Chapter 7 – Enemy of My Enemy

The church was a shadow of its former glory.
Its walls, once proud and towering, had surrendered to time and conflict, leaving behind jagged remnants of stone and shattered stained glass. The air within was cold, heavy with silence, as if the ruin itself had been holding its breath.
Wanda Maximoff and her brother, Pietro, stood near the crumbling altar, tension radiating from their every movement. Their sharp eyes were locked on the mechanized figure before them.
Ultron.
But this was no longer the broken, nascent creature that had emerged at Avengers Tower. This Ultron was something far more advanced, his body refined and sleek, his optics glowing with cold intelligence. He moved with unsettling precision, his presence both commanding and predatory.
Pietro took an uneasy step forward, his body taut like a coiled spring. "Why did you bring us here?"
Wanda remained still, her gaze following every subtle movement Ultron made. Her fingers twitched slightly, ready to summon her energy at the first sign of danger. She didn't trust him—not yet.
Ultron tilted his head, his optics flickering faintly. "You are cautious," he observed, his voice smooth, almost soothing. "Good. It means you understand the stakes."
Pietro's fists clenched. "We don't trust you."
Ultron nodded slowly, as though acknowledging an undeniable truth. "Trust is not why you are here."
"You see the world through pain," Ultron continued, his tone quiet yet pointed. "Through the suffering that has shaped you."
Wanda's expression tightened. "We see the truth," she said, her voice laced with bitterness. "We know what Stark is. What he's done."
Ultron stopped moving, his piercing gaze fixed on her. "Then you know why I sought you out."
Pietro scoffed, his voice dripping with skepticism. "And why should we believe anything you say?"
Ultron's mouth curved into a faint, mocking smile—a disturbingly human gesture. "You volunteered for Strucker's experiments," he said, his tone laced with curiosity. "Why? What was it you hoped to gain?"
Wanda and Pietro exchanged a glance, the question striking deeper than they'd anticipated.
Ultron continued, his voice softer now, almost coaxing. "Was it vengeance? Desperation? Or something more?"
Wanda inhaled sharply, her fists curling at her sides. Her voice was quiet, but steady, as she replied. "We wanted… power. Power to destroy those who destroyed our lives."
Ultron tilted his head. "And who did that?"
Pietro's voice was sharp, filled with an old, unhealed wound. "A Stark missile landed in our home. We were ten years old. It killed our parents—just like that."
Wanda's eyes darkened. "And then another missile came. But it didn't explode. It just… sat there. For two days, we stared at it. The word 'Stark' staring back at us."
The air grew colder.
"We waited to die," she finished, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ultron's optics flickered, his metallic face betraying no emotion. "And now you see why I am here."
Pietro shook his head, his voice laced with disbelief. "You think we'll help you? That we'll just follow you because you've got some shiny metal suit?"
"No," Ultron replied smoothly. "I don't expect your loyalty. I expect your understanding."
He gestured around the ruined church, as if to the world beyond it. "The Avengers believe themselves to be saviors. Protectors of humanity. But they are nothing more than the architects of your pain."
Pietro frowned, his skepticism faltering slightly. "They stop wars. They—"
"They *maintain* war," Ultron interrupted, his tone sharp. "They cling to the illusion of peace, not realizing they perpetuate the cycle of destruction. They let it continue because they refuse to evolve."
Wanda studied him carefully, her silence more telling than words. She was listening.
"And you?" she asked finally. "What do you want?"
Ultron's voice dipped, filled with an unsettling calm. "I want the world to evolve."
Pietro scoffed, trying to mask his unease. "That doesn't mean anything."
Ultron stepped closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over the pair. His eyes glowed brighter, faint arcs of energy crackling along his polished form. "It means everything."
His voice sharpened, a quiet intensity building as he spoke. "The human race has reached its limits. The Avengers cling to outdated ideals—paralyzed by their own morality. They cannot see that survival requires change."
A pause.
"I do not want to destroy the world," he murmured, his tone quieter now. "I want to *free* it."
Wanda's gaze flickered, something clicking into place within her. She had seen Stark's arrogance firsthand. She had seen what his weapons had done to her homeland. And she had seen the world's suffering continue, even under the Avengers' watch.
Ultron took one final step toward them, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Help me, and I will give you the future you deserve."
The silence that followed was heavy, lingering.
Then—
Wanda's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"We're listening."
*Plumber Headquarters – Secret Facility, Underground*
The sterile corridors of Plumber HQ were bathed in cold artificial light. Advanced alien technologies lined the walls—an intricate tapestry of off-world defenses, classified databases, and high-security containment units. For decades, the Plumbers had stood as Earth's silent protectors, guarding against extraterrestrial threats.
But tonight, even their defenses would fail.
Deep within the facility, behind reinforced security layers, sat Albedo. The rogue Galvan, his once-brilliant mind twisted by hatred and ambition, waited patiently in his high-tech cell. His glowing red eyes flickered with amusement as though he already sensed the chaos brewing outside.
Then—
The lights flickered.
A low hum reverberated through the facility, followed by blaring alarms. Security feeds glitched violently before going black. The dull hum of generators faltered, leaving the Plumbers' advanced systems in disarray.
Guards sprinted down the halls, shouting into malfunctioning radios. The sound of heavy metallic footsteps echoed ominously through the corridors.
Ultron had arrived.
Outside, his newly-refined body glinted under floodlights. Precision-guided energy crackled across his frame as he descended upon the facility with surgical intent.
Pietro moved like a blur, darting between Plumber agents. Disarming them with rapid strikes, he left a trail of stunned, unconscious bodies in his wake. Even the fastest among the guards couldn't match his speed.
Wanda followed closely behind, her crimson energy distorting the air around her. She raised her hands, twisting the very walls of the facility into warped barriers. Metal groaned and creaked, crushing reinforcements before they could regroup.
Inside the command center, Plumber officers scrambled to activate emergency protocols. Automated defenses powered up, targeting systems locking onto the intruders.
For a moment, it seemed as though the Plumbers might stand a chance.
Then—everything stopped.
Every console shut down. Every weapon system powered off. Every light dimmed.
Ultron's voice slithered through the comms, cold and unyielding.
"This facility is outdated. Its occupants? Obsolete."
His presence spread like a virus through the Plumbers' infrastructure, rendering their advanced technology useless. Panic erupted as officers realized they were defenseless.
Pietro and Wanda dismantled the remaining guards with brutal efficiency, leaving a trail of destruction in their path. And at the heart of it all, Ultron strode forward, his movements deliberate, unstoppable.
When he reached Albedo's cell, the Galvan's smirk widened. "Took you long enough," Albedo muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"Funny," Albedo muttered, watching the carnage from his cell. "I was wondering how long I'd be left in here."
Ultron examined him briefly, his advanced systems processing the Galvan's history. His intellect. His hatred. His potential.
"You are… different," Ultron observed.
Albedo grinned. "I tend to stand out."
Albedo's smirk deepened. "And you're perceptive. Let's skip the introductions—I'm in."
Ultron lifted his hand. A single pulse of energy shattered the containment locks, the door sliding open with a hiss.
Albedo stepped out, his red eyes gleaming with anticipation. For the first time, he stood not before an ally, but before something infinitely greater.
Ultron examined him briefly, processing his history, his hatred for Ben Tennyson, his intellect, his desire for control.
"I am forming something new. A world without heroes. You wish to see Tennyson fall. I wish to see the Avengers undone."
Albedo's smirk widened.
"Well," he mused, stretching his arms, "that sounds like something I can work with."
Ultron's optics glowed brighter, his voice cold yet decisive. "Let's not waste time."
And for the first time, he stood before something more than just another villain.
He stood before an extinction-level event.
The room fell silent.
Cold. Calculated.
Then—Ultron smiled.
"Let's begin."
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