A.N - Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favourited. I greatly appreciate your thoughts and feedback.

Disclaimer – I do not own anything you recognise. The Avengers and the characters therein, belong to Marvel.

Chapter Twenty

Someone was shaking her. She could hear a voice calling her name, but it was through a fog, muted and far away. It was like waking up after being under anaesthetic – you knew you were awake, but physically opening your eyes was a battle. Eventually her eyelids fluttered open and the world was a blur of colour. Blinking to clear her vision, Nadia's eyes eventually adjusted and Steve's worried face came into focus. He was the one shaking her, calling out her name and begging her to wake up.

'Easy doll.' Steve murmured softly, helping her sit up. Nadia's brain was having a hard time processing what was happening. Her neck stung and burned and with a shaking hand she touched the sight of her pain, and when she withdrew her hand, there was blood on her fingers.

'What…?' she slurred, her head spinning like a top, trying to remember what had happened. 'Ugh, my head.'

'What happened? I thought you'd be in the lab.' Steve said, eyes searching her face with no small amount of concern.

Nadia shook her head, 'I don't know. I don't…it's a blur.'

Someone crouched next to Steve and Nadia turned her attention to them. She blinked rapidly, because she had to be hallucinating. The Maximoff girl was there, her eyes soft with worry and her face dirty from battle. Flashes of the vision she had endured snapped to the forefront of her mind and unconsciously, Nadia flinched away.

'It's alright. She's here to help.' Steve assured gently, but his eyes were fixed on her neck.

Wanda reached out slowly, her hand glowing with red energy which flowed from her palm to brush against Nadia's forehead. Immediately, Nadia's mind cleared and her vision stopped swimming. She felt like she'd just woken up from a nap, refreshed and clear-headed. Memories of what happened flood back and she shot to her feet.

'Shit! Tony and Bruce are going to try and put JARVIS into the body!' Nadia cried, turning to Steve. 'I tried to stop him but he…he drugged me.'

Steve's eyes once again dropped to her neck and his jaw locked in anger. Without a word, he spun towards the stairs, marching up to the lab. Nadia hurried after him, with the Maximoff twins hot on her heels. Her stomach churned at the memory that her friend had stabbed her with a needle, had drugged her to shut her up and stop her from interfering with his plans. Anger bubbled up inside her at the audacity of Tony Stark.

As they approached the lab, the voices of Tony and Bruce became audible, and Nadia's anger flared into fury.

'This framework is not compatible.'

'The genetic coding tower's at ninety-seven percent.' There was a pause before Bruce continued, 'You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.'

Together they stomped into the lab, and Nadia fixed her gaze on Tony, her hands shaking. She had only been trying to do the right thing, had stood up for what was the right and he had literally stabbed her for it. The betrayal she felt was astounding and she had to stop herself from launching over to him and pummelling his face in for what he did. He was so arrogant as to think he knew what was best by creating Ultron in the first place, and now he was trying to create another robot to counter the homicidal one he had already unleashed upon the world. Once upon a time she had believed that he was an honourable man, one who was able to learn from his mistakes, but it turns out that she was the one who was mistaken.

'I'm gonna say this once.' Steve's voice rumbled with authority.

'How about "nonce?"' Tony quipped, eyes flicking to Nadia, who stood beside Steve. She felt her hands warm up and the glasses of water on the table rattled as her blood boiled.

'Shut it down!' Steve commanded.

'Nope, not gonna happen.' Tony replied, continuing to work on the cradle.

'You don't know what you're doing.'

'And you do? She's not in your head?' Bruce countered, indicating Wanda with the end of the instrument in his hand. Wanda stepped forward.

'I know you're angry – ' she said placatingly.

Bruce cute her off though. 'Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.'

Nadia blinked in surprise – that was probably the most violent thing she'd ever heard the scientist say. Wanda shied away from Bruce, cowed.

'Banner, after everything that's happened...'

'That's nothing compared to what's coming!' Tony cried desperately.

'You don't know what's in there!' Wanda yelled.

'This isn't a game, Stark!'

'The creature...!'

Pietro Maximoff apparently had had enough. Within the space of a blink, he had flitted around the room, using his speed to destroy the lab equipment.

'No, no. Go on.' He mocked, throwing aside one of the cables that had been plugged into the cradle. An ominous beeping filled the lab and a red warning signal flashed on the screen of the cradle. 'You were saying?'

The sound of a gunshot made Nadia flinch. The glass on which Pietro had been standing shattered. He fell to the office below and Clint stood over him, his bow in his hand and a smirk curved on his lips.

'Pietro!'

'What? You didn't see that coming?' Clint mocked.

The computer next to the cradle began flashing red, POWER LOSS CRITICAL appearing on the screen.

'I'm rerouting the upload.' Tony said, turning back to the computer, ignoring what had just happened.

Steve launched his shield towards the computer and Nadia ducked out of the way of its trajectory, watching as it bounced off multiple monitors around the room before returning to Steve. Tony called his Iron Man glove to him and it fitted around his hand and wrist in an instant. He directed his glove at Steve and a blast from it sent Steve flying backwards through a pane of glass.

Nadia picked herself up from the floor and turned to the cradle, fingers dancing across the datapad as she attempted to dismantle the thing. Beside her, Wanda readied herself, hands glowing with her mysterious red powers. Unseen behind her though, Bruce appeared, sliding an arm around Wanda's throat and pinning one of her hands behind her back.

'Go ahead, piss me off.' Bruce dared.

Clint appeared at the top of the stairs then, gun in his hands and safety off. Steve seemed to have recovered himself as well because he redoubled his attack on Tony. The two collided and the impact sent them sprawling. Tony recovered before Steve, because he turned his gauntlet on Nadia and shot her with a bolt of energy.

It was hot and painful, like being hit in the chest with a rock. Still weak from whatever drug she was injected with, Nadia crumbled beside the cradle, gasping in pain. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Just then Thor slid into the room, eyes landing on the metal cradle in the middle of the room. He pounced on top of it and held his hammer aloft, calling lightning to it. Nadia rolled away and onto her unsteady feet, holding her side where Tony had shot her.

'Wait!' Bruce cried, but it was too late.

Thor turned his hammer downwards and he shot bolts of white lighting onto the cradle. The lighting was so bright that Nadia had to shield her eyes, squinting to see what was happening. Wind ripped through the lab at Thor's power and thunder rumbled in the sky outside.

Just as suddenly as he had appeared, Thor's lighting stopped and the lab was plunged back into darkness. They all watched with bated breath, eyes locked on the cradle when it suddenly burst open from the inside. Nadia felt Steve grab her and pull her against him, his shield coming up to protect them both from shards of metal that flew in every direction.

Slowly, Steve lowered the shield and what stood before them was unbelievable. A man, his skin a deep red and moulded with metal crouched on top of what remained of the cradle. In his forehead lady a glowing yellow gem. The strange being looked around the room, obviously confused and Nadia noted that his eyes were blue.

When the creature locked eyes on Thor, though, it pounced with incredible speed and strength. Thor reacted swiftly, catching the android and throwing it away from him, through a glass window and out into the living room below.

Without a word they all followed, weapons drawn and ready to fight. Steve jumped through the hole in the glass and landed lightly on the floor below. Nadia took the stairs, and saw Thor holding up his hand, signalling for them all to stop.

The android was hovering in the air, staring out the window at the bright city of New York, where thousands people slept and dreamed, not knowing what was happening in the Avengers Tower.

Nadia took a few hesitant steps forward, a frown etched upon her face and still bracing a hand on her ribs. Usually she could sense living things in some way or another. Their breathing, the vibration of their heartbeat, even the swirling of blood through their veins. But with this thing, she had nothing and that made her unease grow.

Slowly, the android at the window turned and faced them, a green suit materialising over his naked form. Thor set his hammer on the table, a show of truce but Nadia remained ready.

Wanda, Bruce and Tony edged into the room, Pietro appearing in a blur of movement next to his sister. The android landed on the floor without a sound, standing before them.

'I'm sorry, that was...odd.' It said, turning to Thor, 'Thank you.'

There was a beat of silence before a golden cloak appeared around the android's shoulder, a replica of the scarlet one that Thor donned.

'Thor, you helped create this?' Steve asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice.

'I've had a vision.' He explained. 'A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its centre is that.'

He pointed to the glowing gem inside Vision's head and Nadia's frown intensified.

'What, the gem?' Bruce asked.

'It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.' Thor said.

'Then why would you bring it to...' Steve began.

'Because Stark is right.' Thor said, pre-empting Steve's question.

'Oh, it's definitely the end times.' Bruce mumbled.

'The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.' Thor said.

'Not alone.' The android agreed.

Steve stepped forward, studying the new being in front of him. 'Why does your "vision" sound like JARVIS?'

'We...we reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new.' Tony explained.

'I think I've had my fill of new.' Steve remarked.

'You think I'm a child of Ultron?' Vision asked curiously.

'You're not?' Nadia wondered, speaking for the first time.

'I'm not Ultron. I'm not JARVIS. I am...I am.' Vision replied, looking at both Tony and Bruce who stood shoulder to shoulder with awe on their faces as their creation stood in front of them.

Wanda stepped forward, 'I looked in your head and saw annihilation.'

'Look again.' Vision suggested.

'Yeah.' Clint snorted, stalking forwards. 'Her seal of approval means jack to me.'

'Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash.' Thor said, 'But with it on our side...'

'Is it? Are you? On our side?' Steve demanded.

The robot's features crinkled in contemplation. 'I don't think it's that simple.'

'Well it better get real simple real soon.' Clint snapped.

'I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't, he will end it all.' Vision explained.

'What's he waiting for?' Tony asked.

Vision fixed his eyes on Tony. 'You.'

'Where?' Bruce asked, but it was Clint who answered.

'Sokovia. He's got Nat there too.'

Nadia felt some of the tension in her chest ease, knowing that Natasha was alive and that they knew where to find her.

'If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be...' Bruce trailed off.

'What will you do?' Vision asked, but his question was met with stony silence. The team would do what it had to, to protect the world, even if it meant destroying him.

Vision seemed to sigh. 'I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique, and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.'

Vision had wandered during his monologue towards the table where Thor had paced Mjolnir. Nadia's eyes widened when she saw that the android was holding the hammer as though it were nothing but a children's toy. Shock echoed throughout the room as everyone watched as Thor took the hammer in hand. Vision swept from the room as though he hadn't just blown the minds of every single person there.

'Right.' Thor said, patting the end of his hammer into his palm and following after Vision, stopping to pat Tony on the shoulder as he passed. 'Well done.'

There was another beat of silence before Steve turned to the rest of the group. 'Three minutes. Get what you need.' He ordered.

Nadia wasted no time, hurrying into the change rooms outside the quinjet hangar. She slipped into her suit and braided her hair quickly, ignoring the way her head still buzzed and her ribs ached in protest from where Tony had blasted her. Bruises had already started to form but she doubted they would be the last she acquired in the next few hours. She strapped twin blades to her back, and another six to her thighs, belt, forearm and one into her boot.

Walking over to Natasha's locker, she jerked it open and grabbed two of Natasha's favourite guns, her batons and a dozen clips of ammunition. She stuffed them all into a small bag and swung it onto her shoulder, exiting the locker room and leaving the twins to get ready. She stopped at the supply station, taking out one of her emergency medical kits and began taking inventory of what remained and what she needed to get before they left. As she worked, she listened in on the conversation that was happening not far from her.

'No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor.' Tony said grimly.

'I got no plans tomorrow night.' Steve replied lightly.

'I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for.'

'That's true, he hates you the most.' Vision added as he walked past.

'Is it any wonder?' She muttered bitterly, unaware that her voice had carried over to the men sitting nearby. She swung the medical bag over her shoulder and grabbed the bag of weapons she had collected for Natasha and made her way into the quinjet, depositing her things and sitting down.

Perhaps she was behaving badly, but she was just so angry that she couldn't help it. Tony may have succeeded when it came to Vision, but he had drugged her and knocked her out to do it because she thought he was wrong. He hadn't cared about her opinion or her insight, he had only known that she stood in the way of what he thought was best and had removed her as an obstacle. He had been so confident that he knew what was right and wouldn't listen to anybody else, not just with the creation of Vision, but Ultron as well. The betrayal burned right down to her very core, she even felt it in her bones. Tony Stark had been her friend – she had admired him and trusted him – she was even willing to forgive him for his mistake with Ultron. But he had broken her faith in him the moment he jabbed that needle into her neck.

The others soon joined her on the quinjet, and Clint handed out comms to everyone. Nadia slipped hers into her ear and she saw Pietro and Wanda do the same. For the first time, Nadia noticed just how scared they looked. They couldn't be more than seventeen years old, but their eyes looked older. Their alliance with Ultron had been misguided, but they were here now, and they were trying to help. That took courage – however, she wouldn't be forgetting those visions anytime soon.

Steve shifted his feet and tucked his thumbs into his belt. 'Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So, our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done and find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us.'

Steve paused for a moment, frowning and looking down at his shoes. 'Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right.'

'Strap in kids.' Clint ordered, and the quinjet roared to life.