[Somewhere in Missouri. The Barton Farm.]
The Quinjet landed in a field, kicking up dust and dried cornstalks. The ramp lowered, and the Avengers stumbled out—beaten, traumatized, and silent.
Thor immediately flew off to find answers elsewhere. Bruce sat on the ramp, wrapped in a blanket, shaking. Steve and Tony wouldn't look at each other.
Clint Barton led them toward a modest farmhouse. "Honey, I'm home! brought some friends. Sorry didn't call ahead."
A pregnant woman walked out onto the porch. Laura Barton.
"Clint?" She looked at the ragtag group of superheroes on her lawn. "Did you... did you break them?"
"Ultron did," Clint kissed her. "Guys, this is Laura."
Two kids, Cooper and Lila, ran out. "Dad!"
The team stopped dead. Tony blinked. "You have... miniature agents?"
"Smaller, stickier versions of me," Clint corrected. "Yeah. Fury helped me set this up when I joined. Kept it off the books. Good thing too, now that Ultron is reading the internet."
The kids stopped when they saw the group. They looked at Captain America's torn uniform. They looked at Natasha, whom they knew.
Then, they looked at the man standing behind Tony.
Sebastian Michaelis was out of place. His black tailcoat, his pristine gloves, his very posture screamed "Victorian Manor," not "American Farmhouse."
Lila, the youngest, pointed a small finger. "Is he a magician?"
Sebastian's eyes crinkled in a smile. He stepped forward, bowing low.
"Indeed I am, young lady," Sebastian straightened up, pulling a silver coin from behind her ear. "I specialize in making problems disappear."
He flipped the coin. It vanished in mid-air with a snap of his fingers.
Lila gasped. Cooper's eyes went wide.
"Do it again!" Lila demanded.
Sebastian chuckled. "Perhaps later. For now, I believe your mother requires assistance with lunch. And Captain Rogers looks like he needs a nap."
Sebastian walked past them up the porch steps.
"Mrs. Barton," Sebastian nodded to Laura. "If you would point me toward the kitchen? I fear my employer will wither away if he is not fed within the hour."
Laura blinked, stunned by the sudden arrival of a British butler. "Uh, sure. Through there."
Sebastian entered the house. The screen door slammed shut.
Natasha watched him go. She leaned in to Clint.
"You let him near your kids?" she whispered.
"He's with Tony," Clint shrugged, though he looked uneasy. "If Tony trusts him..."
"Tony trusts a lot of things that try to kill us," Natasha muttered, heading inside.
[Later that Afternoon. The Barn.]
Steve Rogers was chopping wood. He wasn't just chopping it; he was obliterating it. THWACK. CRACK. SPLINTER.
Tony walked up, holding a mug of coffee. He watched Steve tear a log in half with his bare hands.
"Take it easy, lumberjack," Tony said. "The wood didn't build Ultron."
Steve stopped, breathing hard. "No. You did."
"I was trying to end the fight," Tony argued, his voice rising. "We're the Avengers. We fight the battles that no one else can. But what happens when the battle is too big? When it's not an army of robots, but a god? Or aliens?"
Tony looked down into his coffee.
"I saw it up there, Steve. In the wormhole. That wasn't an army. That was the endgame. And we're not ready."
"So you built a murder-bot," Steve countered. "You played God."
"He didn't play God, Captain," a smooth voice interrupted.
They turned. Sebastian was standing by the barn door. He was holding a basket of fresh eggs. He looked utterly ridiculous and completely terrifying at the same time.
"He merely tried to outsource the violence," Sebastian walked over. "Peace is not a natural state for humanity, Captain Rogers. You crave conflict. You thrive on it. You need a villain."
Sebastian set the basket down.
"My Master simply tried to give you one that you didn't have to feel guilty about destroying. A machine. It is... efficient."
Steve looked at Sebastian with naked disgust. "Is that how you see us? Just things that fight?"
"I see you as you are," Sebastian smiled, a shadow falling over his face. "Fragile. Desperate. And terribly, terribly interesting."
Before Steve could respond, Lila ran into the barn.
"Mr. Sebastian! You promised!"
Sebastian's demeanor flipped instantly. The cold predator vanished, replaced by the charming servant.
"Ah, yes. The shadow puppets."
He walked over to a bale of hay where a lantern was casting a strong light on the barn wall.
"Watch closely."
Sebastian raised his gloved hands. He didn't just make a bunny or a dog.
Shadows stretched and warped from his fingers. They formed intricate, impossibly detailed shapes on the wall. A dragon taking flight. A knight battling a giant. A sailing ship on a stormy sea. The shadows seemed alive, moving with fluid grace that defied the physics of his hands.
Lila and Cooper sat mesmerized.
Tony and Steve watched from the doorway.
"He's good with kids," Tony murmured, a hint of pride in his voice.
"He's a monster," Steve whispered back, his knuckles white on the axe handle. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah," Tony sipped his coffee. "But he's my monster."
[Evening. The Living Room.]
The mood was somber until the front door opened.
A man in a trench coat walked in. Nick Fury.
"I hate this farmhouse," Fury grumbled, pouring himself a drink.
They gathered around the table. Fury laid it out. Ultron was in Seoul. He was forcing Dr. Cho to use her regeneration cradle to build him a final, perfect body. Synthetic tissue bonded with Vibranium.
"He wants to be human," Bruce realized. "Better than human."
"We have to hit the lab," Steve said, standing up. "If he uploads himself into that body, we'll never stop him."
The team mobilized. The despair was replaced by mission focus. They grabbed their gear.
On the porch, Sebastian was saying goodbye to the children.
"Thank you for the magic!" Lila hugged his leg.
Sebastian stiffened slightly, but patted her head awkwardly. "You are... welcome, Miss Lila."
"Will you come back?" Cooper asked.
Sebastian looked at the farmhouse. He looked at the warmth, the love, the fragile human life.
"I am afraid my work takes me to less pleasant places," Sebastian bowed. "But do keep practicing your coin trick. You never know when a little deception might come in handy."
He turned and walked toward the Quinjet.
Laura watched him go, holding Clint's hand.
"He smells funny," Laura whispered.
"Funny how?" Clint asked.
"Like... like sulfur," Laura shivered. "And old books."
[The Quinjet. En Route to Seoul.]
Tony sat in the cockpit, piloting. Sebastian stood behind him.
"The vision Wanda showed you," Sebastian said quietly. "In the ship."
"I saw them all dead," Tony stared ahead. "I saw the world burning. Because I didn't do enough."
"Fear is a powerful motivator," Sebastian noted.
"It wasn't just fear, Seb," Tony looked at his reflection in the glass. "It felt real. Like a premonition."
"Perhaps it was," Sebastian's eyes glowed faintly in the dark cockpit. "Or perhaps, Young Master, it was simply a reflection of the darkness you already carry inside you."
Tony didn't answer. He just pushed the throttle forward, speeding toward Korea and the god he had created.
[End of Chapter 30]
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