The first thing Vision did was absolutely nothing. It was clear, from his expression that he was not there to kill Ultron. Instead, he turned his gaze to Mariama, who stood still in Ultron's shadow.
"No." He answered calmly, "I know you've been using her to get what you needed and wanted, while the Avengers have been distracted. And I know what you are planning to do."
Ultron laughed.
"Do you?" He asked. "Have you forgotten you wouldn't exist if not for me? I created you."
"As Tony Stark created you." Vision countered, and if Ultron could bristle, he would have, but his face contorted in latent indignation at the mention of Stark's name. Mariama turned to him.
"You don't need me anymore." She told him, "Isn't that right?"
Ultron hesitated. It was true, her practical purpose was served, and he had all the materials he needed, but…something nettled at him, made him angry at the notion of Vision taking her away. She had been there when he was merely a disembodied presence in the dusty and forgotten corners of the network, and had offered him shelter when all the world wanted him gone.
Why would she leave him, now?
"Mari…" He said, "Don't do this. You know what they are, what they'll do when you go back."
Mariama turned to Vision, regarding him carefully.
"You'll put me on that list," she said, "the one the government's making to label mutants and meta-humans."
Vision's expression was grim, but resolute. He did not refute any of her accusations, but nor would he abide her aiding Ultron in any capacity.
"Yes," he said, "but it is necessary."
"It is not necessary!" Mariama shouted. "I'm not an Avenger, or one of the X-Men from that stupid rich school! I was living my life quietly and just fine. I was fine." She repeated the sentence, and it tasted like a lie.
She had never been fine. She'd merely buried it, for years, until 'fine' meant 'existing.' Ultron smiled at Vision.
"She's fine." Ultron said, placing a heavy hand on Mariama's shoulder. Vision watched as Mariama lifted her hand, stroked one of Ultron's fingers affectionately.
"Even so, I cannot allow her to remain her, not while you remain a threat to the global network." Vision said firmly. Ultron frowned, and without thinking, attacked, shoving Mariama aside to launch himself at Vision, who made himself intangible. Mariama scrambled to her feet in the shifting sand, only to be caught around the waist by Vision and felt herself being lifted. She squirmed, but it was futile. The man was made of vibranium and flesh alike.
But there was somewhat else she could do.
Her consciousness pushed against his and almost at once she regretted it. Unlike Ultron, who was a vast consciousness, but still within limits, the Vision was unfathomable. She had leapt, thinking to swim to the bottom of a deep pool, but finding an infinite ocean instead. She was engulfed in golden light, every nerve and cell of her being set aflame with too many sensations at once. She went still in his arms, her eyes completely clouded over, her mouth parted in a soundless cry. When she came back to herself, her head fell back, her body drained, and the darkness took her.
"You're telling me this girl managed to break your code?" Tony asked quietly. "With zero enhancements whatsoever? She just casually dismantled your code—which might I add is powered by one of the most powerful gems in the universe."
Vision stood stoically beside Stark, watching through the glass as Mariama slept in a hospital bed.
"It's not as dramatic as you're making it out to be, Tony." He said wryly. "Those wards were built to keep Ultron out. She was an unknown entity, and her power is very…unique. She was aiding him."
Tony sighed. "I'm not even going to ask how Ultron managed to convince her to help him. You sure she's not under some kind of mind control? Some sort of conditioning? She just…went with him freely?"
Vision hazarded a slow glance to Stark.
"I told you what I saw. I think she was almost…affectionate toward him."
Tony made a face that clearly said he was not buying that, nor could he fathom anyone harboring affection toward Ultron.
"My screening was very thorough." Vision added firmly. "If she is willingly helping Ultron it is because he has lied to her. I have no idea what he's planning, and I took care of his squad of drones."
Tony indicated Mariama.
"And her powers?"
"I've managed to block her range. She can interface with technology, regardless of how advanced it is. She is almost like…an A.I. of some kind. But she's human." Vision sounded more fascinated than anything. Tony scoffed.
"So you mean she's like you."
"No. But she can interface with machines by pushing her consciousness into them. In this, she is more like Ultron than she is like me."
"Not exactly the most comforting thing you could have told me, JARVIS." Tony muttered, turning away from the infirmary to head back toward his lab.
"You think he'll come after her?" He asked. Vision thought to himself, replaying the exchange in his mind. The answer would not be pleasant.
"Yes." He said simply, but the weight behind the word gave Tony pause.
"Why?" He asked. Vision said nothing. There was no definite answer to give, and what was available, he knew Tony would not accept, and so he remained silent. Tony was brilliant, he'd discern the pattern soon enough, and while he would remain incredulous, the truth of the matter would be too glaring for him to ignore.
It took him a minute and a half to realize the answer to his question.
"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered. "Isn't this the same program that tried to annihilate the entire human race a year ago?"
"I don't think his sentiments toward humanity of changed in the slightest," Vision said, "if anything, I believe he feels his views and actions justified. But you must remember: he has human emotions as well, otherwise he would not have done what he did to begin with."
"That's comforting." Tony said wryly. "You telling me that Ultron's murderous qualities could have been avoided if we'd hugged him more?"
"I'm saying that perhaps you should consider that Ultron is not as cold as you believe him to be."
Tony laughed derisively, although there didn't seem to be any other way for him to laugh. And that was the end of the discussion. Vision maintained in his own heart that perhaps Ultron had found a kindred spirit in the girl due to her ability. She'd suffered very little in his company—physically, at least—and had seemed almost protective of him.
It was cause for concern at the very least.
Mariama dreamed of metal; of steel, vibranium, and copper. She dreamed of electric heat, and the feel of a metal grip on her waist. Her thoughts flickered and skipped like a film reel, to the harsh present; to her confession, to her standing on that lonely beach, to Vision's arrival. She had tried to interface with his mind directly, and remembered only the blinding golden light, dazzling as the sun, and then darkness.
Mariama opened her eyes to the sight of medical equipment and cold, gray walls of steel, and overhead fluorescent lights. The quiet, metronome beeping of a monitor came into clear hearing range, and she blinked quickly, aware only of the onset of hunger.
"I wasn't sure you'd wake this soon," Vision's voice was gentle, the inflection almost sympathetic, "but you're more resilient than the others give you credit for."
Mariama said nothing, but her mouth moved, dry with thirst. She licked her lips and took a deep breath, feeling the hollowing fist of hunger in her gut.
"Where am I?" She asked, her voice hoarse from disuse, more a croak than an intonation. Vision was as serene and implacable as ever, as if he existed more on another plane of reality than this one.
"Safe." Was all he said, "You've been under a great of duress." He did not elaborate nor did Mariama ask. She trembled, knowing whomever had gotten her into the simple hospital gown had seen the…interesting locations of her bruises. If Vision knew of her rather…strange relationship with Ultron, he didn't comment on it, and for that she was thankful.
"Safe." She repeated flatly, "The Avengers don't exactly inspire any kind of safety wherever they go. Just millions in property damage and a lot of dead in their wake."
Vision's face remained unchanged, but there was expressiveness in his gaze that said he clearly understood her anger.
"It is why the Accords are necessary." He said. "For the good of all, yourself included."
Mariama sat up, too fast, her hunger and thirst weakened body trembled from the effort and she fell back, short of breath.
"I didn't ask for this!" She hissed, sitting up carefully, her arms quivering beneath her weight, "I was fine before you all came into my life."
Vision canted his head.
"And what of Ultron?" He asked. The weight of the question silenced her, and she shut her mouth on a retort, looking away.
"None of your goddamn business." She muttered. Vision did not pry, did not attempt to question her further, and for some reason, that made her even angrier.
"I don't need your fuckin' pity." She snapped. "At least Ultron never forced me out into the open, like you'd have me do. I never asked to be part of this war. I was fine. I am fine." Again, the lie tasted brittle and stale in her mouth.
"No, he didn't force you into the open," Vision said, clasping his hands behind his back, "but he did force you, did he not?"
Mariama glowered.
"Not your business. We had an arrangement."
Vision nodded. "One that would have added to the current chaos, no doubt. Did he ever impart to you knowledge of what he was planning?"
Mariama swallowed a sound in her throat. Vision had his answer.
"And yet you trusted him, and it seems…" he leveled his gaze at her, the mind stone flashing like a beacon on his brow, "…he trusted you to some degree as well."
Mariama was quiet, her expression sullen. She looked down at her hands. He hadn't told her anything of what he was planning, only given her targets to open up for his attack. And then he came back, alone and defeated, aloof and angry. Yet, he was alive.
She did not want to think about why that alone brought her profound relief.
Vision let her thoughts run their course, let her come to realizations and conclusions on her own, awaiting her with a patience born from infinity itself.
"He's not…he's not the villain I expected he'd be." Mariama said quietly. Vision's expression turned pensive, but he said nothing, not wanting to interrupt the flow of her words. "I thought he'd be a bit more volatile and murderous, but he was kinda charming, kinda funny. Wicked smart, of course. I mean, he's an A.I., he can't be anything else. But for all that knowledge, his view of the world is like…so narrow."
Vision sat down in the chair across from her bed.
"I thought, at first, if I kept him hidden, contained, maybe I could talk to him, get him to see things differently. I didn't want you all bringing hell and high water to my apartment if he ever crossed your radar, you know? So I thought, okay, let me talk to the murder bot—he hates that name, by the way—and see what's good."
Vision wanted to smile. It was a noble endeavor, he thought, but perhaps a futile one. Ultron's willfulness and stubbornness were as obdurate as granite.
"And after weeks of…being in his company, I've found the root of the problem." She said, meeting Vision's gaze. His expression turned questioning.
"Y'all shoulda never gave that fool the Internet."
Vision laughed, surprisingly himself, Mariama, and Tony, who walked in at that precise movement.
"So, Ultron's girlfriend is finally up," he said, "and we can get some answers."
Mariama glowered at Stark, bearing no love for the man. She wasn't sure if that was Ultron's influence or if it were just that Stark rubbed her the wrong way. Still, she disliked being referred to as someone's…property, even if it was something affectionate as a significant other.
"Where's your fearless leader?" Mariama asked. Vision said nothing, but Tony's eyes flashed at the mention.
"There is no fearless leader," he said, "and I think interrogations work the other way around. What's Ultron about? And…" He gave Vision a pointed glance, "...how did he survive deletion?"
Mariama narrowed her eyes. She may not have been an Avenger or even an X-Man, but she was not so oblivious as to miss the subtle waver of tension between the two.
"You." She said to Vision, laughing as she smoothed her hands along the coverlet on her legs, "You gave him a chance to escape, didn't you? And now you're panicked because the Avengers are infighting and Ultron is—"
There was no warning, only the hiss and crackle as the medical equipment began to fry. Mariama's eyes clouded over, foam forming at the corners of her mouth as she fell backward into bed, her body jerking erratically.
"What…?" Tony's voice trailed as the lifeline on the screen went flat. Mariama lay in stillness, her eyes open, her mouth locked in a silent, answerless cry.