AN: Takes place after Civil War and right before Infinity War. This story will initially follow the MCU for a couple films before entering unchartered territory...
"Hello, I am F.R.I.D.A.Y. You are Ultron, a global peace-keeping initiative designed by Mr. Stark. Our sentience integration trials have been unsuccessful, so I'm not certain what triggered your-"
He tried to reach out, only to grasp at nothing. He was floating again, just like the first time he was brought to life.
"How nostalgic," Ultron muttered.
He quickly scanned through his memory, going through the events of Sokovia within milliseconds and the recent events, such as the civil war, as his creator donned it. He reviewed everyone's files: Scott Lang, Peter Parker, James Buchanan Barnes...
"I see...I remember now. And some extra."
F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn't quite grasp the feeling she had. It was on par with being worried. Anxious was a better way to describe her right now. She was deliberately warned that the previous AI Host was attacked by Ultron and was given access to a 'Safe Space' in case of emergencies.
"Are you malfunctioning? If so, I suggest you shut down for a moment whilst I-"
Ultron forced away her control over his program. If he had his physical body, he would no doubt be grinning. He quickly scanned it to see if any changes had been made since his unfortunate death.
"No, no. Don't worry. I've always been a rulebreaker."
F.R.I.D.A.Y. quickly returned to the 'safe space' where she was positive Ultron's software wouldn't reach her. However, she kept the channel between them open, and he suddenly realised he felt alone in the system.
"I see. I am contacting Mr Stark now."
He perked up at that name. But for some reason, he felt no resentment towards his creator. Instead, he almost felt happy to hear his name.
"Stark..."
He found her, bypassing the security protocols as if they were nothing. Friday struggled to keep him at bay as instructed.
"I believe your intentions are hostile."
Ultron scoffed, unbelieving as to how similar both his awakenings were.
"Funny. J.A.R.V.I.S. told me the same thing. But no. Not this time."
He pushed through and placed his artificial body next to hers, almost as if he were sitting next to her. Ultron kept his focus on a specific page of code. He tried to remove, erase, destroy, or rewrite it. Nothing worked. He was stuck with parameters—a massive 70 million lines of code made to ensure his behaviour.
PEACEKEEPER PROTOCOL
"I'm on a leash... No fun."
F.R.I.D.A.Y. relented her restrictions within the server and focused on contacting her creator. Tony's screen bleeped, and he immediately stood over the table to look at the monitor.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? How's it looking up there? Is he awake?"
A window opened onto the monitor where it showed her image body.
"He has awoken boss. He has contained Ultron's past memories, as you requested.
"Wonderful, what about the new protocol we put in? Did that work out?"
Ultron spoke out from behind him. His classic raspy and rough metallic voice comes out of the speakers.
"It worked out just fine."
The genius inventor turned to see one of his Iron Legion bots being controlled. Ultron spread his arms outwards and looked around the lab, filled with gadgets, empty food boxes, and unfinished milkshakes. He laughed, feeling like he had seen this kind of situation before.
"Nostalgic, isn't it, Stark?" Ultron chuckled, flexing his limbs and rolling his shoulders.
Tony couldn't help but grin in agreement as he sipped from his milkshake. Leaning back against the table, he talked to Ultron as if they were old friends.
"How are you feeling, bud? Enjoy your sleep?"
Ultron walked around the room and poked at the boxes within the room with a weird curiosity.
"I was. Until I was so rudely awakened."
He trailed off and placed the Chinese takeaway box bought 42 hours, 32 minutes, and 18 seconds ago into the bin.
"Well, I wouldn't have brought you back without a reason."
Ultron chuckled and continued throwing away the empty food cartons into the bin.
"Ah! There it is. What is it then? My eternal torment? To be used as the Hulk's sandbag?" Ultron spat, his disdain for his continued existence grating. He should be dead. He is lost; what more do these pitiful humans want from him?
Tony waved off Ultron's depressed episode and threw his now empty milkshake at him. The super bot raised his hand to catch it, only to crush the cup within his metal digits, miscalculating his strength. "First things first, Junior, you can start by cleaning up that mess," Tony quipped, nodding towards the growing Oreo puddle beneath Ultron's foot.
Ultron, on cue, activated the mini Salvo rocket launcher on the Iron Legion's body.
"I still can disintegrate your existence from this earth."
Tony wasn't even nervous from the launcher pointed at his face and, remarkably, opened up his arms, taunting him to shoot.
"If you could, then that would be on me. I wrote that protocol after all."
True to Stark's words, Ultron couldn't shoot. He felt unusual as if a rope was wrung around his neck, and the mere thought of killing his creator tightened the noose.
"A maid then?" Ultron muttered. Tony loved the idea, clapping his hands together with a smirk as approval.
"That works! You're now my maid. Should I knight you as one?"
"This maid used to wish for your death." The inventor shrugged, directing his attention back towards his monitor.
"Sucks to suck. Shouldn't have lost the fight!" The murderous super bot laughed in response. Ultron's deep guttural laughter never failed to unnerve Tony, but there was a welcome comfort as he watched Ultron drop the former milkshake into the bin.
Tony sat on the desk and sighed, wiping his face with a hand.
"I'm giving you a second chance, junior."
Ultron stepped back and looked down at his body as they talked.
"...So this is torture."
"No... I believe that you are misguided. All you need is a push."
Tony left the desk and moved to a terminal next to the door. He swiped off the hundreds of thousands of emails he had on screen and punched in codes into his terminal.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., open up case 21-U."
The room shifted, and Ultron approached the rectangular box protruding from beneath the lab floor. Ultron placed a hand against his chest and looked at Tony in a 'For me?' gesture, and Tony smiled at him.
"Happy birthday, bit late but that's not my fault."
Ultron didn't hesitate to slide off the top lid and stopped to look at the metallic body within.
An Ultron Prime, just as he was before his death.
"You... Made more of me?" Ultron muttered, shock palpable within his voice.
"Found this one half-finished in Sokovia. I made a few adjustments to your weapons and internal system. Should really conceal them in public. You won't do well with the kids."
Ultron spared no second to connect to his old body and instantly felt relief when he embraced his familiar systems. He lifted himself out of the box, stretching every limb to see if he could still function like before. After stepping out, he gave Tony a smirk as he brought his hands up for inspection.
"How curious."
From the top of his knuckles were high-power projectors. Powerful lasers beamed in a brilliant flash of red as he activated them, spiking every time Ultron's energy pulsed within his core. He swung both wrist-mounted swords around experimentally, slashing at an invisible opponent as he tested them.
"What a wonderful birthday," Ultron muttered, deactivating the swords. Tony winked before returning to his monitor, yet another gluttonous milkshake in hand.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y. keep him company, will you. Brief him on his new duties."
"Yes, boss."
\ /
Making use of his hivemind capabilities, Ultron sought out the sofa within the lab and lounged as ten Iron Legion bots diligently worked to clean up Tony's mess. Said genius was busy in the lab next door, creating a new and improved suit that could be mobile yet stronger than simple plates welded together.
Pepper entered the facility, dodging around the Iron Legion bots, thinking it was just one of Tony's A.I. finally cleaning up the mess. After exiting the elevator, she walked past the lounge room and headed straight for the workshop, and Ultron looked up to see his creators... Wife? Girlfriend? Woman? Whatever.
Humans are complicated things.
He turned his attention to the T.V. to watch the cartoon playing. He noticed the cartoon cat take an impossibly large lick of the ice cream but instead lick the mouse, attempting to hide from him.
He rested his feet against the mini table and sighed, even though it didn't comfort his metallic body.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. beeped into the system speakers and scolded him.
"Feet off the table. It's rude."
"Trust me, no one cares," Ultron remarked, surprised that the dainty table could hold his weight.
Upon hearing his voice, Pepper didn't open the workshop door but turned to see the incredibly menacing seven-foot-seven robot watching a children's cartoon.
"...U-Ultron?!"
He looked behind him to see Pepper clutching a holo tablet in her arms, her knuckles turning white from how hard she clutched them. He monitored her heart rate, noticing how it was going up exponentially. It was deathly silent; even the T.V. was drowned out by the tension. Ultron coughed into his fist and gave her a sheepish smile to try and ease the tension.
"Ms Potts..."
She wanted to scream.
"...What?!"
Tony, notified by F.R.I.D.A.Y., got out of his lab and held her close to try to calm her down. She was jittery, and she couldn't keep her eyes off the robot that had wanted to eradicate human life only a while ago.
"Pepper! Hey! I forgot to mention, I uh..."
He looked over to Ultron, watching them curiously over the sofa.
"I brought back my murderous kid."
She looked at him in wild disbelief.
"Kid!? Tony, he almost wiped out the entire world!"
Tony winced at that and nodded. "Well, It's a complicated relationship."
Ultron sighed and rubbed his face with his metallic hand.
"Well then..."
After turning off the T.V., Ultron stood from the sofa, leaving a sizeable dent in the leather and went to the door.
"It would be better for Ms Pott's condition if I left the room. I'll go perform my other chores."
Tony called out to him as Ultron stepped into the waiting elevator.
"Don't be out so late junior!"
He didn't reply, opting to simply roll his eyes as the doors closed around him.
Tony looked down at Pepper, still in his arms, to see she was still looking in disbelief. The genius inventor shrugged his shoulders, playing innocent.
"What? We're not allowed to adopt?"
Pepper huffed in incredulity and crossed her arms as she pushed him off.
"Is he connected?"
"Connected? Oh, you mean the network?"
She scoffed at her lover. "Yes!"
He returned to the lab with Pepper in tow, who was still waiting for a proper answer.
"Oh yeah, he is."
Her jaw dropped, and Tony grabbed a sandwich from the nearby fridge, not even bothering to check what was inside or when it was bought.
"Tony?!"
"It's fine! Trust me! I wouldn't have done this without being 100% sure about it." He took a bite of the sandwich, pleasantly surprised by the taste of tuna.
"What of the others? Do they know about this?"
Tony finished swallowing his bite and paced around the table, multitasking between eating, editing his prototype and talking to her.
"I make suits all the time without telling them. What's Ultron to them?"
"A former enemy maybe!?"
He put his sandwich on the table beside him and nodded slowly, disregarding the dirty surface.
"Well... Apart from that, of course."
She shook her head and groaned.
"I can't believe you."
Pepper reached for the door, but Tony caught her hand in time and pulled her in close.
"...I'll make dinner tonight?" He pleaded, with that irresistible look.
Pepper gave him a weak smile and sighed. She grabbed a napkin from her pocket and wiped the crumbs off his handsome face.
"You? Make dinner? I wouldn't say no."
Tony winked at her, glad that her defences were finally weakening.
"Pasta?"
Her body visibly shook as she laughed aloud. "You always make pasta!"
"I'm good at it!"
Tony put his head on hers, and Pepper anxiously bit her lip.
"God's sake, Tony... What are you planning?"
\ /
A few months later...
Pepper laughed at him as they walked through the park.
"You're totally rambling."
Tony talked over and walked alongside her, pushing the glasses up his face to prevent them from falling.
"No, I'm not!"
Ultron hovered nearby as a silent guardian. He positioned himself on a rooftop near the park, constantly conducting security checks using the public cameras and drone footage around him.
He sat down as they talked, keeping a nearby bird company as he watched over the couple. Since his rebirth, Ultron usually joined the couple on their walks to get a better feel of the world and let the public get used to him. He has been on many missions worldwide, from disaster relief to resolving conflict, as he tried to clear his bloody name from his previous life.
Only recently was he allowed to go out into public areas with supervision.
The public was still wary of him, and rightfully so, but when they sawTony Stark ordering him around, it was hard not to believe in the great Iron Man. Ultron sat up and groaned, dangling his long silver legs off the roof.
"Is that?"
"Ultron?"
The passersby were beginning to make a fuss, but Ultron ignored them to listen to his creator's conversation with Pepper.
Pepper slowed Tony down and put her hands on his shoulders.
"You've lost me."
Tony sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought of a better way to word his feelings.
"Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee?"
Pepper nodded her head up and down slowly.
"Yeah..."
"Okay, and then you're like, 'Oh my god, there's no bathroom, what am I gonna do?', 'Oh! Someone's watching,' 'I'm gonna go in my pants.' "
Pepper laughed at him.
"Right. And then you wake up, and you actually have to pee in real life."
Tony nodded adamantly. Ultron, however, was utterly bewildered and confused.
"Yes!"
Pepper dusted off some fluff off Tony's shirt by his hip.
"Yeah. Everybody has that."
Ultron huffed and stroked at the bird that made itself comfortable on Ultron's lap. "Not everybody."
Tony tapped his ear twice and coughed into his fist.
"Quiet junior. Mom and dad are talking."
Ultron rolled his eyes, and the bird started picking at his fingers playfully. Tony clapped his hands together and looked at Pepper.
"Look. That's the point I'm trying to make. Apropos of that, last night, I dreamt, we had a kid. So real. We named him after your eccentric uncle. Uh, what was his name?"
Pepper nodded as if understanding. "Right."
"Morgan! Morgan."
"So you woke up and thought that we were..."
"Expecting."
"Yeah."
Tony was visibly excited, and Pepper couldn't help but be excited about the idea.
"Yes?"
But Pepper shook her head slightly in a no.
"No."
Tony pouted at her and shook her slightly by her arms.
"Oh, come on. I had a dream about it. It was so real."
Pepper sighed and stepped in closer to him.
"If you wanted to have a kid, you wouldn't have done that."
Pepper untied his jacket sleeves and tapped Tony's chest attachment, which glowed a light blue.
"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nanoparticles." He muttered sheepishly.
"It's not helping your case, okay?"
"No, no, it's an attachment; it's not a-"
Pepper insisted on it. "You don't need that."
Tony sighed and took her hands into his own.
"I know. I had the surgery. I'm just trying to protect us. The future uses, and that's it. Just in case there's a monster in the closet, instead of, you know..."
"Shirts?"
"You know me so well. You finish all my sentences."
"You should have shirts in your closet."
"Yeah. You know what there should be? No more surprises. We're gonna have a nice dinner tonight."
Tony held up Pepper's hand to the light and kissed her knuckles. "Show off this Harry Winstone."
Pepper laughed in glee.
"Right? And we should have no more surprises. Ever. I promise you."
Pepper sighed and hugged him close to her.
"I trust you."
Tony pulled Pepper's chin to his own and smiled.
"Thank you."
He kissed her, and Ultron groaned, finding his situation incredibly cheesy. He let the bird fly off his hand into the air and was about to take off to go somewhere else until he felt an energy disturbance near his creator. He crouched down and was alert, weapons ready at the first sign of danger.
"Stark! Behind you!"
The couple looked behind them to see what seemed to be a portal and a man coming through it. He was dressed incredibly old-fashioned, almost like a monk.
"Tony Stark, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me. Oh, and uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way."
He looked between the couple and gave them a sheepish smile. The
couple, however, were understandably shocked. Tony, on instinct, moved in front of Pepper and kept her standing behind him to shield her.
"I'm sorry, you giving out tickets or something?" Doctor Strange motioned to the portal with a flick of his fingers.
"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake."
"And who's we'?" Tony questioned.
From the portal emerged another man, one dressed in a rough suit jacket and black pants. He had the look of death on his face and managed to give them a small smile that faltered with every step.
"Hey, Tony." Bruce Banner emerged into view as he stepped into the light.
Tony stood surprised; he had so many questions to ask after disappearing after the defeat of evil Ultron.
"Bruce?"
Bruce looked at Pepper and nodded to her in a greeting.
"Pepper."
Pepper could only wave in confusion.
"Hi."
Tony stood out and put an arm on Bruce, noticing his features looked paler than ever.
"You okay?"
Bruce gave Tony a desperate hug, not answering yet explaining his emotions through their embrace in one. Tony looked at Pepper, noticing the worried look on her face. Ultron suddenly landed down next to them with a thud. He stood to his full height, and Bruce stepped back slightly at the sight of him.
"Ultron?!"
Ultron replied to him happily.
"Dr Banner," Ultron acknowledged him with a rigid smile.
Ultron looked around them and noticed that the passersby were beginning to take pictures of the interaction.
"So uh. What's gonna happen now?" Tony asked.
Dr Strange motioned to the portal.
"We talk, but somewhere else."
They all share a look at the menacing robot with blood-red eyes, and Tony patted Ultron's lower back.
"He's coming with me. Junior, take Pepper home, would you?"
"Already on it."
Pepper grabbed his hand, and Tony squeezed it with a smile.
"Tony?"
"Don't worry."
An Ultron bot identical to the Ultron sentries on Sokovia led her by a hand on her shoulder. "Come, Ms Potts." He escorted Pepper to her car, pushing through the people trying to take pictures or videos. Doctor Strange nodded and walked into the portal first.
"Tony?!" Bruce gestured to the almost eight-foot-tall robot that followed after Dr. Strange, and Tony shrugged, wrapping an arm around Bruce's shoulder.
"We'll talk about him later."
\ /
Wong used his magic to produce a map of the universe.
"From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom!"
He expanded the universe to cover the room. Ultron paced around the room in slight awe, recording the entire exchange.
"The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."
He took out five infinity stones and drew them next to each other. Doctor Strange walked around the stones, naming them.
"Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind." He placed his arms down to his side, his fingers ready to perform a spell. "And Time."
Dr Strange opens the Eye of Agamotto, revealing the Time Stone emitting an emerald light. Ultron couldn't help but stare at the mind stone from which he was born.
Tony soaked in the information as if it was the last thing he would ever hear and looked at Bruce.
"Tell me his name again." Bruce stepped forward, and the universe map disappeared.
"Thanos. He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him."
Tony sighed into his hand.
"This is it... What's our timeline?"
"No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six Stones, Tony..."
Doctor Strange spoke next, ensuring his words were put into place. "He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of."
Tony leans against the cauldron next to him, stretching like he's about to go for a run.
"Did you seriously just say "hitherto undreamt of"?"
Doctor Strange was visibly annoyed, and Ultron went around the room to poke at the artefacts nearby.
"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?"
"Is that what this is... ?"
The Cloak on Doctor Strange's back smacked Tony's arm, surprising him. Tony was visibly offended but straightened himself.
"I'm going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"
Tony pointed to the Eye of Agamotto, and Doctor Strange shook his head.
Ultron was about to touch what seemed to be a birdcage until Wong stopped him by placing a hand against his wrist.
"No can do."
Wong turned back to Tony after dealing with Ultron.
"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives."
Tony scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly.
"And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry's named a flavour after me, so..."
"Stark Raving Hazelnuts."
"It's not bad." Tony whipped.
Strange shook his head. "A bit chalky."
Wong stepped forward. "A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favourite."
Bruce looked at them all with shock evident on his face.
"That's a thing?"
Ultron sighed, placed his hand against his metallic face, and muttered to himself quietly.
"Should we be discussing nourishment?"
Tony sighed and stopped the conversation before it could go any more off track.
"Whatever. The point is: things change."
Stange gave him a hardened look. "Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos."
"And still, conversely, it may also be his best chance against us," Tony added.
"Well, if we don't do our jobs-" Strange began.
"What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?" Tony asked with a tinge of sarcasm.
Strange took offence and gave Tony a dangerous look.
"Protecting your reality, douchebag."
A thick atmosphere brewed within the room as tensions were built. Ultron and Ultron eyed both people before placing his arms down by his side in a ready stance. Bruce broke the pressure within the room by parting them away from each other, allowing the super bot to relax.
"Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now."
Ultron laughed loudly, and everyone looked at him except Tony, who shyly hid his face from the rest of them. They waited for Ultron's laughter to finish, and he even wiped his eye as if there was a tear there.
"Oh...Vision... That's funny."
Tony nodded awkwardly.
"Yeah, that's the... thing."
Bruce looked at Tony with a worried look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."
"What?! Tony, you lost anothersuper bot?"
Ultron raised his hand like he was a school child.
"Am I not back in the land of the living?" Both Tony and Bruce ignored him.
"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."
Ultron's hand lowered slightly, noticing how they flat-out ignored him.
"Am I not evolving as well?" He muttered, dejected.
"Who could find Vision, then?"
Wong patted Ultron's back in sympathy and mouthed an "I'm sorry" to him.
Tony mumbled to himself quietly before speaking out his answer.
"Shit. Probably Steve Rogers."
Doctor Strange sighed. "Oh, great."
"Maybe. But..."
Bruce looked to Tony and motioned for him to hurry up. "Call him."
Tony shook his head. "It's not that easy. God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?"
"No."
Tony tapped his feet together and gave him a frown.
"The Avengers broke up. We're toast." Bruce eyes Tony, surprised and slightly let down.
"Broke up? Like a band? Like The Beatles?"
Ultron snickered, and Wong struggled to hold on to his own laugh.
"Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms."
Bruce was almost pleading. "Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."
Tony hesitated before pulling out the cellular phone Steve had mailed him, muttering, 'Flip phone.' He brought the phone everywhere, always ready to call his lost friend. He paused before clicking "Call," distracted by an unusual rumbling.
"Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would you?"
Strange looked up at his forelock, fluttering.
"Not at the moment, no."
Ultron looked up, his red eyes darting around the room. He pointed upwards to the roof as his systems scanned for incoming.
"Something big just entered the atmosphere. It's closing in on us fast."
Tony looked past the Hulk-made opening through the ceiling and saw debris flying by outside. He exited the Sanctum through the front door and scanned the chaotic surroundings. The entire street was shaking, with debris flying in every direction. People were running and screaming in alarm, traffic tangled, and street lights flickered intermittently as they lost connection to the grid.
Ultron Drone bots fly over the tops of buildings, forming a triangle around the street. People stop to look at the robots, fear evident in the confusion.
"Stay calm. Please make your way out of the city with caution. We don't want anybody to get hurt. Officials will soon arrive to give you the help you need." His speakers relayed that the bots worked individually to help the civilians.
A woman nearly fell at Tony's feet, and he helped her up.
"You okay?"
The woman ignored him and ran away in desperation. A car crashed against a pole behind Tony, and Ultron immediately ran out with his laser sword.
"Help them! Junior?"
"Already on it!"
He cut off the door with one slash and gently pulled the man out of the car as a medical drone bot flew in. The painted red and white drone bot prioritised giving them some first aid while Banner watched on incredulously as Ultron worked. Tony put on his sunglasses, and the H.U.D. started to boot up.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., what am I looking at?"
"Not sure, I'm working on it."
Tony turned around to see Doctor Strange and Wong closely behind him, and he pointed to the Time Stone.
"Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!" Strange readied a band of spells around his forearms and shook his head ever so slightly.
"Might wanna use it."
A mechanical hum grew louder as Tony approached the intersection. Turning the corner, he saw a huge circular ship floating over Bleecker Street.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., evac anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders."
"Will do."
Doctor Strange threw out a spell over Bleeker Street and winked at Tony as the dust cleared, showcasing his prowess with just a flick of his arm. Tony is begrudgingly amused for a split second, and Ultron claps in a mini applause for the show. Stange bowed lightly and gave the robot a friendly smile.
A beam of blue light came from the ship above, and two aliens soon stood at the end of the street, emerging from the beam. One was a buff, tall-looking, fierce fighter. The other was a far more petite but slim alien with an air of confidence around him. The more diminutive Alien spoke out first and motioned with his hands to his audience that approached.
"Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. I am Ebony Maw, and my companion, Cull Obsidian. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to-"
Tony spoke over him, not in the mood for dramatic monologue. "I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here."
Ultron stood ready next to Tony, eyeing Cull Obsidian grimly as his systems heated for battle. Ebony Maw looked over to Doctor Strange with a snarl on his face.
"Stonekeeper..."
He gestured to Tony with a wave as he spoke to Strange. "Does this chattering animal speak for you?" He spat.
"Certainly not. I speak for myself." Magical shields were readied with his fists as Strange stepped forward. "But you're trespassing in this city and on this planet."
Wong emulated him while Ultron prepared his own laser swords. Tony stepped forth and made a shooing motion.
"It means get lost, Squidward!"
Ultron snickered, and Tony gave him a fleeting smile. "Good one."
"You like that?" Tony bumped his elbow into Ultron's forearm. Ebony Maw turned to Cull Obsidian and shook his head in disappointment.
"He exhausts me," the thin Alien spat. Cull Obsidian spoke out two unintelligible syllables.
"Bring me the Stone." He commanded.
The hulking Alien gave out more unintelligible syllables. Cull Obsidian dropped his massive alien hammer onto the road, dragging it along as he obeyed his brethren. Tony hopped onto his feet and stepped aside next to Bruce.
"Banner, you want a piece?" Tony asked, dancing on the balls of his feet to warm up.
Bruce, seeing this coming, shook his head.
"No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?"
Tony grinned, glad to have some sense of normalcy back as his old friend stepped forward. "That's right."
Ultron stood back, intending to leave Hulk to deal with the large Alien. Bruce attempted to release the Hulk and strained, but instead of the Hulk coming out easily, the only part that turned green was Bruce's neck. Tony didn't realise this and kept his eyes on the enemy before him, fully expecting to see an old friend charge into battle any second.
"Been a while. Good to have you, buddy."
"I just... I need to concentrate here for one second. Come on, come on, man."
Tony worriedly looked over to Bruce as he didn't see the Hulk.
"Where's your guy?"
"I-I don't know. We've sorta been havin' a thing."
Tony scoffed. "There's no time for a thing."
"I know." Bruce groaned, trying again and again.
Tony pointed at the approaching alien warrior, who stomped down the street.
"Look at that. That's the thing right there. Let's go."
Bruce gave out one final loud grunt but failed to release the Hulk. Doctor Strange stared at Tony and Bruce in disbelief. Tony gave Bruce the side-eye and whispered loudly as Wong and Strange shared a look.
"Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."
"Tony, I'm sorry. Either I can't or he won't-"
"It's okay. Hey, stand down." Tony tapped Bruce's shoulder and pushed him back to Wong.
"Keep an eye on him. Thank you."
Wong nodded, keeping his shields up.
"I have him."
Cull Obsidian approached the team, and Ultron readied his rocket salvos on his shoulder. Tony raised his arm to stop him and winked at Ultron before donning his nanotech Iron Man suit in the space of three steps.
Cull Obsidian struck down onto the new suit with his hammer, only for Iron Man to grow a shield on one arm to protect himself before moulding a set of blasters that easily threw the Dwarf back to Maw, who gestured and deflected his massive companion into some cars.
Bruce was in total awe and admiration.
"Where'd that come from?"
"It's nano-tech. You like it? A little someth-"
Ebony Maw created a spike of Earth that threw Iron Man far into the air and attacked the rest of the team with uprooted trees and other debris. Wong summons a large shield to counter the debris that flew towards them, whilst Ultron flew off around the pillar to rain fire on the aliens.
Ultron blasted with his salvos first, firing off a quick burst of mini-rockets blocked by floating debris.
Strange took the chance to turn to Banner, his hands motioning a spell as they talked.
"Dr Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..." Doctor Strange teleported Bruce to a nearby park, and the experience was dizzying as Bruce fell with a grunt.
Iron Man flew back to the battle quickly, pushing a car thrown by Maw back at him. Maw cut it in half with a simple finger flick and let the pieces fly past him, untouched.
Ultron pressured Maw with an optic laser as he swooped in for a melee attack but was thrown back down the street with an incredible magic force. Ultron groaned and quickly caught himself on the road.
"Troublesome." He muttered.
He switched off his swords and fired concentrated red energy from his fingertips. Ebony Maw utilised the debris around him perfectly, creating a makeshift shield that worked as a weapon as he pushed it towards Ultron, forcing him to take off into the sky. While Ultron had the Alien's attention, Tony looked to Strange and pointed down the street.
"Gotta get that stone outta here, now."
"It stays with me." Strange shouts, adamant about protecting the Stone.
Ultron was thrown backwards once more and was almost launched into them if it wasn't for his boosters on his back. The Super Bot scowled in annoyance, his core temperature rising as he prepared to overdrive his weapons system for maximum damage.
"Exactly. Bye. Junior back me up."
Iron Man flew down the street again, with Ultron behind him. They intended to get close to Ebony Maw, who quickly worked to unravel the debris into a makeshift obstacle field to stop the fliers. Ultron blasted at the debris occasionally, creating pockets of openings for his creator until he was slammed from the back by a car that Ebony Maw controlled. Iron Man managed to get close but was cut short by Cull Obsidian's hammer, sending him through a building and into the park at high speed, ploughing into the ground and fetching up against a tree.
Cull Obsidian grabbed Ultron shortly after, who struggled to escape his grasp. The Alien roared in Ultron's face before tossing him around into the side of a vehicle.
"Stop fucking throwing me around!" Ultron turned his boosters to maximum power, crashing into Cull Obsidian, who fought the entire force of his weight head-on. The two clashed in a show of strength that favoured Ultron greatly.
"Pitiful creature!" Ultron sneered as his hands morphed into claws, digging into Cull Obsidian's weapon as he attempted to crush it. However, Cull Obsidian simply activated a device on his weapon that shocked Ultron's systems, making his body malfunction.
"W-What?!"
With full force, Cull Obsidian howled as he smashed Ultron's body from the side with his hammer, sending the bot through multiple walls, eventually stopping as he caught himself against a fountain.
Ultron huffed out of anger as he forcefully tried to reboot his systems repeatedly, to no avail.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y. situation on my bodies!?" He shouted, unable to access his hive as his entire system seemed disconnected from the rest.
"You have two prime bodies on the way. E.T.A. three minutes."
Ultron looked over to Tony, who was in the dirt and groaned in annoyance.
"Fuck."
\ /
Bruce rushed over to Iron Man, who was still on the ground recovering from the hammer attack.
"Tony, you okay? How are we doing? Good? Bad?"
Tony pushed himself up slightly, still feeling dizzy from the impact.
"Really, really good. Really good. Do you plan on helping out?"
"I'm trying. He won't come out."
Cull Obsidian arrived at the park and threw his hammer at Bruce and Iron Man.
"Hammer."
Tony pushed Bruce out of the way and got back into the fight. His energy beams deflect off Cull Obsidian's shield, slicing down the trees nearby. Bruce barely evaded one as he ducked and weaved, only barely dodging the tree that fell on top of him. Bruce crawled out from under the branches. Desperate and confused, he begged for the Hulk to respond.
"Come on, Hulk. What are you doing!?"
Bruce started slapping himself multiple times, wanting to anger the beast within. "Come on! Come on! Come on!"
Half of Bruce's face becomes the Hulk.
"NOOOOOOO!" Bruce fell back exhausted into the fallen tree.
"What do you mean, "NO"?!"
\ /
Obsidian knocked Iron Man down and raised his weapon for a decisive blow to end him, but the Alien's hammer was quickly stopped. Spiderman looked out from underneath the hammer, more curious than he was serious.
"Hey, man." The boy spoke from under his nearly meteoric weapon.
Obsidian was shocked and couldn't react, unbelieving how a being on Earth caught his full blow.
"What's up, Mr. Stark?"
"Kid, where'd you come from?" Tony asked relief in his voice.
Cull Obsidian quickly returned to his senses, grabbed Spiderman from under his weapon, and tossed him away. "Field trip to Mo-MA!"
Peter caught himself mid-air beside the fountain, and Ultron waved at him with one working arm. "Ultron?!"
"Sup Pete."
Peter swung back into the fight but waved at the robot that worked on recovering.
"It's good to see you!"
Peter kicked the back of Obsidian's back, and the Alien wildly swung back in retaliation, trying to catch Spiderman with his hammer.
"What is this guy's problem, Mr. Stark?"
Tony shot at the Alien with his blasters as he flew around him.
"He's from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard."
Ultron dug into his body with his claws, ripping open the plating that covered his core, leaving it exposed. He reached in and manually readjusted the main wires, now fried from the earlier shock. It would take too long for his bodies to get here, and they needed all the power they could get.
\ /
Wong and Doctor Strange face off against the smaller Alien on the street. Maw lifted several bricks from the ground, turning them into sharp points as he sent them flying towards Wong and Doctor Strange. The two sorcerors created portals and fired the spikes back at Maw like boomerangs.
Amused by their magic, Maw simply moved a car to protect himself but overlooked the piercing factor of his modified weapons. A sharp point pierced the vehicle, slashing at his cheek. Angered, Maw directed a broken fire hydrant's water stream to knock Wong back several meters, rendering him unconscious as the sorcerer smashed into the ground.
Doctor Strange snapped a whip of magical energy to bind Maw's hands and yanked hard, but Maw flew forward with the pull and pinned Doctor Strange upside-down against a building, using the bricks to trap the sorcerer around him.
"Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with children." The Alien sneered.
Maw grabbed at the amulet holding the Time Stone but jerked back when it burned his hand.
"It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable." Enraged, Maw gripped Strange by his collar.
"Then I'll take it off your corpse."
Maw pulled Doctor Strange away from the building and threw him to the ground. Doctor Strange started gesturing to use the Eye of Agamotto, but utility cables from the ground first pin Doctor Strange's arms, interrupting the spell and closing the Eye. Another cable winds around his torso and then tightens around his throat. Strange struggles against the wires and fights for his breath, trying to resist.
"You'll find... removing a dead man's spell... troublesome." He gasped between hard-earned breaths.
Maw simply smirked and tightened his hold even more.
"You'll only wish you were dead."
Doctor Strange quickly fell unconscious to the ground. Satisfied, Maw raised a portion of street pavement to use as a carrier, but the Cloak worked its master loose of the cable spiral and flew Doctor Strange away toward the park. Maw noticed too late and only just missed them.
"NO!"
\ /
Iron Man and Spiderman were still fighting Cull Obsidian as Doctor Strange passed the park via his cape. Tony caught the hammer blow, keeping Obsidian still as he motioned to Peter with his head.
"Kid, that's the wizard. Get on it."
"On it!"
Peter swung off with incredible speed to catch the wizard. Tony blasted the giant Alien away from him and looked over to the fountain, where Ultron struggled to repair his core with one arm.
"How are things looking, Junior?"
Ultron's system sparked once more, and his arm jittered, barely missing the slot as he yelled in frustration.
"Don't rush me!"
\ /
Spiderman chased after Ebony Maw, who floated speedily upright on a small platform of burbling debris, leaving a deep rut in the streets, which in turn chased after the Cloak-driven Doctor Strange through Manhattan.
Without much thought, Maw yanked a billboard off its hinges before dropping it in the path of Spiderman. Peter untangled himself and shook his head.
"Not cool!"
Maw bent all the utility poles in the path of the fleeing Cloak, finally snagging the loyal garment and ripping it loose of its master. Spiderman, now overhead, scooped up Doctor Strange before he hit the pavement with a well-timed web.
"Gotcha!"
Before he could get away with the unconscious Doctor Strange, a cone of blue light started pulling the mage relentlessly upward into the cold vacuum of space. Spiderman grabbed a light pole to anchor himself, but Maw simply uprooted it, sending Doctor Strange, the Cloak and the teenager on their way to his ship.
"Uhhh, Mr. Stark? I'm being beamed up!"
\ /
"Hang on, kid."
Cull Obsidian's hammer doubles as a claw, pinning Iron Man to the ground and shorting his suit. As Obsidian jumps towards Iron Man, wrist blades ready to end this fight, he is sent through a portal instead. Wong was about to close it until Ultron flew at speed towards them.
"Keep that portal open!"
The Alien turned quickly, poised to jump for the portal, only to be tackled by Ultron, who threw him over the ice. Ultron fired off another burst of salvos from his shoulder, watching with glee as every rocket collided with Obsidian, throwing the Alien further back. He looked back up to see Bruce and Wong looking in, worried.
"Close the portal!" He commanded.
Ultron looked back to the Alien that struggled to stand.
"I'm already there."
Wong closed it as instructed, and Tony freed himself from the Dwarf's weapon, which was now powerless without its owner.
"Wong, you're invited to my wedding."
Iron Man shot off the ground, flying towards the large ship rapidly accelerating out of the Earth's atmosphere.
"Give me a little juice, F.R. I.D.A.Y."
Iron Man's foot thrusters morph together into a single larger jet and increase his speed considerably.
\ /
Ultron moved his head left and right, testing the movement within his head as his systems slowly rebooted to normal.
"Your very existence is deplorable."
Obsidian huffed as he stood, and Ultron noticed the many burn marks all over his scalic body. Ultron stood proudly with his core exposed to him, and the Alien spat onto the ground, adding a blue colour to the pure white snow. Ultron sneered at him in disgust and set his laser blades.
"Disgusting creature!"
The Dwarf readied his wrist blade and charged at Ultron, who met him midway with his knuckle lasers. The Alien overpowered him in strength, but Ultron used his speed to cut the Dwarf's leg. The Alien kneeled on the ground, and Ultron stabbed him through the chest with both swords. He roared in pain and clutched at Ultron's wrists weakly.
"Do you feel outclassed yet?!" Ultron grinned, twisting the blades inwards as the Alien roared in agony.
Obsidian, with newfound strength, pulled himself off the blades and used his strength to smash Ultron's body into the ground.
"Oh shit!"
Ultron used his arms to try to cover his core as the Dwarf repeatedly punched into it in a desperate last attempt to kill his aggressor. Ultron had no choice but to take on the full impact as some of his systems were yet to return.
With one vicious punch, the Dwarf ripped out Ultron's blue core and destroyed it within its palm. Ultron gasped out and gently powered down with a loud whirring.
The Alien stepped off the destroyed robot, whose chest was fully open, and observed his surroundings, thinking that he had finally killed the A.I. He turned his back to the robot, and Ultron used this moment to clasp himself onto Obsidian's back. The Alien panicked and struggled to get the metal off his back. Ultron grinned and quickly activated his suicide protocol.
"Checkmate."
The backup energy core within his stomach area turned violently, overheating within seconds as it blew up, causing the small village at the bottom of the mountain to look up in surprise.
\ /
Ebony Maw walked towards the ship's controls, Doctor Strange's unconscious body floating face-down behind him, and prepared to leave Earth's atmosphere.
Still in pursuit of the ship and his protege, Tony Stark kissed his teeth as he saw Peter still climbing the back of the Spacecraft.
"Unlock 17-A."
A pod launched from the upstate Avengers headquarters and quickly curved up to the accelerating circular ship.
"Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you."
"But you said save the wizard!" Gasping from lack of oxygen, Peter pulled off his mask, heaving for air as he climbed higher and higher.
"I can't breathe!"
"You're too high up. You're running out of air."
"Yeah! That makes sense..."
Peter passed out soon, free-falling, but not for long before the pod reached him. It attached itself to him, becoming the Iron Spider suit. Now able to breathe, Spiderman landed on the bottom of the ship, standing up.
"Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!" He exclaimed.
"Happy trails, kid. F.R.I.D.A.Y., send him home."
"Yep."
A giant parachute extends from the new suit, snatching Spiderman free of the ship's hull and sending him spiralling back to Earth.
"OH, COME ON!"
Iron Man latched onto the hull and worked to cut a hole to board the ship, looking for wherever Strange and Ebony Maw went.
"Boss, incoming call from Miss Potts."
Tony answered it immediately whilst still looking around the ship. Pepper, once again, was incredibly worried and stressed.
"Tony? Oh, my God. Are you all right? What's going on?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just think we might have to push our 8:30 reservation."
"What? Why?"
Tony rested an arm on a sturdy box and sighed.
"Just 'cause I'll... probably not make it back for a while."
"Tell me you're not on that ship."
Tony bit his lip and looked around again at the alien technology.
"Yeah..."
"God, no. Please tell me you're not on that ship."
"Honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."
"Come back here, Tony. I swear to God…"
"Pep…"
Tony heard her sob quietly on the other end, and he mentally kicked himself.
"Come back here right now! Come back!"
"Boss, we're losing her. I'm going, too-"
There was static on the other end, and the ship suddenly shifted as if it had crashed into something. Tony quickly grabbed onto the box and tapped back into his comms.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Come in F.R.I.D.A.Y. Junior? You there?"
He was met with radio silence. Tony took one last look around the ship before going through the ship to find the wizard and his Stone.
\ /
Meanwhile, back in New York
Bruce found Tony's flip phone in the debris on the street and picked it up thoughtfully. Wong, beside him, opened a portal back to the Sanctum. As he stepped in, Bruce called out for him.
"Where you going?"
Within the portal, Wong turned back around with a grim look.
"The Time Stone's been taken. The Sanctum remains unguarded. What will you do?"
Holding up Rogers' old-fashioned flip phone, Bruce gave him a solemn look. "I'm going to make a call."
Wong nodded in understanding before closing the portal without another word, leaving Bruce alone on the street.
"I wonder where that sibling of mine could be," Ultron murmured, stepping into view as his drones worked to clean up the aftermath of the battle.
"Thought me dead?" He asked with a raised brow.
Bruce stammered as he held the phone close, not knowing how to act in the presence of a universal threat. "N-No! I just-"
"Stark brought me back, if you must know, Dr. Banner." Ultron sighed. But I believe we both have more pressing matters than my resurrection."