I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
While Pietro sped through the woods with Wanda in his arms, Ultron and Vision carried Carol and Dr. Montone above the forest while they all meandered towards the frequent bursts of lightning among the dense gathering of trees. By the time they converged on their destination, they stared in awkwardness as Thor smacked Mjolnir against bear-like creatures with wings as they charged at him, each hit sending them flying backwards.
"What are those things?!" Carol exclaimed.
"I never thought I'd see flying teddy bears," Wanda commented.
Fylo could only facepalm at this point.
"I really should've warned him about not attacking the zandos," he grumbled.
"They…" Thor sent one zando flying up into the air.
"…attacked…" he followed up with punching another in the side of the head to knock it off course.
"…me!"
"Really can't blame them if a flying blond maniac with a hammer came flying through their territory!" Ultron shouted while firing a repulsor burst to repel several more.
Vision looked to both sides as two more zandos shot towards him. Fylo let out a yelp as Vision changed his molecular density, as well as the good doctor's, and caused both creatures to collide with each other while the android gently lowered himself and Fylo down to the ground.
"I don't suppose that either of the other two ingredients are nearby," Vision said hopefully, turning his head to briefly emit a blast from his forehead and send another zando sprawling back into the bushes, "or that zando packs don't number higher than twelve."
"If I'm not mistaken," Fylo suggested, pointing to the left, "we should find the Brakka tree several meters in that direction."
Carol dodged each zando charging at her, but it started to irritate her.
"Hey, Wanda?" Carol called out, "could you do us a favor and calm these guys down?!"
"Trying!" Wanda shouted, her hands manipulating pulses of red energy which extended as tendrils towards each of the attacking beasts.
One by one, each one found itself under her influence as she attempted to subdue their base aggressive instincts. In a matter of minutes, the zandos stopped attacking and their expressions became more calm. This was enough to persuade Thor to lower Mjolnir and turn his head towards Wanda.
"Oh, wow," Fylo commented, "that was a close call."
"Could we please get moving?" Wanda asked, straining to maintain control over so many minds at once, "I don't want to be anywhere close to here when they start remembering how angry they are at us for passing so close to their territory."
"So that's what their beef was," Ultron patted one of the entranced animals on the head, "well then, let's not burden them with our presence any further, shall we?"
Carol nodded in agreement before Fylo and Ultron led Carol, Pietro, Wanda, Thor and Vision out of the clearing. Taking a left turn, they sauntered past the trees until Fylo identified the Brakka tree ahead of them.
"So that's where the next ingredient is?" Carol commented, "how are we going to get it?"
Fylo reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a spout and a hammer.
"Ah, so you've come prepared," mused Vision.
Fylo nodded before he placed the spout onto the trunk of the Brakka tree and hammered it in.
"Do we have any other surprises waiting in the bushes?" Thor whispered to Wanda, who was keeping an eye out.
Shaking her head, she sat down on a log.
"Nothing that I can sense," Wanda answered, "I think those things have chased off anything nearby that could threaten their territory."
"Lucky us," Pietro commented, using a small knife to whittle a thick branch so fast that he generated a sound akin to a buzzsaw before finishing a figurine of Captain America…which he set next to a row of other wooden carvings of the Avengers.
"Hey, think these would get me anything back home?" Pietro joked.
Thor exchanged a glance with Wanda.
"Does he have an off switch?" the Thunderer inquired, tilting his head towards the speedster.
"Not when he's bored," Wanda shook her head.
"We just got attacked five minutes ago," Ultron pointed out.
"Meaning he's been bored for four minutes," Wanda shrugged.
Carol let out a playful scoff while Fylo set a container underneath the spout, draining the sap from the tree.
"I could…uh, let you play Angry Birds if you'd like," Carol offered to Pietro.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Ultron placed his hand on Carol's shoulder, catching her attention.
"What?" she paused.
"I get what you're going for, but you don't want Pietro here handling a handheld device unless it's been friction-proofed," Ultron explained, "let's just say if he played at his speed, it would be melted by the time you get it back."
Carol shuddered in a split second at that thought.
Pietro shrugged.
"Is true," he admitted, "gave Wanda a headache when that happened to a Christmas gift a few years ago."
"Poor Mr. Goldfish never stood a chance," Wanda sighed.
Carol gave Wanda a blank stare.
"Uh, goldfish?" Carol paused.
By then, Dr. Montone finished filling the container with sap, so he removed the spout from the tree trunk and closed the container with a lid.
"All right," he announced, "now for the Bozzen Berries!"
Fylo led Ultron, Carol, Thor, Vision, Pietro and Wanda further into the woods, with Ultron and Vision scanning their surroundings for any predators. It didn't take long before they stopped at a nearby waterfall.
"So where are the berries located?" Carol called out.
Fylo pointed at the top of the waterfall.
"There are bushes up there where you can find them," Dr. Montone answered.
"All right Pietro, this time you really are up," Ultron encouraged the speedster.
Pietro cracked his knuckles and then vanished in a blur…and returned just as quickly, his arms filled with hundreds of berries he'd picked clean from the bushes.
"Is this enough?" he asked.
Carol scratched her head.
"I don't know," Carol replied, "that's a heck of a lot."
Fylo couldn't help but chuckle at Carol's response.
"I do not need that many berries," Fylo answered, "but I do appreciate the thought."
Fylo plucked a portion of the berries out of Pietro's hands and placed them in a container.
"And now we head back for the lab," Fylo announced.
"Let's hope Loki's still in the land of the living," Carol commented.
And with that, Fylo led Ultron, Thor, Pietro, Wanda, Vision and Carol through the forest. Thankfully, the path they took had less obstacles to deal with than they had when searching for the ingredients. It took a while before they returned to the ship, so Ultron, Thor and Vision stored the ingredients in the cargo hold before they headed for their seats.
"Well, that was an interesting experience," Ultron said with a positive tone, "now let's never come back here again. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Wanda droned.
"Yep," Pietro nodded.
"Why would you want to never return?" Thor chuckled, "there are mighty beasts and worthy adversaries to be found in this jungle!"
"A picnic for an Asgardian, of course," Ultron rolled his visual receptors in their sockets.
"Ugh, can we just not dwell on picnics for one second and focus on saving the poor Jotun?" sighed Carol.
Ultron sighed and ruffled Carol's hair with his hand.
"I almost forgot," Ultron chuckled, "we have a god of mischief to save."
Fylo brushed off the commotion and turned on the ignition, the ship taking off into the sky until it left the atmosphere. Within a few hours through accelerated speed, they returned to Xandar. Once the solsapien doctor landed his ship on the airfield, he led Ultron, Carol, Thor, Pietro, Vision and Wanda into the clinic with the ingredients in tow. They made their way inside the doctor's lab and spread out the ingredients.
"Now, once I finish the medicine," Fylo instructed, "Loki has to take this three times a day until all of it is used up."
"And how are you going to make it?" asked Vision.
"Each ingredient must be properly applied in exact amounts and in combination with other materials that I have on hand," Dr, Montone explained, already gathering several tools and bottles of fluids from around the lab, "too much or too little of anything can prove ineffective at best, fatal at worst, but luckily we have machines for making exact measurements these days."
"Hooray for machines," Ultron drawled, "will this take long?"
"Not absurdly long, no," Fylo shook his head as he picked up a long metal implement, "however…I might require the assistance of anyone of considerable strength. One ingredient I must retrieve comes from a rather aggressive specimen of sea creature which we keep in an aquarium below here."
"Why would you need them so close by?" Vision inquired.
"Because of the substance they produce in their stomachs, I believe your world has something similar to it in the animals you call 'whales'," Fylo donned a colorful, fully sealed suit, "also, retrieving it isn't for the faint of heart."
Immediately, Thor found himself standing alone while the rest of the group had backed up.
"Really?" he glared at them before shaking his head and following after Dr. Montone.
"Should we feel bad that we just abandoned Thor to basically collect alien whale feces?" Wanda mused.
Vision looked to Wanda while Pietro sped to the android's side.
"Can call him back now if you want to volunteer," Pietro offered.
"I think I will politely decline," the android answered.
All Ultron, Carol, Wanda, Pietro and Vision could do was wait until a long while later, Thor and Fylo returned with the last ingredient, although the thunder god gave a disgruntled look.
"Fantastic idea, doctor," Thor grumbled sarcastically.
While Thor turned his head away from everyone else, Fylo set off to work measuring the ingredients before following a process of combining certain ingredients at a time at the proper amounts. He finished the job by placing the container under a blender and turning it on, the blades grinding the ingredients until they blended into a liquid. After waiting for several minutes for the medicine to set, the solsapien doctor took a sample test to confirm it was finished properly before he closed the container with a lid and handed it to Ultron.
"Finished," Fylo announced, "now remember the directions, ok?"
Ultron kept a tight grip on the container, which was half his size.
"You take care, doctor," Ultron winked.
Ultron led Thor, Vision, Carol, Pietro and Wanda out of the office and out of the clinic before they sauntered over to a large open field. Thor glanced up towards the sky.
"Heimdall!" Thor called out, "bring us in!"
Upon cue, the energy from the Bifrost shot down from the sky and enveloped the group. The next thing they knew, they were at the observatory while Heimdall removed his sword from the pedestal. Too bad he couldn't help but smell something foul from the thunder god.
Upon noticing the raised eyebrow of the Bifrost's guardian, Thor grunted while passing him.
"Don't ask."
Heimdall looked to the rest of the party and noted a series of sheepish or moderately ashamed expressions before they hurried after Thor, awkwardly excusing themselves. They caught up to the God of Thunder as he made his way back into Asgard.
"We never speak of this," he commanded them tersely, "got it?"
"Gotcha," Ultron nodded, unable to stop himself from grinning…despite the fact that he literally had exact control over every mechanism in his head that worked to reposition his facial plates in a mimicry of facial expression, "God strike me if I lie."
"He might just do that," Pietro whispered, seeing the poorly executed pun.
Despite the lightheartedness of their conversation they all were quickly reminded that time was of the essence even if they were so close now and broke into a run straight to the nearest parked skiff where Thor leapt aboard and commandeered the controls from a surprised pilot who briefly protested before recognizing just who was making use of his craft.
"Apologies, but our need for this craft is greater," Thor urged before gesturing for the pilot to disembark, which he did without question.
Thor waited long enough for the rest of the group to leap aboard, mainly Ultron who was glad to set the container down if only momentarily, before directing the skiff towards the palace, bringing it in recklessly fast and low to the point that several turrets tracked their approach before recognizing the occupants of the craft and standing down.
Thor piloted the skiff into the vast, open hall leading up towards Odin's throne before bringing it to a shrieking halt and dropping down with Ultron close behind, keeping a careful hold of the canister.
"Is that supposed to be the medicine?" Odin asked.
"Yes," Thor nodded, "we went through many trials to acquire it."
Odin nodded in agreement.
"Then I suggest you carry it over to the infirmary," Odin advised.
Thor sighed as he lifted the container into his arms and turned his head towards Ultron.
"You heard the King, chop-chop!" Ultron smirked before helping Thor to steady the awkward, heavy canister and carry it to the infirmary.
Pietro kicked the doors open in time for them to pass through.
"Was that really necessary?" Thor asked the speedster.
"Hm…no, but fun," Pietro answered.
Still, Thor and Ultron set down the canister next to bed Loki rested in while Fandral and Sif turned their eyes towards Thor.
"Ah, you found the cure!" proclaimed Fandral, "we, on the other hand, didn't have much luck as the Frost Giants wouldn't let us advance."
Ultron twisted the lid open while Carol searched the infirmary for a cup. Once she picked one up from a nightstand, she scurried over to Ultron and handed over the cup, allowing Ultron to scoop some of the medicine into it.
"The doctor we found recommended that Loki take this three times a day until the canister is empty," Ultron explained.
Sif took the cup from Ultron while Thor turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Wanda asked.
"I need a bath," Thor answered, "I'll return as soon as I'm done."
At the puzzled expressions on Sif and Fandral's faces Ultron simply shrugged.
"Just don't mention whales around him for a while and let's leave it at that," he stated.
Sif shook her head and held the cup down towards Loki while Fandral tilted his head back and opened his mouth so that the medicine could be poured down Loki's throat at a careful pace. In a matter of moments, Loki let out a cough before he slowly opened his eyes, staring at Sif and Fandral in confusion.
"H-How?" Loki whispered, "how am I…back in Asgard?"
Sif and Fandral didn't respond but they couldn't help but smile. The trickster tilted his head sideways and laid his eyes on Ultron and Carol.
"Thor told us what was going on," Carol clarified, "so we kinda volunteered to help."
Loki couldn't help but recline his head, relief filling his mind.
"So where's Thor?" Loki asked.
Carol shrugged.
"He'll be here soon," she answered, "he just has to take care of his hygiene first."
Loki chuckled at Carol's answer.
"I can imagine he had to do something filthy to complete the quest," Loki assumed.
Ultron chuckled and tilted his head, only to notice Carol leaned onto his side while wrapping her arms around him.
"Aww," Ultron purred, "is my little kitten tired?"
"Mhmm," Carol nodded.
Chuckling, Ultron scooped Carol into one arm. Vision responded by lifting Wanda into his arms while Ultron lifted Pietro into his other arm, the speedster struggling to wiggle out of Ultron's grip.
"I-I can get to the observatory by myself!" Pietro protested.
"But it's much safer if you stay with the group," Vision remarked.
Ultron couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"So Pietro," Ultron made a snide comment, "when was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"
"Oh, shut up," Pietro grumbled, folding his arms.
Carol cuddled into Ultron's embrace while Wanda shook her head in disbelief.
"Not to worry," Fandral proclaimed, "we'll tell Thor that you left. Shall we arrange a ride for you?"
Vision and Ultron shook their heads.
"We can reach the portal without any assistance," Vision stated, "thank you for the offer, though."
Vision and Ultron flew through the large opened windows and out of the palace, hovering straight for the Bifrost Bridge. Maybe Vision could find a recipe the Maximoff twins could enjoy once they returned to Earth.
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