~ 44.65 hours later Having a living body had been a greater source of confusion than JARVIS had first estimated. For one, he could no longer deny the continued existence of feelings and the irrationality they tainted his thoughts and actions with. It… concerned him. How he was no longer consciously aware of everything he did. How something beyond his …

Wanda had shut herself in her room and locked the door. “Wanda,” Pietro called from outside. “Let me in. We can talk.” He wanted to comfort her, but what could he say? That it was going to be ok? That it was not their fault? That it would be forgotten soon enough? None of those things were true. “I know— …

“Wow,” Tony commented. “The whole gang’s here. Is there another apocalypse in the works?” He had only popped in the communal floor to grab the coffee maker before going back in the lab to work on Ultron. But it seemed like everyone had agreed to meet there: There were the OG Avengers, with Thor in attendance as well, sitting on …

~ One week later “Tony,” she softly called to him from the doors, but heard no response. Tony just continued working, coding on a keyboard while holographic screens raced by around him. Pepper passed the mess of disassembled servers and other hardware to reach Tony’s side. It had been a week and not once had he left the lab. Almost …

~ Minutes earlier, Los Angeles “I can’t tell where the journey will end,” He missed having the ability to cry. “But I know where to start,” Ultron laughed. “They tell me I’m too young to understand,” Tears seemed appropriate right about now. “They say I’m caught up in a dream,” He saw Romanov in his mind’s eye enter the church …

Damn it. She locked eyes with their captor. Damn him. She tried to do something, anything, but something was holding her in place. She felt as if she tried to force it any longer, something, a muscle or a ligament, would break. Natasha took a deep breath and checked the state of her body. It became obvious soon that the …

Stark was compromised. Severely so. Rogers was AWOL, running after his boyfriend as if everything would fix itself if only he found him. Thor wasn’t coming, having at long last drawn a line between his duty as a foreign alien prince and as their teammate. Clint… Clint was tired. The toll of being merely human, however gifted, in a constant …

“Where the hell is he?” Barton cursed, just as Tony entered the Quinjet. “Rogers? How would I know? Weren’t you with him?” “Not Rogers! Ultron!” Barton looked far more frustrated than before. Tony, frowned, wondering what had happened to make him so. “What’s got you all worked up, Katniss?” he asked. “Someone is playing with our minds, and I am …

~ On board a SHIELD jet, on the way to Sokovia “How long until we are there?” Wanda asked. “20 minutes.” the Widow answered. “Anxious?” “Angry.” his sister said. Pietro grabbed her hand to silently ask her to quiet down. They shouldn’t talk to the Widow. It was pure luck that she didn’t learn about what they did in Jo—Johannesburg …

~ An hour earlier “Are you listening to me, Captain?” Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. He held in a sigh. “I am.” he answered. “Then could you explain why the Quinjet flew over Sokovian airspace right now?” “Ma’am, Ultron is dangerous and—,” “—Not our f****** problem.” Hill continued. He didn’t know when she changed from Stark’s employee to …