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I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE
DONE THIS

"Never made permanent decisions on
temporary feelings." —Unknown
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Avengers Tower

Location: New York City, New York

May 2, 2015

"ALL our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce explained to them, trying to look for some files on the computer. They continued their discussion inside the laboratory after the main floor was wrecked due to Ultron. Aurora leaned against the table where Tony was, glancing at her abdomen that was covered in a bandage. She was still in the now blood-stained dress since she was too lazy to change her clothes. Everyone was just silent for the most part, formulating some type of strategies they could use against Ultron.

"Ultron," Steve repeated in skepticism with his arms crossed as he stared at the billionaire with a harsh expression. Tony ignores it for he silently stood beside Aurora, analyzing the damaged robotic bodies of the Iron Legionnaires. What he thought would be revolutionary was instead now trying to annihilate them.

"He's been in everything. Files... surveillance...." Natasha started before pausing for a moment. "Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Aurora stiffly clenched her hands hidden inside the dress's pockets as she avoided looking at anyone. She loathed the notion that Ultron knows everything about her, that not even her father knows about. The teenager could tell that the female Avenger was uncomfortable that he knows about her past.

"He's in your files. He's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey voiced his thoughts, a worried expression was written all over his face.

"Nuclear codes," Maria interjected, understanding what the Colonel meant. The former SHIELD Deputy Director used tweezers to pluck out broken shards of glass from her feet.

"He could seize world governments under their noses with ease if he wanted to. Nobody would suspect anything if they didn't know what hit them," Aurora added, her voice was unnerving that caused some of them to shift restlessly. The fact that a fourteen-year-old had endured dangerous situations forced her to mature from a young age.

"Nuclear codes. A power source." Rhodey confirmed thoughtfully, agreeing with Maria and Aurora of the next possible target. The Colonel then suggested to them, "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha asked sincerely confused, glancing around the laboratory with a neutral tone, "He said he wanted us dead."

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct." Steve responded as his mind was still replaying their previous encounter with Ultron. The way the machine said it still sent chills down Aurora's spine.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint reminded them, glancing down at the floor while sighing softly.

"There wasn't anybody else in the building," Maria replied and Aurora knew that she was right. No one was allowed in the laboratory during the party, so it would be impossible that they missed someone. However, Tony began walking slowly towards the center of the room, pointing his device out for everyone to see.

"Yes, there was...." Tony said softly before clicking a button that showed a 3D image of a blot of a yellowish-orange sphere. It was a holographic image of Jarvis' consciousness, M.A.T.T.H.E.W managed to shut itself down before Ultron could tear him apart. The scientist strolled forward, looking completely disturbed by the revelation of the attack.

"What? This is insane," Bruce questioned himself, staring at a broken Jarvis hologram. He didn't expect any of this to happen along with Tony as well.

"Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense." Steve nodded in agreement, looking down at the floor as he changed his facial expression to a more serious tone.

"No. Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy... this is rage." Bruce explained to them, glancing over disoriented to the point where it was something Aurora hasn't seen before from him. That was until Thor marched towards Tony and grabbed him by the throat not after he lifted him in the air. Steve immediately protested, the others watched in shock, but Aurora took the matter into her own hands.

"Please set him down, Thor," Aurora swiftly got to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain from her side as she gently tried to calm him. The teenager looked up to the God of Thunder as an older brother or uncle, therefore it was difficult to see her family fighting and arguing with one another.

"Come on, use your words, buddy." Tony wheezed from lack of oxygen as he struggled under Thor's grip. The Asgardian momentarily observed the young girl worriedly wanting nothing to happen to Tony.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor sneered at the billionaire, dropping him carelessly onto the floor. Tony gently wrapped his hand on his throat when Steve approached forward to Thor.

"Thor." Steve interjected to ease the tension in the room, "The Legionnaire."

"Trail went cold about one hundred miles out, but it's heading north." The Asgardian told them, glaring at Tony while doing so. "And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it... again."

"Just when I thought I was finally going to have a normal weekend," Aurora remarked, but no one was smiling at her lame effort. The young Stark sat at a nearby chair and decided to rest her aching body. It would take another hour before she would be completely healed, something she was dreading for since it hurts like hell.

"Genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron," Natasha told the God of Thunder.

"I don't understand. You built this program," Helen Cho voiced her thoughts as she frowned, staring at the disfigured Iron suits from the attack. Aurora had to agree with Cho since Tony would have the control, so how did he lose it now? The female scientist then glanced at the billionaire, "Why is it trying to kill us?"

Out of nowhere, Tony suddenly started giggling that turned into loud laughter. Aurora rolled her eyes at her father, Bruce subtly shook his head to him, trying to warn him that it wasn't a good idea. Everyone else observed Tony's behavior, some muttering under their breaths at his ignorance. The young Stark thought about giving her father a good smack in the head for doing something so stupid.

"You think this is funny?" Thor's thunderous voice boomed the laboratory, only fueling his anger. Aurora already knew what was coming.

"No?" Tony said almost like answering a question as he turned back around. After seeing no one doing anything, the billionaire gently cleared his throat, "It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so... is it so... it is. It's so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor told Tony in a serious tone.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny." Tony sneered as he walked towards Thor, practically standing in front of the Asgardian. Stark then spat on his face, "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time...." Bruce said cautiously, the scientist was still uneasy with the thought of Ultron. The teenager knew he was just trying to diffuse the situation... if only they listen.

"Really?" Tony fires back, turning around to slightly glare at Bruce who was hiding on the corner of the laboratory. "That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot." Bruce countered with a snarky attitude, something he picked up from Aurora. Although the scientist was usually occupied with his work, he understood what it was like to be an experiment. The team would occasionally have dinner together as a way to bond with the young Stark.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony asked the scientist across the laboratory, who simply shrugged at him. A sudden thought invaded Aurora's mind— what if she was the one that helped create Ultron. After the scepter incident, something about her has changed... she still remembered the stare Ultron gave her.

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different from SHIELD." Steve interrupted, crossing his arms as he told Tony seriously.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony tried to change the conversation, but was he actually serious? Aurora grumbled under her breath since she recalled how he never shut up about it when she first stayed at the tower. As much as she loves her father, certain things were enough.

"No, it's never come up," Rhodey answered sarcastically, Aurora tried her hardest to stifle her incoming laugh.

"Saved New York?" Tony gloated once more that Natasha rolled her eyes at the billionaire. Although he did help save New York, he didn't single-handedly do everything. The Avengers together is what makes them an impossible force, something Tony tends to forget.

"Never heard that," Rhodey commented again, a few people muttered in agreement.

"Recall that?" Tony continued asking rhetorically. Aurora did remember that day, New York praised the heroes while HYDRA had other plans. Ever since that fateful day, Phantom was activated for the next two years. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it." Tony told everyone, Aurora subconsciously glanced at her feet.

"We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's... that's the Endgame." Tony stated sincerely, however Aurora twitched at the mention of the name. "How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve answered immediately, glancing at the billionaire firmly without a doubt. Tony slowly stepped forward towards the super-soldier and gave him a neutral expression.

"We'll lose," Tony replied seriously, yet his eyes held something sad as if he was hiding part of the truth.

"Then we'll do that together, too." Steve nodded his head, softly glancing around the laboratory as he gave some commands. Nonetheless, Aurora mustered all her strength to strain the incoming yawn, which Tony noticed from her tired eyes and silent expression.

"Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place." Steve told everyone as he paced around the room, the other Avengers slowly agreeing with the Captain. "Let's start making it smaller."

Aurora knew that Steve was right about something, they had to do this together. The team is what matters and if they don't take care of one another now, they won't do it in the future. 'United we stand, Divided we fall.' Aurora mentally thought as she brought her hand towards her mouth to stop the yawn. Her father strolled over towards her seat as he bent down to take a good look at her.

"Hey, kid why don't you sleep for a bit?" Tony whispered for her, seeing how it wouldn't help if she doesn't have any energy to do anything. The teenager immediately shook her head in disagreement, stubborn to give in to something childish like sleeping. HYDRA always taught her to be a powerful machine, not a human being.

"I'm not tired, Tony. I can help—." Aurora protested to prove she didn't want to sleep until another yawn invaded her mouth. Tony gave her a pointed look as the young girl sighed, "...Fine. At least wake me up when you need help or find something?"

"Sure kiddo. I'll send Clint when we do," Tony agreed as she got up from her chair and went to the nearest couch that was hidden behind the laboratory. Thank goodness, Ultron didn't trash this area since it was the only place where Aurora would be close. However, she glanced down at her clothes with a frown, deciding to change attire. She created a small portal to her room and grabbed a Pink Floyd shirt and leggings.

Careful not to injure her abdomen, she took off the dress and wore her comfortable clothes. She disregarded the dress into the nearest couch, faintly spotting her scar on her collarbone. As long as she remembered, it was always there when she was a young girl. Oh how much her life has changed for the worst, but there is still hope for her. She laid down on the soft couch, staring at the ceiling for a moment. In a second, the teenager was overwhelmed with her tiredness that she fell asleep in an instant.

"She's a great kid, huh Tony?" Natasha asked him, helping scan for anything concerning Ultron. Stark turned to the female Avenger as he nodded silently, a ghost smile was plastered on his lips. Aurora definitely was something else... like her mother, both strong-willed yet stubborn. The Avengers decided to sleep for a few hours to at least have some rest before resuming finding Ultron.

Except they couldn't with the constant thought that Ultron can be anywhere in the world. Possibly plotting to defeat the Avengers with the information it gained from them. Their strengths, weaknesses, and pasts that made some worry more than others. The team eventually woke up after a few hours of sleep, Tony decided to let her sleep for an extra hour, knowing that she needed it ever since the night terrors began again. It was the first time in months where she would suddenly cry and scream in her sleep. Not knowing it was visions from Loki's scepter trying to communicate to her.

The morning seemed eerie longer than usual by just searching senselessly without knowing anything about the enemy. Rhodey has to leave immediately to Washington, D.C. to warn high government officials of a possible threat. Helen Cho, returned to South Korea a few hours later to continue working on the regeneration cradle. What didn't help was that the team didn't have any leads on Ultron, a bit frustrated with no real resources to use. Steve received a call from Maria Hill, assuming it was about Ultron so he headed down to listen to the information.

Tony almost forgot about Aurora when he saw one of her broken heels on the floor, therefore he told Clint to wake her up. In all honesty, the archer was a bit frightened about waking the young Stark, not knowing what reaction he'll receive from her. Nonetheless, he nodded his head gently as he approached her near the couch. Clint whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Hey wake up, Sleeping Beauty. I think we found something."

Aurora slowly fluttered her eyes, an annoyed expression was on her face as she turned around. However, it changed in an instant when she saw him with a cup of coffee. The teenager silently thanked him, stretching and yawning before walking towards the laboratory. Drinking coffee certainly helped with her mood upon seeing the adults working on the computers. Tony was busily reassembling Jarvis, that he didn't hear Aurora sat beside him until she coughed.

"How did you sleep, Rory?" Tony asked her, the girl replied with a shrug as she sipped the coffee. Aurora felt guilty hiding too many secrets from her father, something he could never understand. Her past was something she wasn't comfortable with, only dreaming that someone could repair her.

After all, she was just a broken girl with a shattered heart and dreams.

"That bad, huh?" The billionaire continued, momentarily glancing over to Aurora with a small mischievous grin. She simply rolled her eyes, softly leaning against him as she watched him work. In times like these were Aurora's favorite, just enjoying each other's company and having small talks.

They worked in silence for a while but were interrupted by loud footsteps entering the laboratory. Aurora could only assume the worse simply because of the grim expression on Steve's face. The Starks walked towards Natasha's table, Steve handed the tablet to Thor who glanced down at the screen for a moment. Tony curiously asked the two men, "What's this?"

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker." Steve explained to them, Thor shoved the device to Tony, evidently bitter at the billionaire. An inaudible gasp escaped her lips, her eyes widened after each second. She couldn't believe it... he was finally dead. After all these years of tormenting and torturing her as an object, he could no longer harm others.

"That bastard deserved it," Aurora muttered, her father glancing down and so the others could see the image. The scientist was lying against the wall, his pool of blood surrounding him but what intrigues her was the writing on the wall. Peace. With Strucker's blood smeared everywhere.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us," Tony answered sarcastically, handing the device to Natasha who sat on a stool, watching everyone's reaction.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha stated clearly upon seeing the image closely.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve pondered about the situation, everyone else nodded in agreement as they wondered for any type of solution.

"Yeah, I bet he...," Natasha voiced in, but a message popped up on the computer monitor. The female Avenger glanced at it before she confirmed, "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."

"Not everything...." Tony replies, Aurora glanced at her dad with a slightly confused expression. That was until she understood that it would be the old fashion way, paper copies of files and information through the last century.

The team headed down to another area of the floor, Thor and Steve went to retrieve the boxes. Once they did, they went through the physical files, looking for another related to Strucker. Aurora was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that she might be included as his test subject, but she had to let go of the past. The teenager found some files of Loki, Thor, and Bruce... but there was one that stood out upon seeing the name tag: Diana Minerva Hunter.

Aurora nervously gulped down her saliva, glancing around if anyone was watching her before continuing. She hesitated to look inside, a paper clip held two small photos of what her mother looked like. One was in a SHIELD suit while the other was more of a formal attire, nonetheless, Aurora resembles her. She's beautiful, Aurora smiled softly, caressing the image like if she was here. The young Stark silently read through and absorbed everything into her mind, thinking it could be a sort of comfort for her.

"Found anything?" Natasha questioned her, Aurora stiffly glanced at the woman with a small expression of disagreement.

"Known associates. Well, Strucker had a lot of friends." Steve declared solemnly, opening another box filled with files. It was becoming exhausting having to search for anything about Strucker.

Bruce stares carefully at one file, a look of displeasure crossed his features as he answered, "Well, these people are all horrible." The scientist was about to place it back in the box when Tony pointed at the image he recognized.

"Wait, I know that guy," Tony said to Bruce, the doctor passed him the photo. The billionaire nodded softly once he remembered where he saw the man. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms."

Steve in return gave Tony an unpleasant look, but he just rolled his eyes as he continued, "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. When I met him he was talking about finding something new...."

Tony trailed off for a moment, Aurora was intrigued by the story while the others focused, "A game-changer. It was all very Ahab." The Asgardian god strolled closed until he frowned at the picture.

"What's this?" Thor pointed to what appeared to be some marking on the man's skin.

"Uh, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it...." Tony pondered, wondering if there was anything else he could remember.

"No, those are tattoos. But this is a brand." Thor declares, pointing at the tattoos on Klaue's chest and arms before the odd symbol plastered on his skin. Bruce immediately went to a nearby computer to search for the symbol. After a few moments, the match was found with some background information on the symbol.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way." Bruce uttered softly, staring at the screen curiously as he fixed her crookedly glasses.

"What dialect?" Steve inquires from the scientist.

"Wakanada...? Wa...Wa...Wakanda." Bruce tried to pronounce it correctly, but that didn't matter when they thought about the man.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods...." Tony trailed off, Aurora nodded her head in agreement. HYDRA taught her everything she needed to know about any country, and Wakanda was one of them. The place where the world's strongest metal is found, still the poorest country in the world.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it?" The Captain asked the billionaire, both men eyeing each other while the others didn't understand what he meant. However, Aurora opened her mirror as she quietly communicated with her A.I. system.

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce insisted, Steve was the first to glance in one direction while the others followed his gaze. Steve's shield.

"The strongest metal on Earth," Tony stated, recalling how it was his father's greatest achievements during World War II. The teenager received a notification as she swiftly clicked on a few buttons on her mirror before a satisfied smile appeared.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked Tony, therefore, Aurora interrupted him that caused everyone to stare at the girl who hasn't said anything yet.

"On the Salvage Yard. That's the only place where he can transport black market items discreetly." The young Stark answered, clicking one button that projected a screen for the others to see. "Right around... here!"

"And how do you know that?" Tony questioned, a warm feeling of pride at the thought of his daughter helping them.

"Simple. I asked my A.I. for any record of Klaue's location for the last five years. Pinpoint the weak areas and I found it. The heat signature sensed a strong point on the vibranium, which gave it away." Aurora insisted, shrugging her shoulders like if it was nothing. The adults were a bit shocked that she managed to find him in a matter of minutes, but now they finally have a plan.

"When do we leave?" Clint questioned Steve, nodding his shoulders to Natasha who reciprocated his actions.

"Less than 24 hours we will go. Suit up and be prepared for anything." Steve declared, shortly after everyone left the level to find their weapons and prepare. Aurora was about to leave and pack her items until Tony called her over. Tony insisted that she would stay with Maria Hill, but Aurora retaliated. There was no way in hell, they were going to leave her behind.

"Look, Tony, I know. You don't want me to come but this concerns me too." Aurora explained, but the billionaire just shushed her to be quiet for a moment.

"I know... I just don't want you to get hurt," Tony confesses to his daughter, something he doesn't do often. The teenager slowly strolled forward as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"You don't have to worry. I've been fine on my own for years, but this has to do something with me. Something I hope you understand...." Aurora proclaimed, Tony gently let his chin on her head as they stood there for a bit. He felt guilty when she mentioned being alone for many years, something he wished he could just make up.

He missed her first step, first word, first laughter, and all for what? Money? Fame? With all the money in the world, he could never get those moments back, but at least she's here with him now.

And he wasn't going to let her go any time soon.

Hey guys! I finally posted and I also want you to know I created a book to get to know Aurora better! It's called Gorgeous and there's some cool stuff I made, so please check it out! And as always, please comment and vote! Until next time lovelies!