My Allegiance (3)

Chapter 28

(Safe house, Stark's POV)

Why is it that I'm chopping wood with Rogers?

No. That is not a euphemism.

I'm literally in the front garden of Barton's home, cutting pieces of a tree with an axe, with Rogers doing the same thing by my side.

How did it get to this point?

"So uh," I'm trying to start a conversation about literally anything. "Thor didn't say where he was going?"

"Well you know, sometimes my team mates don't tell me things. I was hoping Thor might be an exception but I guess not."

Sarky bastard.

"Yeah well, give him time. We don't know what that Maximoff girl showed him."

"Ha. Yeah. Lovely pair of kids they are. Pulled us apart like cotton candy."

"Seems like you walked away alright," I lean on my axe after wedging it into a large table of wood.

"That a problem?"

"Eh. I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned."

"Let's just say you haven't seen it yet."

"You know Ultron's trying to tear us apart right?"

"I guess you'd be the one who knows. Whether you'd tell us, that's anyone's guess."

"Banner and I were doing research."

"That would affect the team."

"That would end the team. Isn't that the mission? The ultimate goal? To end the fight, to go home at the end of the day?"

"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time," he says as he pulls apart a piece of tree trunk with his hands.

"And we're gonna do our damn best to keep those innocent people safe, alright? But don't dismiss the fact that we were trying to finally put a stop to all of this."

"Look where that's got you," Fury says, walking towards us.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Rogers asks.

He pauses and steps aside to reveal a guilty looking Laura.

"Right. Of course. Let me guess, Hill reached out to you?"

"I've been keeping on top of things. And right now you're in a real mess. Ultron took you all out of play to buy himself some time."

"Gee thanks for that insight Fury. Really helpful," I roll my eyes and head towards the house, but he calls after me.

"He's building something."

"What?"

"All that vibranium? He's building something big, and I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Rogers swings his axe over his shoulder.

"He's easy enough to track, he's everywhere at the moment. Multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help give an angle on any of his plans though."

I come down the steps and go back over to Fury, "Is he still after launch codes?"

"He is, but he's not making any headway."

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school for a dare," I fold my arms.

"Yeah well, I contacted our friends at NEXUS about that."

"What's that?"

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo," Banner says to Rogers as he approaches us.

"Can we all start announcing ourselves as we arrive?" I ask. "Sneaking around gets kinda annoying."

Needless to say, Banner ignores me, "Every byte of data flows through NEXUS. Fastest internet access on Earth."

"Exactly," Fury nods. "They said he's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed."

"By who? Do we have an ally?" Might be wishful thinking but oh well.

"Ultron's got an enemy, doesn't mean we have an ally. And we don't know who it is, they've managed to remain anonymous."

"Then maybe I should pop on over to Oslo and pay a visit to our anonymous hacker."

"We need to focus on this. Think about what Ultron wants so we can get ahead."

"We? Sorry Fury, but you're not my director any more," I toss my axe on the ground.

"I'm not anyone's director. But I care about you all and the welfare of the people of Earth very much."

"He wants to be better than us," Banner suddenly says.

"Huh?"

"Ultron. He keeps building bodies to fit his design, his modelling. He wants to be better than us."

"He's building them like people."

"Exactly. But people are inefficient, right? Technically, people are outdated."

"Oh my god," the realisation hits. "Ultron's going to evolve. And if he gets his way, the human race could become extinct."