Kate sits in the lab, head on the table. Bruce and Clint are walking around, the latter just pacing. The stupid Cradle is in the middle of the room, waiting to be destroyed safely. Tony walks back in after making some calls.

"Anything on Nat?" Bruce asks.

Tony shakes his head. "Haven't heard. But she's alive, or Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it."

"This is sealed tight," Clint says. Kate turns her head, watching him try to open the Cradle.

Bruce heads to a computer. "We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within."

"Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet?" Tony suddenly asks Clint. "You know, old school spy stuff?"

"There's some nets I can cast. Yeah, alright," he says, starting to head out. He stops next to Kate first, though, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll find her. Don't worry."

Kate flashes him a weak smile, sitting up. "I'll try."

Bruce gets right to work, and she stands, going to help him.

"We can work on tissue degeneration, if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."

Tony grimaces. "Yeah, about that..."

"No," Kate declares, immediately knowing what he's thinking.

"You have to trust me."

"Kinda don't," Bruce replies.

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes? I found him," Tony says, pulling up a fully in-tact hologram of JARVIS.

"Hello, Dr. Banner, Dr. Carson," he says, giving Kate just a small bit of happiness in this whole mess.

"Ultron didn't go after JARVIS cause he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So JARVIS went underground. Okay? Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."

"So... you want us to help you put JARVIS into this thing?" Bruce asks, pointing to the Cradle.

"No, of course not!"

Kate sighs, relieved. "Oh, thank-"

"I want to help you put JARVIS in this thing."

"Absolutely not!"

"We're out of my field here," Tony explains. "Banner, you know bio-organics better than anyone, and, Kate, you're a jack of... most trades."

Kate shakes her head. "And you just assume that JARVIS' operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"

"I see you remembered my notes," JARVIS comments.

"Of course I did, buddy."

Tony goes on. "JARVIS has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity; we can create Ultron's perfect self, without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to."

"I believe it's worth a go," JARVIS adds.

Bruce throws up his hands. "No, I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop, this is exactly where it all went wrong!"

"I know, I know. I know what everyone's going to say, but they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, guys," Tony says.

Kate scoffs. "No, you're not-"

"The way my brain works — the way yours and Banner's do..." Tony starts. He walks over to her, looking her right in the eye. "Look, Kate, we gotta own it. Make a stand. It's not a loop. It's the end of the line. You with me?"

She's right there, ready to say yes. To try again, to make it right, to do better. But something still stops her. A loop can't be broken unless you make a change — and she knows where it went wrong the first time. "Look, you two can try it, but-"

"We need you," Tony insists.

"No, you don't-"

"We do-"

She turns away, clenching her fists as they warm. "Did you ever consider that if I hadn't had a hand in Ultron, it would've turned out fine?" she snaps.

"No, I didn't," Tony replies. "Because that's absolutely ludicrous. Like, take that and rewind it back ludicrous."

Bruce's brows furrow. "Kate, do you seriously think that? That was a team effort — a team failure."

Tony jumps in. "But this time can be better. This time will be better. We can fix this. Team mad scientists. Lost the first round, but we got the second. We won't make the same mistakes as last time; we've learned from them, right?"

As he looks at them both, waiting for an answer, Bruce hangs his head. With a sigh, he reluctantly says, "If this works... it might be the key to defeating Ultron."

And that seals the deal. Kate groans. "Alright, fine."

~_~_~_~_~

They work for almost two hours, getting everything ready. Doubt sits in Kate's chest all the time, growing worry, making her hands shake. But Bruce seems more sure — at least on the outside.

"This framework is not compatible," Tony says.

"The genetic coding tower's at ninety-seven percent. You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes," Kate replies, looking at the Cradle.

A footstep grabs her attention.

"I'm gonna say this once," Steve says, flanked by the Maximoffs.

"How about 'nonce?'" Tony replies.

"Shut it down!"

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"You don't know what you're doing."

"And you do?" Bruce asks bitterly. "She's not in your head?"

Wanda's expression turns apologetic, surprising Kate. "I know you're angry-"

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

Steve steps in. "Banner, after everything that's happened-"

"That's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony argues.

Wanda points to the Cradle like it's a bomb. "You don't know what's in there!"

Kate steps back from it, seeing the fear in her eyes. If she's scared... "What's in there?"

But Steve keeps arguing with Tony, drowning her out. "This isn't a game-"

"The creature-!" Wanda protests.

A whoosh of air stalls the chaos, the lights going off as they all realize that Pietro's just unplugged all of their equipment. "No, no. Go on. You were saying?" he says, just before the glass breaks from under him, a bullet having gone through. He crashes to the lower flower with a groan.

"Pietro!" Wanda shouts.

Kate grimaces. "I'm sorry, but that was so satisfying to watch."

Beeping soon distracts her, the Cradle distressed by the power loss. Tony goes to a computer. "I'm rerouting the upload."

"Hold on, Tony-" Kate starts, wanting to find out what has Wanda so freaked out. But Steve decides to throw the shield, bouncing it around the room. Kate hits the deck, covering her head. "Can we stop and talk about this?!"

Tony calls a blaster to him and blasts Steve in the chest, knocking him backwards. The suit continues coming to Tony, and Wanda's hands start to emit red. Bruce grabs her from behind. "Go ahead and tick me off," he says.

Kate doesn't know what to do, not sure who to fight. Fire is certainly not going to diffuse the situation. Steve goes flying through a window with Tony following, Wanda's suddenly out of Bruce's grasp, and Pietro is still downstairs, presumably with a ticked off Clint. This is almost worse than the Hellicarrier.

And then Thor arrives, breaking a window on his way in.

"Well, this can't get much worse," Kate mutters, starting to light her hands as Thor jumps onto the Cradle. He calls lightning down, filling the room with flashes. Kate's eyes widen. "Wait!"

He either doesn't hear or doesn't care, slamming the hammer down and filling the Cradle with power. Kate waits for some sort of explosion or something, but as he pulls the hammer away, all is calm.

Until a red and green man pops out of it and sends Thor flying.

The man-thing lands crouched on the Cradle and stands slowly, almost reminding Kate of the first time she met Loki. It puts a bad taste in her mouth, and she warms her hands, readying them at her sides. He looks at all of them like a scared animal, finally deciding on attacking Thor, sending him through the glass wall out into the main room.

He stops himself at the window, looking out on the city. Everyone hurries over, getting closer and ready to attack. But he seems perfectly calm now, lowering himself to the ground. Finally, he speaks, JARVIS' voice coming out. It's jarring. "I'm sorry, that was... odd." He nods at Thor. "Thank you." He seems to be studying Thor for a moment, then suddenly creates a cape for himself — out of nothing.

What did we do? Kate asks herself, taking it all in with worry and wonder.

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

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that," Thor replies, pointing to the creature's forehead.

"What, the gem?" Bruce asks.

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

Steve stops. "Then why would you bring it to-?"

"Because Stark is right."

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

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone," the creature adds.

Steve's brows furrow. "Why does your 'vision' sound like JARVIS?"

"We... reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new," Tony replies.

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

Kate smiles a bit, shrugging, the worry starting to fade as the wonder takes its place. "I've always wanted to discover something new. Now I've helped make it. For better or worse..."

The creature — the vision — looks at her, matching her expression before turning to Steve. "You think I'm a child of Ultron?"

"You're not?" Steve asks.

"I'm not Ultron. I'm not JARVIS. I am..." He shrugs.

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation," Wanda says.

"Look again."

Clint scoffs. "Yeah, her seal of approval means jack to me."

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

"Is it?" Kate asks, turning to the vision. "Are you? On our side?"

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

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

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

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asks.

"You."

"Where?"

"Sokovia," Clint replies. "He's got Nat there, too."

Bruce sighs. "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be-"

"What will you do?" the vision asks. "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. But we need to go." He grabs Thor's hammer, handing it to him as he leaves the room.

"Oh, my stars," Kate says.

Beside her, Wanda gasps. "Bewitched?"

Kate gasps back. "You watch Bewitched?"

"I love Bewitched."

Kate considers a moment. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't think she's so bad."

Thor finally recovers from his shock, then turns Tony, Bruce, and Kate. "Well done."

"Three minutes. Get what you need," Steve says.

Everyone splits off, Wanda and Pietro following everyone else. They end up with Kate, Pietro finding some clothes while Wanda stares off out the window. Kate follows her gaze, spying Thor and Vision talking. She grabs one of Nat's old jackets, tossing it to her. "Thor's taken. And also way too old for you."

She colors, looking down at the jacket. "I wasn't looking at Thor."

"Oh," Kate replies, hanging up her lab coat and reminding herself to stop trying to read the youth. "Yeah, I can't believe he exists, either."

"What was that thing with the hammer all about?" Pietro asks.

Kate explains it to them before hurrying off to put on her suit. She then meets Tony, Steve, and Bruce out near the main room, waiting on the others.

"No way we all get through this," Tony says. "If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor."

Steve shrugs. "I got no plans tomorrow night."

"I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for."

The vision walks by. "That's true, he hates you the most."

"Um, but I thought Kate was just as bad as I was?"

"Kate isn't as arrogant," the vision replies with a shrug, continuing on. Tony just sighs while Kate chuckles. 

Soon, they all gather in a Quinjet, getting ready to go. Steve steps up as the jet closes, preparing to take off. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building. We find Nat, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters, that we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

Kate pats his shoulder on the way into the jet. "You've got a gift."

~_~_~_~_~

As soon as they arrive in Sokovia, Steve splits the team, sending most to get people evacuated, then putting Thor, Bruce, and Kate on Ultron/Nat duty. It doesn't take too long to find Ultron's HQ underground, behind a stone wall Thor easily blasted away. He goes deeper into Ultron's creations, leaving Bruce and Kate to search for Nat.

"Nat!" Kate shouts, splitting away from Bruce.

In the distance, he shouts, "Romanoff!"

"Nat! Nat!"

"Kate!" she hears, soon running in that direction.

"Bruce!" she shouts. "Bruce, I found her!"

Nat's standing behind bars, looking tired but relieved. "It's about time."

"You alright?" Bruce asks, running over. Kate puts her hands on the lock, trying to melt it as quickly as possible. Bruce goes on. "The team's in the city; it's about to light up."

"So what's our play?"

"Get up there, kill Ultron," Kate replies, finally getting the lock melted enough to get it off. "With the help of our new buddy. We'll fill you in later."

"You can. I'm getting back to the jet," Bruce replies.

Nat pulls the door open. "Are you crazy?"

"I can't be in a fight near civilians."

"Wanda's on our side now, and I'll be here to stop him; you don't have to worry about that," Kate argues.

"Still, I can't-"

"We need you. Okay? Don't sit there and tell me you need me for the vision thing after I say no and then turn around and do this on me."

"I think that was Tony, but-"

"Bruce, you heard Steve. We need everybody if this is going to work. We have to stop Ultron — finish what we started."

Bruce sighs. "Look, I'll think about it, alright? We gotta go."

Kate sighs but doesn't argue, following him back to the surface, Nat behind them.