27 – Evolve – May 5, 2015

It didn't really come as a surprise to Steve or Aspen when they returned to the house and found Nick Fury sitting at the dining room table. It was nearing evening now, Steve noticed. He hadn't realized how much time they'd spent outside wandering the property. His mind felt clearer than it had since his vision, and he hoped Fury would have some sort of foolproof plan to take down Ultron. They ate dinner first, gathered around the Barton family table like a dysfunctional family. Everyone seemed a little more relaxed than they had when they'd first arrived that morning. Tony didn't speak to Steve, but he didn't seem angry anymore either. Steve knew tensions were running high but their argument earlier had made him question just how far Tony was willing to go to find peace. He'd basically told Steve he wanted to end the team. Wanted to replace them so they could go home, retire. His efforts to create peace had gone horribly wrong though. He'd acted before a threat had even presented itself and people had gotten hurt. More than that, he and Bruce had acted alone, keeping his creation of Ultron a secret until that was no longer possible. While Steve agreed that peace was the goal, he didn't trust that Tony knew the best way to achieve that. Certainly not after Ultron.

After dinner, Fury informed them that Ultron was easy to trace – he'd been everywhere and he'd been creating more of himself. But what was his ultimate goal?

"So what does he want?" Fury asked, putting voice to the question they all had.

"To become better," Steve said. He was leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. Aspen was seated next to Natasha looking down at the drawing Lila had given her. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Maybe he thought if he outnumbered them then he'd be able to eradicate them. The thought was alarming.

"Person bodies," Tony spoke up. "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it…"

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," Natasha said, throwing a look at Tony and Bruce.

"They don't need to be protected," Bruce said, looking down at the drawing Lila had given Natasha. "They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve."

"How?" Fury asked.

"Has anyone been in contact to Helen Cho?" Bruce asked in response.

"Am I missing something?" Aspen spoke up, looking down at the picture and then back up at Bruce.

"The Cradle," Tony said. "It's the machine that prints human tissue."

"Like what she used to heal Clint," Aspen said.

"Yes."

"As in he's creating a human form of himself?" she asked.

"More like trying to evolve humans into his idea of the perfect form," Bruce said. "He doesn't think humanity is worth saving the way it is. He's going to make humanity evolve by building his own version of it. That's what he thinks is going to achieve peace."

"That's crazy."

"Not in his head."

"So I guess we know where we need to go," Steve said.

"I'm going to stop by Oslo," Tony said. "See if I can't get Ultron off the Net for good."

"I think I'm better off in the lab at the Tower," Bruce said. "I'll do what I can there."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "No one here is asking you to sit it out, but if you want to."

"I want to," Bruce said.

Steve waited for Tony to argue but he nodded. "If that's what you want."

"Well, I guess we'd better suit up," Clint said, standing. "Who needs sleep?"

They all looked exhausted but determined. Steve and Aspen went to change into their suits. "I hope we're not too late," Aspen said worriedly, strapping on her belt. "He's always two steps ahead of us."

"This is going to come to a head soon. If his goal is our extinction then he's going to have to confront us sooner or later. Let's see if we can't upset his plans a little."

Downstairs he grabbed his shield from where it stood propped against the coffee table. "I'll take Natasha, Clint, and Aspen," Steve said as Tony walked into the room.

"All right. Strictly recon," Tony told him. "I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you as soon as I can."

"If Ultron's really building a body…"

"Then he'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."

"You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me," Steve said with a sigh.

Aspen moved away from Steve's side, and he saw her walking over to where Laura and Clint stood. Steve saw none of the bitterness or hurt Aspen had initially felt when she'd learned Clint had a family. She smiled at Laura and hugged her before rejoining Steve.

Outside they parted ways. Bruce had gone with Fury while Tony took off in his Iron Man suit. Clint took the pilot's seat of the jet and they took off for South Korea, leaving the sanctuary of the Barton farm behind. Clint was silent as he left his family behind, and Steve wondered if it got easier or harder every time he had to leave. It put a whole new perspective on Clint. All the years Steve had known him, all the missions they'd done together, the Battle of New York…all that time he'd had a family at home wondering if he was going to return to them. Steve liked the idea of a home, of a family. What he didn't like was the uncertainty. In a job like this there was never a guarantee they would come out of a mission unscathed or at all.

Next to him Aspen looked dozy, and he suggested she try to sleep. It was another long flight, and he felt as if Ultron was already causing irreparable damage. Aspen lay her head in his lap, and he absently ran his fingers through her hair as she slept. Aspen had envisioned a time when the Avengers would be outmatched. Was this what she had seen? Was Ultron too strong for all of them together? Steve liked to think of his team as unbeatable together. He knew they were strong, but unstoppable? They'd been tested in New York and had won. It seemed impossible that a single robot could overpower them, but Ultron had been busy. He wasn't alone anymore and who knew what exactly he was trying to create if he was using Doctor Cho's Cradle. Nothing good if it was Ultron's creation. What if it was more than they could handle? He looked down at Aspen and suddenly felt as if he hadn't said enough to her. They'd had their time on the farm together. He could have said more…could have ignored the chaos their lives had become for a little longer. What if he missed the chance to tell her everything he needed to? Maybe it wasn't about finding the perfect time but seizing the moments as they came. By the time the reached Korea, Steve's thoughts were more muddled than when he'd started thinking.

Clint dropped Steve and Aspen off on a rooftop with a good view of the city. Helen Cho's lab sat by the water, glass walls glinting with the afternoon sunlight. "Two minutes," Steve told Clint. "Stay close."

He had no idea what they were going to find, no idea if Ultron was really here. Everything pointed to him being here though. He turned to Aspen. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded, looking tense but determined. They made their way to the lab, Aspen keeping pace with him. She'd somehow managed to use the energy around her to run faster so she had no trouble keeping up with him. He kept finding himself impressed by her new strengths. She never seemed to stop finding ways of expanding her powers. She understood them now and that eliminated a lot of limitations she'd once run into.

They used the front doors to the facility, and it was clear right away that something was wrong. There was no security; in fact, the entire facility was quiet and deserted. They hurried up to the floor where Doctor Cho's lab was located. It was clear there had been some sort of altercation here. There was a hole in the wall and sparks sprayed forward from the broken equipment. Then Steve saw Doctor Cho lying on the floor, shoulder bloody. He ran over to her, snatching a cloth from the table above her and pressing it to her bleeding shoulder.

"He's uploading himself into the body," Helen said, her voice strained from the pain she must be feeling. She clutched his hand as she spoke.

"Where?" Steve asked.

Helen shook her head, and Steve moved to get up, but she caught his arm, pulling him back. "The real power is inside the Cradle," she told him. "The gem. Its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark."

"First I have to find it."

Helen nodded. "Go." She let go of his arm, and he stood, turning to Aspen.

"I'm going after the Cradle. Can you make sure she gets help?" He could tell Aspen wanted to go with him, but she nodded.

"Of course. I'll catch up to you."

"Did you guys copy that?" Steve asked as he ran from the room.

"We did," Clint replied on the comm.

"We've got a private jet taking off across town. No manifest," Natasha said. "That could be him."

"There," Clint said. "It's a truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. We've got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I can take out the driver."

"Negative," Steve said, making his way to the freeway loop. A metal ladder ran up the side, and he climbed that, the rush of traffic vibrating above him. "That truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron." He hardly had a moment to gather himself, finding the truck in question and taking a running leap. He vaulted from the overpass landing hard on the moving semi truck below. If he didn't know just how powerful Ultron was before, he had a feeling he was about to find out.

Aspen waited until the paramedics took Helen Cho away before leaving the lab and trying to find her bearings. She was very familiar with the signature of the gem from Loki's scepter now so she reached out her sense and latched onto it. It was moving quickly – on a semi truck from what she'd heard on the comm. She looked around at the line of cars currently sitting unused in the lot. A particularly sleek looking Audi caught her eye. She flicked her fingers and the engine started with a satisfying purr. The doors unlocked and she climbed behind the wheel, backing out of the parking spot and speeding toward the freeway.

"I'm on my way," she said into the comm. "Anything I can do?"

"Not on foot," came Clint's reply.

"I'm not on foot," Aspen told him. She had entered the freeway and was weaving through traffic hoping the police were otherwise occupied as she pushed the speed.

"Please don't tell me you're in that car going way too fast down the middle of the freeway," Clint said, a hint of pleading in his voice.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing."

"Whose car is that? Did you steal it?"

Aspen rolled her eyes. "I'm borrowing it. Now what can I do to help?"

"Keep close to the semi. Steve's no match for Ultron."

"Good pep talk. Steve can take care of himself, but I'm moving in." She had the semi in her sights. She could sense the power of the scepter's stone radiating. There was something different about it, something raw and much more powerful than she'd felt before. What had Ultron done to it? She saw Steve fighting Ultron on top of the semi and it struck her what strange lives they lived. Ultron lunged at Steve who shoved him away into one of the pillars holding up the overpass. The stone crumbled at the force, but Ultron was back in a moment, flying straight at Steve. Steve turned, grabbing Ultron. The momentum took them both straight off the truck. Aspen watched in horror as they went crashing into the side of a tram that was running alongside the road.

"Steve!"

"I'm okay," came his reply a moment later.

Aspen was trying to keep alongside the tram, but the police had made a blockade up ahead in an attempt to stop the semi so Aspen turned back onto the freeway, keeping an eye on the tram. A blast suddenly went through the front of the train and Ultron flew out, heading away from the tram.

"I lost him! He's headed your way!" came Steve's voice.

Aspen watched as the tram kept going, faster, out of control. The track was coming to an end, she realized suddenly. The train was going to crash. She watched as it left the tracks, sliding through the buildings that stood in the way. People were screaming and running. She couldn't hear them but she could sense their fear. She turned the car off the freeway, getting as close as she could to the runaway train.

"Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint was asking frantically. Aspen could hardly hear him above the grating of the train as it crashed beside her.

"Go!" Steve shouted into the comm. He was still on the train. Aspen wasn't right along the train now but she could see it speeding between the buildings. People were running everywhere, and she was forced to slow. There was an explosion of concrete as the train went straight through a building. She heard Steve cry out in pain on the comm and her heart clenched. She felt entirely powerless. She tried to reach out with her powers but she didn't know what to do, what she could do. She could try to stop it but she didn't know if she was strong enough. She couldn't get close enough and she couldn't concentrate while driving. An earsplitting grating filled the air a moment later, and she saw that the train was slowing. She didn't understand what was happening until she felt a familiar energy. The enhanced girl was here. Wanda was using her powers to stop the train. Aspen slammed on the brakes, leaping from the car before it had fully stopped. The air was filled with dust, and she ran into the cloud, fighting her way through the people surging against her. The train was tilted amid the broken concrete. The front window was shattered, and she could see the slumped body of the driver.

"Steve!" she screamed his name, oblivious to anything else but finding him. Then she saw a familiar shield. Steve stepped down from the front of the train. Aspen was running into his arms before he had a chance to take a step toward her. She flung her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Don't ever do that again," she told him flatly, pulling away and touching his face, making sure he wasn't hurt.

"I'm all right. Actually it's thanks to the Maximoffs." He looked past her, and she saw Wanda and Pietro standing a few feet away. They looked warily over at Steve and Aspen. Steve walked toward them, and Aspen hurried after him. Wanda met her eyes and Aspen saw regret there. She pushed back her surprise as Wanda spoke.

"The Cradle," she said, her voice pitched with worry. She looked at Steve. "Did you get it?"

"Stark will take care of it," Steve assured her.

Wanda pulled back, her eyes filled with mistrust. "No he won't," she said, shaking her head.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Stark isn't crazy," Steve said. Aspen saw uncertainty in his eyes though, a flicker of doubt.

"He will do anything to make things right," Wanda told him.

Steve stared at her for a moment and then turned away. "Stark come in," he said into the comm. "Stark? Anyone on comms?"

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it," Wanda said. "Where do you think he gets that?" Steve turned his head, and Aspen could see that a part of him understood exactly what Wanda meant. Aspen's thoughts flashed back to the beginning of this fiasco. It had started because Tony was trying to fix something. Instead he'd broken it and, in the process, he'd created something bent on destroying the world. What would he do to fix this mistake? Was the Cradle really in safer hands? Tony's hands had created Ultron and Ultron had created whatever was in the Cradle.

"She might have a point, Steve," Aspen said, turning to him. His eyes flashed for a moment. She saw his confusion. He wanted to trust Tony, but he also knew Tony's flaws. He knew how far Tony would go and he knew that he'd probably do it without first consulting his team. "He means well, he does, but sometimes he doesn't know when to stop. Tony Stark doesn't accept limitations even when limitations are there for reasons."

"We need to stop him," Wanda pressed.

"We need to get back to the Tower," Aspen said.

"Clint took the jet," Steve told her

"There are transport vehicles back at the lab. Come on." She started toward the side street that would lead to the car. When no one followed her, she turned back around. "You turned against Ultron," she said to the twins. They must have otherwise they wouldn't be standing there concerned about the Cradle. "Why?"

It was Wanda who answered, her brother still silent. "I looked into the mind of the being he was creating. I saw Ultron's thoughts in his head and they were of destruction. He's not what we thought he was."

"The Avengers aren't either. Whatever you had against us, even if it was just Hydra's influence, we're the good guys. Tony…well. Let's just get back to the Tower," she said. This time the twins did follow her.

The car was still running where she left it, and Aspen got behind the wheel. There was a tense silence in the car as she pulled away from the destruction and turned back the way she had come.

"Did you steal this car?" Steve broke the silence.

"Really?" Aspen gave him a look.

"I'm beginning to think I'm a bad influence on you," he said.

"I borrowed it and I'm going to put it right back where I found it," she told him. "Anyway, you guys left me behind. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Is Helen okay?"

"She will be. I waited until the paramedics got there. Ultron must have used the scepter to control the lab workers."

"He did," Wanda said from the backseat. "I broke the hold on the doctor's mind."

"You can control the scepter's power?" Aspen asked.

"It wasn't the scepter. There was something inside of the gem on it. A smaller gem. It held great power."

"But it's still in the Cradle? I sensed it."

Wanda nodded. "You have powers too." She sounded curious.

"A serum injection," Aspen said. "I didn't choose to be injected, but I learned to use my powers anyway."

"I'm sorry you did not have the choice."

"I think I understand why you made yours," Aspen said. "You were just trying to protect your country."

"I wish I could say it was only to protect but at first it was for revenge. Maybe it always has been."

"What do you mean?"

"You know about us by now," Pietro spoke for the first time. Aspen glanced back at him in the rearview mirror.

"I know your parents died."

"Do you know what killed them?" Pietro asked.

"A shell."

"A Stark shell," Pietro amended.

"Oh."

"You see now why we do not trust Stark."

"He's not in the weapons business anymore and I know he wouldn't have sent missiles at your country. People have stolen his weapons. Terrorists."

"So you would not have him take responsibility for his creations?" Pietro asked.

Aspen was quiet. The kid had a point. A very good point. "I'm sorry you lost them," she said. "Right now a lot more is at risk if we don't stop Ultron. Tony might not always make good decisions but right now he's not the one we need to worry about."

"He might be," Wanda said. "It depends on what he does with the Cradle."

The lab was up ahead and Aspen screeched into the parking lot, swinging into a space. She cut the engine with her powers. "Come on."

They ran for the hangar on the other side of the lab where several small transport jets sat waiting for use. They weren't like Tony's jets, but they would be fast enough to get them home. In time to confront Tony about the Cradle, Aspen wasn't sure. Clint didn't have too far of a head start on them.

"Strap in," Aspen said, turning the jet's engine on and preparing for flight. The cockpit was tight, but they all fit. Steve had taken the copilot's seat next to her. Aspen pushed the thrusters forward and the jet shot out of the hangar and into the air. She pressed the jet as fast as it could safely go.

"I heard Clint asking where Natasha was," Aspen said, turning to Steve.

"I'm not sure what happened," he admitted.

"Nat can take care of herself." She'd said it over and over about Aspen. They were all going to get through this. They had to. This wasn't the ending she'd seen. This wasn't the moment when they all found themselves outnumbered, outgunned. She felt a doubt sprouting in her mind though. What if it was? What if her vision had changed and this was the moment of their defeat? She tightened her grip on the controls. The Avengers would not let that happen. Ultron would be facing his own extinction and the Avengers would continue to protect the world as they always had. At least that was what she told herself.