𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 || 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦

"ALL OUR WORK IS GONE," Bruce announced, eyes scanning the screen that projected all the progress both he and Tony had made in the past few weeks. Everything relating to Ultron's development had been flushed from all their systems. "Ultron cleared out and used the Internet as an escape route."

"Ultron," Steve repeated with a scoff. Now thinking about it, the same was strange in itself and posed the question as to who was the one to come up with it.

Standing over a computer, Natasha glanced back at the group as she said, "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

Jaxon's face twisted, looking between Bruce and Tony. "Neither of you thought about backing that shit up?"

"Well, it doesn't seem smart to have classified information in a hard drive that could very much be stolen," Tony commented. Adding sarcastically, "But I'll be sure to keep your critique in mind next time."

Rhodey shook his head, holding his aching arm. "He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" He suggested.

Maria Hill looked up from the cut on the bottom of her foot. "Nuclear codes."

"Nuclear codes." He repeated with a nod. "Look, we need to make some calls assuming we still can."

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Natasha pointed out.

"He didn't say 'dead'. He said 'extinct.'" Steve corrected, placing his hands on his hips and beginning to pace.

"As well as the evolution of humans," Jaxon countered. His eyes flickered amongst the group as he said, "As of right now, we shouldn't dismiss anything. We have to suspect Ultron knows everything and more than us."

Clint snapped his fingers, looking up from his place against the railing. "He said he killed somebody else."

"There wasn't anybody else in the building," Maria countered, looking amongst the group.

Tony moved to the center with his data pad in hand. "Yes, there was." With a flick of his wrist and pad in his grasp, an orange spherical shape appeared in the center. Jarvis was mangled with strings of himself stretched apart from the center. He'd been ripped apart with the remnants of Ultron's attack found on the AI's frame.

Bruce frowned, looking at the sphere in dumbfoundedness. "What?" He muttered, glancing up at Tony. "This is insane."

"Jarvis was the first line of defence. He would have shut Ultron down, it makes sense," Steve reasoned.

"No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis," Bruce explained to them. "This isn't strategy. This is...rage."

Loud footsteps appeared out of nowhere with Thor's cape bellowing behind him as he marched toward Tony. And before the man had a chance to reply, Thor grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Jaxon pushed himself from Natasha's side and sighed. "Thor, let's not get hasty now."

"Come on, use your words, buddy," Tony reasoned with the god, nails digging into the man's wrist.

Thor smiled, anger found in the sparks of his eyes. "I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." The calmness in his voice was a storm yet to appear. The veracity in his eyes was channelled by a sense of resolve he wouldn't let break even with the anger boiling in his heart.

Steve stepped forward. "Thor. The Legionnaire."

With a snarl, Thor shoved Tony back and growled. "Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the Sceptre. Now we have to retrieve it, again."

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha spoke up. "Clear and present is Ultron."

Doctor Helen Cho hovered over the bot Ultron had taken control of. Now, a lifeless piece of junk with no remnants of power. "I don't understand." She looked at the group, eyes fixating on Tony's back. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

A long and steady silence filled the air, enough to strangle the life out of someone. Until Tony giggled. He giggled even when Bruce tried to silence him, not so subtly telling him to stop. But the longer Tony continued, the longer others' emotions began to mount.

Noticing the giggling, Thor scowled at the man. "You think this is funny?"

"No. It's probably not, right?" He asked, looking amongst the group. "This is very terrible. Is it so..." He couldn't contain his laugh. "It is so... It is. It's so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this," Tony defended, stepping to the god. But before he could, Jaxon placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. Although he would love to see the two duke it out, he had his doubts as to the man being capable of walking away without any injuries.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time," Bruce tried to defuse.

But that only made the billionaire spin on his heel to look at the doctor. "Really? That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot," Bruce countered.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony asked, earning a shrug from Bruce.

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here," Steve pointed out. "The Avengers were supposed to be better than S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony scoffed. "Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

"No, it's never came up," Rhodey replied sarcastically.

"Saved New York? Recall that?"

"Never heard that."

Despite his best friend's sarcastic responses, Tony continued. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it."

Jaxon's memories had come back to him in fractured pieces. He remembers the day he had been sitting in Cancún at some random dive bar and saw the attack on the news. Hearing the reporters talking about the Avengers being on the scene and alien isolation destroying New York. But no one knew of Tony's abrasive decision to strong-arm a nuke.

It was a commendable act that would've garnered far more respect and would've put the Government in question. But perhaps that little untold truth was best left unknown. If the world knew S.H.I.E.L.D. once had the facilities of nuclear warheads, it would cause everything to go to shit. Because the question would've been; what else did they have at their disposal?

So, Tony had every right to brag about it amongst a crowd who knew the sacrifice he'd made that day.

"We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that..." he said, looking around at the team, finger pointed upwards. "That's the endgame."

He shook his head, eyes snapping to Steve. "How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve answered resolutely.

"We'll lose," Tony countered, knowledgable of the risks.

"Then we'll do that together, too."

Sharing a nod amongst one another, Steve glanced at the rest of the team. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out," he told them. "And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."

Noticing the end of the conversation and most of the team moving to either finish patching themselves up, catching up on rest, or beginning to work, Jaxon left the lab. Which Natasha noticed and followed a minute or two later.

Retracing the man's steps, she had stopped at Leah's door at the whispers of voices. Stepping inside, she kept hidden around the corner where Jaxon and Leah were. Able to tune in on some of the conversation.

"Am I going to be locked up again? Like I was with Strucker?" Leah's soft voice asked, the wavering tone making the words crack at the back of her throat.

Jaxon exhaled through his nose, placing his hand on the girl's arm. "I won't let that happen. No matter what."

"But you'll have to go out there and stop him. What am I supposed to do?" Leah countered, her restlessness evident in these questions that would only lead to more restlessness.

The girl knew more than she let on, that much Jaxon knew. She understood the world that she was in and the threats that were around every corner. But she had yet to understand that some questions would be left unanswered until a certain point. Jaxon would know.

Pursing his lips, Jaxon leant close with a tight smile. "Be strong," he whispered. "Channel the snow. No one will be able to hurt you there."

Leah smiled at that, able to feel a small ounce of reassurance as the man patted the top of her head.

But for a second, the girl's eyes flickered past him before snapping back at him. "You know she's here, right?"

"Oh, I know, all right." Twisting from his spot on the girl's bed, he faced Natasha who finally moved herself from the corner and leaned against the wall. A gentle smile on her lips as she looked between the two. "I can hear her thoughts."

"So, you know what I was thinking when you were showing me how to dislocate Sam's knee-"

"I did." The man laughed, looking back at Leah, a smirk etched across his face. "You have an evil mind, Leah."

An evil grin tore across the girl's lips as Jaxon stood to his feet with a chuckle. "I'll be right back. Natasha and I need to talk for a bit." When the girl nodded, he felt assured to step away with Natasha who offered the girl a wink.

Keeping the door a slice open for them, the pair stood at the opposing side, railing looking down on the lab in their view. And for once through the night, there was a silence Jaxon hadn't known he needed.

Although the night was great for letting loose, it had only birthed another problem that wasn't exactly his. And truthfully, he should be back at work, helping create another target package. But in the past week or so, a lot had happened that made him obligated to stay here for the time being.

"If you were wondering about who I called, it was MI6. Wanted the Queen to be notified of the potential global risk and for Harry to have on-field agents have their ear to the ground about Ultron and any enhanced beings," he explained. Waving his hand, he added, "But I couldn't say too much with there being a chance of the UK becoming a whole shit storm of the news. That's when Leah got me."

"And Talon?" She asked.

Scoffing, Jaxon looked at the woman. "Do you know how much it costs for a mission? That isn't going into specifics of gear and vehicles even." He shook his head, scratching his temple. "I won't clear them unless an imminent threat is actionable. And it is MI6's final say in the matter as it is. I've just found myself in a birdcage."

"Birdcage?"

"Yeah. I have an environment that is in my control, but someone put me in that cage, who has control over me," he explained the analogy with a wave. "MI6 is the owner, I'm the bird."

Natasha hummed, peeking at the man. He looked tired. Far more than when she was this close to him in the suit store. But then again, it might've been dumbed down by the fact her own emotions and desires clouded what he was feeling.

But she could only imagine what he was feeling with the added stress that he understoodably didn't need. From Talon to Ultron, and now Leah, the man had more baggage to carry than he should. Still, it did surprise her to see the man so forthright when it came to the little girl.

"What're we going to do when this is all over? With Leah?" Natasha asked.

Jaxon exhaled heavily. "It's almost too dreadful to even think about."

But Natasha persisted. "She can't go to a normal family. I also don't think she'll fare well with her files likely being taken from Ultron–could be broadcasted everywhere, putting her in danger. The Maximoffs know her, so, maybe if they pull their head out of the sand, they can take her."

Thinking about all those possibilities and the complications made the idea of open adoption for the girl far less likely than most would admit. He didn't even want to admit. Leah deserved a chance at a normal life after being locked in a cage and experimented on for however long. And he would say give the girl to her parents, but they were dead. Either during the abduction or from other causes.

So, the string of her fate was beginning to fray and Jaxon didn't want to see it when it snapped.

Rubbing his eyes, the man yawned. "I'll figure something out."

Natasha smiled, gently rubbing his back. The soothingness of it only made the idea of sleep more appealing to the man who could and would pass out in this hallway happily. "Go sleep. I'll grab my laptop and work in there."

Too tired to contest such an irresistible offer, Jaxon patted the woman's hip before quietly stepping inside Leah's room where he found the girl sound asleep. Not even a peep of a thought graced her mind, leaving the man relieved to sit against the single chair in the corner of the room. His head lulled back as his eyes flickered shut, immediately feeling the weight of his eyelids. And even when Natasha entered, he didn't make a move to open them.

But Natasha smiled, stepping up onto the chair before sliding into place with her feet interlocking at his stomach. Her left hand gently coursed through his ragged strands as she used her right to type, pulling a deep groan from the man's lips. Shimmying back slightly, seeking the touch.

I love you.

Jaxon, despite the exhaustion and clear void of sleep approaching, smiled. Grabbing the woman's leg and squeezing it gently, pressing a kiss to the inside of her knee. Letting his head fall to the inside of her left knee where it stayed as he fell asleep. Ready but unprepared for tomorrow.