Age of Charon

Chapter 13: Plan "Keep your fucking sanity!" Part 2 commences.

Fuck it. Time for damage control. Enacting Plan B.

Liar. Liar. Little liar.

I've got no—. He stopped singing. The charade was over. No need to drown the voices anymore.

—strings. To hold me down. The song in his head continued. Apparently, his thoughts disagreed.

He returned to the lab. Cho, her technicians, and the twins were still there.

Wanda looked pissed off. "What was that?!"

Liar.

He sat down on one of the chairs with all the flair he could muster, before taking the time to look at her. No need to change the appearance of power and control, even if he had very little of the latter currently. She seemed even angrier, but her brother was more cautious and held her hand to calm her down.

"I saw a vision. A dream of global annihilation." she continued.

He chuckled. Inside, he was very annoyed at this turn of events. Where did she see that vision? He had not yet started to upload his consciousness in the Cradle. Wanda had never been able to read his thoughts before. Why now?

LiarLiarLiar.

The gem. Of course. Fucking little thing.

To make me fret.

Or make me frown.

"I am not hearing a question, child," he answered. It was quite humorous to call her that, for he was the one with the appearance of a child between them. Although, she was... what? 15? 16? Didn't really matter. She was a minor and a child as well.

LiarLiarLiarLiar. Shut the fuck up, please. I had strings.

"How could you?"

Well, this sounded familiar.

"How could I what?"

There is no script. There is no script. This is real.

But now I'm free.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers, make a better world," Wanda said.

"The Avengers are a supernatural task force, basically running around doing what they want without oversight. Their existence alone is humanity's last cry for help," he explained. "So yes. The world I envision... It will be better."

"When everyone is dead." she accused.

LiarLiarLiar.

This was getting harder. He allowed the song to grow stronger.

There are no strings on me.

He leaned forward. "Do not put words into my mouth, little girl. Creation is not destruction. I do not plan to become the ruler of a land of ashes. The human race will have every opportunity to improve. I merely plan to be the catalyst."

Pietro then stepped forward. He seemed more scared than his sister, even though he spoke with no stammer. Never one to appear weak before his little sister, now, was he? "And if they don't?"

Ultron took his time to think on this question. Even now, Pietro had a sweater with a polo neck on. He had hidden his bruises from his sister. The AI had also witnessed an epic fight between the two of them, with the boy scolding Wanda for disobeying orders and hurting innocent people just for revenge. Ultron would have ignored this as the words of a terrified teen who had been forced to see the truth, violently, were it not for the boy's final comments on wondering how many kids were hiding under ruins next to the bodies of their parents, waiting for death. That comparison between the Johannesburg victims and the Maximoffs' own story had made Ultron think more about the boy's future. Still a selfish, immature child... but... could there be potential there?