They ran, and ran, and ran. Never glancing back, just looking forward, feet pounding the pavement as they took short, uneven breaths. Terror and adrenaline fueled their mad dash for safety, so they didn't stop. The sun rose above the horizon, heralding the dawn and painting the sky in a myriad of pastels, but the four paid it no heed. Nor did they pay attention to the curious glances sent their way by questioning passersby. All they did was run.

Ira's feet thudded beneath her, thumping along with her staccato heartbeat. She no longer had feeling in her legs, but she didn't think about that. She couldn't think about that. For her mind replayed an endless loop of scenes from the lab, playing in time with each thump of her footfalls against the pavement.

Thump. The technicians, huddled together in terror, pleading with Ira to save them. And Ira, passing them by.

Thump. The yellow gem floating into its spot embedded in the head of Ultron's body, giving it unimaginable power.

Thump. Wanda's screams shattering the air, the others rushing to her aid.

Thump. Ultron's betrayal, the pain and anger that had flown through her body.

They soon reached a market a few miles inland, and finally stopped running. Ira doubled over, gasping and sucking in great mouthfuls of the crisp air.

"Do you think," Wanda gasped, bent over with her hands on her knees, "He'll come after us?"

Ira cast a fearful eye behind them, but saw no indication of anyone following them. "If he hasn't already, I don't think he will," she choked out, panting.

"Where do we go now?" Wanda asked, straightening and staring at the others. "Where can we go that Ultron won't find us?"

"Nowhere," Emilia stated simply, and rather pessimistically. "He'll find us no matter where we go. We just have to hope we're ready when he does."

"Fight Ultron?" Pietro asked incredulously. "You said it yourself earlier. It's suicide."

"Well it's the best chance we've got," Emilia shot back, her eyes flashing darkly.

"We can't fight now," Ira urged them. "All that we need to focus on now is finding a place to go where we can be safe, even if it's only for a little while."

Now that they were no longer running for their lives, Ira took the chance to study the market that they had found themselves in. It was small; just a collection of stalls lining a street and a few crates full of produce placed against the walls. A man in one of the stalls had his gaze trained on something, and as he turned Ira could see that he was looking at a small square television placed on the counter of his stall.

Her eyes widened, and a small gasp escaped her throat. But it wasn't the tv that had caused shock to take hold of her, but the video playing on the tv. The video showed a newscaster speaking in Korean, detailing a fight between Captain America and Ultron. Beside his image, a video appeared on the screen. The video was grainy and slightly distorted, but she could still make out clips of two figures fighting atop a large semi-truck. One grasped a shield in his hand, and the other other stood, a beast of metal, threateningly towering over the other figure.

By now, the others had noticed what had caught Ira's eye, and they turned to each other. "What do we do?" Pietro asked.

"We fight," Ira stated firmly. "We owe it to them for everything we've done." She stared around at the determination set into the faces of her friends, and she felt her own spirit strengthen.

"Well then," Emilia asked slyly. "Shall we?" The four shared identical looks of terror and anticipation, and for the second time that day, they began running through the streets of Seoul.

*****

In a short time, they had found that Captain America and Ultron had landed in a train which ran through the city. Pietro had sped them one by one to the train, and they now stood in front of it, waiting for it to pass so they could get inside. As it came up alongside them, Ira leapt into a large hole in the side of the train, followed by Wanda, Emilia, and finally Pietro.

Shouts and loud noises entered Ira's ears as they entered the carriage, and wind whipped her hair around her face. They found Ultron standing over Captain America, ready to deal the deathly blow and end the man's life. But Pietro quickly sped towards the metal man, shoving him out of the way.

Ultron advanced towards the still-fallen Captain America, but Wanda swirled her hands and scarlet energy surrounded two luggage racks, wrenching them down to form a barrier between Ultron and Captain America. Ultron glared at them as Ira lit her hands with cobalt-colored energy, preparing to fight the moment would arise.

"Please," Ultron begged them, trying one final time to convince them to come with him. "Don't do this."

"What choice do we have?" Wanda asked him, her hands still glowing.

Without warning, Ultron turned and blasted a beam of energy right where Pietro was standing. He lurched to the side to avoid the beam, and it only succeeded in blasting a hole in the front of the train and sending the train hurtling past the end of the track. Ultron blasted another hole in the side of the train and escaped, leaving Captain America and the four Enhanced in a runaway train careening through Seoul.

Captain America ran to the control room, while the four Enhanced stood, waiting for orders. Screams from the civilians still inside the train filled Ira's ears. She wanted desperately to help, to make up for what she had done; she was ready to do anything she had to to prove herself. When Captain America came back, he looked at Pietro. "There are civilians in our path," he told him, and without another word, the boy sped off. He then turned to Wanda, Ira, and Emilia.

"Can any of you stop this thing?" He asked, and Wanda nodded. She blasted crimson energy from her hands, coating the wheels in it and stopping them from turning, trying to slow the train. Ira noticed the civilians struggling to hold on to the overhead handles, threw up shields around the inside of the train, keeping them safe from harm in a cocoon of energy.

She gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep up the large shield, and she prayed in her mind that Wanda would hurry. But soon she felt the train begin to slow, and it at last shuddered to a stop. She released the shields and stepped outside, helping some of the civilians down from the train before joining Wanda, Emilia, and Pietro outside the smoking train.

Pietro was doubled over, gasping for breath. " I'm fine. I just need to take a minute," he gasped in response to Wanda's inquiries about his health, and sat down on the ground.

"I'm very tempted not to give you one," Captain America told him as he left the train, striding towards them with a grim look on his face.

"The Cradle," Wanda immediately asked him, worry evident in her voice. "Did you get it?"

He nodded. "Stark will take care of it," he told them, and Wanda's eyes widened in alarm.

She shook her head. "No he won't." Ira knew that this was something that Wanda had seen when she looked inside Stark's head, and dread began to creep its icy fingers around her heart.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Stark's not crazy," He said, but even he was beginning to share the looks of worry that were set into the faces of the Enhanced.

"He will do anything to make things right," Wanda argued. This seemed to convince him, as he turned and began speaking into the communication device in his ear.

"Stark, come in. Stark. Anyone on comms?" He asked.

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

*****

"I'm gonna say this once," Steve Rogers announced, striding into Stark's lab with the four Enhanced behind him. After Seoul they had boarded a Quinjet and flown quickly to New York, sitting in a tense silence the whole way there. And now they stood in the Avengers Tower, in front of the very man they hated, and they weren't doing anything. Ira couldn't help but feel like she was betraying some part of herself, perhaps the part born from Strucker's experiments so long ago.

"How about 'nonce'?" Stark quipped while typing away at a computer.

"Shut it down!" Steve commanded.

"Nope. Not gonna happen," Tony replied, turning to face him.

"You don't know what you're doing," Steve told him. The Enhanced stood behind him silently, watching the interaction between the two men.

"And you do?" A man with dark hair, who she had come to know as Bruce Banner, piped up from his spot besides the Cradle. "She's not in your head?" He asked, pointing at Wanda, who took a step forward.

"I know you're angry-" she began, but he cut her off.

"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade," he threatened. Wanda took a step back, remorse coming over her features, and Ira's eyes glowed blue with anger.

"Banner, after everything that's happened," Steve began hinting to their failures with Ultron.

"That's nothing compared to what's coming!" Stark interrupted.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda yelled.

"This isn't a game," Steve told them, and suddenly the room exploded into arguments.

"You have no idea the power that that thing contains!" Ira shouted.

"It will kill us all!" Emilia argued.

Pietro, finally having enough, rolled his eyes and sped around the room. He ripped out cords and wires and disconnected the Cradle, stopping next to Banner holding a smoking tube and dropping it at the man's feet."No, no, go on. You were saying?" He asked.

As the room stood in shock, a bullet shattered through the glass underneath Pietro's feet, and he fell to the floor below. "Pietro!" Wanda cried, and Ira rushed over to the edge.

Clint Barton had shot the glass from underneath him, causing Pietro to fall to the ground where he now lay, pinned down by Barton. "What?" The archer asked, smirking. "You didn't see that coming?"

Stark turned and looked at the monitor in front of him. Power loss critical, it proclaimed. "I'm rerouting the upload," he announced. Rogers, seeing that he was trying to start the system back up, hurled his shield. It ricocheted around the room, destroying monitors and lab equipment.

Sparks flew, and in response, Stark held out his hand. The gauntlet of his Iron Man suit flew to him, covering his arm up to the elbow. He fired a blast at Rogers, who flew back into the wall. The chest plate of his suit soon covered him, and another blast from his arc reactor disabled Rogers once again.

Wanda's hands glowed red, but before she could help Steve, Banner came up behind her, wrapping a hand around her neck. She gasped in surprise.

Ira turned to help her friend, but before she could, Barton ran up from the room underneath them with his gun drawn. She whirled around, firing a blast of energy and him and knocking him to the floor.

Steve leapt at Stark, who once again fired at him. The two men flew backwards; Stark crashing into and shattering a glass pane, and Steve falling into another extension of the lab. As they fought, Wanda tapped her chest with her hand full of energy. It passed through her and hit Banner, causing him to lose his hold on her. She turned around and quickly blasted him to the floor.

Banner groaned and put his hands to his head, his face scrunched in pain. Ira turned to see Emilia staring at him, her eyes cold. "Emilia, wait!" She cried, seeing green veins begin to show beneath Banner's skin. Emilia paused, and regret flickered in her eyes.

As the fighting continued, Thor burst into the room, hammer in hand. Ira tensed, thinking he was about to join the fighting, but instead he ran past them and jumped atop the Cradle.

"Wait!" Banner yelled as Thor raised his hammer above his head. A bolt of lightning came down, passing through the ceiling and striking the hammer. The tendrils of lightening crept around the room, frying computers and letting out a bright light that caused Ira to turn away. They watched in shock as Thor sent the lightning into the Cradle, seemingly trying to destroy or open it.

Power overload, a blinking sign read across one of the computer screens. They all stared as Thor ceased the lightning, and the room grew still again. Suddenly, the brief respite was shattered as the Cradle burst open, throwing a Thor backwards. Shards of glass and metal flew around the room, and Ira shielded her face, still watching the sight before her.

A creature rose out of the Cradle, landing in a crouch on its surface. Smoke billowed around it as it slowly stood, looking around at everyone in the room. It was formed like a human, but instead of flesh and bone it had metal plates set into red skin. Inlaid in the center of its forehead was the glowing yellow gem from the Scepter.

Its clear blue eyes looked around the room, its gaze landing on Thor. Suddenly it flew at him, causing Ira to step back in surprise. But Thor struck it, sending it spiraling into the air and shattering the lab window. It flew into the lounge, only to stop at the window that showed the city skyline.It stared at the buildings, mesmerized by the blinding lights.

The others rushed through the lab and into the lounge, ready to defeat the creature if it once again attacked. But a Thor held out a hand, stopping them in their tracks. Thor placed his hammer on a table and stepped towards the creature, who turned slowly and looked at them.

A blue skin now covered his body below the neck, and Ira marveled at how it had seemingly appeared on his skin. "I'm sorry, that was...odd," it apologized, staring at Thor. "Thank you." Its voice was masculine and sounded slightly mechanical. As Ira watched, a yellow cape flowed from his shoulders, copying Thor's.

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve asked.

"I've had a vision," Thor replied. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center, is that." He pointed to the stone in the creature's head.

"What, the gem?" Banner asked, puzzled.

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

"Then why would you bring it to li-" Steve asked, but Thor caught him off.

"Because Stark is right."

"Oh, it's definitely the end times," Banner mumbled, and despite the seriousness of the situation, a brief smile flickered onto Ira's face.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor told them.

"Not alone," the creature continued, turning to face all of them.

"Why does your vision sound like J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Steve asked.

"We reconfigured J.A.R.V.I.S.'s matrix to create something new," Stark told him, but he seemed distracted as he stared the "Vision" as Steve had called it.

"I think I've had my fill of new," Steve replied.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron," Vision stated, staring at Steve.

"You're not?"

"I'm not Ultron," he told them. "I'm not J.A.R.V.I.S. I am."

"I looked in your head, and saw annihilation," Wanda told him, stepping forward.

"Look again," he advised.

Barton chuckled, striding forward. "Her seal of approval means jack to me."

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

"Is it?" Steve asked. "Are you? On our side?" He asked Vision. They all waited with bated breath for his answer.

"I don't think it's that simple," he stated.

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

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

"How can we be sure?" Ira asked him, stepping forwards. "What if you are like Ultron?"

"Then you can destroy me," he said simply. "But you must first stop Ultron from destroying you."

"What's he waiting for?" Stark asked.

"You," Vision answered.

"Where?" Banner asked, and this time Barton answered.

"Sokovia. He's got Nat there, too." Ira knew little about Natasha Romanoff. All that she had heard was that she was an ex-assassin with incredible skills. If there was anyone who could survive being captured by Ultron, it was her.

"If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be," Banner stepped forward.

"What will you do?" Vision asked.

"I think you already gave us the answer to that," Ira told him.

"I don't want to kill Ultron," Vision told them as he walked through the room. "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," he said, turning to face them all. "Maybe I am a monster," he said, looking down at his hands. "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. But we need to go." He turned, and held out Thor's hammer to the man, who took it with surprise evident on his features.

The room stared in shock. It was no small feat to be able to wield Thor's hammer. Ira knew you had to be worthy of it, and not many were. Vision walked away, and Thor stared at the hammer in his hand. "Right," he said after a moment, strolling off and patting Stark on the shoulder. "Well done."

"Three minutes," Steve announced, looking at his team. "Get what you need."

*****

What's that? There in the distance? It's me with a crappy update that came way too late. I low-key hate this, but whatever. I might go back and edit it later.

But, on a happier note, the next chapter is the big battle. I'm hoping it'll turn out okay, but honestly you can never tell with me.

Happy reading!