Black Star: The Legend Begins

ร𝓔︎Ｖ︎𝓔︎𝓷𝐓︎𝓔︎𝓔︎𝓷

ULTRON took you folks out of play to buy himself time,” Fury explains.

After Tony went into the barn to fix the tractor, he discovered that it was working perfectly, and the real reason Laura told him to go into the barn was because Fury was there, waiting to speak with Tony.

“My contacts all say he’s building something,” Fury continues. “The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don’t think it’s just one thing.”

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve asks.

“Oh, he’s easy to track. He’s everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.”

“Is he still going after launch codes?” Tony asks, looking up from the darts game he, Clint, and Peter are playing.

“Yes, he is. But he’s not making any headway.”

“I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare,” Tony points out.

“Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that.”

“Nexus?” Steve repeats.

“It’s the world Internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there,” Peter explains.

“Fastest access on Earth,” Bruce adds.

“So, what’d they say?” Clint asks.

“He’s fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed,” Fury responds.

“By who?”

“Parties unknown.”

“Do we have an ally?” Natasha asks hopefully.

“Ultron has an enemy. That’s not the same thing,” Fury corrects. “Still, I’d pay folding money to know who it is.”

“I might need to visit Oslo,” Tony says thoughtfully. “Find our unknown.”

Natasha leans back in her chair. “Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kinda hoping when I saw you, you’d have more than that.”

"I do,” Fury responds. “I have you. Back in the day I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world.

“Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission… is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”

“Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk.” Natasha smirks.

Steve looks at her, exasperated. “You know what, Romanoff?”

“So, what does he want?” Fury refocuses the conversation.

“To become better,” Steve answers. “Better than us. He keeps building bodies.”

“Person bodies,” Tony clarifies. “The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we’re outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.”

Natasha looks between you, Tony, and Bruce. “When you three programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.”

“Gee, thanks,” you say sarcastically.

Bruce shakes his head. “They don’t need to be protected. They need to evolve. Ultron’s going to evolve.”

“How?” Fury asks him.

There’s a beat of tense silence as Bruce thinks that over. Then: “Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”

★★★★★

“I’ll take Natasha and Clint,” Steve decides.

“Alright. Strictly recon. I’ll hit the Nexus with the kids,” Tony responds. “We’ll join you as soon as we can.”

“If Ultron’s really building a body…” Steve begins.

“He’ll be more powerful than any of us,” you finish.

“Maybe even all of us. An android designed by a robot,” Tony marvels.

Steve sighs. “You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me.”

“Yeah, but there were a lot more racists and homophobes in those days,” you complain.

“And a lot less artificial intelligence trying to destroy the world.”

Tony shrugs. “I wouldn’t put it past my dad."

Fury walks over, pulling on his jacket. “I’ll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?”

Tony shrugs. “She’s all yours. Apparently. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Something dramatic, I hope.” A tiny smirk appears on the corner of Fury’s mouth before he walks away.

Natasha and Peter join you while Clint says goodbye to Laura. Once he’s done, he comes over as well.

“Let’s get going, nerds,” Natasha says, walking outside.