The three of us wandered the market for a while before I spotted an old TV sporting a familiar suit fighting Ultron on top of a truck. I frowned and stopped Pietro and Wanda, pointing to the screen. We continued watching until the robot and the capsicle crashed into a train. I looked up at Pietro, who he nodded, and took off running towards the train. I spotted Ultron about to punch Steve and ran into his shoulder before skidding to a stop, making him spin and look at me.

"I shouldn't be surprised," he said. I grinned and shook my head.

"Nope." I ran at him again, but he spun out of the way. I heard a crash, however, and looked back to see Pietro had run into him also. The robot turned to escape but was cut off by two rails surrounded by red mist crossing in front of him. He looked up at Wanda, who was now standing next to me.

"Please," he said, "don't do this."

"What choice do we have?" Wanda asked angrily. Ultron growled and shot towards us. I pulled Wanda out of the way, and the blast went to the front of the train before the robot flew off. Steve ran up to the cab, checking on the driver.

"I lost him!" I heard him say. "He's headed your way!" Piero ran over and placed a hand on my arm. "If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go! Go!" Steve ran back to us and looked between me and Pietro.

"Civilians in our path," he said. We nodded to each other and ran off, pulling the innocent civilians out of the way of the train that was plowing through the market. Soon, Wanda got the train stopped, and we stopped by a wall, where I sat on the ground and Pietro leaned on a stack of crates. Wanda ran over quickly and looked at Pietro.

"I'm fine," he said. She nodded and looked down at me. I shook my head.

"I just need to take a minute," I told her.

"I'm very tempted not to give you one," I heard. I looked up at Steve, who'd just walked up, and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, thanks, old man," I said. "I doubt you could do better. You might break a hip."

"Well, I'm not sure you deserve one, Chris."

"Yeah, I get it, I screwed up, but apologies are a waste of time, so if that's what you're expecting, don't bother."

"The Cradle," Wanda cut in. "Did you get it?" Steve looked at her and nodded.

"Stark will take care of it." I rolled my eyes.

"No, he won't." Steve sighed.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Stark's not crazy." I chuckled.

"Are you sure about that? I lived with the man for two years."

"He will do anything to make things right," Wanda said. Steve frowned and touched his earpiece.

"Stark, come in," he said. "Stark. Anyone on comms."

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it," the redhead told him. "Where do you think he gets that?"

⇔

The four of us rushed back to the Avengers compound and walked into the lab to see Tony and Bruce working on putting something into the cradle.

"You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes," Bruce said. Steve stepped forward.

"I'm gonna say this once," he said threateningly. Tony looked at him.

"How about 'none-ce'?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut it down!" I yelled at him, way past being sick of his bullshit. He looked at me, anger and disappointment evident in his eyes.

"Nope, not gonna happen," he said. "I tell you what to do, not the other way around." I clenched my fists.

"You don't know what you're doing," Steve told the two scientists.

"And you do?" Bruce asked. He pointed at Wanda. "She's not in your head?" She stepped forward.

"I know you're angry-"

"We're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

"Banner," Steve said, "after everything that's hap-"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony yelled. I shook my head.

"You don't know what's in there," I said.

"This isn't a game!" Pietro ran around the cradle, unplugging all the tubes and cords before stopping on the other side of the room. I grinned.

"No, no," he said, crossing his arms. "Go on. You were saying?" Time slowed as a bullet shot through the glass floor below Pietro.

"Pietro!" I exclaimed, running over to the hole in the floor. Clint was standing over Pietro.

"What?" he asked. "You didn't see that coming?" I groaned.

"Clint, what the hell?" I asked. He looked up at me and frowned. I spun around as Thor flew into the room, lighting up his hammer as he stood on the cradle.

"Wait!" someone yelled. Thor stepped down, and a red man jumped out of the cradle, crouching on top. He looked up momentarily before shoving past Thor and flying through the living room. He stopped in front of the window, however, and simply stared at his reflection as we ran after him. I stood next to Wanda, and Pietro ran over to us silently as the red man turned around, a grey suit forming over his body.

"I am sorry," he said in a voice that sounded scarily familiar. "That was...odd." He looked at Thor. "Thank you." The god nodded, and Steve stepped towards them.

"Thor," he said, "you helped create this?" Thor nodded.

"I had a vision," he said. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that." He pointed to the gold gem in the man's head.

"What? The gem?"

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities." I nodded.

"That's cheery," I muttered, making Piero chuckle.

"Then why would you bring-"

"Because Stark is right." My eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, it's definitely the end times."

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," the man said. "Not alone." Steve furrowed his brows.

"Why does your Vision sound like Jarvis?" he asked Tony.

"We reconfigured Jarvis's matrix," he responded, "to create something new."

"I think I've had my fill of new."

"You think I'm a child of Ultron."

"You're not?"

"I'm not Ultron. I am not Jarvis. I am...I am." I scoffed.

"That's not sacreligious at all," I said. Wanda stepped towards him.

"I looked in your head," she said, "and I saw annihilation." He looked at her.

"Look again."

"Her seal of approval means jack to me," Clint said. I rolled my eyes.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself," Thor said, "they all came from the Mind Stone. And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side-"

"Is it?" Steve asked. He looked at the 'vision.' "Are you? On our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, it better get real simple real soon."

"I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?"

"You."

"Where?"

"Sokovia," Clint cut in. "He's got Nat there, too." I frowned.

"Nat?" I asked. He closed his eyes and shook his head. I nodded as Bruce walked up to Vision.

"If we're wrong about you," he said, "if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be-"

"What will you do?" Vision walked in front of all of us. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me." He spun to face Thor, holding Mjolnir, making everyone's eyes widen. "But we need to go." He handed the hammer to Thor and walked off, and Thor nodded.

"Right," he said, walking past Tony and patting him on the shoulder. "Well done." Steve looked at the rest of us and nodded.

"Three minutes," he said. "Get what you need."