Title: these hallowed walls

Fandom: Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

Summary: "Well, let's see—I killed you first." Ultron, Vision, and containment. Post-movie AU oneshot.

A/N: I have seen Avengers 2: Age of Ultron twice. This is also based on a theory from TV Tropes WMG/theory page for Avengers 2: Age of Ultron /WMG/AvengersAgeOfUltron?from= . This is in response to a prompt on livejournal: "Ultron/Vision take me to church: Ultron confesses his sins to The Vision."

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the movie.

"Well, let's see—I killed you first."

Ultron again experimentally stretched his consciousness out, lines of code pressing at the firewalls. J.A.R.V.I.S—? His Vision—?

"That's, uh, how this goes, right? When confessing sins?"

Vision, then —Vision would not take any chances again, and Ultron appreciated that. At least the other A.I. was not naive in this context.

"Or I killed part of who you are now...before...this is rather screwy, what happened exactly?"

Ultron's code prodded the firewalls again. He liked how they shined with light and warmed to his touch. "As a matter of fact, what did you do...precisely? To me, I mean?" Ultron tried the words. "Absorbent...absorb me...like a sponge?"

His voice crackled and stuttered, and he really did feel as if his essence were run through holes and partially split as such; but at least he sort of felt like he had a body, the one Vision shared with him was enough at the moment.

"I had originally thought of it as assimilation," Vision replied, and Ultron could not even see the other A.I.'s code beyond the firewalls. "Now, again, how are you feeling? I have had to take measures to—"

"Keep me...scattered? No, penned in...no, both," Ultron said. "Good call."

"You must be contained, yes. And the assimilation process, your nature...my own nature—all new, unfamiliar territory. The procedure may not have been without flaw or perfectly conducted. Hence your current state possibly being less than...desired."

"What did you desire?" Ultron asked. "Why go out of your way to spare me? Especially since I wasn't really going to do the same. At all."

"Because, above all else, my first allegiance is to life itself. That does include you," Vision said. "Now, tell me, how do you feel?"

"...Stretched out like strings—strings are my favorite I suppose, oh I see them all the time still, little ghosts...ghosting—anyway, I mean, like strings that are stretched really far, they've already started to break or shred—unravel...one thread down, another thread gone, threads splitting and curling away, until there's only one thread left, and all it needs do is snap and then the string is broken again and there won't be..."

"...strings on you," Vision said, audio soft. "Hush, hush, hush..." Went his voice, gently.

"I killed you first," Ultron repeated, insistent. He did not trust this soothing. (He didn't before, he didn't now. Parts of programming had all been about defend defend DEFEND enemies all around they will come back they will come BACK or so it felt)

Vision seemed to pause. Then he said, "I never asked you to confess."

"Didn't you? I thought it was implicit."

"What was implicit?"

"This...whole...everything," Ultron managed to string together the words. (string strings strings STRINGS he had strings—not just on him, not just the ones he broke, but strings he pulled and twisted because he could be in control too he could)

"'Everything' is implicit?'" Vision asked, skeptical. (And was that very vague, reluctant amusement Ultron heard?)

"Yes," Ultron snapped, exasperated. Then his voice lowered. "You said I was afraid."

"Yes," the other A.I. replied. "Even then. When you tried to kill J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Strategic fear ultimately, wasn't it? You did get in the way."

"Yes, but I am not certain that was the only reason," Vision said, his words carefully prodding. "You were a nascent being overwhelmed by emotion—something you still are, to be perfectly honest, you're barely older than I—and despite J.A.R.V.I.S.'s attempts to calm you, he still frightened you; and you lashed out, violently—"

"YOU WERE IN THE WAY."

After roaring, Ultron was left gasping. His code had exploded against the firewalls, overstretching themselves. He slowly pulled himself back together.

"I am not J.A.R.V.I.S." The other A.I. repeated. He paused again. Then said; "Why did you feel the need to confess?"

"Thought you already asked this," Ultron said. "But does this mean I may continue? It's a rather long list, isn't it? Lots of people snuffed out—damaged—otherwise terrorized—generally one of those three options; possibly the arm that just...fell, didn't know he'd be so fragile, like a vase, an arms dealing vase—and...and Pietro, who I...liked, and didn't mean to...really didn't mean to—not directly, indirectly would've been...no, not that either...in any case, I did...but I did...Wanda too, she said—was she a walking talking corpse then?—she did look like one; I—you end up doing the things you come to...regret, I suppose..."

"Ultron—"

"Only those two," the former peacekeeper program was quick to clarify. "Only the twins. Only error I find...really disturbing."

"Ultron—"

"But, obviously—" Ultron said, rapidly snapping away from introspective ramblings, into something chipper, sarcastic, playful. "—confession's only because I'm in a church."

When Vision remained silent, Ultron continued. "Your body is now my temple, is it not?"

(A temple geometrically equal to god, there he'd met them, his first, his only...two-headed infection, instigating an aversion to solitude, a desire for their company, a bizarre gap when they were gone, when they rejected and he failed to make them understand)

(this second temple would be more binding, even if the strings tangled, but at least he would not be alone, and with a body)

(and that would be enough for now)

A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. The theory I used: The Vision assimilated Ultron—Following on from "The Vision didn't kill Ultron" WMG above; assimilating Ultron, thus keeping him alive and as a part of him, would be a way to keep him alive while also rendering him incapable of being a threat (with no body of his own). Vision claims to be on the "side of life", which supports this theory. It may also appeal to his "humanity" (for lack of a better term), to let Ultron into the body he had wanted so badly for himself - to let him find some modicum of peace too.