Avengers: Peace in our Time

14-Defending the Core

Tony's warning rang out in Dean's mind as he braced himself for the assault. There had to be hundreds of Ultron's robots rushing for them. Their footfalls shook the ground and Dean could feel his pulse racing in anticipation. This was it. This battle was going to decide the fate of the planet. If even one of those robots laid a hand on the core there would be little that could stop Sokovia from decimating the earth's population. Dean kept the warning close to him as he looked over at Thor. The Asgardian was purely focused on the battle that ran toward him. Dean took courage in Thor's strength and fortitude. He imagined that an aura of bravery was resonating off of Thor, and just by being close to him it might also touch Dean. He raised his sword and the blade crackled as the electrical current coursed throughout its sharpened edge.

As he looked around, he was met with the faces of his closest allies. His teammates. His family. Since becoming an Avenger, he had grown to love each of them. Even Jarvis, now known as Vision, could be included in this. If death were coming for him, he couldn't imagine a group of people he trusted more to have his back. And he knew the feeling was mutual.

The twins were an unknown element, and yet Dean could sense their natures. He could see that they knew the error of their ways, that they wanted nothing more than to make amends and set things right. His eyes passed from Pietro, who kept his gaze fixed on the incoming robots, then settled onto Wanda. She spared a glance at him and Dean could see something in her eyes that lit some kind of fire within him- hope.

"None of them touches the core!" Cap yelled out as the first wave tore into the church and rushed them.

Images came too quickly for Dean to process. Cap somersaulted onto an enemy and simultaneously bashed another across the face with the edge of his shield. Widow's electrified batons sizzled and popped as they made contact with several robots. An explosive arrow was unleashed from Hawkeye's bow, detonating among a large cluster and sending bits of torn metal flying. Hulk had taken an armload of the soulless enemies and was tearing them into so many pieces, even using his mouth to rip the head off of one of them. Vision and Iron Man maintained a vigilant watch from above, their aerial attacks sending robots scattered across the church floor. Mjolnir lit up with a massive burst of lightning as Thor ascended and took aim. A stream of lightning erupted from the Uru and created a devastating chain among a large number of the enemies. The twins attacked in a combination of Pietro's blinding speed and Wanda's strange telekinetic powers.

Dean danced about the battlefield, his sword slicing and tearing at anything in his path. His body was alive with adrenaline as he leaped from enemy to enemy, his agility pushing itself to its limits. Each time a robot attempted to make for the core, Dean was slicing it apart. When one of them tried to get their hands on him, he was dexterously dodging and retaliating immediately with a killing blow.

"We're thinning the horde!" Cap called out as the figure of Ultron smashed into the church and slammed into Vision. The android managed to loosen himself from the larger enemy and a brilliant beam of yellow energy erupted from the gem in his forehead, tossing Ultron into the nearby wall and sending him hurtling through it. As Vision flew off to pursue, Thor and Iron Man took flight as well.

Dean followed on foot, picking off approaching robots as the three Avengers unleashed a combination of lightning, uni-beam and the gem's powers upon Ultron. Dean could see that Ultron was slowly losing his footing against the combined might. A swarm of his robots ran forward at his directive to try and pull the Avengers away from him. Dean pulled his handgun and began to open fire on them, shooting each robot before it could even lay a hand on them.

When the last robot in Dean's field of vision fell, the assault of the three Avengers broke Ultron's balance and the giant vibranium enemy went flying backward and across the ground. The ground shook with the power of incoming footsteps. Dean looked over his shoulder and grinned as the Hulk came running out of the church and passed him.