Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel Franchise.


Chapter 28

Scarlet Vs. Obsidian


Clio took a deep breath as the quinjet she was on landed gently on the helipad in U-Gin Genetics Infinite where Helen Cho was working as the leader of the Research Group. She tried calling the said doctor but it always goes through her voice mail.

'She must be busy working again,' she thought and shrugged her shoulders. This must be the reason why she and the doctor get along well. Well, she got this trait from her father who can be addicted to his own works sometimes.

Speaking of her father, she hasn't heard anything from Tony and the others since they left and it's been five hours since then. She wondered how they were doing. Irritation again blossomed inside her chest when she remembered that they left without informing her. She felt so useless. The world was on balance and yet she couldn't do anything. She wanted to help but how can she when her father was the one preventing her from doing anything?

'If Loki were here...' she stopped mid-thought as the familiar pain sprung inside her chest. Then again, if Loki were here he'd try to stop her from doing something reckless but end up failing anyway. A bitter smile appeared her lips. The dream she had this morning was the reason why part of her regretted ever waking up. She knew it's unfair to think like that or to even feel like that but if she were given the chance to never wake up again just to be with Loki, she'd grab it.

Slowly, her smile faded as soon as she stepped outside the quinjet. The hair at the back of her neck rose suddenly. Something wasn't right here. She grabbed her phone and tried to dial the doctor's number again but it went towards her voicemail again.

'Something is wrong here, I can feel it,' the voice warned her.

'I know, I can feel it too,' she replied. 'Can I scan what's inside the building?'

'Of course.'

'Okay. How?'

A laugh echoed inside her head. 'You're the one who did it on your own. It's not part of my powers.'

A sigh escaped her lips. 'What do you mean by its not part of your powers? You mean I did it on my own?'

'Yes. Figure it out on your own.'

Defeated, she tried calling Tony or their Quinjet but no answer was returned.

"Maria, any news with the others?" she asked when she decided to call the former agent as she walked inside the premises of the research facility.

"Clio," she answered with an urgent tone that made the scientist's worry doubled. "The Hulk had a serious rampage in Johannesburg and caused high fatality."

"What?" she blurted out in shock. She grabbed her holographic phone and scanned the news. Her eyes widened as she watched a video of Hulk smashing everything he walked upon.

"Fortunately, Stark called Veronica and settled things with Bruce," informed the agent.

"W-where are they now?" She asked, suddenly wanting to go back to the tower. "How about the others? How are they?"

"Romanoff, Thor, and Rogers were down but no serious harm befall on them. Don't worry, they are all fine. They are currently on their way to..."

Clio's brow creased when statics were heard at the other line.

"Maria?" She called back but no answer was returned. She looked at her phone and saw that it was turned off. She tried turning it on but to no avail.

Sighing, she pocketed it and started her way down to her friend's lab. The Avengers must be going here after the fight if the others were down.

Still, she couldn't help the worry that blossomed inside her chest. Something doesn't feel so right here.

Researchers and scientists passed her by giving her light greetings of acknowledgment which she returned politely. Everything seemed normal yet her instinct told her it's not. She approached a blonde lady behind the reception desk who greeted her with a smile when she recognized who she was.

"Dr. Stark, we've been expecting you," she said as she shook her hand.

"Yes, is Dr. Cho in the building? I can't get hold of her," Clio said, praying silently that her friend was in the building so she can leave quickly to go to the others.

"Ah, she is currently inside her lab. You can go there since she's expecting you, too," the blonde secretary informed her.

With a brief thank you, she walked towards the familiar hallway that led to her friend's lab. She had been here multiple times whenever Cho required her help in her latest project and in her first time coming here, she got lost which irritates the heck out of her. If she weren't wearing the necklace Loki gave, she would have thrown a fit. Tony laughed at her back then when she returned home.

"Helen?" she called out and knocked lightly when she noticed the door was slightly ajar.

There was a clanking noise before a meek 'in here' was heard. Her brows furrowed at the sound before she opened the door wide. Once she stepped inside, she felt her body was sent flying at the corner of the room.

A groan escaped her lips when her body collided with something hard. Her visions blurred as the back of her head hit the wall with a loud thud. A dark chuckle was heard from the background as she tried to sit up and focused her vision to the sound. At the same time, her body released energy around her to protect her from an ambush.

Once her vision cleared, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. In the middle of the room was Ultron accompanied by a girl, younger than her, with hands glowing red and boy the same age as the girl. What made her worry was Helen Cho behind them fixing something on the cradle device. She was outnumbered and have no chance of winning or to save Helen.

"Helen," she called out but her fellow doctor didn't mutter a word and instead stared back at her. She gasped when instead of her usual brown eyes, bright blue eyes were staring back at her.

'Hypnotized,' the voice commented and snickered. 'Typical for humans.'

"Why, hello to you too, sister," the robot greet, amused at the distress shown on her face. "We haven't really had time to, you know, get to know each other as siblings," he added, any form of sincerity was not present in his voice.

Her head snapped back to Ultron and glared at him fiercely before she stood up on her feet, guards up and cautious with the other two people in the room. "I didn't know that 'killing me' means that we get to know each other," she said in a snarky manner, reminding him the first time they met. If she was normal, she'd probably died from the stab wound. "And don't call me 'sister' because I don't have a killing machine for a sibling," she added, disgust present in her tone.

His cackle echoed around the room as Ultron threw his mechanical head back as if what she said was very amusing. "You know what's funny? They say that you are 'the prodigy' of Tony Stark - his only daughter-," he scoffed at the last part as if it disgusted him. "-yet you are not made by him?" he continued sarcastically.

Whatever she was planning inside her head faltered at the statement. A familiar humiliation that only appeared whenever someone questioned her origin blossomed inside her chest. No matter how many times Tony assured her he never loved her less whatever her origin was, she couldn't help the feeling of not belonging to anyone.

She could feel her cheeks heating up at the stares of the people inside the room.

"She's not the daughter of Stark?" the girl asked in an accent she knew was from Sokovia. This must be the twins Maria was talking about.

Clio turned to her and raised her hand up to her when she noticed that she was already closing in on her. "Stand back," she warned and gave out a wave of her energy to emphasize her point.

The girl did step back and so did her brother. Clio noticed a shared look of wariness between the two when she summoned another wave of energy. Be that as it may, she still had the disadvantage over the situation. Helen was still a captive.

"She's strong," commented the Sokovian girl but even she knew she was still in a disadvantage.

"The same reason why Stark kept her," the boy murmured but was heard by Clio as she directed her glare at him.

Ultron didn't utter a word and let the statement pass the air.

"You know nothing about me," she gritted then her eyes trailed to her poor friend behind her supposed-to-be brother. "Let Helen go," she warned.

"Shouldn't you be blaming Stark for all of these? For all the tragedies that befall upon you?" Ultron sneered and gave out a low chuckle when she didn't answer and thus glared harder.

"You know, I can understand your pain," he began, as her fellow doctor continued to fix something and his other companions rounded around her. "It must have been painful to watch the only man you love to die."

She cautiously watched the two who was nearing her from her peripheral view. "You don't know anything," she gritted. She couldn't help but feel defensive when it came to Loki. No one can understand what they have - not even Tony Stark and Thor.

Ultron let out a humorless laugh. A holographic image appeared from its eyes and as the image play, Clio's breath hitched.

In front of her was the image of Loki. She figured JARVIS must have saved the file of Loki and Ultron must have got its hands on it. Ultron knew how to push her button. And it was working as she didn't notice her guard lowering and the girl from her right inching her way towards her.

"I could give you a world without pain, sister. No more hatred, no more sorrow, no more suffering," coaxed Ultron as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

'You stubborn mortal,' the image of Loki said as the corner of his lips turned up giving her the smirk she used to love and will forever be longing for it.

Clio opened her mouth to speak when she noticed the sudden movement from her right. Just in time, she summoned a blast to deflect the upcoming attack of the girl.

"A world without pain?" Clio repeated as she dodged each attack from the girl. "Don't make me laugh. How do you intend to do that? By eliminating everyone in the world?"

The girl faltered at her statement as a state of shock washed over her which gave Clio an advantage as she blasted out an energy blast towards her that sent her flying out of the room.

"Wanda!" The boy screamed as he ran towards her in super speed before she hit the ground.

The girl named Wanda levitated before her brother could even catch her and stood up angrily as she directed her gazed at the black haired scientist. "You will regret what you did," she said, voice heavy with Sokovian accent.

"I always do, one way or another," Clio countered sarcastically. "I couldn't help it."

"I will send Stark your body after this so we can justify the death of our parents," she continued, ignoring her previous remarks.

The Stark girl paused at the statement as she gazed at the two. They weren't that much younger than her - three or four years younger maybe.

"I don't understand," she murmured. "What do you mean by justifying their death? What did my dad ever do?"

Instead of answering, her hands glowed red as she summoned her psionic ability. She tugged her hands back as if pulling something.

Clio's heightened sensors alarmed her and she ducked as the metal lamp of the office headed her way. 'Telekinesis,' concluded Clio silently before she rolled over as another item passed her way. She blasted a chair coming her way with her energy blast before it hit her.

She can feel the anger of her enemy as she barraged her with different items that can be seen inside the office. All she could do was deflect and counterattacked it. She was so focused on deflecting each attack that she forgot there was another one. Her body was thrown backward when she felt someone pushed her behind making her startled thus making her forgot to deflect the psionic energy of the girl.

Red mist surrounded her body tight as she was held down on the ground right in front of Ultron's feet.

"That was such a boring fight," commented Ultron as he faked a yawn. "Got a soft spot for children, sister?"

"Don't call me 'sister'!" she hissed and she groaned when she felt the mist squeezing her body.

Ultron chuckled. "Of course, how could I forget. You're not my sister. You never were," he said and bend to her eye level. "You are a sham - a fraud. You are never his child. Do you honestly think you'll last long? Once he produced his own, you're nothing to him just like all his inventions that were rendered useless," he said coldly making Clio's glare falter at the hurtful words.

"Ultron," called the boy, his tone had a hint of warning which confused Clio. "We don't have time for this. We don't know where the Avengers are."

Ultron glanced his way before directing his gaze back at the doctor behind him. "So, what's the status?"

"It's beautiful," answered the doctor dreamily. "The Vibranium atoms aren't just compatible with the tissue cells, they're binding them. And S.H.I.E.L.D. never even thought-"

"The most versatile substance on the planet and they used it to make a Frisbee. Typical of humans," commented Ultron as he touched the scepter of Loki and snatched the glowing stone inside. "They scratch the surface and never think to look within."

Clio watched as the robot clutched the stone on his palm - the same stone that gave Loki the power to rule - and slowly descended it upon the cradle. She couldn't see what was inside the cradle but she could only guess that it's something that was not supposed to be awakened.

"Vibranium and tissue cells?" repeated Clio as realization dawned on her. "Y-You're creating a body, aren't you?" she concluded with a gasp as she tried to struggle free from the grip of the red mist.

"Ha! Now I know why Stark kept you! You have the same brain as him!"

"Don't treat me as if my father treated me like an animal," she hissed. She wished she had taken off Loki's necklace off her neck to free the sinister energy of the Xhylorian inside of her. But then again, she might win but also might end up killing her friend and the others inside this building.

"Aren't you?" He retorted and chuckled. "You're not even from here. Do you want to know a little secret your father kept for 25 years?"

Ultron leaned back to his chair and Clio just noticed the wire connected from its head down to the cradle. He made a gesture as if he was deciding something very amusing.

"What do you mean?" She asked, not able to contain her curiosity.

As if seeing a mouse caught in his trap, Ultron grinned mischievously. "Do you really think Tony Stark didn't know your origin from the beginning? Why do you think he kept you? If you were normal, did you think he'll keep you?"

"He kept me because he has a heart! And he loves me like his true daughter!" She yelled, now angry at the situation she was in. She knew she was acting like a child but she couldn't help it.

She never wanted to hear this conversation. She never wanted to doubt her father's love for her. Dark sinister energy emerged from within her and swirled around her body but the red mist that was keeping her at bay tightened.

Ultron laughed out loud. "Did he actually told you that pathetic excuse? Oh, what a delight!"

Clio could feel her eyes watering. Her heart was breaking even though she chided herself to stop.

"Stark knew you're not a human from the very beginning. That's why he kept you like his own pet. He did find you next to his mother's grave but you didn't know what happened next, right?" taunted Ultron, enjoying every bit of pain he was seeing from the dark haired scientist. "He knew your biological parents. He knew your father was not a human but your mother is. He knew-"

"Shut up!" She screamed angrily; her breathing was heavy as she forced herself to calm down.

"Ultron," Wanda spoke up; her voice showed irritation. "The more you provoke her, the powerful she gets."

"Ah, right," said the robot. "My bad," he added without any hint of sincerity in his voice.

Clio gritted her teeth as she tried to calm herself down. "What do you plan to do with the body that you're creating then?" she asked, wanting to put their conversation behind.

"I plan to create a perfect world," answered Ultron. "A world without war; a peaceful world."

"Do you really think you can achieve that?" she challenged then she glanced back at the twins. "A better world - do you know how he'll achieve that? Do you know the cost?"

Confusion clouded their eyes for a second before they turn to Ultron to silently ask what was going on.

"We want to destroy the Avengers," murmured the boy almost to himself. "To stop them from destroying it."

"Destroying it?" Clio bellowed making the two flinch in surprise. "Destroying the world is the last thing they wanted to do! That's why they are called the 'Avengers' - they avenge the Earth!"

Wanda took a step forward - fury dancing in her eyes but so was confusion towards the whole thing. "You're wrong! If they want to save the people they should have done that without sacrificing some!"

Clio's eyes softened slightly at the girl which caught her off-guard. They were still young when their parents died after all. "Do you think they wanted that?" she asked her.

The twins shared a confused look before glancing back at her.

"No one can make the world a better place. It's already as it is. We love, we lose and we gain. Isn't that the way it was supposed to be?"

Ultron made a gagging sound making the three snap their head back at him. "If I could barf, I would do so. That's why we need to evolve. People like you who are 'okay' of the way the world makes me sick."

Clio could only watch in defeat as the twins seemed to be persuaded by the robot's words. He beckoned Cho over to him and the latter did as she was told. She watched as her friend connected a tube to Ultron's head.

The boy took pity on her and helped her sit up instead of lying face down on the floor despite his sister's protest.

"You're making a big mistake," she whispered to him.

He glanced at her and saw something she could not understand in his eyes. "Do we look like we have a choice?" he asked back.

Clio opened her mouth to respond but he was already gone and was beside his sister before she could even mutter a word.

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream," Helen informed them as she finished fixing up the tube. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix now."

There was a beeping sound in the background as the cerebral matrix was transferred to the cradle. She watched as the girl walked over to the cradle, mesmerized.

"I can read him," she muttered. "He's dreaming."

"I wouldn't call it a dream," answered the doctor. "It's Ultron's base consciousness."

'Ultron's base consciousness?' she thought, her brows creased as she deciphered what it meant. She glanced at the girl who was watching with amazement at the cradle. 'Could that mean she couldn't read him when Ultron was inside an Iron Legion?' she thought again.

'What's your point?' the voice asked.

'My point is, Ultron's consciousness is like a memory drive. You can't have any access with it if it isn't plugged into a device. That's why the Maximoff girl doesn't know what he was planning despite her psionic manipulation of the mind.'

'Do you think Ultron doesn't know that already?'

'Oh, I bet he knew. But he's willing to take the risk of her finding out. I think Ultron underestimate both of them. They grew up knowing nothing much. They can be easily persuaded by words.'

'Then you're doomed.'

'I've got to take the risk, too. Can I communicate with the girl?'.

'You wouldn't know if you wouldn't try,' answered the voice.

Clio sighed inwardly at the snarky remark. She tried to focus on connecting her aura on the red mist that surrounded her body. She tried pulling it and to her delight, the girl glanced at her back in surprise as if someone had tapped her shoulder.

'See?'

'Oh, hush.'

"How soon?" asked Ultron, interrupting the doctor's explanation. "Oh, I'm not being pushy."

Clio rolled her eyes.

"We're imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts to this," answered the doctor.

While the two were distracted, she decided to transfer her thoughts on the red mist that was surrounding her body. Had she not trained with Frigga, she would have failed to do this so. She was glad it was paying off. 'You can read minds, can't you?' she passed the message to the girl.

The girl glanced at her quickly and glared. 'If I'm not mistaken, Ultron wanted the world to evolve. Why don't you try and read the mind inside the cradle?' she passed again the message and she could see the uncertainty in her eyes once she got it.

'What ever you are trying to do, you will not get away,' Clio's eyes widened when the girl suddenly spoke inside her head.

'I'm not trying to get away. I'm trying to open that thick head of yours! You're blinded by your anger with my father that you don't know what's really happening.'

The girl didn't respond back but the uncertainty in her eyes intensified and she could feel the doubt from the mist that was surrounding her. She glanced at her twin brother who was staring at their exchange from the very start. An exchange passed between them and with a nod from him, she slowly inched her way towards the cradle. Hands were outreached as if to touch it.

Clio waited with anticipation and worry as she prayed silently that what she predicted was right. As the girl's hands connected with the cradle, a wave of sinister energy flowed through her from the mist. She could feel the terror the girl was feeling that she bit her lips to stop herself from cowering.

With a loud scream, she retracted her hands away from the cradle. Within seconds, her brother was already by her side.

Ultron stood up, startled at the sudden reaction from the girl.

Panting, Wanda glanced at Ultron with disbelief. "How could you?" she accused.

"How could I what?" asked Ultron back.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers - make a better world-"

"It will be better," he cut off.

Her face morphed from disbelief to realization after a moment of contemplation. Judging from her brother's face, too, he must have caught on.

"When everyone is dead?" she asked in disbelief.

Clio can't imagine the startled look that was present in the robot's face at the moment but here it was in front of her and she couldn't help but glee in satisfaction."That- That is not- I- The-"

"Cat got your tongue?" How she hated her mouth when it came to bad timings but this was worth it. Ultron whipped his robotic head to her and glared daggers.

"The human has every opportunity to improve," he tried to explain again.

"And if they don't?" interjected the boy; putting himself in front of his sister.

"Ask Noah," he answered back nonchalantly.

"You're a mad man," the girl said while shaking her head as if disappointed at the robot.

Clio opened her mouth to speak but the aura around her tightened suddenly as if trying to stop her. She glanced up, surprised but the look the girl secretly gave her made her clamp her mouth shut. Slowly, she felt the aura around her dissipating away from her body while the two kept Ultron busy. An understanding between the two aura user was made as she watched her undo the spell she put on Helen. Slowly, the doctor's eye color turned back to its original color as she slowly came into her senses.

"There were more than a dozen of extinction-level events even before the dinosaurs got theirs," Ultron continued to persuade the twins. "When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it."

Clio could see from the twins' faces that no amount of explanation can pursuade them anymore and if only she could, she would have breathed in relief but of course she can't.

Her heart pounded in her rib cage with worry as she watched her friend who had come to her senses and was silently walking up to the computer - must be to stop the transfer of Ultron consciousness to the body. It frustrated her how far she was to Helen and the possibility of not being able to save her friend put her on edge.

"And believe me he's winding up," finished Ultron. "We have to evolve. There's no room for the weak," he added while caressing the cradle.

"And who decides who's weak?" Asked the boy.

"Life, heh," Ultron answered. "Life always decides."

She readied herself, summoning the last of her when something caught Ultron's sensors.

"Someone's coming," he alerted; still confident that the twins will follow him.

Clio could pick up the faint whizzing noise above the building.

"The quinjet," she murmured and glanced at her wrist to see her tracking bracelet. A small smile appeared from her face at the thought of the Avengers.

"We have to move," ordered Ultron.

"That's not a problem," Helen spoke up slightly startling Clio.

Suddenly, Helen deactivated the process making Ultron growl and shoot his beam blast at the doctor.

Clio summoned her energy to deflect it but she barely made it as she felt someone grabbed her by the waist, losing her concentration for a bit. Thus, making Helen be hit on the shoulder.

"Helen!" She called out with worry and glared back when she noticed the boy and behind him was his sister on his back.

Clio's eyes widened when she realized he planned to take her with them.

"No, don't-"

A whirl of wind hit her face as she was whipped away from the laboratory and away from her unconscious friend. The last thing she saw was Helen on the ground bathing with her own pool of blood. She felt a sudden wave of déjà vu when she remembered how Frigga bathed with her own blood back then. Had she not wearing the necklace she would have felt the same aura she felt back then. But this time, she felt useless. She couldn't even saved her friend. A tear escaped from her eye as the image in front of her disappear.


Author's Note:

Hi, guys! I'm so sorry for the delay of update of this story. I can't seem to find a suitable time to write this chapter. Work has been hectic and whenever I have free time, I'd be dead tired and my eyes are so sore to even look in front of the computer. So I really do appreciate those who still read this despite the delay. I hope you enjoyed reading this one!