In the middle of Wickham Avenue in New York, Allens stood facing the assembled superheroes, his cold eyes scanning them. His telepathy allowed him to clearly sense their thoughts.
"Avengers, are you here to stop me?"
A faint light flickered in his eyes. Although Sokovia had been destroyed by the Star Destroyer Cannon, Allens never intended for Sokovia to strike Earth in the first place. That madness was born from Ultron's mind, influenced by stray thoughts Tony Stark had unknowingly planted.
Destroying Earth was useless to Allens. What he wanted was to test the limits of this world—and to measure the true strength of the Avengers before leaving this timeline.
But for the Avengers, his "experiments" were catastrophic threats. Now, Iron Man Tony Stark, Captain America Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Falcon Sam Wilson, and War Machine Colonel James Rhodes all stood watching Allens cautiously, waiting in silence.
"In a mortal body, Tony Stark dares to rival the gods."
"The American symbol of justice, Captain America Steve Rogers."
"The heir of Odin, God-King of Asgard—Thor Odinson."
Allens' low, cold voice focused on Stark, Rogers, and Thor. As for Falcon and War Machine, he dismissed them entirely.
"Damn it, Sam, are we being ignored?" Rhodey muttered over the comms, half helpless, half annoyed. Falcon only answered with silence.
Tony Stark smirked. "Should I be honored? I kind of like that—you said I'm as mortal as a god. Sounds about right for my style."
His armor was battered beyond repair, so Stark used the smart glasses on his face to connect to Veronica, the satellite station above.
"Sir, Anti-Hulk Armor activating," the AI display confirmed.
Stark stepped out of the broken suit, straightening his hand-tailored vest and jacket, looking as arrogant as ever.
"Hey, Allens, we still don't know your real goal. So before the fighting starts, why don't you tell us what you're after?"
He was stalling for time, and Allens knew it. But it didn't matter. Whether Stark had his Anti-Hulk armor or not, the outcome wouldn't change.
"My purpose?" Allens let out a low chuckle. "Interesting question. To me, this timeline still has some value… but I want to see the legacy of Earth. This little planet sits at the center of the cosmic vortex. If Earth were destroyed—what sort of gods would it draw out? Would even beings like the Devourer of Worlds interfere?"
A cold smile crept onto his lips. That had been his plan from the beginning: to see if destroying Earth would bring forth cosmic entities—the likes of Galactus, or perhaps the Celestials.
If they appeared, Allens would know to adjust his plans for other timelines. If not, it would mean they didn't care about Earth's survival, leaving him free to act however he pleased in the future.
"You're insane! The Sokovia project is over—we shut it down!" Captain America's voice was sharp with anger.
"Hey, Allens, need a reminder? Sokovia was destroyed—by one of our friends from the future, no less." Tony shrugged, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he watched the countdown in his glasses tick closer to zero.
Allens' smile vanished. "Ridiculous. You think ending Sokovia's fall ended my plan? If anything… I'm annoyed that it was cut short."
His tone made even the Avengers falter, but it was Ultron—standing behind Allens—who froze in panic. His databanks surged with fear, and his towering frame expanded again to over a hundred meters, unable to hide his dread.
"S-Sir…"
Even with his strength and processing power multiplied, Ultron felt no confidence against Allens. His creator's power was absolute.
"Ultron—hold off the American army for one minute," Allens commanded, his black eyes glowing faintly with white light. He had already glimpsed the future and seen the military forces on their way.
"Yes, Sir!"
Relieved, Ultron's optics flared as he gathered energy. A hurricane whipped around his metal body as he shot westward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Almost immediately after Ultron left, metal fragments rained down from above, assembling around Tony Stark. Within moments, the massive red-and-gold Anti-Hulk Armor enclosed him, towering larger than the Hulk himself.
"This thing was designed to stop Hulk. Never thought I'd be using it as my last line of defense…" Stark muttered with a bitter smile.
Encased in the giant armor, his strength now rivaled Hulk's.
"Hey, Allens—you really are the chatty type of villain, aren't you?"
Wearing the armor gave Stark a boost of confidence—and loosened his tongue.
Allens sneered. "Foolish confidence."
He didn't take Stark's taunts seriously.
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