𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑 - MCU

VI. OUT OF THE BOTTLE

VI. OUT OF THE BOTTLE
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Luna kneeled in front of the crushed Legionnaire, letting her hand caress the harsh bends and dents she had made. With her mind. It had been a surprise, especially with her troubles with earth-bending in general. She closed her eyes and tried to bend the metal again. As she predicted, it didn't work.

She stood up with a sigh and stumbled as her vision spun and bile rose up her throat. She quickly swallowed it back. Concussion, she thought, great. Just add that on top of everything that's gone wrong.

"You okay? Seem a little peaky." Natasha came up to her. She didn't look a lot better herself but Luna could guess how she looked; her outfit a complete mess, her hair sticking every which way and her face scratched up and bruised like she wrestled with a particularly angry cat.
   
"Yeah," Luna took a deep breath as another wave of nausea hit her, "Just dizzy." She gave Natasha an unconvincing smile as they made their way to the lab.

Thor had stormed out after the fight, but the others had stayed to clean the biggest mess. And now they were slowly converging to the labs, where Tony and Bruce were arguing away.

"All our work is gone." Bruce announced, breaking the thick layer of silence that had gathered in the room. "He used the internet as an escape hatch."

Luna was still doubtful about calling Ultron a he. In her mind it made it more human, and the last thing she wanted to do was humanize a defect robot. Tony and Bruce had made Ultron, built it and programmed it. She was sure they were beating themselves up about it, Bruce more than anyone. How exactly Ultron had the ability to grow a sort of twisted and crooked conscience of its own and destroy JARVIS, was the formula Luna couldn't figure out.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha said as she scrolled through files stored at Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Luna's hands were shaking as she thought about the possibilities. They didn't know what Ultron wanted, exactly. 'Peace in our time.' Whatever that meant. With all that information at its fingertips, would it go after loved ones? Would it set a trap, trying to lure the Avengers in? Luna hoped it wouldn't, because she knew herself. And she knew she would fall for it every time.

Luna itched to call Shuri, to warn them. Maybe ask for help. But she didn't. This was The Avengers' mess, not theirs. Also, she physically couldn't, she didn't have Shuri's number anymore. Long story.

Luna sat on top of the table, elbows on her knees and her head on her hands, trying to calm the growing headache. "We throw one celebration party..." Luna muttered, "And this happens."

A few threw her glances full of pity, she was still so young after all. The rest had plenty experience dealing with horrible, terrible, evil people and things.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet." Rhodes said, holding his hurt arm, "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" A valid and disturbing question.

"Royal files to see if the Queen's a lizard?" Luna joked, without much elation behind her words. It did little to lift the spirits of the people in the room.

Maria and Rhodes gave each other an understanding look, "Nuclear codes." Maria said.

"Nuclear codes." Rhodes confirmed. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha questioned, "He said he wanted us dead."

"It said it wanted 'peace in our time', or Tony said it or whatever. Nukes are, historically, not great for peace." Luna added.

Steve looked up, his eyebrows creased in the usual worry lines, "He didn't say dead, he said extinct." He pointed out.

"The difference?" Luna asked rhetorically.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint recalled.

Maria looked at him, "There wasn't anybody in the building."
 
"Then shouldn't we be looking for stragglers from the party?" Luna asked.

"No need." Tony said as he walked forward to the hologram-floor part of the room, "I know who it was." He turned the system on and floating in the air appeared the destroyed, orange interface of JARVIS.

Luna jumped to the floor as the team gathered around the dead matrix.