(Attendance please…)
….
Gojo sighed, a long, drawn-out sound of pure boredom. He watched Tony and Bruce hunched over the Regeneration Cradle, their fingers flying across holographic screens, complex diagrams and glowing lines of code shifting and reforming with their every touch.
It was, to Gojo, utterly mind-numbing. He understood the gist they were completing the Vibranium body for Jarvis but the intricacies of the process were lost on him, not because he couldn't learn them, but because he simply didn't want to.
He sighed again, slumping further into his chair, his round sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. "Can you guys, like, not do this a bit faster?" he drawled. "It's getting incredibly boring for me over here."
Tony, without looking up from his work, retorted, "We're not here to entertain you, Satoru. We're building a, quite literally, living synthetic body. If anything, this is one of the most fascinating things I've ever done, or am doing. Of course," he added, a grim note to his voice, "the current situation is a bit too dire for me to truly enjoy the scientific marvel of it all."
Bruce nodded in agreement, a rare spark of excitement in his eyes despite the exhaustion. "I agree with Tony. It's just… it feels like a breakthrough. We're going to give life to someone, or something. Not just saving a life, but literally making something living. Is this… is this how a mother feels when they're about to give birth?" He shook his head. "I'm somewhat hyped, I admit. But just as Tony said, it's not really the ideal situation for us to fully appreciate the magnitude of what we're accomplishing."
Gojo sighed for a third time, slumping even further until he was almost horizontal. "Yeah, yeah, you feel like gods creating life, very profound. I'm happy for Jarvis, though. Getting his own personal, exclusive, super-powered body. Maybe I can go on some cool adventures with him after this whole mess is over."
It had been four long hours. Tony and Bruce hadn't rested, hadn't even sat down for more than a fleeting moment. They were utterly consumed, driven by a desperate need to see this through, to complete this last-ditch effort. During that time, Gojo had wandered around the decommissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. base, searching for food or anything remotely interesting. He'd found little; the base was clearly abandoned, not fully completed or stocked before its shutdown.
Suddenly, Gojo heard the distinct whine of the Quinjet's engines approaching. He saw it land through a grimy window. "Hey," he called out to Tony and Bruce, "your other buddies just arrived."
Tony looked up, startled. "What? This fast?" Panic flickered in his eyes. "We can't let them stop this process! We just need a few more minutes! The body is almost complete, it'll be fully generated in a second or two. All that's left is transferring Jarvis into it!"
Bruce, his fingers flying across the holographic interface, monitoring the rapidly progressing generation, added, "Tony's right! We can't let the process be disrupted now, not even for a second! Otherwise, all of this will have been for nothing!"
The lab doors hissed open, and Captain America strode in, his expression stern, followed closely by Thor, Clint, Natasha, Dr. Cho, and, much to Tony and Gojo's surprise, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff unbound and seemingly with the group.
"Tony, what the hell is going on in here?" Steve demanded, his gaze sweeping over the active Regeneration Cradle. "The undo process should have been completed by now!"
Tony's eyes narrowed, fixing on the twins. "Before we get to that, Captain," he shot back, "care to tell us what the hell the Maximoff twins are doing standing behind you… free?"
Dr. Cho, spotting Gojo, pointed an accusatory finger. "He was the one!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with anger. "He took the Cradle, and then he slammed me against the wall! I passed out! He said he needed the Cradle as evidence and stopped me from undoing the regeneration process!"
Gojo looked at Dr. Cho, not with apology, but with a sheepish, almost playful expression. He ruffled the back of his white hair. "Oh, hey, Dr. Cho. Sorry about that little… bump. But there was something really important we had to do, and you were, quite literally, trying to do the exact opposite. Don't worry, though," he added brightly, "Tony will totally pay for any hospital bills." He then turned to Steve. "But hey, Captain, seriously, why are the wonder twins free?"
"They're with us now," Steve stated, his voice firm. "They want to help. They saw what Ultron did at Dr. Cho's lab, the researchers he killed, how he almost unleashed the iron kegion on countless civilians. They also told us what Ultron is planning and where he is. But Tony, why aren't you undoing the creation?"
Wanda stepped forward, her eyes burning with a familiar intensity. "It's obvious he doesn't want to," she said, her voice laced with accusation. "He's creating what he started. I told you. Ultron is exactly what Stark is. Ultron is just… free from pretense. While Stark is just him, but with much more experience in deception."
"Tony," Steve said, his voice hardening, "I will say this one time. Stop whatever you are doing. Now."
Tony, his priority laser-focused on getting Jarvis into the body, barely spared the twins a second glance. "Can't," he stated flatly. "It's the only way to stop Ultron now. We can't defeat him otherwise, not truly. This is the only way." He tapped rapidly on the screen. "Steve, let's talk about this later, after we stop Ultron. Banner, the framework isn't compatible with the current matrix!"
"Tony, the genetic coding is at ninety-eight percent!" Bruce exclaimed, his attention riveted to the readouts. "You've got to upload that schematic in the next… three minutes, or we lose the window!"
"Tony, I'm saying this one last time," Steve repeated, his hand tightening on the shield at his side. "Stop this. Now."
Tony looked at Cap, a defiant glint in his eyes. "How about… hmm, no-ce?"
Steve's expression became grim, his stance shifting, ready for a fight. "Shut… it… down," he ordered, his voice dangerously low. "You don't know what you're doing. So, shut it down before…"
"Not gonna happen," Tony interrupted. Bruce, surprisingly, backed him up. "And you do, Steve?" Banner said, his voice tight with anger as he looked at the Maximoffs. "The twins behind you, all free and chummy? Did you forget what they did to me? Or don't tell me, you're being controlled again?"
"I know you're angry, Dr. Banner," Wanda began, her voice softer now. "But…"
"Oh, please, we are way past that!" Banner cut her off, his voice trembling with barely suppressed rage. "The only reason I'm not currently drowning in guilt over destroying an entire city is because Satoru stopped me! Otherwise, I would have been the murderer of thousands! So, believe me when I say this now, I could kill you both right here, right now, and I wouldn't even feel a thing!"
The words hurled back and forth, a maelstrom of accusations and ultimatums. One side demanding they stop, the other refusing to yield. Pietro, his legs now seemingly healed enough to allow for his super-speed, clicked his tongue in annoyance. He tensed, about to dash forward and disconnect the wires from the Cradle.
Before he could take a step, Gojo warped, appearing directly in front of him. A single, lightning-fast punch to Pietro's gut sent the speedster flying backwards, slamming into a metal wall with enough force to visibly dent it. Pietro coughed, blood speckling his lips from the impact.
"Please," Gojo said, his voice deceptively calm, "don't use your speed in here. It's already so cramped. Things could get… messy." He then glanced at Tony. "They aren't going to listen, Tony. Time for whatever Plan X is."
Wanda, seeing her brother attacked, shrieked and was about to unleash her powers on Gojo, but Bruce, moving with surprising speed for his usually placid demeanor, grabbed her from behind, his arm locking around her throat in a chokehold.
"Use it," Bruce growled, his eyes flashing with a dangerous green tint. "I dare you to use your power on me now. And you know exactly what's going to happen here, to you, and to your oh-so-precious, injured brother."
Tony, seizing the momentary chaos, raised his Iron Man gauntlet and fired a small, targeted repulsor blast at Steve, aiming to knock him off balance. Steve, reacting instantly, blocked it with his shield.
In the same instant, Gojo, with a dismissive wave of his hand, unleashed Red. The powerful repulsive force slammed into Thor, sending the God of Thunder blasting upwards, tearing through the metal ceiling of the decommissioned lab and out into the open air.
The fight had broken out. The Avengers were at war with themselves.
….
A/N: So, How was it? I know it was shorter chapter than usual but i had to end it on a cliffhanger even though you all know what is gonna happen. Though sokovia war is coming, and there will be a twist at the end of sokovia war… the only clue i can give you is gojo is not a hero.
Q: Should I introduce Manga killed sukuna in The Defenders if I chose to write it after ultron?
(Like The Hand revived the body they found through their resources, of course it will be the ending sukuna who admitted he lost. And he should try the other things and not evil only. Sukuna can become the leader of Hand. Thus making it interesting.)
-yes
-no
And as always thanks for demicatoru/loadedDemigod for suggestions.
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