First Encounter with the Avengers

Li Nian stared blankly at the reflection in the glass. He touched his face skeptically, and sure enough, the reflection touched its face as well.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not believe that being struck by lightning had sent him through time and space—straight into Marvel.

Most, most, most importantly, he had transmigrated into Vision—the childless man who had died twice!

"Unbelievable!"

He gently touched his face. He could actually feel it: cold, smooth...

Outside the glass lay a bustling city. Night had just fallen, and the lights blazed brilliantly.

Below Avengers Tower, vehicles and lights filled the streets.

Li Nian silently took in the sight. This truly was New York, the city known as the center of the age.

Behind Li Nian, Thor quietly lowered the hammer in his hand, but his eyes did not dare leave Vision for even a moment. The others hurried down from the laboratory as well, only to see Li Nian admiring the view.

No one dared make a rash move, not even the arrogant Tony. No one knew whether this newcomer was friend or foe, nor did they know what he was capable of. If he stood against that madman Ultron, acting carelessly would only lead to more casualties.

After all, they were not transmigrators, nor were they viewers. They had no ability to foresee the future. They could only stare at Li Nian warily. If he showed even the slightest anti-human inclination, the fully armed group could take him down at any time.

Of course, that was merely wishful thinking on their part. Vision would not be so easily subdued.

Li Nian slowly turned around and sighed inwardly. It seemed he could not go back. Since he was here, he might as well settle in.

He slowly descended, his feet touching the floor. The sensation was no different from when he had still been human. It seemed Ultron's technology was centuries ahead of the Blue Planet from his previous life—or perhaps the technological levels of two worlds simply could not be compared.

"I'm sorry. I was just... a little... confused..."

Li Nian spoke with apology in his eyes. He knew the events that followed like the back of his hand, but just in case, it was better to follow the script for now.

If his butterfly wings accidentally stirred up a storm and changed the course of the future, that would be a bad thing.

"Thank you."

Li Nian solemnly thanked Thor. If Thor had not channeled the power of lightning into his body, it was questionable whether he would have awakened at all.

Li Nian secretly glanced at Thor's cape. Without realizing it, he used the Mind Stone's power, and a golden cape slowly appeared behind him.

There was no other reason. He simply thought a golden cape looked cooler.

"Thor, did you help create him?" Captain Steve Rogers asked, his face full of disbelief.

"I had a vision. A vortex swept away all hope of life, and at the center of that vortex... was him." Thor pointed tensely at Li Nian—or rather, at the Mind Stone on Li Nian's forehead.

"It is the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. It possesses the greatest power in the universe. Its destructive power would be unparalleled."

"Then why did you..."

"Because Stark was right," Thor said seriously. "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

Li Nian silently agreed with Thor. Without Vision, the Avengers truly would have had a hard time defeating Ultron. But if Vision fell into Ultron's hands...

Li Nian could not help shuddering as he remembered that hopeless universe from the What If...? series.

"Why does he sound like JARVIS?" Steve asked with a frown.

"Because we reconstructed JARVIS's program... and created something new," Tony said as he stepped forward, answering the captain's question.

"You're wary of me," Li Nian said calmly. "Do you think I am Ultron's child?"

"Aren't you?" Steve shot back.

"I am not Ultron, and I am not JARVIS. I am only... myself." Li Nian sounded somewhat lost. In truth, he was no longer sure who he was. His brain was a supercomputer containing portions of Ultron's and JARVIS's data.

But because of the Mind Stone, he had emotions, just like a real human being—even though Li Nian had once been a real human.

But he was not one now.

Li Nian looked around at the Avengers. The wariness had yet to fade from their eyes, and their gazes held a deeply buried hostility toward him.

Those eyes looked at him as though they were looking at... Ultron.

For some reason, Li Nian felt sorrow. Sorrow for himself.

"I saw annihilation in your mind." Wanda stepped forward, staring at Li Nian with bright eyes. Fortunately, Barton stepped in to defuse the situation.

"Her opinion has never mattered."

"Their powers, the fears in their hearts, and Ultron himself all originated from the Mind Stone. Compared with the energy it releases, everything else is insignificant."

Thor explained solemnly to the group.

"If he is on our side..."

"Wait..." Steve interrupted Thor's endless explanation. His expression was incomparably serious as he looked at Li Nian. "Are you on our side?"

The moment those words fell, all the Avengers fixed their eyes on Li Nian. Their expressions were equally solemn. In their eyes, Li Nian saw doubt, wariness, suspicion...

Li Nian suddenly felt an inexplicable pressure. In the real world, he had imagined fighting alongside the Avengers countless times. He had fantasized about becoming a great hero, saving countless lives, and being loved by the people.

Yet in just the few minutes since arriving in this world, he had faced more suspicion than he had in the previous twenty years combined.

For the first time, he felt his brain analyzing things so quickly. For the first time, he could no longer hear his own heartbeat.

"I..." Li Nian opened his mouth, but what surfaced in his mind was Vision's tragic future: being killed by the woman he loved, having Thanos tear the Mind Stone from his forehead while he was still alive, and even being dissected by S.W.O.R.D. after death and turned into a weapon of war.

Li Nian hesitated. He wanted to stand with humanity and face the coming hardships together with the Avengers, but... were these humans truly worth it?

If he had been a native of this world, if he had truly been Vision, then perhaps he really would have done so.

Unfortunately, he was not.

"I stand on my own side," Li Nian said steadily. "And on the side of life."

"You mean you place yourself above life?"

"Quite the opposite, Captain." Li Nian met Steve's gaze without the slightest evasion. "I believe that I myself am life, not some artificial intelligence. I am not like them, not like Ultron. I..."

"I am human!"