It's been a fun ride, but the story is almost over. Thanks, everyone, for reading this story. I wouldn't have managed to do all this without your support!
Oh, I wanted to say that in case anyone thought I was being inconsistent regarding the Infinity "Gem" and "Stone" (I used both names during the fic) that was meant to be humor. I wasn't being lazy, honest. :P
And finally, some people have been asking me about my Beyond Death series. I promise, I haven't dropped it. I am currently writing new chapters, but for now, my focus is on this series. Thank you for your patience.
Loki kicked the annoying youth away before teleporting himself a safe distance. He watched with amusement as the boy ran speedily back to his comrades to discuss the situation. Loki smiled with amusement. It was so delicious to see them scramble to think of a solution to their problem when they weren't even aware of his hidden weapon.
Purposely, he had up to this point only used the Power Stone – and even then, he had allowed the little Black Widow to steal it, giving her the illusion that she had a small measure of control. If only they knew. Chuckling, he teleported besides the spy.
With adequate reflexes, she jumped backwards away from him, but it would do her no good. Loki almost lazily pulled out a green stone from his pocket, using a small magic spell to coat his hand from any ill-effects. He saw the spy's eyes widen for a second before he clenched his fist around the stone, willing everything to stop.
In a moment, everything ceased to move. Even the very winds stopped at his command. The Time Stone had also rendered the Asgardian warriors useless, but Loki didn't very much care. Their usefulness was about over, anyway.
It was an almost overwhelming feeling. He could literally do whatever he liked to the so-called Avengers, and they couldn't do a single thing to resist. If only his "brother" were around…but there was no time for idle thought.
"First things first," Loki said to himself mainly because the utter quiet was almost louder than the noise of battle had been. His voice seemed to echo around him; he wondered how someone like Thanos didn't go insane, sitting alone in a throne in the middle of space.
"Ah, but of course – clearly, he's already insane." Mystery solved. Loki also noted that he had done exactly nothing since using the Time Stone, something he had to rectify. Striding back to Black Widow, he snatched the staff from her hands. He had planned to do this when she could see him, but he was adaptable.
"Father, if you could see me now, even you would be proud at how easily I defeated Earth's mightiest warriors. Then again, you probably wouldn't admit it…" Suddenly angered, Loki thrust his scepter out and fired a powerful energy blast at a nearby building. Because time had stopped, the building didn't go down in a colorful explosion – but it would, once the flow of time returned to normal.
Assuming, of course, that Loki ever deigned it. It might be amusing to leave this part of the city frozen forever.
But it did no good to let thoughts of his adoptive father anger him; the old fool was gone, and the legions of Asgard followed his commands. Most of the Avengers were out of commission, and Thor wasn't even around. Truly, if not for his dangerous boss, Loki wouldn't have a problem in the nine realms.
Yes, I rather expect things will go smoothly from here on out. Loki grinned – and then something hot slammed against his arm, causing him to drop the Time Gem onto the ground.
Ultron, his father, and Thor had been flying as fast as they could to the battle site when Ultron motioned for them to stop.
"Ultron, why do you have us halt? We must not waste any more time." Ultron could understand why Thor was distressed, but what he was seeing was…weird.
"Either my optics are going to need to be replaced, or Loki pulled off the greatest magic trick ever." Ultron emitted a 3D projection through his eyes, to show his two partners what he had witnessed. At first, the battle had proceeded normally. The speedster had even tackled Loki.
And a few minutes later, everyone stopped. No, not just everyone, but everything as well. Loki was the only thing still moving, and they watched as he plucked his scepter from Black Widow's unmoving hands.
"Thor, don't tell me that Loki is using what I think he's using?" Tony's tense voice begged the thunder god. Thor sighed.
"I'm afraid that you have probably already guessed – Loki is using the Time Gem to halt time in that general vicinity."
Ultron tried to chuckle. "At least we know where the final gem is. That's a silver lining." As he spoke, he noticed something; he could still hear various city sounds. Cars honking, dogs barking, people chatting on phones. It seemed his father noticed too.
"Wait, but he didn't freeze the whole city. If he can only freeze a fraction of the city at a time, that explains why we aren't frozen yet." After that optimistic burst, Tony was forced to address another issue. "But even knowing that, now what? If we attempt to steal the gem from Loki, we could end up frozen like popsicles ourselves. We don't even know the exact range of that gem."
"…That may not be a problem." Thor and Tony turned to face Ultron, who had gone given them his back. "Father, you programmed me with a homing program, which would allow me to shoot a target from great distances. This seems like a good time to test it out."
There was a pause, before Tony laughed. "I always did say that the best time to try out a new invention was in the field. I like where this is going, Ultron. Just make sure that when you hit him, he drops that gem!"
Nodding, Ultron lifted a palm, and faced it in Loki's general direction. He used the zoom feature on his optics at maximum frequency, until he could make out the green on Loki's outfit. He made adjustments for wind and direction, exhaled the breath he hadn't been holding, and fired a simple repulsar blast.
Loki felt a sudden stinging sensation on the back of his hand, and in his surprise he dropped the Time Gem. Cursing, he reached down to snatch it up, but a something impacted against his back, and he collapsed to the ground, watching with horror as a mechanical being picked it up. Growling, he turned around just in time to spot that accursed Stark flying towards him. Loki snapped his fingers and vanished before he got the wind knocked out of him.
It turned out that it didn't matter; at the last moment, Thor had reached out and grabbed the man of iron's ankle, stopping his flight.
"Thor, what are you doing?" Stark's voice was confused.
"Stark, do you not see? Even now that the Time Gem is out of my brother's hands, our friends do not move." Loki was impressed; his brother was actually doing some thinking!
"While it is true that your cowardly tactics awarded you the Time Gem, your friends will never move again unless specifically freed. I don't believe your robot has the power for that, however, and I refuse to release them. Now what, dear brother?" Loki enjoyed the looks on their faces, seething with helpless rage.
Ultron grit his metal teeth together, but he couldn't think of a single rebuttal to Loki's taunt. They could try to beat him up so bad that he would have no choice but to talk, but when he really thought about it, the only Avenger with any skills in that department was Black Widow. He looked down at the gem he held; he could use it to freeze Loki, but that also wouldn't solve their predicament.
He was a super-computer at heart, and he couldn't think of any solutions. He had a feeling that his father and Thor weren't much better off.
Loki opened his insufferable mouth. "Well, I can see that you're all out of ideas, if your silence is anything to go by." His grin turned terrible. "How about this? I let your friends go, in exchange for any Infinity Gems that you have on your person." Tony and Thor exchanged glances.
"Come now, it sounds like a fair trade to me. Your friends are surely more important than some chunks of rock. Isn't that the logic you heroes use?" Loki continued to mock, knowing that they couldn't make a move against him.
Or couldn't they? Ultron suddenly had an idea…but it wouldn't work if Loki was staring at him. Pretending to listen as Loki went on a rant about how stupid superheroes were, Ultron put up a frequency connecting him to his father.
"Dad, can you hear me? Don't make any sudden movements. I don't want Loki to know that we're speaking." He kept his own mouth shut, of course; he would merely "talk" using his brain functions.
"I take it you have a plan? Well, you do share some of my brain patterns, so it isn't that surprising." Ultron wanted to beam; his father sounded so proud. There wasn't time for any preening, though; time was of the essence.
"Father, I'm going to sneak over and snatch whatever Infinity Gems Pietro has. Hopefully, if he has any, they'll be enough to counter Loki." He heard Stark inhale.
"But Ultron, if you try to use them, you'll…wait a second." Ultron knew that his father had caught on to one very important fact.
"You noticed. Unlike other people said to have used the gems, I haven't melted or exploded upon contact with the Time Gem…which I'm holding right now. If my theory is right, it's because I'm not organic."
"Which means that you'll be able to handle the other gems without any negative side-effects," Tony finished. "It's a good plan, unless Pietro dropped them or something. But our luck isn't nearly that bad."
Their attention was violently brought back by Loki. "I hope I'm not boring you all, but I have waited long enough. Hand me the Time Gem." Ultron made a show of resignedly sighing, and tossing the stone to Stark.
"I just can't do it," Ultron groaned, walking away dejectedly. He winced internally; his acting wasn't an exact art yet, and he feared that he had overdone it. Loki, however, only laughed, before turning to Stark.
"I expect you have a stronger stomach, then. I can't imagine why you would program your mechanical followers to have such cowardice."
Ultron, once he was out of sight, sped up his pace. He dared not activate his rocket boosters in the silence. Just keep him talking.
"Nah, none of my creations even know the meaning of the word fear. Disgust, though, that's something else entirely." Loki frowned. Ultron chuckled.
"That is enough of that. I somehow get the feeling that you are stalling for time." Ultron had finally reached Pietro, and using his scanners, had located the gems in his pants left pocket. The three gems shimmered with blue, red, and yellow energy.
"Stalling? Me? I'm hurt. If I was stalling you, I'd have flown to Orlando or something." Ultron didn't hear Loki respond; the god was obviously suspicious, not to mention losing patience.
"Brother, please," Thor began with a pleading tone. "Stop this madness." Ultron flinched as he heard an explosion, and activated his boosters. Now was not the time for silence.
"Enough," Loki seethed. "Hand over the stone this second, or I will obliterate both of you with the Power Stone."
"I don't think so," Ultron said triumphantly as he landed between his father and Loki. Loki raised an eyebrow.
"And what will you do to stop me?" Loki pointed his staff at Ultron; it hummed louder with each progressing moment. It would only take a thought from Loki, and the staff would release the power building up inside it.
"Nothing much, but I think Hawkeye would have liked to see this." And then before Loki could react, Ultron pressed the Mind Stone against Loki's forehead. Loki's eyes widened for a brief instant, before narrowing down again, but this time with an empty look about them.
Tony walked up to Loki and snapped his fingers. Loki looked at him, but without any spark of recognition. "This is really cool. I've wanted a new butler."
Ultron liked the idea, but… "First things first, father." Then turning to address Loki, "You'll use the Time Gem to release my friends. After that, you will let your brother take you back to Asgard, where you will hopefully be given a fair trial, and all that." Loki nodded quietly. Ultron liked this new subservient god of mischief.
Loki stretched out and upturned hand, and Ultron dropped the Time Gem into it. Loki clenched his fist around the warm object, and closed his eyes. It felt like the air rippled somehow, and I the next moment, time had begun to move again. Ultron could tell due to the birds suddenly moving, and the wind causing some trees to sway, and even the sound of cars.
"That's a good god," Ultron drawled, unable to help himself. "And you already know what I want you to do next…"
A shout stopped him. "Ultron, watch out!" Ultron cursed; he had been ignoring his sensors. The android quickly whipped around to face the assailant, but he felt someone snatch the Time Gem out of his hand. The figure was speedy; he only saw flowing black hair before he (she?) reached Loki, jamming the stone against his head once more.
"Lord Odin, please awaken!" The armored warrior smiled with joy as Loki regained his senses, a look of rage on his features.
"I am a god! Do you understand me? If you think I will stand for the indignity of a mechanical monstrosity controlling my mind, you are gravely mistaken!" Loki raised the Time Gem, no doubt planning to freeze everyone again.
Ultron closed his optics for half a second before steeling himself, grabbing the orange Soul Gem that Thor had handed to him earlier – and activating it. The stone that had unknown powers, the one that not even Thor knew how to use. And then the world vanished.
Author's Notes:
The next chapter is the final one. I hope you enjoy it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch more Daredevil. :)