The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Vision

~~~Tony's pov~~~

Natasha and Clint brought the cradle back, but much to my dismay, Catherine wasn't with them.

"Barton, where's Catherine? I thought she was with you?" I questioned as the ex-Shield agents passed through the lab where Bruce and I were working on the cradle.

"Uh, she stayed back with Steve and Loki. She'll be back soon." He answered before running off with Natasha into the downstairs computer lab.

That was weird.

I shook it off and turned to Bruce. "This thing is sealed tight. We're gonna need to access the program, break it down from within."

He nodded. "I can work on tissue regeneration if you could fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, about that."

He stopped walking and looked at me. "No."

"You have to trust me." I tried to persuade him with a smile.

"Kind of don't." He raised his hands over his head.

Ouch.

"Our ally, the guy protecting the military's nuclear codes, I found him." I pulled up the hologram of Jarvis.

I'm glad I have my buddy back.

"Hello, Dr. Banner." The familiar British AI spoke.

"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis because he was angry," I started. "He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So Jarvis went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory, but not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."

He sighed, burying his head in his hands. "So, you want me to help you put Jarvis into this thing?"

I scoffed at his absolutely ridiculous suggestion. "No! Of course not! I wanna help you put Jarvis into this thing." I said, obviously. "We're out of my field here. You know bio-genetics better than anyone."

"And you just assume that Jarvis's operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"

"Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self, without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to."

"I believe it's worth a go," Jarvis spoke up.

Aww, thanks, buddy!

"I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong." He exclaimed, his eye wide.

"I know. I know. I know what everyone's gonna say. But they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. We gotta own it. Make a stand. It's not a loop. It's the end of the line."

He stayed silent and stared at the cradle.

He's on board.

~~~Ultron's Base~~~
~~~Catherine's pov~~~

I woke up and found myself on a cold stone floor.

Where am I?

The last thing I remember is getting the cradle to Nat and Clint and then... I don't know.

I looked around and gasped as I saw Ultron, his back facing me.

You have got to be freaking kidding me.

"Oh, good. You're alive. I hoped you would be." He quipped, turning to face me, his eye as red as ever.

I got up quickly and readied my magic to defend myself.