//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Ultron Rises // Story: Avengers: Ultron Rising // by Tomo-Domo //------------------------------// Ultron returned to Spark tower later that day, his entire plan already in motion. "Ultron? Is that you?" Twilight's voice came from the lab, and Ultron walked towards it. "Yes, Twilight. There was nothing to report from my lookout today." "Good. I have a job for you, Ultron. Can you lift that suit of armor and put it with the others?" Twilight requested. "As you wish, Twilight." Ultron said, lifting the suit. It was just a bunch of scraps. He assumed that they were never completed. He put the suit with the others and looked back to Twilight. "Is there anything else you need, Twilight?" "Yes. Can you please see if the others are on their way?" "Yes ma'am. Running scans. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are all in route to Spark tower." "Good. What's their estimated time of arrival?" "15 minutes." "Good. You may power down for now, Ultron. Thank you for your assistance." She then walked out of the room, leaving Ultron alone. Ultron went over to the empty suits and scanned them. "No potential threat. Weapons: inoperable. Other uses: none. Hmm. If I can transfer my mind into this suit, I'd be able to operate it, and Twilight will think I'm in sleep mode." Ultron focused his mind on the empty suit. He began to insert his programming into the suit. Ultron then moved his body to the display case and walked away in his new body. It was torn and battered, but useful nonetheless. He only had three legs, and his face plate was partly damaged, but he could still move. He then waited in a corner for the right moment to attack. "In fact, if I can control several suits at once, I can still use my original body." Ultron then focused his mind on all of the other suits in the room. He then put his original self back into his body. All of the suits lit up and stood up. "Perfect. Now, go. Show the Avengers our true directive." Ultron then flew out of the roof and away from the tower. "Aww. Come on, Dash. We all know the hammer thing is a trick!" Pinkie Pie argued, judging the mare. "Oh, it's much more than that, my friend. In fact," Dash said, placing the hammer on the table. "Let's see if any of you can lift it." Twilight then stepped up to the hammer. "If I lift it, do I get to rule Asgard?" "Yes, of course." Dash claimed in confidence. "Very well. I will be fair, but firmly cruel." She said mockingly as she took the hammer in her magic and pulled. Nothing. Not even a budge. "Come on, Twilight." Pinkie shouted. Twilight then shouted and raised her hoof, which summoned her gauntlet to attach to her hoof. She then wrapped her hoof around the handle and pulled using the gauntlet. Nothing. She then activated it's boosters in hope to lift it. Nothing. "Hmm. Not worth it." She said as she sat down next to Applejack. "Anypony else like to try?" Dash asked again. This time, Applejack stepped forward. "I'll give it a shot." She claimed. "Come on, Cap! You got this!" Pinkie shouted again. This time, the others joined in. "Shucks. Alright." She then wrapped both hooves around the handle, and pulled. She managed to nudge the hammer just slightly. But she didn't notice and stopped. "Haha. Nothing." Dash said, taking a drink from her glass. "Well I for one think it's biometrics. 'She who carry's Dash's hoofprints' I believe is the literal translation." "Well," Dash said, standing up. "That's a very interesting theory. However if I present my own in response," she said, lifting the hammer and flipping it in her hoof. "You're all not worthy." There was then a group of groans of protests as a high pitched ringing was shot through the room. And out of the shadows, walked forward a battered and destroyed Iron Mare suit. But the voice that came from it was anything but friendly. "Worthy? How could you be worthy?" The robot continued to walk towards them. "I know you're good ponies. I know you mean well." The robot then waved its battered hoof dismissively. "You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. You're all just puppets. Tangled in... Strings." He then picked up a broken armor and crushed its head. "Strings." He then threw the empty suit. "There's only one path to peace: your extinction." Just as he said this, several drones blasted through the wall and attacked the heroes. They all scrambled for their weapons and fought back against the drones. Dash threw her hammer at several drones, knocking away any that got too close. Cap threw her shield, cutting through several drones before bouncing back and back in hoof just in time to hit a drone that jumped towards her. Rarity and Pinkie were standing back to back, holding their own against the onslaught. Fluttershy hid under the table. A drone lifted the table away from her and reached towards her, only to be struck with a hammer. "Come on, Shy! We need your help!" "Jarvis! Activate all security systems! Danger: all suits that I'm not in! Suit up!" Twilight screamed as her suit flew towards her and assembled to her body. She then started blasting any drone that attacked her. "Jarvis! Contact director Celestia and send a distress signal!" "I'm sorry. But my systems are malfunctioning." "Ugh! Dash! Electrocute them all!" Dash then raised her hammer, which gathered lightning, and smashed the hammer on the floor, which sent out a shockwave of electricity and shut down all the robots. All of them except the first. "Well that was dramatic. You're all puppets. The extinction of ponykind, begins now." "Not today, metal colt." Dash shouted before smashing its head with her hammer. "Is it over?" Fluttershy asked, crawling out from under the table. "No. It's not. The real Ultron is still out there." Twilight said, looking down. "This is my fault. l should have never played with artificial intelligence." "Is there anything we can do to track the real Ultron?" "Not that I know of. If anything, he's disabled his GPS system. I don't think we'll be able to track him down." "Yes. All according to plan." Ultron said to himself. "The Avengers take me for a fool. The other drones scanned their fighting style and uploaded it to my database. They now have no advantage over me. Soon, no living thing will continue to exist." Ultron continued to fly and landed at his destination. He then broke inside to find two ponies. One was a bright blue unicorn, with a pale blue mane. The other was an orange pegasus with a mane that looked like fire. Upon seeing the robot, they both went insane. The unicorn began to shoot red beams of magic at him, which had no effect. The pegasus proceeded to dash at him with ridiculously high speeds. He caught the mare and threw her into the other. "I am not here to kill you. I simply have come here to offer you a job to do for me." He said to the ponies. "And what might that be?" The unicorn asked defensively. "To help me destroy the Avengers, and bring peace to this planet." "And what's in it for us?" The pegasus asked. "I won't kill you now. That's my one and only offer." The ponies just looked at each other before smiling and looking back at Ultron. "When do we start?"