Avengers: Infinite Wars

by free man writer

The Clone Wars are in full swing with the galaxy divided. The Jedi lead the clone army against the infinite droid army of the Separatists. Yet a wild card enters the fray. The Avengers. From there, newer, more sinister and deadlier threats emerge and The Galaxy, no, the universe, shall never be the same again. Co-written by Jebest4781 and BulletStormX. Now in Season 4.

108. Chase Him Into the Unknown

Hey everyone. Whelp, we are here. The final chapter of Season 3. After so many months, we've reached another milestone. At this point, the biggest one to date. But first, this AN is gonna be long enough as is so here's the promised arc layout from the previous chapter.

Introduction (1-5)

Malevolence (6-8)

Scattered Avengers (9-14)

Liberation of Ryloth (15-17)

Allies and Enemies (18-24)

Avenger Missions (25-31)

Battle of Geonosis (32-35)

First Mandalorian/Protectors (36-40)

Band of Brother (41 and 75)

Grievous Hunt (42-43)

Bounty Hunters of the Galaxy (44)

Crisis on Naboo (45-46)

Rise of Ultron (47-50)

New Avengers/Dr. Strange (51-55)

Lost Avengers Anthology (56-60)

Battle of Kamino (61-63)

Pursuit of Peace (64-65)

Mandalorian Summit (66-68)

Birth of Savage/Journey of Ventress (69-71)

Mortis (72-74)

Citadel (75-77)

Homefront/Shang-Chi (78-83)

Respite (84-85)

To Be Guardians (86-88)

Onderon Crisis (89-92)

Padawan Lost (93-95)

Tython/Avengers Reunion (96-99)

Into the Spider-Verse (100-103)

Ultron Imperative (104-108)

Holy shit, I didn't realize there were this many arcs by this point. So yeah, here's the twenty-nine arcs of Infinite Wars and it's gonna be posted on the poll on my profile. You get five choices and if you want, explain why they're you're favorite. If you just wanna write it down in the reviews, feel free to do so.

Two more things, first of all, the two scenes involving Steve and Aayla, and Pietro and Chuchi were inspired by a long time reader of this fic being Arch-Angel-Writer. So credit to where it must go to.

Second, Mandalorian Effect. The one shot crossover that Bullet, Jeb and I have made as our pilot to our eventual Mass Effect/Mandalorian crossover has been made so please, please, please go check out are collaborative effort. It means a lot to us.

With all that out of the way, let's not dilly dally any further. We'll talk after this is all said and done.

SEASON 3 FINALE IS HERE!

RATE READ AND REVIEW AND AS ALWAYS MY FAITHFUL READER HAVE NICE DAY.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 108: Chase Into the Unknown

The early morning rays seep through the curtained windows. They traveled up the floor and eventually hit the prone individuals sleeping underneath the covers. As the light reached their eyes, there were some mild bits of discomfort which eventually came.

Steve was the first to wake up, eyes slowly opening.

He found himself… completely relaxed.

Like so much stress and worries were unwound after so many years.

It was quite… wonderful.

And the source of that feeling was resting atop his body, her head on his chest with her Lekku subconsciously stroking his arm.

Steve held a calm, wide smile as he gazed upon the beauty sleeping in his arms. With the way the sun reflected off her skin, she looked angelic in his eyes. He gently stroked her back with one arm whilst having the back of his other hand lightly graze her cheek.

She seemed to enjoy it, leaning towards his hand until she began to awaken herself. Her eyes opened after a few seconds and the moment they landed on Steve's, Aayla held the biggest smile her lover had ever seen on her. She snuggles up more against him, kissing his chest a few times before claiming his lips soon after once being a bit more comfortable. She was practically giddy.

"Someone's in a good mood." Steve commented with Secura shifting her head up to be at eye level with him.

He saw a healthy blush on her face, matching the many marks he had given her on her neck and body.

Not that he was any different.

"I have very good reason to be." Came her sultry response.

Cap hummed, pulling her close to kiss her once more, the Twi'lek releasing a low moan of pleasure as she moved to lay on top of him.

"I feel foolish." Aayla murmured against his lips, pulling back slightly. "Foolish to have withheld myself from doing this with you."

"Maybe it was good that we did so." Steve remarked. "How many days might we have missed by just staying in bed?"

"That doesn't sound so bad every now and then." She whispered.

Her love only hummed in response, leaning his forehead against hers, the tips of their noses also touching.

Aayla inhaled deeply and she felt something stirring inside her.

"Force me," She bit her lower lip seductively. "Your scent has me all bothered now.

"You're not alone." Steve said voice in a low rumble.

Get a mischievous thought, Aayla moved to get out of bed, much to Steve's dismay. However, the look he got from her made him freeze up as she walked in all her naked glory towards the bathroom. Once reaching the doorway, Aayla silently looked back with an expectantly raised eyebrow.

Not needing a second thought, Steve almost jumped out of bed, Aayla releasing a girlish giggle, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside, slamming the bathroom door shut with the Force. The pair were quick to get in the shower together, trying their best to keep their hands off each and try being a word used in the loosest terms possible.

Eventually, they got out of the shower after a literal hour and their handsy behavior continued well into both even getting suited up. It took a herculean effort on both their parts to keep themselves under control from ripping each other's clothes off. The couple left the room basically wrapped around one another and made their way toward the foyer of the Coruscant Avengers residence.

It was there did they saw Tony seated at the kitchen table finishing up a meal with Pepper seated next to him. The pair heard the couple come in and Stark was about to make a greeting when he saw something… amiss.

Or rather, an extremely juicy opportunity that just arrived on a silver platter.

"Is that a spring to your step, Steve?" Tony casually asked with mischief in his eyes. Potts' reaction was immediate, lowering her head in both exasperation and a hint of amusement.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked in confusion.

Stark ignored this, more focused on the aura happening between Steve and Aayla. The former appeared exceptionally relaxed and the latter, by god, looked like she was positively glowing. And the proximity to the super-soldier was beyond the usual comfort level Tony had already seen the pair share. Before long, an unsettling smile was on his face.

"Well go~~~lly Steve. America's Boy Scout finally earned the last badge for his sash."

"Last Badge?"

"After 70+ years, you finally punched your V-Card." Tony stated, wiping away an invisible tear of pride. "And most of all, you proved you were a closet Trekkie all along. God bless you, Picard."

Pepper released a small groan, wanting to reprimand the love of her life but knew that this was a situation she couldn't talk him down from no matter what she tried.

For Steve, he may have had quite some time catching up with the modern lingo of home, but hearing this in particular made Steve give Tony a very bland look.

"Really?" He flatly said.

"Yes, really."

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's too early for your shenanigans Tony."

"You sure? Cuz I have sooo~ many questions."

"Please stop."

"Why would I?"

"What is he on about, Steve?" Secura asked.

"Nothing, Aayla, I promise."

"Now you kids," Tony put on a false look of seriousness. "I understand you all got your appetites and all but there is an old-fashioned way of doing things."

…This was going to be a long morning.

-Scene Cut-

It was time.

Seated in a modified quinjet that already has a hyperdrive because Tony can never sit still, Steve was staring at his helmet with a stoic face. His shield was on his back and his uniform was updated and pristine though that was likely not to last. Going into this battle, Rogers knew that his suit was gonna be shredded so he really hoped whatever improvements Tony had made would last.

A small grunt escaped him as he steeled himself, knowing what was to come. Placing his helmet on, Rogers made to check one final matter.

His compass. Opening the old device that had long since broken, the Brooklyn-born super soldier stared at the woman in the compass.

A woman with blue skin, Lekku and a smile of pure love directed straight at him.

He felt a momentary pang of guilt, old feelings still lingering within his heart but it was overshadowed by the love he found and now held for Aayla Secura.

Peggy… she will always hold a place in his heart.

His first love.

But after all this time with Aayla, after so many moments with her, be it on the battlefield or just the moments alone and now, after last night… she was his true love.

'Peggy would want me to move on.' He thought with a sad smile. 'I should at least know that.'

She most certainly did after years of getting over her grief. She eventually found love and had a family of her own. She couldn't dwell on the past forever and hold onto a candle forever.

So why should he?

Standing up, Steve clasped his compass shut, pocketing it and moving forward.

Iron Man rolled his shoulders, quietly reviewing his suit functions as his HUD was alight with activity. It was the latest model of his endless design of suits that always underwent one upgrade after the other.

Friday gave him the all-clear and Tony nodded, exhaling to himself. His face plate popped open, the billionaire being greeted by the sight of his love, Pepper Potts quietly standing in front of him. Words were exchanged, being akin to how they once acted towards each other prior to their relationship, all business and such.

It soon turned into a bickering contest when Stark played his trump card, catching his girlfriend off guard with a kiss that she pretended to be annoyed by, "surrendering" to it a second later. They remained this way until Pepper pushed him back, telling him now she could send him to battle and that he needed to come back.

For company meetings, naturally.

Thor stood out on the balcony of the Avengers HQ, overlooking the city skyline of Coruscant with silent contemplation. Next to him was Jane, the love of his life silently holding his muscular arm with both of hers, leaning her head against him.

After a while, Jane Foster asks if he is ready and Thor states he's never ready to leave her but knows that it's always an eventuality.

With a gentlemanly kiss to her hand followed by a loving one on the lips, the God of Thunder took a step back, holding his hand up. A whooshing sound was heard, humming louder and louder as it drew closer.

Mjolnir slammed into his hand and a bolt of lightning crashed down upon the God. Thor, once garbed in casual clothing, soon had his Asgardian armor materialize upon him, from his flowing red cape down to his chainmail arms and boots.

Lightning danced around him as he gave one final look at Jane, giving her a loving smile. She returned it, watching as he spun his mighty hammer that launched him into the sky seconds later.

Elsewhere, Black Widow and Hawkeye were helping each other out, making sure both were fully equipped and their suits were ready for the fight ahead. Natasha made sure her Widow's bites and electrified tonfas/batons were at full power whilst Clint attached almost a dozen collapsible cartridges of arrows for his quiver on his belt, thigh straps and arms. Even some knives and bombs for good measure.

Once that was all done, both turned to bring up a holo-screen. On the other side was Clint's family and with them were Grogu and Mara Jade.

In the background, of all people, was May Parker.

It was a stroke of luck for the Avengers when Peter's Aunt came to visit, wanting to see her nephew off before they went to battle against Ultron.

She wanted to tell him not to go, and was ready to beg but she saw the look in his eyes and by this point, the man her nephew (son) was turning into. May could only tell him to be as safe as he could and to return.

Before her departure, Clint offered her the Barton residence to visit and asked if she could take Grogu and Mara there with her. She did so willingly and now, Clint and Natasha gave their own goodbyes, seeing May was conversing with Peter separately.

The holo-transmission ended and the pair of best friends departed.

Falcon was looking over his tacpad on his wrist, going over all his suit schematics and latest upgrades. Redwing briefly popped out from his back, hovering behind its owner, returning back into his wingsuit once everything was in order. Sam looked forward, giving Dani a look of reassurance, sharing a loving kiss that ended far too soon for their taste, the Avenger turning to leave his girlfriend.

War Machine was suited up, TAP giving a general overview of the new features that had been added to his armor. His shoulder cannon had more arsenal added to it, his "hammer" could also change shape and form and overall, his suit could help him destroy a Venator all on his own.

Taking a final look over, Rhodey nodded in satisfaction and flew off to join the others.

Spider-Man exhaled to himself, checking over his suit one final time. Everything was set and ready. Thanks to the additions he's done on top of the eggheads helping him out, the newest version of his suit was at its peak capacity. Now for the final touch.

Holding up his hand, Simby's bulbous head appeared, the white eyes blinking at its host and with one nod, the symbiote leaped up and splashed down atop Peter's head. It spread quickly, covering Pete's entire body, having him in the black suit that receded immediately into the black web lines of his suit, the lines being bolder than usual. A means of completing the secondary layer of his armor.

Breathing in one final time, Spider-Man walked forward to his destination.

Standing at the front door of her suite, Pietro and Chuchi silently held each other in their arms, no words being exchanged. They simply wished to have this moment together before Quicksilver departed to do his duty as he said he would.

It was a period not to last as Pietro released a sigh, pulling away from Chuchi while still holding her hands.

Nothing needed to be said as all that was done the night prior.

Instead, the two basked in the love they had for each other, going in for one final searing kiss of lust, passion and love.

Once that was done, Quicksilver and Chuchi had their heads leaning against each other. Slowly, they pulled away from each other, both sharing expressions of pure love.

With a final promise of his return, Quicksilver left the love of his life alone in her suite, the woman subconsciously placing her hands over her heart.

Wanda Maximoff was on one knee, her hands on the cheeks of Merrin and Illyana. Both girls were clearly nervous and scared but attempted to remain strong for their caretaker, knowing that she had a job to uphold.

Behind the two Dathomiri girls was Jocasta Nu with a number of other aged Jedi, all shepherding younglings to a ship that would take them to Tython as a means of safety. Merrin and Illyana didn't want Wanda to go yet they already knew that she was an Avenger and that her job was to fight for and protect the innocent.

They fell into that category, on a more higher, personal level for the Sokovian.

With a last set of parting words to stay strong, look out for each other, and behave, Wanda placed motherly kisses on both their forehead, leaving them soon after one final group hug.

Scott and Hope were being given a lecture of sorts from Hank, the man telling them some of the upgrades that they both received while Cassie sat on a table, sipping on a juice box, listening intently to their conversation.

Beneath the table that Cassie sat on was her enlarged pet Bullet Ant Antaeus, who was dozing off whilst Hank finished giving instructions to the modern-day Ant-Man and Wasp.

Hope pulled her father in for a tight hug, and Scott, not really caring for how Hank would respond, joined the pair. His girlfriend rolled her eyes but laughed all the same whilst her father released a groan yet he did nothing to push Lang away.

Cassie giggled at all this, making Scott and Hope pull away from Pym before going over to her. The former favorite Peanut jumped into her dad's arms, the man hugging her tightly with Hope being pulled into it.

Scott told her he loved her and was proud to be her father and she gave him and his girlfriend a beaming smile, telling them to make sure they come back to take their parents to school so that she can show off how amazing they both are.

After that statement, they knew such a promise couldn't be broken.

Vision was levitating, eyes closed, legs crossed, arms resting on his knees and Mind Stone emitting a dim glow.

With him were surprising participants in this brief instance of meditation.

Shang-Chi and the Iron Fist.

The trio had formed a triangle, the men all silently focusing internally to have their nerves steady and their hearts ready.

Visions Mind Stone began to emit a brighter glow while Shang-Chi's Ten Rings also started to have the ethereal orange light they possessed increase in brightness. Not to be left out, Danny's arms had yellow chi encompassing his hands and arms, wisps actually wafting from his limbs.

Eventually, all three reached a crescendo as the lights released flashes that would have blinded anyone else in the room.

Their eyes all snapped open and silently, they knew it was time.

Matt Murdock, garbed in his upgraded suit was on his knees and next to him was Hector Ayala.

The pair had found themselves bumping into each other a few moments ago after both had finished their preparations and now, they both had their eyes closed and in both their hands were crosses. Matt and Hector were silently praying, both whispering the same prayer in unison.

Just as they were about to finish, another voice said "Amen" and both looked up to see Robbie Reyes with a distant look in his eyes. In his hands was a cross of his own and the three men left soon after.

T'Challa and Shuri had their foreheads leaning on each other as the older of the two recited an ancient Wakandan prayer and war song.

That Bast and the ancestors would guide their hands, keep their bodies strong and their spirits indomitable. That they would bring Wakanda pride in their actions for justice and security, not just for the people of their nation, nor their planet but an entire galaxy.

Once the siblings completed this small ritual, their helms formed around their heads, purple kinetic energy briefly pulsing from their suits.

Katy Chen walked around in her quarters, garbed in her latest modified suit, muttering to herself as she prepared herself for this.

She was scared, terrified, petrified and any other synonym that could be used to describe the state of fear she was in.

But she was also resolute, knowing that she could do this.

Shaun believed in her. Clint did too as did the rest of the Avengers.

All gave her words of encouragement and assurance, Wanda in particular taking time to speak to her to give the confidence she knew she had. The twelve-second younger twin told her how she was in a similar dilemma back when the team first faced Ultron, back in the final stages of the battle of Sokovia. How scared and guilt-ridden she was.

But Clint gave her the boost in morale that she needed and now, it was Wanda's turn to do the same for another fellow Avenger.

Her pacing was interrupted by the arrival of Wong, the normally stoic Sorcerer holding a more pensive and assuring expression as in his hands was her bow, red wisps emanating from it. She gently took it out from his hands, giving him an appreciative look, which he responded with a simple nod of modesty.

He summoned a portal a moment later and they both stepped through.

Dr. Strange and Mordo were having a discussion, going over their spells and magical artifacts they were taking with them while over to the side, Celeste was with Bucky. The Sorceress had one hand hovering over Bucky's metallic arm whilst holding the Staff of The Living Tribunal. Orange runes and symbols were flowing between the staff, her arms and Bucky's metal one until they dispelled, signifying the completion of her spell.

Mordo and Strange heard this, going over to the pair and the former made a quick look over Bucky's arm and smiled, clearly impressed by Celeste's magical prowess.

With nothing else needing to be said, Dr. Strange conjured a portal for the four of them to step through.

The last of the Avengers that were getting ready were Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and She-Hulk.

The three of them had a small get-together of drinks and laughs with a layer of introspection and reflection. It was such a strange feeling, looking back on how much has happened in such a short amount of time in their lives to where they stood right now.

She-Hulk eventually stated that it was time and the trio downed their drinks before leaving for the gathering.

Across the galaxy, the many factions and armies were making preparations of their own for the coming battle.

Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano walked down a hallway with Captain Rex, the three of them going over the latest additions to the 501st whilst reviewing the divisions in their legion and the battle tactics that would be employed.

This practice was done by every Jedi and the clones under their command.

Aayla, Luminara, Plo Koon, Windu, Mundi, Vos, Tholme, Saa with Bly, Gree, Wolffe, Ponds, Bacara, Delta Squad, The Bad Batch and every single clone trooper.

Some clones were busy getting their equipment and weaponry in order whilst many others were busy making engravings into their armor.

The engravings being 99.

Something to honor their brother who looked out for them back on Kamino.

What comes next is in his memory along with their fallen brethren.

Clones were lined up shoulder to shoulder, all marching into their Venators, Acclamators, and Hammerhead ships.

Within the Mandalore System, on all planets under the control of the ancient warrior people, Mandalorians were suiting up their armor and weapons for what would undoubtedly be a fierce battle. With them were their newest allies the Ravagers, who had their own uniform of sorts but kept it more free form, the only distinction that all carried being the flaming emblem with the sash on the left-hand side.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were finishing up touches on their ship and equipment, whilst the leadership of the Mandalorians had one final meeting.

Spar, Satine, Bo-Katan, Fenn Shysa, Tobbi Dala and Dax Ordo rallied the Mandalorians to the cause of honor and justice, to fight for clan and people, family and future.

As the Mandalorians left their home system along with the Guardians and Ravagers, Sabine had a small moment with her sister.

Bo-Katan acted a bit awkwardly in trying to say goodbye but her older sister surprised her by pulling her in for a loving embrace, Satine whispering that she loved her and was grateful for everything that had happened as she now had her sister back.

The red-haired Kryze squirmed slightly yet it was for naught as Bo found herself hugging her sister back, leaning her head against the other.

They had stayed this way until Satine ended it, pulling back to reveal to Bo that she had silent tears streaming down her face. The older of the two all but demanded that while Bo was going into a dangerous situation that she would come back.

Bo felt her heart ache for her sister which dissipated when Satine placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and Katan complained, calling Satine "mom" in annoyance. That was enough to alleviate some of her sister's concerns.

Back with the Avengers, Steve Rogers stood in the modified Quinjet with Clint seated in the pilots seat along with Nat acting as co-Pilot.

Within this jet was Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Celeste, Bucky, Falcon, War Machine, Ant-Man and Wasp with the rest of the team all being in the second modified Quinjet that was flying alongside them.

These two Quinjet's flew in front of the massive fleet behind them, maintaining a steady speed as this ensemble of Venators, Acclamators, and Hammerheads drifted away from Coruscant.

At the impromptu command center of the entire Ultron opposition, a number of individuals stood around the holotable as many vessels and fleets were reporting in.

"Believe that's the last of 'em, sir."

Tarkin nods as he looks towards the other admirals. At the head of the gathering was Grand Master Yoda, the aged Jedi having his eyes closed but a look of concentration.

"Master Yoda."

The small, green Jedi opened his eyes, looking up at the latest Admiral to join the ranks of the higher authorities in the Republic Navy.

"Everything and everyone is set and ready."

"Hmmm, thank you, Admiral Ackbar."

The Mon Cala Admiral simply inclined his head.

"Quite the challenge we shall face." Tarkin murmured in deep thought.

"Most certainly. We need to be sure we prevail in coordinating with the plan."

"With the various contingencies." Says Yoda. "We may not need, hopefully."

"Are you so certain this plan shall succeed, Grandmaster?" Tarkin spoke with clear skepticism. "I understand that the Avengers are familiar with Ultron but to put so much stock and faith in them-"

"Their enemy, this is. Their fight, it must be. To follow them, our best course. Certainty of success? Certainly not. Dread, I do, of what may come." Yoda taps his cane on the ground. "But to have faith, one must have. To be strong, difficult it is, yes. But in those moments, battles can be won. Prepared, as best we are. Now comes what must be done."

Elsewhere…

Steve blinked at the cylindrical device Tony was holding up to him.

"What's this?" The Good Captain asked, taking the device out of Stark's hands at his insistence.

"Just push that button," Tony pointed to the red one on top of it. "And everyone will be able to hear you."

Rogers raised a brow.

"What do you mean everyone?"

"Everyone." Tony pats his shoulder with a smirk. "No pressure."

Steve gave his friend a look before holding up the comms piece that would address virtually everyone who was to participate in this battle.

He gave a long look at the device, taking a moment to compose himself before speaking.

"We all know why we're here."

Across the galaxy, many within ships halted what they were doing, startled by the voice of Captain America but listened all the same as they turned their heads to intercoms and any other communication devices, be it their own earpieces or from terminals.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't a shot in the dark to say this but in the history of this galaxy, moments like these are a rarity. For so many from all walks of life, every corner of the galaxy to come together and fight as one. But we have to because this isn't an enemy any of us have faced before."

Some of the Avengers had their gazes on Steve within the Quinjet he stood in while the others kept their eyes elsewhere yet focused on his words.

"A long time ago, when my team first faced off against Ultron, I once said that he believed that we were what's wrong with our world. That we were the causes of our own worst enemies and demises."

Tony held a brief haunted look in his eyes before steeling himself.

"And I said that it's not about beating him. It's about if he was right. But this isn't about if he's right. It's about making things right. We've lost countless good people. They gave everything to get us here. It's up to us to make it mean something and do them justice. I can't ask if you are all ready because this is do or die. Ultron will show us no mercy and we shall do so in return. He has brought fear and terror upon the galaxy and we must stand fast against his terror. He will advance and sweep across every city, every settlement, village, every planet, tearing them down only to rebuild them in his twisted visage. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out of this without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We will win or lose in this battle. But we will prevail. You all have your targets and objectives. You know your job. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud. Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together. Captain Rogers, out."

Iron Man released a small 'hmph', shoving his metal shoulder lightly against Steve's.

"You just love hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

"He definitely must've prepared this speech." Sam teased.

Captain America said nothing, giving them both a small amused smirk. He, along with the rest of the team then faced forward as the call went out across the fleet.

"It's showtime, Avengers." Hawkeye stated as he and Nat pushed two levers at the same time.

In an instant, the two Quinjet's zipped away into Hyperspace with the rest of the gargantuan fleet following after them.

Across the galaxy, many other fleets did the same and now, the plan was underway.

-Within an unspecified Foundry-

He sat on a throne made from the metals of every world he had conquered and brought under his heel or ruin.

Ultron was egotistical like that.

A sickness inherited from humanity, his creator in particular.

He was seated in a slouched position, yet that didn't convey the mood the AI currently had.

Within the recesses of his mind, his systems were working at maximum capacity as he was once again going over the hit-and-run tactics employed by his enemies.

Once again, the AI came up with a blank result, much to his raging frustration. He was an AI, a supercomputer, the evolution of mankind. Trying to discern what a couple of primitive, backward killers' plans were shouldn't be an issue for him.

Yet it persists.

What were the Avengers planning?

"You seem troubled."

Ultron idly tilted his head for his eyes to land on 99 who was looking at him expectantly.

"Really?" Ultron sarcastically said. "What gave it away?"

"Oh, just how you are." 99 calmly said with a shrug. "What's wrong? Something on your mind? Is it those raids?"

Ultron felt a digital brow twitch.

"You're annoyingly perceptive."

"You didn't keep me around for my good looks."

The AI snorted at this. "Something doesn't seem to add up. Call it a feeling."

"Well, during the training of the GAR on Kamino, the Mandalorians that helped train my old brothers told everyone that when it comes to what you need to trust most, trust in your gut. It usually knows what you need to know better than anyone else." 99 stated, making Ultron hum in thought.

"So?" 99 encouraged. "What do you think they're doing?"

"It should be obvious that this is likely their means of counteracting everything I've done." Ultron said, knowing this much to be true. "But what their plan is precisely eludes me."

"Is there a pattern to their attacks?"

"Hit-and-run but that's it." Ultron gritted out. "The way that they attack and the where doesn't make sense. Nothing in the system nor have any other places been attacked. Yet."

"They've attacked almost three dozen, last I checked." 99 murmured, his internal processors supplying him with this information. "All at random points in the galaxy."

Ultron silently absorbed the knowledge, already knowing this from before but still finding himself at an impasse as to the…

The AI abruptly sat up.

"We're under attack!" He yelled out, standing from his throne.

99's red eye blinked and he frowned. "They're targeting multiple bases. Their fleets are large."

Ultron tilted his head down, the already menacing smile that adorned his face becoming more sinister.

"So they wish to rush headfirst into extinction, huh?" Ultron released a dark, demented chuckle. "I was gonna let them fester for longer but since they're in such a rush, why deny them their fate? Let's see how well they'll dwindle. Launch everything."

Across the stars, thousands upon thousands of ships came out of Hyperspace in front of planets that were surrounded by the converted and created fleets of Ultron. They engaged immediately, unleashing a torrent of missiles and laser fire that bombarded the ships of the genocidal AI.

"Avengers," Iron Man called out, portals opening up in the Quinjets. "Let's get to work."

They separated themselves into six groups, aiding in the many fleets attacking the endless horde of Ultron's army.

The battle was now underway.

Jedi and Acolytes all had brief moments of pause as they felt a reverberation in the Force upon the commencing of the assault against Ultron.

Ultron's seemingly limitless army of drones, sentries, droids and converted descended upon his attackers.

Captain America, Aayla Secura, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Commander Gree and Commander Bly ran side by side and behind them were the respective legions and corps of the Jedi generals.

Ahsoka and Barriss were charging in front of the ARC troopers of the four legions/corps whilst Deliah Blue was right behind her newly declared boyfriend. Thrawn was running with the 501st, this multifaceted army being the spearhead force against Ultron.

Sam flew overhead, having Peter ride atop him before the webhead jumped and swung headfirst into battle.

Elsewhere, Iron Man fought alongside his best friend leading She-Hulk Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones with Kit Fisto and his clone legion.

Thor was with Vision, White Tiger, Shang-Chi, Katy Chen and Mordo along with Shaak Ti and Maris Brood and the clone army that served under them with the Bad Batch, Quinlan Vos, Tholme, Saa and Delta Squad.

Daredevil, Black Panther, Shuri, Celeste and Bucky were paired with the Mandalorians and Guardians of the Galaxy as they assailed their target planet.

Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Ant-Man and Wasp were with Plo Koon, Mace Windu, Depa Billaba with her Padawan Caleb Dume and their respective legions and corps.

All over the galaxy, multiple foundries were being met with devastating attacks that made Ultron falter but it wasn't long before he unleashed his own counterattack.

Every attacking army was met with what were literal tsunamis of Ultron drones, sentries, droids and converted that swarmed the assaulting forces.

"PUSH THROUGH THEM!" Captain Rex shouted, his battle cry being heard on every comm link on all the active battlefields.

The clones all roared in defiance, charging with all their might, practically slamming against the near-endless onslaught. Many had actually tackled multiple Ultron forces with their brothers quickly coming in to take them out.

The Bad Batch quickly made sure to put themselves at the front of the battle group they had been assigned with, bulldozing their way with an aggressive zeal that normally would be hard to match. But the sentiment shared by all the clones was felt in this battle as each man fought with a voracious desire to inflict as much damage as possible before being shot down and even if they were struck, it took nearly an additional three or four shots to put them down for good.

The Jedi felt this feeling permeating from their men and while their training made them wish to temper the rage of the clones, they knew that such words wouldn't reach them. And they couldn't blame their anger towards Ultron, taking away so many of their brothers, their homeworld and worst of all, the conversion of 99, a clone loved by them all.

So the best they were able to do was during the planning stages of this battle was to just have it that their rage and anger was focused into a righteous fury. To fight back against Ultron while making sure they watched each other's backs to the best of their ability in what would undoubtedly be a chaotic battle.

And chaotic it was as everyone was fighting seemingly two dozen drones/sentries/droids all at once, per soldier, Mando, Guardian, Ravager, Jedi and Avenger.

Well, for the troopers at least.

Groups like the Guardians, Jedi and Avengers faced near hundreds at a time alone or in groups.

It was a literal storm of blood and metal, Earth's Mightiest Heroes leading the charge at full speed.

"Keep pushing forward." Captain America shouted, his voice being heard by all in the comms.

He threw his shield at full force, the Vibranium disk cutting a path through all the Ultron drones in his way.

The clones roared aloud, pushing themselves past any limitations they may have had.

Anakin Skywalker valiantly led his men from the front, an azure tornado that sliced apart any enemy that was in the path of his lightsaber.

He knew Ahsoka was right by his side, her presence in the Force and their bond making them work in unison, covering each other's blind spots.

And whatever blind spots either of them missed, Rex was right there to back them up.

Some moments they were grazed by the incoming fire, but they held on and fought hard to not fall down.

In the midst of the battle, Anakin recalled his last meeting with his secret master Marr.

Exhaling after the last swing of his lightsaber, Skywalker "stilled" his mind and concentrated. He allowed for his body to go on autopilot, the Force directing his movements as the Chosen One concentrated.

It was… odd, if not difficult at first, using the Force to reach out to the battlefield. And within the battlefield, he sensed the presence of all those who were alive and fighting with all their heart and soul.

He picked up on the Avengers, them still being voids being clear and present. Then there was his old Master, his brother-in-arms followed by Luminara, Aayla and Barriss.

There were the clones of the other legions and corps and then there were his Clones. His men. The men that had been fighting by his side from the very beginning.

And lastly, his Padawan, his little sister.

'Focus.' Anakin mentally told himself, Force pushing a sentry away. 'Concentrate. The Force is with me. The Force is with them. We are one with the Force and the Force is one with us.'

It was sudden. The men of the 501st couldn't explain it but… they felt… more emboldened to fight on with a greater degree of aggression that felt concentrated.

How they began to feel some extra sense of strength flowing through them. An extra kick of energy suddenly came out from nowhere.

And it wasn't just limited to the 501st.

Many clones wondered where this was coming from, but they didn't care as they were more focused on the fight before them.

Those who were Force-sensitive more or less able to locate the source. It took them a moment to realize that it was indeed Anakin.

"Is that…?" Luminara said aloud.

"Yes." Obi-Wan said in open wonder. "It is."

They wondered how Skywalker was able to pull off such a feat with Battle Meditation. However it wasn't enacted at a safe, secure location, but on the battlefield.

Questions will be asked later. For now, they had a battle to win.

With renewed vigor, the one army pressed on.

In the middle of this revelation, Thrawn was experiencing the effects of Anakin's Battle Focus but he did not understand just what was happening.

He felt zeroed in, focused, his mind far sharper than it usually was, calling out strays and quick attack patterns that were executed to a near-artistic perfection.

Deliah Blue was undergoing the same sensation, all her senses on full alert as she kicked an Ultron drone in the head with far more viciousness than she had done in the past. It actually snapped her out of the Focus to look at her work in surprise only for Rex to grab her by the arm, pulling her in just as a Sentry attempted to tackle her.

Domino Squad was quick to rush in, gunning the Ultron sentry into scrap metal.

Blue blinked at this until she realized what had happened and turned to give the Clone Captain a saucy smirk.

"My hero." She praised.

Rex shook his head, grinning slightly beneath his helmet despite the situation.

"Save it for later, Deliah."

Elsewhere, Iron Man and War Machine were a hurricane of lead, lasers, bullets, missiles and everything in between with their armor.

Plo Koon was utilizing his specialized Force ability of Electric Judgement to take out many drones.

Mace Windu's use of shatter-point, applying it to his hands and the tip of his lightsaber, left multiple pieces of metal in his wake.

Thor powered through virtually all that were unfortunate enough to be his victim, the converted that were powered by corrupted Kyber crystals being sent en masse to take him out.

"Ever thought we'd be doing this?" Luke Cage asked with a grunt, using a drone head as a softball, throwing it with such force it shattered into piece, turning to shrapnel that ripped through other Ultron bodies behind it.

"I know I said we knew what we signed up for but…" Iron Fist went into a spinning double-heel kick. "I'm still trying to accept our reality."

They ducked and weaved away from the lightsaber swings coming from the drones. They were pushed or thrown aside by their connection with the Force, but did what they could to recover from them.

"Pattycake." Cage yelled out and wordlessly, Danny charged up his chi into his right hand and slammed it at full force into Luke's awaiting palms.

The Hero of Harlem felt his body shudder momentarily but thanks to months of practice, he didn't get sent flying back this time.

The rest could not be said for those who were around them.

"Hey, ya didn't fall on your ass this time." Jessica Jones called out to them both, zipping by them in the air, carrying a boulder she had randomly picked up to use as a bowling ball against Ultron's army.

Across the galaxy, the battle was heating up as Ultron continually threw his near-infinite army at his enemies.

"This will be a glorious tale to tell!" Drax the Destroyer yelled aloud with glee, using his two blades to rip apart every drone, sentry and converted he could get to.

"Aggressive Exclamation: Ultron is a wonderful opponent! Meatbags mixed with useless buckets of bolts. I couldn't ask for a more perfect enemy. Adulation: Oh Master Quill, how I am grateful to you and the Guardians for allowing me to continue my purpose in this universe."

"Don't get too used to it, HK."

"That droid has some serious issues." Dax Ordo commented.

"Seriously." Axe Woves murmured, disturbed by just how murder happy this assassin droid was.

"Focus up, Mandalorians." Spar shouted, crouching down into a position that soon dozens of other Mandalorians joined in.

Missiles from their jet packs were all launched, bombarding the next oncoming wave of Ultron's army.

Gamora, usually sporting her sword, opted to take a page out of her time on Ego's planet.

She carried a gargantuan cannon that was four times her size, walking forward to blast away at the metal bastard's endless swarm.

Around her were Daredevil, Shuri, Black Panther, Chirrut, Fennec, Sugi, Kraglin, Cosmo, Rocket and Groot, keeping her safe as she essentially was their walking cannon.

"I feel rather inadequate seeing that." Koska Reeves commented, in awe at the sight.

"You can ogle when we know we're clear." Bo-Katan ordered. "Fenn, where's that backup?"

High above the planet the Guardians, Mando's and Ravagers were floating, just in the upper atmosphere were dozens of Ravager and Mandalorian warships. And their bottom compartments were all open.

"Comin' right up, Kryze." Fenn Shysa said from where he was seated. "MANDO'S! LET'S SHOW THE GALAXY WHO WE ARE!"

"OOORAAH!"

A moment later, what was dozens at first turned into hundreds upon hundreds of Mandalorians all falling towards the battlefield.

Was it jetpacks or parachutes to slow their fall?

No, they weren't meant to slow down. They were meant to speed up.

And with their newly reconstituted Basilisk War Droids, that's exactly how they were going to get there.

Over with Shang-Chi and Katy Chen, the duo were working in tandem with each other, the former using his Ten Rings both offensively and defensively and the latter constantly changing up arrows to figure out what each one did.

"Katy, ya couldn't have learned or at least labeled your arrows?" Shaun remarked, whipping five of his rings around that shattered all it struck.

"I wish I knew how to properly know which was which without freaking looking!"

"Didn't Clint tell you of the signifiers?"

"He did."

"Did you listen?"

"...Sorta?"

"Katy!" Shaun cried out indignantly.

Their conversation was cut off when a large, Rancor-converted Ultron barreled towards them.

Shang-Chi readied his Ten Rings when suddenly, a slim figure zipped out from between the Rancor's legs, slicing at its knees.

A moment later, a red-skinned alien woman jumped up from on high, using the Force to propel herself down whilst wielding her blue lightsaber to slice the mechanized Rancor's head clean off.

The two best friends watched with their jaws slightly dropped as Shaak Ti and Maris Brood landed in front of them.

"Are you both well?" The Jedi Council member asked straight away.

"You're so awesome." Katy said straight away.

"It appears they are standing, Master." Maris said in good humor.

"You can geek out later." Shaun quickly said though he was still amazed by the display by the pair of Jedi.

On his side of the galaxy, Ghost Rider was displaying his fiery abilities to his full yet restrained capacity.

He had allies on the field so he couldn't go too crazy. But whenever there was a clear area around him where no one on his side could get hurt?

Well, rather than turning to scrap, the metallic army literally melted away and if there were converted in the middle of them, their flesh turned to ash in mere seconds.

"SINS." Rider growled. "So many sins enacted on the innocent. Ultron must BURN!"

This was witnessed by the Jedi on the field, who found the sight incredibly disturbing.

"Uh… and he's an Avenger?" Young Caleb Dume questioned nervously, witnessing the fiery destruction Rider enacted.

"Hey, we're open to all recruits who wanna do good." Scott remarked.

"It is still something to get used to." Depa commented, giving the Spirit of Vengeance a wary look.

"Better he's someone who uses that power for good than evil." Hope stated, shrinking down with Scott joining her.

From his boney maw, Ghost Rider let loose a jet of flames, scorching many Ultron-possessed individuals who came into his line of sight.

Mace Windu saw this, narrowing his eyes at the display before shaking it off, resuming his focus on the battle.

Quicksilver left a path of metal destruction before screeching to a halt next to Wanda who was ripping apart Ultron sentries with her powers.

"And they gave you shit for your powers." Pietro couldn't help but say, gesturing at Robbie, zipping away before his sister could form a reply.

Wanda only rolled her eyes, calling for Zannah's lightsaber telekinetically to cover her back as the battle raged on.

All these separate battlefields were observed by Ultron through the collective eyes of his army.

He watched as this united alliance relentlessly fought against him, the Separatists having joined in moments ago.

This was no longer the hit-and-run tactics that they employed for the past few days but this was… sudden.

And he knew it likely tied in with their earlier strategy.

He just needed to figure out what it was.

The AI suddenly picked up on a confrontation that was going down between Skywalker and one of the first sentient beings he had converted.

Anakin held his lightsaber in front of him, eyes narrowed at the metallic, converted being that was one of Ultron's chief generals… Whiskers.

"Still an odd name." The dark-robed Jedi commented airily.

"Of what?" His enemy said in a metallic warble, masking his true voice.

"Yours."

"It is what my master named me."

Whiskers fired upon Anakin with a series of repulsor blasts from his palms before leaping back when the Jedi came at him. Arms were raised, blocking the lightsaber swings left and right, up and down with quick precision.

Anakin guessed the material Whiskers had for plating was either Beskar or some other composite material resistant to lightsaber blades. He had to figure out some weak spot to exploit to take the enemy out.

"Sensing a lot of anger coming from you, Whiskers." Skywalker dryly said, deflecting several of the repulsor blasts with wide swings.

The more sciency members of the Avengers explained to him and the Jedi that Repulsor beams and blasts couldn't be deflected or reflected like blaster bolts.

If it was a repulsor blast, it needed to be swatted away, the kinetic energy that, if blocked, would send the Jedi flying back and vulnerable.

Repulsor beams, if sent continuously, can be reflected and even used against the sender but there would be a strain on the arms.

Anakin used the Force to briefly enhance his arm strength while dashing forward against Whiskers, using his lightsaber to smack away further Repulsor blasts before jumping over a beam and landing behind his foe.

Whiskers had a lightsaber come out from his wrist from the back of his hand. He spun about, trying to cleave Anakin's head but the Jedi was quick to parry the attack.

The converted went for a series of swings that Anakin blocked and deflected. With a diagonal upswing, Anakin smacked his lightsaber against Whiskers' with such power, the man-machine was left wide open.

Skywalker went in for the kill when Whiskers used the Kyber crystals he had installed in his body to project a small shockwave that sent Anakin back.

But not before making a visible mark on the faceplate on Whisker's headwear. It was a cut along the eye slot, making it wider to reveal the organic eye underneath.

Whiskers was unfazed from the blow, kept going on with the fight.

Swings came and went with parries and counters. It was hard to prevail for Anakin. With a lucky move, he cleaved through the opponent's headwear once more with additional parts coming off.

Slowly, Whiskers stood straight to focus on the Jedi General, reaching up to grab his faceplate and ripping it off, putting Anakin in a state of shock.

The Jedi almost dropped his lightsaber upon seeing who it was. "Yularen?"

Admiral Yularen, who he had seen get executed by Ultron in a message to the Senate of the Republic stood before him.

His face was relatively "unchanged" save for the visible metallic veins on his cheeks, a metallic jaw and one of his eyes holding a red glow.

Despite these changes, Anakin knew it was Yularen.

Or rather, what was once the Admiral of the Republic.

"Wulf Yularen is dead, General Skywalker." Whiskers responded rather coldly.

It took a moment or so for Anakin to realize something.

"Is the reason why you're called Whiskers due to your name Wulf. Or your mustache?"

"I wouldn't know. Only Lord Ultron does. He wishes to refer to me as Whiskers, he is free to do so." Was Yularen's robotic answer that actually made Skywalker's spine shiver.

Anakin stared at the man who once was his comrade, a man he undoubtedly annoyed with his tactics but a man he still respected all the same. To now see him as this…

The Jedi Knight steeled himself, getting into the starting form of Djem So, his eyes boring into the former Admirals. "...It's Wulf. Wulf Yularen. Not Whiskers."

On the same battlefield, as the heroes kept advancing forward, one Avenger in particular was leaving a far greater degree of metallic bodies in his wake than most wouldn't have expected.

Spider-Man had been on a tear, feeling his adrenaline and senses running on all cylinders, becoming almost untouchable as his Spider-Sense was taking in every threat, movement and detail around him.

And it wasn't just his sixth sense that was putting the work in for the Avenger.

Spider-leg-like tendrils popped out of Peter's back. He charged forward with an unleashed flurry of strikes upon his foes like they were extra punches. After they ceased, the symbiote dug into the earth before launching the arachnid-themed hero like a rocket. He twirled about with the tendrils acting like a drill to clear a path for him and many others right behind him.

Landing back on the ground, Peter whipped his arm about, having a large tendril mass encompass his limb to bat away a hulkish-looking foe. From there it stretched out to slam down hard onto the earth where a litany of organic spikes that protruded from every other spot all before it receded back.

"Whoa~ Simby, have you been holding out on me?" Spider-Man excitedly said, feeling his symbiote shifting about his body. "I knew you could move on your own and all but this is an upgrade."

There was a "nudge" in the back of his head, a sense that Simby felt it was time to step up.

"Look at 'em." Peter wiped a metaphorical tear from his eye when "hearing" this. "They grow up so fast."

"Where did that come from?" Black Widow's voice abruptly came in next to him and she, along with Clint, were looking at Peter in bewilderment.

"You could call it Simby's growth." Peter proudly said, patting the white spider symbol on his chest. "Looks like he's been waiting for his chance to pull off some new moves."

"Just be sure none of those harm our allies." Barton warned.

Clint and Nat saw the suit spike up making Peter snort. "Simby took offense to that. Don't worry. Simby won't do friendly fire."

Spider-Man then crouched, hand on the ground, Simby shifting about before helping his host launch up into the sky.

More tendrils popped out. Not just from his back, but all over.

Going by instinct, Peter threw his arm forward and the tendrils all coalesced around the arm, sending out a pillar of them that smashed into a cluster of Ultron drones, pulling Spidey down for an impactful landing.

"Now that was Simby-bomb-astic."

"Boo." Ahsoka Tano called out, having seen her boyfriend land not too far from her.

"You're jealous, it's alright. Hard to top the quip-meister." Peter haughtily stated, his arms crossed with his head turned upward, Simby sending out tendrils to take out any stragglers or would-be attackers. "You appreciate me, right Simby?"

The Symbiote conjured another tentacle with Peter high-fiving the slime.

Ahsoka shook her head at her boyfriend's antics when she frowned.

Not far from her, within her line of sight, she saw her master dueling against a converted Admiral Yularen. Seeing him in such a state broke her heart but she needed to remain focused on the task at hand.

Captain Rogers, Falcon, Aayla, Widow, Hawkeye, Obi-Wan and Luminara were leading their men in a joint effort to keep the army of Ultron back. Despite the latest boost in morale and combat skill that came from Anakin, they were still outnumbered and soon may be overwhelmed.

She needed to give her men an advantage.

So, as she had been told many times in the past growing up, to look inward and above all else trust in the Force.

Exhaling, Ahsoka recalled all her training, all her experience to find this advantage. She already had an idea of what this leg up would be but this would be the first time she actively tried to access it.

'Please,' Ahsoka mentally said. 'I need this power. For the sake of the galaxy. For those who I love.'

Back on Mortis, the Daughter had been attending to a growing garden when she paused, sensing the use of her power not of her own doing.

She quickly realized just who it was that was trying to gain access to it and she looked to the skies with a smile.

"Yes." The Celestial whispered quietly. "For love and selflessness."

The call was answered and a response was delivered.

In a matter of moments, Ahsoka felt a new rush through her body. One which helped her focus on her innate power, Ahsoka eventually found it and tapped into it.

A white, ethereal glow began to encompass the Togruta, actually surprising the girl for a moment as she took in the surge of power she had just experienced.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt and in that moment, everything around her felt so… small and big at the same time. So close and so far. She sensed everything and everyone in motion around her, their hearts all beating as one together.

Ahsoka felt as if her soul had branched out and connected to every single person that she cared for, none more so than those she loved dearly.

Anakin halted in his fight with the transformed Yularen, sensing something from his Padawan and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the white light radiating from his little sister.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin called out to her, only for the Force to send him a warning to get his lightsaber up that Yularen struck at full power.

"Don't get distracted, General." The former admiral icily stated.

Anakin grits his teeth, using a Force push to get some distance between himself and his former ally. He looked back at Ahsoka, wondering what was happening with her but he saw that she stood strong and he felt it in the Force.

Despite his protective side kicking in, he knew now wasn't the time for that. Whatever it was that Ahsoka was doing, she felt far more powerful in the Force than he had ever experienced. He needed to trust in his Padawan as he had done a thousand times before.

On the same battlefield, Barriss and Peter were by each other's side, fighting together when they felt something odd.

The former felt a shift in the Force whilst the latter had his sixth sense go off in a different manner entirely.

Both turned back to see Ahsoka glowing brightly with that ethereal aura.

'Ahsoka.' They thought together.

For Barriss, she wondered if Ahsoka was tapping into the Oneness. For Peter, he wondered if she was doing something else.

Regardless, they thought she looked heavenly… in a battle warrior-like manner.

"What's happening to the Commander?" Cutup worriedly asked.

"I've seen this before." Thrawn spoke up, eyes glinting with intrigue. "When we first met. It's that power that defied the shackles that should have cut her connection from the Force."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Hevy asked sending a dubious look at the Chiss.

"Both."

"Both?" Many of the 501st all said in unison.

"Good for us," Thrawn airily said. "And for Ultron, it appears he is only invoking further growth and wrath she has for him."

All the clones turned in time to see Ahsoka thrust her hands out. In an instant, rather than a Force Push, pillars of light exploded around her, annihilating the many Ultron drones and sentries that were coming after her.

It was a rather comedic sight afterward to see the bug-eyed expression the Padawan had on her face which morphed into a bashful smile upon hearing the roaring cheers the Clones showered her with, bolstering their moral against their enemy.

Elsewhere…

Several clone batches were confronting one of their many converted brothers.

"You must fight it, 99!"

"We're your brothers!"

More specifically, one who was instrumental to their very beings. One which was far harder for them to swallow.

"You are my brothers," The converted clone 99 said with a calm smile, one that all had seen so many times before. "Which is why I wish to give you the chance now. Come join me. Become more. You don't have to be shackled to the Republic, to your old slave roles. Join the side that will bring about true, lasting peace."

The clones said nothing, pain in their hearts as they raised their blaster rifles at their brother.

99's expression fell into a blank look, raising his hand a second later. A green glow emanated from it, being powered by Kyber crystal lodged into his wrist.

A second later, multiple beams were fired, and rather than impacting the clones it hit, they tore through them. The heat of these beams cauterized the wounds, leaving no blood in their wake as bodies and body parts fell upon the ground.

99 was stopped when a blaster bolt struck him right in the chest.

He staggered for a moment before rubbing the spot where he had been hit with a small frown.

"Now that was just unnecessary." He remarked, a metallic warble in his voice. "Who did-"

99 stopped midsentence as he spotted four clones that stood out from all the others.

Where most of the Clones were decked in the standard white armor with red accents that mirrored their Jedi general Shaak Ti, these clones were all in black with red and white accents and designs.

The clone squadron that was named in his honor.

Clone Force 99.

The namesake Clone bore a wide, friendly grin upon seeing some of his old favorites.

"Boys!" He happily called out to them yet they did not return the gesture.

"Stand back." Hunter coldly ordered, the Bad Batch walking forward. "We'll take care of this."

"Brothers." 99 stepped forward, arms wide open in a welcoming fashion. "You're looking well. Hope you aren't too troubled lately."

He was met with silence despite the intense battle and crack of thunder being heard in the background.

"Aw come on, is that any way to treat your favorite brother?" 99 lightly asked. "Come on, Wrecker. Where's that jovial spirit I love to see?"

Wrecker stared back at the once kindly clone beneath his helmet with a hardened gaze. Yet, if he had his helmet off, one would've been able to see the grief and sorrow in his eyes.

99 saw how they were gazing at him, clutching their weapons tightly and released a sigh.

"Do we really have to do this?" He asked far too casually for their liking. "Brothers, it's me."

"Stop talking." Hunter's blaster rifle whirred with energy. "99 is gone. Only a husk remains."

"That's rude of you to say, Hunter." 99 said in a false-hurt tone.

"Stop speaking through him, Ultron." Wrecker all but growled.

"Brothers, it's still me." 99 said with that old smile he would always give them.

"STOP ACTING LIKE HIM!" The largest of the Bad Batch bellowed.

The converted Clone released a sad sigh, shaking his head.

"And here I thought you all would understand."

"He would never surrender all that easily. We saw what you did to him in the feed." Tech reminded with the changed Clone rolling his eyes.

"I didn't." 99 said with a huff. "But brothers, look at me. Do I seem useless to you now?"

"You never were." Wrecker softly said. "You were the best of us."

"And we're sorry." Crosshairs whispered. "We're sorry that we couldn't save you."

"But we can and will now." Tech somberly said as he and the rest of the Bad Batch got into position. "All by ending you."

There was a beat of silence followed by 99 exhaling in resignation. A moment later, he threw both hands up to fire beams from his hands.

The Bad Batch deftly scattered, avoiding the attack.

Hunter and Crosshairs began firing at their corrupted brother, all the blaster bolts either bouncing off or simply being taken by him with no sign of actual damage.

Tech readied a specially made Droid popper that morphed into a disk.

'Thank you, Miss Romanoff.' The gadgeteer mentally said, flinging the disk at 99.

The mechanized clone saw this coming and moved to swat it away yet it magnetically attached itself to his arm.

There was a surge of electrical discharge that momentarily immobilized 99, the clone releasing a strangled grunt of pain.

"Go Wrecker." Hunter called out, the super-strength trooper rushing in on his leader's command.

"Sorry Omega." Wrecker said under his breath, delivering wicked haymakers to 99, the sound of cracked metal and flesh emanating from each strike.

The disk that kept 99 from moving was blasted off by an energy field 99 called upon. Free from the disk, 99 was quick to block Wrecker's arm, shoving it back to strike at his gut.

There was a breath of air that escaped Wrecker who didn't have time to block the punch sent his way.

Crosshairs immediately raised his rifle, firing at 99's head that snapped back from getting struck.

Wrecker capitalized on the advantage, kicking 99 in the gut and went in for another punch when his hand was caught by his converted brother. The super-strength trooper tried for his other hand but that too was caught, the pair locking into a brief stalemate.

99 grappled with Wrecker. They were evenly matched with strength. Punches were soon delivered left and right. In some sort of judo-like move, 99 threw Wrecker away before using a repulsor blast to send him flying.

Crosshairs was immediately back on the attack, Hunter and Tech moving in for close quarters.

99 met them all with an aggressive "defense" as he quickly began smashing his limbs into the two closest to him.

They both winced in pain yet remained standing, fighting defiantly back.

The Bad Batch's sniper kept providing covering fire until 99 looked directly at him, throwing his hand up to fire a beam that Crosshairs narrowly avoided. It still managed to strike the side of his shoulder, the beam destroying the piece of the armor there.

Hunter then seized the chance to tackle 99 down but was quickly swatted off.

He quickly got back up only to be shoved from the back by Tech.

This actually made 99 raise a brow at such a childish attack when there was a feeling of being off balance. Taking a moment to realize that there was a weight on his back, 99 arched his head back in time to see a cylindrical device that was having it rapidly beeping. He realized what it was and before the converted clone could be able to pry it off-

*KABOOM*

99 was sent flying forward but that was the end of his worries.

The explosion that went off had an additional effect where another series of smaller grenades came from the container of the first. These smaller explosives spread apart other parts of 99's body, making him try to get them off to no avail.

*KABOOM*

*KABOOM*

*KABOOM*

99 crashed down hard upon the ground though he was quick to raise his head up, showing clear signs of pain and rage.

"I think I've allowed this game to go on long enough." 99 darkly stated.

Several parts of his body had compartments flip around them to reveal Kyber crystals. They crackled with energy, gathering up the needed power to pull off what 99 wanted to do.

"Everyone, get ba-!" Hunter shouted but it was too late as the energy was expunged, sending all clones in the vicinity flying back.

The Bad Batch were laid out with their leader leaning his back against a piece of debris.

Several other clones who were nearby weren't so lucky as they were scorched very badly. Mostly due to them getting a bigger force of the impact when 99 turned for a sweeping motion with his Kyber crystal powered unibeam.

"What were you hoping to accomplish, Hunter?" 99 asked casually, holding a more dangerous tone beneath it. "I know you and the boys are likely the best batch in the entire army but did you really think you stood a chance against me?"

Hunter pried his helmet off, finding it difficult to breathe for a moment.

He spat out a glob of blood as 99 drew closer.

"You say you know us. But you don't really know what we're capable of when it comes to our enemies." Hunter hissed out.

99 rolled his eyes, completely uncharacteristic of who he once was.

"Oh please, I know everything about you guys." 99 tapped the side of his head. "Ultron may have changed me but it's all still here. I remember every single mission, every single story you told me. You think I would forget."

"You could have killed us easily." Hunter noted, wincing as he slightly shifted where he was. "If you know us so well, why didn't you?"

99's expression was indiscernible for the genetically altered clone.

"It's still there, you know." 99 patted his chest. "That part of me that holds love for my brothers. I want them to join the side that knows the true path to evolution and peace."

"Through that?" Hunter darkly shot back, giving a nudge of his chin that gestured to 99's body. "Twisted, deformed and completely changed from who you once were?"

"I'm still who I was before Ultron fixed me." 99 plainly said.

"He wants to bring about the death of all life. Extinction." Hunter argued.

"Well, you can't build a new empire without tearing down what has come before now can you?" Was 99's response as though it was obvious.

The Rambo-lookalike held a solemn yet pained gaze at the clone that was once a crippled yet kind-hearted janitor. A clone that despite having a deformity, offered nothing but brotherly love to all clone troopers, especially him and his batch.

To see him like this truly broke Hunter's heart.

He had already steeled himself to do what was needed but… that didn't hold back the pain in his chest at what had to happen.

"I'm sorry, 99." Hunter quietly said. "This is all our fault."

This apology made the converted clone pause for a moment, serving as the opening Hunter needed.

In a lightning-quick move, Hunter pulled out a weapon from behind and went for 99's leg. A vibroblade punctures through it, making the clone grunt aloud in pain.. It didn't stop there as the blade carved right through and sliced through the limb, having the converted clone to wobble in place.

"Best we end this boys." Hunter said aloud.

"Right." Came the responses of the rest of the Bad Batch who were all now running straight at 99.

99 was about to move when he still felt the damage of the vibroblade on his leg. In response, he was about to charge up his Kyber crystals when Tech pulled out his datapad and pressed on the largest button, unleashing a small electrical pulse that momentarily stalled 99's movements.

The Bad Batch barraged their fallen brother with precise punches, kicks, knees and elbows, beginning to show visible signs of damage.

99, while stalled, still fought back viciously, managing to land hits on the Bad Batch that would have incapacitated anyone else.

Yet their adrenaline with the addition of their heightened emotions drove them to fight through whatever pain they endured.

Wrecker was going in for another punch when 99 turned to him and put on an expression of pain and sorrow, making the hulking clone momentarily freeze up.

Yet a second later, rage, anguish and remorse took its place as Wrecker slammed his fist into 99's chest at full power.

Stumbling back, 99 was caught by Hunter, the altered clone looping arms beneath 99's to put him in a master lock.

Before he could try to escape, Crosshairs lunged forward, slapping something on 99's chest with Hunter slamming the converted clone down to the ground hard. A moment later, the Bad Batch member backs away.

99 stood up to speak, only to stop when once again, he felt he was offset by weight that wasn't part of his body.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

It was at this moment 99 learned it was an explosive. He tried to pry it out, but it was magnetized to his body on top of claws that dug into the flesh to keep it secured.

He looked up in time to see the Bad Batch gazing at him, sensing their remorse and grief before the device went off.

*BHZZZZZZZZ*

A powerful EMP bomb went off, overloading 99's systems and having it short-circuit and fry everything inside his body.

Within the digital space, Ultron sensed this and he felt an immediate flare of anger.

Back with the Bad Batch, they had all removed their helmets, gazes glazed over at seeing the state of their fallen brother.

They watched as the charred and scorched body of 99 keeled over, crashing down to the ground, unmoving and lifeless.

"I'm sorry."

The body of 99 says nothing as it lies there motionless with the chest emanating black smoke from the hole created by the EMP bomb.

Now their fallen brother will finally rest.

Hunter was on one knee, helmet off and hand over the chest of 99.

"Rest easy, brother." Hunter softly said.

Despite the intense battle happening all around them, this area was oddly quiet. All the clones stood around the fallen who had once been the man who always lifted their spirits. They knew that they would return to the battle in a moment but… this was something that had to be done.

"How touching."

Hearing the mockery of Ultron's voice coming from one of the fallen drones, a random clone was quick to destroy it.

He was quickly replaced by other drones that went on the offensive.

"I really liked him." Ultron's dark voice emanated from the drones. "I was hoping he'd stay by my side. And you took that away from me."

"We took him back!" Wrecker defiantly roared out.

"No matter, I'll take more with interest as recompense."

As the battle across the galaxy raged on, those at the makeshift command center of the Allied forces were running about, giving out status updates and orders.

It was a controlled pandemonium as they kept up to date on variables, advances, losses, everything that was transpiring during the battle.

Their attack thus far was going off as planned, Ultron's forces appearing to be concentrated on the many fronts of attack. The AI the Avengers utilized stated that there was no movement of Ultron's army attacking or trying to break out of the assault. He was concentrated on those assaulting the planets and foundries under his control.

Yet, while everyone else, from admirals, captains, generals, Jedi Masters and such were going about their responsibilities, one sat in serene silence in the middle of it all.

Grandmaster Yoda sat at the transmission table in the command room, eyes closed, deep in meditation.

He had been this way from the start of the battle, the Force flowing through him to exude an air of calm focus within the command room.

It was only noticed by the Jedi Masters but they made no note of it as now wasn't the time. They simply understood that their Grandmaster was doing his duty to keep the room calm and collected, making sure none lost their composure.

He needed to stick to the plan in order to pull this operation off.

So far, him focusing and gathering as much of the Force as he possibly could for what's to come.

It was then did his eyes snap open, a look of determination on his face.

He felt it.

Everything was now set.

"The signal to those, send it you must." Yoda said to Clone Commander Thire.

"Yes, General." The Clone Trooper instantly pressed down on a button in front of the pair and a message was relayed across the attacking battle groups.

Tony Stark was the first to receive and respond to the message, holding a steely grin.

"Guys." Iron Man said through the comms. "It's showtime."

"Got it/copy that/let's do this." Said multiple people on the comms.

"Strange."

"Way ahead of ya."

The Sorcerers amongst the ranks of the armies quickly conjured portals and in went a select group of people.

Of the Jedi were T'ra Saa, Tholme, Vos, Luminara, Ahsoka, Barriss, Shaak Ti, Maris, Mace Windu and Kit Fisto, all of whom joined Yoda at the command center.

From the Avengers were Vision, Scott, Hope, Peter, Celeste and Mordo.

"Alright then." Tony looked at the assembled group and nodded at them. "Let's bring him down."

It was go time.

The Jedi all quickly seated themselves into meditative positions while Peter and Tony worked on a separate terminal and Vision placed his hands on Scott and Hope's shoulders, the Mind Stone pulsing with light.

On the planet that held one of the foundries Ultron had attacked, it was empty for the most part save for a paltry force of drones and sentries left to patrol and safeguard the factory. It was still viable for use despite the damage that had been done.

The Ultron drones and Sentries were so focused on keeping the foundry secure that they failed to realize there was movement happening on the ground.

It was small, actually unnoticeable at first.

Something small had crawled out from the burrowing beneath the ground. It was a creature with three segments, six legs, a pincer mouth, two antennas, and a device strapped to the middle portion of its body.

It looked around for a moment, its pincers moving about until it looked behind it. A moment later, more creatures burrowed out from the ground, going from hundreds to thousands to literal millions.

Ants.

An army of ants.

Not just ordinary ants, but ants of all kinds Hank, Janet and Scott collected from Earth and the galaxy.

All were strapped with devices that would help capture the brain waves sent from Ant-Man and Wasp amplified by Vision. And they weren't just wielding typical equipment.

No, these ants had something else, something unseen from the naked eye, even in their small stature.

It was intangible to the naked eye but to those who hold a greater power, it could be felt.

The Force was imbued in these ants.

And right now, they also possess the technological means of combating Ultron on their backs.

A moment later, on every planet that had been attacked by the hit-and-run strategy from before, millions of ants descended upon the foundries, entering the facilities and spreading out to all corners of it.

Be it terminals, wires or wherever, the ants began digging into the systems of the genocidal AI.

Once every ant was in place, the message was relayed back to the Command Center.

Iron Man saw all this and held a small grin under his helmet.

"Game over, junior. Everyone, if you would be so kind?"

The Jedi all began letting the Force flow through them like a raging storm.

Scott, Hope and Vision kept up their work in directing the ants while Peter, their AI and Tony finalized their portion of the plan.

"Eat this." Spidey remarked as he sent the command to the ants and the symbol of the Avengers appeared, turning into fire on the screen that soon "flushed away", signifying its deployment.

…

…

…

Ultron sat on his throne in his primary foundry, silently observing the battle from all eyes of his army.

The Avengers were his main focus but that didn't mean he didn't take into-

Ultron flinched.

What in the world was-

Now he jolted.

That was… that felt familiar and-

Ultron jerked in his seat and his head reeled back upon feeling something get cut off.

Such a thing was impossible. He shouldn't be experiencing glitches-

Ultron's digital eyes widened.

He cut off again!

What was… What was happening?!

He was being attacked from everywhere.

Technically he was with the multi-coordinated attack by all the clones, droids, Sith, Jedi, Mandalorians, Avengers, etc.

No, there was something else.

Something digital.

Something more.

Something… through that power… through the Force.

Wait…

Ultron in the digital landscape tried reaching out to grasp onto nodes that connected him to the many foundries that he had across the galaxy. Only to find himself being shut out, burned out, all of it.

How was he being locked out!?

Not just that, but… This was far worse than what he experienced in Sokovia.

His digital matrix(?) was being squeezed from all sides. It felt like hooks were latching onto all sides and aspects of his very being and pulling him apart.

How was this possible?

Simple really… well… more complicated.

At every foundry the Avengers had targeted, the ants that had been planted there came together.

Each ant carried a digital, Force-imbued trojan horse payload with a hint of magic that covered every aspect needed to attack every single aspect of Ultron.

They were being set off nearly simultaneously from all over, making it hard for Ultron to filter and work out. As that happened, it allowed the others to slip through and wreck shop. The foundries that had been hit served as hub stations for this coordinated attack.

It was all coming together.

They targeted those factories specifically due to their location, being centerpieces, surrounded by dozens of other Foundries in neighboring systems. It was spreading like wildfire.

He could see within his digital landscape as one by one, in moments too fast for any ordinary being to perceive, every Foundry Ultron had in his control was shut down and ripped away from him.

"No, NO, NOOO!" Ultron exclaimed at the top of his "lungs", burning with unbridled fury. "NOT AGAIN!"

He quickly returned to the physical world and realized what was happening.

Due to his distraction, and the loss of his foundries, the allied forces had now gained the upper hand.

He was being burned out of all corners of the galaxy.

Back in the Command Center of the Allied assault, Spider-Man pumped his fists, exclaiming a whoop of victory.

"It's working!" He cried out. "We're kicking him out of the system."

"We've got multiple signatures relaying that Ultron's control of hundreds of Foundries being ousted." Commander Thire reported from a terminal.

"Send in the reserves." Shaak Ti ordered, momentarily breaking from the meditative circle of Jedi. "Send them the coordinates of the Foundries and start pulling out all those captured within them."

"Stop now, we cannot."

"Yoda's right. Can't assume he's defeated already." Saa said with serene grace, eyes closed and still meditating.

"We have to destroy every piece of him and make sure there's no chance of a repeat." Tony declared.

"We shall make sure of it." Vision stated.

"We got him cornered." Hope abruptly said, making everyone turn to her.

"You do?" Iron Man spoke up, staring intently at the Wasp. "Where is he?"

"He's rushing back to where he first won against us all," Hope put on a look of grim determination. "Jabiim."

"Then we know our next stop." Tony said. "Cap?"

"I heard." Steve responded on his end. "Avengers, bring it in."

On Jabiim itself, the largest of all Ultron's Foundries stood tall on the sight of his first, proper victory over the galaxy.

He had long since converted the entire planet into one that ran on pure metal power that churned out drones, sentries and the converted to his ever-growing army.

And here sat his "true" body, on a throne with multiple cables and wires connected to the back. He sat and watched as the empire that he had been building for so long began to fall apart.

Every time he tried to counteract and reclaim what he had lost, the mad AI was met with severe whiplash and even the growth of the virus that was eating away at his internal systems. He had started cutting off connection to all the foundries that had already been burned out of his systems and he could see the metaphorical fire coming his way.

He knew that while he could still operate as he did on Sokovia when Vision first shut him out, this was a different experience. This was utterly destroying any and everything connected to him.

Ultron suddenly stopped in his panicked state and stared ahead with an unknowable look in his eyes until the eyes of his physical body began to glow blood red.

"Oh? So you want to come onto my front lawn, eh?" He darkly said to no one. "Fine."

The chair he sat in began to lower itself into the floor with a large door opening up beneath him.

He soon went into the lowest part of his foundry as his body began to get some new additions.

Outside the foundry, on the barren wasteland of Jabiim, half a dozen portals opened up.

The first ones to walk out were the Avengers who had been here when Ultron first announced himself to the galaxy.

Captain America stood in front of a portal with Black Widow and Falcon by his side, the three of them staring ahead at the largest foundry they had ever seen, the sight of which Ultron delivered their crushing loss on this planet.

Quicksilver and War Machine were side by side as were Ant-Man and Wasp with Spider-Man, Daredevil and Black Panther coming out of their own portals next to each other.

Anakin, Obi-Wan, Luminara, Plo Koon, Aayla, Ahsoka and Barriss along with their Clone Captains and Commanders had also arrived, memories flashing through their minds as they set foot on the world Ultron conquered so long ago.

In swarmed the rest of the Avengers with their Jedi allies along with a few hundred clones. More would've come, composed from the Guardians, Mandalorians, the CIS, etc.; but they needed to be focused on the other foundries scattered across the known galaxy.

"Avengers." Captain America said aloud, adjusting the strap on his shield, and tightening it. "Time to end this."

He ran forward at full speed and the Avengers all joined in after him followed by the Jedi and Clones.

Ahead, from every opening area, thousands upon thousands of Ultron drones and sentries began pouring out from the foundry, all heading toward the invading army.

Captain America runs forward, his body coursing with energy and adrenaline.

He bashes an Ultron drone back, going into a spinning kick followed by a sweeping slice of his shield that tore apart any drone that was in his path. The Super soldier kept fighting with all his might, raising his shield up as Thor came down with Mjolnir, slamming the hammer into the vibranium shield that sent out a shockwave that disintegrated their enemies around them.

Celeste fluttered in the air, using portals to conjure vehicles for the Avengers, many such as Widow, Barton, Shuri and all occupying them to rush forward.

Black Widow and Hawkeye were on a speeder bike, Nat steering while her best friend fired arrow after arrow, occasionally using his bow as a blunt weapon to swat any drone or sentry that was within range aside.

Iron Man appeared next to them, firing his repulsor beams before spinning about in the air to be on the other, firing dozens of missiles that obliterated many Ultron drones.

War Machine flew past them, adjusting in the air to screech to a halt upon the ground, multiple compartments popping up from every corner of his armor to unleash the full arsenal of his suit.

Ant-Man and Wasp supported him, using their disks to enlarge a number of his ordnance to add to the destructive effects.

Spider-Man swung by, snagging one of the gigantified missiles courtesy of Simby and swinging it around to throw at a large swath of drones that disintegrated them to dust. Peter didn't have to look to grab the one end of the billy club Matt shot at him and heaved the blind superhero up into the sky.

Daredevil flew upwards before plummeting down. He recalled the one end of his weapon and electrified it. As he fell, he whipped it around wildly, shocking and destroying dozens of drones and sentries on the way down.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, Falcon swooped by, grabbing him at the last possible moment before letting go, allowing Matt to go into a front tumble on the ground that broke his fall.

Falcon zoomed by, his thrusters operating at full speed as his upgraded machine guns fired blaster bolts that shredded through the Ultron army. Getting close to a group of them, Falcon folded his wings around him in a protective cone that smashed into them, spreading his wings out and angling his body to serve as a stepping stone for T'Challa.

The Prince of Wakanda sailed through the air, his suit coursing with collected kinetic energy and landing with his fist striking the ground to unleash the stored-up power. The shockwave disintegrated many around him though he was immediately assailed with more.

That didn't deter the Panther as he was already back on the attack, clawing, kicking and using a Vibranium sphere and his daggers to keep his foes at bay.

Spider-Man swung by, calling out to T'Challa. The Prince jumped into the air with his hand outstretched, Peter clapping it with his own with a modicum of his strength. The power behind that high five was enough kinetic energy for T'Challa to absorb, immediately slapping his hand on the ground to expunge the energy into a violet dome.

Up ahead, Scarlet Witch was using her hex powers in conjunction with her three lightsabers floating around her. The one that was once Darth Zannah's and two that belonged to a pair of fallen Jedi. A purple one plunged through several drones before a blue one whirled around like a buzzsaw to cleave through a volley of enemies in one fell swoop.

A moment later, a silver-blue whirlwind wielding a lightsaber of its own ran around Wanda, tearing apart the foot soldiers of Ultron's army, screeching to a halt in front of his sister.

The twins shared smirks with each other, resuming their attack together.

Vision was flying in the air, using his phasing, solidifying and Mind Stone in rapid use, tearing apart any and all that came his way.

White Tiger had conjured multiple jade tigers twice his size to fight alongside him and Ghost Rider who was fighting with his chain in one hand and his axe in the other.

Luke Cage uses both his fists to repeatedly slam an AAT tank into bent metal rubble, shouting at Jessica a moment later.

Without saying a word, Jones uses her super strength to heft up Cage, spin around to gather up speed and flung him headfirst toward a line of Ultron Sentries, plowing through them before smashing into an AT-TE, the walker collapsing from the impact.

Iron Fist fought alongside Shang Chi, the Ten Rings spinning around the martial artists as the bangles acted as amplifiers to Danny's Chi-based attacks.

Every time one of the circular artifacts flew in front of Rand, he slammed his fist or foot into it, with a golden shockwave coming out on the other end of the ring, decimating whatever was in front of it.

Dr. Strange was utilizing every spell in the book that ripped through Ultron's army, having even summoned an ethereal dragon with Winter Soldier riding atop its head and Celeste Morne flying along with it.

The couple had been fighting side by side since the start of the battle, practically never being apart no more than two or three yards at most.

Celeste used a multiplying spell that had dozens of lightsabers appearing around her that sliced apart countless drones whilst Bucky utilized a plain, highly upgraded rifle that tore apart the metal army. The biggest surprise came when he grabbed an Ultron Sentry by the head with his metallic arm that began to glow.

The drone had many cracked lines that glowed upon its head as Bucky hurled it into a cluster of other drones. Once reaching them, it promptly blew up, taking out those around it.

And for Bucky, it didn't end there.

Rearing his glowing metal arm back, he then threw it forward and it stretched forward, segmenting itself in a similar manner to Mordo's staff. His metal hand reached a single drone in the center of an oncoming wave, getting the same look as the one Bucky had grabbed before it too blew up.

Katy Chen ran with Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda and the Valet working as a pair, using vibranium pulse blasts and dragon-scale enhanced arrows to take out the near-endless army of Ultrons.

Wong and Mordo fought side by side until She-Hulk called out to them.

Together, they clapped their hands against each other, a spell being enacted between them. Once it was ready, both men threw their hands up and out came multiple portals designed for one person, not to step through but to dive through.

She-Hulk was turned into a green missile that went through every portal, her body going right through every drone she flew into, each one shattering into literal pieces and dust until the last one appeared overhead, allowing Jen to end it with an emphatic slam into the ground, causing a crater to form and a shockwave that sent many drones and sentries flying in the air.

Not wishing to be "upstaged", Anakin Skywalker came in to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Ahsoka right beside him. The Master and Padawan pair held lightsabers in both their hands, turning into a dance of blue, green and red, the duo almost being a blur of destruction.

Captain Rex with the best of the 501st (Domino, Jesse, Hardcase, Kix) was right behind their commanding officers, fighting with ever-growing ferocity.

Thrawn kept up with the clones, silently marveling at everything he had already seen.

The Jedi were one thing but seeing the Avengers fighting in all their glory was truly an astonishing sight. He had never seen such a display of power, abilities, skills, all of it.

"NO YOU DON'T."

The Chiss was momentarily distracted, turning his head to see Deliah Blue using the butt of her rifle to smash it into the face of a converted that had pounced onto Captain Rex. The Zeltron looked positively furious as she repeatedly bashed her weapon into the head of the converted being, finishing it off with half a dozen blaster bolts to its body for good measure.

The clones around her all laughed and cheered at her aggressive protectiveness towards Rex, the Clone Captain shaking his head in amusement.

Obi-Wan, Luminara and Barriss led their clones in a unified front, all three Jedi displaying their mastery over Form III.

The trio of Soresu practitioners displayed what could be described as an invincible wall, preventing anything from breaching their defenses and the clones directly behind them.

Aayla Secura had caught up to her lover, wielding her two lightsabers, using a combination style of Ataru, Shii-Cho and sword-based martial arts from Earth that she had been studying such as Kendo.

Plo Koon and Kit Fisto trudged forward, the latter using Form V, lacing his attacks with Electric judgment whilst the latter used the razor edge of Shii-Cho, being an untouchable whirlwind that ripped through Ultron's army.

This went on, the Avengers, Jedi and Clones drawing closer and closer to the foundry until the Force-Users and those who were adjacent to their abilities stopped in their tracks.

Spider-Man halted, feeling his Spider-Sense go off.

"Guys." He warily said aloud.

"We have company." Obi-Wan said, already having an idea as to who was coming.

There was an audible booming sound that echoed from on high. All heads turned to the skies, seeing a bright ball burst out from the top of Ultron's Foundry.

It didn't take long for the glowing ball to reach them and it was easy to guess who it was that was coming down.

Ultron slammed down in front of the Avengers and Jedi, creating a crater and dust kicking up that momentarily obscured their view of him.

"Everyone." Steve spoke up, holding his shield up, a wordless command for them to get ready.

There was movement heard in the dust cloud where Ultron was, hearing him slowly rising, the sound and his unseen form giving a menacing aura to it all. There was a small gust of wind that blew the dust away to at last reveal Ultron.

Before them was a newly upgraded AI, one that conveyed more danger than anyone had expected.

On his chest were the original six Kyber crystals he first placed within his chest piece, the Force-imbued gems pulsing with energy. His body, though metallic in appearance, gave off a similar look to Vision.

Rather than having multiple arms from his prior look, Ultron now had a set of regular arms attached to his body whilst having two additional pairs floating above and beneath them with six tendrils coming out of his back.

What's more, he began floating and six spheres appeared around him, electricity crackling from all parts of his new body.

The Force-Users shifted where they stood, feeling the disturbance in the Force that exuded from the AI.

Those such as the Sorcerers, the Maximoffs, Vision, T'Challa, Shuri and Spider-Man had their own senses go on high alert.

Though he no longer held a facial expression, they could feel the malicious and evil smile exuding from the genocidal AI.

"Hello everyone. Thank you so much for coming in person. I'll accept your unconditional surrender now." Ultron greeted, a sinister tone clear for all to hear.

"Overcompensating much on intimidation?" Iron Man quipped. "You remember the last time you juiced up, right?"

Ultron chuckled darkly, looking over at the armored Avenger, his eyes pulsing red.

"Yes and I remember that I was a split second away from your annihilation."

"A split second was all we needed to stop you." Hawkeye casually commented.

"And now?" Ultron elevated himself further in the sky. "I now realize what you have all been doing. You think that cutting me out will do you all any good? It only hampered my means of backup."

As he spoke, he raised his hands and once again, thousands of Ultron drones were seen coming out of the Foundry and worse, from the skies above.

"But this is exactly what I wanted," Ultron's spheres and Kyber crystals began emanating more light and crackling electricity. "All of you here, against me where I can finally take out all that pain in my shiny metal ass."

"And I'll tell you what I said back in Sokovia." Tony stepped forward. "We're gonna take you down as the old man said," Steve smirked slightly upon hearing this. "Together."

Ultron's army was unleashed upon them all whilst several of the Avengers rushed straight for the AI of the hour.

"Steve." Obi-Wan called out to him before he could charge in. "We need to divide our forces, concentrate on his army while keeping him distracted before more backup arrives. I have sent out the signal to our fleets, they should be arriving soon."

"Avengers, you heard him." Steve said. "Luke, Danny, Jessica, Mordo, Shaun, Katy, Hector, Jessica, Shuri and Robbie, the ten of you back up the troops and take out that army. The rest of us, focus on bringing down Ultron."

The ten selected Avengers obeyed Cap's command, joining Obi-Wan, Luminara, Vos, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and the many Clone legions and corps in taking on the next oncoming wave of Ultron's army.

The rest of the Avengers with Anakin, Ahsoka, Aayla and Barriss moved to engage Ultron directly.

Dr. Strange conjured a spell that summoned several portals for some of the Avengers to jump through.

She-Hulk, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Anakin and Falcon all sailed straight for the AI.

Ultron simply flicked one of his arms up and the six spheres floating behind him spun about, creating a repelling barrier that sent them all flying back.

Iron Man and War Machine flew in with Scarlet Witch and Vision right behind them.

They began firing multiple beams and energy blasts at Ultron who erected a powerful barrier around him that, rather than deflect the attacks, absorbed them until they reached critical mass. Ultron placed his six hands upon the interior of his shield, expunging the stored-up energy with such force that it sent all the Avengers and Jedi flying back.

Quicksilver was among the first to recover, rushing right in with his lightsaber, and jumping up to swing his saber down. Ultron blocked it with his arms and though his expression was unreadable, there was remorse in his posture.

"I never wanted to fight you." Ultron stoically said. "Neither you nor your sister."

"Oh yeah? Tell that to all my scars." Pietro growled back. He was about to attack again when his chest was struck by the palm of Ultron's hand, sending the speedster flying back.

Ultron was then suddenly struck by a powerful thunderbolt, momentarily dispelling the six spheres around him.

He landed on the ground, legs buckling slightly but he remained standing.

The AI released an annoyed and even what sounded like a pained groan, looking up at the sky with his glowing red eyes being so pronounced, that actual wisps radiated from them.

Floating above was Thor, clouds darkened and thunder crashing around him.

"You still dare challenge me, Prince of Asgard?"

"You shall pay for what you've done to these people." The Prince of Asgard declared. "I have had enough of your machinery."

Thor flew forward, spinning Mjolnir at full speed with Ultron flying right back at him. The six spheres flew in front of their owner, all three being grabbed by his six arms and absorbed into them, making each limb glow.

The two combatants collided in midair, a shockwave emitting from their impact before many more followed in their wake as hammer and fists met metallic ones.

This went on until Ultron used his tendrils to grab hold of Thor's wrists for the briefest of moments. Momentarily caught off guard, that was the opportunity Ultron needed to use the Kyber crystals in his chest to unleash a unibeam right in the face of the God.

Thor flailed back though he was quickly replaced by Black Panther pulling off a surprise attack. The Prince Of Wakanda used a glowing Vibranium sphere conjured from his suit to smash Ultron down.

Falcon then swooped in, flipping about and drop-kicked him in the air, Ultron flying back only a yard before She-Hulk was teleported above to bring down a heel kick that sent him hurtling to the ground.

He crashed into the ground yet got back up a second later. There was an audible growl that came from the AI as he saw his enemies before him.

The other Avengers soon charged in and began their combined assault with Ultron fighting with such savagery, he was able to hold them all back.

Hawkeye and Black Widow ran in a circling formation, firing blaster bolts and arrows at him that he semi-defended himself from.

Falcon flew by yet was struck in his gut by one of Ultron's tendrils.

Aayla ran in, going into a corkscrew attack with her two lightsabers, smacking them against his body that bounced off. She was kicked away by the AI, the Twi'lek being caught by her lover.

Celeste used her lightsaber coated with spells whilst Wond utilized the Wand of Watoomb with Strange serving as backup to create portals to overwhelm the AI.

They got several hits in when Ultron summoned back his spheres, firing beams from them that hit the sorcerers.

Iron Man and War Machine came in again, firing their arsenal until Ultron drove them back with another unibeam that caught them both.

Ultron was suddenly immobilized by red energy and started getting struck dozens of times over by Quicksilver. Activating a function in his body, electricity began coursing around Ultron. This served to stop Pietro who, rather than simply getting electrocuted, was actually stopped in a stasis field of electricity that repeatedly shocked him.

"Pietro!" Wanda yelled out, lowering her hands.

That was enough of a chance for Ultron to expunge the needed energy to free himself from her grasp and send Pietro flying away. He then muttered a small apology to himself before firing a beam at Wanda who hastily summoned a shield to protect her.

Her red wall was shattered, surprising her with the power behind his attack and striking the side of her head, making her crown fly off.

Spider-Man then came in, being backed up by Daredevil, Black Panther, Ahsoka, Barriss and Anakin, the six of them attacking in dual or trio attacks.

This was compounded upon by Ant-Man and Wasp delivering small hit-and-run attacks that were barely seen by Ultron.

He was jerking around from all these attacks, followed by powerful bullets striking him courtesy of Bucky from a few yards away.

"ENOUGH!" Ultron bellowed, slamming his fist down to send out another shockwave of energy that sent his current attackers flying back.

"Enough, yes, it is for you." Said an aged voice.

Ultron paused, slowly turning to see Grandmaster Yoda standing before him with half the Jedi Council behind the small, green Jedi.

The AI tilted his head up and grimaced internally, detecting the fleets of the Republic having arrived in the system and were now engaging his own navy.

"So, Grandpa Jedi." Ultron mocked, eyeing the small, green Jedi. "So glad to meet you properly."

"A meeting, long overdue." Yoda's eyes conveyed righteous justice. "To be brought down, you must be."

"And who's gonna do that?" Ultron taunted. "You? Hypocrites? Liars? Hoarders of knowledge and power?"

There was a crack of thunder and the Jedi council was joined by Thor.

He looked particularly angry and it was soon revealed why when he threw down the charred remains of a converted.

"I grow tired of your twisted experiments, Ultron." The Thundered growled, lightning crackling around him.

Ultron shook his head, as if a teacher would to a student he was about to lecture. "Weep not for these people, Thor. They have reached perfection. Soon you may join them."

All he got was igniting Thor's fury. "I will not be one of your puppets, Ultron. You took their will and their strength, but not their soul."

Thor went on the attack, being joined by the Jedi Council who had ignited their lightsabers and charged forward.

Thor raised his hammer overhead and Ultron was about to block or counter it when Yoda and Windu Force pulled him slightly. This was enough of a distraction for Thor to slam Mjolnir atop Ultron's head at full power, crumpling the top entirely.

However, rather than destroying the AI's body, the head miraculously forced itself back to normal. The mouth and eyes glowed red and he fired a Kyber-enhanced laser beam that slammed into Thor's chest.

Ultron then directed the beam at the Jedi council members, all of whom used their lightsabers to try to hold it back yet it wasn't enough, sending them all flying with burnt robes and flesh.

The AI's head was then jerked forward by a Vibranium disk.

Slowly, Ultron turned his head towards Captain America, seeing the man already holding his hand up to catch his signature shield.

Standing beside him were Aayla, Clint, Natasha, Pietro and Wanda.

"Captain Rogers. Did you have something to add? Some great insight?" Ultron asks mockingly.

"Simple. This is the end for you, Ultron." Cap said with a calm voice.

"That's it? Some binal cliche?" The AI snorts. "It's fitting those would be amongst your final words."

"So you've been saying." Clint remarked. "But frankly, can you really pull it off? I mean the last time you tried killing us all, we kicked your ass. How will this be any different?"

"We are already doing it ya know." Natasha said. "You're just delaying your own loss, just like before."

The AI was about to retort when his head jerked to the side from being struck by an object that receded quickly into the hand of Daredevil.

"You talk too much." The blind lawyer stated.

That appeared to bother the AI far more than he expected.

Who was this fleshling to say that to him?

Alright, if that's what these people wanted.

"This has been delightful." Ultron snarked, a dark tone radiating from his voice. "Prepare to be extinguished."

"And he calls us generic." Hawkeye quipped, nothing half a dozen arrows and firing them.

"Villains are hypocrites." Spider-Man commented and the Avengers all converged on Ultron.

The AI was whipping around, attacking from all sides as he was attacked from every angle.

He repelled a number of them until Peter landed a web glob over his face.

Seizing the chance, Steve ran in, jumping shield first at Ultron's head.

Celeste threw her hand out, summoning a magical shield for Bucky who went for the AI's legs.

The two war friends smashed into Ultron from both sides, sending him sideways and then flying back with a flying jump kick, courtesy of Jennifer Walters and to finish it off, War Machine flew down and stomped him into the ground.

"Ah dude, that was some Chrono Trigger cross-tech attack right there." Parker excitedly pointed out.

Ultron exploded back up, the six spheres he had expanded and began firing a literal reign fire of energy blasts that showered down upon the Avengers and Jedi below.

Everyone scattered, blocked or got struck by one of the energy beams or sent flying from an explosion of one.

Thor countered this by summoning a lightning storm of his own and threw his mighty hammer at Ultron at full force.

The AI was ready for the hammer, about to move aside when an unexpected twist occurred.

Mjolnir went through a magical circle conjured up by Stephen Strange. Instead of teleporting elsewhere, the Asgardian weapon suddenly replicated by about a hundred.

This actually made the AI rear his head back, genuinely thrown off by this sudden event.

They went all over the place, clobbering Ultron from all sides, making him jerk about.

He moved to try to escape when he found difficulty in moving.

Scarlet Witch threw her hands up, concentrating intently, conjuring her hex magic that immobilized Ultron.

With a few hand motions of Strange, all of the Mjolnir copies suddenly got attracted to Ultron. They all slammed into him at once, encompassing him in a very tight prison.

The original Mjolnir came back into Thor's hand. Upon thrusting it into the sky, a massive bolt of lightning struck the massive prison and gave out the force of a hydrogen bomb.

Ultron was brought down, a large crater forming from his impact.

And yet…

"How is he still standing?" Widow gritted out frustratedly, seeing the AI walk out yet the damage done to him was evident to see.

Yet at the same time, it appears that his body was repairing itself right before their eyes.

"All the enhancements he has made to himself." Obi-Wan immediately answered. "The usage of the metals of this galaxy coupled with his perversion of Kyber crystals."

"It is likely a new form of a being unseen in the history of this galaxy." Plo Koon noted.

"So we need to bring an added oomph to bring this bastard down permanently." Sam declared.

In hearing all this, Ultron had enough.

He unleashed multiple beams from all around him, landing hits on some of his opponents while others moved to dodge.

Thor blocked some with his hammer so Ultron increased the size of the beam directed at him, striking his entire body.

Those that managed to avoid his attack went on the offensive yet were quickly disposed of.

Spider-Man was caught by metallic tendrils, shocking the teen to hurt both him and the Symbiote before he was flung into Ahsoka and Barriss.

A stray tendril smacked Obi-Wan in the face.

Aayla was grabbed by her throat, the AI about to snap her neck when Steve threw his shield with such power that it sliced through the hand. The Twi'lek was slightly dazed as she fell though Steve immediately caught her.

He heard movement and turned his back to Ultron and hissed in pain at the kick in the back Ultron gave him.

Black Panther was caught by the head and shocked into a hazy state despite his Vibranium suit and would have been killed had it not been for Plo and Quinlan Force pulling him out of Ultron's grasp.

Dr. Strange came up to bat, summoning his portals when Ultron used one of his Kyber crystals to elicit a bright flash that successfully blinded the former surgeon. The AI fired a beam that struck Strange in the chest, knocking him back.

Iron Man then flew forward, firing multiple beams, missiles and lasers that struck Ultron yet did little to stop him.

Just as Tony drew in close, Ultron's floating limbs and tendrils managed to grab hold of him in the air and Ultron then slammed his right arm straight into the chest of the armored Avenger.

"AURGH!" Tony cried aloud in pain, his suit functions going haywire from the damage. His body sagged as Ultron brought him in close, being eye-to-eye with his creator.

"I have had enough of you, Avengers." Ultron spat out the word as though it was the most vile of poisons. "All to you believing you're fighting for a better tomorrow, that you fight for the right cause yet here I stand, the sins of all your arrogance, your blind belief that you shall always persevere. But know this, Avenger. You are nothing to me, Stark. Not anymore. One by one, I'll destroy you. I won't even bother converting you. You won't deserve such a luxury of witnessing my era. I will not stop," Ultron began tightening his hold on Tony's chest. "You know I can't be stopped. And I won't until each and every single one of you-"

Anakin Skywalker's eyes widened, feeling a surge of some kind in the Force as well as a warning.

He saw the way Ultron had Stark by the chest and if he didn't move fast, Tony was going to be killed.

"-Are DEAD!"

Anakin threw his hand out and like before on Kamino, he felt it.

That sensation, that feeling when he reached out to Ultron. And he grabbed onto it as tightly as the Force allowed him to do so.

And it looked like it worked.

Ultron stopped and groaned, one hand going up to his chest.

Not wishing to lose the momentum, Anakin shouted the first name that came to his mind.

"Ahsoka!" He called out to his Padawan and wordlessly, she mirrored her master's posture and emulated what he was doing, feeling the guidance from the Force and through their bond.

Like her master, she reached out towards where he intended. Following the source and grasping onto it, hard.

The AI released an audible gasp, violently jerking back from what he was experiencing.

"Jedi, do what Anakin and Ahsoka are doing!" Obi-Wan yelled out to all Force-Users in the area.

Barriss, Aayla, Luminara, Obi-Wan, Plo Koon, Quinlan Vos, Mace Windu, Grandmaster Yoda, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Kit Fisto, and Saa all held out their hands to Ultron and with the Force, like multiple unseen chains, anchored the being down.

"What is happening?!" Ultron screamed out, unable to move both physically and digitally. There was this pressure, like an anvil pressing down on him to the point that he actually fell on his knees.

With Spider-Man, he saw the chance that they had all been waiting for and reached for his waist. From his belt, a small spider device popped out that Peter threw towards Ultron.

"Scott, Hope!" He called out to them.

The Wasp threw out her hand, firing one of the shrinking disks that hit the device Spidey had thrown. It shrank down to the current size of Ant-Man who landed on it and in midair, adjusted the aim and kicked off it, sending the device flying directly into the eye of Ultron. It entered into his cranial cortex, latching on and began injecting a fresh dose of the virus that had been developed by the eggheads of the Avengers.

"W-We-I-▇-I-ii▃iiii▃ii-" Ultron glitches out. "Y-Y▅u hu▅t m▅. T▅at HURT!"

Pain.

That was all Ultron was experiencing.

Excruciating, unimaginable and unending pain.

It was then that Vision floated down to hover before his creator with a solemn gaze, the Mind Stone glowing brightly.

"Let us see if you can survive this time." Vision said, the palms of his hands glowing yellow as the Mind Stone radiated light. Viz's eyes turned orange and he slammed his hands down upon the sides of Ultron's head.

The machine released an audible gasp as all three means of attacking him turned into one unified front.

He felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out, every system either being burned out, shut down or ripped away from him.

"Wh▃t?! Wha▃'s t▃is?!" Ultron's voice came out in a garbled mess of static and echoes.

"The battle was never just on the physical, but on the digital and spiritual."

"S-SPi-Sp▅it-ual? Do-▅n-On't ▅ake mE L▃u-au-au▃h."

"You did it to yourself." Anakin said aloud, feeling the strain on his body as he and the Jedi kept their hold on the AI strong. "You didn't realize what you did to yourself. All your atrocities against life, against the Force itself. You opened yourself up to it."

"And it will be your downfall." Ahsoka fiercely declared.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it." Iron Man states, holding a grim grin underneath his helmet, watching as all their collective effort is finally about to pay off.

Ultron, all the while, felt everything crashing down around him. His body was spasming violently as all his systems, functions, even his subroutines were targeted and systematically destroyed.

"NO▅O-O▅-O▃O-O-O-▅-!"

There was only one option left.

The last resort.

He must retreat and repair.

In time, they'll all come to him.

Ultron's body jerked for a moment which caused an unexpected whiplash on Vision.

The synthetic Avenger actually flew back and the Jedi, who had been keeping their hold upon Ultron all stumbled or fell back, as if an invisible rope snapped.

There was a moment of tense, almost terrified silence as nobody knew what had just transpired.

Around them, the drones and sentries that the Clones had been fighting in the background abruptly ceased their functioning and began collapsing and falling out of the sky.

Everyone was silent, taking in this sudden turn of events, most at a loss for words.

"Wha-What happened?" Aayla spoke up, breaking the prolonged silence.

"Did we get him?" Walters asked, her eyes on the unmoving body of Ultron.

"Friday. Tap. Karen." Tony called out to the three AI with the Avengers, the three all running diagnostics on the body and any networks that could be a place where Ultron may be hidden.

"He is not here."

There was a pause.

"Meaning he's dead, right?" Scott asked in a hopeful voice.

Steve frowned, turning to his lover and Anakin who was next to him.

"Do you guys sense anything?"

Both shook their heads though their expressions conveyed concentration as they were trying to do so.

"Vision." Hope spoke up, seeing the synthetic being kneel down to examine Ultron momentarily before placing his hand on the AI's head. "He's… he's gone? Is it over?"

He was silent for a few moments, his eyes changed into its orange tint when using the Mind Stone.

After a few moments…

"...Not exactly." Viz regrettably said.

And with that…

"Dammit, he got away!" Pietro exclaimed, slamming his foot repeatedly on the ground.

"Son of a BITCH!" Rhodey exclaimed, beyond frustrated and angry. "How?! We were so close!"

"Failsafe, most likely. A desperate attempt at survival." T'Challa mused with a grim frown. "This was his downfall the last time, no? Likely, even with all that we had against him, he had this in his back pocket in case of everything coming down upon him."

"Karabast…" Skywalker murmured, growling to himself whilst his fists were clenched tightly.

"What do we do now?" Barriss worriedly asked.

"Find the bastard, that's what." Was Clint's answer.

Inside the Venators, nearly everyone was recovering from their recent ordeal. Others were gathering the departed.

But the Avengers with their Jedi comrades were situated in a meeting room with a large holo-table that displayed the galaxy.

"I'm getting readings. It's faint but… it's Ultron." Vision said, Mind Stone radiating with light.

"I'm also sensing something." Ahsoka stated, a slightly disturbed frown on her face. "The Force is around him or is it… acting as a beacon for us but he's moving and he is vulnerable."

"He's still out there." Steve quietly said, leaning on the table.

"And he's fleeing with his tail between his legs." Wanda said, scoffing at his actions.

"Can you get a lock on him?" Anakin asked.

"I'm trying, but it's a little difficult with all the digital noise going on." Tony said. "Vision, Karen and the rest are clearing things out but…"

"Sense him, I do."

Everyone turned to Grandmaster Yoda, the Jedi having an intense look in his eyes.

"Moving he is, far away. Escaping," He tapped his cane on a control panel and a portion of the galaxy zoomed in to the north west section. "Here, he must be."

"Yes, I have him!" Vision said aloud. "He's somewhere in that area. The buoys and sensors are picking up transference, a separate network in use."

"Ultron's."

"The Force, aiding us it is." Yoda stated. "To find Ultron and end his threat to life."

"I sense it too." Luminara muttered and it appeared that the other Jedi shared in this feeling.

"So… what does that mean?" Lang asked on behalf of the Avengers.

"Maybe we can use another combo of all this to get a lock on his location and chase after him." Peter said.

"We burned him out of being able to access the holo-net or any other system he could escape to." Hope said. "That we know of at least."

"Perhaps with the virus you created coupled with Vision's Mind Stone and our use in the Force, Ultron is in a state of delirium." Plo Koon pondered. "He perhaps can't think properly as an AI and is only thinking of escaping in the limited capacity that he can."

"Which is why we must find him and end him." Thor said with authority.

"First, we gotta catch up to him." Murdock reminded.

"Where'd he go off to?" Clint asked, analyzing the section of the galaxy they had zoomed in on.

"The Hyperspace lanes are under heavy surveillance." Kit Fisto, running his finger along the Hydian Way. "We still have multiple fleets that were reassigned to safeguard that plus any branching lanes he may use."

"There's the chance he could be using other lanes, Master Fisto." Ahsoka said, not liking such an idea. "I remember when Ultron attacked Coruscant, Echo pointed out how Ultron utilized hyperspace lanes we didn't know about for his attack. The same could be applied here."

"Not with that attitude." Stark spoke up. "We may have something."

Everyone stopped talking, instead focusing intently on the map of the galaxy. After a second, a red blip appeared, making a beeline to the northwest side of the galaxy.

"How'd you get a lock on him?" Obi-Wan asked in slight astonishment.

"A whole lotta luck and teamwork." Tony admitted, suddenly pointing. "There! He's going west and… and… where in the hell is he going? Where is that?"

"Great." Anakin bristled, the first to realize just where Ultron had run off to. "He went into the damned Unknown regions."

"The Unknown Regions?" The Avengers who were unfamiliar and still new this aspect of the galaxy all said at the same time.

"Yes, it is a part of this galaxy that has remained uncharted and unmapped for thousands upon thousands of years." Mace Windu answered for them all.

"We'd like to go over the history but for obvious reasons." T'ra Saa plainly said, getting nods from everyone.

"So… are we screwed then?" Stephen Strange inquired uncertainly. "You said that you guys have no knowledge of this place."

"Wrong." Thrawn spoke up, his voice sharp and serious, making all turn to him. "To you, it may be unknown. But to me," He approached the map and pulled out a data disc that he quickly slotted into the holo-table. A moment later, the galactic map that appeared to be incomplete suddenly gained a whole series of new systems, locations and hyperspace routes. "I know this region fairly well."

All in attendance, the Jedi in particular were truly astonished by what they had just seen.

"What is it?" Ahsoka questioned, not recognizing any of these systems.

"This is my home, where I originate from." Thrawn answered, a distant gaze in his eyes. "The Chiss Ascendancy."

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The land was barren.

Dead.

Desolate.

Devoid of life.

The perfect environment for this group of Force-Users.

Kneeling on the ground with his hand grazing over the charred earth, Darth Momin released a small hum of satisfaction.

"Yes, this will do perfectly." The resurrected Sith Lord commented, patting the scorched ground several times before gathering a large clump of dirt in his hand with the grains falling between his fingertips. "This is exactly what we need."

Opening his hand, he let the first fall to the ground while inhaling the scorched air around him.

"Do you feel it?" He asked in a low whisper of reverence, holding his hand up to feel the desolate wind between his fingers.

Momin closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation around him.

"Oh~ the death this planet holds. So few places come close to such annihilation."

"It is a blessing Ultron did this for us." Said a disembodied female voice.

Momin turned to the group he had journeyed with to the dead world of Kamino.

Gethzerion stood not too far from the Dark Lord with Barel Ovair walking towards them and the Son off to the side, taking in the now barren wasteland that was Kamino.

The Celestial embodiment of the Dark Side had his arms behind his back, head down casted. He had sensed the death of this planet and felt… conflicted.

This wasn't a new phenomenon in the galaxy, the loss of life on such a planetary scale. The irony is that one would assume that the Sith would be the ones to enact such horrors and while they did on occasion, it was actually the Mandalorians of old that continuously brought species on the verge of or outright extinction. The Force felt it, yes, but it was only when the Dark Side was directly at play that wounds in the Force were made upon the advent of such a loss of life.

Such a strange thing really.

"Lord Bogan." Barel Ovair called out to the Son with respect. "We are ready."

The Son's lip twitched upwards at that moniker. It was one he personally selected, an easier way of referring to him over calling him Son all the time. He is after all the representation of the Dark Side in this galaxy. The ancient name given to the Dark Side of the Force only made sense to the Celestial.

"Bogan" simply nodded, turning to face the three Darksiders, Gethzerion and Momin having finished drawing symbols upon the ground that formed a triangle.

Each angle was a circle having additional runes and symbols with the three Dark-Siders occupying a circle whilst the Son made his way to the center.

And at the center lay a set of pitch-black robes contrasted by the stark, pale white mask with red markings above its eyeholes resting atop the garments.

The robes and mask that radiated the Dark Side grew exponentially stronger once they were set down upon the dead world of Kamino. In the eyes of the Son, the Celestial was able to see through the Force the dark energy being drawn into the robes and mask, strengthening their presence in the Force.

"I am surprised." Momin abruptly spoke up, garnering the attention of his comrades. "What we are about to enact will undoubtedly send waves across the Force."

"If it hasn't already." Ovair remarked.

"Indeed," The artistic Sith Lord mused to himself. "So I am to wonder of the response the Jedi and these Avengers Lord Bogan has spoken of at length shall do."

"Nothing." The Son simply said. "For now at least. Ultron's actions within the Force serves as the perfect cover for us to go about our plans unimpeded. The time will come of course but in that intermedium, we shall gather the darkness in the shadows. And when our time comes, they would never see it coming."

After hearing that, without being prompted to do so, Momin and Gethzerion raised their hands at the same time.

The former called upon the gate he had made that brought him back, a green shroud puffing up from the ground before dispersing to reveal his creation.

Gethzerion held her palm out, flicking it upwards.

Two strands of green vapor erupted from the ground in a conjoining twirl to reveal a large, muscular man with multiple tattoos and eyes as blank as a fog on a cold night. He held no emotion or even a hint of a personality.

He was a being whose identity and mind had all been ripped away by the gathered practitioners of the Dark Side.

Gethzerion utilized her knowledge of Nightsister magic whilst Momin used a number of Dark Side rituals to imbue and empower this empty being.

The Nightsister made sure that the body would be strengthened and hardened to be able to sustain a great deal of strain and endure power few could even fathom. Momin contributed to this as well, tethering his life and purpose only in the service of the Dark.

A perfect vessel.

The Son eyed the empty being with a narrowed gaze.

Wordlessly, he held up his hands and concentrated.

After a moment of build-up, cosmic energy was produced, two glowing red spheres floating above the palms of his hands. Slowly, The Son began flexing his fingers inward and the two spheres began to shrink substantially until they were tiny pebbles that were now held in between Lord Bogan's thumbs and index fingers.

He held up his hand that was closest to the empty vessel and a second later, the small ingot burst into dust, entering the being's body.

It displayed a brief moment of registering the intake of cosmic energy that was infusing itself into its body, a second where all the veins in the body glowed, subsiding once the power settled into the vessel.

"He is ready." The Son said.

Slowly, the avatar of the Dark Side began rising up into the sky while Ovair, Momin and Gethzerion all closed their eyes and began chanting.

It was an archaic, ancient Sith language that had been passed down verbally through the many millennia of the galaxy.

There was a hollow, hissing and echoing way in which the language came out of the three chanting it. As if a cylinder was placed in front of their mouths and echoed all around them.

Up above, the Son was murmuring a language of his own that none would recognize unless you were a child of the cosmos itself.

Particles of matter floated around him before they morphed into red lightning that coursed its way from his shoulders down to his fingertips. He slowly raised his hands, the lightning dancing around his arms arching down and striking the vessel first followed by the robes and mask.

The chanting from the three Darksiders increased in volume and speed, a black haze of dust tinged with red lightning beginning to circle around them.

There was no movement from the center of the trigram other than the lightning cascading down from the Son.

That was until the mask jolted.

It moved about slightly.

Then the robes shifted about.

Slowly, the mask began to rise up into the air, the robes attached to it.

The Son adjusted his hands, creating a circular barrier around the mask, robes and empty vessel. Small arches of lightning continued striking the robes and mask with the black dust also seeping in.

The holes where the eyes would be on the mask had a flash of red as it was now at eye level with the empty being.

If one were able to strain their hearing, one could pick up on a hollow, windy sound emanating from the mask and robes.

Wordlessly, the lifeless humanoid had raised its hands and placed them upon the masks and robes.

An explosion of black dust erupted from this physical contact. The Sith and Darksiders were blinded for a moment when all the dust began to be drawn into a single location.

The dark mast swirled around for a few moments until it subsided, settling upon the shoulders of a new entity that stood in the center of the trigram.

Momin's eyes were wide, as were Gethzerions and Ovairs.

The Son lowered himself down to stand in front of this new being with an unreadable expression.

There was no movement from this entity… until it drew a sharp and long breath.

They can sense his confusion. Curiosity floods him while his hunger momentarily takes a backseat.

"ฬђคՇ… เร…?" The head turns. "ฬђєгє ค๓ เ? ฬђ๏… คгє ץ๏ย?"

There was a raspy echo in beings voice. Though they understood the words that came from the robes and mask, what they heard was anything but human or even a hint of a language they understood. It sounded like Sith but… it also sounded like something else entirely.

Something eldritch and unworldly.

"I…" The Son raised his arms. "Am the benefactor to all who see in the Dark."

The being said nothing at first, instead opting to look at the others in the vicinity followed by his hand.

"Breath the air of life once again, Darth Nihilus." The Son said grandly. "Lord of Hunger."

A crack of lightning boomed overhead, the illumination of the light casting a terrifying visage of the now-revived Ancient Dark Lord of the Sith.

AN

WE'RE DONE.

WE'RE FUCKING DONE PEOPLE!

SEASON 3 IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

AND WE LEAVE IT ON A DOUBLE DOSE OF CLIFFHANGERS BECAUSE WE ARE AWFUL LIKE THAT, GURARARARARARA!

After a long and arduous journey, Season 3 of Infinite Wars has come to a close and all I can say is… wow. We really fucking made it folks. Season 4 is coming but let's just take a moment to bask in this moment.

First of all, quick rundown of things.

This story would NOT have gotten to the milestone that we are at right now had it not been for my two buds Jebest and BulletStormX. It was BulletStormX who helped in realizing that this story needed a reboot and an overhaul and it was Jebest that compounded upon what Bullet and I started and with the three of us, we made it to this point. This was once a one man show with assistance from J and B until it properly became a three-man gang. This is not possible without Jebest4781 and BulletStormX so in the reviews, please do not forget to include them.

Asajj being Quill's sister, that was Jeb. The use of the Sith Lords, ALL Bullet. And now, we're REALLY getting to the good stuff next season.

Second. While we would like to mention things about the MCU and Star Wars, that would take up to much time. So we'll just say that for every high, there's a low. Season 2 Loki finale, wow. The Marvels and Ahsoka… what were they even thinking?

But that's not why we are here.

Let's keep it positive. And what's more positive than thanking every one of you readers. You have all been part of this journey for literal years now and I, Jeb and Bullet, we cannot thank you enough for all the support, all the praise, all the suggestions, interactions, voting, criticisms, all of it.

We know this is an obligation, something we do for fun but to see how much people enjoy our work is a damn good feeling.

One of the best in the world.

God, so much that I wanna say but if I do, I'd ramble out another 3000 words.

So…

Just thank you guys so much for being here for this long, for a hundred chapters and here's to hoping you guys stick with us for a hundred more.

Hey, next chapter is a slightly simple one. It's not season 4 but simple and understandable.

If you guys have questions and all, please, think of it like a Q and A or an SBS like Oda-Sensei does for One Piece. You can ask questions about the story, character stuff. While not spoilers, can give hints or imply or leave you guys guessing for what else is to come. Or just some fun interactions.

Don't forget, new poll up on my profile to pick your top 5 favorite Infinite Wars arcs.

Go read Mandalorian Effect right now.

And like so many times before.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.