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He had been hoping to make a grand entrance, but even he hadn't imagined it would be this good. After addressing Tony as "Father", everyone in the room stared at him in varying degrees of surprise, some masking it better than others. Still, his sensors could detect the human heartbeat, and they were all hammering away.
"Father? You must be mistaken." Tony looked confused, which Ultron thought was perfectly understandable. As far as his inventor was concerned, he hadn't created any robots that day.
"Well, seeing as how you based my programming off your brainwaves, I think the term fits pretty well," Ultron reasoned.
"Ultron!" Bruce gasped, receiving stares from the other occupants in the room. Fortunately, Bruce had placed all their info in his databanks, so Ultron knew all their names.
"In the flesh – well, so to speak," Ultron joked. No one smiled; if he had a mouth, he would have frowned at them. Humans had no sense of humor.
"Tony, is there something we should know?" Steve kept his tone cool, but there was no mistaking the potential disapproval there.
Tony, who was very good at hiding any surprise he felt, made a grand sweeping gesture at his creation. "That is Ultron, a program that Banner and I developed." Ultron wasn't the only one who noticed Tony stress the word "Banner"; the doctor himself glared at his partner.
"Don't drag me into this," Bruce muttered, his fingers rubbing against each other. Natasha subtlety placed a hand on his shoulder. The way Banner immediately calmed didn't escape the robot's attention; humans were funny that way, with a single touch able to set them at ease.
"You don't think that maybe you could have told us about this?" Steve stared at Ultron with distrustful eyes, his shield in hand in case things got ugly.
Tony scoffed, his arms crossed. "I don't see what the big deal is. I never tell you guys about half my inventions. Why is this any different?"
Thor, who hadn't spoken the whole time, tapped his hammer lightly on the table. It was still a commanding enough noise that everyone turned to him.
"I will tell you why: I sense the power of my brother's scepter within your metal creature." He pointed his weapon at Ultron, who raised his hands non-threateningly.
"Hey, hey! Careful where you point that thing! I don't even know who your brother is, although he must be more fun than you are."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Tony whispered, before addressing Thor. "I thought we had your consent to tinker with that scepter a bit. I didn't even damage it, and trust me, that took a lot of self-control."
"But to create a metallic being? My last experience with such a foe was not a pleasant one."
"Didn't that behemoth come from Asgard? Not that I'm defending Tony, but you can't say that he's the only one who makes mistakes," Natasha calmly interjected, although Ultron believed it was more for Banner's sake than Tony's.
"Enough. I don't care who built what or whose fault it was. This thing is now the custody of SHIELD." Maria Hill had somehow managed to grab her gun when no one was looking, and edged closer to Ultron. He didn't like her plan at all.
"I have a name, and it isn't Thing, its Ultron. Also, I think I'll pass; it doesn't sound like an ideal location at all, too secluded. Besides, I don't think your gun would hurt me anyway." As his face wasn't very expressive, he flickered his blue eyes to tell her that he was serious.
"I actually agree with Ultron. I mean, about how he shouldn't go with you. But also that your bullets wouldn't hurt him. I mean, c'mon, I built the armor he decided to rent out. The most you would do is hurt someone else with a ricocheting bullet."
Ultron stumbled towards Tony, still not a hundred percent used to his body yet. He felt his father stiffen as he placed an arm around the man's shoulders. "Yes, thank you! I'm glad to have some support."
"I wasn't asking," Hill ground out as she fired three rounds at Ultron, who quickly pushed his father behind him. Tony's words proved prophetic, as the three bullets bounced off his hard body, with two crashing through the tower's windows. The third, however, flew at Hill's knee.
She gasped, and closed her eyes, missing how Ultron quickly fired a repulsor blast from his palms, knocking the bullet off course so that it instead embedded itself in one of the paintings adorning the wall.
"I don't think I like you, but I was created to protect humans – including from themselves." Angered, he stomped towards Hill, snatching the gun from her hand. Bringing it up to her eye level, he crushed it in his palm.
"But don't shoot at my father again." His blue optics had switched to a dark shade of red. A solid hand grabbing his shoulder stopped him from moving any further.
"That's enough; she was wrong, but that's no excuse to attack her." Captain America's clear voice would be recognizable by anyone.
Ultron raised his hands again, dropping the former gun that was now a ball of metal. "Sorry, sorry. Lost my cool for a moment there; guess I overheated. Heh." Once again, no one laughed at his joke, but Steve gave a cautious smile, which was a start.
"I still think you're a menace," Hill growled, turning around and stalking out of the room. Ultron shrugged.
"I just want to help people, like my programming tells me to do. I can't do that as some computer program in the virtual world. I need to be here, physically."
"Well, that wasn't really what I had in mind: I figured that you could connect to various weather satellites and news feeds to see danger coming before it arrives, and things like that. It's fine that you want to help people, but for that….well, that's why we're here." Tony sounded apologetic.
"So…now what are we supposedto do with the suddenly pacifistic robot?" Clint was twirling an arrow in his hand, seemingly calm, but Ultron knew the reason he held the arrow in the first place was to have a handy weapon at the ready.
"Not a pacifist. If I see someone threatening a human, I am very capable of throwing him for a loop," Ultron proclaimed proudly, before continuing in a more serious manner, "None of you need to be cautious around me. I don't mean any of you harm; my father considers you his friends." He nodded at Tony.
"That's all well and good, but we don't even know how practical you'll be in the field," Steve explained. "No offense, but we really don't have any idea of your capabilities."
Tony coughed into his hand. "No, I actually have a pretty good idea, since it's my suit. Still, it wouldn't hurt to run some tests." He had hardly finished speaking before an alert signal flashed through Ultron's HUD display.
"There's apparently a crime in progress in the European country of Sokovia. The locals are reporting witchcraft and invisible men. This is very fortunately timed; tests are boring anyway." He stared at his father expectantly, his programming itching to help people in need. He had to admit, part of it may have been due to him wanting to impress his father.
"We don't know how big this problem; we may need all the help we can get. Bring Ultron along." When Steve spoke, people tended to listen. Ultron observed everyone quickly gear up, before entering the jet. Ultron failed to hide his excitement at the prospects of his first mission, his metal foot tapping the ground of the plane.
"I won't let you down, father," Ultron promised. In the seat behind him, Hawkeye scoffed before getting elbowed by Natasha.
Looking out the window, Ultron spotted a white substance covering the ground and all the foliage. So that was snow. He wanted to know what it felt like, even at the mild risk of rusting up.
"I knew I should have brought my special heat-armor," Tony idly complained to Steve, who was sitting beside him.
"Do you have armor for every freaking situation?" Hawkeye wasn't willing to believe that Tony had quite that many suits.
"You'd better believe it. I like to be prepared for any situation," the inventor boasted, before listing every single item in his inventory. Clint groaned and slid down his seat.
Ignoring his fellow scientist, Bruce turned to Thor. "I'm glad you could join us for one last mission before returning to Asgard."
The blonde Asgardian patted Bruce on the shoulder. It felt like a hammer slammed against him. "In truth, I was curious to see how Stark's machine would fare in the heat of battle." Ultron couldn't help but overhear. He knew he couldn't embarrass himself on the battlefield.
As soon as the plane had landed, gunfire began echoing outside. Never one to make a lame entrance, Iron Man flew down the ramp and blasted the two nearest opponents. The hapless men found themselves stuck deep in a snowdrift.
"HYDRA," Widow announced as she zapped two others. Ultron quickly searched his databanks for the term. Obviously, these people had to be stopped.
"Whoah there," Iron Man said as he grabbed Ultron's arm. "This fight isn't for you." Ultron would have gaped at his creator if he could.
"But why? That's why you brought me, isn't it? As a test!" Iron Man shook his head, pointing towards the village a few miles down.
"No, I brought you to save people, like I programmed to. We'll take down these goons, you go and find anyone who needs assistance." Ultron was torn; he did want to help people, but he also wanted to lend his father a hand. Finally, his programming won out.
"Fine, but don't whine to me if you end up getting killed," Ultron griped before using the jets in his boots to fly towards the village. Already, his audio sensors could pick up someone calling for help.
Baron von Strucker watched his men attack the Avengers from the safety of his underground base, via a dusty television screen. He knew his men would lose pitifully, but that was fine; they were all very expendable in the long run.
"Now is your chance to take your revenge," Strucker cackled to the two figures standing in the shadows behind him. One of them, a youthful man sporting surprisingly white hair for his age, spoke up.
"Tony Stark? He is here?" Strucker nodded, pointing at the screen when the armored hero kicked one of his soldiers into a tree.
"Pietro, you and your sister have a chance to avenge your parents. I suggest you grab that chance with your own hands."
"Come on, Wanda. The thing we have dreamed about for years is becoming reality." The man picked up his sister bridal style and ran off faster than the naked eye could follow. Once they were gone, Strucker allowed himself a grin. The fools were just as expendable as the footsoldiers, but if they managed to kill some of the Avengers, that would work out just fine…
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the mostly exposition chapter, but it was important that Ultron meet the Avengers, and I had to make sure that some of them didn't open up to the robot right away (some more subtle than others). And to Maria Hill fans...sorry, I didn't mean to make her come across as such a grump, but that's how she is in Avengers: EMH.
Anyway, as mentioned in the story summary, this is a complete AU. So, you know, many events won't be like in the film, starting with Strucker.