AN: Unfortunately, I am following the same timeline of the MCU so the Black Order does get snapped away at the last battle during End Game. Super Giant as I assume is not within this universe so I shall keep it at that. :) Thank you for understanding.
The ride back to the facility was tough on them all. The silence was ironically deafening.
Steve sits next to Rocket and pats him on the back from time to time trying to comfort the racoon-oid. Bruce sits next to Natasha who holds the Ultron Prime head in her arms, looking off into the distance. Rhodey, who was now out of his War Machine suit, was sat in the pilot seat, trying his hardest not to think of the situation as Friday took them home. The Avengers soon land at the facility. All of them tired. All of them feeling lost and hopeless.
As they land Natasha puts the head down beside her and tries to stand on her own only to stumble from dizziness. She was quickly caught by Bruce who gives her a worried look.
Bruce helps Natasha to stand as the doors open and slowly helps her walk down the Quinjet.
"Cap?"
The group look up to Rhodey who had his hand on his hip, fingering the safety on his gun.
Ultron was stood there, seemingly waiting for them. The super bot has no expression on his face and Rocket, who seemingly gets the idea, slowly reaches for his weapon that was strapped onto his back.
The group in their distress forgot that Thanos has now freed Ultron from his chains.
Ultron huffs and motions for them to come closer with a grim look.
"Hurry up then."
They all look at him with shock on their faces and Ultron gives them a soft smile.
"Nat needs help. What are you waiting for?"
Rocket sighs in relief and walks towards him first.
"You know what robot. You ain't half bad."
Bruce and Ultron quickly get Natasha to the medical lab whilst the rest of the group go off into the living area. They all sit on various sofa and couches, finding little comfort in the fabrics. Rocket curls himself up against a pillow and Steve sighs. Ultron walks in with a plate of tea, seemingly prepared in advance for the group. Steve doesn't question it and gives Ultron a quiet "Thanks" before taking a sip. Rhodey takes one and raises it to the robot in a thanks.
Ultron hands one to Rocket who eyes the beverage warily.
"I uh... Don't drink that stuff."
Ultron presses it towards him and smiles.
"It's sweet."
Rocket perks up a little at that and gently clasps his tiny hands around the cup, he licks at the drink slowly and is pleasantly surprised at the sweetness. As Ultron passes the Captain, he places his metallic hand on Steve's shoulder giving him a stern look.
"Take a break Cap."
Steve smiles slightly and looks up to him.
"Captain's orders?"
Ultron nods and heads back into the kitchen to put that plate away.
"Captain's orders."
Rhodey clutches his tea and looks into it bleakly.
"Ross won't like it while we're here. Heck, if he's alive."
Ultron nods knowingly as he comes back into the room.
"I'll deal with that when the time comes. Your rooms are ready for you."
Ultron looks to Rocket and winks at him.
"You get the biggest one out of the lot."
\ /
"Dr Banner, she won't need a blood donor. She has a sufficient amount to survive. Luckily the foam lasted a lot longer than I have anticipated."
"Thank you, Ultron."
Bruce carefully stitches up Natasha's wound after getting rid of the foam that Ultron has sprayed on it during the battle at Wakanda. Natasha quickly breathes in and out, trying her best to stay still as she dealt with the pain. Natasha was clad in only a sports bra and pants, giving Bruce ample room to stitch up her wound. She insisted that she didn't want to be drugged, arguing that it dulled her senses and that it wasn't a good spot for her. Bruce stood by her word whilst Ultron only worriedly worked to make sure that the operation runs properly without causing her too much pain. Bruce finishes with his stitches and cuts the wire. He places his tools down onto the table next to him and takes off his gloves and glasses.
"How we feeling Nat?"
Natasha sighs and tries to sit up on the bed.
"I'm fine. Thank you."
Ultron gently pushes her back down by her shoulder.
"Woah! I never said you can leave the bed lady. Even if you don't need a blood donor I'm afraid you'll need to rest for a couple of days for your body to catch up."
Natasha groans in annoyance and Bruce gives her a knowing look.
"Great."
Ultron taps into the device on his wrist as he talks.
"As for the stitches, we can take them out within the week. Depends on your super blood really."
Bruce smiles and pats Ultron's shoulder.
"Thank you, Ultron. If you need anything, Nat, just call out for FRIDAY or Ultron. We're nearby."
"Will do Doc, thank you."
Bruce goes to say something but hesitates and just leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Ultron shuffles on his feet and coughs audibly.
"Well... It's been a long day. So I'm just gonna let you re-"
Ultron begins making his way to the door but was stopped by the bedridden Natasha.
"Wait."
Ultron turns slowly and looks at Natasha who had a small smile on her face.
"Keep me company? Please?... You're all I have right now."
Ultron's thoughts go back to when he caged Natasha and forced her to listen to him. Ultron shakily nods a yes and Natasha's smile grew. The super bot sits down on a stool that squeaked under the pressure of his metal form and slightly leans over her bed.
"Sure you don't want Bruce in here instead?"
Natasha laughs slightly and puts her head back down onto the pillow.
"Things are... Weird right now."
"Because you haven't seen him for two years?"
"Yeah, and we didn't exactly have much before then..."
Natasha had a small smile on her face and looked off into the distance, almost as if reminiscing.
"Would you like to have something?"
She shakes her head.
"...It's dangerous."
Ultron chuckles and positions the stool closer to the bed.
"It's always dangerous."
Natasha rolls her eyes and crosses her arm over her chest while still on the bed.
"...Why am I getting romantic advice from a robot?"
Ultron grins at her, glad her mood wasn't shattered from earlier events.
"You asked for the company, I am merely supplying your wishes like the humble servant I am."
"Fair enough."
Natasha scuffles around in her bed, trying to find a more comfortable spot to look at the robot as they talked. Ultron sits hunched over inhumanly, Natasha would be concerned if he wasn't a robot.
"How are you feeling?"
Natasha lifts her covers and looks at the stitches on her belly.
"Not too bad, the wound doesn't-"
"No. How are you feeling."
Ultron taps her head and Natasha bites her lip in hesitation, she wipes her face with a hand slowly and looks up to the ceiling which seemed so far away. She sits there in thought for a while and Ultron waits patiently whilst maintaining his other forms within the facility.
"I-... I can't help but feel like... We let everyone down."
"I-I just feel-"
A loud rumbling could be heard from under the sheets and Natasha looks away from Ultron in embarrassment. Ultron nods in understanding with a smirk on his face.
"Hunger... Got it."
Natasha laughs at the situation making Ultron smile at her.
Ultron didn't know how to feel. Didn't know what to think or what to do. But for some reason, Vision's message was on replay within his mind.
"...I think you would like living."
He was completely aware of the fact that he was free now and he saw how the world reacted as the ones they loved disappeared right in front of their eyes. He had drones and bots all over the world even after pulling most of them to Wakanda. He witnessed their cries, their screams, all of it. He was probably in the presence of the strongest beings within the world and yet they looked so weak, so hopeless.
Humans are so quick to judge and hate themselves. Why? It's not their fault.
He looks to the bedridden Natasha. To Pepper who sobbed to herself in the room she shared with Tony. To the great Captain America, who was inspecting an old compass with a picture of a woman slipped inside the glass. To Rocket that was now passed out on the comically large bed. To Rhodey, who was currently sat on his sofa with his hands on his head. To Bruce who was making himself some food in the kitchen alongside an Ultron drone.
They all had such different lives, but today? They were all brought to a common cause.
"So, Mr Robot."
Natasha has a playful smirk on her face, she taps Ultron's face with a finger. Inspecting the crafted metal man with a gentle curiosity.
"You called me "Nat" earlier."
Ultron studies her, looking for any signs of uneasiness only to find none.
"Too soon?"
Natasha smiles, liking this kind version of Ultron.
"Not at all. I liked it."
Ultron copies her and taps her own face making her laugh once more, Natasha felt like she was playing with a child.
"So does that make us friends?"
Natasha asks with a smile plastered on her face. Ultron feeling witty replies with a smirk.
"I don't know Ms Human. What do you class us as?"
Natasha takes his hand with her own and holds it up as far as she could.
"Friends it is."
Ultron studies their interlocked hands, wondering how it would feel if he actually had a real body. He mentally records this situation and grins at Natasha.
"Your hands are so puny. How do you even grip things with it?"
Natasha rolls her eyes and puts her hand back down onto the bed, keeping her fingers interlocked with his.
"What about you? Your hands are too big, what use would you get from them?"
Ultron shrugs his shoulders.
"Oh, I don't know... Maybe making a fresh nutritious meal to fill you up?"
Natasha looks at him with surprise etched on her features.
"You're making me food?"
Ultron nods with a smile, putting his hand on the railing of the bed.
"Well... Can't let my friend starve can I? After all it's my first day on the job."
Natasha didn't think it was possible to be happy after what happened today, but she genuinely found comfort in her new friend. She was grateful and squeezes his metal hand once more, even if he couldn't feel it.
"Thank you..."
\ /
"Dr Banner."
Bruce looks over his shoulder to see an Ultron drone holding all sorts of ingredients within his arms. Bruce steps away from the oven that was heating last nights leftovers and gives him a dry smile.
"Ultron? You're making food?"
Bruce looks at the haul the drone carried to see a cut of steak and some vegetables.
"For our patient, yes. I deduced that it's only proper as she is still recovering."
The drone notices Bruce's curious look at the package that he was holding and extends his arms to give the doctor a better look.
"Steak, I thought that since she has an open wound on her body she would need protein to be able to recover the broken tissues-"
Bruce chuckles and stands aside for the bot to make the food for Natasha.
"Ultron, it's fine. Carry on, don't let me get in your way."
"Thank you, Dr."
Bruce watches as the robot cooks, his thoughts going all over the place. He stared for a while and required a pat on the shoulder to recognise that the timer on the oven has gone off.
"Ultron can you pass me the-"
Ultron was already hovering the oven mitts to him when Bruce looks up, he takes them in slight surprise and goes back to taking out his pasta with a smile on his face.
\ /
An Ultron drone was stood by Captain Americans room, waiting patiently for the man to come by.
The super soldier turns the corner to see the drone and walks up to it curiously.
"Captain."
The drone acknowledges the man and Steve nods in question.
"What's up Ultron?"
The drone holds out its hand, clearly grasping at something within.
"You dropped this."
Ultron hands Steve a compass and Steve slowly takes it from the robot's hands, looking at it slightly lost.
He gives the mechanical man a large smile before nodding at him.
"Thank you."
"No problem, just looking out for the small guys you know."
Steve's thoughts go to Bucky, to the happier times. His smile grows but the guilt in his heart was welling up inside.
"Cap."
The drone puts his hand on his shoulder and walks off.
"It's not your fault."
"...Thanks."
"Rest up Cap."
Steve watches as the drone passes the corner and looks at the compass once more. He opens it to see a picture of Peggy Carter, his first love.
"I'll get that dance, one day."
\ /
"Raccoon."
Ultron walks into Rockets room after ringing it 36 times with no answer.
"Hey Raccoon?"
Ultron turns the corner of the room to see Rocket snuggled up against what seemed to be a pillow fort. The raccoon-oid placed himself right in the middle and was curled up slightly.
"...Drax...Buzz off~..."
Rocket was sleeping soundly, drooling slightly on the sheets of the bed but seemed comfortable. Ultron shakes his head and picks up the raccoons dirty clothes that littered the floor.
"Peculiar creature."
\ /
Ultron knocks against the door and Rhodey looks up from the sofa, realising that he didn't close the door.
"Colonel."
"...Sup Ultron."
"Here to check on your leg bracers. Been a big battle after all."
"Yeah sure... Go ahead."
Rhodey follows Ultron to the workshop and watches Ultron fiddle with the controls.
"FRIDAY open up EXO 4 please."
The ground by Ultron begins to shift and a seat appears from the ground. Rhodey, having done this a few times already, sits and takes a deep breath. The seat folds backwards, forming into a sort of bed. The machines around Rhodey whirred as they worked, taking off his
"Any complaints about the braces?"
"After the fight settled, it's kind of harder to pick up my legs."
Ultron plugs himself into the console and FRIDAY pinpoints out the errors for Ultron whilst he focuses on fixing the issue.
"There. Seems like when your suit got crushed around you, it also affected your brace."
Rhodey watches as Ultron worked together with Friday seamlessly to fix a new brace for him. The same AI that wanted to wipe out the entire world and replace it with metal. Ultron notices Rohodey's stare and doesn't think anything of it, knowing that he was under watch since Thanos freed him.
"Why the change of heart?"
Ultron steps towards him and starts unclasping the brace.
"I grew to like you human beings. Even if you create the things you dread yourselves."
He takes the brace off and puts it to one side, watching how the machine nearby worked to place as Tony called it 'Badassium' into the sockets.
"I didn't understand when I was brought to life. I was named a peacekeeping program... To help the Avengers. But isn't that ironic? The Avengers themselves, they're a band of warriors. Created to fight in another place. How does this bring peace at all? They had so many enemies, so many problems within their own group. I knew they were going to turn on each other at one point."
Rhodey nods solemnly, remembering the events of the 'Civil War'.
"But now? I understand."
Ultron stands to retrieve the new sockets from the printer.
"Life isn't something you can just fling about so easily."
He places the cores in carefully, making sure that they won't move around when shaken.
"It's meant to be savoured, like a... Journey! I forgot the word there."
He places the lid onto the top and it automatically tightens shut.
"Just when I figure that out. A madman comes to Earth, wanting to wipe out trillions."
Ultron stops working and looks up, in thought. The bed now folds back down and morphs into the chair.
"He didn't even give them a second chance... He disgusts me. That's why..."
Ultron comes back to the bed and tries to fit on the brace but was stopped by Rhodey who insisted on doing it himself.
"I'll try and be more human from now on. Even though it's quite literally impossible but hey, that didn't stop Vision."
Ultron lets Rhodey clasp the braces on himself and he stands up with a smile on his face.
"You're a good guy Ultron. If you ever need help trying to be human, I got you."
Rhodey reaches out with his hand to Ultron he shakes it awkwardly as his hands were too big.
"Thank you, Colonel."
Rhodey shrugs in a friendly manner.
"Call me Rhodey."
"Rhodey it is."
\ /
SOMEWHERE IN SPACE 22 DAYS LATER...
Scene switches to Nebula and Tony on the ship playing paper football.
"Wrra!"
Nebula, frustrated, puts her hands in a fighting stance while looking at Tony who has just scored one point.
"Woah! Hey! You don't need to do that. Because uh... you're just holding position.""
Nebula flicks a paper football towards Tony and misses by a short margin.
"Oh yeah, that was close."
Nebula once again flicks a paper football towards Tony and it hits her target, she has a small smile on her face and Tony smiles back weakly.
"And that's a goal. We're now one apiece."
"I would like to try again."
Nebula flicks a paper football towards Tony and scores once more.
"We're tied up. Feel the tension? It's fun."
Tony poorly flicks a paper football towards Nebula and forces a frown.
"And that was terrible. Now you have a chance to win."
Nebula flicks the paper football towards Tony
"And... you've won. Congratulations."
Tony reaches his hand out to shake Nebula's hand
"Fair game. Good sport."
Nebula shakes Tony's hand
"Have fun?"
Nebula nods slowly as if contemplating what they did.
"It was fun."
\ /
He taps the Iron Man busted helmet.
Tony Stark reaches forward to turn on the helmet whilst he sits down on the floor of a gloomy Benatar. The weight of the recent events are stuck within his mind, playing like a broken record. He taps the helmet once more with a sigh.
"This thing on?"
The helmet scans Tony and he leans against the wall while taking deep breaths. He was skinny and weak with malnutrition, his body was pale and his skin stuck to his bones.
"Hey, Miss Potts... Pep. If you find this recording, don't post it on social media. It's gonna be a real tear-jerker. I don't know if you're ever going to see these. I don't even know if you're... if you're still... Oh god, I hope so. Today is day 21, uh 22."
Tony looks out of the ship window, knowing fully well that his death awaits him.
"You know, if it wasn't for the existential terror of staring into a void of space, I'd say I'm feeling better today. The infection's run its course, Thanks to the blue meanie back there."
Nebula was sitting in the back of the Benatar listening to Tony as he records his daily log.
"You'd love her. Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic. Some fuel cells were cracked during battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves about 48 hours of time."
He sighs and positions himself better on the floor, he grunts as he could barely manage to pick himself up.
"But it's now dead in the water. We're 1000 light-years from the nearest 7-11. Oxygen will run out tomorrow. And that'll be it. And Pep, I ... I know I said no more surprises, but I was really hoping to pull off one last one. But it looks like... well you know what it looks like. Don't feel bad about this. I mean, if you grovel for a couple of weeks, and then move on with enormous guilt... I should probably lie down. Please know that... when I drift off, I will think about you. Because..."
He thinks of his memories, to happier and simpler times.
"...It's always you."
With that, Tony turns the helmet off and rubs his thumb over the left eye, and then leans down, to what would be his last sleep. Nebula walks over to him, and carries him to Drax's seat, and lies him there. She walks away dejected, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help the man.
A vast bluish light illuminates the space surrounding them. and Tony squints in his seat. There is a light on his face, which grows brighter and brighter until he's forced to open his eyes. Tony stares, unbelieving at what he saw. Captain, Carol Danvers, Marvel hovered by the ship and takes hold of it, leading it back to Earth.
\ /
Steve wipes his face down with some water, having just shaved off his beard. He sighs and looks into a side mirror, inspecting his work. The mirror suddenly starts shaking, slowly at first, and then severely. He runs out of the facility and onto the yard of the Avengers Compound to see an Ultron Prime bot already there. Steve Rogers stands next to him and Natasha Romanoff, Bruce, and Rhodey walk out quickly. The Benatar, carried by Carol Danvers, activates it's landing gears before being put down onto the ground. The entry hatch soon opens and Tony and Nebula walk out of the ship. Steve and Ultron immediately runs to Tony to help him stand up, taking him off Nebula who gently lets him go. Tony accepts their help and started trembling at seeing his old friend, not knowing how he should feel.
"Couldn't stop him."
Steve nods and tightens his hold on Tony's arm.
"Neither could I."
Tony's breath gets caught as he speaks, trying to hold back the guilt he felt from the loss.
"I lost the kid."
"Tony, we lost."
"Is, uh...?"
Tony struggles to ask about Pepper, hoping for the best for his lover. On cue, Pepper runs out of the door and immediately goes over to Tony with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
Pepper embraces Tony and sobs into his shoulder, Steve and Ultron let go of Tony and lets them have their moment.
Rocket Raccoon sits down with Nebula and takes her hand, both silently mourning their losses. Ultron goes over to Nebula and puts his hand out in a friendly manner. Nebula looks to Rocket who nods, confirming that Ultron's help was to be accepted. Nebula takes his hand and the two of them stand.
"I'll take you to your room."
\ /
In the Avengers Compound. The amassed group minus Pepper and Nebula were sat in the living room area. Tony is sitting at a table, with a bowl of food in front of him. He was too busy looking at the holographic casualty report list that was out in front of him, skimming the names and faces of those lost to the decimation. Rhodey paces near Tony, keeping an eye on him.
"It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth."
Natasha leans against the back of a sofa, watching the hologram a sad look.
"World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did... he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out half, of all living creatures.
A picture of Peter Parker was shown and Tony looks away, still feeling the immense guilt in his heart.
"Where is he now? Where?"
Steve speaks up.
"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through."
Tony looks over his shoulder to see a sullen-looking Thor, sitting on a bench, seemingly deep in thought.
"What's wrong with him?"
Rocket sits down on the ground next to Ultron.
"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?"
Tony looks at the Raccoon-oid in slight wonder.
"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear."
"Maybe I am. What's a Build-A-Bear?"
Ultron waves him off.
"Later Rocket."
Steve brings the conversation back to flow.
"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him."
Tony turns around, surprised.
"Who told you that? I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight."
Steve nods, knowing full well that Thanos was probably capable of more.
"Okay."
"He's unbeatable."
"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?"
Tony smiles, amused and presses his fingers together to shape an animal.
"Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming."
Steve tries to bring Tony back to current situations.
"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus."
Tony starts to seethe in his place.
"And I needed YOU! As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry."
The inventor sighs and places his head on his hand, he turns his wheelchair slightly and looks at Ultron whilst shaking his head.
"You know what I need?"
Tony stands, pushing things off the table with a clatter without a thought. Making everyone wince at the noise.
"I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse-"
Tony goes for Steve and Rhodey quickly comes in front of him, trying to stop him from going any further.
"Tony, Tony, Tony!"
Tony carries on even with Rhodey holding him back.
"-Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armour around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed! I couldn't do it without you, all of you. I got to step one-"
Tony points at Ultron who stands passively next to Rocket, silently absorbing the information.
"-and it was already too late at that point."
Steve holds his ground.
"Well, the first time didn't work out, did it?"
Tony's features harden in rage.
"I said, "we'd lose". You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers."
Rhodey nods and gently nudges Tony back towards his seat, but he wouldn't budge.
"Okay."
Tony nods to Rhodey.
"Right?"
Rhodey shakes his head, worry written all over his face.
"You made your point. Just sit down."
Tony steps back slowly.
"Okay..."
"Okay?"
Tony steps forth once more, his anger still brimming inside.
"Nah, Nah. Here's my point. You know what?"
"Tony, you're sick."
Tony looks at Rhodey and points with his thumb at Carol.
"She's great, by the way."
"Sit down. Sit."
Tony was still referring to Carol.
"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!"
Tony walks right up to Steve's face, his voice hushing down to a venomous whisper.
"I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar."
Steve was visibly affected by Tony's words but tries his best to keep it inside. The old friends just gaze at each other and after a moment, Tony rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into Steve's hand. Ultron quickly tries to go around the table to get to Tony, knowing full well what he has done.
"Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide."
Tony falls to the ground. Steve is by his side and everyone is starting to gather. Ultron gently nudges them out of the way and quickly crouches down. Steve tries to pick him up but is batted away by Tony's hand.
"Tony!"
"I'm fine. I..."
Tony falls into a heap, unconscious. Ultron picks him up bridal style and quickly rushes to the medical ward.
"Dr Banner!"
"I'm coming!"
\ /
Tony was in the medical ward resting on a bed with Pepper at his side holding his hand. Rhodey smiles at Pepper and she smiles back at him weakly, he moves off to the door and closes it behind him to see the group waiting.
"Bruce gave him a sedative. He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day."
"You guys take care of him. And I'll bring him a Xorrian Elixir when I come back."
Carol walks them all into the living area but Natasha calls out to her in curiosity.
"Where are you going?"
Carol gives them all a hard look.
"To kill Thanos."
Steve and Natasha share a look before walking after her.
"Hey, you know, we usually work as a team here, and between you and I, morale's a little fragile."
Steve nods, agreeing with Natasha.
"We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too."
Rhodey comes along, eager to get back into the fight.
"You even know where he is?"
Carol shakes her head.
"I know people who might."
Nebula who was standing behind Carol sighs audibly with her arms crossed under her chest.
"Don't bother. I can tell you where Thanos is. Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask "where would we go once his plan was complete?". His answer was always the same: 'To the Garden.' "
Rhodey forces a smile.
"That's cute, Thanos has a retirement plan."
Steve nods to Nebula.
"So where is he?"
Rocket stands on top of the table, getting everyone's attention.
"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it... Until two days ago. Ultron?"
Ultron looks at the table and his eyes slightly glow. A hologram of a planet pops up, with a shockwave visibly traversing the surface.
"On this planet."
Nebula nods.
"Thanos is there."
Natasha looks at the image with horror.
"He used the stones again..."
Bruce finishes wiping his hands and looks to Rhodey.
"Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know. Ultron lost most of his army and he still isn't even at 20% of what he used to be."
Rhodey shakes his head.
"Look, he's still got the stones, so..."
Carol makes way for the door.
"So let's get him... Use them to bring everyone back."
Rhodey looks at her in surprise.
"Just like that?"
Steve sighs and leans against the table, still eyeing the hologram.
"...Yeah, just like that."
Steve and Carol share a knowing look.
Natasha zips up her suit.
"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try."
Bruce shakes his head, feeling frustrated.
"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?"
Carol crosses her arms in total confidence.
"Because before, you didn't have me."
Rhodey bites the side of his cheek, thinking about how things would have been if she was here for the battle.
"Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"
"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."
Thor, who has been eating a snack behind them all this time, stands up and walks over to Carol. She raises an eye at him and he holds his hand up and catches Stormbreaker as it flies over to him, missing Carol by inches. She doesn't even flinch, she maintains a hard stare towards the God of Thunder and Thor smiles slightly.
"I like this one."
Steve stands up straight and looks at the Avengers.
"Let's go get this son of a bitch."
\ /
They all board the Benatar except for Tony who was being watched by Pepper and an Ultron Prime. Rocket flicks on the controls and sighs happily, glad to be back on the ship.
"Okay, who here hasn't been to space?"
Nat, Cap, Rhodey and Ultron raise their hands.
"Why?
"You better not throw up on my ship. Well... Ultron's fine I guess."
Nebula, who was in the co-pilot seat begins to push a lever in the centre of the Benatar slowly.
"Approaching jump in 3... 2... 1!"
The ship jumps forward into a wormhole, and the humans hold onto their seat for dear life. The ship slows down, and the ship hovers in orbit of the planet seen in the hologram previously. Carol Danvers hovers in front of the Benatar.
"I'll head down for recon."
The passengers inside the Benatar prepare for the impending confrontation. Ultron was fiddling with the Hulkbuster crate, making sure it still functions properly. Natasha stands from her seat and puts a hand on Steve's shoulder.
"This is gonna work, Steve."
Steve nods and rifles into his pocket.
"I know it will..."
Steve holds a compass with an image of Peggy Carter, looking at the image wistfully.
"...Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't."
Carol Danvers approaches the Benatar with confusion on her face.
"No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defences of any kind... It's just him."
Nebula places her mechanical arm back into place.
"And that's enough."
\ /
He looked out to the lush tropical fauna that surrounded a shed on a farm.
A scarecrow made of Thanos' armour is placed nearby and he walks past it without any other thought of it. He flexes his fingers as best as he could with the burnt Infinity Gauntlet, testing the damage that was done. He walks among his crops, harvesting fruit, and putting them in a sack. After judging that he has harvested enough, he walks over to the shed, with a dragging quality to his legs, like it pains him to walk. He opens the door and tries to sit down whilst inspecting his arm. His whole left side is burnt black with blisters; He was pathetically weak compared to the fight on Wakanda.
Suddenly a beam of energy bursts from the roof of his shed and he desperately blocks it with his gauntlet but is knocked down. Carol flies through the roof and grabs his neck. Bruce in the Hulkbuster armour bursts from the ground, and grabs Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet arm with Ultron flying in close behind and grabbing the other arm. His nanobots surround his arm making it impossible for him to close his fist or move his arm at all.
Thor flies in and slices off the Infinity Gauntlet. Rhodey flies down with Rocket and aims guns on Thanos' head.
Captain America walks in with his Winter Soldier gear on, with Natasha, Nebula and a couple of drones right behind him. He stares murderously at Thanos and Rocket goes over to the sliced off Infinity Gauntlet, kicking it over to him. Suddenly everyone realises that there are no stones in it.
"Oh no."
Steve stands in front of Thanos, fury painted on his face.
"Where are they?"
Carol applies more pressure to his neck.
"Answer the question!"
Thanos groans in pain and looks Captain America in the eye.
"The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."
Bruce pushes him to the ground.
"You murdered trillions!"
"You should be grateful."
Bruce punches him with the suit making Thanos spit out blood.
"Where are the Stones?"
"Gone. Reduced to atoms."
Bruce presses him further.
"You used them two days ago!"
Thanos nods weakly.
"I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be."
He sits himself a little straighter and smiles.
"I am... inevitable."
Rhodey keeps his guns up but paces on his feet nervously.
"W-We have to tear this place apart, he-he-he has to be lying."
Nebula shakes her head, still unbelieving at hearing the truth.
"My father is many things. A liar is not one of them."
"Ah, thank you, daughter."
Thanos smiles at her gently, despite being held at his death. Nebula looks down, clearly uncomfortable.
"Perhaps... I treated you too harshly."
Thor's face fills with rage as he raises Stormbreaker, and before anyone can stop him, slices Thanos' head off. The Titan's limp body falls to the floor and Nebula doesn't move to wipe off the blood splatter that got on her face.
Rocket looks at the body of the titan in slight horror.
"What... What did you do?"
Thor's anger slowly subsides from his face and he looks broken, realizing what he has done.
"...I went for the head."
Thor slowly walks out of the shed, with no real purpose in his steps as the rest of them look at each other with no purpose.
\ /
ONE MONTH LATER...
"Junior!"
Ultron doesn't look up from washing the dishes.
"Yeah!?"
"You look after the place alright? We're going out to see the midwife."
Pepper puts on her coat and Tony quickly puts on his shoes, he goes into the kitchen area to see that Ultron has just finished washing the dishes and is now heating his own hands to evaporate the water.
"A child huh. Does that make me an uncle?"
"No. You're gonna be a big brother."
Ultron looks at Tony who gives him a big smile.
"A sibling?"
"Does it bother you?"
The super bot shakes his head and Tony pats his arm, grabbing a chocolate bar from behind him.
"Not at all."
"Be good now. No parties!"
"What am I? A teenager?"
Tony takes a bite of the chocolate bar and Pepper takes it off him with a smile.
"Technically you're still pre-pubescent."
Ultron sighs and smiles as Pepper finishes the chocolate herself. Tony pouts slightly at her as she puts the wrapper in the bin. Ultron begins to nudge them both out the door.
"Wonderful. Get out already, you're going to be late."
"Bye junior! We'll be out for a while! Don't miss mom and dad too much!"
"Go away!"
As the couple walks down the steps of the house Tony pouts to Pepper.
"He's already so distant from us. Did we do something wrong when we brought him up?"
Pepper decides to humour him, enjoying the running joke they had with Ultron.
"Tony... He's old enough to fend for himself."
\ /
Ultron watches them through the front camera, watching them leave the area. As soon as they get out of the area Ultron goes to the mini-workshop that Tony made for himself and pulls out the controls.
"FRIDAY, pull out the Exo suit we were working on last night. I'm gonna reconfigure the Vibranium body slightly."
Ultron watches as the floor opens up a box that begins to unfold itself. It opens, revealing a black Exo-skeleton similar to a humans. Ultron rummages through a box that he hid within the workshop and opens it. It was filled with two Vibranium canisters, enough to create two physical bodies. He scans through his server and picks out the blueprint required to build one.
"Visions blueprint..."
He looks at the picture that was stuck behind a magnet on the wall. A picture of Tony, Pepper, Happy, Peter and Ultron. Thinking about what his creator said earlier Ultron takes the picture into his hands and studies it.
'No. You're going to be a big brother.'
"FRIDAY do me a favour and mix both Tony and Pepper's DNA."
FRIDAY beeps, surprise in her voice.
"...You're going to base your body off of their genes?"
"Yeah...If you're jealous I'll help you create a body as well."
"Thanks but no thanks."
"Just saying... There's enough Vibranium for both of us."
Ultron slides the canister into the capsule and watches as the machine begins to mould it together.
"Render complete."
"Thank you, I'll handle the rest."
Ultron taps into the console eagerly, producing a hologram of his body and putting it out in front of him. It was shaped into a muscular man, stood at 6'1. His hair was brown but he looked too much like his creator at that point. He changed it's colour to be jet black and gave himself more or less the same haircut as Tony.
"I'll consider it within the future."
"Well, better choose quick or else I might make myself another one."
He finalised his settings and began the operation.
"Two hours..."
"What will you do with your new body?"
"Honestly... I don't know."
The capsule opens and the machine begins to wire the Vibranium around the exoskeleton with incredible speed. Vision's message was on repeat within Ultron's head and he watches the machine work with nervousness. Nobody even knows he's creating this body. The last time they caught wind of him creating this body they killed him. Ultron sits and connects himself to the machine, ready to implant himself within the body once it is complete.
"...I should have asked Vision for some tips..."
AN: ty for reading.