[Avengers Tower. The Laboratory.]
"I'm going to say this once," Captain America stood in the doorway, the Twins flanking him. "Shut it down."
"Nope," Tony didn't look up from the console. "Not gonna happen."
"You don't know what you're doing," Steve stepped forward. "You're just creating another monster."
"And you're creating an argument," Tony snapped. "We're out of time. Banner, initiate the upload."
"I... I don't know," Bruce hesitated, looking between Tony and Steve.
WHOOSH.
Pietro Maximoff blurred into motion. He zipped across the room to rip the cables from the Cradle.
CRACK.
Before Pietro could touch the machine, the floor panels beneath him exploded. Hawkeye had fired a trick arrow from the gantry above.
"Pietro!" Wanda shouted.
She raised her hands, red energy flaring. She aimed to blast the console.
Bruce Banner grabbed a Stark-tech stun gun. "Go away!"
Steve Rogers had seen enough. He threw his shield.
It was a perfect throw. It was aimed directly at the power coupling of the Cradle. It would have severed the connection instantly.
CLANG.
The shield stopped in mid-air.
It didn't hit the machine. It hit a gloved hand.
Sebastian Michaelis stood in front of the Cradle. He had caught the Vibranium shield by the rim. The kinetic energy of the throw—enough to slice through a tank—dissipated into his arm. He didn't even slide backward.
"I believe this belongs to you, Captain," Sebastian said, his voice dangerously low.
He spun the shield on his finger like a basketball before tossing it onto a workbench with a dismissive clatter.
Steve stared at him. "Move, Sebastian."
"No," Sebastian's eyes glowed fuchsia. Shadows began to bleed from his coat, darkening the brightly lit lab. "My Master is working. You are interrupting."
Wanda stepped forward, her hands glowing. "He is controlling you. Just like the robot."
"He controls nothing!" Sebastian hissed, his face contorting into something sharper, more feral. "I serve of my own free will. Unlike you, little puppet."
The tension in the room snapped. Steve charged. Sebastian prepared to meet him.
KRA-KOOM.
Thunder shook the tower.
Sebastian stopped. He tilted his head. He felt the static charge in the air. A massive surge of ozone and divine power.
He looked at the glass ceiling.
The God of Thunder, Sebastian realized. He brings the spark.
Sebastian smiled.
"On second thought," Sebastian stepped aside, gesturing grandly to the Cradle. "Let there be light."
"What?" Steve blinked, confused by the sudden surrender.
CRASH.
Thor Odinson smashed through the skylight. He landed on the Cradle, Mjolnir raised high.
"WAIT!" Bruce screamed.
Thor didn't wait. He channeled a massive bolt of lightning directly into the matrix.
ZZZZZRT.
The machine screamed. The power levels spiked to 300%. The Vibranium body inside glowed with blinding white light.
"Thor!" Steve yelled. "You're going to blow it up!"
Thor kept pouring the power in. He had seen the vision in the Water of Sights. He knew this was the only way.
BOOM.
The Cradle exploded.
Thor was thrown back. The Avengers covered their faces.
Silence.
Steam rose from the shattered remains of the casing.
Slowly, a figure rose from the smoke.
Red skin. Silver plating. A yellow Mind Stone glowing in the center of its forehead.
The Vision.
He floated in the air, looking at his hands. He looked at the Avengers.
Then, he looked at Thor.
He lunged.
Thor caught him. He threw the android across the room. The Vision stopped just before hitting the window. He hovered there, staring at his reflection in the glass.
The Avengers gathered, weapons ready.
"I am sorry," The Vision said. His voice was calm. Echoing. "That was... odd."
"What are you?" Steve asked, shield raised.
"I am not Ultron," Vision turned. "I am not J.A.R.V.I.S. I am... I am."
He floated down to the floor. He walked past Tony. He walked past Thor.
He stopped in front of Sebastian.
The Android and the Demon looked at each other.
The Vision tilted his head. The Mind Stone pulsed.
"You are..." Vision frowned. "You are very quiet."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Quiet?"
"Your soul," Vision said softly. "It makes no sound. It is a deep, dark silence."
Vision reached out a hand. Sebastian didn't flinch.
"Is it lonely?" Vision asked. "In the dark?"
Sebastian stared at the machine-god. For the first time in centuries, he felt truly seen. Not as a threat, not as a monster, but as a being.
"It is peaceful," Sebastian replied, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "And the dark has its own company, if you know where to look."
Vision smiled. A gentle, innocent smile. "I think... I would like to be on the side of life."
"Then you have chosen a difficult profession," Sebastian noted.
Vision turned to the group. "Ultron is waiting in Sokovia. He intends to end humanity."
Vision picked up Mjolnir. He held it out to Thor, handle first.
"We should go."
The Avengers stared. Mouths open.
Thor took the hammer, looking stunned.
"Right," Thor clapped Vision on the shoulder. "Well done."
Tony walked up to Sebastian.
"Did the robot just psychoanalyze you?" Tony whispered.
"He is perceptive," Sebastian straightened his coat. "For a toaster."
"He's not a toaster," Tony grinned. "He's the vision. Let's go save the world."
[End of Chapter 32]
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