Maya Henson was not a religious woman by any means. She had dedicated her life to science and the pursuit of knowledge. She wanted to make improvements to the world—massive changes that would have her name remembered forever. All of the work she had made so far spat in the very face of any kind of deity. No, she didn't believe in higher powers or miracles, anything of the sort.
What Amaterasu did though? Straight up magic; to the point she could call it a miracle. She didn't know how this big fluffy wolf that kind of just showed up in New York did what she did. Where did a wolf learn to reprogram nanotech? How did she teach a virus to seek out the point of failure of cellular structure in the body, reinforce it, and relay that information back to the brain to rewrite the repair center in living organisms?
How did she steal food from people's plates? From right under their noses! More and more mysteries piled around the lupine.
If Maya weren't so impressed by the sudden spring forward in their research, she would be pulling her hair out trying to understand what the hell happened, and why. The success of Extremis in that one fern sample excited her too much to concern herself with goofy magic wolves that stole food and napped on lab equipment. So, instead of worrying about how it happened, she just focused on what the progress could do.
And, in all honesty, it was done. Her work was finished in a single afternoon, after years of agonizing over it, all thanks to some wolf that sprung up out of nowhere. Somehow, the machines and biological components of Extremis had been changed. Maya copied that new programming and decided to run a trial on a new kind of plant. Nothing fancy, just some random shrub they had found in Killian's mansion.
No, she wasn't petty, not at all. That trial succeeded wonderfully though, as did a litany of other quick tests. So, she moved on to live tests.
That was how she found herself standing in front of a large sealed test chamber in the basement. Sitting beside her was Amaterasu. The wolf had her head tilted as if she were curious. Her eyes were focused though, intent, like she had to see everything that happened here. The stillness in her tail betrayed her mood.
That, or she was hunting the small rodent in the chamber. Maya couldn't tell what was going on inside that fluffy noggin.
That didn't matter at the moment, what mattered right now was the results. Progress. A firm proof to her theory that this new reprogrammed Extremis would work without fail. The small tests on individual plants worked wonders; the same batch succeeded for all kinds of vegetation. They had tried twelve different species without a single failure.
For their next test, they strapped a white rat down to a metal surface. An IV ran to the rodent's leg, ready to inject it with Extremis with a push of a button.
The healing center in animals was more concentrated and localized, while in plants it was more spread out. Thusly, successful animal trials were extremely important. If this test worked, they could jump straight to the human trials.
"Beginning live Extremis test," one of her coworkers announced, "in five, four, three, two, one…"
With a push of a button, glowing orange fluid ran through the tubes, straight to the rodent. Immediately, it started flailing; writhing in agony. Small flashes of red and orange blazed beneath its white fur, causing a muted glow to shine across its fur. Maya winced but didn't interfere in any way, she was used to the sight. She needed to see this through.
Ammy didn't seem to think so. A deep, rough snarl left the wolf, and Maya was suddenly reminded that, as kind and friendly as Amaterasu could be, she was also a perfect specimen of a predator species. One that had survived millions of years on this world. Sharp teeth, powerful jaws, and muscle density far superior to that of a human. And this one could do magic—go figure.
"Don't worry, this is normal. With what you've done, it shouldn't last long at all." Maya couldn't help but try and defuse the situation.
Apparently, that didn't work, as Ammy crept toward the glass anyways, and an odd pressure rolled off the lupine. It made the hair on Maya's arms stand on end, and one of her coworkers staggered back half a step.
Then, a flash of blue found the wolf on the other side of the glass, in the chamber with the rat. The poor creature was glowing brighter with each passing second, its struggles and flailing growing worse. Its shrieks were audible through the walls of the chamber, horrific, high-pitched things.
Maya panicked and immediately lunged for the computer terminal. She couldn't let Amaterasu get hurt! If this trial failed, she'd need the wolf again! She slapped her hand down on the keyboard and overrode the safety switch with her passcode, fighting against her struggling coworkers as they attempted to hold her back.
Ammy crept closer still, even as a loud buzzer sounded out, and the glass wall descended. She stood before the poor creature, and watched, her fur bristling. The temperature coming off the rodent grew further still. It melted through its restraints and destroyed the IV in its leg. The rodent continued to thrash and squeal in agony, glowing brighter, from orange, to yellow, to white.
"Clear out! It's going critical!"
Maya wasn't too sure who shouted that, or which one of her coworkers it was that grabbed her arms and hauled her off with the rest of the fleeing team. She tried to fight them off, to warn Amaterasu, to stay and see the experiment through to the end. Maya should have warned her about the volatility—it was stupid of her to try and keep that hidden.
Oh, she'd hate to explain to Tony how she had accidentally splattered Amaterasu across the walls. Or how she turned a beloved floofy puppy into a carbonized shadow on the walls. In an attempt to help humanity and immortalize herself in the archives of scientific discovery, she willingly led a powerful force for good to her demise.
She turned the corner with the others, the light growing brighter in the room, drowning the fluorescents overhead with the sheer amount of light. Maya ducked, and waited for the inevitable, hoping that this time it wouldn't destroy the test chamber or her equipment.
…
She still waited, her head ducked, ears covered. Any second now, like every time before, it would go off. Nothing ever passed that intensity and survived. It always ended in a critical failure, a runaway cascade that brought nothing but destruction and disappointment.
…
Maya stood up, and crept forward, poking her head out around the corner to observe the room. She squinted, hoping to preserve her vision should she be risking looking at a detonation. With another thought, she raised a hand and peered through the gap in her fingers. A useless attempt at safety but an attempt nonetheless.
It was entirely unneeded.
Amaterasu was fine. The cage was okay too. So were the computer, the floor, and even the little rodent. The rat, who sat upon Ammy's head, perked upright and looked around the room. It didn't seem to be afraid, or even attempting to escape. Instead, it was clinging to Amaterasu's fur and sat atop her head like a little periscope.
The wolf looked like she was in heaven, crossing her eyes and staring up at the small rodent clutching her fur. That tail of hers whipped back and forth so violently that papers were blown off several desks and to the floor.
And multiple pencils.
And a potted plant.
And a computer screen.
Maya made a move to approach the two, only to stumble as her phone began to ring. Her hand hovered with indecision for a moment, before reaching to grab at her phone. She had to hold back the growl that built up at the interruption of what was probably the most important test of her life.
"Hello?" She asked.
Ironically, it was at that moment that none other than Aldrich Killian walked in. Maya knew this looked bad, getting a call right after a successful test. She wanted to shout, cheer, cry, and a multitude of other things in that swarm of emotions running through her over the situation. Why couldn't she just have one win? Just one!
No, Maya Henson was not religious at all. But if there were a God, they'd be laughing at her for this cosmically unfortunate timing. Maybe that flash of amusement from Amaterasu would be enough to count.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
"Thanks for getting hold of everyone for me, Jarvis," Steve said. He walked his way into the Avengers Tower once again, taking quick strides as he followed the path to the conference room.
"You're welcome, Captain Rogers," Jarvis replied from the little earpiece. "They're both waiting for you. I'll connect the call when you're seated."
Once more, Steve found Jarvis to be nothing but helpful and polite. Technology sure had come a long way since the war. Steve found the idea of a computer program that could learn, adapt, and communicate with people to be mildly unsettling at first. But Jarvis was kind and helpful, and that's what truly mattered. So, Steve accepted the existence without concern.
Jarvis was a good person, and people all deserved to be treated equally and given a chance.
The thoughts were brushed away as he sat down in the conference room once again, and pulled out the little card he had found. He set it down on the table, sat back in his chair, and the call was connected. The faces of both Nick Fury and Tony Stark were projected above the table.
Fury always looked so serious, would it kill the man to smile once in a while?
"Hello, Director Fury," the AI started.
"Jarvis," Fury replied.
"Fury," Steve greeted.
"Rogers," Fury returned, giving a small nod.
"Heyo, Nick," Tony smugged.
"Stark," Fury sighed.
There was a moment when Tony grinned at the response before his expression settled once more.
"Rogers, I heard you found something?" Fury asked. Before Steve could speak, Tony cut in.
"Oh good, 'cause I found a whole lotta nothing. A whole ocean of it."
"I did," Steve said. "I found a card in my apartment. I think Amaterasu left it behind. Jarvis, could you…?" A moment later the card that he had laid out on the table was scanned and sent across to Fury and Tony, allowing them to both take a look at it. "Maya Henson, working for or with AIM, whoever that is."
"Maya. Maya… That's familiar, one sec," Tony hummed. "Maya… Oh, right. New Years a while back, she and I—" He looked at Rogers for a moment, and carefully thought out his word choice. "…worked with each other on a botany thing, kind of. AIM is familiar though. Aldrich Killian's think tank—he was pretty interested in her work. No clue what happened to them recently."
"That's our lead, then," Fury said. "I had Hill run surveillance checks. Fido was last seen outside of a restaurant in New York with Maya Henson and our own agent Rumlow."
Fury's comment was aided by him pulling up a video for the others to view. The first person shown was Maya– confirmed by Tony– who was sitting at a table outside of a restaurant. Fury skipped the video forward, bringing it to the moment agent Rumlow appeared in frame and sat at the table.
It took all of five seconds of nothing but the two people greeting each other on video for Stark to lose his patience.
"Alright, so where's Space Dog? I thought that—"
He cut himself when, out of nowhere, Amaterasu came into camera view. She didn't just show up like she could with illusions. Nor did she just step into view as anyone trying to avoid gaining attention would do.
No, she plummeted in from the sky, almost too fast for the camera to catch. The frames clipped and slowed to show a near slide show of Amaterasu crashing onto the wooden table. The explosion of wood and cutlery was glorious, as was the surprise of both Maya and Rumlow. Then there was Ammy, looking absolutely thrilled by her dynamic entry, her tail a blur of excitement as she stood amid the chunks of wood and two traumatized individuals.
"Yup." Tony popped the 'P' at the end. "That's our girl. A nightmare to therapists and insurance companies everywhere."
"Her tracking collar lost connection the morning after. Several photos were taken of Fido that morning, though. These are the most recent ones," Fury spoke. He remained completely neutral in expression, pulling up three different photos of Ammy.
Steve had to bring a hand up to cover his smirk, trying his best to remain professional. Tony, on the other hand, shamelessly snorted and began cackling at the photos.
All three were various angles of Amaterasu mid-sprint, most or all of her paws off the ground at the time of capture. Her fur was slicked back from the wind, and her eyes wide, reminiscent of any dog mid-zoomies. The pizza in her jaws remained flopped to the side, pulled back in the wind alongside her fur.
Steve shifted his eyes to Fury's face in the projection. His eye was wider than normal, an almost forced calm and neutrality shown. His eye twitched, and then, much to Steve's shock, the corner of his mouth lifted ever-so-slightly. A moment later and Fury was back to normal, neutral and serious as always.
Steve knew now though. Not even Fury was immune to goofy Ammy shenanigans. Maybe he could use that to his advantage down the road…
"These were the last known sightings of Fido," Fury spoke again, interrupting the shameless guffaws from the obnoxious billionaire. "Rogers, you haven't tried calling that number yet, have you?"
"No sir," Steve replied. He had to fight to keep his smile down still, not at all helped by those absurd photos being kept on screen. He could swear Fury did it intentionally—maybe to keep Tony from interrupting like last time. "I didn't want to alert them on the off chance they were waiting for a call."
"Stark, can you trace the call?" Fury removed the photos from the screen, finally giving Stark mercy from the goofy wolf. "Everything seems to be contained to Fido's file and Rogers' account, but I don't want to take the risk."
"Can I trace the call? You insult me," Tony replied. "I hacked the Pentagon in high school on a dare. Tracing a phone call is nothing—I'll need half a minute max. Ready Jarvis?"
"Always, Sir," replied the AI.
"Stark, keep it subtle," Fury warned. "We don't need them panicking and doing something unpredictable."
"Please," Tony smirked, "subtle is my middle name."
"Sir—"
"Stark—"
"Tony—"
"Aaaannnddd mute!" A quick gesture had all the participants silenced. He ignored all the hard stares, muted protests, and various other expressions of extreme doubt. Tony dialled what had to be Maya's number.
There was a single ring as the lines connected. A little indication Jarvis began tracing the connection popped up in the shared call. Another ring. Then another. Just as they all began to wonder if it was a dead-end lead…
"Hello?" The voice of Maya Henson came through the speakers.
"Hello! This is Tony's Pizza," Stark spoke cheerfully. "I'm just calling you back after your message about the order?"
Fury glared.
Steve facepalmed.
Jarvis sighed.
"Order? Er, no, sorry, I think you have the wrong number," Maya sounded confused; Steve didn't blame her.
"Are you sure? I have the order right here. It was about, eh, twelve years ago or so? You ordered an extra spicy vegetarian pizza. There's a recent order here too: extra large pupperoni pizza, put through about three days ago. All for a Maya Henson."
Steve hid his face in both hands at this point, peering at the images of Fury and Tony through his fingers. Fury, the poor man, was glaring at Tony hard enough that, if it were possible, would set fire to Stark through sheer willpower.
There was a long, quiet pause from the other end of the connection, while Jarvis continued working on isolating the location of the call. It was down to somewhere in Florida at the moment, near the coast, quickly working toward a single location.
"…Tony?" Maya asked, suddenly much quieter.
"I mean, I did just say Tony's pizza. I thought that part was self-explanatory," Stark replied.
"Why are you calling? This is a really bad time."
"I thought I already said that? Spicy vegetarian? Extra large pupperoni? C'mon, I thought you'd get that one," Tony huffed. "Know what, forget the pizza thing, that was a dumb idea."
Oh, thank goodness that was over. Steve was hoping that Tony would remain semi-subtle. Maybe talk about what they'd been up to, or how her work-life balance was going. Something boring and mundane to keep her confused and on the call. Maybe the weather?
"Where's Amaterasu?"
Steve groaned and planted his forehead on the table, a resounding thunk echoing through the room. Fury, meanwhile, was angrily pressing buttons on his device, hoping to do something to salvage this. Jarvis continued plucking along, almost finished the tracing—at least someone was composed through all this.
"…She's safe if that's what you're wondering," Maya whispered. "Don't worry, she's happy, healthy and we're working together. Ammy is free to leave whenever she likes and knows as much. There's nothing wrong." It sounded as if she was walking to another area. "We're almost finished too. Another day at most, and she'll be right back home, and we'll stay away after that."
"You know, whenever anyone's said everything's okay, there's usually something very wrong," Tony replied. "Then again, I've said the exact same thing before. Mom asked why the Feds were at the door back in high school." He gave a wistful sigh. "Good times."
"I mean it, everything is going well. With the way the last tests went, there's maybe one more trial and we'll be done." She sounded excited at this point. "You don't understand. It's almost perfect, Tony. We're so close. One test and then we can update everyone–no more glitch! Everything I've been working toward will be finished."
"Glitch?" There was a long, drawn-out pause, and realization flashed across Tony's face. "Maya? Maya, wait, don't tell me you've been—"
"I have to go," Maya interrupted. "Please, don't worry. She's safe, everything is fine; she'll be back in two days at most."
The call cut out after that, leaving Tony in silence. Jarvis unmuted both Fury and Steve, the former immediately speaking out.
"The hell was that, Stark? I told you to keep it subtle," Fury growled. "That was the complete opposite of—"
"Maya is a good person," Tony interrupted. "Or, well, she used to be. Hey, Jarvis, are there any records of AIM getting in trouble with the law? Specifically with biological experimentation?"
"Where are you going with this?" Steve asked. Jarvis answered before Stark could.
"There is only one reported account of an investigation by authorities. Evidence was inconclusive, though several minor news networks have published a story or two about the company. They claimed the investigation was shut down early. The sources are questionable at best," Jarvis supplied the group.
"Maya was working on a kind of biological enhancement to living organisms," Stark began. "There was an error in the programming I tried to help with. This glitch caused a runaway reaction that led to, well," he made an explosion noise. At the raised eyebrow from Fury, and the concerned look from Steve, he continued. "Okay, look, I was drunk and she was hot and smart. Sue me.
"Extremis was meant to help people recover from injuries, restore forests, anything you can think of that would relate to healing something alive. She said she could 'update' everyone and the glitch was still present. Sounds like people have already been injected with it. Who knows how many have died already."
"It sounds like it's a permanent change to someone," Steve began. "I'm sure the intentions were good, but… doesn't that sound a little too familiar? A biological enhancement to a person; sped up healing? If that applies to everything, they could probably recover from physical strain quickly, and be stronger each time." Steve pointed to himself.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"You think they could be using this as a Super Soldier Serum?" Fury asked.
"It wasn't meant to be used like that, but it's possible," Tony admitted. "Hey Jarvis, did you get that location?"
"Yes, Sir. The call was traced to Florida. The specific address is a property owned by an Aldrich Killian."
"Stark, get down there now," Fury said. "Rogers, take a Quinjet."
"Rules for engagement?" Steve asked.
"Assume hostility," Fury spoke. "Don't make the first move, but considering the lengths they've gone to hide this, don't let your guard down. I'll give you two hours. I'll have two teams of agents in the area sent out to join you once you're near the site."
"I'll race you there, old man," Tony commented to Steve.
"Aren't you in California? How's that fair?" Steve asked, quirking an eyebrow at Tony.
"You're right, it's not. I'll give you a twenty-minute head start," Stark smirked.
The call ended with a sigh from Fury.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
"Who was that, Maya?"
The woman jumped, the phone almost falling from her hands. She turned to face her boss, Aldrich Killian, who had a rather displeased look on his face. Maya had learned to avoid him when he was like this—not an option this time, unfortunately.
"That," she tried to speak, but her mouth felt too dry all of a sudden. "That was, uh, Stark."
She cringed as Aldrich's eyes flashed an angry orange at the name. His gaze narrowed, and his lips pursed a touch. He breathed deeply through his nose, and closed his eyes, putting on his cheerful face once more.
"Would you tell me why you were talking to Stark? Right after a successful test as well." His tone was dangerous. "We're this close. Are you going to run after everything we've been through? After everything I did for your project?"
Killian stepped a little closer, and Maya forced herself to stand still. She couldn't show she was afraid of him, he still needed her. There was no guarantee that the new Extremis would work—more tests had to be done still. Though with how everything was going…
He was getting dangerously close to not needing her.
"I didn't think he knew my number. I haven't spoken to him in twelve years, Killian" she spoke, calm and controlled. "I'm staying, you don't need to worry about that."
There was a long moment of silence. Killian turned away and began pacing. The rhythmic sound of his shoes across the pavement began to grate on Maya and made her uncomfortable.
"I should pay Stark a little visit when this is all over," he mused. "Maya, get to work analyzing that most recent test. I've got three candidates we can inject with Extremis tomorrow. Once this is over, we can take Amaterasu back to her shrine, give her the old stuff, and record the fireworks. Then it's business as usual."
"What?" Maya raised her voice more than she meant to. "I—we don't need to kill her. She helped us and can be of more use. Imagine all the things we could do with her help. I'm hesitant to say 'magic' but—"
"Maya, let me remind you, she's our direct competition." Killian's eyes flashed orange. "Her abilities cut into our profits. On top of that, she's a witness, and—"
"Stark knows she's with us." Maya interrupted. She hurried along as Killian stalked closer. "He asked about her directly. If we kill her, he'll know, and come after us. Just let her go after this. Stay friendly and I'm sure things will be fine."
The long, silent pause between Killian and Maya had her nerves crawling. That intense glare, and the uncaring attitude toward the death of a sapient being… She didn't enjoy that in the slightest. Then, he pulled away and sighed.
"Don't argue with me on this, Maya. I've gotten us this far, and you've been here even through the detonations and the campaign—you're complicit now. If you run or sabotage this, I'll make sure you come down with me. Understood?"
A nod was all the answer she could give.
"Good." Killian paused for a moment as if thinking. "Skip the analysis of the last test, we're going straight to human trials now. I've got Taggart here. He looks like he's barely able to keep himself together, so we'll know if it works real quick. If not," he trailed off. "If not, hopefully, the mutt will fix it. If she doesn't, she dies in the explosion, or we kill her after. This is more progress than we've made in five years, Maya. She's no longer useful to us."
Again, Maya only responded with a nod. Killian smiled in response, showing his teeth. It was a dreadful look, similar to how a predator would put on a display to intimidate prey.
"Besides, once she's gone, Stark will come. We can take care of two of the largest threats to AIM at once. This is going to be perfect, Maya, don't you worry. Everything will be perfect."
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Amaterasu crouched low, sticking to the shadows as she stalked her prey. Her steps were light, claws lifted, her tail held above the floor as she crept. Each breath was soft, and her eyes narrowed, focused entirely on her goal.
She was waiting for the right time to strike, her muscles bunched, energy thrumming through her body. All she needed was a distraction, a single moment to take advantage of.
Eric Savin picked up the tool. That was her moment—she only had one chance.
The world ground to a halt, Amaterasu flexing her power on reality. She swept her tail in a quick, light slash, aiming carefully. No mistakes. When reality resumed, the results were immediate. Savin's fork flew out of his hands, and shot straight up into the air, embedding itself in the ceiling.
Oops, she hadn't meant to use that much power. Still, this was her chance! She continued with her plan as Savin looked up at the quivering fork in the roof. With another use of her magic and two quick swipes of her tail, time slowed to a crawl.
Now!
Ammy launched forward, coiled muscles firing all at once, sending the lupine hurtling across the room and toward her target. Her paws tucked up to her chest, streamlining her form and dropping wind resistance in her arc. Jaws wide, she prepared herself.
Aaaannnddd…
Chomp!
Before Eric Savin even had the chance to finish looking at his fork, Ammy launched toward him, sailed over the table, and stole his omelette. She landed on the floor and skidded several feet, before darting to the right. She planted her feet and bolted, flying through the house at a rapid rate. It was only when she had made it outside that she came to a stop, slowing from her sprint to a happy little trot, her prize still in her jaws.
An angry shout from inside the house came from Eric Savin, which Ammy blissfully ignored. She leaned down and flopped the omelette on the grass instead—truly a food crime that would have the greatest chefs quivering in rage.
Amaterasu then sat back and gave a soft "wurf" into the open air. Her neck fluff ruffled and shifted, and then out poked a pink nose, white head, and red eyes. The rat she had stolen away from the lab squeaked in pure joy and leaped to the grass. It immediately set upon the offered food, nibbling away, completely happy and relaxed with its new situation.
Laying down on the grass, the wolf crossed her paws and rested her head upon them. Her gaze focused on the rescued lab rat eating away. The poor thing had been suffering and screeching in agony. Ammy hadn't known what to do when she went up to it. Just as she had been about to use one of her Brush Techniques on it, the heat and glow had started to fade.
That sealed the deal for Amaterasu though. She now knew fully what was going on, and was honestly disappointed in herself that it had taken her so long to realize it.
They were using her.
Sure, it was difficult to tell at first. Everyone was so nice, and the plan seemed perfect. It had been a happy coincidence, and she let herself believe that this mountainous task she had put before herself could be solved with promises of a better future and assistance from strangers.
How blissfully ignorant she had been. Killian was charming and kind, a little too much so. His words sounded fake the more she listened to him speak. And the way he chose his topics to carefully fall into what people knew she did and cared for? It was a little too convenient.
It was the subtle motions that gave him away: the drop of a smile; the short temper with his employees; the forced tone in his speech. Ammy had seen him after he followed Maya out when she took a phone call. That subtle shifting of orange beneath his skin matched that of Savin's perfectly.
Then there were the secrets. The hidden area she wasn't supposed to go to. The lack of conversation about human trials, while Maya babbled about the plants endlessly. The little hints here and there about overheating, but they never elaborated. A little thought at the back of her head had been telling her what she didn't want to think about. After she watched the rat melt through metal restraints and heat up to an uncomfortable degree? No doubt about it—sometimes things injected with Extremis exploded. A runaway reaction in the body, repairing and healing itself over and over again, repetition to failure.
Then, of course, there was Trevor. That poor man. He was clearly drunk out of his mind, among other things. That little scene and script though? Too easy to piece together, he was just so outlandish that it took a moment for her to sort her thoughts.
They were using her for her abilities. Then, when things were settled, they were planning on killing her. She didn't know why, but the wording of the script Trevor had read out lead Ammy to believe it was to cause fear and panic. It was an unfortunate realization, and fit into the description that Agent Rumlow had talked to her about: people with talents, using them for their own personal gain. Wasting their potential to be a danger to society.
Rumlow was right, as much as she disliked the idea. She had no idea how many people had died already due to these people she had been helping. One thing was for certain though.
She wasn't going to let another innocent person get hurt while she could help it.
All she had to do was wait for the right time to make her move. She needed as many people together as she could, and knowing the process that Maya took, there would be another series of tests soon-ish, or the next stage after she had done an analysis.
What a shame. She had thought they were nice people that could find a way to help her achieve her own goals. The sting of betrayal hurt. It couldn't ever overcome the knowledge that people were willing to harm others for their gain. The anger she felt over that had caused a growl to slip out during the test.
Amaterasu took another breath and sighed. She had to keep her cool; had to play it smart.
She leaned in and took a bite out of the omelette the rat was still snacking on. The poor thing was skinny, just another tally for the bad look of the people she had been helping. Her ears folded back for a moment before she shook it off. Can't give away anything quite yet.
A set of footsteps approached her from the house and caught her attention. The lovely rat friend she rescued bolted back toward her, diving into her fur once more. Ammy leaned in to snap up the rest of the food, disposing of all the evidence with a lick of her chops.
Can't have anyone thinking she was less than a perfect guest that didn't steal food and was totally oblivious to their evil schemes! No, she was definitely a friendly and goofy dog without any ulterior motives. Absolutely. Heck, she could almost convince herself that she was the perfect–no, who was she kidding? She was ready to tear this place down to the foundation.
"Ah, there you are, Ammy." Killian grinned as he approached, spreading his hands in a welcoming gesture. "I was wondering where you went, you disappeared during my talk with Maya."
Ammy barked in greeting and wagged her tail a little, making sure to keep up the act of an excitable, gullible guest. Her eyes roamed his form, looking for those little tells when he spoke—the little inconsistencies that she shouldn't have ignored in her excitement to help.
"I don't suppose you know where that lab rat went off to, do you?"
His eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.
"The researchers said it was with you last, and were hoping to do a test or two on it. You know, to make sure everything went well and it's stabilized. Don't want the poor thing hurting, after all."
Guilt tripping, and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Ammy shook her head, and tilted to the side, her ears flopping with the motion. Killian's fingers curled a little tighter at his sides. Then, he stood a little straighter and took a breath, that calm smile returning to his face. It wasn't genuine.
"Oh well, doesn't matter. It was a success as far as I can tell." He took a moment as if searching for the right words. "I can't thank you enough for your help. With everything you've done, I'm sure we'll be able to give people the care they need. Too many people are struggling and suffering, and I want to be able to make a difference. I want to heal damaged forests, preserve nature, and make a difference in the world, and I'm positive we can now. This is a glorious day indeed—one that will go down in history as a turning point of society, I'm sure of it."
Yeah, that's right, lay it on thick. Every word just convinced Amaterasu further—Killian wasn't being genuine. He didn't care the slightest about what he was saying. His voice was practiced and had the same inflections on keywords. Calling back to nature, helping people, making a difference, and on and on and on. Big changes, positivity in the world, all because of her help.
She wouldn't be so easily fooled.
Well, not this time. Maybe the stress from before made her decision-making skills plummet through the crust of the Earth for about 48 hours. But she was back! Her current decision? Shred this whole operation down to the bone and make sure people were held responsible.
Much better, in her personal opinion!
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Killian laughed and flashed a toothy grin. "Maya said that we can do another trial now, ideally the last test. I've got a volunteer here I'd love for you to meet so we can get started. I know it seems like everything is perfect, but I'd like you there for the last one. You know, just in case anything goes wrong, and to congratulate you. I want to give you the recognition and praise you deserve for your part in all this."
Oh, come on. She had to stop herself from dry-heaving to his words, and instead just happily barked and wagged her tail. The unsettling grin returned to his face. Still, she soldiered on. That disgusting tone and fake praise weren't worth the sacrifice of the omelette she stole– the omelette she found.
"I've already gathered everyone downstairs." Killian turned toward the house and gestured for Ammy to go ahead of him. "We're just waiting on you so we can get things started."
It seemed as if the perfect opportunity to act had fallen into her paws after all. Not like the previous time when her stress over the insurmountable task had consumed her, and Maya's solution just happened to appear. No, this one was of their own making; their hubris would be their downfall.
Oh, she was looking forward to this.
The march down to the lab was a quiet one. Upon entering the house, four guards—two on each side—fell into step behind Killian and Ammy. She made note of the firearms on all of them, their hands hovering by, or even resting on their weapons.
Killian attempted to make small talk, likely trying to distract her. Ammy merely barked or made some other noise in reply, not at all listening to his words. She forced her tail to swish and swing with her steps, normal as could be.
She didn't react to the sound of a large metal door rattling into place once everyone in their little party stepped into the basement. Or the sound of locks chunking into position. She didn't even spare a second glance at Savin, who stood in the corner with a rather large gun. It was reminiscent of the weaponry she had seen some of the NYPD Officers use in their defence against the Chitauri.
Their little group of six turned into a pair quickly with Amaterasu and Killian striding ahead, approaching the center of the room where Maya stood alone. Around the room were many individuals in lab coats, each one a familiar face in the underground research center. Additionally posted were multiple "guards" of Killian's, easily reaching beyond two dozen.
The massive room, normally filled with the sound of chatter and clacking keyboards, was eerily silent. A few taps of boots idly scuffing the concrete, someone clearing their throat. Ammy's paws and Killian's dress shoes were the centerpiece of the room, drawing attention from everyone.
All these eyes on her as she walked… It was eerily reminiscent of the night in front of the shrine. She couldn't tell what was worse though: the screaming cacophony of noise as people begged for her attention, or the intense gaze boring into her hide in the complete silence of the cool concrete room.
Idly, Ammy wondered how everyone would react if she just bolted through the window right now, with no rhyme or reason. Would they chase her? They wanted her dead. Maybe watching two dozen people scrambling after her would make the fight more fun, like a slow avalanche of hate and whining for her to slow down.
Amaterasu padded up to meet Maya, stepping ahead of Killian. She sat and gave a woof in greeting, before shifting her attention back toward the man that organized this whole thing in the first place.
"Alright, bring him out, please," Killian spoke to two of his men positioned near the hallway. There was a nod, and the duo left a moment later.
"Killian, please, let me—" Maya was cut off with a sharp glare from Aldrich, and an orange glint in his eyes.
"Thank you all for joining me," Killian began, projecting his voice to the room. "Ladies, Gentlemen," he turned to gesture toward the wolf, "Amaterasu. Today marks the final step in our journey. We've been at this for years now, and finally, with a little help from our special guest, we've done it. With this final test and subsequent success, we'll have completed Extremis!"
An enthusiastic cheer rose from the scientists around the room, amid several grumbles, likely at having been upstaged by a dog. Ammy huffed in amusement.
"With this trial complete, we'll be able to move on to mass production and begin distribution. We can give our veterans the lives they had back to them: give them back their limbs in minutes, and allow them freedom from their pain." Several murmurs of agreement rose from the ex-military members around the room, alongside some questionable muttering.
The two members Killian had sent out returned with a new individual, this one strapped to a medical table. The three came to a stop in the middle of the room and had the secured individual raised to a vertical position, allowing the room to see him.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Jack Taggart. He wasn't slated for the program for another few months, but considering how well things have been progressing, I figured we could slide him forward a little." Killian said that as if he were some kind of generous benefactor, not someone that experimented on people, blew them up, and had questionable tastes in lawn decorating–he was truly evil.
It was clear this Jack person was suffering from something. His hands were shaky, and his arms were covered in scratches. His skin had a light yellowish tinge to it, and he was sweating more than what would be reasonable in the warm room.
From the brief jaunts through the hospitals in New York City, Amaterasu had been given descriptions and explanations about what patients had been suffering through—the hospital staff weren't concerned about patient confidentiality. They were overwhelmed after the invasion, exhausted, and when asked by malpractice investigators, their reasoning was simple.
What could a wolf tell someone? Clearly flawed logic, but what could the hospital staff reasonably do in that scenario? Fight off a magic wolf that helped fend off an alien army and splattered them like horrific water balloons? Wasn't going to happen.
Taggart was suffering withdrawal from some kind of addiction. Ammy couldn't tell what type, however—she was a goddess, not a doctor. She didn't have the patience to go to medical school! Heck, she'd nearly drifted off several times when medical professionals tried to explain intricate little details to her. Too much talking, and not enough action.
Amaterasu blinked and cast her gaze to the right. Killian was still talking. In his hands was some kind of syringe. Well, if she was planning on putting a stop to this, and helping people, now would be a good time. Might as well upstage Killian and see if she couldn't shake everyone's view of him. The very idea was cathartic.
A simple use of her magic had time freeze and she applied the healing abilities of Bloom upon Taggart. She layered this on him several times over, each one just working her magic a little further upon the suffering man. Just simple applications, hoping to bring him to a natural and healthy state.
Time resumed, and no one was any wiser. None, that is, save for Taggart. The man gasped and arched his back, straining against the restraints keeping him to the table. His skin returned to a healthy tone, his eyes grew clearer, and those horrific marks along his arms faded away in a moment. His hands stopped shaking, and he took a deep, relaxed breath, exhaling loudly.
His reaction gained Killian's attention, who stopped in the midst of what was probably some evil rant about world domination—Ammy didn't care too much to listen now. Instead, Killian turned to face Taggart, looking at the much healthier-looking man.
Then he glanced at Amaterasu.
Back to Taggart.
Then Ammy.
"Did you—"
An affirmative bark cut him off, and Ammy got to all fours, her tail wagging happily. There! She fixed the problem; he had no reason to inject the man with Extremis. He was healed, end of the story. Tadaa!
Another round of whispers and hushed conversations rose up from the gathered guards and scientists alike. Several guards had their hands resting at their hips, clearly on edge. The scientists didn't care, too busy leaning closer from where they stood to get a good look at the sudden changes.
Aldrich Killian was not happy.
"Amaterasu, why did you—" Killian ground himself to a halt, and took a breath. His neutral, relaxed smile returned once more. "I was about to help him. We could have helped him from being injured for the rest of his life. Doesn't that sound important to you? One less person to worry about keeping safe and healthy."
Ammy didn't miss the way his fingers clenched a little tighter around the syringe in his hand, nor the way his eyes flashed orange for a moment. She wagged her tail in response. Oh, he didn't like that.
Too bad for him.
Another few swipes of her tail, and the restraints keeping Taggart strapped to the table exploded into a shower of metal pieces. Every shard hit the floor with an audible tink. The would-be medical experiment stepped forward from where he had been and glanced to his left.
With wide eyes, he stepped away and shuffled himself behind one of those large containment chambers, peeking out around the corner, and peering at the rather furious-looking Aldrich Killian. Ammy mentally praised his wise decision. Just stay away from the crazy people.
Maybe she should take her own advice into consideration…
"C'mon, Ammy. We both want to help people. You have gifts, but not many others do. Let me help them," Killian tried.
She huffed in reply, and sat down, staring straight at the man. No, she wasn't going to be listening to him and his pleas or promises for a better future. They didn't want the same thing. He wanted power and to look the part of a hero. She wanted to help people. With a final decision made, she bared her teeth, a low growl rolling from her jaws.
"Don't do this," he hissed, ripples of orange rolling under his skin. He took another breath, and attempted to convince her once more.
"Do the right thing."
Oh, she was going to.
The air grew warmer still, and the basement laboratory became stuffy and heated. Still, no one moved, spectating the stare-down between what was the most powerful Extremis user on the planet, and a massive wolf.
Ammy lifted a paw and pulled on her abilities. Killian tensed in preparation for anything, muscles bunched, Extremis flickering under his skin.
She dropped her paw.
Boop!
Right onto the communications collar she pulled out of thin air—the one Nick Fury had given her. That heavy wolf paw lifted, revealing a big red button that she had pressed. A long moment of silence hung in the air, all attention directed to the new object on the concrete. Then…
"Hey, Snowy, we got your call." The voice of none other than Phil Coulson came from the speaker. "We're heading to your location now, hang tight."
Amaterasu gave a happy bark and a wag of her tail.
"You bitch." Killian pulled a gun from the inside of his suit.
Amaterasu was more than ready to intercept the move. The possibilities were endless! She could teleport herself a few feet to the side. Maybe she'd slice the gun in half. Or maybe at the wrist? He'd probably heal from it, and just be angrier.
Extra angry Killian sounded like a wonderful decision! It would throw him off his game, and make him more reckless–perfect for toying with.
Plan set in motion, she flexed her power, time slowing to a crawl. She watched the weapon come to point directly at her head, several feet away. Her eyes followed his finger, watching the muscles tense, pulling down on the trigger in agonizing slowness.
Ammy readied her Power Slash ability, prepared to give Killian another reason to give up. It would be a simple disarming. A flick of the figurative wrist, to remove his literal one. She had to hand it to him, his plan had been clever. But she–
Her brilliant mental tirade was brought to a halt. Not by the firing of the weapon aimed right at her snoot, but by the glass window to her left exploding inwards. She didn't expect the glowing body of one of Killian's Extremis users to bounce across the floor, and roll to a stop in between the two of them.
Amaterasu leaned in and smacked her paw down on the man's face, checking if he was still alive.
"Gett'er off'a me…"
Oh perfect! He was just fine!
Amaterasu glanced at Killian, who had his full focus turned on the window now. She turned to look at the cause of the sudden draft, head cocked to the side.
There wasn't time to react as a red, white, and blue metal disc flew in through the broken window, hurtling through the air with an unnatural hum. That big metal frisbee was very familiar to Amaterasu.
The shield struck Killian in the wrist, the sharp impact forcing the gun to fly out of his hands. He reeled back in pain, clutching his wrist. The shield continued on, bouncing off the floor, the wall, and flying right back toward the entrance.
Steve Rogers, in full Captain America regalia, dropped through the window at a sharp angle. He twisted, catching the shield, and spun himself upright in a single swift motion, making the move look effortless. His eyes immediately scanned the room, before locking onto Ammy.
"Alright, no one move, I'm not afraid to throw you back out that window too." The red and gold form of the Iron Man suit dropped into the basement, cracking the concrete beneath its feet. The mask lifted up, showing off a grinning Tony Stark. "There's at least five more I can use, and I've been itching to find a reason to tell Pepper I've defenestrated several people into unconsciousness in a single afternoon."
"You know, Fury said not to make the first move," Steve sighed. He turned to face Stark, dismissive of the entire room, though he kept his shield up. "C'mon, did you really have to throw him through the window? The door's right there."
"You're just jealous he didn't flutter his eyelashes at your star-spangled ass," Tony replied. "Besides, he looked at me first. I was just defending myself from that aggressive eyeing up. Oh, and the gun, that's important too."
Despite the bickering, the duo were focused, taking in everything they could, never leaving themselves open to attack.
"Stark," Killian growled out, clenching his hands. A ripple of orange rolled up his arms from his hands, his skin letting off enough heat to make the air just above it shimmer. "I've been looking forward to seeing you for a long–"
"Hey, Fabio," Tony interrupted. "You cut your hair? You went from golden showers to greasy fast-food noodles."
Amaterasu couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped her. Her tail wagged faster, realizing that this just got a whole lot more exciting. A glance to the right gave her a perfect view of Killian opening and closing his jaw in stunned shock for a moment. Then, he narrowed his eyes, finding himself.
"You think you're clever? That you can just avoid consequences with some little jokes? Do you remember what you–"
"Consequences?" Tony interrupted once more. "Ugh, you sound like every boring mom ever. Look, I'll forgive your hideous fashion crimes just this once. Only because you found our dog. Silly thing keeps taking off and causing a mess."
It was Amaterasu's turn to look stunned, giving Tony a partially offended look. She huffed through her nose and rolled her eyes, giving a sharp bark in return. She wasn't at all concerned with the rest of the room now.
"Sir, I'd advise against antagonizing Amaterasu further," Jarvis spoke up. "She has pancake powder and she's not afraid to use it."
"She what? Did I break you, Jarvis?"
"Pancake powder?"
"Do you even remember me, Stark!?"
"Awuff!"
"She's going to put it in your underwear drawer, Sir."
"Tony?"
"Maya?"
"Maya! Did you–"
"Woof!"
"Heya, Space Dog!"
A long moment of silence hovered between everyone– a solid absurdity-formed tension that kept the peace between the numerous people in the basement. It was Steve that finally broke it, giving a frustrated little sigh, and hefted up his shield.
"The future is just weird."
"Wuff!" Ammy agreed.
"Kill them!" Killian shouted.
All hell broke loose.