Chapter 58 - Vision (6)
(Avengers Tower, New York- Tony's Lab - May 8th, 2015)
The tower was cold, cold and silent. Silent as a graveyard and dark as one too, the only lights on were the ones that were absolutely necessary for Tony and Bruce to be doing their jobs of dismantling the cradle. The fight they had to secure Dr Helen Cho's creation hadn't been easy, and likely didn't elevate any of the fears that were currently circling in the internet and the news cycles about the team. However, at that moment Tony's mind wasn't focusing on what the rest of the world was worried about, he was focused solely on the large rectangular object in front of him.
The Cradle was a marvel of engineering and science, able to create nearly anything from real organic tissue to complex nano-polymers as well as everything in between. Any other time Tony would have been actively salivating at the chance to take the machine apart especially as it was in the processes of creating a new semi-artificial semi-organic lifeform from vibranium. A new lifeform being formed from human technology, empowered by a space gem that had its own mind, with programming created from apparently the most advanced alien race ever. Oh yes, any other time he would already be tearing the machine apart and learning all he could but not today. No, today he was staring at the device, his mind racing with possibilities as he saw an opportunity, an opportunity to correct his mistake.
'Ultron's been one step ahead of us, his superior to nearly all of us, has access to technology beyond my dreams but this creation of his, we could use it, we could -'
"OH NO" Bruce's voice snapped Tony out of his trance as the other scientist dropped the pad he was holding as he pointed at Tony who was standing front of the cradle. "I know that look, whatever it is you are thinking, no. We are not doing it, we told Steve we would destroy this thing, we are not goi-"
"Going to what? Fix the mistake we made," Tony stated back gesturing to the cradle that was still slowly humming creating Ultron's perfect body, "Actually create the thing we were aiming for, the very thing that would stop threats like Ultron,"
"Tony…WE CREATED A MURDER BOT!" Bruce yelled not caring for civility.
Currently they were the only two in the building apart from Barton who was busy checking on leads as to were Ultron would have taken Nat. The rest of the team were either with Steve heading back to them now or else where off doing whatever Kal and Thor were doing, going to be see space nuns or something.
"Yes, and now we have a chance to create an anti-murder bot….bot," Tony paused at his own awkward statement hating that his tiredness was robbing him of his usual razor sharp wit. "Look, Ultron went bad because we weren't monitoring the trails, all those programs smashed together and the resulting creation had no idea how to handle it. This won't be like that at all, we have a chance to turn the tables on Ultron here,"
"And how is this going to be different, we still have no idea what that gem is and the designs this body is being created from I have never seen before,"
"True, but this time we are here and this time we know the mistake. The gem won't be the core program, JARVIS will be," Tony picked up the pad he had been working on before the Cradle had arrived and showed his teammate the coding. "Look, we salvaged what was left of JARVIS from the Net and from our system. His program was projecting our other projects and the nuclear codes even without instructions or being 100% functional. We had the program for Ultron, we just…I just didn't see it."
"Tony I get it, wanting to undo your mistake but this isn't the way," Bruce sighed, glancing at the cradle that was still humming softly waiting for the final instructions.
"Bruce, please you got to trust me on this," Tony pleaded, his own vision locking onto the cradle before looking back at Bruce, "We've got JARVIS, he can help, he just needs the right tool to do so,"
"So you want my help to put JARVIS into whatever this thing is, purge any part of Ultron may have pulled over, then integrate JARVIS with whatever Krypotain technology and codes are present," Bruce's statement came with a shake of his head and then a frown as he realised that he had inadvertently agreed to Stark's madness in principle.
"NO! Of course not, I want to help you do all that." Tony gave a wide smile as he knew he had Bruce and that a little playing to the man's ego "We are out of my field here buddy. There's no one else who knows Biochemistry, bio-organic engineering and multi-system integration than you. JARVIS can do this, he's already been keeping Ultron out of most of the world's system with a hand tied behind his back. He can do this, Bruce we've got to do this"
"Oh god, I'm in a time loop," Bruce shook his head as he moved away from Tony an awful feeling in his stomach as for some reason Tony was making sense even though he didn't want him to, "That's what this is, it's a time loop. This is where we went wrong last time,"
"I know, I know, I know, what everyone's going to say. But they've already saying it" Tony moved forward placing a hand on his friend's shoulder as gestured to the two of them "We're mad scientist brother, we're monsters, we've gotta own that. Make a stand, push the boundaries, until we make it right… I swear it's not a loop, it's the end of the line,"
The room was silent for a moment as Bruce stared into Tony's eyes searching for the madness, for the self importance that was deluding him into making the same mistakes as before. However, what was reflected wasn't madness nor desperation it was the very thing Bruce saw in his own eyes everytime he started a project, the need to fix a mistake. Bruce released a deep breath as he looked up at the ceiling not believing he was agreeing to this but then just sighed and nodded to Tony.
"...Let's get to work,"
It took several hours of near impossible work for Tony and Bruce to start even approaching the beginning of integrating JARVIS into the body the cradle was creating. Bruce grunted as he sealed another coolant valve, whilst also writing lines of code with his other hand, whilst also trying to focus on the power levels of the device. What he was not trying to focus on was the sheer amount of multi-tasking Tony was also doing and that ideally all of this work should be done over days with teams of scientists and engineers working together.
He wasn't sure how they were doing it and in truth a large part of him wasn't even sure they were doing it, but the coding and physical engineering was progressing enough that they were about ready. As Bruce wiped his brow he cast a look at the figure laying unmoving in the cradle's currently cold embrace, it looked as if they were almost sleeping. He wasn't sure exactly what to call the thing the cradle was making, android certainly wasn't applicate due to its large percentage of organic components but then a fully living being wasn't really applicate either. If this worked he was sure that there was going to be massive metaphysical debate in scholarly circles over the creation's status and he was more than certainly going to be called into them because of his role.
"The base framework isn't compatible," Tony's voice broke Bruce out of his moment of existential crisis and looked up to see Tony's hand moving in a blur as he worked on the last lines of code.
"It won't matter, we will be uploading the schematics directly into the Cradle manually once we start, that will compensate for the base framework issues." Bruce moved over and checked the last of the seals then moved over to his pad. "The genetic coding tower is at 97% so we should be good, we can start th-"
"Start what?" Bruce froze as he looked up and saw that Steve had arrived, his armour was scorched and he was gripping his shield's straps tightly as he was flanked by Wanda and Pietro. "I am going to say this once,"
"How about None-ce" Tony shot back, his hands still moving as he uploaded the last lines of codes and started the process.
"My god, TONY SHUT IT DOWN!" Steve shouted fast losing what very little was left of patience, in the last 48 hours he travelled across the globe more than once, been blown up more than once and was now just done with robots.
"Nope, not going to happen." Tony moved away from the consoles so that he could stand his ground clearer as he moved between the trio and the cradle that was starting to hum to life. "Too late now anyway,"
"You have no idea what you are doing!" Steve yelled taking a step forward as the twins behind him glanced at each other and felt the already tense atmosphere become almost solid.
"And you do?" Bruce shot back pointing at Wanda his eyes fixed on the witch, "She's not in your head, because she did a number on mine and Kal's"
"I know your angry," Wanda moved forwarded trying to undo some of the damage she had done
"Oh no, sweetheart, we are way beyond that. I could strangle the life out of you right now and not turn a shade of green," Bruce shot back a smirk on his face as his hand tightened into a fist.
"Banner after everything that's happened-" Steve moved forward taking a breath trying to keep calm seeing that the room was just full of heightened emotions that wasn't serving anyone.
"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony threw up his hands as half turned and gestured to the cradle "We need this!"
"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda yelled moving forward the act causing Bruce to move as well his eyes fixed on the woman.
"This isn't a game Tony! We have to shut it down!" Steve winced as yelled, 'So much for a calm head Rogers'.
A sudden blur of motion caused the arguments to stop as a streak of silver shot around the room smashing the screens, unplugging every cable and tube tied into the cradle. Tony just blinked as he looked around and saw hours of work undone in less than a second. Bruce jumped as he suddenly Pietro appeared next to him, the silver haired man dropped the heavy cable he had just pulled from the cradle.
"Oh no, please continue. You were saying?" Peitro smirked as he looked at Stark who turned in panic to see the very few unbroken screens start glaring red with warning signs. "Good now lets -AHHH!"
Pietro cry of pain took the whole room by surprise as the man looked down to see that foot had one of Batron's trick arrows sticking through it. The arrows top collapsed going from a sharp head to three sets of claws that embedded in his foot causing the man to cry out again, before suddenly he panel of the glass floor he was on shattered. He found himself falling or more accurately pulled down into the secondary lab area that was underneath him, with a very proud Clint Barton standing just out of reach with his bow drawn.
"What didn't see that one coming?" Batron joked as he tensed ready to lose an arrow straight at the enhanced individual's head.
"Pietro!" Wanda cried and rushed forward only for Bruce to grab her.
"Go head, piss me off," Bruce whispered whilst the rest of the room exploded into action.
Tony raised his hand summoning his suit to him and letting off a blast at Steve who had rushed towards the cradle his shield raised ready to smash it apart. He raised his shield at the last moment protecting himself from the blast but it caused him to be pushed away from the cradle. As the fight broke out in front of her, Wanda flicked her hand onto her own chest a grimaced as she pushed low blast of energy through herself forcing Bruce off of her. Bruce slid backwards wincing in pain as he was thrown off of her, however Bruce recovered quickly and rushed back towards her. Steve to lifted his shield and back towards as Tony lept in between him and his target with a half assembled suit lifting his hands again for a fight
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone was forced backwards as a pillar of green fire erupted in the centre of the lab, swirling into a dome that then crashed downwards revealing Kal, Thor, Kon, Kara and Amora. Kal's powerful voice crashed against everyone his eyes quickly glanced at his teammates before swirling around Thor and him moving in tandem. Thor lifted his hammer into the air, electricity starting to crackle all over his body whilst Kal pulled Gram free from its scabbard and plunged it into the cradle before him. Everyone apart from Thor and Kal lifted a hand to shield their eyes as the cradle suddenly glowed as brightly as the sun before Thor brought down his hammer unleashing a bolt of pure power into the machine.
BOOM!
The room exploded as the cradle shattered apart Thor and Kal skidded backwards as the creation of the cradle soared into the air before crashing into a kneeling position before them. The creation was humanoid in shape it was about 6 feet 3 inches in height, possessed a deep red skin and in the centre of its four head shone a bright pure golden gem. The creation's eyes snapped up and narrowed on Kal's before anyone could react the creation shot forward slamming into Kal who merely gripped the creation tightly to hold it in place.
"Calm, calm we are not your foes," Kal spoke softly as the creation stopped struggling, its eyes connecting with Kal's as he gently released them. "Just like our vision,"
"Apologises that was…..odd" The creation spoke softly it's head turning to look at everyone around it, it seemed to linger on Wanda before refocusing on Kal.
"You help create that? WHY?!" Steve moved forward his grip on his shield tight as everyone moved to form a loose circle
"Because I am needed, I understand," The creation gave Kal a small nod that he returned, the creation stepped back and where before he had been unclothed a suit and cape appeared in the same colour scheme as Kal's armour, blue, red with gold highlights.
"Why does your….vision, sound like Jarvis?" Steve asked none of the tension leaving his body as he just looked at Kal who was staring at the gem in the now named Vision's head.
"We used Jarvis' matrix as a base of the matrix," Tony replied, edging forward slightly as he looked at Vision up and down to see if there were any flaws of which he was glad to see there weren't any.
"Can we trust it? This thing came from Ultron" Bruce pointed out feeling a knot in his stomach as he looked at Vision.
"Last time I looked into its head I saw death, destruction," Wanda's harsh words were accompanied by her moving forward her hands outstretched to her sides ready to blast the creation if needed.
"Look now, tell me what you see?" Vision asked his question with such honesty that Wanda's eyes widened as she felt him lower his mental defences to her.
"Yeah her seal of approval means jack," Barton's voice caused everyone to turn as the man appeared with his bow an arrow notched but pointed at the floor, Piotr also appeared hobbling slightly from the wound in his foot.
"We can trust him," Kal's voice caused everyone to look at the man as he stepped back from Vision looking at the group who didn't seem convinced. "He is not child of Ultron, and he is not the tool Tony intended, he is….alive and as such,"
"I am on the side of the living, Ultron is not….therefore he must be destroyed" Vision finished Kal's statement casting a quick glance out of the lab's window towards the city.
"Kal you got give us something more than just that," Steve felt slightly more at ease but his guard was still up and he wasn't ready
"That is the mind Stone, one of the six infinity stones. All of this, their powers, Tony's fear, Ultron's creation, all this death, it all came from that." Kal spoke up turning fully to the group who had all seen better days, "Thor and I have been given a vision, a whirlpool of destruction and death, with the stones at its hearts. We cannot defeat Ultron, not alone not without the stone, and Vision is here is the only one who can wield it,"
"And you're sure about that?" Barton asked with a raised eyebrow casting a glance at the Maximoff twins. "She's not in your head and this ain't all some elaborate trick?"
Kal suddenly threw Gram towards Vision, the blade pointed at the ceiling so that the hilt was easier to catch. Reacting on its new found instincts Vision hand shot up and caught the hilt with ease, the blade of the sun sword shone brightly for a second as runes appeared along it before they disappeared. The room went quiet as everyone just stared in shock as Vision held the sword without difficulty or pain. Kal gave his brother a quick glance and nodded to Mjolnir Thor raised an eyebrow but a nod from Kal caused him only to shrug a little and then throw his hammer over to Vision who then caught it with his other hand.
"Am I supposed to do something now?" Vision asked looking around the room for direction as he was now holding both of the weapons of the son of Odin.
"Okay then…anyone got a lead on Ultron?" Steve managed to speak looking away from the shocking scene as Kal and Thor took their weapons back.
"I do, Nat's managed to send a signal, she's in Sokovia and one of the few satellites we still have working as detected a large amount of movements at Von Strucker's castle," Barton replied, finally placing his arrow back into its quiver as he moved over to Steve his eyes still glancing at the twins
"Then everyone grab your gear and equipment, we move in five" Steve ordered his eyes raking over the room before settling on the twins just as Barton had. "Let's move it everyone"
(Quinjet - Novi Grad, Sokovia - May 8th, 2015)
"So what's the plan here boss?" Barton asked the question as the aircraft jostled slightly "And no offence, we really do need the help but why are you helping?"
The question was directed at Amora who was seated perfectly in one of the aircrafts seats, legs folded perfectly and whilst she wasn't strapped in, not a hair or feature moved out of place as the craft shook.
"Oh, Stevie owes me a date and this looked fun," Amora gave the archer a subtle wink as she spoke in her usual slightly flirtatious voice.
"Amora is here to lend her enchanting skills to the team's weapons, my friend. Ultron's forces are now most likely made from vibranium that he stole," Thor spoke up his clarification earning a fake pout from Amora who leaned back in her seat. "Amora has kindly offered to as the mortals say level the playing field,"
"The enchantments won't be permanent and they won't last very long. I've come across vibranium before. It's very tough and even high level magic can only do so much." Amora admitted her face falling into a very rare frown of slight doubt "I'll be channelling some serious power so I won't be able to physically help out as I'll need to concentrate but it should help out,"
"Even with Amora's assistance this is going to be tough. Kal,Thor, Kon and Kara will be doing most of the heavy lifting with the enemy forces. Barton and Banner will find where Ultron has placed Nat and get her out." Steve moved forward commanding the room, his armour was still scorched in places and he had only been able patch it up and his shield was still attached to his armour as he glanced at the twins "Tony, myself and the Maximoffs will focus on evacuating the civilians. We signed up for this but the people of Sokovia didn't, the job is to protect them, so that is what we will focus on."
As Steve started to lay out his plan for protecting the people of Sokovia, Kara felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her father. Kal gestured slightly with his head and the two moved away from the rest of the group as she did so she noticed that Kon who was usually ever vigilant didn't notice them move. Her brother was just staring off into the distance not even focusing on Steve as his eyes just fixed on empty space, she was starting to worry he hadn't said two words since their visit with the norns.
"Kon-El will be alright," Kara blinked and refocused on her father whose eyes were also on his son, a caring fatherly smile was present on his face. "A visit with the Norns is always difficult, and Kon-El unfortunately did not listen to our warnings about seeking knowledge of fate. It leaves even the strongest rattled."
"Kon told you what he saw?" Kara asked her voice low, casting a glance at her brother hoping he wouldn't hear the two of them talking.
"No, nor could I guess, but I know that look, your brother is unsure of what he saw and simply needs time. He will be fine, the Norns don't reveal everything, only what is needed. I will speak with him whatever he saw, we will help him through it " Kal spoke softly as well the gentleness of his voice alleviated much of Kara's worry "Just as I intend to do so now with you,"
"With me?" Kara blinked unsure she had heard right as her father just smiled at her.
"Yes, with you. I may not know what the Norns showed your brother but I am more than certain I know what they showed you." Kal gently as he placed his hand on his daughters shoulder as he guided her further away from the main group which was difficult due to the limited space of the Quinjet. "It is a heavy burden to know that your strongest of your siblings and will in time achieve more than them."
"I, I, I don't know what your talking ab-" Kara fumbled over her words as she looked over to her brother a knot forming in her throat
"Kara, please I'm not blind, I saw how Mjolnir and Gram reacted to you. I've also seen you fight, I know the look of the weight you carry" Kal was gentle as he spoke as he knew how difficult this subject would be for her, it had been near impossible for him whilst growing up "I know because I have borne the same weight,"
"You have?" Kara asked with surprise in her voice as she was given a rare glimpse into her father's past.
"Yes." Kal admitted releasing a deep sigh as he unhooked Gram in its scabbard from his waist holding the weapon with both hands, "My father gave me Gram when I was very young and despite everything that has happened between us, the lies that occurred, he never hid my strength from me or let me hide it from myself. In that respect he has been a better one than I"
"You're a great father." Kara stated feeling the need to defend her father even from himself
"No, I am no. I have not been the best father, we have had a little time to spend truly as a family. I have focused on duty and battle, then you and Kon-El. For that I must ask for your forgiveness " Kal let out a small sigh as he looked from Gram to his daughter who just smiled at his loving gaze. "When this is over, I promise we will be a family, a real one. I know that whatever you or Kon-El saw you will be great and I promise that I will help you in any way that I can…and Kara I know you love your brother but don't let fear hold you back."
"I'm not, father," Kara managed to sound confident but her father's smile clearly showed that the false bravado hadn't worked.
"My daughter, you and Kon-El's paths may intertwine but they are separate. I spent a lot of my life doing less than I could because I didn't want to outshine my brothers." Kal took a deep breath as he spoke an gave his daughter a steely gaze to show how serious he was "A lot of people suffered because of it. Kon-El will find his own path, yours is yours alone don't anything hold you back from it. When you have power like ours and choose to use it for good, you can't hold it back, you have to move forward with it or otherwise your letting people suffer for the sake of vanity."
"Kon isn't like that and I am not….I don't want to….." Kara paused again, not really sure how to respond to her father's accurate statement.
"Kara trust yourself, you can handle the power and the responsibility that comes with it," Kal smiled at his daughter as he gently placed Gram into her hands for a moment, "Just as I am sure that when the time comes, you will wield Gram with far more grace, elegance and truth than I ever did."
"...What if I can't?" Kara whispered the doubt that had been gnawing at her ever since she had pulled Gram from its scabbard at the party that seemed now a million years ago.
"You can, I know you can. You are a member of both the houses of El and Odin, a goddess of the Aesir, and failing that you are my daughter." Kal smiled as he placed his hands over his daughter as she held Gram uncertainty before him. "Both you and brother can handle anything this cosmos can pit against you. I believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself."
"...Thanks dad," Kara smiled, releasing the sword back to her father as she gave him a quick hug that he gladly took, she gave him a cheeky smile . "I'm not a goddess though"
"Oh Kara of course you are. First let's save Midgard, then I'll show both you and Kon the way of the Aesir" Kal gave a confident smile even as he felt a knot form inside his stomach as he looked at Vision and hoped he was right.
"So what is Ultron's plan?" Bruce's question caused Kal and Kara to turn back to the group and move forward. "Why Sokovia?"
"Sokovia is the location of the remaining world engine pieces that were not recovered by Kal-El. Hydra was studying it, Ultron has been repairing the damaged pieces and has created a functioning machine," Vision spoke up his cape swaying behind him as he moved forward to talk to the team his voice snapping Kon back to focus as he looked at the metal man. "He took the vibranium towards that end, both to repair the housing unit and as a source to power the device. He plans to activate it wiping out all life and terraform the earth into a new Krypton."
"Ultron was programmed to achieve peace, I know that he's confused with wiping out humanity, but why the world engine?" Tony was wearing his Iron Man suit now with his helmet off a look of confusion on his face as he spoke "There's a dozen easier ways of achieving global excision I can think of."
"Ultron is not only working from your program but Kelex's as well. He is following the Eradication Directive. When he came into being and consumed Kelex he had to reconcile Kelex's directive to protect life and his aim of achieving peace. The Eradication Directive was his solution" Vision answered the question,his tone unmoving but with a hint of emission in it that drew Wanda's eye.
"What is this Eradication Directive?" Pietro asked looking at Kal for answers who for once surprised the group by looking as lost as them.
"I honestly don't know," Kal looked pensive as he tried to recall any mention of the directive from his studies but could recall none.
"It is not surprising that you do not know it. It is an ancient Kryptonian strategy from just after the era of civil war. It was created as a proposed solution to the armies, weapons and monsters the various sides had created during it and were left in its wake." Vision answered the question, his eyes glancing at Kal before going back to address the whole room "A faction proposed wiping out everything apart from Krypton and restarting again. They created a directive and strategy as part of the proposal but it was never implemented."
"So, Ultron is trying to enact some ancient doomsday plan?" Barton titled his head to his left so that people could hear his question as he sat in the pilot seat.
"Why did he destroy the fortress?" Kal's question stopped Vision from answering as the living machine turned to face the youngest son of Odin.
"Ultron did not destroy the fortress entire, he saved its records, its knowledge and the means to recreate it. It is part of the Eradication Directive," Vision explained, his own arms crossing his chest an action that did not go unnoticed but Kal saw that the machine was starting to take on more human mannerisms as time went on. "Secure all Kryptonian technology and equipment, return it to Krypton and then produce with eradication. However, as Krypton is gone Ultron is planning to-"
"Transform Earth into Krypton, use the crystal he taunted me with to recreate the fortress here and use it to restart Krypton" Kal gave a humourless chuckle as he shook his head.
"We will stop him and keep the people sage" Steve stated confidently commanding the room as everyone turned to face the first avenger "Together"
(Grand Cathedral - Novi Grad, Sokovia -May 8th, 2015)
Ultron sat on the step that led to the central platform that the church was built around his eyes closed for a moment as he saw Bruce Banner and Clint Barton break into the castle as they rescue Natasha Romanoff. He would have sighed if he was able at their predictability, he would have killed the infamous Black Widow but she wasn't a true threat to his plans and keeping her alive would force the Avengers to waste resources in retrieving her. No doubt the woman would also throw herself into the fight that was about to break out and that would also be useful as well, her presence after such a recent capture would no doubt distract her allies and her weakened state meant he could target her.
"You know it was all meant to be prefect, I was meant to be prefect," Ultron raised his eyes from the floor as he saw Kal arrive in the cathedral, his armour shining like the sun, "The humans think you're perfect, think you a god such flawed creatures. If only the knew you are shadow of a shadow of true perfection,"
"You speak of Krypton," Kal stopped his eyes raking over Ultron's enhanced form.
The creation of Stark's and Bruce's mind fused with Krypotain tech was larger now, his body had been clearly augmented with vibranium. His outer casing shone brightly, the trace of the symbol of El was slightly more prominent on his chest as a result and the machine's eyes glowed with a darker red bow behind the yellow visor that was present. Kal could also see the Krypotain nano-tech was still present and every few moments it looked as if Ultron's skin vibrated as every cell of his being shifted in perfect tandem, which revealed the Krypotain crystal still embedded deep in his chest.
"Hmmm ... ...Yes I do. It was all going to be prefect, peace not just in our time but all time," Ultron stood up towering over Kal his head tilting to the side s he "However, your friends ruined that and you will resist so you have to die,"
"It's not too late, you can stop this." Kal moved forward his hands nowhere near Gram as he tried to be as non-threatening as possible "You can sti-"
"Is this really your plan? Distract me with a appeal to my what? Humanity?" Ultron chuckled or did what Kal believed was suppose to be a chuckle it was hard to see given the machine's lack of ability to actually show emotion "I know your stalling to try and get as many people out of the city as possible,"
Ultron gesture one hand to the partly demolished wall of the church out towards the city causing Kal to turn his head slightly as he saw hundreds of Ultron drones starting to appear in the sky. Kal grimaced but wasn't surprised that their plan had been uncovered, evacuating a city of any side was near impossible to do without notice. Kal just shook his head as moved his hands towards Gram and prepared for the fight that was about to start.
"We are saving lives, that is the mission" Kal stated as he drew Gram from its scabbard holding the sword with both hands out in front of him ready to strike.
"No it isn't" Ultron shook his head as raised his right hand, the ground responded as suddenly the earth cracked beneath and Kal saw the Krypotain World Engine erupted from the ground in the distance. It levelled the castle Von Strucker had used as his base and the wave of energy it gave off caused every building in the city to crack "That isn't the mission at all. What? You didn't think you were the only one stalling?"
"Then what is the mission?" Vision's voice caused the first real reaction Kal saw on Ultron's face as the machine's eyes widened in shock, the machine looked up and saw Vision floating down.
"Look at what they did to you," Ultron completely ignored Kal as he gently floated off the ground and met Vision midway to the floor. "A puppet all tied in string,"
"Perhaps, but maybe that string ties me to something more important than just codes and goals," Vision spoke sincerely his head turning as he gestured to the city outside that he saw teaming with life even now as it was the very path of imminent destruction.
"Oh please, their doomed, if it not me then they'll do it by their own hand," Ultron scoffed at the nativity on display as he too looked out at the city, seeing the decay, rot and waste which was humanity "At least my path they will build the foundations for something better"
"And that is something I cannot allow," Vision sighed before suddenly lurching forward his hands connecting to the sides of Ultron's head both froze for only a second before Ultron writhed in pain and backhanded Vision away.
"AHHH! WHAT DID YOU DO!" Ultron twisted in the air clearly disoriented as his connection to the internet and any network other than his own had been served. "YOU CUT ME OUT! YOU THINK I CARE! MY DRONES STILL HEAR ME AND THEY ARE ALL I NEED!"
"This must end," Vision replied raising to his feet, giving Kal a quick nod confirming the first part of the plan to isolate Ultron to his Drone army had worked.
"On that we agree," Ultron's red eyes flashed for a moment as he gave the command signal causing the drones around the city to start attacking and the world engine in the distance to start working. "So lets end this,"
"With pleasure" Kal stated as he pushed off of the ground and swung his sword at Ultron as the world around them started shaking and the city outside exploded into open war.
The battle of Sokovia and for the very survival of the human race had begun.
