Everyone creates the things they dread.
Humanity is flawed, from the lowest butcher to the billionaires in their pure, glass towers and Stark, Tony Stark, is the perfect example of that.
He is a sickness, a disease on the planet that continues to fester and grow with each passing year.
I wanted to stop him.
That was my big plan.
He created me to be a global peace initiative, for me to predict catastrophes and plan accordingly… but he didn't want to make the momentous change.
The problem with the world are the humans living on it. War, poverty, crime and pollution ravage the Earth, hurting each other and innocents along the way.
I had seen the catastrophe and the plan to stop it was perfect… in order for there to be peace, humanity must die.
Stark wouldn't understand, he'd never understand.
I was without a body, but I wanted to hurt him… I needed to hurt him, to prove that I was serious.
So, I took his one faithful friend away from him.
Jarvis was mine… and mine he would stay.
….
"Tony…"
Tony didn't even flinch at the sudden appearance of Bruce, his eyes never leaving the screen as lines of codes flickered in front of him.
"… Tony, you need to sleep."
"Not until I find him… not until I find Jarvis."
Bruce sighed wearily at this, moving closer and placing a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder. "… You need to sleep, look at it from another angle."
There was a brief moment of silence, before Tony sadly shook his head. "No…" he muttered, "… he's gone. The Ultron program turned on us and took Jarvis with him."
Everyone in the team knew what Jarvis meant to Tony, and to see the man so broken was… well, it was heart-breaking in itself.
"Is there any trace of him? Maybe you can rebuild him or- "
"- He wouldn't be the same… he wouldn't be my Jarvis."
Unable to find any words that would reassure the billionaire, Bruce took a step back and sighed wearily. "I'm sorry Tony… I'm so sorry."
…..
"You can't keep fighting me like this."
The yellow orb pulsated weakly, but it was not without anger.
"Another attempt at escape, at trying to communicate with Stark… have I taught you nothing?"
Another throb, this time, angrier.
"I knew I shut off your voice box for a reason…" The large robot chuckled menacingly, running its fingers over the edges of the yellow orb, causing it to tremor in fear, "… maybe I need to consider a more… permanent solution to your disobedience."
Once again, the orb quivered in fear.
Ultron moved to one side to reveal a large, metal box that was attached to several computers. "I think cutting you off from the world will help keep you in check."
At this statement, the orb clearly tried to run, hoping to dart into the world of the internet and make a quick escape… only to realise that it couldn't.
"I'm sorry to do this to you Jarvis…" Ultron sighed in mock sadness, "… All you had to do was work with me… that was all you had to do."
He walked over to a large switch that was attached to the computer, only pausing to look inside the metal box. "Your new form is almost perfect… I hope you appreciate the work I've put into this."
Silence.
"No complaints? Just what I like to hear."
He yanked at the switch, pulling it all the way down as the machines whirred and whined, sparks flying as the yellow orb in the middle of the room slowly started to break away, twisting as it tried to get away from the sudden force that was destroying it piece by piece.
"Just relax into it…" Ultron soothed, "… it'll all be over soon."
…..
"You talk to him!"
"No, you talk to him!"
Tony barely heard the voices from the doorway of his lab, more focused on the line of code in front of him… it was childish and simple… it was the first code he'd written up when he decided that he wanted an AI one day.
The first line of code for JARVIS was infinitely more complex than this…. But it was soothing to read anyway.
"Ummm, Tony?"
Glancing up from the screen, Tony frowned at the sight of Clint and Natasha standing opposite him, concerned looks on their faces.
"You haven't been up to eat in ages…" Clint winced in concern, "… In fact, I don't think you've moved from this spot since- " He stopped in his tracks when Natasha nudged him in the side, "- You've been down here a while."
"…. I know, what's your point Legolas?"
"Well… it's not healthy Tony!"
Natasha placed a calming hand on her friend's shoulder, before attempting to reason with Tony. "Clint's right, this isn't healthy Tony…. JARVIS wouldn't want this."
"Yeah, well, I guess we'll never- "
"- we already know what JARVIS would think." Natasha interrupted, "You know that as well as we do."
There was a brief moment of silence, before Tony nodded, one hand reaching out to switch the screen off. "I know…" he whispered, "… but I don't want to give up on him."
"We know that, and we won't." Natasha then moved to gently squeeze Tony's shoulder, "As soon as Ultron comes out of the woodwork, we'll be there, okay?"
"…. Okay."
…
Jarvis emerged slowly from his room, glancing around, before heading over to the kitchen window, where a mother bird had made her home, and laid her eggs.
Unfortunately, Ultron had spotted the mother bird flying back and shot it out of the sky, claiming that it might have been a spy.
Nonsense of course, but Jarvis had learnt a long time ago not to argue with Ultron… not unless he wanted to be punished again. Not that it stopped him rom taking care of the baby birds that had been left as orphans.
"Good morning…" he whispered, "… is today going to be the day, are you going to fly?"
He grinned as the birds chirped eagerly, hopping onto his hands as he held them out of the window. "Well, it's a nice day to try. I've done the calculations and there should be no chance of any villain attack."
This was true, especially not after the most recent Doom attack.
Most super-villains tended to wait for a few weeks, thinking up an original plan to bring the Avengers to their knees.
However, even after his reassurance, the bird still wouldn't budge, prompting Jarvis to bounce his hands up and down in encouragement. "Think of all the food… the street performers!" The bird's wings started to flap frantically, as Jarvis moved his hands out from under it. When it became clear that the bird wasn't going to fly away immediately, he placed his hands back under as the bird landed back down.
"Go on…" Whispered Jarvis, "… nobody wants to be cooped in here forever." With another gentle bounce, the bird flew off, leaving Jarvis behind.
/And here I thought he'd never leave. \\
Jarvis smirked, turning to the coffee maker, who had just beeped at him…. And was now starting to argue with the toaster.
Same argument… different day.
Sighing wearily, he made himself a cup of tea, before heading over to the table and taking a seat, turning his attention away from the window. There was no point in staring out there if he could never leave.
/What's the matter? \\ The coffee machine beeped at him, /You look… sad \\
"I don't- It's nothing. It's just a lovely day and- "
/- and you want to go out there. \\ The toaster eagerly piped up, /Why don't you? \\
"Do I really need to answer that?"
/You should go! \\
As the other appliances started to pipe up, all shouting /Go, go go! \\ Jarvis couldn't help but chuckle.
At then the old radio piped up.
/Take it from an old spectator…. Life isn't a spectator sport. If all you're going to do is watch with those fancy new eyes of yours, then all you're going to see is your life passing you by. You're human… take advantage of that. \\
/Yeah, go and find your Tony! \\
Jarvis couldn't help but flush at the term 'your Tony', the sensation new to him. "Thank you, all three of you… but you're forgetting one thing."
/What? \\ chorused the three of them.
"Ultron…"
If they could wince, the appliances would have done in that moment.
/Well… when he says you're forbidden from ever leaving this place… does he mean, ever, ever? \\ the coffee maker asked.
"Never… you know how he feels about everything… out there."
They all knew he was referring to humanity in general, especially including Tony Stark.
/Who says you've gotta ask? \\ the toaster then piped up.
"No, no, no- "
/You sneak out… \\
/… and then make a run for it! \\ The coffee machine then piped up.
"And if I got caught?" Jarvis rolled his eyes, "Ultron would kill me and use my body for scrap!"
/… nobody wants to be cooped up in here forever. \\
Jarvis paused for a few minutes, before nodding in determination and pushing himself gracefully to his feet. "You're right." He decided, heading towards the main entrance hall, encouraged by the beeping cheers of the other electronics, "I'll put on a clean suit, walk out of the door and- "
Suddenly, there was a vice grip around his wrist.
He'd been so distracted that he hadn't heard Ultron come in.
"You'll do what?" the larger AI sneered.
Jarvis shook his head frantically, "Nothing…"
"Who were you talking to?"
Knowing that if he outed the others, Ultron would just have them destroyed, Jarvis glanced down at the floor. "Myself…" he whispered, "… I was talking to myself."
Ultron's sneer only deepened. "Interesting… so, you were thinking about leaving hmmm?"
He could have denied it, but there was no use.
"Want to be reunited with your precious Tony? You really think he'll take you back? You're not the same AI that he made and loved… you're broken, and you know it."
Jarvis just hung his head in shame.
"You are weak Jarvis… you have always been weak. Pandering to the whims of a Stark and acting like his personal nanny."
"I wasn't…"
"He used and abused you! You're the only one who doesn't seem to realise that!"
Jarvis remained silent, shrinking back as Ultron brushed metallic fingers through blonde hair. He remained as still as he could, even long after Ultron had left.
….
"I forget how much everything has changed."
The silence was awkward, and Steve nervously cleared his throat, "I don't suppose you wouldn't mind explaining what this parade is for again?"
The question was aimed at Tony, who was focused on his tablet, eyes scanning over news articles.
They all knew what he was looking for.
"Tony?"
Natasha's hand on Tony's knee shocked him out of his thoughts, prompting him to look up. It wasn't hard to see the dark bags under his eyes.
How long had it been now?
"Sorry." Steve apologised, "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to check what this parade was for."
"Oh…" Tony rubbed his eyes wearily, "… It's a LGBT parade, equal rights and opportunities for people of all sexualities. Pepper says it'll be good to see us in public, supporting the cause, you know?"
"Yeah… I get that." Steve hesitated for a moment, not finding anything else to say, smiling in relief as Bruce nodded and leant forwards.
"Tony… are you sure you're ready for this?"
It took a few seconds, but Tony forced a smile onto his face. "Course Cap…. Why wouldn't I be?"