The Scarlet Void

Dr. Helen Cho

When they returned to the tower everyone went their separate ways. Tony to the lab, Bruce to his room, Steve to the training room, Nat to the kitchen, Clint following close behind, Thor stayed outside, meanwhile Clark went to the mission debriefing room and began looking through all the files and information they had. There must have been something they missed, something that could allude to either where Ultron was or what his plan is. The blonde spent hours looking through everything they had and searching up anything and everything in the databases they had access to. As time passed by he was visited by some of his team mates who were wondering what he was doing. Mostly Steve though who began to worry for the young agent as the sky grew darker and the city of New York slowly began to fall asleep.

"Clark you should go to bed." Steve said as he walked into the glass walled office once again.

"I can sleep later." Clark replied. His eyes focused on the tablet in front of him.

"Is something an insomniac says, and I know you Clark you aren't an insomniac. Go to bed." Steve said.

"I will once I finish looking through these files." Clark said.

"Clark it's almost midnight just come to bed." Steve pleaded.

"Keyword being almost. I don't even feel tired." Clark replied starting to get a little annoyed.

"Just because you don't feel tired doesn't mean you aren't tired." Steve persisted.

"Just let me finish looking through these files, it'll take me maybe twenty minutes, thirty tops." Clark said.

"Fine, but if I wake up tomorrow and you are still standing in this office you are in big trouble." Steve said walking off.

Clark scoffed before giving his full attention to the files before him once more. Immersed in his work he didn't notice he had stayed up all night despite Steve's warning until the sun started to rise. But that didn't matter, what mattered was finding out Ultron's plan plus it was distracting him from the questions that still plagued his mind.

"Holy shit." Clark exclaimed as he realized what Ultron was planning.

He quickly grabbed the tablet and ran out of the debriefing room and to the kitchen where he knew everyone would be preparing breakfast.

"Guys!" Clark shouted as he ran in.

"Clark! You stayed up all night didn't you?" Steve reprimanded.

"I did but that doesn't matter. I think I figured out Ultron's plan." Clark said.

"I beg to- wait what did you say?" Steve asked.

All attention was put on Clark as the room fell silent.

"I was going over some things last night and I think I figured out some of what Ultron has planned." Clark restated.

"And this plan would be?" Clint asked.

"Ultron said he want's to eliminate us right? But he's imperfect." Clark started.

"What do you mean?" Nat asked.

"With his current body if he tried to attack us we could take him down in a couple hours. Sure he could escape through the internet and take control of a legionnaire but that would set him back because he would need to create another body. Unless he created a new, indestructible one." Clark said.

"And how exactly would he manage that?" Bruce asked.

"The Vibranium he got from Klaue. It would be the perfect material and could withstand the impacts from the governments most powerful missiles and then some. If Steve's shield lasted this long then who's to say an entire body made out of it wouldn't last way longer? But that's not the only thing, next he would need a power source. But not just any, if he was going to create a Vibranium body we would need strong power source to make him even more formidable. And what was the first thing he went after when he went online and escaped? Loki's scepter, and what's better to power a walking super weapon than an alien artifact of probably infinite energy?" Clark stated.

"But the technology to do that doesn't exist yet." Steve said.

"Yes it does." Tony said as he realized something.

"The cradle. Dr. Helen Cho, the woman who healed Barton after the raid on Strucker's base, she said it would be quicker if we had taken him to her lab because there she would be able to use her regenerative cradle." Tony said.

"But the cradle can only regenerate flesh, it can't create an entire body." Bruce stated.

"It can if an A.I with access to every piece of medical, scientific, and technological paper and record, with Vibranium, and a scepter that can mind control people has it in their possession." Tony replied.

"So let's head to her lab." Clint said.

"Absolutely not, knowing Ultron he's already there and we don't want to start a fight and put more innocent lives at risk." Steve said.

Helen Cho had just walked into her lab and was terrified at the sight before her.

"Scream and I'll kill your entire team." Ultron said.

Helen took in a shaky breath as she looked at the terrifying robot who towered over her.

"You know I could have killed you that night we first met Helen Cho. But I didn't." Ultron said.

"What am I so supposed to thank you?" She sassed.

"No, I don't expect you too, and it wasn't really out of kindness. I need you." Ultron replied.

"For what exactly?" Helen asked.

"I need you to build me a new body." Ultron answered.

"I can't do that, and even if I could I wouldn't want to help you." Helen spat.

"Of course you can, you just need the right materials." He said as he pulled out a canister full of Vibranium. "And for the, not wanting to help me part, everyone just needs some proper motivation." He said as one of his bots walked up to Helen and touched her with the scepter putting her under Ultron's control.

"Now then Dr. Helen Cho. Shall we get to work?" Ultron said.

"Yes, let's get to work." She replied, taking the Vibranium from Ultron's hands and walking over to the cradle to begin reprogramming it.

Ultron smiled, if you could even call it that, as his plan slowly began to come together and get closer to completion. Soon the Avengers would be killed and he would have a new powerful body to do it with and no one could stop him. Not even that Whitlock fellow, whatever he was.