CHAPTER TEN —
( Whoops. I killed this one and took down his base... And this one. )

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        Evelyn peeled off what remained of her torn dress—the night had gone from amazing to catastrophic in seconds. She'd finally had a moment to breathe with Steve—dancing, laughing, feeling normal—and now it was gone.

She changed into comfortable clothes, her body still humming with adrenaline. The others were already gathering in the conference room by the time she arrived.

Tony, Bruce, Eliza, and Evelyn had talked about Ultron for months, planning theoretical outlines, discussing ways to build something that could protect the world without needing them constantly in the field. But none of them had actually succeeded in creating it. Not until tonight and definitely not like this.

Eliza was sitting cross-legged on one of the chairs, munching on a chocolate bar, her expression unreadable. "All of our work is gone," she said as the others filed in. "Ultron cleared it all out. Then used the internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron," Steve repeated slowly, as if trying to make sense of the word.

"He's been in everything. Files. Surveillance feeds." Eliza gestured vaguely toward the ceiling. "He's probably seen more of us than we've seen of each other. Especially with the cameras in our separate areas of the building." She said it casually, but her voice had an edge—discomfort wrapped in humour.

"He's in your files. He's in the internet," Rhodey added, crossing his arms. "What if he decided to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," Maria muttered while picking glass from her foot.

Evelyn sat off to the side, quietly biting her fingernail—a habit she hadn't had in years. Her eyes kept drifting to Tony and Bruce. She hadn't been in the room when Ultron was created, but she knew they had worked on the framework. So had Eliza. So had she. They just never expected this to happen.

"We need to make some calls," Rhodey said. "Assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha asked. "He said he wanted us dead."

"No," Steve corrected quietly. "He said 'extinct.'"

Clint, seated on a nearby workbench, spoke up. "He also said he killed someone."

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Maria said.

"Yes, there was." Tony stepped forward with a device in his hand. A hologram of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s code appeared, a tangle of corrupted data, ripped and scattered.

Evelyn looked up, her face falling. Her voice was soft but sharp. "No..."

"This is insane," Bruce muttered, eyes locked on the fragmented remains of their AI companion.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. was the first line of defence," Steve said, his voice steady. "He would've shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

"No," Evelyn said quietly, stepping closer to the projection. "Look at the code. Ultron didn't just delete him. He pulled him apart. He could have assimilated J.A.R.V.I.S., but he didn't. This wasn't strategy. It was personal."

"This isn't strategy," Bruce spoke up, before frowning. "This is... rage."

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. Everyone turned as Thor stormed in, lightning in his eyes. Before anyone could speak, he lunged forward and grabbed Tony by the throat, lifting him clean off the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's going around," Clint said quickly, half-joking.

"Come on, use your words, buddy," Tony rasped, legs kicking slightly as he struggled to breathe.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark," Thor growled.

"Thor. The Legionnaire," Steve barked, his voice commanding.

With visible reluctance, Thor released Tony and turned toward him. "The trail went cold a hundred miles out. But it's headed north. And it has the sceptre." His jaw clenched. "Now we have to retrieve it again."

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha said. "Clear and present danger is Ultron."

"I don't understand." Helen Cho looked around, confused. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Still catching his breath beside Evelyn, Tony suddenly laughed, sharp and bitter.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes and shook her head at him. "Tony," she warned under her breath.

"You think this is funny?" Thor snapped.

"No. No, it's probably not," Tony said, rubbing his neck. "This is terrible. It's so—" He began laughing again, almost manic now. "It's so terrible."

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor snapped.

"I'm sorry, alright? I am. But it's funny." Tony's smile twisted. "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Tony, maybe this isn't the time," Bruce said gently.

"Really? That's it?" Tony turned to Bruce, Evelyn, and then Eliza, his expression shifting from defensive to defiant. "You just roll over? Show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot."

Evelyn blinked, startled by the sudden sass. Her lips twitched despite the tension.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" He looked at Bruce and Eliza. Both exchanged a look, then nodded slowly.

"We must've been close," Eliza admitted reluctantly. "But we didn't authorise anything."

Tony pointed. "Exactly."

Steve stepped forward then, his voice calm but laced with steel. "Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. But the Avengers were supposed to be different from S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony's jaw clenched. "Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

"No, it's never come up," Rhodey said dryly.

"Saved New York? Ring a bell?" Tony gestured to the ceiling. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it."

"Definitely wasn't around for that," Eliza chimed in.

Tony's voice rose. "We're the Avengers. Sure, we can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there?" He pointed again. "That is the endgame. How were you planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve said firmly.

"We'll lose," Tony shot back, frustration bubbling.

"Then we'll do that together, too," Evelyn said quietly, stepping beside Steve.

There was a pause. Everyone looked at each other.

"Thor's right," Steve said finally. "Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."

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        The door closed with a soft click, and the sound somehow felt deafening in the silence that followed.

Evelyn didn't say anything at first. She stood there, still wearing the soft sweats she'd thrown on after the fight. Her hair was pulled back now, damp from a quick shower, but her shoulders were still tense. Her whole body felt like it was buzzing—too much adrenaline, too much emotion, too much everything.

Steve was already inside, standing by the far window, the city lights painting gold lines across his face. He had changed into loose cotton pants and a t-shirt.

They didn't look at each other right away. For a moment, all they shared was the silence.

Then Evelyn spoke. "I can't believe he did it."

Steve turned slightly. "Tony?"

She nodded, her arms crossed over her chest. "We talked about Ultron for months. Me, him, Bruce, Eliza. But it was always theoretical. We were nowhere near ready. And even if we were..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "He didn't even tell me he was moving forward. None of them did."

Steve's voice was calm, but edged. "They made that decision on their own, and now we all are paying for it."

Evelyn sank onto the edge of the bed. "Ultron was supposed to be a failsafe. Something that could protect the world if we couldn't." Her voice faltered, thick with guilt. "It wasn't supposed to turn on us."

"You weren't in that room," Steve said, sitting beside her. "You didn't create Ultron. They did."

"I know," she whispered. "But I helped plan it. Ultron is also made up of the data I worked on for months. I'm also guilty of its creation. It was supposed to be a peacekeeping force that didn't get tired, didn't bleed, and didn't question orders..." Her fingers curled around the hem of her sleeve. "And now it's out to kill us."

Steve was quiet for a moment before speaking again, softer now. "You trusted your team. That's not a mistake, Evelyn. That's what we do. What we're supposed to do."

She looked down, chewing on her bottom lip. "I just... I wish we had more time to relax after getting the sceptre. With you. With everyone. The party," Her voice cracked. "It was the first time I felt like I wasn't carrying the whole damn world on my back."

Steve exhaled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I know. Me too." He looked over at her, eyes searching. "It felt real."

"It was real," Evelyn said. "And then it was gone."

She hung her head. "I should've seen it coming. The moment Tony starts getting twitchy about legacy, it's always a matter of time before he builds something that tries to kill us."

"He's scared," Steve said after a moment. "He hides it behind sarcasm and tech, but it's there. He's terrified of what could come. What our threats could be. Ever since Loki and New York."

Evelyn turned back to him, arms wrapped tightly around herself. "Well, aren't you?"

Steve met her gaze, steady and unwavering. "Of course I am. But I'd rather face it with you than try to outbuild it."

Her chest tightened. "We had one night," she whispered. "One night where nothing exploded, and no one was bleeding, yelling, or breaking the world in half."

Steve's hands reached out slowly and cupped her face, his thumbs brushing her cheekbones. "Then we'll fight to have more."

Evelyn closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "I don't want to lose this."

"You won't," Steve promised. "Not to Ultron. Not to Tony. Not to the end of the world."

She opened her eyes, looking at him with something vulnerable behind the usual fire. "Even if we lose?"

He smiled softly. "Well, it's like you said. Then we'll lose together."

Evelyn let out a small breath and buried her face in his chest. His arms wrapped around her, strong and sure, grounding her in a world that was constantly spinning out of control.

They sat there for a long time, holding each other in the quiet. Outside, the lights of New York twinkled on—oblivious, alive, and safe for now.

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        For the rest of the night, the tower was quiet. Most of the tower was asleep, exhausted, or pretending to be, awaiting news on where Ultron was. But not Tony. He was wide awake in his lab.

Evelyn found him exactly where she expected: standing in the middle of his workshop, staring at an empty screen, fingers ghosting over J.A.R.V.I.S.'s holographic interface. He didn't look up when she entered.

"You couldn't sleep either?" he asked, tired but casual.

She stopped a few feet from him. "Tony."

"I figured you'd come find me."

Evelyn stayed by the door. "You figured right."

He glanced over his shoulder. "What? You here to take a swing at me, too? I think Thor's still got the gold medal for that tonight."

She didn't smile. Didn't move.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, and there was no venom in her voice, just quiet, wounded clarity. "You, Bruce, Eliza... you went ahead with Ultron. After all our conversations. After we said we weren't ready. After we said we'd build it together, if we built it at all."

Tony sighed, pushing off the desk and turning to face her fully. "It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like?" she asked, finally stepping into the room. "Because it felt like you decided without me. Like I wasn't in the room when it counted."

Tony rubbed his jaw, already looking tired. "Look, it moved fast. You were recovering. I told Bruce and Eliza not to involve you because I knew you'd tell Rogers, and I didn't want the team to know."

"You didn't trust me to work on this without telling Steve?" she said. "You didn't call me. You didn't loop me in, all because you didn't trust me?"

There was a beat of silence.

"You trusted me enough to plan it with you," she continued, her voice a little unsteady now. "To pour months into the design, the structure, the safeguards. We all agreed it was a team effort. But when it mattered most, when you actually made him, you didn't want me there."

Tony looked at her as if he were failing to find the right words. "It wasn't personal."

Evelyn gave a bitter laugh, arms folding tightly across her chest. "You made artificial life without me, and it's not personal?"

"You think it turned out better because you weren't in the room?" Tony snapped suddenly, the guilt finally cracking into defensiveness. "You think if you'd been there, we wouldn't be standing in this mess right now?"

"I don't know," Evelyn said quietly. "But at least I wouldn't feel like I was cut out of my own work."

Tony exhaled and sat down heavily on the edge of the worktable. "I didn't want you to see it fall apart."

"That's not your call to make."

Another long silence.

"You know what hurts?" she added softly. "It's not even that it went wrong. I know what this life is: we mess up, pay for it, and clean it up. I can live with that. But you didn't allow me to be part of it."

Tony looked up at her. "You think I did this because I didn't trust you?"

"I think," she said, "that you didn't want to share the blame with me if it failed. And it did."

He flinched at that—barely—but she saw it.

"I trusted you, Tony," she continued. "And you shut me out."

"I was trying to protect you."

"Then you don't know me at all."

That hit deeper than anything else, and they both knew it. Tony looked down at his hands, suddenly looking older than he had hours before. "I'm sorry."

Evelyn stood in silence for a moment, then nodded once.

"I'll do all I can to help you fix this," she said. "But I won't forget it."

She turned and left, not looking back.

Tony sat alone in the flickering glow of his unfinished machines, surrounded by the weight of what he'd built—and who he'd left out to do it.

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        A couple of hours later, after enough rest for a group of heroes used to constantly battling, everyone met up in the conference room.

"He's all over the globe," Maria told them. "Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place."

"Fatalities?" Steve asked.

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state, going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"Maximoff's," Evelyn mumbled.

"It makes sense he'd go to them. They have someone in common," Natasha said.

"Not anymore." Maria pressed a button, and a hologram of Strucker's dead body showed before them, the word 'Peace' written behind him.

"It's a message."

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us," Tony said.

"This is a smoke screen," Natasha said. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," Clint said.

"Yeah, I bet he... Yeah. Everything we had in Strucker's been erased," Eliza said as she typed away on her tablet.

"Not everything," Steve said.

Everyone looked around and got what he meant. Eliza let out a groan right away. "I wasn't hired to sort through a bunch of paperwork. I'm here to push buttons on devices," she grumbled.

"Technically, you weren't even hired," Evelyn told her.

Eliza gave her a stoic face, then threw her neck back and groaned.

Everyone began unpacking a mountain of boxes filled with paperwork—dusty files detailing the profiles of individuals S.H.I.E.L.D had flagged who used to work with Baron Strucker.

"Strucker sure did have a lot of friends," Evelyn said, opening a file. "Whoops. I killed this one and took down his base." A pause. "And this one."

"Well, these people are all horrible," Bruce mumbled.

"Ugh, I feel useless," Eliza groaned, yawning as she sorted through some files. "He deleted everything off my computers, even my statuses on my games. That fucking AI is going to pay for that."

"Wait," Tony stopped Bruce. "I know that guy." Bruce handed Tony a file. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, Black market arms." Steve gave Tony a look. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

Steve held up a picture of the man 'Klaue Ulysses'. "I've met him, too," Evelyn said. "He's crazy."

"Wait, this?" Thor pointed at a mark on his arm.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it..."

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand," Thor pointed out.

Eliza scanned the brand on the computer. "It's a word in an African dialect roughly meaning 'thief."

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanda," Bruce tried.

Evelyn let out a big sigh. "Oh, shit."

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony started.

Tony glanced at Evelyn, who glanced at Steve. "I thought you said you and Howard got the last of it?" Steve asked Evelyn.

"We said it was all we could find," Evelyn told him. "Didn't mean that there wasn't anymore."

Eliza echoed the rest of the group's evident confusion and asked, "I don't get it. What comes out of Wakanda?"

"The strongest metal on Earth." Both Steve and Evelyn glanced down at Steve's shield.

"Where is this guy now?"