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VALOR
xi. THE VISION

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  IT WAS PAINFULLY QUIET. The hours following the Salvage Yard fight were soundless, yet unbearably unpeaceful. Tension suffocated the quinjet. Riley didn't know what was going to drive her to insanity first: the silence or the intolerable guilt eating away at her insides. Her accident was the only thing on her mind.

  Accident. Riley could've laughed. The word made it seem so innocent, so cute and naïve. She knew it wasn't entirely her fault, but Riley couldn't accept it. She felt like the right thing to do was to feel guilty for her actions. It was her fault, after all. Riley felt like death followed her wherever she went.

  She sat at the front of the quinjet on the console. Her eyes were glued to the dark skies as the low hum of the engine purred in her ears. This time, Clint piloted the aircraft since he was the only one who hadn't been attacked by Wanda's mind manipulation.

  Clint's gaze drifted toward the console where Riley was sitting. She was invisible so that he could see the airways, of course, but he knew she was there. After witnessing Steve carry her back to the quinjet, Clint was concerned. He was worried about everyone.

  Clearing his throat, Clint beckoned, "How're you feeling, O'Dair?"

  Riley lifted her head from where she'd been resting it on her knees. "Uh... If I say fine, will you believe it?"

  Clint frowned. She sounded so small, vulnerable. He knew how much she hated feeling that way, but there was only so much he could do without overstepping. "Hey, fake it 'til you make it, right?"

  Riley nodded despite being invisible, pausing. "...She showed me Roman," she slowly admitted. "And my parents."

  "I figured," he admitted. "You were crying when Steve brought you back."

  Riley scoffed. "I don't cry. I've never cried once in my life," she attempted to joke. "Ever."

  Clint hummed. "Uh-huh. Sure thing." He shifted. "...If you wanna talk about it, we can."

  Riley shook her head. "It's okay, Clint. I know what you'd say anyway. But... I appreciate it anyway if that helps," she assured. Clint faintly smiled. It did.

  Soon, Maria Hill's face flitted across a small monitor. She took this time to check in on the team and provide them with some updates. "The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

  "Stark Relief Foundation?" investigated Tony.

  "Already on the scene. How's the team?"

  Tony glanced back at the others. Each Avenger was withdrawn, staring off into space. They were still processing what Wanda had shown them earlier: their nightmares, their traumas, their fears, their regrets.

  "Everyone's..." he hesitated. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

  "Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

  "So, run and hide?"

  "Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

  "Neither do we," mumbled Tony before he switched off the monitor, ending the call. Then, he joined Clint's side. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"

  "No, I'm good," rejoined Clint. "If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time 'cause we're still a few hours out. Same goes to you, kid."

  Riley sighed and slid off of her seat, standing upright. She was still invisible as she unenthusiastically questioned, "Where exactly are we going?"

  "...A safe house."

  That sounded good enough to Riley. She wandered into one of the empty seats on the quinjet, leaned her head against whatever was next to her, and eventually, she drifted off to sleep. For the first time in a while, Riley dreamed of absolutely nothing.

  By the time they landed, Riley had just woken up on Bruce's arm. She had tried to apologize, but according to Bruce, he hadn't even noticed the tiny girl leaning on him. That was good enough for Riley.

  Dawn had broken out across the skyline as the Avengers shuffled out of the quinjet. They stood together on a field in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. The grass was tall and healthy, the trees untouched by mankind. In the heart of the plains was a whimsical home that looked like it was straight out of a movie. Riley ignored the quiet mumblings that came from her team as they approached the home. She had been here once or twice before, but they didn't know that.

  Clint pushed open the door and called out, "Honey, I'm home!" The others scuffled after him. A heavily pregnant woman walked in from the kitchen, surprise branded on her face. "Hi. Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead."

  Kissing Clint, the benevolent woman smiled at the others. "Hey," she greeted. Her brown eyes were tired, yet filled with warmth that always made Riley feel welcomed.

  "This is an agent of some kind," Tony whispered to the others. A small smirk broke out on Riley's face. She was feeling a lot better after getting some sleep.

  With an arm around the woman, Clint motioned to her and announced, "Ladies, gentlemen, and Riley, this is Laura." Riley stuck her tongue out at Clint and his greeting, to which he just mocked.

  "I know all of your names," Laura assured them. Everyone stared at her, unsure of what to say. It would be a shock to just now discover that your colleague of many years had a family they never knew about.

  The sound of feet hitting the wooden floors pulled Clint's attention. The man happily uttered to himself, "Ooh, incoming." He crouched down in preparation for his son, Cooper and his daughter, Lila scurrying in.

  As Clint greeted his kids, Tony unconfidently added, "These are... smaller agents." Riley reached up and smacked his arm for nearly ruining the family moment. He glanced down at her and dramatically reacted, "Uh, ow!"

  Lila Barton looked up at her father gleefully. "Did you bring Auntie Nat? And Riley?"

  Natasha's lips grew into a smile as she greeted, "Why don't you hug her and find out?" Lila squealed and rushed toward the spy, allowing Natasha to sweep her off of her feet.

  Riley watched the interaction with a bittersweet smile. She wished she'd experienced that softness from Natasha growing up, but she knew that it was for the best.

  After learning only recently that her mentor was sterilized in the Red Room where she was trained and bred, Riley realized that Natasha never truly hated her. If anything, Natasha envied Riley. She envied the life Riley had. Most of all, Natasha envied Riley for so long because the girl was a reminder of something the Russian could never have: children, a family, a chance at happily ever after.

  The younger eventually learned to forgive her mentor for all of the toxicity that ensued their relationship, but only because Riley knew that she was the spring day that melted away Natasha's eternal winter. She didn't help Natasha learn how to accept the warmth, but rather, Riley showed her how to tolerate the cold and move forward.

  Tony peered back at Riley and demanded, "What, you knew about this? I raised you like one of my own and in return, you hide an entire cult from me?"

  Riley shrugged. "Just be glad I didn't end up like my brother, Ultron," she joked. When Steve shot her a stern glance, she added, "Too soon?"

  Steve shook his head before turning back to Laura Barton. "Sorry for barging in on you," he kindly apologized.

  "Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony chimed in. "Well, most of us were, at least. Cough, Riley."

  Riley pinched the bridge of her nose, seconds from retorting something in response when Clint interrupted her, "Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files, and I'd like to keep it that way. I figured it's a good place to lay low."

  Riley's ears perked up at the sound of something crunching. She glanced to the side where Thor had just stepped on Clint's children's toys, destroying them. She quietly snorted as Steve shrugged, causing Thor to sweep the pieces under a chair with his feet.

  Lila Barton skipped toward Riley with a big smile. "Do you wanna play dress-up this time?" she wondered.

  Riley had been to Clint's home only a few occasions. He and Laura often invited her to their home throughout her childhood every few years or so. The last time, Riley was requested to babysit their kids while the parents had a much-needed date night. She wasn't exactly sure how to babysit kids, but she thought she did a pretty good job with Clint's kids. Then again, she was just doing everything Natasha should've done back then.

  Lila and Cooper seemed to like Riley because she didn't baby them. They thought it was funny how she would oppose everything they wanted to do because it sounded too unappealing to her, whether that was playing dress-up or playing with dolls.

  Riley wore a thoughtful expression before she shook her head. "Nah, I liked when we played hide and seek though."

  Lila pouted. "You always win. It's no fair," she grumbled, causing Riley to quietly snicker.

  Before she could reply, Thor turned on his heel and promptly exited the quaint home. There was something in his eyes the others couldn't quite pinpoint. Whatever Wanda had shown him must've still been troubling Thor, and he needed to figure out what it was before it was all he could think about in their darkest hour. With the wave of Mjölnir, Thor took off, leaving the others in his dust.

  Though the Avengers were fighting the same battle together, they didn't feel like a team. Between Tony and Steve's constant bickering, everyone's frustrations toward the scientists of the group, Natasha and Bruce's strange relationship, and the aftermath of Wanda's mind manipulation, tensions couldn't have been any higher. Riley was worried that if they kept fighting, they'd never defeat Ultron.

  Riley would have never thought she'd become so close to her team after all this time. As a kid, she always felt more comfortable working independently. Her older colleagues never took her seriously or undermined her abilities, so when Riley joined the Avengers, she was worried about what they'd think of her. Now, here she was, doing everything she could to make sure they remained united.

  Upon cleaning the remainder of her open wounds and showering, Riley could be found cleaning alongside Natasha. Doing some basic household chores was the best way to kill time and repay the Bartons for letting them stay at their home, after all.

  Riley used a small rag to wipe down the surfaces in the living room, a bottle of cleaning product in her nondominant hand. She paused when she noticed a small framed photo of Clint and his children. Picking it up, Riley smiled. "I can't imagine living like this," she confessed.

  Natasha glanced back at Riley, noticing the photograph in her hands. She hummed. "Yeah, me neither. It's hard enough dealing with you."

  Riley rolled her eyes, continuing to study the photo. The photograph of her and her parents felt so much heavier in her pocket than before. Riley frowned. "Do you remember your family?"

  Natasha shrugged. "Not really. I remember the next best thing... the people I thought of as family, but..." A gloomy shadow clouded her face. She shook it off. "Clint said Wanda showed you your family, yeah? How're you feeling?"

  Riley didn't skip a beat as she answered, "Nothin' I haven't felt before." She placed the photo back down. She studied Natasha briefly. She had been worse off than Riley. Riley could only assume Natasha was given flashbacks of her time in the Red Room. "What about you? Are you okay? 'Cause... you know... you can tell me that stuff... if you want."

  Natasha forced a smile as she swept the floor. "Nothing I haven't felt before," she repeated. "...But thanks anyway, Riley."

  Riley took that as a sign not to push her friend any further. She didn't know everything about Natasha's old life, but she knew enough. So, all Riley could say was, "I'm glad you're not living that life anymore."

  Natasha lightly laughed. "Yeah, it's not so bad now," she teased. "I've got a pretty... interesting gig and my closest friends are a bunch of suicidal superheroes."

  Riley decided to change the topic. She hummed to herself as she continued to clean. "So, what's up with you and Bruce, huh?" queried Riley. She glanced over her shoulder to see what she expected: Natasha's poker face.

  "Nothing," simply returned Natasha.

  Riley rolled her eyes. "Bullshit! You've been making eyes at him ever since we got the team back together."

  "You don't even know what that means."

  "Still," Riley pressed. "I think you have a thing for emotionally damaged white boys." She and Natasha fell silent before folding with quiet chuckles. "What, you can't tell me I'm wrong, Auntie Nat."

  Natasha rolled her eyes at the old nickname. "You're just mad because I kissed Steve."

  Although Riley's cheeks immediately flared up, Riley tried to ignore it and retort, "I just think it's weird that your only idea to save yourselves from HYDRA was to kiss him! You couldn't have just, I dunno, pushed him off the escalator or something?"

  Natasha smirked and insisted, "Aw, come on, you had your little moment with Steven. Watching him carry you back from the Salvage Yard was precious."

  Riley stopped in her tracks, cringing at the memory of crying in front of her team. She shot Natasha a small glare. "I will find a cliff and throw you off of it," she lamely threatened. "Don't test me."

  "Be my guest," a new voice spoke up. Natasha and Riley quickly turned to see Nick Fury standing amongst them, Steve and Tony following shortly behind him. "I've been trying to get someone to stand up to her for the past decade."

  Riley had to admit that she wasn't very surprised seeing Nick, naturally assuming that Maria Hill had called him in after hearing about the Avengers' failures as of lately. That bastard was always surprising her. After he quite literally escaped death, Riley learned to expect anything from her former superior.

  Dusk had fallen by the time the Avengers and Fury regrouped in the kitchen. Riley hadn't realized how fast time had gone by since this morning. It made her worry about how much closer Ultron was to eliminating mankind the longer they just sat there. Riley was itching to do something, anything.

  "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time," Nick Fury explained while maneuvering throughout the kitchen. "My contacts all say he's building something."

  Leaning against the wall, Steve folded his arms across his chest. "What about Ultron himself?" he inquired.

  Fury waved his hand. "He's easy to track. He's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

  Tony stood near the dartboard, a flannel thrown over his clothes. It was kind of amusing to Riley to see the men of the group sharing Clint's clothes like they were at one of those sleepovers she saw in movies. As he threw one of the darts, Tony wondered, "He still going after launch codes?"

  "Yes, he is," confirmed Fury, "but he's not making any headway."

  Tony turned toward Fury, mystified. "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare."

  Ignoring his subtle brag, Riley had to agree. If Ultron was the pure combination of their minds, why hadn't he fulfilled his plans already?

  "Yeah, how come Ultron's taking so long to do..." Riley hesitated. "...whatever it is he wants to do?"

  "Yeah, well, I decided to contact our friends at the NEXUS about that," Fury revealed.

  Upon Steve asking what the NEXUS was, Bruce elaborated, "It's the world internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on Earth."

  Clint twirled a dart in his hands, intrigued by this. "So, what'd they say?"

  What Fury said next surprised Riley. "He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed by parties unknown."

  Tony approached the dartboard, asking, "By whom?" before Clint chucked a dart past the old man's face. Clint just shrugged, snickering at Tony's surprised reaction.

  "Parties unknown."

  Riley couldn't wrap her mind around it. "Why would someone else be messing with nuclear codes? Shouldn't we be keeping a closer eye on that?" she interrogated.

  "It's hard to tell," Fury replied.

  Natasha looked up from the table. In front of her was a butterfly drawing Lila had gifted her. "Do we have an ally?" she suggested.

  "Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing," Fury corrected. "Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

  Riley wasn't sure how she knew it, but she could sense the thoughts running through Tony's mind at that moment. She snapped her head toward him just as Tony declared, "I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown."

  Natasha softly sighed. "Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."

  "I do," Fury countered. "I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere—"

  "I dunno about that one, chief," Riley mused under her breath. Clint snorted.

  "—ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world," continued Fury, ignoring the 14-year-old and her regularly scheduled side-comments. "Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

  Smirking, Natasha teased, "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk."

  "You know what, Romanoff?"

  Fury sighed. He could see Riley's influence on them. He swore they never used to banter this much. "So what does he want?" proposed Fury.

  Riley sat down next to Natasha, trying to brighten the mood. She wasn't used to being completely serious anymore. "My best guess is lower gas prices," she mused.

  "He wants to become better. Better than us," conceded Steve. "He keeps building bodies."

  Riley pinched her eyebrows together. "The bodies are a passage. They're expendable," she started.

  "Tink's right. They're person bodies. The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded," Tony chimed in. "But he keeps coming back to it."

  Natasha glanced between Bruce, Riley, and Tony. "When you three programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," she commented.

  Bruce pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose as he stood behind Natasha and Riley. His eyes were locked on the butterfly drawing on the table as he realized something. "They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve." Bruce snapped his head upward. "Ultron's going to evolve."

  "How?"

  Bruce looked around the room, suddenly troubled. "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

  There was a pause. Everyone seemed to realize at the same time what Ultron's next move was going to be: he was trying to build a body, a more permanent form for himself rather than something flimsy like a bunch of fused metal. The Avengers hurriedly suited up.

  "I'll take Natasha and Clint," Steve announced.

  "Alright, strictly recon. I'll hit the NEXUS," Tony decided. "I'll join you as soon as I can." He nodded toward Riley, who was now adorned in her suit. "Tink, you're coming with me."

  Riley's eyebrows shot upward. She hadn't been expecting to get dragged into the, for lack of better vernacular, nerd stuff. "Aw, what? Seriously?" she pouted.

  "Yes, seriously," mocked Natasha, strapping her weapons onto her body again. "I'm not letting you go anywhere near that witch again."

  She just sighed. "Right. So, if Ultron's really building a body, what does that mean for the rest of us?"

  "He'll be more powerful than any of us," Tony admitted. "Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."

  Steve sighed. "You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me."

○ ○ ○

  Riley never felt alone. It sounded nice in theory, but it was a nightmare in reality. Everywhere she went, she always had this unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was being watched. It wasn't anything like the awareness that the government was surveilling her every move at any given moment. It was more like... well... Riley could've sworn someone was stalking her.

  Now, you're probably thinking that sounds insane. It is. It's insane, and Riley knew it. But growing up, she could've sworn there was someone constantly breathing down her neck—literally. When she was younger, she thought it was maybe one of those imaginary friends other kids had. When she was a little bit older, she thought she was being haunted by a ghost.

  Now that she was 14, she was sure her mind was just playing games on her. Who could possibly have the free time to stalk a busy, constantly moving Avenger anyway? Riley felt like an idiot fearing her own shadow.

  Sometimes Riley reminisced on the times where her greatest concern was a shadow, a figment of her wild imagination. Now, things seemed so much more complicated... and they were.

  The good news was that Tony and Riley's brief trip to NEXUS was successful. They (well, it was all Tony, but Riley was there for moral support at least) decrypted the nuclear codes and managed to pinpoint Ultron's location in Korea. Meanwhile, Steve, Natasha, and Clint traveled back to Korea to distract Ultron while they stole something called a Cradle. The Cradle was a design by Dr. Helen Cho that was being utilized to create Ultron's final form, so now that it was in their grasp, the Avengers were officially one step ahead of their enemy.

  The bad news was that, in the process, Natasha had been kidnapped by Ultron.

  Now back at the labs where Bruce had been waiting for them, Riley found herself glaring at the Cradle, lost in thought. Riley felt sick knowing Natasha had been taken. She wanted to drop everything to execute an impulsive rescue mission, but they didn't know where she was. Riley was worried.

  "She's alive," Tony insisted. "Otherwise, Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it."

  "She better be," Riley mumbled. "If only I was there..."

  Riley was frustrated. She knew that maybe if she'd gone with the others, she could've prevented Natasha's kidnapping. It felt like with every step forward, the Avengers took three steps backward.

  "You can't blame yourself for everything bad that happens, Riley," Bruce contended, causing Riley to look back at him. "You'll just end up feeling even shittier than before."

  She leaned against the counter, pursing her lips. "But isn't that what we're supposed to do? If we fail as heroes, we've failed society, right?"

  "Aren't you supposed to be the optimist here?" Bruce lightly laughed to himself. "Then again, I think you're asking the wrong person about hero advice."

  Rolling her eyes, Riley argued, "You're more of a hero than you are a monster, Bruce. Maybe you should start taking your own advice."

  "And miss out on all the potential angst? Yeah, right."

  That got Riley to smile. Although he was a hypocrite, Bruce had a point. Maybe that was the point—make mistakes to prevent them. Maybe that was what it took to become a true hero. It made perfect sense to Riley.

  Clint patted the Cradle, mentioning, "This is sealed tight."

  Riley approached the Cradle and placed her hand on it. Like placing a hand to a hot stovetop, she recoiled with a hiss. Whatever was in that Cradle, it had an energy that made Riley feel uneasy. Jolts of pain rushed through her mind in an instant.

  Riley held her hand to her chest and suggested, "You guys want me to blast through it?"

  "No, no. We don't want to physically damage what's already inside. Who knows what that murder bot's been doing with this thing. The last thing we need is for it to explode in our faces," Bruce denied. He joined her side with a thoughtful look. "We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within."

  With his hands in his pockets, Tony seemed distracted. He turned to Clint and asked, "Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet? Old-school spy stuff?"

  Clint's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "There's some nets I can cast. Yeah, alright. I'll find her." Before Riley could offer him her assistance, he was already gone. Riley nearly took off after him, but she knew he would want some time alone to think. That was how Clint was. He worked best alone and from a distance.

  Meanwhile, Bruce was already forming a plan of his own. He nodded to Tony, mentioning, "I can work on tissue degeneration if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."

  "Yeah, about that."

  Bruce and Riley just needed to look at Tony for two seconds to know what he was thinking. He wanted to repeat Project Ultron using the body inside of the Cradle.

  Bruce quickly opposed, "No" while Riley shouted, "Are you on crack!?"

  "You have to trust me."

  "Kinda don't," returned Bruce.

  Tony was persistent, as expected. "Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes? I found him." He flicked his hand. A golden array of data emerged before their very eyes. It was then when Riley realized what Tony had found while they were at the NEXUS. It was JARVIS.

  "Hello, Dr. Banner. Hello, Ms. Valor!"

  "Vis?" Riley repeated, shocked.

  "Ultron didn't go after JARVIS cause he was angry," Tony elucidated. "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."

  Riley looked to Bruce, unsure of what to say. Bruce scoffed, shaking his head. "So, you want me to help you put JARVIS into this thing?" he probed.

  "No! Of course not," Tony disputed. "I want to help you put JARVIS in this thing."

  Riley deflated as she muttered, "I should've gone with Clint."

  "And I want her to assist," Tony continued, pointing a finger at the teenager in the room. Before Riley could argue, Tony added, "Look, we're out of my field here. You know bio-organics better than anyone, Banner."

  "And you just assume that JARVIS' operational matrix can beat Ultron's?" quizzed Bruce.

  "JARVIS has been beating him from the 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," Tony proposed.

  Riley raised her hand. "I'm sorry, who the hell is we? As far as I'm concerned, this is a terrible idea. Twins are not my thing, Tony. First, the Maximoffs, then it'll be Ultron and JARVIS," she argued. "We can't handle another Ultron!"

  She hesitated, beginning to mumble to herself. "But... if we can successfully implant JARVIS into the body using a polymorphic structure..." Riley muttered. "...and maybe if we... then that problem would go away... So... we use JARVIS, take down Ultron, take down the twins, we save Nat, we win." She looked up in surprise. "Okay, never mind, I'm game."

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

  This time, Bruce was the one who wasn't convinced. "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," affirmed Tony. "I know what everyone's going to say, but they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. You gotta own it. Make a stand." He paused. "It's not a loop. It's the end of the line."

  His words sent electric shivers down Riley's spine. The end of the line. Was it that simple? If they saved the world using JARVIS, could they save the world from future nuisances? Could this be the very thing that allowed the Avengers to retire permanently?

  Riley didn't know how the felt about that. It was bittersweet to think about. Yes, the trauma and the wars were horrible, but the Avengers were Riley's family. What was she supposed to do without them?

  Nevertheless, Riley had a mission, and whether she liked it or not, she and Tony had to assist Bruce in recreating Project Ultron. This was their last chance at making things right. This was how the Avengers would avenge themselves. Huh, who would've thought that sentence would ever be spoken?

  "This feels very... Frankenstein," Riley admitted as she worked on bringing JARVIS to life. "How do we know this thing isn't gonna end up like Frankenstein?"

  "Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster," Tony corrected.

  "Who cares?" Riley queried. "Besides, you can't be mean to me. I'm an orphan."

  "So am I, genius."

  Riley rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the compliment, grandpa," she taunted.

  "Uh-huh, sure thing, fetus."

  Riley turned her attention back to her screen, puzzled. Why wasn't this going any faster? "The upload's complete, JARVIS's conscious is active," Riley listed. "Is there something we're missing?" She glanced back at Bruce. "You think we missed a neuron?"

  "No, it can't be that. It's a synthetic body, the neurons shouldn't be causing this," Bruce argued. They were running out of time. If they didn't complete their project soon, the body in the Cradle could lose all potential functions. "The DNA's aligned, the transcription factors are being rerouted as we speak."

  Riley had always preferred physical sciences over mechanical engineering, which was Tony's thing. She didn't have many opportunities to show off her skills, so whenever she did, Riley always made sure to be thorough. Plus, being able to work with Dr. Bruce Banner was a dream itself. Riley didn't want to mess anything up, especially with the stakes being so high.

  "This framework is not compatible," Tony stated.

  "The genetic coding tower is at 97%," Bruce announced. "You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes."

  Riley glanced up from her work, listening as the Cradle began to steam. Her eyebrows shot upward when she noticed Steve walk into the room with the Maximoff twins by his side. He must've just gotten back from his mission in Korea, having to part ways with Clint to bring the Cradle back to New York.

  "Hey, what the hell?" Riley demanded. "Since when are you friends with the demon twins!?"

  Steve looked furious. He glared at Tony, already knowing what they were all up to. "I'm gonna say this once," he started.

  "How about nonce?" countered Tony.

  "Shut it down!"

  "Nope, not gonna happen."

  Riley felt like she was the child of a big, dysfunctional family. She tried to argue, "Guys, we can't argue over this again—"

  "You don't know what you're doing," Steve asserted.

  "And you do?" Bruce chimed in. He wasn't happy to see the twins, specifically Wanda. After she manipulated his mind to kill hundreds of innocent people, Bruce loathed Wanda Maximoff. He gestured to her and asked, "She's not in your head?"

  Wanda stepped out from behind Steve. She looked nervous. "I know you're angry—"

  "Oh, we're way past that," Bruce intervened. There was a dark look in his eyes as he stared down Wanda, disgusted. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

  Steve sighed. "Banner, after everything that's happened—"

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

  "You don't know what's in there!" Wanda tried to plead.

  Without warning, a silver streak flew throughout the lab. Sparks flew as Pietro Maximoff used his speed to destroy their equipment. When he stopped, he was standing next to Riley. He had taken the portable screen out of her hands, breaking it in half. "No, no, go on," Pietro insisted as everyone grew silent. "You were saying?"

  Riley glared daggers into the Sokovian's head. "Touch me again and see what happens," she hissed.

  Suddenly, a bullet was shot through the glass Pietro stood upon. The speedster fell through it, landing on the ground before Clint Barton. A loud beeping sound squealed in their ears.

  Tony moved fast. "I'm rerouting the upload."

  Steve gripped his shield and threw it toward Tony's computer. Luckily, Riley caught it with a forcefield. She stood tall as Steve stared at her in disappointment. She had made up her mind. "You can't keep your fear from letting you evolve, Steve," Riley firmly said.

  "This is different," Steve argued.

  "How!? Arguing and fighting won't solve anything, growing from our mistakes will! You—!" She was interrupted by Tony summoning his suit, shooting photon blasts as Steve to send him flying. Riley whipped her head around to face him, annoyed. "Seriously!?"

  Bruce grabbed Wanda, restraining her. "Go ahead, piss me off," he cautioned.

  The fighting seemed endless. As Steve and Tony took each other on, Wanda and Bruce began to fight. Riley didn't want to get caught in between their dispute. She knew she couldn't pick a side when it came down to it anyway, so she decided to focus on JARVIS.

  She reached for the nearest device and worked on JARVIS's synthetic body. She wasn't sure how much she could salvage, but she had to try something. Riley hovered near the Cradle, tinkering with the mechanisms preserving the synthetic body, when a loud bang shattered the chaos of the room.

  Thor Odinson stood before Riley, Mjölnir in hand. With her hands on the Cradle, Riley watched with wide eyes as he conjured thunder and struck the container without hesitation. The shouts of the others rippled in her ears.

  Riley felt the air leave her lungs, a series of shocks rushing through her. Her eyes glossed over with light as an image of six stones appeared in her mind. They aligned before a white light encased them, causing them to explode into tiny pieces.

  Riley pulled away with a gasp. "What the—?!" The Cradle exploded, sending her and Thor flying since they were closest to it. Riley laid on her back with a grimace, a shard of glass penetrating her side. She rolled over, lifting her head to see a red figure crouching atop the Cradle.

  Slowly, she rose to her feet, watching the red man cautiously. They had done it. They successfully brought the synthetic body to life. The question was: Is he anything like Ultron?

  Riley eyed the yellow gemstone in the middle of his forehead. She felt uneasy gazing at it. It looked like one of the stones she saw in her... vision, or whatever the hell that was.

  The android unexpectedly flew toward Thor, causing the God of Thunder to throw him through a wall of glass. The red figure hovered in the air until it stopped before the next set of glass. He stared out the window in silence. Meanwhile, the Avengers quietly gathered themselves and approached him warily.

  Steve was about to initiate an attack, but Thor held his hand up to stop him. He placed his hammer down and approached the android, silent. The android soon landed on the ground with a curious gleam in his eyes. It was like he was taking everything in.

  "I'm sorry," the android spoke. "That was... odd." He nodded toward Thor and Riley. "Thank you. Both of you." A cape materialized behind him.

  Steve's eyebrows shot upward. "Thor," he beckoned, "You helped create this?"

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

  "What, the gem?" inquired Bruce.

  Riley moved forward, pulling out the shard of glass inside of her without blinking. "I saw it. Your vision," Riley revealed. "I don't know how, but I saw it." She nodded to the stone, holding her wound down with her free hand. "What the hell is that thing?"

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

  Steve didn't like the sound of that. "Then why would you bring—?"

  "Because Stark is right," Thor cut in.

  Riley's eyebrows shot upward. "Ken Doll say what?" while Bruce murmured, "Oh, it's definitely the end times."

  "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor emphasized.

  "Not alone," the android argued.

  Steve studied the android. "Why does your vision sound like JARVIS?" he asked.

  Tony walked forward to examine their creation. "We reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new," he simplified.

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

  The android looked perplexed. "You think I'm a child of Ultron? I'm not Ultron. I'm not JARVIS. I am... I am..."

  Wanda scrutinized the android. "I looked in your head and saw annihilation," she pointed out.

  "Look again," encouraged the android.

  Clint rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Her seal of approval means jack to me."

  Ignoring them, Thor went on. "Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself," he listed, "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?" interjected Steve. He pointed his attention toward the android. "Are you on our side?"

  The android faltered. "I don't think it's that simple. I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

  Riley couldn't help but release her curiosities. She stepped toward the android. "And what makes you think we aren't, too? Why do you know that we don't want to destroy life and-and evolution like Ultron thinks?"

  "Because you wouldn't have gone through the trouble of fighting this long," the android answered. "You are not Ultron, and Ultron isn't the Avengers."

  Tony queried, "What's he waiting for?"

  "You," simply stated the android.

  "Where?" fired off Bruce.

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

  There was a pause. Bruce pointed a finger at the android. "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you out to be..." he lingered.

  "What will you do?" challenged the android. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique and he's in pain."

  "Join the club," Riley grumbled under her breath.

  "But that pain will roll over the Earth," continued the android, circling around the others throughout the destroyed room. "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 was 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."

  The android turned and lifted the hammer in an attempt to pass it to Thor. The part that caught everyone by surprise was that the android was successful in lifting Mjölnir.

  Silence screamed in their ears, shock painted on every hero's face as they stared at the hammer in the android's hand until one incredibly confused Riley O'Dair exclaimed, "What!?"

  Riley was waiting for Thor to address what the android had done, but he just took the hammer with a conflicted facial expression. He patted Tony's shoulder and grumbled, "Well done."

  Steve peered around the room, still somewhat unhappy with what had happened. But there wasn't anything he could change now. "Three minutes," he ordered. "Get what you need."

  Riley looked around, completely surprised by how no one was saying anything related to what they just saw. "Are you kidding me! That guy was born two seconds ago, and he gets to lift it?" she cried out. "Man, the universe sucks."

  With that, the Avengers and the Maximoff twins assembled to finally take on Ultron for the last time.