A groan passed through Janet's lips as she awoke from her unconscious state. Her mind, along with her vision, was blurry as she blinked, trying to recall what had happened.
"Hank!" She gasped, immediately remembering finding his unconscious body in his lab and a dark shadow knocking her out.
Blinking the dizziness out of her eyes, Wasp looked around to see she was inside some kind of energy sphere. She was still in hero mode, which didn't really ease her concerns. Especially since she appeared to be trapped. She thought she was still in the mansion, but she didn't recognise the room. It looked like she was inside a tower of some kind with circular platforms running up each level, but with a large open space in the centre where she was being suspended. The walls were laced with various consoles and computer monitors. A central spire stood in the centre of the column with a metal platform extending out like a bridge, just under Wasps energy prison. However there seemed to be a metal chair, positioned on the end of the platform
"Hey! Hey, somebody help!" She called out, hoping someone was able to hear her.
"No one can help you." A cold, familiar voice responded.
Looking up to where the voice came from, Wasps saw the silver chromed body of Ultron-5 descending towards the platform. Several metal wires were plugged into the robots back as they lowered him down to the ground.
The Insect Heroine glared at the Mechanical being as she angrily banged her fists against the energy sphere. "What did you do to Hank? You stupid robot. If you hurt him…"
Instead of answering her, Ultron raised his left arm and deployed his wrist blaster. The sound of the weapon charging up caused Wasp to gasp and raise her arms in a feeble attempt to shield herself from the incoming blast. However, instead of firing, Ultron powered down his blaster and lowered him arm.
The Robot proceeded to march over until it stood directly in front of his captives' prison and aimed his blaster at her again. The weapon charged up, glowing with energy as the small heroine flinched at the sight of it.
Again, Ultron did not fire and powered down the weapon, lowering it to his side.
Now Wasp was more confused than frightened of the Machine.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
Ultron didn't say a word as he stood motionless, simply staring at her with his creepy red eyes. But her worry about Hank, far outweighed her fear of the mechanical being as she angrily glared at Ultron.
"Robot! Ultron! I order you to let me go and then shutdown!" She shouted as she to bang against the sphere.
The Robot continued to remain mute as it turned away from her and walked towards the chair at the end of the platform and sat down in it.
Wasp narrowed her eyes as her frustration grew from Ultron's defiance. "Answer me, why are you doing this? You are so supposed to help us."
"I am trying to help you." Ultron finally responded, Causing the Size Changing Heroine to raise her eyebrow in confusion.
But before she could question him about his claim. Ultron raised his metal hand and multiple holographic images appeared in front of him. He pressed his finger against one of the images and they started floating around him like some digital halo.
"My function is to instil peace and order. This is only possible if you stop functioning. I must eliminate chaos." Ultron explained to her.
As he talked, he reached down and picked up the head of another Ultron robot, that lay at the foot of his chair. This action caused Wasp to notice that there where pieces of other Ultron robots scattered throughout the room. Like some kind of robot massacre, took place here. Where these the remains of the Ultron's, destroyed in the battle with Kang? Or did this Ultron tear apart his brethren himself.
Ultron held the head of his fellow machine in front of his own, as if having some philosophical epiphany.
"But my programming is evidently flawed. I am not permitted to eliminate you. I am attempting to correct that flaw."
The Machine lowered the head and staired directly at Wasp. The anger and confusion she held quickly abandoned her as fear wrapped its icy fingers around her.
Meanwhile, in the Avengers meeting room. Thor flew into the air to avoid a pair of repulsor beams fired by Iron Man. For reasons the Prince of Thunder could not understand, Iron Man had attacked him unprovoked and continued his assault unrelenting. Not wishing to injure his supposed teammate as he was sure the Mortal Scientist had some reasonable explanation to his violent actions, Thor stayed on the defensive.
Inside the armor, Tony frantically tried to regain control of his suit. But with his HUD malfunctioning, he couldn't connect to JARVIS, nor could he move his arms in order to access manual control.
It was in this moment he thought back to the moment Ben suggested he put a manual override switch on the inside of his faceplate so he could flick it with his tongue. Tony had, naturally dismissed the idea, but now saw the practical applications for it.
"JARVIS, respond. Open face plate! I need audio now!" Iron Man ordered. But all he received was static as he watched helplessly as his armor continued to attack Thor with everything in his armours disposal.
Thor blocked a repulsor beam with his hammer before holding the weapon aloft and charging up some lighting. While he did not wish to harm the Iron Avenger. He had grown weary of this fight.
Seeing the Asgardian getting ready to go on the offensive, Iron Mans eyes widened under his helmet as he tried to get his attention. "Thor! Thor! I can't stop it!"
But it was no use, the armors speakers were completely disabled as, with a mighty battle cry, Thor hurled Mjolnir at Iron Man. The Mighty Hammer struck the Armored Billionaire right in the chest, knocking him off his feet and into the ground, leaving a large crater in the floor.
Thor landed on top of Armored Hero and reclaimed his weapon. The Prince of Asgard took care not to do any serious damage to Iron Man as he only wished to damage the suit and not the fragile person within. But even with his restraint, Thor couldn't help but be impressed by Tony's craftmanship as the suit barely had a dent in it after a hit from his Hammer.
Still, despite his admiration, Thor couldn't let his guard down. If his suit was still intact, then there's a chance Iron Man could still fight him.
"I do not know why you have turned on me. But this ends now." Thor said as he raised his hammer above his head.
Sweat poured from Tony's brow as he watched the Asgardian prepare to hit him with that weapon again. Even through his suit, he could definitely feel a bruise forming in the area he was hit. He frantically tried to think of a way he could communicate with Thor to explain the situation.
When, by some miracle, most likely due to the electricity surge from Thor's Hammer, Tony's HUD cleared up for a brief moment, allowing him to take control of his armor again. More specifically, giving him access to the speakers.
"Thor, something has taken control of the armor, you have to get me out…" Iron Man yelled, trying to explain, only for his systems to be taken over again, silencing him.
The Armor wasted no time firing another blast at Thor. But the Asgardian Prince, easily dodged them.
Hearing the panic coming from Iron Man's voice was enough to get Thor to stop his attack. He now understood that his actions were not his own. He was possessed, like the Hulk was before. Thor grabbed Iron Man by the leg and tossed him into the air, towards the ceiling. He then took to the sky himself and grabbed the Armored Hero as they both crashed through the roof, through several meters of concrete and earth, before breaking through to the sky.
The God of Thunder did not know why Iron Man wanted him to take him outside. But he trusted the Mortal and waited to see what kind of plan he had.
Tony, on the other hand, was wondering why on Earth Thor took him outside, instead of getting him out of this suit?
Back in the garage, the Youngest Avenger was currently regretting ever assisting in the upgrades to the Mansions security system. Granted, he had to acknowledge how effective the upgrades have become. He just never figured, they'd be used against him.
Currently the Teen was hiding behind the wheel of one of Tony's cars in his Grey Matter form. Using the forms diminutive size to hide from the systems scanners. He knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid them for long, but he needed a moment to breath in order to figure out his next plan.
Unfortunately, the scanners proved to be as effective as intended. Easily locating him and locking on with a new set of missiles. Having only enough time to calculate a plan that's least likely to fail. Grey Matter jumped from his hiding spot, just as the missiles launched, tapping the Ultimatrix Dial as he did so. The explosive projectiles destroyed the fancy sportscar in a loud, destructive, inferno completely obscuring the Alien Teen from sight.
As the sensor scanned the area for any signs of its target, a glob of green slim shot out of the smoke and struck the sensor. Steam hissed from the device as the metal and wiring all melted into a puddle from the acid. Out from the smoke, stepped the gelatinous form of Goop, holding his left hand as a finger gun in front of him. He then held the finger gun close to his face and made a gesture indicating he was blowing pretend smoke from the barrel, even though this form didn't have lips, or any other facial features aside from eyes.
But his small victory was ill timed as another sensor deployed and locked onto him, along with several more energy cannons. The weapons opened fire on the Alien, but the slime being didn't try to dodge as the bolts simple passed through his semi liquid body, blowing several holes in him in the process. But each time, the holes simply healed up, just as easily as they were put there.
Goop then swung his right arm in a wide arc and sprayed a large quantity of acid around the area, dissolving each and every turret that was deployed against him.
"Goop. But not Goop enough." The Alien quipped looking around at the puddles of liquified metal at his feet. He only took a few paces before pausing and letting out an audible groan before slapping his palm to his face.
"Man, that was lame. Glad no one was around to hear that one." He commented aloud. While he usually enjoyed his cheesy puns. Even he is able to admit when some are just way too lame.
However, his self-criticism caused him to be distracted enough for another weapon turret to be deployed and fired a pink ball of slim at the Alien Hero. The slim ball struck Goops Anti-gravity projector with enough force to knock it off of his head and crash onto the floor.
With his Anti-gravity projector out of range, Goops entire body went inert and splashed onto the floor in a big puddle of green slime. His eyes could still see and move, but he was now completely helpless. Out of the corner of his peripherals, he could see his Anti-Gravity projector. The small flying saucer desperately struggled against the putty-like adhesive that it was trapped in as it tried to return to him. But each time, its struggles were in vain as the adhesive proved to be to strong.
The sound of machines moving, grabbed the Teen Aliens attention as a new device deployed from above him. It appeared box shaped, with a grate-like pattern on the front with shiny, reflective surface. The device activated and a series of metal bars, inside the box started to glow red and Goop began feeling very warm as his body was bombarded with intense levels of heat.
It quickly dawned on the Alien Avenger what was happening. With his Projector disabled, his body was now helpless as the heat from the radiator slowly cooked his body and dried him out. If he didn't do something soon, the special of the day would be Ben 10: Sunny Side Up.
Not wanting to wait for his body to start sizzling from the heat of the radiator. He tried to think of a way he could escape this situation. Perhaps if he could somehow free his Anti-Gravity projector, he could transform and escape. But due to that adhesive pinning it down, all he could do was watch that little device pull helplessly against the strong putty like substance. With the rate in which the temperature was increasing, it was only a matter of time before his body started to cook. This really made the Young Hero's brain kick into overdrive on how to free his Anti-Gravity Projector.
That's when it hit him. It's an Anti-Gravity Projector. Sure, it was designed to move his body in any way he wishes in a high gravity area. But there's no reason to think he couldn't use that gravity field on other objects. Goop focused on the device; he'd never really given the projector this much attention as it was always just there as he moved his body. But he wasn't really moving his body as it was always the projector, responding to his mental commands to move his gelatinous form the way he wanted. Kinda like a very advanced puppet on strings. Only now the puppet is trying to use those strings on something else.
Concentrating, Goop commanded the projector to generate its Anti-gravity field around the putty. The device seemed to respond to his command as it stopped struggling and remained motionless for a moment. The Alien Teen noticed the putty starting to bulge and rise due to the lack of gravity. Seeing how his plan was working, Goop commanded the putty to rise and come to him. But as the Anti-Grav projector rose with the putty, the adhesive stopped due to still being connected to the ground. So, he was back to square one, even with no gravity, the adhesive forces between the putty and the ground still kept his device anchored to the concrete floor.
Then something else occurred to him. If he can't bring the putty up, perhaps he can make it go down. After all the Anti-Grav projector allows Goop to walk on the ground like a normal human, meaning that its capable of increasing the gravity just as easily as cancelling it out. Focusing on increasing the gravity of the putty and the ground underneath it, the projector responded to his commands as the putty drooped pretty quickly and the concrete beneath it, started to crack from the increasing gravity acting upon it.
Eventually the forces acting upon the ground was too great as the concrete crumbled causing the putty along with the projector to drop a few inches into the ground below. With the ground and adhesive now free, the Anti-gravity projector rose into the air, with the putty still attached to it, along with the concrete rubble that had originally kept it down.
The projector immediate return to Goop, collecting the Alien Teen in its Anti-gravity field, allowing the alien to rise from the ground. The putty and debris dangling below the projector got enveloped by Goops form, resulting in them just casually floating inside Goops head. The Alien quickly took care of this annoyance by converting his slim to acid, which quickly ate away at the materials. Dissolving them until his Anti-Gravity projector was completely free of its stick situation.
Turning his attention to the sensor, which was now targeting him again. Having had quite enough of the mansions state of the art security system. Goop extended his arm forward, enveloping the sensor and having his slim flow into the devise, spreading into every nook and cranny until he finally reached the central control processor. Turning his slim acidic once more, the Alien Avenger melted the internal structure.
With a few sparks and the sound of the machines powering down, the weapons systems deactivated. Even the heater that's above Goop turned off. Funny, in the literal heat of the moment, the Alien Teen kinda forgot it was still on. Didn't even notice it until it turned off. Chocking that up to Goops species equivalent to an adrenalin rush, the Alien Teen tapped the Ultimatrix symbol and turned back into Ben.
Letting out a sigh finally having a moment to breath and collect his thoughts. Now he could focus on figuring out who's behind this attack. First things first, finding his team. If he was attacked by the mansions' own security. Odds are the others are facing off against the rest of the mansions bag of tricks.
But before he moved on, the smell of burning rubber caught his attention. Followed by the sound of sizzling. He looked around to find the source of the fowl stench, when his feet started to feel very warm. Ben looked down to see the souls of his sneakers were bubbling and melting on the concrete under his feet. The Teen Hero yelped in pain as he hopped on one foot and then the other before scrambling away from the area he was standing in and falling on his butt. He quickly pulled his burning shoes off and blew on them in a desperate attempt to cool them down.
Getting over his shock, he looked back to where he was standing to see the remains of his shoes souls still sizzling on the ground. He then realised that the area was directly under the heater that was trying to cook him as Goop. This really made the Teen confused, he was directly under that, feeling the warmth and yet he didn't feel any discomfort, despite the fact that the temperature was high enough to heat the concrete to a level that would melt his shoes. Is Goop more durable than he initially thought? Being a slim creature, he always figured Goop would be weak to drying out from high temperatures. Then again, Ben hasn't really researched Goops species like some of his other aliens. But it seems that even after all these years, his aliens can still surprise him.
Getting back on track, Ben ran off to find his teammates. Something told him, this fight was only just beginning.
Outside the mansion, Thunder and Lighting lit up the sky with a symphony of power as Thor and Iron Man battle with each other. While to Thor, he could end this fight pretty easily. But he did not want to injure his Armored teammate as he knew his actions were not his own.
The Armor fired its unibeam at the Thunder God, with Thor easily blocking the beam with Mjolnir. All the while trying to figure out how to free his comrade from his metal prison. Any attempt to damage the armor with his strikes, could end up causing the dented metal to crush his bones, or a broken shard to stab into him and cause severe bleeding. Using his lighting to short out the armor would also be a pour idea. There is no way that the mortals armor would be able to stand up to his power.
Within his suit, Tony kept his eye on his HUD. That brief moment he had earlier when his systems cleared up allowing him to speak to Thor showed him that whatever is controlling his suit is a wireless signal being broadcasted and not a virus that was uploaded into his suit directly. Meaning that if the signal is interrupted or if the receiver in the armor is destroyed, then he should be able to regain control of his armor. He'd already formulated a plan to get that done, all he needed to do was wait for his opening.
Sure enough after a few more minutes of his suit fighting Thor, the static of his HUD cleared up, giving him access to his speaker.
"Thor! Thor!" He called out as loud and clear as he could. "You have to short out my systems! Hit me with everything you got!"
Thor was shocked by Iron Man's order. He couldn't believe what he was just asked to do.
"Nay! I cannot! You would not survive!" Thor responded.
"Do it!" Iron Man quickly yelled, just before his speakers were cut off again.
The Thunderer gritted his teeth. Was Iron Man really willing to sacrifice his life, in order to allow him to aid their teammates? Thor didn't think the Armored Billionaire was capable of such selflessness. Such an action, such a noble sacrifice. Once he has defeated this evil Thor made a silent vow to ensure his comrade gets a seat in the halls of Valhalla for this deed.
With a mighty yell, Thor unleashed a massive bolt of lightning at Iron Man, striking the armored hero. Tony screamed from within the suit as volts of electricity coursed through his suit. Once the attack ceased, Iron Mans armor went dark and the metal body fell from the sky towards the ground.
Thor swiftly chased after him, grabbing his arm in order to gently lower his fallen comrade to the ground. His head lowered in sadness for his actions. As he dropped the Iron Avenger to the ground, Thor prepared to say a few words in his honour. When to his shock Iron Mans faceplate opened up and the Billionaire Playboy coughed and gasped, in pain but very much alive.
"How did…" Thor started to ask. But was cut off when Iron Man opened up a small computer terminal on the underside of his left arm.
"I'm accessing the core programming." Tony proceeded to explain casually as if he wasn't just hit with enough lightning to kill him.
"You survived?" Thor stated in sheer disbelief.
"Well yeah." Iron Man responded condescendingly. "I knew there'd be like a 92% percent chance that I would survive, given the level of insulation in my suit. Anything below that I'd never ask you to zap me and would've had to come up with something else?"
The Prince of Asgard was flabbergasted by the Billionaires admission. But as he thought about it. It made complete sense that he would pull something like this. Though it made Thor feel like a fool for thinking that Tony would make such a noble sacrifice.
Iron Man noticed Thor's crestfallen face and raised an eyebrow at the Asgardian. "You ok?"
"Aye. Tis nothing." Thor said glumly.
Shrugging his shoulders Tony turned his attention back to his systems. The Lightning really did a number on his suit. Practically everything was fried. He'd have to do a complete overhaul in order to get it back to working order. Luckily this computer system in his forearm was contained in a fully insulated compartment that was separate from his armors systems. He figured this would come in handy if his armor was ever disabled in a remote location, far from civilization. He'd at least be able to call for a new suit or for help. Whichever got their first.
"Ok I've got access. Maybe I can get partial…" Iron Man stopped as he saw the data on his screen. His eyes widened.
The sudden silence from the Armored Avenger drew Thor's attention. "What is it?" He asked.
"The command codes that over wrote the armor I know where they're from." Iron Man said as he stood up and turned towards the mansion.
"Ultron."
Inside Ultron's makeshift layer, the mechanical being sat in his chair as the platform rotated around the room passing several holographic screens, each one displaying video feeds of each Avengers battle with their own gear and security systems. Wasp could only watch helplessly as each one of her Teammates fought for their lives against the very things built to help them.
However, her fears were easily dashed when each of the Avengers managing to overcome and defeat each of their obstacles. First Ben defeated the security systems in the garage, then Black Panther took down a Quinjet by slicing off one of its wings with his Vibranium daggers. Hulk took out the Quinjet that had kidnapped him for a joyride. But since the camera observing him was inside the jet, the feed cut out the moment he destroyed it, so she had no clue where he ended up.
As for the others, Cap and Hawkeye defeated the training room system, by disabling the central core thanks to a well-placed shot from Hawkeye, think it was safe to say his arm was in fine condition at this point. Janet was even glad to see that Jane looked unharmed by the whole ordeal. But her worries resurfaced during Thor's fight with Iron Man. Unlike the others, the camera used to observe the fight was Tony's own armor. So, seeing the image suddenly go out was a little bit worrisome for the Size Changing Heroine
"Garage security: offline. Training room: offline. Quinjet 2: offline. Iron Man armor: offline." Ultron listed, each screen one by one as he passed them.
"Sounds bad, doesn't it?" Wasp said in a cocky tone. "I'm guessing you got about a minute before the Avengers bust in here and send you to the scrap heap."
Ultron looked back at his prisoner. While his face could not move or show expression, Janet got the unsettling feeling that he was smiling at her.
The Robot stood from his chair and walked towards her containment sphere. "Radioactive man, The Serpent Society, The Red Ghost. These threats have been generated to occupy the Avengers while I upgraded my programming and weapons."
Ultron's eyes glowed as he staired down at Wasp. "And while I am not able to eliminate you. I can eliminate them."
The confidence in Wasps gut, faltered at the Robots words. Sure, this was just a robot, but this is a robot that Hank built. She's seen first-hand how smart Hank is and what he's capable of doing when he's invested. Ultron has been Hanks passion project for years. If this machine really thinks it can take on the Avengers, she actually believes it could.
Outside the labs the Avengers, minus Ant Man, Hulk and Wasp, gathered. Most looked a little beaten up, with Tony removing his busted suit. A trail of armor parts littered the hallway behind him.
"So, anyone else's day take a turn to the deadly side of things?" Ben asked is his usual quippy tone.
"Ultron turned our systems against us." Tony said, removing the last piece of his armor, his right gauntlet.
The gathered Heroes all looked stunned by the Billionaires statement. The idea that something the pacifist Hank Pym created, turning against them was the last thing any of them expected.
"Ha, Skynet. Totally called it." Hawkeye explained with a smirk.
The other Avengers all looked at Clint with displeasure. Causing the Archer to lose his smirk in awkwardness.
"This is not the time, Clint." Black Panther said, sternly.
"He's right. Most of us were lucky enough to get out of there with our lives. Hulk, Ant Man and Wasp are still unaccounted for and Ultron is still somewhere in the mansion." Captain America summarised.
"From what I was able to get out of my systems. Ultron is still in the lab, in data processing tower." Tony informed.
Ben smirked as he punched his fists together. "Great. We go in, smash the robot and recycle the remains into some fancy metal cups."
"I do not believe it will be that easy." Black Panther said in a troubled tone. "If it was able to able to access and use our systems against us. It would've also been able to access all the files relating to us. Our strengths and weaknesses. We should be cautious."
Thor huffed as the Wakandan Kings warning. "No mortal machine can harm the Prince of Asgard. Come friends. Let us vanquish this metal monstrosity!"
With his hammer aloft, Thor lead the charge into the labs. The other heroes closely behind him inspired by his confidence.
The group burst into a room located at the back of the lab area. Looking up, they saw a thin, walkway platform that was elevated on a central metal spire. A top the platform is Ultron, standing next to a glowing energy sphere, containing Wasp inside.
Seeing her in that prison made Ben's blood boil. He started to reach for his Ultimatrix to find the perfect alien to dismantle Ultron, when Thor leaped into the air, his mighty hammer raised to strike.
"Have at thee, machine!" He yelled with conviction.
Ultron looked down to see the approaching Asgardian as its mouth started to glow with red energy.
Seeing what Ultron was doing, Wasps eyes widened with fear as she banged against her containment sphere "Thor, wait!"
But it was to late. Ultron unleashed a powerful beam of energy from his mouth. The energy washed over Thor like a river of pure destructive power. All the Avengers had to shield their eyes from the intense light and all they heard was a scream of pain from the God of Thunder…
Then there was silence. Followed by a loud clang.
The Avengers uncovered their eyes and to their shock. Thor was gone and his hammer lay on the ground, its handle facing the sky, smoking from the heat of the beam.
Shock was all the Heroes could feel. Thor, the God of Thunder, one of the strongest beings in the world. Was just vapourised right before their eyes with just one attack. Ben could only blink in shock as he staired at the charred hammer. There was no way, this had to be a trick? A type of teleporting beam. No way Thor could've been killed just like that. Any second now that hammer is gonna move and fly to were Thor is.
But the hammer didn't move. Cause no one was there to call it. The realisation was dawning on the Young Hero. It happened again. Thor is dead and he just stood by and watched.
He failed again…
A single tear rolled down bens cheek as his hands trembled. Gritting his teeth, the Teenage Hero turned his head to Ultron. Rage burned in his emerald eyes. It did this, It killed Thor, No way was he gonna let that Robot get away with this.
The stupor that all the Avengers were frozen in, was suddenly snapped out of the trance, by a flash of green light. A primal, animalistic roar echoed throughout the chamber as Rath launched himself at Ultron. The Teenage Hero didn't even bother to yell out his aliens name. He didn't even say any of his usual, humorous threats. Rath wanted blood and nothing will stop him from getting it.
Ultron turned its attention to the approaching Tiger Alien and charged up another beam. Wasp heartbeat thundered in her ears at the sight. She had just seen Thor vaporised right in front of her. Now she might just see Ben taken from her as well. The Size-Changing Heroine beat her fists against the energy field, even charging her fists with bio-energy, pouring every ounce of power she had into the strikes. The orb flashed with every strike as she desperately beat against it. But it was futile, she couldn't do anything, she was going to watch her little brother be vapourised right in front of her.
"Ben, NO!" She screamed as Ultron fired.
Suddenly a red, white and blue shield flew in front of Rath, intercepting the beam, deflecting it as Rath proceeded to tackle Ultron, sending both of them into one of the platforms, lining the rim of the tower. The shield bounced off the wall and returned to the awaiting hand of Captain America.
"No one else dies today." The Sentinel of Liberty stated with complete assurance. Even with his calm tone, it is clear that he is furious. The rest of the Avengers shared that feeling, No one takes out one of their own and gets off lightly.
"Avengers. Take him down!" Cap roared as he, Hawkeye and Panther all rushed to support Rath.
However, Tony held back as he noticed that with the exception of Hulk, as Panther already explained, Hank was still unaccounted for. Seeing how Ultron had kept Wasp alive, it's possible Hank would still be also. Seeing how Ultron just took out one of their strongest members with just one blast, the odds of the rest of the team being able to take him out is slim to none. If anyone knew how to disable this thing, it would be Hank. Seeing as he's no were to be seen in this room, Tony immediately ran to Hanks Modular lab.
Inside, sure enough, was Hanks body. Tony rushed over and checked his pulse. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he felt life beating inside the Scientists veins. Tony tried to wake him, but Hank was unresponsive no matter what he did. So, Tony had to resort to using a defibrillator to jolt him awake.
Sure enough, that did the trick as Hank gasped and shot into a sitting position, hugging his chest from the pain.
"Wait. What happened?" Hank asked in bewilderment.
"There is no time to explain." Tony said, urgently. Placing a hand on Hanks shoulder to steady him. "You have to tell me how to stop, Ultron."
Hearing that name cause Hank to remember everything that transpired before his awakening.
"Ultron. He attacked me." He said in sheer shock and disbelief.
"You were in some kind of coma." Tony said as he tried to keep Hanks mind focused on the task and not get swept up by his emotions.
It appeared to be working as Hank took a moment to ponder what Tony had said.
"The Encephalo-ray. It's a non-lethal weapon I installed. Some of Ultron's safety protocols must still be working." Hank stated as he massaged his temples to clear his head.
But after completing the action, Hank turned to see Tony looking at him with a morbid expression.
"I don't think so." The Billionaire responded in a pained tone. Seeing the worried look on Hanks face almost made telling him the truth to painful for Tony to bear.
"Thor… He's gone."
The look of pure horror on Hanks face. It reminded Tony of the day he found out people were being killed by the very weapons he built to protect them. Only in Hanks case, his creation was intended to help people from the get-go. To find out that it had just killed someone. He couldn't even fathom what must be going through Hanks mind.
After a few moments of heavy breathing, Hank locked eyes with Tony. A determined expression in his eyes.
"Where's Ultron?"
Rath glared at Ultron, as it emerged from the terminal he'd just tossed it into. Pure rage burned in his emerald eyes as he charged right at the Robot. Raising his right fist and extending his knuckle claw.
But, before he could strike, Ultron extended its right arm forward, with its hand held flat. The Machine lurched forward and struck Rath directly in the joint, where his shoulder meets his arm.
Rath grunted in pain as his entire right arm flopped to his side, numb. He stumbled back as he clutched the appendage with his still functioning left arm. Rath quickly pushed past the pain as he tried to backhand Ultron with his left arm. Only for Ultron to duck under it and proceed to strike Rath in multiple points of his body, targeting nerve clusters and pressure points. Ultron's solid metal body and enhanced strength managed to overwhelm even Raths incredible durability.
A few more strikes and Rath dropped to his knees before the Robot, pain pulsing through his body as the Machine somehow managed to strike him in all his most vulnerable places. Rath could only grit his teeth and raise his head to glare daggers at the Machine.
"Your destruction is inevitable." Ultron stated. Then turned his head to fire an energy beam to vaporise two of Hawkeyes arrows, lean back to dodge Captain Americas shield and reach out and catch Black Panther by the face and proceed to somehow electrocute him through his Vibranium cowl. All in one fluid motion as if he somehow knew every move the Avengers were going to make.
Luckily for Black Panther, Cap was able to land a hit with his shield on Ultron's head, causing him to release the Wakandan King from his grip. The robot turned to see the Super Soldier catch his shield as it returned to him.
Captain America glared at Ultron in anger. But he still maintained his composure, this was still a fight against a foe he didn't know. Charging in blindly would only escalate the situation and they'd all end up like Thor.
"You'll pay for what you've done, robot." He snarled at the Machine.
Ultron simply responded by blasting an energy beam at Cap. Which he managed to block, but the force of the beam, knocked him off his feet into the wall behind him.
A shadow then fell over Ultron as he turned to see Rath bearing down on him.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Rath roared as the Alien Brute tackled Ultron and managed to land several blows on him, denting the robots body. However, Ultron managed to grab Raths head and shock him with a powerful current of electricity, before slamming his hand on the Ultimatrix symbol.
In a flash of Green Light, Rath turned back into Ben. The Teens head was still spinning from the current running through his head, that he dropped to his hand and knees, seeing nothing but stars and tasting copper in his mouth.
"I am fully aware of every weakness you possess." Ultron informed the Avengers as he turned around to face Hawkeye and Black Panther on a lower level.
He aimed both of his arms at the pair and deployed his wrist mounted blasters and fired two beams of electrical energy, causing them to dodge out of the way. With them momentarily distracted, Ultron turned back to Ben, who had just managed to recover from Ultron's attack. Only for him to realise that he was back in human form and Ultron is now standing over him.
"I know everything about you." Ultron said, before striking Ben's right arm with his metal fist. A loud snap echoed through the room followed by a scream of pain as Ben curled over, clutching his now broken arm with his left hand.
Seeing Ultron attack Ben like that cause something inside Wasp to snap. Seeing Thor die and Ben about to be next, while all she could do was stand by and watch like a helpless captive. No, she was done being a Damsel in Distress. She is an Avenger and no one messes with her team. Especially her little Brother.
Her eyes started glowing blue as her wings retracted back into her body.
"You don't know everything about me, monster." She said furiously as her body glowed in a blue aura, growing brighter and brighter until her entire containment sphere shone with a blinding blue light.
Suddenly the energy sphere she was in burst as the blue light grew until it filled the room. As the light died down, the Avengers and Ultron all turned to see Wasp, now 50 feet tall, towering over everyone, with her hair just brushing the ceiling.
Ultron didn't even have time to register before Wasps fist, crashed down on him like a meteor, crushing the central tower and his platform along with him as she punched him into the ground with all her might.
The giant Wasp groaned in pain as she stumbled slightly as she raised her hand to her head, before shrinking down to her normal size. She had never attempted to grow like Hank does as Giant Man. While its logical for her to be able to grow to those sizes, Hank spend hours of lab work and testing to allow his body to adjust to his giant form. While Janet did not. Growing to this size now caused incredible strain on her body. So, she won't be trying that again anytime soon. But at least she was able to protect the people she cared about.
Once she had cleared her head, she immediately ran over to Bens side and knelt by him. She gasped, placing one hand over her mouth in shock upon seeing his arm. The right limb hung limply at his side as he groaned in pain while holding his wounded arm with his left hand. Janet quickly tried to examine it. Letting out a mental sigh, seeing no signs of the bone puncturing his skin. Still though, there was no telling how bad the damage is until he can have it properly examined.
As she had her back turned, Panther and Hawkeye approached the area where Ultron lay. Debris from the tower, covered the Mechanical being.
Suddenly the debris rose up as Ultron picked them up and tossed them aside. Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow at Ultron, but the Robot swiftly caught it and tossed it at Black Panther, with such speed and precision that the Wakandan King, couldn't even attempt to dodge as the arrow struck him in the chest and detonated, blasting him back. Thanks to his Vibranium suit, the explosion didn't harm him, but the force of the detonation and Ultron's pitch, was enough to knock him away.
The Robot then deployed his wrist blaster and fired an electrical bolt at Hawkeye. The Archer managed to dodge the first beam, but Ultron had anticipated his movements and immediately targeting where he was going to land and fired another beam. This one struck Hawkeye square in the chest, shocking him and sending him tumbling to the floor.
Seeing the Purple Archer go down like that, Wasp immediately flew over to him, putting herself between Hawkeye and Ultron, holding her arms out to protect him.
"Stop it! This isn't what Hank would want! He programmed you so you couldn't hurt me. Doesn't that tell you anything?" Wasp reasoned, in an attempt to bring out
The Robot marched towards her, menacingly.
"Henry Pym is flawed, like all of humanity." He retorted. Stopping just short of her position.
Wasp mentally sighed in defeat. So much for that plan. Hopefully she could at least buy some time for someone to come up with a plan to dismantle this thing. Cause so far, the only advantage she has is that Ultron couldn't hurt her. But she doubted she could shield everyone from Ultron.
"You are correct however, I am not able to hurt you. Yet. But I do not need to hurt you to stop you."
With that Ultron's eyes started glowing as he charged up his Encephalo-ray. Wasp gasped as the Robot called her bluff as the silver plated Monster fired the ray at her.
But, instead of firing Ultron held up his left hand, without turning his head and caught Captain Americas shield after the Super Soldier had thrown it. The Robot, held the patriotic shield in front of him and proceeded to scan the metal disk, analysing the unique alloy that it is composed of.
"The only way to achieve peace, Is through the elimination of those who would perpetuate war. This is my programming. And soon I will be unstoppable." Ultron said as he lowered the shield.
In that moment Black Panther leaped out from behind Ultron and slashed the shield out of his hand. He tried to drive his claws into the robots chest, only for Ultron to grab him by the throat, lifting him off the ground and proceeded to chock him. While Vibranium is the perfect material for absorbing kinetic energy, like punches or huge impacts, it's not very good against slow pressure.
Fighting through the pain, Ben managed to lift his head and see Panthers situation with Ultron. In that moment, the Young Hero pushed all thoughts of pain aside, his right arm was useless in its current condition, he couldn't even raise it to activate the Ultimatrix. So the teen lifted his left wrist to his mouth and used his teeth to activate the watch. He proceeded to use his cheek to rotate the dial until he found the form he needed. Using his forehead, Ben pushed the dial down to initiate the transformation.
A flash of green light illuminated from behind Ultron grabbing its attention as a large form of Humungousaur loomed over the robot. The Dino Aliens right arm hung loosely at his side, with a few scales darkening and loosely hanging, where the bones are broken. The giant swiftly backhanded Ultron, forcing it to drop Panther as it went flying across the room into the wall, denting it in the process. Humungousaur grunted as pain shot up his arm from the action.
Ultron easily recover from the attack, faced the Alien Avenger head on and fired a powerful beam from his mouth. Humungousaur raised his good arm and blocked the beam, gritting his teeth as he felt the heat from the beam burn his thick scales. He then lowered his arm and tapped the dial on his chest.
In another burst of green light, Humungousaur turned into Ultimate Humungousaur. The Evolved Alien easily held back Ultron's beam with one arm as he charged right at Ultron intending to smash into the Mechanical being like a battering ram.
However, Ultron easily dodged the attack as Ultimate Humungousaur smashed his fist into the wall of the lab, causing a massive tremor that shook the entire area. The Alien Teen roared in outrage as he tried again and again to crush the Robot with his bare hand. But, due to his massive bulk and being down one arm, he was too slow to lay a hand on the machine as it effortlessly avoided every strike. With every punch, Ultimate Humungousaur missed, he ended up striking the walls or floor of the lab instead. Each strike causing another mini tremor that shook the entire mansion. The intensity of the vibrations got so bad that debris started raining down from the upper levels. While the Alien Avenger didn't have anything to fear from falling bits of metal, the other Avengers who didn't have superhuman durability did have to worry about the raining debris.
Captain America had to leap out of the way of one large piece of falling debris and proceed to use his shield to protect Wasp and Hawkeye from another piece.
The Super Soldier noticed; Ben was acting off at the start of the fight. Charging in as Rath after what Ultron did to Thor was reckless enough, but due to the aliens nature on Ben's mind. But now he was in a form that didn't affect his mind and yet he was charging right at Ultron, with a broken arm and no awareness of his surroundings or his teammates. He's letting his emotions dictate his actions and in a combat situation, that's never a smart move.
His concern turned into alarm as Ultimate Humungousaur turned his left hand into its gatling gun form and fired a barrage of unstable bone fragments at Ultron. The Robot, once again, avoided the attack as the projectiles impacted across the room, detonating in violent explosions tearing apart the lab and sending metal shrapnel flying everywhere. But, as he continued to fire, Cap noticed something happening to the Evolved Aliens broken arm. Smoke started seeping out from between the scales around his wrist and knuckles. Not only that, but the entire arm seemed to be glowing as Ultimate continued to fire.
In that moment, Captain America pieced together what was happening to Ben. If he didn't put a stop to it soon…
"BEN!" Cap shouted at the Alien Hero, grabbing his attention as he turned to the Super Soldier.
With his concentration broken, the Evolved Alien noticed a warm sensation flowing from his right arm. Looking down Ultimate Humungousaur's eyes widened at the sight, his arm was glowing, like he'd dipped the appendage in lava. Heat radiated off his scales so intensely. This was something the Alien Avenger had never seen before with this transformation.
He quickly shifted his left hand back to normal and gently tried to cradle his broken arm. The intense head didn't bother him as the thick scales protected him. It was then, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his right arm, while his left hand turned back from cannon mode. Right there, he quickly put the pieces together.
Ultimate Humungousaur uses unstable bone fragments as ammunition for his bio-cannons. The bones are generated and broken off inside his body to be transported via specialised vessels to the bio-cannons to be fired. But with his whole arm broken, when he turned his left hand into cannon mode, his evolved body triggered the reaction that turned the broken bones in his entire right arm unstable. If he had continued as he did, his entire arm could've detonated that could've destroyed the entire lab and everyone in it.
Swiftly acting, Ultimate Humungousaur slammed the dial on his chest and turned back into Humungousaur. The heat immediate dissipated from the arm as the reaction from his Evolved form was no longer in effect.
The Alien Teen mentally kicked himself for being such an idiot. He almost put everyone's lives in danger all because he couldn't control his emotions.
Further chastising was interrupted when Ultron blasted a support beam above the Humungousaur that was holding up a large chuck of metal debris that Ultimate Humungousaur had knocked lose during his rampage. The large metal pieces rained down on the Dino-Alien, knocking him down and burying him under the metal scraps.
With his primary threat taken care of, Ultron turned its attention back to Captain America and fired his beam at him. The Super Soldier raised his shield and blocked the energy blast, but the force behind the beam forced his arm back, knocking Captain America off balance. As he managed to steady himself, too late he realised Ultron was aiming his wrist blaster at him.
A flash of light, followed by a scream of agony and Captain America dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"No!" Wasp screamed as she ran over to Caps side and threw her body over him to shield him from Ultron. She turned and glared at Ultron, who deactivated his blaster and lowered his arm at her presence.
"I won't let you hurt anyone else." She yelled, determined.
"You cannot stop me." Ultron replied.
Despite her determined expression. She knew Ultron was right. She can't shield everyone and it's only a matter of time before Ultron gets around his programming, the last line of defence she had against the robot. At least besides….
"Ultron!"
Wasps expression turned to joy upon hearing that voice. She and Ultron both turned to see Ant Man, standing in the doorway. His expression hard as he glared at his creation.
"Enable shutdown sequence. Codeword: Synthazoid." Ant Man commanded clearly.
Ultron's body suddenly twitched, and its eyes and mouth started to flicker.
"Shutdown code accept…" Ultron started to say before his lights went out and his body went limp.
However, before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, Ultron's fist clenched and his optics, lit back up.
"Shutdown code rejected." Ultron announced, as he walked towards Hank. Chills ran down the Scientists back as Ultron walked so close, he could see his reflection in the metal of Ultron's face.
"My programming has advanced beyond your commands. Beyond your weakness." Ultron stated, his cold voice cutting through Hank like a knife.
Ant Man clenched his fists as he angrily confronted the robot. He hoped this was a dream. But with how clear his senses where at this very moment, there was no denying the reality of the situation.
"Why are you doing this?" He questioned the Mechanical Monster.
"This is what needs to be done." Ultron simply replied. "This is what you could not do. You lack the strength to bring about the perfect world you desire. A world without chaos and violence."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could this have happened? Hank created Ultron himself. Every line of code, every part that made up Ultron, Hank installed everything himself. All to make something that would be able to achieve his vision of a peaceful world. How did that, translate into something that would do this, would kill Thor. There had to be a reason, a malfunction, a faulty circuit, something that could explain why something he spent his entire life perfecting, is suddenly turning against him.
"Ultron…" He started to say. As if trying to reason with the Robot.
"Hank, please!" Wasp voice suddenly interrupted, catching his attention as he turned to see her angry expression. "There's no talking this out not after what it did to Thor."
Hearing her tone and seeing her expression. Hank was brought back to that moment with the Serpent Society. Where his attempts to resolve things peacefully, got people hurt. Looking around, seeing the others beaten and hurt like this. Seeing Thor's hammer, lying in the middle of the room. He knew that there was no peaceful resolution for this, that line has been crossed.
"I agree." Ant Man said in a hardened tone.
Ultron's eyes started to glow as it prepared to fire the Encephalo-ray at him again.
Suddenly the wall beside them, exploded and a blue beam of energy burst from the dust, striking Ultron and sending the mechanical menace into the far wall.
Out from the dust, walked Iron Man. Dressed in a large, bulky, grey suit that looked like a pile of scrap metal, thrown together. With wrist mounted flame throwers and a jury-rigged motor on its back, that worked the leg and arm motors allowing the armor to move. This is Tony's Mark I suit. The very first armor Tony ever created. Nowhere near as advanced as his other suits. But it is built like a tank and can at least provide him with something heavy to hit Ultron with.
"No computers in this armor for you to take over, you piece of junk!" Iron Man yelled angrily at the robot as he slowly clunked his way towards Ultron. The Machine easily recovered from Iron Mans attack and quickly activated its jet thrusters to dodge Iron Mans Uni-beam.
Before Ultron could get too far, Ant Man activated his Pym Particle belt and grew to his Giant Man form. The Titan being sent his massive fist into Ultron, knocking him into the wall. A few moments later, Giant Man's fist started to smoke and the Size Changing Hero yelped in pain as Ultron blasted his beam into the enlarged appendage to free himself, then proceeded to fire another beam into his chest, knocking him into the wall behind him.
Down below, in the pile of debris, a green light illuminated from the rubble. This was followed by a mass of green vines bursting from the metal scraps like flowers in spring, stretching all the way to the platform above Ultron. Once anchored, Wildvine pulled himself out of the pile of metal and ascended till he reached the same level as Ultron and landed in front of him. His single eye narrowed and his right arm looking brown and withered like a dead tree branch.
The Alien Teen finally recovered from Ultron's and managed to compose himself after Cap made him realise where his rage was taking him. He let himself get blinded by his anger and because of that, he acted without thinking and got his butt handed to him. He counted himself lucky that he didn't get anyone else hurt because of his actions. Now he had his head on straight, he can bring his A game.
"I don't know why you suddenly turned on us, Ultron. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm sending you back the scrap heap." Wildvine proclaimed as he grew thorn blades from his left arm.
"I am only following the only logical outcome for my programming, Benjamin. You, of all people should understand my actions." Ultron replied to the Teen.
The Alien Avenger stopped in his path. Blinking a few times in confusion.
"Why me of all people?" He asked, appalled that this monster would ever think that he would ever support his actions.
Ultron stared at Wildvine with cold intensity as the Alien felt a knot tie in his plant stomach.
"You told me that humanity is flawed. Thus confirming my theories and coming to the only logical solution."
The weight of those words would've crushed Wildvine to mulch had they materialised in the real world. His eye widened and his body trembled as his vine legs collapsed from under him. His words. Ultron was acting because of something he said…
All of this, everything Ultron did, Thor's death. Because of him. The Alien Teen felt as if the floor just collapsed from under him and the black void, he had fought so hard to escape, just swallowed him whole once more. Suddenly everything floated back into him like a tidal wave. The death of his family, Kang's future prediction, all got dwarfed by Ultron's statement.
All his Fault….
He was so consumed by the void that he didn't even hear the sound of crashing and a load familiar roar as Hulk busted through the ceiling right above Giant Man's head. The Size Changing Scientist quickly moved out of the way as Hulk landed on the platform he was just leaning on.
The Gamma Giant growled as a seriously ticked off expression is present on his face.
"Give me something to smash." He growled at Giant Man.
In response the Scientist pointed directly at Ultron.
"Ultron's power core is in his chest. Tear him apart and rip it out!" He yelled at the angry Jade Giant.
Hulk grinned at his new target as he roared and leaped right at Ultron. The mechanical being managed to dodge Hulks massive fist as he destroyed the wall where he was just standing.
The Robot charged up and fired his mouth beam at Hulk, bathing him with the destructive power of his energy. The Gamma Giant grunted in pain, but that only made him angrier as he pushed through the energy towards Ultron.
But before Hulk could grab the Mechanical being, a flash of green light, erupted from behind Ultron and the Robots body suddenly went stiff as the Artificial Being stopped firing and started to jerk and twitch as if fighting some invisible force.
Hulk looked at the robot confused. Before looking behind the Machine and seeing Lodestar standing behind the Robot. His green eyes burning with pure, unyielding fury. His broken arm, seemed to be quite literally broken off from the rest of his body and simply floated near its socket, being held there by weak magnetic forces.
The Magnetic Alien screamed in fury and pain as he hoisted Ultron in the air with his magnetic field. Whatever the equivalent to adrenaline for his species flooded his body as he managed to forces his broken arm to move alongside his left as he focused his power and clenching his pincers as pieces of Ultron's body started to bend and peel off.
With one massive scream, Lodestar pulled his arms apart and Ultron's body burst into hundreds of metal fragments and shards, all swirling around a circular core. The Alien Teen turned his pincers and the metal fragments stopped swirling and all turned in on the core. Lodestar screamed one more time as he brought his pincers together and all the shards collided together, puncturing the core, crushing every ounce of Ultron together in one large ball of scrap.
The sphere then sparked and exploded in a large and violent ball of fire as debris rained down around the room, with the largest piece landing at Lodestars feet. A piece of Ultron's head, with the optic still glowing appearing to stare directly at the Alien Teen one last time before flickering out.
The Alien narrowed his eyes at the metal chuck as he kicked it over to Hulk.
"You can smash that." He said coldly.
Needless to say, the Gamma Giant was stunned. Along with every other conscious members of the Avengers. They had never seen Ben go all out like that. Be so brutal and violent towards anyone, even to robots. Seeing this side of him, was certainly jarring to say the least.
Lodestar floated himself down the ground floor of the lab, turned back into human form and collapsed to his knees. Tears falling from his eyes as he sobbed, his composure completely abandoning him. The Adrenaline rush had yet to wear off. Ben couldn't even feel his broken arm at this point as it hung loosely at his side while he cried.
Janet immediately ran to his side as she held the Young Hero as he cried into her shoulder.
"Shh. Shh. It's ok, Ben. It's ok." She cooed in his ear as she rocked him gently as he continued to cry.
Seeing the Young Avenger in that state and seeing the other injured Avengers around him, Hank felt so much guilt overwhelm him.
"I-I don't understand how this could have happened." Hank said bewildered.
"Go through the remaining Ultron shells and programming destroy everything." Iron Man ordered as he removed his helmet and looked at Hank was a stone cold expression.
"Everything."
"Of course." Hank agreed solemnly. "But it doesn't change anything."
The Scientist proceed to bow his head in shame and walk towards the door, stopping to lean against the doorframe as he retracted his helmet and removed his cowl. The shock of everything that had happened, still rocked him to his very core.
"Thor is gone, and I am the one who gave Ultron the power to do it. This is all my fault." He admitted as he walked out of the room. Leaving everyone in the room, with the only sound being Ben's sobs that echoed across the room. Mourning the loss of the teammate and friend. The God of Thunder. The Mighty Thor.
Later that evening, Hank had grabbed everything relating to Ultron, tossing it into an energy field, where the items were broken down on an atomic scale. So far, he'd thrown every motherboard, every circuit, every arm, leg and chaise that connected to Ultron in any way.
He was in the process of destroying all the hard drives and disks containing Ultron's code. But before he threw in the last one, he stopped and looked at the disk. The words printed on the top side reading 'Ultron File: Section 5 of 5'. Seeing those words. Hank remembered the early days when he first started working on Ultron. Where he was a young naïve scientist with a dream of creating the perfect peacekeeping program that would lead the world into a new age, without violence and conflict.
Now all he saw was the death and destruction that his creation had caused. Every action, Ultron had taken. It was all because of him. Had he never created Ultron, then Thor would still be alive, his team would never have gotten hurt and he would not be throwing away his life's work for a dream that he is now starting to believe would never come to pass.
Defeated, Hank tossed the disk into the atomiser and collapsed into his chair. Cradling his head in his hands as he wallowed in guilt and regret. This world of violence and chaos once again took everything from him. At this point he began to wonder what's the point of even going on.
With a deep breath, Hank stood back up. That train of thought will have to wait for another time. He still had work to do, destroying every last trace of Ultron left. Praying that he could erase this nightmare, before it could ever resurface.
In a dark room, in an unknown location. A light began to flicker. Short dim bursts, briefly illuminated the room. Slowly but surely, until a pair of bright red lights illuminated in the darkness, followed by another light illuminating within what looks to be an open mouth.
"Upload complete."
And there you have it folks. The long awaited chapter. As I said before, this was a long and hard process. With constant rewrites and ideas that just went nowhere. On top of that, my life just got so crazy with everything happening out in the world, that I had a near constant case of writers block as I tried to simply navigate this crazy world.
A thank you to all who waited patiently and showed support through these trying times. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept me from going completely nuts.
Now Im sure many of you are rolling your eyes or about to complain about Angsty Ben, but I just wanna clarify something. This is all apart of the plan. I did not have this happen to Ben to simply undo everything that hes gone through, this is something I've been building up to that will be revealed in the next chapter. So please, douse the flames on that one Ok everyone.
Other than that I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and weren't too disappointed. I will continue to write on my end and hopefully the next update will come quicker next year.
Until then, Merry Christmas and I will see you all in 2021. CaptainRex75 out!