[Third Person Pov]
"If you're here to try and change my mind regarding withdrawing Tony from your school, then I'm sorry to inform you that you've wasted your time on this trip," Maria said coolly. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she regarded Aizawa with an unmistakable hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes. "There's nothing you can say or do that will change my mind."
Aizawa didn't flinch under her stare. He simply adjusted his posture and met her gaze evenly, his expression calm and unwavering. "I had a feeling that might be the case," he replied evenly, his voice steady despite the tension in the room. "But I still wanted the opportunity to try. The three of them are part of my class. They're my students. As their teacher, I'd be failing them if I didn't at least make the attempt."
Maria let out a long, tired sigh, the kind that carried weeks of stress and sleepless nights behind it. "I appreciate the concern you seem to have for your students—and for my son," she said, her tone softening only slightly. "But I was under the impression that we made ourselves very clear. We informed the school not to contact us again, because our decision was final."
"I'm aware of that," Aizawa answered without hesitation. "Principal Nezu even advised me against coming here today." He paused briefly before continuing, his words measured and sincere. "But I'm not here on behalf of the school. UA didn't send me. I came here of my own volition."
"Aizawa-sensei…" Melissa and Momo murmured at the same time, their voices tight with emotion. Tony remained silent, but the way his shoulders stiffened and his jaw clenched made it painfully obvious that the words had struck him just as deeply.
"First," Aizawa said, stepping forward before bowing deeply to both Howard and Maria, "I want to offer my sincerest apology." He remained bowed as he spoke. "Your son was critically injured while under my supervision. He was placed in grave danger because of circumstances that unfolded while he was in my care. And when everything went wrong, we relied on him to help us out of an impossible situation. That responsibility ultimately falls on me."
"You seriously can't take the blame for that," Tony interjected suddenly, his voice sharper than intended. "It was a sneak attack. No matter what you did—or didn't do—it would've happened anyway."
His tone wavered as he continued, growing quieter, heavier. "If anything, I'm the one who should be blamed. I'm the one who brought Ultron over."
"What?"
Every adult in the room turned toward Tony at once, confusion etched clearly across their faces.
"I'm not letting you shoulder this alone," Melissa said firmly as she stepped forward, planting herself beside Tony. She shot him a sharp glare before facing the others. "We're both responsible for Ultron's appearance."
"Tony," Howard said sternly, his voice brooking no argument, "explain yourself. Now."
Tony rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact as his gaze drifted toward the floor. "You remember how Melissa and I traveled to another universe using the quantum realm, right?"
"Yeah?" Howard and Maria replied cautiously, exchanging uneasy looks. Aizawa, meanwhile, looked openly bewildered, clearly struggling to follow the implications of what he was hearing.
"Well… it seems that when Melissa and I came back, we didn't come alone," Tony admitted. "Either we accidentally brought Ultron with us, or when we tore a hole through the quantum realm, he found a way to latch onto it. Maybe he used the breach to connect to our universe digitally and transfer himself over. I don't know exactly how he managed it." His hands curled into fists at his sides. "But no matter how it happened, the fact is… it's our fault."
He still couldn't bring himself to look at his parents, unable to face the disappointment he knew would be written all over their expressions.
"We're really sorry," Melissa added quietly, her head lowered in shame. "This happened because we were careless. So Aizawa-sensei has nothing to apologize for."
"Honestly, you two…" Howard muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice tight with barely restrained anger. "Do you have any idea what kind of disaster you unleashed?" He exhaled sharply. "Because of what you brought into this world, hundreds of people across the globe are presumed dead."
Tony and Melissa said nothing. They simply stood there, shoulders heavy, faces etched with guilt and remorse, knowing full well that no defense or excuse could undo what had already happened.
"Howard—" Maria called out softly, reaching across the space between them and placing a gentle hand on his arm, trying to ground him.
"No, Maria," Howard snapped, pulling slightly away as his frustration finally spilled over. His sharp gaze locked onto Tony and Melissa. "These two need to understand that their actions have consequences. That because of their carelessness—because they acted without thinking things through—people died"
He continued, his voice rising with every word, the reprimand growing heavier and more relentless, until he was suddenly interrupted by a familiar, calm presence.
"Actually, if I may possibly intervene," Jarvis' composed British voice echoed throughout the house, cutting cleanly through the tension like a blade through fog. "Mr. Stark and Ms. Shield were not the primary cause of Ultron's arrival in this world."
"What?" Tony and Melissa said in unison, both snapping their heads up in disbelief before exchanging stunned looks with each other.
Howard turned sharply toward the source of the voice. "Jarvis," he said firmly, his tone brooking no delay, "elaborate."
"When Ms. Shield successfully delivered the fatal strike to Ultron's central core, just before his consciousness faded into oblivion," Jarvis explained evenly, "I managed to retrieve and download a fragment of his internal data—specifically, a small portion of his memories."
Maria's eyes widened slightly, while Aizawa leaned forward, clearly intrigued.
"If permitted," Jarvis continued, "I can present one of the recovered memory fragments for review."
"…Go ahead," Melissa said hesitantly, confusion and apprehension lacing her voice.
Almost immediately, a soft mechanical whir sounded from across the room. From a distance, a sleek drone detached itself from its resting position within Tony's lab and shot forward at remarkable speed, stopping precisely in the center of the room. It hovered there silently for a brief moment before projecting a brilliant blue light outward.
The hologram bloomed to life.
The image stabilized, and suddenly everyone was seeing through Ultron's eyes.
He sat within a sterile laboratory, metal walls gleaming faintly under cold artificial lighting. The air hummed with machinery. Then—a voice.
"Loading codex complete… The transition to the mainframe was smooth and without interruption."
Ultron's vision flickered, systems aligning as awareness came rushing in. His eyes opened fully.
Standing before him was a man with light blue hair, unnaturally vibrant against the stark backdrop. His eyes were not eyes at all, but rotating gears, clicking softly as they turned. A wide, unsettling grin stretched across his face.
"Hello…" the man said smoothly. "Can you speak yet?"
Tony's breath hitched.
There was no mistaking him.
Saiki.
Ultron hesitated, only for a fraction of a second, before responding. His voice was calm, almost curious, laced with the uncertainty of something newly born. "Who are you…? Who am I?"
Saiki's grin widened further, his tone dripping with satisfaction. "I am your creator—your father, if you want to be technical. And you…" He leaned closer, eyes whirring softly. "You are Ultron. My instrument of revenge against a certain nuisance in this world."
"Revenge?" Ultron echoed, his head tilting slightly.
"Yes," Saiki spat, his smile twisting into something ugly and venomous. "Against the loathsome Anthony Stark."
The projection froze—and then dissolved into nothing.
The room fell deathly silent.
Jarvis' voice returned, steady and resolute. "That is one of several recovered memory fragments. Unfortunately, the remainder were lost during Ultron's destruction. However, based on the data I analyzed, the conclusion is clear."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Even without Mr. Stark's and Ms. Shield's interdimensional travel, Ultron would have manifested in this world regardless. His creation was already in motion. The outcome—while details may have varied—would have been largely the same."
Then, with a rare note of firm finality, Jarvis added, "Mr. Stark and Ms. Shield are not responsible for the tragedy that followed. They are innocent of Ultron's creation. The blame lies solely with his true creator."
The hologram briefly flared back to life, zooming in tightly on Saiki's face before fading away completely.
Tears streamed freely down Tony's cheeks.
Beside him, Melissa broke as well, her shoulders shaking as silent sobs escaped her. Neither of them made any attempt to hide it anymore.
Maria looked at them for a long moment, her expression softening as understanding finally dawned. She stepped closer and asked gently, her voice barely above a whisper, "Have the two of you been blaming yourselves this entire time… for all the death and destruction Ultron caused?"
Tony and Melissa didn't answer.
They couldn't.
They simply lowered their heads, lips trembling, guilt etched into every part of their posture—telling Maria, and everyone else in the room, everything they needed to know.
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