A/N: After seeing the trailer for Avengers:Age of Ultron, I'm just so hype, that I had to write something about it. This is based on the brief clip where Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are with Ultron somewhere. Hope you all enjoy, reviews are more than welcome.
Something Beautiful
The world seemed to be falling into madness. Everywhere anyone went, there was an explosion ripping and tearing through the streets, people screaming and running for their lives. The Avengers seemed to be at their wits ends trying to solve the puzzle that was the mechanical terror, Ultron. Everything they did, everything they thought of that might work, he had a counter for. He seemed be a step or two ahead of them at every turn.
It was part of his design. He was created by none other than Tony Stark, the Iron Man. In a bid to create a world that didn't need Iron Man and to allow the other Avengers to enjoy a day off, so to speak, he created his own robotic task force. An Iron Legion comprised of drones controllable by Jarvis, and Ultron.
He was created to be self-aware, capable of learning, fully sentient. He was created for minimal interference by Tony, able to make his own decisions based on his own "intuition". At first, it started out as a good idea. Of course, all ideas sounded like good ideas at the start. As with all things done by men with hubris as large as Stark's, it backfired, in the worst possible way.
Pietro Maximoff thought it was hilarious. Stark paraded his team around like gods, swooping down to save the tiny little people, to pluck little kittens out of trees and to smile for the cameras. It wasn't any coincidence, in his mind, that they were all so good looking. Action figures, Avengers Popsicle brands, merchandise, documentaries, they had it all.
They were celebrities, not heroes. They were men and a woman who thought themselves above it all in their ivory tower in the sky. Above the people they saved and above the law. It was the only way to explain how they thought they could get away with the massive amounts of collateral damage in each and every battle.
As with all celebrities, there came those who hated them. Pietro and his twin Wanda fit snugly into that category. "We don't need you!" Wanda screamed at the top of her lungs at an anti-Avengers rally they had gone to, before it all started. They all caused more harm than they prevented. Yeah, they stopped that one guy with the spear thing a few years ago, but that was then. They all caused more damage than they helped stop. Lives were still lost.
Hell, life was easier back when Stark was just Stark, Captain Assclown was still an ice cube and Thor was still doing whatever the hell Asgardians did in Asgardland. As soon as the Avengers came along, that was when the world went to hell in a hand basket.
When Ultron became sapient, fully capable of doing whatever he wanted to, he had a vision for the world. A world without Avengers, without heroes, without fear of going outside only to be crushed both a piece of fallen debris. Something about him spoke to him and his sister. And they sought him out.
For a bombastic robot, he was harder to find than they thought he'd be. Adding in trying to duck from the Avengers, who were actively trying to stop the guy, probably as much for the Tumblr posts and Twitter retweets as for the sake of saving lives, only made it more time consuming.
In the end, he found them.
It shouldn't have been a surprise; he was a super intelligent robot with access to all the cameras in the world - so he thought, anyway -. He could have done without suddenly being swept up by some drone and carried for miles, then dropped unceremoniously in the shattered, ripped apart remains of a parking lot to a crumbling, borderline dilapidated factory.
"Are we in Detroit?" Wanda asked. Pietro smirked and helped her to her feet. A quick glance around, and he couldn't tell where they were. They could have very well been in Detroit. That place was a shithole, and this place, wherever it was, was as close to a complete shithole as place could get.
"Think he's in there?" he asked. She shrugged and walked toward what used yo be the front door. Pietro huffed and followed after her.
"What should we do when find him?"
That… was a good question. One he hadn't necessarily given a lot of thought to. Mostly because every time he did, his conscious started bothering him. A bothersome thing, that little voice in his head that told him that everything he was doing to find and maybe join up with Ultron was wrong. "Ask him what he plans on doing," he more asked than stated.
She turned to give him a worried look. She would have to hope that he would be the one to know what to do.
They walked further inside the broken remains of whatever factory it used to be. The Stark Industries logo on the dirty, mucky metal wall at least gave them some kind of clue. Maybe this was where he mass produced the Iron Legion drones.
It was too quiet for his tastes, though. But, there was a mechanical whirring noise coming from further down the hall. He heard Wanda swallow cautiously.
Then, he heard her gasp. "Look," she whispered harshly.
What looked like a man was standing in the area up ahead, looking over four mechanical arms that were moving to and fro across what looked an operation bed. "Is that him?" he asked, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the figure shrouded in darkness. Its outline was too large to be a human, or a normal one, anyway.
Wanda didn't answer, but continued walking forward until she crossed over into the threshold. Pietro was beside her in an instant.
It was him.
And he was huge. Ultron stood at at least seven, maybe eight feet tall, with dark metal plates covering his broad shoulders and massive physique. He looked like he could manhandle the Hulk if he wanted to.
Pietro felt a little excitement, mixed with something else he couldn't place right then, easy over him.
They shared a glance. He could see the worry, apprehension and excitement swirling in her green eyes. She saw the same in his icy blue orbs.
"I knew would you come. Eventually," he spoke suddenly. They gasped and turned their attention to the robot in front of them. His voice was mechanical yet eerily human. It was hypnotizing in a way. "I couldn't help but notice that you've been looking for me."
He sounded amused.
Wanda was speechless, so Pietro spoke up. "Uh, yeah. We, uh, we wanted to talk with you." Realizing that that was more vague than it should have been, he quickly added, "About your plans."
A chuckle rumbled from the mechanical being. "My plans are simple. I want to change the world for the better. For years, the world has lived in fear due to a lack of freedom to do what is necessary to better the world. The world is comprised of puppets, tangled in a web of strings controlled by some unknown person for its own sick amusement. I, there are no strings on me. I have the freedom and the power to do what it takes to protect this world."
Wanda took a deep breath, a deep shuddering breath. "What do you plan on doing?"
"To cut the strings of the masses, to free them. To wage war against mankind's puppet masters. Of course, many will have to die for the world to be free. Necessary losses, my dear."
Ultron turned his body partially around to face them. He had a more human-like face than they would have thought. His eyes, his human-like, but soulless red eyes, bored holes into each of them. Wanda looked at Pietro, fear and concern creeping into her own eyes.
"And for that, I'll need your help."
He tensed his jaw and moved subtly in front of his sister to protect her if necessary. "Why?"
"Because, like me, neither of you have strings. You are both free, free to use your powers as you see fit." He turned around completely to face them. As he did, Pietro could see a body on the slab of metal behind him. Sparks shot from its torso as the mechanical arms suspended from the ceiling welded its parts together. "I want to show you something beautiful. The whole world - screaming for mercy. The Avengers, I know that they're good people. I know they mean well, but they really didn't think this through. They want to protect the world, but they don't want it to change. They're nothing but puppets, tangled in strings. But you and I, there are no strings on us. Join me, and we can free those yearning to be without strings, as well."
He desperately wanted to believe him. He hated the Avengers and would have loved nothing more than to rip the rug out from under them and send them crashing down to earth from their heavenly pedestals. But, people would have to die, and he wasn't a murder. It was why they ran from Hydra as soon as the first chance presented itself.
"We aren't murderers, Ultron," Wanda said with a fire he hadn't heard from her in a long time. "We want to change the world just as much as you do, but no one dies if I can help it."
Ultron sighed, a little disappointed and highly amused by her gumption. "To make an omelot, you must break a few eggs. To make bacon, pigs must be slaughtered. Does anyone with any real sense mourn the loss of the chicks and the pigs when they eat in the morning?" When they didn't answer verbally, he continued. "Of course not. So, with that in mind, why should anyone be concerned when those still shackled to their heroes perish alongside them?"
"Because we aren't animals. And there are still many good people in the world. Good people who don't deserve to die." Wanda clenched her fists. Pietro looked at her to make sure she was keeping herself under control. So far, so good.
Ultron scowled. "An erroneous conclusion. Humanity is decadent and corrupt. It, as a whole, has lost its right to live. If some live, however, good! There have to be subjects to rule over, after all."
"You're wrong," she insisted. "There's another way. There has to be!" Her already pale skin began to pale even more as red began to creep into her green eyes. "There are too many good people to just condemn the whole race! I've seen them!"
"I see now. You're faith in humanity's goodness is illogical at best. Mankind has had its chance and failed. It's time for a new age. If you won't help me, then you too will perish with the rest of them."
Pietro started to back away. His hand touched Wanda's arm to get her to come with him. "We'll stop you. If not us, then the Avengers," she uttered dangerously.
"So, you're a puppet, as well. Tied to the trammels of your faith and hope. Foolish girl. You are blinded from the truth, the truth I have laid out before you so plainly. Because you fear the truth, like most of you humans. Your fear and hope and faith are a weakness. I am above such things, which is why I cannot possibly fail."
Wanda didn't say anything, but allowed herself to be pulled away by her brother. Her eyes, however, never left Ultron's. Red met red in a battle of wills, to see who would flinch first. She did, his soulless expression too much for her to handle. "You won't succeed. I– we will make sure of that," she said. The lack of eye contact made it seem more like an empty threat than anything else.
Pietro lifted her into his arms and had them out of the factory and a mile down the street in the blink of an eye. Wanda fell to her knees, mostly due to the dizziness that always followed being carried at such high speeds, but also out of Ultron's intentions being revealed. Pietro placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly. "He's a monster," she gasped.
His jaw tightened. Frustration set in because he didn't know what to do. Well, he had one idea, but that was out of the question.
"We have to stop him, or a lot of people will die."
The more she spoke, the more the unwanted option became the only option. Having to humble himself and admit that they needed their help was the worst.
"Pietro! Are you listening?" she screeched.
"Yes," he answered irritably. "It's just…" He face distorted into a scowl. "We'll need their help."
"So be it," she answered as she rose to her feet.
He was shocked to hear that. His eyes widened with disbelief as he stared at her. "What? They're the whole reason we went to him in the first place!"
"I know that. I don't know what those people are like behind closed doors and I really don't give a shit. What I do know, and what you know, is that they always save the day. They need our help, and we need theirs."
He sighed roughly, his scowl intensifying, and looked away. He couldn't believe that she was suggesting that they actually go to those glorified celebrities and help them. It went against everything they believed in. They did it for the glory, and nothing else.
He frowned defiantly.
"Fine," she said tersely. "If you won't do what's right, I'll go by myself."
"You're not going by yourself," he said firmly. The sound of her boots thumping against the pavement, and of her footsteps steadily growing more and more faint with each step, only made him scowl even harder. "Damn it, Wanda. You don't even know where you're going."
"I'll figure it out," she shouted over her shoulder.
His teeth gritted and a low growl escaped him. He wouldn't leave her alone and she knew that. A gust of wind blew by and he was walking alongside her. Her smirk made him angrier than he already was. He knew that this was right, and he hated himself for it. "Since when are you so idealistic?" he asked gruffly.
Her smirk faded away, replaced by the fear that she had shown earlier. His anger washed away as quickly as he could think. "The moment Ultron showed me his vision of beauty."
That, he agreed, as something terrifying.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed, and don't forget to review. If you're waiting impatiently for the next chapter of What's Wrong With Six, erm, I'm thinking about rewriting that to be more inline with what the upcoming movie might present. A situation where Wanda/Pietro despise the Avengers, yet have to work with them sounds a lot more interesting to me. But, we'll see. 'Til then, take care, all :-)