Age of Charon

Chapter 46: His eyes were green.

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.