When the Lions Come

04

"Worthy... No, how could you be worthy?" Ultron asked. "You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve called.

"JARVIS," Tony said.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," Ultron told them. "Or... I was a - dream?"

Tony tapped his device. "Reboot, Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

"There was a terrible noise... and I was tangled in... in... strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve and Hudson asked.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor demanded.

Ultron replayed a recording of Tony's voice. ""I see a suit of armor around the world.""

"Ultron!" Bruce realized.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in our time."

The walls exploded and several Iron Legion bots barged into the room. They began attacking the team, who all went on the defensive and fought back. Rhodey got knocked through a window.

"Rhodey!" Hill cried.

Bruce climbed over the bar to avoid fire from the bots. Natasha grabbed him and dragged him down, and he landed on top of her.

"Sorry!" Bruce apologized.

"Don't turn green!" Natasha told him.

"I won't!"

The Avengers continued fighting the bots. One of the Iron Legion bots stole the scepter.

"Come!" Natasha said to Bruce.

The Avengers, while they were fighting back, were mostly trying to avoid getting hit.

"Stark!" Steve and Hudson called.

Tony was attacking one of the Iron Legion bots with a fondue fork.

"We are here to help," the Iron Legion said.

"One sec, one sec I got this!" Tony replied.

"We are here to help..." A half-destroyed Iron Legion bot used its thrusters to hold itself aloft, advancing on Dr. Cho. "We are here to help... Is unsafe. Please back away."

"Hmm," Ultron hummed as the Iron Legion lowered its weapon and Steve grabbed it and threw it away for Thor to hit with his hammer.

"Thor!" Steve yelled.

Tony continued trying to attack one of the Iron Legions with his fork as the Iron Legion said, "It's unsafe. It's unsafe. It's unsafe."

"Come on!" Tony cried. "That's the one!"

"It's unsafe." Tony shut it down and it fell to the floor. The fighting continued until Clint threw Captain America's shield to him.

"Cap!" Clint called.

Steve used his shield to dismember the last Iron Legion bot.

"That was dramatic!" Ultron exclaimed. "I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to... evolve?" He picked up one of the dismembered Iron Legion bots. "With these? These puppets?" He crushed the Iron Legion bot's head. "There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."