Human Errors
Alexei reached his destination; a sort of abandoned factory that, at first glance, looked dead. However, the metallic noises coming from inside and the robots patrolling the area told a very different story.
It was truly surprising how they could hide such a massive technological complex simply by hacking any device that tried to reveal its existence. For Ultron, that was easy. If something didn't exist on the network, then it was invisible. And if someone got too close, they were simply destroyed.
Alexei walked in with a dark expression; entirely annoyed. His mission had failed. Not only had he failed to steal the cradle where a new body for Ultron was being built, but he had also failed to kidnap Dr. Helen Cho, the only one capable of helping him assume a new form.
As he crossed the door, the factory's interior revealed a world opposite to its decaying exterior. It was filled with high-tech machinery, panels covered with thermal sheets, and dozens of robots working nonstop. Although, of course, it wasn't like they actually needed to. It was all cold automation.
And there was Ultron. Sitting calmly on a metallic seat, wrapped in a tangle of cables that seemed to connect him to a sort of central server.
"You appear to have failed," Ultron said calmly, lifting his gaze toward Alexei.
"Attacking the Avengers' base with all of them there and only a hundred robots isn't as easy as you think," Alexei replied. "At least I got to beat the hell out of that guy; which means that, next time we meet, I'll be able to rip his head off," he added with a violent, almost excited smile.
"Is that what you believe?" Ultron asked, locking his cybernetic eyes on him. He slowly stood up, disconnecting from whatever he had been trying to complete. "In truth… it was always a test," he added, approaching with heavy steps.
He walked around him with calculated slowness. Each step produced a faint metallic thud that made the floor vibrate, enough for Alexei to frown in discomfort.
"What do you mean?" Alexei asked, irritation and suspicion mixing in his voice.
"They say mistakes make humans. Or that humans make mistakes. But that is different with machines," Ultron said with absolute coldness. "As the only human in this place, I thought giving you a mission would allow us to see how perfect you were now with your new powers. But even with such impressive power… you are still human."
Before Alexei could react, Ultron pierced through his chest. Right through the same spot where Owen had struck him before.
Air escaped his body in a muffled gasp. He looked down in disbelief. Ultron's metallic hand was emerging from his back, while a bright, golden blood, like liquid fire, fell to the ground. Each drop released steam upon touching the surface, showing how scorching it was.
But what caught his attention the most wasn't the pain or the blood; it was the object Ultron held between his fingers.
It looked like a small vibranium device; a shining piece with a flickering light at its center. The moment Ultron pulled it out of Alexei's body, the light began to fail. Electrical sparks jumped around it, slowly extinguishing it.
Alexei's eyes widened with sudden fury. He turned sharply, as if everything clicked together in that instant.
Owen had let him believe he had been defeated.
Only to plant that inside his own body.
"Yes, yes," Ultron murmured, looking at him with an expression that could almost have been disappointment. If a mechanical face could show emotions. "This mistake only confirms I was right. Humans are useless to me. That is why erasing them to begin a new era is optimal to achieve perfection."
Alexei stared at him in confusion, still trembling, but out of rage, not pain.
"What are you saying?" he asked, grinding his teeth.
"That you better hurry with your revenge. Or soon there will be nothing and no one left for you to avenge," Ultron said. He then glanced toward one of the windows; a red flash was approaching at high speed. "And this will be your last opportunity. Perhaps," he added calmly.
Alexei turned toward the window. The flash was getting closer and closer.
With an explosion of rage, he shot toward it.
Ultron watched the scene without hurry. He walked back to his seat as the robots began moving at greater speed; as if some internal signal had triggered a combat protocol.
"Humans and their emotions. They always cloud their judgment," Ultron reflected, with a voice that almost sounded amusedly scientific. "A simple message can make an innocent man be labeled as guilty. And family, blinded by their emotions, will see him as their enemy, losing all decency and even guilt for killing other innocents. When they discover their mistake… they only break again under their own emotions. That is why they are so fragile. That is why emotions are unnecessary."
He sat down fully and allowed the cables to reconnect around his metallic body.
…
"I found him, sir. Ultron is trying to access the world's nuclear missiles from Sokovia. He is no longer hiding," Friday reported in a mechanical tone.
"Anyone else think this is a trap?" Tony asked. Judging by the others' expressions, it was clear they all thought the same.
"Trap or not, we have to stop him," Steve said firmly.
"Where's Owen?" Wanda asked, looking around after noticing his absence.
"Knowing him, he already finished his job," Nicolás replied with a sigh. For him, it wasn't unusual for Owen to move on his own; sometimes he focused so much on neutralizing something dangerous that he barely registered the people around him.
"I'll warn about the evacuation. You, get your suits on," the general said with a severe expression as he walked toward the entrance. "And take the new one with you."
A man… or rather, an artificially created entity, entered through the door with a reddish cape and a shining yellow gem on his forehead.
Vision.
…
Owen, still wearing the same clothes he had used during his fight with Alexei, had the tired expression of someone who just wanted to finish all of this once and for all. He stopped abruptly in the sky and descended to land in a controlled way.
A slight explosion of dirt rose when his feet touched the ground. He stretched a little, relaxing his muscles.
He had told the others he was going to take a shower, but as soon as Alexei's tracker stopped moving, he rushed toward the source. And yes, it was in Sokovia. Exactly where he expected.
He knew that, in the end, everything would point to the same place as in the official canon; although sometimes he doubted because of the changes that had happened. But some things seemed destined to occur in the same space and time.
That could be good or bad; only time would tell.
While Owen observed the buildings in the distance —a distance not so great— he also saw flashes in the sky. Small explosions marked Alexei's approach.
Of course, Owen wouldn't go anywhere near a place where innocent civilians could get caught in the fight. Before Alexei arrived, he sent a quick signal through his phone directly to the general.
A silent reminder: the battle would be inevitable.
Alexei landed with another explosion of dust and dirt. His expression was a mix of fury, frustration, and a hatred so dense it seemed to radiate heat. There was a thirst for vengeance in his eyes… and other new emotions that Owen noticed as well.
"You pretended to be defeated by me, didn't you? You were mocking me?" Alexei shouted as his skin turned an intense, almost demonic red. His muscles swelled slightly, and his hair ignited in living flames.
The fuel of his power seemed to be, from the very beginning, the hatred he felt toward Owen.
"I'm tired of this little game of chasing the mouse," Owen said with a firm voice. His aura shifted immediately; no longer the relaxed vibe of a tired man, but the cold, straight posture of a soldier ready to destroy any threat that could endanger civilians. "At this point I already know what Ultron is going to try. I know he won't succeed. And all the necessary factors to defeat him are already in place. The only unstable variable is you. It has always been you. That's why I let you keep being that furious child who kept screaming all this time."
"A child? A child?" Alexei repeated, his voice trembling with rage. The ground beneath his feet began turning reddish; it seemed to melt under the heat of his body. "You killed my father!" he roared as the flames around him grew, transforming the entire environment. The air became unbearably hot. The leaves of the nearby trees shriveled in seconds. The grass turned pale, brittle.
"I saved your father," Owen replied with an icy calm that contrasted sharply with the surrounding flames. "He told me about you. He told me how special you were since the day you were born. How your body had such a strong immune system that you never got sick, not even when there was a flu outbreak at your school."
Owen took a step forward, showing no fear of the heat or the flames.
"He told me you liked sports because training allowed you to improve much faster than your classmates, in any discipline. But that you always hit a limit. That's why you kept changing sports again and again. That your dream was to become a war reporter to show the truth to the world. He also told me how much he cried when you didn't come back up from the water after rescuing that person."
Alexei frowned so deeply it almost looked painful. His eyes trembled with a mixture of anger and doubt.
"I also have your father's research on the serum he gave me," Owen continued without looking away. "Yes, it was based on that rare ability you were born with. The difference is that he wanted to break the limit that always trapped you."
A tense silence.
"But since you were no longer there to receive it… he simply created it for me."
"Lies," Alexei shouted. Flames burst around his body.
"What am I lying about?" Owen asked, calm as a rock in a storm.
"Lies…" Alexei repeated, this time lower. His voice sounded broken; as if a part of him had known the truth for a long time. "He would still be alive if he hadn't created that serum. He would still be alive if he hadn't worked to give you that power. He would still be alive if he had just retired in peace. It was your fault."
He didn't let Owen respond.
Consecutive explosions erupted from his back as he propelled himself forward at high speed.
His fist, loaded with resentment, shot ahead like a burning comet.
Owen tilted his head slightly.
The fist passed centimeters from his face and exploded behind him, breaking trees and ripping chunks of earth apart in a brutal shockwave.
Alexei spun quickly. With his other hand, he launched a hook toward Owen's chest.
Owen simply stepped back.
This explosion shot upward into the sky, creating a column of fire that illuminated the area like an infernal sunrise. The fire surrounded both of them, forming a burning circle that would have been deadly for any ordinary human.
Owen stood at the center, unmoving, calm.
The fire didn't touch him.
It didn't even seem to affect him.
"Your blind and destructive resentment… unfortunately needs to come to an end," Owen said with heavy sincerity. "Your father was my friend. And he was the person who gave me the power to protect myself and protect others. And that is what I will use it for. I hope you can understand that."
It seemed he was giving him a privilege many enemies never received: their final words.
Alexei was about to throw another punch when the world turned red.
The last thing he saw before feeling pain was Owen's body moving like a crimson blur.
An instant later…
Alexei exploded.
His body disintegrated into pieces that flew in all directions. Chunks of flesh, bone fragments, golden blood sparkling in the air like burning droplets.
Owen slowly lowered his fist.
The black glove covering it had deployed; several thin plates had opened around the fist like metallic arrows, extended in different directions.
Owen's power flowed through each of those pieces like tiny channels.
They were the diversified vectors.
The repulsion, instead of going in a single direction, split into multiple axes.
One punch.
Multiple directions.
A body that couldn't withstand the separation.
A special upgrade… courtesy of Tony.
The remains of Alexei began crawling toward each other, gathering into an amorphous mass of red flesh and golden blood. It was a grotesque sight.
Owen observed it with a gaze that was now completely cold; severe, military.
"Your regeneration has a limit. And this time there will be no escape," he said with deadly calm, fully adopting the role of final executor.
He was prepared to destroy him as many times as needed.
For Alexei.
For his father.
For everyone who would come after.