knew something they didn't, it seemed.

For a moment or two, all Wanda could do was pant, trying to calm her racing heart. When Pietro put his hand on her cheek, she was finally able to meet his eyes with her panicked ones.

"What's wrong?" Mazzy asked, meeting Wanda's side.

Wanda's eyes made their way back over to Ultron, heartbroken and furious. "How could you?" she asked, her voice quivering.

Ultron stood across from her, slouching carelessly. "How could I what?" he asked.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers; make a better world," Wanda said in an angry voice. She looked betrayed.

"It will be better," Ultron said.

"When everyone is dead?"

Everyone?

"That is not-!" Ultron cut himself off, shaking his head.

Suddenly, Mazzy felt like she had control over her own body again. Like her mind was her own. Slowly, she backed herself behind Wanda and Pietro. If Ultron was getting angry, she wasn't going to protect them. Not after they took her from her home in order to help them destroy the Avengers; her family.

"The human race will have every opportunity to improve," Ultron reasoned, his hands out at his sides.

Pietro's eyes were wide now, too. His head was turned to look at Ultron. "And if they don't?" he asked with concern and disbelief.

Ultron's head was tipped to the side as he answered, "Ask Noah."

"You're a madman," Wanda murmured, shaking her head.

"There were more than a dozen extinction-level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs," Ultron tried to reason.

This was Ultron's plan all along. He wasn't just going to kill the Avengers. He was going to start with the Avengers. Take them out first so they can't try and stop him when he wipes out the rest of the planet. He was going to kill all humans, but what would be the point of peace if no one was there to enjoy it?

"When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And, believe me, he's winding up. We have to evolve," Ultron went on. He leaned himself over the cradle, running his hand over the top of it. "There's no room for the weak," he said.

"And who decides who's weak?" Pietro asked.

"Life," Ultron replied with a chuckle. "Life always decides."

"You had us bring this little girl here not to help you better the world but to destroy it?" Wanda asked, her voice holding nothing short of regret and disbelief.

Before Ultron could give any answer, they were interrupted by the sound of an approaching jet. Mazzy let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't alone anymore. Someone was coming to help her. 

"There's incoming," Ultron said, looking up at the ceiling. 

Pietro grabbed onto Mazzy's arm, tugging her closer to himself and Wanda. He ducked down so that his height matched Mazzy's. "Do you trust me, Mighty Mouse?" he asked.

"What? No. No way," Mazzy spat in response, instantly shaking her head. She didn't know anything about these twins other than that they had kidnapped her and wanted to kill the Avengers. 

"Well, you're going to have to," Pietro responded, ruffling the girl's hair.

"The quinjet. We have to move," Ultron said, looking back at the three superhumans. 

"That's not a problem," Dr. Cho suddenly spoke. Mazzy looked over at her, worried that she was still under Ultron's control. But her eyes were no longer that cold blue color. They were their normal color. She was free. And she stepped closer to the cradle, pressing buttons until the machine stopped imprinting a brain for the thing inside. 

Ultron let out a heavy sigh. And then his arm lashed out to the side, sending a blast in Dr. Cho's direction. As the beam hit her, she fell backward against the wall, bleeding from her chest. Mazzy let out a shriek, but before she could do anything to help Dr. Cho, she was picked up and the world was flying past her so fast that she couldn't hardly even register it. 

The next thing Mazzy knew, she was stopped in the street, clinging onto the back of Pietro as he placed his sister on the ground next to him. Mazzy couldn't decide if this was her favorite or least favorite piggyback ride ever. Either way, she slid off of his back and smacked his arm. 

"Why did you do that?!" she shouted, marching around to the front of him so she could shove him backward, only lightly. He stumbled back a few steps. "My family is on the quinjet!" she told him. 

"I wasn't going to leave a little girl there to die," Pietro scoffed. 

"I wouldn't have died. And you took me there in the first place!" Mazzy argued, furrowing her eyebrows at him. 

"Mazzy," Wanda interrupted, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. We didn't know what Ultron wanted to.... We will make sure you get back to your family safe. I promise."

"Yes. That's a promise," Pietro confirmed with a nod.

To their left, a voice started speaking in Korean. Mazzy wasn't sure what they were saying, but from what they were showing, she could only guess that it had to do with the fact that Captain America was fighting Ultron on the top of a moving truck. 

"That's what you want to get back to?" Pietro asked, his face slightly scrunched up. 

"Yes," Mazzy said. 

"If you insist."