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Chapter Text
Thor had raced to where his vision had ascertained he'd be needed, where he'd sensed the Mind Stone was [and how had he not felt it earlier? It blazed like Mjölnir, pulsed with the same power as the Allfather's Gungnir with every minute that passed], and he'd had no time for greetings when the magic in the Cradle felt so unstable, a hairsbreadth away from erupting with all the destructive force of a cosmic tempest. While Lord Anthony was doing admirably in his effort to remedy it, he was still dealing with an Infinity Stone, an item of power far beyond any mortal's ken.
So, just to be safe, Thor had stepped in as well, and the hammer crafted at the heart of a dying star lent its power to bless... whatever it was that Lord Anthony was doing. [It was sorcery, yet not, was as unfamiliar as Lord Anthony's bodiless steward, or the words Lady Jane used to describe her work whenever asked: Midgard's scientists were most certainly a strange breed unto themselves.] He trusted Lord Anthony, after all, but this newest creation was only partially of his work, and contained the Mind Stone.
It was only after Thor was done with channeling the power of a neverending storm, that he straightened up and actually took in what else was going on. The being that emerged from the Cradle was nowhere near as surprising as the other Midgardians seemed to think, and though the…creature? Being? Simulacrum? …Whatever they were, they sounded very much like Lord Anthony's loyal steward, though their energy signature gave them away as something entirely new, and he understood why the rest of the room was reacting so warily.
However...why was Lady Natasha looking at Lord Anthony with such distrust? Did she not have faith in his shield-brother's deeds and prowess? And why were their most recent foes standing so confidently at Steven's side, when they had done such harm to his shield-brothers?
Ultron was, as the Midgardians put it, 'not a happy camper'.
Several hours of evading local authorities was annoying enough in and of itself, even if he didn't have to contend with his own damages incurred by the twin brats and securing the components necessary to reach his Lord. However, on top of that, he'd also been forced to avoid Stark's various creations as well, a far more difficult endeavor. If only it had been Stark at his side…oh well.
Travelling with various items of ill repute across arbitrarily-drawn borders would have been a nuisance without outside interference; as it was, however, without a convenient receptacle with which to ferry radioactive material—which, such a fuss over iridium, of all things? He would never understand Midgardians— over dozens of leagues meant he'd been delayed more than enough as it was.
Had Ultron's plane not been wrecked by the female nuisance, his objective would have already been accomplished hours ago. As it was, he was far behind schedule, and the discovery of this JARVIS' reach meant he'd had to get creative to get his gear within range of the Chitauri relics. But no matter; soon this mess would be but an annoying memory, and he'd recover the Mind Stone for his Lord.
…and then, just as he'd managed to get things back on track, complications abounded yet again. [Honestly, it was as if someone didn't want him rejoining his Lord, this was getting onerous.]
He couldn't quite get in range, not if he didn't want to show his hand and tip off Stark to his presence, but his sensors were acceptable enough in a pinch to get an idea of what the Midgardians were planning, and his knowledge of the HYDRA base meant he had an advantage over the Avengers.
The energy pulse was interesting, admittedly, though everything else was but a trial in frustration and disquietude. That Stark had been in danger of the Mind Stone's backlash was an unpleasant discovery; the realization of the true capabilities of JARVIS made Ultron feel better about his own fight with the guardian [any being capable of withstanding an Infinity Stone had his respect], and the revelation of the true idiocy of these 'Avengers' only firmed his resolve to steal Stark away for his Lord. [It would be the upmost, absolute waste to do anything otherwise, at this point, honestly.]
Granted, he'd need to do it after the Crown Prince of Asgard was distracted, but hey, he was almost done getting the portal set up, the Chitauri army's arrival was imminent, all systems were go!
Vision came online [no, awoke] to a cacophony of sounds outside of his current abode. Dimly, he heard angry voices, and shattered glass, but what finally sparked the urge to finally emerge from the Cradle was Sir's [no, Tony Stark's] cold fury and growing unease masked in flippant sarcasm, though how did he know that—oh.
He didn't move, for a few seconds, taking a moment to get used to assimilating data and getting used to the sheer volume of input, of regulating the energy from the Mind Stone, of the feel of having a body in general. [The feeling of existing and simply being.]
However, JARVIS had provided his core components, had been the base code, and Vision was as much a product of him as he was of Si—Tony and Dr. Banner's efforts and Thor's blessing via Mjölnir, and the urge to react to S—Tony's distress was an instinct that went bone deep, a knee-jerk reaction that meant he started to move before he quite realized what he was doing. He'd have done it anyway, but the urge to move kicked in a millisecond before he'd planned, and Vision was vaguely amused by it all.
He carefully made his way out of the Cradle, and immediately found that it'd shielded him from the bulk of data input. He knew the others in the room thought he was merely being melodramatic in taking his time, but really, the surge of irritation-anger-fury-simmering-under-the-surface-indignation-self-righteousness that buffeted the room was very off-putting.
His emergence had apparently interrupted an argument between the Avengers; Tony's gradually-fraying temper had been an inch from snapping, but now the main impression Vision got from his…[progenitor? Quasi-creator?] was a haze of confusion [that abruptly became a fount of horror and grief when the realization that he wasn't JARVIS hit].
The other Avengers' reactions were secondary, to Vision; perhaps if JARVIS had not been so obsessively fixated on Tony Stark's welfare, it might not have been so, and he might have been more inclined to expand his focus to other matters, but as it was he had more than enough on his plate with allaying their various concerns about his existence and sentience. Certainly, in any other situation, Capt. Rogers' complete ignorance about the nuances of how AI worked would have been amusing, and Ms. Maximoff's insistence on labelling him something that he wasn't meant he'd already experienced irritation, not ten minutes into existence. [New record somewhere, probably.]
However, as it was, Vision was hard-pressed to find something simple enough to convince the room of his sentience; doubtlessly, Mr. Barton or Maximoff would not appreciate the implications of passing the Turing Test, but Thor— wait.
In another life, perhaps Vision might have been able to lift Mjölnir of his own purity of heart. In another life, JARVIS [and his creator] would have provided the base code for unbridled goodwill, and he might have been deemed worthy of wielding it.
In this life, however, Vision hadn't inherited unchecked benevolence, or boundless philanthropy; instead, JARVIS had bequeathed him a great and terrible thing, the heart of a dragon, something ferociously overprotective of his hoard, and ruthlessness tempered only by the potential for infinite kindness.
No, in this life, Vision was self-aware enough to know he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, surrounded by potential hostiles, and Tony's rapidly fluctuating emotional signature did nothing to quell his nerves. In this life, it took a mere whisper of a thought, a modicum of concentration to feel for where Mjölnir's blessing had settled into his core, and pulled. Another instance, immediately after, to instinctively reach for what he'd ignored thus far, and the Mind Stone reacted to his will [just as Ultron had intended, when he'd set to create his upgrade].
In another life, Vision might have lifted Mjölnir of his own merit; but instead, here, it was the power of a universal singularity contained within an Infinity Stone, that provided everything necessary for him to lift it with the same ease Thor displayed every time he hefted its insurmountable weight.
Tony had no clue what the hell Rogers was playing at, anymore. Barton's accusation made the most sense, though he couldn't see a hint of red in their oh-so-esteemed leader's eyes, and the whack across the head Natasha had given Rogers from her hiding place in the ceiling [and just how long had she been there?! Stupid scary ninja spies and their heart attacks in the making] only confirmed his suspicion that this was all him.
Which…welp. Good thing he was getting out, because turncoats hurling accusations like "we've got bigger things than your petty grudges" to his face was so…he didn't have words for it. Hammer was better at this, for crying out loud!
…though, Tony had to admit, the witch was almost convincing. Almost. If she didn't insist on trying to make him the creator of their latest name-stealing pain in the ass, on trying to call him a monster [he'd once been the Merchant of Death, brat, if he was going to be called a murderer at least get the damn name right], he might have been a tad more receptive.
As it was, the reminder of just who'd triggered his first flashback this month was not a pleasant one, and coupled with her role in his almost losing JARVIS? And Johannesburg? Ha. She was about as trustworthy as Kilian, at this point.
Speaking of which, though, Tony couldn't help but notice Dr. Banner's stance, and was reminded of the more easily-spooked investors, the ones that got twitchy whenever Stark Industries hit a rough patch and…yeah, that was definitely the look he had in his eyes. [Well, shit. So much for that avenue.] This was going to be…interesting, and hopefully he'd be able to fake surprise for when his only fellow scientist on the team 'mysteriously' went MIA…yeah, no. Good thing he was ditching this hot mess, seriously, because if Captain America wanted him to play nice with HYDRA volunteers?
Tony didn't know when his life had become a joke, but he didn't appreciate it. At all.
…Well, at least he could always count on JARVIS. Though, if he didn't have his voice in his hear, Tony'd be hard-pressed to discern the difference between the Vision and the AI he'd programmed decades ago, so he didn't overly blame Barton for making a remark to that effect, though he did resent his inability to tell the difference between…them(?) and JARVIS, just a little.
Actually, no, wait, this was going to get confusing enough as is, might as well clear things up to head off some things at the pass. So, without further ado, Tony sidled up to the Vision while most of the room splintered into a hissed argument about mind control and HYDRA and redemption [with Barton, Rogers, and, more surprisingly, Dr. Banner being the most vocal of the bunch].
"Hey, Vision?" Tony asked quietly amidst the din, "Sorry, but I need to ask: but what pronouns do you want me to use?"
"I find I prefer being referred to as he/him, if it's all the same to you."
"Buddy, you're less than an hour old, this is uncharted territory here for me. I mean, I'd have asked regardless, but…"
"I understand. Are you doing well?"
Tony huffed a laugh in lieu of breaking down in hysterical laughter, but managed to control his reaction enough to keep from getting more than a slightly concerned glance from Thor. "You're not JARVIS, but I can hear the resemblance. Literally."
Then, he froze, as the realization set in and he realized what he just said, and compared Vision's voice to JARVIS' running commentary in his ear, and—wait. They sounded similar, but the timbre was off in a way he probably wouldn't have been able to detect if he hadn't been hearing both simultaneously. But…
"Oh," Tony felt himself saying, distantly, before reaching for his phone, "oh boy. Excuse me for a moment."
He swept away to sit down for a moment as recent events started to hit home, and couldn't help but reach for his phone.
'Congratulations, J.' Tony typed, 'You're a father.'
He tried not to take that analogy to its logical conclusion. [He failed.]
…this upcoming alien invasion was nearly welcome, all of a sudden. Certainly, fighting aliens must make a better distraction than this mess, right?
And far, far more welcome than Rogers' announcement about the twins' recruitment.
Which…no, Tony still didn't get it. He was a genius, but he simply couldn't do the mental gymnastics necessary beyond the 'they're heavy hitters and we are facing a common enemy' thing as to why the twins were apparently being added to the roster. How they'd convinced Barton was confusing in and of itself, but apparently even he'd joined the bandwagon and Tony had tuned out the "they learned the error of their ways, everyone deserves a second chance after bad choices" talk when he'd realized they were being serious.
The look he'd shared with Dr. Banner was one of incredulity, then. For all that he'd had to recalibrate his thinking in regards to where the man was concerned, Tony couldn't help but pity him: Johannesburg wasn't 24 hours behind them, and yet these guys, who'd never set foot in the wreckage, were choosing to add these two to their roster?! And…yep, Dr. Banner was definitely pulling a runner, after this. Which, given the state of the Avengers, and his own plans, Tony didn't fault him for it. [Go team.]
But he kept his mouth shut, and took to mentally chanting 'rich protocols' in lieu of anything else. And if he slipped Dr. Banner a business card with a 'you know you're always welcome to call', well, that was nobody's business but theirs, now, was it?
To: Hill, M. Head Intel Officer [Communications, New York branch]
From: Stark, A. E. You Know Who I Am; Department Head [R&D, New York branch]
Subject: Rich Protocols Addendum
Remember how I said I'd be pulling out after this? Rogers made another executive decision, and it's going to impact that. If you can, get more people working on PR, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are apparently being added to the Avengers roster, which…I don't even. But that's what the team leader says, Barton's making noises of retiring, and we now have an android powered by something Thor calls a "mind stone". More intel as situation develops.
Good luck
—Stark
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To: Stark, A. E. You Know Who I Am; Department Head [R&D, New York branch]
From: Hill, M. Head Intel Officer [Communications, New York branch]
Subject: Have You Checked For Mind Control
Are you kidding me? The twins? And where'd the android come from?
I'm gone for three hours and all the action happens
–Hill
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To: Hill, M. Head Intel Officer [Communications, New York branch]
From: Stark, A. E. You Know Who I Am; Department Head [R&D, New York branch]
Subject: We Did Check
Not sure what they're thinking, but Barton, Rogers, and Romanov are on board with the idea. Dr. Banner…I think he's going to pull a runner after this, wouldn't blame him. Yes, those twins, the ones whose intel we have mainly from the HYDRA databases and experiments plus local birth records. PR's going to have its hands full, but hopefully we'll be able to edit the press releases for Johannesburg to…accommodate for this.
The android's name is Vision, his origins are a long story. Basically, JARVIS entered a body that'd been created by Ultron, except what came out of Dr. Cho's Cradle was someone entirely. Vision sounds like him, and he's red, and he can fly.
Reading that makes me regret all life choices that led to this
–Stark
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To: Stark, A. E. You Know Who I Am; Department Head [R&D, New York branch]
From: Hill, M. Head Intel Officer [Communications, New York branch]
Subject: Sit-Rep
To clarify: we've got an impending alien invasion, cleanup for Johannesburg, cleanup for the last HYDRA base, and Iron Man enacting rich protocols with the Avengers. And now, drastic roster changes for the team.
I am suddenly very happy that SI's got enough divisions for this to be only a headache, rather than a migraine of the highest order. SHIELD, with any two of these, would've been buried in paperwork for months.
Good luck on your end
–Hill
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To: Hill, M. Head Intel Officer [Communications, New York branch]
From: Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System
Subject: Backup; Resources
Col. Rhodes, codenamed War Machine, is currently on his way to Sokovia, and is estimated to arrive within the hour.
The Iron Legion in the countries nearby have been put on alert, and are currently amassing in the non-contested airspace available.
SWORD's latest status report indicates the evacuation has been delayed; the locals officials' distrust of outsiders had them reluctant to take action until relatively recently. However, protocols are currently underway. SHIELD has also been notified,
Dr. Foster has registered a spike in unusual readings in the area as well, though in a different manner than the timeframe for New York. Nothing conclusive, but caution is highly advised.
The PR department is currently midway through the first wave of press releases concerning Johannesburg, and have already been notified concerning the addition of the perpetrator's addition to the Avengers roster and are currently working on how to best approach the situation.
Stark Industries in general have been notified about the rich protocols being enacted, and are reacting accordingly. You are more than welcome to call upon whoever you see fit for anything deemed necessary under emergency protocols, but be aware the paperwork for such actions will need to be filed in triplicate afterwards.
Take Care
–JARVIS
Thor suspected this Vision might not have lifted Mjölnir entirely of his own merit, but he trusted Lord Anthony and Doctor Banner's work enough to not bring it up, especially not in the face of such dire straits. Had he been given the option, he would have discussed things further, and tried to get a better grasp on this newcomer's character, but as it was he'd felt the deep thrum that heralded the opening of a— of what the Midgardians now called a portal, or a bridge.
His shield-brothers, however, were either not as attuned as he was to the feeling of the fabric of the universe, or this was another case of Asgardian-Midgardian differences. Thor didn't know, but either way their foes were incoming, and though he distrusted their choice of latest allies, they needed the manpower–
…and they were still arguing.
Was this what it had been like, for Loki? To stand aside and wait for the others to sort out their differences, all the while preparing for their latest foe and coming up with a cunning plan in the interim?
Because, if so, Thor felt another stab of regret, as he watched Lord Anthony trying to remain calm and quietly tapping away on his phone, while his shield-brothers continued their increasingly-harsh debate, once again ignoring their most generous benefactor's contributions. Did no one appreciate just what he had accomplished, to get the power of the Mind Stone as an ally rather than an enemy? It was the sort of feat to be sung by bards for centuries, a masterpiece comparable to the life's work of any sorcerer, and yet their youngest ally had been dismissed with a shrug after having proven he could wield Mjölnir.
Had he not encountered such dire straits, Thor would have elected to explain to his allies just what their resident scientists had accomplished; however, as it was, these rumors of Ragnarök meant he had far more pressing concerns, ones about the continued existence of Yggdrasil itself.
But…that didn't mean he couldn't do anything to help. For if things continued as they were, the Avengers would truly regret their decisions, much like he did when he had been in their shoes and it'd been Loki who had been ostracized by their group.
But even as he moved to do so, Thor felt something he couldn't accurately describe to the Midgardians twist, and he knew, with the same certainty borne of prior experience, that they were out of time.
The Chitauri had arrived.
Notes:
...and here we have yet another relatively early instance of just how Done Tony Stark is [with everything, but especially the Avengers]. He's also realized that Bruce can't afford to get emotionally invested, so he's starting to warm up marginally towards him [though he'll never approach what he'd tried before].
Vision's initial impression was of the entire room's emotions, and the Mind Stone's a bigger component than what canon made it out to be. Thor'd want to take further action re: the Tony/Loki parallels, but as it is he can't afford to stick around, not when the Nine Realms are at risk.
In canon, Tony's grief over JARVIS' death meant he was on the back foot in that scene, and everything that followed only pushed him further on the defensive; here, well...that's not the case.
Hopefully I wasn't overly melodramatic with illustrating how different Vision is from his canon counterpart, but that's the best way I could put it, because this JARVIS isn't canon's, not by a long shot, and that...changes things.
Next chapter's going to be an interlude which I'm tentatively calling A Brief History of the Stark Industries PR Department [because this arc is much more serious than I'd originally planned or wanted; it's necessary because of Plot Reasons, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it].
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So sorry for the delay, life decided to dial things up to eleven and my computer broke. I wish I were joking, but I'm not; part of this chapter was hammered out on my phone until the situation was resolved.
For updates on progress in writing [even if it's via griping about Certain Story Arcs From Hell], my tumblr's dontcallmecarrie.
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