Wakanda had been a wonderful host. Wanda couldn't refute that. She doubted any of them would but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The funeral for Bucky was a quick, simple affair. Steve had some speech prepared and the team listened respectfully but Wanda barely paid attention. Her mind to distracted, or focused if you asked Clint, on Rob. The young man who saved her, gave her comfort and companionship when no one else could. She owed him her life and she was dam sure going to pay him back. All she had to do was find him and, on that account, T'challa had agreed to discretely find out all he could about him.

Of course, it wasn't too long after her request that the United Nations received a tip about Wakanda harboring them all. The king had done everything he could to keep the UN away but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. That time, appeared to be today, a few hours after the funeral to be exact.

T'challa had walked into the living room they were all gathered in with a grim expression on his face. "I'm sorry my friends." He began when he had everyone's attention. "I have done all I can but I cannot hold them back any longer. They will come for you."

"Any good news?" Natasha asked. She had sat next to Wanda and now wrapped an arm around the girl.

T'challa looked towards Clint and Scott. "It would appear that Tony Stark has convinced them to offer you both a deal. You shall relinquish your suit and bow; in return they will allow you to return home under house arrest. Any financial difficulties this brings will be covered by Stark industries. Should you choose to accept, then you will remain here until they come to collect you."

"What about the rest of us?" Steve asked from his spot by a window.

"You will have to leave immediately." T'challa said. "I am sorry my friends. I wish I could do more."

Steve nodded his thanks and turned to the team. "What do you guys want to do?"

Scott spoke first, addressing T'challa. "I'll take the deal." Turning to the team he stated. "I'm sorry guys but I have a daughter I need to take care of. I can't put this on her any more than I already have."

"It's cool, tic-tac. We had a good run." Sam clapped him on the shoulder. "No hard feelings. But there is no way I'm going back to prison." He addressed the final sentence to the team.

"Neither am I." Nat spoke.

Clint looked down as everyone looked to him next. "I'm sorry guys but I have a family. I would love to stay and help you all but they need me. Laura needs help with the kids and I can't do that if we are on the run."

"We understand Clint, you don't have to explain anything to us." Steve nodded to him before turning to Wanda.

Said girl stared into his eyes. "I refuse to go back there. Even if Rob is still there." Steve tensed at the name. "I'm going to find him and thank him for what he has done for me."

T'challa nodded. "there is something you should know about him." This got everyone's attention. "Shortly after your escape, Rob was reported missing. The good secretary seems to believe you took him."

"Well you know we didn't. What could have happened to him?" Wanda asked, dread clenching her heart.

T'challa shrugged. "No one knows. The cameras went dark shortly after the arrow exploded. I can say that whoever took him, knew you were going to escape and planned to make their move during the chaos."

"You have made many enemies, most of them are dead and gone but those that remain, are any capable of this?" T'challa asked. "I will keep searching for him and contact you if I find anything. I wish you all the luck in the world." The King bowed and left. The Avengers remained seated for some time after he left. Eventually, Scott and Clint both left to peck their belongings. Those who remained stayed silent. Steve and Nat thinking about their next move, Wanda thinking about her savior. How she could save him and keep him safe from further harm just as he did for her.

*elsewhere*

Sat on the floor in a strait jacket, Rob shook. All around him were plain white walls. A high-pitched whine that he heard in the background, kept him awake for an amount of time he couldn't place. He had no idea how long Ultron had kept him here.

When Ultron had first started shocking him, he had seemed eager to hear his cries of pain. No questions were asked. No words other than what was exchanged in the beginning were spoken. All that could be heard were his agonized screams as hundreds of volts of electricity burned threw his body. When the blasted robot stopped, he had then dragged a limp Rob into this room, put the jacket on him and left.

At first, it wasn't so bad. He was able to recover in relative peace and think about an escape plan. Of course, the pain he had endured that day had exhausted him and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep. That is when the infernal whine was heard. It was barely there but Rob could not ignore it. The headache the noise caused was awful. All these factors grated on his nerves and started to truly break him.

Unknown to him though was, the being beyond the room, looking in. Ultron took in the young man and watched as he ever so slowly broke. Ultron knew he would break. A normal person, no enhancements, no field experience, nothing to prepare him for what he was being put through. Before him sat a young mind waiting to be molded. His sword to be thrown at the avengers while he waiting in the dark.

He had learned after his defeat. He knew his lack of patience and his grandstanding were his downfall. He acted rashly and naively. He has learned from his mistakes. He would not waste this second chance. This time, he would truly destroy the avengers. He would save these retched beings by removing the people painting a target on this world's back.

His new plan would be perfect. Would have to be perfect. His savior would accept nothing less. This boy was the perfect beginning. He had already proven he could kill those stronger than him. He could hurt the avengers in ways they thought impossible. A true underdog would rise from the husk that the boy would become and Ultron would use him to achieve greatness.

But breaking someone was delicate work. A lesser being would fail. Potentially killing to target or breaking them to the point of making them useless. He begrudgingly thanked stark for his creation. A hard blow to take but his arrogance had been tempered by his defeat. He could not afford to give his enemies any glimpse of who they truly fought. They could not know of his survival. He had to be the shadow of their demise. With Starks new armor being reworked, and the A.I. corrupted, this pawn, this child, would allow him to kill them all.

"Soon my child, soon we will kill them all."

*Stark*

Tony watched the proceedings with a hint of melancholy. Apparently only two ex-avengers took the offered plea deal. Tony knew Ross was furious about it and that aspect brought him no end of joy. But when Clint and the ant guy stated they had no knowledge of Rob's whereabouts, Tony grew worried. He had been unable to find any sort of lead and the trail had stopped dead where he had gone missing.

Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes as the memory of his visit to the kid's mother came to mind. She had been devasted. He could still hear her sobs as she begged for him to find her son. Everything had truly fallen apart and what rose to take its place, was barely worth any of the price paid.

While thinking of this new world he found himself in, his mind wandered to Rhody. A better friend could not exist. That man had always been there for him. Through Jarvis' death. Through his mother's and now, through the team splintering. He had always been there for him and now it was his turn to give back. TO look after his best friend and give him the best chance at walking again. He had already built a prototype brace. Meant to help Rhody walk normally. Or as normal as was possible now. He could barely look at Vision now and didn't that make him feel like shit. One of his few remaining teammates, and he couldn't help but blame him for what happened to Rhody.

Tony shook his head to wipe those traitorous thoughts from his head. The hearing was over and everyone was leaving. He sighed and left as well. Alone. The absence of Pepper never felt so large until this moment. HE could hardly blame her too. He was a mess and had brought the team down with him.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and when he took it out, he smiled. Happy was once again complaining about Peter. A few images popped up from screenshots the man took of the kid's messages. He owed Happy a lifetime of vacations for all the crap he had to deal with. If only his other recruit hadn't disappeared. If only he hadn't brought that promising young man into this life.

When he returned to the compound he checked with Friday if any leads had popped up. Once again there was nothing. On a hunch he had Friday look into the people who had attacked the convoy to the raft. He had been pretty impressed with Robs aim. The kid really did have talent. Especially with the moves he made to take down the threat.

The men who had attacked had apparently been mercenaries. Paid anonymously from some bullshit account that lead them to some random Indian family who were too poor to afford a car let alone pay hired guns. Of course, when he opened that bag of worms, Ross had decided that the Avengers should focus on that. Make that investigation their priority while Rob's case was left to the FBI.

The only good thing about that is that he wouldn't be declared dead until after seven years had passed. But the problem with that was the longer the case went, the less people would be put on it. Without any solid leads or tips, they would push it to the side.

He wouldn't give up though. Not this time. Never again would he fail his team. He would find Rob if it was the last thing he did, with or without Ross's approval. All he needed was one lead.

I hope this chapter is ok. But I am curious. Should I keep the torture going a few more chapters or move on with a time jump. I can do both. As it won't really affect the story regardless. If it wasn't clear, the easter egg thing was a trailer from Star Wars Knights of the fallen empire. And in the rewrite, I will try and base Ultron on Valkorion. If you have no idea who I am talking about. I urge and encourage you to look him up. As for Rob, I will either base him off Arcann or Vaylin.