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It was dangerous to approach the throne unheralded. He'd been programmed with the knowledge it could be his last time entering the room. However, he was...curious. He didn't understand why the girl needed to be used. His master's transgressions were against the boy; not the child now held hostage. Not the one who was forgetting who she was. Why hadn't his master taken the boy from the train and left the girl? Would not that have made more sense?
Perhaps if he could speak with his master, they could come to an understanding and they would let her go—or perhaps he would understand his master's vision.
When he reached the throne, he bowed low. "M'lord."
"Rise," Ultron replied, his fingers running softly over the armrest. "What brings you on this glorious eve?"
The robot rose and looked up at him, recognizing that his master was in a good mood. Perhaps this would be easier than he thought. "The girl. I have questions."
"I suppose I can answer them. What is it you want to know?"
"Why does she remember nothing?" the robot asked. "She believes her whole to have existed in this castle."
Ultron's face twisted into a smirk. "Everything is going according to plan then."
"I thought the plan was simply to take over the Red King's domain, and to do that we need the boy."
"It is," his master replied, eyes brow lowering. "Are you, perhaps, questioning my judgment?"
The robot shook his head. "Not at all, my lord. I just want to understand."
"Being enlightened can be a terrible gift. Look at what happened to the humans when one took an apple from the serpent."
The robot froze. Hadn't his master just accepted a necklace from a snake? His circuits quickly connected and recognized that if he said anything, his master would dismantle him.
Ultron rose from the throne and sauntered down it. "Is there something wrong?"
"Wrong, my lord?"
"You grow silent—as if perhaps you have something to say but know better than to ask."
The robot felt his gears begin to shift again. "No, my only question is regarding the girl. I understand it is not good to be curious. It reportedly kills cats from what I have downloaded. I only wish to see the vision as you do."
"Very well," he responded; the lens in his eyes to study the robot closely. "Listen well. It is well known that only a child with a companion would leave the train. No others would ever be so bold. She is the driving force behind his curiosity and, as of now, assumed courage as he triumphantly attempts to rescue her. That is the way with any female and male relationship, apparently, no matter the age. Many stories have been written over the male species acting incredibly asinine when it comes to females." Ultron shook his head. "Regardless, he is now derailed, so to speak, in his hunt to find her. If we can slay him in the woods, there will be nothing stopping my march on the North Pole, and no one to save the red king."
"But the girl?" the robot questioned. "Why her?"
Ultron slowly moved toward the door. "Haven't you heard the elves love a good ballet? It is their only weakness. Something about the twirling and the music; the little nuggets are addicted to it. Odd, really. But what can you expect from the red one's army."
The robot processed the information at a rapid place. If he had understood correctly, the boy was driven by his desire to save the girl. The girl was a distraction for the elves so his master could overtake the Pole without any issue. He halfheartedly wondered if there was perhaps an easy way to accomplish this mission.
He looked at his master. "After, will she return to her age?"
Ultron laughed, a few short chuckles before answering. "The longer she stays aged, the harder it will be for her to remember who she once was. Five years is not long to erase. By midnight, her memory will be gone. And after we win the Pole, she will be disposed of."
"Disposed of?"
Ultron approached him and clapped a metal hand on his shoulder. "Sadly, my friend, you lack foresight and vision. To keep her around would mean loose ends."
The robot's gaze darted around the room before he gave a nod.
"Now leave me," Ultron said as he moved towards an exit at the rear of the throne room. "I have other things to attend to. The party is barely beginning."
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Tony picked his way up the mountainside, Jac in tow. The puppy had grown to an impressive six feet in height, but he'd lost what little sense of balance he had and now swayed back and forth—when he wasn't falling over that is.
Tony had found it highly amusing and was still laughing which in turn kept him warm. "You're so silly, Jac."
He received a growl in response which caused him to laugh harder since the puppy still hadn't learn to growl after growing.
Tony turned to him. "Jac, I—"
He paused. In the distance there was a flash of metal. He watched the spot for several moments before scanning the trees. He felt the familiar fingers of fear run up his spine and the hair on the back of his neck rose.
Jac's gaze followed. He whined softly. "They found us."
Tony turned and fled up the mountainside with Jac stumbling behind. He hoped it wasn't that much further to the griffin's house. If it was, they wouldn't make it in time.
They'd only made it maybe another half a mile before Jac stumbled and slammed face first into the snow with a yelp. The metal soldiers appeared from the trees like shadows as they converged on them.
"Halt!" one said as it moved closer before its team.
Tony grabbed a branch and swung it at the first robot to reach them. It tumbled backwards and down the mountain. For a moment, Tony thought it would be like baseball. Maybe the robots weren't smart enough to avoid the branch and they had a fighting chance. That dream was crushed when the second robot grabbed the branch from him and threw it away.
By then Jac had made it to his feet and shoved against the robot, sending him tumbling down the hill. Turning, they both sprinted up the mountainside.
"Halt! Halt!" called mechanical voices from behind.
They'd barely reached another thirty feet before Jac collapsed again. This time dozens of robots surrounded them. They grabbed at Tony, shoving him to his knees. One oved before him, palm raised as a bright light appeared in the center of it.
"Lord Ultron's directive," its mechanical voice crackled as it peer down on him. "Terminate."
Tony was dead. He was so dead, and not like 'the Legos were all over the place and dad walked on them' dead. He'd never get to tell his mother he loved her. He'd never save Skylar. He'd never finish working on the car with his dad. It was all over. And he didn't get to enjoy his Christmas break or even graduate third grade.
A shriek filled the night sky making him wince and want to cover his ears. Within moments, robots were scurrying left and right. Tony tumbled as they let him go, sending him crashing into a tree. He curled in a ball at the base, putting his throbbing cheek into the snow as the area quieted.
When everything was silent, he peeked around and slowly sat up. "Jac?"
Several feet from his the black canine cowered against the ground, the puppy's attention focused on something behind him.
Turning, Tony barely got a glimpse of a large silver creature before he was caught up the throat and lifted off the ground.
"You! Why have you brought these wretched creatures to my residence?"
He trembled as he looked down on what he identified as a griffin. It was silver in color with red markings and red flight feathers. "I…I was sent here."
"By whom?" the griffin questioned.
"H-H-Hank," Tony stuttered. "The blue grizzly."
His grip loosened slightly. "Why would Beast Hank send you to me? What treachery is at foot?"
"The eagle told us to go to Hank," Jac whimpered, crawling toward them.
"Instructor Xavier? Why would he send you to Beast Hank?" the griffin questioned and cast a glance around. "Is this a trap of the robot king? Has my brother sent you? Is this his trickery?"
"No," Jac tried to explain. "We came fwom the twain. We're twying to save our friend. We'wre here fowr awmore."
The griffin dropped Tony to the snow as a booming laugh left his beak. "You are too old to be on the train. What has my brother done this time?"
"I don't know your brother," Tony said, sitting up and rubbing his neck. "I'm just trying to find my friend. It's my fault we got off the train. It stopped and I wanted to look outside. She was taken by—"
The griffin dropped to all fours before taking a seat. "She? You mean your companion was a female?"
Tony nodded. "Yes."
The griffin looked around before spreading his wings. "Come, we need to get you and your canine friend inside. We are not safe in the open."
Tony looked at Jac who shrugged and rose to follow the griffin. He tumbled sideways.
The griffin looked at him. "Little canine, find your center of gravity. Steady your paws. You will walk just fine from there."
Jac rose and spread his paws out a little more. For the first time, he didn't wobble. His ears perked up. "What's youwr name?"
"I am the mighty Thor."
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