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Apparently, Tony had built an AI called Ultron that tried to kill them all. The thought was laughable but true. They were all currently in the lab as they tried to figure what exactly went wrong. She sat in a chair with her legs pulled to her chest.

             Nat noticed that Eira seemed a bit spaced out. It was like her mind wasn't really there. But now wasn't the time to bring it up.

              "All our work is gone," Bruce said after he checked the computers. "Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch."

        "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other," Nat commented.

         Her eyes widened at that. If he was in the surveillance, he probably knew that she was pregnant. She let out a panicked breath and Clint noticed her struggle. He gave her a soft look and rubbed her arm. She gave him a grateful look.

        "He's in your files, he's in the internet," Rhodey said. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

        "Nuclear codes," Maria Hill realized.

           "Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can," Rhodey said.

          "Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Nat stated.

         "He didn't say dead. He said extinct," Steve clarified and she put her head in her hands; this was not a good day.

          "He also said he killed somebody," Bucky said.

         "But there wasn't anyone else in the building," Clint stated.

      "Yes there was," Tony corrected as he brought up a 3D image of the destroyed consciousness of Jarvis.

         "Jarvis," she uttered sadly as tears built in her eyes.

        "This is insane," Bruce studied the image.

         "Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense," Steve said.

          "No, Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage."

           Thor came back from going after the escaped Legionnaire. He stomped through the room angrily towards Tony. 

        "It's going around," Clint commented.

          No one would've dared stepped in front of an angry God. But she sighed and quickly moved to block his path despite being much smaller than him.

          She pushed against chest, telling him to back off, "We don't need anger amongst ourselves."

             Thor considered her carefully before he stepped back with a clenched jaw, "The trail went cold about a hundred miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again."

            "The genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron," Nat said.

            "One thing I don't understand is if you built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Bucky asked.

              Tony started to laugh and Bruce shook his head subtly at him. She gave Tony a look.

           "You think this is funny?" Thor glared slightly.

         "No. It's probably not, right?" Tony answered in disbelief. "Is this very terrible? Is it so... is it so... it is. It's so terrible."

        "This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

afterglow - tony stark Where stories live. Discover now