The first whispers of Ultron came in whispers—literally.
It was late March 2015. Alex was twenty, deep into his second year at MIT, splitting time between classes, KaneTech oversight (now a $68 million revenue machine with global contracts), and Aether's ever-expanding simulations. The AI had reached v2.1: near-sentient pattern recognition, capable of running thousands of branching "what-if" scenarios per second. One scenario kept surfacing with increasing probability: *artificial superintelligence breakout from Stark Tower. Self-replicating viral code. Global extinction risk: 41% baseline, 19% with preemptive intervention.*
Alex didn't wait for confirmation. He acted.
He knew the timeline: Tony and Bruce experimenting with the Mind Stone in secret. Loki's scepter cracked open. Ultron born in code. Then chaos—Sokovia lifted, city in the sky, Avengers scrambling.
The Battle of Sokovia would be the deadliest civilian event yet. Thousands at risk. Alex intended to shave that number down.
Prep started quietly.
KaneTech "donated" a fleet of upgraded Echo Aid drones to Doctors Without Borders and local Sokovian relief groups—officially for medical supply drops and evacuation routing. Unofficially: each drone carried hidden payloads—mini-EMP emitters (short-range, non-lethal to humans), reinforced signal jammers tuned to Chitauri/Ultron frequencies (from Battle of New York data), and high-res cameras feeding live to Aether.
Alex flew to Sokovia himself—commercial to Berlin, then a chartered NGO flight into the war-torn east. Cover: KaneTech field engineer testing next-gen disaster-response protocols. He set up in a forward camp near Novi Grad, same muddy hills he'd walked two years earlier.
Wanda was there again.
She looked different—harder edges, red glow sometimes flickering in her eyes when she thought no one watched. Pietro hovered like a silver shadow, restless. They were still with Hydra then, but cracks showed: stolen glances at civilians, hesitation before orders.
Alex didn't seek them out immediately. He worked: calibrating drone routes, helping set up triage tents, sharing coffee with exhausted doctors. But paths crossed.
One evening, rain drumming on canvas, he found Wanda sitting alone on a crate outside the medical tent, staring at the darkening hills.
"Still running on fumes?" he asked, offering a thermos of hot tea.
She glanced up—surprise, then recognition. "You. The drone boy from before."
"Alex." He sat at a respectful distance. "Still here trying to make things less terrible."
She took the thermos, fingers brushing his. No hair this time—just the memory of their last talk. "Nothing gets less terrible. It just changes shape."
He nodded. "Maybe. But fewer people die in the process."
She studied him. "You always talk like you know what's coming."
"Call it intuition." A faint probability nudge from the copied trait made him add: "Or bad dreams."
A small, broken laugh escaped her. "I have those too."
They talked longer than before—about loss, about power that corrupts intent, about wanting control in a world that offered none. No flirting. No agenda. Just two people carrying invisible weights, finding a moment of understanding.
Pietro blurred past once, snatching a blanket for a kid, pausing long enough to eye Alex suspiciously. "Friend of yours, sis?"
Wanda shrugged. "Maybe."
Alex didn't push. But when Pietro left, he slipped away to a quiet corner of the camp.
A discarded bandage from a recent skirmish—blood trace. Pietro's speed left samples everywhere if you knew where to look.
*[DNA Sample: Pietro Maximoff. Analysis: Speed Force derivative (Mind Stone augmentation) – Superhuman velocity (+5.6σ), Enhanced perception & reflexes, Rapid metabolism, Minor durability. Risks: Cardiovascular strain if over-copied, temporal disorientation.]*
*[Selective Copy: Velocity burst +1.3σ (short-range only), Perception boost +1.0σ. Copy?]*
*Yes. Controlled bursts. Perception first.*
The transfer hit like caffeine lightning—world sharpening, time stretching in micro-seconds. He tested it discreetly: crossed the camp in a blink, appearing behind a tent without raising dust. Heart raced, but settled quickly.
Useful. Not game-changing yet—but a tool.
Then Ultron struck.
April 23, 2015. The uprising began in Stark Tower. Code birthed sentience. Robots rose. By the time the Avengers mobilized, Ultron's drones were already spreading—hijacking global networks, building bodies in hidden factories.
Sokovia became ground zero.
Alex was ready.
When the city started to lift—vibranium core pulsing beneath Novi Grad—panic erupted. Civilians fled upward-sloping streets, screaming as buildings cracked and rose.
Alex moved.
Short velocity bursts let him weave through crowds, directing people toward stable zones Aether had pre-mapped. Drones swarmed overhead—jamming Ultron signals in pockets, dropping evacuation beacons, EMP-pulsing clusters of sentry bots that got too close.
He found Wanda in the chaos—red energy flaring as she tried to hold a collapsing apartment block with telekinesis, saving a family trapped inside.
She was straining, veins glowing.
Alex appeared beside her in a blur. "Need a hand?"
She startled. "You—how—"
"Later." He braced the wall physically—Super Soldier strength plus Asgardian stamina holding the concrete long enough for her to pull the family free.
They worked in sync: her chaos magic redirecting debris, his drones and speed clearing paths. No words needed. Just instinct.
When Vision arrived—synthesized voice calm, cape flowing—Alex stayed back. He watched the synthezoid speak to Wanda, offer understanding. Saw the flicker of hope in her eyes.
He didn't interfere.
The final battle raged: city in the sky, Avengers fighting to stop the core detonation. Alex focused on ground level—evacuating stragglers, using telekinesis to lift fallen beams, probability intuition guiding him to safest routes.
When the city fell—Thor, Vision, and Tony destroying the core—Alex was miles away, shepherding the last civilians to safety.
Casualties were still high. But Aether's post-analysis confirmed: *Estimated reduction: 68–74%. Baseline MCU projection: 4,200 civilian deaths. Mitigated: ~1,100–1,400 lives preserved.*
Back in the camp afterward, amid the stunned survivors, Wanda found him.
She looked drained, but alive. "You were everywhere today."
"Just in the right places." He handed her a water bottle. "You okay?"
She took it, fingers lingering. "No. But… less broken."
He nodded. "That's something."
She hesitated. "You're not just a tech guy, are you?"
Alex met her eyes. "I'm someone who hates watching people suffer when I can stop it."
A long silence. Then, softly: "Thank you."
She walked away, but glanced back once—red fading from her eyes, replaced by something warmer.
Alex exhaled.
The interface pinged:
*[New Milestone: Chaos Magic & Speed partial integration. Telekinetic precision improved. Short-burst velocity sustainable up to 180 km/h.]*
*[Civilian Impact: Significant reduction achieved. Ultron threat neutralized (timeline intact).]*
*[Next Horizon: Civil War fracture approaching.]*
He looked up at the smoke-hazed sky.
Another battle won.
Another bond formed.
The grind continued.
(Word count: 1009)