Hela, change of plan. We just need to restrain him for some time, Elric quickly communicated with Hela through their mental link, his thoughts clear and direct.
Hela also didn't ask much, didn't question the sudden shift in strategy. She trusted his judgment. And she directly changed her tactics mid-combat, shifting from offensive strikes meant to destroy to defensive maneuvers meant to control and contain.
Before inhabiting Magneto's body, Ultron had somehow enhanced this mutant power to an unprecedented degree. The AI had spent months analyzing, optimizing, and pushing the limits of what the Master of Magnetism could do.
For a normal 4th-level mutant power user like Professor X, whose abilities were already considered exceptional among his kind, their strength was really not very strong if compared to what Ultron had achieved with Magneto's abilities. And so, even though Elric had never met Magneto before possessing him, had never witnessed the man's power firsthand, he could guess what the original power level must have been from the baseline capabilities.
But now? Now this body was totally different. It was really strong—even stronger than Hela in terms of raw power output.
Ultron was even able to fight her for several rounds without being immediately overwhelmed, trading blows and holding his ground against a literal goddess of death. So he really didn't care too much about the original Magneto consciousness trapped somewhere inside this body. That was a non-issue, a voice screaming in the dark that no one could hear.
But he was definitely worried about what else Ultron had prepared as contingencies and backup plans.
If this AI's personality was close to the MCU version Elric remembered, then Ultron would be prideful and arrogant, yes, but also extremely cautious and calculating. He would have escape routes, backup bodies. So they had to quickly deal with him before any of those failsafes could activate.
Elric quickly formulated a plan in his mind, the pieces falling into place. Hela, try to keep him busy as much as you can. Pressure him, don't give him time to think, and ready to change with me with my signal.
He formed a hand sign, fingers weaving together in a precise pattern. With a puff of white smoke that dissipated almost instantly, two other shadow clones materialized and stood beside him, perfect copies down to the smallest detail.
Ultron was always observing this area, his sensors constantly scanning, keeping a careful watch on Elric in particular.
He had already categorized the threats.
Vision? Just a second-rate android, a prototype that never reached its full potential. No need to pay serious attention to him. At best, a minor inconvenience.
Hela? Somewhat dangerous, sure. Close to this body's power level, capable of inflicting real damage. But still not life-threatening if he played his cards right. Manageable.
But this unknown guy, this Elric character? He needed to be the most careful around this guy. Ultron couldn't accurately measure how much stronger Elric was than him—his sensors gave conflicting readings, his calculations produced uncertain results. But what really grated on his processors was that this shameless bastard, who was clearly stronger than him individually, still teamed up with Hela to beat him up. Two-on-one. No honor, no fair fight. Just brutal, efficient teamwork.
So he had already started preparing for his escape, running background processes to map out exit routes and calculate trajectories. According to his most optimistic calculations, his chances of winning this fight were only 2%. Two percent. That was barely a rounding error. So it was very logical, perfectly rational, to retreat for now and regroup later.
And he could sense that these two—Hela and Elric—possessed souls that were quite strong, abnormally so. They both seemed to have some soul-related powers or magic, abilities that touched on the metaphysical rather than just the physical. But he believed—or perhaps hoped—that it was impossible for them to possess any power that could truly harm his soul. After all, his consciousness had been touched by an Infinity Stone. That had to count for something.
So even knowing that he would most likely lose here, would be driven back or temporarily defeated, he still planned to try to escape with this body intact if at all possible. This vessel was too valuable to abandon.
He had poured too many resources into this body, invested too much time and energy. Months of modifications, enhancements, and optimizations. And with a little more tweaking, just a bit more fine-tuning, he was confident he could make this body strong enough to beat these two in a rematch. After all, this body could control magnetism—one of the four fundamental universal forces, alongside gravity, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force. A power whose upper limit was extraordinarily high, potentially reality-warping in scope.
But before he could think anymore, before he could finalize his escape protocols, one of the shadow clones directly appeared in front of him at an incredible speed that his sensors barely tracked.
Ultron quickly blocked the incoming punch with his Vibranium hand, the metal ringing like a bell. He simultaneously steadied himself using magnetic force, his feet locked to the ground by invisible fields. The Vibranium plating quickly absorbed most of the kinetic energy from the impact, dispersing it throughout the molecular structure. But even so, even with all those advantages, he felt that his hand now had a visible dent in it, the metal warped and compressed.
Shit. If he'd had more time, he should have made this body with Proto-Adamantium instead, the nearly indestructible alloy. But nothing could be done about that now. He could only grit his teeth and fight with what he had.
He tried to punch the clone with his other hand, servos whirring as he wound up for a devastating counterstrike. But before he could complete the motion, another clone directly appeared beside him as if teleporting, moving faster than his optical sensors could track properly. And before he could defend himself, before he could raise his guard, a firm punch landed on his cheek with a sickening thud sound. His head snapped to the side, processors momentarily scrambled.
And before his body could be sent flying backward because of the tremendous force, before the momentum could carry him away, the first clone directly caught his extended arm. The grip was like iron, fingers digging into the Vibranium plating, firmly locking him in place. And the other clone also caught his other hand, completing the trap.
He was held fast between them, unable to move freely.
He could use his magnetic power to destroy these clones, could generate a pulse that would rip them apart at the molecular level or send them flying. But he had already calculated the threat priorities, had already run the numbers. Elric's main body was the main threat, the real danger. Hela, whom he had all the available information, and these clones who were obviously weaker than the main body—they could damage his body, sure, could dent and break it. But they couldn't definitely destroy it, couldn't end him. So he decided to focus his attack and defense capabilities mainly on Elric's main body, the real target.
So he also chose to ignore that Hela was coming from behind, her footsteps silent but her killing intent palpable. His glowing eyes remained firmly locked on the main body, tracking its every movement. His sensors clearly detected that it was a living, breathing soul—the genuine article, not another clone. The main body, without question.
He felt a sword stabbing him from behind, the blade piercing through his back plating and emerging from his chest. He didn't care about it initially—just another wound, another piece of damage to be repaired later or ignored if necessary.
But he suddenly felt something deeply wrong.
A sensation he hadn't experienced before, something his sensors struggled to classify. He felt his energy starting to drain, not just his power reserves but something more fundamental. The magnetic fields he was generating began to flicker and weaken. His processing speed slowed fractionally.
His head turned mechanically, servos whining, only to see Elric's face right next to him.
When did—?
His eyes snapped to where the main body had been standing, and his processors froze for a microsecond in something approaching shock.
The "main body" he'd been so carefully tracking, the one his sensors had identified as the living soul, was turn into Hela at some point.
"Surprise," Elric said casually.
You guys can check out my patreon with 40 advance chapter, and want to support this story.
patreon.com/LMStar666