Chapter 32: Guardians of the Multiverse II
As soon as Strange, Thor, and Logan emerged from the portal, they were greeted by the sight of Natasha holding the Soul Stone. The others had their weapons trained on her, tension filling the air.
Captain Carter stepped forward, speaking calmly, "We're not here to fight you, Natasha. We're from other universes. We've come to stop Ultron."
Natasha hesitated for a moment but saw the sincerity in Carter's eyes.
Then she explained how they are friends within her universe and tells about somethings only she knew, that leads her to believe in Carter.
With a nod, she handed the Soul Stone to Gamora.
Logan wasted no time, walking over to Gamora. "Did you make the changes to the device?" he asked, his tone firm.
Gamora nodded. Logan had already warned her that the Infinity Crusher might not work on Ultron's stones since they came from a different universe. Thanks to the Watcher's help, they had managed to recalibrate the device to match Ultron's unique Infinity Stones.
As Gamora was about to place the stone into the Infinity Crusher, a massive portal tore open in the sky.
Ultron, surrounded by the glowing power of the infinity Stones, descended with cold fury.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me," Ultron said, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
The Reality Stone and Power stone pulsed, and in an instant, the entire area swarmed with an army of Ultron drones, ready to overwhelm the Guardians.
"Get ready!" Thor yelled, raising Mjolnir as he charged into the fray, lightning coursing through his body.
Ultron himself focused on Gamora, streaking toward her with terrifying speed. Before he could reach her, a powerful energy blast from Logan sent him flying back, crashing into the ground.
Logan turned to Gamora and shouted, "Destroy it now!"
Gamora nodded, working quickly to get the Soul Stone into the Infinity Crusher as the others engaged the swarm of robots.
Strange summoned multiple energy shields to guard Gamora untill she destroys it, then he began to decimate the drones, while Captain Carter, Natasha and Star-Lord fought fiercely at his side.
Killmonger is by Gamora's side to make sure no drones approach her.
The battlefield was chaotic, with blasts of magic, gunfire, and the sound of metal clashing against metal. Ultron's drones were falling, but it seemed endless.
Amid the chaos, Ultron reappeared, completely unscathed. His armor glowed with the combined power of the Stones. He hovered above them, untouchable, watching with cold detachment.
Logan, seeing this decided to use his full power. "Alright," he muttered, "no more holding back."
He extended his mysterium claws and reached down, touching the enchanted protection spell on his suit.
With a single motion, the Mysterium claws dispelled Strange's protective magic, causing it to flicker and vanish. Then, with a quick tear, he ripped off the upper half of his suit, exposing his muscular, scarred body.
Thor, standing nearby, couldn't help but whistle. "Are you some kind of exhibitionist, Logan?"
Logan ignored him, his focus solely on Ultron. His body began to shift, muscles rippling as fur sprouted from his arms, and his height increased. His hybrid form emerged in full force, a towering figure of raw power and fury.
Now transformed, Logan growled deeply, his red eyes locking onto Ultron. "Get ready for the final round."
Logan charged at Ultron, not holding back this time. The hybrid form amplified his strength, and now, without Strange's protective spell deflecting the energy, Logan could absorb all the power Ultron threw at him.
Each hit from Ultron only fueled Logan's power and adaptive evolution, making him stronger with every attack.
Ultron blasted Logan with the Power Stone, but Logan absorbed the energy, channeling it through his body, his muscles swelling as blue energy crackled around him.
He also used Reality stone on Logan but his adaptive Evolution came in handy as he knows become immune to reality warping.
Ultron then used Power stone and Reality stone to boost his power more and destroy Logan.
Logan's body after a long time took damage, but soon his healing factor kicked in, making him as good as new.
Ultron's strikes grew more desperate, but Logan fought back relentlessly. Every punch, every slash from his glowing mysterium claws pushed Ultron further into a corner.
Ultron tried to use all the remaining Infinity Stones to counter Logan's strength, but Logan matched him blow for blow. As Ultron increased his power, Logan absorbed it, adapting and becoming even more formidable.
Thor and the others watched in awe as Logan overwhelmed Ultron. "Maybe he don't need the rest of us," Thor muttered, watching Logan dominate the battle.
Dr. Strange, seeing an opportunity, unleashed his power to eliminate the remaining robots. they all then disintegrated under his magic.
Meanwhile, Gamora activated the modified Infinity Crusher. The device hummed with power as it locked onto the Soul Stone.
Booommm...
With a massive explosion, the Soul Stone shattered into pieces, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.
Ultron screamed in fury as he felt the loss of one of his precious stones. "Nooo!" he roared, the ground trembling beneath his rage.
The brief distraction gave Logan the opening he needed. His claws glowed burning brilliant blue with all the energy he had absorbed from Ultron. He lunged at Ultron, aiming directly for the Space Stone.
As Logan's claws made contact with the stone, a massive explosion erupted.
Booooommmm...
The shockwave was so powerful that it blew everyone back. But Logan, immune to the impact, hovered in place, absorbing the blast. To everyone's surprise, the Space Stone shattered under his claws.
Ultron, his body sparking with the energy of the broken stone, screamed in fury. He desperately tried to repair himself with the Reality Stone, but two of his stones were now gone, and his strength was waning.
"How did he destroy the Space Stone?" Natasha asked, bewildered.
Dr. Strange, still in awe of the scene, explained, "Logan's powers are tied to the Space Stone. He's absorbed so much energy from it along with other stones during the fight that his own energy has begun to resonate with the stone. That's why he was able to destroy it."
Logan remembered how Wanda had destroyed Vision's stone in a similar way. It all made sense now.
"You can't stop me!" Ultron shouted, using the Time Stone to try and reverse the destruction of his stones. But before he could fully manipulate time, Strange countered, using his own Time Stone to block Ultron's attempt.
The rest of the Guardians didn't waste any time. They attacked Ultron, bombarding him with everything they had. Logan, meanwhile, moved over to Natasha, who was preparing to fire arrows from Clint's bow.
"Ultron's an AI," Logan said. "Even if we destroy his body, he can still escape into the internet. We need to stop him from the inside. Got anything we can use?"
Realisation hit Natasha as she pulled out a green-tipped arrow from her quiver. "I just need a clear shot."
Their conversation was cut short as Ultron, in his desperation, increased his size using the Power Stone. However, Strange quickly used his power from one of the monster he absorbed to shrink him back to normal.
Logan rushed over to Captain Carter, explaining the plan. Soon, they were ready.
While Logan and the others distracted Ultron, Captain Carter went on a nearby cliff and when the time is right she jumped from cliff, landing on Ultron's shoulders. With all her strength, she pried open his mask, exposing his face.
Natasha, now armed with the green-tipped arrow carrying the analog copy of Dr. Zola's AI, took aim. With precision, she fired, and the arrow struck Ultron right in the eye.
Inside Ultron's systems, Zola's AI battled with Ultron, eventually overpowering him and erasing his program. Outside, Ultron's body began to falter and fall from the sky.
Captain Carter, still on Ultron's shoulders, was caught mid-air by Logan, who safely lowered her to the ground.
Wasting no time, Logan approached Ultron's fallen body, ripping the Mind Stone from his head and gathering the remaining stones from his armor. He tossed them onto the ground and stood atop the rubble.
"Finally, we won," Logan muttered.
Thor raised Mjolnir to the sky, cheering, "We wooonnn!"
But before the celebration could continue, Killmonger, who had been silently observing, made his move. He approached the stones, but Logan quickly intervened, tossing the stones to Strange. Extending his claws, Logan growled, "What the hell are you doing?"
Killmonger attempted to reason with them. "We can change everything! We can use the stones to reshape our worlds. Carter, you could be with Steve again. Strange, you could be with Christine."
But the others weren't swayed, ready to confront him if needed.
Killmonger realized he couldn't win this fight and started to backtrack. "Alright, if you sa—" But before he could finish, Logan swiftly decapitated his head with his claws.
Everyone gasped. T'Challa ran to Logan, yelling, "Why did you do that?!"
Logan calmly retracted his claws and replied, "He was too dangerous to keep alive. The moment I saw him, I knew he'd be trouble. If he got the Infinity Stones, he would've tried something dangerous."
"Indeed," came a voice. Everyone turned to see the Watcher step through a portal.
The Watcher then explained how Killmonger had killed Tony Stark and nearly destroyed his entire world. Despite their shock, they trusted the Watcher's words.
Captain Carter approached the Watcher. "Then why did you choose him?" she asked.
The Watcher smiled faintly. "So you could end him."
Gamora and Carter exchanged looks, realizing the Watcher's plan all along.
The Watcher waved his hand, and the remaining stones floated into his grasp. With another wave, the group found themselves back in the familiar pub where they had first met.
"The multiverse owes you all a debt of gratitude," the Watcher said. "But your worlds will never know. Still, remember this—you will always be remembered as the Guardians of the Multiverse."
He gestured toward a glowing door. "Once you walk through that door, you'll return to the exact moment you left."
Smiling, the group said their farewells. One by one, they stepped through the portal, returning to their worlds. Logan, eager to see Laura again, stepped through as well.
Captain Carter paused at the doorway. "Didn't I earn my happy ending?" she asked.
The Watcher replied gently, "Trust me, that world, that reality still needs Captain Carter."
She smiled at Natasha before stepping through. Meanwhile, the Watcher sent Natasha to another universe that had lost its own Natasha.
He then went to visit Strange, who went to his little prison.
Strange noticing the Watcher, "You saw and knew everything, Logan alone might be enough to destroy the Ultron. But why did you chose the team."
"Because Ultron is an anomaly, I didn't see he would become a threat to the multiverse but he did, So, I didn't want to take any chances."
"Then you picked Killmonger, so that Logan will kill him, since he will backstab us. Since you don't want to kill him, you made Logan kill him. I got to admit you're more cunning."
"See you later, Strange." Watcher just smiled at that comment and went to watch the multiverse again.
The multiverse was at peace once more, but the legend of the Guardians would live on forever.