~~~Tony's pov~~~
"I'll take Natasha, Clint, Loki, and Catherine. We'll need strength in numbers." Steve said as we got ready to head out of the Barton farm and face Ultron.
"I think Catherine should stay with me. Just in case something happens." There was more to it than just that. If the Maximoff girl was there, she could mess with her mind again. I don't know if she could handle that a second time.
"Stark, she'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."
I sighed reluctantly, not believing that I was about to entrust my daughter with Mr. 'Star Spangled Man With A Plan'. "All right. Strictly recon. I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you guys as soon as I can."
"If Ultron is really building a body, he'll be more powerful than any of us." He commented as he lifted his shield, inspecting it after the fight in the salvage yard.
Okay, we have Johnny Raincloud in the house.
"Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot." I contributed to the pessimism.
"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me."
Don't we all?
"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" Fury walked past us in the hallway, putting on his classic black trench coat.
"She's all yours. Apparently." I rolled my eyes, still upset that Hill had been secretly working with Fury for the past few years. "What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope."
Yeah, please don't.
~~~Catherine's pov~~~
We had made a plan.
It was underdeveloped, sloppy, and relied on mostly sheer luck, but it was still a plan.
Clint and Natasha were going to drop Steve, Loki, and me at the research center in Seoul where we suspected Ultron and the twins were, and we had to attempt to destroy whatever body the AI was trying to build.
Like I said before, sloppy.
I rolled my eyes as I boarded the quinjet, going over the plan in my head when Dad pulled me aside to talk.
"You're sure you want to go with them? You can always go to Oslo with me. And the Maximoffs won't be there." He asked me, eyes filled with worry.
I sighed sadly. As much as I wanted to play it safe, away from the mind-controlling witch, I knew that was where I would be needed the most.
Also, Loki.
I'm not sure why I feel this need to be with him, I just do. It's like I'm magnetically drawn to him, and that's something I really need to look into, because I have quite literally never felt like this before.
"We don't know what we'll be walking into in Seoul. They're going to need my help. I'll be okay." I assured him, even though I wasn't overly confident in that statement. "We'll meet at the tower once we've taken care of Ultron."
He nodded and hugged me tightly. "Be careful."
"Always." I smiled before getting into the quinjet.
Let's hope that was a promise I could keep.
~~~Steve's pov~~~
Three hours and an incredibly awkward plane ride later, Clint and Nat dropped us off near the research center, but once we got there, we found a bloodbath.
There were scientists thrown left and right, and there was blood everywhere.
"What happened here?" I heard Catherine ask in a small voice from behind Loki and me.
"If I had to hazard I guess, I would say a witch, her brother, and a homicidal AI robot." The god answered, looking around cautiously.
That's when I saw one of the supposed dead bodies move in the back of the room. As I walked closer, I identified them.
"Dr. Cho!"
I ran over to her while Loki and Catherine checked to see if there were any other survivors.
~~~Catherine's pov~~~
I tried to check the scientists' pulses, but there weren't any to check.
I turned to Loki, and he shook his head. He couldn't find any survivors either.
They were all dead.
I shuddered. This is exactly what I was afraid of. More people dying because we couldn't handle a situation.
Steve walked over to us, a grim expression on his face. "Dr. Cho's alive, but she'll need medical support. Barton already called it in. Ultron took the cradle. And with that, the gem that was inside the scepter."
"It's not a gem," Loki interjected. "It's the mind stone. One of the six Infinity Stones. It has enough power to level the whole city."
I'm sorry, what?!
I turned to him quickly. "Are you serious?"
My question went unanswered as Steve put his hand to his radio where Nat and Clint were listening in. "Did you guys get that?"
I didn't hear the response, because I didn't have my comms on, but I assumed it was important as Steve rushed us out of there.
As we quickly exited the building, I looked over at Loki again, repeating my question. "Back there, about the Mind Stone, you were kidding, right? I mean, it can't possibly hold enough power to destroy all of Seoul." My voice came out more worried than I would have liked.
He shook his head solemnly. "But it won't come to that. We'll take care of it in time, before anything can set it off."
Not. Comforting.
"Alright, I can see a truck from the lab crossing that overpass. Ultron's in it with the cradle and three other bots. Catherine, can you teleport us to it?" Steve looked at me as we ran.
I nodded and grabbed both Loki and Steve's hands before teleporting us to the top of the truck, which depleted a lot of my energy.
"We need to draw out Ultron," Steve said loudly in order to be heard over the rushing wind as we stabilized ourselves atop the quickly moving transport truck.
As it turns out, we didn't have to. Seconds later, the evil AI in question shot his laser out of the back of the truck, making the vehicle shake violently.
"Yeah, I don't think that'll be a problem," I muttered, using my magic to make sure none of us fell off the top of the truck.
But the truck swerved unexpectedly and Steve fell off the roof of the truck and onto the windshield of the car behind us, thankfully not injured.
I sighed. There was nothing I could do for him. He was just going to have to sit this one out, I guess.
A loud clanging sound turned my attention to Ultron, who was now on top of the truck with me and Loki.
"This should be fun," I said quietly, getting my magic ready.
"Keep your guard up. Don't worry about me. Just protect yourself." I heard Loki's voice in my head.
Yeah, you read that right. I heard his voice in my head.
I had used telepathy before, but it was beyond freaky to hear someone else's voice in my head.
Shaking it off, I looked to him and gave a small nod, noting that he had also gotten his magic ready, along with a pair of daggers.
Man, I want one!
"You know what's in that cradle?" The robot asked, shooting at us, pulling from my admiring gaze.
I hastily put up a shield, so no serious harm was done, but if it hadn't been there, we'd be as good as dead.
"The power to make real change. And that terrifies you." He continued, his voice sounding more human by the second.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "I wouldn't exactly call it a comfort." I retorted, throwing balls of energy at him.
The black energy surprised me. I had never used my magic this way before. Black mist was usually the route I took, but this was pretty damn effective.
Ultron took the hits and stumbled back, shocked by my display of power.
I'll admit. That felt good.
But my victory was short-lived, however, as he blasted me and Loki back, making us almost hit the road behind us.
Loki got up first, leaving me to hold onto the windshield for dear life. He extended his hand and pulled me up.
"Thanks." I smiled, out of breath.
"Anytime." He smiled at me before turning back to Ultron.
That's when the blessed sound of the quinjet's engines graced my ears and the aircraft passed overhead.
We had backup! Thank God...
The two former assassins used the jet's turret to shoot at the van, drawing out the three guard bots that Steve had mentioned before.
And soon, there was only one bot left.
Ultron, who was still recovering from the hits I had delivered a minute prior.
We had to get him off this truck so that we could get to the cradle. But how?
"Get the cradle to Barton and Romanoff. I'll distract him." Loki's voice spoke in my head again, making my heart race.
What? No!
Before I could stop him, he used his green magic and threw Ultron into a passing train, following him shortly after, to continue the fight.
I was all alone. All alone with a gem that could potentially destroy an entire city.
No pressure.
I took a deep breath and jumped down into the open back of the truck to see the target, clear as day, glowing in the middle of the truck.
As I was about to teleport the cradle out, the truck lifted into the air, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground.
What the hell?! Come on! I was so close!
"Okay, the package is airborne. I have a clean shot." I heard Clint over the radio.
No!
"No, you don't! I'm still in the truck, Barton!" I called through my earpiece, panicked.
I am not dying today. Especially not by Vent Spy shooting me down.
"What the hell are you still doing in there?" I heard Natasha ask, like I chose to be stuck in the back of a levitating death truck.
I groaned. "Just be ready. I'm sending the package to you," I said into my earpiece before teleporting myself and the cradle into the back of the quinjet.
I'll admit. That was easier than I thought.
I mean, I didn't run into the Maximoffs once!
"Package delivered." I smiled at the former Shield agents and stood by the cradle in the back of the jet, where the cargo door was still open.
Natasha looked like she was about to say something when I felt someone grab me from behind and pull me out of the quinjet.
"Catherine!" I heard Clint call after me as I fell through the clouds.
Seconds later, I blacked out.
~~~Steve's pov~~~
"Cap, can you see Catherine?" I heard Barton over the comms.
"No. But if you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" I yelled, trying to deal with the runaway train situation that Ultron had caused.
"Do you have eyes on Catherine?!" Natasha asked this time.
"Go!" I repeated.
What happened to Catherine?
I shook it off. The train's passengers are the priority.
I turned to the Maximoffs, who were apparently on our side now. "Civilians in our path," I said to the fast one, and he sped out of the train to move the possible casualties.
"Can you stop this thing?" I asked Wanda desperately.
She nodded and used her red magic to slow the brakes on the train, but she wasn't fast enough.
The train crashed through several brick walls before coming to a halt.
That was exhausting.
Now that I had a second to breathe, I needed to find out what happened to Catherine.
"Barton, what's the situation? Did Catherine get the cradle?" I asked, my breathing uneven.
"She's gone. Ultron got her."
Dear Lord, Stark is going to murder me...
I shook my head. "We'll figure something out. For now, just get the cradle to Stark. I'll tell him."
~~~Loki's pov~~~
"What's going on?" I asked the soldier once the train had stopped and I had a moment to actually process what had happened.
"Ultron took Catherine. She's gone."
My blood boiled at his answer, though I'm not sure why.
I just knew I was going to get her back. He wasn't going to get away with this.