Dr. Helen Cho's Lab, Seoul, Korea

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream. We're uploading your cerebral matrix...now." Dr. Cho, under the scepter's influence, told Ultron, who had cords plugged into his head. The body he was building was close to completion. Wanda, Carson, and Pietro entered the room tentatively.

"I can read him. He is dreaming." Wanda said about the body in the cradle.

"I wouldn't call it dreams. It's Ultron's base consciousness, informational noise. Soon-" Dr. Cho replied.

"How soon? I'm not being pushy." Ultron asked. Wanda started to place her hands on the cradle to read the body.

"We're imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts. Even if your magic gem is-" Wanda let out a scream, cutting of Dr. Cho and recoiling from the cradle.

"What? What did you see?" Carson asked as Pietro pulled his sister close, protective.

"How could you?" Wanda asked Ultron, not answering Carson's question.

"How could I what?" Ultron asked.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers, make a better world."

"It will be better."

"When everyone is dead?" Wanda asked.

Dead? What does he plan on doing? Carson asked himself. He started to feel sort of scared of Ultron. For his life and for the twins'.

"That is not...! The human race will have every opportunity to improve." Ultron defended.

"And if they don't?" Pietro asked.

"Ask Noah."

"You're a madman." Wanda said shakily.

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

"And who decides who is weak?" Carson asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wanda break the enchantment over Dr. Cho.

"Life. Life always decides." Ultron paused. "There's incoming. The Quinjet. We have to move."

"That's not a problem." Dr. Cho said before shutting the transfer down. Taking notice of this, Ultron blasted her with his repulsors.

"We need to go." Pietro said as he, Carson, and Wanda ran out of the building.

***

"Two minutes. Stay close." Steve said. He, Olivia, Clint, Loki, and Nat were tasked with recieving the cradle in South Korea. But first, Olivia needed to find Dr. Cho.

She ran into the lab, finding the bodies of technicians everywhere and a severely wounded Dr. Cho.

"Dr. Cho!" Olivia called, rushing over and pressing a cloth to her wound.

"He's uploading himself into the body." Cho said laboredly.

"Where?"

"The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark."

"I know what the gem is. It's alright. But first we have to find it."

"Go."

"Just let me slow the bleeding so you don't lose too much blood. One second. This might sting a bit." Olivia inhaled and let a small glow emit from her fingers. Dr. Cho inhaled sharply before Olivia pulled her hands away. "Stay safe, Doctor. You guys got that, right? The stuff about the cradle?"

"We did." Clint's voice said in her ear.

"I got a private jet taking off, across town, no manifest. That could be him." Nat said.

"There. It's the truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver."

"No! If that truck crashes, the stone could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron." Olivia said.

"Well, he's definitely unhappy! I'm gonna try and keep him that way." Steve said.

"You're not a match for him, Captain." Loki said, very deadpan.

"Thanks, Loki."

"Guys, what should I be doing?" Olivia asked.

"What's the status on Cho?" Nat asked.

"Wounded, but stable. Medical services are on their way." Olivia replied. "Hold on, give me one second."

"What?"

Olivia shut her eyes and imagined herself being on the Quinjet. A second later, she teleported onto the jet... Quite literally. She appeared on top of the jet.

"Dammit, I miscalculated. Can someone get this thing open?" Olivia asked, gripping onto the top panel like her life depended on it.

"What the hell? Where are you?" Clint asked.

"Just open the damn jet so you can get me to Steve!"

The back door hissed open as Olivia slid herself down to it. She swung herself inside, Clint shutting it behind her.

"Where is Steve?"

"They're getting close to the Overpass." Loki said. Nat boarded a motorcycle in the middle of the jet as Clint started to fly low.

"We got a window. Four, three...give 'em hell." He said.

The hatch opened and Nat dropped out onto the road, speeding away and weaving through traffic.

"I'm always picking up after you boys." Nat said through coms. "Which way?"

"Hard right... Now!" Clint replied.

"Nat, do you see Steve?" Olivia asked.

"He's on that bus." Nat said.

"Clint, get me close so I can hop on."

"Roger that."

"Clint, can you draw out the guards?" Nat asked.

"Just let me drop of a package real quick, then let's find out."

The back hatch of the Quinjet opened up just above the bus where Cap and Ultron were fighting. Olivia lept out onto the bus and grabbed Ultron from behind, giving Clint time to get the guards away.

Ultron shook Olivia off, her falling and needing to grip the top edge of the bus to stay on. Cap kept the robot occupied by throwing him off the bus while Olivia climbed her way back up. As soon as she regained her footing, Ultron rocketed back towards them, crashing them into a train that was passing by.

"Heading back towards you. So whatever you're going to do, do it now." Loki said.

"I'm going in, Cap, Olivia, can you keep him occupied?" Nat asked. Cap threw his shield at Ultron, who deflected it and threw Steve to the back of the train car.

"What do you think we've been doing?" Steve asked.

Olivia tried to jam her sword into Ultron's circuits, but he dodged it and blasted her with an energy beam, forcing her back and smacking her head on one of the hand rails. She saw stars as Ultron continued to face Cap.

"The package is airborne. I have a clean shot." Clint said.

"Negative. I am still in the truck." Nat replied.

"What the hell are you...?"

"Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you."

"How do you want us to take it?" Loki asked.

"Uhh, you might wish you hadn't asked that."

Ultron continued to punch Cap's shield until he his Cap's side, forcing him to collapse. Olivia made an attempt to stand as she saw a blur appear in the train car, knocking Ultron back.

The twins. Olivia realized. She felt someone pull her to her feet. It was Carson, a worried look on his face.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you." Olivia replied. On the other side of the train car, Wanda used her abilities to block Ultron's path.

"Please. Don't do this." He said.

"What choice do we have?" Wanda asked. In response, Ultron sent an energy beam to take down the defenses, blasting right through the train cars up until the front car where the drivers were. Ultron then broke a window and flew out of the hole he had made.

"We lost him! He's headed your way." Steve said, rushing to the front car to find the driver knocked out, though more likely dead. The end of the track was approaching fast.

"Nat, we gotta go." Clint said. There was a pause. "Nat!"

The train barreled right through the end of the tracks and showed no sign of stopping.

"Cap, you see Nat?"

"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" Olivia said.

"Do you have eyes on Nat?"

"Go!"

"Civilians in our path." Steve said. He turned to the enhanced trio. "Can you stop this thing?"

Pietro zoomed out of the train and started pushing the people in front of it out of the way so they wouldn't get hurt. The train then barreled right through a building, a piece of debris knocking Steve back. Olivia summoned a magic barrier in front of her, Carson, and Wanda to keep them protected. Wanda waved her hands and red energy emerged from them. The train started screeching to a stop.

The passengers started hastily getting out as Wanda and Carson went to Pietro to check if he was alright.

"I'm fine. I just need to take a minute." He said, sitting down. Steve and Olivia approached them with serious expressions.

"I'm very tempted not to give you one." Steve replied.

"The Cradle, did you get it?" Carson asked.

"Stark will take care of it." Olivia said.

"No, he won't." Wanda said.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Stark's not crazy." Steve said.

"He will do anything to make things right."

"Stark, come in. Stark. Anyone on comms? Clint? Loki?" Olivia asked, hoping someone would answer.

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

Steve and Olivia knew the answer. They just didn't want to admit it.

***

Bruce and Tony's Lab, Avengers Tower.

"This framework is not compatible." Tony said at his computer.

"The genetic coding tower's at ninety-seven percent. You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes." Bruce replied.

Steve, Olivia, Carson, and the twins all but barged into the lab.

"I'm gonna say this once." Steve started.

"How about 'nonce?'" Tony snarked.

"Shut it down!"

"Nope, not gonna happen."

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

"And you do? She's not in your head?" Bruce asked, gesturing to Wanda.

"I know you're angry." Wanda started.

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

"Banner, after everything that's happened..." Steve started.

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

"What in the Nine is going on?" Loki asked, entering the room.

"Tony's messing with the body. He wants to get it running." Olivia said.

"Stark, what the hell??"

"Shut it, Rock of Ages. And you don't always need to squeal to your boyfriend here, you're not my babysitters." Tony snapped.

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

"This isn't a game!" Steve said.

"That creature-" Wanda continued, but Pietro quickly unplugging the machinery cut her off.

"No, no. Go on. You were saying?" He snarked. A bullet was shot up from below, shattering the glass Pietro was standing on. He fell through to the level below.

"Pietro!" Carson yelped.

There was an error message displayed on the screen.

"I'm rerouting the upload." Tony announced. Olivia sent a bolt of magic towards Tony, deflecting his hand away. Steve threw his shield at him after. Tony summoned an Iron Man glove and hit Steve in the chest with a repulsor beam. He flew backwards as Tony summoned more armor. Wanda started summoning her abilities, but Bruce grabbed her from behind.

"Go ahead, piss me off." He said to her. Wanda blasted Bruce through herself, knocking him back. Clint had a gun ready as Steve and Tony got ready to duke it out.

That's when Thor crashed through the door all of a sudden. Seeing the cradle, he lept into it and summoned lightning.

"Wait!" Bruce and Olivia said at the same time, before Thor blasted the cradle with his lightning, charging it up with immense power readings the computer could barely handle. Thor released after a second, followed by another second of silence.

The cradle exploded open, knocking Thor back and everyone else off their feet. From the cradle emerged a red and silver figure. Human like, but definetly a robot. It slowly stood up, observed it's surroundings and spotted Thor.

The robot charged, floating forward and crashing through the glass wall of the lab into the lounge. It stopped when it looked out the window at the city. Or maybe it's own reflection in the glass. The whole team followed it to the lounge where the robot made a body suit materialize on it as it floated down to the Avengers' level.

"I'm sorry, that was...odd." It said, a male's voice emerging. He turned to Thor. "Thank you."

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

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at it's center is that." Thor said, pointing to the gem in the robot's head.

"What, the gem?" Bruce asked.

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

"Then why would you bring it to-" Steve asked.

"Because Stark is right." Thor said.

"Oh, it's definitely the end times." Loki said sarcastically.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron." Thor said.

"Not alone." The robot added.

"Why does your 'vision' sound like JARVIS?" Steve asked.

"We should just call him Vision." Loki said.

"We...we reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new." Tony said.

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

"You think I'm a child of Ultron?" Vision asked.

"You're not?" Olivia asked, suspicious.

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

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation." Wanda said.

"Look again."

"Yeah. Her seal of approval means jack to me." Clint said, walking towards Wanda.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone, which I always knew was in the scepter, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side-" Loki started.

"Is it?" Steve asked. He turned to Vision. "Are you? On our side?"

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

"Well it better get real simple real soon." Clint said.

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

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

"You."

"Where?" Olivia asked.

"Sokovia. He's got Nat there too." Clint said. Bruce slowly approached Vision.

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

"What will you do?" Vision asked, pausing once he realized they'd destroy him if so. "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."

Vision held up Thor's hammer, indicating for Thor to take it. Everyone stared in shock at it. Just a few days ago, they were all competing about whether or not they could lift it. Vision was barely alive for ten minutes and he could lift it...

Oooh, it's probably because he hasn't had time to do anything bad to make him unworthy. Yeah, way to set parameters, Odin. Olivia thought.

So could he potentially become unworthy? Loki asked her.

Dunno. We'll see, I guess, she replied. Thor took his hammer back as Vision casually walked away. Thor stared after him before smiling and readjusting his grip on the hammer.

"Right." He said, patting Tony on the shoulder before walking off. "Well done."

"Three minutes. Get what you need." Steve said.

***

"So, who's the new AI?" Olivia asked, walking inside the Quinjet.

"FRIDAY." Tony replied.

"Good evening, boss." An Irish female voice replied.

"Huh. Cool." Olivia said.

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

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

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

"That's true, he hates you the most." Vision said, walking past them. Tony stared at nothing, pursing his lips.

Slowly, the rest of the team entered the jet and they took off in the direction of Sokovia. Olivia noticed Carson sitting with the twins, all three of them looking nervous, yet Carson seeming the most on edge. Olivia walked towards them and sat in front of them.

"Are you guys alright?" She asked.

"Just a little nervous." Wanda said.

"Believe me, I get it. You're going back home, facing a threat you have no idea how to beat. One you considered an ally at one point. You have no idea if it will ever go back to being the same way again."

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?"

"It is. Because the first ever mission the Avengers went on, my first ever mission with this team, was just like that. I had to go on a mission to close a portal allowing aliens to invade so we could save New York City from the man I was, and still am, in love with. He was mind controlled to attack the city. I was already emotionally spent, no idea how we could possibly beat him or if our lives would ever go back to being the same. But we suceeded. Our lives haven't exactly been the same since, but it's not really a bad thing.

"I have the upmost faith in you three. You may have worked with Ultron, but I believe in second chances. I suceeded on my first mission with this team, and so will you. And, hey, if you decide to stick around, Loki won't be alone in the 'not a founding member' group. Not that it makes a difference, of course."

"Who was it?" Carson piped up, barely above a whisper. Poor boy was still so shy and scared.

"What do you mean?"

"Who you fought against on your first mission. The one you're in love with?"

"Oh. It's... It's Loki. If that tells you anything, it's that this team is accepting of a lot." Olivia grinned at Carson. "And I mean a lot. Something I told Loki once is 'I don't care if you're male, female, cold and blue, peach, or a unicorn with a rainbow mane, you're as important and special to me as the day I met you.' And, technically, all of those things are possible cause he can shapeshift into whatever he pleases. So, if anyone understands you, it's us. You're safe here and, eventually, everyone will love you, too. I promise you that."

Carson looked at Olivia for a while, attempting to compute what he was being told. He smiled weakly.

"That's all I've really ever wanted." He whispered.

"I know. So when the time comes, you go down there and you give Ultron and his robots hell." Olivia turned to Wanda. "And, just a word of advice, Miss Maximoff? The wider your hands are, the further reach your energy has. But the tighter you make your hand gestures, the more concentrated and powerful your energy is."

"I'll remember that." Wanda said.

"Good. Now rest up. It's gonna be a long day." Olivia said, walking back over to where she was sitting before. Steve called for everyone's attention.

"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 Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right." Steve said.

"Approaching Sokovia." FRIDAY announced.

***

Sokovia

"Should I really be doing this?" Wanda asked warily.

"Is it moral? Maybe not. Is it important? Yes. Miss Maximoff, it's okay. We need to get everyone out of the city. Remember, wider hands, further reach. How well do you know the city?"

"I'd say fairly well."

"Good. Direct people towards exits. I'll scout about for smaller exit areas so you can get more people can get out faster. I'll let you know through coms, alright?"

"Got it."

"Steve, stand by near the main bridge until I come find you. Direct people out of the city. It's gonna get congested." Olivia said.

"What am I, a crossing guard?" Steve asked.

"Steve, there's no time for jokes. We don't have much time."

"Tony, what's the status on Ultron?" Clint asked.

"Still looking. I'll let you know." Tony replied.

Droves of people started flooding the streets, all with one set goal in mind. Olivia ran through the crowds, looking for ways out. When she did, she'd signal to a group of people and lead them through whatever alleyway or wooded thicket she found.

The ground started to erupt in small patches. From the splits in the earth emerged hundreds, maybe thousands of Ultron bots.

"Great. As if getting the people safe wasn't hard enough." Clint snarked. Olivia abandoned her poke around in favor of spearing and confusing robots to keep the people safe.

She saw a blur taking several bots out. That was Pietro. Nearby, Olivia could faintly see the blonde hair of Carson, firing on the robots that Pietro missed. It made her smile at their dynamic.

"Guys, Ultron's in the church. He's got tons of vibranium under the city. If he pulls the lever on the core he built, it could be disastrous.

"So that's where all the vibranium went." Loki commented.

"I don't know exactly what it's for, but it's not any kind of good. FRIDAY! The Vision?"

"Boss, it's working. He's burning Ultron out of the net, he won't escape through there." FRIDAY replied.

The ground started to shake again, far more violently. Fissures started to form in the roads as bricks began to separate. On one side of the breaks, the city started to move upwards.

"Okay, ah, get on this side of the cracks, as many people as you can!" Olivia called to the Sokovians near her. A few obliged, the jump distance between each person that jumped increasing. Once it go to high, Olivia signaled for the people to back away and nit fall off.

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked.

"Sokovia's going for a ride." FRIDAY replied.

"Guys, where are you?" Olivia asked.

"Find me at the bridge." Steve replied. Gesturing for large groups of scared people to follow, Olivia broke into a run. As she did so, she could feel the city moving upwards. Ultron spoke to the people.

"Do you see? The beauty of it, the inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

Olivia nearly crashed into Steve when she approached the bridge.

"What the hell's going on?" She asked.

"I'm not totally sure, but I don't like it." Steve replied. "Guys, what're your statuses?"

"Confused." Clint replied.

"We all are. Do you have eyes on the twins?"

"Wanda's close with Carson. Pietro is speeding around and getting rid of more bots."

"Nat, do you copy?" Olivia asked.

"I'm heading for the city, the Big Guy's come to play." Nat replied.

"The Vibranium core has got a magnetic field, that's what's keeping the rock together." FRIDAY reported.

"And if it drops?" Tony asked.

"Right now the impact would kill thousands. Once it gets high enough: Global extinction."

"Oh my gods... We are the meteor. Sokovia is his meteor to destroy the world." Olivia said.

"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious." Tony snarked.

"Loki, where are you?"

"Close to the church." Loki replied.

"Okay, just as long as I know where you are."

"You're not my parent." Loki seemed to chuckle as he said that.

"I don't wanna find out you're missing and or dead! Cause, in case you haven't noticed, we're flying."

"No, really?"

"Guys, stop. You can couple's bicker once the job is done." Tony said.

"I got airborne, heading up to the bridge" FRIDAY said.

In that split second, a robot crashed right into Steve, knocking him back.

"Cap, you got incoming." Tony said.

"Incoming already came in." Steve replied. Another bot crashed into a nearby building as he struggled back to his feet. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off."

***

The stream of Ultron bots seemed never ending. Clint fired at them with his bow, Wanda all but obliterated them with her abilities, and Carson shot at them with his pistols, occasionally needing to replace the ammo.

A particularly large squadron of bots flew at them. Clint took both Carson and Wanda's arms as he crashed them into a nearby shop. The shelves were on the floor and the store was in utter disarray.

"How could we let this happen?" Wanda cried, starting to break down into tears.

"Hey, hey, you okay?" Clint asked her.

"This is all our fault."

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares. Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know, cause the city is flying... Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good, I'll send your brother to come find you guys, but if you step out that door, you are Avengers." Clint said, trying to console Wanda, but not really realizing he was helping Carson as well. "Alright, good chat." He got up and left the pair in the building.

"Wanda... Are you sure about this?" Carson asked.

"What is there to be sure about?" Wanda asked.

"All of this. We could die."

Wanda paused before answering.

"If we're going to die, we may as well save the world in doing so."

***

A woman screamed as her car started falling off the bridge.

"Cover me!" Steve called to Olivia as he ran over to the woman. He grabbed the back bumper of her car, but that broke off. The car fell below, surely to the woman's impending doom. Thor suddenly appeared and zoomed down, grabbing the woman and tossing her upwards. Steve caught her, gripping onto the edge of the bridge. "I got you. Just look at me!"

"Hold on!" Olivia called, grabbing the woman's other arm and pulling her to the surface so Steve could climb back up.

"You can't save them all. You'll never-" one of the nearby Ultron bots started to say before Steve flung his shield into it, throwing it off the bridge.

"You'll never what? You didn't finish!" He called after the falling robot. Thor flew back up to them, landing on the fleeing woman's car.

"What, were you napping?" Olivia asked as the three of them fled the bridge to join Nat, who was fighting robots with her batons. Waves of robots descended upon them, but the four gathered Avengers beat them back. That is, until the Ultron Prime arrived.

"Thor! You're bothering me." He said, forcing the God of Thunder backwards, flinging him away.

"That's my brother, you son of a-" Olivia started.

"Ah ah, such language shouldn't be used around Steve." Ultron taunted.

"Oh, come on, really?" Steve groaned.

"You'll be a box of scraps by the time I'm done with you!" Olivia growled at the android.

"Oh, that's right. You're the lady love of earth's failed conquorer. Would you prefer to be called 'Your Highness?' Come to think of it, where is His Lordship anyways? I really need to thank him for letting me borrow his scepter."

"You're sick."

"Robots can't get sick, Your Highness."

"That's not what I-"

Before Olivia could finish, Ultron blasted away in the direction he knocked Thor.

"He really has a way with words." Nat commented.

"Shut up, Romanoff."

***

Clint was mostly left to his own devices when more robots started to emerge. He fired at them, but even then, they still kept coming.

A short round of bullets hit the robots from a source behind him. Clint turned around to see Carson shooting at the robots, more confidence in his stance than Clint had ever seen him display. Wanda used her abilities to wipe out the rest of the robots, destroying them and tossing their parts aside. It was quiet for a short moment.

"Alright, we're all clear here." Clint said.

"We are not clear! We are very not clear!" Steve replied.

"Alright, coming to you." Clint said. Pietro suddenly zoomed to them, stopping to pick up his sister and have Carson climb on his back piggy-back style.

"Keep up old man!" He said before speeding away with the two of them. After barely a few seconds, they were in the thick of it, the police force that were still left firing on the bots.

"Hold your fire!" The chief of police said as Pietro dropped his sister and Carson down. Wanda blasted bots with her abilities as Carson kept firing.

A bullet that wasn't Carson's hit Pietro in the arm. He turned to the police squad, in particular a scrawny cop who hastily put down his gun. Pietro gavs him a "what the hell, man?" look before speeding away again.

***

"Romanoff!" Steve called, tossing Nat his shield so she could fend off one robot that was being a particular pain in the ass. She finished it off, before passing the shield back to Steve.

"Thanks." She replied.

"The anti-gravs are rigged to flip. Touch 'em, they'll go full reverse thrust. The city's not coming down slow." FRIDAY said.

"The spire's Vibranium. If I get Thor to hit it-" Tony replied.

"It'll crack, but that's not enough, the impact would still be devastating."

"Maybe if we cap the other end, keep the atomic action doubling back."

"That could vaporize the city, and everyone on it."

"We have to find a way to get the civilians off of this rock." Olivia said, stabbing another robot.

"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?" Steve asked.

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear." Tony said.

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..." Nat cut in.

"Not until everyone's safe." Olivia said.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it." Steve insisted.

"I didn't say we should leave." Nat said, looking out onto the horizon. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better." Nick Fury's voice suddenly said on coms. Before them, the old Helicarrier from their first adventure came into view. "Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch." Steve said.

"Oooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Guys, look! Lifeboats! We can get the people out of here!" Olivia said, pointing to the fleet of rescue ships emerging from the Helicarrier. Pietro suddenly zoomed up next to them.

"This is SHIELD?" He asked.

"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be." Steve replied.

"This is not so bad."

The rescue ships approached the side of the city, docking.

"Let's load em up!" Steve said, running behind them to the civilians inside various buildings.

"Guys, bots on the hellicarrier!" Olivia said. Before they could even react, a figure started blasting the bots away.

"Yes! Now this is gonna be a good story." Rhodes said through coms. Olivia smiled as she saw Tony join his friend.

"Yep. If you live to tell it." Tony said.

"You think I can't hold my own?"

"We get through this, I'll hold your own."

"You had to make it weird."

People began to flow out of their hiding spots in droves, clamoring for the rescue ships and the promise of safety. The Avengers tried to keep it orderly, but it's hard to keep people fleeing for their lives, well, in order.

"I got it! Create a heat seal. I can...I can supercharge the spire from below." Tony said, still battling bots.

"Running numbers.... A heat seal could work with enough power." FRIDAY replied, though she sounded unsure.

"Thor, I got a plan!"

"We're out of time. They're coming for the core." Thor replied.

"Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier."

"On it." Rhodes replied.

"Avengers, time to work for a living."

***

The team started to converge at the church where the core was located. Thor, Loki, and Vision were the only ones there to start.

"Loki! Are you okay?" Olivia asked, rushing over to him.

"I'm fine. It's okay." Loki replied, kissing her forehead.

"You good?" Pietro asked Wanda and Carson.

"Yeah." Carson replied.

"Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing 'hide the zucchini.'" Tony said.

"Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly." Nat replied. A minute later, she arrived in a bulldozer before hopping out and joining the team. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose." Tony said, pointing to the core. The Hulk showed up a moment later, smashing bots.

Right behind him was Ultron and more of his minions.

"Is that the best you can do?" Thor yelled. Ultron said nothing as he summoned what could probably be his entire army.

"You had to ask." Loki deadpaned.

"Hey, Rock of Ages, look. He has an army, and what do we have?" Tony asked. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Stark, it's bad enough you remind me of that day, it's worse because we're in actual danger right now." Loki said.

"But we have a Hulk!" Tony said, nudging Loki with his elbow. Loki shook his head and faced Ultron.

"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?" Ultron taunted.

"Well, like the old man said. Together." Tony replied.

The Hulk roared as Ultron sent his bots to attack the cathedral. The Avengers made a protective circle around the core, viciously fighting off the robots, not daring let any of them get too close to the core to activate it.

Truly working as a cohesive unit to defend the world.

Ultron eventually stepped in and briefly battled it out with Vision, who repelled him with an energy beam from the stone in his head. He didn't let up as he forced Ultron outside. Thor and Tony started blasting the android as well for quite a long time.

They eventually let up once he collapsed onto the ground. Ultron staggered to his feet.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight-" he started, but the Hulk hit him away powerfully. The other robots started to retreat upon seeing this.

"They'll try to leave the city." Olivia said.

"We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!" Tony called.

"I'm on it." Rhodes said, facing the robots. "Oh, no, I didn't say you could leave. War Machine, comin' at you, right-" Just then Vision flew in and helped destroy the robots before Rhodes could do anything. "Okay, what?"

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you." Steve said.

"What about the core?" Carson asked.

"I'll protect it. It's my job. Get the people on the boats." Wanda said. Most of the team broke for the life boats, Carson and Pietro lagging behind.

"I'm not going to leave you here." Pietro said.

"I can handle this." She blasted an incoming robot. "Come back for me when everyone else is off, not before."

"Hmm."

"You understand?"

"You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

"Go." Wanda said, chuckling. Carson climbed onto Pietro's back and he sped them to the nearest boat.

***

Olivia was ushering the last few people onto one of the last boats. She saw Clint let Nat out of the car, before he heard a woman on the boat calling for her son. He stood there for a moment before seemingly spotting the boy and running to get him.

"Thor, I'm gonna need you back in the church." Tony said.

"Is this the last of them?" Thor asked in regards to the people.

"Yeah. Everyone else is on the carrier." Steve said.

"You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away." Tony said. The three of them looked at each other for a moment.

"Maybe not." Thor said.

A Quinjet started firing haphazardly in the direction of where Clint had gone.

"Oh gods... GUYS, GO!" Olivia said, leaping out of the boat.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked. Olivia didn't reply, just kept running.

She saw Clint with a boy in his arms.

Shd saw Pietro running for them.

She saw Ultron in the Quinjet firing in their direction.

She saw where all three would converge.

"Okay, okay... Three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

In that instant, Olivia teleported right in front of where Clint and the boy were. She summoned a green energy barrier like she had back on the train in South Korea. Pietro sped behind her as Ultron fired on the energy barrier.

"Guys, stay until he goes. No one is dying on my watch." Olivia said. The boy in Clint's arms nodded timidly.

"Aww, you ruined my sacrifice move." Pietro mock-complained.

"No one. Is dying. On my watch." Olivia repeated, far slower this time. The Hulk barreled out of nowhere, intercepting the Quinjet and allowing the four of them time to escape. Olivia released the barrier and slightly slumped over.

"You good?" Clint asked.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." She said, taking a few deep breaths and jogging behind them. They boarded the last ship, a few people still getting on.

"Get your sister." Clint told Pietro. He nodded and sped off. Olivia slumped in her seat and took a few deep breaths. An attendant asked if she wanted assistance, but she waved him off. A minute later, Pietro came back with his sister in his arms. They buckled in as the last of the people boarded. The ship closed and started to fly away.

"Thor, on my mark..." Tony said. There was a pause as the ship boarded the carrier.

"NOW!"

Just as the hatch closed, a massive explosion could be heard. It rocked the Hellicarrier a little, Olivia stumbling out of her seat.

"We did it, we're okay." Clint said.

In a split second, Olivia didn't think twice about it.

"Thor, do you copy?" She asked.

Silence.

"Thor, Stark, do you copy?" She asked again.

This time, her com crackled.

"We're okay! We did it!" Thor replied excitedly. Olivia sighed in relief as she exited the life boat.

We're okay.

***

New Avengers Facility, Upstate New York, A few months later

The new facility was thriving. SHIELD workers and interns alike bustled around with their own tasks to do.

Unfortunately, Bruce was missing. When he took down the rogue Quinjet, he didn't come back. Maybe he felt he was too dangerous. Olivia didn't really know for sure, but she had a feeling he wasn't gone forever.

Nat on the other hand, she was a little depressed about it.

"You want to keep staring at the wall, or do you want to go to work? I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall." Olivia said, coming in on Nat staring at a wall.

"I thought you and Loki were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?" Nat sassed back.

"Well, I'd say we're pretty good. How's little Nathaniel?"

"Fat." Nat said.

"Nat! He's a baby, of course he is." Olivia said, laughing. Steve came in behind them.

"What's with all the laughing?"

"Nat called Nathaniel fat." Olivia said.

"Tony's right, you do have a squealing problem." Steve said.

"I do not!" Olivia protested. "And he said I have a problem squealing to Loki in particular."

"Well, I mean, that's true as well." Steve said, before he faded into a green light to reveal Loki in his place.

"Oh for Frigga's sake, that's at least three times, love!" Olivia said, laughing. Nat was absolutely doubled over, crying laughing. "Hey, where's Thor?"

"Reporting back to Odin before coming right back." Loki replied.

"See, I don't have the squealing problem. He does." Olivia replied. Loki laughed and pecked her on the lips.

"Aww, guys, PDA!" Nat joked.

***

"You ready, Carson?" Wanda asked. "Training begins in just a few minutes."

"I guess so. Let's go." Carson replied to Wanda. As soon as they got back from Sokovia, the team already had rooms prepared for them. It was nice, not too cluttered, but not a barren cell.

It was a far cry from spending 20 years as a HYDRA captive.

On top of that, before he got his SHIELD paperwork done, he had pixie cut and dyed his hair a bright lavender color

"Hey, Pietro, let's go!" Wanda said. Her twin brother was in his room, half asleep on the floor.

"Huh, what? Oh, right." He said, speeding out of the room ahead of them. Wanda smiled as she and Carson followed him to the training room.

Inside, there were the three of them, Vision, Rhodes, a man Carson had learned was the Falcon, Sam Wilson, and... Another foreign face.

Dark hair, light eyes, and... Was that a metal arm?

The man looked vaguely familiar to Carson, but he honestly couldn't place his face. Still, he could have sworn he knew the man.

The door to the balcony above them opened, Nat and Steve emerging.

"Avengers..." Steve started.

That's right. Avenger. I am an Avenger.

***

A/N

Also yes, Pietro survives. Hence why I edited previous chapters like Infinity War and Endgame so he'd be in there.

Hope you liked it!