#INY Chapter One Hundred Sixty Nine

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 169

The team was heading out. Only a small amount of time allotted to get everything together. Sokovia was to be the next and last stop. It was strange to think you were headed back to where it all started- mere days ago. It felt like years at this point. And if everything went wrong there, there was no coming back. Ultron would win and there was no telling what that would mean. ...save perhaps the destruction of humankind. Maybe you’d get a chance to properly ask him. 

Everyone had gone off in different directions to prepare. Tony had even left your side to head upstairs to the penthouse. To prepare, you knew. It left you standing idly by, a little drained. Not sure you were entirely ready for the fight ahead. JARVIS- ...though you’d been hearing the whispers of Vision on everyone’s tongue- had headed to perch outside. Thor seemed to have joined him. Steve had gone somewhere with Clint. And the twins- 

...the twins. 

They were just rummaging about in the private quarters. Places where they shouldn’t have been. They’d followed Steve, you realized a little too late in your stupor. And so you followed them. Steve was nowhere in sight, but Pietro and Wanda were close to Natasha’s room. Doing what you had no idea. 

At least until they came out and looked just as caught as they should. Wanda was wearing one of Nat’s leather jacket. A stylish red one. You put your hands on your hips. “So. You’re on our side now? Is that what you told Steve?” Something had happened in Seoul, that much was clear. 

You needed to know what it was. Now. Because apparently they were headed into battle as part of your team. And you didn’t yet trust them. That had to change, quickly. And they had very little time to convince you. Wanda kept half behind Pietro, perhaps a little frightened of you. Of your oncoming judgment. You weren’t sure if that was a good thing. 

There was no expression on his face, though his eyes told a story of remorse you bought into only because you felt a flicker of it. “We helped create a monster. Fixing it… there’s only one shot at that.” Now or never, basically. He was right. 

They were young. And stupid. And reckless. And still angry, too. “You were hellbent on destroying Tony’s life. Tell me why I should trust you when he’s got his back turned?” 

Wanda finally found a little bit of courage. “Because this is more important than Stark. Than you.” Well. She wasn’t wrong.

You kept your gaze steady on her. “What made you change your mind? What finally got through to you- that Ultron is only out for destruction? What changed?” They’d been so keen to turn away from it, as long as following behind him benefited their revenge schemes. What was the push? 

Her eyes dropped. Both unable to keep your stare and ashamed. “I looked- into him. The thing in the Cradle. I saw his dreams of annihilation.” She’d said something similar to JARVIS. “I want no part of this any longer. Not this.” 

She and her brother clearly had changed their tune. At least for the moment. They felt guilty. They’d done something terrible. They’d paved a path for Ultron to stomp the earth. But that didn’t exactly erase everything that had come before it. So much pain they’d caused in such a short amount of time. It was hard to decide if grilling them was worth it right now. If it would help more than it would hurt. Yet still, you squared up. “There were fourteen deaths in Johannesburg.” 

Wanda’s hands clenched at her sides, and Pietro’s protectiveness flared. His voice went tight. “And there will be many more if we continue to be snide with each other. There’s no time for this.” 

“I disagree.” Your tone curbed him to heel- he actually startled a little with your declaration. “Look. I get making the wrong moves and one day waking up. I do.” Tony, in fact, had perhaps a very similar dawning realization. Except his hands had been a little more off the wheel in willful ignorance, than actually purposefully spilling blood on soil. Yet still, his journey on the rebound had been the loudest. And if these two had no intention of repenting in similar fashion, you couldn’t trust them. “But human lives- ones you’re now concerned with- were just collateral damage. You didn’t just hurt Tony, you forced Bruce’s hand. You forced him to murder people. To hurt people. Just for a shot at revenge.” 

Turning her head in a little shake, her voice was a quiet tremble, “An eye for an eye, and the world goes blind. Is that it?” 

Pietro put his hand on her shoulder, but his eyes stayed with you. “Better one eyepatch than a-” Brow raising as he tried to think, “-a blindfold.” It wasn’t quite the word he was looking for, but you got the picture. “Stark can make amends. Why not us?” 

“Tony made immediate and drastic changes.” Your own defensiveness in his stead was getting the better of you. 

Wanda’s anger flared. “He is not the only one capable of that.” 

“Prove it.” You stopped her fire yet again. “You’re asking me to go into battle and trust the both of you blindly. Can you at least understand why that’s difficult? This won’t be like anything you’ve ever faced. And if I can’t count on every last ounce of your courage, I don’t need you there. And I don’t need to be concerned about whose team you’re actually on.” 

This was a mess. You were now bringing two young kids into a firestorm. One, yes, that they were acknowledging they mildly helped create. But. Then again. Hadn’t you- in some way? Your involvement had been accidental, but Ultron was still here because you’d been a chef in that kitchen. You had to make this right. You had that drive. And if they didn’t, they were free to disappear into the night. 

You put your hand up with a little wave towards the elevator. “This is your one and only chance to leave.” Putting it on the table for them. Almost waiting for them to grab it. For Pietro to pick her up and rush out. 

They stood firm. “We’re going to Sokovia. Those are our people.” 

“This is bigger than Sokovia.” It was difficult to let them skate by. And you were having trouble figuring out why it was that you weren’t giving them a pass. ...it probably had everything to do with their malice where Tony was involved. And your bias here probably wasn’t helping anyone. 

But, to your surprise, Pietro was suddenly wearing a lazy grin. “Well, we’ve got to start somewhere, no?” 

It seemed they had their own biases navigating their choices for them. You just hoped they’d meet somewhere in an amicable middle. 

They might not have understood it, but… 

There would be no refuge for them if they turned around and hurt the team. 

                                                                  --- 

Finally making your way upstairs, knowing it would be your last stop, you found Tony in the penthouse- in his private office. It wasn’t often he spent time there, rathering to bring work with him wherever he was. Usually curled up to you somewhere, in bed or on the couch- at least if he wasn’t in the labs. He had some sort of bootup computer on his desk, and a few… well, you weren’t sure what they were- slim drives, maybe? 

Something of his own creation, that was for sure. 

They were scattered across the table, and he had his palms on the glass, leaning in. There was a soft glow of resignation encasing him. Stepping up closer, you put an arm around him. “Everything alright?” 

The brief touch of his smile was heavy, and with it came some stale noise of amusement. “You know… I think I was holding out hope. That I’d be able to put JARVIS back together. It’s why I left the suit alone.” 

Casting your glance down at the table where his attention was glued, you saw now- the little black drives had names on them, labels sitting atop what looked like a picture of neural wiring. ...at least that was your best guess.

 JOCASTA. TADASHI. VIRGIL. PLATO. HOMER. HELEN. It was almost a little shocking. That he had so many. Because you understood, just from the way he was feeling, and what he was saying… You gave him a little squeeze. “There’s no replacing JARVIS.” 

“Certainly not. I’m sure he’ll be pleased as punch to hear it. ...if that’s still him in there. Somewhere.” His head turned then, looking at you. Searching. Wanting to ask now that the two of you were alone. But also not wanting to ask, if the answer was something he wouldn’t like. 

You tried to offer a calmer light. “That’s JARVIS. But. Kind of like an evolved JARVIS. He’s… he’s got a lot going on.” 

“Yeah. Well.” Tony sighed a big breath out. “Who doesn’t, these days.” His attention turned back to the table and he reached out, finally selecting one of the drives. One labeled FRIDAY. “I guess it’s time to move on.” There was a certain amount of grief. Finally giving himself that bare moment of acknowledging it. 

Sure. Some version of JARVIS was now currently sitting on your roof talking to Thor. But. It wasn’t his JARVIS. And never would be again. That JARVIS was gone. That voice wouldn’t be helping him pilot Iron Man, anymore. He wouldn’t greet you in the mornings, or tell you what the weather was like. He wouldn’t answer phone calls or put out locates when you asked. Just… doing whatever you needed. Whenever you needed.

That JARVIS was gone. The two of you were intensely lucky you’d managed to salvage him- or rather find him and then repurpose him. But… that part of your lives was over. Really now. For sure. And Tony had been holding out some small sliver of hope that he’d be able to undo it. At least up until about four hours ago. 

Without waiting any longer, he slid the chip into his harddrive. A readout and startup blinked to life on screen. “Friday. As in my gal?” Asking him with as much humor as you could muster. 

“Might as well be.” Finally, he put his arm back around you. “Though no one’s as my gal as you are, if we’re being honest.” 

“Does it stand for something?” As if you had to ask, with Tony. 

“Framework Replicating Intelligence Digital Assisting Youth.” Quite the mouthful. You wondered briefly what the other ones stood for. But finally the bootup had completed, and a lilting Irish accent caught you by surprise. “Good evening, boss. Ma’am.” 

It was too much to ask that you just get over everything. But. She was new. And none of this was her fault. And she’d now be guiding not only Tony, but probably a lot of your daily life. As did JARVIS before her. So, with that in mind, you smiled (in no direction particularly). “Nice to meet you FRIDAY. Welcome to the family.” “Thanks very much. I’ll do my best.” 

Tony typed a few things onto the screen, things beyond your comprehension. “Good evening, FRIDAY. Recalibrate Mark 45, start a hard boot integration and prepare for launch in five minutes.” 

“I’m on it, boss.” 

“Now that she’s busy…” He turned fully away from the desk, so you mirrored him, and glanced up. “You talk to the kids?” 

Though your eyes narrowed in suspicion for only about two seconds, you couldn’t help your light grin. “How’d you know?” 

“Seems pretty obvious. Like something you’d do.” To be fair, no one knew you quite as well as Tony did at this point. And he was right on the money. “What’d they have to say for themselves?” 

To this you gave a shrug. “They want to help. Seems like something woke them up pretty suddenly.” 

“You trust them?” 

“I don’t have time to babysit. And believe me, after their little revenge game was made abundantly clear, if I thought I couldn’t turn my back on them, they’d be in a holding cell.” Your own life be damned, but putting Tony in another line of danger while he would already be fighting for the fate of the world seemed like a stupid thing to do. 

He nodded. “Sure. I trust your judgment.” He really did, too. That was the thing. 

If you said go, he was right next to you. If you said stop, he was always on your team. And if you said the twins could be trusted… he had faith in your decision. As always, it was a heavy weight to bear. 

Leaning up, you wrapped your arms around him, pulling him down just a little. Holding on to him. This would be the last time you’d be able to indulge for a long while. And just his warmth against you, the way he felt, the spice of his cologne so close to you… it was intensely comforting. And it served to ground you. Something you only just realized you needed. Even more so when his arms came back around you. 

There were no words needed. The both of you knew what you were about to do. About to face. What it meant, if even one thing fell out of line. 

You hated this life. You hated it. But you had no choice. 

Once the both of you found strength enough to part, you met with the group down on the deck level. Clint was firing up the jet. The sense of unease and hesitancy filled the room to the brim. Bruce was glancing around warily, but strangely it was Tony who offered the pessimism, “No way we all get through this.” 

So much of a shock, in fact, that you gave him a little push to his side. “What the hell is that? You wanna start a betting pool while we’re at it?” 

His little smirk was appreciative. Maybe your shove had shoved some sense into him. “If there’s even one tin soldier left standing, we’ve lost. I’m just being a realist. There’s gonna be blood on the floor.” 

Steve looked up, apparently sharing in this pre-battle self deprecating mirth. “I’ve got no plans tomorrow night.” He seemed so different now. Amicable and kind- with his teammates. Right before war. Maybe that was a good thing, though. Considering… if this all went well… 

He’d be the one you were looking at, to help you get out. To get over the Avengers, if such a thing was even allowed. 

Tony took a deep breath in. “I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man’s the one he’s waiting for.” 

You hadn’t realized JARVIS (Vision- still terribly undecided on what you were going to call him officially…) was striding across the floor until he was almost just past you. What he offered up was even more surprising, “That’s true. He hates you the most.” 

There was a soft noise of shock from you- small and stilted. Like you couldn’t believe he’d say such a thing. Tony looked pretty offended, too. But then the two of you looked at each other and lifted your shoulders in a mirror-move. “Can’t argue with that.” 

A little too literally. You’d have loved to go to Ultron and try to convince him otherwise, but. Can’t argue with that.