Kept Behind Enemy Lines

C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something." The idea itself wasn't so far fetched. And Ultron could've come up with a million different ways to force the Avengers to retreat. He was exposed to everything in the internet.

Every book about crime and murder. Every article on anything there ever was. So long as it was there. On the internet. If it was there, he could have it. And nobody could stop him.

No.

Nobody could stop him. Yet.

"The amount of vibranium he made off with... I don't think it's just one thing." Fury said while cleaning the dishes. The Barton's had gained another sleep over guest. They barely had enough room as it was.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

"Oh. He's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle in any of his plans though."

"Is he still after the launch codes?" Tony said without breaking his focus from dart throwing.

"Yes he is. But he's not making any headway."

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare."

"You did that?" Percy raised an eyebrow from his seat in the couch. He'd been flipping riptide in the air, seeing how many times he could juggle it with another random pen he'd found.

"Hey, looking at your folder, you aren't squeaky clean either." Tony retorted.

"He had access to that?" Percy's voice had been rising in pitch as his surprise grew. "Do I get to see his?"

"No. Now, back on topic, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury interrupted the looming banter.

"Nexus?" Steve hadn't heard of that before.

"It's the world Internet job in Oslo. Every bite of data flows through there." Bruce explained.

"So what did they say?" Clint joined Tony at the dart throwing board.

"He's fixated in the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed." Fury reported.

"By who?" Tony jerked back as Clint through his dart, whizzing past the billionaires face and into the bullseye. Clint shrugged and smiled when Tony fixed him with a glare.

"Parties unknown."

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Percy quoted.

"Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury sighed.

"I might need a visit to Oslo. Find our unknown." Tony entered the main room, having given up on darts.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I I was kind of hoping when I saw you you'd have more than that." Natasha stated blatantly.

"I do. I have you." The Avengers looked among themselves doubtfully. Their screw up still painfully fresh in their minds. Percy however, was pretty used to that.

"Am I included in this 'you' thing?" Percy asked cheekily. Ever since his body had been de-HYDRA'd, Percy had gradually been showing the younger side of him.

Fury ignored him.

"Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back in Earth with nothing but our wit and will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this. Laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." A great way to end a speech.