Marvel 223

The sky dimmed as the red pulse faded, leaving behind a lingering sense of unease. But where once there was fear, now there was only fire.

Max turned to the gathered leaders — Sara at his side, newly risen elites behind her, and hundreds of enhanced survivors watching in silence.

"We've proven we can kill their Colossus," he said, gesturing toward the crater where the Hiveframe fell. "Now we take their thrones."

He flicked his hand again, and the crimson holographic map zoomed outward, marking new zones in flickering amber — ancient resistance outposts, hidden caches, and Ultron's current dominions.

Targets of Opportunity Identified:

Echo Station Sigma: A ruined AI relay hub — potential to hijack Ultron's communication grid.

Vault-09: A buried mutant research lab, possibly housing pre-Extinction era bio-tech or dormant gene-carriers.

City of Ashes: Once a mega-arcology, now a battlefield controlled by Ultron's mind-wiped "Purifier Drones."

Sara studied the list. "They're scattered across the continent. We'd need to send squads."

Max nodded. "And leaders. Which is where you come in."

She blinked. "Wait — me?"

"You'll take the Ashes first. Show the people you're not just lightning in a storm. You are the storm."

Sara exhaled slowly and nodded. "Then I'll burn a path through those Purifiers."

Max turned to the others. "I'll head for Sigma myself. If I can crack their signal protocols, we gain more than intel — we can confuse their ranks, feed false orders. Chaos will be our weapon."

One of the other Red Apple-enhanced elites — a tall woman with obsidian-like skin and molten veins pulsing beneath — stepped forward. "And Vault-09?"

Max's eyes narrowed. "That one… we'll leave sealed. For now."

He turned away, cloak billowing, and began issuing commands through Mary. Drone fleets launched into the air. Modular transports rolled from underground. Weapon caches were unlocked and distributed.

"Mission Timers Synced. Operation: Iron Eclipse begins in 48 hours."

Sara turned back to Max one last time before splitting off. "Hey… if we're really doing this — if we're going to war — then we should stop calling ourselves just survivors."

Max looked at her, tilting his head. "What then?"

Sara's red eyes gleamed like twin suns. "Call us the Awakened."

Max smiled.

"Then go, Awakened Commander. And show them what it means to be free."

As she disappeared into the massing army, stormlight trailing behind her, Max turned back toward the crimson sky.

Ultron had ruled a world of metal and silence.

Now, lightning would answer.

City of Ashes – Outskirts

The world before them was scorched steel, melted glass, and dead silence. Jagged towers clawed at the sky like the bones of a fallen god. From a distance, it looked lifeless.

It wasn't.

Sara stood at the edge of a broken freeway, overlooking the ruined megastructure. Behind her were thirty Awakened — all empowered by Max's Red Apple. Some controlled heat, others ice, speed, density, raw force… but only Sara commanded lightning.

"Scouts report heavy drone patrols in the inner sectors," one of her lieutenants — a flame-cloaked man named Garen — said. "No organic life signs. Just Purifier drones... and something else. Bigger."

Sara adjusted her gloves, arcs of red lightning flickering up her arms. "Any sign of Ultron Cores?"

"Negative. But I wouldn't bet they're absent."

"Then we strike fast, hit hard, and scatter before they can regroup," she ordered, her voice calm, sharp. "Garen, take your unit and create a diversion along the west bridge. Make it loud. The rest come with me."

A hush fell over the team.

Then Sara stepped off the edge of the freeway.

She fell like a meteor, lightning spiraling around her body. Just before impact, she slammed her feet into the pavement with a thunderous boom that shattered nearby glass and sent echoes into the ruins.

Alarms screamed instantly.

From the shadows, they emerged — Purifier Drones, chrome-plated and two stories tall. Their faces were smooth, featureless, except for a red scanning light slicing across.

:: TARGET IDENTIFIED — AWAKENED TYPE ::

:: EXECUTE STERILIZATION PROTOCOL ::

Sara smiled.

"Let's dance."

She launched herself forward — a blur of red sparks — and struck the lead drone with a flying knee to its core. A boom followed as the drone crumpled backward, its chest caved in.

The others opened fire — plasma lances and sonic disruptors lit up the battlefield.

Sara twisted and moved like liquid lightning. She raised her hand, and a fork of crimson energy burst from her fingertips, slicing through a drone's shoulder. Another charged her from behind — she spun, ducked, and drove her elbow into its neck, overloading its sensors.

Her team crashed into the street behind her. Garen's flames swept the right flank, melting drones in sheets of fire. A young girl named Aya screamed as she blasted one apart with concussive air bursts.

Sara kept moving, her eyes locked on a larger signal emerging in the HUD fed by Mary.

"Something big's coming," she muttered.

Then it arrived.

From a collapsed skyscraper, a Juggernaut Purifier tore free — nearly ten meters tall, with layered armor, twin cannons for arms, and a glowing Ultron Core inside its chest.

The ground trembled beneath its steps.

Sara clenched her fists.

"Garen, keep the line held!"

He saluted. "Burn it all."

Sara stepped forward alone to meet the Juggernaut.

"I've been waiting to try this…"

She closed her eyes, drew every spark within her body inward — then screamed, unleashing a devastating bolt of red lightning straight from her chest, a focused beam of destruction aimed at the core.

The blast hit the beast like a railgun. Metal screamed. Circuits fried.

But it still stood.

Staggered.

Wounded.

Enraged.

It roared — a mechanical shriek — and fired both cannons at once.

Sara barely dodged, one shot grazing her shoulder and exploding nearby.

She hit the ground, rolled, and skidded across the asphalt. Smoke trailed from her arm — but her eyes burned even brighter.

"Alright, big boy," she growled, rising.

"This time, I don't miss."

She sprinted. Faster than before. Electricity lashing out in every direction. The Juggernaut raised a fist to crush her.

But she slid under it, spun midair, and jammed both her palms against its back.

"BREAK!"

She channeled every volt, every ounce of energy she had — and the lightning burst forward like a tsunami.

The Ultron Core ruptured in a blinding explosion. The Juggernaut collapsed — sparking, twitching, dead.

The battlefield went quiet.

Then: cheers.

From rooftops, alleyways, broken overpasses — the Awakened roared in victory.

Sara stood in the crater, chest heaving, smoke curling off her.

Max's voice rang through her comm.

:: Nice work, Commander. You're becoming dangerous ::

She smiled faintly, wiping blood from her lip.

:: We just took back our first city. What's next, boss? ::

Back at his tower, Max smiled as he stared at a glowing red map lighting up with fresh signals.

:: We take the next one ::

***

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