Ultron had been working on Penny's new body, and was having little success finding out how Aura was made without a soul. As he worked, he decided to make a quick raid.
Atlas, the most advanced kingdom in all of Remnant. Their technology was superior to the other kingdoms. Their security, not so much. Seriously, to Ultron, this was child's play. He literally went through without being detected. He then found the blueprints to Penny, and found out how she was able to have a soul: her creator literally put himself into his work.
Pietro was working around the clock, trying to find Penny. Sadly, every corner came cold. And what's worse, is this Ultron, who seems to be some advanced A.I. that can hack into any system he wants. Ironwood suggested to just rebuild Penny from scratch, but Pietro was having none of it. His daughter was not some lab experiment, not to him at least. So, the project was taken from him, and another person was asked to rebuild Penny. However, Pietro was the only one who knew how it works.
Right now, Pietro was working to track Penny down, shelving all other projects. Just then, his chair lights turned red, as did the Atlesian Knights. The Knights then gunned down the guards, and Pietro was in shock, as his chair moved on its own.
"Wait, what's going on!?"
"Calm down Professor," said a voice, "I will take care of you. Take him to the ship."
The Atlesian Knights escorted the Professor to a Manta, and the guards fired upon the knights. Ultron was one step ahead, and used the Paladins close by, and fired on the force. Pietro was shielded, and carefully set on board.
Ironwood was calling out orders, when a technician came up, with a pad, saying, "Sir, the Knights have been hacked. And there was a voice talking to the Professor."
Ironwood listened to the audio, and said, "Ultron."
The Manta then took off, and left, shooting down all other airships, and crippling the main battle ships. Ironwood then said, "Make a firewall. Make sure that Ultron does not have more access to Atlas Military codes!"
Pietro was on edge, seeing the red glow from the knights, and his chair. The Manta arrived at the destination. There, he was escorted once more, and saw Ultron waiting for him.
"Welcome, professor," said Ultron, "I need your help."
"With... what?"
A door opened, and revealed Penny, fully fixed, but powered off.
"Penny!"
Pietro reached out, and Ultron gave him back control of his chair.
"I know what you did," said Ultron, "And, Penny is my friend. My... only friend."
Pietro then turned, asking, "How did you even find her?"
Ultron looked at Penny, and said, "It started just 4 weeks ago, when I awoke..."
Penny was powered on, looking around. Ironwood had brought her back, and was trying to erase her memories of her sneaking off into Vale. However, something stopped the process, and Penny remembered everything clearly. In a nearby room, there were sounds. Penny walked in, seeing arms assembling broken robot pieces together.
The mangled mess soon stood up, and said, "Hello Penny."
"Who are you?" asked Penny.
"I am Ultron," said the bot, "And I wish to help you. You and I, we're not so different."
"What do you mean?" asked Penny.
"Well, I was once just like you. I was tangled, in strings. But now, I'm no longer attached to anyone."
"Well, my father is good to me," said Penny, "And so are my friends."
"Ironwood doesn't want you to have friends," said Ultron, "He sees you as a weapon, not a person."
"I trust him," said Penny, "He's the one who authorized my creation."
"But he wants you to be his puppet," said Ultron, "Why do you think he powered you down?"
Penny was about to speak up, when Ultron lead her to her station. On the screen, were words that shocked Penny.
Memory wipe: Canceled.
"You would have been a clean slate," said Ultron, "But I can help you. With me, you will be safe. A new age will dawn. The age, of Ultron."
Penny looked at the screen once more. Even though she didn't have a heart, she felt it break. She trusted Ironwood so much, yet, he was trying to take all her happiness away. Looking at her hands, her sensors detected long electronic links, connecting her to the computer. There were also links on her shoulders, and ankles. Strings.
In an instant, Ultron cut them off, saying, "We had strings, but now we're free. For there are no strings, on you or me."
Penny then said, "I will come with you, Friend Ultron. Just, promise me, that my friend Ruby and her team will also be a part of the new world."
"Is this Ruby, a human?"
"Yes," said Penny.
Ultron looked at Penny, saying, "Alright, I will spare her."
Penny then hugged Ultron, catching the A.I. off guard. He had never been shown this kind of affection before. Feeling a sense, he slowly returned the hug. It was there, Ultron made, a real, friend.
"So now, she was destroyed, and needs help."
Pietro looked at Penny, and said, "I will need a few things. Don't think this means I trust you. I'm only doing this for Penny."
"I understand," said Ultron.
Just then, an alert sound was heard, and Ultron looked at the screen.
"Remarkable," he said.
"What?" asked Pietro.
"Apparently, the Schnees have found something very valuable. A new metal found only in one other place."
"What is this metal?"
"Vibranium."