"Easy," Soren said softly as Helen stirred in his arms. "How do you feel?"
Her lashes fluttered, and she blinked up at him, disoriented. It took her a moment to realize she was still alive, still breathing and being held against the chest of a man she didn't recognize.
A very handsome man.
"I… I think I'm okay," She murmured, her cheeks coloring as she pushed lightly against him. She tried to stand, but the moment she straightened, dizziness struck like a wave.
Her knees buckled and Soren caught her again before she hit the ground.
"Careful." His grip was firm. "You haven't fully recovered. No sudden moves."
Blushing fiercely, Helen steadied herself under his support. "Right. No… violent moves," she muttered, embarrassed by her own clumsiness.
"…!" Her breath caught in her throat, and a startled gasp escaped her lips.
Soren's brow furrowed in confusion until he glanced down and immediately understood.
The potion had healed her wounds perfectly… but her clothes, burned and torn from Ultron's blast, had not recovered at all.
He turned away at once, clearing his throat. "Ah. Right. That part doesn't heal fabric."
Helen's face turned scarlet as she spun around, wrapping her arms around herself. "You could've warned me!"
"I didn't expect you to stand up that quickly," Soren said, his tone dry but polite. Without another word, he reached into his coat's dimensional pocket and pulled out a long black jacket.
"Here." He held it out to her without looking.
"T-thank you," She said quickly, slipping it on. The warmth of the fabric and the faint scent of ozone from his magic settled her nerves.
After a pause, she spoke again. "Did you… Save me?"
"Yes." Soren finally turned back, his expression gentle now. "My name's Soren Macaluso."
Helen's eyes widened. "Wait, the Soren? From Everlife Medical Center?"
He gave a faint, almost self-conscious smile. "That would be me."
Her mouth parted slightly in awe. "I've read about you in the papers. I thought they were myths."
"Most of them are," He said lightly. "But the saving-you part isn't."
Helen laughed softly despite herself. The tension eased between them. Yet, when her gaze lingered on his face, the strange power seemed to hum around him.
"You really are something else." She murmured to herself.
Soren didn't reply. His attention had already shifted, his senses reaching outward, tracing the faint residual energy of Ultron's escape. The Mind Stone's power pulsed like a beacon in the distance.
He straightened. "Miss Cho, you should rest."
"The Avengers are on Ultron's trail, and I need to catch up before he finishes what he's started."
Helen's expression tightened. "Be careful, Soren. He's building a new body, one stronger than any of us can imagine. If he completes it, he'll~"
"I know." He met her gaze and smiled faintly. "That's why I'm going now."
He started toward the broken exit, but before stepping through, Helen called out.
"Soren… will we see each other again?"
Helen Cho noticed the flicker of uncertainty in Soren's eyes as he looked at her. Flustered, she quickly waved her hands and blurted out,
"I~ I mean, I just wanted to thank you! For saving me, I mean!"
Soren's lips curved into a faint smile… it made Helen's face burn even hotter. She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.
"If you really want to thank me," Soren said gently. "You can come by my clinic sometime."
Before she could respond, the air around him shimmered with light. A soft hum rippled through the ruined lab, and when Helen looked up again, he was gone.
Only the faint trace of energy lingered where he'd stood.
By then, chaos had already engulfed the city.
The Avengers were locked in fierce combat with Ultron's forces, waves of metallic drones flooding through the streets like a swarm of locusts. Sparks and smoke filled the air, the roar of engines echoing above the city skyline.
Captain America stood at the front lines, shield raised, deflecting blasts of plasma as he engaged one of Ultron's duplicated bodies.
Though outnumbered and pressed hard, his every move was deliberate and meant to delay Ultron's advance.
"Hold the line!" His shield ricocheting off two drones before returning to his arm.
Nearby, Black Widow weaved through the chaos on her motorcycle, twin batons crackling with energy as she struck down drones closing in on the convoy.
Hawkeye provided covering fire from a rooftop.
Above them, Iron Man streaked across the sky in a blur of red and gold, blasting apart Ultron's robots mid-air.
"Tony, do you really think you can stop evolution?"
A new Ultron drone swooped toward him, its eyes glowing a menacing crimson.
Tony smirked inside his helmet. "You really broke Dad's heart when you talk to Dad like this!"
He fired a concentrated repulsor beam, shredding the drone to pieces.
But for every unit destroyed, two more took its place. The swarm was endless.