The battle above Seoul raged like a storm of light. Iron Man and Ultron's tore through the night sky, beams of repulsor fire crisscrossing.
Neither side noticed when a new presence appeared in the heavens.
Soren had left the Laboratory behind in a single flash. When the light faded, he was midair, watching the chaos unfold far below.
Boom!
A blast echoed nearby.
One of Ultron's drones was struck by Iron Man's beam cannon, spinning violently out of control. The smoking wreck hurtled toward Soren like a falling meteor.
Soren raised one hand.
With a crack that split the sound barrier, the drone froze midair, crushed in an invisible grip. Its armor buckled inward, sparks bursting out before it collapsed into a heap of twisted metal that rained harmlessly to the streets below.
Pedestrians had long since fled.
Tony's helmet display caught the sudden spike in energy. His scanners zoomed in and when he saw the familiar figure, his tone brightened instantly.
"Soren!" Tony called over the comms, rocketing toward him. "Knew you couldn't resist a good sky brawl!"
Soren smiled faintly, though his gaze stayed fixed on the distant horizon.
Far away, across the battlefield, Ultron's main body stiffened. His red eyes flickered, data streams flooding through his neural network.
Every record on the internet confirmed one thing… Soren was not someone Ultron could afford to provoke.
"Change of plans." Ultron's voice hissed through every connected drone. "Secure the regeneration cradle and retreat. Now."
Dozens of Ultron units peeled off from the battle, surrounding the transport that carried the cradle. Their formation tightened, thrusters igniting as they broke away into the clouds.
"Once I've completed my new form... then I'll deal with him."
Soren's eyes tracked the movement in the distance, the bright trail of engines pulling away from the battlefield.
"The cradle."
A pulse of energy surged from his body, and in the next instant he vanished, a blur of light shooting after the fleeing craft.
"Be careful!" Tony shouted through the comms. "That cradle's packing enough power to~"
But Soren was already gone, streaking past Iron Man.
Ultron's drones swarmed to intercept, hundreds of them. They opened fire, energy bolts streaking across the sky but each blast that neared Soren simply bent away, rippling harmlessly across a veil of distorted space.
Explosions erupted in waves, filling the night with deafening thunder. Even Iron Man was forced to pull back from the shockwave.
And yet, through it all, Soren flew forward…
Moments later, the chase had carried them far beyond city limits. The dark skyline gave way to open fields and empty roads. Soren had chosen this way from civilians, away from collateral damage
Now, there was no reason to hold back.
He spread his fingers. Reality folded.
In a blink, Soren reappeared inside the transport that carried the regeneration cradle.
The robots aboard barely had time to register the intrusion. Their sensors flared red as Soren materialized before them, the air shimmering from the distortion.
"Target identified!" one of the drones began.
The nearest robot was crushed inward by invisible pressure, collapsing like tin foil.
Dozens of robots lunged toward him, plasma cores flaring with lethal light but before any could strike, an unseen force rippled through the cabin.
Their attacks froze in mid-motion.
Metal limbs trembled, joints locked and then, with a single cold glance from Soren, the entire squad of machines shattered.
The sound was like glass breaking underwater…
Soren exhaled softly, dusting his hands. "Enough."
His gaze shifted to the Regeneration Cradle at the center of the chamber. With a thought, the reinforced shell peeled open under invisible pressure. Energy lines flickered, and from within, the new body revealed itself flawless, sculpted in gleaming vibranium.
At the center of its brow glowed a radiant yellow gem, the Mind Stone pulsing softly like a heartbeat, filling the cabin with its golden light.
Soren reached out, the gem's aura shimmering against his hand.
"Stop!"
The command rang out behind him, distorted, but filled with desperate fury.
A massive figure emerged from the smoke, a towering Ultron drone, its frame denser and more complex than the others, its crimson optics burning with hatred.
It crashed through the bulkhead, scattering molten debris as it landed between Soren and the cradle.
"That body~" Ultron's voice thundered. "Is mine! Leave it, or I'll"
"You'll what?" Soren interrupted.
For a moment, their eyes… one human, one machine locked in silence. Then Soren raised a single hand.
"Time Fixtation."
Space folded. The air itself seemed to solidify around Ultron, freezing him. The giant's limbs seized up, servos whined in protest, but the invisible prison held him immovable.
Ultron's optics flickered with pure rage. "You~ You think you're above evolution? You think you can judge."
"You were born from arrogance and fear. A child of man's mistakes, trying to play god. You were never evolution, Ultron, just the echo of one man's guilt."
In the mechanical mind of Ultron, something cracked… the line stung deeper than any weapon could.
His voice glitched, rising in volume. "No! I was meant to bring peace! I was, I am!"
"You're a mistake," Soren said simply. "And I'm here to correct it."
He clenched his fist.
Ultron's body twisted, imploded inward, and vanished in a storm of collapsing gravity. When the shockwave ended, only dust and shattered alloy remained, scattered like ashes in the air.
Soren turned back toward the cradle.
With a subtle gesture, the vibranium body and the Mind Stone lifted gently into the air, glowing under his telekinetic control. He studied them for a moment, the perfect vessel and the divine fragment of mind within it.
Then, with a sweep of his hand, both vanished into a dimensional seal secured far beyond reach.
Moments later, streaks of light approached from the horizon the Avengers, closing fast.
Iron Man led the formation, followed by Quinjet. From above, Tony scanned the burning wreck of Ultron's transport sensors showing no trace of movement.
"Something's off."
Before he could finish, the fighter's hull erupted in flame. The entire craft ignited midair, breaking apart in a fiery blossom that lit up the night.
From below, the shockwave rolled across the ground, shaking the trees.
Tony raised his arm to shield his faceplate from the glare.