—ultron

everybody wants to

rule the world.

the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, boom! You looking for this?" Rhodes finished his War Machine story with a sly smirk. Stark and Thor looked at him blankly, while Arabella patted him on the shoulder. "Boom! Are you looking... Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills."

"That's the whole story?" Thor asked and Arabella hid her face on Rhodes' shoulder slightly giggling.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story," Rhodes replied as a matter-of-fact.

"Well, it's very good then." The god of thunder laughed. "It's impressive."

"Quality save." He nodded rather proudly. "So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" He changed the topic and moved his gaze to Tony. "No." He shook his head.

Hey, what about Jane?" Maria Hill asked Thor. "Where are the ladies, gentlemen?"

"Well, Miss Potts has a company to run," Stark explained nonchalantly, smiling at the end.

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer." Thor said and Tony's smile dropped as he turned to look at the taller man.

"And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on Earth. It's pretty exciting." Tony smugly took a sip of his drink. And at that moment Arabella knew it was her time to depart from the 'show off' conversation.

"Alrighty, bye."

Arabella made her way through the sea of people that filled the place, heels clicking the floor as she walked. She looked around, searching for a familiar face but sighed when finding none. She turned on her heel and decided to head towards the staircase, wanting fresh air.

She went up to the stairs, blurting a set of excuse me to get people off her way; in a polite way of course. She walked further and up to the last floor of the Avengers Tower, but stopped when someone called out her name.

She automatically turned her head to locate the voice. And when she found it, her eyes lighted up.

"Sam!" Arabella squealed in surprise, not wasting a second and running to give him a hug. Her arms wrapped around his torso as the man laughed.

"Hey! I thought you would call him for the mission." She pouted at Steve while letting go of Sam.

The Falcon laughed and decided to reply for Cap. "Avenging is your world. Your world is crazy."

"Be it ever so humble," Steve said as a response.

"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?" Sam asked as they came to a stop, looking at the sea of people below him.

"I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn." Steve sighed a little humor showing.

"Dad and I offered to buy him one, but he declined," Arabella told Sam and turned to Steve, rolling her eyes.

"Well, home is home, you know?" Sam shrugged, a half smile forming in his lips.

" !" Exclaimed Barton twirling a drumstick between his fingers, referring to Thor's hammer; Mjolnir.

"No, no, it's much more than that." The god of thunder laughed.

"Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Clint said in a deep voice, making dramatic hand gestures. "Whatever, man! It's a trick."

Thor laughed and motioned his hand towards his hammer. "Please, be my guest."

"Come on!" Arabella clapped encouragingly.

"Really?" The archer surprisingly asked.

"Yeah." Thor nodded. Clint stood up and placed his drumsticks on top of the table and made his way to Mjölnir.

"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful." Rhodes chuckled.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Stark mocked him, making the rest of the team laugh.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Barton wrapped his hands around the hammer's handler. With a grunt, he tried to lift it up but failed. "And I still don't know how you do it!" He laughed.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony teased him keeping a serious expression while doing so.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint held his hand out for him.

Tony stood up from the couch, unbuttoned his dark suit and cleared his throat. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge."

"Get after it." Barton patted him on the shoulder and sat back down.

"It's physics." The billionaire stated and Doctor Banner repeated. "Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course." Thor agreed while Steve just watched silently next to him, an amused look on his face.

"I will be re-instituting prima nocta," He told Thor as he pulled the hammer. And like Barton, he failed.

He looked up at everyone and said, "I'll be right back."

He left and came with his hand covered in his red and gold gauntlet. With a smirk plastered on his lips, he tried again, whirring sounds coming out of the armor as pulled the hammer.

After various attempts, including Rhodes helping him, he finally gave up, swallowed his pride and sat back down.

"You up for the challenge, Strongest Avenger?" Arabella turned to Bruce with an eyebrow up. She couldn't help but smirk because she knew the reaction to her words.

As she predicted, Thor scoffed rather loudly. "Strongest Avenger." The god mimicked the girl's voice rolling his eyes, while Tony just rolled his eyes.

Banner just shrugged and stood up from his seat chuckling nervously. He grabbed a hold of the handle of Mjölnir with both hands and yelled as if he was going to change into the Hulk.

Everyone stared at Bruce with unimpressed looks. Everyone expect Natasha and Arabella, who gave him tight smiles at his attempt of making them laugh. Banner stood there, arms up and wide, awkwardly glancing at the team.

"Huh?" Was the only thing that escaped Bruce's lips.

"Cap?" Maria Hill asked from beside Clint.

"Go ahead, Steve. No pressure." Arabella half-heartily cheered him.

Steve stood up and wrapped his hands around the hammer, pulling it up it lifted slightly. Arabella's eyes widened and her lips parted a little. She shared a look with the god sitting next to her. And at that moment she realized something.

He was worthy. And Arabella smirked at that.

Steve tried to lift it completely but 'failed'. He let go of the handle with a sigh. Worry left Thor's face and was replaced with relief.

"Nothing." He laughed it off and took a sip of his beer. But deep down, he knew it too.

"And, Widow?" Bruce suggested motioning to the infamous Avenger.

"Oh, no, no." She leaned back with a beer in hand. "That's not a question I need answered."

Stark, Rhodes, and Barton stood up from their places to grab another beer after all the 'worthy' scene.

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged," Tony commented on the situation.

"You bet your ass." Clint slapped the billionaire's shoulder.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Agent Hill accused Barton with Cap.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Cap turned to Tony, who cut him off and pretended he didn't talk.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Stark suggested a theory. "Like a security code. 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, I think, the literal translation."

"Yeah, that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory." Thor got up from the couch. "I have a simpler one." He lifted the hammer with one hand while holding his beer with the other. "You're all not worthy."

A chorus of disagreement at what Thor said was heard from the rest of the team but was cut short as a loud high pitched screeching noise filled the room. Everyone covered their ears and squinted their eyes.

Slow footsteps came from the hallway and Arabella was quick to grab a dagger from under the table, gripping it tightly.

"Worthy." A robotic voice said. "No." A broken Legionnaire came into view. "How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark," Cap demanded an answer from the man who ran the tower, not daring to take his eyes off from the robot.

"JARVIS," Tony demanded answers from the artificial intelligence who actually ran the tower.

"I'm sorry. I was asleep." The bot apologized looking at its arm. "Or I was a dream?"

Tony tapped on his device repeatedly and called for JARVIS. "Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit."

"There was this terrible noise." The bot explained moving its disarmed hands to its head. "And I was tangled in... in..." It struggled to find the right word and stumbled backward. "Strings."

Arabella stood up and gripped her dagger, even more, making her knuckles white. Her eyes were set forward in a menacing stare.

"I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy." The bot admitted softly.

"You killed someone?" Cap questioned it.

"Wouldn't have been my first call." It defended itself. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor boomed.

"I see a suit of armor around the world." Stark's voice was replayed by the robot.

Arabella instantly looked over at Tony, who kept his eyes glued to the robot in front of them. She knew who they were talking to; Ultron. She knew her dad was building him and she had a bad feeling about it. But who was Arabella to stop him, he had the right to try and protect the Earth. She didn't blame him though, there were threats from all around the universe.

"Ultron." Bruce realized too, his brows were furrowed as he glanced at Tony.

"In the flesh." He proudly admitted. "Or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis." He kept on stumbling back as he said so. "But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Arabella asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Peace in our time."

Legionnaires came flying through the wooden walls past Ultron and right to the Avengers.

Arabella lunged forward and wrapped her legs around the Legionnaire, stabbing it countlessly until its head fell to the ground. She mentally thanked Nat for choosing a jumpsuit for her.

Another bot came towards her and threw her to the shelf, it breaking as her back came in contact with it. The bot threw a punch at her face but she was quick to dodge it. She phased her hands through its chest and ripped it in half.

From her peripheral vision, she caught sight of a Legionnaire grabbing the scepter. She grabbed its leg, stopping it from flying away. She was about to stand up when a bot placed a foot on her back. Making her drop her hand to defend herself and sending the Legionnaire with the scepter free.

She gripped the leg of the robot and threw it aside. She placed herself on top of its metal body and started to punch its face out of anger until it broke to pieces. She wiped her bloody knuckles on her black jumpsuit and stood up. She saw Tony lying on the floor and ran to help him up.

"You're bleeding." He bluntly spoke. "I know." She grabbed his arm and lifted him up. He nodded just as Cap threw his shield at the last standing robot.

"That was dramatic," Ultron commented. Arabella sat Tony on the stairs and directed herself towards Ultron.

"I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. 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?" Ultron grabbed a fallen Legionnaire by the head and turned it to them. "With these? These puppets?" Ultron crushed his head and dropped it, clearly disgusted.

Arabella stepped closer to the deranged program with her fists tightened. The anger on her chest making its way to her throat, tightening it as well.

"There's only one path to peace: the Avengers' extinction." Arabella grabbed Cap's shield and threw it at the robot. It fell to the floor in pieces. Everyone turned to look at her automatically, but she didn't look back. Her eyes were glued on the flickering eyes of Ultron.

"I had strings, but know I'm free."

Hi! Thank you so very much for reading. The lyrics I used are from Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you stick around too!

love, lili

tales of sacrifice ; issue no. 1