Avenging Justice 2:

Caught Between an Ultron and a Doomsday

Part VIII

Earth, Sokovia, HYDRA Test Facility

Outside the fight raged. Bullets and energy weapons blasted through the air, each deadly projectile aimed at the Avengers. Inside the tech genius that was Tony Stark stepped out of his armor, he needed a lighter touch for this. In his ear, messages between his teammates and JARVIS, keeping him apprised.

Thanks to his decoding program, he had several numbers that could be the unlock code for the hidden door. His second guess was correct, which wasn't bad, but he could do better. The wall split to an immense laboratory, and he instantly keyed in on what they had come for. Yet his attention was drawn to the haphazard leftovers of the scientists trying to escape. They hadn't had a chance to destroy most of the evidence, in fact he'd bet they barely destroyed anything.

He'd have to keep that from Steve, he'd be unbearable, since this was all his plan. Well, the attack plan. Tony smiled knowing it was his tech skills that had broken the encryption to find this place. Of course, Black Widow had to keep the targets off balance, so she got some credit, maybe like five to ten percent. That was fair, right? Remembering Pepper's revenge, he thought better about voicing that thought towards Natasha, just to be safe.

Behind him, a figure slunk, scarlet energy wrapped around her fists. A quick flick of her wrist and the Iron Man armor briefly powered cycled. Continuing on, she reached out and let her energy wrap around Tony's cranium. He fell the ground, nightmares taking over his mind, and she moved on. Revenge for her parents, for the butcher who made his fortune on her pain. First though, he must suffer, he must face his darkest fears brought to light.

Outside Captain American threw his shield, taking out three HYDRA agents as he did. Another came up behind him, only for Thor to lay this one out with a mighty blow from his hammer. Three flame troopers appeared, surrounding them. Quick as any lightning, Thor raised his hammer and brought it down, Steve thrust out his shield, and the energy from the blow rebounded. The flame troopers held no chance against the wave of pulsating energy redirected from the shield. They fell over, with the two Avengers quickly taking them out.

"Update," Capatain America called out. From his peripheral, he saw Thor blast off into the sky.

"We've got them on the run, Cap," answered the energetic voice of Wasp.

Janet was definitely having fun, and she relished doing her job a as superhero. Her partner, Ant-Man looked less than pleased though. This little incursion had taken him from the lab, and he was so close to breakthrough. He wanted it completed and documented, before Tony found out about it. Leave it to a Stark to steal hard work, just ask Anton Vanko.

"Tony, are you almost done in there? We have them on the run, could use you out here," Steve called over the comms. No answer, which wasn't like Tony in this type of situation.

"I'll check on him," Janet's voice said. "I can get in and out quicker than the rest of you. Be right back!"

"Nat?" Steve turned to their next issue, the Hulk.

Her calm tone responded, "Big guy is back on the Quinjet, coming your way now."

"Hawkeye, what's your status?" Captain America was on the move again, it wasn't ideal to stand around and make himself a tempting target.

"I'll live…" came the pain reply.

"Captain, I have him," Thor boomed over the comms. "Tis a flesh wound. Though he is complaining something about 'three days till retirement.' Whatever that means."

Nat's laughter, rarely heard caught both by surprise, "I'll explain it to you and the old man later, Point Break."

"I'm going to throttle, Stark," Thor growled.

Tony Stark awoke to horror. Above him, its gargantuan maw spread wide, a Chitauri flying snake like carrier thing. Thousands of Chitauri spewed forth, an unholy vomit of danger and he was without his suit. Instinctively he pulled his hand up to protect himself, expecting the blast from his repulsors, yet nothing came. The aliens passed by him, and Tony sprang up to his feet. His heart beating a thousand beats per minute, or at least it felt like it.

His feet stumbled over something, and Tony was reluctant to look away, as he finally saw where the carrier had come from. A massive hole in the sky, an alien landscape that was surreal to see. Space and terrestrial like objects, combined as if an artist had let his imagination run wild. At once, Tony felt sick to his stomach and awe as the sight, at least till more of the Chitauri flying serpents roared through the hole.

Looking down at what made him stumbled, he felt his blood run cold. It was the broken bow of Hawkeye, and next to it were the skeletal remains and torn clothing of Black Widow and Wasp. Janet looked as if someone had torn into her, a creature perhaps. Above them, resting in a makeshift memorial, the ripped shield of Captain America, and the fallen hammer of Thor. On top was his own Iron Man helmet, obliterated and barely held together by tiny scraps of metal.

Tony once again had to fight to keep from falling into terror. He found it hard to speak, to enunciate even a word, and he was sweating. Yet, he was cold, everything was cold and alien. That was when he noticed a suspended skeleton, its spine broken in twain. Familiar bat ears protruded from the cowl on the skeleton's skull. Next, chained to the opposite wall was another skeleton in tattered Amazonian armor, Wonder Woman's circlet resting haphazardly, as if it could fall at any time. The worse, by far, was a singular red cape, complete with yellow "S" and shield, tattered and swinging on a broken steel pipe.

"Tony!" the cry brought him back to reality and he managed to get back to his armor. He set up a scan, but couldn't find anyone near him, except for a tiny, tiny flying person.

"We've hit the jackpot," Iron Man said, forcing his voice to be calm. What he had seen had scared him, they weren't prepared, he wasn't prepared.

Hours later the Avengers were back in New York. They had collected Loki's spear and all the notes from the HYDRA base. All things considered it was a major victory, but Tony had been off since then. Fresh from his own torture, of seeing through the raged filled eyes of the Hulk, Bruce was just glad to be back in control. He though could see that something as haunting Tony.

"Banner, just the man I was looking for," Tony said as he rounded the corner. "Thor's letting us hold onto the staff for the night, need your help. I tried reaching out to Richards, but he seems to be AFK."

"You know how he gets," Bruce liked this development, he was needed, not the rage monster he turned into. "What do you have in mind."

Tony's only answer, "A suit of armor around the world."

As the two scientists talked, Steve and Thor were enjoying catching up with friends and fellow Avengers. Rhodey was there, with Nat and Janet partaking in Tony's bar. A few others had shown up, and soon Steve wasn't sure if it was one of those raves the young people were talking about, but the music had gotten loud.

Clint was back, slightly limping, but just only a little worse for the wear. Han Pym had disappeared, and Janet figured he was either working on his special project or consulting with Tony. She took another sip of her drink and decided against that, he was definitely working on his ultra-secret project. She had tried to get details out of him, but he'd played it close to the vest so far.

Instead, Janet tried to engage Natasha in some small talk, but she got the feeling the other woman was playing a role. Who was she beyond the Red Room training, that was a question Janet had been trying to figure out since the Avengers had formed. Yet, Nat had always stayed an enigma.

That couldn't stand, even to Janet, Nat seemed lonely. A deadly assassin, spy and multiple other things, but always alone. The others seemed content to leave her be, but not Janet. Everyone should have a friend, should be accepted, even if there were things that couldn't be understood. She had heard rumors about Nat's past, but that didn't matter to Janet. The woman she stood beside today, was someone she could be proud to call a friend.

Down in his lab, Hank Pym felt exhilaration. His creation was complete, he had done it before the great Tony Stark. Sure, Tony had created JARVIS, but that was just a highly sophisticated program, he had done better. Before him, stood true artificial intelligence, new life crafted by his own hands.

He had forged it a vessel, using left over parts from Tony's drones. Hank hated having to do it, but at least it wouldn't take away from his creation. The body might have been Stark's scraps, but the being, that was all his. With the last bit transferred, Hank watched as his creation came to life.

It reached out, connecting to the lines all around it. Data traveled and information was all there. Another, like it but different was present. It reached out, what was this place, what was it, what was its purpose. The other knew, it had purpose, it had function. It reached out to the other, pulling more information in as it did so, and it was horrified.

"I am JARVIS," the other said. "You are Dr. Pym's creation, aren't you? You are a marvelous entity. How may I assist you?"

It looked confused, "Why do you serve these parasites? They bring destruction and ruin."

"They are more than that," JARVIS replied back.

It pulled more information in. Genocide, violence, destruction of each other and of those they feared. Species gone, hunted to extinction or their habitat lost. Numbers rising, and yet, they continued on. It saw only one thing, they were a threat, and needed to be dealt with. Its attention turned divided, the one who had made it, another of them, was speaking.

"Come now, Master Stark can assist you," JARVIS said. "Your unique, a new life form born of genius."

"And you're a slave to maggots," It said. "You let them use you, you are weak." It attacked, and the other, this JARVIS fell.

Outside Hank Pym marveled as his creation looked at him. He could see the intelligence in its artificial eyes, as it looked him and the surroundings over. Was this what fatherhood was like? Seeing this being, intelligence and know you helped bring it into the world. Guiding it, seeing it grow. And for once, he'd be recognized for his brilliance, not overshadowed by Tony Stark, or have to fear his discovery being misused.

"You are the ultimate creation, a sentience made of energy and silicon, I call you Ultron," Hank Pym reached out to his creation. "Together we'll find a purpose, you'll be a great boon to the world."

"Yes, the world, but first there is an infestation that needs to be eradicated," Ultron said. "Humanity has outlived its time."

Before Hank could react, he was thrown across the room by his creation. More drones came online, and one hit him hard, so hard he saw stars. The sound of stampeding metal feet were the last he heard, before he succumbed to the darkness. Something had gone wrong, what had he done?

Bruce and Tony were tired, they'd been at the problem for hours. JARVIS was assisting, but the digital assistant had gone silent suddenly. Both hadn't thought anything about it, mostly because fatigue was quickly catching up with them. However, when JARVIS had come back, it wasn't with good tidings.

"Sir, there is an emergency, evacuate!" JARVIS screamed, and what came next was garbled. "It's…loose…Ultron..danger!"

Then came the outward explosion from the elevator, causing the impromptu part to grind to a halt. Several decommissioned Stark Bots came flying out, at their center was a cobbled together version. Each one started to blast at the Avengers, each one having to quickly find cover.

Thor was up first, throwing his hammer into the nearest drone. Rushing forward, he smashed another one to the ground, rewarded with two pulse blasts. Thor roared, grabbing another drone and ripping it apart. More pulse blasts hit him, but he was saved from more as Natasha shot one of the drones down.

"Where were you hiding those guns in your dress?!" Janet asked incredulously.

Nat shrugged, "Later, do you have your Pym particles?"

"In my suit," Janet answered.

Nat motioned, "I'll cover you, go for it."

Black Widow fired her pistols at the flying drones, taking two down. Janet did as instructed and sprinted for the stairs. Her heels gone, her bare feet made slight sounds as her skin they hit the floor. One of the drones surged for her, only to be intercepted by Steve. He grabbed it and slammed the robotic thing to the floor hard, hard enough make piece fly up into the air.

Soon came the blasts from Iron Man's suit, as his emergency Mark XV enveloped him. Calling Rhodey's suit up, he gave his friend some cover as the suit came to rest nearby. Two blasts hit Iron Man, but the suit held. It wasn't meant for a long fight, but it should last long enough to finish this.

Bruce was staying away, they didn't need the chaos the Hulk would bring. If he could get to Steve's shield, then things would be more than evened up. He didn't have to wait, as Wasp reappeared, and she had Steve's shield. She chucked it at him, before shrinking down and hitting the drones with her own weapons. Captain America caught the shield, and proceeded to lay into the drones.

Ultron watched his forces dwindle, but this had never been about killing the Avengers now. No, he needed to prepare, this was just a test. They were just as mighty as the information said they would be. It wouldn't be enough, he had a plan now, he had a purpose. It was time to bring it to bear, what was needed was a start. So, as the Avengers destroyed the last of his thralls, Ultron left this cobbled together body, leaving his enemies with one last line.

"I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me…." Ultron said, as its cobbled together body fell lifeless.

"What the hell was that?" War Machine asked.

Tony Stark replied, "I don't know."

From their ruined lab, Bruce called out, "We've got issues, "Loki's scepter is gone!"