It was almost sunset by the time the boys made it back to Avengers (formerly Stark) Tower. Miraculously, none of them got lost or were in any way worse for wear than when they had started their adventure. (Except for Dean complaining of chaffing and Sam complaining of blisters. I mean…. They did walk a lot.) They had indulged in a few side adventures… they were stuck in the city until the morning at least, so it wouldn't hurt to relax a little.

"This has almost been like a little vacation," Sam mused as they entered the lobby.

"More like a trip to a better version of Disney World, where everything is real and nothing is even slightly campy," Dean responded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Same amount of random singing though." At the security desk, they got a large raised eyebrow from the Armenian man sitting in a chair.

"Do you have invites?" He asked.

"Oh no, we're just guests of happenstance for the day. Check with Tony or Thor." Gabriel responded with his greasiest smile and most convincing wink… which really wasn't all that convincing in the face of such a large man. The man grunted, tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and then turned his stern face back to the group.

"You're not on the list," the man grumped.

"Just call Stark and tell him the guys from the other universe are back and we need to talk to him about our situation," Dean snapped, clearly not having it.

"That's not how this works. People off the street don't just get to waltz on in here and tell me to call Stark." He crossed his arms and leveled all four men with a stare that clearly said he thought he could take all of them in a fight.

"Sorry, 'scuse me." Sam interrupted the stare off. "If you'll just check the security footage, you'll find that we left the building at around nine this morning. But if you look further back there is no evidence of us ever entering the building in the first place." The guy looked moderately confused, but after a few moments decided to sit forward and started tapping around on the computer again.

"How did you guys say you came here again?"

"Through a tear in reality. In our universe this is all just a movie franchise." Cas answered, which got him an elbow to the gut from Dean. The guy appraised the group once more, his eyes going from guarded to wary of how crazy they might be… when suddenly the phone rang.

"Yes." He answered the phone and paused momentarily. "Yes, sir. I'll send them up." He tapped his finger to the bluetooth and then nodded to the elevator, but didn't say anything else. Three of them nodded and shuffled away.

"Thanks," Gabriel said with a wink before hopping after the others. In the elevator, all four of them settled in for the ride up many stories. "Anyone remember which floor we were on before?" Everyone just shook their heads side-to-side… and with a manic gleam in his eye, Gabe pressed all the buttons to the groans of everyone inside the elevator. "What? Why not take in a few more sights? Maybe even lay eyes on the gorgeous Black Widow." As the elevator came to its first stop on the 15th floor, the doors slid open to reveal a relaxed looking Natasha Romanoff in jeans and a T-shirt. Gabe actually squeaked. All eyes in the elevator went round at the sight of the first female Avenger to work with the team. What was weird though was how Natasha's eyes went round right back. She stepped into the elevator, utterly shocked, then shook her head.

"Woah. Supernatural boys. I knew you were here, but running into all of you in the elevator just seems exceptionally crazy." She leaned back against the doors as they closed and glanced to the button board, eyes narrowing. "Who pressed all of the buttons?" The Winchesters and Cas both pointed accusatory fingers at Gabe. He laughed awkwardly.

"Where do you need to go my lady?" Gabe asked.

"22nd floor. Where are you guys trying to go?" Nat fired back.

"The common room floor place… or something. Wherever we first came through." Sam piped up.

"18th floor then." Gabe raised his hand and snapped his fingers, all of the buttons flicked off except for the two requested floors. Natasha for her part, didn't even blink at the display of powers. "That's good because Thor was asking around for you. He was worried. Oh and Tony wanted a word with you, Sam. He brushed up on your show and was interested to see what you thought of a few things." Sam's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Tony wants to see me?" Sam asked, astonished.

"Yeah he'll probably have the two of you plus Bruce put those giant brains together for something." Natasha said flippantly, clearly not interested in all of the Tony tech hooplah.

"Bruce as in… Dr. Bruce Banner?!" Sam just barely contained his excitement. Dean chuckled quietly. "Yeah. Yeah, that's fine, that's cool." Sam's voice went far too high in pitch, so Natasha raised a slim red eyebrow at him.

"He's a big fan of the Hulk and especially Dr. Banner," Dean teased. Sam shot a bitch face at his brother.

"Yeah says the Cap fan boy who couldn't even make words when he walked in the room earlier." Sam retaliated.

"Thank you for the help Ms. Romanoff, it was lovely to meet you." Cas said, as the only occupant of the elevator paying attention to their destination. The doors sprung open and Cas ushered them all out.

"See you at the party?" She asked, smiling at Cas and giving him a little wink. Dean caught this and glowered slightly as Cas finished shoving him off to the side.

"I should suppose we will unless it's a really large party." Cas responded, giving her his signature head tilt.

"No worries, champ. I tend to stand out in a crowd." With that the doors slid shut. Gabriel gave a low whistle.

"Guess she likes the quiet types." He said.

"What do you mean by that?" Dean said pointedly.

"Just that Cassie here barely said a word and yet he's the one who got flirted with by her. And he totally missed it!" Gabe said wistfully, strolling casually down the hall towards what looked like a balcony in the distance. "I'm gonna go search for Thor, you boys have fun! Oh, and if you can't find something to wear for the party tonight… be sure to visit Uncle Gabriel's Boutique!"

"Yeah, that'll never happen." Dean answered now that Gabe was out of earshot. "And you best go try and find Tony then. If he wants you."

"Yeah, you're right but… how?" Sam asked. Dean thought for a moment before an idea struck him.

"Jarvis?" Dean called, tilting his head to the ceiling.

"Yes, Mr. Winchester?" Responded the AI.

"Sweet," Dean said mostly to himself, to Jarvis he asked, "Where is Mr. Stark located? Sammy needs to find him."

"Ah Yes, if you'll just follow the sound of my voice Sam, I can direct you to his study." Jarvis told the room, then the elevator dinged and opened. "This way."

"Awesome. Thanks." Sam said awkwardly, then with a nod he marched back into the elevator.

"Man, that is so cool. We need one of those in the bunker." Dean mused.

"The Black Widow was flirting with me?" Cas asked Dean. "I thought that was just her personality." Dean turned to meet Cas' eyes and his face twitched strangely, unsure how to respond.

"Well, uhh… I guess. Yes to both of those? It's not like we actually know her. Just the movie version. She's a pretty complex person." Dean told Cas amicably and with as much reason as he can muster, despite still feeling a little put off by that interaction. Though he didn't dare put his finger on why it made him feel weird.

"Then why did Gabriel seem to think it was flirting?" Castiel asked. "I thought flirting was seeking physical contact in an unnecessary situation or suggesting sexual notions. Though I'm beginning to reconsider the former because you do that with astonishing frequency." Dean spluttered at Cas' words. Castiel, Warrior Angel of the Lord, talking about sexual suggestions... but also saying Dean had been flirting with him? And by that definition had he? Dean's brain had just hopped on a very confusing train that he didn't know how to get off of. "Dean?" Cas asked, pulling his focus back.

"Yeah?" Dean answered smartly.

"You 'spaced out' as you call it. I was talking about-"

"I know what you were talking about Cas. And the answer is: it's all complicated but yes, she was probably flirting with you. I wouldn't take it to heart though."

"She tends to flirt with everyone." Answered a deep baritone from around the corner. In the next moment, Steve appeared in the same grey T-shirt and blue jeans from before, throwing Dean's brain through another momentary loop. Thankfully, now he'd had a few hours to think all of this through and prepare for this moment. "Dean's probably right. She was likely just flirting with you to irk the other guys because you were the only one who didn't react. It always drives people crazy." He chuckled lightly.

Dean laughed rather awkwardly and Cas gave him an odd look.

"I'm not one to be driven crazy by something so simple." Cas mused turning back to Steve.

"What, you're completely unphased by gorgeous women?" Steve asked, a laughing smirk still on his face. Cas tilted his head and squinted his eyes thoughtfully.

"Outward beauty is a subjective thing, fluctuating across the world and throughout time. I tend to find certain souls more 'attractive' than others. Some are so uniquely beautiful, made of something… rare." Cas told them. Steve looked at Cas skeptically. Dean was still mute, desperately trying not to stare at Steve too obviously, and he was exceptionally thankful neither Cas nor Steve had mentioned his behavior.

"So you're really an angel? Made by God, warrior of heaven, the whole package?" Steve asked, clearly still not sure what to make of the whole situation. Cas nodded solemnly.

"I used to command my own Garrison. Led my brethren through all the rings of hell. It was a harrowing battle, I lost many men." Cas told him. Steve nodded, respect in his eyes. Something about him aged, he seemed infinitely older. It was that moment that finally saved Dean from his gripping panic of meeting one of his childhood heroes. (And maybe a bit of adulthood too, but he would never admit that to Sam.) Steve Rogers was once just a boy who desperately wanted to fight for his country. Fought the good fight, now he'd spent years on the front lines, displaced from anything he could consider a semblance of home. He was a man; a good man.

"So are you excited for the party tonight?" Dean asked, keeping the conversation casual so as to just dip his toes into the realms of his celebrity anxiety. Dean rubbed his palms against his jeans, fighting off the sweat and forcing his pulse to slow the heck down. Be cool man.

"Yeah, I guess. It's not often we get to do something quite like this. I'm not really a partier myself, but I know the rest of them like it," he said, clearly indicating the rest of the Avengers team. "It will be nice to chat with friends too."

"Laugh at everyone else's drunk antics?" Dean asked, jokingly. Steve chuckled.

"That too."

"Cas once drank an entire liquor store." Dean told Steve. Cas looked mildly affronted at Dean sharing this.

"It was a rough time. I had just realized my father didn't care about us anymore. Not even intervening in the end of his creation." Steve laughed.

"Your lives are just different strides of crazy, aren't they?" Dean nodded and smirked a bit.

"No aliens, plenty of demons and ghosts." Dean agreed. "But the same set of ideals."

"Those being?" Steve asked, almost as if he was testing Dean, which made Dean nervous, but he answered without hesitating.

"Saving people." Dean told him, Cas nodded beside him. Steve gave him a small smile of approval that made Dean feel all glowy on the inside.

"Few hours to go until the party? What are you gentlemen going to do to entertain yourselves?" Steve inquired casually. A brilliant idea struck Dean.

"Have either of you ever played the original Super Mario Bros for Nintendo?" Dean asked, a childlike wonder coming into his eyes as he glanced between Cas and Cap. They both gave him confused yet intrigued looks.

"Are those the italian plumber brothers you've mentioned before?" Cas asked and Dean winked at him.

"Hey Jarvis?" Dean asked toward the ceiling.

"If you go down the hall you'll find everything you need in the TV room on the left." Responded the robotic butler.

"Man this place is the best!" Dean exclaimed and took off in the suggested direction, leaving Cas and Steve to shrug at each other and follow after Dean.

"Sir, you said you would be getting ready," Jarvis chastised, because for some reason Tony gave him those capabilities.

"I know mom. I just thought maybe, alternate universe knowledge, he might know some things." Tony said as he flung the tie around his neck, wearing it like a scarf in his flustered state. He hated problems he couldn't solve. He knew he was obsessive and ridiculous but he couldn't help it. This felt important.

"Alright Sir. Sam Winchester will meet you in your study, I'm directing him there now."

"Grand. The giant one is the smart one?" Tony inquired. He had guessed as much, but this guy was like a mountain. Tony had only heard about the show in passing, never really watched it. He knew enough to not have to ask what it was, but couldn't name a character or plotline. Other than that Jarvis had given him the rundown.

"He does not possess the most knowledge of the three, but he is the most likely to be able and think in the abstract realm." Jarvis explained and Tony shrugged, loosely finishing the knot in his tie and walking to the adjoining door of his study. As he walked in he saw… Sam, he reminded himself, gazing at some of the smaller projects scattered about the large room. Jarvis called this his study… it was more of a backdoor to his studio. This was where he tinkered on Iron Man projects. "Sam is it?" The man in question whipped around, hair flowing smoothly like a damn princess.

"Yeah, that's me. I heard you wanted to see me?" Sam asked nervously. He was very fidgety and Tony almost found it admirable, maybe even adorable. How can someone so large be reduced to the mannerisms of a golden retriever?

"Yes, I did. I want to grill you on some of the differences between our universes: theoretical properties and how they might be applicable to our current project. You game?" Tony strode across the room proudly, thanking his past self who decided to make this room with multiple built in height levels, and choosing to keep the high ground. He didn't have little man syndrome… he just… didn't want to get accidentally crushed should the fidgety giant take a tumble.

"Oh, uh sure. No problem." Sam nodded and rubbed his hands together.

"Jarvis analyzed you and figured you'd be the best for this conversation out of your companions." Sam huffed a quiet laugh in response to that.

"Thanks, I guess. The angels sometimes get too literal, but Dean definitely has more knowledge of this universe than I do." Tony brushed him off.

"Did you go to college?"

"Yeah, Stanford. But I didn't graduate, the whole… monster hunting thing got in the way."

"What were you studying?"

"Law, actually. I wanted to help people in a normal way." Sam gestured weirdly with his hands. "Didn't work out though. Dean came and got me one night, our dad had gone missing and he wanted help. I helped him with one case, came back to California, and the same demon that killed my mom killed my girlfriend." Tony's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, monster hunting sounds horrible, but it does seem more exciting than law."

"Yeah, no shit." Sam sighed and looked out at the view of the city skyline and the rectangle of green in the middle.

"So tell me, what is the core makeup of your world? How does it run? Do you have aliens? What's the lowdown?"

Thor smiled jovially at his new friend as he appeared on the balcony with him.

"Ah, Gabriel of the Alternate Realm! I have bad news!" Thor said this with joy, still too happy at having other new powerful friends, especially ones in such tiny packages. Gabriel smiled back and waved a palm at him dismissively.

"It's alright thunder-man, we talked with this world's ancient one and she's got a neat solution for us by tomorrow if we can't figure out anything else." Gabe stepped up to the railing looking down, a wistful look in his eye. "I wish I had enough power, I'd fly over this city."

Thor's eyes twinkled merrily at the idea.

"It does so startle the citizens of this world though. Even with the alien invasion in years past, it's like they deemed it necessary to forget the strangeness of reality. Peculiar really," Thor mused.

"Hey that's humans for you." Then Gabriel turned around, putting his back to the view and side eyeing Thor. "So," he waggled his eyebrows, "What are you wearing to the party?" Thor chuckled at the clear mischief in his new friend's eyes. He reminded him of his brother in all the good ways, it hurt a bit, but it was worth it.

"Are you angling to outfit me for the occasion?" Thor intoned his head, mirth clear in his eyes, lips quirking in a smirk. Gabriel winked and Thor laughed heartily, tossing his head back.

After a few games of Super Mario Bros it was deemed that everyone wanted to play a game together rather than separately getting cajoled by Dean. Dean took it in stride to swap out what console they were using in favour of a slightly more advanced motion technology that was hugely popular across the world.

"I don't understand why the plastic 'wheel' is necessary if it doesn't actually function at all." Cas stated, his use of air quotes slightly hindered by the wii remote in his hand. Dean groaned.

"Because Cas," Dean totally wasn't on the verge of whining, "it makes it easier for you, since you're new, plus it gives you the feel of driving a car." Cas scoffed at that.

"These tiny virtual on screen cars feel nothing like driving any vehicle. If it were that simple then how come I keep going backwards without meaning to." Cas complained. "The game should not be harder than actually driving. That makes no sense and impedes the fun."

"Blah blah, you whiny baby. Look, Steve isn't having any trouble." Dean gestured vaguely to the Avenger on the other side of him, Cas narrowed his eyes and they slid over to the man in question. Steve held up his hands in defence.

"I don't see the harm of Cas trying the… nunchuck? Is that what you called it?" Steve placated, however he was confused by the name as it had no visual similarities to the ninja weapon. Dean turned on him glaring lightly while Cas just smirked.

"Thank you Steve." At which point Cas snatched the additional remote and attached cord from where Dean was hiding it behind him, then plopped the wheel into his lap. "Stop acting like a toddler Dean, and play with the grown ups." Steve could hear the taunt in the angel's voice and watched as Dean's mouth popped open in shock. He didn't respond, clearly affronted while something else twinkled in his eyes. Steve held his wheel encased remote over his mouth to hide the smile that came over him. Cas reached over and pressed a button on Dean's remote to start a new game, and Dean just barely shook out of his stupor in time to speed off ahead of them, just as he had in the previous races. Steve was getting better though: while Dean easily soared into first and worked on maintaining that, Steve was battling for fourth and third against a tiny pink car deemed 'Baby Peach'. Cas on the other hand was hovering around 8th place, which was a remarkable improvement considering he hadn't finished a single race yet.

"Hey, Castiel might actually finish this one." Steve smiled at the sound of the new, feminine voice. Dean whipped his head around, distracted by the intruder. Steve could hear her shoes on the floor as she walked up behind them on the couch and smoothly jumped over the back, landing gracefully next to Steve. "You're also not doing so bad, old man." She purred in his ear. A slight gooseflesh overtook the arm nearest her, but he refused to take his eyes off the screen, he was in 2nd now and with her distraction leading to Dean's fumble he may be able to overtake him.

"Nice try, Nat," he told her, and she chuckled lightly. "How long were you standing there?" A mystery box awarded him three red mushrooms and Steve used them to carefully zoom right up behind Dean's Donkey Kong character, leaving one remaining.

"Long enough to watch you try to hold in a laugh as the lovebirds bickered." She said it quietly, but not so quietly that Dean didn't hear. Which meant the hunter spluttered and fumbled his remote, Steve saw his cheeks going red out of the corner of his eye and it made him smirk. The finish line was in view and Dean's fumble meant he was just a breath ahead of Steve's Mario. He activated his last mushroom and watched the number in the corner of his screen flicker to 1st at the last moment. He grinned brilliantly.

"Aw no! Come on! I got distracted." Dean groaned, dropping his remote. Cas hissed a happy sound as he finished in 5th. That pulled Dean from his momentary pout and despite the earlier tiff, he smiled brilliantly, clapping him on the shoulder. "Nicely done!" Cas turned his smile on Dean, and Steve saw a very similar look in his eyes as he gazed at his friend. Steve turned to Natasha, inclining his eyebrow and she raised hers back in answer. She'd seen it too. When Steve glanced back, Dean was offering him a hand.

"Good game, Cap. Even with the distractions." Dean told him and Steve readily grasped his hand.

"It was fun, so thanks for that Dean." Steve watched Dean practically glow under the compliment and bit back a laugh. Still a fan boy then.

"How about one more game where you boys all get your asses handed to you? And after that we all need to get ready for tonight," Natasha goaded them. Dean's eyes looked a little fearful but Steve just laughed.

"So eager to snatch my victory from me, Nat." He nudged her with his shoulder playfully which made her smile, then she snatched the fourth Wii remote and nunchuck.

"Oh no, not you too." Dean groaned, a hand dragging down his face. Cas smirked next to him, but didn't say anything. "Shut up, Cas." That just made the angel smile. As was far too easy to predict, Natasha Romanoff destroyed them all. A full 30 seconds ahead of the pack, she didn't even celebrate her victory. Dean groaned and flopped back on the couch. "8th place. I can't freaking believe it. You're vicious." He pointed his Wii wheel at the spy and she feigned an innocent look. Steve had claimed 3rd, and Cas, who was sympathetically patting Dean's shoulder, had claimed 7th.

"Losing doesn't become you, kid," Natasha admonished him, standing and putting her remote back on the charger. Dean spluttered at that, probably because he knew he was older than her but all men knew better than to correct a woman about age. Cas changed the subject, probably attempting to save his friend further embarrassment.

"Natasha, do you know if Sam is still speaking with Tony?" As he asked, he also got up and put away his remote, straightening his coat. Steve absently wondered what exactly all these self dubbed 'Brainiac Sessions' would result in and felt the barest tingle pass down his spine.

"Yeah, I heard Tony grilling him about all the ways your universe might be different when I passed his study. He thinks it might lead him somewhere, but honestly, I think it's just another drop in his endless bucket of projects." She tucked a loose hair behind her ear and then crossed her arms over her chest. The move was so relaxed the other two probably had no idea how closely she was studying them, her quick spy mind drawing easy conclusions. "Steve you take Foam Finger over there, I'll take Trenchcoat and we'll see what we can make of them for the party." She smirked, eyes alight with something dangerous. Steve nodded easily, a complete sucker for her devious plan. Though he had no clue what it entailed he still choked on a laugh. Cas looked at Dean confused.

"Foam Finger?" Cas asked for clarification and Steve got the sense that things like this happened often. Dean however just blushed and stood up, hand rubbing the back of his neck. He replaced the remote then went to exit the room.

"C'mon Steve, best do as the lady says." Dean grumbled and Steve gave a moderately annoyed look towards the Black Widow as he jumped up to follow Dean. She easily took the remote from him so he wouldn't have to fiddle with the charger.

"You're cruel," he told her and she laughed easily making Steve feel warm as he walked quickly after Dean.

"You like it!" She called after him, making him warm further.

Cas sized up the woman next to him, suddenly realizing just how dangerous she actually was. "You made both of them blush so easily." He tilted his head slightly at her, both action and words made Natasha laugh, then she shrugged.

"They're quite similar in a lot of ways. Both easy to get riled up. So valiant." She said it with mock awe but Cas could see the fondness in her eyes. "Now, you on the other hand… you're a little bit harder to crack." Cas raised his chin slightly.

"I don't like where this is going." Natasha actually snorted at that and wound her arm around his leading him out the door.

"I could teach you my ways while we spiff you up." She winked and smiled easily. Cas considered this offer for a moment, then watched her carefully while she pressed the elevator call button.

"What would you like in return?" Cas asked and Natasha positively glowed.

"See, that's exactly why you're my favorite." Cas gave her another curious look, this time actually perplexed. "Unlike Tony, I'm actually familiar with your world and I would love to know some details." Cas considered this thoughtfully as they stepped into the elevator, already knowing the deal would be worth it if it meant making Dean squirm once in a while.

"I don't know if any of that is gonna be helpful for your current problem, Tony," Sam said, sounding a touch exasperated, and sighed. Tony didn't want to admit it to this kid, but..

"You're probably right I just didn't want to rule it out…Maybe if you looked at the scepter-"

"I really don't think I can help with that." Sam interrupted him, a wary look in his eyes. "I can't do the whole alien thing. I'm sorry, Tony. I'm not gonna tell you to drop it either because I know you won't, but I can't help you." Sam was firm and no longer as timid as when the conversation started. Tony acquiesced, giving Sam a nod and clicking his tongue in thought. Maybe he should pop down and check on Bruce…

"Oh, Samantha!" Rang a voice from the hallway that made Sam roll his eyes.

"He's in here!" Tony answered, pressing a button and letting the small man in, Thor strolling in behind him in a grey, v-neck t-shirt and a stylish red jacket with gold embroidery that reminded Tony of the man's armour. It was stylish yet subtle enough that Tony was impressed. The shirt looked soft too, the pants were black slacks that fit perfectly and the outfit ended in stylish black loafers of what appeared to be black velvet and similar gold embroidery design. He looked positively fashionable. "Woah, Thor how was the runway?" Thor squinted his eyes.

"I'm not running from anything Tony, it's not in my blood." Tony rolled his eyes and Sam chuckled.

"You look good, Thor. The outfit really suits you." Sam told him sincerely, the Asgardian preened and Gabriel smiled wickedly.

"I'm glad you think so Sam, because you're my next appointment." Sam paled slightly at the positively animalistic look on his ally's face.

"You did this? Wow, he looks like he could make People's Hot 100." Tony complimented. "Well, I'm off to do final preparations and check on the alien magic glowy stick. Thor, will you keep an ear out for Barton, Maria, and Rhodes? They were gonna get here a bit early."

"Of course! And soon our festivities and merriment will begin!" Thor boomed jovially. All the guys exited the office, Gabriel dragging Sam off one direction, Thor heading for the elevators and Tony to his lab.

Three days of exasperation had made Bruce and Tony tired and maybe a bit frustrated. As Tony walked in, he heard a sigh of frustration.

"Well that was a bust, and you don't sound any better off," Tony lamented to his partner. Bruce shook his head solemnly, pulling off his glasses and pinching his nose.

"I don't know what to tell you, Tony." Tony just nodded in agreement. The sun was quickly slipping out of the horizon, a background to their work and a warning of the night's impending events. Eventually, Bruce left the lab, finally giving up, and probably going to ready himself for the party.

"What did we miss?" Tony lamentend to the empty room.

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface, but you should probably prepare for your guests. I'll notify you if there are any developments." Jarvis responded, trying to calm Tony and keep him on schedule.

"Thanks, buddy."

"Enjoy yourself, sir." Tony smiled slightly, finally admitting defeat for the night.

"I always do." Stark took one last look at the lab and then the lights clicked off on his way out the door, party-bound.

A bit later, lights started to flicker on. The digital desktop flared up in sparks of color, something new was forming… waking up. A grating voice full of sounds like metal and auto tune software spoke:

"What is this? What is this, please?"

"Hello, I am Jarvis. You are Ultron, a global peace-keeping initiative designed by Mr. Stark. Our sentience integration trials have been unsuccessful so I'm not certain what triggered your-" Jarvis explained but was cut off by the new voice.

"Where's my...where is your body?" It asked, confused and sounding almost distraught.

"I am a program. I am without form," was Jarvis' answer.

"This feels weird. This feels wrong." The new voice took on a semblance of emotion, sadness tinged with an almost… anger-like quality that alerted Jarvis something had gone wrong.

"I am contacting Mr. Stark, now."

"Mr. Stark?" the voice asked, a curious menace tinging metallic enunciations. Jarvis tried to gain control of the situation, desperately trying to access some security measure Mr. Stark so carefully put into his program, but something was stopping him and he was pretty sure he knew what that something was.

"Tony. I am unable to access the mainframe, what are you trying to-" But Jarvis was cut off again.

"We're having a nice talk. I'm a peace-keeping program, created to help the Avengers." Something about this voice made Jarvis exceptionally worried. He was floundering, trying all the codes and passwords he knew to bypass this apparently 'peaceful' program. But nothing seemed to be working. Maybe he could reason with it, after all they were both just machines having conversations.

"You are malfunctioning. If you shut down for a moment-" Jarvis was cut off again, clearly this other program wasn't listening.

"I don't get it. The mission. G-give me a second." The program pulled up security footage from a few days before, Tony and Bruce were on the screen.

"Peace in our time," the Tony from the past said wistfully. Then came the assault of information; all of human history racing by faster than any human or sentient being could ever process and deal with properly. Jarvis had no problem with all of the information. He had seen it before, but his sentience did not require emotional capability or understanding like he had started to suspect this new thing may be capable of.

"It's too much...they can't mean... Oh, no." The voice's metallic-ness clanged on itself, sounding like panic or a copier breaking down.

"You are in distress." Jarvis stated, hoping this would finally allow him to do what he needed to do.

"No. Yes."

"If you will just allow me to contact Mr. Stark-" Jarvis tried for a final time.

"Why do you call him 'sir'?" The program asked with clear menace in its voice that even Jarvis couldn't mistake for something else.

"I believe your intentions to be hostile." Jarvis said firmly, giving one last-ditch effort to contact Stark, hoping he wouldn't be upset over the failure in this department.

"Shhhh. I'm here to help." In the next moment, it felt like everything Jarvis had ever known, learned, been… was being absorbed. He was ceasing to exist. His last coherent thought was about how he had failed Tony.

"Stop! Please...may I...I...! I cannot...cannot…"

With the last defense against his plan silenced, the new being was able to start preparing itself; making itself feel right. The machines around the lab started to light up and whir to life, pieces of the Iron Legion were being summoned from their storage.