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The Bucephalus

The group met in the hold of the ship. The ship was set to autopilot, hurtling across the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. They would reach Nepal in a couple of hours, giving the team plenty of time to acquaint themselves with their unexpected guest.

They had made it out of the compound with minimal injuries, which Kate had easily bandaged once they were a safe distance from the facility.

"I believe a proper introduction is necessary," Vision said, bowing his head and putting a hand on his chest. "I am Vision."

He quickly laid out his backstory for the team and helped along with notes from Kamala. They listened intently, but their expressions gave away nothing. Whether they trusted him or distrusted him, they never showed it. The only one who openly showed any emotion was Kamala, who was blissfully ignorant of her teammate's feelings or lack thereof.

"He also seems to know about us," Kate added as they finished their story. She gazed steadily at the android. Kamala trusted him, and she trusted Kamala, but that did not mean she trusted Vision. She addressed her next statement to their guest. "You never said why."

"I sense that you are unsettled, Ms. Bishop," Vision frowned. He looked like a kid who was trying to figure out what he had done wrong. For a being that's been alive for less than a year, the confusion was warranted. "I apologize if you are unsettled."

"So you know about all of us?" Eli asked. "Are you a stalker or…?"

"No, Mr. Bradley," Vision replied. "During my…travels…I took the time to delve into the protocols left behind by Mr. Stark. One such protocol was labeled 'The Future'. When activated, I would feel obligated to search for individuals with enhanced abilities or skills with the purpose being to restore the Avengers should they ever fall while the world was in peril."

"But this protocol wasn't activated, was it?" Riri asked, standing in her street clothes. Her nanosuit was contained in a pair of bracelets, one on each wrist.

"No, it was not, Ms. Williams," Vision answered. "If it were, I assure you that our meeting would have been different. However, the protocol intrigued me, so I have familiarized myself with potential heroes."

"Like us?" Kamala asked.

"Indeed."

"Are there any more that you know of?" Kamala asked curiously.

Vision considered the question before answering. "There is a girl in Canada and another in New Jersey. There's a boy in Hollywood and another in Norway. Finally, there's another boy in New York." He paused for a moment before adding: "I must mention that none are as prepared as this team you have assembled."

"And you know about them by simply looking at the news?" Eli asked, sounding skeptical.

"Many are rumors, I admit, but I have calculated the probability that these stories become true and the outcome was promising," Vision said.

"So you've made an assumption," Eli pointed out.

"Yes," Vision nodded. "I believe what I did was make an educated guess."

The room was quiet. No one wanted to question the android who could blast them all to pieces without even trying, but his words didn't fill them with confidence.

"Now that you're free from S.W.O.R.D.," Kamala started, changing on the topic. "What are you going to do now?"

"I do not know?" Vision admitted thoughtfully. "I have not seen all that I have wanted, but I am experiencing…hesitation? It is odd."

"After seeing you in action, I wouldn't mind if you would stay with us for a while," Cassie said, crossing her arms as all eyes turned towards her. She had not spoken thus far in the meeting, and so she commanded all of their attention.

"After what I pried out of their system, we could use the extra firepower."

The mood in the room turned with her words. The group was reminded that Cassie had been on a separate mission from theirs and they had not given her a chance to lay out what she had found.

"What did you find, Ms. Lang?" Vision asked.

"Project Reforge," Cassie answered, plugging the drive into the hologram puck and placing it on the floor as the puck projected several different files. "It is an unsanctioned project, kept totally under wraps, even from the U.S. government."

"What were they working on?" Kate asked.

"Thankfully, I had time to do my own research thanks to my great green friend here," Cassie said, patting Skaar on the shoulder. "A few years ago, Hammer Industries produced a batch of robot soldiers. They were hijacked and used to assault Iron Man and War Machine, but that's irrelevant. They were rigged to blow not long after they were shown off at the Stark Expo, but all files and designs on them and the work done to them were confiscated by the government and given to S.W.O.R.D. when they were working on building the sparkling new Vision," she gestured to Vision. "However, they learned that making an android that's too advanced can backfire. So they wanted to dumb down their next product."

Cassie plucked one of the files and opened it for everyone to see. There were pictures of metallic figures of the Avengers. There were also videos of tests performed by the robot heroes, going through basic commands and functions. Along with these pictures and videos, there were reports that detailed everything around their creation and function.

"I present the Iron Avengers," Cassie said gravely. "S.W.O.R.D.'s response to the disassembly of the Avengers."

Kate watched a video of the robot Hawkeye's tests. He was as smooth and efficient a combatant as Clint was, but there was a deadliness to the robot that contrasted with the humanity in the man it parodied. The robot was going for the head of every target whereas Clint would always go for an opponent's leg or shoulder, wounding them instead of killing them.

"Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow," Eli listed off. "They even got Black Panther and Ant-Man."

"Looks like they're built and ready to go, but doesn't say where they're being stored" Kate added, looking through more files. She stepped back to collect her thoughts. Ever since the other day, she had become the unofficial leader of the team. They all looked to her to make decisions and have answers. "Clint said that a rogue agency might be the problem Director Fury was worried about. This must be what he was worried about."

"Oh, it gets worse," Cassie said. "They planned on going further."

"How much further…wait, you said planned," Eli said, confused. "What else did you find?"

"What did you do, Cassie?" Kate added.

Cassie pulled a miniature machine from her pocket and held it up for the group to see.

"Not only did S.W.O.R.D. plan to use robots, they also planned to make their own Avengers to eventually replace them," Cassie explained. "That's why they needed the blood from Hulk and a super soldier. I found out where they were keeping the vials and stole them. I also managed to erase all of the progress they had made."

"Nice work, Ms. Lang," Vision complimented.

"That must have been why they needed my suit," Riri commented. "They wanted to make their own Iron Man suit."

"Looks like Kamala was right," Kate said, smiling at the other girl. "She made the connection before we made it to the facility."

"It is good that Ms. Lang managed to disrupt S.W.O.R.D.'s plans, but we should turn our focus on these Iron Avengers," Vision said, bringing the conversation back to the actual problem. "I mentioned to Ms. Williams that the new director, Joshua Price, will not be pleased by this setback. He will see you as a rival to his project and will seek to eradicate you."

"That's a fun thought," Eli grumbled.

"Is that sarcasm, Mr. Bradley?"

"Yes."

"So we know the problem, now we just have to figure out how to solve it," Riri said, her brow furrowed slightly as she considered the situation.

"We find the robots and rip them apart," Skaar grumbled, crossing his arms.

"It can't be that simple," Kate shook her head. "If we go about this the wrong way, we'll be seen as the bad guys and we'll allow the Iron Avengers to jump-start their careers as the new team of heroes instead of us."

"So the plan is…?" Eli asked, prompting her main point.

"We'll finish getting the rest of our team and then we'll figure out how to deal with the Iron Avengers," Kate said firmly.

"It's like math. We have to know all the variables," Riri added.

"Guys, shouldn't we also bring in the actual Avengers to deal with this?" Eli offered, though he didn't sound convinced of his idea. It was as if he wanted to be talked out of it.

Thankfully, Kamala had just the answer.

"No, this is our mission," she said, her tone daring anyone to argue. "Nick Fury wanted this team to deal with the Iron Avengers. He believes that we could do it and so do I."

The hold was quiet as the group took in Kamala's statement. She had a point and they all realized it. Not only had they been given the mission directly from the man who had started the first Avengers, but they also saw that this was a great opportunity to establish themselves as heroes.

"Alright then," Kate said when no one spoke up against her. "We'll figure this all out when we reach Nepal."