Chapter 3 –
The remaining flight from Siberia to the Compound was filled with awkward silence for the most part. The partition separating Tony and Elio stayed up for most of the flight, only lowering fifteen minutes before they landed so Tony could announce how far they were from the Compound and so he could check that no one had killed anyone else and that the four from another dimension were still as okay as could be expected. Ed noted how Steve didn't seem to be able to look at Tony, merely offering a quiet thanks once Tony had given the information. The sandhill crane next to Steve was giving his human a comforting but unsympathetic look as Tony spoke.
"Landing should be smooth but don't be alarmed if you're jolted when we land and don't get out of your seats until you hear the engines power down," Tony instructed Ed, Mustang, and their Animals, all of whom nodded dutifully.
With that said, Tony turned the pilot's seat so he was facing the front again and the quinjet fell back into silence. Ed didn't bother trying to strike up any kind of conversation. After the others' Animals were introduced and attempts at small talk were shut down by Ed or mostly ignored by Mustang, there'd been no talking between the Amestrians and Americans. Mustang had used the silence and Ed's bond with Nala to check on how the blonde was going, what with his bonds all but disappearing and the whole being dragged from Amestris into another dimension thing that had happened. Ed would never admit so aloud but he was glad that Mustang and Nala were there and that Mustang checking up on him, even if it was via Nala. He didn't know how he'd be dealing with this if Strange had tossed Nala and Mustang back through the portal and kept Ed and Ayala on this side.
The several hours it took for them to get from Siberia to New York had given Ed the chance to finish processing everything though and while he could feel the panic attacks he'd held off so far itching just under his skin, waiting for his hold over them to break, he had come to terms with what had happened. He may not have yet fully processed the magic side of things but he was ignoring that for now. That could wait until he was sure that learning magic didn't exist just in fantasy novels wouldn't be what broke his resolve to not have a breakdown in front of everyone. He felt both Nala and Ayala press comfortingly against his bonds with them and knew Nala was doing the same for Mustang. A glance at the man showed no signs of anything breaking through his neutral mask but Ed was willing to bet that Mustang was in pretty much a similar internal struggle as Ed was.
"Are you still doing alright?" Ed asked Ayala, deciding that he didn't need to check on Mustang right now considering they had only checked in with each other a couple of hours ago.
"I think I'm still doing alright," Ayala assured him, leaning as much as she could into his side while she looked up at him, her eyes warm. "I'm not even going to bother asking how you're going since I can feel it and don't feel like giving you the chance to try lying to me in order to put on a brave face," she told him, earning a slight eyeroll from Ed in response.
"Rude," Ed said, flicking her ear lightly as he refused to acknowledge that she was absolutely right in her assumptions.
"You love me nonetheless," the wolf sing-songed confidently. Ed knew the only reason she wasn't grinning up at him was because she was still too busy keeping an eye on those in the quinjet just in case they decided to launch an attack after lulling them into a false sense of security the last few hours.
A soft hoot from Kim had Ed's eyes flick over to the owl sitting on Strange's lap. The sorcerer nodded at her before he stroked a scarred and slightly trembling hand down her back, much in the same way Soren enjoyed being petted. Timothy ruffling his feathers had Ed's eyes on the crane and his partner just before the quinjet seemed to slow down and start going into a controlled fall. Ed wasn't ashamed to admit that every muscle in his body was once again tense or that the only thing that stopped him from gripping Ayala's fur as tightly as he was gripping one of the straps holding him into the seat was the payback Ayala would get later. Mustang and Nala didn't look as relaxed as Ed knew both would've preferred but despite their obvious nervousness, no one's attention was on them. Steve and Timothy seemed to be focused on Barnes and Zima while Strange and Kim seemed more focused on themselves and the landing than anything else.
As Tony had warned them, there was a sudden but relatively gentle jolt as the quinjet landed, causing Ed's grip on the strap to tighten to the point where he was glad he was holding onto it with his left hand so he didn't have to explain why or how the strap was broken. Though he had the sudden urge to release himself and Ayala and alchemise his way off the jet, Ed heeded Tony's warnings and stayed in his seat until the noise of the engines started lessening. Even then, he didn't start unclipping himself until he noticed Steve was detaching the harness around Timothy. Moving quickly, Ed had Ayala free of her harness, just in case of an opportunistic attack before he worked on his own. Thankfully, unclipping it was a lot easier than clipping it in the first place so he was out of his seat just as Ayala finished shaking herself free of the feeling of the harness.
He felt a slight nudge under his hand and knew without looking that it was Nala checking on him. He scratched her lightly in between her ears before letting her move away from him. He could feel Mustang standing a little closer than he ordinarily would've while in the presence of anyone who wasn't part of the team, a Hughes, Al, or their Animals but Ed didn't question it. He knew why his boss was all but hovering and he wasn't going to argue against it like he would've back home. After all, the only image they had to maintain here was that the four of them weren't to be messed with and by having Mustang, Nala, and Ayala stick close by him, Ed knew they were giving off the impression that they were a formidable team.
The sound of something heavy moving had Ed's attention snapping immediately towards the armour, which was now walking itself towards the back of the quinjet. Ed couldn't help his reaction of moving a couple of steps backwards, almost bumping his seat with the back of his knees as the armour – its eyes lit up blue once more – walked by. "FRIDAY's taken control of the armour for me so she can pull it back to my workshop," Tony explained, causing Ed's eyes to flick towards him as the goateed man and his dingo joined the group. "Saves me doing it right away," he added casually just as the ramp started lowering.
Ed really wanted to ask who this Friday girl was since he hadn't seen her yet but refrained from doing so right away. He could always ask later after all. He winced when he found himself automatically seeking out both Chester and Al only to be harshly reminded that he couldn't speak with either of them. He tried hiding the small gasp he made when he found that block on his and Chester's bonds but he knew from Mustang's look and the worry he felt from the two Animals he still had completely intact bonds with that he hadn't hidden it that well. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice or weren't inclined to act like they'd heard him as they headed down the ramp. A nudge from Ayala had Ed doing the same thing, walking close by to Mustang and Nala as they descended the ramp.
Ed blinked at the brightness of the sunlight, forcing his eyes to adjust quickly and took in his first look at the Compound. There was a large building in front of them, connected to the bitumen area the quinjet was sitting on by a path. The building itself didn't sit completely on the bitumen-turned-concrete but rather it sat mostly on impressive support pillars with the entrance of the building sitting on the concrete. There was a couple of cars parked just under the building and Ed spied a roundabout near them that seemed to lead to another road. Ed stayed with the group as they walked but he took in everything he could. Aside from the five-story building in front of him, there was a large but flat structure behind the quinjet with another five buildings at least that Ed saw to the left of the quinjet but across a clearing. He glimpsed more structures behind the actual Compound itself, with one that looked like it backed right up onto the huge river the Compound and other buildings were constructed near. A lush, thick wooded area surrounded the buildings and though Ed couldn't see any signs of a fence, he was willing to bet that there was an extremely impressive one marking the boundary of the property.
The group walked under the building, heading for the entrance and Ed's attention moved to the four bonded pairs in front of him. It was obvious from the way Tony and Elio were holding themselves away from everyone else that there was still a large amount of tension between them. Ed figured part of the tension between Strange and Stark was simply because they didn't know each other and that the tension between Stark and the other two was because of the lie Tony accused Rogers of telling him but the anger Ed could see Tony barely keeping in check seemed to be caused by more than a simple lie. He was curious but wasn't about to ask for the details since this tension would hopefully help Mustang, the Animals, and himself if something happened and they needed to make a break for it.
"Welcome home, Boss," the female, accented voice from the quinjet sounded suddenly from the ceiling, causing Ed, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala to flinch as the automatic doors closed behind them.
"Thanks, Fri. How's everything going?" Tony asked, leading everyone through the entrance and into one of the elevators Ed could see in the lobby of the building. There were a few plush, leather couches and armchairs around a couple of tables, as well as a water cooler and tea/coffee station off to the side and a desk towards the back of the entrance that Ed assumed would normally have someone sitting behind it to greet people but was empty right now.
"Everything's proceeding as expected, Boss," FRIDAY reported. "The revelation of Ross giving his team different orders to what he was given has forced our government and the UN to look through everything Ross had a hand in with a fine-toothed comb, which is keeping them from looking too closely at Rogers, Barnes and the rest of their little team for the moment." Ed didn't think he was imagining the slight sneer in FRIDAY's tone, which only intrigued him even more. "I've taken the liberty of having the Avengers' lawyers start working on their case so you won't have to do much more than present it to the Accords Council and UN, if that's still your plan, Boss. I've also been in touch with King T'Challa and can report that Helmut Zemo and his Animal was dropped off to a UN facility as promised and has been processed and arrested for his actions. The UN has taken the time to request any footage you have, Boss, of Zemo's confession and have provided the email address of the person in charge of his case for you to send it to at your convenience," she continued. "Oh, and I've arranged for three rooms to be readied for our guests, Boss," FRIDAY added, her tone a bit lighter now.
"Excellent job, FRIDAY," Tony praised easily as they ascended to level three, according to the red numbers above the door. "Send anything I need to read down to the workshop. I'll be heading down there shortly," he instructed before Ed saw him glimpse at Steve and Barnes just as the elevator doors opened. "On second thought, FRI, send it to the tablet in whichever conference room you choose. Rogers and Barnes might as well read their case and have an opinion on it. Maybe reading through it all will open at least one of their eyes to how the world views the Avengers right now," he said, a hint of a snarl in his voice. Even though he was continuing this conversation, Tony hadn't missed a beat and was now leading the group into the room the elevator doors had opened to.
"Conference room 3 will be waiting for you, Boss," FRIDAY replied quickly, cutting off anything Steve or Barnes might've said in their defense, though Ed didn't think that Barnes would've been the one to speak up since he was too busy carefully taking in everything around them, just like Ed was. Much like the entrance area downstairs, this one held plush, comfortable looking couches that faced a huge, flat, black object that hung up on the wall to the elevator's right. There was a coffee table made of dark wood and a glass top sitting in the middle of the couches, covered in some items that Ed had some trouble identifying. He could see two doors on either side of the room that obviously led to somewhere else, leaving the elevator as the third and only sure-fire exit Ed knew. "Also, the other occupants of the Compound are on their way towards you, Boss," FRIDAY told them.
"Perfect. Saves me the hassle of asking you to send them here," Tony said. "Thanks, Fri hun. Can you contact Pepper and let her know that I'm back and that I want to speak to her once I've dealt with Barnes' and Rogers' situation as much as I can right now?" he asked her.
"Of course, Boss. I'll let you know her response as soon as I can," FRIDAY promised just as three people and two Animals made their way into the room.
Ed took in them all as they headed straight for the group. There were two men and one woman but one of the men had red skin and a yellow stone seemingly embedded in his forehead, causing Ed to do a doubletake of him. As if that weren't strange enough, Ed couldn't see any Animal with him and Ayala was only picking up the scent of two new Animals. The other man was of average height but obviously in shape with short brunette hair and intense blue eyes flicking between everyone in the room, taking stock of the strangers. He had a medium-sized bird of prey – some sort of hawk or kite, if Ed had to guess – perched on his shoulder, its deep brown feathers gleaming lightly as the light hit them. The only woman amongst them was petitely built, had brown eyes and long brunette hair that fell almost all the way to her waist. Her eyes were looking worriedly between everyone and her Animal – a little dormouse – was also perched on her shoulder, peeking out from behind her hair. All three of them took a few moments to take in the strangers, not even blinking at Strange's robes and cape which told Ed a lot about the level of weird they were used to, before their attention was back on the people they knew.
"Steve? Tony? What happened?" the woman was the first to speak and once again Ed could hear an accent he couldn't identify. Ed noted that even though she addressed both of them with concern, her eyes mainly lingered on Steve. "We heard Sam was arrested alongside someone else and that Colonel Rhodes is in hospital," she said.
"Clint, why are you here? I thought you were retired and on holidays with your family," Tony asked, looking slightly bewildered at the presence of the man with the black kite on his shoulder. Tony winced as he seemed to have realised he'd essentially ignored the woman and glanced at her apologetically. "Sorry, Wanda. Didn't mean to ignore you," he apologised. The brunette-haired woman inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment of the apology. "To answer your questions, yes, Colonel Rhodes is in hospital. I haven't spoken to his doctors at length yet but he'll be fine and, yes, Sam and another man were arrested at the airport when Rhodey was injured however I've already got lawyers working for them," Tony told her before he turned his attention back to Clint.
"Cap called me," Clint told Tony, obviously not needing Tony to repeat himself. "Told me that the world was in danger and that he needed me to grab Wanda and meet him in Germany but I got a whole different story from Wanda and Vision when I got here. Obviously, I chose not to go to Germany but figured I'd stick around long enough to find out why the hell I was told the world was in danger when it clearly wasn't," Clint said, eyes flashing angrily at Steve. "But first, I gotta know who the hell those six are," he said, waving a hand at the Amestrians, the sorcerer, and their Animals.
"Right," Tony said, obviously wanting to skip the introductions to get more details from Clint. "Well, it's a bit of a long story but essentially, the owl is Kim and she is the Animal of Doctor Stephen Strange, who is the Sorcerer Supreme and kidnapper of the others who are Brigadier-General Roy Mustang, his lion, Nala, and Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Elric and his wolf, Ayala," he told them. Strange's face flickered with annoyance but didn't dare dispute Tony's words.
"If I may ask, Tony," the red-skinned man said placidly, though his eyes were watching Strange a touch warily, "but why are we hosting a kidnapper and his kidnapping victims?"
"Good question, Vision, and one that they can answer for themselves but Rogers, Barnes, and I have a date in conference room 3 with a lot of legal paperwork to read through," Tony told him. "You're welcome to ask them but if at least one of you could give them the tour of the Compound after you introduce yourselves properly, that would be amazing," Tony said.
"I can do it," Vision agreed amicably.
"Thanks, Vis," Tony said, giving the red-skinned man a grateful smile before he turned to Steve and Barnes, the smile falling. "Let's go. The quicker we get through this, the sooner we can start trying to get deals organised for you. Again," Tony said, a hint of a growl in his voice that dared them to try and argue with him.
Neither took him up on that challenge and both they and their Animals moved to follow Tony and Elio through another set of doors, these ones looking more like elevator doors to Ed and he was proven right when they opened to show the inside of an elevator car. Clint looked like he was going to say something but a shake of the head and a whispered, "later, Clint," from Steve had the brunette man closing his mouth with a terse nod. For a few moments, no one seemed to want to be the first one to break the silence until Clint decided to take the plunge half a second after the elevator doors closed on the small group in it.
"Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye," the man said before he gestured to his Animal. "This is Ronin, my black kite," he added, introducing the bird. The bird's brown feathers were speckled with white and he clicked his sharp, yellow, black-tipped beak in greeting. His dark eyes were watching them all keenly, taking in every shift or twitch.
"Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch," Wanda said, giving them a small wave in greeting. "My Animal's name is Aleks," she said, moving her hair slightly so the little dormouse was a bit more visible to everyone. The dormouse raised a small paw as he waved to the group, nose twitching as he took in their scents and beady eyes flicking to take in what he could.
"Vision," was all the red-skinned man said.
"As Doctor Stark already said, I am Doctor Stephen Strange, former neurosurgeon and now Sorcerer Supreme. My Animal is Kim," Strange said, tone and expression somewhat bored.
"Brigadier-General Roy Mustang and my Animal, Nala," Mustang said, following Strange's cue before he glanced at Ed pointedly.
"Ed Elric. This is Ayala," Ed said, gesturing to his wolf, who he knew was doing her best to unnerve the others by watching them unblinkingly.
"Pleasure to meet you all," Vision said politely, seemingly unphased by Ayala's attempts to bore into him with her golden eyes. "If you would like to follow me, I'll give you the tour of the Compound now," he said, gesturing for them to do as he suggested.
Ed almost hesitated to follow Vision but decided a tour was for the best. Izumi had drilled it into him, Al, and Ayala – then later Chester – to know everything they could about their surroundings. Knowing the Compound, even just its bare layout, would help him and Ayala if they needed to get out of the building quickly for any reason. "Are you picking anything up on that man yet?" Ed silently asked Ayala as the group left Clint, Wanda, and their Animals in the room.
"No, nothing yet," Ayala told him. "The only Animals I can smell on him are the ones we've been introduced to and he definitely doesn't smell human. There's a scent there that reminds me a little of the sorcerer but I'm mainly getting some kind of metal," she reported.
Ed felt his intrigue increase with Ayala's report as Vision led them through the doors on the right of the room Ed had spied to show them the large kitchen connected to the common room, as Vision had labelled the room they'd just left. "As guests of the Compound, you are welcome to use anything the Compound provides and enter any room, with the exceptions of private quarters and Tony's workshop unless you have permission from those the rooms belong to. The same will apply to your private quarters. No one will be permitted to enter unless you have given your permission or there is an emergency," Vision told them after he'd pointed out everything in the kitchen.
Ed's attention had been on the overly complicated looking coffee machine but he gave it back to Vision. "What counts as an emergency?" he asked, trying to keep his suspicion out of his tone.
"If there is a fire that can't be contained and FRIDAY is unable to reach you for whatever reason or if FRIDAY reports that you are in need of urgent medical attention are the two likeliest reasons someone would enter someone else's private quarters without their permission," Vision told him. "Another would be if there was an intruder or intruders in the Compound and FRIDAY was either offline or ordered by an Avenger to remain quiet or speak only through our communication units. If you did not have yours in and was unable to be alerted to the danger by FRIDAY, someone may enter your private quarters to alert you to the trouble," he added.
"Is that likely to happen?" Mustang asked immediately.
"No, it is a very unlikely event," Vision assured him. "Not only would FRIDAY's security pick up on any intruder long before they entered the perimeter fence, let alone the Compound, and would also likely keep the intruders outside of it but I believe your Animals would alert you to the danger themselves if FRIDAY was somehow taken offline or her security systems were circumvented," Vision informed him, leading them away from the kitchen.
"Her security is that good?" Mustang asked, unable to completely hide his surprise and disbelief.
Vision either didn't notice the latter or he decided to ignore it as he nodded. "Indeed. She's in charge of security that is far superior than most on Earth. Not only that but she is far more technologically advanced than anything this world has seen so far," Vision told them.
"Wait, what do you mean by that? Is she, like, armed with a ton of weapons or something?" Ed asked, a frown on his face.
Vision came to a stop in the middle of the hallway they were walking down. "Have you not been introduced to FRIDAY yet?" he asked, sounding shocked at the very thought.
"Not technically. All we've heard is her voice," Ed told him.
"I am surprised to hear that. Normally Tony introduces her straight away," Vision said, sounding like he almost wasn't sure how exactly he was feeling. "I also owe you an apology, FRIDAY. I should've ensured they'd been introduced to you," Vision said, speaking seemingly to no one.
"There is no need for an apology, Vision. You had naturally assumed Boss had introduced me. There was no reason for you to ask if he had," FRIDAY said, speaking from the ceiling once more. Ed had to wonder whether she was using a PA system like Father Cornello had, though he couldn't see any speakers anywhere. "I'm sure Boss would've introduced me soon enough. He does have quite a lot on his plate right now so I think I can forgive him this once for his lapse," she added, tone light.
Vision inclined his head, causing Ed to look around for cameras since there was no other way for FRIDAY to see the gesture. "Very well, FRIDAY. Please let me correct this error though," Vision said as he faced the group. "FRIDAY is an A.I. built by Tony Stark who is installed in this building. She has no physical body like you or I do but she is integral to our team and our safety. FRIDAY oversees the everyday needs of the Compound and those that reside in it, as well as our security and well-being. She has cameras installed in every room bar the bathrooms or the showers in the training section of the compound, though she does have speakers in those rooms in case she needs to speak with you or vice versa. She oversees everything to do with the Compound and is always available to everyone within it. All one must do to ask her something is just speak aloud. She'll hear you and will assist in any way she can," Vision explained.
"Aw, Vision, I think that's the nicest introduction anyone's given of me," FRIDAY piped up. "Vision forgot to mention that I'm installed in Boss' suit and aide him in his battles as well as assist those fighting alongside Boss by integrating myself into the enemy's technological systems and gathering information," FRIDAY said, her tone proud.
"As I said: she is integral to our team," Vision said, giving the ceiling a small but fond smile. "Was that explanation satisfactory or do you require more information?" he enquired of the group.
"Yeah, what the hell is an A.I.?" Ed asked before anyone else could say anything.
Mustang elbowed him in the side, causing Ed to snarl at him, but Vision looked unperturbed by Ed's bluntness. "My apologies, I had assumed you knew what an A.I. was. Most developed countries do," Vision explained. "To answer your question, A.I. stands for "artificial intelligence". FRIDAY is an artificial intelligence, or highly advanced computer program, if you want to break it down into layman's terms. She is a learning A.I. which means that with every interaction from someone, she expands on her programming and is able to apply that experience to other situations," Vision told them.
Both Ed and Mustang stayed silent after Vision's explanation, both stunned by what they'd heard. Even their Animals didn't have anything to say in response to that but Strange certainly did. "She's a learning A.I.?" he asked, voice as awed as Ed thought it was likely to sound.
"Indeed. From what I understand, she is the second youngest learning A.I. Tony's built. The youngest is KAREN, whose primary directives are protecting and assisting Spider-Man," Vision said.
"Fascinating. I didn't know anyone had successfully constructed a learning A.I. as sophisticated and advanced as FRIDAY," the sorcerer said, certainly looking overly impressed.
"That's because no one has. Boss is the leading expert on all types of A.I. and as far as we know, the only one to successfully create an A.I. like myself," FRIDAY boasted before Vision could say anything.
"Indeed he is," Vision agreed, a small smile on his face. "I'm sure FRIDAY will be happy to answer any further questions relating to A.I. and Tony's ability to create them at a later date but there is much to the Compound and I think it would be for the best if we continued with the tour," he suggested.
With no one raising any arguments against Vision's suggestion, he moved them through the hallway, pointing out rooms as he went and allowing them to enter the ones that weren't private quarters so they could see them for themselves. On the third level of the building, Ed was shown the common room, the kitchens, the dining room that the team utilised at least once a week for team dinners, twelve living quarters with each having their own bathroom and walk-in wardrobe – though at the moment only seven of them were in permanent use so Vision was able to show them the inside of one of the unused ones – as well as rooms built with different types of entertainment in mind. Vision showed them ones that held several board and other such games, one that held another large, flat, black object on the wall that Vision called a "television" and was connected to "gaming consoles" and had a huge, deep, ultra-comfortable looking black leather couch with its back to the left wall facing the television. There were shelves lined on the wall directly opposite the door filled with what Vision had called the games for the consoles.
Ed could feel himself becoming slowly more overwhelmed with the complete alienness of everything in the room until he was sure that he was going to have the breakdown his mind had been promising him ever since Strange opened that portal or Ayala and/or Nala would be forced to bring him down but thankfully Vision had decided to move the tour along before either of those situations could happen. The next room they'd been shown was more Ed's speed and he found himself itching to get ahold of any of the hundreds of books lining the shelves of the rather expansive library that must've taken up a good quarter of the floor they were on. Vision's words of how they'd be welcome to spend their free time in any of the entertainment rooms had Ed seriously considering whether anyone would notice him moving a blanket and pillow into the library.
"Good to know this whole thing hasn't changed your reaction to new books," Ayala teased as Vision ended the tour of the third level and led them to another elevator to continue the tour on another level.
"That library is probably the only room that hasn't made me almost lose my hold on my impending panic attack so hush up you," Ed grumbled back, pretending to be annoyed with his wolf. He couldn't stop the little huff of amusement nor the slight upwards twitch of his lips when Ayala nudged up under his flesh hand as a show of solidarity. He knew she and Nala were as close to freaking out about this whole thing as he was and he was willing to bet that Mustang was as well.
Nothing more was said between them as they made their way up to the fourth and highest floor – where the laboratories and medical wing was held, according to Vision – and followed the red-skinned man as he showed them the floor. Unlike the third floor, this one had more people and Animals on it – though none of them paid the visitors more attention than a cursory glance – and they weren't allowed into the labs to look around as Vision cited safety and confidentiality reasons. The medical wing had Ed on edge a little more than he had been but only because he was just waiting for Mustang to bring up his injuries and agreement to have someone in the medical wing look at them and perform tests on the pair of them but Mustang kept his mouth shut, leaving Ed to wonder whether his boss was waiting until the end of the tour to make Ed get stitched up.
As the group moved to the elevator once more to go down to the second level and tour it, Ed decided to ask one of the many questions that had been burning inside of him. "Is your Animal shy or something? Is that why we haven't met it?" he asked Vision bluntly.
Mustang earned himself a snarl and an elbow to the ribs when he lightly smacked Ed upside the head before Vision could answer. "I could've sworn you were old enough to have been taught manners, Fullmetal. You don't ask about someone's Animal like that," Mustang chided him, glaring at the blonde as he resisted the urge to rub his smarting ribs.
"I'm curious. Sue me," Ed snapped as he heard both Nala and Ayala sigh in his mind.
"I don't mind the question, Brigadier-General Mustang," Vision assured him before he turned to Ed. "To answer your question, I don't have an Animal," he told him. He must've seen the way Ed's face fell and assumed – correctly – that Ed had concluded that his Animal had passed away because he was quick to say, "I'm not human so I wasn't born with an Animal in the first place."
The elevator let out a small ding as it reached the level Vision had pressed the button for and they walked out of it as Ed asked, "but if you're not human, what are you?" Mustang gave another sigh at Ed's lack of manners but Ed ignored him.
"I'm a zynthezoid," Vision said. They weren't further than a couple of metres into the new room but it seemed as though Vision was pausing the tour to answer the questions he knew everyone would have. "My existence came about because of an unfortunate set of circumstances but my body is a made from vibranium – a very rare type of metal – and synthetic skin while my personality, my being, is made up from a mixture of JARVIS, one of Tony's A.I.s, Ultron, and this," he said, pointing to the yellow stone sitting snuggly in the centre of his forehead.
"That's the Mind Stone, is it not?" Strange asked, eyes fixed on the stone.
"Indeed it is," Vision confirmed. "Ultron had planned to utilise it in order to destroy humanity but Tony, Doctor Banner, and Thor managed to prevent Ultron from uploading himself into this body by hijacking it and uploading a version of JARVIS's coding into it instead. Captain Rogers very nearly prevented me from coming online by attacking Tony and Doctor Banner but Thor arrived in time and it was with his blessing that I was born," Vision revealed. "I woke up but was confused about everything around me. It took me a couple of minutes to get used to being alive and who everyone was and what was happening but I ended up aiding the Avengers in the fight against Ultron and helped destroy him," Vision told them.
"Why'd Rogers attack Stark?" Ed asked, frowning slightly. Even though he knew that Stark was pissed at Rogers for some unknown reason at the moment, they were teammates, which meant there would have to be an exceptional reason for one of them to attack the other.
Vision looked conflicted for a moment before he decided on what to say. "You'll likely find all of this out if you're staying with us for any amount of time, as I assume you are, so I may as well tell you," Vision said. "Ultron was originally meant to be an A.I. that Tony built to act as a shield around the world to protect humanity from anything like the events of 2012 happening again. However, the day before Ultron came to be, the team were in Sokovia to search for a scepter used in the 2012 attack by our enemy and had since fallen into the hands of another enemy. They located the scepter and Tony went in to retrieve it while the others fought the enemies. While Tony was inside the base, he says he found a secret entrance that led to a room filled with the tech and remains of the enemy from 2012, including the scepter. Just as he went to take it, he told us he had a vision of the enemy returning to Earth and the rest of the Avengers at his feet, dead or dying, and accusing him of not doing enough to protect them and Earth," Vision said, his voice soft and filled with empathy for Stark.
"He told us that this vision filled him with such dread and fear that he couldn't not take the scepter and ask Thor for permission to run some tests on it. When Thor granted his permission, Tony and Doctor Banner hooked the scepter up to some equipment and started running the tests on it. He and Doctor Banner were looking for a way to integrate the scepter into Tony's Ultron program to see if it could be used to bring the program online as all of their initial tests revealed that his A.I. program was nowhere near ready for an interface, meaning it couldn't be brought online to work," Vision revealed. "However, Tony discovered an A.I. like being within the scepter and left it with JARVIS so the older A.I. could keep an eye on the scepter and the A.I. like thing in it."
"It was the Mind Stone, wasn't it?" Strange asked, interrupting Vision.
The zynthezoid nodded. "That being destroyed JARVIS and took over one of the Iron Legion and adopted the name Ultron after it had uploaded itself into the internet. It took the original ULTRON's base protocol – to save and protect humanity – and twisted it, deciding that the best thing it could do to protect humanity was destroy it, saving humans from themselves. Ultron attacked the Avengers before he took off to find materials for a more suitable body," Vision said. "Everyone blamed Tony for Ultron coming online, claiming that he shouldn't have been messing around with things he didn't understand but Elio and Tony both pointed out they had permission from the one being who was able to give it to them and that it was only due to Thor showing off earlier and creating a surge of electricity that made it possible for Ultron to destroy JARVIS and upload himself into the Iron Legion soldier," Vision told them.
"The Avengers banded together to prevent Ultron from stealing vibranium but lost the fight when Wanda and her brother, Pietro, revealed themselves to be on Ultron's side as they thought he would give them their opportunity to exact their revenge against Tony. Wanda used her mind control powers against most of the Avengers and to send the Hulk – that is Doctor Banner's alter ego – loose on a nearby town, forcing Tony to abandon the fight against Ultron so he could stop the Hulk and allowing Ultron the opportunity to escape," Vision went on to say. "Unbeknownst to the Avengers, Ultron decided to go after a renowned doctor, Doctor Helen Cho, in order to force her under his control so he could use her propriety technology, the Cradle, in order to build his ultimate body and upload himself into it. Wanda used her powers to read Ultron's mind and realised that his plan of wiping out humanity included herself and her brother. In order to protect themselves, Wanda and Pietro went to the Avengers and found Captain Rogers to explain what was happening to him. Captain Rogers, Natasha, and Clint fought against Ultron and though they managed to take the body away from Ultron, he managed to kidnap Natasha," Vison told them.
"Captain Rogers then found Tony and Doctor Banner working on Ultron's perfect body and uploading what remained of JARVIS into it. Wanda said something – though I've never been told what, only that it wasn't favourable about Tony – and Captain Rogers attacked Tony because of it and to prevent the upload. As I mentioned, Thor gave me his blessing which was how I was born and that happened while Tony and Captain Rogers fought," Vision informed them. "I was born and when everyone was sure I wasn't likely to side with Ultron, we moved to fight him. It wasn't an awfully lengthy battle but it was a hard one with lots of risks for mass fatality but we ended up rescuing Natasha and saved the world from Ultron with the help of Colonel Rhodes and the aide of the rebuilt SHIELD. Unfortunately, we were unable to avoid fatalities and we lost Pietro to one of Ultron's attacks and Doctor Banner – as the Hulk – fled the scene, likely due to Wanda's previous actions against him," Vision told them, voice turning saddened. "We have not seen Doctor Banner or the Hulk since and I know that Tony has been searching diligently for him."
Ed was fairly certain that his mouth was gaping open and had been slowly widening with everything Vision said. A lot of what the zynthezoid had said made no sense to him and he felt like there were details missing from that report but quite frankly he wasn't about to demand them because he was certain they wouldn't help make the story make more sense to him. Strange was the only human out of the three of them that looked entirely unperturbed by the story and therefore was the first to speak once Vision had stopped. "If you don't mind me asking but what do you know of the Stone in your forehead?"
Ed tuned out Vision's answer as he fought to make sense of what he'd just been told. The one thing his mind was stuck on was Wanda. She'd been an enemy of the people who lived in this building and now she wasn't and from what Ed understood, the only reason she'd switched sides was because she and her brother would've been killed alongside the rest of humanity if Ultron had succeeded. He knew there was information he was missing to make the decision for the Avengers to allow Wanda onto their team despite her previous actions against them make sense but right now all he could think was that there was someone upstairs who had the potential to read his mind – something he had never faced in any capacity before – and who had previously been an enemy to the person who was giving him, Mustang, and their Animals somewhere to stay. If he hadn't felt on edge about being in this building, he certainly would've after learning that.
Ed felt a slight nudge to his left upper arm and looked over to find Mustang giving him a slightly concerned look, his eyes flickering with concern for a moment before he hid it once more now that Ed had noticed. He could also feel Nala's and Ayala's concern and forced himself to let out a deep breath, trying to make himself relax a little more. He gave Mustang a nod, not wanting to voice his reassurance so that Strange, Vision, and Kim wouldn't realise there was something wrong, but he did say, "I'm fine. Just needed to process everything Vision said," through his bond with the Animals. He knew Nala would pass his words onto Mustang and he made no move to try and prevent her. Mustang gave a slight nod before his attention was back on Strange and Vision, neither of whom had seemed to notice something was potentially wrong.
"If you would be amicable, I would like for you to join me when I return to Kamar Taj so that myself and the other Masters could have the chance to study the Stone, see it in action, and possibly ward it against those who might wish to take it from you," Strange offered.
Vision inclined his head after a few moments of thought. "As you have said there is a tyrant on his way to Earth in order to procure the Stones for his own use, I believe it would be for the good of the planet if I took you up on your offer," Vision said. "I will, of course, need to ensure that Tony and Captain Rogers do not require me to be here in order to assist them with other duties but I can't imagine that they will argue against me going if they have no reason for me to stay," Vision added.
Strange nodded in acceptance of his terms. "If an emergency arose while you were at Kamar Taj, myself or another sorcerer would be quite capable of opening a portal for you to use in order to aid the rest of the Avengers," he told him.
"I'll be sure to pass that message along to Tony and Captain Rogers when I speak with them," Vision promised before he glanced at Ed, Mustang, and their Animals. "Forgive me. I seemed to have neglected the tour in favour for the conversation with Doctor Strange. Shall we continue or do you have more questions?" Vision asked the four of them.
Ed shook his head when Mustang looked over to him to silently ask him the same question. "No, we have no more questions for the moment," Mustang told the zynthezoid.
"Very well. Of course, should you have any questions during the tour, please feel free to ask them and I shall endeavour to answer them as best I can," Vision said, getting six nods of agreement before he led them further into the room they were standing in. "Now this level has been designed for guests who may stay at the Compound. Though fitted with similar amenities as the Avengers level, such as a kitchen, entertainment area, and dining room, this floor is used primarily by those who plan to stay in the Compound for a short stay, anywhere from a single night to a week or so, I believe. The rooms vary in sizes, from large enough for a single person to use comfortably to a small suite with multiple bedrooms for a family to stay in. It was designed with the Barton family in mind if I remember correctly," Vision told them.
"Barton family? Any relation to the Barton we meet upstairs?" Mustang asked. Though his tone betrayed nothing more than idle curiousity, Ed knew what his commanding officer was doing and that was gather all possible information on a potential ally or potential enemy.
Vision gave a nod, seemingly buying into the tone Mustang had used. "Yes. His wife and three children," Vision answered. "Of course, with Clint retired, his family has no reason to visit the Compound unless it's for a small vacation but the rooms are still there for them or any other family to use, should they need it," Vision continued as he led them through the common room – set up similarly to the one upstairs but was obviously not used as much as the other one – and through the kitchen so he could show them the living spaces.
Much like the Avengers level, this level held multiple living quarters, all with the same attached bathroom and walk-in wardrobes – albeit smaller – and a couple of rooms designed with relaxation and entertainment in mind. This level didn't have a library as expansive as the other one nor a gaming room as large as the other one but it did have a small room similar to each that a guest could use. It also held a small laundry, fitted with half a dozen washing machines and dryers for the guests to use if they didn't want to wait for the cleaning staff to gather their washing, as explained by Vision.
Before they could move on to whatever Vision wanted to show them next, movement caught Ed's eye. "What the fuck was that?" he hissed out, glaring suspiciously at Strange and Kim, both of whom looked as shocked as everyone else was.
"Ed?" both Nala and Ayala asked cautiously, telling Ed that he had likely been the only one to notice the fact that Strange's cloak had inexplicably moved in a room where there was no breeze and its wearer was stationary at the time.
"Fullmetal, what's wrong?" Mustang asked, voice a murmur as he stood close to Ed's side so he wouldn't be overheard by everyone else.
Vision was watching them with a politely perplexed look that Ed ignored as he continued watching Strange's cloak avidly. "His cloak moved, Mustang," Ed told him, not moving his eyes from it despite the urge to do so. "There's no breeze and he didn't move so there's no logical reason for it moving but I know it did," he told his commanding officer, tone edging into pleading territory.
He heard Mustang sigh and felt the confusion from the Animals but before any of them could try and convince Ed he was just seeing something, Strange made a small noise. "Ah, I seem to have neglected an introduction," he said casually. "This," he ran a hand over a fold of his cloak, "is the Cloak of Levitation. It's an ancient magical artifact and is, in fact, sentient," he told them.
Even though he had just seen it move, Ed snorted at the idea of a cloak being sentient. "Bullsh-" he cut himself off with a choked gasp when the corner of the cloak lifted without explanation and waved at them all.
Ed knew his eyes had grown wider than saucers but he couldn't help it as the Cloak of Levitation somehow waved at them while Strange's hands remained visibly at his side. He would've accused Strange of performing some sort of magic trick to try and play a joke on them but when Vision exclaimed a soft, "intriguing!" at the Cloak, it lifted itself off Strange's shoulders and flew towards the zynthezoid to allow him to examine it more closely.
"What the fuck?" Ed repeated as he watched the scene in front of him, feeling his tenuous grip on his sanity crumbling the longer he went without an explanation for this scene that wasn't "magic".
"You're alright, Ed. There'll be an explanation for this," Ayala was quick to assure him and Ed felt himself let out a shaky breath as he fought down his emotions once more.
"The Cloak of Levitation is an ancient, sentient, magical artifact," Strange repeated as the Cloak continued to allow Vision to examine it. "It chose me as its companion and partner shortly after I discovered and started practising magic. There was a fight at our New York base and the Cloak saved my life," he explained, giving the fabric a soft but undeniably fond smile. "Since then, it's decided to stay with me to help protect me and assist me wherever needed. Wong says he had no clue the Cloak had such bad taste but I'm certain he's just jealous," Strange sniffed as though the unknown Wong was in the room with them.
"This is too fucking much, Ayala," Ed said to his wolf, eyes still glued to the red, patterned fabric. He felt the press of Mustang's hand against his back, a firm, warm pressure Ed welcomed as it helped keep him grounded to the moment but he could still feel everything that had happened in the last few hours try and fight against his attempts to keep it buried until a more convenient time.
"I know," Ayala soothed as she and Nala pressed against him on either side, with Nala doing the same thing for her human. "All of this is so strange and new and against everything you thought you knew and it's not fair that you've not been given a real chance to process all of this but you're strong, Edward. You can make it through this day without giving these people the chance to turn on us if that's what they're waiting for. You'll deal with this then tomorrow you'll be able to face it all again without worrying whether you're going to be unable to protect yourself or us because you're in a vulnerable state," she said confidently.
Ed knew Ayala didn't think that him having a breakdown was a weakness or vulnerability like he did and he knew that even if he did lose his fragile hold over his emotions right now that she, Nala, and Mustang would make sure he was safe if Vision, Strange, and the others did try and attack but he appreciated her words with an intensity he rarely felt. Taking a couple of deep breaths to control himself, he forced his rapidly beating heart to calm back down to an appropriate speed just as the Cloak floated over to them. He couldn't help his initial reaction of jerking backwards, thankful that Mustang was standing right behind him so it didn't look like more than a surprised twitch and to steady him as the Cloak came to a stop in front of them.
"Cloak, have you ever considered that some people don't want to meet you?" Strange snarked, seemingly unaware of Ed's current feelings. "Get back over here," he ordered the fabric who somehow managed to give Strange an unimpressed look despite the fact it had no face.
Instead, the Cloak held out one corner of its fabric in an obvious mimicry of a handshake. Ed stared at it for several moments before he hesitantly placed his hand in its grasp and allowed it to shake his hand for a couple of moments before it released and repeated the action with Mustang, who seemed as bewildered as Ed was. The fabric didn't try the same thing with Ayala or Nala but it did hold its "hand" out to them so the pair could sniff it, much like a human would for a dog they didn't know. The pair took the Cloak up on its offer and once they had done so, the Cloak nodded its collar in an obvious farewell before it headed back over to an exasperated Strange and settled once more around his shoulders with an obvious flourish.
"I have no clue what the hell I even smelt on that thing but if there was no doubt it wasn't an ordinary cloak before, there certainly isn't any now," Ayala commented in a perplexed tone as she watched the fabric warily.
"How the fuck is this my life?" Ed asked her as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he had just shaken hands – for lack of a better word – with a sentient piece of cloth.
"It was certainly a pleasure to meet the Cloak of Levitation," Vision said before Ayala could try and think of a response. "If there are no questions about the Cloak, I propose that we continue with the tour," he said politely. Even though he could feel a million questions running through his mind, Ed didn't voice any of them and with Mustang staying silent, Vision took it as permission to continue with the tour as he planned.
They finished on the guest level and were soon back on the elevator and heading for the first level of the building. "This level is used primarily for briefings, meetings, and other such office work," Vision explained as they left the elevator and entered another room similar in size and shape as the common rooms but far were designed to look far more like a professional but functional waiting room rather than a comfortable, relaxing area. "This room we're in is the waiting room so those who are here for a meeting aren't waiting in the Compound's entrance and so whoever the meeting is with doesn't have to go all the way down to the entrance to escort the person or people they're meeting with up to the office or room they have booked," Vision explained as he walked them across the room.
They left the room through a set of doors that opened into a hallway wide enough to allow the seven of them amble room to walk in without crowding each other. Vision gestured to each room as he explained what it was used for, allowing them to enter the room to have a look once FRIDAY assured him there was no one inside of it. Ed glanced at the door labelled "conference room 3" and despite knowing that that was the room Tony, Steve, Barnes, and their Animals were inside of – Ayala confirming she could sense the three Animals inside the room – he couldn't hear anything through the walls and couldn't see anything through the opaque glass. It was only then that he realised most of the other rooms had see-through glass rather than opaque, causing Ed to become curious as to the seemingly random design choice and ask Vision about it.
"Oh, all of the rooms are fitted with the same glass however while the room is in use, the person running the meeting can choose whether to make the glass turn opaque like that in order to have a bit more privacy," Vision explained. "It's called privacy smart glass, or switchable glass, and it uses electro-chromatic technology to interchange between the transparent glass and opaque glass. All rooms in the compound that can be used by multiple people are fitted with this kind of glass," Vision told them as they moved past conference room 3 and further down the corridor.
"That's useful," Ed commented and Vision nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. It certainly helps ease the minds of those who want to ensure the meetings are completely private. Tony has gone to great lengths to make sure that everyone in the Compound is comfortable, no matter how long they're here for," Vision told them. Ed pretended not to notice the Cloak lift its corner to tap on the glass before Strange could knock it down from doing so.
They finished the tour of the office level once they reached the end of the hallway, which had ended with Tony's private office and his personal receptionist's desk. "You, of course, have already seen the entrance for the Compound," Vision said as they rode the elevator down to the ground level, "so I'll be moving the tour onto the other buildings on the property before I bring you back to the Compound so I can show you the other entrances and rest of the Compound," Vision told them.
No one put up any arguments as Vision led them out of the elevator and through the entrance they'd walked through an hour ago. Once they were outside, Vision led them back towards the quinjet, which was still sitting in front of the large, flat building Ed had spied on his quick scan of the area. Now that they were taking their time getting to building to building, Ed was able to take a proper look around while Vision told them interesting facts about the Compound as they walked. He could now see a small building – or small in comparison to the other buildings – that looked as though it was made of glass, making Ed wonder if it was a greenhouse. Behind and to Ed's right of that building were four more buildings of varying sizes and surrounded by bitumen that had a few cars parked on it. There was also a small path that led off the trail they were on and ended at a fountain that was on a circle of concrete lined with a couple of benches, likely so people could relax nearby it if they wanted some fresh air.
"This building was built and used as storage for Stark Industries but Tony had it refurbished and built on it so that the Avengers could use it as a base and for training. Prior to that they were living out of the Stark Tower in New York City but that proved to be disadvantageous to most everyone as enemies continued to target the tower in their efforts to destroy the Avengers, which placed not only those who worked out of the tower at physical risk but any civilian nearby as well," Vision explained as they passed the quinjet by and walked towards a door in the side of the flat building. "It was decided that it would be best for the Avengers to move their base and Tony offered to start construction on this property. SHIELD, before they fell, agreed to it and put some funding towards the project so Tony wasn't paying for everything out of his own pocket and construction began a little over 18 months ago. It was completed nearly a year ago now and the Avengers moved in quickly once it was finished. Since it became public knowledge about their move, attacks on Stark Tower have all but stopped," Vision told them as he opened the door.
The group entered the building and at Vision's insistence, walked up the set of stairs almost directly in front of them. They made their way up the stairs and onto a walkway that spanned from one end of the building to the other, giving them an unobstructed view of the entire floor of the building. Ed noted that the walkway didn't just stop at the other end of the building but lined the whole building, giving someone the chance to walk the entire border of the building without being on the floor at all. The floor of the building seemed to be lined with something that wasn't concrete, which surprised Ed, and the walls looked to be built of a similar material. There was plenty of equipment lining the walls of the building but from this distance, Ed couldn't quite make out what it was.
Ed's attention was grabbed by Vision, who'd started talking once more. "This is our training room. It's used by the Avengers to run training simulations or for team building exercises, amongst other similar things," Vision told them. "It's fitted with state-of-the-art technology for the training simulations as well as top-of-the-line equipment for us to practice with," he said, gesturing to the items lining the walls. "Its flooring and walls have been lined with a material of Tony's invention that absorbs attacks and helps minimise potential damage to the actual structure," he explained. "The walkway we're on is used primarily by those who can fly or levitate so they can safely practice landing or taking off from a height or by our team leader so he can watch our progress. FRIDAY has been installed into this building for security reasons but JOCASTA is the A.I. in charge of the training simulations," Vision said. "JOCASTA, please introduce yourself."
"Good afternoon. My name is JOCASTA and as Vision said, I am the A.I. in charge of the training simulations and equipment belonging to this building," another female voice sounded from the building's ceilings. Her accent wasn't like that of FRIDAY's but she still had one, though Ed likened it to Tony's. "My key role is running and supervising the simulations but I also gather the data gathered from them to create new, more challenging simulations, as well as keep my metaphorical eye on the equipment used so I can report whether something is damaged, whether we need more of something, or whether something is in need of routine maintenance," she told them. "I liaise with FRIDAY and my creator on my findings and am involved in any decisions the two make regarding this building," she finished saying. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you and I'm looking forward to watching all of you train in this building," she added pleasantly.
"It's nice to meet you too," Ed said, somewhat automatically as he fought down the unfortunately familiar feeling of being stunned and in awe of this world. JOCASTA sounded almost as human as FRIDAY did and if Ed hadn't already been told they were A.I – even if he didn't quite understand what an A.I. was just yet – he wouldn't have thought they weren't human and it still blew his mind that they weren't.
"I understand that feeling," Ayala said as Mustang and Strange echoed Ed. "I'm still expecting this to be either a very vivid dream or extremely realistic hallucination," she told him.
"Glad I'm not the only one," Ed muttered, despite the fact he was speaking through his bond with her.
"If you would like, we can walk over to the buildings on the other side of the clearing but as none of you have permission to enter the storage buildings being used to house the items that had originally been kept in this building, we will only be viewing the outside of them," Vision said after he'd thanked JOCASTA and led them back out of the building once he'd pointed out the showers and changerooms on the far end of the building.
"I don't mind," Ed said with a shrug, refusing to be the one to make the decision.
"Neither do I," Mustang said, leaving the decision to Strange, who didn't seem to mind.
"If you don't think it's necessary for us to view the buildings, perhaps we should leave them out of the tour," Strange said to Vision.
"There truly isn't any need for you to see them," Vision said. "As I mentioned, none of you have the necessary clearance needed to enter the buildings and as I highly doubt you will get it as you're not SI employees, all you would see is the outside of them," he repeated. "Let's head back to the Compound so I can show you the rest of it," Vision said decisively, moving to walk back the way they had come before pausing. "Oh, I almost forgot but there is a greenhouse between the Compound and the storage buildings that you would be welcome to sit in if you wanted so long as you don't plan on doing anything to the plants. Our head gardener has worked hard on that greenhouse and wouldn't be impressed if anything happened to the plants inside it," Vision told them, pointing to the glass building.
Once they'd nodded their acknowledgement of his words, Vision led them back to the Compound but went around the right side of the building towards the river that bordered the property line before leading them up a pathway that ran alongside the building once they'd crossed a road. "The first place I want to show you is the outside area that Tony designed for those of the Avengers who enjoy relaxing outside in nature," Vision said as he led them along a path to a large gazebo in the middle of the lawned and gardened area between three buildings on the side of the Compound. "You are welcome to use this area whenever you please but please respect that anyone else out here may be here because they seek the quiet it gives them," Vision said and received six nods in return. "As you can see, there are paths to this area from every building here and from the entrance of the Compound," he added, pointing out the path they'd just walked up, as well as the three that branched off from the gazebo to lead to the other buildings. Ed spied a large pond in front of one of the buildings and resolved to check it out later.
"Now these three buildings can be used by anyone who stays on the Avengers level but only two of these buildings can be used by everyone else," Vision explained as he led them up the closest path and into the building that ran alongside the Compound. "This building contains a pool, a small gym that can be used whenever you wish, as well as a float tank," he told them as they entered.
"What was that last one?" Ed asked as they walked past the pool and into another section of the building that held gym equipment.
"A float tank," Vision repeated himself. "It's a recent addition to the Compound but essentially it's a tank filled with water that's at the same temperature the average human is. It's used primarily to cause sensory deprivation as it's a soundproof, light-proof, pitch-black environment that one enters when they wish to eliminate as many external senses as possible. They float in the 10-inch-deep water and relax in the tank for as long as they want to or need to," Vision explained as they entered the room he was talking about.
In the centre of the room was a large, white pod with part of it opened to reveal water sitting inside of it. There was a small button on the inside of the tank that Ed presumed was pressed to lower the lid since he couldn't see any rope or handles that would be used to do so. "Interesting," was all Ed could say in response to it.
Vision nodded in agreement. "It has proven to have a positive effect on those who use it regularly," he told them before he led them outside the building once more. They headed for the next building, which was directly opposite the building they'd just left but was connected to the Compound with an enclosed walkway of its own. "This is the building that only Avengers and certain staff members have access to," Vision told them as they entered it. "It's our firing range, used for the testing of new long-range weaponry and for those on the team who use such weapons as part of their arsenal," Vision explained. "If you're going to be working with the team and you use such weapons, you will be permitted to use this building whenever you'd like," Vision told them.
The inside of the range was almost exactly what Ed expected it to look like. The end they were in held guns of all types on one end, with their ammunition neatly stacked underneath them. There were protective glasses and earmuffs on another wall and Ed could see targets at the far end of the building, separated from them by distance and sectioned counters that would permit eight people to use the range at any given time. "How do you prevent ricochets?" Ed asked as he eyed the walls of the building.
"The inside walls were constructed to prevent ricochets by absorbing the impact of the bullet," Vision told him. "As you can see, there are a few bullet holes lining the walls from misses. The bullets enter the walls and are stopped by thick metal that lines the building between the inner and outer walls," he explained. Once Ed had nodded and Vision had waited a few more moments for any further questions, he asked, "ready to move onto the next building?"
Ed gave a nod, as did Strange, leaving Mustang to be the one to say, "lead the way."
Vision did as he was asked and they soon found themselves in the last building, standing in a large room with floor to ceiling glass windows that overlooked the large river in front of them. "This final building is used more for recreational activities," Vision explained. "People are permitted to bring books or other reading materials, art supplies, or anything else they would like into this building so they may do as they wish while enjoying the view and the sunlight. There is also a dance studio off to the side," Vision gestured to the right, "that can be utilised by anyone," he said. "The only rule for this building is no loud noise. If you wish to listen to music, watch a movie, or do anything else that involves noise, you are asked to wear headphones or find somewhere else to partake in that activity," Vision explained before he led them back out of the building.
"The final thing I wish to show you before we head back into the main Compound is the boating area," he said before leading them down a slightly winding path to a dock that sat on the edge of the river. "If you know how to drive a boat, you may do so, so long as you tell someone else what you're doing and how long you intend to be, purely for safety reasons," Vision explained as he showed them the four medium-sized motorboats tied to the docks. "There is always someone available who knows how to operate the boat if you wish to explore the river but don't have that knowledge yourself. The same rules apply, however," he finished telling them as he turned to face them. "Do any of you have any questions you'd like to ask before I show you your rooms?" he inquired.
"Not right now," Ed said even though he had a million questions floating in his mind, though admittedly not all of them were about the Compound now that he knew the Cloak of Levitation existed. He wanted more time to absorb everything he'd been shown and told so he could sort out his thoughts before he started asking questions.
When Mustang and Strange gave similar answers, Vision inclined his head in acknowledgment. "As I said before, feel free to ask any questions if you do have some later but for now, let us go back into the Compound so I can show you your rooms," he said before leading them back up the path when he got no arguments.
Ed and Ayala trailed along behind Nala and Mustang as they followed the other three up the pathway and back towards the Compound. Ed didn't know about Mustang but he certainly planned to ask all the questions in his mind just as soon as he could without fearing that the answers would be what finally pushed him over the edge and into a panic attack. He certainly wanted more information on magic and things like the Cloak but he didn't think Strange was going to give him any straight answers anytime soon, if ever. He wanted to ask more questions about the technology of this world but he also wanted as much information on Wanda as well since he still didn't understand how she was a part of this team. For right now though, he was going to follow Vision and get this tour finished so he would be able to find an escape if they ended up needing it.
A/N - Thank you to those who've left a review so far on this story! I also hope everyone had a great New Years and here's to a better 2022! I'm leaving this A/N short and sweet so I hope to hear from you on your thoughts about this chapter and I'll see you all next week!