This is peace in my time.
PREVIOUSLY ON: Dawn of New Change
With the Cradle in their possession, Tony manages to get Bruce on board to put Jarvis' matrix into whatever comes out of it. Taeyong is not at all pleased with this and decides to sit out, knowing there's nothing much he can do about it. Steve comes back with the twins and a fight ensues to stop Tony and Bruce from creating an Ultron 2.0
What no one was prepared for, was something entirely new. Also, Thor's back!
Taeyong got his suit ready and charged as he went back into his own bedroom. He slipped out of the spare clothes that Barney had given him and into something a little more slick. Everyone was starting to suit up and Taeyong quickly pulled on a tight fitted, long-sleeve shirt. He threw on a pair of black bush pants and was about to walk out of his on-suit when he saw one of the twins in his room, looking over his wall of newspaper clippings.
"Hello?" Taeyong said, narrowing his eyes at the boy, Pietro. "Need anything?" he asked, setting his jaw and looking away from Pietro's penetrating gaze. Taeyong walked past him, out of his room and held the door open, motioning for the boy to do the same.
"No, I was simply interested in where the son of Tony Stark slept. Must be nice, living in such bliss and luxury," Pietro said, walking ahead. He was wearing one of S.H.I.E.L.D.s fitted suits, enough to help streamline his body when he ran. It was something that Tony had thrown in his direction when Steve gave everyone the order to suit up.
"Well," Taeyong swallowed, walking into the kitchen. "You know what they say," he poured himself a glass of water, "Ignorance is bli-"
"Bliss," Pietro scoffed. "Do you like living like this? In this palace?"
Taeyong smirked, turning and leaning against the kitchen counter. Pietro, even skinny and sunken looking, who appeared too weak to even knock Taeyong with his super speed, still made Taeyong itch. Taeyong, who had experience in fighting, who knew he could take Pietro on in a fair battle, didn't like his look. "Palace?"
"Everything is clean," Pietro stated. Taeyong furrowed his brows. "Have you ever been to Sokovia, before the bombs your dad dropped on us? Even then, we had colour and we had home. This place, so clean it reminds me of an office. Like in those movies."
"Yeah?" Taeyong sipped on his water and put his glass on the table. "Well... it-" Taeyong snorted, "I don't know what to say... you hate my father? Yes?" Pietro was quiet for a second but eventually nodded. "And by extension, you hate me?" He gave another nod and Taeyong bit his lip. "Can I ask why you didn't go for the United States Air Force?"
"What?"
"US Air Force," Taeyong clarified. "Dad might have given the gun but I think... I think I've always wondered why you didn't go for the guys that pulled the trigger?" He titled his head, staring at Pietro and hoping that he looked older and more intimidating.
"Because it was his name that stared us down," came another voice. Taeyong and Pietro both turned to the kitchen entrance. Wanda stood just behind the fridge, wearing a dark black dress that Taeyong found to be unpractical considering they were going into battle and a red leather jacket that he assumed she had got from Natasha's stash. "It was his name on the side of the bomb and that was what we were forced to look at."
Taeyong nodded, trying to wrap his head around their reasoning. Trauma, and an obvious scapegoat needed to channel all their anger-
"Don't try to understand our actions," Wanda hissed, eyes glowing red. Pietro stepped forward, between Taeyong and Wanda even when neither seemed like they'd do anything. "Don't try and think-"
"Don't go through my thoughts," Taeyong spat, feeling his spine straighten and an impenetrable hatred coil over his shoulders and down until it settled in his gut. He blinked, shaking his head slightly as Wanda took a step backwards. "I really... fucking hate when people touch me. When-" Taeyong kissed his teeth, trying to gather his thoughts. "When people try to manipulate my thoughts. I didn't lie when I said we don't like it here." He looked between Pietro and Wanda. "It took a lot to bring back Clint when he was under Loki's mind control and you shattered years of work it took to make the Hulk a real team player," he grimaced, feeling utter disgust roll in waves and Wanda flinched.
"Don't presume to know shit just because you read minds," Taeyong grabbed his glass of water and made for the nearest elevator when Wanda's voice cut into him again.
"I saw your mother!"
Taeyong turned to find Wanda clutching her brother's arms, Pietro was holding her back. "I saw you in her place and your dad- disgusted by you-"
"Then you really don't know shit about me," Taeyong gave a twisted grin. "My dad would never be disgusted by me. You can look in my thoughts all you want but you'll never be able to interpret them because," he tutted, feeling a heavy mask settle over his features. "You're just a little, selfish, and cruel girl. One who came running to us with her tail between her legs when she realised she fucked up." Taeyong walked away.
***
"-I got no plans tomorrow night," Steve said from within the confines of the Quinjet.
Tony's lip quirked upwards, "I get first crack at the big guy-"
"Aw come on," Taeyong said, jogging inside and slapping a hand over Steve's shoulder, leaving against the soldier. "Pick a number, I want to go first. Youngest to oldest!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers.
"Iron Man's the one he's waiting for," Tony shrugged in Taeyong's direction.
Before the younger boy could speak up, Vision, as he dubbed himself, walked past all of them. "That's true," came the voice of Jarvis, "He hates you the most." Taeyong snorted, looking back at Steve who winked at him before they all settled inside. Clint went round giving everyone their ear pieces and Taeyong settled into one of the seats. Opposite of him were the twins, looking down at the earpieces and then at each other.
"Just in and don't touch them afterwards," he said, putting his own in. "Don't wanna dislodge or accidently crash the connection." Pietro gave him a nod and Wanda sighed, putting hers in.
"Ultron knows we're coming," Steve said, looking over everyone as Tony and Clint started to power up the Quinjet. "Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. That's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't..." Pietro looked away, jaws clenched. "So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them and we can get the job done.
"We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us." Steve looked down at the hologram image pulling up the latest surveillance of the country. "Ultron thinks that we're the monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world... and he's right."
"He is?" Taeyong asked.
Steve turned to the younger and gave Taeyong a crooked grin, "'course we are 'sport. We'll always be wrong, but we're fighting for the people and that has to mean something right?"
Taeyong nodded- "Right." -and settled into his seat. He closed his eyes as they started to fly and then smiled as Steve sat next to him, slumping. Not even trying to look for the seatbelt and caring enough for the safety issues. Taeyong scoffed, pulling out a packet of Skittles from the pocket beside his thigh.
"You carry Skittles?" Pietro asked, looking at Taeyong's pockets in wonder.
Steve gave a healthy grin, taking the offer from Taeyong and shovelling the candy in his mouth at an inhuman rate. "Steve likes 21st Century candy and it is important," Taeyong nodded mostly to himself. He looked over to the front of the Quinjet where his suit was stationed, "I have a packet of popcorn stashed away in my suit for the sole purpose of watching these guys fuck up on missions. It's all for the joke."
"The joke?" Wanda asked.
Taeyong nodded sagely, "the joke."
***
When they did finally get to Sokovia, it was Taeyong and Pietro's main job to make sure that the Sokovians left their homes and workplaces in a quick and precise manner. The other Avengers were also on their mission, but they had to find Ultron as well. Wanda was using her mind altering abilities to get the citizens to leave their homes as well.
Taeyong watched as people, with loose red waves of her magic surrounding their faces, started to walk out of their homes. They took nothing from their personal possessions except for the coats, hats and scarves on their shoulders and started to walk.
Taeyong flew in his suit, holding Pietro from his underarms and landing them just outside of a police building. "This seems like a good first place-" He didn't get to finish before Pietro rushed forward, voice loud and demanding as he got into the lobby.
"We're under attack! Clear the city! Now!" Then he raced back over to Taeyong, arms crossed and face smug.
"What the heck was that?!" Taeyong hissed, opening his mask and waving his arm in that general direction.
"What?" Pietro looked back at the police station, before he rolled his eyes. "Good point," he sped off again and the next thing Taeyong knew, there were the sounds of bullets being fired as Pietro muttered an exasperated, "Get off your asses."
Taeyong's jaw dropped as he watched Pietro race back over to him, "that- that wasn't any better!"
"It worked, did it not?"
"Well..." Taeyong pouted, "Yeah I guess?"
"Good, I'll go left, you go right. We meet in the town centre-"
"Wait! Where's-" Taeyong groaned, waving his hand around his face as Pietro kicked up dust from his speed. "I'm gonna hit him at some point," the younger muttered.
He flew up around the city, starting to help people. Taeyong bit his lip, ignoring the outraged cries of the citizens and pulled over his mask. He ushered them out of their workplaces, cursed Pietro and started to fire up his repulsors. "I need you to leave, right now," he urged, hoping that he sounded somewhat adult-like.
"Just fire at the wall or something," Pietro said through comms.
"I don't wanna hurt them."
"You won't. That's why there's a wall. Unlike the Americans, our walls are not made of cardboard, ours are brick. It'll hold-"
"That's not what I-" Taeyong ducked quickly, shielding himself from people throwing office supplies at him. He was vaguely transported back to the first time he saw this happening, but with the Iron Legion and remembered the corrosive acids their had thrown over the legionnaires. Taeyong groaned, "FRIDAY, can you charge up a small repulsor, one that won't damage the wall too bad?"
"Of course Sir."
Taeyong fired at the nearest wall, "I did say," he gave a shrug when they finally scattered, running away from him. Taeyong started to help more and more people out of the building, until he got confirmation from Bruce that Natasha was free. He flew over to the edge of the city, where traffic started to pile up as people drove over their bridge, trying their best to get out of the city.
He landed just beside Clint, "you think they'll make it out on time?" he asked, lifting his shield and looking back at Clint.
Clint nodded slowly, "they'll get there."
"Ultron is in the church," came FRIDAY's response, causing Taeyong and Clint to make heavy eye contact, before dispersing as their plan was set in motion.
"Dad?"
"On it bud," Tony said.
Tony flew over to the church, trusting FRIDAY as she helped with navigation. He flew just down into the centre of the building, still under tarp and construction. "I think he's waiting for you," FRIDAY said.
Tony took a couple steps forward, looking around the broken and crumbling building.
"Come to confess your sins?" came the crackly and deep voice of Ultron.
"I don't know," Tony quipped, "how much time you got?"
"More than you-" Tony turned around, looking upwards at the abysmally gigantic form that Ultron had managed to upgrade himself into. He was twice Tony's height and build, towering over his body with a deep red glint in his eyes.
"Uh..." Tony tilted his head, blinking up in astonishment. "Have you been juicing? Little vibranium cocktail?" He revelled in the way Ultron sighed in exasperation. "You're looking... I don't wanna say "puffy.""
"You're stalling to protect the people."
"Well, that is the mission. Did you forget?"
Ultron waved a careless hand and Tony, for a quick second, was charmed at how alike his and Ultron's mannerism were. "I've moved beyond your mission. I'm free." Before Tony could quip something back like his general coping mechanisms naturally fell into, the centre of the church exploded with something big and metal erupting out of it. For an alarming second, Tony's view was only dirt and dust, everything a muddy grey-brown until it settled and FRIDAY started to scan whatever just popped out of the ground. It spun in a cycle, reminding Tony of the inside of a TARDIS, from the show Taeyong, Mark and Johnny were obsessed with as kids. Three long panels of metal claw came bearing down on the church's floor, and pierced into the cobbled ground, perched tightly and securely like it was nothing.
"What? You think you were the only one stalling," Ultron said.
"There's the rest of the vibranium," FRIDAY's scan showed that it went deep underground. Farther than Tony could imagine, "function, still unclear."
"This is how you end Tony. This is peace in my time."
Tony couldn't dispute it because there were sudden explosions and noises coming from outside of the church. He could hear the Avengers all over the comms, shouting about the Legionnaires and everything turning to shit right before them.
"Dad," Taeyong called. "Could use some back-up."
Tony was flying off within seconds.
NEXT TIME ON: Dawn of New Change
Taeyong stared at its remains in awe. "What?" Pietro spat, stretching his shoulders.
"It- did-" Taeyong blinked, "did you hear what it said?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"The best friend protocol..." Taeyong whispered. "The best friend protocol..."