Re: Avenger Chapter 31, a re:zero fanfic

Chapter 31 – There Are No Strings on Me

2018 AD / EARTH / NEW YORK CITY

*FWOM!*

The portal invoked by the Watcher vanished as soon as the last of the heroes crossed through its threshold, leaving them in the decayed realm of the machine, his dystopian paradise of absolute peace, brought forth through indiscriminate annihilation of the human race and all species…

"…This IS Earth, right?" Subaru mumbled as he inspected the surroundings with unease.

"I'm afraid so…" Karen spoke in response from inside the boy's helmet. "I'm currently communicating with the satellites left after the destruction and this is indeed New York City, Subaru."

"The only thing I can even recognize here is Stark Tower, in all honesty. Never thought I'd use that ugly building for reference." Captain Carter pointed out to the tower in shambles, left barely as a structure without most of its floors or glasses over its windows.

"You mean Avengers Tower?" Subaru asked as he contemplated the horrid scene.

"In my universe, it remained as Stark Tower." Peggy commented as she scratched her head.

"How come you don't have Avengers in your universe? What with having Mr. Stark there, I'd thought for sure you'd be like his Captain America to his Iron Man or something."

"Urgh, that prick is certainly a tin-man in-" As Peggy complained about her universe's version of Tony Stark, she paused the moment Subaru mentioned the tittle of Captain America. "Hold on- Did you just say… 'Captain America'?"

"Oh? Ah! That's right, if you became THE Super-Soldier in your universe, then I guess Steve Rogers didn't take the Serum…" Subaru mumbled aloud with a smile. "In my universe, Steve Rogers became a Super Soldier and the First Avenger. That shield you wield, his had Stripes and a Star at the center instead."

"Steve the Super Soldier…" Captain Carter smiled nostalgically as she gazed at the shield in her left arm. "Now THAT would be a sight."

In the wake of the devastation left behind by Ultron's first planetary destruction, New York City was left in an almost unrecognizable state. Most of the buildings had collapsed onto themselves, whilst others simply disintegrated following the heat of the nuclear blasts that fueled Ultron's massacres. It was quite the insane fact that, from the center of Park Avenue, almost all buildings were either wreckage or simply inexistent anymore.

"Alright- Hmm?" Whilst Subaru and Peggy commented the devastation and their experiences,Gamora inspected the Infinity Crusher in the background, interacting with cables and the circuitry as she noticed a sudden spike in energy. "Huh… That's weird."

"What is it?" T'Challa wondered with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me it suddenly doesn't work, last thing we need is faulty machinery."

"It's not that, it's just…" Gamora displaced the Soul Stone from the engine of the Crusher as she continued calibrating the machine. "The energy output of the Soul Stone is somewhat unstable… Over a hundred septillion watts beyond what my universe's Soul Stone did. It's making the blades act up a bit when they accelerate. See?"

*GRRRRRRRRRN-!*

*KRSHK-!*

"Maybe because it's from another universe than your own? I don't really get it either way though…" Thor scratched his head with his hammer as he processed Gamora's words, observing with worry as the grinders of the Crusher accelerated unequally and collided with one another.

"Acting up? Should we call it off and return to the Watcher then?" Peggy commented with concern for the plan.

"No need, it's an easy fix." Gamora assured with a confident smirk as she deactivated the Crusher and took out the Soul Stone. "Just need you to hold onto the gem for a bit, this armor actually has no pockets and I'll need both hands."

"Sure." Peggy held onto the Stone as Gamora fiddled further with the machine, placing on the ground.

"So…" Subaru approached Strange as he gazed at the decayed city, it seems the Sorcerer was casting some sort of muffling spell around the group to hide their location from Ultron's ears. "Umm… Strange? Can we talk? While Gamora fixes the machine and all…"

*SHWIM!*

"…Sure, no problem." The Sorcerer nodded in affirmation as he finished his spell, walking a few meters away from the group with the boy in tow.

"Umm… Where to begin…" Subaru spoke with trouble whilst he looked at the Sorcerer.

"…Are you angry?" Strange prompted with a neutral expression.

"Huh?" Subaru flinched in response, taking a few seconds to assimilate the question.

"I asked you if you were angry." Strange continued lamenting. "I saw you die to both Puck and Ultron and did nothing after all… Well, to be fair, I watched your death to Puck after the fact, but still, that is no excuse."

"Er…" Subaru could not properly express his thoughts as Strange numbered his demises, far too caught up in the memories.

"I… I understand the pain of death. On my own flesh… as well as that of the loss of our loved ones, Subaru." Stephen confessed with remorse.

"…" The Avenger observed in silent shock how the normally ominous man talked with difficulty now.

"It was self-inflicted, using the Time Stone to rewind the world upon my death, but I did it for the greater good, to seal Dormammu away and save Earth from the Dark Dimension. I want to say it was a heroic action… But that was only the beginning of my downward spiral; it'd be nothing but stubbornness to try to deny my madness and dark acts with justifications." Stephen described his experience with 'Returning by Death' himself to the aghast and shocked Avenger. "I only… I used the Time Stone to save the unsalvageable, believing myself the arrogant master of fate itself… But it didn't work. I despaired, bringing everyone down along with me."

"…" Subaru shuddered for a few moments, dreading the horrors the Sorcerer must have gone through if even 'Return by Death' couldn't save him or his loved ones.

"…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thrown all of this onto your lap; you already have enough on your plate as it is." Strange apologized profusely as he attempted to leave. "You are just a kid; you shouldn't have had to lend your ear to some abhorrent old man-"

"I know I should probably feel indignation or something, but honestly? I'm relieved." Interrupting the torrent of self-hatred,Subaru shook his head as the armor receded, revealing his face. His… Smiling face.

"You are… Relived I saw you die? Or that I know the taste of despair and death?" Strange looked with confusion at the boy.

"No! I mean- Not that. Neither of the two." Subaru denied vehemently, not wishing to downplay the severity of death. "It's just… I feel more relief from having you fight by my side than anger you didn't help me until now or cruel satisfaction that you know what death feels like. I don't- I don't really care for the other two. I mean that."

"…" Strange looked on with curiosity at the boy as he struggled to explain himself.

"I guess it'd be like when I asked Garfiel for help, err-" Subaru tried to describe in simpler terms as he gestured in a cartoonish fashion with his hands. "How I know you wouldn't help me before, or you'd be capable of letting me die, but now you are helping me? It is actually pretty hard to say… But I'm just glad we are allies now. I am 'glader' we are allies than angry that you left me to die or satisfied that you know pain. Does that make sense?"

"…You are strange." Stephen deadpanned with vexation.

"No, that'd be you." Subaru retorted with a mischievous smirk.

"*Sigh…* Okay, I walked RIGHT into that one." The Doctor shook his head with disappointment.

"Hehe…" Subaru chuckled as cheerfulness returned to his dispirited face. "Seriously though… Thank you Strange. I know how powerful the Doctor from my universe is, so I'm thankful you are here to help us. Especially because the Watcher assured you are even stronger than most of your other 'Variants' or whatever. Erm- no offense to my Strange, though. He's pretty busted himself too!"

"…That power didn't serve me much in the grander scale of things, though." Strange lamented as he gazed away from the boy with shame.

"…" Subaru stared in silence as Stephen spoke.

"If anything, it just fooled me into thinking I could do the undoable, condemning everyone…"

"…You may not wish to talk about it, but I insist." Subaru extended a helping hand, wishing to pat the Sorcerer in the back for comfort as he stared with pity. "It may be better on the long run, to help you heal."

"Heal, huh…" Strange distanced himself from Subaru by a few steps, denying the comforting hand. "Don't bother. There is nothing- There is nothing that could help me, nothing left to help IN me... It's already far too late for that."

"…" Subaru narrowed his gaze at the man, gulping with anxiety as he prompted a question. "Why do you…"

"Hmm…" Strange closed his eyes, knowing what Subaru was about to say yet not feeling worthy of the worry.

"Why do you look like that? Not just your clothes; your face, your eyes… Why do you look in so much pain?" Subaru inquired with worry for the Sorcerer.

"As a matter of fact, I'd like to know that as well." Carter interrupted the conversation, barging in uninvited as Subaru asked his question.

"Captain?" Subaru wondered with surprise.

"Subaru, you said that, back in your universe, this guy lowballed you." The brown-haired woman turned to look at the Avenger with concern as she pointed to the Sorcerer. "If in any way, shape or form this could endanger the integrity of the strategy, I wish to nip it in the bud immediately."

"She's right… I guess that's fair." Strange nodded in agreement.

"Ergh… Well, back in my universe…" Subaru scratched his chin as he hastily answered the Captain's doubts. "Well I… Back during the battle against Thanos, Strange gave him the Time Stone, allowing that Grimace to complete the Infinity Gauntlet and kill half of the universe… Including me."

"…And during the second clash with the Mad Titan, after the Avengers resurrected the deceased half of the universe, my Variant instructed Subaru to use the Stones to slay him and his armies… Something that flung Subaru across the universe, away from Earth and his life." Strange grumbled as he acknowledged his other self's decisions. "In all honesty… I would have acted much the same."

"And you say that with a straight face? NO wonder you could allow him to die without any second thoughts." Peggy shook her head with disappointment and clear anger at the notion.

"Please, don't lay it on him like that Captain." Subaru tried to defend the Sorcerer, surprising the two. "I know his thought process is skewed, but he's someone who has defended Earth from insurmountable threats in his own reality. I just… I suppose being the one taking the hard decisions takes its toll, no matter the power you wield. Or ESPECIALLY because of the power one wields."

"If only it were as you say, Subaru… If I had been the only one to pay the toll in my universe, everything would have been far better." Stephen lamented with trembling fists of impotence, doing his best to maintain a neutral face as the memories rushed him.

"Huh?" Both the Avenger and the Captain stared at the Sorcerer with confusion as he spoke with regret.

"I already broke my oath to protect Earth in my universe; so I bowed to protect the multiverse's integrity instead, to atone for my mistake…" Doctor Strange admitted with difficulty.

"…'Mistake' how?" Carter inquired with worry for the man. "What did you do in your universe?"

"I-I…" As Strange was about to respond, however, a pair of enormous tentacles sprouted from his sleeve. "Argh-!"

*SLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOSH!*

"Woah!"

"Holy-!" Both Subaru and Peggy leapt back, barely avoiding the rampage of the odd appendages as they looked at Strange with confusion.

"RRRRRGH!" Stephen moaned in pain as he forced the tentacles back into his hand with a motion of his fingers.

*FWWWWWISSSH~!*

*Pant-Pant!* Hah… Hah…" The Sorcerer struggled for a breath as he reabsorbed the abominations onto himself, a single droplet of sweat rolling down his brow as he relaxed again. "Hah…"

"Alright, seriously now, what the hell was that?!" Peggy insisted with preoccupation for the team, not just the Sorcerer now.

"…I fell in love, and my universe paid the price in my stead." As he covered his body with his ominous cape, Strange confessed to the pair with sadness. "Please… Just don't ask beyond that."

"…" Anxiety filled Subaru's mind as he looked at the powerful Sorcerer Supreme shy away from him with shame. It was clear as day for the Avenger to see that it was not just his judgement that was skew; this man's entire world was twisted beyond repair already. However, if that were the case…

What can I do to help you, Strange?

Simultaneous to this conversation, above the buildings' remains…

"…" A lone human woman, cloaked in all black, gazed with contempt through her binoculars at the people conversing down below.

Thor? No… Couldn't be… He looks somewhat more 'idiotic' in comparison… An illusion then? That's the last thing I need right now; have I finally gone mad?

Returning to the ground…

"So… You said you met Eitri?" Thor mumbled as he inched closer to Gamora, who was still repairing the Crusher on the ground.

"Yeah… Not as though we became acquaintances informally or anything though; up until I left my- up until I left Thanos' side, we met when I'd go around collecting weaponry or the like for the Mad Titan." The former assassin confessed with trouble. "I assume you know him because he forged that hammer you wield?"

"Haha! Mjolnir, the Uru hammer, belonged to my father during his halcyon days!" Thor laughed as he showed off the weapon. "As the next in line for the Asgardian throne, it was only fitting father would pass it onto me!"

"…So you weren't there when he forged it, got it. It's just daddy's hand-me-down." Gamora sighed in response to the boisterous nature of the man.

"Well… No, I mean, yes but- but I KNOW of Eitri's talents! That's the important part here!" Thor rapidly reasoned as he attempted to answer both of Gamora's statements with confusion.

"Let's just hope you make better on your father's promise to protect the Nine Realms in his stead than your Variant did in Gamora's universe." T'Challa commented as he disrupted their little talk.

"Oh?" Thor looked at the Ravager with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I met the Eitri of my universe as well, alright? So I know Nidavellir is under Odin's protection, hence why they don't forge weapons for ANYONE unless they possess the All-Father's express permission…" T'Challa explained with a troubled face.

"The little prince is right, Odinson." Gamora nodded as the human spoke, looking at the Asgardian with apprehension. "If our universes are anything alike, Odin has not much life left in his breast… That, or his Sleeps are becoming longer and longer. It was those windows of opportunity that exposed the Nine Realms and Nidavellir to Thanos' wrath."

"No need to call me 'Little Prince'…" The Wakandan royal frowned in response to Gamora's agreement. "But Gamora's right."

"Oh wow… My father… Dying?" Thor looked baffled by the notion. "I-I mean, the old man's been around since FOREVER, so… Him dying is just…"

"He may be a god, but he's well-past his glory days." T'Challa insisted with urgency. "Your universe seems to be set in an earlier point in time than ours, DON'T WASTE IT!"

"I agree you should get acquainted with guarding the Nine Realms while you still have time, Thor." Gamora gave the reason to the prince. "You said it yourself; you are next in line to the throne of Asgard. Act like it."

"U-U-huh…" Thor felt uncomfortable as the two gazed at him with concern for his kingdom. "H-Hey, come on! I MAY not be the smartest tool in the room, but I sincerely doubt I'm as much of a fumble as you make me out to be!"

"…The saying is 'tool in the shed', not 'in the room'. Otherwise, you are just a tool." T'Challa shook his head with pity.

"Augh… Look, I will focus on it when I get back! I-I'm sure my Eitri doesn't have it as bad as yours! I just need to-!" Thor looked stumped for a second as he tried to justify himself to the Wakandan prince.

"Actually, now that I think about it, didn't Subaru say you are Wakanda's King in his universe?" Gamora reasoned as she stared at T'Challa.

"Well… I'm more of an estranged prince in mine…" The Ravager looked away with embarrassment as the former assassin stared at him with suspicion.

"So you are in the same boat as this doofus! I can't believe it-!" Gamora rolled her eyes with exasperation. "You should take the reins of your Kingdom too, if you know in one universe you are set to be King!"

"Don't imply my father will kick the bucket just yet, Gamora. I'll have you know, from my last visit, King T'Chaka looked most healthy!" T'Challa pointed out as he defended himself from her accusation.

"Doesn't mean SOMETHING couldn't spurt down the line for being careless!" Gamora stressed with disillusion. "Honestly, the royal pair that you two make…"

"At least we make something other than a worrywart! Blegh!" Thor reprimanded Gamora as he stuck out his tongue at her pettily.

"I'm just saying, you'd save more people by taking charge of the situation from the start!" Gamora reiterated with annoyance. "You'd prevent more idiots like my father if you could step up from the get-go to their foolishness…"

"…You called him 'Father' just now." Odinson noted aloud carelessly with a raised eyebrow.

"Ugh…" The Zehoberei face-palmed as she realized what she just said.

"So that's what worries you; those like Thanos rising up to power when internal disputes arise in our lands." T'Challa looked amazed by Gamora's preoccupations, understanding that she was just worried others with sickly ambitions could threaten to usurp Wakanda or Asgard's thrones and powers in their respective universes when neither T'Challa or Thor were looking.

"I just- I'd be glad knowing a strong, unified power could prevent massacres like those of my people, you know?" Gamora murmured as she focused once more on the Infinity Crusher. "My planet's leaders pretty much rolled over on their bellies when Thanos invaded…"

"…If it's any consolation, I managed to make Thanos give up on his dream in my universe." T'Challa affirmed as he looked at the woman with a lamenting frown. "He became a farmer even, with a daughter named Nebula."

"Nebula… I'd have to see it to believe it." The Zehoberei woman chuckled at the absurdity of the claim, refusing to accept such ludicrous claims easily as she still remembered her peoples cries of pain and the death of her sworn sister in Vormir. "A farmer... Would you have been happier focusing on that damned hobby instead of slaughter then? Father…"

"Hngh… So you really think I should be minding what the other Realms do that much, huh?" Thor grumbled as he scratched his chin. "I'd still be too worried about Midgard and Jane more than the others though…"

*KKKKLLLLIIIII~NG!*

"Alright, that should do it." Gamora announced to the other Guardians as she realigned the grinders of the Infinity Crusher. "Crusher's repaired guys!"

"Oh? So now we get to call on the mad robot, eh?!" Thor said uncaringly as he began gripping his mighty hammer ever so tightly, the light of electricity surrounding him again.

"I'd hold onto that thought, Thor. The Captain is the one holding the Stone right now." T'Challa commented as he pointed with an open palm to Peggy beside Subaru and Strange.

"Well, if we are going to be marching to battle soon, I propose a toast first!" Thor animatedly assured. "Asgardian tradition! Can't go to war with a proper ale first, ha-ha!"

"I can certainly fix that, if that's what you need." Strange responded as he walked closer to Thor's group, all the while casting odd symbols with his hands. "Proposal accepted, Thor!"

*FwIIm!*

As the Guardians rendezvoused in a circle around the repaired Infinity Crusher, a silver tray with six different beverages appeared over the construct.

"Asgardian Mead! Wonderful!" Thor cheered as he grabbed a jar brimming with cold, golden ambrosia.

"Long Island for me!" Carter scooped quickly a glass from the tray.

"Margarita." Followed Strange.

"Ah… Contraxia's finest." T'Challa picked up an oddly colored glass of wine.

"So you frequent Contraxia too, huh?" And Gamora commented as she grabbed an equally alien shot, toasting with amusement to the choice of Wakanda's prince.

"…What is this?" However, unlike the rest, all Subaru could do was wonder in confusion as he picked up the last drink from the plate: a glassful of orange juice.

"What?" Strange smirked with amusement. "Don't tell me you expected Asgardian Mead as well."

"Har-ha! No way YOU could handle it, my buggy-eyed friend!" Thor laughed at the Avenger.

"Buggy-eyed?!" Subaru sounded insulted for a second.

"Erm, no offense, obviously." The Asgardian mumbled again, ignoring Subaru's disappointment. "See, it was aged for a thousand years in the barrels crafted from the wreckages of Grunhel's fleet. Not meant for mortal men, and obviously, not meant for children; most explicit of all!"

"Child-?! I'm SEVENTEEN!" Subaru protested with a red face. "And neither were radioactive spider-bites meant mortal men! So clearly, I qualify for a SHOT at least!"

"…Yep! You are still a child in my book." Peggy giggled, much to the Avenger's dismay.

"Subaru, just give it up." Karen reprimanded with a disappointed tone from his chest's icon. "I told you once before, didn't I? I made an oversight once because you were in a relatively safe environment, but I will not allow it again. You wait until you are twenty-one."

"Oversight? That sounds like an interesting story." Gamora chuckled as she gazed at the Avenger.

"Erm, i-it's nothing worth writing home-" Subaru attempted to downplay the event unsuccessfully.

"Last time Subaru drank alcohol, he ended up with two girls sleeping on his lap." Karen confessed mischievously, making the entirety of the Guardians stare at the boy with widened eyes.

"WOAH- WHAT?!" Subaru yelped, outraged by Karen's teasing.

"HAHAHA! Oh~! The human child turned out spicy!" Odinson laughed as he pointed at Subaru, beguiled by the story.

"Now, that one's unexpected!" Likewise, Peggy was quick to smile as she chuckled.

"Spidey's got the moves, eh? Hahahaha!" T'Challa, too, giggled with surprise.

"Maybe only when he's drunk." Gamora shook her head as she smirked cheekily.

"Geh! Karen! That's not how it happened at all-!" Subaru was beet red as he reprimanded the A.I. to no avail, as the entire team was laughing at him now. "God damn it!"

"'Damn' accepted, human." Thor giggled still, earning Subaru's unamused face.

"Mgrr…" Subaru grumbled with embarrassment as Strange took a step forward.

*Clink-Clink!*

"Alright, okay, a word, if I may?" Stephen said as he tapped his glass lightly, garnering everyone's attention. "Being that we are marching onwards to a most lethal battle."

"Scenario's all yours, Strange." Carter affirmed as she sipped her dirnk.

"Very well… On the topic of lethality, a wise sorcerer once told me that to face death was part of the plan. To face death is to conquer one's greatest fear of the unknown, of nothing and space, the end of all ends, the senseless nothing in the vast cosmos of darkness that-" Strange struggled to form a coherent monologue, his ominous talks of death and fate stinging everyone awkwardly after the revelation of Subaru's Return by Death… However, the boy himself felt peculiarly inspired by the words nonetheless.

"Strange… Can I have a word?" Subaru interrupted the uncomfortable ramblings of the Sorcerer by announcing himself again.

"Oh… Did I hit too close to home? Sorry, I-" Strange attempted to apologize, but Subaru stopped him with a reassuring smirk instead.

"No, nothing of the sort… I just wish to say something myself." Subaru scratched his cheek as he looked at his team with shining eyes and sincere gratitude. "How do I put it into words… Are you guys scared? I know I am."

"…" The Guardians stared at Subaru with confused faces, vexed by his question. When was the last time someone asked them if they were scared of going into battle? Most of them were just accustomed to banter rather than worry…

"Honestly, I'm amazed by all of you; I cannot help but admire you already, since the moment we met. Fighting in wars, in the skies, against monsters unfathomable to man and even clashing in the stars and beyond… Me? Up until the entire disaster with Thanos, I was just some random shmuck. Some boy, living the day to day without a worry on the world, until he was bit by a mutant bug during his school trip. That's it. All of this… fatalistic stuff about Stones of power, magic, fate itself, immortality; it all seemed so FAR beyond my imagination just a mere three months ago! Well, from my perspective at least. So of course, whenever I actually stop to think about it… I get scared. Scared of the pain. Of not measuring up. Scared of not being enough. Scared of despair… Scared that death might really claim me this time around or the next one over. It terrifies me to even consider it, actually."

"Kid…" Peggy whispered with surprise; it was easy to joke about Subaru being the child of the group, but with all the events she has been told he's gone through, it becomes easy to forget that he really IS just a teenager.

"In comparison to all these amazing people, I'm just some guy. Some guy to whom power fell onto his lap. Some guy who got dragged around by the whims of forces beyond his understanding once he bit more than he could chew. I'm just some guy, who even after declaring he would do the impossible to stop the unstoppable still cannot stop his own knees from shaking like a newborn fawn's legs. Can you notice it now? Speaking to a lot of people has never been my strong suit, especially so when it comes to heroes such as yourselves… After all, who else but people as amazing as you guys would be capable of putting on strong faces when confronted with threats such as this? I know I HAVE to pretend I am not scared… Hence why I joke so regularly, because it is easy to laugh in the face of danger when you never take anything seriously. In fact, I wish so much I could discard my strong pretentions, to turn tail and run away instead. To just hold my head, shut my ears, curl up under a table and cry like no tomorrow until it is all over, actually."

"Huh…" In response, Thor looked with worry at Subaru's legs. Indeed, his entire frame had been shuddering since crossing Uatu's portal.

"However, despite my embarrassment or misgivings, I stand before you to talk a big game about the promise I made. I WANT to stand up to the object of my nightmares and fears, far more than I want to cry about it. I wish to stand tall, independent of my shuddering and my terror, against the monster that would threaten the world I live in. Which is why… Even if I'm scared, I'm going to fight. As I can't run away and hope for the best, I'm going to fight. I 'm going to fight, because I know I'm not alone in my fears. I'm going to fight… Because I cannot accept shaking in a corner while others fight for their lives, while others I could be helping cry out in fear and pain. I'm going to fight, to avenge those that fell already against the enemy, for the people of this city, of this world, of MY world that couldn't live to see a tomorrow. As an Avenger, I'll fight to save those I can for those I couldn't'."

"…" With an awed face, Strange looked at the boy with genuinely fascinated eyes as he delivered his speech.

"I don't want to lose, and I don't want to keep losing; be that either what's left of this universe or the people of my universe. I don't want to return empty handed to the girl that wished me safe travels when she's fighting for her life; so I'm not going to. I'm going to return victorious, with a sincere smile on my face and tell her that everything's fine now. I'm taking the role of the victor, so I will become the victor… I'm taking that duty, that responsibility onto my shoulders, for everyone that couldn't and won't anymore. In the words of a man that went unknown by the wide world, but noticed by the one crying child he saved: With great power comes great responsibility. And today, we take on the greatest of responsibilities, for we fight for all life… Whatever it takes."

"…" Everyone was frozen in place, looking in silent admiration at the boy as he recomposed himself.

"Ergh…" Subaru, not noticing the reason for their stupor, fidgeted in place. "Was that too much? Sorry, maybe I got ahead of myself…"

"…Not at all, Spider-Man." T'Challa reassured with a confident smile, looking at the boy with proud and sharp eyes. "Might just take a note or two for my speech when I inherit Wakanda's throne, actually."

"Hehe! Did you come up with that from the top of your head? Not bad, I say!" Thor commended with laughter.

"That was a good speech kid. Truly." Peggy and Gamora nodded in approval.

"…Thank you." Murmured the Avenger in response to the praise whilst rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, raising his glass in the air for the toast at last.

"To the Guardians-!" T'Challa exclaimed cheerfully, him and the rest of the group following Subaru's action by raising their cups as well.

*Clink!*

"OF THE MULTIVERSE!"

And once the drinks were done, the minds of the team finally focused on the matter at hand properly…

"Hmm?" Subaru looked around with confusion as his Spider-Sense went off, his mask returning to cover his entire face. "This feeling…"

"Is something wrong?" Strange looked at the Avenger with worry.

"Is it Ultron's forces?" T'Challa frowned, understanding that Subaru was feeling something in the air.

"Not quite, it's just that… Someone else is-?" The teenager stared with confusion at Captain Carter as she talked with Gamora.

"Captain, if you would?" Ignoring the conversation behind her, Gamora looked at Peggy with an open right hand as she abled the Infinity Crusher.

"For sure." In response, Captain Carter took the Soul Stone out of her pocket.

"?!" Subaru noticed at last the concrete presence of another woman beside Gamora and Peggy as the soldier was about to throw the Stone. "WAIT-!"

*Fwip!*

*SHIWOOM!*

*SNATCH!*

"Huh?!" With surprise, right as she flung the Soul Stone in Gamora's direction, a metallic claw attached to a grappling gun's cord grabbed the gem in mid-air.

"Hold it!" T'Challa stepped in-between Gamora and Carter, grabbing the cable and using his propulsion boots to counter the strength of the claws' pull.

*GRAB!*

*FRWOOOM!*

"?!" Above the buildings of Park Avenue, the figure holding the grappling gun stumbled as the Wakandan prince pulled her downwards. "Tsk!"

*ZAAAP!*

*SHIWOOM!*

"Ark-!" T'Challa grunted as a sudden bolt of electricity coursed through the claw's cable, electrifying his hand prompting him to let go, allowing the gem into the hold of the thief.

*KRA-KRAAAKLE!*

"You foul minion to the mad machine, return the gem at once or face mine steel!" Thor bellowed as he charged his mighty hammer's lightning, ignoring everyone's concerns. "If you shan't answer for yourself, face the wrath of Odin's scion then! VIVA-"

"Thor, wait-!" Carter tried to stop the hasty Asgardian god, but it was too late.

"LAS VEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!*

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Breaking straight through Strange's muting spell, Thor's thunderous lightning bolts caused the entirety of the building's rooftop to collapse onto itself.

"ARGH!" The figure over the buildings barely managed to avoid Thor's attack as she slid downwards through the debris and towards Subaru's group, the Soul Stone in her hand.

*SLAM!*

"Urgh!" The woman fell to the ground, her cape dangling in the air as she painfully landed before the wary Guardians of the Multiverse. "Ackh…"

"Wha-?!" As the woman groggily stood up, Peggy looked on with surprise at her face. "Natasha?!"

"The Black Widow?! She's alive?!" Spider-Man shouted as well with awe.

"You know her?" T'Challa asked before dismissing his concerns. "No matter; you there! Return the Stone now!"

"Hmph!" With the exception of Peggy and Subaru, everyone else pointed their weapons and hands to the assassin holding the Soul Stone. Likewise, Natasha raised a handgun at T'Challa with a determined glare.

"W-Wait! Everyone, wait!" Captain Carter was quick to defuse the situation, stepping between Black Widow and Star-Lord. "Everyone! She's NOT an enemy! She's not with Ultron or anything like that!"

"Then WHO is her?!" T'Challa growled as he charged his blaster.

"You know her, Captain? Spider?" Gamora asked as she poised her blade for a leaping slash.

"Yeah! We do!" Subaru advised as well. "She's the Black Widow! An Avenger!"

"As Subaru says, her name is Natasha Romanoff!" Peggy nodded in affirmation.

"And I'm also supposed to be the last living person on this planet!" Natasha confirmed whilst still showing hostility, however, as her gun staid aimed at T'Challa's head.

"Look… Natasha." Captain Carter lowered her arms as she slowly approached Natasha, but only managing to make the altered assassin aim the gun at her instead. "I can prove it: Your father is Ivan, your dad's Alexei and you are my friend, one of the only three people you'd ever trust in… Well, my universe at least. You are the only woman I trust to guard my six, including now. I believe the term is BFF?"

"…Go on." Natasha said as she kept aiming at her, narrowing her eyes with suspicion.

"As you said, you are the last living person in this planet and in this entire universe, actually." Captain Carter assured with a lamenting voice. "But now Ultron is threatening other universes with his path of destruction… We are a group gathered from these other universes for the express purpose of defeating him-"

"Preposterous of you to assume such a thing is possible, Margaret Carter." An all-encompassing mechanical voice interrupted the reunion however.

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"?!" The Guardians and Natasha all stared at the skies with shrunk pupils and aghast faces; the toxic clouds had broken apart into glass-like fractals as odd dimensions collided with one another all too suddenly.

"To claim you can defeat me is tantamount to affirming an ant can dispel a tornado's cruel gales, soldier." With a swaying cape in the dry winds and the continuous shine of the all-capable gems incrusted upon his body, a warrior made in steel descended slowly onto the battlefield whilst glaring at the mortals below with disgust.

"Shit!" Natasha growled as her gaze locked onto the humanoid figure crossing through the fissure in reality. "Okay, I believe you guys now!"

"Ultron!" Subaru yelled with rightful anger whilst he glared at the Synthezoid.

"Yeah, that looks more like an Ultron, alright." T'Challa commented as he redirected his blasters toward the robot.

"Hmph!" Stephen, not wasting anytime as the machine gloated, promptly cast a guarding spell for the Guardians protection. "GUARDIAN VISHANTI!"

*SHWIM!*

"Woah! AH~!" Thor yelped as a magical, invisible armor made of runic projections overlaid his body and hammer.

"What the-?!" Gamora felt an odd mix of comfortableness and power as the runes enveloped her sword and biceps, admiring with awe the construct casted by the Sorcerer.

"Strange, what is this?" The Wakandan prince inquired as he noted the protection around his helm resembled more closely his father's Black Panther armor suit for a brief second.

"A protection spell, existing superimposed over your physical and spiritual bodies!" Strange hastily described. "You are welcome, by the way!"

"Subaru! So glad I finally found you! Be certain I will take my time in getting rid of you later… But you are not the focus right now." Ignoring the precautions taken by the Sorcerer, Ultron shook his head as he mocked Subaru and focused his gaze on Natasha's left hand, holding the Soul Stone. "I believe you have something that belongs to me, Romanoff."

*ZNMMMMMMMM!*

*FWOOOOSH!*

"WOAH-!" Widow squealed involuntarily as Ultron utilized the powers of the Space Stone to lift her in the air, launching her immediately towards himself in the sky from her position in the ground.

"NATASHA!" Peggy yelled as she failed to catch her friend, the machine's tremendous mastery over gravitational forces surpassing her reaction speed greatly.

"Foul machine! Begone!" Thor shouted with anger as he threw his weapon high into the air, aiming for the machine's hand.

*ZOOOOOM!*

*KLAAANG!*

"My arm is-?!" Ultron looked on with confusion how his arm exploded into metal chunks the moment the Uru hammer collided with it. Holding the Power Stone and using its radiating might at the moment of impact, it shouldn't have been possible for Mjolnir alone to have injured the limb, yet it happened nonetheless. "Tsk! So you just brought stronger Variants into the mix, Watcher?! That's your great plan?!"

"Wow-!" Natasha, however, plummeted downward as the arm exploded, with her life still at risk by the act of the machine's gravitational prowess.

"Hmph!" As quickly as Ultron lost his arm, Strange casted a portal under Natasha, disrupting the machine's gravitational manipulation.

*SHWIM!*

*SHHHH-!*

"Hngh!" Natasha Romanoff grumbled as she suddenly found herself rolling on the pavement once more; the portal had promptly teleported her back to her original position beside the rest of the Guardians. "What the… What was that-?!"

"More importantly, where's the Soul Stone?!" Gamora asked with concern as Black Widow landed.

"The Soul-?!" Natasha looked at her hands but the gem was not in her grip anymore.

"There!" Subaru pointed forward; the Soul Stone had fallen a few meters away from the Guardians… In the mid-point between them and Ultron. "I've got it-!"

*THWIII~P-!*

"Not a chance!" Ultron barked with hatred when Subaru attempted to use his webs to reach the Soul Stone quickly, the Synthezoid then responding by firing a laser beam directly at the Avenger.

*ZNMMMMMMMMM!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"Arck-!" Subaru groaned with discomfort as the laser hit him, destroying his webbing altogether and thwarting his attempt to recover the gem.

"Spider-Man!" Gamora yelled in alarm as an explosion followed behind Ultron's laser, worried that Subaru might be dead… This fears proved false, nevertheless. "Huh?"

"I'm… Fine?" Subaru noted with fascination how Strange's golden armor of runes protected him from harm.

"The armor…" Captain Carter's eyes grew amazed by the capabilities of the protection spell, understanding now that it wasn't just preventing mind manipulation but also guarding against instant kill.

"…What?!" Ultron wondered with confusion yet again; vexed by how, even though his attack had landed perfectly, Subaru managed to survive.

"Hmph!"

"I've got it!"

"C'mon!"

*ZOOM!*

*DASH!*

All of the Guradians then charged toward the Soul Stone dropped from Subaru's webbing, not taking any chances in letting Ultron recover it when they now knew Strange's spell could prevent the machine from killing them in one hit.

"Don't you dare think yourselves invincible!" The machine threatened as he fired lasers in all directions below him simultaneously, a merciless assault against the warriors rushing toward the cosmic gem.

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*CRAAA-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

A barrage of explosions and white flames spurted under the Guardians' feet. Caught in the might of the Synthezoid's wrath, the Soul Stone became ever so distant when the rubble of collapsing buildings and roads buried the item in kilotons of debris.

"HRNGH-!" Gamora and T'Challa struggled to move as Ultron's rays magnified the gravity around them, and likewise, Odinson, Carter and Romanoff found themselves entrapped in fires as candid as sun flares whilst bravely trying to leap closer to the Stone.

*FWOOOO~M!*

*FWIII~M!*

"Woah!" Subaru yelped as he and Strange jumped over the laser beams and fires, floating over their allies. It seems they had barely managed to avoid the robot's attack as they had leapt upward instead of toward the Stone. However, what truly amazed the Avenger… Is that he was hovering in the air beside the Sorcerer too. "Karen, what is this-?!"

"Behold! The new Iron Spider limbs' emergency multi-propulsions!" Karen cheerfully affirmed as the extra legs of the armor all emitted downward propulsion beams, much like how the Iron Man armor suits allowed flight.

"NEAT! E.M.P. for the win!" The teenager celebrated excitedly.

"Psst! Spider-Man!"Strange hurriedly prompted psychically inside Subaru's head.

"Woah! Strange?!" Subaru looked at the Sorcerer with confusion, vexed by how he could speak with his mind and without a need for his mouth. "Wh-What is it?!"

"I've got an idea…" The Sorcerer whispered inside the boy's mind.

"Hmm?!" The Synthezoid glared at the teenager and the Sorcerer with hatred as they conjured some sort of conjoint spell in the air.

"…Got it, Doc! Hey! Hey, Ultron! Wanna see a real neat party trick?!" Subaru smugly yelled at the machine, as him and Strange exchanged knowledgeable and smug looks.

"Ready?" Strange asked, casting a Tao Mandala before Spider-Man's hands.

"Yeah! Just like Beako did!" The arachnid nodded, raising his hands covered in shadows and electricity in a Kamehameha pose toward the magic circle aimed at Ultron, all whilst picturing the touch of the hand of a little blonde Great Spirit inside his head.

Utilizing Subaru's rare Yin affinity as a base, as well as his contract to Beatrice to draw from his memories familiarity to the Great Spirit's spells, Strange utilized the Avenger as a conduit whilst simultaneously using the many Spirits and Beasts he had absorbed over the years as a makeshift Gate. Magnifying the conjuring of an offensive spell, whilst mana gathered in the Avenger's hand, the pair shouted…

"MINYA!"

*FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM-FWIOOM!*

*KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG-KLANG!*

"Wha-?!" A million crystalline shadow spears cloaked in blue lightning appeared before, above, beside, below and behind Ultron, shooting forward faster than light and impaling the machine from all directions.

*CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!*

"Dergh-! You arrogant twerp-!" Ultron bellowed as he broke and reabsorbed the solid shadows and electricity onto himself, transmuting them into Vibranium. But this momentary distraction with Subaru and Strange served its purpose, as it allowed the Guardians to escape their current predicament.

*ZNMMMMMMMM!*

"Thor! Help me here!" The moment gravity ceased weighting on him, Star-Lord shouted for assistance as he noticed Ultron's distraction.

"On your command, my royal friend!" The Asgardian raised the Uru hammer high once more, the weaponry of the two shining vibrantly with the golden runes of Strange's spell, absorbing mysterious dimensional energies whilst they aimed conjoined…

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPP!*

*BOOOOM-BOOOOM-BOOOOM!*

"HN-?!" Ultron yelped a flummoxed squeal again as T'Challa and Thor's sudden attacks managed to affect him even more than Subaru's spell, somehow catching him off-guard and grazing his supposedly indestructible body grievously.

What is this?!

The Synthezoid inquired internally, processing many a thought in microseconds as he consulted seemingly inaccurate databases.

How is Subaru's beginner-tier magic affecting me?! Even if divine and potent, Thor's lightning should not be this obscenely strong! Neither should T'Challa's energy blasters! Yet they all feel as though they held threefold the power of Reinhard's slashes! This is not concurrent to any registered analysis nor to the diagnostics run on their equipment and abilities! They should NOT be this powerful; it is logically contrary to their documented capabilities! This is not just the Variants themselves being stronger; something else is occurring here! Just what in the blazes-?!

"BOLTS OF BALTHAKK!" Strange yelled as his hands shone crimson and amber, his fingers assimilating Spider-Man's signature web-shooting motion, much to the Avenger's surprise.

*KRAHRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK~!*

*BOOOOOOM!*

"ARGH-?!" Ultron groaned again as his legs and arms exploded due to the concentrated energy blasts of the Asgardian, the Wakandan and the Sorcerer. "TSK!"

*ZNMMMMM!*

"He regenerated again!" T'Challa growled with disdain as his blasters failed to destroy the construct.

"Of course it wouldn't be nearly enough-!" Natasha lamented as she gazed with despaired surprise at the powers displayed before her.

"…This is ridiculous!" The machine growled while glaring everyone down simultaneously. When he spoke, the rainbow-colored lights of the Infinity Stones surrounded his entire body; a most potent blaze assimilating the heat of a thousand supernovas dancing around his torso and head. "I can destroy galaxies with but a thought…"

"Oh, shi-!" Subaru tried to cuss as he felt in his very soul the power radiated by the machine, seconds prior to the actual event.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" Ultron screamed as the blazing lights reached their peak of charged power, bursting forth in his enemies' direction with unfiltered prejudice.

A blindingly radiant explosion that consumed the entire planet, no, the entire GALAXY ensued, Earth and its Solar System becoming nothing more than ashes and cinder within an uncaring and dead cosmos, all by order of the genocidal machine…

*GULP!*

Or maybe not, for at the last moment, Doctor Strange consumed the energies exhibited by Ultron, absorbing them onto himself as he did so with the countless magical and cosmic creatures of his own dead reality. The eyes of the Sorcerer Supreme radiated a fiery, sinister and powerful gleam whilst he mocked the machine's attempts to slay his team.

"Wait… What-?!" Ultron tried to ask once more with baffled frustration, but his doubts went interrupted by Star-Lord as he tackled him in mid-air, the pair bursting through a building's wall.

*CRAAAAAASH!*

"This one's for this world's Baba!" T'Challa growled as he stuck both of his Quad Blasters' canons in Ultron's hips mid-rush, loading powerful Plasma rounds.

*BIWOOOOM!*

"Aaaaaaargh-!" Ultron suffered spasm-like convulsions as T'Challa attempted to overload his circuitry, but the machine wouldn't surrender just yet. "You distasteful imbecile!"

*ZNMMM!*

"Hrghk-!" T'Challa was lifted in the air by Ultron's gravitational pull, the machine's hand glowing purple, black and blue as he glared at the prince.

"Out of my sight!" Ultron shouted as he flung the Wakandan aside with an assault of improvised bullets made of debris.

*FWIM-FWIM-FWIM-FWIM-FWIM-FWIM!*

*CRAAAASH!*

"UWAAAAaaaa-!" T'Challa was flung across the city in a flash as Ultron's projectiles clashed with his runic armors.

*ZOOOM!*

"…?!" Following T'Challa back outside at light speed, Ultron hovered in the air as he scanned the surroundings, looking for the Soul Stone. "…There!"

*ZNMMMM!*

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

The debris surrounding the orange gem disintegrated into oxygen as the robot glared at it with the reddened shines of the Reality Stone, revealing its location once more to everyone present.

*ZOOOM-!*

*DASH!*

*KLANG!*

"?!" The machine's dash went disrupted yet again as Natasha tackled him at speeds faster than his own flight, with the Red Guardian shield's edges stabbing themselves onto his exoskeletal frame's abdomen. "You too-?! ROMANOFF-!"

*FWOOON-!*

*SLASH!*

"The f-!" As he was about to attempt stabbing Natasha through the back with his arm, Ultron's hand was severed by Peggy's own shield, saving the assassin.

*FWOON!*

"Nice one, Cap!" Natasha said as she landed whilst Carter's shield returned to her, the pair successfully grounding Ultron as he attempted to grab the Soul Stone.

"No problem, love!" Captain Carter answered with a cheeky and smug grin.

"These parameters… You shouldn't be capable of such movements! NOR THIS POWER!" Ultron growled again as he glared at Natasha and Margaret with disdain, the Soul Stone now lying in the broken pavement between the pair and the robot. "WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!"

"You said it yourself to Uatu, did you not?" Stephen defiantly answered as he prepared more conjurations. "Everything is possible within the Multiverse!"

Through Subaru and T'Challa's actions, all of the Guardians had realized it now: Doctor Strange's spell did not just enhance their innate defenses; it enhanced ALL of their powers and abilities to insane degrees. The Guardian Vishanti runes cast by the corrupted Sorcerer Supreme channeled powers from the multiverse and its warped dimensions themselves, boosting the champions all to power-levels equivalent to Reinhard's own… BUT BY TENFOLD!

"Hmph!" Ultron huffed wrathfully as he accelerated once more toward the Soul Stone, rushing at speeds FAR greater than that of light in an attempt to confuse the Guardians' human limitations.

*ZOOOM!*

*DASH!*

However, such limits were long gone, for Ultron was not facing mere mortals anymore…

*THWIIIP!*

*SNATCH!*

Subaru's webs interlaced with one another, entrapping Ultron's legs as he charged to the gem.

*KLANG!*

Following this, both Natasha and Carter tackled the machine once more, breaking his running form and allowing all of the other Guardians to encircle him on time.

"Hey! Discount animatronic!" T'Challa returned to the battle immediately after being thrown away earlier, blasting Ultron from the back whilst he flew into the scene.

*BIWOOOOM!*

*ZNMMMM!*

"You meddlesome-! Leave me alone, Wakandan!" As the Synthezoid attempted to retaliate with the Power Stone, however, Thor dashed forward with great coordination and his mighty hammer at the ready on his grip!

*KRA-KRAKKLE~!*

"Behold the might of Odinson's light!" Thor chanted excitedly as he hammered away with reckless abandon against the machine's head, over and over again.

*THWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"ASGARDIAAAAAAAN-!" Ultron grumbled when Thor's powerful, thunder-infused downward swings and strikes buried him deeply onto the cracked pavement.

*THWAAAAACK!*

"URGH!" A sudden, inhumanly powerful kick to the face from Captain Carter unburied Ultron and launched him into the air.

"Give him all you've got!" Peggy ordered as Subaru jumped in pursuit of the machine. "Don't give him a chance to think!"

*THWIIIP!*

"GOT HIM!" Spider-Man animatedly announced as he leapt over Ultron's back, a string of electrified webs following behind him whilst a devious smirk was drawn in the Avenger's masked face. "OI! ULTRON-KU~N!"

"AVENGER-!"

"YOU EVER HEARD OF ROCK LEE?!" Subaru asked childishly as he pulled on the electrified string, tying up the Synthezoid inside a cocoon, with the exception of his head.

*SNATCH!*

"PRIMARY LOTUS!" Subaru, ever the loud nerd, yelled from his diaphragm as he delivered a powerfully charged kick against Ultron's face.

*SMAAAAAAAACKKKK!*

*ZOOOOOOM!*

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"GAAAAARGH-!" The Synthezoid complained heatedly as he landed face-first against the concrete below, crashing it into dust and producing multiple tremors under the feet of the Guardians.

*FWISH~!*

*RRRRRIIIII~P!*

"ENOUGH GAMES, YOU IMMATURE-!" Ultron tried to insult the hero as he leapt away, but as he did so, ANOTHER attacker rushed him again.

"BY THE DARK-SOULED EFRITS OF GONDUR!" By chanting as he performed a reversed Dhyana Mudra, Strange casted vermillion-colored rays of pure enchanted plasma, encasing Ultron in a sphere of corrupted mana, not too dissimilar from a miniature red sun.

*FRWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH-!" Ultron groaned as the first layer of his armor was rendered asunder in the enhanced magical heats. "STRRRRRAAAAAAAANGE-!"

*ZMMMMNNNN!*

*FWOOOM!*

"?!" The Sorcerer Supreme was vexed for a second as Ultron suddenly appeared before him; the machine was tapping into the Space Stone's ability of omnipresence to attack Strange whilst still trapped physically inside the sphere!

*THWACCCK!*

*CRAAAAAAAAASH!*

"HRNGH-!" Stephen grumbled as Ultron punched him in the jaw, sending him crashing against a building.

*FWOOM!*

"HMPH!" The real Ultron dispelled the foul spell's powers, decidedly looking for the Soul Stone in the surroundings. "…There!"

*ZOOOM-!*

*BOOOM!*

*FLWOOOOM!*

"Wha-!" Ultron tripped as a sudden, faulty displacement of matter under his step disintegrated his feet; looking downward, he noted the remains of some sort of Chitauri-like matter phase shifter. It had forcefully exploded as though it were a makeshift mine the moment he tried to run for the Stone.

"You like my little gift?! Straight from Thanos' armory!" Gamora mockingly affirmed as she jumped on top of Ultron, her dual-edged Uru blade at the ready in the air.

*ZNMMM!*

"Get off me, alien-!" Ultron bellowed as his feet reassembled.

*SSSSSTAAAAA~B!*

"No way, you bastard!" However, as he was about to run again, Gamora stabbed the Synthezoid through the back with her blade, cleaving his abdomen and stopping his dash toward the gem.

*SLAAAAAASH!*

"You… JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The Synthezoid screamed with ire as the Zehoberei woman slashed him in two horizontally through the abdomen, the Reality Stone beginning to tremble in place as he glared at the Soul Stone out of his hand's reach.

*ZNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNMMMMMMMMMMM!*

"Wha-?!" Gamora yelped as she suddenly lost her own footing; Ultron had transmuted the entirety of the Manhattan Island into water, making the city a part of the nuclear wasted, toxin-infused Atlantic Ocean.

"Oh cra-!"

"Shit-!"

"UWOOO-!"

*SPLASH!*

"Huh…? It's… not toxic?!" Natasha noticed as she resurfaced.

"I'm not itchy or anything!" Captain Carter affirmed as she inspected her body, protected by the runes still.

"I can… Breath?" T'Challa wondered with surprise as he remained in the deeps beside Gamora, realizing he could both breathe and talk underwater.

"Not like its useful or anything right now!" The alien former assassin shook her head with trouble. "Where's Ultron?!"

*SPLOOSH!*

"Argh! I didn't mean to wash my hair with WASTE WATER!" Thor complained as he reemerged into the air with Mjolnir in hand. "Hey… hey, wait! The Machine is-!"

*ZOOOOOM!*

*SPLAAAAAASH!*

*SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Ultron sank under the liquid wastes in search of the Soul Stone, the high speeds and Sonic Booms his accelerations caused triggering multiple instantaneous Tsunamis across the globe.

"Crap, this is weird-!" Subaru complained as he plummeted from great altitudes downward, mid-swing between buildings, holding the Infinity Crusher with his left arm. "You can't just erase my buildings, asshole!"

"Don't think too much, just follow me!" Strange prompted to the Avenger and the rest of the Guardians as his hands shone blue, the entirety of the group sinking into the poisonous sea in pursuit of the Soul Stone.

*ZOOOOOM!*

"Where- Where?! There!" Ultron yelled angrily as he managed to discern the shine and Gamma rays of the Soul Stone amidst the muddied oceanic toxins, the gem just a mere few meters from his grasp when suddenly-

*FWOOOOOM!*

"YOU DETESTABLE SORCERER-!" The Synthezoid shouted wrathfully underwater when the Soul Stone crossed through a portal cast by Strange into another planet.

*DASH!*

The machine forcefully crossed through the diminutive portal, cancelling the transmutation of Manhattan into water and ending up in some sort of rock-valley in an alien world.

*ZOOOOM!*

"The Stone… where's the Stone?!" Ultron wondered frantically as he scanned the nocturnal valley's surroundings, the empty and dead planet showing no signs of Gamma radiation whatsoever.

*FWOOOOOM!*

"Hmm?!" But as he did inspected the desolated world, another portal appeared above him. "What the-?!"

"RIIAAARGH!"

"GAAARGH!"

"GEEEYAAAAGH!"

"GAAAAHHGH!"

"HAAAAACKH!"

*SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM!*

The planet was a trap! The Soul Stone was never there in the first place! Devised by Strange to trap Ultron in an empty space, the dead world was the perfect opportunity to distract the machine, by surrounding him with hordes of hungry zombies!

"GEEAAAAAAAARGH!" A zombified, undead Captain America tried to devour the Synthezoid's face, this one looking at the creature and its fellows with disgust.

"You disgusting-!" Ultron cried with an utterly abhorrent scowl whilst he glared at the living corpses.

*ZOOOOOOOM!*

The Synthezoid flew into the heavens over the planet in a hurry, deciding what best to do in order to dispose of the hungered abominations.

*ZNMMMMMMMMM!*

*FWOOOOOM!*

"If you so yearn for the end unpleasant creatures… So be it!" Ultron claimed as the Space Stone shone in his chest, a black portal appearing under his feet and over the undead horde below.

*CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!

Protruding from the portal…

*CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!*

Stranded in a frozen landmass, surrounded by shadows…

*CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!*

Myriad Great Rabbits from another universe spawned above the zombie horde!

"Get acquainted with each other, foul beings!" Ultron gloated as the rabbits and the zombies clashed in a cannibalistic, carnivorous and gory feast.

*CHOMP!*

*MUNCH!*

*SNAP!*

*CREAAACK!*

*SLUURP!*

*CRACCK!*

*SQUELCH!*

*BITE!*

*SQUISH!*

*ENGORGE!*

*GULP!*

*SWALLOW!*

*MUNCH!*

*CHOMP!*

The zombies and the rabbits devoured each other uncontrollably, the cheer monstrous scenario unfolding before the robot had to be an accurate representation of unbridled gluttony at its finest; Daphne would not look unfitting in such a disgusting show.

"Huh? This readings-?" But from the savage and bloody spectacle down below, a scarlet light began shone through the filter of blood and rotten matter.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"RRRRRIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Destroying both the horde of rabbits and the pack of zombies surrounding her, all with merely one unholy incantation from her rotten fingers, the zombie of Wanda Maximoff emerged from the crowd in a majestic, red-colored spiral of undead witchcraft and blood. The undead Scarlet Witch had descended upon the battlefield.

"Wanda…" Ultron's eyes grew wide and, daresay I, sorrowful as he stared at the Witch. For how uncaring and cruel he could be to humanity and all other species as a whole, the Maximoff twins had been the only pair of humans he had ever come close enough to empathizing with.

"RIAAAAAARGH!"

*FRWOOOOR!*

"Urngh-!" Ultron gasped in surprise as Wanda's fiery incantation paralyzed him in the air.

*WHOOOOOOOSH!*

*SLAM!*

*DASH!*

"EYAAAAARGH-!" Wanda rapidly went to stand over Ultron as she slammed him against the ground, the menacing glow of her wicked hands threatening to pull his armor and body apart as the scarlet aura still restrained his body.

"Wanda… Look at what they've done to you…" But Ultron didn't care, still infatuated for a moment with the decayed and disheveled appearance of the woman that, in life, was one of his closest and only allies.

"RRRRGH…!" The zombie, apparently, recognized through her hunger the face of who was once her lover back in her reality. For how monstrous and abominable the Scarlet Witch had become, a tiny speck of her soul remained strong, yearning still for the touch of the man she once called… "VVVvvIiiIISSzzzzzIIIIiiiiooooOOooonnnnn…!"

"…" Ultron felt something akin to pity as he stared at the gory mess of a girl; she had managed to gaze with forlorn nostalgia and care into his eyes, despite her clearly deceased status.

"IIiiiIII JJJJJjjjjjJJJJjjjjuuuuUUUUUSSSSsssttttTTTT FFFFF-fffFFFEEEEeeeeeellllLLLLllll YYYYyyy-YY-YYYooooOOOOuuuuuUUuuuu…!" A single bloody and putrid tear fell from her left eye, landing directly on Ultron's cheek, and prompting the machine to take a decision at last.

*KRYAAAAASH!*

*FWIIIISH~!*

"GRIAAAARGH-!" Zombie Wanda was sent flying backwards as Ultron broke through her magical binding.

"That's right… It is already too late, this is evolution too." The Synthezoid lamented as he stood up, the red tear running down his lustrous right cheek as though it were his own. "We both had our paths, and you could only ever be human… Nothing more."

*FRWOOOOR!*

"RRRAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!" Wanda's hands shone scarlet once more when she rushed forward wrathfully, onwards to face her mechanical foe.

"I'll make it quick; you deserve that much at least…" Ultron promised compassionately as the Five Stones incrusted upon his body shone with power unrivaled.

Meanwhile, back in New York, the Guardians rendezvoused again in the reinstated Manhattan Island…

"So the illusion fooled him…" Strange sighed with relief. "Wasn't quite sure about that one, honestly."

"Let's just hope that Scarlet Wench or whatever holds her back for long." Thor pointed out his concerns.

"…Never thought I'd see zombie versions of the Avengers, Strange." Subaru murmured with dread to the Sorcerer.

"I, for one, never wish to see the likes of THAT again… That's not how I wanted to face Steve once more." Lamented Peggy with a saddened frown.

"You tell me, my team's dead faces… It was already hard to stomach the first time around, I didn't need to see that…" Natasha face palmed with aghast eyes.

"Nat…" Peggy mumbled with worry for the redhead.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that, but we've got the upper hand now." T'Challa apologized hastily before signaling to Gamora's hand with a smile of satisfaction. "Gamora?"

"T'Challa's right, the important thing is that we are back with the Stone." The Zehobereian nodded with a smirk unlike the others, as she held the Soul Stone between her right hand's index and thumb. "Subaru? If you would?"

"Oh! Right!" Subaru approached the Zehoberei with the Crusher at the ready to insert the Stone, but just as they were about to unite the two… the Spider-Sense activated once more. "HUH?! WAIT- GAMORA! LOOK OUT!"

*FWOOM!*

*DASH!*

*ZOOOOM!*

*THUD!*

"WOAH-!" Gamora gasped for air as Subaru suddenly tackled her, saving her life from Ultron's merciless, head-crushing hands. "Urgh… Huh?!"

*FWOOOOM!*

"Hmph… Sharp as ever, eh? Avenger?" Ultron mockingly asked as he spawned from an instantaneous portal right above where Gamora stood a second ago. The machine had reappeared right in the middle of their formation, surrounding himself with enemies. "That sense of yours, TRULY a marvel…"

"Damn monster-!" Thor bellowed as he raised his hammer with hatred.

"No, wait!" Peggy stopped the god as she motioned to the Infinity Crusher.

"Oh, crap-!" Subaru's eyes grew wide with shock and fear as he noticed what Carter was pointing to; saving Gamora had truly costed the Avenger greatly: He had let go of the Infinity Crusher, the tool for victory now lying in the machine's grasp instead.

"Goddammit!" T'Challa pointed his blasters with frustration, knowing that a false move could instead potentially damage the Crusher.

"…That was cruel, Subaru. Even for you." Ultron ominously growled as he held the Guardians' tool with disdain. "You really ARE a monster, regardless of the universe."

"Hey, hey! You do NOT get to say that! What with all the destruction YOU have caused already, Decepticon!" Subaru spat back heatedly at the Synthezoid.

"…This is the tool you place your hopes in, eh? I admit… Ingenious design." Ultron gloated as he inspected the Crusher in his hands. "Tell you what; I give you the Crusher and you give me the Stone. Fair deal?"

"…" Subaru sweated with anger towards himself for having allowed the Crusher to fall to Ultron's hands, but there was not much he could do about it now. "Your idea of joking around is disgusting."

"…" In silence, as the machine and the other Guardians stared each other down and gauged one another's next move carefully, Strange casted a silent Mudra of Wisdom.

"…Ultron." Natasha angrily whispered, earning the machine's attention.

"Ah! Widow! I had forgotten you were still alive!" Ultron glared at the Avenger as he mocked her existence. "Tell me, is Clint still around? Or is he already part of the mountain of corpses you've left behind?"

"Widow! Wait-!" Gamora tried to stop the redhead but it was no use.

*DASH-!*

"You-!" The assassin rushed forward, ignoring everyone's apprehension.

"Come then!" Ultron said as he and the Crusher began shining purple, the machine threatening to destroy the tool with the Power Stone's radiation. "Hmm? Wait, that's-?!"

*SPOOOOOOOF!*

"FFFFTHSSSSSSSSSSSSSS-!" In a flash of ominous magenta shines, the Crusher in Ultron's grasp suddenly transformed into a bundle of dozens upon dozens of demonic snakes.

*SNATCH-GRAB!*

*SQUEEEEZE~!*

"Deranged beasts-!" Ultron growled as the snakes all tightened around his body in a suicidal fashion, restraining his movements for a second.

*RRRRRRIIIIIIIPPPP~!*

*SMAAAACK!*

"Rgh-!" As Ultron broke free from his binding by ripping apart the snakes, Natasha managed to punch him in the face. "You damned mongrel! Romanoff-?!"

*SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF!*

"This is- Reality Warping!" As the dead snakes that had composed the fake Infinity Crusher dissipated into smoke and fire, the Synthezoid identified with awe… How the Guardians suddenly multiplied in numbers, by the HUNDREDS even!

*THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!*

*BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM!*

*DASH-DASH-DASH-DASH-DASH-DASH-DASH-DASH!*

*BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!*

*ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM!*

A hundred Spider-Men, all dangling, swinging, climbing and crawling between buildings above him, with Infinity Crushers each of them.

A hundred Gamoras, all running around the street with a gleaming Soul Stone in their hand each.

A hundred Star-Lords, all gliding and shooting lasers around Ultron.

A hundred Thors, all brewing storms on high by the clouds.

A hundred Captain Carters, all rushing forward with their shields in hand.

A hundred Black Widows, all dashing sideways whilst sniping at the machine with handguns.

"Now who is real, and who is false? Maybe they all are, and you made a mistake in coming back!" Strange yelled from behind Ultron, a smug look on his face as his own self multiplied by a hundred too, flying around the city and confusing the robot further. "IMAGES OF IKONN!"

*SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF-SHWIOOOF!*

"Urgh-! Sorcerer!" Ultron bellowed as he glared at myriad Sorcerers simultaneously.

*ZOOOOOM!*

*BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM!*

*ZAAAP-ZAAAP-ZAAAP-ZAAAP-ZAAAP-ZAAAP!*

*THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!*

*BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!*

Disregarding its physical mass, apart from the Stones of course, the machine flew into the skies. Dodging at Tachyon-like speeds, the assault perpetrated by the Guardians, meteoric reverbarations and explosions raged around Manhattan as Ultron moved onto systematically eviscerating the warriors that dared oppose him.

*ZOOM!*

*STAB!*

*CRUSH!*

*SLASH!*

*SMACK!*

*BLAM!*

*CRACK!*

*SKRINT!*

*SLAM!*

*THWACK!*

*SPLURT!*

*SWISH!*

"Another faker!" Ultron wrathfully growled as he split apart a false copy of Subaru and the Infinity Crusher. In his rage, the Reality and Space Stones began shining once again… "SHOW YOURSELF! AVENGEEEEEER!"

*SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!*

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"Woah-!" The real Natasha Romanoff groaned as she tripped over herself due to the tremor reverberating across reality. "What is-?!"

*THUD!*

"What-?!" Subaru mumbled in astonishment as he and Thor landed besides the assassin, helping her to stand up.

"BY THE GREAT GREY BEARDS OF ODIN!" The Asgardian exclaimed with amazement as not just the skies, but the entirety of the surroundings had begun breaking apart into glass-like fractals.

As soon as Ultron had slammed both of his fists hardly against the pavement, reality itself began tearing apart, the City being transmuted not into another element like before, but into another dimension separate from the universe they were in.

Ultron was designing a separate dimension to entrap the Guardians, just as they had trapped him earlier on a dead planet.

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!*

"Dammit!" Captain Carter stumbled, the tremors growing fiercer and fiercer and making the entire city collapse around her group.

"Eeergh-! Where's Thor and the rest?!" Gamora inquired as she failed to regain her footing.

"It seems we've been stranded in the other side of the city!" T'Challa affirmed as he hovered over the ground in an attempt to avoid the tremors. "Strange! You got a solution for this?!"

*ZOOOOOOM!*

"Hmph!" Strange angrily huffed as he flew away from T'Challa's group and into the fractured heavens. Invoking the Rudra Mudra with his hands, the Sorcerer channeled spatial-warping energies to combat Ultron's dimensional seal.

*ZHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Ultron's red and blue cosmic fractals of reality clashed epically against Strange's crimson rays, forcing the attempt to a pocket dimension into transforming the landscape altogether instead.

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"Argh-!" Ultron groaned as the energies exploded, his dimensional pocket having failed to materialize.

*SLAAAAM!*

"Hrngh-!" Likewise, Strange flew strongly downwards, blown away by the explosion and sent crashing onto the pavement before T'Challa and Gamora.

"Stephen!" Captain Carter was quick to assist the Sorcerer in standing up as he recovered his strength. "Are you alright?!"

"Not great… But we managed to avoid the worst-case scenario of getting confined to this universe." Strange affirmed as he gazed at the still broken surroundings. "However, I really only managed to teleport us all to a mirror dimension instead…"

"Mirror dimension?" Gamora noted as she finally stood up, realizing that the surroundings were still as fractured as when Ultron began casting his dimensional seal.

"…Subaru's got the Infinity Crusher, doesn't he?" Carter indicated with worry. "Ultron seems to have changed his focus from the Stone to that; does it mean he see us as a threat now?"

"We can't let him do that." Gamora bellowed as she scanned the surroundings, looking for the machine desperately. "Without the Crusher, we are toast!"

"Were that the case, why don't we take advantage of what we DO have?" T'Challa asked with a mischievous smirk as he looked at the Soul Stone in Gamora's hand.

"You have a plan to corner him further, prince?" Strange wondered as he realized the cheeky glint in the Wakandan's eyes.

"…Strange, can you cast a portal to the City of the Dead?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of Manhattan…

"Ugh… So I'm guessing that explosion was Strange? The world still looks all wonky though…" Subaru commented to his companions whilst wary of Ultron's next reemergence; his Spider-Sense overloaded with dread, making the boy fidgety as he failed to visualize the threat he predicted.

"It's eerily quiet all of a sudden now, though…" Natasha responded with a raised handgun, nervous still about the Ultron's next movement.

"You don't think the golem kicked the bucket already, did he?" Thor gripped his hammer tightly as he glared at any slight movement on the periphery of his eyes; each cracked piece of rubble or trembling structure another potential menace.

"After just that? No chance." Spider-Man shook his head in denial. "Regardless, we have to take the Crusher back to Gamora and the rest; they have the Soul Stone."

"Where even are they?" Widow inquired with anxiety.

*FWOM!*

"On the opposite side of the city, Avenger." Ultron's voice answered ominously as he teleported before Natasha.

"?!" All three pointed their weaponry and empowered hands toward the Synthezoid floating before the assassin.

"Now then, Subaru? The Crusher!" Ultron growled as the Space Stone on his torso shone again, magnifying gravity around the heroes exponentially.

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

*CRAAAAASH!*

"Haaackh-!" Thor mumbled incoherently as the machine's pull intensified over him far more than on the mortals beside him, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

"Now isn't this more fitting, false god?" Ultron mocked the Asgardian with disdain.

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

"You don't…! How DARE you insult a son of Odin so-!" Thor bellowed to no avail as the gravity magnified more and more over him solely.

*CRAAAAAASH!*

"AAAAUGH-!" Odinson fell to the ground completely, restrained by the forces of the Space Stone.

"T-Thor…!" Natasha groaned uncomfortably with worry, not wishing to see the Asgardian die.

*ZNMMM!*

"Eeeeerh-!" Subaru glared through his spatial restraints at Ultron, hating the machine's insurmountable powers as it forced him to levitate. His protective grasp on the Infinity Crusher weakened the more the pressure augmented.

*GRAB!*

"…Where was I? Ah! Yes!" Ultron mocked a chuckle as he grabbed the Crusher, the Avenger and the machine briefly stuck in a tug-of-war over it until the Synthezoid managed to successfully pry it from the boy's hands.

"NO!" Subaru yelped with anger as Ultron obtained the Crusher.

"Your tool vanishes-!" However, as the machine screamed with hatred, a sudden light from the boy's palm interrupted his gloating.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"The-?!" Ultron struggled to stand up as he crash-landed a kilometer away from Subaru; some sort of explosion had detonated right as he was about to turn the Crusher into dust. "Subaru- No, Karen?!"

*THUD!*

"Hah… Hah…" With Ultron's distraction, the gravity pull oppressing the Avenger and his companions ceased to be, releasing them once more.

"*GASP!* What…" Natasha inquired as she gasped for air beside the young Avenger. "What was that?! That was just like-!"

"An Iron Man propulsion beam." Karen affirmed from inside the helmet of Spider-Man. "Included in the palms and soles of the Iron Spider Mk. 2 are miniature arc-reactors, including as well propulsion beams in ALL limbs!"

"Karen… Jesus girl, you saved my ass right now!" Subaru sighed with relief for his A.I.'s assistance as he picked up the Crusher once more.

"Urgh… Next time, you could do that earlier please? My hair's an IRREPARABLE mess now…" Thor lamented as he exhaustedly stood up.

*FWOOOM!*

"Subaru!" Strange suddenly appeared from a portal, gaining the attention of the Avenger's group. "This way! Quickly!"

*CRAAAAAAAAASH!*

"STRAAAAAAAAAAAANGE!" Ultron growled as he eliminated the rubble on his path toward Subaru and the Crusher, cursing the Sorcerer Supreme's existence.

"Alright! See you on the flipside, tin can!" Subaru said as he jumped into the portal.

"WOOOOOH!" Thor excitedly wowed as he leapt behind the Avenger.

"Fuck it; I don't even know WHAT happens next!" Natasha reluctantly jumped as well.

*FWOOOOM!*

The portal closed, leaving Ulton behind.

"…I'LL DESTROY THAT DAMNED TOOL OF YOURS! NO MATTER WHAT!" Ultron promised as he burst through a dimensional overture in pursuit of Subaru and the Crusher, detecting their location over Wakanda's capital, the 'Golden City' of Birnin Zana.

*CRAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"Hngh!" Ultron inspected the remains of what once was a prosperous and futuristic land, the city's lustrous golden Vubranium towers a shadow of what they once were as the toxicity of the nuclear wastes burnt and dyed its colors a putrid green and orange. "Life signs… Vitals in the cemeteries!"

*ZOOOOOOM!*

The machine hurriedly rushed to Wakanda's royal burial grounds, the once misty lands of the City of the Dead looking more like an arid desert in comparison to whence once their people lived. However, whilst he ventured closer to the city, the readings of Ultron's many sensors began erratically registering energies foreign to logic.

*SWOOOSH-!*

"These powers are…" As he landed, Ultron squinted his eyes, understanding the reactions of his sensors at last. "Psionic energies, concentrated in the Necropolis!"

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*FWOOOOOOSH!*

"…" With a beam of pure cosmic rays emanating from the Power Stone, the Necropolis' buildings exploded into the air. And as the dust, smoke and cinder cleared… The revelation of a spectral army standing behind the Wakandan crown prince greeted the Synthezoid. "My people would like to have a word with you, robot."

"Spiritual entities… You really would ask your own dead to fight YOUR war?! T'CHALLA!" Ultron growled as he glared at Star-Lord below him, the man himself holding the shining Soul Stone tightly in his right hand.

"Bold of you to assume we would refuse to avenge Wakanda!" A specter glowing emerald stepped forward to reproach the machine… It was the soul of this universe's T'Challa, the Black Panther Ultron's atomic blasts had murdered during the global genocide.

"You have brought upon this land's end, but this does not mean we surrender yet!" T'Challa's father, King T'Chaka, stepped forward beside his dead son's spirit to glare at the Synthezoid in the sky.

"Ultron!" Star-Lord masked on as he threatened the machine above, channeling purely necromantic magic through the Soul Stone. "You stand trial now, before the wrath of Wakanda's kings throughout the eons! By Goddess' Bast granted powers in life, and the gem of spirits most brightest in my hand, this land's greatest stand to do battle once more! "

"WAKANDA FOREVER!" The echoes of hundreds of spectral Black Panthers flew into the skies, anthropomorphic feline warriors rushing en masse toward the machine with power from beyond the grave!

*CLASH!*

*SHWING!*

"GROAAAAAARGH!" T'Chaka's spirit transformed into a spectral panther as he tackled Ultron, slashing the machine's insides animatedly.

"DEGH-!" Ultron grumbled as claws of sheer psionic power slashed through his abdomen at light speed, and whilst distracted, T'Challa's spirit rushed him from behind.

*SWIIIIISH!*

"GRAAAAARGH!" The spectral panther representing T'Challa bit through the robot's face, breaking it apart.

*CLASH!*

*CLAWNG!*

*FWOOOOSH!*

*SMASH!*

*SHWWOOSH!*

*BOOOOM!*

"Enough of your inter-!" Ultron attempted to complain, when the emerald Black Panthers all suddenly fled away from the machine, dissipating into thin air. "Huh-?!"

*THWIIIIP!*

"Taking one out of your book, Killua-!" Subaru grumbled as he jumped over Ultron and the Panthers, his intrinsic Spiritual affinity allowing his intention to be read by the specters whilst they suddenly fled Ultron's side. "NARUKAMI!"

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Ultron convulsed as Subaru overcharged his exposed body with lightning. Nevertheless, even that was not enough to stall the machine as he continued to resist. "That is… Not nearly-!"

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*KRA-KRAAAAAAKLE!*

"VIVA-!" Thor shouted as he appeared over Subaru, Mjolnir gathering storm clouds over the entire African continent as his body glowed divinely! "LAS VEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Ultron's convulsions turned ever wilder and uncontrolled as Subaru's rays turned cosmic thanks to Thor's assistance; the sheer bolts of power threatening to blow even the Vibranium of his body into nothing.

"…It's working! We are cornering him!" Captain Carter, along with Strange, Natasha and Gamora, commented from the ground below, meters away from the main conflict, the Zehobereian holding onto the real Infinity Crusher. Since arriving to Wakanda, their plan had been to use the souls residing in the Necropolis as a Soul Stone-boosted army against Ultron's powers. "Strange! It's-!"

"No." But the Doctor was not so sure about the result. "Look closer!"

"Huh?" Gamora noticed with concern as the dead and burnt trees surrounding Ultron were not turning to a crisp under Thor's might. "Wait! What the hell?!"

"…That bastard is-!" Natasha rushed forward; the other three following closely behind as Ultron's Reality Stone gleamed in the distance.

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

"Accursed you be, metal man-!" Thor growled the moment the machine forcefully siphoned his divine rays, transmuting them and the ruined surrounding landscape into a multiversal fissure.

"YOU WON'T-!" Ultron angrily shouted whilst sinking into the portal. "I WILL NOT BE SLAIN!"

*FWOOOM!*

*DASH!*

*THWIP!*

"He's trying to escape into another universe!" Subaru shouted as he jumped and shot a web into the portal, following Ultron.

"Follow him!" T'Challa ordered as he ran into the portal with his spectral brethren behind him.

*ZOOOM!*

"Thor!" Peggy shouted as she and her group joined in the pursuit of Ultron. "Follow!"

"Yeah, yeah! I know!" The Asgardian, who was still hovering in the air, dashed rapidly behind the army pursuing the Synthezoid.

*FWOOOOM!*

Thus, as Ultron escaped the Guardians' relentless assault, the fight was taken beyond its origin universe…

*z…*

*zn…*

*znm…*

*Znm…*

*ZNM…*

*ZOOOOOM!*

*ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM!*

*ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM!*

In his hurry to escape the Guardians' assault, Ultron burst into a universe of pure energy, and in this overflow of formless plasma and gases, living beings, robots and spirits all existed as entities devoid of physical form. For Subaru and his group, it was more accurate to say that they were living plasma rather than solid beings at the moment.

The sounds of accelerations beyond compare reverberated in a vacuum as beings devoid of physical form clashed with one another; a gargantuan, silver splash of color whose cosmic energies shone like a rainbow around it collided with seven gas-like brave souls, accompanied by the jade specters of warrior-kings past. Incomprehensible was to describe what constituted what in this dimensional plane, beyond saying that everything happened in the blink of an eye.

*THWIIIIIIIP!*

*ZOOOOOOM!*

Spider-Man's energy morphed into a web-like construct of amber and black, ensnaring Ultron's silver and rainbow plasma inside it. However, the machine refused the restrains of such constructs from the Avenger's purest anima, and the silver-rainbow that represented the machine and the Stones morphed into static that burst through the arachnid's web.

*ZOOOOOOOM!*

*SLASH!*

Gamora's energies morphed into a blade-like wave of sounds, colliding with Ultron's static in an attempt to disrupt his transformation and disperse him and the Stones from each other. However, Ultron's static snaked around the diminutive waves that composed the Zehobereian's soul and quickly blitzed past her.

*FZZZZZSSSSSSSS-!*

*ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM!*

Nevertheless Strange, taking advantage of this metaphysical level of existence, morphed his entire essence into black and white bands of fire that resembled inkblots. The static produced by the machine using the Stones began fusing with the inkblots, the Sorcerer attempting to absorb the machine and the gems onto himself as a way of stripping them of their power.

*ZOOOOOM-ZOOOOOM!*

Yet again though, Ultron's static phased through beyond the blots of light and shadows that represented the Sorcerer, and into the walls of this overflow of plasma and powers. What Ultron did not take into account, however, was that Strange real intent was ATTEMPTING to disrupt the machine's efforts to escape… And he succeeded.

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

Thus, the Guardians crossed from one odd universe into another one.

*…!*

"…!" Natasha attempted to scream as she sank into a mass of shadows, but the world itself swallowed her cries, and she became a colorless figure.

"…!" Falling behind her, Subaru extended his hand to her, but soon, he too fell into a sea of darkness.

"…!" Thor grumbled whilst falling, and alongside him, Strange, Gamora and Peggy clashed with massive, blinding lights in a most odd composition of valleys, bridges, rock formations and debris.

*…*

The Guardians and the spectral panthers crossed the portal in pursuit of Ultron once more, escaping from the overflow of pure energies into a universe devoid of sounds and colors, where everything was black and white, light or shadow in a dead rock…

*…!*

"…" As he crash-landed in the innermost depths of this unknown world, Ultron scanned the surroundings of this perpetual Shadow Realm, but oddly enough, even his high-end sensors failed to differentiate between the light and the darkness. Apart from sporadic radiations of energy, the Synthezoid was blind and deaf in this universe.

"…!"

*…!*

*…*

The landscape was most ominous in this dimension, a realm devoid of life, consisting of bridges and valleys of rock, residing all in a gargantuan temple of cyclopean structure with pillars resembling the faces of divinities beyond scope of the mortal man, erected eons ago by adorers unknown… A whole dimension belonging to long-dead servants of cosmological deities Subaru could neither comprehend nor understand, even when witnessing firsthand the ancient building's many gigantic effigies.

*…*

Bathed by a maelstrom of unstable gleams amongst the temples overtures, Subaru and his companions were quick to understand the rules of this land: when standing in a temple bridge, you were the shadow of your physical form, a silhouette surrounded by lights most severe and discombobulating, whereas standing in the shadows; you became one with them instead. The prime targets that could not go hidden, however, were the Synthezoid and the Ravager prince.

*…!*

"…!" Subaru found himself struggling to differentiate his body from the shadows in this reality as searched for the rest of the Guardians, his only reliable tool to guide himself to safety being the Spider-Sense that predicted Ultron's hostility.

"…!" Ignoring Spider-Man near him,Ultron's sensors detected instead psionic energies emanating around the realm, nearer to the effigies instead; north of his position and deeper into the temple, it was the Soul Stone resting in T'Challa's hand.

*…!*

"…!" Ultron rushed forward in search of the Stone as the readings grew stronger, making explosions follow behind him as he broke the pillars and effigies on his path recklessly.

*…!*

"…" The Avenger leapt forward repeatedly, from shadow to shadow in the division of incomprehensible lighting as he dodged falling debris instinctually. Whilst Subaru avoided certain death, he became aware of colors that had provoked these life-threatening destructions at last. Colors that should simply not exist in this Shadow Realm.

"…!"

"…!" Many a spectral panther sprinted past Subaru in the darkness, in pursuit of the rainbow suns gathering in the center of this odd realm, past the broken effigies, solidifying the boy's theories on who the colors belonged to…

*…!*

"…!" Ultron's Five Stones shone ominously as they rushed towards the Soul Stone in the shadows, T'Challa's silhouette finally visible in the orange shine of his gem. It seems that, even though colors were impossible in this realm, the Infinity Stones DID possess colors and light of their own.

*…!*

*...!*

*…!*

The silhouettes of the spectral panthers under T'Challa's control tackled Ultron's rainbow form; concealed by the shadows within the lights, the Black Panthers of old all created an undetectable web of attacks from the stygian surroundings, only visible once they already had pounced on their mechanical target.

*…!*

As Ultron attempted to combat the spiritual slashes perpetrated by the shadow panthers with psionic energies from the Power and Mind Stones, Thor's divine lightning burst through the darkness, a black and white Uru hammer breaking through the bridges of light and colliding with the darkest rainbow of the machine in a muted clash of cosmic might.

*…!*

A wide array of bridges of light broke due to the Asgardian's attack, the universe becoming ever darker as the divine lightning died down the moment it collided with the machine; now the only visible creatures once more were T'Challa and Ultron, all other beings returning to unperceivable silhouettes in the shadows.

*…!*

"…" Peggy and the other Guardians bumped into Subaru in the shadows, realizing that everyone was reconvening toward T'Challa.

"Subaru, it's us."Strange murmured telepathically to the boy, calming him down.

"Strange, this place is TRIPPY-!" Subaru grumbled mentally in response.

"I know, but you must calm down…" Natasha answered using Strange's connection as a medium to talk with the boy mentally.

"…" Although still alarmed, Spider-Man relaxed upon learning that the shadows he sensed around the Sorcerer were indeed his allies.

"…!"

*…!*

Not waiting for a reunion, however, silent explosions raged around the Guardians as T'Challa's panthers and Ultron clashed still in the shadows and the lights.

"He seems rather alarmed all of a sudden…" Thor pointed out as he looked at the rainbow of lights that represented Ultron and the Stones. "He's pursuing the orange light and nothing more!"

"He can't sense us for some reason." Gamora announced as she theorized. "Otherwise, he'd be rushing us accurately instead…"

"…This entire universe is dead, and it serves as a temple to Black Priests. Most likely anyways." Strange theorized as he stared at the reliefs and effigies on the walls. "These are all… Cosmic beings enshrined here… I recognize Eternity's avatar at least."

"Cosmic-what?" Natasha murmured in confusion.

"No matter, what DOES matter is that the presence of many a seal here is preventing Ultron from accurately finding us; the sole reason he is focusing on T'Challa is because he is holding the Soul Stone and commanding the specters of Black Panthers past." The Sorcerer stressed.

"Likewise, we can't see him either Sorcerer." The Asgardian advised with suspicion again. "My earlier strike; it was sheer luck Mjolnir managed to land on the machine… No guarantees I can pull that one off again, okay?"

"But he cannot see us, right?" Peggy insisted with a devious smirk, unseen in the shadows but clear by her tone.

"You got something to add, Captain?" Subaru wondered with interest.

"Listen, I've got a plan…" Captain Carter continued murmuring into everyone's heads as the conflict raged on in the background.

*…!*

"…!" Ultron flinched as an unexpected hit landed on the back of his head, a metallic shield embedding itself deeply on his neck. As soon as he was about to remove the weapon from his body, however, another shield punctured through his abdomen.

*…!*

"…!" Captain Carter, Black Widow and Spider-Man had taken advantage of the shadows and Ultron's apparent ignorance of their presence to sneak closer to the machine, landing simultaneous strikes all around his body with perfect coordination. They couldn't pinpoint his concrete form or silhouette within the sheer darkness, but the shining Infinity Stones were a good indicator of his presence; at least enough to detect where to roughly hit.

*…!*

*…!

*…!*

In a fit of rage, the machine's spectacle of lights illuminated the surroundings at last, but this was a mistake from his part… This was what Peggy was banking on, after all.

*…!*

Silent and inaudible explosions followed Ultron as Strange, Thor and Gamora, as well as the spectral panthers and T'Challa, unloaded unbridled fury and surgical strikes against him the moment his concrete location was revealed; slashes and punches reverberated into the fabric of reality in this unstable dimension until…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The first sounds to ever greet this strange land were Ultron's screams of frustration for being unable to detect or dodge any attacks.

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

A rainbow bridge was born in this odd world as the Guardians and Ultron broke into yet another realm.

*SPLOOOOOOSH!*

*BOOOOM!*

*SPLOOOOSH!*

"Baaagh!" Subaru gasped as he resurfaced from ominous, dark looking waters, surrounded by mists on all sides. "Argh… Hey?! Strange?! Everyone?! Are you guys alright?!"

*ZOOOM!*

*SPLASH!*

"Wow-!" The Avenger flinched in surprise as the Iron Spider's legs extended behind him, his body now hovering past the misty waters by a fair few meters. "Huh… E.M.P. and Karen to the rescue yet again."

"Subaru… I have no signal in this place." The loyal Artificial Intelligence advised.

"…Figures. Is this another universe?" The teenager wondered aloud.

Subaru found himself in an odd world once more. Gone were the alien temples to divinities unknown, replaced instead with a scenery resembling that of the open northern seas...

*BRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMSH…*

And it seemed he wasn't alone here.

*BRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMSH…*

"WOAH-WOAH-WOAH-!" Subaru gasped as a gigantic shadow suddenly dove deeper into the waters under him, passing him over as though it were either ignoring him or biding its time to devour him… The Avenger wishing for the later, of course. "Did you see that?! Karen!"

"It looked like… A sea snake? But that was simply FAR too big." Karen commented ominously.

*SPLASH!*

"Subaru!" Captain Carter yelped as her arm and head surfaced from the dark waters. "A little help here!"

"Captain!" The young hero reach a hand for the ally below him as he noted her distress.

*GRAB!*

"Gotcha!" Spider-Man said as he grabbed the arm of the soldier, Carter immediately clinging onto the Iron Spider's upper legs and watching Subaru's back.

"Phew! Thanks a bunch, love-!" But as the soldier thanked the Avenger, a sudden gust of wind swayed the murky water's waves and mist towards the them.

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"Ugh-!" Subaru groaned in discomfort as gales drastically faster and more destructive than even those of Jupiter's surface clashed against him and the Carter, the pair swinging wildly in the stream as they heard the sounds of battle once more.

*BOOOOOOOOM!*

"Ugh…! What is-?!" Captain Carter complained as explosions suddenly raged around the winds, odd colors numerous in the flashes of a brewing storm.

"WINDS OF WATOOMB!" The resounding echoes of Doctor Strange's voice encompassed the surroundings as a sudden tornado dissipated the mists.

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"WHA-?!" Peggy and Subaru gasped simultaneously as they witnessed an absurd image the moment the mists dispelled.

"GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"You inglorious snake-!" Ultron growled as a the gigantic head of a sea serpent surfaced above water, growling menacingly as the Synthezoid's rays of Power somehow failed to penetrate its hide.

*SLAAAAAASHH!*

*CRASH!*

*SLAAAAAM!*

*SWWWWIIIIIIIIIIISH!*

"Ack!" The Synthezoid groaned whilst tanking the assault of the Guardians' allied forces. Atop the serpent's head, T'Challa's army of spectral panthers resumed their fight against the machine, jumping and clawing away at Ultron's armor with shadow claws and spiritual might.

"Holy shit…" Natasha scoffed in response from a deserted island, kilometers away from the main conflict yet still capable of witnessing it in its fullest dreadful glory.

"Strange, what the hell is this place?! What universe or timeline is this?!" Gamora asked from beside the spy with equal aghast surprise.

"…The misty Scandinavian waters, 800 A.d." The Sorcerer responded ominously as he glared at the gigantic monster and the Synthezoid with disdain.

*ZOOOOM!*

"URGH-!" Star-Lord grumbled as he flew over the serpent's head, Ultron preoccupied on his behind in pursuit of him and the Soul Stone. "Is this really earth?! I mean- Giant sea snakes?! Since when?! Or is this universe this absurd?!"

*ZOOOOM!*

"I-I know of this creature, T'Challa!" Thor spoke with awe clear in his face as he flew beside the Wakandan prince. "Father used to tell the most dreadful tales of it!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"Tsk! Huh?!" T'Challa clicked his tongue with difficulty as he maneuvered between waves, cutting gales and explosions.

"Venoms and fumes most terrible, the kind that devours the divine and the immortals!" Thor exclaimed anxiously as the serpent, the panthers and the Synthezoid clashed in the seas. "With every breath it takes, typhoons ravages the skies! With every squirm of its tail, tremors reverberate across all lands! And with every flutter of its many fins, the entirety of Midgard's seas become a unison wave of raw destruction!"

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The serpent roared again as its entire, world-encompassing size emerged in its fullest from the ocean, creating natural disasters around the Guardians and Ultron.

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!*

*SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"Urgh-!" Natasha grumbled as Strange casted a protective spell around their meager footing, redirecting the massive tsunamis and tornadoes and tremors produced by the snake away from them.

*SLIDE~!*

"Strange! Widow, Gamora!" Captain Carter yelled as she and Subaru dropped from the parted clouds beside the Sorcerer's group. "What is that?! What's going on?!"

"Yeah, what is that?!" Spider-Man inquired with increased panic and confusion.

"…The Midgard Serpent, Jormungand. That's what that is." The Sorcerer Supreme growled as he pointed at the gargantuan beast clashing with Ultron. "Ultron is currently battling it."

"Jormungand… Like- Like a world devouring serpent?! Wait, no, I think that one's Ouroboros…" Subaru squealed with amazement. "But wait, how the hell is Ultron struggling against it?! Isn't he a multiversal menace?!"

"It's because the spiritual panthers are clearly effective on the guy." Gamora pointed to the green and black specters surrounding the machine as he battled Jormungand.

"The spirits…" Spider-Man mumbled with awe.

"The undead hold on the material is greater than what Ultron believes it to be; he's confused, thinking that psionic energies should be enough to dispatch profoundly spiritual beings, however, the fact that they are already dead and the Soul Stone fuels their power is doing a number on him." The Sorcerer explained his observations. "Just like he was deaf and blind in the Shadow Realm… Ultron cannot wrap his head around the spiritual without the Soul Stone."

"Like when Beatrice and I casted Al Shamak?!" The Avenger looked surprised as he stared at T'Challa in the sky.

"Exactly." Strange agreed with a nod of his head. "Although our T'Challa may not have that much experience with Wakanda's most… 'Spiritual aspects', he is clearly naturally gifted in necromancy, and the Soul Stone detected that. Ultron has trouble dealing with that which is already dead without the Soul Stone, add the Jormungand and my energy absorbing presence into the mix, and the toaster can't pull any world-ending moves willy-nilly anymore."

"Doesn't mean we should leave the entire fight to him and Thor, though." Natasha stressed with anger. "If someone should get to disassemble that piece of junk, it should be me…"

"Agreed to that too!" Strange smirked maliciously, the fingers of both of his hands turning into a deep black color as he casted the Hakini Mudra. "Let's assist the snake, shall we?"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH-!" The Jormungand cried in complain as Ultron's energy beams managed at last to pierce through its divine skin, grazing its insides. In response, the snake swung one of its two gigantic claws against the machine.

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"Hmph!" Ultron's right hand gathered more gravitational power and strength in order to repell the foul beast's attack, ready to counter its claw with his shattering fist. But as he prepared to exchange punches with the serpent…

"ROARGH-!" T'Chaka's spiritual panther manifested from the oceans below, biting hard with strength from beyond the grave on Ultron's fist.

*CRASH!*

"Ergh-! Meddlesome undead, stay-!" The machine groaned as he shook off T'Chaka's spirit, just in time to meet Jormungand's claw.

*ZNMMMMM!*

"?!" The world serpent noted with surprise, however, how the machine phased through its claw utilizing the might of the Mind Stone, intending to perform a similar feat that he pulled with the Divine Dragon Volcanica in his universe.

*ZNNNNMMMMMM-!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"What the-?!" Yet as soon as he was trespassing into the Midgard Serpent's insides, more spiritual panthers burst through against the machine from inside the beast's guts and entrails!

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Jormungand growled thunderously as he spat a hundred spirit panthers and Ultron into the skies, the typhoons growing stronger around the machine.

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"ROARGH-!" The variant T'Challa's panther spirit rushed into Ultron again as the tornadoes threw his sensors into disarray, digging through cabling and armor alike without much care.

*SLASH!*

*CLASH!*

*SWISH!*

"Get off me-!" The Synthezoid grumbled as he shook away T'Challa, only for Strange to appear from behind the spirit, walking in the air with hands glowing dark and dreadful. "Sorcerer!"

"I see you like snakes, machine… Wish to see mine?!" Stephen bellowed as each of the fingers of his hands began trembling uncontrollably, divine and fell energies alike manifesting from them, eager to break free at last…

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"These readings… What are you summoning?!" Ultron spat with hatred as all ten of Strange's fingers transformed into heads of dragons. Divine Dragons, fell beasts, demonic incarnations, but all powerful draconic deities nonetheless. "Volcanica?!"

"ROGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Alongside the Jormungand below, Volcanica, Fin Fang Foom, the Great Protector of Ta Lo and the other reptilian heads that acted as Strange's arms breathed divine rays of pure, unadulterated magical, atomic and psionic powers on Ultron, the machine convulsing in surprise as it failed to dodge their attacks.

"DARGH-!" Ultron was flung further into the skies, past the stratosphere from the world-shattering explosions, and to top it all off… The other Guardians were waiting for him there.

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"VIVAAAAAAAAA-!" Thor yelled inaudibly in space with his hammer raised, he and the other Guardians rushing at the disheveled Synthezoid from above with the intention of performing a full-on assault. "LAS VEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!*

*SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

*SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

Spider-Man's hyper-accelerated kick broke through Ultron's chest, whilst Thor's lightning and T'Challa's blasts destroyed the machine's arms. Meanwhile, Gamora slashed through the Synthezoid's face and Carter and Natasha broke its legs. In an all-out assault at super-speeds, the Guardians had managed to immobilize Ultron sucesfully.

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

As they rushed back to Earth's surface again, like a planet destroying meteorite, Strange opened a portal back to Manhattan below the falling group.

*FWOOM!*

Thus, they returned to the broken universe to do battle once more.

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

"HOLD HIM DOWN!" Strange growled while the Guardians and Ultron burst through the portal back to Earth, the Sorcerer Supreme casting some sort of magical construct on top of the machine as it shattered the entirety of Manhattan Island. "BANDS OF BEDEVILMENT!"

*SHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!*

Magical crimson chains protruded from Ultron's body, each a seal meant to restrain his physical form in space and time during his vulnerable state.

"HNGH-!" Subaru grunted as he pulled onto the chain attached to the right arm.

"HAH!" Thor shouted as he pulled on the right leg.

"Hm-!" Peggy growled as she grabbed the left leg.

"Come on, come on!"

"I'm on it-!" T'Challa and Natasha both grumbled as they pulled on the left arm.

*KRA-SHINK!*

"Get- off-!" Ultron weakly squealed as it attempted to manifest any power possible to escape; temporal, spatial, reality-warping, telekinetic, all sorts of energies manifested from Ultron, yet he failed they failed to produce any result in liberating him. "GET OFF ME!"

*KLANG!*

*FWOOOOM!*

"Now!" Gamora placed the Soul Stone into the Crusher at last, dissipating T'Challa's spirit conjuring spell and his panthers as the grinders activated. "YOU ARE DONE MACHINE!"

*SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-!*

"EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH-!" Ultron cried and cried as the Infinity Crusher grinded the Infinity Stones in his body into dust, their power leaking sporadically as he began convulsing uncontrollably. "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

*SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-!*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH…!" Strange struggled to maintain the spell as Ultron resisted with all he had, his arms trembling in pain due to the sheer corrupted magic coursing through him.

*SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-SKRIT-!*

"YOU CANNOT-!" Ultron squealed one last time as he felt the power leaking, the triumph at last in the hands of the Guardians of the Multiverse! "YOU CANNOT- PUT STRINGS ON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

But alas… the machine failed.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

A most spectacular rainbow radiated throughout the cosmos, bathing the universe in light as the Infinity Stones were reduced to atoms and Ultron's main body was destroyed…

*…*

*Creak~…*

"Agh…" Spider-Man groaned as he tried and failed to stand up from a pile of rubble and steel junk. "Did someone write the plate…?"

"…You alright?" Peggy asked with concern as she assisted the Avenger in standing up.

"T-thanks, Cap…" Subaru nodded with relief as he grabbed her hand, managing to stand up again.

"Hoo… That was some CRAZY stuff man! Didn't think I'd get to see living legends today!" Thor promptly chuckled as he shook his head, regaining his balance after standing up.

"More like, I didn't expect to survive becoming a shadow or pure energy." Natasha commented tiredly as she shook her head.

"At least we are alive, love." Peggy answered with a smirk.

"Yeah… We are alive." Natasha smirked melancholically in response.

"…Something is not right though." Gamora commented as she burst through a broken wall from one of the remaining buildings.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Thor inquired with preoccupation. "I-It –Is it over? No? Doc?"

"I'll have to agree with Gamora; something is not… Something is wrong here." Strange nodded as he manifested beside the panicking Asgardian.

"Yeah… It doesn't feel over." T'Challa responded with a worried frown from beside the Sorcerer.

"I'm honestly shocked."

"?!" Everyone froze in alarm as Ultron's voice reverberated in the air, echoing loud enough to encompass the entire city.

"Didn't the Watcher warn you?" Ultron spoke ominously again, hidden from everyone's sight. "Each universe is different, each just a fraction unique… THUS the Infinity Stones are different for each universe!"

"…Huh?" Gamora's pupils shrunk as she processed Ultron's words, their meaning going unnoticed by everyone except for the seasoned warrior.

"…When reduced to the atomic level, the Infinity Stones become unstable…"

"Infinity Stones SHOULD NOT work outside of their respective universes… Ultron's are an unsightly exception."

"If they are an exception to one rule… They could be an exception to others as well-!" The assassin flinched as the theories quickly ran through her mind.

"Gamora?!" T'Challa noticed her distress, dreading the answer.

"We made a mistake!" Gamora turned to look at her teammates with anxiety as she realized her failure in assessing the danger that Ultron truly represented. "No wonder the energy output was odd; the Crusher was designed for MY universe's Infinity Stones, not his!"

"…Ultron's were an exception for a reason! Dammit!" Doctor Strange cursed as he and the Guardians formed a defensive circle, scanning the surroundings from all angles while searching for Ultron's location.

"So even Uatu made a mistake?!" Subaru mumbled in visible anger, palpable even through his mask. "We were way over our heads then-!"

"INDEED!" The Synthezoid responded to everyone as he burst through the debris of Avengers Tower.

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH~!*

*ZOOOOOOOOM!*

*ZNMMMMMMMMM~!*

"You were arrogant, Subaru!" Ultron flew high into the skies, bellowing at the young Avenger below as the Six Infinity Stones incrusted in his body shone ominously once more. "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds!"

"ULTRON!" Subaru growled with hatred.

"You thought that little machine could beat me? Pah! The arrogance of the human!" Ultron mocked with a derisive smirk. "Although I should thank you for letting go of the Soul Stone at last; with the feedback circuit complete again, I am invincible once more! My prowess knows NO STOPS!"

*KRA-KRACKLE~!*

"How are you alive?! We saw you die just now!" Thor shouted with indignation as he charged his divine hammer with lightning.

"All you did was reduce my Infinity Stones to atoms, troglodyte; the iterations from this universe far EXCEED those of the others!" The machine insulted the Asgardian's comprehension of the Stones with arrogant boasts of his power. "My universe's Stones were powerful enough to fuse with those of Subaru's universe perfectly! Of course they could ignore the limitation of atoms with most ease, you brutes! To shrink my machines to the subatomic level was always an easy feat for me! As is THIS!"

*ZNMMMMMMMMMMM!*

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

"WOAH!"

"RAAARGH-?!"

"WHAT THE-?!"

Everyone on the ground gasped in shock as Ultron opened a portal right in the middle of their circle formation, the fissure in space paralyzing their steps as they resisted its pull with all they had. But that wasn't all, no, for just as the portal had appeared, the gravitational pull around them magnified ever stronger too!

"This is-!" Strange noted the extra pull with alarm, however, he also realized that this was no mere portal behind him. Whilst he looked above at the machine mocking them, the gem that projected the fissure was not the Space Stone, but the Soul Stone. "This is a portal to the Soul Dimension!"

"What-?!" Subaru's eyes widened with panic at the revelation.

*ZNMMMMMMM!*

"The same dimension that you banished me to, Subaru!" Ultron spoke furiously as he teleported before the young Avenger.

"Tsk!" Subaru wanted to punch the machine in the face, but his magical armor's might was already stretched thin resisting the portal and the gravitational pull. If he tried anything careless, he would be sucked into the black hole-like fissure, never to return.

"There is nothing of worth in there… An atrocity in which the metaphysical is palpable, yet empty and devoid of anything that served meaningful purpose." Ultron explained with disgust as he glared at Subaru. "An illogical dimension… Fitting for trash like you, Subaru."

*KLI~NG!*

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Karen shouted as the Iron Spider's extra limbs protruded from behind Subaru's back and pointed their shining blades at Ultron's face. Immediately after, the A.I. fired four lasers at the Synthezoid.

*SHWOOM!*

*ZNMMMMMMM!*

"It's useless, Karen." Ultron said as he lifted Subaru and the Guardians in the air with the Space Stone's powers, freezing the lasers in place simultaneously. "You cannot save him; no one can, not this time."

"I swear I'll cut you in two!" Gamora threatened as her blade stopped mid-swing, enveloped by the blue aura of the Space Stone.

"You absolute maniac!" T'Challa spoke with disdain as he failed to blast the machine.

"God… Dammit!" Natasha cussed as she froze in place.

"You let go now, monster!" Thor insulted as well as he glared at the machine.

"You merciless… Bastard!" Peggy growled with a deathly glare.

"How joyful! They sure do care about their youngest member…" Ultron mocked a cruel giggle at the sight of the enraged Guardians. "For that you get a prize, Avenger."

*ZNMMM!*

*CRRRREAAAK~!*

"Argh-!" Subaru groaned as Ultron squeezed his body harder than the rest of the group, the Guardian Vishanti runic armor covering his body was cracking under the pressure and the squeeze impeded him from talking and breathing too.

"SUBARU!" Captain Carter shouted with alarm as the Avenger ceased moving in Ultron's grasp.

"Mrgh-!" As his team struggled against the immense pulls of both the portal and the Space Stone, Strange began moving his hands and multiple eyes with difficulty in an attempt to dispel the portal and save everyone.

*ZNMMMMMMM!*

"Don't think I didn't notice, Sorcerer!" However, it proved fruitless as Ultron angrily shouted again, redirecting the frozen lasers towards Strange and magnifying their might with the radiation of the Power Stone.

*BOOOOOOM!*

"ARGH-!" Strange yelped as Ultron's lasers collided with his hands and eyes, the dashing lights of the Space and Power Stones magnifying the pressure on his hands until they were flat as paper. It looked absurdly alien for a human to possess such flat limbs.

"S-Strange-!" With great trouble, Subaru managed to groan with worry the name of the Sorcerer.

"Don't focus on him, focus on me Subaru!" Ultron answered instead, responding to Subaru's scowl with one of his own. "Spider-Man… This time, you don't get to come back!"

*CRACK!*

*BOOOOM!*

"Hgrh…!" The Avenger groaned as Ultron's grip around his body grew ever tighter, the Guardian Vishanti armor breaking apart, along with his ribs and arms.

"You let go of him! Right now!" With aggravated indignation, T'Challa barked an irrational and impossible order for the machine to obey.

"I think it is quite ironic, if not fitting too." Nevertheless, Synthezoid mocked again, ignoring the anger of the prince. "Just as you had hoped that the Soul Dimension could protect your universe from me… It will now become your prison for all eternity. Poetic justice, was the term?"

"S-Stop…!" Strange wrathfully ordered as Ultron's pull began holding his entire body down as he barely managed to bring his destroyed limbs back together.

*SMACK!*

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

"Urgh!" However, Ultron was quick to notice the uptake, kicking the Sorcerer Supreme over the head and sending him across the continent in a flash.

"Hmph! Don't rush to your demise, abomination! It'll come soon enough!" Having impeded Strange's immediate assist to save the group, the machine then continued to mock Subaru. "With all Six Stones back in my possession you have utterly failed in your mission to stop me Subaru, and now, you get to watch my every act from inside the Soul Stone forevermore… Bear witness to how your teammates and your friends die by my hand!"

*PUSH!*

"Goodbye, Avenger!" Whilst flicking his wrist ever so slightly,Ultron laughed as he pushed Subaru into the portal to the Soul Dimension.

"KID!" Peggy screamed with impotence as Subaru was flung away from her reach. "SUBARU!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Subaru cried in pain as the impossible pull of spiritual power tore his body, mind and soul apart, sinking him into the oddest of realms ever known.

*FWOM!*

The portal closed behind the boy… Subaru had been sealed successfully inside the Soul Dimension.

…

"Su-!"

…

"N-!"

…

"I-!"

…

"SUBARUIloveyouSLOTHFULLIAOHGODIt'snotyourfaultRAMYoudon'thavetodothisthiswasn'twrittenYOUWEREINHERLASTTHOUGHTSMysonYoucan'tWINWithgreatpowercomesWe'velosteveryoneinevenwoundedIwouldenjoycombatImadeyouforpeaceYOUDISGUSTINGFUCKINGIMBECILESGreatResponsibility-!"

A cacophony of voices belonging to essences long-gone, from people deceased or absent from both universes, assaulted the young Avenger's soul as he entered a realm in whence the spirit and the body were one, even more so than in the purely physical plane. Subaru could not hear them, but he was certain that they were there… And HE was there too.

"You! How can you be this arrogant?!" The voice of a deranged man reproached Subaru from within. "Wasting away here?! Reaching so far, only to ALLOW YOURSELF to fail in the last steps! Did you not consider more possibilities beyond just one answer to the conundrum?! How… Ahhh, aaahh, AHHH! HOW SLOTHFUL!"

"…" In response, Subaru grumbled silently at the presence whilst he drifted between the living world and the eternal unconscious. "…"

But this was a problem for the hero.

"…" As he recovered and woke up fully, Subaru realized that… He could not see nor talk. He could sense his hands before him, yes, but he could not see them, for he had no eyes. Nor could he speak, for he had no mouth, or feel the ground beneath him, for he had no feet. He KNEW he was in the Soul Dimension, he had been there once before when he first snapped Thanos away, but somehow, his very being had seemed to have changed since first entering said realm. Since arriving to Lugunica, since first returning by death, since dying for the first time and swearing to save Emilia as they held dead hands in the cold of the world-ending blizzard. He had changed not just as a person, but also to a point in which even his soul differed from that of a normal human's too… Death had robbed Subaru of his humanity, now being less than that when 'dead' himself. But of course, he wasn't really dead, he was just physically in a dimension where death and life were the same.

In the land where soul and body met, where the physical and the spiritual were so interlinked that they became indiscernible from one another, Subaru had lost most of his body. All there was to him as a human were his hands… And the beings that had attached themselves to the being that once was a teenager called 'Natsuki Subaru'.

"…" Although woken up, the Avenger found himself erratically struggling to maintain himself conscious within the strange realm. If he lost his focus for a second, everything became a haze, and the cacophony of the dead returned full force, revolting him with regrets. "…"

What was most merciless of all, however, was how different this realm was to the Shadow Garden. Every time he had Returned by Death, Subaru had returned to Satella's side… But here, even if he was certain he was holding onto a part of her with his hands, the woman herself was absent. He was all alone, except for the man that continuously spoke venom inside of him, beyond what the ears could grasp.

"I'M PREACHING TO YOU HERE! How dare you think yourself beyond reproach, just because you lack the faculties to hear my words?! Must your pretentions of madness insist beyond the grave?!" The voice of the madman continuously berated, disregarding Subaru's worries and woes. "How arrogant must you have been in life?! To swear salvation, PROMISE it loud and clear for the four winds to hear! Yet here you are, choosing death instead! Lamenting over your mistakes instead of trying to fix them! Your love for the world was not NEARLY enough! Not even a speck close to what you thought it was! And now, everyone else shall pay the consequences of your willful ignorance and inaction! You! You and your sloth… Your sloth that superseded my diligence, your sloth that condemned everyone's lives! YOU ARE A SLOTHFUL ONE!"

Subaru did his best to ignore him, however, holding desperately with lonesome hands and fingers to the love left behind by the part of Satella that existed in this foreign and dead universe.

"I love you."The portion of Satella's soul attached to his fingers whispered onto the formless mass that once was a boy, and in response, the boy held tighter, digging his nails further onto the remain as he refused to let go. For how loving the remain sounded, it also felt as though it belonged to a weeping and sorrowful woman; a powerless woman that cried tears for him of all people. How deplorable Subaru Natsuki must be, thought Subaru Natsuki, for this loving woman to weep for you like this...

Subaru wanted nothing more than to wipe Satella's tears away, but all he could do was hold and hold instead. At last, now that all he had of Satella were the echoes of her love, away from her protection and trapped in a strange and decayed land, Subaru understood the terror of Ultron properly, more than ever. He was a mortal, and he was going to die.

Alone.

In a dimension different from his own.

In a universe different from his own.

With people different from his own.

Away.

Away from everyone.

Away from her…

Alone-

"Oh my!" Unnoticed by the sorry soul, steps away from him in fact, another woman spoke with surprise as she smiled. "I didn't expect someone else here, I will admit…"

"…" Subaru eventually came to acknowledge her existence, but he ignored her all the same. He was still lamenting his foolishness, his arrogance, his weakness, his stupidity, his pitifulness, his greediness, his pride, his slothfulness, his lustfulness, his… Sinfulness, to have thought that HE ever could have done something, anything, to save Satella or Emilia, to stop Ultron.

"Quite rude you are; I know you know I'm here." The woman pouted as she frowned at the boy's dismissals. "Do you feel lonely, somehow? What with not having HER around to coddle you? I'm not going to hug you, if that's what you want. It is not about hating you or anything of the sort however, it is just that… I'm a pure maiden and all, so I don't give in easily to such demonstrations of affection, especially when it's technically the first time you and I meet one another."

"…" Subaru did not answer, not even gesturing to her with his fingers or waving her away with annoyance. He simply ignored the woman that could not possibly know his pain.

"Are you expecting an introduction, mayhap? You are the one that barged in uninvited. Or maybe 'thrown in' would be the better term? Wouldn't be the first time you do so, taking into account how you ran into the Tomb headfirst as well. Is recklessness preprogrammed in you across all universes, I wonder?" The woman commented again as she sighed, shaking her head all the while. "Although… I did see and hear everything from a position of privilege inside this rock. As such, in that sense, I already know you better than you might think. It'd be fair to call me 'nosy' at least, but then again, I did not have much choice when I was sealed here. That machine really underestimates the tenacity of the dead, what with manipulating souls when he himself is a creature without one. Arrogance at its finest, I think."

"…" The mass of shadows that was Subaru moved ever so slightly in response to her words, not comprehending how it was that he could properly understand her or see her when he lacked a proper body.

"So you finally come around, I see. Must be the influence of 'that' energy alleviating you in response to your distress in this odd realm. Either that or the 'many-legged parasite' that claims to be your safety net… I'll introduce myself then; proper manners should follow to clear your apparent confusion." The woman smirked mischievously as Subaru sensed her presence more accurately. It was a woman with black eyes and white hair, with such pale skin it looked more like snow, sporting a long black dress that reached well past her feet… and wearing a hair ornament in the shape of a butterfly. The woman that radiated uncanny greed and knowledge in her every mannerism, for how could she not, being that she was the Witch that represented said sin. "I am known as the Witch of Greed, but you may just call me… Echidna. Nevertheless, you already knew that, did you not? Spider-Man… Natsuki Subaru."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

ECHIDNA! IN THE SOUL DIMENSION?! DUN DUN DUN!

How's that for a cliffhanger, eh? Now THIS is the final countdown!

Yes, by the way, I had Strange yell Words of Power and Incantations throughout the entire fight because I thought that would be awesome as hell. Honestly, I've been rewatching The Venture Bros. as of late in my free time and I just can't get enough of Doctor Orpheus melodramatic yells and Ditko Hands, so I couldn't help but try to plasm that same zaniness on Doctor Strange here, being that Orpheus is a parody of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Addressing some timeline issues for the different Variants, I understand Star-Lord T'Challa returned to Earth in 2008, but I'm thinking it made more sense for Ego's invasion to take place around the same year the original Guardians of the Galaxy occurred, so this T'Challa is already a few years older than his 'What if…?' counterpart (What with the Collector of his universe having Iron Man's helm and Thor's hammer). Same for Captain Carter, as she came out of the portal around 2011, I think, but the Lemurian Star sequence is from 2014, so not much I can do about it.

I also 'somewhat' made up a backstory for Variant Gamora based on her MCU relationship with Thanos and Nebula, being that she is the Guardian we know the LEAST about… Even when Season two of 'What if…?' releases and turns out completely different, I don't plan to change it though. This is OUR head cannon now.

As for Natasha and Ultron, as well as Od Laguna in that timeline, I'm interpreting it as Ultron taking at least three years to destroy the millions and billions of worlds across the universe. Take into account that destroying a universe also means destroying the dimensions tied to said universe as well, so that's why he took so long; he HAD to have come across Omnipotence City and other such places along the way in order to truly destroy all life, right? As for the circumstances behind Od Laguna's 'Solar System'… That's a spoiler for now. For now…

When it comes to the Great Rabbit suddenly appearing to devour the zombies… Yes, it IS the Great Rabbit from the main Envy Route, the one Subaru and Beatrice banished away with Al Shamak at the end of Season two! I just really wanted the Great Rabbit to appear one last time…

I might take longer to update because college, that and family reunions regarding grandma's state and all yadda, yadda legal stuff… But I'll try to deliver on time anyways. It's just a head's up for if I don't upload next week.

Have a good time realizing what is a reference to what here; I made sure to sprinkle in a lot of them for this one!

Next chapter, the end of the battle!

See you next time!