Ira sat sullenly on the jet. She stared out the window, watching the clouds pass lazily by. Thoughts whirled around inside her head, causing her skull to throb and Ira to clench her eyes shut and groan softly in pain. The thoughts danced just out of her reach, taunting her as she tried to grab ahold of them, trying to lock on to a specific idea. Every time she tried to grasp the concept, it fluttered out of her fingers.

The confusion and pain tormented her until she just wanted to scream in frustration. But she held her tongue, biting her lip and trying to send healing energy to her pounding head. It partially succeeded, and her brain calmed down until she could finally focus. Ira breathed a sigh of relief, before she settled in her seat, trying to recall what had eluded her. And then it hit her like a bolt of lightening.

Strucker was dead.

He had been her mentor, and the one who started her on her path. He had given her the powers that she now wielded, and he made her the person she was today. And now he was gone.

Klaue had told them, and thought she didn't want to believe it at the time, she knew that it must be true. Strucker would have tried to find them by now, she told herself. He would've tried to contact them. But his didn't. The only explanation, she decided, was that he was buried in the cold earth, never to return. And there were only two people who could've done it. The Avengers, or...

She turned her head to glance at the metal robot sitting across from her. It seemed harmless, almost docile, just sitting in the seat, gaze trained at the floor. But Ira knew what fury and power laid within that hollow metal core. She wouldn't put it past him to strike down someone who opposed him.

But a brief thought flickered into her head. Why? Why would Ultron kill Strucker? The man hardly posed a threat to the hulking metal robot, and they were both fighting for the same goal. What was there to gain? It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.

But as she sat, traveling on a jet to a base home to a man that now lay six feet under the ground, Ira decided on one thing. She would not be weak. She would not stutter or pause as she walked up to Ultron and asked him, flat out, if he killed Strucker. And if he said that he had...well, Ira wasn't exactly sure what she would do then.

Sitting in the jet, gaze unfocused and staring blankly at her hands that fiddled in her lap, Ira steeled her nerves and prepared herself for the confrontation that would soon follow. She didn't even notice when Pietro and Wanda shared a concerned look, or when Emilia glanced her way curiously.

It was only when the jet touched down outside the base did she snap out of her daze, leaping to her feet and striding quickly out of the plane. The others ran to catch up to her. "Ira, wait!" Pietro called, but she didn't listen.

He sped up next to her, the wind rustling his hair as he walked alongside her. "What's wrong?" He asked, but Ira didn't reply. She kept her gaze ahead, even as the Sokovian boy beside her sent her a helpless glance.

Her blonde hair fanned behind her as she made her way past the railroad tracks and into the base. She entered the building, not pausing, even as the others were still behind, struggling to match her fast pace. When she reached the secret room, she immediately scanned it, looking around for Ultron. Her blue eyes narrowed when she saw him, attending to something with the robots.

True to his word, he had gotten another body, an identical copy of the original, except for size. And even thought this new form was bigger than the last one, even though he towered over her, Ira marched up to him, tilting her head to face the metal man. He turned when he saw them, a victorious smile crossing his face.

A victorious smile was etched onto his face at their triumph over the Avengers in Africa. But the smile soon faded as he noticed Ira's stony expression. Before he could ask or do anything, the question fell from her lips.

"Did you kill Strucker?" She asked, and the others standing behind her looked at each other in confusion.

Ultron stayed silent, searching for the right thing to say.

The normal sounds of work seemed to have been wiped out. All the bots stopped what they were doing, and the room was deathly still. A heavy silence lingered in the air. "Well?" Ira asked again, and Ultron sighed.

"I did," he admitted, and Ira stepped back in shock. Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. Immediately the Enhanced pressed him for answers.

"Why?" Wanda asked, confusion and anger coloring her eyes crimson. They shone with a fierce fire as a Wanda looked upon the beast before them.

"Strucker was unnecessary. A liability," Ultron tried to explain, but they were having none of it.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Emilia yelled, her voice hoarse with anger.

"Yes I did!" Ultron roared, the sound so loud it echoed through the room. The four stepped back warily, shocked and scared. Seeing their faces dotted with confusion and fear, Ultron's face softened, and he spoke softer.

"Strucker would have stopped us from destroying the Avengers," Ultron explained, simply and coolly. "And while I harbor some regret for his death, it had to be done. Now we must move on to 5e next stage of our plan," he told them, gently but still authoritative. "We leave for Korea in thirty minutes."

He turned and strode off, his footfalls reverberating around the silent room. Soon the normal chaos of the base returned, but the Enhanced stood still, shaking their heads in confusion.

"He killed Strucker," Ira murmured softly, still not believing what she now knew.

Emilia's hazel eyes glinted with anger as she turned to the others. "Should we still work with him?" She asked, posing the question that was on everyone's minds.

"No," Ira said firmly, but her voice quivered. "Right?" She looked pleadingly at the others, looking for a sign that they agreed with her.

"We could still destroy the Avengers without him-" Pietro began, but he was cut off by Emilia.

She whipped around to face him, blonde hair flying. "We?" She asked, incredulous. "There's four of us," she told him, raising her voice as she gestured between them. "Four! There is no 'we' without Ultron. With him gone, we don't stand a chance."

"If we're not working with him, we're working against him," Wanda began, voicing her concerns. "He's much more powerful than the four of us combined. He has an army," she raised a hand to draw their attentions to the robots behind her. "Even if we don't want to," she sighed, looking at all of them. "I think we have to."

Ira sighed. "I think you're right," she agreed. "As much as I don't want to say it, we have to work with him." They stood in silence for a few moments, before looking at one another.

"What do we do now?" Emilia asked.

"I guess we go to Korea," Pietro replied, shrugging. So wordlessly they grabbed supplies, and made their way to the jet that would take them to Korea.

*****

The silence was deafening as Ultron and the Enhanced rode in the jet on their way to Korea. The first hour had been filled with Ultron explaining the plan and the reason they were going to Korea, but after he had gone over it, the team had fallen into an uncomfortable silence.

Ira mulled over what Ultron had said. In a lab in South Korea, a woman named Helen Cho had developed something that could give Ultron he craved: a body. It wouldn't be made of flesh and blood, he had explained, but something stronger. Something greater.

Ira didn't really know what he meant, but she was slightly worried at the power Ultron would soon wield with the new form. She still didn't trust him ever since he revealed the truth about Strucker's death, and a murderous android with unstoppable power? That scared her more than a little bit.

Her fingers tapped absently against the seat beneath her as she stared into space, not realizing anything was happening until Pietro was gently shaking her arm and telling her the jet landed.

She snapped out of her reverie, sent him a quick grateful smile, and followed the others off the plane. The sky was painted a dark blue, light tinting the horizon as morning dawned near. They had landed among empty warehouses settled along the coast, which gave Ira a perfect view of the Seoul skyline.

The dark buildings glowed with lights in their windows, casting a hazy glow over the city. Helen Cho's research lab sat nestled near the water's edge, attached to the mainland by a long wooden dock. Ira studied it, tilting her head as she analyzed the building. It appeared that there was only one way in, and one way out: the main entrance. Which meant they would have to slip in carefully.

"Stay here," Ultron ordered them. "I'll go in first. When one of the bots gives the signal, you four will come in after me. Got it?" He asked, the gaze he trained on them daring them to disobey. They nodded, and Ultron, flanked by a few of the bots, made his way into the lab.

The Enhanced stood still in the crisp morning air, waiting for the signal. Minutes ticked by, and Ira began to wonder if something had happened. But soon, the eyes of the bot standing next to them turned red, and Ultron's voice echoed through it. "All clear," he told them triumphantly.

The bot began walking towards the entrance, and the four Enhanced hurried to run after it. They reached the entrance to the lab, and Ira looked around warily. Ultron had said it was clear, but she still lit her hands with energy as a precaution.

The doors opened up onto darkly-lit halls with dim lights glancing across the sterile surfaces. The floors were white tile, but the uniform pristine surface was interrupted by splashes of crimson blood. The scarlet liquid shone in the light, and Ira blanched and held back a gag at the sight of all of it. It lay in smears across the hallway, and puddled around injured lab technicians who lay motionless on the floor.

Ira's eyes widened, and she stifled a gasp, but she masked her shock as she made her way carefully through the obstacles. The techs who weren't injured or dead sat huddled together under the watchful and harsh gaze of the robots Ultron commanded. As they passed, some of the technicians gazed at her with pleading eyes, and it took all of Ira's will to look forwards and walk past them.

Looking at her teammates out of the corner of her eye, Ira watched to see their reactions. Pietro and Wanda's reactions were similar to her own, with horrified gasps coming from both of the twins. Emilia, however, remained indifferent. But Ira noticed her eye twitch slightly, and a frown appear on her face as she looked at a pleading technician. But quickly she covered it up, and Ira wondered if she had even seen the break in Emilia's composure.

The hallway soon opened into a large room. As they passed through the threshold, her gaze darted around the room, taking in all of the details of the laboratory. Machines lined the walls of the dark room, and various tools and equipment were placed neatly atop a table. In the center, a large rectangular structure sat, and Ira knew that it must be the machine that Ultron had told them about.

Standing next to the machine were Ultron and a woman who Ira presumed to be Helen Cho. She had brown hair that was pinned up in a bun, and she wore a white surgical dress. She looked at home amongst the machines and computers, and everting about her seemed relatively normal. Except her eyes. Her eyes were the most curious thing about her. For Ira noticed that her irises were shaded a deep, unnatural blue, and galaxies seemed to sparkle in their depths. The woman moved about as if she was in a trance, and Ira struggled to figure out why.

Then she saw the Scepter laying across the counter. Of course. The Scepter had mind-warping abilities, Ira remembered. But a frown crossed her face. Mind warping wasn't something she thought would be necessary to defeat the Avengers. But she dismissed the thought as Ultron began speaking.

"The Regeneration Cradle," he told them, spreading his arms and allowing them to see the machine in the center of the room. "This will build me a greater body..." he continued, but Ira stopped listening as she gazed inside the cradle.

A glass pane lay across the top, allowing her to see clearly inside it. A figure lay motionless inside while the Cradle continued to add to the body. Its head was red and blue, and a glowing yellow stone was placed in the center of its forehead. Ira peered back at the Scepter, noticing the stone was gone and surmising that that was where the stone came from.

Ultron turned to Cho, who was still flitting about the room, attending to various monitors and devices. "How soon until we're ready?" He asked, and the woman replied she hooked a tube connected to the Cradle up to the back of his head.

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream. We're uploading your cerebral matrix...now," she told him.

Ira noticed as Wanda took a step towards the Cradle. "I can read him," she said, transfixed as she stared at the figure while absently twisting a ring around her finger. Pietro watched his sister from the threshold of the room, arms crossed, staring protectively at her. Emilia, too, seemed to be standing guard, with her bright eyes glancing around the room and her mouth set into a grim line. "He is...dreaming," Wanda continued, gazing at the figure inside of the Cradle.

"I wouldn't call it dreams," Cho told her from her place at the front of the Cradle. "It's Ultron's base consciousness, information noise. Soon-"

"How soon?" Ultron interrupted from his seat. "I'm not being pushy," he said, and held up his hands in defense.

"We're imprinting a physical brain," Cho told him calmly. "There are no shortcuts. Even if your magic gem is..."

Ira stopped listening, choosing instead to focus on Wanda. The brunette had placed her hands on the Cradle's surface, and her eyes were closed. She tilted her head to the side, appearing as if she was searching intently for something. Suddenly, she jerked back from the Cradle, letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

In an instant the other Enhanced were at her side, trying to figure out what was wrong and comfort her. She waved them away, instead turning and facing Ultron, who had stood up because of the commotion. "How could you?" She asked him.

"How could I what?" Ultron asked her.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers, make a better world," Wanda continued, staring at him with hurt and pain in her eyes. Ira still had only an inkling of what was going on, but she trusted her friend enough that she fixed an accusing stare on Ultron, waiting for him to answer.

"It will be better," he tried to defend himself.

"When everyone is dead?" Wanda asked, and Ira's world came crashing down. Ultron was planning to annihilate the human race. It was everything that she had feared. They had been right not to trust him, but they went along with him anyways, and now they were past the point of no return. She couldn't believe what she had been told, and she stood in stunned silence while Ultron tried to plead his case.

"That is not...!" He struggled to speak in his anger before calming down. "The human race will have every opportunity to improve."

"And if they don't?" Pietro questioned from beside Wanda.

"Ask Noah," Ultron told him simply.

"You're a madman," Wanda said, horrified.

"There were more than a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs," he tried to explain. "When the Earth starts to settle, a God throws a stone at it. And believe me, he's winding up. We have to evolve. There's no room for the weak," he said, leaning down and caressing the surface of the Cradle.

"And who decides who's weak?" Pietro pressed. While Ultron was distracted, Ira watched Wanda out of the corner of her eye. Wanda sent a small stream of red energy through the air and into Helen Cho's chest. The woman blinked as her eyes returned to their normal color and she was freed from the Scepter's hold.

"Life. Life always decides," Ultron replied, not noticing that Helen was free. He straightened up and narrowed his eyes. "There's incoming," he told the four, who were still staring at him in horror. "The Quinjet. We have to move."

"That won't be a problem," Cho told him as she typed something into a computer. Across one of the monitors, Upload Paused flashed across the screen.

"Ugh," Ultron sighed, and blasted Cho with a bright beam of red energy from his hand. The woman collapsed to the floor in a heap. Seeing this, the four Enhanced turned and fled.

They dashed through the halls, leaving behind the base, leaving behind the Cradle, and leaving behind Ultron and the lies he had told them.

*****

Okay, I kinda hate this chapter, but I also kinda don't? I mean it was shorter than normal, and the descriptions weren't that great, but still.
Please leave me some feedback! I'd love to hear from you guys about what you think.

PS
For those that read the first version, you probably noticed that something changed. I won't say what it is, but I have a better storyline thought out regarding that change.