125 Vision

The cradle lay in the techbro’s lab in the Avengers Tower like some futuristic sarcophagus with wires and conduits feeding into its frame. Tony and Bruce moved around it, hurriedly like Frankenstein before finishing the creation of his monster. Fingers flew across projected interfaces, equations scrolled, and Jarvis’s code was slowly threaded into the lattice of the new form.

Bruce had sweat already forming on his brow. Tony looked nervous, afraid of making a single mistake, while also acknowledging that time was not on his side.

Steve stood close by with his shield at the ready, watching with the rigid patience of a soldier on sentry duty. His eyes never strayed from the cradle. He didn’t trust Ultron’s work, and he trusted Tony’s improvisations only slightly more.

Wanda lingered at the edge of the chamber, her hands folded before her, crimson wisps of energy curling unconsciously from her fingertips as her eyes stayed locked on the cradle. Clint was perched at a corner from where he could see everything, while Pietero walked around the corridors nervously. Ready to dash at a moment’s notice.

“If this goes wrong,” Steve warned, “we’re shutting it down. Immediately.”

“No argument here,” Clint replied, though his tone suggested he expected Tony to argue anyway.

“Relax,” Tony said without looking up. “You’ve got two geniuses in the room babysitting one synthetic brain. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Bruce glanced at Tony, then back to the data streaming in front of him. This was not the time to trade barbs. Not when the last time they did this, they ended up creating a murderbot.

Out on the balcony, the night air was cool, a sharp contrast to the sterile atmosphere inside. New York stretched beneath them in an ocean of lights, oblivious to the storm gathering above their heads.

Harry leaned against the railing. Natasha stood beside him. Thor loomed just beyond them, hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the stars as though they might yield some long-buried answer.

“So, Loki’s sceptre had an Infinity Stone?” Natasha asked, confused at Thor’s claim.

“Apparently.” Thor’s tone was heavy, threaded with frustration. His eyes flickered downward, thoughtful. “Even now, I struggle to make sense of it.”

“So was Thanos chasing after the Infinity Stones, or just the Tessaract?” Harry asked with a brow furrowed.

Natasha’s eyes narrowed as she thought it through. “It makes no sense for him to send the Mind Stone to collect the Space Stone. Why risk something that powerful in someone else’s hands? It’s like trading a queen just to win another queen.”

Thor’s expression was unreadable, though his voice rumbled with reluctant agreement. “Aye. That logic troubles me as well. I am beginning to wonder if Thanos even knew the sceptre’s true nature or that of the Tessaract. Perhaps he sought only the Tesseract to bend space to his will. With it, he could stride across the universe in the blink of an eye. Allowing him to continue with his experiments with a greater degree of convenience.”

Harry tilted his head, staring out across the New York skyline. “If that’s true… then maybe we’ve been giving him too much credit. We’ve been thinking ten steps ahead of him when he’s only been thinking about shortcuts.”

Thor let out a slow breath, his massive shoulders easing slightly. “Then perhaps his shadow looms smaller than I feared. A tyrant, yes, but like father said, someone who works on the fringe.”

“Space, Mind, Reality,” Harry counted off on his fingers. “That leaves Power, Time, and Soul still unaccounted for.”

Natasha shifted her weight against the railing. “Which is exactly why Asgard should start keeping tabs on them. Just to make sure the rest are safe. If anyone has the capacity to know where they are, it’s your people.”

Thor’s gaze drifted skyward as though searching for Odin’s judgment among the stars. “You know my father’s thoughts on the Infinity Stones. He would call it folly to seek them out. Even acknowledging their existence invites danger. The less Asgard meddles, the fewer eyes turn toward us.”

Harry snorted softly, shaking his head. “That sounds an awful lot like denial. You can close your eyes all you like, but that won’t stop someone else from hunting them. If Thanos, or anyone else, is collecting these things, we need to make damn sure the others haven’t already been claimed.”

Natasha glanced at Harry, then back to Thor. “He’s right. Ignorance isn’t safety, Thor, it’s a liability. Pretending the Stones aren’t there doesn’t protect Asgard. It just makes everyone more vulnerable when someone finally decides to take them.”

Thor finally turned from the stars and nodded towards Harry, then to Natasha.

“I will return to Asgard once this matter with Ultron is finished,” he agreed. “There, I will seek counsel with my father.” His gaze lingered on both of them. “I would ask you both to come with me. Your counsel may tip the balance where mine alone cannot.”

Harry and Natasha both gave a small nod. “You won’t have to ask twice. If there’s a chance to make sure these Stones don’t end up in the wrong hands, I’m in.”

Thor’s face softened. “Good. Then it is settled. When the time comes, we shall stand before Odin together.”

The balcony doors slid open, and Steve stepped out. “Tony says the upload’s almost complete,” he reported. “If this thing wakes up, we don’t want anyone missing. You should be there.”

Harry exchanged a look with Natasha, then glanced up at Thor. “Alright,” Harry said, pushing off the railing.

Together with Steve, the three crossed back through the tower’s halls. By the time they stepped inside the lab, all eyes were focused solely on the cradle. Whatever came next, they would all face it together.

With the preparations now complete. The cradle loomed in the centre of the lab like an altar. Every console light blinked in rhythm, every breath from the team held with anticipation.

When Bruce gave the final nod, the hinges of the cradle hissed open. A faint mist escaped as the lid peeled back to reveal the form within. Its skin was a deep crimson, metallic slats gleaming faintly under the lab’s lights. It lay utterly motionless, an uncanny fusion of flesh and machine.

Bruce glanced at the diagnostics. Everything read stable. He exhaled slowly, then pressed the release. Valves disengaged with a mechanical sigh.

The eyes opened first. Twin irises of silver, glowing faintly as it tried to focus itself. The body stirred, joints twitching as the synthetic mind tried to understand its nervous system and how to control its body. Slowly, it began to rise with the eerie stillness of something unnatural. Like a vampire roused from its coffin, the crimson figure sat upright, then lifted fully to its feet.

A ripple of unease passed through the room. Natasha’s hand flexed near her sidearm, Clint’s gaze narrowed, and Harry subtly shifted his stance. The creature turned its head, studying each of them in silence. And then it floated slowly into the air.

The body rose from the cradle with grace, lifting from the ground as if gravity no longer applied. Its movements were slow, almost childlike in their curiosity and uncertain, like a newborn learning its own limbs. The silver eyes flicked from wall to ceiling to floor, absorbing every detail with raw, unfiltered wonder.

Drawn as if by instinct, the creature drifted toward the window. Outside, the city stretched endlessly, lights shimmering against the night sky. It stopped there, hovering inches above the ground, and stared at its own reflection in the glass.

Time seemed to stretch. The lab was silent save for the soft hum of machines. The figure’s gaze lingered on itself, confused, contemplative, almost vulnerable.

Thor lifted a hand to stop the others from moving.

The creature turned at last, breaking its reflection’s hold. Slowly, with deliberate grace, it drifted back toward the group. As it descended, its eyes glowed almost innocently.

It landed, bare feet touching the ground with surprising gentleness. His crimson pink skin rippled as a layer of grey synthetic fabric started to form around his body, giving the impression of him wearing a grey bodysuit.

“I’m sorry,” the creature began slowly, haltingly, as though testing each syllable. “That was… odd.” The being turned toward Tony and Bruce, like a child’s gaze, trying to show gratitude with only half-understood gestures. “Thank you,” it said, with deliberate sincerity.

Then its eyes drifted across the room, taking in each Avenger one by one. When its gaze found Thor, it lingered longer than with the others. Without warning, the air shimmered faintly around its shoulders. A flicker of energy rippled around it and twisted into fabric. Slowly, deliberately, a red cape formed, unmistakably reminiscent of Thor’s own.

Steve’s jaw tightened as his eyes followed the figure. “Why does he sound like JARVIS?” Steve asked.

Tony glanced at Bruce, then back at Steve. “We reconfigured JARVIS’ matrix to create something new,” he replied carefully.

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “So is he with us, or against us?”

The creature’s head turned toward Steve with the question. “You think I’m a child of Ultron?”

Steve didn’t shy away from the question. “You’re not?” He asked in reply

The creature’s expression softened, almost pained. It touched its chest, as though trying to feel the truth of itself. “I’m not Ultron.” Its gaze flickered toward Tony, then Bruce, then finally back to Steve. “I’m not JARVIS either. I am…” The words trailed off, like a child grasping for a name it hadn’t been given. Finally, the creature raised its head to reply. “I am… I suppose… a vision.”

 Wanda’s eyes narrowed at the creature’s words. “I looked into your mind… and all I saw was annihilation.”

Vision did not flinch beneath her words. Instead, he tilted his head earnestly. “Then look again.”

Before Wanda could step closer, Clint rejected the idea. “No.” He glanced at her, then turned to Harry. “I don’t trust her. It should be you who does it.”

“Their powers”, Thor stepped in, pointing at the Maximoff twins, “The horrors we’ve endured, even Ultron himself, they all sprang from the Mind Stone,” Thor explained, pointing at the yellow gem on Vision’s forehead. “And yet, all of that is but a shadow compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side…”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Is it? Are you? On our side?”

Vision met his stare without flinching. “I don’t believe it’s that simple.”

Clint folded his arms. “Well, it'd better get real simple, real soon.”

“I am on the side of life,” Vision replied to Clint’s question. “Ultron is not. And he will end it all.”

Tony leaned forward. “Then what’s he waiting for?”

“You,” Vision answered without hesitation.

Bruce frowned. “Where?”

Before Vision could reply, Pietro spoke up. “Sokovia. He’s taken Strucker’s base and turned it to his own purpose.”

“If we’re wrong about you… if you really are the monster Ultron made you…” Bruce questioned

Vision’s gaze swept across them all. “What will you do?” he asked softly. “I don’t want to kill Ultron. He is unique… and he is in pain. But that pain will sweep across the world, consuming everything. He must be stopped. Every body he’s built, every trace of him in the net needs to be removed. And none of us can achieve that alone.”

Vision paused, as if weighing his own words. “Perhaps I am a monster. I don’t know if I’d even recognise it if I were. I’m not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way for me to earn your trust. But there is no more time to debate. We need to go.”

To prove his point Vision lifted Thor’s hammer. The room froze in silence as the sight sank in. When Thor wordlessly accepted Mjolnir back, Vision turned and walked away, leaving them stunned in his wake.

Thor, still looking rattled, clapped Tony on the shoulder with a half-smile. “Right. Well done, Stark,” he muttered, though his eyes were still fixed on the hammer Vision had so casually carried. Two in one night. Unthinkable. With a shake of his head, Thor followed Vision out.

Tony threw his arms up. “Great. First Harry, now the new guy. Is there anyone else who wants to shatter the laws of Asgard and my self-esteem in one evening?”

Steve straightened himself up to address the team. “Three minutes. Get what you need.”

Steve pulled on a fresh combat uniform; the star on his chest gleamed as he tightened the straps and secured his shield.

Clint methodically checked his quiver, stacking arrow after arrow in neat rows before strapping it to his back.

Natasha opened her Asgardian cache as she selected her weapons for her upcoming fight.

Tony loaded up another AI into his Iron Man suit named FRIDAY’s now that he’d lost JARVIS.

Bruce sighed as he tugged at the waistband of reinforced stretchy pants.

Pietro laced up a fresh pair of running shoes, bouncing on his heels to test them, then snatched a crimson leather jacket from Natasha’s closet and tossed it to Wanda. She slipped it on silently without questioning where Pietro got it from.

Harry made a quick call to Fury, ensuring SHIELD would be in the air with them.

Within three minutes, they gathered in the hangar bay, ready for war. Once everyone had arrived, Harry passed vials of Pepper-up potions into each Avenger’s hand, and everyone took a shot. The magic washed over them instantly revitalising their body as if they woke up from a long, relaxing slumber, followed by a gallon of coffee.

“Is that my jacket?” Natasha asked flatly as her eyes narrowed at Wanda.

“I don’t know. Pietro gave it to me,” Wanda replied quickly, shifting the blame as Pietro immediately found the floor, ceiling, and anywhere else far more interesting than meeting Natasha’s gaze.

Harry caught Natasha’s look and mouthed, later. She gave the faintest smirk, but the promise was clear; this wasn’t over.

Harry cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to the task at hand. “Alright, Cap. How do we do this?”

“If even one tin soldier is left standing, we’ve lost,” Bruce said grimly.

“I mean, I got no plans tomorrow night,” Steve replied dryly, easing the tension.

“I call first crack at the big guy. Iron Man’s the one he’s waiting for,” Tony said, adjusting his gauntlet.

“That’s true,” Vision agreed. “He hates you the most.”

Clint raised a brow. “Yeah, but can we even take out all his toys? There’s got to be thousands.”

“I doubt the others will be as strong or durable as his primary form,” Vision explained. “He hasn’t had the time or resources to create an entire vibranium army. The majority should be… manageable.”

“What about his consciousness on the internet or backups he’s hidden somewhere?” Bruce asked, frowning.

“If I can make contact with Ultron directly, I should be able to breach his system and trace every copy,” Vision said evenly. “But I would require focus and no interruptions.”

“Would any body of Ultron suffice?” Thor asked.

“Likely. But capturing Ultron Prime would certainly guarantee there are no fragments left behind,” Vision explained.

Harry shook his head firmly. “Then we don’t gamble. We’re not cutting corners here. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it the right way. Our first priority is capturing Ultron Prime so Vision can shut him down at the source. After that, we wipe out every last body. No exceptions.”

The team exchanged glances, then nodded as one.

“Ultron knows we’re coming,” Steve pointed out. “Odds are we’ll be flying straight into heavy fire, and that’s on us. But the people of Sokovia didn’t sign up for this. Getting them out has to be our first priority.”

“Can we do something like in New York? We broadcast an evacuation throughout the city?” Clint asked, glancing at Harry.

Wanda shook her head quickly. “It won’t work. Sokovians don’t trust the Avengers. A message like that would be seen as a trick to push them out so America can move in to capture Sokovia. They’ll stay put, even if it kills them.”

“What about a magical solution?” Natasha asked.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Wanda spoke first. “I could try. I can reach into their minds and guide them to make them want to leave on their own.”

Harry gave her a considering look, then nodded. “If Wanda leads, I can support her with my own magic. Between the two of us, we should be able to move the city more willingly.”

“But do we even have the time for that?” Tony cut in skeptically. “We’re talking about an entire city packing up and walking out.”

“I can take Wanda straight there with Apparition,” Harry offered. “That’ll give us at least an hour’s head start on the evacuation.”

“I’m coming too,” Pietro said immediately. “I can zip around the city to make sure that no one is left behind.”

Everyone nodded to Harry's plan for the evacuation.

“So this is it, huh?” Wanda whispered, almost to herself. Her gaze drifted through the whole team. People that she thought were her enemies, but now turned into allies. “We are all that stands between Ultron and humanity.”

Harry studied her for a moment. He could see the storm of emotions behind her eyes: fear, guilt, the lingering shadows of her choices, but also the spark of hope.

“We aren’t the only ones,” he said gently. “But we are the first line of defence. That’s who we are. That’s who the Avengers have always been.”

Wanda turned to him with a frown. “And what does that mean? To be an Avenger?”

Harry smiled. “It means standing in the fire when no one else will. It means knowing the odds are impossible, and still choosing to fight. Not because we think we’ll win every battle, but because people deserve a chance to live their lives without monsters like Ultron deciding their future. It means being the shield between them and the darkness.”

Wanda swallowed hard. The weight of his words pressed against her chest, but instead of crushing her, it lifted her.

“People won’t always understand us,” Harry continued. “Sometimes they’ll hate us. Sometimes they’ll blame us. But being an Avenger means you keep fighting anyway. Because it’s not about glory, or recognition, or even thanks. It’s about doing what’s right, even when it costs us everything.”

“You’re not defined by where you came from, Wanda,” Harry said softly. “You’re defined by the choices you make now. And right now, you’re choosing to stand with us. To fight for them. That’s what it means to be an Avenger.”

A long silence stretched between them. Then, slowly, Wanda nodded. For the first time, she truly felt the weight of responsibility, yes, but also the strength of belonging.

“Then let’s fight,” she whispered, her eyes shining with determination.

And in that moment, she understood. That the Avengers weren’t an elite fixed group of people that stood in front of her. But that anyone who stands to fight for humanity can be an Avenger. That, at this moment, she too was an Avenger.