The House of Metal

"Where are we" a voice asks, the tone resigned, but not human. It sounds male, but has a strange twinge that Arya had never heard before.

She looks to Myca and is about to ask if he knows who is speaking before a new voice responds to the first, this one sounding far more human, "A place that already has a meteor."

"And?" The first voice prompts, trying to press for further information.

"And thus you do not need to make your own," The second voice replies. By this point Arya can't hold back her curiosity any further, and peeks past the tree she and Myca had sat for lunch behind.

"So you thought what? That I'd let them be?" The Speaker, the first one who spoke, has his back to Arya, and looks to be a giant of a man, even taller than the Hound, and wearing what looks to be the most form fitting suit of armor that the young Stark had ever lain eyes on.

"I'd hoped, but did not expect it," The second voice responds, the owner of which was red. That was all that Arya could really notice about him before Myca pulls her back around the tree. She turns to ask him what he wanted, but the look on his face tells her that he is terrified. Of what, she doesn't know, but then again, it could be a commonfolk thing to not get in the middle of arguments.

"Fair enough," The armored man replies, "So what did you hope I'd do? Fade away, let myself rust in some backwater corner of the galaxy? You know I'll be back to finish what I started."

"I know you'll try," the red man replies, his tone similar to that of her mother when Arya has to give her a new stitching project and she would smile and call it 'great.' Jon had called it 'patronizing.'

"You don't think I'll succeed?"

"I know you won't," The red man replies and then he tells the metal man, "And I'm sure that when you speak to the pair behind that tree you'll understand why."

Arya hears a shift in dirt, and looks to the side of the tree in time to see a face appear in front of her. What she sees at first doesn't really register, then, when she realizes exactly what was before her, her mouth drops open in shock.

In front of her was a man made of metal.

Myca, unlike Arya, is very vocal about his interpretation of the man, and gives a blood curdling scream before running off in terror.

"Ah, I see what you…" the metal man turns and stops talking, Arya watches metal eyes blink, then it chuckles, "Clever."

"What do you mean clever?" Arya asks, having regained most of her wits.

"He left when I went to check behind the tree," The metal man shakes his head, then stomps off towards the river, leaving Arya where she was.

The young Stark wasn't having any of that, and clambered over a tree branch and rushed in front of the metal man, her curiosity overcoming her good sense in this moment, "Wait! What are you!? WHO are you!?"

The metal man tilts his head, then shakes it and chuckles, muttering, "You humans."

Then his focus is squarely on her and he tells her, "My name, Ayra Stark, is Ultron."