The Invisible Coder (Natasha x OC)

Chapter 23- Tony Stark's POV

Tony Stark's POV

Tony examined the inside of the mechanics. The thrusters would turn a full 180 if Ultron got a hand on the core, sending the city plummeting straight down. If the city hit the ground, then... well, there would be mass destruction. Global destruction.

Tony ran an analysis. If he could blow the floating thing, he could get rid of the threat. FRIDAY ran some numbers, and he found that if he did, he would most likely be unable to make it out.

"FRIDAY?" he said weakly. "Call Bryce,"

A phone sound rang through his ears. Bryce picked up immediately.

"Y-yeah?" she asked.

"Look, kid, I'm probably not making it out, here," he informed her, struggling to reach something inside the mechanism. "So if you just wanna stay on-"

"Tony, Dad, you'll make it out," Bryce said defiantly. "I just watched Pietro Maximoff die. You will make it out of this,"

Tony grinned weakly. "Yep, you're right. We're gonna go home after this. I'll take you back to the tower, Pepper will come home, we can start this off right,"

"Yep," Bryce's voice cracked. "You can show me how to make my own suit,"

"I'd love to," Tony said, continuing the conversation to distract himself from his duties.

"And you can-"

There was the sound of a machine powering down, and suddenly, he was flattened against the bottom of the floating island that was now dropping from the sky.

"T-TONY?" Bryce demanded over the phone.

"Keep talking, Bryce," he instructed, powering up his thrusters to full and trying to get underneath the chunk of earth.

"Er- oh- okay," she said. 

"What were you saying earlier?" he asked, turning on his radio and calling up Thor. He pressed his arms and legs to the edges of the hole he'd created at the bottom of the machine to keep himself from slipping in as he powered up his chest repulsor.

"I- I was saying that you- you could teach me all the t-tech s-stuff that you know," Bryce said uneasily.

"Yup," Tony prompted. "Anything else?"

Tony's radio clicked, and he quickly said, "Thor, on my mark,"

"I- I- I just want some... er- bonding time... with you and Pepper," she said weakly, her voice breaking some more.

"How about you teach me some coding?" Tony asked, watching for the sign he was looking for?"

"Y-you a-already know h-how to c-code," Bryce reminded him.

"Not the fancy hacker-theif business stuff that you do," he argued. "Or do I already know that, too, and I'm just out of my head?"

"No, I c-can show y-you s-some stuff,"

Tony saw his sign and switched to his radio. 

"THOR, NOW!" he shouted.

In a moment, the entire city blew up, blasting itself to bits and smithereens. Tony got tossed about, attempting to dodge all of the pieces of earth and building that were now crumbling into the sea. 

"Bryce?" Tony asked, dodging a giant pillar. "BRYCE?"

"T-Tony?" came Bryce's weak voice. "You're alive?"

"No, of course not," he replied sarcastically. "I'm alive, don't worry,"

"I wasn't," she lied. "I told you that you were going to live. You survived getting attacked by an alien hoard,"

"...however, I won't be if I get destroyed by one of these-" Tony swerved around a monstrous chunk of an apartment before continuing, "- one of these bad boys,"

"Then don't get destroyed," Bryce advised.

Tony nodded, sighing. "Great advice, kid. You should give out advice for a living,"

"I know, right? Here's another one for you- don't die, and you won't die,"

"Wisest thing I've heard today," Tony commented. "Maybe literally,"

"I mean, considering that we've literally been fighting a hoard of robots, I wouldn't be surprised,"

Tony laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were actually my kid,"

"Aren't I already actually your kid?"

Tony chuckled, grinning. "Well, Bryce," he said, "I guess you are,"

~

The Vision landed on a safe forest, somewhere near the giant gap in the earth near where Sokovia once was. Out of the pit crawled the last Ultron robot left standing. It was mangled and ruined, with only one red eye left and barely half a body.

The two peered at each other for a moment, waiting for something. An attack, a threat, or even just an honest comment.

"You're afraid," the Vision finally said.

"Of you?" Ultron scoffed.

"Of death," the Vision replied simply. "You're the last one,"

"You were supposed to be the last," Ultron said, taking a step forward. "Stark asked for a savior... and settled for a slave,"

"I suppose we are both disappointments," the Vision admitted.

Ultron chuckled at him. "I suppose we are,"

"Humans are odd," the Vision stated. "They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and try to control what won't be. But there is grace in their failings. I think you missed that,"

"They're doomed," Ultron declared. 

"Yes," the Vision acknowledged. "But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts. It's a privilege to be among them,"

"You're unbearably naive," Ultron snarled. 

"Well..." the Vision portrayed a face of numb acceptance. "I was born yesterday,"

Ultron jumped at the Vision as if to attack, but the Vision simply disintegrated him with a beam from the Mind Stone perched upon his forehead.

With a blinding orange light, Ultron was gone.