AN: Written for Vision Week, day 3, prompt: Nature
Nature was a fascinating thing.
For all the vast knowledge he had been born with, through Jarvis, Ultron, and the Mind Stone, Vision was not born knowing everything.
The many wonders of nature, of animals and ecosystems, what it was like to feel sunlight on your face, or raindrops on your skin, the were not things that could simply be known. They had to be experienced, and Vision was keen to experience them.
He had to say, he was making good progress.
Vision had stood in the Sun, just drinking it in.
He had walked on the grass with bare feet.
He had flown high, examining all the different types of clouds.
He had listened to happy birds singing.
He had jumped in puddles after a day of rain- That had been Wanda's idea, on a particularly cheeky day for her.
But Vision knew that, really, his experiences so far had only scratched the surface.
Late one afternoon, as Vision was flying back from what had been a routine recon mission, an ominous storm blew in.
Rain pelted down, thunder boomed, and streaks of lightning cracked the sky.
It shouldn't have been too much trouble, he wasn't too far from the compound.
But then, unseen through the rain, Vision, failing to phase in time to miss it, collided with a duck, one of a flock that seemed to have chosen exactly the wrong time to fly home. Vision made a grab for the poor stunned bird, and in a moment that qualified for very bad timing, a bolt of lightning struck him.
While Vision was too advanced for this to cause major damage, the surge from the bolt disrupted his systems for a few terrifying seconds in which he plunged towards Earth with his new feathered friend.
He recovered just in time to pluck the duck from its free fall. The bird was still slightly stunned, but otherwise unhurt. Vision's eyes searched the pouring rain, but the other ducks were already out of sight.
Thankfully, Vision knew where they were probably going. There was a small lake not too far away. Vision had been there, and maybe even fed this very duck. He tucked the bird safely under his arm, and took off in the direction of that lake.
Home would have to wait.
By the time they reached the lake, the storm had devolved into semi-heavy rain.
Vision set the duck, no longer stunned and starting to struggle, down by the water's edge. It stretched it's wings, quacked as if in thanks, then fluttered out onto the lake. A few other ducks paddled out to meet it.
Vision watched with a small smile.
Nature was a fascinating thing indeed.