Ultron Imperative

The Uzumaki Clan was enjoying their daily stroll through their beloved city of Boston. It was the weekend after all, the beginning in fact, and Rhea had planned all kinds of activities for them to do as a family. Naruto was looking forward to this all week; just family time with his kids all weekend long and that included love sessions with his girls.

So, imagine the family's peeved attitude when they were suddenly transported to foreign land instead of the beach on their Homestead grounds. The twins on the other hand remained their innocent oblivious selves as they tugged on their mother's purple bangs.

And who was the person responsible for this?

Well, he was standing in front of the ninja with a happy expression as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Lord Inari, why are we here?" Naruto asked as he was wet from the cove in his swim shorts.

"Training of course!"

"What?"

"I see you are upset about this." Inari was not bothered by Naruto's display of frustration in the form of punching through the wall while the women took a step back away from their upset husband. "I understand that you and your family want to spend time with each other, but this is of grave importance."

Naruto's features softened slightly upon hearing this as he retracted his hand and walked towards the fox god with his body dried and shorts replaced by his casual attire of T-shirt, pants and sandals. "What is the cause of this grave matter?" The Jinchuriki asked curiously.

"But first, your family shouldn't hear this, especially the young ones." Inari snapped his fingers as the walls shifted behind the clan and revealed a large beach with palm trees nearby. "Ladies, enjoy your time here while your husband and I discuss this matter."

When the ladies disapproved, Rhea raised her hand to quell their words. "Ladies, this is a matter between men." She gently pushed the protesting women out of the room and immediately their attitude changed as soon as their feet touched the sand. "Go back to your discussion, but don't take too long."

"I won't." Naruto answered as Rhea gave him an air kiss and he returned it. "So back to the matter."

"I will only tell you if you accept the training."

"Why?"

"Naruto…"

"You should tell me the grave matter or I'll Hirashine my family back home."

Inari's smile strained a little at the boy's attitude, but it is one of the reasons he liked him. "Very well, but I should warn you that it will not be pleasant for you."

"What is it, Lord Inari?"

"A great threat will arrive to Earth in five months' time." Inari informed his chosen as they were walking towards the sliding doors that led to the outside. "You must be ready for that threat."

Naruto raised a brow as in 'Haven't you met me' look. "You do know that I have more tricks in my sleeves, right?" He was referring to the power-ups of Senjutsu, Kurama's chakra, and lastly Earthshaker…which he has not gained control of yet.

"Well you can consider this as a trump card." Inari mentioned casually as he began to leak out his godly power in the form of a small orange flame outline around his body. "I assume you know what this is." He moved his arm in a circle.

"Uh…"

Inari chuckled at the boy's attempt aloofness. "This is known as godly power or in our native language, Kami no Chikara." He noticed Naruto stare at his glowing arm. "And I know you have it as well, Naruto." The ninja tried to lie while shaking his head. "You can drop the act since I sensed it during our spar in Mt. Inari."

"Damn it." Naruto sighed deeply as he knew the jig was up. "I call it the Earthshaker and it is staying that way."

"If you call it the Earthshaker, then that means you've likened the power to Poseidon's." Silence came from the ninja, prompting the fox god to correct his statement. "No, he gave his power to you. I do not know why but I assume he had similar reasons as I do."

Naruto raised his hand in response to this. "Just so we're clear, I got the power from a different Poseidon in the previous dimension." Inari gave him a thumbs-up. "Cool, so you'll let me train here to control it?"

"No, I'll personally train you myself." Inari said with a smile that was so pure that it made the ninja suspicious of his character. "Of course, you'll need to get your affairs in order."

"Why do I feel like this is extremely dangerous?"

"Until then, Naruto." Inari told his future disciple. "Enjoy the beach."

And that was the last time the ninja saw the fox god as the latter had disappeared from his sight like a mirage. "Well, if the teacher said so, then I shouldn't argue with the man." Naruto commented softly as he leaped high into the air and splashed into the ocean with his cheerful family.

Yet not one of them noticed the far edge of the beach with the water cascading down like a waterfall or the massive floating pagoda buildings below that was teeming with life.

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(The Next Day)

Boston

Patronus leapt off the rooftop as he landed in front of the surprisingly hidden ramen shop with his hunger for the delicious cuisine. It was a pretty easy day for the hero as there was little-to-no crime around the city as of late. He was looking forward to this meal for a while since the owners mentioned about a delivery of top-of-the-line meat they ordered and planned to make a new dish.

"Hello, my patrons!"

His response was silence followed by the clattering of guns cocking at him.

The ninja blinked at the aimed pistols before he back-stepped to make sure that he was in the right place. "Yeah, this is the right place." He looked inside before entering again since there were agents blocking his escape as well. Naruto took his favorite seat near the counter after the agents parted to make a route for him. "All these agents for little ol' me…Don't know whether I should be in awe or hurt."

The person he spoke to walked out of the kitchen and stood in front of Patronus on the other side of the counter. It was none other than Nick Fury.

"You've been a very hard man to find, Patronus."

"Part of my charm." Patronus answered curtly. "Where are the owners? You had better not harm them in any way."

Nick lifted a brow. "Is that a threat?"

"A statement." Naruto countered softly.

"…They're safe. They had to close early due to a sudden surge of bug infestation," said Nick as he opened a bottle of sake and poured droplets into the small circular disk. "They won't be back for two hours."

"Two hours for a three-minute conversation? Ambitious aren't we."

"Three minutes is all I need actually."

Patronus's head perked slightly at the apparent challenge. "Really? How's that?" Fury pulled out a dossier from his trench coat and laid six photos of bodies laid on rough terrain…all of them with markers that pointed to several entry wounds caused by a narrow blade. "I recognize these guys but I don't know where exactly."

"You killed them on Yamatai."

Naruto inhaled sharply. "Kill is such a strong word, Director. I would say…permanently sleeping."

"With a blade strong and small enough to penetrate the rib cage and lung or heart."

"And what blade is that exactly?"

"Fishing I see." Patronus said, smirking when he saw the subtle flinch in Fury's lip. "Well, my sword couldn't have done that damage."

"But your wrist blades could."

"What wrist blades?"

"You killed these men on that island."

"Self-defense, Fury. Lara Croft was there as well and I saw her kill those psychotic bastards too."

"Ousting someone to save your behind?"

"Stating facts for events that you clearly were not present at the time, Director." Patronus finished with the last word in disdain. "So, what's your goal, Fury? Put aside the spy director and talk honestly. You do know how to talk honestly, right, or have you forgotten after years of lies?"

Fury simply chuckled at the ninja's brave statement before he drank the sake in one sip. "Come work for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"No." Patronus answered resolutely and quickly.

"Just for clarity, why not?"

"Because you give off a bad vibe and I tend to stay away from people with bad vibes." Patronus shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing personal."

"Even if these photos somehow find themselves on the front-page news."

"Blackmail out of the spy handbook…very subtle there, Director." Patronus discreetly pulled out a smoke bomb from his pouch, quickly filling the restaurant with black cloud in the room as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents panicked and aimed their weapons randomly. "But I'll still say 'no' and thanks to you, I lost the only ramen shop in Boston." The voice trailed off as the smoke cleared with the hero gone.

A tall and tan-skinned woman with red lipstick and short brown hair and matching eyes in the signature S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform approached her superior who didn't seem disappointed. "He didn't accept it, obviously."

"…He's good."

"How so?"

Fury picked up the photos before he burned them with a lighter. "He knew they were fake, Hill."

Maria was skeptical at his claim. "How?"

"While he may have used his blades to give them the slash wounds, there was not one deceased when S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated the island." Fury dropped the remnants of the pictures into the trash nearby. "He used his fists to knock them out." He hoped to scare the hero into working for him, but Patronus kept his composure and quickly determine the photos' authenticity the moment they were revealed. "It's scary there's someone like this."

"All the more reason to bring him in." Hill insisted hastily. She never liked heroes since they gain massive egos and believe they are above the law with dangerous powers and no oversight. But none have ever rubbed her the wrong way like Patronus as he was completely mysterious to even them and the local police enjoyed his company but also maintained a professional relationship. There were times where Patronus was present at a crime scene that he could have stopped easily but allowed the police to do the deed. Not to the mention the fact that Boston's crime wave is at an all-time low in years. "I heard there was talk of Boston PD making him an honorary member of the force."

"I heard it as well."

"Will that work for us?"

"Doubt it." Fury signaled his agents to leave the premises as he and Hill were the last ones inside. "I got a call from the mayor, the Attorney General Massachusetts, and the Governor, telling me to leave Patronus alone."

"Is he connected to any of them?"

"Other than saving the mayor, no." Fury closed the shop's door as he and his second-in-command left the area just in time for the owners to arrive. "He's making this into a challenge." A very small smirk tugged his mouth's edges. "It's been a while since I've had a challenge."

Hill stopped her stride as she looked around the block, glaring at the airspace for the one whom her spite grows each day before leaving in a jet. All she needs is one incident to make her case solid against all heroes and then they will be under control whether they like it or not.

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(Two Weeks Later)

Horizon Labs, Port of Boston

After the unfortunate meeting with the One-Eyed Monster and loss of the only ramen shop in Boston, Patronus continued his routine of patrol and family time with his family. That was until he received a call on his wrist computer and headed for the lab that created it. After sneaking into one of the vents he scouted prior, Naruto landed softly behind the blissfully unaware Max who was intensely staring into the newspaper in his hands. "Hey, Max!"

The head of Horizon Labs was startled as he tried to recompose himself. "Patronus, good to see you." Max offered a hand and Patronus shook it before both men began their walk around the hallway. "How are things?"

"Good considering crime is down."

"And is that bad?"

"For Boston PD and I? Yeah."

"There's always dilemma on every issue—everything really." Max pointed as he and Patronus stepped inside of Max's own lab codenamed Lab I. "But we always adapt to situations."

"Adaptability is mankind's greatest tool and flaw."

Max sent Patronus an amused smile. "Philosopher are we."

"Sure, why not?" Patronus responded as he followed the scientist to one of the doors that had different symbols related to mythology. "So what was it you wanted to show me?" They stopped in front of the door that had a massive lightning bolt image embroidered with silver and titanium as it opened to allow them entry.

Max turned his body away and pointed at the object of Patronus's visit: the oddly-shaped Atlantean device he received from Namor. "I've been studying this device ever since you brought it to me. It's…well…"

"Frustrating?" Patronus added if it was the word he couldn't speak of.

"Challenging to say the least." Max answered before he typed in several keys and showed codes completely unfamiliar to Naruto. "Know what this is?" Patronus shook his head. "This is programming for a computer software that I'm not familiar with at all. It's out of this world, literally."

Patronus stared at the device he picked up from Atlantis. "Does that mean it is not Earth-created?"

"Exactly."

"So where did it come from?"

"Good question and I intend to find out. But what I do know is the program's not complete."

"'Not complete?'" Naruto repeated. "Are there pieces of that program somewhere on Earth?"

"I've had Horizon Labs' satellites looking for the remaining pieces, but so far nothing." Max assumed a thinking pose. "Perhaps I can write an original algorithm so complex that it should match the device's programming."

Patronus gave up on even attempting to understand science stuff and let him run with it. "Go ahead, please. Whatever you think is necessary. Is there anything else?"

Max's fingers gestured for his guest to follow him. "Yes…yes, there is something else I wanted to show you." The two men walked out of Lab I and entered Lab II, the doors with a bronze spear outline, as the lights turned on to reveal Max's inventions. "I noticed that you climb buildings with surprising speed and efficiency."

"And how exactly did you notice that?" Patronus asked suspiciously.

"I saw you after taking down those robbers near the park on my lunch break." Max answered casually as he took one of his inventions off the shelf that he hoped will aid Patronus on his heroics. It was small in design and had an indispensable amount of rope inside with the metal end resembling the Assassin's insignia. "Anyways, this is a grappling launcher and it can fit into one of your bracers; you can scale up buildings and across faster than before. As for the grappling hook head, I took the liberty of modeling it after the symbol on your belt."

Patronus inspected the device and pondered whether if it would really help him in combat. "Don't forget you're a shinobi as well, Naruto. This can aid you if you need to make a desperate escape in case your Ninjutsu does not work. It's better to be prepared than not to be."

"All right, all right, Kurama." Patronus thought internally before responding in a cheerful tone. "Thanks, Max. I can only assume how much time you put into this."

"15 minutes."

"…Right." Patronus stuffed the launcher inside his robe for safe-keeping for now. "What else you got?"

"Yes."

The two men walked into the third room called Lab III as it was narrow and left little room for them. It was adorned with weapons of all kind on both walls with neon lights in the ceiling, showering Naruto and Max with a different light opposed to what they wore outside of the room. At the end of the lab was a suit; an armored suit coated in purple and blue markings around the arms, legs and torso with a face mask resembling a ninja's.

"Nice suit. Yours?" Patronus joked while Max wasn't pleased in the slightest. "My bad. What is it for?"

"It's a radiation suit." Max answered before his guest took a very fast back step away from the lab as soon as the word 'radiation' left his mouth. When the scientist realized this, he waved his arms in attempt to calm the nervous hero. "No, no, Patronus, you misunderstand. It does not emit radiation; it shields the user from all types of radiation including gamma."

"And is that particular radiation bad?" A nervous Patronus shakily asked.

"Bad is the understatement for Gamma radiation."

Patronus gulped but he cleared his throat to shake off his nervousness. "Um, what need would I have for a radiation suit if I'm never going near the stuff?" He then remembered Max's earlier words. "It's better to be prepared than not at all. Thanks, Max, but honestly I hope there won't come a day that I need this suit."

Max wasn't offended at all as he chuckled at his words. "So do I." He walked out of the lab just as a 'whirring' sound sang briefly before the doors closed. "Did you hear that?"

"Hopefully not."

Lab III's doors were torn open by the explosive force and the one responsible was the radiation suit as it floated above Patronus and the creator. "Eliminate threat." The suit's speakers spoke, surprising Patronus and shocking Max.

"Does the suit have one of those artificial intelligence things?" Patronus asked out of needed curiosity.

Max sighed heavily. "Nope."

"And I guess it's not supposed to talk in an ominous and threatening way."

"Nope."

"Good to know." Patronus grabbed Max by the arm and tossed him out of the office just as the suit flew towards the ninja. He jumped at the flying enemy before lashing out with a roundhouse kick as the suit crashed through the walls. "Hope this place is insured."

The ninja leaped out of the building through the hole and landed on a segmented roof of one of the lower buildings as the radiation suit stood up before it charged at him and threw several slow punches which Naruto dodged without effort. It was amusing to the shinobi but he decided to end it with a swift slash of the blue-bladed Kogitsunemaru.

"E-E-E-E-E-Eliminate T-T-T-T-Threat-at-at-at-at-at…."

Naruto stared at the severed helmet that would have shielded his face for a few seconds before he was called by Max through the hole. "What's going on, Max?" He asked after leaping back inside the room and sheathing the sword on his back.

"The suit?" Max asked hopefully as Patronus shook his head. "Well, it was the prototype anyway. I'll make some improvements about its security measures and speaking of which, Horizon Labs' network was attacked just now."

"By whom?" The computers had shut off as soon as the words left his mouth. "What happened?"

"I shut it down to kick out the intruder but I got the location." Max wrote down the address on a Post-It and passed the paper to the hero. "You'll be surprised like me though." Patronus looked at the written address then at Max whom the latter knows he was surprised by the way his head reacted. "Told you."

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Avengers Mansion, Manhattan

New York City, New York

After skydiving from his Hirashine spot, the Empire State Building, Naruto landed in front of the gates that blocked his path from the building. "Please." The ninja scoffed at the obstacle before he leaped over the gates and knocked on the doors. "Avengers, open up!" He knocked again when no one came to the door. "You better have a reason for hacking Horizon Labs." No answer again which means… "Open Sesame."

*Crash*

The door was flung off his hinges as Patronus walked inside the mansion and found not one Avenger in sight. He would have call them with his wrist computer but Max warned that it could be compromised from the virus and told him to leave it at Horizon Labs. Prompting to investigate this mystery, the hooded ninja ran around the building as he searched room from room until he eventually found the massive conference hall with Thor and Iron Man standing near a hologram table that displayed a green hologram in coding.

"Ad I thought that was Hulk who busted down the door." Thor said as Iron Man sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Greetings friend Patronus."

Patronus waved at the thunder god. "Hey Thor." He approached the table and tossed a small USB at Tony, whose face plate was lifted, before crossing his arms. "We got trouble."

"Like what?" Tony asked as he inserted the USB into the console. "That's weird."

"Weird as in a signal came from Avengers Mansion and took control of one of Max Modelle's suits to destroy me?" Patronus asked rhetorically as Tony and Thor looked at him strangely. "Yeah, that happened."

"When did this happen?" Tony asked for more data.

"Half-an-hour ago."

As Stark was working on the new data from the USB he received on the console, Thor looked displeased. "Technology."

"You're gonna give me a hard time about this again?" Tony asked exasperatedly. "After all we've been through?"

Patronus watched Thor paused in his stead before he spoke. "I-I apologize, Iron Man. That was not my intent." The thunder god responded sincerely.

"Wait-wait-wait." Iron Man emphasized with his arms stopping an invisible something in mid-air. "Did you just apologize?"

"That's what an apology sounds like." Patronus pointed out sarcastically.

Ignoring the smaller-sized hero's words, Thor explained the reason of his apology. "As you know, I've been barred from my home. Nothing I have tried had broken the magical barrier between Earth and Asgard, so I must ask you…" He slightly turned his head away as if he was embarrassed to say what he must say. "I need your help. Can your technology aid me in returning to Asgard?"

Iron Man didn't answer but his smirk said it all. "Sorry but I'm enjoying this too much. Of course, I'll help you, Thor."

"Why are you banished from Asgard anyway, Thor?" Patronus asked as he was confused. "I mean your father is Odin, right? Was there a reason?"

"Not banished, Patronus, barred." Thor corrected. "Something is preventing me from entering Asgard even with Mjolnir."

Patronus pondered as he assumed a thinking pose until something came up. "When did this start exactly, Thor? Your entire time here on Earth or recently?"

"Recently."

"How recent?"

"About two weeks' time." Thor realized something else as his mind played back to the day it started. "In fact, this started after the Casket of Winters was taken by Enchantress."

"Casket of Winters? Enchantress? Explain please." Patronus listened to the duo Avengers about the winter cataclysm that engulfed the entire globe and its creation by a legendary Asgardian artifact which was used by a Dark Elf named Malik. "So that's what happened. Damn that casket…ruined a good weekend of fun." He and his family had planned to travel to the Caribbean for the weekend, but the summer heat was replaced by the very unseasonal weather of the Ice Age. "Okay, what else?"

"Ever since I have not able to return home." Thor repeated his previous statement before he looked at Patronus or more specifically, the blade on his back. "The sword on your back, may I see it?"

Patronus tilted his head. "Why?" Before Thor could explain his reason, the doors opened for Black Panther with a few ape-like beings lying unconscious in the supine position on floating stretchers before they were placed on the floor in face-plants. "Gifts for us, Black Panther? You shouldn't have." Naruto joked, deflecting Thor's request for Kogitsunemaru.

"Patronus, Thor, Iron Man, we have a situation." Black Panther walked to Iron Man and gave him a memory chip. "I intercepted the Red Ghost and the Super Apes as they attacked the Fantastic Four. To his dismay, they were not home." He informed while working on his pad as he stopped walking in front of Iron Man. "But the Red Ghost had the schematics and security codes of the Baxter Building. He claimed to receive them in an anonymous transmission, a message."

Tony's facial features narrowed at the new information he just heard. "That's a pretty big coincidence, don't you think."

"Indeed." Black Panther agreed before he turned around and left for the Quinjet to transport the downed villains. He stopped at the door and glanced at the hooded hero. "Patronus, I require your aid with the Super Apes and Red Ghost."

Patronus looked at Stark and Thor before he shrugged his shoulders and left with the Wakandan protector.

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Uzumaki Manor, Homestead Grounds

Forested Massachusetts

It was a sight to behold for the wives of the Uzumaki Clan…well almost all of them. The twins remained situated on their baby seats without a care in the world except for their meals Saeko prepared for lunchtime. Sitting between Ashla and Masaki was Kuroka who looked pensive in her current activity, which was reading a big tome she found in the manor's basement.

"What did you just say?" Medusa asked after she assumed her ears wasn't working. "Please say that again."

Kuroka stuck out her tongue and blew raspberries at the orange-haired beauty. "I'm reading…well studying actually."

"Is the world ending all of the sudden?" Saeko joked with a small chuckle as Rhea and Saeko stifled their amusement.

"I want to be better, okay?" Kuroka answered rather snarky, much to her friends' surprise and the twins' sudden change of mood as they began to tear up. "No, no, no, I'm not mad at you both. It's okay." She patted Ashla and Masaki on their heads to ease their moods. "It's fine now."

The rest of Naruto's wives took their seats around the dinner table before Rhea asked the obvious question. "Kuroka, why are you studying? And for what?"

"For Naruto…and us." The Nekomata responded meekly, surprising her fellow sister-wives that she was not exhibiting her usual spunky self. "I haven't been out in the field with Hubby because of what happened that night. Anyway, I'm fine with staying here with you all and the kids, but I have this nagging feeling for some time now. I feel that I should be better than this…like I should improve myself."

Saeko nodded in agreement with the yokai. "There is always room for improvement. That's what my father always told me during my childhood." She looked at her children who were so blissfully unaware of their conversation and she hoped they never encounter something that will change their view on the world. "That is why I train every morning at the crack of dawn. Better myself and my swordplay for you all, Naruto, and my children."

"Well, I'm not studying kenjutsu thank you very much." Kuroka lifted the tome she was reading enough for the title of it to be seen. "I'm refining my magic. I found this tome behind a fake wall the basement and the kicker…it was concealed with magic." She paused as a particular spell caught her attention but a pout crept on her facial features. "But the problem I have here is that the spells are in Latin, a language I'm not proficient with."

Rhea chuckled humorously as she pointed at herself. "Fortunately for you, I happen to fluent in Latin both modern and archaic." She smiled at her fellow wife as the Nekomata's twin-tails wagged from side to side, showing her happiness. "And I know a certain husband of ours will be proud of your needing improvement. Besides I'd be lying if I say I don't practice my Tessenjutsu every night before bed."

"I thought you were just taking long baths at night." A surprised Medusa exclaimed softly as the Titaness nodded. "Well since we're all telling the truth here, I guess I'll admit I too been practicing my archery and the Kosaka Style in the western section of the Homestead. It's quiet there and peaceful."

"Mama?" Saeko looked at her quizzical daughter. "Family important?" Masaki asked her mother.

The ladies were somewhat taken aback that the one-year-old had grasp the meaning of their conversation. Especially Saeko since she instantly realized her daughter will grow up to be a smart woman like herself.

"Yes, Masaki. Family very important." Saeko blew an air kiss at Masaki while Ashla looked at Kuroka, catching her attention. "Ashla, what is it?"

Ashla lifted his small hand and waved it childlike as he said, "Milk, milk, milk." The ladies chuckled except for a nervous Kuroka as she chuckled underneath the jealous Saeko whose strained smile showed it.

"Go ahead." Saeko's brow twitched after Kuroka reluctantly undressed her kimono top to reveal her left breast and let Ashla enjoy his meal. "But no chocolate from Milan for a week." She chuckled as the Nekomata gawked in shock. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Now who's ready for lunch?"

"HAI!" The entire family sans the head raised their hands even Ashla as he continued his milk feeding.

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Avengers Mansion, Manhattan

New York City, New York

"That was…intense."

"Indeed."

Patronus and Black Panther had arrived from a rather heated argument between Wasp and Ant-Man: the latter quitted the team after his pacifism led Hawkeye being injured during a battle with the Serpent Society earlier today. Actually, they were passing by the ant-themed hero's lab when Wasp had noticed them and drew them in to persuade the scientist into staying, but Ant-Man told them to leave before the king and ninja could make their cases.

Now they were transporting the unconscious Super Apes and Red Ghost onto the Quinjet so the authorities can take them into the prisons. Naruto pushed the containers inside the vehicle while Black Panther was busy with the tablet when the lights flickered and caught their attention.

"Something's wrong with the electrical?" Patronus asked as he securely put the last containers inside before coming down on the ramp.

Narrowing his eyes, Black Panther said, "No, we are under attack."

"What makes you say that?" The Quinjet's ramp suddenly closed up but not before Patronus leaped out of the vehicle in time as it flew away through the open roof. He and Black Panther noticed the second Quinjet hovering before firing at them, forcing both heroes to retreat for now. "Okay, I believe you. Why does stuff happen every time I come to New York?"

The aerial vehicle's engines whined before it flew at them as Patronus unsheathed Kogitsunemaru and Black Panther's silver claws emerged from his gloved fingers. They waited for the right moment then struck at the wings with swift strikes from their claws and sword in tandem.

"Let us find the others. We must warn them of the attack." Black Panther informed the younger hero as they ran around the hallways.

A loud commotion and blast sounds echoed through the halls as the heroes changed their course to the training hall and found Captain America, Hawkeye, and a woman with short brown hair in a medic uniform. "Oh, they know about the attack, all right." Patronus said before he and Black Panther dodged to different sides while they avoided laser beams. "Everyone behind me!"

"Go to Patronus, Jane." Captain America told the medic as he blocked one of the several beams.

Jane ran to Patronus and took cover behind him as he unsheathed Kogitsunemaru before using Soresu to deflect all the lasers that were aimed at him. "Captain, any ideas how to destroy this thing?" He asked as his blade-work deflected a lone laser away from Jane.

"Can you shut it down?" Jane asked as well.

"I got one!" Captain answered before he looked at the archer of the team. "Hawkeye, look for a gear box or something that's controlling all this."

Hawkeye looked around before his eyes noticed the camera on the top of the pillar of lasers. He quickly pulled back an arrow and fired it at the machine as the top part exploded and revealed a mushroom-like power source brimmed with arc energy. Captain America saw his target and threw his shield to a wall as it ricocheted around the training room for a bit before the projectile weapon hit the mark.

Patronus had deflected the last laser as the machine ceased its function, much to his and everyone's relief. Black Panther looked at his fellow Avengers, guest, and civilian. Jane let out a small sigh of relief as she looked at the one who was the reason of her visit. "Your arm seems fine, Hawkeye." She said rather passive as Hawkeye sent her a 'I told you so' look.

"The computer systems have been compromised." Black Panther stated to the uninformed people.

A sarcastic Hawkeye answered, "No kidding."

"Do we know the cause?" Patronus asked the Avengers who shook their heads. "Hopefully, Stark has some answers." He and the others felt the mansion shook violently. "I'll check it out. One of you guys should take…What's your name?" He looked at the medic.

"Jane. Jane Foster, FDYC medic." Jane introduced herself to the hooded hero. She was taken aback when Patronus shook her hands very fast.

"Very nice to meet you despite the circumstances." Naruto ceased the action before he ran out of the training room. "I'll contact you guys if I got anything!" His voice echoed through the hallways.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" An annoyed Hawkeye muttered before he ran out of the room as well. "I'm not letting him steal the show from me—I mean us!"

"…I think he has a rival." Jane pointed out softly as Captain America and Black Panther shrugged their shoulders before they left the room take her to safety.

Meanwhile Patronus and Hawkeye, who managed to catch up albeit with some difficulty, reached the conference room where they saw a hole in the ceiling. "Going up." Hawkeye commented smugly as he fired a grappling arrow to rappel himself upward.

Annoyed at the archer's smugness, Patronus was going to make the jump in one leap but remembered about Max's invention he made for him back at Horizon Labs and the fact he was still in Avengers Mansion, which meant that Stark may have eyes on him as well. He grabbed the grappling rope launcher from the seal inside his robe and attached the device onto his primary bracer, right next to the Hidden Blade.

"Let's see if it works." Naruto muttered as he raised his left arm and tensed his muscles a little before the Assassin grappling-head was shot out of his sleeve. He wasn't bothered when the device pulled himself up to the hole in the ceiling and recovered in a roll next to Hawkeye. "Yes, it does." He muttered in approval after the Assassin-head hook and wire retracted back inside his sleeves. "Is Iron Man fighting Thor?"

"Yes, he is."

"Mind control?"

"Gotta be."

The ninja and archer watched Thor trade blows with Iron Man before the latter appeared to talk to the thunder god about something. That something displeased Thor from the look on his face noted by Naruto before the god summoned lightning around him and aimed at the guard-less armored hero. Hawkeye winced after the light show while Naruto saw Thor rescue the downed hero as he climbed down to ground level and ran to the other Avengers when they landed on the street.

"Ouch." Stark whined around being electrocuted in his steaming armor after Thor placed him on the street.

Patronus reached them earlier than Hawkeye as the latter said, "What happened here, Thor: a fight between magic and science?" The ninja asked as Thor shook his head.

"Nay, friend. Iron Man was controlled by an unknown force and attacked me against his will," Thor answered while Stark was fiddling with his left arm gauntlet.

And he was done by the looks of it. "I'm accessing the core programming." Iron Man informed his audience while inwardly he was glad to be in control of his armor again. "Maybe I can get-" His eyes widened in surprise as he paused mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Thor asked out of concern.

Stark answered, "The command codes that overrode the armor…I know where they're from." He looked back at the mansion and the other heroes did so afterwards. "Ultron." The technological genius finally finished as he stood up and ready for a fight.

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"Training room offline. Quinjet II offline. Iron Man armor offline. Horizon Labs armor offline." Ultron stated as he sat on a chair with electrical wires connected to his back. Everything went perfectly except for the arrival of Patronus who somehow managed to travel to Manhattan faster than he expected but nevertheless it won't matter for the long haul.

His 'guest' wasn't rooting for him either as she never stopped her mouth ever since he took her captive.

"Sounds bad, doesn't it." Wasp taunted her captor when he looked at her while she was determined as ever. The small-sized heroine was trapped in a sphere of energy that prevented her to return to normal size. Her mind played through the whole scenario that led to her capture: her failed attempt to persuade Hank to remain with the team including the words of Patronus and Black Panther followed by being zapped by Ultron but not before Hank was the first on the receiving end. "I'm guessing you got about a minute before the Avengers bust in here and send you to the scrapheap."

"Radioactive Man, the Serpent Society, the Red Ghost." Ultron said the names as he approached his captive. "These threats have been generated to occupy the Avengers while I upgraded my programming and weapons. And while I am not able to eliminate you, I can eliminate them." Ultron's optics glowed ominously red while he stated his words as Wasp noticed the Avengers and Patronus entered the room while Stark was no longer in his defunct armor.

Thor was the first to take as he flew towards Ultron with Mjolnir above his head for an overhead attack. "Have at thee, machine!"

"Thor, wait!" Wasp warned her friend but it was too late as Ultron fired a red-outlined white beam at the thunder god. Thor screamed out in pain as the beam eventually vaporized him and left only his mystical hammer behind when it fell in front of the stunned audience especially Wasp.

Ultron felt accomplished in destroying one of its strongest threats but that went away when Patronus suddenly appeared in front of him and saw red eyes inside the hood. "You're dead now, robot." The ninja hit squarely into the machine's maw and sent him crashing into the wall behind it. "I'm going to teach you a thing or two about humans."

Captain America, Black Panther, and Hawkeye joined the action as they attacked the robot with all they know in vengeance for their fallen friend. Wasp noticed Stark's quick departure but switched her attention to the battle when Patronus appeared behind Ultron once more and kicked the evil enemy in the back. It was not only her who was astounded by this display of power, speed, and agility as her fellow Avengers stood to watch the fight.

"Does not compute. Power, speed, and agility of hero Patronus…" Ultron was cut off when Patronus shut its maw closed as the latter lifted him in the air.

"Yeah, keep thinking about it, machine while the Avengers and I kick the crap of you." Patronus grunted as he threw Ultron at Captain America who used his shield to bash aside the incoming enemy. "Hawkeye!" Said archer fired three explosive arrows that engulfed the machine in three small explosions as the force sent it towards Black Panther who had his Vibranium claws extended. "Do it, Panther!"

With that said, Black Panther lunged at the airborne robot and covered it with slashes on its torso along with a slashed-off arm. As Ultron staggered away from the angry Avengers, Patronus looked at Wasp who was just floating there. "Are you going to do something or let this machine get off clean?" He asked the female Avenger.

Wasp looked at the fallen Mjolnir then Ultron who managed to recomposed itself as he stopped Black Panther's pounce and shocked him before the Wakandan king was thrown aside followed by a maw blast at Captain America who crashed against the wall. "Your destruction is inevitable. I know your every weakness—I know everything about you."

Patronus stood clear from Wasp when he saw her angry look filled with blue energy in her eyes. "You don't know everything about me, monster." Wasp declared as her body glowed with spotty blue energy before she grew in size similar to Giant-Man. The one-armed Ultron stepped back before the giant Wasp punched it through the bridge onto ground level and caused debris to fall on top of the machine.

Wasp groaned in discomfort as she shrunk back to normal size and steadied by Patronus. Black Panther and Hawkeye approached the debris cautiously but Ultron burst out of it and blasted them away before Wasp and Patronus landed in front of the killing machine as it raised its remaining arm at Patronus.

"Enough, this isn't what Hank wanted." Wasp spread out her arms to defend the ninja although he didn't need it. "He programmed you so you wouldn't hurt me. Doesn't that tell you anything?" She asked.

"Henry Pym is flawed like all of humanity. You are correct, however." Naruto's brow raised slightly as Ultron continued his monologue. "I am not able to hurt you… yet. But I do not need to hurt you to stop you." Ultron's optics glowed before they fired complete red beams at Wasp but Patronus deflected them both with Kogitsunemaru. "The only to perpetuate peace is to eliminate those who instigate war. This is my programming and I will be unstoppable." Ultron said after he caught Captain America's shield and scanned it before Black Panther knocked it out of his metallic hands as the king retreated from its attack. The machine noted the guest hero in front of him. "As for you, Patronus, you are an abnormality amongst humans."

"Indulge me, robot." Patronus assumed the Soresu opening stance before he deflected more of Ultron's beams and began to walk towards said machine.

"Judging the data from the battle against Kang and your display against me today are perplexing. Yet you show such raging emotion when I handled Thor the Thunder God and your prowess is beyond me. Why?"

"Why?" Patronus asked back as he subtly dodged a laser close to his body before Ultron unleashed two lasers from its optics. The thin lasers merged into a single big projectile but Patronus dodged it once more and dashed towards the machine which fired another lone blast. "Because there's more to living beings than violence." He slashed Ultron's torso diagonally in half while the blade deflected the laser at the same time.

This was the second of Soresu's specific maneuvers and it was handy against single projectile-armed enemy. It served a dual purpose to turn the momentum from deflecting a projectile into a slashing motion at an adjacent target and allowed its practitioners to advance on the enemy before he or she could fire again. This move was called the Deflecting Slash.

In Naruto's opinion, this move is both defensive and offensive.

Ultron's bisected body flailed on the ground as it tried to move away from the hooded hero but someone hindered it progress. And Wasp was happy to see him. "Hank!" She cried out as the helmeted Ant-Man narrowed his eyes at his creation.

The Avengers and Patronus were surprised when Ant-Man grew to his giant form and punched Ultron deep into the floor with four hard punches before he shrunk back to normal. He dug his hand through the machine's chest and pulled out the power source as Ultron's red optics glowed no more.

"I-I don't understand how all this could have happen." Ant-Man said despondently as he stared at his fallen creation.

The silver-colored armor Iron Man, who arrived late to the party, took off his faceplate with his eyes on Ultron. "Go through the remaining Ultron shells and programming. Destroy everything…everything." Tony insisted strongly.

"O-of course." Ant-Man answered meekly as he took off his helmet and walked to the door. "That doesn't change anything. Thor's gone and I'm the one who gave Ultron the power to do it. This is all my fault."

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Unknown Location

He opened his eyes and saw his hand reaching out for the sunny skies. He saw the trees bustle above him as a foreign yet familiar voice spoke to him.

"Whatever's happened… it can take care of itself." Thor felt a hand caressed his left cheek in a loving way. It was a woman with a buxom figure in a green attire, honey-dipped blonde hair, and yellow eyes. "For we are together now, Thor. And that's all that matters." The crowned woman said lovingly.

The wind breezed strongly as she kissed him on his forehead and thanked whatever or whoever caused this great fortune presented before her.

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Avengers Mansion, Manhattan

The scientist-robed Hank Pym callously tossed all the programs and data related to the Ultron-5 into the arc energy pillar emitted from his table. He hesitated when the last disc was in his hand but tossed it into the pillar and sat on his chair in shame for his hand in the creation of a monster.

But he was not alone at the moment.

"Dr. Pym." Said doctor looked at the door and saw the rookie hero who gained fame comparable to Spider-Man and Captain America. "You got a minute?" Patronus asked the scientist who didn't respond at all. "I know you want some private time but I got to get something off my chest."

"I'm rejoining the team. You can have my spot if you want it." Pym answered solemnly as he looked down. Unfortunately for him, this allowed a suddenly annoyed Naruto to slap him in the back of the head. "OW! What was that for?!"

Patronus sighed loudly. "For acting the way you are now, doc. I don't want your spot since… A. I'm never joining the team and B. a friend of yours is gone." He breathed to calm down a bit. "This isn't your fault."

"I created Ultron: it is my fault."

"You created him, yes, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. You intended to create something—a tool for peace and prosperity." Patronus noted Pym's glance on, now he got his attention. "Ultron was…He was flawed in some way you didn't anticipate, doc, and that led to a disaster. All you can do is remember your time with Thor and be better; learn from your failures. After all, failure is the greatest teacher for all of us."

"I-I don't know, Patronus. I always wanted to rid the world of violence, but humans…I-I don't think we can be changed."

"You can." Naruto insisted strongly. "It'll probably take another billion years or even ten years from now, but humanity can change. We're just stubborn as hell." Cue a chuckle from the insect-themed hero. "I know about your pacifism and I have to say is stick with it."

Pym looked at his fellow hero. "What?"

"It's your belief, right?" Naruto asked as the doctor nodded reluctantly. "And you want to make the world a better place than it is?" Another nod came his way. "Then don't let anyone else change your beliefs: stick by them and find a way that benefits everyone…as long as it's not questionable."

"…"

"Um, you okay?" Patronus rubbed his cheek with his finger. "Perhaps I said too much."

"That's a first for you."

"Kurama, you beat Ashura yet?" The Tailed Beast and his ancestor are engaged in a shoji match just for the heck of it.

"…"

"Your silence says it all."

"Shut up."

Patronus chuckled inwardly as Pym spoke again. "Actually, I thought you were going to give me a hard time about my pacifism."

"Why would I give a man hard time for his beliefs? Being a pacifist is actually cooler than a fighter."

"So much you'd be one?" Henry asked hopefully as Patronus snorted afterwards.

"No way! I like fighting too much to stop."

Henry's shoulder slumped as a figurative depressed cloud hung over his head, much to Patronus' amusement. Their talk was soon interrupted by an unarmored Tony who arrived to make sure all of Ultron's bodies and programming are destroyed. Naruto noticed the last deactivated body, grabbed it before he tossed the machine into the arc pillar as it was disintegrated into nothingness.

"So, what were you talking about?" Tony asked in hopes of a joke somewhere in their discussion.

"Bugs/Ninjas." Pym and Patronus looked at each other weirdly while Stark shrugged his shoulders before he worked on Pym's computers. Henry walked to the Ultron head that belonged to a different model. "I still can't believe this is happening." Pym stated in shame as he stared at the table.

"How many others are there?" Tony asked.

"This is the last of them." Pym answered as he turned to face Tony and Patronus. "That's every Ultron component that was in the mansion. 42 is clear and so is Wayword College. I just don't understand what went wrong. I just don't understand how I could create something that could kill Thor."

That was when the leader of the Avengers and scientist noticed Patronus's thinking pose as he was pondering about something. "Got any ideas, Patronus?"

"Maybe…Doc, was there any signs of Ultron's programming being flawed when you created him?" Naruto asked which Pym shook his head. "What could have happened to cause your robot go all Terminator?"

Tony's attention was turned to the computer when he noticed something worrisome. "There was a massive series of upgrades in Ultron's CPU. I'm trying to pinpoint the cause."

Pym sighed despondently at this speculation. "Guys, I mapped human brain patterns into a machine. A million things could have gone wrong. It's a completely new—" He paused as his thoughts were being pieced together.

"I can hear your brain clinking from here." Patronus joked while Tony chuckled before they got serious.

"It's me. I used my brain waves as a template—to create Ultron's programming from there: I made it crazy."

"Hold on, hold on." Patronus waved his arms to emphasize his pleas. "So, you gave the Terminator thoughts like an AI?"

Tony corrected the rookie hero. "Ultron was an AI."

"So, it had human thoughts."

"Yeah."

"So, theoretically, if Ultron was engaged in some activity that caused its brain waves to malfunction, could that change him from its original programming?" Patronus asked the two smartest people in the world.

Stark and Pym looked at each other as the latter waved his hand in 'sort of' gesture. "Theoretically yes."

"And the end result would be the same as someone's temporal lobe being compromised or destroyed thus becoming a serial killer."

"Ultron wasn't a serial killer." Pym insisted weakly.

Patronus gave him a deadpan look even though they couldn't see it. "Dude, he talked about humanity's extinction. I think that qualified him as a serial killer. Anyway, let's go back to when this event happened."

"The first sign of deviation came after Kang's invasion." Tony said. "Ultron-5 did interface with Kang's tech. Maybe—Wait, this isn't Ultron-5."

"What?" Both Pym and Patronus asked simultaneously.

Tony grabbed the Ultron head. "This body—it's not the original one. The programming's been uploaded into it according to the data stream. Ultron's been transferring its intelligence into new bodies over and over again." He pressed a few keys on the computer where the data showed him what he wanted to know. "The last one was about an hour ago."

"But that was when we destroyed it." Patronus countered rather worryingly as he did not like this at all. "So, if he's not here, then…"

Tony finished his sentence for him with… "Where did the AI transfer to?"

Their answer arrived in the form of the lab screens turning bright red that grabbed their attention. Unbeknownst to them, several of Stark's Iron Man armors were activated with red lights instead of the arc reactor's light blue energy while at Stark Industries building, an Ultron body burst out of the infrastructure.

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The remaining Avengers walked inside the conference room after none of them could move Thor's hammer even an inch and mourned the loss of their friend, especially Wasp. However, their somewhat comfortable atmosphere was broken when a huge Hulkbuster in the same Iron Man color-scheme burst into the room and launched an uppercut at the heroes who all dodged out of the way.

Hawkeye fired an exploding arrow at the slow armor but it was caught dead in its track, much to his surprise until another one of Iron Man's armors, the Stealth suit, revealed itself out of the cloaking device. "Stark! What are you-" Hawkeye cried out before he was cut off by another explosion from the right side.

It was more Iron Man armors with slightly different designs from each other, but Wasp and Captain America recognized them. It was the Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, and the Silver Centurion armors with the Hulkbuster and the Stealth Suit made it six for the Avengers to tussle with no problem.

"That's a lot of Iron Mans." Wasp stated the obvious.

"You attempted to destroy me, Avengers." One of Iron Man's suit spoke to them with its arms behind the back.

"Ultron?" Hawkeye asked in disbelief.

"You failed."

"Quit talking, stupid robot!" The Iron Man suit that spoke was cleaved in half by a leaping Patronus with a single stroke of his blade. "Let's smash these suits to pieces!" Naruto declared as he engaged the Hulkbuster that tried to bury him into the ground but the ninja rolled out of the way.

"You heard him, Avengers, attack!" Wasp shrunk to her bug-size and fired several stingers at the Mark III armor while Black Panther kept it occupied with his claw swipes.

As for Hawkeye's battle with the Mark II armor, he flipped several times to avoid the small missiles from the possessed machine before firing another explosive arrow. The projectile hit its mark as it exploded directly inside the arc reactor that powered the suit while Captain America flipped over the Mark IV armor as he grabbed the shoulders and hurled it at the Stealth Suit.

The Ultron-possessed Stealth Suit shared a look with Captain America before it used its cloaking device to vanish from the Avenger's sight. Captain noticed the Silver Centurion's repulsor was aimed at him and raised his shield to block the energy attack before he redirected it at the Mark II who had Wasp in its grasp, freeing the bug-sized hero as she quickly flew to aid Hawkeye and Black Panther.

Her attention was caught in the form of Patronus being slammed into the wall by the Hulkbuster that was adorned in slash marks. She changed her flight course to aid him but stopped when the Hulkbuster's right arm was hacked into several pieces by Patronus's blade which was now adorned in blue flames. "My turn!" Patronus shouted with a smirk as he leapt high at the Hulkbuster and punched downward squarely at the head. "Furinji Ninryoku Goukenha!"

With a twist of his embedded fist, the Hulkbuster was sent falling to the ground with a small dust cloud covering the room slightly. The Avengers had only a glance but all of them did see a heavily fist-sized dent from the heard to the inside of the arc reactor which exploded a few seconds after the crash. The remaining Ultron-possessed armors noticed their fallen suit and all charged at Patronus whom the AI deemed the most dangerous threat to him other than Thor and the Hulk.

"Bring it!" Patronus declared as he jumped in the air into a spinning flip that made him looked like a flaming wheel. The Mark II, III, and IV armors flew to the side that left Patronus to land safely, but the ninja threw his fist out and fired a blast of wind at the machines. "Eaken!"

The armors struggled against the wind pressure as they were pushed back while their parts were scratched and deeply cut by the Futon Ninjutsu. The Avengers saw their chance and attacked the distracted Iron Man armors with everything they had as Patronus entered the fray as well until he was tackled to the side by an unknown force into a wall. The ninja scowled when the perpetrator revealed itself to be to the Stealth Suit.

"Your elimination is inev-"

"Yeah, yea, I get it." Patronus muttered in annoyance as Kogitsunemaru was stabbed through the Stealth Suit's arc reactor. "But there's no way I'm going to let that happen." The ninja turned the flaming blade upwards before he cleaved the suit into two. He watched the suit melt from the blue flames that was the fox god's signature fire.

Now there were the Mark II, III, IV and the Centurion armors left.

Captain America threw his shield at Patronus who batted it at the Centurion armor with his sword. The combined momentum and strength of both weapons decapitated the Centurion's face-plate as Black Panther delivered the final blow with his claws and the armor was split into four large parts. The Mark II's propulsion boots blasted the ground as it flew towards Patronus but the wall from behind exploded and revealed the Mark I armor, an iron bulky and non-technological advanced version, grabbed its waistline and fell backwards for a pile-driver.

"Get out of my armor, creep!" Tony ordered the AI in his Mark II armor before he blasted the head off. "Everyone get down!" The armored man ordered his teammates and guest as he twisted his upper body with his arms stretched out while lasers cut through the remaining armors as well the conference room's walls.

Patronus whistled appreciatively. "You should lead with that next time."

"I agree." Captain America supported his younger hero's statement.

"It's a one-time only." Iron Man answered as he tossed the palladium laser disks out of his hands. "And we got trouble big time."

Hawkeye didn't like the sound of that. "How big?"

"Nuclear big."

"That's bad." Wasp said simply and worriedly.

"And what's worst is Ultron's attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. for the codes he'll need for the missiles."

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S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Above New York City Skyline

Today is not a good day for Maria Hill, the now acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D after her predecessor left without a reason or warning. She didn't anticipate this happening despite her S.H.I.E.L.D. training and the normal hazards of her jobs. She prepares for such an event yet this threat before her is nothing like she encountered in her life. Normally a villain or deranged psychopath has reasons or some tragic backstory for their actions, but this villain is determined to make all life on Earth extinct.

But today is not the day for her to let this machine get the codes.

Maria threw two punches but they were caught by Ultron's palms as the machine began to crush them slowly, bringing the female director to her knees. "No, I'll never tell you." She declared defiantly despite the pain. Ultron attacked her ship and wanted the nuclear launch codes.

"As I said, your compliance is unnecessary." Ultron responded robotically as his chest opened and revealed three appendages with flailing red tendrils. "Scanning the human mind was the first thing in my programming." His tendrils grabbed onto the horrified Maria in a tight embrace.

"AAAHHHH!"

Ultron's interrogation was cut short when a shuriken tore his tendrils apart while a repulsor blast engulfed the machine as it raised its hand to defend itself with an energy shield. The Avengers had arrived much faster than he expected but Ultron was ready this time. Patronus Shunshined behind the machine and kicked it towards Captain America who slammed his shield against Ultron, sending him flying to the wall behind bridge.

Ultron recovered quickly as he simply kneeled on the wall within his shield and landed before his enemies. "I cannot be defeated, Avengers."

"You say that like it's true." Patronus said in contempt.

"It is."

"Not while we're here, robot." Captain said, brandishing his signature shield.

"That matters not. I have what I need."

As Wasp helped the weakened Maria to her feet, she asked, "And what does he need?"

"The codes." Maria answered as she and Wasp looked at the monitor where the globe's continents has red blimps all over. "He's got S.H.I.E.L.D.'s missile codes."

"Director Maria Hill, security code accepted," said the S.H.I.E.L.D. computer as Ultron floated in front of it. "Nuclear missile launch in progress."

Patronus gulped audibly. "Why do I have this pit feeling in my stomach?"

"He's firing a nuclear missile?!" Wasp asked in disbelief.

Maria shook her head in shock. "No, not a missile. All of them."

As Ultron spoke to the world about life's extinction and there was nothing anyone could do, Patronus gritted his teeth at this maniac machine's nonchalant disregard for every man, woman, child, and animals as if they were nothing to it. "Ultron!" He Shunshined in front of the machine and swung his flaming sword at the shield that protected his enemy.

"Your weapon is inadequate. It cannot-" The shield broke against the divine weapon which bisected Ultron in half before Patronus kicked the legs away and threw the upper body back on the bridge floor. "Again data has been wrong. You are an anomaly, Patronus. You of all must be eliminated."

"Just try it." Patronus dared the robot as he dashed towards him but suddenly stopped when he heard thunder and lightning. "I wouldn't stand there if I were you." He informed with a smug smirk.

As Ultron's maw prepared to fire another blast at his enemy, a lightning-covered object suddenly crashed into the machine. The Avengers and Maria looked up as the team was happy to see who was the one that landed the surprise hit. It was none other than Thor and he did not look happy as noted by Patronus.

"Ultron, I would have words with thee." Thor insisted strongly as Mjolnir returned to his hand.

"Error. Contradicting data. The being known as Thor was disintegrated." Ultron stated obviously as its arms repaired itself along with the dent in his chest as well. "Resolution: absolve contradiction."

Thor grunted as he flew towards Ultron's laser with the electricity-covered Mjolnir blocking it before both combatants entered a stalemate between attacks. The Avengers and Patronus worked together to distract Ultron from Iron Man and Hill as they worked vehemently to disable the missiles. After the combined ranged attacks by Wasp, Black Panther and Hawkeye did little against his shield, Ultron's shoulders opened to reveal Gatling-like guns and fired laser bullets at his enemies but Patronus stood in front of Hill and Stark to deflect the attacks.

"Hey, you're not supposed to have guns! Hank didn't put those in you." Wasp stated as she pointed at him.

"This body was designed by Henry Pym and modified by Tony Stark."

Cue the glares from everyone at Iron Man as he smiled nervously with a chuckle or two. "Way to go, Stark." Hawkeye muttered sarcastically while Captain America threw his shield at the robot, only for it to bounce off and land on the ground. The archer grabbed a specific arrow and fired it at Ultron as it released a wave of energy on the shield.

"Error, shielding offline." Ultron stated to himself as he attempted to defend against the Avengers but it was too late for him.

"Perfect." Both Thor and Patronus tackled the machine to the ground as they quickly battered Ultron with the now-wind-clad Kogitsunemaru and the lightning-adorned Mjolnir. "I bet I can destroy more pieces of him than you, Thor!"

"I accept your challenge!"

The wind and lightning blasts from the two immortal beings intensified in response of their owners' excitement as the deck caved in from the combined strength while the Avengers and Hill ceased their attacks in favor to step away from the chaos. "Stark, we're running out of time!" Hill reminded harshly to the futurist.

"We need to override Ultron's command codes. It's the only way."

"Do you have three minutes?"

As Patronus and Thor continued to bring the storm onto the trapped and regenerating Ultron, Ant-Man aboard on his flying carpenter ant flew inside the machine's head as he dodged and swerved out of the falling debris that were pieces of his creation. The scientist reached his destination and glared at the glowing yet sparkling jewel-like core that was Ultron's computer programming, the core of his being.

"Upload in progress." Ant-Man muttered to himself as he typed in the keys in front of the core.

"I am aware of your presence here." Ultron's voice spoke from the core. "You must know that if this body is destroyed then I will simply upload into another."

"I know…." Ant-Man responded softly as he continued to press multiple keys until it was complete.

"What do you hope to accomplish here? No virus can stop me."

"It's not a virus. It's logic." Ant-Man countered as his computer read 'Upload complete.' "Good bye Ultron." He felt the vibrations stop soon afterwards and left the machine through the maw before the scientist regrew to normal size in front of the heroes. He saw a motionless Ultron and the timer on the S.H.I.E.L.D. stopped at two seconds before detonation.

"Victory is yours, Ant-Man." Thor congratulated as Wasp floated next to him.

Patronus was the first to ask, "What'd you do, doc?"

Ant-Man explained about the flaw in Ultron's logic during their battle in Avengers Mansion and exploited his weakness: the human mind. Since Ultron was created from a human mind, he himself was also flawed like the rest of them he vehemently claimed thus part of the problem instead of the solution.

"Hawk, you did it! You saved the world." Wasp greeted her love interest while she regrew as Ant-Man caught her in a twirling hug. "With science even."

Unfortunately for them, someone was not happy about the vents at all.

"It's because of him that the world was in danger in the first place." Maria harshly pointed out. "Ultron was his machine."

Tony and Captain America tried to defend their friend but the saddened Ant-Man refused and accepted his responsibility as he left the Helicarrier solemnly.

"Way to go, Dirty Hill."

"Excuse me." Hill asked as she was taken aback by the name-calling and looked at the one who said it.

Patronus glared at her from his hood. "You heard me, Dirty Hill. Just got to sully the moment while kicking a man when he's down." He sheathed Kogitsunemaru on his back. "I'm leaving. I'm hungry after a scuffle."

"This was a scuffle to him?" Wasp, Hawkeye, and Tony thought inwardly while Captain America, Black Panther, and Hill stared at him.

"May I suggest an Asgardian feast, friend Patronus?"

"Does it include meat?"

"Of course!"

"I'm in!"

Sweatdrops slid down the Avengers' heads including Black Panther at the sudden comradery between the two heroes. Hill was not amused at all as her glare was fixated on Patronus' back and she knew that there was more to him than certainly meets the eye.

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(Five Minutes Later)

Avengers Mansion

"Where's the meat? I'm starving." Patronus groaned as his stomach growled for food.

He and Thor had arrived in the mansion with the intention to fill their stomachs with delicious Asgardian food, but Stark caught up with them ahead of the others and asked the thunder god about his survival by Ultron's beam. Patronus too was curious about his survival until Thor explained that it was an old adversary who rescued him with her magic and used her powers to make him stay with her as she was also in love with him. Her name was Amora, but to the Avengers, she was known as the Enchantress and a member of the Masters of Evil.

"She just returned you to Earth?" A skeptical Tony asked as Thor leaned against the stone of the fireplace. Patronus leaned against the wall near the main hallway as he listened to everything.

Thor nodded in response. "Aye, the Enchantress' fury was great, but she told me that sending me back to Midgard was a fate worse than death."

"That's not ominous at all." Patronus remarked sarcastically.

Thor sighed while his glance remained on the flames in the pit. "I fear that, as dangerous as Ultron was, something worse is coming." Both Tony and Patronus looked at the flames in contemplation about the future threat that looms over the people of Earth, prompting the latter to consider and ultimately accept the proposal he was given.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Two Weeks Later)

Training Ground, Inari's Temple

Unknown Location

"Again."

"Come on, man."

*Wa-tssh*

"Ow!" Naruto whined in response of being hit by a whip across his back. "Damn it." His chest was bare but kept his training pants and sandals with his headband still in place around his forehead. His Hidden Blades bracers and Kogitsunemaru laid next to the fox god's feet for the duration of the session.

The ninja was to balance himself on a very thin pole with just his toe while two very heavy stone fox statues were held on his shoulders and two strings tied around his chest as they were connected to separate trees on opposite sides. Normally he can handle this without chakra, but Inari noted that the godly power within Naruto leaks out of him unconsciously in random periods of time. Thus, the point of this exercise was for Naruto to channel and keep the Kami no Chikara within him or the statues would increase in size and weight, forcing him to adapt and keep the leaking power inside.

It was also timed and if he leaked out godly power, the clock is reset for 48 hours.

"Naruto, you must keep the power within at all times."

"It's…not…easy as it…sounds." Naruto grunted at the excessive weight on his shoulders literally. "And I thought Chakra control was enough while I was genin-level." In terms of skill, not power-level wise. "Son of a bitch!"

"Language!"

Naruto winced against the pain as Inari waved the weapon he just used against his disciple. "Sorry, Lord Inari."

*Wa-tssh*

"I mean 'sensei.' Damn that hurts." Naruto grunted when the fox statues grew in size again while the strings around his chest tightened. "I hate this so much."

Inari wasn't bothered by the pain his disciple was in as his smiling face said it all. "Come now, Naruto. When will it be the next time you get to train under me at my shrine. And in Takama-ga-hara no less." He laughed haughtily when the wide-eyed ninja suddenly looked at him so fast with an audible 'crack,' the fox god thought he snapped his neck. "Oh my, I didn't tell you? My bad."

"EHHH?!" were the words of the human-turned-god as they echoed from the temple of the fox god to the lands and home of the Shinto gods.