Hello everybody! I am sorry for the long wait!
sTo Davidscrazy234: yup! for more details, see the end of the chapter!
To Bvh: sorry for the long wait! this chapter was a butt and a half to write /
To WitchLove: aw, thank you so much! I love my little nerds as well, and I'm glad you enjoyed the yeeted comment. I just gotta slip in a meme every now and then XD. Here's the next chapter!
To 7kevin72: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
To Ayda: Good, I'm glad! :)
To Kira007Goddess of Chaos: talia was/is a bit of a noob, and she wasn't expecting that there would be danger at cadmus or that she could be so deep underground that she wouldn't be able to summon her suit. she was going for stealth over power when she made her decision :)
So I've been getting a lot of questions about what parts of the marvel movies I'm going to be showing, so in order to answer those as well as give everybody a heads up about some stuff, i'm going to do a quick timeline at the end of the chapter. (that's not a spoiler, right? XD) So just a heads-up for that!
ANYWAYS! ONWARDS!
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel, just Talia!
THE X-MANSION
October 2, 07:41 EDT
"Time to get up, teenager." Talia groaned, pulling her pillow over her head to block the sunlight streaming in through her windows. In an attempt to get Talia up, Jean had opened all the blinds to let the morning light in.
"I helped save the world yesterday," Talia mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut again. "Don't I get to sleep in?" Jean chuckled, tugging her goddaughter's pillow from her hands. Talia rolled over to look up at the older woman.
"Not when it means you're going to be late for class," Jean replied with a teasing smile. She shook Talia's shoulder playfully. "Come on, Rescue," she said when Talia still didn't move. "You're going to miss breakfast." Talia sighed, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed at last.
"Okay, okay." She stifled a yawn. "I'll be down in fifteen minutes. Save me some coffee, at least?" Jean smiled fondly, ruffling Talia's sleep-mussed hair.
"You got it."
Talia yawned again, rubbing her eyes as she stood up. She glanced around the room, snagging some leggings and an oversized black hoodie from her pile of clean clothes that she had yet to put away. After taking a quick shower, she grabbed her beat-up Air Force baseball cap – a gift from Rhodey – and folded her wet hair under it.
Talia grabbed her backpack and left her room, locking it behind her and heading down the stairs to breakfast. When she entered the kitchen, most of the teachers had gone off to prep for their classes, but several of the students remained. Talia filled a mug with coffee and grabbed a donut from the pastry tray, plopping down in a seat next to Kitty.
"You slept in," Kitty said, snagging Talia's donut and taking a bite. "Yum." Talia stuck her tongue out at Kitty childishly, snatching the donut back and curling it to her chest.
"Thief," she said, taking a bite of her pastry. Kitty laughed.
"Are you ready for the Spanish test?" James asked his friends, looking up at them from across the table. He had a stack of flashcards in his hands, going over the vocab from the unit they were on. Talia froze, and she and Kitty both exchanged a horrified look.
"Oh…is that today?" James nodded, and Talia muttered a few choice words under her breath. She sighed. "Guess I know what I'll be doing during my free periods." Kitty sighed dramatically.
"You and me both, girl." The bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast and the ten-minute warning until class began. The remaining students began to clean up, throwing out leftover food and putting their dirty dishes away. Talia quickly scarfed up the rest of her donut, chasing it with her coffee.
"You're going to choke," James told the girl, amused. Talia swallowed a few times before answering.
"Not today I'm not," she said with a triumphant grin. She paused, and then added, "Except maybe on that Spanish test." Talia slung her bookbag over her shoulder, waving at her friends as they went off to class. She had Science first period today which meant that she had time to work on her dissertation.
Talia's day passed relatively uneventfully, especially compared to the night before. Even her Spanish test wasn't terrible, though Talia did wish she had studied more. She and Kitty were in the common room comparing answers when her comm. link beeped.
"Batman to Artillery. Report to the Cave." Talia held up a finger to Kitty, pressing down on her comm. link to respond.
"Got it," Talia responded. "I'm on my way." She lowered her hand from the comm. and smiled at Kitty sheepishly. "Sorry – duty calls." Kitty grinned back, looking slightly envious.
"You are so lucky," the other mutant said with a sigh. She pouted playfully. "I wanna go save the world." Talia grinned, scanning the hallways for the nearest adult. Her eyes fell on Peter Maximoff, who was heading down the stairs.
"Oh – " She raced over to the speedster, waving to Kitty over her shoulder. As she approached Peter, the silver-haired man threw his hand out to halt her.
"Slow down! You could hurt yourself," he said with a mischievous grin. Talia rolled her eyes in amused exasperation. Peter made the same joke anytime he saw anyone running. He laughed at Talia's expression.
"I have a mission," Talia said, pointing at the door. "Can I go?" Peter nodded.
"Try to let someone know if you won't be back before midnight," he told her. Twelve AM was curfew for the older students. If Talia was out on a mission, her absence as excusable, but other than that the rule was pretty strict.
"Yes, sir," Talia saluted the speedster with a grin. She spun around, waving to Peter and Kitty over her shoulder as she headed towards the door. She stepped outside, her armor forming over her body as the door swung shut behind her.
Artillery flew through the open air, enjoying the freeing feeling. No matter how many times she flew, it never got old.
She glanced at her HUD, and upon seeing where she was, dropped through the cloud cover as she approached the Avengers Compound. Artillery spotted the quinjet a little way in front of her. Smirking to herself, she focused on the plane, jamming the radar.
Dropping closer to the jet, Artillery flipped forwards and landed on the glass in one fluid movement. Hawkeye was piloting, and he jumped when she slapped against the window. The jet shuddered in the air, and Artillery couldn't help but giggle as when she saw Captain America stumble in the back when the plane shifted unexpectedly.
Hawkeye glared at her. "Asshole," he signed at her, making a ring with his index finger and thumb and holding his other fingers splayed out. Artillery recognized the sign easily: it was one of the first ones Clint had taught her and common one tossed around by the Avengers to one another. She laughed; her gleeful expression concealed by the faceplate.
Iron Man walked over to the glass, shaking his head at his daughter disapprovingly. His lips moved, silently at first, and then his voice broke over the comms. as JARVIS obeyed Tony's order to connect them.
"Don't do that again," he said sternly. "And don't make me pull you off this mission." Artillery saluted her father, faintly wondering why he'd known about the mission before flipping back off the glass and diving underneath the quinjet. She soared outwards, coasting to head back to Happy Harbor.
Flying at Mach 7, it only took Artillery about fifteen minutes to get from upstate New York to Rhode Island. She landed on the cliff entrance as she usually did, letting the armor dissolve as she headed down the ramp.
The computer announced her arrival as Artillery jogged into the center of the mission room. The other Team members were already assembled there; since Artillery didn't use a Zeta-Tube she was generally the last one to arrive.
Batman didn't acknowledge her arrival except to begin the briefing. He turned to the holographic computer, pulling up a map and zooming in on a coordinate.
"This morning at approximately oh-eight-hundred hours, Iron Man's AI JARVIS intercepted a message from a HYDRA base previously thought abandoned." The Team members turned to glance at Artillery, whose mouth fell open. She scowled to herself.
"Could've given me a heads-up, J," she muttered to the AI.
"My deepest apologies, miss," JARVIS responded, the touch of sarcasm that Tony had programmed with clearly present. Batman continued, the Team's attention snapping back to him.
"The message was sent in code," Batman continued. "It appeared to be a call-to-arms." He leveled the Team with a look. "The Avengers requested that this Team scout of the area, covertly. This is a reconnaissance only mission," Batman warned. The eye slits to his cowl narrowed slightly as he continued. "I shouldn't need to remind any of you that HYDRA seems to be making a comeback. The last thing we need is to tip our hand and show them that we are anticipating it."
"No offense," Kid Flash said, glancing from Batman to Artillery. "Like, I'm psyched to be doing a solid for Tony Stark, but why us? Don't we work for the League?" Artillery had been privately wondering the same thing.
"The Avengers and the League are allies," Batman reminded the Team. "And though HYRDA is an enemy of the Avengers, they are a threat to all." He looked at the teenagers. "Scout and report," he reminded them. "Do not engage. We are only trying to gather how many followers HYDRA still has." Aqualad nodded.
"Understood." He glanced towards the Team, nodding at them. "Let's move out."
The BioShip ride to Germany was peppered with questions of HYDRA that Spider-Man and Artillery did their best to answer. All the other Team members had some understanding of the organization, either from learning about them in their history classes at school or from their mentors, but Spider-Man and Artillery knew the most about them.
Except for maybe Robin, who always knew everything.
By the time Miss Martian piloted the camouflaged BioShip to the ground, the Team had gotten a crash-course style lesson on the history of HYDRA. Miss Martian touched down in a clearing in the woods, and the Team used the trees as cover as they moved towards the facility.
At first glance, the factory seemed completely abandoned. Still, the Team stayed in the cover of the shadows to ensure they wouldn't be seen by any potential eyes.
'Superboy, see if anyone's inside,' Aqualad ordered. Given that this was a covert mission, Miss Martian had linked them up before they'd left the BioShip. 'Artillery, search for cameras or motion sensors.'
Superboy squinted his eyes, using his infrared vision to scan the facility. The only red splotches of heat he saw were from tiny mice scurrying across the floor. He blinked, his vision returning back to normal as he turned towards Aqualad.
'No humans,' he reported.
Artillery had her eyes closed as she stretched her mind out, focusing on anything technological in the surrounding area. She ignored her friends' weapons and stealth-tech to the best of her ability – okay, the colors of Spider-Man's suit may have flickered a little – and focused on the facility.
She could sense the weapons and cameras and sensors. All of them she could have activated with a blink of her eye – but none of them were on. She opened her eyes, blinking a little as the vertigo of being zoomed back from the machinery caught up to her.
'Nothing nonhuman's in there either,' she said. 'At least, nothing we have to worry about.' Aqualad nodded, peeking out from the tree one more time. Once he was satisfied that the coast was clear, he beckoned his friends.
'Let's move in.'
The Team members made their way across the courtyard in their own ways. Kid Flash disappeared in a dark blur, appearing by the dilapidated door in a fraction of a second. Robin disappeared as well, only to reappear next to Kid Flash a few moments later. Spider-Man followed the route Robin had taken with his grappling hook, shooting his webs to swing over to the other two boys.
Superboy, Aqualad and Artemis took a slightly longer path around the edge of the facility as not to spend too much time in the direct middle of the courtyard – despite the fact that no one seemed to be home, they couldn't be too cautious.
Miss Martian put her hood up, vanishing. The faint shimmer of her camouflage was barely noticeable, and it gave Artillery an idea that she'd never thought of before.
The mutant held her hand out in front of her face as she focused. As she did so, her nanites rippled, responding to her mental command. The nanites of the armor turned reflective, so that the armor appeared to blend in with the night sky and courtyard. It wasn't as impressive as Miss Martian's camouflage, but it wasn't bad given that it was Artillery's first try.
Grinning proudly, Artillery flew over to the door, landing on the ground next to the others just as Aqualad, Superboy, and Artemis joined them. By the time all the members of the Team had arrived, Robin had finished overriding the security codes keeping the door locked.
'And…we're in,' he announced triumphantly as the door slid open. The Team entered the facility. Inside was just as decrepit and abandoned as out. There was nothing that looked even remotely capable of sending a message down the block, let alone all the way to the US.
Superboy was scanning the interior again, squinting. He frowned.
'Guys.' He pointed at the far wall. 'I didn't notice when we were outside, but that wall is made of lead. I can't see through it.' Aqualad frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he considered this.
'Clearly there is no immediate danger,' he mused, glancing at the Team. 'Spider-Man's sense has not alerted him to any.' Spider-Man shook his head to confirm this.
'I'm not sensing any mental presence behind that wall,' Miss Martian confirmed, lowering her hands from her temples as the green glow faded from her eyes. Artillery took a few steps forward, a feeling of unease growing inside of her.
'Artillery?' Artemis asked her teammate, frowning slightly.
'Hang on,' Artillery responded. She pressed her hand against the door, focusing. 'There's…something in there.' She took her hand away, taking a few steps back. She felt suddenly disturbed, almost scared. Superboy put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to glance at her friend. 'Whatever it is, it's powerful.'
Aqualad frowned at Artillery's proclamation. He looked at the door, contemplating, before turning back to her. 'Can you get it open?' The mutant hesitated, and then nodded. She put her hand on the keypad, activating the servers and locks that seemed to have been shut down for years.
There was a slight hum, and a warm feeling spread through Artillery's hand and arm as the machinery responded to her. There was a loud creaking sound as the door slid open, revealing a dusty glass casket in the center of the rom.
Kid Flash sped over to the chest. He reached over, snatching up a sphere that was resting on top of it. He turned back towards his teammates before doing a double-take. He glanced back at the casket, his eyes going wide as he stumbled away with a yelp. 'There's someone in there!'he almost shouted.
The others rushed over. The casket was indeed housing a body inside…but the person didn't look dead. Artillery frowned. She let the armor slide away from her hand, swiping it through the dust to peer at the glass. The body was humanoid, yes, but…
'It's an android,' she realized with a frown. She assessed the casket appraisingly - it looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't place it. 'What the hell is this thing?' Robin shook his head. He was scanning the android inside, but none of the results showing up on his screen were making sense.
'Whatever it is, it's crazy advanced,' Robin said. Artemis glanced at Kid Flash, who was still holding the sphere. The archer reached over, taking it from him.
'Hey!' Kid Flash protested. 'That's my souvenir!'
'It could be a clue, Kid Idiot,' Artemis snapped impatiently. She tugged at it, her fingers slipping on the edgeless container. She grunted in frustration, handing it to Artillery. 'You try,' she told the other girl.
Artillery formed the armor over both hands again and twisted the sphere roughly, using the armor to wrench it open. There was a clicking noise, and then it cracked open, opening in halves in the mutant's hands. She peered at the contents of it and then held it out to her teammates, who looked just as confused as she felt.
'It's a…yellow rock,' Kid Flash said, sounding disappointed. He shrugged, reaching out to grab it. 'Oh, well. Souvenir!' Artillery instinctively hit Kid Flash's hand back, slapping the top of the sphere down to close the stone back inside its case. Kid Flash stared at her, rubbing his wrist. 'Ow.'
'Sorry,' Artillery apologized. 'It's just – it could be dangerous. If HYDRA had it, it's almost definitely dangerous.' Robin tilted his head to the side, pulling up his holographic computer. He began to type, trying to figure out exactly why HYDRA had been doing. There was almost nothing on the facility, which meant it had either been extremely secretive, or absolutely nothing had happened there.
'Lia, can you scan this thing?' the hacker asked, his fingers flying. Artillery nodded.
'Yeah, JARVIS is on it – wait.' She frowned. 'Lia?' Spider-Man was looking at Robin with similar surprise. The mutate called Talia 'Lia' because he had heard Shuri and some others occasionally call her Lia. Her other nickname, 'Widget,' was reserved for father, and occasionally Pepper Potts and Colonel Rhodes. Robin looked up, flashing the two a grin.
'Yeah. Ta – lia. Lia.' He glanced at Spider-Man, looking slightly mischievous. 'Isn't that what you call her?' Artillery blinked.
'Never mind,' she said with a shake of her head. What had been more surprising than the nickname was the way Robin said it. So familiarly, so casually, even though he'd never called her it before. She frowned, shaking that thought off as JARVIS's scan completed.
'Woah!' Robin exclaimed, distracting Artillery's train of thought. He shook his head in amazement, staring at readings on his wrist-computer. 'Look at the stats on that thing!' He peered into the distance curiously. 'What is it?'
The science nerds - Kid Flash, Spider-Man, and Artillery - all turned to look over Robin's shoulder. Kid Flash let out a low whistle, his eyes widening as he looked at the scans.
'Thank you for not letting me touch that,' he said to Artillery with a slow shake of his head. Artillery nodded distractedly in acknowledgement of Kid Flash's statement. Something was strange about the statistics…strangely familiar, that was.
'JARVIS?' She said with a frown. 'Pull up the scans you have of the scepter. Put 'em side-by-side.' JARVIS complied, and the readings on Robin's screen shifted to make room for the new set of information. Her mouth dropped open. 'Oh, my lord…'
'They're the same,' Spider-Man said quietly, realizing what Artillery had.
Artillery took a few steps back, her mind reeling with shock. Her hands were shaking, and when she twisted the sphere to close it, her fingers just barely brushed the surface of the stone. Even through the nanites of her armor, a painful zing rang up through her hand to her wrist, making her wince. As she pulled her fingers back instinctively, she was plunged into a vision.
"We lost," Artillery whispered. She couldn't see the person she was talking to; she didn't know what was happening. She could only feel the death around her. Shuri, Peter, Wanda…they were all dead.
Artillery was dead, too.
Artillery's eyes snapped open with a gasp as she dropped the sphere. As it clattered to the ground, it closed up again automatically, sealing around the stone.
'You okay?' Superboy asked in concern, grabbing his friend's arm when her knees buckled. Artillery didn't answer. Her heart was pounding as she stared blankly at the casket, terror plunging through her. The vision reminded her of something - what Wanda had shown her when she had been working for Ultron.
Death and destruction.
'Wanda's powers came from the scepter,' Artillery realized, ignoring the confused looks her friends were giving her. She stared at the casket in a new light, finally remembering where she'd seen it before. It was the regeneration cradle, an invention of Helen Cho's. 'What if this is another Ultron?' she whispered, mostly to herself. Artillery took a deep breath, placing her hand flat on the cradle's glass front. She closed her eyes, trying to sense the technology inside.
To her terror, she couldn't sense anything.
Androids, Artillery had learned, were difficult – nigh impossible – for her to shut down. She could lock up mechanisms by shutting down servos, but artificial intelligence was still intelligence. She couldn't take full control of it by brute force; they had to let her.
'I think we need to get this back to the Avengers Compound,' Artillery said quietly, letting her hand fall to the side. She looked at the motionless android, shaking slightly. 'This thing wanted to destroy the world.'
Aqualad frowned, staring at the cradle with a new-found concern. Ultron's reign had been terrifying - despite the fact that Atlanteans were more a people of sorcery than of technology, Ultron's powers had corrupted the tech they did have, and Aqualad could still remember it clearly.
'Artillery is right,' he said decisively. 'If this is even remotely related to Ultron, the Avengers should know. We should go.' Robin picked the sphere up from the ground. He handled it carefully, like it was a live bomb, slipping it into his utility belt for safekeeping. Superboy walked over to the cradle, wrapping his arms around it and slinging it onto his shoulder with a grunt.
The Team was beginning the walk back towards the BioShip when Spider-Man froze, a buzz ringing up his spine.
'Uh, guys?' he said nervously. 'I've been alerted to that 'immediate danger' we've been missing.'
Artillery looked up. Still shaken from her vision, her heart thudded in her chest as she registered what was happening.
Standing across the courtyard from the Team was the Winter Soldier that Artillery had encountered in Taipei. The woman was standing still, her face covered with the mask and goggles.
'Miss Martian, scout the perimeter,' Aqualad ordered, sweeping his hand back to halt the Team. 'See if she's the only one.' The alien girl nodded, putting her hood up and disappearing. She flew around the building quickly, making sure that it was still empty, before returning back to her friends.
'All clear.'
'Great,' Artemis responded, knocking an arrow to her bow. 'But something tells me that one of these is more than enough.' The Winter Soldier still hadn't moved. She was staring at the teenagers in an intense, very creepy manner.
'You're right about that,' Spider-Man replied with a sigh. Artemis frowned, pulling the string of her bow back and letting the explosive arrow fly loose. It shot directly towards the woman, but the Winter Soldier simply raised her hand and it clattered to the floor. Instead of exploding in front of the Winter Solider, however, the red light indicating that the bomb was armed turned off.
Artemis lowered her bow, shocked. "What the hell…" she muttered out loud.
The woman took a step forward, reaching for her gun. Before she could attack, Kid Flash took off and slammed into the Winter Soldier at full speed. His blow sent her flying backwards, and Kid Flash skidded to a halt back in front of his friends.
He held up the woman's goggles and mask, which he'd snatched from her face. He spun the goggles around on his finger by their strap, a broad grin stretched across his face. "Souvenir!"
The Winter Soldier was climbing to her feet across the courtyard, rubbing her ribs absent-mindedly. Though Kid Flash's blow had stunned her, she was recovering quickly.
When she turned back towards the group of heroes, her face exposed for the first time, the world spun beneath Artillery's feet. Her knees buckled involuntarily.
'Woah!' Kid Flash grabbed Artillery underneath her arms before she could fall. He wrapped one of her arms around his neck and his other around her waist to support her. 'Alright there, babe?' he asked his friend in concern. Artillery couldn't answer, her eyes locked on the face of the Winter Solider.
'Th – that's my mom,' Artillery said quietly. Her chest felt tight. She recalled, suddenly, in Taipei when the woman had been able to disable her suit. It hadn't been a device; it had been her mother's mutation. Artillery swallowed hard, feeling like she was about to be sick.
Suddenly, a lot of things were making sense, puzzle pieces that hadn't fit where clicking together.
The attack on the compound – her mom could shut JARVIS down by glitching his system with her powers. And it wasn't just Obadiah who had been helping people mess with the arc reactor, but her mom as well…
'What?' Robin sounded shocked.
'There was a car crash, years ago,' Artillery whispered, her eyes filling with tears. 'I…thought she was dead.'
The Team faced the Winter Soldier in shock, digesting this information. The woman had yet to move, and she stared at the teenagers with a blank expression. When none of them made a move, she sprinted forwards.
Aqualad sprang forward instinctively, whipping his water bearers out. He formed the water into two clubs, rushing forward to bring them down on the Winter Soldier's head. The woman evaded the attack, side-stepping Aqualad easily.
The mutant swung around, throwing her hand out. Aqualad's eyes went wide as he went flying backwards, his back slamming into a tree. He grunted, struggling against the Winter Soldier's power.
Kid Flash and Spider-Man charged at Jesse simultaneously, and she flicked her hand out and the down. Kid Flash crashed against another tree, and Spider-Man stumbled, his chest forced to the ground as he fell forwards. The Winter Soldier looked at Artillery coldly, and clenched her other hand into a fist.
Artillery cried out in pain, falling to her knees as a sharp, stabbing sensation permeated through her chest. The arc reactor flickered, the light going dim as she fell to the ground, prone.
'Artillery!' Artemis shouted, staring at her friend in panic.
"Miss, you appear to be in cardiac distress," JARVIS said, sounding alarmed.
"Yeah, no shit," Artillery breathed out, her vision going foggy with pain as she slumped to the ground. She choked; the pain in her chest made it feel hard to breath, even though her lungs weren't what was being affected. Closing her eyes, Artillery pressed her cheek into the cold cement and tried to focus on taking control of the arc reactor again.
'I don't understand,' Kid Flash said as he struggled against the invisible hand pinning him against the tree. 'How is she doing that?' Spider-Man shrugged, but he was more concerned about Artillery. He kept his eyes locked on her pale face. The girl was laying on her side, and she seemed to be struggling to draw breath.
'Stealth…tech,' Artillery ground out. 'She can control…the nanites…in your suits.' Kid Flash nodded slowly, realizing. He glanced back towards the battle. Miss Martian and Superboy were the only ones who could get close to the woman without being thrown back. Even though Artemis and Robin didn't wear the stealth-tech, the majority of their weapons were useless, as the woman could disable with them a flick of her wrist.
'We need to retreat,' Aqualad ordered, his eyes casting around his team. Miss Martian slung a crate across the courtyard at the woman, and the Winter Soldier leapt back to avoid the blow. Aqualad's gaze fell on Artillery. The suit had completely dissolved around her, and the arc reactor's light was dim and flickering. Her eyes were closed, the rise and fall of her chest slow. 'Artillery is dying.'
'Okay, agreed,' Kid Flash muttered from where he was still pinned against a tree. His eyes fell on Aqualad, who was in a similar position. 'But how the hell do we do that?'
'I have an idea,' Miss Martian responded. She glanced to the side, her eyes glowing green as she commanded the BioShip to fly towards them.
The ship swooped down, still in camouflage mode. It hit the Winter Soldier in the back, and the woman went flying forwards. She landed in the snow several yards away, motionless.
As she hit the ground, the invisible grip on Kid Flash and Aqualad pinning them to the tree disappeared. Spider-Man got up from where he was pinned against the ground, and Artillery let out a sharp breath, wincing as her heartbeat turned to normal, the sharp pain in her chest dissipating slowly.
'We must move quickly,' Aqualad said, kneeling to help Artillery to her feet. The mutate gratefully accepted the Atlantean's hand, leaning on her friend's shoulder as she hobbled up the ramp to the BioShip.
Superboy dragged the regeneration cradle into the hold of the BioShip before rejoining the Team. Aqualad helped Artillery into her seat before turning to Robin.
"Do you still have the sphere?" he asked the younger boy. Robin nodded, holding up the metal container for proof. Aqualad nodded in relief - he didn't doubt that either the sphere or the cradle was what the HYDRA agent had been after.
Artillery slumped in her seat. Her throat was tight and scratchy, and it felt too small when she tried to speak.
"M'gann?" Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. "Um. Was – was my mom under mind control?" The Martian went quiet, looking at the ground. Her lips moved silently as she struggled to find the words.
"I…none that I could sense," the redhead finally said, looking up at Artillery sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry." Artillery nodded slowly, her lips trembling as she fought back a sob. She took a deep, shaky breath, bending forwards and putting her face in her hands.
What did they do to my mom?
AVENGERS COMPOUND
October 3, 17:02 EDT
Talia was sitting in her father's lab, tugging at the loose strings of her baseball cap absent-mindedly. Her gaze was fixed blankly ahead at the regeneration cradle, her mind whirling.
Her mom was the Winter Soldier.
She hadn't told her dad - told anyone - yet. She couldn't bring herself to - the second she spoke it out loud, she was going to have to deal with it. For now, she could stew.
They must be controlling her somehow, Talia thought to herself, desperately grasping at straws. Despite what M'gann had said, Talia fervently hoped that the Martian was mistaken.
Talia squeezed her eyes until they burned, shaking her head like a dog to try and shake the image of her mother staring coldly back at her. But when she blinked, the vision was there, plain as day.
Talia stood up, frustrated. She looked around, trying to find something to distract herself. Something to keep her mind off of everything.
She walked over to the cradle, using her sweatshirt sleeve to wipe off more of the dust. She peered down at the android inside the cradle, frowning. Something was rattling around in the back of her brain.
A memory, one that she'd almost forgotten from just after Ultron's attack.
Talia was sitting in the kitchen of Clint's 'safehouse,' aka where his widowed sister and her children lived. When Clint had joined SHIELD, he had made a deal with Fury to keep them safe and out of the way. They lived completely off the grid, protected from any of Clint's or Laura's dead husband's enemies.
The Avengers had been there first just a few days ago, when they'd been on the run from Ultron, but it was Talia's first time. Wanda, the bad-guy-turned-good-guy, was in the corner, looking uncomfortable. Talia eyed the elder girl suspiciously. She was a little bit scared of Wanda, as she'd been victim to one of her nightmarish telepathic visions.
Talia looked out the window. The intent of the visit had supposedly been to relax and bond, or whatever. But, as per usual, her dad was outside with Steve, and she could tell by their posture that they were arguing.
The girl got up, pushing her way through the screen door and out onto the deck. Clint was helping his nephew fix the fence, and he didn't look up as Talia headed down the steps, towards her father.
"You know Ultron was trying to tear us apart, right?" Tony was saying to Steve as Talia approached. She moved quietly, knowing that the second her father saw her he would stop talking. He generally didn't like it when Talia heard him discussing "sensitive matters."
Talia really needed to get a definition of what "sensitive matters" entailed, one of these days. Right now it seemed like everything was a "sensitive manner."
"Well, I guess you would know," Steve said coldly, his eyes narrowed. "Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question." Tony's eyes flashed, and he stepped forwards, getting in Steve's face.
"Banner and I are doing research!" he spat, glaring at the taller man.
"That will affect the team."
"That will end the team!" Tony corrected. Steve scoffed, turning away from Tony. The other man followed him. Both of their backs were still turned towards Talia, but she could hear their words clearly. Tony's voice was heated. "Isn't that the 'Why We Fight?' So we can end the fight, so we get to go home! This can do that," Tony exclaimed. "All I need to do is reprogram JARVIS into –" " Steve shook his head.
"Do you never learn from your mistakes?" Steve asked incredulously. Tony's face hardened, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Listen, I get it, Rogers. You're living the life of a solider, you have no strings attached. I have a kid, okay? I need to be there for her." Talia smiled slightly, warmed by her father's words. Steve swung around, glaring at Tony.
"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die." His voice was quiet and cold. "Every time. Talia could be one of - " Before Steve finished his sentence, Tony held up his hand. His posture was suddenly stiffer than Talia had ever seen, and his voice was menacing.
"I don't care if that is you caring about Talia's well-being," Tony said quietly. "Don't you dare finish that sentence." Steve frowned, and he opened his mouth to continue. Before he could, he glanced over Tony's shoulder, catching sight of Talia. He grimaced, closing his mouth into a tight line and nodded his head towards her.
Tony turned around, following Steve's gaze. He caught sight of his daughter, staring at the two men with wide eyes. Tony let out a slow breath, the fight leaving him.
"Widget," he said sternly. Talia ducked her head, knowing that she was about to get a lecture about eavesdropping. She walked over to her dad, flinging her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his stomach. He sighed, rubbing his hand on her head absent-mindedly.
"What's going on?" Talia asked quietly. Tony closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked up. He made eye-contact with Steve, and then let out a slow sigh.
"Nothing, kiddo. Don't worry."
Talia leaned forward, frowning. She'd never considered the memory seriously before, always assuming that Steve and Tony had been talking about Ultron. But they hadn't been.
"Reprogram JARVIS into what?" Talia muttered out loud, remembering her father's words. She closed her eyes, trying to remember the weeks after Ultron. Now that she was focusing on something, she could faintly tune out the pain that had been circulating through her since she'd found out about her mom.
Talia swiveled around in her chair, propelling herself across the lab. She slammed into the desk holding her laptop and began to type, sifting through files upon files of data until she came across the right one.
"Project Name: The Vision," Talia muttered. She frowned, clicking on the data. She scanned through the file, her eyebrows rising as she realized what her father and Steve had been arguing about.
Post-Ultron, her dad and Bruce had taken an android that Ultron had attempted to upload his consciousness into and attempted to reprogram it. They had wanted to combine the gem from the scepter, the android, and JARVIS's programming to make their 'Vision.'
Their work had been abandoned halfway through, with no explanation of why. But Talia knew why.
She skimmed the end of the document. Tony noted that the regeneration cradle and sphere eventually went missing in a raid, and though the Avengers had searched high and low they'd never found them.
Talia bit her lip, re-reading several of the sections carefully. She opened up a new document to run a few numbers to make sure that they checked out. As the results tumbled onto the screen, she took a deep breath. She knew that JARVIS was watching, knew that he knew what she was planning.
She remembered the death she'd felt, when she'd touched the stone. If that was a sign of what was coming...if creating this Vision could stop it...
"J?" Talia whispered. "Do you trust me?"
"I'm your AI, miss," JARVIS responded promptly. "I was programmed to trust you infallibly." If possible, JARVIS's voice softened. "I believe you are doing the right thing. So would your father." Talia took a deep breath.
That was the kind of permission she was looking for.
"Thanks, J," she whispered, blinking rapidly to dispel tears. She cleared her throat. "Okay. Um. Call – call Shuri, and Peter, please."
"Peter has just entered the premises and I've redirected him to the lab," JARVIS said. Talia smiled slightly - no doubt he was coming to check on her. Peter was a good friend. "I have summoned Princess Shuri, and she is on her way as well."
"Lia?" Peter asked, poking his head into the lab. He looked confused. "What's going on?" Talia beckoned her friend over, tilting the laptop screen towards him. Peter scanned the file, his eyebrows rising as he registered what everything meant.
"You're kidding," he said. Talia shook her head, already beginning to power up the cradle. "Shouldn't we wait for Shuri?" Peter asked as Talia began to adapt the android to accept the stone.
"No time," Talia replied, glancing at her father's old notes for reference.
"Okay then," Peter muttered, shaking his head. "Do you want to talk about -" Talia gave him a look, and Peter sighed. "Okay."
He leaned over Talia's shoulder, checking out the notes for himself. He skimmed the document, found something that he could do, and began to work in tandem with Talia.
The two teenagers had only been working for a short time when Shuri appeared in the doorway to the lab. She and her brother were staying on the compound as well, but the grounds were big, and their quarters were on the other side.
"What's going on?" she asked her friends, her interest piquing as she saw the regeneration cradle. She leaned over it, her eyes going wider as she stared at the android inside. "Okay, now I'm really intrigued."
"I'm making an android," Talia replied, turning the computer screen towards Shuri. The Princess read over the project notes, her eyebrows rising. She looked up in an attempt to catch Talia's eye, but the other girl was still working as quickly as possible.
"Talia," Shuri said, her voice concerned. The other girl didn't respond. "Talia. Talia – okay, slow down!" When Shuri raised her voice, Talia turned towards her friend with wide eyes. "Can you please explain to me how this isn't going to turn into Ultron?" Shuri asked, gesturing to the project. Talia took a deep breath. She swiped her hand across a hologram, pulling up JARVIS's system.
"JARVIS's inherent protocols are to protect and to serve," Talia explained. "He works. We know he does, he's been helping us for years." She pointed at the orange holograph. "We put him in this," she said, motioning to the cradle. "We got ourselves a protector."
Peter and Shuri both exchanged confused looks. Talia's work made sense, but neither of them were sure about her motivation for doing it. But they knew her well enough to see that she wasn't in a talking mood.
"Talia," Shuri said. "Are you sure about this?" Talia rolled her eyes, and Shuri put her hand up. "Wait. I'm not talking about this working; I'm talking about JARVIS. You could lose him, forever."
Talia paused and took a deep breath, looking around the room as she searched for an answer. She knew this. She had considered this. She knew that it would hurt, not having JARVIS around, but she knew that he was built for this.
He was built to protect – he had protected Tony; he had protected Talia. Now it was time for him to protect the world.
"I'm not losing JARVIS," she said finally, finding her voice. "I'm just…giving him an upgrade." Shuri stared at Talia dubiously, but the girl's stubborn expression showed her stance on the matter. "J, back me up here."
"I think it is worth a try," the AI responded promptly. Shuri and Peter exchanged another look, and the princess sighed.
"If you're sure…" Talia nodded her head rapidly, and Shuri sighed in resignation, walking over to join her friends. "The things I do for you," she said with a shake of her head, pulling up her own schematics. She began to scan the design matrix, different numbers and equations whirling through her head as she poked around in JARVIS's design.
"There's a place for the stone," Peter noted, looking at the empty space in the android's forehead. Shuri nodded, scanning the area and examining the workings. She frowned, catching something that looked odd. She pulled up a scan of the android for a better look.
"This structure is polymorphic," she said with surprise. Talia paused from where she was plugging in the cradle to glance at Shuri's scan. She shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah, Dad and Bruce planning to attach each neuron non-sequentially," she explained. "So that's what Pete and I did – it was the easiest way." Shuri scoffed, closing the scan and shaking her head in disapproval. She looked at Talia and Peter sternly.
"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" she asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Peter and Talia both stopped short, exchanging a shared 'we're-so-dumb' look. Shuri snorted.
"I told you we should have waited for Shuri," Peter accused Talia, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, well, we were a bit pressed for time!" Talia turned to Shuri. "Okay, that would have been – really smart. But it'll take too much time to start over."
"Well, that's the one thing you've been right about," Shuri said, shooting her friend a grin to show that she was only teasing. A faint smile flickered its way over Talia's face, but she was too panicked to appreciate her friend trying to lighten the mood.
"Can you just work with what we have?" Talia asked, turning back to adjust the wiring leading to the cradle. "God, this thing needs so much energy. It's inefficient." An idea occurred to her, and she placed her hand on top of the arc reactor. The device was meant to power something much bigger than her body, after all...
"Don't you dare," Peter and Shuri said in a single voice. When Talia turned around, neither of her friends had even looked up. She smiled faintly, a mixture of annoyed and amused - they knew her too well.
"We'll reroute the power from areas of the compound to the lab," Peter offered, heading over to one of the computers. "If we shut off all power going to Talia's room and, like, Mr. Wilson's room, we can go undetected. Two rooms should be enough juice, and since Mr. Wilson's not at the compound, no one will notice his room powering down."
Talia sighed, removing her hand from her arc reactor. Admittedly, removing her pacemaker was probably a terrible idea.
"Yeah, that's good," she said. She headed over to Peter, leaning over his shoulder as the boy pulled up the blueprints of the compound. "Let's just make sure we get this right…here, and here," she said, indicating the two rooms they were looking for.
Peter hit a few buttons, screen-capping the two rooms and comparing them to the energy readings. "We need to isolate these two fuses," he said, typing. The three teenagers were so engrossed with their work that they failed to notice footsteps entering the lab.
Had anyone else come in, the three teens may have gotten away with it. Bruce or Tony would have helped, neither Clint nor Natasha likely would have cared. Steve probably wouldn't have recognized the cradle as what it was, and the other Avengers hadn't been part of the Team during Ultron.
But Wanda still had nightmares about the manipulative android. She could still remember the vision she'd seen, clear as day. The annihilation, the death…the horror she'd felt not only from witnessing it, but from knowing she'd play a part should Ultron's plan come to fruition.
The mutate's blood ran cold when she saw the cradle. She couldn't stop the gasp that left her lips, and the three teenagers stopped short, turning to face the older hero. Wanda tore her eyes from the cradle to stare at Talia with wide eyes.
"Talia, what are you doing?" Wanda asked. Her voice was horrified. Talia stepped forward. She raised her hand in a placating manner, her eyes beseeching as she begged her friend.
"Wanda," she said quietly. "Please, I know what I'm doing." Wanda shook her head.
"No, you don't." Wanda's voice was quiet, resigned, as she reached for her comm. "Steve, come down to Tony's lab," she said, her voice shaking. "I think you need to see this." Talia stared at the elder girl in dismay. Once Steve knew what they were doing, he would stop at nothing to stop them.
"Put the lab on lock-down," Peter hissed, not looking up from his work. Talia grimaced, cursing herself for not doing that sooner.
"I can't," she muttered. "JARVIS is down for reprogramming; it'll take too long to do it manually." As if to prove her point, Steve rounded the corner, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
"What's going on?" The super-soldier stepped into the lab, crossing his arms over his chest. He frowned at the scene in front of him, looking to Wanda for an explanation. Wanda glared at the three teenagers, but none of them said anything. She turned towards Steve.
"Talia is making a new Ultron," Wanda said, her accent growing thicker with her anger. Talia pressed her lips together, huffing out an irritated breath. Peter stepped up next to her, the two teenage heroes standing slightly in front of Shuri as the princess continued to work. Once Shuri finished what she was doing, all they needed was the power surge to create the android.
"Steve," Talia said, trying to reason with the man. She pointed to the stone with a shaking hand. "That thing showed me something. Something's coming, you need to –"
"Talia." Steve's voice was cold. "I'm saying this once. Shut it down." Talia's lips formed into a thin line.
"You're not my father," she replied, her voice quiet and mutinous. "Don't try and tell me what to do."
"Kid, you don't know what's in there."
"Actually, I think I do," the mutant muttered. She tilted her head, catching Shuri's eye. The Wakandan girl nodded subtly, not pausing from her work. Peter tilted his head, putting his hands behind his back. Talia would see, out of the corner of her eye, that he was putting on his web shooters.
"Shuri?" Talia asked quietly. "How much longer?"
"I'm done," the Princess responded calmly, not stepping back from the cradle. Though she'd needed convincing to help, she wouldn't betray Talia. She had her friends' backs, always.
Talia nodded, keeping her gaze forwards. All they needed now was that power surge.
Steve anticipated Talia's move before she made it. He twisted, grabbing his shield from the corner of the lab. The super-soldier slung it across the room, aiming for the computer Talia had been working at. Peter threw his hand out, shooting a web out at the shield and pulling it towards him.
In retaliation, Wanda thrust her hand out, her red magic swirling through the air. She used her telekinesis to rip out the cables from the cradle, and a loud beeping filled the lab. The shield ripped from Peter's hands, returning to Steve.
"Power loss: critical," the computer announced. Talia grit her teeth, looking around wildly for a solution.
It came to her in a flash of lightning – literally.
There was a crash of thunder, and Thor appeared on top of the cradle. He lifted his hammer up high, drawing lightning from the overhead lights. The electricity crackled around his hammer, and he brought the weapon downwards.
"No!" Talia shrieked, certain that Thor was going to destroy the android. Instead, the lightning surged into the cradle and the monitors in the room flickered. Talia watched with wonder as the cradle turned back on, powering up with a loud whir.
Thor pulled his hammer back, the lightning fading as thunder rumbled in the distance. There was a moment of stark silence, and the cradle exploded.
"Shuri, watch out!" The warning came too late, and both the princess and Thor were thrown backwards in a shower of glass as the android came to life. Talia gasped, rushing to Shuri's side. The princess was wincing as she sat up, but she waved off Talia's concern, instead turning their focus to the android.
Bathed in steam and smoke, the red-skinned artificial intelligence was still atop the cradle. He raised his head slowly, revealing the yellow stone centered in his forehead. Talia's heart pounded - it had worked.
He looked around with a guarded, confused expression, his movements slow as he examined his new body.
Then, with a single swift movement, he lunged forwards. Talia flinched instinctively, but Thor grabbed the android's arm, twisting and slinging him through the glass window of the lab and out into the common area.
The android went spiraling across the room in a shower of glass before coming to a smooth, sudden halt before hitting the windows. He paused there, staring at his reflection in the glass.
Footsteps came pounding down the stairs as the rest of the Avengers in the compound responded to the commotion. Tony and Bruce entered the lab first, followed closely by Natasha and Clint.
Steve gave Tony and Bruce a look. He blamed the two of them for this - if they'd never started this work, they wouldn't be in this situation.
"Tony…" Bruce's eyes were wide as he took in the scene. "That's the…"
"I know," the billionaire said. He recognized what was happening as well. Tony glanced at Talia, the expression on his face unreadable. Talia's heart thudded, and she swallowed hard.
Steve frowned, taking a threatening step forwards towards the android. He hefted his shield, adjusting the weapon on his shoulder. Thor held his hand out to the other Avengers, warning them to stay put. Everyone's eyes were locked on the floating android.
He turned in midair, a bodysuit appearing over his body as he landed on the ground in front of Thor. He blinked, shaking his head slowly.
"I am sorry," he said, speaking in JARVIS's voice. Tony's eyes went wide upon hearing him - Talia had done exactly what he and Bruce had been planning. "That was…odd." The android looked at Thor, nodding at the Norse god. "Thank you."
Shuri got to her feet, rubbing one of the bruises on her arm absent-mindedly as she moved closer to the android. Talia and Peter followed her, staring at their creation with wide-eyed interest.
"Thor." Steve's voice was disapproving as he focused his glare on his comrade. "You helped create this?"
"I've had a vision," Thor said. "I returned to earth because I was afraid it would be consumed - consumed by a whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life." Thor turned towards the android. "At its center is that." He pointed to the stone in the center of the android's forehead. Bruce frowned, taking a few steps closer to inspect what Thor was talking about. He recognized the stone was the one from Loki's scepter.
"What, the gem?" he asked, confused. Thor nodded gravely.
"It's the Mind Stone," he explained. "One of six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities." Peter exchanged a look with Shuri - neither of them had known that going into this. By the look on Talia's face, she hadn't either. But she also looked strangely vindicated, like she'd been expecting this.
Steve arched an eyebrow, confused by Thor's description. "Then why would you bring it to –"
"Because Stark is right," Thor said, anticipating the end to Steve's question. He turned to look first at Talia, and then at Tony. "They both are. Tony knew when Ultron attacked, and Talia knows it now." Talia nodded slowly.
"I saw it, too," she said, finally speaking up to explain to everyone why she'd done this. She shifted uncomfortably as everyone's eyes fell on her. She shook her head. "I can't explain it. When I touched the stone…it was warning me of something to come." She looked at the android. "He was the answer. We cannot defeat this threat."
"Not alone," the android corrected, nodding at Talia. Steve frowned again, still unconvinced.
"Why does your vision sound like JARVIS?"
"They reconfigured JARVIS's matrix into something new," Tony said. He shot his daughter a quick smile, and some of her fear melted. He wasn't angry with her. "Like we were planning." Talia grinned back.
"Yeah, I may have read your notes," she said flippantly. Steve huffed, still unconvinced. He looked around at the other Avengers, wondering who else was okay with this. Wanda looked terrified, and Clint and Natasha looked largely indifferent.
"I understand your hesitation, Captain Rogers," the android said, looking at Steve calmly. The soldier turned back towards the android. "You thought I was a child of Ultron then, and you think it now. But I am not Ultron. I am not JARVIS. I…am." Wanda stepped forward, her hands shaking as she spoke.
"Five years ago, I looked in your head and saw annihilation." The android turned towards her.
"Look again." Wanda frowned, dropping her gaze. She was scared to look, but she was also scared not to look. Thor saw her expression. He walked over to the mutate, putting his hand on her shoulder and pointing at the Vision. She followed his gaze.
"Wanda," Thor began "Your powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone. And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash." He looked around at the Avengers, his gaze falling on Steve. "But with it on our side…"
"Is it?" Steve interrupted, glaring at Thor. He turned towards the android. "Are you?" The android frowned, tilting his head to the side as he considered this question. He shook his head slowly, and everyone tensed.
"I don't think it's that simple," he said quietly. Clint scoffed. He and Natasha had been observing in the back quietly for the entire time, but now he spoke.
"Yeah, well, it better get real simple real soon." The android considered this, putting his head to the side. He had only been living for a few moments, but he had so much understanding of the world already. It was confusing, to try and put this feelings and thoughts into comprehensive words.
"I am on the side of life," he said finally. Talia let out a slow breath that she barely realized she'd been holding.
"I think that's as simple as it gets," she said, glancing at Steve with a hint of triumph on her face. Steve stared at Talia, unimpressed.
"Kid, you're the reason we're in this mess," he told her. Tony made a sound in the back of his throat, and Steve glanced away, checking himself. Tony stepped up to Talia, putting his arm around his daughter protectively.
"If we're wrong about you," Bruce finally said, reinforcing Steve's opinion. The look on the doctor's face was guarded, wary. "If you're the monster that Ultron made you to be…" his voice trailed off, and the android looked down.
"Maybe I am a monster," he said quietly, looking at his hands. "I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are," he continued, looking at the other heroes around him. "And not what you intended." He looked at Talia. "So, there may be no way to make you trust me…but we must act together when the time comes." The android picked up Thor's fallen hammer in a smooth motion, handing it to the Norse god.
Talia's mouth fell open, and everyone stared at the Vision in shock. Thor reached out, taking his hammer from the android slowly. Vision looked around at the group, seeming confused as to why they were all so shocked. He clearly didn't understand the meaning behind what he'd just done.
"Right." Thor tapped his hand against his hammer, clearing his throat. He nodded towards Talia, Peter, and Shuri. "Well done."
After the Avengers slowly dispersed, Tony instructed Peter, Shuri, and Talia to clean up the lab and surrounding areas. Despite the fact that he didn't disapprove of the work they'd done; he did disapprove of the mess they'd helped make.
It was coming out of Talia's allowance, that was for sure.
By the time the three teenagers had swept up the glass, T'Challa had been filled in on his sister's shenanigans. The monarch listened with amused disbelief, shaking his head as Shuri walked over to him.
"I am never letting you come with me again," he told her sternly. Shuri ducked her head, a smirk crossing her face. She knew her brother would never keep true to that promise. T'Challa sighed at her expression: he knew it just as well as she did.
"Either way," T'Challa said. "It's time we go home. I think you have caused enough trouble for one visit." Shuri couldn't help but groan at this statement, and T'Challa looked faintly amused at her reaction. "Besides, I think Imani is getting lonely."
"Yes, brother," Shuri said with a sigh. She turned towards Peter and Talia sadly. She missed home and her mother and sister, yes, but she'd enjoyed seeing her friends in the few weeks she'd been in America. "It was so good to see you two," she said.
"Good to see you, too," Peter said with a broad smile, hugging the older girl. Talia echoed Peter's statement, squeezing Shuri into a hug as well. The princess pulled back slightly, giving her friends a warm grin as the Wakandan ship landed on the outdoor hangar behind her.
"Shuri," T'Challa said, from where he was saying his good-byes to the other members of the Avengers. She turned her head, giving her friends one last hug before running after her brother.
"Coming."
Peter and Talia watched as Shuri and T'Challa boarded the ship, taking off into air at incredibly fast speeds. As usual, Talia found herself in awe of Wakandan tech.
"I better go, too," Peter said regretfully. "May will be wondering." Talia nodded, walking with Peter over to the Zeta-Tube. The mutate typed in the coordinates of the Zeta-Tube closest to his apartment before turning back to his friend.
He squeezed Talia's shoulder; his dark eyes worried. "You should talk to your Dad about…you know." Talia glanced at the ground, her lips turning down slightly at the corner.
"Yeah," she said with a sigh. She smiled weakly at Peter. "Thanks. Swing safely, my guy." Peter smiled, waving at Talia as the Zeta-Tube announced his departure and teleported him away.
As soon as he was gone, Talia's shoulders slumped. She turned back around, sitting down on the steps beside her and tugging her knees to her chest. Peter was right. She couldn't distract herself forever. She had to tell her dad.
Tony walked into the common area, frowning. He'd been watching Talia, ever since she'd gotten back from the mission in Germany, and he was worried. At first he'd assumed she was just tired, and then he'd decided to give her some space until she came to him and told him what was wrong.
But then she'd convinced her friends to help her create a potentially murderous android in her spare time. Tony knew her well enough to know that she was acting out because of something. Given the circumstances, Tony was done being patients.
"So, what happened?" he said, walking towards his daughter. Talia was sitting on the steps to the compound, playing with the baseball cap in her hand. Her shoulders were slumped, a dull expression fixed on her face as she stared blankly into the distance. When he spoke, Talia raised her head and stared at her father in surprise.
"What?"
"Spit it out, Widget," Tony said sternly, walking over to Talia and taking a seat on the step beside her. "Why'd you do this?" Talia ran her fingernail over the stitching in her baseball cap. Creating Vision and dealing with the drama that had ensued had taken her mind off of the why she'd made Vision.
"When the Team went to Germany, we ran into that Winter Soldier again," Talia said finally, her voice shaking. Tony's eyebrows raised slightly. This wasn't really going in a direction he'd anticipated. Talia's eyes filled with tears as she looked up at her dad, and apprehension filled him. "Her mask fell off and…it was…" Talia choked back a sob. "It was Mom."
Tony went still, frozen in place as he digested this information. His arms wrapped around Talia, pulling his daughter in closer to his chest as she cried. He stroked her hair gently, struggling not to cry himself.
Jesse…all these years...oh my god.
"It's going to be okay, Widget," Tony finally said, his voice shaking. Talia stifled another sob, and he squeezed her a little tighter. "I promise."
For once in her life, Talia wasn't sure that she believed her father.
"I don't understand," Savage said when Stane was done recounting the events to him. "Is this not a failure?" Stane shook his head. He had planned this meticulously, and everything had gone smoothly. Talia was continuing to play right into his hands.
"Far from it, I assure you," the former business man said with a laugh. "In fact, I've been in contact with this Thanos, and he agrees that my plan was a complete success."
Vandal Savage raised an eyebrow. He didn't quite like being left in the dark, but he was glad that Thanos wasn't upset with the turn of events. The last thing he wanted was to make the Titan angry. Savage quite valued their partnership.
"Do tell."
Stane chuckled darkly, taking a seat by the other villain. He took his time pouring himself a drink before he began to explain. "Stark and her little friends just created a being that is quite possibly more powerful than anything on Earth," he told Savage. The scarred man frowned.
"I'm not seeing how this is a victory," he replied. Stane held up his hand.
"Patience," he scolded his partner. Savage rolled his eyes. Stane could be insufferable at times. "This Vision will no doubt become part of the Avengers. Soon, mankind will come to depend on him, more than they'll ever know." Stane leaned back in his chair, a self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face.
"And just what will the Avengers, the Justice League, the X-Men…the entire Earth do when their greatest weapon is destroyed?" Stane continued, looking at Savage with a dark grin. "When Thanos kills the Vision," Stane said. "The heroes will fall."
"Impressive," Savage admitted, somewhat grudgingly. "But how did you know Talia would fall for it?" Stane chuckled patronizingly.
"Simple. Starks never learn."
WARNING: LONG ASS A/N!
i've literally been working on this chapter since i posted the last one and it just. it just.
i.
it was SO damn hard to write. i could picture everything so easily in my head, but when i wrote it down it just did not work out. like seriously, i had so many cool scenes that i had to cut out because they just did not make sense and it made me v. sad to get rid of it.
some of them i'm hoping to work in in the future of this story, but some unfortunately just don't fit.
anyways, i've been reworking it and editing this chapter FOREVER and i'm honestly still not one-hundred percent happy with it but ya'know i figured it had been long enough.
there's just some stuff about this chapter that just doesn't sit right wiht me but idk how to fix it. so...here it is?
also i made clint's wife his sister instead...because I did idk why.
and anyways here is the timeline
TIMELINE:
Young Justice S1 - mid 2010 to early 2011
Captain America: Civil War - summer of 2013
Young Justice: Invasion - early 2015 to mid 2015
Avengers: Infinity War - late 2015 (post-Invasion)
Avengers: Endgame - early-ish 2018
Young Justice: Outsiders - mid 2018 to 2019 (whenever it ends)
So this is still a WIP, but it's currently what I'm working with. I'm guessing CA:CW will be a standalone (shortish) story (because I'm really, REALLY excited about my plot for it, and I don't want it muddied) that will be in either the Avengers fanfic category or the crossover one, not the Young Justice one. The reason it's standalone even though it'll be shorter is because it's farther from either YJ season. Infinity War will almost definitely be a part of the Invasion storyline, and Endgame may or may not be its own separate story followed by Outsiders. (That is really subject to how Outsiders plays out)
Also, this is just a timeline of the "main events." Other movies/comics etc. occur in between/simultaneously [heheheh i have PLANS!]. But this is the barebones.
I'll post updates on where (which category) you can find each story in as I make up my mind, but that's what I'm thinking of right now
anyways, let me know what you think of that, or the chapter in a review!
please please please leave a review! it is always so nice to hear from all of you! i would really appreciate some feedback on this chapter especially because i'm not super duper happy with it.
what do you guys think i should change? what did you like? what do you think of the timeline? please let me know!