Infinity

Chapter 23 A Vision

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve asks.

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that." Thor says pointing at the mind stone.

I look up, "Of course, but only if it's in the wrong hands."

Steve steps forward, "But why take the chance?"

"Because Stark is right."

"Oh it's definitely the end times." Bruce says, stepping forward.

Thor glares at him, "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone." The Red man says.

"Why does your 'vision' sound like Jarvis?" Steve asks.

Tony looks at the Vision, "We... We reconfigured Jarvis' matrix to configure something new."

Steve shakes his head, "I've had my fill of new."

"You think I'm a child of Ultron?" The red man asks.

Wanda steps forward, "I looked into your mind, and I saw annihilation."

"Look again." He challenges.

"Her seal of approval means jack to me." Clint says.

"Then take mine." I say.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself... all derived from the mind stone-"

"That's nothing." I say, "Infinity Stones are the most powerful weapons in the nine realms, in any of the worlds known."

Thor nods, "And with it on our side- Ultron doesn't have a chance."

"Is it?" Steve asks, "Are you? On our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple." The red man says.

"Well, it better get real simple real soon." Clint says, leaning in the door.

"I am on the side of life." The red man says, treading carefully across the thin line they've given him, "Ultron isn't, he will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asks.

"You."

"Where?"

Clint steps into the circle, "Sokovia, he's got Nat there too."

"If we're wrong about you... if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be..." Bruce starts.

"What will you do?" The red man asks stepping forward, challenging us for an answer, "I don't want to kill Ultron. He is unique, and he's in pain."

"He's not the only one." I mutter, holding my abdomen.

The red man looks at me again, hesitating before looking away, "But his pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the ne, 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 holds Mjolnir out to Thor.

Everyone is silent before Thor carefully takes the hammer, "Right." He pats Tony's shoulder, "Well done."

"Alright, three minutes, get what you need." Steve says.

Everyone disperses, leaving me and the red man alone.

"You are not what I expected." He says.

"It's been a long week."

"You've changed."

"I have." I say, stiffly moving toward one of the nearby tables.

He doesn't offer help. He just watches, clinging to my every move, checking for any and all changes.

"What should I call you?" I ask.

He looks down at the floor, thinking. Thinking hard. While he contemplates, I hoist myself onto the table. I whisk my armor away and peel back the black fabric of my shirt to look at my side. The scar from my first incident appears white against the almost black bruising. Purple, blue, yellow, green, red, brown, black. No wonder I can barely walk on my own.

I take a deep breath. This is ugly. My hand hovers over my side, I can feel the blood pulse from both my side and my hand, "Deze achtergrond snel worden gesleept, zal de pijn later komen." A soft glow comes from my hand, I can feel my ribs set in place, the bruise slowly fades away.

"I want to be called as they've been calling me." He says, looking up.

"A Vision?"

"The Vision." He says.

"The Vision it is." I say, "Now come here, make sure I didn't just kill myself with magic."

He gives me a curious look before stepping towards me and offering a hand. I take it and slide off the table and onto my own two feet.

"You were never any good at magic, that's why you became a warrior." The Vision says.

"How do you know that?" I ask, pulling my hand back quickly.

"I am the mind stone..." He says quietly, "At least, I believe that I am."

"You've seen my memories?" I ask. I can't help but feel violated by the notion.

"I have."

"Then you are derived from me?" I ask, "If you are the mind stone... And it was connected to me..."

"I did not think of it that way." He says.

I let out a light laugh, "Perhaps you are the better side of me and Ultron is the darker side."

"Perhaps."

>>><<<

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll e riding in to heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

>>>><<<<

A short chapter. Sorry. I'll make it up with the next one.

How exciting.