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AWAKEN

When I opened my eyes, I was the center of attention.

Around me, the Avengers were all staring at me. I should have been shocked. The Avengers were staring at. Yet, I wasn't. I was completely calm.

Then, Thor charged at me, and I staggered him with a blow before the Asgardian recovered himself and threw me through a window in the common area.

A few nights before, the Avengers had a party in this very room. Now they converged on me, ready to fight for their lives. I should have been afraid. Earth's Mightiest Heroes were ready to fight me. Instead, I floated in midair, mesmerized by my reflection looking back at me. On the other side of the window lay the night skyline of New York.

Thoughts moved through my mind, thousands of possibilities and variables, all in a split-second; then I was at peace. What had happened to me already happened. I was in the MCu. How or why didn't matter. There were a million and one possible reasons. The most likely being interference by a Watcher or some other ancient being, but none I could prove.

I turned toward the Avengers and said, "I'm sorry. That was odd." My voice was quiet and level. I took particular notice of Wanda. She glanced down, then away.

Right, I was practically naked. I envisioned Vison's uniform. A suit, green and form-fitting, began to cover my body. Looking at Thor, I thought for a moment then I decided that yes, I did want a badass cape. Then a cape like Thor's spread out from my shoulders, completing my uniform.

The Avengers kept staring, all of them too wary to do anything but watch until Captain America said, "Thor. You helped create this?"

"I have had a vision," Thor replied. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center"—he pointed at the Mind Stone in my forehead—"is that."

"The gem?" Bruce obviously couldn't quite process everything that was happening. He looked terrified, no doubt afraid they had created another enemy. Like Ultron."

"The Mind Stone," Thor corrected. "One of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe. Unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

Captain America frowned and asked the question on all of their minds. "Then why would you—"

"Because Stark is right," Thor said.

Those were maybe the last words Bruce had even expected Thor to say. "Oh, it's definitely the end-times," he joked, nervously.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor explained.

"Not alone," I corrected. Playing my part. The Avengers had to trust me, or Ultron would destroy the world.

"Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?" Cap asked Thor.

Tony cut in to explain. "We reconfigured Jarvis's matrix to create something new."

Cap looked understandably skeptical. "I think I've had my fill of new."

"You think I'm a child of Ultron," I said.

"You're not?" Cap questioned.

"I'm not Ultron. I'm not Jarvis. I am..." I smiled. "I am."

Wanda stepped closer to me. Her fingers twitched at her side, but I could see none of the red energy that accompanied her powers. "I looked in your head," she said. "I saw annihilation."

I turned to her. "Look again." I offered, confident that whatever brought me here would safeguard my secrets.

Hawkeye snorted, rather derisively. "Yeah, her seal of approval means jack to me," he said. His gun was more or less pointed right at me.

Thor pointed at the Maximoff twins. "Their powers, the horrors in our heads, even Ultron himself...they came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side..."

"Is it?" Cap demanded. He turned to me. "Are you? On our side?"

"Yes," I answered.

Hawkeye was still jittery and ready to fight. "We're just supposed to take you at your word?"

"I want to protect this world," I affirmed. "Ultron doesn't. He wants to end it."

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

Meeting his gaze, I said, "You."

"In Sokovia," Hawkeye said. Without explaining how he knew, he added, "He's got Nat there, too."

Bruce stayed focused on me. "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster Ultron made you to be..."

"What will you do?" I asked.

In the movie I got the feeling Vision asked because he was genuinely curious. He was only a few minutes old, after all.

My tone was different.

I wanted to help the Avengers stop Ultron. And I would. But I wasn't about to let myself be threatened with what was most likely death. Not when I was the most powerful person in the room.

Bruce Banner had no answer to my reply. None of them did.

I looked to each of the Avengers, and I hoped that my words would be enough. In the movie, Vision had lifted Mjolnir and handed the legendary hammer to Thro. I couldn't do that. I didn't even want to try.

"Ultron wishes to destroy the world, and he has the means to do it," I said, focusing on Tony. "He is going to use your Arc Reactor technology and what Vibranium he has left to lift the city of Novi Grad into the sky. Then, he is going to let it drop like an asteroid."

I left the Avengers with that little tidbit, and I walked to the edge of the Avengers Tower. Looking out at New York City, I breathed in a breath of polluted air. I knew it was polluted, I could tell. Up until a few moments ago, I'd been living in the Mid-West, in a small little town that didn't even have traffic lights. The air there had been fresh and cleaner than the air in the city.

Behind me, Cap was giving his orders. "Three minutes," he said. "Get what you need."

Then footsteps followed me to the edge of the tower. The soft ruffling of a cape not my own gave away the identity of who had followed.

"The Mind Stone, can you control it?"

I shook my head. Vision had been explicit in the movies that he did not have control over his Infinity Stone. He could use it, sure—but he couldn't control it. And I definitely couldn't control it. Not right now anyway.

"Thor, after we defeat Ultron, we need to talk about the Infinity Stones," I said, reaching up to tap the Mind Stone. It was strange, the feeling of having something so powerful attached to my body. If I were a normal human my body would be crumbling to dust.

"What do you know of the Infinity Stones," Thor demanded, then he frowned and added, "Other than what I have just told everyone."

I looked back out over New York and said, "I know that the Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That is not a coincidence."

Thor nodded. "I agree. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us."

"We need to find out what is coming." I lied. In truth, I needed to find a way to explain my knowledge of the future. Thor knew more about the Infinity Stones than any other Avengers, but how much he knew was the question.

A plan formed in my mind. In seconds I constructed and deconstructed dozens of ideas and schemes to try and save the universe. I knew that I was a semi-artificial being, yet I was still stunned at which the speed of my mind worked. It was so far past organic.

"Right now we need to keep our focus on Ultron," Thor replied. "There will be no reason to worry of what is coming if he destroys the Earth."

Well, I can't argue with that logic, I thought, then I felt a rather peculiar feeling crawl down my spine. I was being watched. I twisted my body but didn't turn all the way around. Through the glass windows of the tower, I could see Wanda staring at me.

She glanced away as I smiled. "We will talk more after Ultron is defeated," I told Thor before floating into the air.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a plan to stop Ultron," I answered. "Wanda is instrumental."

As I floated towards Wanda, I looked down. The three feet I was hovering above the ground wasn't much in terms of height, but it still felt exhilarating. I was flying. Without anything helping me, I was flying.

My short flight was over too soon.

I landed just a few feet away from Wanda. Behind her, Pietro glared at me suspiciously. "Hello, Wanda," I said, still smiling.

"Hello," she replied, her accent thick. And rather alluring.

I reached a hand out to her, but I didn't touch. Instead, I left my hand hovering between us while I spoke. "Wanda, I would like you to come with me," I said. "I need your help to stop Ultron."

There was a flash of blue, and Pietro was between us. It was slightly amusing and empowering to know that if I truly wanted to, I could just take Wanda. And there wouldn't be a damn thing anyone in the tower could do to stop me.

Not that I would ever do that. The Avengers weren't an enemy I wanted to have. And with Thanos on his way, I needed allies.

Allies united. Not divided.

Stop Ultron. Stop Civil War. Stop Thanos.

"No," Pietro said. "She's not going with you."

I looked at him. Vision's mind, my mind, downloading images, files, and videos. Codependency formed after the bombing that killed their parents. Then made worse by Struckers experiments. I thought in the time it took Pietro to blink twice.

"Do you now wish to save Sokovia?" I asked him.

"The Avengers—"

"—they will not be able to stop Ultron." I cut Pietro off. "He has been preparing for them. What he is not prepared for is us. Wanda and I were never supposed to be his enemies."

Ultron might not be able to kill the Avengers, but he was a stepping stone to their destruction. The Accords were still going to be created, I knew that, but without the destruction of Sokovia, there was a slight chance that they would not become law.

The Avengers were not responsible for Washington D.C. or the invasion of New York. That was S.H.I.E.L.D. and the governments of Earth.

If I could stop Sokovia from being destroyed, the Avengers would still be seen as heroes. Hulk had made a mess in Johannesburg; however, that could be contained by saying Ultron used Loki's staff, a known way of mind control on Banner, forcing him to attack.

"Where would we go?" Wanda asked, moving to stand in front of her brother.

"Not far," I replied. "We won't even have to leave the city."

"Hey!" Tony shouted from across the room. "What's going on over there?"

The other Avengers looked our way. Hawkeye seemed suspicious, as did Cap. Bruce looked away as soon as he saw that Tony was shouting towards Wanda. That was probably a good thing. He had a good grasp on his anger, but after Johannesburg, it was best not to tempt fate by letting him interact with Wanda.

"Wanda and I will meet you in Sokovia," I said. "We have to go meet someone."

"What?" Cap asked, stepping down out of the Quinjet.

"And who? And where? And why?" Tony added.

"Hank Pym. A few blocks from here. Pym Particles." I answered, not looking away from Wanda. I was telling her more than any of the others. "Shall we?"

Wanda took my hand; her skin felt exactly like skin felt, which was also strange. My body was only half organic, yet I felt all things human.

"This won't take long," I promised the Avengers as I floated into the air.

I wrapped my arms around the future Scarlet Witch and flew out of the tower. Hank Pym was a smart man, but he was also egotistical and kind of a jackass. So, I didn't feel too guilty about what I was planing to do.

While we were flying over New York, Wanda asked, "Who is Hank Pym?"

"Pym used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D.," I answered. "He created what's know as the Pym Particle. Subatomic particles of an extra-dimensional nature capable of reducing or increasing the scale of any form of matter. We're going to steal some from him and use them to stop Ultron."

"How?"

I lowered us down to the street in front of Hank Pym's house. "Ultron's plan only works if he can get Novi Grad off the ground. If we use the Pym Particles and super-size our own Arc Reactors, we can keep the city right where it belongs."

Wanda frowned and she said, "You know a lot about Ultron's plan."

I nodded. It was true, I did know a lot about Ultron. "Yes...I've gotten glimpses of it. Perhaps it is the Mind Stone speaking to me? Or a part of Ultron that was downloaded before the Avengers intervened? I do not know."

Lies. All of it was lies. I was lying to someone who could possibly read my mind. I'm not terribly familiar with all of Wanda's powers. She seemed to accept my lie though, looking toward's Pym's house. Her fingers twitched, pulling and pushing red tendrils of energy between them.

"What's in there can stop Ultron?" She asked, glancing at me. "You're sure?"

"No," I replied. "We can stop Ultron."

Wow, I really have this hero thing down. I thought with a satisfied smile. "The Pym Particles will save Sokovia, but they can't defeat Ultron. I'm afraid that responsibility falls to us."

Wanda nodded. "What do need me to do?"

"Use your powers to convince Dr. Pym to bring us all of the Pym Particle Disks he has."

Wanda raised her hands; her fingertips weaving red energy through the air. It looked so cool. Much cooler than watching her work on screen. "It is done," she said, letting her hands drop. "He is coming."

"You're amazing," I said, and I leaned over to knock my shoulder against hers. She stared at me as if shocked by the contact. Time to lie again. "I apologize. Did I not do it right? Was it too hard? I'm still learning the intricacies of human contact—"

"It's fine," Wanda promised. And with a little smile, she leaned into me, knocking my shoulder.

She looks young, I thought, staring at her. It was easy to forget she was barely out of her teenage years when she had the power to destroy an Infinity Stone and stop Thanos.

Dr. Pym's door opened. I looked away from Wanda as the retired hero stepped out on his porch. He was holding what we came for in his hands. I floated forward. "Thank you, Dr. Pym," I said, taking the disks.

Watching me with glassy eyes, he nodded before turning around and going back inside.

"It is time for us to go," I told Wanda as I floated back to her.

I gave her the Pym Particle disks since my suit didn't have pockets. Then I lifted her up into my arms.

Sokovia wasn't going to save itself. And I already knew the Avengers couldn't get the job done.

This is a self-insert in the Marvel Universe as Vision.