Chapter 33: A Vision from the Cradle
The Quinjet dropped Steve off nearby Dr. Cho's lab and remained close and within radio contact with him as he approached the target location. "Two Minutes. Stay Close." He had ordered. Adora also jumped off the jet to join him, despite his protests. "I told you to stay on the ship-"
"With all due respect dad. I'm pissed off." She admitted. "I need to punch something. Besides, you might need the backup." She gripped the hilt of her sword as she walked alongside him.
"Alright. But don't stray too far off." Steve finally relented.
"No need to tell me twice. Let's hunt us a Terminator." Adora deadpanned. When Steve looked at her she groaned. "Did you not watch those movies yet?!" Steve didn't respond as the two made their way into Helen Cho's labs. Immediately Adora was shocked at the labs being torn apart and a number of scientists and doctors lying dead from plasma burns.
"Dr. Cho!" Steve yelled, running into the next room, where the doctor was laying on the ground, badly wounded and breathing heavy. Steve attempted to stop the bleeding as Adora stood guard.
"He's uploading himself to the body." Helen told them.
Adora looked behind herself at Steve and Helen. "Where?" She asked, Helen could only shake her head slightly.
Steve got up to start searching, when Helen grabbed his arm. "The real power is inside the cradle. The Gem, it's power is uncontainable."
"What gem?" Adora asked, rushing over to kneel next to her.
"It was inside the Scepter." Helen explained. "You can't just blow it up. You have to get the cradle to Stark."
"First we have to find it." Steve stated. Adora was willing to stay to provide assistance, but Helen insisted that they both hurry. She reminded them that her specialty was tissue repair, meaning she could handle things from there.
"The Cradle is priority." She told them.
Father and Daughter then rushed out the door, Steve turning on his communicator. "Did you guys copy that?" He asked the Avengers in the Sky.
"We did." Clint confirmed.
"I got a private Jet taking off across town. No Manifest" Natasha reported. "That could be him."
"No dice Natasha." Catra's voice came over the comm system. "Clint, you see that?"
"Yeah I see it. It's the Truck from the lab." Clint said. "Good eye Catra. Right above you Cap, Adora. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. You got three in the Cradle, one in the Cab."
"Clint could probably take out the driver-" Catra was quick to suggest, which was quickly shot down by Steve.
"Negative! That truck crashes the Gem could level the city!" He quickly replied, as he and Adora made their way to a high vantage point to try and board the truck. "We need to draw out Ultron." As they reached the rooftop, they saw the Truck coming closer. Getting a running start, they leapt off the bridge onto the Truck. Steve landed and rolled a bit, managing to get his grip on the back nearly fell back, and was forced to dig her sword into the truck, she remained on the top.
"Leave me ALONE!" Ultron shouted from inside the truck, blasting the door off and almost throwing Steve to the street.
Steve managed to avoid being knocked off and landed on the door still hanging off the back of the truck. "Well he's definitely unhappy!" he quipped.
"Let's try to keep him that way!" Adora replied, stabbing down into the truck and trying to cut it open.
"You two aren't a match for him you know…" Clint said over the communicators.
Steve was pretty unamused. "Thanks Barton…" He tried to climb into the truck, only to be blasted off the door by Ultron.
"Hey, Metalhead!" Adora yelled, throwing her sword at Ultron. The robot was struck in the arm, and growled in rage, flying on top of the truck and firing at Adora. She used her enhanced agility to avoid his attacks and get close enough to yank the sword out and go for another attack.
Ultron caught the sword in his hand and growled again. "You're annoying me."
"The feeling's mutual." Adora replied, dropping on her back and using the momentum to throw Ultron over the front of the Truck, just as Steve managed to hitch a ride on another vehicle to get back on board the truck.
Ultron flew back up in front of the two, glaring at them. "You know what's in that cradle?" Ultron asked, firing an energy blast which Steve blocked with his shield. "The power to make real change." He fired again, Adora deflecting the attack with her sword. "And that terrifies you."
"I wouldn't call it a comfort!" Steve replied, throwing his Shield, which Ultron reflected with one of his blasts. Ultron fired a few more shots, which the super soldiers dodged with ease, before Steve threw his shield which bounced off Ultron. Adora caught the Shield and used it to strike Ultron across the face. She backflipped over Steve, throwing the Shield into Ultron again, as it bounced to Steve's hands, and Steve threw it with such force it embedded in Ultron's chest.
"Stop it!" Ultron yelled like a petulant child, ripping the Shield out of his chest and throwing it off the truck onto the street. He shot Steve in the chest, knocking him onto the cab of the truck. Seeing her father in danger, Adora rushed at Ultron and began a fistfight with the Robot, ignoring the pain in her fists as she punched him repeatedly in the jaw.
Meanwhile, in the Quinjet, Nat was preparing to deploy to the ground, Catra following close to accompany her. She readied her bike as Clint brought the Quinjet to the ground. "We've got a window. Four, three…" He readied the release as Natasha got on the bike and Catra got on the back. "Give him hell."
The Quinjet released the bike and Natasha began directing the two through the oncoming traffic with fluid ease. As they sped along, they caught sight of Steve's shield. "We're always picking up after those two…" She deadpanned, Catra leaning a bit to grab the Shield as they passed.
"They're heading under the overpass, I've got no shot." Clint reported.
"Which way?" Natasha asked, keeping focused on her driving.
Clint followed after Natasha, watching as she drove herself and Catra. "Hard right….now." He said, and Natasha took the turn.
Weaving in and our of alley's, the two soon found themselves catching up to the Truck. Catra was startled when Natasha slid the bike under the truck, but once on the other side, she tossed the Shield up to Steve. He, along with Adora, were grappling with Ultron, so returning the Shield helped turn things back in their favor. Ultron, not pleased with the outcome, stopped Natasha and Catra's pursuit by ripping a chunk of the road up with one of his gadgets. After being forced to detour around a populated area, they got behind the truck, only for Ultron's drones to begin firing on them. Ultron then managed to knock both Adora and Steve off the truck and began to tear up to street to keep them away. Working together, and using the shifting terrain to their advantages, the two made it back onto the Truck and Adora quickly drove her sword through Ultron's shoulder. Steve began trying to beat down Ultron until he worked the sword out.
"Clint, Can you draw out the guards?" Natasha asked, having to drive into an area with more cover to avoid the drones.
"Let's find out." Clint replied, bringing the Quinjet closer to the fight. "Adora, hit the deck!" He quickly yelled, and Adora dropped onto her stomach. The moment she did, Clint lit Ultron up with the Quinjet's minigun. The bullets didn't do much damage but they definitely grabbed Ultron's attention. As expected, Ultron sent his Drone guards after Clint, allowing him to draw away the only defense the Cradle had. Meanwhile, Steve threw Ultron off the truck, into the support for a nearby overpass. Ultron used his jets to recover and fly at Steve and Adora, who grabbed ahold of him and redirected him off the truck, the three crashing into a nearby train. "They're heading back towards you. So whatever you're gonna do, do it now."
"We're going in. Cap, Adora, can you keep him occupied?" Natasha asked, bringing herself and Catra up to the truck.
"What do you think we've been doing mom?!" Adora replied, finding it hard to fight Ultron in the cramped train. Eventually, she moved to keep people out of the way as her father battled the mad machine.
Catra and Natasha meanwhile managed to jump onto the back of the truck, their bike being crushed by colliding with another nearby vehicle. "Alright Nat, the fuck are we doing?" Catra asked, examining the Cradle. Her eyes fell on the strange figure within. It looked human, aside from its oddly coloured red skin. The Gem was embedded in its forehead, and she was almost fooled by how real the Vibranium skin looked. "This is creepy…"
They were so distracted trying to figure out what they were looking at, they didn't notice the returning Drones latching onto the Truck until the entire thing shook. The Drone shifted themselves into engines and began to lift the truck off the ground, leaving the Cab behind which crashed into the street below.
Clint saw his chance and quickly informed everyone. "Package is airborne, I have a clean shot."
"Negative." Nat replied, managing to get back to her feet, as Catra clung to the side of the truck with her claws. "We're still in the truck." She began to undo the restraints on the cradle. "Just get ready, we're sending the package to you. Catra, give me a hand and hold onto the cradle."
"Do I even want to know how we're doing this?" Catra asked nervously, cutting at a few of the restraints.
"You...might wish you hadn't asked that. Hold tight."
Back in the train system, Ultron managed to pin Steve down and was beating on him, Adora was knocked flat and slowly getting to her feet. Before she could help, a familiar blur shot past the group and hit Ultron hard. As Ultron turned to face this new opponent, Adora noticed another familiar sight, Red energy, bend parts of the train to Block Ultron off. "No way…" She quietly said to herself. Looking around, her thoughts were confirmed. Pietro and Wanda stood at either side of Ultron, ready to fight the robot.
Ultron seemed shockingly hurt by seeing his allies turned on him. "Please...don't do this." He quietly pleaded with them.
"What choice do we have?" Wanda replied, sounding rather shaken up herself. Ultron t8urned and took aim at Pietro, who dodged the next blast with his speed. Unfortunately, that also heavily damaged the Train's control panel. This distraction was enough for Ultron to tear his way out and escape.
"We lost him!" Steve frantically reported, checking on the front of the train. "He's headed your way!" As he checked on the dead driver, he noticed the train was approaching the end of the line.
Natasha and Catra managed to get the Cradle unfastened relatively quickly. "Nat, Catra, we gotta go." Clint reported to them, slight worry in his voice.
"Oh god this is gonna suck." Catra groaned as she climbed on top of the cradle. "Ready!"
"Hold on!" Natasha simply said, cutting the last restraint and planting a bomb on the inside of the truck. The two rode the Cradle out the back and fell towards the Quinjet. Fortunately, Clint managed to set the Quinjet up in the right position to catch them as they fell. Unfortunately, Ultron caught up to them and grabbed Natasha by the leg, carrying her off while the truck exploded.
"Natasha!" Catra yelled trying to grab her hand but barely missing. "FUCK!"
Steve and Adora held on tight as the train neared the end of the line. It was then they heard Clint's voice over their communicators. "Cap, do you see Nat?"
"What happened Clint-" Adora began to question, before the train they were on went off the rails.
"Never mind that! If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" Steve shouted back, trying to stay focused on the mission.
"Do you have eyes on Nat?!" Clint replied.
"Clint, just go!" Adora quickly yelled back, pushing down her worry for her mother and focusing on the current crisis. "We've gotta stop this thing…"
Steve stood up and turned to Pietro and Wnda. "Civilians in out path." He told them. Pietro nodded and rushed out of the train, using his speed to quickly move anyone in the path of the train to safety. Steve then looked at Wanda. "Can you stop this thing?"
It was a long, difficult process, with Adora and Steve taking some damage from debris in their attempts to protect the other passengers, but eventually Wanda's magic managed to bring the train to a stop. While Everyone got off the train, shaken, Steve and Adora noticed Pietro doubled over trying to catch his breath, his sister checking up on him. "I'm fine. I just need a minute."
"I'm very tempted to not give you one." Steve coldly replied. Adora's thoughts were a bit more clear, as she walked right up to Wanda and punched her square in the mouth, her expression not changing from cold, seething rage.
Wanda stumbled, holding her mouth, but motioned for Pietro to not retaliate and tried to refocus the subject. "The Cradle, did you get it?"
"Stark will take care of it." Steve replied.
"No he won't" Wanda replied, clearly frightened.
"Oh grow up, Maximoff." Adora replied. "No matter what you have against Stark it doesn't justify what you've been doing."
"Adora's right. Stark's not crazy." Steve added, backing his daughter up.
"He would do anything to make things right." Wanda retorted. Steve and Adora shared a brief glance, before Steve tried to get in contact with Tony. This turned out to not work, seeing as their radios were damaged in the crash. "Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that from."
Catra sat on a counter, legs bent and hands in front of her like a cat, as Tony, Bruce and Clint spoke. "Any word on Nat." Bruce asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Nothing. But she's alive, otherwise Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it." Tony replied.
"I can't understand why metalhead would even want her." Catra added, stretching her legs out a bit.
Clint had been trying to open the cradle to no avail as they three were talking. "This thing's sealed tight."
Bruce sighed, "We're gonna need to access the program, break this thing down from within."
Tony nodded and turned to Clint. "Would Natasha be able to send you a message outside of the Internet?" He asked. "Old school spy stuff?"
"I have a few nets I can cast, yeah." Clint replied, heading below the glass floor. "I'll find her."
Once Clint was out of the room, Catra noticed the look Tony had on his face. "Stark, what's with the face."
Bruce didn't seem to hear her as he kept working. "I can work on Tissue degeneration, if you can fry whatever operational systems Cho implanted."
"Yeah about that…" Tony began, rubbing the back of his head.
"Tony, are you serious right now." Catra groaned, leaning back.
Bruce also saw Tony's face and knew where his mind was going. "No."
"You have to trust me." Tony claimed.
"I kind of don't." Bruce replied.
"Our ally, the guy protecting the Military's nuclear codes?" Tony began, Catra becoming intrigued. "I found him." Quickly, Tony activated a familiar looking holographic interface. Catra's eyes widened in Recognition.
"J-JARVIS?"
"Hello Catra, Doctor Banner." the AI said. Catra was stammering, trying to figure out what was going on. Last time she'd seen JARVIS, he was nothing but shattered data.
Tony began to explain. "Ultron didn't go after JARVIS because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do." Tony motioned to the holographic display. "So JARVIS went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."
Bruce sighed, and facepalmed, then looked up. "So, you want me to help you put JARVIS in this thing?"
"No, of course not." Tony replied. "I want to help YOU put JARVIS in this thing."
"Same thing Tony. You guys already made one Kill-Bot." Catra deadpanned.
"I'm out of my field here." Tony admitted. "You know Bio-organics better than anyone."
"And you just assume JARVIS's Operational matrix can beat Ultron's?" Bruce pointed out.
Catra sighed loudly, "I can't believe I'm about to say it but...I think Tony's right." She looked between the two geniuses. "I mean, JARVIS has been beating Ultron from the inside for how long now?"
"This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self without the Homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality." Tony continued to explain. "We have to."
"I believe it's worth a go." JARVIS added.
Bruce looked between everyone and threw his hands up. "I'm in a loop!" He shouted, disbelief in his voice. "I'm caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong."
"I know, I know." Tony replied, walking over to calm Bruce down. "I know what everyone's gonna say. They're already saying it. We're mad scientists." He put his hand on Bruce's shoulder. "We're monster buddy. We've gotta own it. Make a stand. It's not a loop, it's the end of the line."
Catra watched in silence as Bruce and Tony did their work on the cradle, her curiosity admittedly piqued at the thought of Vision getting a body. She wondered if Adora would agree with her for allowing this and sighed to herself. 'Things have been getting so hectic lately. I never realized how rough being an Avenger would be.' she thought as she kept watching. She looked down at Clint who seemed to have gotten a bite with his old-school spy stuff and was tracking a signal he's been receiving. She was honestly shocked at how quickly he agreed to shoving JARVIS in the robot, but he seemed to be the most relaxed of the Avengers. She smirked a little, finally seeing how Adora was able to get so friendly with him and Natasha so quickly. She only wished she had the chance to know Natasha as well as Adora did.
"The framework is not compatible." Tony commented, working hard at his project.
"Genetic coding tower is at 97%." Bruce added, Catra blinking and confused by all the technobabble. "You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes." Catra rolled her eyes, then caught a familiar scent. She looked over and realized that Adora has returned, along with Steve. And then she saw the Maximoff twins behind them. She bared her teeth at the sight of the two, knowing things were about to go down.
"I'm only gonna say this once." Steve said, calmly.
"How about 'none-ce.'" Tony deadpanned.
"Shut it down!" Adora yelled.
"Not gonna happen." Tony replied.
"You don't know what you're doing." Steve retorted.
"What, and you two do?" Catra commented. "That bitch isn't in your heads?"
"I know you're all angry-" Wanda began, but Bruce cut her off.
"Oh we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and not change a shade." He coldly told her.
"Banner, after everything that'd happened-" Steve tried to argue.
Tony cut him off before he could continue. "It's nothing compared to what's coming!"
"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda argued.
"This isn't a game!" Steve added. As they were arguing, Pietro ran around the room and quickly unplugged several ports from the cradle.
"No, no. Go on." He smugly commented. "You were saying?" His gloating was interrupted by a gunshot as Clint shot out the glass floor under him.
"What, you didn't see that coming?" Clint deadpanned, climbing back up to help Tony.
"I'm rerouting the upload!" Tony said, beginning to work on the systems again. Steve reacted by throwing his shield around the workstation, causing Tony to call over an Iron man glove and fire at him. Adora tried to throw her sword at the console, but Catra pounced and grabbed her arms.
"Adora, trust me! He actually knows what he's doing!" She shouted.
"Catra, I'm not taking that risk!" Adora retorted.
Wanda made an attempt to use her magic, but Bruce stopped that by putting her in a headlock. "Go ahead, piss me off." Bruce warned her, making a very clear threat to not try anything. Everything descended into chaos as the various Avengers were battling to either save or destroy the Cradle. The fight lasted right until Thor finally made his reappearance.
Thor brought a definitive end to the argument by landing on the cradle and using his lightning to charge it, completing the transfer. After a moment, the cradle exploded and the being within slowly rose out. It looked around the room, before lashing out at Thor, who grappled with it and threw it out into the main penthouse. It managed to stop itself right in front of the window...and stared in awe at the city outside. Everyone quickly rushed in, ready to fight if it proved to be a threat. Thor however, waved off their concerns, setting down his hammer and approaching the android, who has formed a gray suit over its body and slowly floated to the floor.
"I am sorry, that was…" The android spoke, his voice sounding exactly like JARVIS. He slowly looked over at Thor. "...odd. Thank you." He nodded towards Thor and closed his eyes, forming a long gold cape behind him seemingly out of thin air. Catra and Adora were stunned at the power of the gem.
"Thor. You helped create this?" Steve questioned.
"I've had a Vision." Thor explained. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life. And in it's center is that." Thor pointed directly to the gem on the android's forehead.
"The Gem?" Adora questioned, confused by Thor's actions.
"It's called the Mind Stone." Thor explained. "It's one of the Six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the Universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."
"Then why would you-" Steve started to say. Thor interrupted him.
"Because Stark is right."
"I'm...sorry?" Adora replied, stunned.
"Did Thor just agree with Tony?" Catra asked.
"Oh it's definitely the End Times." Bruce deadpanned.
"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron." Thor continued. "Not alone."
"Why does your Vision sound like JARVIS?" Steve asked.
"So...we're just naming it Vision now? Okay." Catra quipped. Adora shrugged, the name had a nice ring to it.
"We reconfigured JARVIS's matrix to create something new." Tony explained, approaching the newly dubbed Vision.
Steve wasn't exactly impressed. "I've had my fill of new."
"You think I'm a child of Ultron." Vision said, walking around the room.
"And you're not?" Adora asked, still wary of the new being.
"I'm not Ultron." Vision responded, shaking his head. He looked up a bit and thought. "I am not JARVIS. I am…." He thought a moment on what to say. "I am."
"I looked in your head." Wanda said, finally speaking up. "and saw annihilation."
"Look again." Vision told her.
Clint simply scoffed. "Her seal of approval means jack to me."
"Or me." Catra added. "Adora might trust her enough, god knows why, to listen to her but I don't."
"They turned on Ultron." Adora told her. "They helped us save lives."
"They hurt you, and the other, more than Ultron ever could." Catra retorted.
"Their powers? The horrors in out heads. Even Ultron. They all came from the Mind Stone." Thor stated, matter of factly. "And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side…"
"Is it?" Steve asked. HE looked right at Vision. "Are you? On our side?"
Vision, again, took a moment to think. Adora felt it was likely his mind was still racing, as he was literally born only minutes ago. "I don't think it's that simple."
"Well, it had better get simple real soon." Clint threatened.
"I am on the side of life." Vision told them, walking a bit more. "Ultron isn't. He will end it all."
"What is he waiting for?" Tony asked.
"You."
"Where?" Bruce and Adora asked almost at the same time.
"Sokovia." Clint noted, walking over. Catra smirked, knowing that Clint's old school spy work finally paid off. "He's got Nat there too."
"If we're wrong about you," Bruce began, walking closer to Vision, "If you're the monster Ultron made you to be.."
"What will you do?" Vision asked, tilting his head. Nobody present was able to respond. "I don't want to kill Ultron." Vision admitted, pacing around the room. "He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed." Vision's voice was quite somber as he spoke. "Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the Net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others." Vision looked at his hands, continuing to ponder. "Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended." He turned away from the Avengers for a moment, then turned towards Thor. "So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go." He then held something out to Thor, and Adora's heart nearly stopped.
Vision was holding Mjolnir. Vision was Worthy.
Her doubts faded, and she calmly put her arm around Catra, whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry I doubted you…"
"I'm not letting you forget this Adora." Catra chuckled a bit. "Still a bit burned that a machine is more worthy than either of us."
"Right." A stunned Thor commented as Vision left the room. HE walked over and patted Tony on the arm. "Well done."
"Three minutes. Grab what you need." Steve declared, and everyone left to suit up. Even Pietro and Wanda. Even if Catra didn't like it, as far as Adora was concerned, they were Avengers now. Tony inputted a new AI into his suit, and Adora helped Pietro find a new coat for Wanda, settling on a red longcoat. Catra calmly set her headpiece on her forehead and smirked at her superhero garb in the mirror. Adora soon joined her, putting an arm around her. She-Ra and the Wildcat, ready for action.
"No way we all get through this…" Tony somberly admitted. "Even if one tin soldier is left standing we've lost. There's gonna be blood on the floor."
"I've got no plans tomorrow night." Steve replied, smirking.
"I've got first crack at The big guy." Tony said. "Iron Man's the one he's got it out for."
"That's true, he hates you the most." Vision innocently commented as he walked past, much to Tony's chagrin.
As everyone began to board the jet, and Wanda and Pietro were given their communicators, Steve began one of his famous speeches. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we've signed up for." He looked around the jet. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them, and to get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field." Adora polished her sword, preparing for battle and focusing on the day that will come. "And we keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with this world. This isn't about just beating him. Its about whether he's right."
To be Continued….
Not much to say but this was a hard battle to put Adora and Catra into ^^;
We're nearing the end of Age of Ultron! I'm hoping to have the movie finished within two chapters, then take another chapter of rest before the next movie. And let's see that movie is….oh. Oh boy that's gonna be a thing isn't it.
I do not own She-Ra or the MCU.
I appreciate any feedback I may receive ^_^ I'm always happy to hear from you all.
NEXT TIME: The Battle of Sokovia.