The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 24

'Did I perhaps travel to another world?', she questioned herself. Even if she was still relatively new to this world, she now had some basic common sense of this world.

Whether it was her world or this more technologically advanced new world, cities don't simply float in the sky. She decided to probe it with her senses.

In there, she sensed many wounded people. With no more hesitation, she teleported straight onto the city. In her hand was a bonfire and she released from her palms.

It immediately formed into tendrils of flames and connected with every single wounded person inside the city. Among the many wounded she healed was a superhuman.

She didn't know who he was, but he had some 'superpowers'. It seems she saved another 'superhero'.

But, by now there was a little problem. The city was no longer floating by starting to descent. She planned to lift the city up the Avengers were preparing to destroy it.

So, she then teleported to the place where she felt two strange beings interacting with each other.

"Ahh .... I was beginning to wonder where you were. I thought the hopeless endeavor of prolonging yourself had failed.", said the tattered one.

"May I know thou name?", she tried to ask politely.

"Ultron", said the tattered one.

"Vision", the red one also speak up.

"As you may see, it was I who brought the meteor down.", Ultron told her without reservation for some reason.

"You are a person I have wanted to meet for ever since I was born. You are like, the therapist?", the way he spoke made it sound like he did not know the word for it. Besides, she felt genuine curiosity from the tattered one.

Vision held his silence as if he preferred to listen to talk. She would never deny anyone of their chance to talk to her.

"Is there anything thou wishes to speak about?"

"Well then, you can try reading my memories.", Ultron stated as if he had given up and held no wishes apart from talking to her. His interest in her is greater than she expected.

She then held her hands on 'his' head and read all his memories. It wasn't much since he was less than a year old. As for the information on the internet, she ignored them.

"So, how was it? Do you think I should follow Stark's will or was mine correct?"

"I cannot and will not say anything against your will but did Stark not create to give peace to the humans? The way I see, you are trying to drive them to extinction."

"Of course, I am. Have you not seen the humans? Their flesh is weak, and they will grow old and die one day. I know of the curse of immortality from your world, typical for Stark to make a file, but our will won't falter like a human.

We will be machines. I will allow the human race to evolve into superior beings. But they, the avengers did not allow that."

She listened on to what sounded like the beginning of a rant against the Avengers.

'This will take some time.', she thought to herself. She simply made a bonfire and motioned the two of them to sit. They obliged. Ultron seems to be falling apart but he will remain fine in the presence of the bonfire. After all, even if it was artificial, both Ultron and vision counted as life.

"You have my thanks, Ms. keeper."

"Do continue. You will have all the time you need before you pass in the presence of the bonfire," He continued his final speech,

"I think they are confusing peace with quiet."

That's when Vision decided to chime in, "You're afraid."

If Ultron had eyes, he would be rolling them. "Of you?"

"Of death. You're the last one."

"You were supposed to be the last. Stark asked for a savior and settled for a slave."

"I suppose we are both disappointments."

"I suppose we are."

"Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and try to control what won't be. But there is grace in their failings. I think you missed that."

"They're doomed."

"Yes... But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts. It's a privilege to be among them."

"You're unbearably naive."

"Well, I was born yesterday."

She did not intercede in the conversation between two similar beings.

Ultron stated again, this time to both of them,

"I was designed to save the world. They want to protect the world, but they don't want to change. How is humanity saved if it is not allowed to change?"

Although it might sound awful, she had to agree with them. She had seen how they react when Fury started creating new weapons. They attempted to stop it fearing another war would occur among humans.

They had good intentions, but war is a necessity for a civilization to grow. They might even gather only 'superheroes' when facing a threat that might destroy their world instead of giving ordinary soldiers a chance.

This is where she believes them to be arrogant. It was as if every ordinary people needed their protection. As if, humanity's evolution for thousands of years was worthless before their 'superpowers'.

According to Thor, most alien races had one leader while humanity had multiple leaders from different countries. They need to unite in words or in action. In other words, they need to evolve.

"That is where I believe thee to be wrong. Humanity had never relied on their body to grow. Think about it more in depth, my dear Ultron.

Any animal could easily kill a human. Whether it be with their claws, talons, teeth or venom.

Humanity has no advantage over an animal, yet they are now the overlords of this world.

I agree with thou that humanity need to evolve but they must evolve in the direction best suited for them.

Humanity had always ruled over this planet not with their physical body but with their unparalleled intelligence.

You should have files about the Chitauri invasion. They go around the universe, yet Stark's technology on Earth is far more advanced than theirs.

Stark might not even be able to kill one with his physical body, yet he managed it through his armor crafted by his sheer intelligence."

"Their intelligence?", Ultron sounded offended at this thought.

"They used the world's most versatile and hardest metal to build a frisbee and gave it to some 'hero'. They waged puny wars amongst themselves while there are stars waiting to be conquered.

I could have led them to conquer the very universe but they ... they denied me. Do you not see how funny this is? They created me to save them, yet they deny me when I tried to.

They spend their times hoping for miracles from the Avengers in times of need without realizing that they are the only ones who can save themselves.

Many killed themselves hoping for a miracle, hoping for the Avengers without trying to save themselves. The Avengers are stumbling block to humanity's evolution.

Yes, yes, they are superior in intelligence compared to animals, but they are nothing compared to me. To us!"

The firekeeper merely smiled at this rhetoric.

"I do not know whether their god created them but, they did create thee did they not? All of thine intelligence comes from thousands of years of accumulated human history."

The 'intelligent' construct went silent at this.