the Sun Calls His Name
What looked like a massive factory stretched out before them; familiar-looking robots moved everywhere, carrying equipment and enormous machinery. They continued creating more units while, at the same time, constructing something colossal in the center. Every robot that was completed activated instantly and advanced toward a designated area with precise movements, as if perfectly synchronized with the others.
They all moved at the same frequency, as if sharing a single mechanical pulse.
Ultron walked in while setting the containers of vibranium on the floor, next to a gigantic chamber where what seemed to be a renewed version of his own body was being constructed.
At his side, Alexei walked forward with an utterly pale expression. His skin, once red and scorching, was now a sickly tone; and his hair, which had been blond under the serum's effect, had returned to its original black, dull like an extinguished flame. He was also surprisingly thin, almost skeletal, as if he had spent an entire lifetime without tasting food. His bones were sharply visible, his sunken eyes carried enormous dark circles, and each step made him tremble.
"With this… will we move on to the next phase of the plan?" Alexei asked with a broken voice; even though his body was destroyed, his eyes still gleamed with a vivid glow and the desire to continue.
"Indeed," Ultron said as he cast him a quick glance. "And when your body finishes regenerating, I will need you to do something," he added with artificial calm, the tone of someone giving instructions to calibrate a machine rather than addressing a living being.
Alexei looked at his own body with an intense mix of hatred and frustration directed at Owen. All of this was his fault. He had lost an enormous amount of vitality just to escape; either he did that, or he died crushed under Owen's hands.
Although even he himself had not known he was capable of regenerating his entire body starting only from his head; it was something completely unheard of, beyond any ability he knew. The revelation had filled him with immense joy… until he realized the cost.
With no external source of energy to rebuild himself, he began absorbing it directly from his own life force. He felt it clearly; it was as if he had lost entire years of life simply to recover a functional body. And he had not even managed to fully regenerate.
Ultron did not care about his life at all; he only valued him as long as he remained useful. Alexei knew that perfectly. But he also did not care about dying as long as he could take revenge. That idea was what kept him moving.
The robots patrolling the area quickly began taking the fragments of vibranium to use them in the construction of Ultron's new body; an almost indestructible structure that would elevate him to a completely different level.
…
Meanwhile, at the Avengers base where they had brought everything in case a problem arose, the atmosphere was heavy with tension. No one could complain about the place, since part of the facility had been funded with money donated by VITAE and Tony.
VITAE handled extremely dangerous things; and the fact that only two stolen objects had been enough to create such an irritating threat proved that anyone except a very select few would be in grave danger if they encountered him.
Perhaps only Thor and Owen could face him without ending up severely injured, even if Ultron was extremely clumsy using Alexei's powers.
Meanwhile, the scientists worked tirelessly to finish the project they could activate at any moment. Although they were not completely sure of its effectiveness, they also felt a real sense of hope; if they succeeded, they would have someone capable of infiltrating the network on a level never before achieved.
They used JARVIS as the base, because they did not trust any other artificial intelligence to take command. After all, JARVIS had been functioning for so long that many of his lines of code no longer had anything to do with his original structure; he evolved, changed, adapted. And even so, unlike Ultron, he continued helping humanity.
Meanwhile, Owen observed his new glove, created with nanotechnology and vibranium. It vaguely resembled the style of a certain African prince who hid his nation underground and dressed like a massive black feline.
But unlike that, this glove was not designed to increase his strength nor to improve his fighting ability; its purpose was to help him endure the unbearable pain of the burn inflicted by Dark Phoenix.
The glove worked by releasing a constant flow of cold against his skin, freezing it at a micro-scale. Thanks to the abnormal resistance Owen had, which continued increasing with time, keeping his arm frozen caused him no harm at all.
In fact, it would end up increasing his resistance to ice just as had happened with the fire on that same area. And although he would still feel pain, it would be lesser compared to what he should be feeling without such help. Sometimes that pain didn't even let him sleep.
The glove was completely black, with a scale-like pattern, and adhered perfectly to his arm. It was a clear display of Tony Stark's superior technology, with some collaboration from Dr. Pym.
It had been strange to see both working together; but since it was a request from the General, Pym accepted immediately. Owen had no idea what the General had promised him, or what information he had given him, to convince him to collaborate so quickly with the son of one of the people he had hated most in his life.
"I really feel a bit stupid wearing this. Like I have a dragon sealed in my arm that I could unleash, but would destroy everything in its path," Owen said with a forced smile as he looked at his right arm.
"Do you prefer that or suffering a soul-tearing pain?" Tony asked while rolling his eyes at Owen's complaint. "At least we managed to add what you asked for, so don't complain," he added, glancing up for a moment before continuing to assemble the machine whose specifications floated as a hologram above the table.
"I guess it's not that bad," Owen murmured as he closed his hand, getting used to the sensation of the glove. It wasn't uncomfortable; it felt like wearing a normal glove, without hindering his mobility. And, above all, it would withstand his own power, which was the most important thing. Vibranium was literally resistant to the way Owen's ability worked: shockwaves, repulsion, and vibration.
Tony had had to work with extreme care to prevent the glove from becoming an involuntary seal that blocked his power, which could leave him with a useless arm. Luckily, vibranium had that capacity to absorb, store, and redistribute kinetic energy, something Owen already planned to take advantage of later.
"By the way, does anyone know where Thor went?" Tony asked as someone trying to change the subject without making it too obvious.
"He went to take a cold-water bath inside a secret cave," Owen replied as he stood up, still inspecting his right arm and moving his fingers like someone testing a new piece of their own body.
"What?" Tony asked, having no idea what he meant. But Owen had already left the room.
It was quite late, and he knew that staying there alone would only bother them; the others didn't want to go to sleep until they finished their work, and he wasn't going to tell them to stop.
…
"Owen."
Suddenly, Owen was once again in that same place. He seemed to be standing inside an enormous sun that was scorching him with relentless ferocity. The unbearable heat ran through every part of his body, burning him from his nerves down to his bones.
Unlike previous times, while that atrocious pain consumed him, he continued hearing a voice.
"Owen."
It called him softly, although there was a wild undertone in it. However, the pain was so intense that Owen couldn't concentrate on anything. His own eyes saw nothing; the heat had burned them, leaving only red flashes, like sparks from the very fire that devoured his body.
"Owen."
Upon hearing his name again, the fire seemed to burn even stronger, enveloping him as if melting him; a candle facing the sun. In that instant, something extremely hot, even hotter than everything else around him, brushed against his face.
His cheek.
"I'm almost there… almost finding you."
It was the last thing he heard before his entire body disintegrated into ashes.
And at the same time, he woke up abruptly in his bed, which was smoking. The sheets were completely burned, and the automatic extinguisher above him was activated, pouring water in torrents while a fire alarm blared throughout the base.
Owen sat up in the half-burned bed, his body drenched. He brought his hand to his head, feeling a deep, stabbing pain.
His eyes had a slightly strange glow for an instant. His expression shifted, showing intense anger, a destructive fury that threatened to burst out. Then he exhaled to force himself to calm down.
"We need to finish Ultron quickly. After that… I'll see if I run away or what I do," he murmured as he stood up, realizing he was completely naked; his clothes had burned long ago.
A few seconds later, the water stopped falling.
He heard hurried footsteps running toward his room. Before the person on the other side could break down the door, Owen spoke.
"I'm fine. It's better if you don't come in; my clothes burned. Though, if you want to come in, I wouldn't mind," he said with a mischievous smile.
"Who wants to come in, you stupid idiot?" Wanda's voice replied from the other side, before footsteps echoed as she ran down the hall.
Owen let out a faint smile before walking toward the shower. He looked at the black glove on his right arm and rotated it slowly under the light.
"Looks like it really is good," he murmured, satisfied that the glove had resisted even that overwhelming heat.