And now, the culmination of the Villains Redeemed saga, The Redeemers Assemble!
"What's so special about this Namor McKenzie, and why did we go to him?" Sydney asked
"He's not a marine geologist, he's an Atlantean. He helped Cap in World War 2 under the code name of The Sub-Mariner. He's also a hydro-kinetic." Ultron responded
"And he could stop the wave." Sydney added
"I hope." The robot responded
"We have a backup plan if he can't, right?." His companion declared
"Indeed." Ultron said. The two landed, and Ultron knocked on the door. An old fisherman responded by opening the door.
"Yes?" He asked. Ultron raised his optic ridge, then responded
"We're looking for Namor." Ultron said
"He's dead. He passed away a few days ago. He was very old and sick." The fisherman replied in pain
"Our condolences for your loss." Sydney said sadly
"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I must check my nets." The old man said before closing the door.
"Damn it." Sydney said
"We still have our back up plan." Ultron consoled
"What is oust back up plan, then?" Sydney asked
"Project Redemption." Ultron replied
"How? You are the only member of the team who we would be able to get. One is in cryosleep, one is a ghost, one is with Cap, and two are dead!" Sydney said with confusion.
"Then we do whatever it takes. We unfreeze Abomination, find Crossbones, talk the Winter Soldier into it, and figure out a way to bring back Red Skull and Loki. That won't be too hard because, to be honest, no one ever stays dead around here. Coulson survived get speared through the heart, Fury survived getting shot through the heart, Bucky survived falling off a train, Loki survived falling through a hole in space, both of my Dads survived a nuke, and I survived Vision, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Scarlet Witch! It sometimes feels like we're in a movie or a story." Ultron replied
"That's crazy. A story or movie?" Sydney said
"Yeah, it is crazy." Ultron replied
"It's also true. For all we know, Quicksilver is still alive."
Bucky and Daisy returned from aiding an Inhuman, to find Ultron in their office.
"Ultron?" Bucky asked
"You know, you two have a connection that goes back thousands of years. HYDRA is older than the Avengers think, as are Inhumans. Believe it or not, HYDRA was founded by worshippers of the first Inhuman. Millenniums of connections between the two have culminated in your relationship. Bucky, you were the greatest creation of HYDRA, and Daisy, you are the most powerful Inhuman of today." Ultron explained.
"Okay, then." Daisy said.
"Sorry, I went on a tangent. Bucky, I'm here to talk to you about the Redeemers Initiative." The robot said.
Loki sat across from Ultron and Sydney, who kept giving nervous gazes to each other. Tony, Vision, Thor, and Wanda entered the interrogation room.
"Thanks for getting him for us, Thor." Vision said
"Of course." Thor replied loudly
"Now, normally I do these kind of interviews alone, but frankly, I can smell crazy coming from you, and I have no nose." Ultron said before opening Loki's file that Sydney handed him
"Thank you!" Loki said too enthusiastically
"Also, I would rather have someone less crazy that you on my team, but I can't judge you for trying to take over the world, as I tried to destroy it."
"Thank you!" Loki again said
"Thor, was he dropped on his head as a kid?" Ultron asked
"Verily! I threw him out a window!" Thor yelled
"That solves it. Everyone who's lived in Asgard has something wrong with them. Vision, as your brother, I feel like I need to tell you that you are a cinnamon roll too pure for this world that may go crazy in Asgard." Ultron said as he pinched the bridge of his nasal plate.
"Duly noted." Vision said
"Alright, if Loki wants on the team, I'm not gonna stop him." Ultron said
"Thank you! I will join your team!" Loki said
"I have a feeling this was my easiest recruitment." Ulton sighed
Bruce and Hulkbuster were on standby as Ultron and Sydney opened up Abomination's cryogenic pod. The gamma powered monster charged at the robot, when Bruce stepped in. The rest of the team was about to charge Abomination, but Bruce put his arm out to hold them back.
"Everyone, relax." the scientist said
"Banner!" Abomination roared
"Calm down, Blonsky. I'm just here for backup. It's Ultron who wants to talk." Bruce said
"Blonsky, I need you to prove your strength. Show you have what it takes to be a soldier of rage. I can tell from your file that you have all the powers of the Hulk, with the added bonus of intelligence and control. I'm putting together a team, and I need that intelligence and control, along with the strength and power you possess. Please, will you join me?" Ultron asked with hope the the gamma filled soldier would say yes
"Fine. But I'm not taking orders from Banner." Blonsky said
"He's not on the team." Ultron snirked
"Then I'm in." Abomination said
Red Skull returned to his quarters from training with Captain America to find Ultron looking at a picture of a young Red Skull with his family.
"Family. It makes and breaks a man. The death of your family drove you to join the Third Reich, just as my early hatred of my father drove me to try and destroy the world. But even a broken man can stand back up and fight for what is right and true. I stood to defend the human race from itself, and you stood to defeat The Mad Titan Thanos. I need you to stand with me again. I'm here to talk to you about the Redeemers Initiative." Ultron said
Crossbones fought with a man in a black leather and Vibranium costume resembling a panther when he was blasted from behind by Ultron.
"I had him." Black Panther said
"I know, but I need him." Ultron smirked
"Need me for what?" Crossbones inquired
"A team. I want your skills. You proved yourself by being selected for Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff's Strike Team personally. You then held your own against Captain Rogers and Sam Wilson, as well as surviving being crashed into by a Helicarrier. And from what I just saw, you fought an equal battle with the Black Panther, T'Challa. That is no easy feat for anyone, not even Captain America or the Winter Soldier." Ultron explained to Rumlow
"What's this team called?" Crossbones asked
"The Redeemers Initiative." Ultron said
Ultron, Bucky, Crossbones, Abomination, Red Skull, and Loki sat together around the table in the meeting room of the Avengers Tower.
"The wave is positioned to hit the state of New York in 1 and a half hours." Ultron said
"How do we stop it?" Loki asked
"We let it hit the city. The city's mass will be enough to function as a breakwater. The Avengers are dealing with stuff over seas, and the Defenders are working in Ohio on a lead on The Hand, so our team is going get everyone out and to safety." Ultron explained.
"Ultron, we have a more serious threat to the people than the wave." Bucky said as he watched the city through binoculars.
"What?" Abomination asked
"There's an Atlantean army coming from the wave." Bucky said as he handed Ultron his binoculars.
"Ok. Let's handle this." Loki said
"Redeemers, suit up." Ultron ordered
Crossbones put on his suit and mask, and holstered two assault rifles of his back. He also put two pistols on his thighs, and engaged his titanium knuckles.
"Crossbones, ready and reporting." Crossbones said
Winter Soldier spun his metal arm twice, fastened his armour and slid his mask into place. He attached his sniper rifle to his back, and placed half a dozen grenades in his vest. He also attached the special Vibranium shield Ultron and Black Panther had made for him to the gauntlet on his human arm.
"Time to put our skills to good use." The assassin said.
Abomination cracked his knuckles and slammed his fists together. He prepared himself to attack his foes.
"They don't deserve their power." The gamma powered soldier said
Loki put on his battle armour, and grabbed his helmet. He also grabbed his knives and slid them into place in his armour. He then grabbed his new sceptre that Vision, Wanda, and Tony had created to replace the Chitauri one.
"Time to make those fish kneel." Loki said.
Red Skull put on his trench coat, adorned with a Redeemers logo where the HYDRA one had been. He also grabbed an energy cannon and opened a portal to the city.
"Whenever you're ready, Ultron." Red Skull said.
Ultron powered up his repulsors and Encephalo-Ray. He also engaged his Ultron Legion, and his thrusters lifted him into the air.
"Redeemers Assemble!" Ultron yelled as the team went through the portal.
The Atlantean army was shocked when Ultron and his legion flew through the portal, and began to blast them. Many Atlantean soldiers dodged Ultron's blast, only for some to be frozen by a bolt from Loki. Abomination crushed some under fist, and threw them at others. An Atlantean was about to attack a citizen, before Red Skull sent him through a portal into a volcano. Bucky and Crossbones fought back to back on a rooftop close to the water.
"Call it, Soldier." Ultron said to Bucky.
"Right. Crossbones, stay up on the rooftops and call out patterns. Loki, Red Skull, you're on civilian rescue. Ultron, you and I will stay in the middle of the battlefield to take out troops. Abomination, thin them out before they get to us." The tactician said.
"Right." The rest of the team replied.
The team worked to fight back the Atlantean army, but the might and rage of the attacking sea dwellers was a lot to contend with. Ultron Drones were falling right and left to weapons. Crossbones barely made it off his vantage point before the wave destroyed it.
"Shit!" Bucky yelled as he did a combat roll away from an Atlantean Bruiser before throwing his shield at it. The Redeemers regrouped in the middle of the city as a large Atlantean with gold armour came out of the wave.
"This is the best the surface can offer? Pathetic! Atlantean children are born with greater strength than you weak fools! You will all fall at the hands of the mighty King Attuma and his Atlantean army!" Attuma yelled at the Redeemers before getting hit in his face by a missile from Ultron.
"Please shut the hell up." The robot deadpanned before Atumma tackled him into Avengers Tower
"Alright, then. Ultron can have Attuma. We'll take on the rest of these rejected calimaris." Bucky said
"Calimari is delicious." Crossbones remarked
"We'll have some after this battle, then." Loki said
Ultron and Attuma clashed their way through the tower until they reached the armoury floor, which is when Ultron stopped fighting. He touched his finger to his comms unit and called FRIDAY
"Yes, big brother?" the female AI asked
"I need Project Stronger deployed. I'm in bad shape here." Ultron answered before turning back to Attuma
"I see you plan to surrender!" Attuma chuckled
"To quote my father, 'No, I plan to threaten you.'" Ultron replied
"Should have done that earlier, fool. You are broken and battered. Your arm is sparking and leaking oil, your armour is dented and cracked, and your inner workings are exposed in many places. You are almost dead." Attuma said, triumphantly
"But I'm not dead. And I believe that which doesn't kill you..." Ultron began before his newly built Vibranium form ripped his broken and battered form apart from behind
"What in the depths?" Attuma yelled in fear
"Makes you stronger!" the robot finished. He then proceeded to blast Attuma with his Concussion Blasters, followed by countless rounds of gunfire from underslung miniguns built into his forearms, and then finally kicked Attuma to the ground before shocking him with 10,000 volts of electricity. Ultron then punched a window out of the tower, before rejoining the raging battle below.
The Redeemers looked up from fighting off the Atlanteans to see Ultron descending in his new form.
"Looking snazzy, boss." Abomination said
"Actually, Bucky's the boss. I just put the team together, and now I'm another gun. A flying, army kind of gun, but a gun all the same." Ultron replied to the gamma radiated soldier.
"Redeemers, small issue. Well, actually, a big issue." Crossbones said with worry
"The wave." Ultron said.
"And the ever advancing army. Take out 1 warrior, 5 take its place." Red Skull added.
"Maybe we can freeze the wave." Loki said
"Maybe. Or we need to generate enough heat to evaporate the wave." Abomination interjected
"Hang on, heat. This may sound risky, but maybe we can use the Sun." Crossbones suggestted
"I can open a portal to the Sun..." Red Skull began
"And send the wave there!" Abomination finished
"But Manhatten is still tilting, at an every increasing rate." Bucky said with fear
"What if we balance the weight?" Loki asked
"Go on." Ultron said
"If we make the side lifting in the air heavier by bringing people there, and add a lifting force beneath the sinking side..." Bucky began
"We can save the city!" The Redeemers finished
"Right. Abomination, get under the city's sinking end and lift. Loki, create ice underneath to give the city some buoyancy. Ultron, you and your legion need to get people to the rising side of the island to balance it out. Red Skull, send the wave to the Sun. Crossbones, you and I will cover him. Redeemers Assemble!" Bucky ordered as the team moved out
Red Skull positioned himself to teleport the wave, as Bucky and Rumlow took up their places guarding him from attack. The former leader of HYDRA chuckled at the irony that HYDRA's best assassin from the past and soldier of the future stood together with him as they saved the world from a menace from the seas.
"If Abomination and Loki could hurry up in raising the sinking end, and Ultron on lowering the rising end, that would help!" Skull said to Bucky.
"We're on it!" Abomination called through the comms as he showed his true power by lifting and holding the city up as Loki froze in a lock to keep it floating. Ultron then did his part by using himself and his legion's thrusters to push downward on the raised end on the city along with the crowded people's weight. The equal forces succeded in readjusting the city's position and Red Skull sent the wave through the portal before closing it.
"Damn it." Ultron said as he watched something on his forearm screen.
"What?" Bucky asked.
"The US government just ordered an orbital strike to destroy the Atlantean army... and Manhatten." Ultron said before taking off
"Did that asshole just leave us to die?" Crossbones asked
"No. He just left us to save us all." Bucky replied
Ultron was rocketing through the upper atmosphere when he called Sydney.
"Ultron? I'm on the Quinjet watching the news. Why'd you just take off?" she asked him with worry
"I'm making sure an orbital strike doesn't hit Manhatten." Ultron answered
"Stark could just deploy an extra VERONIKA Module to stop it. Don't do this!" Sydney yelled, in tears
"There's no time. If I survive this, sorry for putting my life in danger. If this is goodbye, know that I had no other choice, but also know that above all... I loved you." Ultron said as the orbital strike hit him
The Redeemers watched as an enormous explosion high above came into view, followed by a fast plummenting Ultron. Red Skull opened a portal towardsthe robot, to Bucky's shock.
"Inertia still applies! He'll hit the ground just as hard!" The Redeemers' leader yelled
"It's not for Ultron." Abomination said as he jumped throught the portal to catch Ultron. The gamma fuelled soldier landed, put Ultron down, and punched Ultron in the face. The robot quickly sat up.
"Did we win?" he asked
"Yep. The army dropped dead once the wave went away. Glad that orbital strike didn't hit."
"Holy shit. I think that redeems us, don't you think?" the robot asked
"I also think we earned some calamari." Crossbones said
"Sydney makes amazing calamari. And she's gonna punch me in the face for almost dying." Ultron sighed
"I don't know about anyone else, but I want to see you get punched in the face almost as much as I want calamari." Crossbones once agin interjectted.
The Redeemers sat around the table in Avengers Tower eating calamari when Sydney sat down next to Ultron, and as theorized, punched him in the face before kissing him.
"Hey, whatever happened to using the city as a breakwater?" Crossbones asked between bites of his food
"Huh." Bucky remarked
"I think we got caught up in the fight." Ultron suggested
"Oh, well. Be quiet and eat." Sydney said with a sigh
Thanks for tuning in to The Redeemers! Dragonis Prime, signing out until the Redeemers assemble again! Now for a nap.