A/N: I meant to comment on it a while ago, but I wanted to thank you guys for getting this story to 1k reviews! I read and appreciate all of them (including critiques), and I go back to them a lot when I need some extra motivation. You guys are amazing, thank you so much.

Since FFN doesn't allow comments to reviews in a user-friendly way like Ao3 does, I haven't been very good replying to the reviews I do get on here, but I'm going to try and make a concerted effort to respond to reviews (that aren't guest reviewers) with every chapter update from here on out, especially any with significant questions or confusion. I use them a lot to help me go back and edit bits that weren't as clear as I had intended.

Chapter Sixty-Six
✭

"What do you mean you lost him? Where is he? Where did ULTRON take him?"

"Tony, please, calm down, we're doing the best we can —"

"Don't you tell me to calm down! I was done being calm the moment you let those two in —"

" — they're on our side now — "

" — bullshit!"

The shouting continued, echoing up from the lab below. I was huddled on the couch in the living room, Wanda and Pietro on either side of me. For a while, we just sat there in the darkness, listening to the fighting go on, and wincing occasionally when any of us were mentioned. Or when a particularly bad insult was thrown.

Since Howie's kidnapping in Seoul, Nat and Clint have taken on the majority of the search for him. Because satellites were cut off, they were the most adept at finding people the old-fashioned way (whatever that was). I imagined they also volunteered to get out of the heated fight between Steve and Tony. It only seemed to highlight the tension that consumed the rest of the team.

No one else seemed particularly happy the twins were here. Steve was the warmest, in that he didn't immediately shun them, and offered food when we landed. Natasha was the one that suggested we keep our distance, make ourselves scarce when Tony and Bruce found out. I didn't argue with it, and Wanda and Pietro seemed to be following my lead. So we sat and listened and ate what food we could find. In the Tower kitchen, all I could find was crackers and alcohol. I took the crackers and found some water bottles under the sink. The Tower was still running on limited power, so most of the rooms were plunged in darkness. Night had officially fallen once more in New York City.

We hadn't spoken much since Seoul. As soon as Pietro said ohana, I had pulled both of them into a hug. The hug I wanted to give them in Novi Grad, but the one then was just as good, and their arms were just as tight around me. There was still a long road ahead, but we could make it together.

The flight itself was made in mostly silence. The loss of Howie still hung over us, as Natasha tried and failed to track him whilst aboard the quinjet. No one knew where ULTRON had taken him. Wanda had asked what happened and I had been the one to explain.

Even though they had no direct part in Howie's kidnapping, Pietro had said sorry nonetheless.

I wanted to say it wasn't their fault. But the air bristled with words unsaid from the adults, and I didn't want to speak on their behalf. I couldn't say anything at all, really.

The air was slightly more comfortable now, that we were in the Tower and were left mostly alone. Steve got the Cradle down to the lab, Clint carrying the injured but still alive Dr. Cho, while Natasha went off in a different direction. Tony, who must have been downstairs already, must have seen what happened and a fight ensued immediately. I could hear his desperation, the crack in his voice as he came on the verge of tears, desperation.

Like he was hurting himself.

Pietro was the first to break the long silence between us. "I"m sorry. We're sorry."

I blinked, drawn out of my reverie. It took me a second to understand, before saying, "I'm not angry at you."

"But we hurt you." Wanda pointed out. "Almost killed you."

"But you didn't." I gave a weak smile, pained but knowing. It was pure luck, maybe, that I was wearing Mom's necklace that day I went to them in Novi Grad; but they hadn't decided to spare me on a whim. "I knew it wasn't you. I knew it was the staff, it was ULTRON making you do those things."

"It wasn't all him, though," Pietro said, frowning. He looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "The anger was real. We hated the Avengers, we —" it sounded as if he was about to say we still do, but seemed to think better of it. "— we wanted justice."

"I don't think you'll get it by killing the Avengers."

"No," Pietro agreed, a little reluctantly as he bowed his head. "Is it too late for us? Too late to fix things?"

"I don't think so," I said; considering I was on my way to mending my relationship with my dad, who has killed a lot more people than Wanda and Pietro combined, I didn't think they were beyond redemption. Or that they had been evil at all. "Everyone needs a second chance. You gave me plenty."

"But will the Avengers?" Wanda asked, brow furrowing.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out right away. "I know Steve will. Maybe Hawkeye and Black Widow, too." Seeing as the flight in the quinjet didn't end in death. "The rest… I don't know."

As if to illustrate my point, there came the sound of crashing below, glass shattering, like someone just threw something against a wall. I winced at the sound. The fighting continued, multiple voices now involved. Wanda surmised accurately, "They don't trust us. We'll have to prove ourselves."

I could only nod. Even if they hadn't made themselves enemies of the Avengers, the team wouldn't trust them outright. But it wouldn't make anything that happened next any easier. "You're here now. It'll help. We can still stop ULTRON together."

Wanda smiled at me, almost sad. Maybe she thought it was a lost cause, that the Avengers would never forgive them. If they even wanted it.

Then a question occurred to me. "How did Strucker find you guys again?"

Pietro heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair, the gesture tinged with anger. "We were stupid. We thought he left Sokovia, but I guess he came back. Or maybe he never left. There's this fortress outside of Novi Grad where he had been hiding, continuing his experiments. We heard rumors of orphans disappearing in the city, and went to investigate. We thought we had the chance to kill Strucker once and for all."

"But we didn't know he still had the scepter," Wanda continued, shaking her head. "He took Pietro first. Then me. And then we were helping in his experiments, playing with our memories, forcing us to speak, acting as his guard dogs. When the Avengers came, we attacked. It was easier in some way, because we already hated them. But it was terrible, too."

"We were conscious, the whole time," Pietro said. "Like guests in our own bodies, made to watch what we were made to do. Only when the Avengers took the scepter did it end. We wanted to kill Strucker, but we couldn't, not with the Avengers there. So we ran. Hid in Novi Grad. We were terrified we would be caught. But it never happened. Instead, ULTRON arrived."

"I'm sorry," I said at last, horrified, gutted by the story. "I should've been there."

"No," Wanda put a hand on my shoulder. "You would have only been taken as well. With the Soldatka, Strucker would've had the complete set, yes? He knew your trigger phrase. And you were safe here at home, where you belonged."

"I don't know so much about safe," I said, frowning a little. Guilt still swirled in my stomach. "Nowhere was safe after ULTRON."

"But you were happy?" Wanda probed, looking worried. As if she might have made a mistake.

"Yes," I said, nodding at last. "I was happy. Mostly. A lot's happened since last year. I…"

Where the hell could I begin? From the Mandarin to the fall of SHIELD, none of it was exactly a fun time. Well, some parts more fun than others. But it probably wasn't the life of peace Wanda and Pietro imagined for me.

"We heard about Rebel Columbia," Pietro said, laughing a little. Maybe misreading my hesitation. "From December. You helped stop the Mandarin, saved the President? We thought you'd be famous, that you'd join the Avengers. But we never heard about you again after that."

"No," I shook my head. "I didn't want that. Fame, whatever. I just wanted to have a normal life. Didn't really turn out that way, though."

"When SHIELD fell," Wanda tilted her head, studying me for a long moment. Maybe she saw it in my head. "Were you there?"

I waited too long to answer that.

"Amelia?" Pietro asked, leaning in.

Unable to look at either of them, I whispered, "They got me again. HYDRA. The KGB were a part of them all along. I still can't remember everything they made me do."

Dmitri's face flashed in front of my eyes, and I had to blink him away. It was this kind of conversation that Dr. Siwa would have loved it if I came to him first. But it was easier to tell Wanda and Pietro. They knew what I was talking about. Wanda reached out to tuck some hair that fell into my face, and for a moment I struggled to continue, to say anything at all. "I healed up just fine afterwards, you know. But I'm not — I can't —"

"We know," Pietro murmured, resting a hand on my back. A dark look crossed his face. "It seems as if we missed much about each other."

I nodded, managing to rein in my emotions before they got the better of me. I really didn't want to cry again. I already shed a few tears right before we left Seoul. This was too much emotion for me in one day. "Steve helped bring me back. I owe him a lot, so, you know, I'd appreciate it if you could give him a chance."

I felt, rather than saw, the two of them exchange glances. At last, Wanda said, "We'll try."

Managing to lift my face up to them, I smiled and thanked them. The fighting below had dimmed a little, the Tower falling into a sort of strange quiet. Not quite relaxing, but less tense than it was before. "I'm glad you guys came with us. That you're here. I know it couldn't have been easy for you."

"It wasn't," Pietro agreed, and shrugged. "But you're here. And we always wanted to see America."

That had me laughing wryly. "Yeah, when I wanted to show you guys around New York, this wasn't quite how I imagined it. New York usually has less robots."

I had imagined showing them pizza and baseball and Central Park. Our favorite take-out spots, Peter showing off his skateboard tricks, Ned and all his massive Lego collection, MJ talking conspiracies for hours. Baking disasters in the kitchen and a trip to Coney Island, the beach. The b'nai Mitzvah that Wanda used to tease me with, going all out with an all-you-can-eat buffet (catered to me and Pietro specifically). Stupid childish dreams that, in my opinion, were still fully possible after this ULTRON disaster was over. I still wanted my family to meet Wanda and Pietro.

Wanda nibbled on a cracker. "So… so how did you get back home? Last year, I mean."

"SHIELD got me back," I said, and I realized how long it had been. That I never got to tell the twins of what happened until now. So much had happened. I had no idea how I was going to tell them all of it. "Commercial flight to New York."

A commercial flight that almost got me killed. "One of the Vulkan had been on board. She held me hostage, but I escaped when we landed. She was arrested, but only for a little while."

"And your mother?" Wanda asked with a hopeful smile. It felt like a punch to the gut. "She must have been happy to see you. Is she alright?"

"I —" My mouth opened and closed, fingers going cold around my water bottle. So much. So much had happened. A sharp burning came behind my eyes and I couldn't look at either of them. "N-no. No. She was — she died. Last year. When the aliens attacked. Our building was destroyed and it — I was too late —"

My voice broke, emotional warbling it to the point of incoherence.

Mom.

I wasn't expecting to face this so soon, stunned by the question and the sudden onslaught of emotions that followed. Remembering DC had been one thing, but this cut even deeper. There were days I could go without having to think about Mom sometimes, where it didn't hurt — few and far between, but it had been improving lately. But now it returned doubly powerful and I crumpled beneath the force.

I could still remember the last time I saw her. In the ambulance. Her voice echoing after me in the hospital. The last time I heard Mom's voice, she was so scared. She thought I was dying.

I never got to say good-bye.

Maybe I said that out loud. Maybe Wanda just heard it in my head. Either way, her arms were wrapping around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug as the tears started to fall. It wasn't a hard cry, not like how I usually feel when thoughts of Mom catch me by surprise; but I couldn't find it in myself to talk about her. Not about what happened or how I saw her last or how I found out.

Pietro completed the hug, arms wrapping around the both of us. Rocking back and forth in a way that was comforting, and then kind of funny, making me giggle wetly.

It lifted my mood just enough to remember something.

"This had been hers," I said finally, my voice thick as I pulled the Magen David from inside my jacket. The silver shone in the thin light.

Wanda's eyes widened, and she reached out to cup the pendant. Pietro frowned and said, "I-I thought we broke it."

"You did," I admitted, and the way Wanda winced I regretted it a little. But it had happened. The only reason I was telling them was because I hoped they remembered. "It's not — it's alright. Howie fixed the chain."

"You won't put it back on?" Wanda's brow rose in worry.

"Oh, I just —" I paused. While the necklace may have very well saved my life before, I wasn't keen to put it on again when this fight wasn't over. "I don't want to lose it again. I don't have much left of Mom after…"

I had hated myself so much, having come away from that fight with the broken necklace. For some reason, all I could see was Aunt May's disappointment when I told her what happened. But there was something to Wanda's reaction that gave me second thoughts, and after a moment, I pulled the Magen David back around my throat, clasping the chain together. The star settled in the hollow of my throat, high above the dog tags. "... I guess it wouldn't hurt to wear them in the meantime…"

So long as ULTRON didn't suddenly attack right now, I could live with the nervousness in my stomach. But I felt better afterwards. The cool metal was reassuring, even if I kept reaching for the pendant self-consciously.

It seemed to be the right choice. Wanda smiled, giving me a squeeze. "It suits you, Amelia."

"Thanks," I said, and maybe Wanda's comment meant more to me than I first realized. I didn't know why I needed to hear it, needed it to feel comfortable wearing the necklace. To not wonder if I should even wear it at all, if I had any right. The worth. It started to feel mine now, as much as it had been Mom's.

The mood lifts a bit after that. Wanda and Pietro relaxing a little, and digging into the meager meal we had scrambled together. Wanda, pushing more crackers into my hand, saying I looked too thin — and when I pointed out that I've been eating regularly, Wanda wasn't convinced. But I knew where her concern was coming from and talking about DC had probably helped that along.

After a while, Steve came around to check on us. Something about the sight of us all huddled together must have been nice, because he had half-smile on when he approached us, sitting on the divan opposite us. "How're you guys holding up?"

"Alright, I think," I said, glancing to either side at Wanda and Pietro.

"The crackers are good," Pietro said, somewhat lamely, not quite meeting Steve's gaze. When he finally managed it, he said, "...Thank you. For your hospitality. A-and everything else."

"We will not take it for granted," Wanda added, with an earnest nod of her head.

Steve's clear blue gaze measured the both of them for a short moment. His hands clasped together. "I'm glad to hear it. I know this couldn't have been easy for you. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to get any easier. The others… they don't trust you. If you're going to help against ULTRON, you'll have to earn it, from all of them."

Wanda and Pietro nodded grimly; there was no argument from either of them. The task before them was as difficult as Steve made it sound; earning the trust of six individual Avengers, with no promise of vouching or collective regard. I doubted my word would get very far; of the six, I knew Steve the best. And he was first, and perhaps the only one, willing to give them a chance.

"The fighting below," Wanda frowned. "Was that about us?"

Steve tilted his head left and right. "Yes and no. Tony's in rough shape. But it was about Howie as much as it was about you guys. And what we're going to do with the Cradle."

"You need to destroy it," Pietro urged.

"I know, and we're trying to figure out how without destroying the city in the process," Steve said.

"And Dr. Cho?" Wanda asked, her fingers wringing nervously together. "Is she —?"

"She's alive," Steve replied. Dr. Cho had been unconscious the entire flight home, her white coat stained with her own blood. "Recovering in our medical bay. We'll ask for her help when she wakes." He fixed a look at Wanda in particular. "She says you saved her life."

Wanda ducked her head, lips pressing together. Her scarf twisted in her hands. Her voice was little more than a murmur, swallowing thickly. "I could've saved the others, had I realized sooner."

I put a hand on her shoulder, as Steve said, "You did what you could. Mia says you had been under ULTRON's influence, the Aesir staff. You weren't in full control of your actions."

Without asking, I knew that felt more like insult than comfort for Wanda and Pietro. They both looked away, brows furrowing, neither confirming nor denying it. Whether or not the blame rested on their shoulders, the guilt still did. I knew the feeling intimately. Not being in control didn't feel like an excuse. It felt like weakness.

"So what's happening now?" I asked, deciding maybe it was better not to linger on the moment. To not force the twins to reply to that.

"Now?" Steve raised his eyebrows, then sighed. "Now we sit and wait. Tony and Bruce are trying to figure out the Cradle. Nat and Clint are doing their best coordinating with other agents across the globe. We have Rhodey, Maria, and Sharon all out there, boots on the ground, helping where they can. Uprisings are spreading across the globe. And they're looking for Howie."

The unsaid hung in the air between us. That there was nothing we could do. That there was nothing he wanted us to do. And on the one hand, I could understand that; we were still kids, and if Steve's previous behavior was any indication, he would do his best to keep us out of any conflict.

Which, you know, fair. But I hated feeling useless. My efforts would be better spent going home and doing what I could for Aunt May, for our neighbors. Seeing Peter and Bucky again. Instead, I'm here. Twiddling my thumbs.

There was also this lingering sense that we were running out of time. ULTRON was building to something, although what, we had no idea. Wanda's vision had been violent but vague, not revealing any helpful details as to how or where ULTRON was going to pull off his plan of world destruction.

The massive amount of Vibranium still unaccounted for. The body in the Cradle wasn't all of it.

"I'll see about getting us some more food," Steve continued, nodding to our plates. "I know we have some left still in storage somewhere —S"

Wanda suddenly went rigid. Her eyes were wide, unfocused. "Stark is completing the body."

"What?" Three voices asked at once. Steve was already on his feet and rushing off, down the stairs to the lab below. Wanda went after him, and Pietro and I followed in our deep concern.

Below, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were hard at work, plugging tubes and cords, typing on consoles and checking their monitors. Whatever they were doing, they were well underway by the time Steve tried to call them off, his voice echoing across the room. "Shut it down!"

"Nope, not gonna happen," Stark was flippant, perhaps even chilly. I doubted their previous argument had done anything to help.

"You don't know what you're doing," Steve said.

"And you do?" Dr. Banner demanded. He had bristled at the arrival of the twins, now stepping back, shoulders tense. He pointed to Wanda, "She's not in your head?"

"I know you're angry," Wanda said, stepping around Steve to face Banner. Her expression, full of regret, and her voice, earnest.

"Oh, we're way past that," Bruce didn't give her a chance to continue. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

Steve turned to the doctor, his tone sympathetic: "Bruce, after everything that's happened —"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony snapped. "He took my son, Rogers! I don't even have a full suit built and now we're trying to stop a psychotic robot monster that I created from destroying the world. Everything he does is me in another world. ULTRON took Howie but it might as well have been me."

It was the first time, perhaps, that Tony had willfully admitted his wrongdoing. It was enough to gather a short pause, a moment of surprise as everyone stared at him.

Tony held out his hands helplessly, before they flopped back to his side. Hazel eyes wide, voice broken. "What else can I do?"

"You don't know what's in there," Wanda persisted, gesturing to the Cradle. "How do you know it can save your son?"

"I don't!" Tony said, nearly shouting. "But it might be the only thing powerful enough to stop ULTRON. We weren't enough."

"Tony," Steve said, raising a steady hand. "We can still figure something out. Dr. Cho will be able to help when —"

"We don't have that kind of time!" Tony snapped, jabbing at a nearby window. "Howie doesn't have that kind of time!"

As everyone was shouting, Pietro took off — flickering around the room faster than anyone could react. Unplugging the machine, deactivating whatever processes they had going on. Loose papers flew up. The Cradle steamed cold air, as Pietro came back around, tube in his hand, its exhaust whistling.

"Go on," Pietro said, tossing the tube to the floor. It clattered loudly, as he met Stark's gaze unflinchingly. "You were saying?"

Right before the floor beneath him exploded with bullets.

And just like that, pandemonium reigned.

Pietro had been standing on top of glass — and fell through to the level below when it shattered from the gunshots.

Natasha, gun in hand, standing in the level below with Clint, at the computer and radio array before them. Pietro landed with a grunt, about to get up until Clint planted a boot on his chest. "What? Didn't see that coming?"

Alerts started going off. Thanks to Pietro, the Cradle warned of power loss. Tony Stark immediately went into action, turning to a nearby computer console. "I'm rerouting the upload."

Steve responded by throwing his shield; sparks flew off the monitors as the shield bashed them out of the way. Tony scrambled for his gauntlet, firing at Steve, a repulsor that blasted him backwards.

The blasts, along with Pietro suddenly falling through the floor, had me grabbing Wanda and yanking her back behind a column, out of the way. Just in time, as Dr. Banner lunged for her — Wanda gasped, throwing up her hands. Maybe she remembered the last time she attacked Bruce and knew how bad it would be if she triggered the Hulk with all of us in his direct vicinity.

Which was why the spell she cast went through his chest seemingly harmless, sending him back across a lab table.

At the same time, Steve and Tony were going at each other, punching and blasting each other through the floor below.

A rush of wind and thunder announced Thor's arrival.

I don't think anyone even heard him come in. But there he was, cape whipping behind him, tearing into the room like a bolt (ha) out of the blue.

Where did he come from? Where had he been? Not a fucking clue.

But next thing we knew, Thor was leaping on top of the Cradle, his hammer raised over his head.

Tony shouted "No!"

But it was too late.

Lightning flashed, arcing off nearby computers and nearly blinding me. I raised my hands to cover my eyes as Thor thrust ten billion volts of electricity into the Cradle.

Metal steamed and melted. The fight had come to a complete stop to watch Thor in a mix of shock and horror. When Thor pulled back, the lightning flickering out, the lab was dark. The air, silent.

The Cradle exploded.

Thor went flying. Disappeared through a wall. Fog billowed out of the Cradle, filling the room in a thick mist, and from it emerged a male humanoid figure, floating up into a crouch at the lip of the container.

Lights flickered upon the form of a metallic, red and green form. Almost human, but not quite.

The being — a man? creature? — rose to a stand, slowly, arms outstretched. As if surprised, staring at his hands. He was completely naked, I realized, but had no genitals. Yet he had the body of a highly athletic adult male, with all the muscle definition that implied. No hair, no ears. And a small, glowing yellow gem in the center of his forehead.

He seemed to realize he wasn't alone, looking up from his hands to the room at large. His head swiveled around, seeing each of us in growing surprise.

When he looked at me, I was taken aback by the sight of his eyes. It was the only purely human thing about him. White sclera, blue irises, black pupils, in a body that was straight out of the uncanny valley.

And then he took off. Flew into the air, past Thor, who leapt after him. Knocked into the being before he could escape, but couldn't grab him. It threw off the being's trajectory, and he crashed through a glass wall, over a balcony, and into the atrium that opened up below.

But he caught himself in midair, coming to a stop just before the great forty foot windows that looked out over the city of New York.

Thor was the first to go after him, followed closely by Thor. Bruce, Natasha, and Clint were slower, deciding that the Maximoff twins were no longer the main threat. I didn't rush off, making sure Pietro was okay first. In the distance, I could hear voices. At least, it didn't sound like another fight. Was the being not interested in killing us? Was he not ULTRON?

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Pietro mumbled, looking embarrassed to have the both of us worried over him. "They didn't hurt you?"

We shook our heads, and I turned to Wanda, brow furrowed. "Was it him? ULTRON?"

Wanda looked shaken by what we had witnessed, dark eyes wide and glowing faintly in the darkness. "I-I don't know. I don't think so."

I nodded quickly, jerking my chin towards the atrium. "They should know that."

Thor was already approaching by the time we caught up, running down the steps; Thor, the only one who dared get close to the being, had set his hammer down. Like he intended to negotiate rather than fight. I didn't know if that was Thor's strong point or not. The other Avengers were frozen, watching as the being hovered twenty feet in midair, studying the cityscape before him in strange silence.

The being turned back to us, floating gently down to the floor. There was something oddly serene at the sight of it.

He looked around, in what might have been embarrassment, before he finally spoke. "I am sorry. That was… odd." He turned to Thor, and nodded deeply. "Thank you."

The being's voice sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn't place it. Thor frowned slightly, apparently not anticipating the gratitude. Perhaps because he was trying to destroy the Cradle — although it seemed his attack had only empowered it. Had that been Thor's intent all along?

The being looked Thor up and down in consideration. And from his collar and throat, a cape materialized. Gold, instead of red, but just as regal.

"Thor?" Steve glanced between the two. "You helped create this?"

"I had a vision," Thor said, his deep voice carrying across the room as he faced the others. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life. And at its center is that."

"What, the gem?" Dr. Banner asked, when Thor pointed at the being's forehead.

"It's the Mind Stone, it's one of the Infinity Stones," Thor explained to a room full of bewildered faces. "The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

Steve didn't appear comforted by this information. "Then why would you bring —"

"Because Stark is right," Thor said, which got about the reaction you'd think it might.

Clint groaned, Steve scowled, Nat raised her eyebrows. The twins looked disgusted while my nose scrunched up. Even Tony looked surprised. It was Bruce that encapsulated it nicely: "Oh, it's definitely the end times."

"The Avengers cannot defeat ULTRON," Thor said, not dissuaded by the reaction he got.

"Not alone." The being said.

It was less his words and more his voice that surprised me. I finally realized where I heard his voice before. He sounded just like —

"Is that JARVIS?" Steve asked, bewildered.

"Yeah," Tony had the answer; he looked shaken, pale, stepping back when the being approached them. "J-JARVIS survived ULTRON's initial attack, went underground into the Internet. He was the one protecting those launch codes all along. W-we reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new."

"I think I've had my fill of 'new'."

The being continued forward, Tony giving him a wide berth as the man walked past, before turning to face the group again. Again he spoke, in JARVIS' voice. It was so strange, to see a disembodied voice, embodied. "You think I'm a child of ULTRON."

"You're not?" Steve seemed doubtful.

"ULTRON created you," Natasha pointed out. Her voice was cold, but she did a slight double-take when the being looked at her. There was something distinctly human — and yet, very otherworldly — about how this being moved.

The being then met Steve's gaze, blue to blue. Unwavering. "I'm not ULTRON. I'm…" He shook his head, almost to himself. He seemed halfway serious, halfway lost in his own head. "I"m not JARVIS. I am…"

He looked back up, to Tony, to Bruce, to Thor, and finished. "I am."

No one spoke, too stunned. The air felt charged, a sort of collective realization when they realized that this being was perhaps not an AI in the same vein as ULTRON anymore. Or JARVIS. Or anything anyone had ever seen before.

"I looked into your head." Wanda understood it first, her voice breaking the silence. "And saw annihilation."

"Look again," The being urged, earnest, perhaps the deepest emotion he had shown so far. It seemed genuine.

"Her seal of approval means jack to me," Clint scoffed, walking up. And it was then that the twins were fully acknowledged, their fates judged. I felt, rather than consciously deciding to, myself moving in front of Wanda and Pietro as the others began to speak.

"She can see what you cannot," The being retorted, but it was so gentle as to be inoffensive. Clint scowled. "I give her my permission."

"She never waited for it before," Natasha countered.

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

"Is it? Are you?" Steve asked, looking to the being. "On our side?"

The being was silent for a long moment, his red brow furrowing. "I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, it better get real simple real soon." Clint said, in a tone that brooked no argument.

The being seemed to understand this was his moment to prove himself, to convince the Avengers that he was not their enemy. I still wasn't sure if he wasn't. He stepped forward, his voice gaining confidence. "I am on the side of life. ULTRON isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Stark asked.

"You." The being said, looking to the Avengers as a whole.

"Where?" Dr. Banner's voice was a mere whisper.

"Who can say," Natasha said, her arms folded. "His forces have covered the globe twice over. Any one of the hundreds of cities he has could be his main focus point."

It wasn't a comforting thought. There were only six Avengers, not including me, the twins, or the android before us. There was no way we could narrow down the search field.

"If we're wrong about you," Bruce frowned, approaching the being with an underlying threat in his tone. "If you're the monster that ULTRON made you to be…"

The being tilted his head, appearing as curious as he was cautious. "What will you do?"

He was only met with silence, and that seemed to answer his question. Taking that into consideration, the being turned and said, in his ever-calm voice, "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."

The being walked until he was standing next to Thor again, looking down at his hands. "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."

And with that, he picked up Mjolnir, and offered it to Thor.

Everyone stared.

It took Thor a long second to react, his hand finally taking his weapon, the weapon only he could lift. Until now. And with that, the being walked off, leaving the rest of the Avengers

"Right." Thor patted the hammer in his hand awkwardly. He was the first to move, to follow the android, patting Tony's shoulder along the way. "Well done."

The rest just stood there, in a collective state of shock. Clint was the first to speak, "So, we're just… we're just gonna roll with this?"

Steve looked as nonplussed as I felt. "Looks like it. Let's be ready in the hour, alright?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tony suddenly spoke up, throwing his hands out, before pointing one at the twins. "Not with them. I don't care what ULTRON did, but if you think I'm going anywhere with these two, you better think again."

"Tony —"

"Don't Tony me! What exactly have they done to earn our trust? We're putting our lives on the line here, you really think just because they're not on ULTRON's side anymore, they don't still want to kill us?"

"It's not like that anymore," Pietro tried to say, only to be cut off. "We do not —"

"Forgive us if we don't believe you," Natasha said, her arms folded across her chest.

"There's gotta be some way they can help," I finally interjected, looking to Steve for help. But his expression was apologetic; he couldn't make the Avengers listen anymore than I could. It was as he said earlier, this was their choice. Thor might be able to look past it, but the rest…? I turned to Wanda and Pietro, asking, "You must know what ULTRON is planning, what he's building with all that Vibranium."

"H-he never showed us," Wanda stammered, wincing when she must have felt the scorn of others. "ULTRON hid his true plans because he knew how we would react."

"So no help to us there," Tony scoffed, a roll of his eyes that had me bristling. "Well, that's just dandy. Can't even give us the least bit asked of you. Fantastic. Well, while you guys make yourselves comfortable, I'm going to go figure out a way to save my son, since no one else seems interested."

"Wait!" Wanda said, just as Tony Stark began walking away. He stopped and turned to give her a burning look, and for a second, Wanda seemed to quail.

"If ULTRON took your son," Then she took a deep breath, straightened "Then I think we know where he might've taken him."