"Crazy woman!" Tony Stark swore through gritted teeth.
The high-tech lab was a wreck, marred by scorch marks from searing electricity. Melted, collapsing glass panels and a chemical stench thick with the acrid tang of ionized air clung to the room like smoke after a house fire. Reinforced alloy had been cleaved apart, marble floors were cracked throughout, and almost every flammable object had gone up in flames under extreme heat. The battle between Thor and Dana had been astonishing—violent, explosive, and utterly devastating. Only Steve Rogers, the Maximoff twins, and Bruce Banner had the capacity to intervene. But Pietro and Wanda, never having witnessed combat of such intensity, had frozen in fear. Bruce Banner hadn't even dared transform in the middle of the city. Only Captain Rogers had raised his shield in time to protect bystanders without proper defenses.
In raw power, Dana was far outmatched. Even after temporarily seizing control of Mjölnir through a special method designed by Solomon, she still couldn't stop Thor from energizing the regeneration cradle. When that red iron-shelled figure emerged, Dana had tried to destroy it immediately, but Thor stopped her with his bare hands—nearly breaking her magically forged metal arm in the process.
It had been Wanda who prevented Thor from utterly annihilating Dana, giving the artificial being enough time to flee.
Thor tapped his beloved hammer with a fingertip, worried something might be wrong with it. The lightning-forged weapon Dana had wielded, the runic armor she wore—it all screamed of stolen power. Anyone could guess who was behind it. There weren't many people on Earth who could manipulate rune magic to such a degree. Even when Vision later lifted Mjölnir, the shock hadn't compared to what Thor had just witnessed.
If she was the god of thunder… then what am I?
"What the hell was Solomon thinking!" Tony Stark's voice echoed off the cracked walls as he looked around the scorched, sparking lab. "I need to call Pepper before the media helicopters start swarming. And I need to check if anyone got hurt downstairs. If they did, I'm blaming this whole thing on Solomon!"
"He does what's right and what's calculated—not like you, messing with things you don't understand!" Wanda Maximoff snapped, clearly fed up with Stark. She didn't like hearing anyone insult her teacher. After surviving that battle, all her fear of Tony Stark had vanished. "He's saved countless lives. All you've done is take them—and you did, Stark."
"If this is about your homeland… then I'm sorry." Tony took a deep breath, his past rearing up again. But he wouldn't shy away. "But for the record, those weapons smuggling operations started long before I found out. And the Stark Foundation—"
Steve Rogers cut him off and turned to Thor. "You helped create it?"
"I saw a vision." Thor pointed to the yellow gem embedded in the red figure's forehead. "All hope was being sucked into a vortex—and at the heart of it was this. The Mind Stone. One of the six Infinity Stones. The most powerful forces in the universe. Its destructive power is unmatched."
"Then why would you—"
"Because Stark was right," Thor interrupted again.
His words shocked Banner so much that he nearly gasped aloud. "The Avengers can't beat Ultron."
"Not on their own," said the red being softly.
"That's why Solomon went into the Abyss—to find reinforcements. He's looking for the Fifth Demon Pillar. Apparently, an old contract holder of his," Wanda added when everyone stared at her. "He mentioned it when teaching me magic. He has seventy-two acquaintances in the lower planes. Some are enemies, some allies. The burning bird who follows him around is the 37th Pillar, Phoenix—a bard."
"Well, that's explosive news," Tony quipped, rubbing his temple. "Of course he's been alive for thousands of years. With a name that uninspired, I should've guessed. But whatever. He's too far away now. We don't even know when—or if—he'll come back."
"That's still better than creating another Ultron," Wanda snapped back, until Rogers once again stopped the argument.
"Why does it sound like JARVIS?" he asked, staring at the red figure.
"We rebuilt JARVIS's matrix. Created something new," Tony admitted, though he now kept a cautious distance from the new AI. Solomon's warnings hadn't been for nothing—the Mind Stone could create "information demons," infecting even the most carefully coded systems. Stark no longer had any certainty, especially after having created Ultron once already.
"You think I'm Ultron's child," the red figure said, scanning the room. "I am not Ultron. I am not JARVIS. I am…"
"I saw your thoughts," Wanda said, her thick Eastern European accent lacing every word. "I saw destruction."
"Then look again."
His reply didn't ease Clint's nerves. The archer discreetly prepped for a shot.
"Their power. Our fear. Even Ultron himself—all of it stems from the Mind Stone," Thor said, pointing to the twins. "But all that is nothing compared to the Stone's true power. Still, if he stands with us…"
"Do you?" Rogers asked, eyes narrowing. He had never forgotten Solomon's warning. He didn't like risky choices, but what was done was done. He had to prepare for the worst.
"Stand with us," he ordered.
"I don't think it's that simple," the figure answered honestly.
"Then hurry up and make it simple," Clint muttered.
"I stand with life," the red being finally declared. "But Ultron does not. He seeks to destroy everything."
"If Ultron has the power to do that, then what's he waiting for?" Rogers asked.
"He's waiting for you, Stark." The figure turned toward Tony. "You are his creator. Countless myths and histories show that patricide is part of growth—a declaration of independence. He waits for you in Sokovia."
"Nat's there too," Clint added simply. Spycraft never goes out of style.
Looking at the assembled Avengers, the red being continued, "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique. And he's in pain. But that pain will destroy the Earth, so he must be stopped. We must destroy every machine he's built, wipe his presence from the internet. We need to act now—together, with everything we've got. Maybe I'm a monster. I honestly don't know if I count as one. I'm not like you. I'm not what you wanted. Maybe I'll never be."
It was enough. His sincerity cut through the distrust. And then, he lifted Mjölnir.
The hammer, which had been through two shocking events in a single day, once again proved its worth as a judge of character. According to Asgardian belief, those who could lift the hammer were worthy—and thus, trustworthy.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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