Not That Lucky

#27: On a Razor's Edge

"You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." –Charles Bukowski

__________

"All our work is gone." Bruce sighed. I glanced around the lab. The mood had switched from jovial to tense at the flip of a switch, or more accurately at the attack of a psycho robot. Tony stood at a table staring at the main Ultron drone they dragged up here. Bruce was shaking his head a little off to the side, flipping through screens looking for data. Maria was sitting with Sam who was helping her pick shards of glass out of her feet and legs. Just beside the two of them were Helen and Rhodey, the latter of which who was holding his wrist in pain. Natasha, who had changed into a jacket and sweats, stood by the wall with her arms crossed and her eyes focused on something in the distance. Clint sat in the chair beside her. Steve was standing a few feet behind Tony with his eyes downcast and his jaw tense.

My hands, still in my gloves, played with the edges of my dress. The tulle was torn and a part of it was even singed. I hadn't felt that happen. I also hadn't felt the glass dig into my skin at some point, but the side of my arm was definitely bleeding. My eyes stared at the armored gloves in my lap. I should take them off, let them fold back into bracelets, but a part of me couldn't. What if the drones came back? I still had leftover adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch." Bruce sighed again and swiped the screen in front of him away in disappointment. Apparently, he had seen enough.

Tony had a weird look in his eyes. Distant. I could see it from where I sat. Steeling myself, I pushed up out of my chair and crossed the few feet between us to stand by his side. He didn't even seem to notice my presence. Not even when I set my hand on his arm.

Tony just stayed lost in his head.

"Ultron." Steve spoke up, and I glanced back at him. He had a hand on his hip and the other resting on the table beside him. It was a casual pose, but the look on his face was nothing of the sort.

Natasha spoke up, "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Ultron officially knows everything about us."

"He's in your files." Rhodey scoffed and flinched when Helen began to try and move his injured wrist. "He's in the Internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting than Clint's social security number?"

"Nuclear codes." Maria looked up in alarm.

"Look, we need to make some calls." Rhodey announced. "Assuming we still can."

Natasha shook her head, "Nukes? You think that's his move?"

"He said he wanted us dead."

"He didn't say 'dead', he said 'extinct'." Steve corrected in a sharp tone.

I squeezed Tony's arm and whispered, "Tony? Please come back."

"He also said he killed someone." Clint continued the conversation. He hadn't made eye contact with me since the fight ended and something told me I was in trouble with him too. I was in trouble with a lot of people.

Sam shook his head, pulling out another piece of glass while Maria hissed in pain, "There wasn't anyone else in the building."

Tony suddenly pulled out of my grip and I stayed where I was with my hand still hanging in the air. He paused in the middle of the room and shook his head, "Yes, there was." He pulled his phone out, snapping it forward once, and the golden programming of JARVIS popped up like it had days before. I gasped audibly at the state of it though. Suddenly, Tony's state made full sense. I took a shaky step closer with my arms wrapped around my chest in a pathetic attempt to hold myself together. JARVIS's programming was shattered. It looked like it had exploded from the center. Like a beautiful, glowing planet that had an asteroid blow through it leaving nothing but golden fragments and dust. Tony's voice brought me back, "J."