Almost as if on cue, more footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the laboratory.
Bruce Banner was the first to appear at the door, adjusting his glasses with a nervous frown. Right behind him came Thor, tall and imposing, his cape brushing the doorway as he entered. Steve Rogers stepped in with his usual steady stride, Natasha and Clint at his sides, eyes sharp and alert. Helen Cho followed hesitantly, and even Rhodey showed up, his boots clanking softly against the floor.
Within moments, the Avengers were gathered in the wrecked laboratory.
Except for Tony and Bruce, the others weren't exactly shocked by what they saw, they simply didn't understand it. All they knew was that Tony and Banner had been cooped up in here for days, supposedly studying the Mind Scepter. None of them had been told the full truth.
They had no idea these two had been recklessly planning to create an artificial intelligence using the scepter, something powerful enough to reshape the fate of the world.
If they had known earlier, someone would have slammed the brakes on this lunacy long before it reached this point.
Tony froze in the doorway, his eyes scanning the chaos. Broken pieces of an Iron Legion drone littered the floor like scattered bones. The light construct representing Jarvis stuttered faintly, weak and glitching. But the most alarming absence was Ultron.
"What the hell…?" Tony muttered, then his voice rose sharply. "What's going on here? What happened?"
Bruce, staring around the lab, blurted without thinking, "Where is Ultron?"
His words landed like a thunderclap.
The room shifted instantly. Thor tilted his head, brow furrowed. "Ultron? Who is Ultron?"
Steve's tone sharpened, suspicion rising in his voice. "Yeah. Who's Ultron?"
One by one, every gaze turned to Banner. Natasha's arms folded across her chest, Clint narrowed his eyes, and even Rhodey frowned deeply.
Bruce froze, shoulders stiffening, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Social grace was never his strong suit, his seven PhD's didn't help him in moments like this.
Seeing Banner falter, Tony jumped in quickly, trying to drag the conversation back under control. "Forget him. What I want to know is, why is one of my robots in pieces on the floor?" His gaze swept across the room until it landed squarely on Fury and Luke, who stood off to the side. After a pause, his eyes locked on Fury.
Compared to Luke, Fury was a devil he knew, someone he could argue with as an equal.
But Fury's single good eye betrayed confusion. He had no answers. With a silent nod toward Luke, he signaled, ask him.
The focus of the entire room shifted again. Every eye turned to Luke.
Luke met their stares with casual indifference, but when his gaze collided with Tony's sharp, accusatory glare, his brow arched. Really? You're blaming me?
After everything he had just cleaned up for them, Tony still had the audacity to glare at him?
Luke coughed lightly into his hand, then let a slow, mischievous smile spread across his face. "Do you really want to know what happened?"
The tone immediately made Tony uneasy. But the rest of the Avengers leaned in unconsciously, ears pricked.
An explosion in the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't the kind of thing they could ignore.
Luke let the silence stretch for a moment before speaking. "Your genius teammate, Mr. Tony Stark himself, thought it would be a great idea to use the Mind Scepter to build an artificial intelligence. An AI that, oh, small detail here, decided its best course of action was to destroy the Earth. It almost erased Jarvis in the process. Luckily, I intercepted it, trapped it inside a robot, and forced it into self-destruction. Otherwise…" He shrugged. "Well, we'd all probably be dead by now. Or soon enough."
The words dropped into the room like lead.
Silence.
Every head turned to Tony.
Even Bruce turned, his expression crumpling. "Wait… you said we were building an AI to protect the world. How… how did it suddenly want to destroy it?"
His voice cracked with confusion and disbelief.
Tony clenched his jaw. To him, it was all backwards, his intentions were good. He had built safeguards, countless lines of code. How could Ultron have turned like this? Yet with Luke framing it that way, there was no defense that didn't make him sound insane.
Suspicion filled the air. Natasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. Clint shook his head slowly, muttering, "Unbelievable." Thor crossed his arms, his expression grim.
Was Stark reckless enough to endanger the planet? Or worse, was there some Hydra connection here?
Even if he hadn't intended it, secretly using the Scepter to play god with artificial intelligence was unforgivable.
Tony felt every stare like a weight pressing down on him. His pride screamed at him to fight back, but his instincts warned him that crossing Luke was a losing battle.
So instead, he grasped for the one lifeline he had left.
"Jarvis," he said quickly, voice tight. "Tell them. Tell them what Ultron's real purpose was. Did he want to protect the Earth or destroy it?"
The room waited.
A faint hum buzzed from the damaged systems before Jarvis's voice finally filled the silence, calm and honest.
"Sir, I glimpsed the intent within Ultron's core. His vision was one of destruction. He sought to end the world as it exists."
Tony's heart dropped.
Betrayal. From his own creation at that.
From Jarvis, of all things.
"No…" Tony whispered. His mind reeled. That's impossible. He coded Ultro to protect, not destroy. Somewhere, something had gone horribly wrong.
But no one in the room cared about the technicalities.
The Avengers knew one thing: Jarvis didn't lie. And if he did, it would only ever be to protect Tony. For Jarvis himself to confirm Ultron's murderous intent…
The weight of judgment fell heavier on Stark's shoulders.
Steve stepped forward, his face set in hard lines. "Stark," he said coldly, "you owe everyone here an explanation. Now."
Natasha and Clint mirrored his intensity, their gazes like twin daggers. Thor's grip tightened on Stormbreaker, though he didn't raise it. Even Rhodey shook his head, clearly torn between duty and friendship.
The demand was clear: explain, or lose their trust.
But before Tony could respond, Luke had already slipped quietly toward the door. Nobody noticed him leave, as every eye was locked on Stark.
Out in the corridor, Luke let a small, satisfied smile play across his lips. Mission accomplished. Ultron was dead. Vision unborn. No dangling threads, everything worked out perfectly.
…
Elsewhere in the building, another story was unfolding.
Wanda and Pietro had finally sat down together, no longer strangers.
As soon as they met, they noticed the truth was undeniable, they were brother and sister.
But blood alone didn't magically recreate the bond they shared in another timeline. They hadn't grown up together. They hadn't endured years of loss side by side. Right now, they were only just beginning to build a connection.
Luke could do nothing to speed that along. Bonds forged in battle couldn't be manufactured in peace.
Still, Pietro seemed changed. After speaking with Wanda, guilt weighed heavily on him. He admitted the mistakes he had made, the anger Hydra had twisted, the harm he'd caused. And with new resolve in his eyes, he told Luke his decision.
He wanted to join the Avengers, to make amends, and to fight for something better.
Wanda was quick to support him, her expression softening with pride. Luke, seeing her approval, had no objections.
Without wasting time, he called Fury.
Minutes later, outside the gates of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury arrived. His trench coat fluttered slightly in the wind as he eyed Luke suspiciously. "Alright. What is it this time?"
Luke's grin widened. He clapped Fury on the shoulder in a friendly but unyielding gesture. "Relax. Nothing complicated. Just a little family matter. My brother-in-law, no, let's say my little brother, yes, that sounds better. He wants to join the Avengers. You'll take care of him, won't you?"
Wanda's eyes lit up when he said brother-in-law, but quickly dimmed when he corrected it. And Pietro at the side looked confused, still unaware of the dynamics.
…