This Is Stella's Reality

July 13, 2015 PT 2

When I awoke again, the sun was setting over the horizon. The last rays of light tickled the tree line with a fiery red glow. The field looked like amber in the disappearing daylight.

My eyes blinked past their sleepiness, and I turned to Bucky. He was still deep in dreams, thankfully not nightmares. His thoughts were pleasant and soft. There were hillsides and flowers, wine, cheese, and other delicacies set before him. I was there, smiling and laughing at something he had said.

I grinned and pressed kisses to his face. "Bucky," I whispered as I tapped his chest. "My love, we should get up."

His eyebrows furrowed, and those beautiful blue eyes opened slowly. He yawned, stretching and pulling me closer to his chest. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Late," I laughed. "Come on, let's see if the team is downstairs."

We dressed in some clothes we found in the closet. Bucky wore a loose flannel shirt and jeans, and I found a plain t-shirt and some shorts in my size. He held my hand, and we descended the steps.

There was soft laughter coming from the kitchen. The sun was nearly gone, and the warm glow of the dining room chandelier illuminated the otherwise dark house.

We rounded the corner, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Nick Fury was standing in the kitchen and holding a stack of plates. His eye spotted us, and he grinned. "So nice of you two to join us," he joked.

"Fury?" Bucky said. He was still foggy from sleep. Slowly, he walked towards him and shook his hand. "It's good to see you."

They smiled at each other, and Bucky stuck out his hand for me to grab again. I took it and followed him to the dining table where Natasha was sitting. She smiled at me. You okay?

Yeah, I gave her a smile, we slept. I feel better now. You?

She huffed a laugh, I've lived worse. I'll be fine.

"Anyways," Fury said, apparently continuing something he was saying. "Ultron played you like a fiddle." Always the comforter, Nicky Fury was. "He decommissioned you all to buy himself some time."

"Time for what?" Sam asked.

Fury turned to him and laughed. "Contacts say he's building something. With the amount of vibranium he has, I don't even want to guess as to what it could be."

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked. He had appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. I hadn't noticed him when we came down.

I hoped to catch his eye, hoped he'd look at either Bucky or I, but he didn't. My heart ached a bit, but I tried to ignore it. He wanted space. Needed space.

"He's easy to track," Fury replied. "He is quite literally everywhere. Guy multiplies faster than a fucking rabbit. Still doesn't give us an angle on his plans, though."

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony asked. He was throwing darts at a board, absently paying attention to the conversation. The air between him and Steve was oddly tense. I wondered what happened while Bucky and I slept.

Fury walked over to Bucky and I and set down two plates of food in front of us. I smiled up at him, but he didn't meet my eyes. He walked away wordlessly and turned to Tony. "Yes, he is. But he isn't getting anywhere with it."

Tony laughed, disbelieving. He shook his head firmly, "No way. I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school."

"I've already talked to Nexus," Fury said simply. "The codes are being constantly changed, but he's still trying."

"Whose changing them?" Bucky asked.

Fury shrugged. His eye rolled as if he didn't care.

"We have an ally?" Natasha asked almost hopefully.

"Ultron has an enemy. Not the same thing," Fury replied.

Tony threw his last dart and waltzed over to the dining table. He leaned over the back of a chair and stole a piece of bread from Bucky's plate. They made faces at each other like children, and Tony shoved the whole piece of food in his mouth.

"I might have to fly to Oslo," Tony said with his cheeks as fat as a chipmunk's. "Find our enemy's enemy.

The team nodded. "So," Bruce finally sighed. "We're going back out there?"

I bit my lip. What other choice did we have? I turned to Bucky. His eyes were still glossy, but his fire was returning. We could finish this.

Fury came to join us at the table. He sat with his hands folded in front of him. I felt like my dad was lecturing me. "Whether or not he admits it, the Avengers are the only thing standing between Ultron and his mission. And that mission? It's global destruction no matter how he defines it."

Acid rose through my throat again.

"It's time to outwit that platinum bastard," Fury said finally. He downed the entirety of a whiskey glass and stared at us expectantly.

"So what does he want?" Loki asked.

Steve sucked his teeth, "To become better. Better than us and his android buddies."

"To become human?" I asked.

"The human form is inadequate for what he wants to achieve," Tony said. "Biologically, we're inept."

Bruce's finger was tapping against his lips, and his mind was running at a million miles an hour. "What he said at the party. About extinction and evolution." He looked up as if we were supposed to figure out what he meant. "Ultron is going to evolve."

"How?" Clint asked.

Bruce and Tony exchanged looks. "Doctor Helen Cho is the leading expert in bioengineering," Bruce said. "She worked closely with Tony and I. Ultron will know she exists."

"Ultron will know where to find her," Tony added.

We looked around. A lead, finally. "Where is she?" Natasha asked.

"Seoul," Bruce replied.