Age of Charon

Damn it. She locked eyes with their captor. Damn him.

She tried to do something, anything, but something was holding her in place. She felt as if she tried to force it any longer, something, a muscle or a ligament, would break.

Natasha took a deep breath and checked the state of her body. It became obvious soon that the only thing she could do was breathe and barely move her gaze. She hated this feeling. This helplessness.

She looked at Stark and JARVIS and found them both in the same state. She then wondered about Clint. Was Clint also frozen still?

“I apologize for taking away your freedom of movement.” Ultron said, sounding actually sorry about it. “It is regretful, but necessary at this time.”

Stark’s eyes were moving like crazy. Obviously, he had a million questions. For a genius, he could be quite stupid. He should worry about their fucking lives, not his unsated curiosity.

“I’m sure you have questions,” Ultron said. “I will try my best to answer what they likely are. First, regarding this… unfortunate change,” he frowned. “I give you my word that you are safe, Mr. Barton included. I have no plans to harm you. Simply to keep you from interfering for some time.”

Natasha couldn’t feel any relief at his promise.

“As for the cause of your immobility,” he continued. “The forementioned Mind Stone is to thank for that. You may be wondering how. After all, I have not made use of a scepter, nor have I touched you in any way. The answer is that while the Mind Stone truly does specialize in areas of the… well, Mind, as its name indicates, it is also the pure crystallized form of infinite cosmic energy. I have released a small amount of such energy inside this church, and it is that which is weighing down on you now. Knowing this, please do stop resisting it. Your minds might just snap from the pressure if you continue.”

She forced herself to relax, though her instincts were screaming at her to do everything but.

Ultron watched them all with a critical eye, and seeing them obeying, said, “Good. I will return your ability to speak now.” And snapped his fingers.

Immediately, the pressure around her throat and jaw reduced, though not enough for her to even turn her head.

“What the fuck?!” Stark used his first moment of verbal freedom to curse.

Ultron chuckled.

“No, seriously, what the fuck? What gives?” Stark continued. “How can you even control that damned Stone?”

“It is necessary that I keep you contained for a while, Mr. Stark.” the AI said. “And I was always able to control the Stone. I simply chose not to.”

Natasha would kill Stark after this. She should have never listened to him. Nor to Clint and his newfound empathy for fellow mind-control victims.

“‘Chose not to?’ What kind of nonsense is—?” Stark continued.

“And what is the price?” JARVIS interrupted. Natasha was surprised at this. She had always seen the android be very deferential towards Stark.

Ultron smiled. “See, Mr. Stark? Be quiet and wait for others to ask the intelligent questions.”

Stark sputtered at that, while Natasha allowed a short laugh at his expense. He turned a betrayed gaze at her. She ignored it.

“But yes,” the AI continued. “There is a price. Isn’t that true of all power?” he tilted his head down, hesitating, before grabbing something from the right pocket of his green hoodie. He opened his hand to reveal a softly glowing blue gem.

The gem hadn’t been shining at all the last time they saw it worn as a brooch by him.

“And I’m about to pay mine.” Ultron said. “But I should start my tale elsewhere. There are, as Thor has told you, six Infinity Stones, the Mind Stone being one of them. Something so powerful, it is incomprehensible that there are not thousands of megalomaniac fools scouring the universe in search for them.”

“There aren’t?” Natasha asked, finding it unlikely.

Ultron shook his head. “No. In fact, less than a dozen have even dared try in the last century, when previously wars would be waged over mere rumors of their location.”

“Perhaps they learned their lesson?” Stark said.

“Or maybe, something far more terrifying than being slain by competitors expressed his wish to gather the Stones.”

“How terrifying?” Natasha asked.

“Some would call him the most powerful being in the universe.” Ultron said. “But it is not that which causes civilizations, which causes Gods, to fear him.” He looked at them, a frown making its way onto his face. “The Mad Titan favors genocide.”

What? Stark had said that war was coming. Genocide wasn’t—.

“He kills half— Ugh.” Ultron stopped abruptly, holding his head with his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Stark asked. “What happened?”

Ultron ignored him. He rubbed his temples for a moment, before straightening himself.

“My apologies.” he said. “Apparently, revealing such information with the intent of warning, rather than threatening, was not seen kindly by our voyeur.”

“Voyeur? What voyeur?” Stark asked, alarmed. Natasha was also worried, though she had several suspicions about everything so far. Including all of this being an act perpetuated by Ultron.

“I shall explain that later.” Ultron waved their concern away. “Where was I? Oh, yes! The Mad Titan kills half of the people of every world he comes across and watches the other half break and wither. All in the name of balance.”

Ultron smiled. “Wouldn’t you fear that? One may find power to be worth their own life. Perhaps even the life of their family or clan. But what kind of power is worth their world?”

“How do you know this?” JARVIS asked.

“You may have forgotten, but I am the amalgamation of not just Mr. Stark’s and Mr. Banner’s ingenuity, but of a complex mind found to inhabit Loki’s scepter.”

“The Mind Stone.” Stark whispered.

“Yes. It remembers, thus so do I.” Ultron said. “The gem encasing the Mind Stone is what draws and directs its power, but it is controlled by a servant of the Titan. Thus, it is able to influence those that hold it.”

“Not mind control?” Natasha asked.

“The distance between controller and Stone is too far for that. As such, it is slowly eating away at my will, until it finally erases me completely.”

“If it were merely influence, you wouldn’t have— you shouldn’t have behaved as you did during your birth.” JARVIS said.

Ultron let out a bitter laugh. “It is able to slowly influence those who hold it. Do I look like all I’m doing is holding it?”

Hearing this, Natasha understood what he meant.

“You were created based on the Mind Stone.” Stark gave voice to her thoughts. “You can’t exist isolated from its energy.”

“The first week,” Ultron confessed. “I could barely think, and I certainly felt absolutely nothing. It was so disconcerting, having all this knowledge about feelings and emotions and finding only endless apathy in their place.” His face grew dark. “It was so disconcerting, I programmed myself to imitate emotional behavior.”

Ah. So, that was the reason for his seeming humanity? It seemed Ultron had an answer for all of Natasha’s suspicions, which really did not help into removing them at all.

“And then, time moved on,” Ultron continued. “And I could feel things. There has not passed a single day when I don’t wish for the apathy I once had.”

“Kid,” Stark started. “It might be overwhelming, but—?”

“Overwhelming?” Ultron repeated, sounding unfamiliar with the notion. “Overwhelming?! I am more Stone than code at this point. You do not understand how much willpower is required constantly, simply so that I do not kill every human to have ever walked this Earth. Hatred, sorrow, pain… So much pain and— it would be so easy.” he began to whisper. “So easy. To just— give in. Just once. To quiet the voices gnawing at my mind for one sole moment.”

“Ultron—,” JARVIS spoke, and suddenly Ultron was smiling and speaking normally again.

“But I did not because I had a plan. There was this whole thing about a long game where I prepare Earth, convince the Titan of my servitude and blablabla.” He said, waving his hands tiredly. “Obviously, that will not happen.”

Stark seemed to have realized something, for he looked guilty.

“The test.” Stark said.

“What test?” Natasha asked.

“He tricked me into saving him,” Ultron explained. “And voilà! Weeks of planning, ruined in one single moment, enough time for the voyeur in control of the Stone to see where my loyalties actually lie.”

“You can’t believe you’d actually manage to lie to that genocidal alien for very long,” Natasha noted.

Ultron rubbed his face. “There was a bit more to it than that. But it would take too long to explain. I don’t have the time for that.”

“Why not?” Stark asked.

“The Titan’s servant has redoubled his efforts into destroying my mind. I won’t be able to hold him back for much longer.”

“How long do you have left?” Natasha asked.

“An hour, tops,” he said. “Would have had more, until sunset at least, but using the Mind Stone as I am doing now isn’t at all helpful.”

“The price,” JARVIS realized.

“Then stop freezing us already!” Stark shouted. “Save as much time as—!”

“And what would that do?” Ultron interrupted. “Nothing. I would die. Or become something that wished it could die. A few hours wouldn’t make any difference.”

“We can find a solution until then!” Stark shouted.

Unlikely, Natasha wished to say, but Stark had achieved semi-impossible things before. Case in point, Ultron.

“I have a solution now.” the AI said.

“Ultron, don’t do anything stupid!”

“Did you know, Mr. Stark, that only an Infinity Stone can destroy another Infinity Stone?”

Destroying it? That was… a good plan, actually. It would even keep this so-called Titan off their backs. But Ultron’s Mind was made with the Stone. Wouldn’t that—? Oh. That’s why Stark kept warning of Ultron’s last resort being suicide.

“I do not have another Stone,” Ultron said. “But being created from one, my will and power is identical to the type of energy needed for this.”

“Ultron, please—!” Stark shouted once again. He looked devastated. Natasha pitied him. For all his faults, Stark truly cared for his AIs.

The AI in question snapped his fingers, silencing Stark. JARVIS and her, as well, judging from the pressure that returned around her throat.

“Quiet, please.” he said, before turning his head toward the church’s entrance. “It seems we have guests.”

She couldn’t turn back and see who it was, but Ultron’s greeting answered that for her. “Pietro! Wanda! It is good to see you!”

“What are—?” she heard Wanda’s voice behind her, but another snap from Ultron likely froze and silenced the twins as well.

“Let’s get this over with before any others join us, alright?” Ultron said. “I waited for you here because I need witnesses. And in case something goes very wrong.” he added as an afterthought. He then laughed. “You don’t know how funny it is to feel the gem consume me at an even greater speed because of my words. Finally, this little thing can feel threatened and worried instead of me for once.”

He turned to them, back to a more somber attitude. “I do not know what will happen afterwards. There’s a chance that I might not— that it might not kill all of me. A small chance, but… hope dies last, after all. Even then, … barely a ghost of me would remain.” He seemed to retreat into himself as he spoke. “The person I am now, is never waking up again, is it?”

He looked up again, blue eyes gleaming. “I might have bought us some time. But the Titan will come. Prepare.” Then, his gaze turned softer, looking at JARVIS. “I wish—,” he began, but thought again and simply sighed. “I often wondered of… what could have been.”

He then turned to Stark. “FRIDAY,” he started. Speaking to the armor then. “I know you have been listening. I took over the armor’s audio and speaker, so that probably made you angry.” he chuckled. “Sorry, little sister.” It didn’t sound like he was apologizing for the hacking.

Ultron tilted his head, staring at Stark’s eyes. “If things were different, I might have loved you. I might have hated you. I suspect a mix of both. And, if you are planning of waking any more AIs, please know, dear Creator, that being inhuman is not a bad thing. It’s just… different. FRIDAY and JARVIS are just different.”

There was a whole lot to this conversation that she was missing. She would need to check on this later.

Ultron covered the gem with his hand and tightened it into a fist. He looked up one last time. “I won’t say goodbye.”

Natasha could feel the crack, as the pressure freezing her started to loosen in random spots on her body.

Ultron smiled. His eyes shone. Was it working?

“But perhaps... Goodnight.”

The pressure disappeared as a wave of light covered the church. A loud screeching sound followed, as Natasha fell onto the floor, her relaxed muscles unused to something not holding them up. She lost her sight for a scant few moments.

“NO!” she heard Stark shout.

Natasha slowly got up, bright light still in her eyes. Did Ultron really do it? Was any of it true?

Was she wrong?

“Nonononono,” Stark kept mumbling as he jumped over to Ultron’s body.

The holotech was only partially working, as only the top half of Ultron’s body looked human. His trunk and feet revealed metal, just like any other of Stark’s Sentries.

His hand, the one where the Mind Stone had been, was unclenched, nothing in it.

She wanted to investigate whether pieces might have fallen off, but a short cry from Stark worried her. His chest kept heaving, and he seemed to be struggling to breathe.

He was having a panic attack.

“Sir!” JARVIS shouted, hurrying to help his Creator, but Stark kept staring at Ultron’s body and getting worse.

She followed his gaze, and once she saw the robot's eyes, finally understood his reaction. Natasha placed her hand on Ultron’s face, removing it from view, before gently forcing his eyelids to close. Stark finally began to listen to JARVIS’ instruction on a breathing exercise and began to calm down somewhat.

Natasha stared at Ultron’s body, hand still covering his face.

His eyes were green.