The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

The Cradle

~~~Tony's pov~~~

"I'll take Natasha, Clint, Loki, and Catherine. We'll need strength in numbers." Steve said as we got ready to head out of the Barton farm and face Ultron.

"I think Catherine should stay with me. Just in case something happens." There was more to it than just that. If the Maximoff girl was there, she could mess with her mind again. I don't know if she could handle that a second time.

"Stark, she'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

I sighed reluctantly, not believing that I was about to entrust my daughter with Mr. 'Star Spangled Man With A Plan'. "All right. Strictly recon. I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you guys as soon as I can."

"If Ultron is really building a body, he'll be more powerful than any of us." He commented as he lifted his shield, inspecting it after the fight in the salvage yard.

Okay, we have Johnny Raincloud in the house.

"Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot." I contributed to the pessimism.

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me."

Don't we all?

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" Fury walked past us in the hallway, putting on his classic black trench coat.

"She's all yours. Apparently." I rolled my eyes, still upset that Hill had been secretly working with Fury for the past few years. "What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope."

Yeah, please don't.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

We had made a plan.

It was underdeveloped, sloppy, and relied on mostly sheer luck, but it was still a plan.

Clint and Natasha were going to drop Steve, Loki, and me at the research center in Seoul where we suspected Ultron and the twins were, and we had to attempt to destroy whatever body the AI was trying to build.

Like I said before, sloppy.

I rolled my eyes as I boarded the quinjet, going over the plan in my head when Dad pulled me aside to talk.

"You're sure you want to go with them? You can always go to Oslo with me. And the Maximoffs won't be there." He asked me, eyes filled with worry.

I sighed sadly. As much as I wanted to play it safe, away from the mind-controlling witch, I knew that was where I would be needed the most.

Also, Loki.

I'm not sure why I feel this need to be with him, I just do. It's like I'm magnetically drawn to him, and that's something I really need to look into, because I have quite literally never felt like this before.

"We don't know what we'll be walking into in Seoul. They're going to need my help. I'll be okay." I assured him, even though I wasn't overly confident in that statement. "We'll meet at the tower once we've taken care of Ultron."

He nodded and hugged me tightly. "Be careful."

"Always." I smiled before getting into the quinjet.

Let's hope that was a promise I could keep.

~~~Steve's pov~~~

Three hours and an incredibly awkward plane ride later, Clint and Nat dropped us off near the research center, but once we got there, we found a bloodbath.

There were scientists thrown left and right, and there was blood everywhere.

"What happened here?" I heard Catherine ask in a small voice from behind Loki and me.