Loki sighed deeply, glaring at the steel plate that blocked the view of outside from those stuck in the tower. He wanted to see the sky. Wanted to see the busy New York streets. Anything but the inside of this damned place. Most of the inhabitants, outside of Tony, Bruce, and sometimes Thor, had been giving him a bit of a cold shoulder. Which was understandable to a certain degree especially since they were all doing the same to Tony. It was on the two of them that they had gotten caught like this. Trapped with hardly a way out.
He had been working on taking apart some of the spells that he had done to help block out magic which was difficult do to them actively working against him using his magic to adjust them. Still, he was adjusting them and setting them to allow Clint and himself to use magic but not to harm those living in the tower. Their magic would be able to attack an outside force that may have taken hold of the building or those inside the building but they would not be able to outright attack one of the other Avengers. It was tedious and careful work that often left him exhausted at the end of the day.
"How's it going?" a voice softly asked. Loki paused in his work to turn and see a very drained Bruce was coming over to him. The trickster sighed.
"It is... As you say, going," Loki answered. Bruce cracked a small smile that didn't truly reach the sparkle in his eye. That meant that Bruce had enjoyed the statement but otherwise was as disappointed as everyone else. Loki sighed. It had taken him months to set these things up in the first place. "All the spells laid in place were not meant to be picked apart like this and they are fighting me as I go. The spells are meant to stop me from accessing them like this. To stop anyone from adjusting them and certainly not use the required magic I need to change them. But, as they are my spells, I am able to syphon their power to access enough magic to change them."
"Oh," Bruce muttered, moving to sit down on the ground beside the spell caster. Loki sighed and looked away, cautiously going back to his work. "If you take all this apart, does that mean that you could-"
"I am adjusting the spell so that friends can come and go freely. The spells will judge a person's intent on coming in or even attacking. If it is meant to do harm to those living or working here, then they would not allow it. But, if it is meant to help us, the spells will allow it. Much of that is focused for Clint and myself but there are other spell casters that I should have thought about."
"Doctor Strange?" Bruce guessed. Loki nodded. He had resolved most of his issues with the sorcerer in other realms and so mostly their relationships had turned into a rather playful contest of whom was better. So far, neither of them were winning but it was good fun to do while waiting for the inevitable of coming of Thanos. Especially now that Loki knew much of what Strange would do when put into certain positions.
"How is fixing the AI?" Loki questioned. Bruce sighed deeply while shaking his head.
"Not well. Whatever Ultron did was worse than Tony and I expected. Last time, JARVIS had been able to save a lot of his system and once the code was laid out before him, he rebuilt it. But, it's almost like Ultron remembered that and attacked the main areas that would have allowed JARVIS to do the same. We are working on fixing those areas first but... Tony hadn't looked at JARVIS's core code in years so he doesn't remember exactly what it looked like." Loki nodded, understanding what Bruce was really saying. Tony wanted his friend back as he had been and attempting to fix him now was distressing due to the fact that he was slowly becoming aware of the fact that it was likely impossible to do so. "I wish I could be of more help but I've never gotten a good look at JARVIS's main code."
"I wish you luck in the return of JARVIS. I pray that he is as close to what Tony remembers him being." Bruce nodded.
"Yeah. Same here. And good luck to you on all the spells," Bruce stated before getting to his feet. Loki glanced to him.
"I feel I may be faster in my approach then you are in yours," the trickster hummed. Bruce smiled softly, this time a look of determination was hidden within it. Loki had accidentally challenged Tony and Bruce into trying to fix JARVIS before he finished his spells. Likely that was a good thing for everyone but also set up both groups to make errors that might hinder them in the future.
"Well see."
Nebula stalked through the Dark Aster with her sister's words and Bucky's words twirling in her mind. Yes, Ronan was mad and while it was likely that the Kree might not actually be able to take down Thanos, even with the Power Stone, Nebula wasn't sure what Ronan would do after. Ronan was focused on the way of the Kree and was mostly killing Xandarians based on an old feud that had been going on for thousands of years. But that feud had kept the Kree mostly focused on Xandar and their people. Was it likely that Ronan would attempt to enforce Kree ruling over the entire galaxy?
If she was truly honest with herself, Nebula could see Ronan do as such. To him, the Kree were the number one race and all should bow to them. And with even just the Power Stone in his hands he would be a danger to all. Especially once other Kree began to join his crusade. Which, they would. But, Ronan didn't just have the Power Stone.
A scream of agony ripped through the halls that had Nebula look up and force her out of her musings. The scream had come from the direction she knew the blonde Terran had been taken. She paused, thinking on what to do when another scream had her moving. As she drew closer, she could see the glowing of the two Infinity Stones coming from between the small cracks in the door to the room they were in. Even though Ronan had the Power Stone, Nebula knew he still assumed she was on his side so she felt no fear as she walked right into the room.
Ronan was holding his Cosmi-Rod out toward the Terran, the Power Stone glowing brightly. The Terran, Clint, was curled into a ball, his body glowing red. Nebula still didn't know what he carried or even what he was carrying the thing in, but that hardly mattered. Ronan was after it and sooner or later, he would get it.
"This would all be simpler and far less painful if you simply gave in and told me the truth," Ronan hummed as if disinterested though his body was tight in anger. Nebula looked to him for a moment before back to the Power Stone in the Rod and then to Clint. Her mind flashed to the conversation she had had with her sister. It took a moment before she realized something. Gamora had said 'stones.' She focused on Clint again as Ronan powered up his own Stone. Clint screamed as the red increased.
"It is another stone," Nebula mumbled almost unconsciously causing Ronan to stop his attack and turn to her. She pursed her lips, suddenly realizing she had been a bit louder than she had intended to be.
"What?" he demanded as Clint cautiously looked up to stare at her. His eyes were begging her to say nothing but she knew now what she needed to do. Nebula shifted to stand a bit straighter. She wasn't going to be frightened by anything that either man could do to her. Because if she was right and Clint held an Infinity Stone in his possession, then he might have had the power to take her out as well.
"I believe he has another Infinity Stone," she answered. Clint's upper lip twitched into that of a small sneer of anger but otherwise he showed no reaction to her words. Ronan scoffed, turning back to Clint.
"Impossible. The glow is coming from his person. If I could not hold the power of a stone, there is no way a Terran could," Ronan informed before holding out his Rod once again and calling upon the power of the stone tied to it. The area began to glow purple but Clint started crying out again as his entire body started to light up red. Nebula narrowed her eyes, focusing on the Terran as a whole. There had to be some sort of answer as to how he was holding a stone. Or even where he was holding the stone. But, Ronan was right. There was no exact focus on where the power was coming from the Terran. It seemed to glow from his entire body. "Admit to me what this is!"
"No!" Clint coughed out as Ronan lowered the power he was calling upon. Slowly, the two colors faded. Ronan scoffed again, turning to Nebula. He was growing weary from this and knew that they'd be arriving at Xandar soon.
"Speak with the others. Find out what they know," he ordered before spinning on his heel and storming off. Nebula nodded slightly even though the Kree wouldn't see it and glanced to the Terran. Clint was staring right at her with a look that she couldn't figure out. She frowned.
"Do you really want to be doing this?" he softly asked her. Nebula's frown deepened. "Is this really so important to you that you're willing to trade your freedom from one master to another?"
"What are you talking about?" Nebula snapped, stepping closer. She would not be insulted by him.
"You are asking Ronan to kill Thanos. But, when Thanos is gone, do you honestly think Ronan would let you walk away? You are a daughter of the Mad Titan. With Thanos gone, do you really think you'd be safe to wander around on your own?" Clint wondered. Nebula looked away from the Terran, thinking closely on what he was saying. It was true. She was a daughter of Thanos and even with that title alone people chase her down. It is only the threat of her father's wrath that stops them from doing too much. Without Thanos, she would be on her own.
"I can handle myself," she told Clint before turning and walking off before he could say anything more. But they were all right. Leaving the Power Stone in Ronan's hands was dangerous. And now, knowing a second stone was so close to his grasp was just as dangerous. She needed to know what her sister had planned.
Wanda stood in the busy New York street staring up at Stark Tower. The entire place was closed off still by whatever Ultron had done and some sort of magic blocked her ability to get inside. She wished she could simply step inside and end all of this. End Tony Stark's life but, things were becoming confusing. Hank Pym had built Ultron based on the fearful images Wanda had given him of a nightmare realm in which the world burned and his daughter was dead. So, why was Ultron holding her hostage? Why did he feel the need to hold the others? She was missing something. But what was it?
"I think this is it," Tony muttered to himself before typing in the final codes for his precious AI system. JARVIS may not be as helpful as he once had been and his personality might be adjusted ever so slightly, but everything else looked completely normal.
"Okay. Well, let's check it out," Bruce agreed. Tony sighed and nodded before reaching forward and pressing the key that would start JARVIS back up. The duo paused, waiting. As an AI system without a physical presence, there was no true way to tell if things had worked without testing it. But, they both waited to hear something like a noise of a start up process or something.
"J? You... You okay?" Tony asked after nearly a minute of absolute stillness.
"Was I ever gone, sir?" the AI's smooth voice replied with a tinge of confusion. Tony sagged a bit in relief. The AI was back. It would be a while before they found any errors in what work they had done but for now, JARVIS was back. "I am noting that the security system is active. Shall I dismiss it?"
"Yes, please," Tony agreed. A moment later there was loud clanking and whirring noises as the entire building began to open itself back up. Tony and Bruce got to their feet, heading over to the nearest window. It had been something like two weeks since they last saw anything but the inside of the tower. The light that poured in was a bit brighter than they expected but it was a welcome pain and warmth that they hadn't expected to have felt for a long, long while.
"Sir, the others wish to thank you for your success in my return," JARVIS informed, his voice clearly inflicted with confusion. Tony frowned, glancing up to the ceiling. As much as he used to think JARVIS could use inflections with his tones, it was never anything like this. Even Bruce glanced up in surprise.
"J... Uh, run a diagnostic scan of your code and compare it... Well, compare it to your last update I guess," Tony instructed, stuttering a bit near the end. That had been one of the first things Bruce and him had looked for, a back-up scan of the AI's complete system. But, as JARVIS's code was so large, there was no true place to store everything. What neither of them knew was that JARVIS was smart enough to store his information in numerous servers that not even Stark Industries controlled. Little tiny pieces stored in useless exe files on various devices around the world with protected codes around them that denied someone access if they attempted to look into it or delete it.
"My scan shall take three hours and forty seven minutes, sir," JARVIS stated. Tony nodded. It was faster than he assumed it would be but he knew to trust his AI, even damaged JARVIS was still smarter than your average computer program. "Understood. Starting scan now."
"Come on, lets go check on the others," Bruce suggested. Tony smirked before the two headed off toward the stairs. As much as they wanted to trust the elevator at this point, with JARVIS running a scan there was no way to be certain that they wouldn't get stuck inside or dropped off at the wrong floor. They arrived upstairs on the common floor to see everyone standing outside on the balcony, clearly getting some fresh air now that the door was open. Steve was the first to turn around and notice them. With a few words to the others, they all looked back before heading back inside.
"You did it," Steve complimented as he walked in. Tony gave the Captain a soft smile.
"Yeah. J is running a scan on his system right now so he's not going to be as responsive but, we are at least out of lock down," the genius explained.
"Good. I need to get back to the office and make sure nothing happened while we were locked away," Phil retorted as he headed toward the stairwell. Natasha nodded her own version of thanks toward Bruce rather than Tony before following after. Both of them needed to check in. Steve pursed his lips at them. While he understood the need for them to check in with S.H.I.E.L.D, the Avengers as a whole was being attacked by Ultron. Splitting up was not something they needed right now.
"How is the spell work going?" Bruce wondered, looking to Loki. The trickster sighed. He looked exhausted and seemed to nearly be falling asleep where he stood. While he didn't understand that he had challenged Bruce and Tony before, Loki had intended on fixing the spell work before JARVIS unlocked the building. With Wanda on Ultron's side, Loki doing changes to the spell work was more dangerous than ever. She could easily be waiting for him to make a mistake or leave an opening long enough for her to get in.
"I am nearly done. A few more hours left should do it," he replied though he honestly wasn't sure if that would be all it would take. If he hadn't have laid the ground work of the spell before, it would have taken maybe an hour but he needed to unspool the spells before reforming them. Thor huffed.
"My brother needs rest first," the thunderer informed as if it wasn't obvious that the trickster needed it. Loki turned and gave him a half-hearted glare. Since their resolution of sibling traits, Thor had been noticing more and more what magic usage did to Loki. He also often asked questions to learn more and was more knowledgeable then any other dimension Loki had visited. While Loki had often thought that would be a good thing, it was now showing to be a slight hindrance as Thor was more perceptive than the trickster had first thought.
"I am fine. The adjustments need to be made quickly," Loki argued.
"Can you be certain you'd be doing the adjustments correctly if you continue in the state you are in now?" Bruce countered. Loki turned to him to argue before realizing what Bruce was saying. Spell work was hard enough to change while paying full attention. In the state the trickster was currently in, he'd be more likely to cause a mistake that could blow back at some point in the future. Loki sighed before nodding.
"Very well. I shall head to my room to rest and start back as soon as I am able," the trickster petulantly muttered.
"I shall make sure you actually rest," Thor added, getting another half-hearted glare in return. Thor simply smiled at the look before the two headed off toward Loki's room.
"Sir, incoming call from Miss Potts," JARVIS suddenly intoned. Tony perked up.
"Answer it," he called. There was a brief click.
"Tony?" Pepper's voice asked, echoing a bit around the room.
"Hey, hun," Tony greeted, a large smile blooming on his face.
"Oh, Tony. I was so worried! Are you all okay?" Tony chuckled.
"Yeah, we're fine. It's just J that has a little issue. A... Another AI attacked and shut him down before putting us in lock-down," Tony explained. There was a pause before Pepper sighed deep enough to be heard over the phone line.
"I told you that the lock-down was too strict. We should be able to contact the outside when that happens," she chastised. Tony winced, his smile diminishing a little. He had been hearing much of the same thing since Ultron attacked. Having Pepper repeat it at the moment wasn't very helpful.
"Yeah... I know... I'll... I'll work on it," the genius admitted.
"Have you met with Rhodey?" Pepper wondered. Tony frowned, looking to Steve who had been outside. The Captain shook his head. He hadn't seen James nor had he seen any sign of War Machine.
"No." Pepper made an odd sort of noise.
"I contacted him about a week and a half ago. I haven't heard from him so I had assumed he must have somehow made it in and couldn't come out or call out or something," the CEO hummed.
"Rhodey has been missing for about a week?" Tony repeated, surprised. Steve and Bruce traded a look. That didn't sound at all good.
"Well, I wondered if maybe the military called him and he forgot to tell me or something... If he hadn't spoken to me in a few more days I was going to call. But, I've been a bit busy dealing with the families of those with employees trapped inside," Pepper huffed, clearly miffed at the fact that she hadn't thought to check up on James. Whether the anger was at herself or at Tony for having this happen in the first place was only a guess for the men listening to her.
"Okay. So, I'll look into Rhodey. Contact him and let him know we're okay," Tony said, already thinking about ways to contact the man. He could use the suit, if James was in it, or call the man's cell phone, home phone or even the military. Then, if none of those avenues worked, he could contact... He had no idea. But, he'd figure that out later. He was pretty sure he could contact James with one of the other ways.
"Good. I'll start dealing with the lawsuits which are sure to come in from those stuck in the tower for nearly two weeks," Pepper replied before another click indicated that she had hung up. Tony sighed deeply. He had work to do.
"Hey, J. Can you call Rhodey's cell?" the genius asked.
"As my systems are still in repair I am afraid that I am unable to do so at the moment," JARVIS informed. "I may be able to make calls as soon as tonight."
"Oh... Okay," Tony stuttered. He had forgotten what it was like to wait for JARVIS to check over his systems during the day time. The AI normally did it overnight, on nights that Tony was actually sleeping that is.
"Do you have any other ways to contact him outside of through JARVIS?" Steve questioned. Tony winced. It wasn't like he memorized phone numbers. JARVIS handled all that. And any phone the genius did have ran through JARVIS's systems. Steve sighed.
"In the mean time, we need to figure out what to do about Ultron," Bruce stated. "He's had more than enough time to build up an army of robots."
"Didn't he use the... Iron Legion?" Tony wondered, his mind flashing to the name after a moment. Bruce nodded. "Well, without that we should be somewhat okay."
"Tony, there are thousands of places Ultron could use to build a robot. He doesn't need to just rely on what you had built in the past," Bruce warned. Tony grimaced, not liking the idea that a competitor was out there making robots for some crazed AI program. "We also need to figure who built him."
"I don't think there is anything we can seriously do without J's help. He can easily look into all the options within seconds whereas we could take days," Tony muttered. Steve pursed his lips. "But... Maybe we can ask Coulson if S.H.I.E.L.D could start looking. There had to have been someone somewhere that suddenly increased in activity."
"Good. I'll contact Coulson. Bruce, what else could Ultron have planned?" Steve inquired. Bruce frowned, thinking on it. To be honest, during the two weeks of being trapped, he hadn't thought much on the bot. Whoever had created him now must have done something different than before and yet still, he went after them. What if he had gone through JARVIS's files as he had destroyed the AI? What could Ultron have learned from the information Clint had brought back with him.
"The Ultron I dealt with wanted to last forever. Wanted to be better than a normal human. He wanted a physical body that could not be... He's going to be after Vibranium!" Bruce declared as the thoughts began to congeal into the bigger picture. Steve and Tony frowned though both for slightly different reasons. Tony, like Howard, had always wanted to collect more Vibranium but Wakanda was a very, very tough sell on it. He couldn't even get a plot of land near enough to any Wakanda stores of the ore. Steve though had been promised by Howard that the only Vibranium in the world was inside his shield. "Wakanda... It's the largest source of Vibranium in the world."
"Wakanda? Isn't that just farm lands?" Tony hummed, confused even though he knew Bruce was right about the Vibranium. Bruce shook his head no.
"Wakanda has become a highly-advanced city with state of the art technology that even we don't yet possess. They have a shielding array that makes people only see what they want us to see. If Ultron wants what I think he wants he might head there," Bruce stated.
"Does everyone know that Wakanda has Vibranium?" Steve wondered with a deep frown on his face. Bruce paused, furrowing his brow. Ultron hadn't gone to Wakanda to get his Vibranium. They hadn't known about Wakanda's advancements until the death of T'Chaka and the ensuing 'Civil War' to protect Bucky and end the lives of five more super soldiers. And besides, Wakanda could easily protect itself. But if not Wakanda, then where...
"There is someone else. A man banished from Wakanda. I can't remember his name right now, but he has a large stash of Vibranium. If Ultron doesn't head for Wakanda, he'll head for him."
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, but I was sort of depressed. One of my pets died earlier this week in my hands. He was a little sugar glider and the emergency vet around me did have an exotics specialist on staff at the time. Not that they could really do much for someone so small but still. Either way, he sadly passed away in my hands and I've been sort of out of it since.
Darius has been home all week and has been much better than I anticipated. In fact, he actually has been doing good with cleaning up after himself and not bothering me too much. He's even helped me about the house on the few times that I went and did anything. He had a very good Christmas. Loved nearly every present he got. I think one of his favorites is a nightlight thing that my mother ended up getting him. I've had that thing plugged into my computer (as it has a USB plug that can go into a wall outlet) since the day he opened it. It's cool though so I don't mind.
Poor hubby has been having a bad week as well. Nearly his entire staff at his job has been in close contact with a person with Covid and are waiting results or already have gotten a positive result of Covid. Holidays certainly didn't like many of them.
How many people stayed up to watch the ball drop? I didn't, lol. Was still up that late but didn't watch the ball. Kind of forgot to turn on my TV when I realized it was that late. Either way, HAVE A GOOD NEW YEAR!