GENOSHA, XAVIER'S MANSION, MAY 2, 8:00 UTC
"It's kind of weird having an actual use for this TV now isn't it?" Michael told the teens as they crowded around the large flatscreen.
With Michael was the GeNext team composed of Megan Summers, Olivier LeBeau, His sister Ray, Pavel Rasputin, and Anne-Marie.
In the corner of the room watching Michael flip through the TV channels was his own teammates, the Blue team. The three Js or how they were commonly known Jimmy (Wolverine's son), Jane (Psylocke's daughter), and Jessica (Cable and Dominos kid) and Sofia (Sunspots girl) were there as well.
And lastly relaxing in the common room was the Gold team. TJ Wagner (Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch's daughter), Olivia Blaire (Dazzler's daughter), Lily-Rose Jones (Firestar's kid), Miguel McCoy (Beast's son), and Thomas Creed the son of Sabretooth.
Michael flipped through the channels without a care in the world, and everyone watched him. Most had been underwhelmed by the return of TV as it seemed nothing good was ever on. But as Michael flipped through and spotted the familiar red, white, and blue of an American icon. He stopped, and the all the attention shifted to the woman's voice on the broadcast
And so reports have been confirmed that the UN are indeed forcing the American people to speed up and find a suitable candidate for this "Presidential" election
As reported before Evander Worthington Is the UNs top pick for the US presidency. And while many people are questioning the integrity of the UN picking a leader for the people. The US has still been given their own candidate, which should be announced soon.
Next up the statement of James Rogers on the unsanctioned mission to Madripoor on ABC news.
The heroes watched with great interest as James came up on the TV talking about how all of their missions were unsanctioned, and that this wasn't any different than before, while claiming the truth would be revealed.
"This is crazy." Jessica marveled at the news report, and every single one of them agreed.
"I guess he wasn't kidding when he said they needed the X-Men's help." Ray murmured, to which Jimmy scoffed obnoxiously
"Obviously."
"That's not fair." Olivier insisted however "The X-Men should help the Avengers but...how could we expect them to deal with this? It's politics."
"Is it even legal," Megan wondered, "I mean...Choosing someone else's president seems all types of sketchy and wrong."
"Normally I'd say yeah," Miguel explained "But with the world the way it is right now, it's no surprise guys in suits think they can just make decisions for everyone."
"I don't get it." Lily said with a frown "You're telling me that all it took was one mission gone wrong and all the goodwill the Avengers earned over the few years is gone?"
"Adults can be weird Lily." TJ sighed, not understanding any of it either.
"I think you mean people are stupid." Thomas offered "Most of those people wouldn't be alive without the Avengers."
"Exactly." Jessica nodded "The truth is these people have probably been waiting for a reason to shackle the Avengers up and control their every move. They probably never had goodwill in the first place."
"Makes you wonder if maybe the X-Men had a point about staying out of it." Pavel noted
"What do you mean by that?" Olivia questioned curiously
"Well if the Avengers who saved the world from Ultron's 13 years of world dominance aren't allowed to make one mistake...How fast would the government try and take us out?"
"That's irrelevant." Jimmy insisted
"How so?" Olivier questioned, genuinely wondering how Jimmy could wave this away so easily.
"It's not about us, and you have to realize that this is only possible because of the age of the Avengers. The UN believes they are too young to be left unchecked. In reality it's an abuse of power. This wouldn't happen to us because we have Emma, my sister, Hank, and Kitty."
"They have Tony Stark."
"If we know that Tony Stark is partially at fault for Ultron, don't you think whoever is masterminding this will know too?" Jessica posed
"Yeah, that's a good point." Olivier admitted with a sigh "But you guys have to admit the longer this goes on the crazier it gets. It's getting harder to figure out how the X-Men can still help."
"You're right but that's why maybe we need to get to America as fast as possible." Jessica decided "For all we know we could be helping them with something but instead we are over here, not really doing anything."
"Exactly we have the power." Jimmy told them with his heavy drawl "We have to make sure we use it. I don't know about you all, but I don't feel like being dominated by some other wannabe. Living in Genosha because of some stupid robot for most of our lives was bad enough. Let's not make the same mistakes our parents did."
"Right." Jane agreed with her teammate "If there is a chance to help these guys...I'm taking it."
All the blue team members nodded in agreement with Jane and went back to watching the TV. But for the others. They looked around at each other and shared worrying looks. What could the Blue Team possibly mean by taking a chance if it came to them?
Nobody said anything but they were all thinking the same thing. Please please please don't do anything stupid.
ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 2, 12:00 UTC
Time had passed with the Avengers and it hadn't done much for the morale of the team. It seemed like every single day a new piece of information was being revealed. And at times it was obvious the Masters of Evil were pulling the strings.
However sometimes it felt like it was just the United Nations doing what they did best. And according to Bruce in the Avengers case that meant screwing things up.
For what felt like the first time in a while they had grouped up in the meeting room and they were going over everything they knew.
"I'm not going to lie." Francis started, bringing all the attention over towards him "As we keep learning new things and more information is released, things begin to look more and more out of our reach."
"We can't afford to think like that Francis." James told his teammate with a sigh, but of course even he had been thinking that recently. It was getting harder to see a realistic way out of this.
"I know James, but you're the guy with the plans right?" Francis asked him "Do you have a solution? I bet you don't and I don't blame you. Who the hell could solve this? What once was a problem between us and the Masters of Evil now includes us and the entire world. At the very least the entirety of America. I'm not even sure your Dad could solve this problem."
"It looks bad but this is going to take a lot of strategic planning, and yeah I'm going to be honest I don't have the answers right now, but I'm confident that all of us together can get...something. Because we have to." James insisted
"Well then we need to figure out where to start." Pym insisted "Do you have anything right now James?"
Everyone looked towards their leader and these were the moments James desperately wished he had all the answers. Everyone, even Bruce and Tony were looking curious. Francis had said he wasn't sure his Dad could solve this, but James knew that he could, it was just what he did.
"Well the way I see it we need to have our own candidate. It's really the only way to beat the Masters of Evil. All of us are too young to run for president. If Bruce tried, well it's common knowledge that he's the Hulk. And while I've been thinking that Tony could try I think-
"That I have way too many skeletons in my closet." Tony finished for him.
"Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if Tony ran and it was immediately leaked that Tony had created Ultron in the first place. We're at a loss."
"All that is true." Tony admitted "But that doesn't mean everything is lost. None of us are politicians and that's not exactly a problem. Because America already has their candidate. And if she is how I remember then I think we are in good hands."
"She?" Francis asked surprised
"Yes she." Tony confirmed, with a grin and made a couple of movements and a hologram of a blonde lady in a suit in a government like building "Valerie Cooper. Possibly the next president if things go right."
"And you know this woman?" Pym questioned as they inspected her personal information. And to be fair her credentials were nearly perfect. But he had seen the profile that had been cooked up for Evander Worthington as well, and there hadn't been any blemishes either.
"Yeah. Valerie is one of the few government officials I've known since before the Ultron Revolution. The reason why we trust her so much is because of her extensive work with the X-Men. She was head of mutant affairs for years and developed an unique perspective for the X-Men. She always did her best to make sure Mutants and the X-Men had the best rights. Regardless of who was opposing her. She was determined that everyone got the best."
"That's why you haven't been as worried as the rest of us." Azari noted "Huh this is interesting."
"Yeah that is why."
"I guess but does this really change anything? This isn't in our hands plus Valerie is a girl. Disadvantage us."
"Francis!" Torunn scolded immediately "That is very sexist and-
"Obviously." Francis sighed "It is sexist, and that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I have no problem with a lady president. But who knows how everyone else feels. I'm sure a lot of the older people will pick Worthington just because of that."
"I mean I guess he's also not wrong." Pym admitted "But it's impossible to really tell how much this would affect voting. It has been 13 years. I like to believe we're a little more progressive."
"Look Gender, Sex, Race, won't play a part in this. Maybe, maybe being a mutant would affect polling but I'm confident that in the state the world is in, an Octopus could run and if they showed any sort of intelligence, and the people would pick them. The people are not that happy with us right now, but I'm confident I could get over 10 million votes despite not knowing much about being a president and only being 16." James explained to the people
"Being a female is not what's going to make Valerie lose. If Valerie is as good as Tony says she is then she's going to get picked. If we put our faith in Valerie and Tony then the only thing we need to worry about is sabotage."
"Agreed." Azari told them "If Valerie is a good woman then when it comes to her all we can do is have faith she can string together a good campaign. We know that Worthington is a Masters of Evil pawn and most likely Hydra. In the grand scheme of things he's really just a pawn for a devious organization. The people don't understand that. And if we find a way to make that known, we can influence the polling without in my opinion being unethical."
"Which is kind of a big thing for us since you know, we're the Avengers." Pym added on to Azari's words of wisdom.
"You're right." James nodded "We can still help, just not in the way we can. Tony, is it possible to maybe get in contact with Valerie, maybe we don't make it known about what she's going up against, but provide her with an adequate security detail?"
"It shouldn't be a problem getting in contact with her, but I'm not sure she's actually going to say yes."
"That's fine. I'll feel better if we atleast tell her." James smiled before turning to Pym "Pym can you, Banner, and Cho continue to work on analyzing the Master's of Evils moves? We know where they might be based out of so I'm hoping it might be a little easier for you guys. We need a lock on wherever they move. We can't be blindsided ever again."
"We can certainly do our best."
"Great well then we're mostly set. The rest of us can't do much but stay ready at a moment's notice. I know it probably feels like we've lost more in the past few weeks than we have ever. But remember we haven't lost the war yet. Just a couple of battles. Things like this can be tedious. We have to stay hopeful. Remember what we are guys?"
"The Avengers." Torunn remarked instantly, bringing a smile on the rest of their faces.
"Yeah exactly. The Earth's Mightiest Heroes." James continued "We've taken down a killer robot that ruled the world for 13 whole years. We can do anything. Especially beat a couple of oldies looking to get back their moments of glory. Right?"
"Right." A resounding yes was heard, and James and the team were feeling more inspired than ever.
"Great, now come on! Everybody in. Avengers on 3." James commanded as he stuck his hand out in the air, suddenly hands piled on top of his. "Come on Bruce, you too were all in this together."
"1...2...3...AVENGERS!" they all called, and finally the atmosphere felt like it had returned. This was how the place felt before all of this Masters of Evil stuff had started. When all they had to focus on was fixing the world and scrapping bots.
"Alright, let's let them do their thing. The rest of us who aren't smart enough to be in the room. Get some sleep, or train or whatever you want to. Just make sure you're at your best."
With that James, Torunn, and Francis filed out of the room, as they were really the only three who weren't super smart. Azari only stayed a little longer talking Tony about something. Pym and Banner took off, leaving Cho alone in the main labs as he was working on the Ultron files. Tony left to his own laboratory, and that left Riri who left to her own little Lab as well.
As she once again made sure the place was secure. When she was sure it was, she went to the corner of the lab where there was a larger corridor with a large human sized glass case that was covered in a black tarp.
When Riri removed the tarp there was a slim Ironman like suit in the container though this one was all grey, and it was still missing the arc reactor. For Riri she had already finished making the arc reactor all she needed to do was place it in, and finish the colouring of the suit and then technically her prototype should have worked.
As Riri got to work she had a huge smile on her face "Now...when and where will I get a chance to test this out?"
HEROES OF TOMORROW
James flipped away from the bullets and threw his energy shield straight through 4 different attackers garbed in Hydra green and yellow. After defeating them Taskmaster immediately appeared, and James wasted no time in pressing his advantage, changing up his fighting style every few moves, making sure to never be predictable.
It wasn't long before he flipped over the Taskmaster's own shield and expanded his energy shield before throwing it straight through the man somewhat brutally. He landed behind him a sweaty mess, a sweaty, but happy mess.
Simulation Complete. Simulation Grade: A+. Well done James Rogers. The room rang out causing James to smile.
Truthfully it had been a little while since he had gotten one of those. All these new opponents had forced him to adjust his training a bit and Taskmaster had especially given him troubles. You didn't necessarily need the best grade to defeat your opponents. But according to Tony his father liked to be thorough, as he felt it made him the best he could be, and his Mother was obsessed with perfection, certainly because of her assassin heritage.
Once he knew that he did his best to put this a part of his rigorous training regime as well. It hadn't become much of his problem when all they fought was the Ultron bots, but Taskmaster had him on his toes.
But with this win he could finally say that he was calmer now. That pep talk he had given wasn't just for the team, but for himself as well. Everyone was struggling with these additional problems, and it would take a strong mindset to get past everything.
James was prepared to leave when Daisy slinked into the Training Room. She was wearing a tight black tank top and some yoga pants and James couldn't stop his face from turning as red as a tomato. Quickly he put his head down and got ready to leave.
"You look ready to leave, but care for a quick spar. I don't want to hold you, but I'm interested in seeing how I match up against you."
"Of course." James nodded, but internally he was having a minor freak out as he wondered how he was supposed to focus on Daisy at all. He could gameplan and fight the biggest threats the world had ever seen but Daisy was what currently left him flabbergasted and at a loss.
"Great!" Daisy called excitedly with a big smile, and wasted no time dragging James to the training mat.
James got into his stance and watched as Daisy did the same mimicking his fighting appearance nearly perfectly. She really was one of the best fighters there, she just wasn't enhanced. "I know I'm trying to test my limits, but try to keep down the super heroics yeah? Don't think I want to get my head popped even if it's by Captain America."
"Noted." James told her with a grin "Whenever you're."
Daisy wasted no time and tried to press her advantage attempting to catch him off guard but it wasn't anything that he didn't expect. He parried her furious kicks, and let her continue with her barrage of attacks, before going on the offensive making sure that she was on her toes.
The spar went like that for most of the time, James not trying his hardest, but Daisy was definitely getting a good workout in. Still she wanted a bit more intensity from James who she felt like was not as focused on the fight as he usually was.
It was sudden as she flipped forward, and feinted a punch to the face and wrapped a leg around his own tripping Captain America, of course he was Captain America, so even though he was caught off guard and falling it didn't stop him from grabbing her arm and pulling her down with him, and suddenly it was a grappling match.
Or at least it was supposed to be, rather they both fell to the ground in a heap of giggles at the awkward position they landed in. It was with Daisy that James could really stop, slow down and be the 16 year old he truly was.
It was that something for some reason was getting harder and harder to do with the Avengers. He turned to Daisy as they laid on the ground and it was like she already knew what he was thinking. She swiftly pushed forward and grabbed his face placing a lingering kiss on the Super Soldier's lips.
"I-Was that too much?" Daisy questioned as she pulled away quickly and stood up "I'm sorry I got over eager. But I just couldn't take it anymore. I hope your not mad, and if you don't want to pursue this I totally get i-
"Daisy." James called quickly. "Just relax. I...liked it." As far as first kisses went James was sure that one was a pretty good one.
"You did?" Daisy asked quietly, face flushed. It was funny as she was usually the confident one.
"Yeah, it was nice." James insisted and pulled her closer "I wouldn't mind doing it again even."
"Really?" She nearly squeaked, and James nodded before he swooped in slowly and placed a kiss on her lips. This was the best he felt in a long time.
ALL AVENGERS TO THE MEETING ROOM PLEASE. I REPEAT THIS IS AMADEUS SPEAKING I HAVE SOME NEWS! PLEASE BE QUICK.
James and Daisy pulled away from each quickly, sharing a quick look. It seemed like they never ever got to finish what they started, but for James, not tonight.
"We are talking after this!" James insisted as he ran out of the room. He didn't give Daisy any chance to say anything as he grabbed his shield at the exit and ran to the meeting room.
As he got there Torunn was already along with Pym and Francis. And Azari flew in right after him. Riri and Tony ran into the room and Bruce and Vision were talking to each other quietly in the corner.
"What's the situation?" James demanded from Amadeus, and while he was anxious and thought something was wrong, Amadeus' huge smile made it obvious to James and the rest of the Avengers that this probably wasn't what they thought it was.
"Oh man you guys are going to love me!" Amadeus cheered happily once more. And James just sighed and decided to listen to Amadeus.
"We better." Francis muttered angrily "I thought you had a real problem for us to solve."
"Oh sorry..we can maybe do this at another time-
"No." James commanded "You called us and I'm sure it's for a great reason. Go on Amadeus. Whatever you need we can all take time out of our day for this."
Francis just muttered annoyedly before looking at Torunn who instead pointedly looked at the ground face flushed something that Azari only seemed to notice.
"Welp let me just get right into it then!" Amadeus told them, before moving things around on the digital screen. And they all saw what popped up on the screen, a folder that they had seen Tony, Bruce, Pym and Azari take cracks periodically over time.
Ultron Files. Dated all the way back to the day they defeated Ultron. Over two years. "Guys. I cracked it."
"No fucking way." Francis' response was immediate. And it was what they were all thinking. As far as they all knew Amadeus had been working on that for a week, tops? And he managed this already?
"Okay maybe I haven't cracked all of it." And just like that the atmosphere dropped and Amadeus wasn't having it "But, but, but. It's all in due time. Meanwhile I have 9% of everything Ultron ever stole."
"9%?" Torunn questioned
"It may not sound like much Torunn but you have to remember that Ultron basically stole the internet. He locked me out from obtaining most of my own files. 9% is actually going to be a lot. And of course, Amadeus has already unlocked 9% more than any of us could manage at all." Tony explained to the Asgardian.
"High praise! And while I could bore you with how I did it, I think you rather understand what's actually in the files. And yeah admittedly most of it is useless to us. This is from more than 13 years ago so it's not inherently important. But, but, but. I did unlock some more information pertaining to Ultron and the Avengers."
Amadeus went to a section and it was detailed and labeled with tons of different names that they had never heard of. "Look here we have extensive files on how Ultron conducted business, some of the people he did business with, schematics on certain cities and countries. From what I've unlocked we can get a look into the mind of Ultron. We can understand why he destroyed New York but never did the same to any other city in the entire world. The information we can pry from this will be huge."
"That is interesting.." Tony admitted, but he seemed to have a pensive look on his face "And you said you found some things of the Avengers."
"Oh yeah!" Amadeus smiled and began to type a few more things pulling up more and more files. "I knew the other stuff might not have been as interesting to you all so I scoured Ultron's things for more information, and found well...these."
They're were ten files that appeared on the screen, and the room was shocked to see that it was the Avenger's personal journals. From Thor, to Wasp and Black Widow. Captain America and Ant-Man. Even Bruce had one.
The shock in the room was palpable, as no one really said anything. "I took a look in one of the files briefly to make sure it wasn't damaged or corrupted. Once I did that, I had them printed and binded into a real journal with a little help. I know you guys were really young when...Anyways, I hope maybe this can give you a little more insight into what your parents were like when they were younger."
The books sat on a ledge and James was the first to take a book it was obvious whose was who's. And so he took two, The one that was blue with a white star and one that was black and red with an hourglass on it. His parents' insignias.
His boldness allowed Azari and Francis to go next, and pick up their father's books as well. The only one who hadn't made a single movement was Pym, and Torunn seemed to be the only one who noticed that.
James was focused on his books like they held the secrets to the universe and Francis looked like he might cry for the first time in a very long time. And Azari simply smiled. Still James was the first to open the book and it was like he was immediately absorbed in by the words.
Yesterday it was April 18, 1945. I died. Or at least I thought I had. Our men stormed Nazi Germany's front and I successfully stopped the A Bomb from hitting America. The last thing I remember was dropping like a fly over the icy waters of the Arctic. I could only hope that my efforts were enough to sway the results of the war.
Today it's May 23, 1985. Supposedly 40 years have passed since that day. The War is nothing more than an old memory in the minds of today's people. How am I alive? I've been asking myself the same question for the past 38 hours.
From what I understand I was found by an organization named S.H.I.E.L.D. And it's director, Nick Fury. The name feels familiar. They told me they found my body in suspended animation. This means that while I was in the ice for forty years, my body never aged. I might technically be a 65 year old man. But my body says 25.
Everyone I ever knew has either passed or is in a retirement's home. My mind is telling me to go to Germany, to find the Invaders and truly make sure everything is okay. But when I take a look outside, when I see the large buildings and happy smiles, the people taking pictures with "cellphones" and driving cars that would have been used to storm warfronts years ago, I understand that I don't have to. The people are okay.
What does that mean for me? Well according to Nick Fury, there's never been a better time to be alive. Especially for Captain America. They are calling it the age of heroes. People like me, all around us.
I had not believed him until I grabbed a paper last morning. Men in metal suits with the firepower of nukes. A family of heroes right in the heart of New York City. A man the size of a skyscraper and a woman the size of a wasp.
Of course who could forget the man claiming to be the Norse God of Thunder and a hulking green mass of rage and destruction. My personal favorite is the colorful spider themed hero down in queens, though he seems to be the newspaper's most hated.
And so what does this mean for Captain Steve Rogers? Fury has already outfitted me with a new shield that supposedly can stop anything, and newer gear that can allow me to reach newer heights. They want me to be the face of the Superhero community. Join some group of Avengers. And I'm going to do it but…
It was just three days ago I was talking to Bucky about what we were going to do after the war. A day after that we lost a squadron of great men, and Peggy had been one of the only things to keep me sane.
It feels like just a couple of hours ago, shrapnel was flying by my face, bullets were zipping through the battlefield as men laid down their lives for their countries. Nothing feels right. I am a Man out of time. And I have no idea what to do.
A touch on James' shoulder from Azari jolted him out of the world he had been pulled into and he immediately closed the book and cleared his throat trying to regain focus, it was hard for him as a flood of memories were coming back to him. As he looked at Azari and Francis he knew they felt it too.
"What'd I miss?" James whispered to Azari. Their eyes locked on Pym who was in another room now. The only one in there with him was Torunn who seemed to be giving Pym the confidence needed to take the books that rightfully belonged to him.
"It makes sense." James admitted with a sigh "Pym doesn't know much if anything about his parents. He was always content with us and Tony, he never really asked when got older."
"Pym has an image of his parents. And he never wants that to change. Even if he does have an opportunity to gain some knowledge about what they were like." Azari responded
"I mean. What does he have to fear? I've heard a ton of Avengers stories from my Dad, Ant-Man and the Wasp were as close as possible. They were model Avengers."
Azari agreed and continued talking to Francis but James didn't say anything. There was no doubting that Uncle Hank and Aunt Janet were good people. But from what he understood they had their fair share of problems. And they had been pretty open about them as well.
They weren't perfect but Pym shouldn't be scared to get to know them. As sad as it was, he wasn't going to get to know them any other way. Amadeus watched on and he looked a little worried, and James realized the conversation needed to move on.
"You've done a really great thing Amadeus. Thank you. And this was everything right?" James questioned. He wanted to end this and talk to Daisy and then read as much as he could.
"Well...there was another thing. A list of those who Ultron...terminated during his reign. And It's not exactly complete. And then a...video." Amadeus told them slowly "It's dated March 12, 1998. I-I wasn't sure what to do with it. I couldn't click it because. Well-
"It's fine Amadeus, you've done more than enough." Tony spoke for all of them. Words couldn't be said by the Avengers as they all knew what happened on that day.
The trio just left the laboratory not even saying anything to each other as they could still hear Torunn talking to Pym. The three heroes went their separate ways. Each to their rooms. For James it was a brief stop there as he left his parents journals under his bed., and headed straight for Daisy's room.
He knocked on the door and waited patiently, for her to open the door right when it opened up he walked in confusing Daisy
"Wha-, Alright, hey how are you too?" Daisy said as he closed the door and followed James into her room "So are you taking over some-
"Do you like me Daisy?" James immediately asked and snaked his arms around her waist. "Do you like me, because I'm pretty sure I like you, and I don't want to dance around this any longer."
"Yeah I do. When'd you figure it out before or after we almost made out in the Gym?" Daisy teased causing James to laugh.
"A little before." James told her.
"Good, I'd have been a little worried if it took-ooo." Daisy was interrupted by James swooping in to kiss her once again. Only stopping when James pulled away.
"There isn't much to do. But I was thinking we could go to the common room, Watch one of those old movies Tony has stored on the server?"
"I am very down with that Mr. America." Daisy told him with a large smile. And the new couple left all their superhero problems in Daisy's room and enjoyed a nice movie, as they both knew they weren't going to get this time often.
ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 4, 11:10 UTC
"You want to go to Kenya?" Tony questioned Azari skeptically.
"If possible, yes." Azari told the old inventor.
"Today?" Tony questioned once again.
"I know it may sound crazy." Azari began. "But I feel as if I have an opportunity to learn new things. There's a slim chance I can find things pertaining to my heritage but I'd like to take it. As of this moment the Avengers aren't very busy, so I'd like to go on this mission as soon as I can."
Tony stopped fiddling with creation and frowned as he thought about things for a moment. This was the first time Azari was asking for something like this. And the first time he was mentioning wanting to do something like this at all.
He understood it. And he would always understand one of the kids trying to learn more about their parents, it only made sense. But this was a bit sudden, and with the way everything was going now, Tony wouldn't have been surprised if something bad went down there.
"I dunno Azari…"
"I understand your worry Tony but It was barely a month ago when you had me running that Savage Land misson on my own, and that was much more dangerous considering Omega Red had been there the whole time. It's a simple mission Tony. I can take Vision with me as well."
"I don't think I can really deny you, can I?" Tony asked, and they both already knew the answer. "Alright fine, you can go. But you only have a couple of hours."
"Thanks, that will be more than enough time. I really appreciate this." Azari told Tony with a smile. He was leaving, and as Riri listened in on the conversation and saw Azari leave she made an executive decision.
"Could I...come too?" She asked quickly. Tony and Azari's attention immediately snapped to her, and she almost regretted it.
"What was that? I'm getting older, Riri, so you're gonna have to say that again. It almost sounded like you said you wanted to go as well."
"Uhm, that's what I said sir." Riri said louder this time, though it was still quiet for anyone heard it clearly and was immediately frowning. First off Riri never called him sir. And second he really didn't feel comfortable sending out Riri who was basically defenseless even if it was just Kenya.
"Please Tony?" She immediately started to beg, it was so out of character for Rir it was really throwing the Avenger off.
"And why would you like to go?"
"I took the time to learn how to fly the Quinjet. I'd just like to see what it's like being in the field, but you know, on a mission that is considerably less dangerous than any other." Riri told Tony "I'll stick with Azari and Vision, promise."
"Well it should be fine Tony." Azari told him "I'm very certain we won't be finding anything remotely dangerous. I don't plan on fighting."
"Alright." Tony sighed "But now you really have to make sure you come back on time."
"I have every intention of doing so." Azari told him with a grin "Come on Riri, let's prep the Quinjet."
Riri nodded along and followed diligently, thankful that her plan worked. Azari hadn't said anything but he did find it a bit weird that Riri wanted to come, and he was simply waiting for the true reason she was coming to reveal itself.
"You can start up the Quinjet right?" Azari questioned Riri.
"Perfect, you do that, and I'll grab Vision." Azari told her and ran off. First he went to his room and grabbed a black book, for the ride to Kenya. And after that he went to Vision's quarters and knocked on the door a few times and waited patiently for the android.
"Azari, how can I help you?"
"Tony okayed the mission for Today. We were planning on taking off right now."
"We? Is Tony coming along as well?" Vision asked
"No Riri decided to tag along." Azari explained, Vision gave him a questioning look before shrugging his shoulders slightly
"Odd."
"I thought so as well." Azari admitted "I'm sure we will figure it out soon enough, but we are headed to the Quinjet now."
"I'll be there in a moment." Vision responded, and with that Azari went back to the Quinjet. Riri was sitting in the pilot seat by the time he got there, and Azari decided to take a seat at the back of the jet and quickly opened his reading material for the trip that day.
His father's journal. He had skimmed through the entire thing the night before and there wasn't too much stuff which made sense. His father would most likely keep most of his things in Wakanda, and really he was a bit paranoid so if he was going to share anything it was going to be with his Mother.
Still Azari planned to take his time reading this. As he wasn't going to get much perspective from his family anywhere else. His father's own words would be the best he was going to get.
The plane ride was rather quiet as Azari was nose deep in his father's journal and Riri and Vision barely spoke, and when they did it was about her flying and it was in hushed whispers. It was a stark difference from the mission atmosphere Azari was used to but he liked it.
It gave this trip a completely different feel, one that he couldn't get his mind off of. As they neared the country of Kenya he could feel his heart rate increase exponentially, he couldn't help it he was feeling a bunch of things at the moment.
He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. The chances of him finding any actual information pertaining to his mother was slim, but it didn't stop him thinking about the possibilities if he actually did find her.
Things would get exponentially better in his life having another person to finally lean on. He wouldn't have to worry so much about being King of Wakanda, and of course having one of his biological family members back would be great.
Then there were all the things that his mother would be able to do for the Avengers and even the X-Men.
Of course Azari forced himself not to think of all the reasons why this was extremely improbable. The fact that it had been 10+ years. The fact that a deadly virus that had been affecting mutants had been out there for 11 years and killed a lot of them didn't help.
Then there was the fact that she had to have hidden from Ultron successfully during that time, which they knew from experience was extremely hard to do. One misstep and he would be on you in an instant.
His mother was an experienced amazing superhero so he was sure all of this was possible. But in the back of his mind he knew...This was a longshot.
"Landing now Azari." Riri told him as she messed with a couple of settings. Her heart was beating like a drum for an entirely different reason.
She knew that Azari was focused on finding his mother, and she really wanted him to find her too. Having her parents was one of the only things that kept her sane while they stayed in the ruins of Chicago.
But what she really wanted to do was test out her ironheart MKII suit. She had taken so much inspiration from older suits in Tony's lab. For a man who supposedly hadn't put on a suit in years, he spent so much time working on the inactive group of Iron Legion robots.
And from what she could tell his Mark 53 suit. He hadn't even worn the last ten iterations. Still that hadn't stopped Tony's genius from showing, his love for his suits allowed Riri to understand better how everything worked, and create her own.
It was funny she could probably apply her genius to anything else but instead she had chosen making suits out of metal. All it had taken was one flyover from the Iron Legion and Tony Stark's voice and she had been smitten. The idea of creating one of those suits had been stuck in her mind ever since. She had made a cruder version with scraps once. This version would be the real deal.
"Good to know Riri, thanks." Azari called from the back of the quinjet. Vision was the only one who was neutral about the entire thing. He felt for Azari who wanted familial connection, and of course he couldn't help but wonder whatever it was Riri was hiding. But he was also sure that they were going to find out at any moment.
The quinjet landed easily and they found themselves on the outskirts of a series of small villages that Amadeus and Azari had managed to pinpoint the possible locations too.
"Remember." Azari began to tell Riri as the exited the quinjet "I know that this is just a little mission and that we don't expect any real trouble but you need to stick right beside Vision and I. You're my responsibility while we're out here, and I really don't want anything to happen to you on my watch."
"Don't worry." Riri insisted, as she made a couple of touches on her glove. It was very sudden how the red and gold suit covered her body. It was the first time in a long time that Vision could genuinely say he was surprised.
"When...how...Does Tony know about this?" Azari stuttered through his question. Riri's helmet suddenly came down so her suit only came to her neck and she had a bit of an embarrassed look on her face.
"Not exactly." Riri admitted, "But I'm here to help! You guys are always talking about needing more hands and I'm here now."
"Yes but…" Azari sighed as he realized this was bigger than Riri realized "Riri it's just not that simple."
"Why not?" Riri questioned "I get it I probably should have told Tony my intentions but he would have just said no. 'I'm too young and all of that stuff.' Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
"Riri you are young. You're 15…" Azari pointed out.
"Azari. We are the same age." Riri gave the mutant hybrid a deadpan look.
"Yes but...The other Avengers and I are a special case. We banded together because we had to. And don't get me wrong. I believe that you wanting to help is a great thing, and it's admirable you've taken so many steps on your own. I mean even your suit...it's incredible. But with the way things are now...there are so many important steps in becoming an Avenger. There's training, and tons of different prep work, lots more field training, before one just gets put on a battlefield. Before we had any ideas of fighting Ultron we were still being trained diligently by Tony. It's why things worked in the first place. You've made an incredible suit Riri but tell me this. If I send you to destroy a swarm of Ultron bots in Switzerland could you do that on your own? Because that's something Tony and the Iron Legion could do in their sleep in half an hour."
"To add on to what Azari's saying. I believe you are moving too fast. Have you heard of the phrase: You have to walk before you can run?" Vision added on
"Exactly." Azari nodded "I don't want you to get disappointed or down Riri because you have truly impressed me today. But there is protocol. And being a 'Secret Avenger' isn't one of them. I have no doubt you would make a great Avenger one day. But you have to go through the proper training first."
"But-
"So that means no superheroing while we're here. You can familiarize yourself with the suit and the feeling but not doing anything you wouldn't normally be able to. That means no flying or other things of that nature."
"Please-
"Sorry I'm pulling rank on this one Riri. As an Avenger I'm ordering you to follow the rules." Azari told her sternly but still gave her shoulder a comforting pat.
"Alright, fine. But...you'll have my back if I tell Tony right?"
"Of course." Azari told her "I'm sure when the other's find out. We all will." This seemed to bring Riri's mood up just a tad bit, and it made Azari feel a bit better about the whole situation. He wasn't happy about having to pull rank or having to scold Riri but it was necessary in this case.
"I believe with all of that taken care of, We can get to the mission." Vision pointed out.
"You're right." Azari nodded and suddenly took to the skies and Vision followed "Our destination is a couple of miles from here…"
Azari looked to the ground and saw the frown on Riri's face and quickly made a decision "If you can keep up and promise not to get ahead of yourself, you can fly with us Riri."
"Promise!" She called immediately
"Alright come on then." Azari waved over "We don't have all day."
Riri nodded quickly and the helmet suddenly reappeared over her head, and she shakily took to the skies. She was wobbly at first, but either her or the suit did a great job of stabilizing her flight pattern. Now she was in the sky with Vision, and Azari, and she didn't look out of place one bit.
"Now what do we call you out here? I suppose you wouldn't like to be called Iron Man?" Vision questioned
"Certainly not." her slightly robotic voice agreed "How about...Ironheart?"
"Perfect." Azari approved "Now come on Ironheart, Vision. Tony gave us a time limit and I do not want to push it."
The trio flew around the village for a while staying very high in the sky and making sure not to fly too fast to let Riri get accustomed to being in the air. The way Azari understood it, when Riri saved Francis in her first suit, it was very crude and only managed to fly for a few seconds. But this one was doing a perfect job, and the nanotech was nearly seamless.
Azari made a habit of looking back a couple of times to make sure that things were going fine with Riri and every time, Vision gave him a subtle nod indicating she was doing just fine. Secretly he was a little happy for Riri's big surprise as it allowed his mind to think about something other than the answers he was seeking.
Eventually however, it was simply unavoidable. They started to get close enough to the villages where they could see people begin to descend below in the villages, and it also seemed they had been noticed, as a group of people had begun to crowd around in anticipation for the heroes to actually land.
Immediately Azari noticed 3 older women with distinct grey hair that didn't seem to exactly come from old age. He was very aware of the fact that his mother came from a line of sorcerers and priestesses. And that her hair colour was a genetic trait everyone in her family line seemed to share.
Those were the people he would like to speak with. The three heroes landed a further bit away from the villagers and Azari quickly gave a humble bow to the people before speaking calmly.
"I am Azari from the Avengers. You don't have to worry about an attack from us, or any external threats from Ultron, I'm here to consult with your elder priestess if possible." Azari spo
The people whispered among themselves, but they did eventually point to the women at the back of the group who mostly looked uninterested.
Still Azari confidently made his way over to the women with one focus on his mind and that was finding out everything he could about this situation with his mother.
"I never thought we would see you here." The elder priestess spoke as he made his way over "I assume there is only one reason you are here. You've found her."
"I-no." Azari sighed, it seems that introductions weren't even needed they simply got to business "The opposite actually. I've been searching for her, but I have no answers. I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that."
"Oh." The woman said simply "And Azari had thought she was a little more disappointed then he was.
"Ororo was supposed to be here when Ultron struck. She was coming to us for solutions to their Legacy Virus problems, we were going to help her in any way we knew how. But instead she never showed up."
"Ahh. So, she must have been in New York." Azari told them sadly.
"No. I don't believe so." She told Azari firmly "Ultron came as a surprise to all of us, and while your Mother might have gone there to fight if she knew, she couldn't have, as she flew herself here from Wakanda to avoid any detection. It wouldn't be possible for her to know what situations were really playing in New York City. Let alone make it in time to be blown up in the aftermath."
Azari thought this information over, and while he was disappointed he was also confused "So my father says she could have been in New York, but was supposed to be in Wakanda. The Wakandans have no clue where she is. The X-Men also believed her to be in Wakanda but admit that she knew about the Virus and enough about Ultron that she probably hadn't been sitting still. And now you are telling me she was on her way here from Wakanda and never made it. This is...far more complex than I ever thought it could be."
It was beginning to annoy Azari. Was his Mother around or gone. What could have happened?
"At this point I think it's safe to assume your mother was at one point in Wakanda before Ultron struck. Whatever happened afterwards is the true Mystery." Vision spoke to them.
"Indeed." The Elder Priestess nodded "Regardless Azari, it is good you have visited. Without your Mother it's time that you-
But the woman was stopped by another who quickly began to whisper to her fiercely, and the woman simply nodded once more, before turning to Azari and speaking.
"Your time will come young one. I believe I can not say much. But find us when it is time. We will have a message for you."
"About my mother or…?"
"About you." She told him emphatically. "Now I believe you should be getting home. It's unfortunate that you can't stay longer, but we have many preparations to commence. Hopefully we can be properly introduced in the future."
"I...yes thank you for your time. Come on guys. Let's get out of here." Azari told the other two and flew off not even waiting for their responses. But his mind was running 1000miles a minute.
But he just had to wonder what had happened to his mother? How could no one have any idea of where she was in her last days. And of course what was that Elder Priestess going to say, and how was he ever supposed to know when it was time to go see them? He only continued to stress himself out the further he began to think about it so Azari put it to the back of his mind.
From now on he was focusing on the Masters of Evil and everything pertaining to the situation the Avengers found themselves in right now. That was what was important at the moment.
Still as Azari looked out the windows of the Quinjet he allowed himself one more thought "Mom where are you?"