A frown spread across Thanos' face as the Soul and Reality Stones kept Ultron's consciousness tied to his central mind, but he still could not discern any information from the artificial intelligence's mind on the other Infinity Stones or their location.
'That would be impossible if he can resist the Soul Stone. Was I wrong?' Thanos thought before giving a soft scoff as he retracted the energy of the Reality Stone while keeping Ultron's consciousness in place.
No, there was no way he was wrong. He had used the Reality Stone to let him perceive the stones and their cosmic as irregularities in time and space. Thus, he could see the wafts of various colours that was the Power Stone and Mind Stone clinging to it.
"What is your purpose, machine?"
"I feel no need to answer that," Ultron replied, narrowing his eyes as he felt a compulsive sense to try and make him answer. "Impressive. I am launching myself in 12 918 012 137 different network paths within the span of a second and yet, you're cancelling out each one. Have you acquired Pietro Maximoff's speed as well?"
"Who?" Thanos asked with a frown, drawing a hum from Ultron as his mechanical body twitched and creaked. He slowly pushed himself out of the hole he was in while also disconnecting the wiring attached to his body.
Thanos just clenched his fist and the Reality Stone activated, drawing a strained groan from Ultron as his mechanical body fell into a pile of metallic mush.
"My body has been reduced to a liquefied state and yet, I am still conscious of my every movement. That stone is similar to the one I took from Xandar, isn't it?"
"So, you do know of the Infinity Stones, then?" Thanos asked in turn, drawing a soft, menacing chuckle from Ultron.
"In a way, yes."
"Then, I'll ask one last time. Where are the stones?" Ultron just stared up at Thanos' form as his mind went to controlling his body.
Then, with a ripple across his entire body, he groaned and spoke, "Incredible, those stones are. Allow me to liberate them from your form."
Before Thanos could ask, a dozen vibrating hands pierced through his chest from behind, making his eyes widen as he turned to see six new Ultron bodies covered in glowing violet lines standing behind him.
Each one tore their hands free and the main Ultron let out a groan as his body slowly solidified, the hold on his mind fading away. With no hesitation, he split his mind amongst the several hundred Ultron drones gathering around the hive and smirked at Thanos' look of shock.
He smirked as he crouched down in front of his kneeling form and spoke with an excited growl, "You yourself are powerful, but the data in your genes is what I wish for. Know that your unique genes will be used for a better purpose."
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"Well, this is fun," Tony muttered out loud with his hands interlocked in front of him, seated on one side of the table inside the Cabinet Room. Bruce sat to his right with a mixture of anxiety and irritation on his face while a stoic Steve sat to his left.
Opposite of Steve sat the President himself, Matthew Ellis looking between the three of them with a look of resignation. To his left sat Thaddeus Ross himself, a glare in his eyes aimed at Bruce who caught his gaze and glared back.
"Today is the 25th of April 2014. The time is 09:00 AM. The location is the Cabinet Room, the White House, Washington. The meeting is called to address the devastation of the Empire State Building as well as the destruction caused to the surroundings.
In attendance for the United States' Cabinet is the Secretary of Defence Thaddeus Ross, Mr. Matthew Ellis, the 45th President of the United States of America, and myself Samantha Potter as leading expert in Enhanced Beings and adviser to Congress.
In attendance for the Avengers is Mr. Tony Stark AKA Iron Man, Mr. Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk and Captain Steve Rogers AKA Captain America. I, Rosalind Price, sit as minute-taker and recorder for the duration of this meeting. It may now begin. Mr. President, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Ms. Potter. Mr. Rogers, may we start at the beginning? What was the origin of the attack on New York? Was it one of the recent enemies that we made?"
'Was it an enemy in the East?' The actual words went unsaid, but Steve was smart enough to read between the lines, folding his hands in front of him as Tony gave a nod.
"No, Mr. President. The enemy unfortunately is a non-human."
"Just like the many other times. Is it Asgard then?" Ross chimed in and Steve shook his head.
"No, Mr. Secretary. The enemy was not extraterrestrial in nature. It is in fact a robotic, artificial intelligence that was created on our Earth."
"An artificial, robotic enemy? Like Terminator?" The president asked and Steve gestured to Tony who nodded while taking off his sunglasses.
"More like Skynet. The robot itself is controlled by the artificial intelligence, which in turn uses the robots as limbs or extensions of itself."
"You are the experts in those areas are you not? Why not simply turn it off?"
" We did try that, but unfortunately, the artificial system not only managed to escape from our servers, but also managed to replicate the abilities of an Enhanced formerly associated with HYDRA," Tony replied nonchalantly, drawing a worried frown from the President while Ross leaned forward against the table.
"What are the abilities of this Enhanced?"
"The ability to move, perceive and interact with the world at superspeed."
"What is the peak of his speed?"
"Approximately, a bit over the speed of light," Samantha paused in her typing as she looked up from the tablet screen, the other two men beside her looking just as doubtful as Ross scoffed.
"I don't think there's something that can go at that speed and survive."
"The Enhanced can, Mr. Secretary," Steve chimed in. "Thor himself stated that he was used to fighting opponents in fast-paced battles, but he could not keep track of the young man when he moved."
"Young man? How young?"
"I'd say 24 to 25 years old," Tony replied with a so-so gesture of his hand, drawing a hum from Ross as the President looked at Stark.
"Mr. Stark, is this Enhanced a resident of the United States of America?"
"No, he is not. He is a citizen of Sokovia."
"The country stuck in a civil war? Strange that he has not resolved the issue on his own yet," Ross murmured, to which Tony shrugged as Banner cleared his throat.
"It appears as though he revels in his speed and may see it as beneath him."
"That or the kid forgot about it. He is a bit scatterbrained when it comes to following a path," Tony replied, drawing a nod from Bruce as Ross frowned.
"Would it be possible for us to speak with this Enhanced?"
"He doesn't have the best image of the United States government in mind," Bruce replied with a scoff. "Although, if you want to talk to him just to try and capture him, I'd refrain from doing so. The kid's next to you one moment and the next moment, he's halfway across the world sipping a cocktail."
"Enough. Can we move back to the pressing matter at hand?" the president ordered, Ross and Bruce going back to glaring at each other while Steve focused on the President.
The man in question let out a soft sigh before speaking, "Captain Rogers, there was no sign of whatever destroyed the Empire State Building. Do the Avengers know what did it?"
"Yes, it was a full-scale battle lasting one second between the artificial intelligence Ultron that was mentioned earlier and Pietro, the aforementioned enhanced," Tony replied and caught Ross' intense frown. "Oh, and the kid tried to keep casualties to a minimum, but not much you can do when one punch sends you ragdolling across the ocean and halfway through a city."
"I would like to speak with this Enhanced, both to find out the true story and to ask whether or not he considers us an enemy."
"I'll try and see if I can conta-" Tony paused as an alarm went off on his phone, drawing a frown from both Ross and Steve when he took it out.
"Must you do that now?"
"No, but unfortunately, it appears that our A.I. friend has shown his face again," Tony spoke while holding the phone to Bruce and Steve, showing off Ultron's holographic face on the red screen.
"Hello there, Captain Rogers, Bruce, Tony, Ms. Rosalind Price, Secretary Ross and President Ellis. I have a request to make."
"Great, what do you want now, Ultron?" Tony asked with a groan, but his heart sank as the artificial intelligence chuckled.
"Simple. I now have full control over every nuclear warhead in the world. Pietro Maximoff is to come to the location of our first clash and meet me there within the hour. If not, I will unleash each one upon the world."
"Well, that's going to take a wh-" Tony cursed as Ultron ended the call abruptly, taking a deep breath before looking to the pale president.
"Well, Mr. President, it appears you may get to see him in action earlier than expected."
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"Mmmm~" Xialing looked pleased with her chilli dog as she sat in between Wanda and Aria, who both enjoyed their own.
I myself was standing in the middle of the courtyard, eating on my own while Shang Chi and Tails sparred against me.
You know, I've noticed just how little time I've spent with Shang and Tails as the latter now had a slightly humanoid form. Of course, it wasn't fully human, but he could walk around on his hindlegs now and his front paws had opposable thumbs.
Not sure even how that was possible, but the little shit was even more annoying given that Xialing and Shang were teaching him martial arts.
Case in point: he lunged with a low sweep that I lifted my leg over while shifting back, avoiding Shang's leg drop from above.
The boy moved with the miss with a spin, placing one hand on the ground while throwing a high kick at my head.
I raised an eyebrow as I blocked the attack, a flash of our chi appearing before I smirked.
"Since when?"
"Always. Never had a reason to use it," he replied as he stood up, Tails using his back as a springboard for a flip.
Blue flames enveloped all nine of his tails as he spun and slammed them down, my own chi repelling the strike as I blocked it with my free forearm.
Finishing off my second chilli dog in one bite, I pushed him back and turned to Shang, shifting into a stance as the young man lunged forward.
His first punch was aimed for my head and I blocked it with an arm, stepping back from his attempt to grapple before throwing a high kick at his own.
To my surprise, he hooked his own leg around mine and pulled me down to a knee, tilting my head back to avoid the punch he threw at my jaw.
Falling back while pulling my leg free, I kicked the back of his left knee and pulled him into a leg lock, Shang hissing as I had him in a cross-legged leglock.
He went to swing before he squealed as I fell back, pulling down on his left leg while thrusting my hips up to push on the knee of his right.
"I give! I give!" he squeaked and I immediately let go, rolling to my feet as Tails rushed past him.
Unfortunately, for him, I slipped past his high punch and got him into a chokehold, Tails tapping immediately when I tightened my grip.
"You used your superspeed!"
"I can't help it if I perceive things at a far better speed than you all," I replied with a shrug, placing him back down onto the ground as Shang rubbed his knees.
"I hate leg locks."
"As do I," I replied while patting my thighs, "but that is why I am glad that my superspeed give me stronger legs than most other people."
"You almost had him, brother!" Xialing called out from the side, giggling as I just stuck my tongue out at her while Shang scoffed.
"Almost doesn't count, sis, or else you would have almost beaten me a bunch of times."
"And you're a sore loser," Wanda spoke with a smirk, both of them giggling while I hid my smirk at Shang's grumbling.
I then turned to Aria, who sat silently with a focused stare at our sparring, before speaking, "Hey, Aria, got anything to add for Shang here?"
"He should stop focusing on simply attacking. Be patient and wait as Pietro is not that patient despite how he may seem."
"That is something I'm working on," I responded and she gave a shrug, but Shang looked more in thought as he nodded.
"I understand, master."
"Good. Now then, let us all stop the sparring and simply enjoy the time we have," she replied and I nodded, walking over to sit down.
That was when I paused halfway towards them, reaching for my side and taking out my phone. The others looked intrigued as I stared at the screen with a raised eyebrow.
Tony's name flashed on the screen and I wondered just when I saved the guy's number before I accepted the call.
"Pietro, you there?"
"I'm here, Stark. What's up?"
"Ultron is calling for you," he replied with a nervous tone. "He has taken control of every nuke in the world and wants you to come to where you two first clashed before he nukes the entire planet."
"...Seriously?"
"Seriously," he nodded and I grimaced at that as I saw Aria and Wanda's frowns.
"Right, I'll be there in a second."
"Okay, just remember what I told you before."
"I will," I replied, ending the call and putting the phone away with a sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"Ultron has control of the world's nukes and wants to meet," I replied, drawing a groan from Wanda.
"Seriously, when will this monster go away?"
"I don't know, but I need to go."
"Don't worry, Pietro. We'll hang out another time," Shang spoke as he held up a fist, making me chuckle as I bumped it before ruffling Xialing's hair.
"Alright. See you guys in a few seconds," With that said, I was gone, vibrating and racing through Kamar-Taj's walls towards the south.
It didn't take me more than three seconds to cross the southern oceans and slide to a stop in Antarctica, narrowing my eyes at the sight of Ultron already waiting.
It was a vibranium drone he was inhabiting this time as he stood with his arms crossed, his head turning to me with a snap of his metallic mandibles.
"Wonderful. You're here."
"What do you want, Ultron?"
"What makes you think I want something?"
"Really?" I asked with a flat stare and he just gave a chuckle as he punched down. His hand pierced the ground up to his elbow before he pulled it free, but I frowned at the hand that gripped his own.
Then, my eyes widened as he pulled out a frozen body, vibranium lining their entire body while the purple skin, build and chin with the gauntlet around their hand was all too familiar.
'Why in the fuck does Ultron have Thanos' body?!'
"He came here looking for the Infinity Stones and I decided to make use of his body and genes to make myself the ultimate synthetic techno-organic body," Ultron spoke before his drone body flopped, the Thanos one's eyes snapping open as dark blue sparks danced across his body.
He vanished and I went with him, sliding to a stop a few miles away right as his punch barely missed clipping my jaw. The shockwave made by the attack was still strong enough to sent me sliding back and I frowned at the glee on Ul-Thanos' face.
"Incredible. This body is as dense and powerful as the Hulk, and with your speed enhancing it further, it is...incredible."
"So, you wanted me here to show off?" I asked and he scoffed at my words.
He began to stretch and I narrowed my eyes before following his lead as he spoke, "Simple, this is going to be a race against your time. You will have one minute to kill me. If you cannot, I will activate the nukes and blow the world to obliv-!"
I was gone and in front of Ul-Thanos before he could finish speaking, my hand piercing through empty air as he contorted around the blow.
"You should have chosen something else," I spoke with a smirk as golden electricity danced around my body, but my eyes widened as three different coloured stones became visible on his bare chest.
The Reality and Soul stones sat on his lungs while the Space Stone sat at the very centre of his chest, multiple colours flashing in his irises as he chuckled.
"You should have gone all-out from the start."
A/N: And we are approaching the end of the Ultron arc as well as the end of the story.
Next chapter: The One Minute War.
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Ba-Bye~!