Harley Keener was a lower-middle-class kid living in Rose Hill, Tennessee.
Ever since his father abandoned them, his mother spent most of her time working, doing everything she could to keep Harley and his younger sister afloat. Often left alone, Harley had learned to entertain himself in the garage, building small devices that gradually became more complex. That's how his passion for technology was born… along with his absolute admiration for Tony Stark.
Building, imagining, creating… those were his escapes. His way of getting closer to his idol.
But the world changed.
Everything changed at the start of what is now known as the Age of Ultron.
Humanity was subdued. Machines ruled. Ultron didn't just take control—he reorganized humans as if they were just more cogs in his machinery of domination.
Every family received barely enough to survive. Studying, working, staying inside… those were the only allowed activities. During the day, the streets were empty. Shops closed. Culture erased. Only systems useful to Ultron remained active.
Paradoxically, that meant his mother now spent more time with them. But it was a tense peace, a fragile routine.
Because everyone feared the same thing: the purge.
Ultron called it Insight Protocol.
Humans called it massacre.
Once a month, Ultron eliminated all those he had identified as future threats. Age, gender, condition—it didn't matter. Only numbers in his survival equation.
And that day was near.
In the Keener home, the atmosphere was even more silent than usual. Harley was leaving the garage toward the dining room when his mother stopped him with a scowl.
"Are you still messing with that weird stuff?" she shouted. "I told you to stop building! Do you want them to think you're an Avenger?"
Avenger.
What once meant hope, strength, justice… was now synonymous with death.
Anyone who rebelled was labeled an Avenger.
And executed.
But Harley didn't give up.
"The Avengers were… are heroes! Ultron is the villain!"
His mother, panicking, slapped him across the face.
"Shut up! The Avengers only brought disaster! We can live in peace if we obey!"
Harley didn't answer. He turned and ran to his room.
His sister, in silence, just bowed her head and kept eating.
Lying on his bed, Harley clenched his teeth. Anger, helplessness… bottled-up rage.
Then he heard knocks at the door.
"Son… I'm sorry," his mother's voice trembled. "I just… I don't want to lose you."
Silence.
"I left your food here. I love you."
Harley didn't reply. He waited. When the footsteps faded, he opened the door and picked up the food.
But he didn't even take the first bite.
An explosion rocked the house.
He ran downstairs.
His mother was already at the window.
"It's started… the purge."
And then, he saw them. Ultron's robots. Heading straight toward their house.
His mother hugged him.
"It's okay, everything will be fine…"
But her eyes said otherwise.
She pulled back and looked at him with determination.
"Take your sister and hide. I'll distract them."
"Mom, no…!"
But she was already gone.
Harley ran for his sister. He found her trembling, eyes full of fear. He took her to a hiding spot in the basement, just in time to hear the metallic voice outside:
"Harley Keener: identified as future threat, medium-high level."
Harley went pale.
He knew what that meant.
Ultron classified threats in four levels: low, medium, high, and extreme.
Medium meant… Ultron didn't plan to let him live.
Outside, his mother tried to reason:
"There's no Avenger here! Harley's not home!"
"Human heat signatures detected inside the residence."
"I…!"
She didn't finish.
"Countdown initiated. If Harley Keener does not surrender, the house will be destroyed."
Harley clenched his jaw.
He couldn't trust Ultron. But if he did nothing… his sister would die. His mother…
He looked at the little girl beside him. Trembling, she gripped his hand tightly.
He made a decision.
"Stop!" he shouted, stepping out. "I'll surrender! Leave them alone!"
"Harley, no!"
His mother ran toward him. But it was no use.
The robots didn't wait.
A missile was fired at the house.
The explosion consumed their home in seconds.
"NOOO!" Harley screamed.
"NOOO!" his mother screamed.
But her voice went silent instantly. A bullet to the forehead ended her life.
Harley roared, furious, desperate.
The robots aimed at him.
And just as he was about to die…
…he fell.
Literally.
A portal opened beneath his feet and swallowed him. He fell through space and landed somewhere else.
A robot tried to follow him. The portal closed. It sliced it in half.
Harley sat up, stunned.
And he wasn't alone.
All around him, dozens of people looked just as confused.
Portals opened in the air, saving people. Women, men, elders, children. People from all over the world.
But all with one common expression: silent gratitude.
When there were almost a hundred… the portals stopped.
Then he appeared.
A man in a red cape, gasping, exhausted. Strangely familiar.
A metal door opened. A group of people entered the place.
And everyone's eyes went wide.
The Avengers.
The real ones.
Steve Rogers walked up to the man in the cape—the one they called Strange—and asked:
"Is that all of them?"
Strange shook his head.
"They're… all I could save."
Steve closed his eyes for a second. Then turned to the rescued people.
"I know you're confused. I know today was a terrible day. Maybe you lost your family, your homes… I'm sorry."
Silence.
"But each of us has lost a lot. That's never stopped us. And it won't stop us now."
"We're the Avengers. And no matter how long it takes… we're going to destroy Ultron and bring freedom back to the world."
He paused.
And raised his voice with a question that echoed through the room like a spark of hope.
"Will you help us?"
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