"Girl, little girl, are you awake?" The muffled voice asks as everything becomes clear again.
I groan in pain and look around as my sight returns to me. I grow confused as I look around and see the dingy room that had been poorly kept. My eyes fall onto a man that didn't completely focus.
"How are you feeling?" He asks.
"Where am I?" My voice asks. Though it sounds higher and... smaller.
"We're here to help you." He says, his voice so gentle and kind. My eyes flicker around the room, seeing doctors and nurses walking around me.
"Where's my mommy? Where's daddy?!" My panic grows. The doctor starts shushing me.
"They are right outside that door. You'll be with them soon enough.
"... When is soon?" I ask quietly. My eyes widen upon seeing a gas mask go over my face.
"When you're ready." And all goes black
*******
My blood is boiling. My veins are strained from being pushed and pulled. My body's on fire! Sweat drips off of my body. My eyes are closed as my body begins jerking around as if it knows somethings wrong.
My throat constricts and breath leaves me. I begin to choke but my mouth does not open and my body does not move. My head lulls side to side though it isn't mine to control.
The burning. The fire. The boiling. The heat scorching my blood.
My mouth opens on its own and screams rip through my body as the pains too much. Scream after scream getting louder as the boiling grows rowdier and rowdier.
"AHH! AHH! AHHH!"
*******
My eyes shoot open as the last scream leaves my lips.
"Casey? Casey!" Clint's familiar voice shouts out as he's still driving the jet. My eyes jump to each corner of the jet and I sag against the chair I'm in, relief coursing through my body. I wiggle around, feeling uncomfortable. Still able to feel the fire that was inside of me.
"What happened?" I croaked. Clint glances back at me as I curl up into myself.
"Not sure. You got dizzy, then you just collapsed... have you been sleeping?" He asks.
"Not for the past two nights." I try and say quietly.
"And why not?" He asks, sounding more and more like a father by the day.
"The first night was because I thought you might take us to a Hydra base instead of your safe house- - I was so wrong on that point. Then I didn't sleep the night we left the safe house because I didn't want anymore to hear my nightmares." I explain, walking up to sit in the co-pilots chair. Clint's silent for a few moments.
"What are they about?" He asks.
"My nightmares?" I ask with a brow raised. He nods, keeping his eyes on the air. "I'm not sure. All of them, I've been in immense pain, which causes the screams. I'm always in this rusted old place. A bunch of nurses and doctors around me. I don't know what it all means." I sigh. Clint hesitates.
"Say it." I tell him.
"Well... maybe your finally remembering some stuff." He suggests. I shake my head.
"No way could my life have been all pain and misery." I defend my child-self.
"Maybe that's why you don't remember. You blocked all the memories because they hurt and damaged you." Clint offers his thoughts and I think on them. I seriously think on them.
I'm quiet for the remainder of the trip. We reach the avenger towers and Clint safely lands. I stop focusing on my dreams and put on a smile. As soon as Clint lands the jet, Tony stomps on board.
"I thought I said recon. We didn't have a plan of engagement." Tony scolds. I scoff, stepping up to him.
"I'm sorry, would you have rather not gotten this?" I ask, stepping aside so he can see the cradle. His face goes slack in shock and amazement.
"You got it. You actually got it!" He laughs in astonishment. I look up at Clint.
"I'm offended at what he thinks our capabilities are." I say quietly. He nods in agreement. We look back at Tony to see him already pushing the cradle towards the lab. Clint and I follow silently.
"Oh hey, where's Natasha?" Tony asks, turning to us with a brow raised.
"Ultron has her. Steve's stayed back to look for her." Clint informs him.
"Supposedly." I say, sending a glare at Clint. Tony nods.
"I'll look for her too. See if we can find her, help Cap out." He nods, turning back around to take the cradle in.
"He was a lot more calm about that then I expected." Clint said.
"He's too focused on the cradle to care about actual humans for a minute." I say as we both start walking in again.
Tony gets the cradle secured in the lab. Moving around the lab and cradle and just doing his own thing. Clint's on top of the cradle, trying to look into it, or open it or something. I sit in a chair and watch. I'm just as curious as the next gal but this thing could seriously be dangerous.
I get up off my chair and walk up to Bruce in the lab.
"Hey, how are you?" I ask quietly. He shrugs awkwardly.
"It's hard. I can't stop reading all the terrible things people are writing about him. It's my fault I let him go in control." He starts but I instantly shush him.
"It is not your fault, Bruce. Wanda Maximoff did something to your head. She triggered the hulk and made him do all those things. You can't blame yourself." I assure him. Bruce sighs loudly.
"But I already do." He says, sounding completely dejected before he walks off and away from me. I watch sadly as he leaves. He doesn't deserve this. He's too sweet a guy to have such an angry thing inside of him. I walk back over and plop back into my chair.
It's been hours since we heard anything from Steve and another half hour passes, my worry for my fiery haired friend grows.
"Anything on Nat?" Bruce asks.
"I haven't heard... But she's alive, or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it." Tony assures Bruce as they walk over to Clint and I. I stand up and join the kind of huddled group.
"This is sealed tight." Clint informs them.
"We're gonna need to access the program, break it down from within." Bruce explains.
"I don't really see another way." I nod in agreement.
"Is there any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet? Old-school spy stuff?" Tony asks Clint as Bruce and I work on a computer next to the cradle.
"There are some nets I can cast." Clint says.
"Do anything and everything you can Clint." I call out.
"Yeah, I'll find her." Clint says, walking out of the lab.
"I can work on tissue degeneration and Casey, could you fry whatever operational system Cho implanted?" Bruce asks. I nod.
"Yeah, it's not that hard. All you have to do is to-"
"Yeah, about that." Tony interrupts us, looking awkward. Bruce and I look back at him and watch him hesitate... hesitate to destroy this thing?
"We're not doing this." I say sternly.
"No." Bruce points at Tony.
"You have to trust me." Tony says as he starts walking towards Bruce, knowing he has a weaker will than I do.
"Kind of don't." Brue says, backing up to walk over to me.
"Uh, definitely don't." I counter.
"Our ally, the guy protecting the militaries nuclear codes, I found him." Tony said. Tony flung a pad and a newly made Jarvis pops up.
"Hello, Dr. Banner." Jarvis greets. I smile widely.
"Jarvis," I shout in glee, rushing over to it. "I am so sorry about how we left things." I apologize to an AI- - which feels ridiculous but necessary.
"It's quite alright, Miss. Casey." His voice says.
"I wish I could be a doctor." I frown.
"Do you wish me to call you, Dr. O, Conner now?" He asks. My jack slacks in shock.
"Um, yes fricking please." I smile. I practically skip back over to Bruce who's smiling at me while looking madly amused. Tony looks over at me.
"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do," Tony starts with this again. Bruce gives him a look and walks around me. Tony follows. "So Jarvis went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocol. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together." Tony explains. Bruce scoffs.
"So you want me and Casey to help you put Jarvis into this thing?" Bruce motions each action he's explaining.
"No! Of course not," Tony says, his voice about three octaves too high. "I want to help you and Casey put Jarvis in this thing," Tony corrects. Bruce shakes his head. "We're out of my field here. You two know bio-organics better than anyone." Tony compliments.
"I know everything better than everyone." I mumble.
"Um, debatable." Tony says back.
"And you just assume that Jarvis's operational matrix can beat Ultrons?" Bruce asks.
"Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultrons perfect self without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have too." Tony says.
"Sounds familiar." I whisper.
"I believe it's worth a go." Jarvis says. Bruce hesitates before sputtering our words.
"I-I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop. Here is exactly where it all went wrong." Bruce expresses. Tony walks up and close to him. Knowing this would pressure him to do it. I stay silent, grinding my teeth as I glare at Tony.
"I know. I know. I know what everyone's going to say but they're already saying it. We're mad scientists," Tony says looking at Bruce and I. "We're monsters, buddy. We've gotta own it. Make a stand." Tony pressures. Bruce looks away, slowly shaking his head.
"It's not a loop. It's the end of the line." Tony says.
Bruce looks down at me with his eyebrows furrowed deeply.
"Are you in?" He asks in a small voice. I look at his face for a matter of seconds and sigh deeply.
"You'd know I'd follow you to the end of the earth, you idiot." I bring him in and hug him tightly. For once he wasn't fighting the hulk in his mind. He was fighting himself, not knowing the right thing to do.
Bruce and I step back and Tony and I watch him walk away to one of the computers, already getting started. I look up at Tony.
"You are such a terrible person." I say with such revulsion is actually tastes terrible on my tongue.
"A terrible person who's gonna save the world." Tony says, holding his arms out.
AN: I LOVE BRUCE AND CASEY'S FRIENDSHIP!!!
It's just everything to me. AH! I can't help it. Casey always acts more like an adult than thee adults. It's hilarious to write. I also loved writing the party scene where she basically scammed every rich old man into her winning money. That. That was great.