This is The End

"We are here," Bruce announced with a frown, looking at the three other women next to him in the cockpit of the Quinjet. "Because of our favorite armored Genius, we didn't announce our arrival in advance and I'm honestly surprised that we haven't been shot out of the skies... Yet."

"Say what?!" Christine shrieked after a beat of silence.

"Well, what did you expect ?" Bruce incredulously asked. "The Fantastic Four, like The Avengers, are on Hydra's hit list. Reed is even listed as an alpha level 10 target. They would be stupid if they had no defense processions at their headquarters. Not to mention that this is also the main HQ of The Future Foundation. I'm honestly surprised we managed to even get this far without them noticing..."

"Don't listen to him. He's just exaggerating" Jane waved away, shooting Bruce a look that silently told him not to scare their new friends. "This Qunjet, as well as the other two behind us, have the best cloaking technology on the planet. Trust me. Not even Reed's fancy radars are able to detect us."

"Why did Tony insist that we do not inform this... Fantastic Four of our arrival?" Peggy quietly asked. "I thought you guys are friends."

"We are." Jane nodded. "But Tony and Reed are also rivals who like to annoy the shit out of each other on every occasion they can. "

"Why?" Peggy innocently asked.

"It's an old rivalry from college," Bruce said, pulling down his pilot's headset and turning around with his chair so he could face Peggy. "Tony and Reed were the two smartest guys in their class and this resulted in a small competition between them to prove which one was smarter. Tony once told me that he actually disliked Reed a lot during their first year at college because he felt that Reed was trying way too much. But the true reason why Tony disliked him was because of one scientific competition Tony's Father pursued him to attend. He and Reed ended up sharing the first place and that was a big no-no in Tony's book."

Peggy softly chuckled and looked down. "That reminds me of his Dad a lot. He also hated sharing his victories with someone else."

"Yeah, well..." Bruce scratched the back of his head, thinking if he should warn Peggy not to compare Tony and Howard. Especially in Tony's presence. "This started a big prank war from Tony's side on Reed and it ended only after Reed started dating Susan Storm, who was Tony's other best friend besides Rhodey."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,... Time-out." Christine made a swift motion with her hand. "You are saying that Tony was a college friend of Susan Storm? The Susan Storm?!"

"Sounds like someone has a crush..." Jane teased with a smirk.

"I don't have a crush!" Christine shook her head, her cheeks turning bright red. "I just admire her. She is the first female superhero for god's sake! Her work on genetic research was incredible!"

"Ahhh, a fangirl then." Jane chuckled and clapped Christine on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I will introduce you to her. She will like you. You two are actually a lot alike personality-wise."

Christine did or did not giggle like a little girl from excitement.

"To answer your question... Yes. Tony and Sue still are good friends even now." Bruce stated, not really seeing the reason as to why it would be so hard to believe. "Tony and Sue both came to MIT when they were only 15 years old, making them the youngest of their entire class. It's only natural that they sticked closely together until Tony graduated only two years later."

"He graduated from college when he was only 17 years old?" Peggy asked with slightly widened eyes before a proud expression crossed her features.

"Yeah... He had to graduate early because..." Bruce paused and bit on his lower lip. "Because it was the same year his parents died." He slowly said, feeling guilty when Peggy visibly winced. "Tony inherited everything his parents owned including Stark Industries so he had to learn how to take care of the company before he took over as the CEO. Obadiah Stane offered to teach Tony and for 4 years, Tony was Stane's ward while Stane was temporary CEO of Stark Industries."

"Obadiah Stane..." Peggy quietly repeated to herself. "Please tell me he wasn't Tony's legal guardian after Howard's death... That guy was a prick."

"He was." Bruce sadly replied. "But don't worry about him. He is dead."

"Yeah, I think I read something about it." Peggy nodded, trying to remember what exactly she read. "I think he died in a plane crash around the same time Tony revealed himself as Iron Man. No?" Bruce and Jane both froze and exchanged a silent conversation. Christine also looked away from Peggy and became interested in the view outside The Qunjet. Peggy of course noticed all of this and immediately frowned. "What are you three trying to hide? And don't try to deny it. Your poker faces suck."

"Officially, Obadiah Stane died in a plane crash... But the truth is a bit more complicated." Jane hesitantly muttered.

"Jane..." Bruce warned, shaking his head. "Tony wouldn't want us to talk about this..."

"She is his mother... Technically." Jane countered. "She will learn about it one day anyway. It will be better if she hears it from us than from him. You know how Tony gets when he is cornered with stuff like this. He would snap. He would yell, and he would lock himself in his workshop for a week. Again..."

"Alright..." Bruce released an exhausted sigh, giving in. "You were right. Stane was a total prick. He was the one who convinced Tony that Stark Industries should focus primarily on weapons development. The real reason why he did this was that he was illegally selling Stark weapons behind Tony's back to terrorist organizations all around the world. Four years ago, Stane ordered a hit on Tony's, hoping to kill him so he would be able to fully take over Stark Industries. His attempt however failed when the terrorist realized who they almost killed."

"Obadiah paid to have Tony killed because he wanted Stark Industries and more money?" Peggy growled with a dangerously low voice.

"Tony got injured and had to have heart surgery to survive." Bruce continued, ignoring the murderous look on Peggy's face. "They saved his life for a few days and wanted him to build them a new missile Stark Industries developed and Tony was presenting in Afghanistan before the assault. Tony refused and they tortured him for a month until he gave in and agreed. Of course, he didn't build the missile and built the first Iron Man armor and the miniaturized Arc Reactor that kept him alive instead. He then returned back home, build other two new advanced Iron Man suits, and later learned the truth about Stane's betrayal when Stane tried to kill him in person. They fought at the Stark Industries HQ in Los Angles which resulted in Stane's death."

"Look, Peg." Jane softly grabbed one of Peggy's hands. "We understand that this must be hard for you to hear, considering the circumstances, but please..." She gave her a worried and pleading look. "Don't try to talk with Tony about this. He has severe PTSD and Stane is one of his triggers. It took a lot of time but he is finally somewhat okay with it but we don't want to risk him having a panic episode because Tony hates being seen by other people when he is like that. "

"I- I understand," Peggy said and looked down, clearly displeased, but also understanding of the situation. "PTSD was a common thing after the War, so I know how it works and what to avoid."

"Okay!" Christine cheerfully clasped her hands together, trying to break down the tension. She focused solely on Bruce and send him a look that made him understand what she was doing. "You mentioned that Tony, Reed, and Sue were classmates. I assume Rhodey went to the same class as well." Bruce nodded and Christine made a mental note that she was right. "What about Doom? It is public knowledge that he went to the same class as Reed but his name was never associated with Tony."

"Who?" Peggy questioned with a weird and confused look crossing her features. "What kind of name is Doom?"

"Victor Von Doom," Jane repeated. "He is also known as Dr. Doom and the Dictator of his homeland, Latveria. Doom is one of the first supervillains with actual superpowers ever since the days of the Red Skull." Peggy flinched at the mention of Hydra's former leader and Jane quickly shot her an apologetic glance before she continued. "He is from a small European country named Latveria. He came to America for better education that his country simply couldn't offer back then."

"Victor and Tony didn't interact at all." Bruce began, addressing Christine's question. "They went to the same class but Tony simply wasn't interested in a guy that came from a foreign country and looked at everybody like they were all beneath him. Victor on the other hand never tried to approach Tony with anything because he knew Tony wouldn't help him with anything, and Victor was in no position to make an enemy out of a son of Howard Stark."

"Just like that?" Christine asked, feeling a bit let down by this reveal. "They just co-existed in the same class for 2 years and never talked to each other?"

"More or less..." Bruce nodded. "The only common thing Tony and Victor had was Reed after he began dating Sue. Victor and Reed were seemingly friends who worked together on some science projects. However, Tony told me that he always thought that this was never really the case. Tony always believed that Victor was only using Reed for his own benefit and was secretly jealous of him and his accomplishments. Unlike Tony, who was focused more on ladies and parties, Reed and Victor went to every scientific competition they could and Victor always ended up in the second place while Reed was always the first... Sadly, Tony was right about Victor, which is, in my personal opinion, a waste because Victor is a really smart and powerful man, who could've helped change the entire world for the better."

"Speaking about changing the world..." Jane muttered giving Bruce a thoughtful look. "How come we were never asked to join The Future Foundation? We are all world-renewed scientists and those are the kinds of people they are looking for!"

"Yes, but..." Bruce awkwardly cleared his throat. "They are mostly employing only the younger generation of the geniuses-"

"Are you saying that I am old?!" Jane shrieked with an offended look. "I'm only 33 years old!"

"That's not what I meant!" Bruce rolled his eyes. "They just prefer to take younger people under their wings and mentor them... Tony was a member for a brief moment back in 2012, but he was eventually kicked off."

Jane blinked. "Kicked off for what?"

"Constant flirting with the wife of the boss," Bruce answered with an uncomfortable look on his face. "He was also constantly teasing Reed and pulling pranks with the other kids on him. I once asked Reed about it and he told me, and I quote: 'I couldn't fire my own wife, could I?'" He then looked at Jane and sighed. "You and Me are viewed as a one package deal with Tony since we are living with him 24/7. That's why we were never asked to join them."

"Son of a bitch..." Jane quietly cursed as the Qunjet slowly descended down above the Future Foundation Compound.

****

The Three Qunjets landed in front of the Future Foundation Compound on the clear field and people slowly walked outside, creating a small crowd. Bruce, Peggy, Jane, and Christine quickly pushed in front of the crowd, motioning for the others to stay put and slowly start unpacking from the Qunjets. At that moment, Iron Man also dropped out of the sky and landed next to Bruce.

Tony's faceplate flipped up, revealing his smirking face. "See? I told you everything would be fine! They have no idea we are here."

"You sure about that?" A smooth female voice asked and Sue Storm uncloaked herself as she slowly walked up to them. She quickly let her eyes explore Tony's armored figure before she met his eyes and smiled. "Hey, Tony. You look well. Handsome as ever."

"You look dashing yourself, Sweetheart." Tony winked at her as his suit opened up and he stepped out of it, immediately pulling her for a hug. "God, I missed you! How long it has been since we last saw each other?"

"I can see why Reed kicked him off already," Jane whispered muttered to Bruce and Christine, who both only nodded in agreement. Peggy meanwhile observed both scenes in front of her with sudden interest.

"A year ago at Frankie and Val's birthday party," Sue answered as she hugged him back. "Thank you for informing us about the whole situation with S.H.I.E.L.D by the way. We had a little problem with the energy source at this place and we were on a complete blackout. The offer to lay low with Rhodey's family came in handy... Kids also loved playing with your Hulkbuster Armor, while Reed was really interested in your AI, Veronica, and how she worked."

"Please tell me Reed didn't thinker with my and Bruce's baby," Tony begged with crossed fingers and closed eyes.

"Veronica isn't our baby, Tony." Bruce signed, already tired of this argument.

Tony gasped with wide eyes at Bruce. "How could you, Banner?! Those words cut deep..."

"Don't worry. I cut Reed off before he could touch your little girl." Sue lightly chuckled, turning her attention to Bruce. "Hey, Bruce."

"Hey, Sue." Bruce gave her a small friendly wave.

Sue looked satisfied with the quick greeting and moved on, smiling when she locked eyes with Jane. "Jane! You finally took a break from your work!" She teased and gave the brunette a quick side hug. "It's good to see you, girl! Tell me, how does it feel to live with three Avengers? Is it worse than living with Reed, Johhny, and Ben?"

"Uhh." Jane huffed. "I could complain about it for weeks."

"Hey!" Both Bruce and Tony whined.

"They are like children in grown-up bodies!" Jane continued, ignoring them both. "And guess what? Now I have new Avengers at home as well! Clint and his family are also living at The Avengers Tower and I heard he is a big prankster as well... Carol, a new girl also seems like she is going to be a troublemaker... Luckily for me, Rhodey also joined The Avengers and will hopefully help me keep them from blowing up the house."

Tony started chuckling like a maniac while Sue gave Jane a small sheepish smile. "Well, I wouldn't count on that in your place... There is a reason why Tony and Rhodey got on so well."

"Oh god." Jane breathed out in horror. She stood there for a moment before she shook her head but the haunted look never left her features. She took a deep breath and slightly pulled Christine, who was looking like a little girl on Christmas, to her and in front of Sue. "This is Dr. Christine Palmer. She is our friend who we met when she assisted in Tony's surgery when he got the Arc Reactor removed."

"Hello, Mrs. Storm... Storm-Richards. Dr. Storm." Christine embarrassingly greeted, quickly shaking Sue's hand. "I'm a really big fan of yours..."

"Please, call me Sue." Sue kindly told her with a smile. She paused as she took a double-take on Christine and a look of recognition crossed her face. "Dr. Palmer... That sounds familiar. Didn't you date Dr. Stephen Strange by any chance?"

"I did..." Christine nodded and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry about what happened to him." Sue quietly sympathized. "He truly was a brilliant Doctor. It's a tragedy."

"Yeah... it is." Christine quietly muttered, clearly not wanting to discuss it any further.

Sue got the message and turned her attention to the other unknown brunette. "Hello, Ms...?"

"Carter," Peggy answered with a small smile. "Peggy Carter."

Sue blinked a few times at Peggy before she glanced at Tony with a questionable look on her face. Sue knows who Peggy Carter is from Tony and there was simply no way that this was really her...

"Uhm, she is..." Tony hesitated for a moment as he thought about the answer he was about to give. In the end, he decided not to dance around it and just say it like it is. "Peggy is a clone of the original Margaret Carter, who isn't really my Aunt but in reality is my birth Mother..." He quickly shook his head and grinned "Oh! I nearly forgot! She also has a super-soldier serum running in her veins!"

Sue blinked at him a few times with dropped jaw. "A Clone of your Mother who you thought was your Aunt..." She slowly repeated, just to be sure she heard him right. Tony simply nodded and Sue grimaced as she shook her head in disbelief. "And when I thought I already saw it all..." She glanced at Peggy and gave her a small pitiful look. "Well, I guess the world is still full of surprises."

"That's one way to say it," Tony muttered with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, where are your squad members and your stretchy husband? We have a bit of a situation on our hands..."

"I can see that." Sue nodded as she peeked behind Tony's shoulder at the small crowd behind them. "Johnny and Ben are babysitting Val and Frank at Rhodes residence right now. They just came back from another rescue mission. Reed is here in the lab, trying to work on..." She paused and slightly frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure what he is trying to do but he said it is important. I learned not to question it at times like this..."

"Ah. So you are saying we are all screwed because Reed won't even notice that we are here. Got it." Tony groaned and rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess it will be easier to talk with you anyway. You know about what is happening in the world right now. Hydra and only who knows who else, are hunting down S.H.I.E.L.D agents and their families and friends around the whole world because Fury, Rogers, and Romanoff are fucking idiots." Sue nodded, confirming that she is aware and Tony took a breath of relief. "The Avengers and my Iron Legion have been evacuating everyone we could but the problem is that I have no more space available. All of the Stark-owned facilities that are suitable for temporary housing are fully stoaked. So, we came here in hopes that The Fantastic Four could help The Avengers out a bit? Offer your facilities until The Government secures an alternative solution to this mess..."

"Of course." Sue nodded without hesitation. "Our floors in the Baxter Building are currently empty as we mostly resign here in LA these days. Just make sure to have someone trustworthy on the guard because we left some sensitive equipment back there." She jerked her head at the Compound behind her and motioned for them to follow her. "We have enough space to house all the people you brought here without any problems, however, we might have a small supply issue..."

"I will handle that." Tony quickly reassured with a back glance towards the Quinjets. "I will have Jarvis dispatch some Iron Legionnaires to bring everything you will need."

"Alright, so I guess we can all go inside and catch up?" Sue suggested.

"There is something else." Tony sheepishly shook the back of his neck. "Two things actually. One is a possible solution to this whole situation. The other on the other hand is something only you can help me with..."

Sue raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Go on."

"The Arc Reactor, or more precisely, the element I developed when I was dying with only old notes." Tony dramatically reminded them all, ignoring the way Peggy's eyes widened in horror. "Well, it turned out that the element had a small side effect on my body and altered my DNA, giving me telekinetic powers, and now I have no idea how to control them."

"And because my powers are similar to telekinesis you want me to teach you how to control them." Sue finished for him with a teasing smirk. "My, my... I never thought I would see the day Tony Stark admitted that he needed me for something."

Bruce and Christine snickered behind Tony's back while Jane outright burst out laughing at Tony's outraged facial expression. Peggy also smiled at the light teasing.

"What? No... I don't need you." Tony denied. "I just need the files and notes Reed surely wrote when you guys were learning how to control your own powers."

"Uh-huh." Sue nodded, still smirking and clearly not believing him.

"But, when you are already offering to help me figure out how to control it, I don't see a reason why I should not accept your generous offer," Tony added, smiling like an innocent angel.

Sue signed and shook her head. "You are such a dick..." She muttered with no heat behind her words. "Alright, I will only help you figure out how to control your abilities. What's the other thing you need help with?" She made a motion with her hand and pointed at the others. "I take it that's also why you brought everybody here."

"That's far more complicated," Tony stated as he pointed his hand behind him at the people they brought with them. "Let's at first settle these people in, snap Reed out of whatever he is doing, and calmly discuss it in private."

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this," Sue asked with suspiciously narrowed eyes.

Tony bit his lip. "Because you probably will hate this..."

****

"You can't be serious!" Sue raged on as she glared at Tony. "There is a reason why we never went through with Ultron's development!"

All of them, except Peggy, were sitting inside Reed's lab behind a big round table. After a few hours of settling down the agents and civilians Tony and the others brought with them, Sue finally went and dragged Reed out of his workshop, and after a few funny comments from Tony about Reed's new beard, Tony told them about his plan of creating Ultron. A project that The Future Foundation considered developing when Tony was still a member of the organization, but eventually abandoned it for the lack of belief in the said project and its functionality.

"I'm 100% serious," Tony replied with a perfectly calmed look. "No AI on this planet can process that big amount of data and we don't have time to create and then help another AI learn and grow from scratch. I know there is a danger in creating an AI with a digital scan of human brain patterns instead of coding the neutral network manually, but we don't have any other choice if we want to save as many innocent lives as possible. Even now as we speak there are only 275 active Legionaries in the field because Jarvis cannot control more of them without lagging."

"Why are you against this Ultron program?" Jane curiously asked, looking at Sue.

"Because of the danger, Tony mentioned," Sue answered with her lips forming a tight line. "We didn't go through with the program but we did a few simulations and in every simulation, the AI turned hostile. Hostile like full Skynet vibe."

"Those simulations were never 100% accurate." Tony quickly defended. "But I admit, there is a certain risk with all of this. However, I believe me and Reed can program a code that will prevent Ultron from going full Skynet on us and keep him loyal to our cause. Jarvis will also guide Ultron and help him grow up in their free time. Think about it. With S.H.I.E.L.D gone, the world will look to The Avengers and others like us to keep them safe. As soon as Ultron links with the satellite network in space, he will have his eyes everywhere. He will be able to track anyone on Earth in only seconds and detain them with the use of The Iron Legion. There will be no more need for a shady organization like S.H.I.E.L.D to exist because Ultron will be out there. A suit of armor around the world."

"This is your plan?" Bruce asked. "You want to replace S.H.I.E.L.D with Ultron, The Iron Legion, and The Avengers?"

"The Avengers were formed to fight the battles the world couldn't fight on its own." Tony slowly nodded. "With S.H.I.E.L.D out of the picture, there is nobody else for the job and the world is much more vulnerable than it already was." He pointed at Bruce and Sue. "You two are biologists and scientists." He then pointed at Christine. "She is a neurosurgeon. She knows her way around human brains. The three of you can figure out a way to scan human brain patterns for me and Reed to turn into a digital code that will work as a neutral network for Ultron." He then pointed at Jane. "She is the leading expert on Asgard and other realms like it. She knows how the wormholes work and can help us figure out a way for Ultron to be able to track them or hopefully even block them from forming."

"That's a big if," Jane remarked.

"Together we can do this. If we combine our knowledge and expertise into one mind, we can create the perfect Protector to defend our planet from external as well as internal threats." Tony stood up and leaned against the table. "Peace in our time. Imagine that."

"I see your point," Reed spoke for the first time, scratching his outgrown new beard. "I personally always thought your draft of the project Ultron had great potential. I have developed a device called a cerebral inhibitor that could help us with the neutral network if Sue, Bruce, and Christine can successfully extract the brain patterns and transform them into data."

"Uhh, I can give you the full scan of someone's brain, but I have no idea how to turn something like that into digital data." Christine awkwardly pointed out.

"I think I know how we could do that if we have a full and clear print," Bruce said as he cleared his glasses. "I will just need some equipment and a few days. Hours if Sue helps me."

"You guys are seriously considering this?" Sue asked in disbelief, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Did none of you hear me when I said that all of the simulations we did turn into a real-life version of Skynet? Those simulations might not be 100% accurate but there is still a high possibility of it actually happening."

"Sue, Tony is right." Reed softly proclaimed. "The world is a vulnerable place right now. With S.H.I.E.L.D gone, The Inhumans are also without supervision outside New Attilan. S.H.I.E.L.D was helping Blackbolt track down and locate other triggered Inhumans and keep them in line but without S.H.I.E.L.D... We will need something capable of fighting and defeating the rogue Inhumans. Tony's Iron Legion is the best suitable choice besides The Avengers and The Fantastic Four and we can't be everywhere at once. With Ultron, we will have a fighting chance, but we need to think bigger."

"Bigger?" Tony curiously questioned.

"Right now we need to focus on the problem at hand. Rescuing the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D personnel and capturing Hydra. However, after that, we need to focus on the threats from outside the Earth." Reed started and a hologram appeared in the palm of his hand. "The Silver Surfer, Galactus, The Chitauri, The Dark Elves... What other threats are out there? What if there are threats that are far more powerful than us? What will we do then? We need to prepare for those kinds of threats."

"I take it you already have some ideas in mind." Jane guessed.

"I do." Reed nodded.

Tony stared at the image of The Chirauri Soldiers with a haunted and scared look on his face. In his mind, he was no longer in the Future Foundation Compound. He wasn't even on Earth. He was back in the wormhole above New York, surrounded by darkness and enemy forces. He felt like he was drowning and falling at the same time. He already saw what is out there and it shook him to his core. The reason why he created The Iron Legion in the first place was to prevent something like another Chitauri Invasion from happening again, so he is on board with anything Reed has in mind and can help with that goal. He snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat while looking at Reed. "What do you have in mind?"

Reed pressed a button on his phone and another hologram of a high-tech Space Satelite appeared in exchange for the photos of the aliens Earth already encountered. "I have been interested in Space for a very long time. After Galactus and The Chitauri Invasion of New York, I have been working with S.W.O.R.D and Erik Selving on this project but we never got into the construction because it would be too expensive and we had no suitable power source to power it. This satellite was supposed to be one of many that would float around the Earth and create a protective energy force field using the technology Dr. Selvig made to protect The Tesseract during the Invasion. If we had this kind of protection-"

"The aliens would not get past the bouncer." Tony finished for him as a small grin formed on his face. "My Arc Reactor technology powers the entire Avengers Tower on its own for an entire year. If my guess is right, the Arc Reactor could power this satellite for two or maybe even three years. We could also combine these satellites with my Iron Legion program. Create an automated assembly and store all the Legionaries up there, so if there is an issue with the satellite, Ultron can fix it on his own."

"And with Jane's knowledge, I could finish up my teleport device faster and we could also apply this technology to Ultron and with the satellites around the entire Earth, Ultron could be anywhere in only seconds." Reed continued, mirroring Tony's grin.

"We will need a suitable person for the brain scan," Bruce spoke, joining the conversation and looking thoughtfully at the ground. "Someone who is smart and can think out of the box. Someone who can adapt to any situation and use limited resources to the best of his abilities. Someone with a very creative mind-" He paused and looked directly at Tony. "You. You created the first Iron Man suit out of a bunch of scraps. You can think and improvise like any other man on the entire Earth."

"He is right." Reed supported the idea. "You came up with the original idea of Ultron. You know exactly what Ultron will need to know immediately after his creation. Your Iron Legion will act as his hands. It needs to be your brain patterns."

“So this Ultron is going to be an artificial version of Tony?” Christine questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

“No.” Reed shook his hear. “Ultron will be his own unique being. Only his brain capacity will start exactly like Tony’s as soon as he will he activated for the first time and until he logs on the internet. After that his intelligence and knowledge will rapidly grow beyond anything a human mind can imagine, but he will still he able to improvise in similar manner like Tony.”

Tony meanwhile stared at Bruce and Reed before he glanced at the girls. "Are we all in agreement then?" Jane and Christine exchanged a look before they both nodded. Tony then turned his gaze at Sue, who still looked uncertain. "And you? I won't go through with this plan without you. I value your opinion that much."

Sue bit her lip and looked him directly in the eyes. "Can you and Reed really prevent him from going rogue?"

"Yes," Tony answered without hesitation.

"Alright..." Sue gave in with a heavy sigh. "Let's save the world, I guess."

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Tony grinned at her before his smile fell. "But first you and me should probably focus on my telekinesis so I accidentally don't snap any more necks..."

"Wait..." Reed frowned as he glanced at Tony. "You have telekinetic powers?! I have so many questions right now!"

****

"I'm sorry... Could you repeat that again?" Tony requested for the third time, still not believing what Sue and Reed just told him.

Sue sighed and facepalmed with the clipboard she was holding in her hand. She and Reed did a few tests of their own on Tony and the results came back were really interesting. "You were wrong to assume you weren't using your powers at all from the moment Thor knocked you out as you politely said it. You have been subconsciously creating a telekinetic forcefield around yourself for the entire time you have been here and possibly you were doing this ever since your powers started to work."

"Sue has been doing the exact same thing ever since she found out she was pregnant with Franklin and Valerie." Reed continued instead. "It's a simple defense mechanism that doesn't drain you as much as moving other physical objects normally would. In theory, you could learn to manipulate this telekinetic energy and increase your physical strength, speed, and durability."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Tony shrugged. "But how do I control this? How do you control those force fields of yours, Sue?"

"My powers are fueled by my emotional state, such as anger and frustration," Sue responded as she shot Reed a quick nostalgic grin. "I guess your powers are working exactly the same. What did you feel when your powers lashed out for the first time?"

Tony thought back to when he snapped that Hydra's soldier's neck at the Barton farm and back to his mental breakdown. "Panic, rage... I don't know."

"So if I do this." Reed pinched Tony's arm, making the other man yelp from pain and glare at the older man. "Nothing? Do you feel anything that could be connected to your powers?"

"I feel a strong desire to kick your ass, does that count?" Tony snapped.

"Nope," Sue answered instead. "That feeling is a really common thing around here anyway. Nothing special." Reed glared at her and she gave him an innocent look that made him shake his head in disbelief. She turned to Tony and used her powers to pull him to his feet. "Let's try something else." She pointed at the chair near the exit from the room and with a flicker of her hand it moved to the right side of the room. "Close your eyes. Focus on your emotions and move the chair back to its original position."

Tony stared at her for a moment, but when he realized she was completely serious, he closed his eyes and did as she told him to do. He took a few calming breaths and tried to relax.  Reed observed Tony with an interest all over his face but when nothing happened for a few moments, he sighed and quietly returned back to his computer and continued their work on Ultron's programming. Sue meanwhile kneeled down but patiently waited for something to happen.

"This isn't working." Tony hissed as he opened his eyes with frustration written all over his face.

"Because you are thinking over it too much," Sue remarked as she matched his look. "Don't think about it. Just let it happen just as you move your hands. It's almost the exact same feeling." She stood up and moved behind him, gently guiding his hand upwards and pointing it at the chair. "Focus on your anger and let it fuel your power and simply move the chair."

Tony thought about everything bad that fucked up his life and he could feel hate and anger boil under his skin. Without thinking about it, Tony flickered his hand to the left and the chair flew through the air and stopped in mid-air as Tony held his hand and stared at the chair with an unreadable look on his face. He glanced down at his hand as he made a few swift movements in the air and the chair mirrored his movement. "I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"Good job." Sue praised with a proud smile.

Tony returned her smile before he snapped his hand into a fist and the chair cracked and snapped into two pieces. He then lifted his other hand and both broken pieces of the chair started circling around each other in perfect harmony. After a few moments, Tony started to feel slightly dazed and quickly snapped his fingers and the broken pieces crumbled into multiple small pieces and fell to the ground. "Thank you." He told Sue "I hate to admit it but you really are a perfect teacher. I get why those Kids you and Reed took under your wings like you so much. Not that I ever disliked you-"

"You welcome, Tones." Sue chuckled and gently clapped him on the shoulder as she walked past him. "I'm going to go check on Jane and see if Christine and Bruce already need my help with the brain data. Try not to blow up anything in here, boys."

"Bye Sue!" Tony cheerfully waved behind her as the doors closed behind her retreating figure. As soon as the doors closed, Tony looked at Reed and realized that Reed again lost himself in the work and stopped acknowledging the world around him.  "Wonderful." He sarcastically muttered to himself, making his way to his own computer and continuing his work on the Ultron code.

"You know, I like to believe I am a really smart guy." Reed began, not lifting his head from his work. "I also like to believe I can see what other people cant see. Do you know what I noticed when I looked at you?"

"I have a feeling you will tell me anyway." Tony shrugged, not really interested in whatever Reed is trying to say.

"You knew we would support your idea even before we discussed it." Reed continued. "You also knew that Bruce would suggest you as Ultron's human template and that I would support this idea because you were the only logical choice. You knew all of this, haven't you?"

"I did," Tony admitted.

"And you want to replace S.H.I.E.L.D with Ultron and The Avengers." Reed continued. "Why? You hated S.H.I.E.L.D. Why would you want to replace them?"

"Because I am a vengeful prick," Tony answered as he turned around to face Reed. "My Mother and Father were the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D and S.H.I.E.L.D did nothing else than try to fuck me off on every occasion they could. They put a red-haired whore on me in hopes that I would fall for her pretty eyes and sexy ass, so they would have a levare over my stuff after my death." He bitterly chuckled and licked his lips. "This way I will make sure that our World is protected and S.H.I.E.L.D can never rise again. Sure, Fury will try to fight this but he will lose and when  S.H.I.E.L.D is nothing more than a bad memory, I will go to Washington to see the bitch for myself and I will tell her everything I did and then I will laugh in her face. I don't care if that makes me sound like a villain but she will die knowing that she wasted her life. She will feel worthless just as I did when I learned the truth... And in time, nobody will remember the old Peggy Carter when they will see her new and better version. It will be as if she never existed at all."

"You know where I stand with things like that." Reed reminded him with a heavy sigh. "I don't agree with your methods but I won't try to convince you to change your mind. I know it would be a worthless fight anyway... Just promise me one thing." He stood up and clapped Tony on the shoulder. "You will stop after her. You will not go down this vengeful path any further and you won't use Ultron or anything we are going to create here today in your little schemes."

"I promise." Tony nodded and turned back to his work as Reed slowly walked out of the room. Tony wrote a few more lines into the console before he stopped and ran his hand through his hair. He then pulled out a device from his pocket and put it into the computer. "J? You there?"

"For you, Sir? Always." Jarvis iconically responded.

"What do you think about the code so far?" Tony asked, leaning into his chair.

"Running the diagnostic now." Jarvis smoothly annouced. "The code is remarkable, Sir. You and Dr. Richards did a really good job. I believe this is the right step in the right direction."

"Good," Tony remarked as he minimalized the whole code and opened a new file. "You know... I feel a bit robbed out of the whole... Helping your AI grow thing, so... I think it's time to make you a new Sister too. You know, she and Ultron can be twins!"

"That's a weird reason, but I'm not complaining, Sir," Jarvis responded. "I like all of my siblings, but I have a special place in my digital heart for sisters." He paused for a moment. "Please, don't say to Dum-E what I just said. I would never hear the end of it."

"No promises." Tony sing-songed with a teasing grin as he reached for the keyboard and started writing a quick line. "I think I will call her... What day is today?"

"Friday, Sir," Jarvis answered

"Ah, yes." Tony chuckled. "I will call her Friday."