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

She is in her bedroom, on her laptop. Now that Jarvis is gone, it is easier for her to research things without anyone knowing. She still hates that Jarvis is gone, though. Part of her feels like it is 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 wishes he was there to snitch on her, now.

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

So, Mazzy scoures the internet for answers on the Winter Soldier. She has already read article after article. Nothing on him is clear. Some of the websites with the articles seem like they have large missing chunks out of them, and on some of them, Mazzy can't even read the words because they have been encrypted or something. Whoever or whatever the Winter Soldier is, someone is 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 are 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 remembers seeing that on the news, but Nick Fury is alive, according to Natasha.

None of it makes sense. The articles give conflicting information. All of it can't be true at the same time, and Mazzy has no way of telling what is true and what isn't.

One thing is clear, though. The images all show 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 feels familiar. The whole idea feels familiar. Mazzy can't put her finger on it.

And Maria has proven herself useless in letting information slip. She's making dinner for them right that very moment, and Mazzy knows that when they sit down at the dinner table together, even if Mazzy can get her chatting for hours, Maria won't say a thing. She won't even let a crumb drop.

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

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

"Something bothering you, Miss Stark?"

Mazzy jumps, slamming her laptop shut. Standing by the window of her bedroom are two people she has 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 jumps off of her bed, standing tall and brave.

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

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

"My brother's?" Mazzy murmurs, furrowing her eyebrows with confusion. She doesn't have a brother, does she? Her dad doesn't have any other children, and she doubts her mother does.

"Ultron," the man says.

Ultron.

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

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

"I don't care," Mazzy replies.

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

Mazzy needs to be like her dad, she decides. She needs to be confident. To act like she doesn't care. Maybe it will scare them off. But she doesn't have any weapons. That totally sucks. The only thing she has are the things at her desk behind her, so she takes her scissors from the top drawer and holds them tightly in her hand.

After clearing her throat, Mazzy puts on a smirk and a heavy transatlantic accent. "Hey," she starts with, very unsure of this plan. "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 smirks, glancing at the woman with amusement. "She's funny. I like her," he says.

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

The next thing Mazzy does is drop the scissors and walk calmly over to the strangers' sides. The woman takes her hand and the man kindly helps her climb through the window and into their stolen jet. They close up the door to the jet and Mazzy sits quietly in her seat.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is 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 stands silently beside Wanda. She can hear Dr. Cho's voice. She wants to scream out in warning, but she can't. When she tries to open her mouth and use her voice, it's like someone has sealed her mouth shut. When she tries to knock on the wall as some sort of warning that someone is in there, her arm won'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's like it has been done a thousand times before, like Ultron said. It is all very strange, and it honestly makes Wanda feel bad for the little girl, but she knows it's for the better.

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

But what Wanda is doing isn'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 will never be normal and there is nothing anyone can do to change that.

Still, despite all of Mazzy's power, she still can't do anything as Ultron takes control of Dr. Cho's mind, too. All she can do is watch.

To Mazzy's best understanding, Ultron is 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 will all be dead and Mazzy can't stop it. They will all be dead and Mazzy will be a part of it.

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

Tony is the best dad he knows how to be. And maybe he isn't perfect. Maybe he does a hundred things wrong every day, but he is doing his best and Mazzy loves him.

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

Is she reading Mazzy's thoughts now, too? Mazzy doesn't like being mind-controlled and she especially doesn'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 explains.

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

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

"My dad saves the world," Mazzy insists.

"Ultron will save the world," Wanda says. She stands up, and Mazzy does, too. Following closely behind Pietro and Wanda, Mazzy makes her way into the other room, where she knows Dr. Cho and Ultron are working on Ultron's new body.

In the center of the room is the cradle. That is the name of the machine Dr. Cho is using to create the body using the vibranium that Ultron has provided her with. Mazzy can see Dr. Cho leaning over the machine, looking content. But her eyes are a cold blue color. It isn't actually her.

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

God, Mazzy hopes that this won't work.

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

Mazzy steps closer to the cradle. It looks sort of like a tank. Sort of like what the human lays in to become one of the blue people in the movie Avatar. It's weird. It doesn't look real, but it is. It is real and it is right in front of her.

"I wouldn't call it dreams," Dr. Cho says. She looks over the cradle, a proud smile on her face. Mazzy knows 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 explains. "Soon-"

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

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

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

Wanda approaches the cradle, too, as Mazzy runs her finger along it.

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

Dr. Cho is interrupted by Wanda letting out a loud, pained scream as she suddenly retracts her hands from the cradle and squeezes her eyes shut. Mazzy jumps, her eyes wide, and Pietro rushes to his sister's side, his hands on her arms as he tries to get her to meet his eyes. Wanda, however, can't stop staring at the cradle.

Ultron shoots out of his seat. He knows something they don't, it seems.

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

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

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

Ultron stands across from her, slouching carelessly. "How could I what?" he asks.

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

"It will be better," Ultron says.

"When everyone is dead?"

Everyone?

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

Suddenly, Mazzy feels like she has control over her own body again. Like her mind is her own. Slowly, she backs herself behind Wanda and Pietro. If Ultron is getting angry, she isn'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 reasons, his hands out at his sides.

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

Ultron's head is tipped to the side as he answers, "Ask Noah."

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

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

This has been Ultron's plan all along. He isn't just going to kill the Avengers. He is 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's going to kill all humans, but what would be the point of peace if no one is 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 goes on. He leans himself over the cradle, running his hand over the top of it. "There's no room for the weak," he says.

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

"Life," Ultron replies 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 asks, her voice holding nothing short of regret and disbelief.

Before Ultron can give any answer, they are interrupted by the sound of an approaching jet. Mazzy lets out a sigh of relief. She isn't alone anymore. Someone is coming to help her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ultron lets out a heavy sigh. And then his arm lashes out to the side, sending a blast in Dr. Cho's direction. As the beam hits her, she falls backward against the wall, bleeding from her chest. Mazzy lets out a shriek, but before she can do anything to help Dr. Cho, she is picked up and the world is flying past her so fast that she can hardly even register it.

The next thing Mazzy knows, she is stopped in the street, clinging onto the back of Pietro as he places his sister on the ground next to him. Mazzy can't decide if this is her favorite or least favorite piggyback ride ever. Either way, she slides off of his back and smacks his arm.

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

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

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

"Mazzy," Wanda interrupts, 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 confirms with a nod.

To their left, a voice starts speaking in Korean. Mazzy isn't sure what they're saying, but from what they're showing, she can only guess that it has to do with the fact that Captain America is fighting Ultron on the top of a moving truck.

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

"Yes," Mazzy says.

"If you insist."