It was just past noon when the first blast rocked the downtown area. Vehicles exploded, windows of nearby businesses shattered, and a gas line ignited sending flames shooting out of the fissures in the damaged streets. Screams echoed as fear overtook the streets sending men and women scrambling for cover. Tossing aside overturned vehicles in its path, a mechanical monstrosity stomped forward, an eerie green light cutting through the thick plumes of smoke. Those unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of the chaos no doubt flashed back to a few weeks prior, the images of robotic soldiers swarming buildings like ants at a picnic, and a deeper fear took hold.

Ultron.

The name was at the forefront of their minds. With governments around the world calling for investigations into the Ultron incident and the devastation of Sokovia, the media had kept the murderous A.I. in the headlines with images of the death and destruction it had caused playing constantly during the twenty-four hour news cycle. It was only reasonable to assume that this too was Ultron, that the Avengers were wrong and they had not destroyed every one of the units it could have uploaded to. Even when the mechanical enemy they saw before them spoke, most failed to realize that the dull gray and green thing was more human than Ultron could ever have been.

"That's right, flee pitiful Americans! Run for your pathetic lives it makes no difference! You shall all feel the wrath of a dead but proud nation! And with your deaths know that we shall live again! Long live Mother Russia! Long live the Soviet Union!" it shouted as another rocket fired from the shoulder, a taxi being reduced to smoldering debris.

Before the attack could be followed up by another rocket barrage a lone arrow cut through the smoke, striking the retractable launcher and destroying the payload before it could fire.

"What is it with guys in metal suits having to run their mouths?" Hawkeye asked as he once more ducked behind cover on a rooftop nearly two blocks away. "Speaking of our beloved benefactor, this one of his?"

A hail of gunfire struck the armored suit as a woman ran and vaulted over a pickup truck. The rounds had been useless, clanging off the suit without so much as scratching the paint job, but they had served they purpose of drawing fire.

"You really think Stark would keep us in the dark after what happened? Sokovia shook him up more than he'll admit," Natasha responded.

Having used the distraction to leap across rooftops and get closer, Hawkeye lined up another shot, this time firing an arrow at a building behind the armored unit. Using the attached cable to zip-line over it, Clint deposited a pair of discs that sealed to the armor magnetically. Going into a roll as he hit the ground he was close enough to feel the heat from the small explosives as they detonated.

"Yeah, well having a country almost drop on you is pretty intense. Especially when its your own secret robot that causes it," Hawkeye said as he ran down an alleyway. It was clear from his tone that despite the jovial way in which it was intended, there was still an underlying anger towards Tony.

The suit, completely unharmed by the blasts, never lost focus on Natasha, the minigun that had emerged from the wrist sending a storm of rounds towards her hiding place.

"What's the matter Barton? Still sore you had to fight the Terminator with a bow and arrow?" Black Widow joked as a large round passed close enough to move her hair.

"That's enough chatter you two," a familiar voice said over their earpieces. "An old friend sent me the files on the way over and Tony has nothing to do with this guy."

With the truck she'd been using for cover looking like Swiss cheese, Natasha was relieved when the next volley of rounds pinged off of a shield held between her and the projectiles. Standing tall, iconic shield in hand, Captain America motioned for Widow to run on his command.

"Care to share with the class Cap?" Hawkeye asked.

Pressing forward with his shield held high, moving ever closer to the suit, Cap said, "Boris Bullski. He's Russian. Ex-KGB. Never got over the Soviet Union collapsing. The suit's cobbled together tech. A real Frankenstein type of armor with bits of Justin Hammer's designs, some ideas based on the Iron Monger data that was hacked from S.H.I.E.L.D. And who knows what else."

Getting in close Cap leapt to one side as he tossed the shield, the minigun shattering as the disc hit it, a deep gash that exposed wiring beneath opening in the shoulder.

"Stupid American attack dog, this you will not stop!" Bullski shouted. "The Titanium Man is not like your sad capitalist technologies! Like the will of Russia this armor is built to last!"

Turning on Captain America, Titanium man fired a new weapon, a type of concussive beam from the palms. Steve flipped backwards, the wannabe repulsor beam missing him by inches as he retrieved the shield.

"Titanium Man?" Clint asked. "This guy is so getting a cease and desist from Stark's lawyers. He takes copyright infringement very seriously."

Dashing towards Titanium Man, Captain America leapt and struck the helmeted head with the shield, dropped to the ground and spun hitting the legs near where a human's hamstring would be. Each strike cut into the reinforced metal, but beyond cosmetic damage the brute force approach was proving nearly useless.

"How we ever lost to weaklings like you I will never understand. Our leaders lacked the courage to do what is necessary or we would have rolled over you like a tidal wave!" Bullski spat, the heavily modulated voice sounding less than human.

A barrage of concussive beams bounced off of the Shield, but the sudden rocket boosted spinning kick Titanium Man aimed at Steve send the super soldier flying through the windshield of a car. Widow and Hawkeye simultaneously opened fire on the suit trying to draw attention away from Cap as he regained his feet, but Bullski was not falling for the trick twice, bringing the massive armored fist of the suit down into Steve's chest, driving him deeper into the wrecked vehicle.

As the suit wailed away on the prone Captain America, Hawkeye drew a special arrow from his quiver and began to line up the shot, the blinking blue light on the arrowhead growing increasingly frantic as he drew back on the line.

"Barton stop!" Natasha shouted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You fire that and the car could explode. Worse yet you damage the armor internally thanks to the openings Steve's shield made. Even if we risked Cap not getting away, we don't know what powers that thing! It could be nuclear for all we know. We have to wait until..."

Her concerns were cut off by the sound of AC/DC's Are You Ready? Blasting over their communication frequency.

"The cavalry arrives? Don't worry kiddos, daddy's here to shove the monster back in the closet."

Widow and Hawkeye rolled their eyes simultaneously as Iron Man landed with a flourish despite there being no real audience to play to.

"Nice suit Ivan. You know, if you like wearing the equivalent of a Pinto. Really though I lost all respect I was going to pretend I had when I found out you are using some of Hammer's tech. That's just sad and pathetic. His junk was out of date before it rolled off the assembly line," Iron Man said, as his own armor scanned the Titanium Man.

"Stark," Bullski growled, his assault on Cap ceasing as he turned to face Tony. "Always so insolent. Always so sure you are the ultimate power. I will peel you out of that garish can you wear and..."

Tony meanwhile yawned, holding his wrist up as if looking at a watch."You done with the monologue yet? I have places to go, people far more interesting than you to annoy, and I think I left my garage door open...F.R.I.D.A.Y. check that for me will ya?"

"Checking now sir," his interface system responded.

"So literal sometimes, so sassy others. If I wasn't so busy I'd run an diagnostic on ya," Tony said.

Concussive beams charging for a larger blast, an enraged Titanium man stepped forward. "YOU MOCK ME?"

"Oh, you're still here? You just went on and on and well, I thought you were still jabbering so I kind of spaced out there for a bit. I know you are a Commie and all so the whole taking things you didn't earn and sharing them with others is part of your creed, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't extend to Shatner level overacting," Iron Man replied. "F.R.I.D.A.Y hows that scan going?"

"Scan complete. The Titanium Man armor is potentially stronger than the armor you are currently wearing, but only in raw physical power. The power source is non-nuclear and is rapidly losing energy, however the damage done to the armor is not yet sufficient enough to really force an end to this conflict. I recommend..."

"Yeah, no I'm bored now," Iron Man interrupted.

A slot opened in the forearm of his armor and a thin, pointed projectile emerged. The targeting system locked on to one of the gashes Cap's shield had opened in the Titanium Man, a small one near where the minigun had been mounted, and fired. Like a dart thrown at a board the projectile whizzed through the air and struck home, a thin cable trailing behind it. Suddenly blue-white electrical energy raced along the cable, into the projectile, and then throughout the Titanium Man.

Boris Bullski screamed in agony as the armor he wore lit up like a Christmas tree. The power source near the chest grew white hot and promptly exploded in a shower if sparks. Toppling over, smoke emerging from new and old gashes alike, the sound of the armor powering down was all that could be heard.

Stark however didn't even bother to watch the suit fall. Instead he turned his attention to the damage done around him and shook his head at the ruptured gas lines.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y? Remind me to give some tips to the right people on how they can make underground utilities less, I dunno, not archaic? This is like stone age junk here and its embarrassing. Oh and while you are at it make sure to reschedule my meeting with General What's His Nuts. I just found something better to do," he said as he eyed the slowly growing crowd of onlookers.

Natasha sighed as she followed his line of sight. "The brunette reporter? Really Tony? Now?"

"Oh please Romanoff you think I'm that shallow? No. Now the fangirl in the Iron Man shirt? Red...no fuchsia highlights and legs for days? That's another story. She's uploading photos of this whole thing to Instagram. Right alongside some rather daring Spring Break bikini shots," he explained as the corner of his HUD showed her various social media profiles.

"Sir, you did just fire a high powered electric charge into the target. The same one developed for battling future iterations of the Extremis soldiers should they ever be developed. I'm not reading any vitals," his assistant informed him.

"Doesn't surprise me. That piece of crap had some sort of gel layer between the undersuit, the wearer, and the armor itself. Was nearly liquid with as hot as the armor was running. Water plus electricity equals bad times. I mean sure it's a little Loony Toons, toaster in the bathtub but if it works…okay now the pics she didn't post? That's got to be illegal in...twelve states."

"Good work Tony," Cap said, wincing as he approached.

"I know. It's what I do. And hey, upside we can use some good press these days. Want to go speak to our adoring public?"

Before he even began to approach the crowd, a notification went off on his HUD.

"Sir, a message form Miss Potts," F.R.I.D.A.Y. Announced.

"Play it," he ordered.

"Tony," came the clearly rattled voice of Pepper Potts. "The plane, the one with Stark employees you had headed to Sokovia to assess how best we can help the locals rebuild? It's gone. Dropped off of radar two hours ago. Aerial footage has come up empty it's just...gone. Happy was on it..."

"Rogers," Stark said, his mood totally changed from but moments before. "You handle the press. I've got to take care of something."

With that Iron Man jetted into the sky and vanished amongst the clouds.