#INY Chapter One Hundred Sixty Seven

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 167

Clint called for the debrief about the Seoul mission while you and Tony were still in the air. About a half hour away from the Tower. His immediate silence over the line told you everything you needed to know, but the both of you waited patiently for Clint to speak. And when he did- “We lost Nat.” 

You felt your heart stop. “What??” 

Tony, in his infinite wisdom (clearly smarter than you, held a hand up). “What do you mean lost?” 

“Ultron took her.” 

Both you and Tony made some very upset noises and you slumped back in your seat. “Jesus Christ, Clint. You’re no longer allowed to do debriefs.” 

“There was a better way to phrase that.” Tony, as always, agreeing with you. 

Clint sounded equally annoyed from his end of the phone. “Are we counting this as a win?” 

Tony pursed his lips to the side, clearly deliberating how to ask, “Did you secure the Cradle?” 

“Precious cargo. Yeah. I got it.” Clearly unhappy that the team was forced to make a trade. 

It wasn’t fair. To make a trade like that. No doubt Nat had been doing her job. Doing her best. Ultron had snatched her- you couldn’t help but wonder why. ...and couldn’t stop yourself from wondering if you had gone with them, if you would have been able to prevent this. You were assuring yourself more than him as you said, “We’ll get her back.” 

Finally Clint’s bad mood broke just a little. “I know we will.”

Tony made the next call to the Tower. The quinjet was not that far behind yours, and once you landed they’d have to have the lab set up to… well, as he momentarily lied, destabilize the Cradle. Destroy it. Ultron had apparently done a fair amount of work to it. Had started building something inside of it with Cho’s help- Cho who was now free. Steve had stayed behind to help her. 

But that wasn’t really what he was planning to do. He just wanted to put facetime in with Bruce while asking him to try this one more time. You also decided not to chime in, understanding exactly the plan Tony was making. Bruce would be more amenable in person. A little bit more easily persuaded. 

On touch down, the both of you exited the flight deck and made a straight line down to the lab. The secured and cleared a wide area. Clint, as promised, was not too far behind. And once the three of you (with DUM-E’s slow assistance) dragged the Cradle in, you felt something strange. Like a headache was on the verge of blooming. And just as they’d plugged a large wire into the back of the Cradle, you set a hand over the cover. 

Tony looked up, sensing something was amiss. But he waited for you to speak, and when you did, you realized what was happening. A piercing, shrill noise had returned. “The thing- inside the scepter- it’s here.” You were sure of it. 

Both Bruce and Tony quickly whirled around to their respecting computer consoles, typing away in a furious buzz. It was Bruce that confirmed first. “Gamma radiation buzz is off the charts. That thing is working overtime. We gotta shut it down.” 

On the opposite spectrum, Tony seemed intrigued. “What’s it doing, I wonder?” Extremely curious to find out. 

Clint secured his fingers on the very thin edges and tried to wedge his weight upwards. It was an extreme failure, and the rest of you stood around watching him try useless to work. This was one of the reasons you stood back in situations like this. Out of your element. And not as willing to… put yourself out there, to put it mildly. When he realized he wasn’t doing much good he gave it a rest. “This thing is sealed tight.” 

Trying to draw his attention, and possibly looking after one of his own (albeit secret) interests, Bruce took his glasses off and fumbled about a little nervously. “Any word on Nat?” While you were all worried, he was a touch more so. For reasons that inspired a look cast between you and Tony. 

He was the one who answered after the two of you were done making faces at each other. “Haven’t heard. But. Have to wager she’s alive.”

You found the follow up conclusion simple. “If she wasn’t, Ultron would be making a big deal about it. He can broadcast anything anywhere. Her picture would be on every screen in the Tower if he wanted to make a statement with her.” It was a grim way of looking at it, but… for as much as you didn’t want to understand Ultron, you at least were aware of his base-line motives. He took Nat because he could. Or because she was in the way. That was on the team. That failure. He wanted everyone to stew in it. No sense in killing her yet. 

Bruce gave a solemn nod. “Makes sense, I guess.” Trying to redivert his attention, he cast a hand over the Cradle. “We’re going to need to access the program running in there. Break it down from within.” Moving on to work was the next easiest thing. 

Tony seemed to not agree- only momentarily though, you knew. He put a hand on Clint’s shoulder. “Any chance Natasha might leave you a message- outside the internet? Old school spy stuff?” 

It took him a moment, but when Clint nodded, it came with a little grin. “There’s some nets I can cast. Yeah. Alright. I’ll find her. You deal with this.” And just like that, he left the room. Which had been the point of distracting him that way. 

Bruce was already in the middle of some serious typing, trying to work away, when you and Tony approached from the opposite side of the Cradle. He seemed to ignore the looming obviousness of what was about to happen. “I can work on tissue degeneration-” Though he did look up at Tony, “If you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted.” 

Waving one of the holoscreens out of the way, Tony leaned in just a little more. Standing at his side, you couldn’t exactly see the eyes he was looking at Bruce with. But you knew them all too well. “Yeah. About that…” Pleading. About to ask for something he knew he shouldn’t. 

Apparently, for some reason, Bruce was no stranger to them either. Because in just the next second after that look registered, he put both his hands up. “No.” And gave a very sturdy warning. 

You tried your hand at this mass negotiation that was going to have to happen. “Please trust us.” Because you were in on this. One-hundred-percent. There was only this. 

Bruce shook his head, almost a little wildly. “Absolutely not. I don’t- not with this- are you serious??” While you tried to not take this too personally, you were starting to grow tired of everyone around here constantly implying you were better than Tony- and that they were always shocked when you failed to live up to those strange expectations they held of you. 

Tony pulled his phone out of his inside jacket pocket. “Our ally? The guy protecting the military’s nuclear codes? We found him.” And with a little shake of his phone, he shot out that beautifully bright orange consciousness you’d grown to love. 

JARVIS was alive. Moving. Thinking. And… warm. In a way you never would have been able to explain. A smile grew on your lips when he spoke. “Hello, Dr. Banner.” 

You would never judge Bruce. But. Bruce not saying hello back was probably the rudest thing you’d ever seen him do. Tony went into a bit of an excited ramble. A light was opening up inside of him. One of excitement. And detrimentally manic. Scrambling to move this last piece of the puzzle while it was still on his plate. “Ultron didn’t go after JARVIS because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So JARVIS went underground. Scattered himself. Dumped his memories. But not his protocols. He didn’t even know he was in there until she woke him up.” Giving a little nod your way. 

Bruce looked between you two. Back and forth. At least a few times. He then held a hand out, pressing it against the top of the Cradle. “So… you want me to help you put JARVIS into this thing?” 

Tony was quick, “No!” So quick that it nearly gave you whiplash. No? His wide grin told the whole story before the next words out of his mouth, “I want to help you put JARVIS into this thing.” Already Bruce was backing away, shaking his head over and over. “We’re out of my field of expertise here.” Tony having no problem being humble, for once. “You know bio-organics better than anyone.” 

He looked over your way. Waiting for a long time. Kind of pointedly staring at you. Like you might come to your senses and talk Tony out of this. As if you were the only one that could. But, when you just pressed your lips together, he sighed heavily. “What- you two just assume that JARVIS’ operational matrix can beat Ultron’s?” 

You waved a hand up JARVIS’ way, brushing that lightshow with the tips of your fingers. “JARVIS already has been beating Ultron. He’s been keeping nuke codes safe. For longer than we even knew it was a problem. If you ask me we should have looked at him first for a world protection plan.” 

JARVIS answered you, “Your confidence warms me, Ms. INY. Dr. Banner, please. I believe it’s worth a go.” There was something about this. JARVIS seemed a little different. A little more animated. ...emotional? Was that the word you were thinking of? 

...was it possible that in his initial fight with Ultron- -well if Ultron had somehow gained sentience… couldn’t JARVIS have?

In your eager optimism over JARVIS, you missed Bruce shrinking away. And when both you and Tony moved to the other side of the Cradle to face him, he put both his hands up, keeping you at arm’s length. “No!” It was rare that Bruce raised his voice. He was really stressed suddenly. “I’m in a loop! I’m- I’m caught in a time loop! This is exactly where it all went wrong.” 

Maybe it would have been a good idea to back off him. Let him cool down. But there was just no time to let him come to grips with this idea. 

It was why you understood when Tony reached out, settling his hands on Bruce’s upper arms, giving him a little affectionate stir. “I know. I know. I know what everyone’s gonna say. But they’re already saying it. We’re mad scientists. We’re monsters, buddy. We gotta own it. We have to make a stand.” 

There was a painful twist in your heart, hearing Tony speak so earnestly like that. What he believe to be honesty about himself. What his intentions made him. You didn’t think any of that about him, nor Bruce for that matter. But this wasn’t the time to start a therapy session. Instead, you tried to entreat him one last time. “Bruce, please… if it’s not this, it’s nothing. We need you. If you’re in a loop, this is where we break it.” 

Though he was looking at you briefly he hung his head. “You don’t know that.” 

“What if I told you I did? Would it make a difference?” 

This time he really did look at you- he took a long look. And then finally- “If I’m being told I have a choice here, it really doesn’t feel like it.” He didn’t pause long enough for something cold to creep in. “But. Fine. Let’s try one last time.” 

Tony gave him a clap on both his arms with another sturdier shake. “There you go, buddy.” 

You, instead, were softer. “Thank you, Bruce.” 

He sighed again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…” 

                                                                --- 

They got to work right away. Doing the things they did best. Babbling at each other. Hooking up the Cradle to their machines. Typing away. Working. Busily. Quickly. Because time was running out. Whatever was in the Cradle wouldn’t stay in that state forever- you caught at least that much. They were also working from the other end of the clock. Ultron was moving, too. Who knew when his next strike would be. 

It took them an hour. JARVIS had disappeared. Tony had put the lightshow away. But he’d gone quiet, too. Something that unsettled you. If this didn’t work, would you lose him again? You were absolutely sure you couldn’t bear a repeat. You’d only just gotten him back. But, in his absence, the Cradle started… well, singing wasn’t the right word but… it was something awfully close. The lab was humming otherwise with energy, covering that foreign tune that laid inside the Cradle. They were moving back and forth constantly. And the next fifteen minutes they started ramping up in intensity. 

Now or never had come pretty soon. 

Tony was typing in a buzz on his keyboard. “This framework is not compatible.” You had no time to register if this was a good or bad verdict as Bruce walked by, seemingly unbothered. “The genetic coding tower’s at ninety-seven percent.” He looked up at Tony. “You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.” 

Your mouth was open- about to ask something inane by their standards, but the heavy steps of boots caught your attention too late. You hadn’t been paying enough attention, because when you whipped around you saw Steve. Standing in his anger. And not only him- he’d brought the twins with him. 

His tone was condescending and tight. “I’m gonna say this once.” 

Tony wore one to match. “How about nonce?” 

Steve grit his teeth and waved his authoritarian hand around. “Shut it down!” 

Quickly moving to the leftmost console, Tony’s attention played elsewhere. “Nope. Not gonna happen.” 

You, in turn, stepped forward to try and get in between them, even though Tony was on the upper level. You held your hands out in defense. “Steve, please. You don’t understand.” 

He leveled a finger at you. “No you don’t understand. You don’t know what you’re doing!” 

Bruce was not too far behind you. “And you do? She’s not in your head?” 

Wanda stepped out from beyond Steve and your eyes went immediately to her. “I know you’re angry…” 

Something dark rumbled inside Bruce. Something foreign. “Oh, we’re way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.” 

You had to hold yourself very still after hearing that. It wasn’t like Bruce. Not at all. Then again… the news was back to calling him a monster. Because of her. He’d hurt people- because of her. There was a level of understanding for how truly angry he was over it. You looked her way. “Have a sudden change of heart?” 

She frowned, fingers twisting together anxiously. “It’s not easy to believe- but after what we’ve seen-” 

Tony’s voice boomed from the higher level. “That’s nothing compared to what’s coming!” 

In one twisting move, she turned his way. “You don’t know what’s in there!” 

“We know more than you do.” Something you asserted with more rights than you had. Tony said this was the next thing. The last chance. You believed him. And you’d stand by him. No matter what. 

Steve narrowed his eyes at you. “This isn’t a game!” 

A shouting match ensued with almost too many voices. But it died down as a blur flashed around the room, picking up wind as it wound around you- no- the Cradle- stopping with Pietro at the bottom, holding the main power source plug after yanking it free. “No no. Go on. You were saying?” 

Alarms started shrieking. But nothing ever quite compared to the crack of a bullet being shot off in close vicinity. The noise startled you into a jump, just about the same time the glass underneath Pietro’s feet caved in and you stepped over quick to see Clint putting a foot over his chest. The rest of your attention was stolen by the sudden struggling lifeforce inside the Cradle. 

That was until Tony’s anxiety spiked and he started moving in a hurry. “I’m rerouting the upload!” 

Deciding where he stood officially, it really shouldn’t have shocked you- Steve winding up to throw his shield- maybe it didn’t. Because you double-tapped your Reactor without a second thought, and held up a hand to blast it off trajectory after it had bounced off a couple work stations and headed straight for Tony. 

You were done with people attacking him. So much so that your next move was cleaner than the last. One shot of your repulsor aimed right at him. And the second he was off his feet, Wanda creeped closer in a weirdly stilted couple of moves. But she was brought to a standstill by Bruce who threw his arms around her from behind. “Go ahead. Piss me off.” 

It was a shame that your awareness was stolen a second time. Panic had started as a low simmer inside the Cradle, but it was now collapsing in on itself. Dying. The computers were still shrieking- Steve was on his feet- Tony had called his armor- 

But you couldn’t take your eyes off the Cradle. Or rather, what was snaking out above it. A familiar orange glow hit the air, wisping upward. Like it was leaving. 

 The next few seconds felt very important as your heart skipped a beat. That was JARVIS. Something in you told you. You knew. That light- that light drawing you in- drawing you up- That was JARVIS. And if you didn’t do something fast, he’d die.

Something pulled your arm forward. Something told you what to do as you held your hand up, fingers reaching, touching the tail of that energy. Calling it back. Calling it to you. And instead of continuing its upward flit, it shimmered back down, winding around your left arm, further still as you pulled your hand back, holding it to your chest. 

The song in the Cradle spoke your name. Something ancient directed your movements. Told you what to do. Almost like you’d done it before. Both your arms moved in a roundabout flow and then you cast both your palms out over the Cradle, fingers outstretched, directing that orange light inside. Holding it there. Keeping it there. Struggling to do so as the life just faded away. You couldn’t keep it there forever- which was why you pleaded in a bit of desperation- “You need to repower the Cradle- I can’t hold it-!” 

Tony said something- maybe just a call of your name- 

But it didn’t matter. The next thing in your peripheral was Thor sliding into the room, bringing with him urgent fury. He then jumped on top of the Cradle and the two of you looked at one another. He then gave you a nod. So very knowing. Somehow. And that was when you stepped away, back into Tony who had come to your side, and in the next move you drew your arm forward, throwing up a shield as Thor raised his arm, hammer in hand, and then cast it down, striking the Cradle with lightning. 

The sound was deafening. And once the light died, it seemed like it took everything with it. The computers had gone quiet. Everyone in the room held their breath. 

Then the glass on the Cradle shattered, the force throwing Thor to the back of the room. Once he was out of the way, something slid up onto the lid- a fresh body- something synthetic. Red and silver- with that glowing yellow singing on its forehead. 

His nervous eyes cast around the room. And as you reached out you were sure. You thought you were so sure that was JARVIS. But then he jumped forward, almost in an attack at Thor who had gotten to his feet. Almost. But you felt the scared desperation. The confusion. And when Thor reached up to grab that new body and throw him through the glass and down into the lounge, the voice that ripped from you was one of pure worry- “Stop!” 

Not giving anyone in that room enough time to think about that command as you took off in the next beat on a boost of your jets, following him. Finding him floating against the tall windows. Just looking. At everything. First the city, twinkling in lights. Then at himself. And as you came to a stand on the catwalk just behind him, waiting patiently, you saw his eyes drift to your reflection. Your voice wouldn’t work the first time you tried, so as you forced it on the next turn, the name came out in a croak. “JARVIS?” Hoping. Hoping against hope that this had worked. Because if it hadn’t… 

The moment took too long. Your voice had long since evaporated into the air, and he hadn’t so much as moved. But finally… your patience was rewarded, as a soft sheen of recognition bubbled up from him. And an even softer smile played along his reflection in the window. “Ms. INY.”