Alone Together

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Steve and I sat on the roof of the Avengers tower for what felt like hours, mulling over everything that had just happened. We watched as Thor flew out of the tower to chase after the Legionnaire and I knew that I should probably have gone with him, but I couldn't quite force myself away from the comfort of Steve's embrace.

I couldn't get Ultron's voice out of my head, 'I had strings but now I'm free'. He was now free to wreak havoc wherever he pleased without anything holding him back. That thought had me standing up and reaching out a hand to Steve. His baby blue eyes were filled with a sad longing as he took my hand because he knew that our stolen time together was over and that it was time to rejoin the team.

The walk down to Tony's lab was filled with silence, and for once I didn't know how to break it. I wanted to ask Steve if he was alright. He had been so vulnerable back on the roof; so broken and human. I wanted to tell him that nothing was going to change and that no one was going to die, but I couldn't. All I could do was hold onto his hand and pray that I would never have to let go.

Everyone was gathered in Tony's lab, discussing the situation at hand. "All our work is gone," Bruce said in a defeated tone. "Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch."

Steve glanced down at me as we entered the room, knowing that I shared his confusion. "Ultron?"

"He's been in everything." Natasha confirmed. "Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." That was a terrifying thought. I briefly allowed myself to wonder if Ultron had found his way into any HYDRA files yet, if his eyes had read over the horrors of my past. If he had then he probably knew about Wanda and Pietro... I shut that thought down immediately.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of Maria Hill's voice. "Nuclear codes?" She sounded worried.

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

Nat looked worried, "Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." We all knew what she was implying. Ultron said he wanted the Avengers dead, not the entire world.

"He didn't say dead." I glanced up at Steve after he spoke before finishing his sentence for him. "He said extinct." Everyone turned at the sound of my voice to look at me, almost surprised to find that I wasn't out with Thor searching for the Legionnaire.

Silence filled the air as we all took a moment to process what was going on. Clint was the first one to speak, "He also said he killed somebody."

Maria turned to look at him, a confused look on her face. "But there wasn't anyone else in the building."

It was Tony who was finally able to answer the question we were all asking. "Yes, there was." With a few taps to the tablet that never seems to leave his hand he pulled up a 3D image of Jarvis' now destroyed consciousness. I stifled a gasp and felt Steve grip my hand to reassure us both that it was all going to be alright.

Bruce shook his head in exasperation, "This is insane." My eyes scanned all the familiar faces in the room, taking in the varying emotions in the room. No one knew what to make of this Ultron threat, and at the moment insane seemed to be a cruel understatement.

As always, Steve was the voice of reason. "Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense." I kind of wanted to kick him for being so reasonable at a time like this.