Yes! You read correctly- an update!
Once again, I want to thank everyone who has stuck with this story despite my long hiatus. Your reviews and tumblr messages always make me so happy. And I love hearing everyone's take on my work. I read each and every comment that you guys leave for me!
Sorry that this took so long. I got stuck with a bit of writer's block trying to finish up this chapter and then things got kinda rough for my family these past couple weeks. But everything pulled through and now I have ideas for chapter 5 as well! Enjoy!
Also, I will no longer be posting song titles with each chapter. I've compiled a complete fanmix for this story and you can listen/download it here: kryptoniancape. tumblr .com/post/124110161837
He stared up into the burning fluorescence, the blinding white light pulling him into an abyss of Meta physicality. It still felt so surreal to him; being in a complete other time, the universe's ultimate pawn in its plan to regenerate.
Ultron was a weed that had slipped through the cracks. In another life, the human race was not reduced to depending upon the triumphs of one single person to endure. In his whole life, James had never adhered the luxury of making his own choices. In this moment, as Jarvis analyzed him like another piece of paraphernalia, he realized that eradicating the mechanical infection had been a mission bestowed upon him as well. James blinked uncomfortably, shifting his eyes away from the light.
He was lying on a chair in Tony's lab. The room appeared just as large as any of the other floors he'd skimmed of the tower. Sunlight streaked through glass panels that lined the entire floor and marked off various sections of equipment. As they had guided him through it all he was able to catch glimpses of Tony's current projects, scientific journeys and breakthroughs that he had no doubt shared with the children throughout the years as they had grown up. James could remember a few of the stories.
This is his legacy, James had thought. The billionaire had slowly guided him into a separate room within the lab, closed off and lit only by artificial light. He was currently situated in a fairly open space, with the Avengers gathered around him.
"In a minute, Jarvis will know...if he..." Tony glanced at the floor, still processing what they had just learned.
"I don't have any living family left," Steve spoke up, staring right through the billionaire, arms lightly folded across his chest, "It's gotta be a coincidence."
"It's a common last name," Clint shrugged his shoulders, "He could be anybody."
"You're forgetting the part where he mentioned that he was from 2035," uttered Bruce, "If he really did come here from the future, he's not just anybody." He subtly made audible what they were all thinking.
A moment of silence passed as the Avengers glanced around the room at each other awkwardly, waiting for someone else to speak up.
"Time and space are relative," Jane swallowed and her tongue grazed her bottom lip, "The bifrost allows someone to travel between worlds that are light years apart within an instant. It moves through time, creating a shortcut between otherwise unfathomable distances. When you want to get from point A to point B, the bridge, er, portal bends space. Suddenly time is no longer an obstacle. If someone could harness its technology, well..."
"And supposedly that person is...me." Tony looked to the boy again, eyes filled with disbelief.
"One could adjust the amount of time that the portal allows them to pass through- accessing virtually any point along the spectrum." Bruce finished Jane's sentence, eyes widening. He folded his arms over his torso."
"Time travel." Jane stared blankly.
"That still leaves the why." Tony added after another brief moment of silence.
Steve took a step forward towards the chair, "You mentioned yesterday that you came here specifically to stop something from happening. Something that leads to the end of the world?"
James strained to address Steve from his fixed position, "Yes...that's what I've tried to tell you," he swallowed hard, keeping his eyes focused to the ceiling, "One year from now, he'll begin transforming North America into his own personal playground- bit by bit, slowly humans become subjugated to his rule...I've never seen New York City. It stopped existing after he made it his capitol. He consumed it...and twenty years after that- the rest of the world."
"Who's...he?" asked Maria, her features tense.
"Tell me Tony," James rolled his head to the side to address the Iron Man, "How far have you gotten with Ultron?"
Tony's mouth hung open.
"What's he talking about?" Rhodey inched closer to Tony, a tone of accusation in his voice.
"The A.I Tony's been working on," stunned, Bruce began slowly shaking his head, "But we're not even close to an interface."
"You succeed." James sat up then, "Soon."
"You're saying that one of Tony's science projects gets smart enough to take over the world?" Clint asked with a degree of skepticism, "I mean Dum-E can't even make coffee," he snickered under his breath and Tony glared at him in response to his snide remark.
James was frankly annoyed with how difficult people of this era could be. He sighed, looking straight toward Tony, "Do you want to tell them or should I?"
Tony remained silent, no doubt curious to see what James actually knew, so the boy continued, "Ultron was the next step up from Jarvis; a global peacekeeping initiative. But he got smart enough to realize that humanity's fickle nature would inevitably bring about its downfall. He saw only one solution."
"To start over...regenerate." Natasha's stone-cold features revealed that she understood completely.
Bruce turned his head to make eye contact with Tony, lips pressed into a thin, flat frown.
"Don't," Tony closed his eyes and pinched the skin between his eyebrows as he slowly walked around the chair, something that James realized he often did when unsure of himself. His hand slid down to his chin, then he flicked it outward, index finger extended, "Bruce," he scolded. He averted everyone's eyes to the tempered man.
"I warned you before we began, Tony...we can't make Ultron." Bruce swallowed.
"And what about the practicalities? Bruce, you were there when we had this discussion. We'll take this information and we'll start from scratch, we'll make him better! There's time to salvage what we have." His voice abruptly raised an octave as he addressed Bruce and the others to plead his flimsy case.
Steve's features contorted in disgust. He crossed his arms across his broad chest and took two powerful strides toward the billionaire, "Did you not hear what he said? Do you understand the real gravity of the situation here? Whatever it is that you're trying to 'create,' this kid didn't have a future because of it. We're not salvaging anything."
"Not all of us can be super soldiers, Rogers," retorted the Iron Man as he leaned toward Steve. Then, the tension embedded within his features relaxed and he sighed, speaking softly, "When I...when I went through that wormhole...the suit died...Jarvis was gone...and I realized in that moment that I would die a mortal death, as a mortal man. As flesh and blood, I'm nothing. My tech is what makes me. So far it hasn't failed the team. But I caught a glimpse of what that potential failure could look like. That vulnerability, being open to the vast jaws of space...the only way to truly protect our people from it is to be one step ahead. What if, the next time aliens rolled up to the club, and they will- they couldn't get past the bouncers?"
"I can't let you go through with this. We've received a clear message telling us not to bring this thing to life." The soldier finally let his arms down but his expression didn't change.
James had laid back down, but he craned his neck to look at Tony again, "You know the truth, but why do you think that I'm still here? Because you haven't changed your mind yet. In any reality, Ultron is the end of us." He let his head fall back flat onto the cushion.
"Stark," Maria spat out his name like venom. However, she looked emotionally troubled by his foolishness.
"Tony you don't want the blood on your hands. The guilt...it consumes you. You're not prepared for it." The boy rolled his head from side to side on the pillow to hide the tear that had escaped his eye socket. He has no idea how much this will cripple him.
Tony remained silent.
"Is Ultron- the reason that your parents are dead...?" Rhodey gulped, glancing back and forth between James and the billionaire. He was on the verge of putting the pieces together.
"You could say that they weren't just my parents. They were greatly revered for the work that they did to protect society. It was their duty to be symbols for more people than just me. Ultron wanted to destroy all of that." James waited until Steve had met his eyes. His voice cracked up as he finally said what he had wanted to say since he had learned the truth. Time fracture be damned. "Hi, dad."
Jane gasped loudly. No one else knew what to say.
Finally, Clint broke the silence, "Wait," he giggled nervously, "Dad?" He stopped chuckling when he realized that the boy was dead serious.
"Now you know, why he sent me," James spoke softly with a slight frown, "This was the reason."
Steve finally took a step toward the boy.
James sat up, sliding his feet over the edge of the chair so that he could face his father.
The soldier seemed to be staring right through him.
"Sorry, I know this is...shocking. It's a lot to take in. Believe me," James laughed nervously, "I felt the same way when I learned that I had been living in a bio dome my whole life and that suddenly time travel was possible."
Steve finally smiled a gentle smile, baby blue eyes wide and glistening, "I know the feeling- sleeping for seventy years and all...I'm sure your Tony has told you stories."
James mimicked his soft grin; "We would ask him to tell us stories of our parents almost every night before bedtime. I...probably shouldn't say too much. Tony wanted me to keep it to a minimum, stay focused on the mission. Time travel is, a very fragile phenomenon."
Natasha curved her lips upward into a smirk, "He's definitely your son Steve."
James wondered for a brief moment why Steve hadn't immediately pressed him to know who his mother was. He respects my mission, he realized. James was too weary to mention it himself. He worried about whether or not he had already revealed too much.
Steve acknowledged Natasha's comment by mirroring her playful smirk, then he turned back to James, "Look James, I don't know how well we knew each other...or if we knew each other at all, but I promise that we're going to fix this."
For the first time in a long while, James finally felt safe, and at ease. "I never got to know you," he swallowed, "Or my mom. Tony was the only one who survived because Ultron couldn't kill his creator. And Bruce went into hiding because the Hulk can't be destroyed." He decided to refrain from mentioning the reason for future Thor's return to Asgard. "If we fix this and we do it right, perhaps in another universe we can get to know each other better."
Steve smiled again and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm looking forward to it."
"You said, we," Maria asked, "Were there more of you?"
"Y-yes. There were other children that Tony rescued. We're not biologically related though. We all had different parents. There's Azari, Pym; his real name's Henry but we call him Pym, and Torunn. She's-" His eyes widened. He realized then that he had said too much.
Thor gulped and his features hardened. He directed his gaze to James. "My Torunn?"
"Wait, what?" Jane spun around to face her Asgardian boyfriend, utterly confused and mildly concerned.
Thor relaxed and took hold of both of Jane's hands in his, and looked into her eyes, "Jane, I intended to tell you this eventually, I was unsure of how and when I should bring it up," he swallowed again, "I have a daughter."
Jane allowed her eyelids to flutter a few times before they widened in shock. She was taken aback but there was a softness to her voice, "A-a daughter?"
"A while before I met you, there had been...a brief instance with Lady Sif. I no longer have feelings for her, Jane, only you. But through all of the recent chaos in the nine realms, I never found the right time to tell you. There are servants who look after her on Asgard when she is not with her mother. But ever since I had moved in with you, I had been considering bringing her to Midgard...to introduce her to you." He kept his gaze locked on her deep, brown eyes.
"Thor, this is...wow! I'd love to meet her." Jane let go of his hands and placed hers around his neck in a deep embrace.
Thor smiled softly against the crook of her neck and gently folded both of his arms along her back, reciprocating the hug. He lightly kissed the top of her head, "I give you my word Jane, when you are ready, as soon as this is all over I will bring Torunn here to meet you," he broke their embrace so that he could gaze upon her again, "You can teach her all about the stars."
Jane's face lit up again, and she couldn't help but emulate the same goofy grin he wore. He knew exactly how to charm her. She curled up on her toes to give him a peck on the lips.
Tony broke the awkward moment of silence by pretending to clear his throat. His eyes darted quickly around the room as he outstretched one of his palms "Anyone else have any secrets they'd like to share?"
"Hopefully not," Clint replied while staring at the floor.
James chuckled, "I'm not at liberty to continue spewing details about the future- time paradox and all."
Just then, a ringing could be heard throughout the lab. Tony flinched, and then moved over to the monitor. "It's the results of the DNA scan." He began loading the data. He tapped and slid his fingertips across the clear, smooth glass. After he had taken a minute to read it, his jaw dropped, "Uh, guys, you might wanna take a look at this."
Before anyone could move, Jarvis' pristine voice began to echo throughout the lab, "There is a match in the databanks. Young James is in fact, the biological son of Steve Rogers, and appears to be approximately fourteen years of age."
"It's all true then," Maria's lips parted slightly in awe.
Jarvis continued, "However, I have also uncovered a match for the boy's mother. The DNA belongs to, Miss Romanoff, Sir."
Natasha felt every muscle in her body freeze in place. Her brows creased above the bridge of her nose.
Once again, a look of utter shock danced its way across the visage of everyone in the lab. James looked at Natasha and smiled sheepishly.
"No way," Clint had finally looked up from the floor but covered his mouth with his palm. He knew Natasha would kill him if he laughed.
"Oh this just keeps getting better and better." Tony muttered.
Natasha finally let out the breath that she had been holding. Her lips parted slightly. She glanced at Steve, and then to the boy. She didn't know how to respond.
"Natasha," Steve whispered.
"No," she spoke softly, her eyes glued to James' face, "It's not possible...I'm not-"
"Just give her a minute," Clint added.
She jerked her head in Clint's direction, "No, Clinton, I don't need a minute. You know that this isn't possible. You know that I'm sterile!"
It was no secret to any of the Avengers, they had all read her file; the Russian assassin who's handlers intended to strip her of everything that she was...or could be. However, the mutual awareness hadn't snuffed the incredible awkwardness that Natasha felt as soon as the words had escaped her lips.
"So Jarvis made a mistake," Steve murmured, arms crossed, eyes deep in contemplation.
Tony raised his finger, about to rebuttal Steve's deduction but then remained quiet because he realized that they had no other evidence that suggested otherwise, apart from the kid's fiery red hair, he thought.
Natasha turned to James, features still hard, "I'm sorry." She shifted on her feet, taking a few steps toward the exit of the room, "I'm not your mother."
James' heart sunk. For a moment he thought that maybe this woman; this Natasha, couldn't be the right one. Then he remembered the stories that Tony had told him.
"There...was a woman...a doctor who specialized in bio-organics. Tony said he met her in Seoul."
"Doctor Cho," Bruce reaffirmed.
James nodded, "Not long from now, she makes a huge leap with her research; something about the ability to regrow and recreate human tissues. When the time finally came, she needed a human test subject. The Black Widow volunteered...and that's how she was able to have children again."
Natasha stopped and turned around again. Features still tense with feelings of shock and confusion. Once more, she slightly parted her lips, and stared at James in awe, taking in his red hair and familiar features. James couldn't tell if she was happy or upset. She let out a shaky breath.
"Are you sure?" she asked the boy. If she had noticed the stray tear that had inched its way down from her eye socket, she gave no indication.
"It's highly likely," Tony responded, "Given what Helen can do. What he's talking about-" he pointed to James, "That's her endgame."
Natasha continued to keep her eyes locked on James, utterly stunned that this boy could be her flesh and blood.
"Look, this is great and all," Rhodey chimed in, "But did Tony give you any indication of what our game plan is? We can prevent him from creating this thing, but how do we know that nobody else possesses, or will possess this technology?"
"I guess that's the whole point of forging a new universe. Having all the answers...it's cheating." Steve replied, finally glancing up.
Maria turned to Steve, "But if we don't know what it is that we're supposed to do, this-" she motioned with her hands, "Could all be for nothing."
"Then we'll just have to trust our instincts," the soldier finally uncrossed his arms, and stepped forward, adjusting his sloppy posture.
"I don't have anything with me that would be of any use to us...except maybe this," he fumbled with his right wrist, "...watch that Tony gave me before he sent me through. He didn't explain why so I figured that it was just so that I could keep track of time. But knowing him, it might be something more. After all, it does kind of resemble my sh-"
Bright lights emerged from the tiny gadget. James' holographic shield projected itself from his wrist.
"...Shield."
Rhodey nodded his head repeatedly as he stared into the captivating luminance, "Alright- yeah, I think...I think I believe it now."
"Holy shit," whispered Clint.
"Wow," James commented to himself sarcastically, "So much for anonymity, Tony."
"What is this thing?" Maria asked, eyes wide in amazement.
"It's uh, it's my shield."
Everyone looked to Steve, who leaned forward in intrigue.
"Tony mirrored it after my fathers'...except this one is a bit of an upgrade: extremely lightweight, yet capable of severing any opposing force in two." He waved it around slightly.
"It's incredible!" Jane exclaimed, exasperated by the mere sight of the advanced tech.
"This looks like a compacted version, the wrist piece is a lot smaller than the original. Maybe Tony was working on a newer model..."
"Or it's something else entirely," Bruce gazed at the gadget intently, his fist resting at his chin. He walked over to the table to catch a closer glimpse of it, "Maybe this is Tony's way of communicating with us."
James held his arm up to his face. His eyes could be seen focusing intently through the sheer holographic blanket of light. He noticed then that the buttons along the side differed from the consistent placement that never faltered in each new upgrade that Tony had created for him. What the hell is this? He thought to himself. He tilted his chin back up to address the Avengers, "Right before I came here, as he was explaining Project: Regenerate to us, Tony went on and on about the fragility of time travel, and how ambiguity would be our first line of defense against an anomaly. This isn't for you...it's meant to show me something." James paused. He held down what was normally the emergency button on his wristband.
The A.I. roared to life, only it wasn't Jarvis. "Good day, sir. How may I assist you?"
The boy's eyes stretched even further, "Jocasta?" he exclaimed with a manner of surprise. Deep down, James was relieved to hear a familiar friend, "It's so good to hear your voice!"
Tony opened his mouth, about to comment, but James answered his question before he could ask it, "You created Jocasta to be the main A.I. powering our facility."
"And what happened to Jarvis?" Tony asked, mildly concerned.
"The answer to that question, neither I nor Mister James is at liberty to share, Sir."
James smiled.
"I see he took on your sarcastic personality," Clint added.
"Mr. Stark programmed me with my own distinct database in preparation for Project: Regenerate, so that upon arrival in the past, I would not require a network to be of use."
"He was always going to send me," James' eyes widened and he looked down at the shield again, the wheels in his head finally clicking. He observed how perfectly the wristband seemed to fit.
"Precisely. He had prepared gadgets for the other children as well, but deep down he always reconciled that it would be you, James. Your resolve is strong."
"What do you have in your database about Helen Cho's experiments involving me and tissue regrowth?" Natasha stared directly at the mass of light and colour.
"In the year 2018, the study had reached a critical point where human trials were required to deem her procedure effective. Natasha Romanoff volunteered to be Miss Cho's next link. If the procedure could replicate and reform the cellular tissue of her reproductive organs, it could essentially cure human beings of all of their weaknesses, also making them more apt to survive Ultron's attacks. The results proved effective...her genetic code updated in the process. However, given its unprecedented nature, there was no viable way to predict the outcome right away. But, then some odd years later, Miss Romanoff had managed to conceive young James."
Natasha let out a shaky gasp, having to turn away to avoid any tears that threatened to fall.
"Jocasta, is there anything more that you can tell us about Ultron? Tony sent me here to do more than just alter his mindset. Vision had implied that...he may very well already exist in this time frame."
"Mr. Stark devoted countless hours to ensuring the project's success. While I cannot dictate nor fully predict the events that are to unfold, I will share with you the clue that he wanted me to leave to help you on your journey. James, do you remember when Tony was explaining the details of his discovery of time travel? He told you and the others that it was all made possible by a single artifact. That artifact also exists here in 2015. If you can find it, you can destroy Ultron once and for all. And it will also be your salvation, James."
In an instant, the lights disappeared.
"Well, I guess he's not saying any more," Clint murmured.
"James," Steve asked, "Do you know what he's talking about?"
"I...I don't. I'm sorry."
"If we don't even know what it is that we're looking for-" Rhodey added.
"Look," James glanced between each of their faces, "I may have lived a sheltered life, but there wasn't a day that passed when I didn't have to try to resist the urge within that screamed for me to just go outside and fight. Tony told us about what it was like on the outside...desolated cities, drones patrolling the streets, humans living beneath the ashes, scavenging for food, among the corpses of their fallen friends. They never saw the sun. We all had to hide to stay alive. But I'm done hiding. I'm going to figure this out." He hopped off of the table and walked out of the lab.
Slowly, the rest of the Avengers followed suit and cleared out. James had gone back to his makeshift room, to think. He sat on the corner of the bed, watch in hand, re-examining each button and crevice of the smooth metal. What were you trying to tell me, Tony, he pondered.
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Steve took a deep breath before knocking on the redheaded assassin's door. She made no effort to get up and go open it. She had retreated to the private quarters of her floor, still reeling from the morning's events.
"Natasha?" Steve asked, "I really think that we should talk."
She silently cursed herself as she sat on the edge of her bed, resting her elbows atop her knees, and fiddling with her thumbs. It had felt like hours had gone by as she stared into space, trying to make sense of what the redheaded boy had told them. The words had repeated themselves over and over again in her mind.
James Rogers.
She gave no response; she was still unsure of what to say.
"Natasha, please open up."
Finally, she made an effort to go and let him in. As soon as their faces met she answered his plea. "What do you want me to say, Steve?"
For a moment he seemed to look right through her, "I-I don't know. I just think that we need to say something, anything, or we'll start to go crazy."
She removed her palm from the door frame and shook her head slightly, "There's not enough proof..."
"But everything he's told us makes perfect sense. It all falls into place."
"And you and I, do we fall into place?" She looked up directly into his piercing blue irises, her resolve ceasing to deteriorate.
The soldier sighed, briefly squeezing his eyelids shut.
She took a step backwards into the room before spinning on her heels and allowing him to follow her inside.
"Whether or not we want to believe it, we're facing an unknown, Steve," she turned to observe him again, her red curls bobbing to the side as she moved, "Him coming here set us on a different path. Whatever could have been- it's a new universe now."
"I realize that. And for once, I don't know what we're supposed to do next." He sighed again, "I just- I just learned that I'm gonna have a son and that he'll have to carry all of this responsibility on his shoulders. I barely know him and yet I already feel like I've failed him."
"That's not on us."
"It was on us to do better. Come on you can't tell me that you're not feeling the slightest bit of remorse for him...that some...part of you has an unexplainable desire to protect this kid at all costs, even though we hardly know him?"
She glanced downward, tongue briefly grazing her bottom lip as her features turned sharp as glass. She nodded slightly.
They were inches apart. Steve swallowed, "I also found out that his mother is one of my closest friends...I-I don't want this to change anything between us."
She pressed her palm to his chest, "I don't think we have control over that anymore."
Finally, she released her hold and turned away from him once again, breaking the tension. Now facing the windows, she spoke confidently. Steve gazed at her silhouette that was illuminated by the pale grey afternoon sky.
"But I know for sure that we can still do right by James. This is our second chance."