Loki's magical friend? - ON HIATUS

18.

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Chapter Eighteen - Stark And Banner Have A Robot Child

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I woke up blearily to the sound of shouting.  

I was in the medbay, wearing a hospital gown. Deciding to find out what was going on, I shakily got up, grabbing my wand and a gun just in case. I walked stiffly and slowly into the lab next door, to find Tony, Steve, Bruce, and both the Maximoffs in a standoff. The air looked tense but I decided to stay unnoticed for as long as I could. I was still getting to grips with my surroundings, feeling slightly disorientated but gradually improving.

Pietro ran through the room, disconnecting the Cradle. "No, no. Go on. You were saying?" He looked at Tony before a gunshot fired though the glass pane he was standing on, causing him to fall through the floor.

"PIETRO!" Wanda called in alarm.

From there, it all got a bit manic.

Tony and Steve fought, glass spraying everywhere as the shield and repulsor beams hit various surfaces. Bruce held Wanda in a neckhold. "Go ahead, piss me off." He muttered lowly.

Suddenly, Thor and Loki appeared, crashing through the skylight. Thor leapt onto the capsule while Loki pulled me back. "Loki, what's going on?" I asked puzzled. Loki was about to reply when Thor summoned and struck the capsule with lightning. The lab looked on in silence, some in horror, shock or in awe at the display of power. Thor straightened up and waited for something - anything - to happen. The Cradle's doors opened and the figure inside burst out, sending Thor flying backwards. 

We watched cautiously as the figure studied us, before flying in attack towards Thor. He threw him with ease away, towards the lounge area, where the figure floated. It paused there for a few minutes, taking in the city of New York. It was night now, which meant I must have slept through most of the day. We stood in battle stances, bracing ourselves for an attack. Loki carefully pushed me behind him, a dagger already drawn in preparation for a hostile action.

"I'm sorry. That was... odd." The figure finally spoke, sounding rather like JARVIS. He turned to Thor. "Thank you." Upon seeing his cloak, the figure fashioned one of his own; a yellow version, materialised from seemingly nothing.

"Thor," Steve called. "You helped create this?"

"I had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its centre is that." He pointed to the amber gem on the unknown man's forehead. 

"What, the gem?" Banner questioned.

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities." Loki interjected, his answer making me look at him in curiosity. He looked rather pale while talking about them, so I decided to hold off on my interrogation...for now.

"Then why would you bring-"

"-Because Stark is right." Thor interrupted. 

"Oh, it's definitely the end times." Bruce joked in disbelief. I smiled despite the tense atmosphere. 

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.  Not alone." Thor finished.

"Why does your Vision sound like JARVIS?" Steve questioned.

"We reconfigured JARVIS's Matrix to create something new." Tony spoke, the 'Vision' and him walking slowly towards each other and then away.

"I think I've had my fill of new." Steve quipped.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron." The 'Vision' spoke, looking at us.

"You're not?"

"I'm not Ultron. I am not JARVIS. I am... I am." The android looked confused as he comtemplated his identity.

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation." Wanda approached him.

"Look again." 

Uncle Clint scoffed. "Her seal of approval means jack to me." He spat as he walked over, standing just in front of me. 

I guess he was still pretty mad about her attack on me and the team. I was more afraid on what her vision showed me. If it held some truth, my future didn't look particularly bright to say the least.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone." Thor announced. Loki continued his statement. "And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side..."

"Is it?" I interrupted. Everyone turned to look at me. I looked directly at the android as I asked again. "Are you on our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, it better get real simple real soon." My Uncle spoke up.

"I am on the side of Life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Stark asked.

"You."

"Where?"

"Sokovia. He's got Nat there as well." Clint answered. 

Bruce, normally mild-mannered, stepped towards 'Vision'. "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be..."

"What will you do? I don't want to kill Ultron, he's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed." Vision spoke. "Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go."

He picked up the famed hammer of Thor and held it out to him. Stunned silence enveloped the room as all qualms of trust flew out the window.  I looked at Loki, who was silently laughing at the disgruntled look on Thor's face. 

"Right." Was Thor's response. He walked in the direction that Vision went, patting Tony's shoulder as he passed. "Well done." 

"5 minutes. Get what you need."

"This is my new favourite day." Loki wheezed, still chuckling. 

I shook my head at his antics. I looked over at the Maximoffs, who looked lost. Sighing and cursing myself internally, I went in the direction of the locker rooms, and when I passed them, told them to follow.

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I handed Wanda a dusty red leather jacket and Pietro some trainers and a thermal top. They looked at me. "I guess we're allies now." 

There was a heavy silence as we stared at each other.

"Look, I know you feel guilty about you taking his side and everything that happened in Strucker's base and the Ship. But we have a bigger problem right now. We have to prioritise, so focus on the mission, and we'll talk later, okay?" I spoke, getting two nods in reply. "Alright. You have two minutes to change and then meet us on the Quinjet."