Can't we get a break?
Early the next morning, or what Ava assumed was early, the doctor decided to test her ability to heal from a gun shot. Not that they hadn’t done this before, but this time he wanted to see what would happen if the bullet stayed inside her. Ava knew what would happen, the answer was a very painful one but she wasn’t about to start cooperating now.
It took several shots before one ricocheted off her ribcage and stayed in her gut. The doctor had just sat down to start observing when an agent ran in franticly shouting in their language. In Ava’s hazy low blood and pain filled mind she only noticed she was alone when the metal door slammed shut.
The ground’s tremors from explosions muffled by the stone around her kept Ava from slipping into unconsciousness. When the tremors stopped her body still refused to drift off, like it knew it had to stay lucid for just a little bit longer.
The sound of something charging brought her attention to the door, a loud blast and metal falling onto stone echoed through the room. Mechanized footsteps approached.
“Oh my god!” Ava’s lips quirked up at the voice. “Holy shit, kid, let’s get you outta here!” Tony, in his suit, quickly removed the straps that’d held her down for so long.
“Tony,” Ava’s voice was weak and raspy from the pained cries that left her so frequently, “bullet.” She pointed to her abdomen, the skin had healed over with no sign of any trauma.
Tony froze for a moment, “They left a bullet in?”
Ava nodded weakly before her body finally let the dark wash of unconsciousness take over. Ton knew, from the few days she’d been at the tower, that her healing factor could do a hell of a lot, but not push out a foreign object. So if anything was imbedded in her the tissues would try and heal like normal, meaning that what ever was obstructing its’ path would be nudged around. Not enough to push it out, but enough to cause a continuous cycle of tearing tissue only to have healing cells move the object to cause more damage. So the little metal bullet was being jostled around ripping at her insides.
Tony quickly go her outside where Thor picked her up to took her to the Quinjet while Tony went back to the base to find the scepter.
Ava’s unconsciousness was cut short as something sharp dug into her abdomen. She shot up struggling to get away from the white lab coats that swirled around her.
“Ava!”
Her name broke her our of her panicked vision. The stone walls dissolved to the metal hull of the Quinjet, the lab coats turned into Tony and Bruce. Their faces full of concern and remorse for what they were going to do.
“We have to get the bullet out,” Bruce tried to hide the scalpel in his hand but Ava still caught the reflected glint of light from it’s blade.
“Right, bullet,” her breathing was still ragged, but she did her best to lay back down.
Tony cursed under his breath, “Cap, Thor?”
The two blonds approached to help hold her down, as Tony had to keep the incision open for Bruce to find the damned thing. They whispered apologies before Steve held down her shoulders and Thor her legs.
“Ava,” Bruce hesitated to cut into her again, “do you know where it’s at?”
“It’s,” her breath hitched as the bullet shifted, “on the left, right under my ribs.”
He nodded and warned her before cutting into her skin. She tried her best to stay still, but as Tony held the cut open and Bruce dug around she couldn’t help but struggle and let out a strangled scream.
“God dammit!” Ava threw her head back hitting the table with a dull thud, “It’s up farther!”
After another second Bruce stepped away with bloodied forceps and a metal pellet, “Got it!”
The other three backed up quickly as well, letting her curl up on her side. After a few moments she breathed out a few curses and looked up.
“What took you guys so long?” Her snarky voice brought relieved smiles to their faces, glad that she hadn’t been broken down by Hydra.
Once back at the tower Clint was whisked off to be treated by Dr. Cho, Natasha close behind. Ava had insisted on healing him, but everyone denied her, reasoning that she’d been through a shit ton and deserved a break. She didn’t want to admit it but she was exhausted from the constant experiments, but she still wanted to help. She grumbled the whole way to her room, her arm slung over Tony’s shoulder. He just shook his head.
“Get some rest kid, you gotta start getting your strength back,” he continued even though Ava opened her mouth to retaliate, “not to mention you’re going to have to give out all the details of what Hydra did.” She looked away from him at that.
He sighed, “Get some rest, kid, it’ll be tough.”
Ava knew he was right, Tony had to do the same not so long ago. Relive everything almost as soon as you’re free, plus Ava already had a shaky relationship with reliving past trauma, so this wasn’t going to be easy.
Tony waved from her door, “See ya’ tomorrow, kid,” and shut it gently.
The next few days passed quickly, from her training with Natasha, for the moment just building back her strength from being immobile for so long, and recounting her time with Hydra. One morning Tony grabbed her before her training and drug her down to the basement of the tower. He surprised her with her motorcycle, still damaged but he knew Ava would want to fix it herself. The day of the party Natasha had to pull her away from it to get ready.
That night Ava stayed to the corners, content to watch everyone, and because she still had trouble with standing for too long. Once everything had settled down and it was just the team plus Dr. Cho, Maria, and Rhodey, she joined them.
She sat next to Steve on the long couch he and Thor were on, she declined the offer to try and lift Mjölnir. Thor stood as Tony mocked him saying the hammer must use some sort of finger-print identity system.
“Yes of course, very very interesting theory. I have a simpler one,” he lifted the hammer like it was nothing, “you’re all not worthy.”
Some scoffed and booed, others laughed, but it all stopped as an ear piercing screech reverberated through the room. Sloppy metallic footsteps revealed a barely put together Iron Legion robot. It leaked fluids and its movements were rough like it was walking on broken legs.
Its gravely metallic voice hissed out, “Worthy,” as it turned to the group.
“No, how could you be worthy?” It gestured to them with a jerky sweeping motion, “you’re all killers.”
Steve was standing now with Ava behind him, “Stark.”
Tony looked to his phone trying to get Jarvis to respond. The mangled bot continued.
“I’m sorry I was asleep, or,” it turned, “I was a dream.” It shook its head. “This terrible noise and I was covered in… in strings. Had to kill the other guy, he was a good guy.” It didn’t sound very remorseful.
“You killed someone?” Steve asked.
“Wouldn’t have been my first call,” the bot mocked, “but down here in the real world we’re faced with ugly choices.”
“Who sent you?” Thor stood in front of Helen, she and Ava shared a nervous look.
The sound of a rewinding tape came from the robot, then Tony’s voice, “I see a suit of armor around the world.”
Bruce looked to the unsettled billionaire, “Ultron.”
“In the flesh, or no not yet. Not this chrysalis,” Thor gripped Mjölnir and Maria cocked her gun, “but I’m ready. I’m on a mission.”
“What mission?” Natasha spoke up.
“Peace in our time,” three iron legion bots burst through the wall behind him. One headed straight toward the group. Most jumped out of the way, Maria dropped to the floor shooting, and Steve pushed Ava down before kicking up the coffee table. The robot hit it sending Steve flying backwards.
Tony and Rhodey jumped down from the raised level of couches everyone had been on, Tony got tackled by a bot sending him crashing into a book shelf, and Rhodey got a repulser blast and crashed through the skylight down to a platform above the Quinjet. Natasha ran with Bruce and barely made it over the bar to cover. Ava grabbed Helen and ran to the piano in the corner away from the chaos.
Thor ripped off a leg of one of the robots and threw it over the balcony, severing everything below its torso. It landed a few feet in front of Ava and Helen. Ava pushed Helen behind her, knowing that she’d be able to take what ever damage the bot could dish out. It rose on one hand, the other raised and charging a shot, but it stopped and looked at Helen interested. As it was lowering its’ arm Steve grabbed it from behind and threw it to Thor to crush. Tony, hanging from the back on one robot, jammed a fondue fork into its’ circuits both he and it falling to the stairs. Clint threw Steve his shield to demolish the last robot, which fell in front of Ultron.
“That was dramatic,” he paced over the debris at his feet, “I’m sorry I know you mean well,” he didn’t sound sorry at all, “but you didn’t think it through.”
Ava and Helen stood, stepping out from behind the piano as Ultron kept talking.
“You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change. How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to evolve? With these,” he picked up the halved robot at his feet crushing its head, “these puppets. There’s only one path to peace,” he paused dramatically, “the Avengers extinction.”
They had enough and Thor threw Mjölnir, Ultron’s body easily fell apart. As the light faded from his chest and eyes he hummed, “I had strings but now I’m free.”