Congo, Central Africa.
The Mechanical Avengers arrived once again in this war-torn country to "protect humanity." Their method was exceedingly straightforward: since both sides were warlords, they would simply wipe out every last one of them.
In the view of Legion Ultron, even if other warlords would stubbornly sweep in afterward to carve up these territories and continuously worsen the situation, this remained a viable tactic. Those who dared to become warlords needed to bear the consequences; if everyone intended to join a warlord's ranks and become part of the violence, then every person in this country deserved to be purged.
This was Legion Ultron's logic, and it was the foundational code of the Mechanical Avengers.
Today, however, a team of superheroes joined the action to stop the Mechanical Avengers. A small starship belonging to the Guardians of the Galaxy swooped into the destination almost instantaneously, aiming directly at the scene and opening fire with overwhelming force. In a single engagement, alien energy beams blasted high-temperature radiation strong enough to melt an entire squad of Mechanical Avengers into liquid metal.
"Ha! What do they call this stuff? Adamantium? If you ask me, metal is metal—blast it with a high-temp beam and it all turns into the same pile of molten iron."
Rocket sat at the ship's gunner station, firing continuously and nimbly striking every Mechanical Avenger that entered his field of vision. The moment the Mechanical Avengers realized they were under attack, they immediately activated their energy shields to defend themselves.
Star-Lord shook his head, disagreeing with Rocket's boast. "That's only because our ship's systems are completely different from Earth's. We don't use Earth's network, and our cloaking tech is miles ahead of anything here. That's the only reason this ambush worked—don't count on getting this lucky every time."
"Watch out, enemy aircraft incoming!"
Gamora, sitting at the observer station, glanced at the radar and immediately adjusted her position, dropping down to the ventral turret below the pilot's seat to defend against enemies emerging from directly underneath. Star-Lord instructed his team on their defensive maneuvers: "Adam, get out there and intercept some of them in the air. We need to pare down their numbers as much as we can. Rocket, shoot 'em all down!"
"You don't need to tell me twice! Haha!"
Flames burst across the sky in an instant, turning the high altitude over Congo into a brilliant fireworks show. Moments later, the display seemed to upgrade into a full light show, flashing brilliant, multicolored rays across the broad daylight sky.
Adam Warlock guarded the vicinity of the warship, constantly maneuvering against the Mechanical Avengers while ensuring none of them could get close to the vessel.
They had no interest in getting pulled into a dogfight. It wasn't that they couldn't handle close-quarters aerial combat, but when you had the capability to strike beyond visual range, only an idiot would choose to dogfight. If you had the range advantage, you maintained it!
A massive horde of Mechanical Avengers surged toward the Guardians' warship. Facing these mindless, uninspired robots, Adam Warlock couldn't make use of the Soul Stone, so he resorted to releasing massive bursts of energy to blow them out of the sky.
Before long, thirty or forty Mechanical Avengers had gathered in this airspace, not counting the ones already shot down. Rocket laughed wildly as he fired away, zeroing in his sights on a Mechanical Thor, preparing to unleash full power.
Suddenly, the main cannon went silent.
"Hey, Quill, this thing's totally unresponsive. I think it's broken."
Rocket rapped on the control console, but there was still no reaction. Star-Lord looked at the ship's monitors—now filled with scrambled gibberish—and took a deep breath. "We're doomed."
"What happened?"
"The ship's system got hijacked!"
The entire starship plummeted straight toward the ground. Adam Warlock, who was still engaged with the other Mechanical Avengers, immediately rushed over to catch the ship, guiding it safely onto the terrain before using his superhuman strength to pry open the hatch.
The Guardians of the Galaxy stepped out of the vessel. Right then, a robot they had previously seen back at the Avengers base appeared before them. Star-Lord wiped his face and said, "So, I'm guessing you're the one they call... Legion Ultron?"
[I am simply Ultron. You are laying a trap for me; it is quite obvious.]
"No, we just... needed you to show up, that's all. After all, we came up with a brilliant plan to beat you, and we just need your cooperation. And that cooperation means you stop hiding."
Ultron looked at the Guardians of the Galaxy.
[Detecting massive data intrusion... Detecting data transmission.]
Star-Lord nodded. "That's right. What do you call that thing again? That helmet that lets people enter virtual space? Anyway, the Avengers modified it a bit so it can interface directly with your code—provided we find you first, of course."
"And that's where my plan comes in!" Star-Lord grinned triumphantly. "These mechanical knockoffs of yours cost a fortune to make from specialized materials, so you definitely can't afford heavy losses. Our alien tech is something your minions can't hack—and even you can't breach it right away! So once you realized we could deal enough damage to your army, you were bound to show up in person to spend the time cracking our systems."
"And that is Star-Lord's brilliant plan!"
[Who?]
Star-Lord was caught completely off guard by that single word. He looked at Ultron in sheer disbelief, pointing at the four-pointed star emblem on his chest. "Star-Lord? Prince of the Spartax Empire? Leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy? This isn't my first time on Earth, you ought to know who I am!"
[Peter Quill. File retrieved. Capabilities: utilization of rocket-propelled boots and element guns. Threat level: Low. No special attention required.]
Rocket laughed so hard tears came out. "Even—even the artificial intelligence doesn't remember you! Hahaha! That is hilarious, absolutely hilarious! Hahaha!"
Star-Lord rolled his eyes helplessly at Rocket, then turned back to Ultron. "Either way, your day of reckoning is here. Our people are going to prove to you that you are fundamentally wrong, and that your logic is a total pile of garbage! Pal!"
At the same time, back at the Avengers base, three people had already put on the helmets, linking their consciousnesses to the internet. Among them were the Captain America, a World War II veteran, and Wolverine Logan, who had fought all the way from the American Civil War to the Vietnam War.
They were all here to challenge Ultron's logic.
Along with them was the most unexpected person of all.
"This feels weird. It's like I suddenly have two bodies."
Drax the Destroyer spoke up, while Mantis stood beside him, trying to soothe his nerves. "It's okay, you'll be fine. After all, what you have to do is very simple, isn't it?"