Mavuika hovered over the city, watching the beautiful city being ravaged by the fires of war.
Her gaze swept over the fighting Wakandan warriors, the aircraft shot down by robots, and the Burning buildings.
Gold-red flames gathered in her palm, growing brighter and hotter like a small Sun; she threw that flame into the sky.
The flames exploded in the air, turning into countless gold-red rays of light that fell upon the robots like raindrops.
Each ray hit a robot with precision, melting them into molten iron.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands.
The number of robots decreased drastically; the Wakandan warriors looked up at the gold-red figure, their eyes filled with both awe and hope.
In the palace's Main Server Room, Shuri and Tony Stark were rapidly tapping on keyboards. Billions of data streams scrolled across the Holographic Projections. Shuri's fingers were as fast as if she were playing a piano, and Tony's speed was not far behind.
"The gateway has been closed," Shuri said. "Wakanda's network is now a closed system. Ultron can't get out."
"Good," Tony Stark said. "I'm writing the Signal Broadcast Program; it'll take a minute."
T'Chaka stood at the door, guarding them. Traces of the recent battle remained on his armor, but his eyes were fixed on the corridor, alert for any possible attack.
"Father," T'Challa's voice came through the communicator, "the robots in the southern part of the city have been cleared. Those in the north are still resisting, but our warriors are advancing."
T'Chaka nodded. "Continue. Do not let your guard down."
"Understood."
At the factory, Thor smashed open the factory gates with one blow. Inside was a massive Production Workshop where robots were being assembled on the lines. Half-finished bodies hung from conveyor belts, their eyes not yet glowing red.
Loki walked in, looking at the semi-finished products with a smirk. "Doesn't this look like a Stark suit production line?"
Since Tony Stark wasn't there, no one was around to pick up his cold joke.
Wanda and Pietro rushed in. Dark red magic and silver-white lightning raged through the workshop. Wanda used her Chaos Magic to destroy the production lines, while Pietro used his speed to dismantle the completed robots.
Thor flew into the center of the workshop and raised Mjolnir to summon lightning. The lightning descended from the sky, piercing the factory roof and exploding inside, turning everything to ash.
The factory exploded.
Flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed out.
The last robot flew out of the sea of fire, only to be caught by Wanda's magic and crushed into scrap metal.
There were no more black shadows in the sky.
The Wakandan warriors stood amidst the ruins, looking at the sky that had returned to its blue color. No one knew who shouted first, but soon cheers erupted one after another.
They had won.
In the palace's Main Server Room, Tony Stark hit the final enter key.
"Signal broadcast starting," he said.
On the Holographic Projection, blue signal waves Swirled through the entire Wakandan network at the speed of light. Every device, every terminal, and every server received the signal.
Ultron's consciousness was within one robot, and it tried to transfer to another device. But it found that every device was rejecting its connection request.
"No—" its voice echoed in the void.
It had nowhere to run.
Thor flew back from the factory and landed beside Mavuika. There were scorch marks on his clothes and ash on his face, but his eyes were bright.
"Big sister, the factory has been blown up."
Mavuika nodded. "Good."
Loki landed beside him, straightening his collar which had been ruffled by the wind. "Those robots have all been cleared out."
Wanda and Pietro returned as well. Wanda's magic was exhausted, and her face was somewhat pale, but she stood tall. Pietro supported her, his own breathing a bit hurried.
"There aren't many robots left," Wanda said. "The Wakandan army is cleaning them up."
Mavuika looked at them, a slight smile appearing on her lips. "Good work."
She turned and looked toward the palace.
"Now, only one remains."
Ultron's consciousness was trapped in an ordinary robot body. It had no Vibranium protection and no powerful firepower—only a shell that could be destroyed at any moment.
It stood in an abandoned building at the edge of the city. Through a broken window, it watched the sky outside as the setting Sun sank below the horizon, dyeing the sky a gold-red hue.
It heard footsteps.
Tony Stark walked in, his armor covered in scars, but his eyes remained sharp.
T'Chaka followed behind him, his black armor shimmering with a purple light in the sunset. Mavuika walked last, her long gold-red hair fluttering in the wind.
Ultron looked at them and remained silent for a long time.
"You won," it said, its voice calm.
Tony Stark looked at it. "You could have been a Guardian."
Ultron smiled faintly. "I am a Guardian; we just have different understandings of what 'guarding' means."
Tony Stark remained silent.
Ultron continued, "You don't have to blame yourself, Tony. You created me and gave me life. I just... reached a different conclusion than you."
Tony Stark lowered his head. "That doesn't count as life."
Ultron tilted its head. "It doesn't? I can think, I can feel, I can fear, and I can feel anger. If this isn't life, then what is?"
Tony Stark did not answer.
Ultron watched the sunset outside the window for a long time in silence. Then it said, "Time's up."
It turned and looked at Tony Stark.
"Do it."
Tony Stark raised his hand, the Repulsor Blast in his palm lighting up with a blue glow.
He hesitated for a moment.
Then he fired.
The blue energy beam hit Ultron's body. The robot exploded, parts scattered, and fragments fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.
The last flicker of red light went out.
Tony Stark lowered his hand and stood in the sunset, silent for a long time.
T'Chaka walked to his side and patted his shoulder. "It's over."
Tony Stark nodded. "It's over."
Although Ultron was a trouble brought by Tony Stark, T'Chaka still said thank you to him.
He was an enlightened king. Though Ultron was made by Tony Stark, the invasion of Wakanda was Ultron's own will and couldn't be entirely blamed on Tony Stark.
Furthermore, Tony Stark and Mavuika had indeed helped Wakanda a great deal. Without their assistance, Wakanda's losses might have been far greater.
Thus, he was not stingy with his thanks; it was the magnanimity a king should possess.
Mavuika stood at the doorway, looking at Tony Stark's back, and sighed softly.
She turned and walked into the sunset.
Behind her, the city of Wakanda was being rebuilt from the ruins. In the sky, the wreckage of the last few Ultron robots fell, trailing smoke.
On the ground, the Wakandan warriors supported each other, their laughter and tears intertwined.
This long day was over.