The Shadow~ Peter Parker

Chapter 8

Once we get back to the tower all hell breaks loose, everyone's arguing with each other about the cradle "I'm gonna say this once." Steve says sternly as the four of us walk into the lab. "How about "nonce"?" Tony asks, "Shut it down!" Steve was not amused.
"Nope, not gonna happen." Tony shakes his head being just as stubborn.

"You don't know what you're doing." Steve tried to reason, "and you do? She's not in your head?" Bruce asks very clearly upset with Wanda being with us, "I know you're angry." She says making him scoff, "Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade." He says conveying his rage perfectly, "Banner, after everything that's happened..."

"That's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony shouts, "You don't know what's in there!" Wanda shouts back, I look between everyone slightly afraid I didn't like all the arguing, it was making me uncomfortable. "This isn't a game..." Steve sighs. "The creature...!" Wanda shouts as Tony powers it up, Pietro then uses his speed to destroy the lab equipment "No, no. Go on. You were saying?" He says making me smile.

Suddenly Clint shoots a bullet below causing the glass Pietro is standing on to stand to smash and he falls through, "Pietro!" Both Wanda and I shout in worry for the male, "What? You didn't see that coming?" Clint asks smugly as I teleport down to Pietro to make sure he's ok, eliciting confused glances from everyone else, especially Clint.

Thor enters and pounds the cradle with his hammer, sending a powerful bolt of lightning that brings the body to life, "Wait!" We all look in shock at the body who has JARVIS' voice and has jumped out of the cradle. "I'm sorry, that was...odd." The thing says before turning to Thor, "Thank you."

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve asks the god in disbelief, "I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at it's center is that." He points to the gem inside the things head. "What, the gem?" Bruce asks, "It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities." I listen to his explanation curiously what could the other five stones do? "Then why would you bring it to..."

"Because Stark is right." Thor says, "Oh, it's definitely the end times." Bruce murmurs, "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron." Thor tells everyone, "Not alone." The thing says, was it like a living person? And is it rude for me to keep referring to it as the thing?

"Why does your "vision" sound like JARVIS?" Steve asks Tony only noticing it now, "We...we reconfigured JARVIS' matrix to create something new." Tony explains although I doubted if Steve would even understand his technical talk. "I think I've had my fill of new." I hadn't I loved all things new.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron?" The thing asks, man it really needed a name. "You're not?" Steve answers his question with one of his own. "I'm not Ultron. I'm not JARVIS. I am...I am." It flounders for a second not even knowing what it was itself. "I looked in your head and saw annihilation." Wanda speaks up, "Look again." The not Jarvis says making Clint scoff, "Yeah. Her seal of approval means jack to me." Man he really did not like her.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side..." everyone turns to the big Jarvis, "Is it? Are you? On our side?" Steve asks, "I don't think it's that simple." The robot says, wait was it a robot?

"Well it better get real simple real soon." Clint says, "I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't, he will end it all." I liked his thoughts, "What's he waiting for?" Tony asks, "You." That wasn't that surprising. "Where?" He was probably still in Sokovia. "Sokovia. He's got Nat there too." Clint tells us, "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be..."

"What will you do?" He asks looking at everyone probably realising that they would end him. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique, and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go." After his speech he holds up Thor's hammer and hands it to him, Vision walks off and everyone stares in shock. Well then I guess he was worthy of our trust.

"Right." Thor says after a second of shock as he pats Stark on the shoulder, "Well done."

"Three minutes. Get what you need." Steve says to everyone before turning to me, "not you." I look at him in disbelief, "but Steve I-" he shakes his head sternly, "no buts you're not coming with us," he tells me in a voice that leaves no room for arguing, "Steve I can help." I tell him in my own firm tone, "do you remember what happened the last time you helped?" I sigh, "that's was ages ago, I'm a lot better and even stronger now." He sighs himself as he crouched to my height, "Lillian no, seeing you in that hospital bed barely alive was the worst moment of my life, I can't risk it again, you're too important to me." He explains pressing a kiss to my head, "Steve that was just an accident, I know I can help, I've been going out on missions way longer than you have." I persist.

"Lillian please." Knowing I wasn't going to change his mind I press my lips together and nod. "Fine." He smiles at me feeling at ease but only if he knew I was going to sneak my way onto this mission.