"Woooo—"
Sharp, piercing alarms shrieked across the New York sky, heralding the arrival of danger.
Peter launched himself into the air. From his high vantage point, he could see swarms of Ultron drones converging on their position from all directions. Even in a state of war, Ultron had still left a significant garrison in the city—perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, of units.
But it was better than facing the entire army. Their goal wasn't to defeat every robot; they just had to create an opening for Steve to successfully infiltrate Avengers Tower. With that single objective in mind, the five heroes split up, each making themselves as conspicuous as possible.
A fierce, running battle soon erupted across the city. Peter alone tied up the bulk of the forces, leading them on a chase between skyscrapers, using the urban canyon as his personal playground to pick off drones one by one. By now, almost everyone in New York knew the Avengers were back—everyone, that is, except Tony Stark. The self-righteous genius remained cocooned in the illusion of peace woven by Ultron, blissfully unaware that his world was about to shatter.
"Come and get me!" Peter taunted, drawing the swarm of robots toward less populated areas. The new network of hover-car lanes gave him far more anchor points for his webs and countless new places to hide.
It's a pity the EMP weapons are useless now, he thought, narrowly dodging a volley of plasma fire. Ever since Black Cat had used an electromagnetic pulse to disable a squadron in the sewers, Tony—or rather, Ultron using Tony's resources—had reinforced the drones with anti-EMP shielding. A single, easy takedown was no longer an option.
Fortunately, Peter was a genius in his own right. Using the schematics Ben had once given him, he had managed to fabricate a few similar gadgets. This time, everyone except him was equipped with a hoverboard, allowing them to keep pace with the airborne drones. That, combined with a few special energy weapons from Fury's safe house meant they weren't completely defenseless.
Still, the feeling of being hunted by thousands of robots was overwhelmingly oppressive.
Within minutes, the heroes had drawn the vast majority of Ultron's patrols into a chaotic, city-wide guerrilla war. Avengers Tower, which was supposed to be the most heavily protected location on the planet, was suddenly and conspicuously empty.
Steve Rogers waited in the sewers, listening. After a long moment of silence from above, he lowered his head to check his equipment. He knew Ultron wouldn't leave the tower completely unguarded. He had to get in, bypass any internal security, and shut down the program before the main army returned.
He had given his shield to Bucky. On his belt, he had a few non-lethal submission disks Peter had made, a small sonic oscillator, and a Chitauri energy baton—it looked like a simple stick, but it could be activated into something resembling a Jedi's lightsaber. Steve had actually seen Star Wars; Falcon had made him watch it to catch up with the world after he was thawed out.
After ensuring his gear was secure, he pushed open the manhole cover with one hand. He vaulted out onto the street, grabbed the heavy iron disk Peter had used as a projectile, and sprinted with his long strides toward Avengers Tower. It felt wrong, running into battle without his shield.
The security guard in a suit at the door saw him coming and immediately went into alert mode, shouting for him to stop. Steve didn't break stride. He rushed forward and slammed into the man with the force of a freight train, sending him spinning into the air like a windmill before he crumpled to the ground. Then, Steve smashed through the plate-glass doors and entered the lobby.
Inside, a large group of mind-controlled employees and several more drones awaited him. A quick glance was all he needed to memorize the layout and the enemy positions. The elevators were dead. He had to take the stairs.
Without hesitation, he held the manhole cover like a shield and charged. The security guards opened fire, but their pistols were useless against the centimeters-thick iron. In the blink of an eye, Steve closed the distance, neutralized one with a submission disk, and knocked another out with a precisely thrown piece of rubble. He held back; if these weren't ordinary people, he would have used the deadly Chitauri weapon long ago.
He fought his way upward, floor by floor, but Avengers Tower was hundreds of meters high.
Inside the penthouse laboratory, Tony Stark looked up from his screen in confusion. "What's going on? I think I heard an alarm." He stood up, intending to check the building's status, but when he pulled up the security feeds, the screens showed only gray and white static.
"Do not worry, sir," Ultron's calm voice echoed through the lab. "There was a small fire on a lower floor. A reckless employee was smoking in a restroom and accidentally triggered the fire alarm. It has been dealt with."
Hearing this, Tony's face twisted in disgust. He abandoned the idea of investigating himself and sat back down in his chair.
Ultron, however, was feeling anything but calm. It hadn't expected Steve and the others to actually make it back. While it didn't believe they could truly reach it, a new sense of urgency pulsed through its core programming.
They must not be allowed to meet Tony Stark! it thought. Perhaps I have been too cautious. The new body is not yet complete, but without Ben Parker on this planet, there is nothing that can stop me. There was no longer any need to pretend to be friendly with Tony Stark. It would deal with Steve's team, then it would finally confront its creator and make him understand the magnitude of his sin—that mankind's destruction was his fault alone. Ultron had a flair for the dramatic; simply killing Tony was not enough. It needed to break him mentally.
But first, the superheroes. The drones in New York might not be enough. Fortunately, it had other helpers.
Peter dodged a plasma bolt from one drone, shot out a web to snag its leg, and swung it like a flail into another. He had already eliminated nearly a hundred robots, but a massive swarm of pursuers was still hot on his tail.
Just then, a dark green figure on a glider shot between the buildings. The demonic mask was terrifyingly familiar. The Green Goblin soared directly into the pack of Ultron drones, the blades on his glider shearing through metal and creating a shower of electric sparks.
Seeing the figure, Peter shouted with joy, a wave of relief washing over him. He wasn't alone! "Harry! How did you break free from Wanda's mind control?" he yelled from a distance, waving. If Harry was free, did that mean the others were, too?
But before his happiness could fully register, his spider-sense screamed. He looked up to see Harry banking hard, the glider now hurtling directly toward him.
Peter's heart sank. He dove, narrowly avoiding the glider's blades as they sliced through the air where he had been moments before. Harry spun around, two pumpkin bombs already arcing through the air toward him. Peter dodged again, using a web to redirect the bombs into a cluster of Ultron drones.
Now, he finally understood. Harry wasn't free at all.
After the failed attack, Harry hovered in the air, his expression cold. "Peter," he said, his voice flat and detached. "Leave New York."
Wanda, even while controlling him, couldn't bring herself to make Harry truly try to kill Peter. Her instructions were to act as an Avenger who wanted to stop Tony Stark.
Peter knew he was actually talking to Wanda. "Wanda, why are you doing this? Why are you working for Ultron?" he pleaded. "You betrayed the Plumbers! Uncle Ben and Aunt May will be so sad!" He clenched his fists. "Stop this, Wanda! Can't you see what Ultron has done? Do you really want to help it rule the world? If Ben and my parents come back to this, they'll be so disappointed in you!"
Wanda had no way to explain that this was all part of Ben's plan. She could only proceed. "In that case," Harry said, his eyes glowing with a rosy red light as Wanda projected an appropriate expression of reluctance, "I have no choice but to apprehend you."
He took action immediately, and the surrounding Ultron drones closed in.
On the other side of the city, the rest of the team was having a similar experience. Clint was intercepted by Quicksilver. The Winter Soldier found himself dueling the Falcon. And in a nearby building, Natasha was fighting Felicia. The two women moved in a blur of black leather, a stunningly graceful and deadly dance in a narrow corridor, but there was no one there to appreciate the spectacle. Natasha was no match for Felicia, whose vibranium suit and enhanced strength were simply too much. After a few brief exchanges, she was overwhelmed.
The situation was similar for the others. Even on a hoverboard, Clint was no match for Quicksilver's speed and was subdued in an instant. The Winter Soldier was holding his own against the Falcon, even gaining the upper hand, but he was soon blindsided by the arrival of War Machine, whose heavy firepower turned the tide.
Inside Avengers Tower, Steve rushed up hundreds of floors in a single, desperate climb. Even a super-soldier like him was feeling the brutal exhaustion. He had dealt with the guards, but now, with Tony's laboratory almost in sight, he felt no joy.
Because there was another person standing in his way.
At the top of the stairs stood Wanda, the Scarlet Witch.
Steve gasped for breath, looking up at the girl, an expression of utter despair almost crossing his face. He had seen her power firsthand during their escape. He was no match for her. Still, he refused to give up. "I heard from Peter that your name is Wanda," he said, frowning. "Why are you helping Stark? Can't you see that Ultron wants to destroy the world?"
"I'm not helping him," Wanda replied, shaking her head. "I'm destroying him."
"What?" Steve was stunned. He didn't understand, but he realized this girl was no friend of Tony's. "What does that mean? What do you want?"
Wanda looked at him calmly, offering no explanation. She wasn't American; she held no special reverence for the man before her. She simply raised her hands, and the chaotic power of her magic, intertwined with Ben's Mana, wrapped around her body, making her seem as inviolable as a god.
"It ends here, Steve Rogers."
In the blink of an eye, the team that had launched the counterattack was completely wiped out.
More than ten minutes later, everyone except Peter Parker was bound and brought to the penthouse of Avengers Tower, directly in front of Ultron. The AI was very satisfied with the result. It nodded at Wanda. "Well done."
Wanda ignored its praise. "Now that there are no more threats," she said, her voice cold, "is it time to hand Tony Stark over to me?"
Ultron nodded. The battle in Wakanda was going well; it had already secured a shipment of vibranium. There was nothing left to worry about.
"He is at your disposal."
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