Avengers: Age of Ultron | Saviors | Nick Fury
Tony slices in half the next foot long log from his pile, chopping it in half.
For a couple of hours; he, Steve and recently appearing Bucky have been chopping piles of wood for the Barton family. It is indeed a good stress reliever, especially when there isn't anything else left to do at this point.
"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony questions the two American heroes, throwing the two halves into his own pile, which is, at least, half the size of the other two's.
While Bucky gives a small scoff under his breath, Steve looks to the billionaire bitterly. "Sometimes our teammates don't tell us things," he states more or less glancing fully to Tony as he speaks, just before bringing down his own axe, easily chopping his wood into two pieces without breaking a sweat.
As Bucky goes to grab another wood piece, ready to cut it, he comments, "We were kind of hoping that Thor would be the exception, and well, we were proved wrong, again."
"Yeah, just give him time," Tony replies, feeling ill-will getting thrown towards him just a nudge. "We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him." For him, it was watching all his teammates die, all his friends. While he was left alive - the only one to bear the weight of the dying world. He just can't let that happen - he needs to save everyone he cares for.
The sound of Bucky bringing his axe down sounds.
"'Earth's mightiest heroes,'" Steve quotes with a scoff, going to grab another log. "Pulled apart like cotton candy."
Tony suddenly narrows his eyes between the two. "Seems like you two walked away all right." He noticed that they hadn't had quite the toll taken on them, from what he's seen anyway after the Maximoff girl placed everyone - barring two - under a spell.
Bucky notices the eye narrowing, so he returns it with a harder look. "Is that a problem?" He knows they haven't actually come out of it pretty easily; Steve mentioned what he saw, seeing Peggy again after the war, but it wasn't all flowers and roses. More confusing for him; he watches his love die in his arms, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.
They are just better at hiding what's going on in their heads than others.
Tony just shrugs. "I guess I just don't trust a guy without a dark side," he cuts another piece of wood in two. "Call me old fashioned."
Steve is just staring at him, "Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet."
Suddenly, it's almost as if the wood has been forgotten when Tony moves closer to the other two, staring at them.
"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right?"
"Well, I guess you'd know, wouldn't you?" Bucky says with a hard tone, readying his axe again. He scoffs, "It's just the matter of if you'd tell anyone is the main question."
Tony once again, turns defensive. "Banner and I were doing research!"
"That would affect the team," Steve pushes.
"That would end the team!" Tony yells. "Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why we fight?'" The anger inside both American heroes is rising as he continues, "So we can end the fight. So we get to go home!"
The rounded log Steve is holding suddenly snaps in two; he has literally just ripped it apart with both his hands. No use from an axe. Bucky, on the other hand, is feeling his day slowly become dimmer and dimmer because of Tony - even after the amazing morning he's just had.
"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts," Steve says in a low, on the verge of an angry tone. "Innocent people die."
"Every time," Bucky can't agree more as he finishes.
Suddenly, Laura appears just a few meters away. "Sorry," she apologizes, knowing she's interrupting something. She can tell just by the looks on their faces that whatever they are talking about, isn't something that's being taken lightly. She turns to Tony, still looking apologetic. "Mr. Stark…Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor, it doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought that maybe you might-" he cuts her off.
"Yeah, I'll give her a kick," he tells her, it's probably best to give the two boys some time without him there. His presence alone is causing a lot of tension, something he doesn't really like. But then, it's ultimately his fault, isn't it?
As he starts to walk away, following Laura, he turns to point at his own small pile of split logs - compared to Bucky and Steve's, his is tiny. He says, "Don't take from my pile." Even though it wouldn't have done him much good anyway, he lost by a mile if it was a competition to see who can cut the most.
Bucky and Steve start to resume in cutting logs.
"So, what happened with Ava this morning?" Steve finally asks, eventually getting a chance to ask without anyone else being present.
At the question, an affectionate smile crosses Bucky's face, the memories flashing through his mind. He completely forgets about Tony and the previous conversation. "Everything's going to be fine," he tells him, not going into great detail. He isn't going to mention what she told him; it was hard enough for her to break the news to him. It just doesn't seem right to tell Steve about the issue himself, it feels like it's her right to tell him. "She's gonna be okay."
Steve suddenly stops to stare at him, raising an eyebrow when he catches sight of the familiar smile on his best friend's face, but there's a spark in his eyes too, even a small blush creeping on the top of the guy's cheeks.
"What happened?" He questions, hesitant. Not sure whether he will like the answer or not. He has seen that look before, but it's like he can't remember where, it's been too long.
Bucky just chuckles in an amused manner, patting his best friend on the shoulder. "Now, Steve…it's not something a brother wants to know what his sister does in the bedroom."
It only takes him a fraction of a second to realize what that means, and a slightly horrified look crosses Steve's face - making Bucky laugh a little harder, finding it very funny. "She and you…" he shakes his head, instantly wanting to get rid of those thoughts. "Alright, do not give me details, but, is she okay, really?" He pushes past…that. But he just needs to know that she'll be okay.
Bucky dies down his laughter before turning to his best friend seriously. "She's getting there, Steve. We just need to be there for her; let her know that we're not going anywhere."
Steve nods, understanding.
"So, are you two back together now, or…?"
"Not how we used to be, not right now," Bucky sighs at the question, because even after this massive breakthrough, Ava still needs time. He still keeps the engagement ring wrapped around his neck on a chain - but he will ask her again later on down the line, make it even more special than the last time, but not right now. Right now, she needs to heal.
…
While Bucky is outside with Steve and Tony, Ava is walking aimlessly around the farmhouse. Not really sure what to do, but mostly just talking to herself within her mind. She looks a lot lightly from the strain previously being held, like a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. It's almost like she's become semi-intent rather than before.
"Avery," someone calls to her from behind, just as she enters what she thinks is a sunroom since there are several renovations going on in the middle. Ava frowns slightly but turns, seeing Clint standing there with his hands dug in his pockets.
"What is it, Clint?" She questions, just curious. Because of all that tension leaving her body, and the fact that she doesn't have to worry about so much anymore, it seems like she's become a bit more civil - a little of how she used to be before The Winter Soldier was introduced to her body.
He looks at her sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologizes beforehand. "But, you're good with science, right?" Getting straight to the point.
Ava becomes confused, especially by the question. But she nods anyway. "I guess you could say that." If she wasn't good at science, then she wouldn't have been included in the serum making back when the war broke out. And she did pretty well in school if she can remember right too.
Clint looks a little relieved. "I wouldn't ask this usually, but, would you be able to help Copper with his homework?" He asks, a little pleadingly. His son has been trying to get that homework done for a long while and honestly, neither he nor Laura know how to help him. Science really isn't their forte. "And he…actually said himself that he wanted you to help him."
"But I'm…I'm no good with kids," Ava tries to tell him slowly. She may feel better after this morning - way better after this morning. But being in close proximity to a child? Is that such a good thing to do right now?
"Please," Clint pleads, wanting her help. "It would mean a lot to him." He also knows she's been having trouble with children, so really, he just wants to help at the same time.
Avery wraps her arms around herself with a moment of silence, but after a pause, she starts to slowly nod her head. She has to try at some point, getting close to kids without breaking; and really, being a part of the Avengers now, she needs to get past this obstacle sooner rather than later.
Clint draws out a relieved sigh, seeing the nod. "Thank you so much," he tells her. "He's just up in his room…"
…
Ava finds her way up to the boy's bedroom after Clint left her, apparently he needs to get some things done before they evidently leave again to finish what was started with Ultron.
When she stands outside the door, she watches as the boy from before keeps scribbling doodles on a piece of paper. He doesn't really seem to do anything other than doodle. Looking around his room, she sees dozens of drawings of them, the Avengers. And much to her surprise, there are a couple of her too. He's a very good drawer for his age, not professional, but still, almost to a high teenage year drawer.
"They're very good," Ava notes to him absently as she stares at them, making him jump from his seat and turn to her with wide eyes. She's still nervous about being in a room alone with a child, but it doesn't feel as hard as before when they first arrived at the farm house.
"You came!" Cooper, Clint's son exclaims with a happy grin on his face. But the surprise is still based on his features, probably thinking that after yesterday, she wouldn't want to come anywhere near him. He makes sure of himself not to ask about her metal arm this time, from what he figured, that's what triggered the bed response from her.
Avery finally looks over at him, a small smile playing on her lips, feeling calmer than before. "Your dad said you needed help with science." She does need to make up for the little scene she caused in front of him, this is how she can make that right.
He starts to nod frantically, getting up from his chair and running over to his bed where several sheets of paper reside with typed writing on it. Ava tenses but keeps herself under control when he comes back rushing over to her, handing her the pieces of paper. Ava takes them carefully with her human hand, looking down at the writing to see what's written.
"I have to make and explain an experiment to do with chemical reactions," Cooper gives her the specifics. "There's also a competition to see who can make the coolest experiment."
Avery nods at the information - chemical reactions, easy. She always felt more at ease in the past thinking about science, maybe that's why she's finding this conversation with a child easier than the last time.
As Cooper goes over to sit back down on his bed, wondering what Ava will say next - Avery goes over and sits on the desk chair that Cooper was previously sitting on.
"Do you have any ideas so far?" She asks. An idea is springing to mind, something she wanted to create in school back then but was never given the right assignment to show it off.
Cooper shakes his head. "No, I couldn't seem to really understand it. Mom and Dad really aren't the best in science and I can't ask my teacher 'cause it's due before I see her next."
"Alright," Ava nods her head, piecing everything together in her head for what they'll need. She doesn't realize it, but she has forgotten about the tension between her and children, the science is keeping her together without even knowing it. She looks up at him, a small grin playing on her lips. "How do you feel about making a mini-volcano?"
…
"-Okay, so when you put in the vinegar - which is an acid - and the baking soda, it'll release a carbon dioxide gas. And to make the bubbles that'll turn it into the 'lava,' you just need to add in the dishwashing soap. Adding some red food coloring will also make it stand out more, making it imitate a real volcano," Ava explains, writing everything down on a plain piece of paper with diagrams and labels. Cooper is by her side at the desk, looking over her shoulder, almost drinking in everything she's explaining.
"This is so cool!" He exclaims with a beam on his lips, and before she can react, he lunges into her arms, wrapping her in a hug. He doesn't notice it, but she tenses again - but luckily, doesn't react badly to it like she would have expected. "Thank you so much!" He loves her idea of making a mini-volcano. His classmates will be so envious when they watch it in action - it just sucks that he can't brag about the fact that Avery Rogers was the one to help him come up with the idea. But his father strictly forbade him from doing so, even mentioning about all the Avengers staying with them these last couple of days.
Just then a knock comes at the open door, making both occupants of the room turn to it. They see Bucky standing there, leaning against the doorway, looking at the hugging scene with a smile playing on his lips.
Bucky turns to Cooper, but stills staying in his place. "Hey, little man, your Mom wants you downstairs for dinner now."
Cooper's eyes light up. "Okay!" He exclaims before running out of the room, but not before giving another hug to Ava. Bucky can't help but chuckle when he watches the boy run towards the smell of food cooking downstairs.
Bucky turns back into the room, making his way over to Ava. She's still watching the way Cooper had run out. "Looked like you had fun," he can't help but comment. Before he knocked, he was watching how she explained to the boy the design she made. She actually looked content and he couldn't be happier.
Ava really thinks about it for a moment, before she starts nodding with a smile of her own. "Yeah, I think I was."
"Come on," he beckons, walking up to her and holding out his hands for her to take. It isn't just Cooper that is needed downstairs, everyone is. As it turns out, Nick Fury has made the trip over after hearing the disaster the Avengers have gotten themselves into. "We're needed downstairs too. We have a special visitor."
Avery frowns. "Who?" Thinking it must be Hill or something, but she takes his hands anyway, letting him pull her up to her feet.
"You'll see…" Is all that he says before he pulls her towards the stairs.
…
As soon as they walk into the open kitchen/dining room she sees who the visitor is immediately. Ava completely halts in her steps, staring at the person in shock - Bucky has to stop with her since their hands are conjoined. The man standing there is wearing a pair of black jeans, a light brown cotton shirt with long sleeves - and the one thing she can't miss is the black eye patch covering one eye along with the black hat on his head. The dark-skinned man is Director Nick Fury of the old SHIELD.
"You're dead," she states bluntly with confusion laced in her voice, blinking several times to see if what she's seeing - is actually there. She doesn't sound threatening, just more along the lines of surprise covering her features. Ava can remember the man all too well because she indeed shot several large bullets into the man the last time she remembers. Why didn't anyone tell her the man is alive?
"So are you, Avery Lola Rogers," the man turns to her, quipping back with slight attitude. Seeing the woman who definitely had, technically, killed him. He isn't really complaining, though - being off the grid and supposedly dead gives him extreme advantages than before when he was alive.
He then waves his arm over to the seats available. "Come join the party, I was just about to continue," he says. He clears his throat. "As I was saying…" Ava and Bucky make their way over to the dining room table where most people seem to be sitting/standing around, everyone is just residing in there. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself some time."
Ava turns to Bucky as they take a seat next to each other. "How come you never told me that he was alive?" She whispers, a little harshly, into his ear. How could he especially, have kept something like that from her. He's holding her hand still, so she squeezes it a little tighter in warning not to lie to her.
Bucky winces to himself, he knows he deserves that. He quickly gives her a very sorry look; he really should have told her a long time ago that the man indeed survived. But not only did Fury make them all promise to keep his 'death' a secret, but it honestly slipped his mind. "I'm really sorry, the guy didn't want anyone else to know and I completely forgot about it," he whispers back regretfully.
She narrows her eyes. "Are there any more people rising from the dead that I should know about?" Giving him a warning look.
He shakes his head discreetly to her. "No, that was it."
Ava just stares at him for a moment, looking into his eyes. And luckily for him, she sees nothing else but the truth. She lets go of the pressure to his hand, smiling slightly, a little bit relieved but still a little hurt from that kind of secret being kept from her.
In a way she understands; she did technically kill the man. She didn't really have the right to know if he survived or not.
"Are you two lovebirds finished over there?" Fury raises an eyebrow to them, everyone now looking at the scene between them.
Avery and Bucky are startled into looking up at him, both becoming, at least, a little bit sorry before mumbling an actual 'Sorry' between them.
Fury lets out an annoyed huff before continuing with what he has found out. "My contacts all say he's building something." Referring to Ultron.
Between Bucky and Natasha, Clint's daughter, Lila, comes up to the table before handing one of her drawings to the redhead. Natasha smiles at the little girl, thanking her for the lovely drawing.
"The amount of Vibranium he made off with," the ey-patched man continues. "I don't think it's just one thing."
Steve frowns. "What about Ultron himself?" He inquires, leaning against the doorway to the Dining Room/Kitchen. Laura and the kids are in the other room, eating dinner. He can't help but glance at his sister sitting next to Bucky every couple of moments, and a smile draws upon his face discreetly. He sees Ava still holding Bucky's hand on the table as she fiddles with his fingers. She looks much more at ease than she did yesterday when they first arrived at the farm house. A good feeling starts to settle in his gut - she's finally getting better.
"Oh," Fury drawls out, finding amusement falling into his looks. "He's easy to track," he states. "He's everywhere. The guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." He grabs a glass from the drying rack by the sink, pouring himself a glass of water. "It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though."
Tony is playing darts over to the side but is still able to overhear the conversation and puts in his own words. "Is he still going after launch codes?" He questions.
"Yes, he is," Fury confirms, now slicing himself a piece of homemade bread to go with his water. "But he's not making any headway."
Tony doesn't understand why that's happening - if he, himself, can easily hack into the most fortified systems on the planet - then it should be a piece of cake for a machine. Ultron should have easily been able to worm himself in to get those codes within seconds. He voices his confusion. "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in High School on a dare."
Fury doesn't understand it either, but he shrugs anyway. "Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that."
Bucky frowns. "Nexus?" he questions.
Bruce is the one with the answers this time. "It's the world Internet hub in Oslo," he starts. "Every byte of data flows through there, it's the fastest access on Earth."
Clint picks up one of the darts from the counter. "So, what did they say?"
"He's fixated on the missiles," Fury tells him. "But the codes are constantly being changed."
Tony turns to him, a cocked eyebrow in sight. "By whom?" Just as he finishes, a dart flies by his face, just inches away from his nose. Clint has thrown his dart on the board, getting it in the middle circle, a bullseye - Tony, seeing this, turns a glare towards the Hawk. Clint just smirks with a shrug, proving once again, that his aim is better than him.
"Parties unknown."
Natasha leans forwards in her seat, her elbows connecting with the table. "Do we have an ally?"
"Ultron's got an enemy," Fur shakes his head. "That's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."
Tony is thinking along the same lines - he might be able to figure out the identity of this person if he could get close enough. "I might need to visit Oslo," he states, turning to Fury, forgetting about the darts. "Find our unknown."
Natasha isn't feeling too pleased with how this meeting is turning out - she thought that with Fury here, there would be more important information gathered for them that they can use. "Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping that when I saw you, you'd have more than that."
"I do," he replies back, munching away at his ready-made sandwich, looking between all of them. "I have you." Even including Ava in his gesture. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up-" he then gestures to Ava. "And you have someone who's been inside Hydra, someone who's helped Strucker for a time too." Ava looks away from everyone, ashamed and Bucky squeezes her hand, now glaring at Fury. "Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world."
"Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission," he continues, ignoring the glare Bucky and now Steve are sending his way. "And whether or not he wants to admit it, his mission is global destruction." He gestures to the surroundings. "All of this…laid in a grave.
"So stand…outwit the platinum bastard," Fury sets himself down in a chair nearest to Natasha, clearly opposite Bucky.
Natasha can't help it - she just has to say it. "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," she suddenly teases in a low tone, batting her eyes up to the Captain.
That gets everyone's lips twitching, and the glares are put aside. "You know what, Romanoff?" Steve starts to say, a playful hint now mixed in, but this time, he can't help but find it amusing himself.
Fury ignores their fun. "So, what does he want?" Looking at everyone, letting anyone spout out some ideas now.
Something then comes to Bucky. "To become better." He looks around to all his fellow Avengers. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."
It does some sort of sense to Ava, but that sounds a bit too easy - they would have been wiped out by now considering how many doubles he's already made. No, he's waiting for something - something bigger. "But it can't just be the extra bodies he's building." She finally speaks out, and everyone turns to her curiously. She's in a thinking mode. "If that's all he wanted, then why did he want all that Vibranium?"
Fury quirks an eyebrow at her suggestively. "What would the Winter Soldier do?" Actually interested, she could be onto something.
Avery just stares at him for a moment with calculating eyes, but speaks anyway, still staring at him. "She'd want to be ready, to be better. But not in just skill. Better in design so that when the time came, she'd be unstoppable and the targets for her mission would most definitely be eliminated."
Bruce seems to agree because he stares down at the photo the little girl gave Natasha, a drawing of a butterfly. "'They don't need to be protected,'" he suddenly quotes the same words Ultron said back when they first met him. "'They need to evolve.'"
Bruce finally looks up. "Ava's right - Ultron's going to become better than us, he's going to evolve and become in his terms, unstoppable."
"How?" Fury questions, wondering how a machine could do so.
"The Vibranium," Avery states, looking over to Bruce who seems to be the only one who understands - the pieces are falling together.
Bruce nods in agreement, looking between everyone, but mostly Tony. "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"
…
About half an hour later, everyone is geared up and ready to go. When Tony tried to call Helen Cho earlier, they didn't get a reply - it went straight to voicemail and anyone that knows the woman knows she always picks up that phone, especially when Tony is on the other end of the line.
Steve and Bucky pick up their shields from beside the couch; everyone is dressed up in their Avenging uniforms again, preparing for a fight that'll evidently come. "We'll take Natasha, Clint, and Ava," Steve says to Tony, gesturing to himself and Bucky.
"All right. Strictly recon," Tony nods, walking beside the boys, heading towards the entrance of the house with them. "I'll hit the Nexus and I'll join you as soon as I can."
"If Ava and Bruce are right. That Ultron really is building a body from the Vibranium-" Tony stops him, already knowing where Bucky is heading with this.
"He'll be more powerful than any of us," he agrees, keeping his voice down so the kids don't overhear. "Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."
Steve scoffs. "You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was us." Gesturing to Bucky and himself.
"Me too," Bucky nods, thinking along the same lines.
Suddenly Fury enters the hallway and he turns to them. He's in the middle of throwing his jacket back on. "I'll drop Banner off at the Tower," he tells them before looking more towards Tony. "You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?"
"She's all yours," Tony starts to reply, before saying, "Apparently." Under his breath. He can't help but feel annoyed at the fact that Hill has technically been going behind his back to help Fury.
"What are you going to do?" Steve wonders.
"I don't know," Fury shrugs, before grinning with mystery. "Something dramatic, I hope."
Just before he's about to turn on his heels, about to leave through the door - he looks between Steve and Bucky together, a rare smile on his face. "You've got one heck of a girl in there. Tell her I don't hold a grudge; I forgave her a long time ago."
…
The Avengers are now all gathered back in the Heli craft they flew over in and almost as soon as they get in, they begin heading towards their destination. And probably, their next fight.