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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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Charlie did her best to ignore the terror that was flowing through her veins as Ultron continued to approach her without an ounce of hesitation. She clenched her hands into fists to hide her shaking while feeling as if his glowing red eyes were staring straight through her. After fighting the urge not to look away for so long, the Barton girl finally caved and let her attention fall on the Maximoff twins just in time to see them exchange a look. As if sensing the Barton girl's eyes on them, Pietro and Wanda looked back at her with a hint of worry in their eyes that almost replaced the girl's fear with confusion.

When the demon robot was about five feet from the young archer, the speedster appeared out of nowhere and placed himself between her and Ultron. Charlie's eyes stayed glued to the back of his head for a short moment as a wave of relief washed over her. Pietro and Ultron stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity while keeping their eyes glued to each other before the Maximoff boy took another small step toward the Barton girl.

"Don't touch her," the platinum-haired boy ordered without breaking eye contact with the red-eyed robot, "we brought her here like you asked, but I won't let you hurt her."

"You've changed," the robot stated in what seemed like a confused tone as he continued to study the speedster before he gave what was his version of a scoff, "I just want to talk to her."

"You don't need to be this close to her to talk," Pietro responded while keeping his feet glued to the floor in front of the Barton girl.

The only response the Maximoff boy received was a long sigh from Ultron before the latter took a few steps away from the speedster and the archer. Charlie couldn't help but feel baffled by the sight of the nine-foot robot listening to the Maximoff boy. She kept her eyes glued to Pietro for another moment before she shook her feelings away and focused back on the situation at hand. Even though Ultron was at a distance that the Barton girl was almost comfortable with, the platinum-haired boy remained at her side and kept his eyes glued to the metal man.

Chills ran through the blonde girl's entire body when Ultron's gaze shifted away from Pietro and landed back on her. The two of them just studied each other for a long moment before the metal man decided to break the silence. "Where are the Avengers?"

The immediate response the robot received was a blank stare from the girl, who was trying to figure out if he was being serious. That continued for another moment or two before Ultron let out his version of an irritated sigh and repeated his question a bit slower. When Charlie realized his question was genuine, she let out a small laugh which made the other three standing in the room send her a confused look.

"If I knew where they were, why would I tell you?" the Barton girl questioned with a small smile on her face and a quirked eyebrow as all of her fear began to slowly fade, "and before you try to threaten me, just know that I'd rather save the lives of my family than my own."

"That group of misfits isn't your family," Ultron told her while his glowing eyes continued to stare at her as if they would make her reveal all her secrets.

"Family is more than blood," Charlie stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before the smile on her face slightly grew, "but I wouldn't expect a robot to understand that."

Her words instantly caused Pietro to send her a warning look, knowing how easy it was to rile up the metal man. Even though she knew he was probably right, Charlie also knew that wasn't going to happen. Over the years, Natasha, Clint, and herself discovered that she used sarcasm as a defense whenever she was in a stressful situation. It probably wasn't the most effective way to handle certain situations but they all agreed that it was better than her shutting down.

"They don't care about what happens to you, you're just a pawn in their game," Ultron told her, drawing her attention back to his menacing red eyes, "once they've completed their 'mission' they won't need you anymore. They barely need you now."

For a reason she couldn't explain, it took a lot of effort for Charlie to ignore his words. Maybe it was because she thought the same exact thing once or twice when she was with the team of heroes. Or maybe it was because it took her so long to get to the point she was at. Either way, she wasn't about to let Ultron see the effect his words truly had on her.

"You think you know so much but you know nothing," the Barton girl responded while trying her best to keep all of the emotions building up inside her at bay.

"I know that those 'heroes' aren't looking for you."

"And I know that you're using Pietro and Wanda the same way you claim the Avengers are using me."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Charlie had a glaring contest with the nine-foot robot. That continued for what felt like an eternity to the blonde girl before Ultron turned his back to her and faced the Maximoff twins. The three of them had an inaudible conversation before Ultron began to make his way out of the room. The robot made it halfway across the room when he stopped and gestured for Wanda to follow him, leaving the archer alone with the speedster.

"Please tell me you're smart enough to see that you and your sister are just a means to an end," Charlie whispered just loud enough for the Maximoff boy to hear, causing Pietro to turn away from where Wanda and Ultron disappeared to look at the Barton girl.

"Like you are to the Avengers?" the speedster responded without even trying to hide the venom in his voice as he turned to fully face her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you really that delusional? Ultron only cares about what he wants, not about you and Wanda. He will toss you aside as soon as he accomplishes his goal."

"And you care about what happens to Wanda and me?"

"Do you really think I would be trying to convince you that you're making the biggest mistake of your life if I didn't?" Charlie questioned with a quirked eyebrow before she let out a small sigh and continued speaking, "there has to be a small part of you that knows blaming the world for one man's wrongdoing isn't right."

The only response she received from the boy was the same blank stare he'd been giving her since the start of their conversation. However, this time Charlie noticed a bit of a change in his eyes. If she didn't know any better, it was starting to seem like her words were actually making him think about what he and his sister were doing. It was that small change in his expression that made the Barton girl break through the silence once again.

"You can still come back from this, Pietro. You and Wanda can still be the heroes you're trying to be and keep what happened to you from happening to someone else. You have this amazing ability, don't let it go to waste."

"How are we supposed to get away from Ultron?" Pietro questioned in a quiet tone as if he was frightened of someone hearing their conversation, "he's everywhere and craves revenge more than anything else in this world."

"If you can't find a way, make one your own," Charlie responded while silently hoping that she finally got through to the boy in front of her and for it not to be an act, "don't let someone take your choices away from you."

"Find a way or make one," the speedster whispered as a small smirk appeared on his face before a chuckle passed over his lips. When he looked back at Charlie, Pietro found her watching him with confusion and curiosity in her eyes. "That was something another test subject used at HYDRA. 'Find a way or make one.'"

It was at that moment that the Barton girl completely forgot about Ultron and Wanda in the other room and the current situation she was in. All her focus was now on getting more information about what she had just learned. Her eyes never left the speedster as she asked the question that was bouncing around in her head. "There was someone else there?"

"Her name was Alexandria. Wanda and I called her Dria. She was younger than us and had the same abilities as I do."

"What happened to her?"

"We don't know. She just disappeared," Pietro responded as the grin on his face slowly faded and was replaced with a small frown, "we went back for her after the attack at the Sokovian HYDRA base but she wasn't there."

Before their conversation could continue, the sound of the door slamming against the stone wall cut through the air. Charlie and Pietro quickly turned in the direction of the sound to see Wanda and Ultron enter the room. Chills run up and down the Barton girl's spine at the sight of the satisfaction mixed with annoyance on Ultron's face as he and the telekinetic made their way towards them. The archer's eyes never left the pair as Wanda went to stand by her brother while the robotic man stood in front of the blonde girl.

"Losing someone you love? That's your big fear?" Ultron questioned in a condescending tone as he stared down at Charlie before letting out a long sigh, "that's so...typical. Just like everyone else in the world. In all honesty, Little Bird, it should be me."

"You?" the archer mocked while failing to hold back the smile starting to form on her face, "you're just a product of Bruce and Tony's imagination. Actually...that is a little scary."

Before she realized what was happening, Ultron grabbed the Barton girl by the collar of her suit and lifted her off the ground before slamming her against the wall. Charlie stared into his red eyes for a moment before she glanced over at the Maximoff twins to see Wanda holding Pietro back. It wasn't even a second later when the speedster's eyes met the archer's. They kept their gaze connected for a long moment before the blonde girl's attention fell back on the nine-foot robot.

"I hold your life in my hands," Ultron stated as she felt his grip around her clothing slightly tighten.

Charlie couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow in response to his statement. "Thank you for stating the obvious."

The metal man let out an irritated sigh in response to the girl's words before he released his grip on her. Charlie instantly crash-landed on the ground beneath her and let out a groan. After the pain subsided, the Barton girl looked back up at the robot, only to find his artificial emotions transforming into something that resembled amusement. That was when the archer realized she was dealing with a type of crazy that could only come from the minds of two super-geniuses.

Because only those scientific lunatics could build something crazier than them.

"You know exactly how to push people's buttons, don't you?" the robot finally said, breaking the silence before he pointed one of his metal fingers at the girl, "you're a little manipulator. I bet you tried the same tricks on Pietro when Wanda and I were in the other room."

As soon as those words left the metal man's mouth, Charlie glanced over at the speedster to find him looking back at her with confusion in his eyes. The archer unconsciously replayed their conversation in her head as she stared at him before she turned her attention back to the nine-foot robot. Once she saw the look on Ultron's face, the Barton girl knew exactly what he was trying to pull. Luckily for her, two could play that game.

"Both Pietro and Wanda can decide what's good for themselves by themselves," Charlie stated as a small smirk formed on her face while she leaned back on the stone wall behind her once again, "but you, on the other hand, need programming like all other machines."

The satisfaction on Ultron's face was quickly replaced by irritation once again as he glared down at the blonde girl. After a moment of scrutinizing the young archer, he glanced back at the Maximoff twins to find them gazing at him with questioning looks on their faces. The three of them just stared at each other for a long moment before he looked back at Charlie.

"I'll ask you one last time. Where are the Avengers?"

The Barton girl quirked her eyebrow in response to his question and scanned over his metallic face to make sure he was absolutely serious. The change in his expression was enough for Charlie to know that her silence was enough of an answer for him.

"They'll show themselves again," Ultron told the archer before he turned around to face Wanda and Pietro, "grab the bird and head to the plane. We have someplace to be."

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