38 Chapter 38: Age of Ultron part 2: Everything Dies.
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(Billy's P.O.V)
An ice cold sensation permeated my entire body as the shadow of death extended it's limbs out to grab me.
'That's a fucking explosion...' with that realization came another,
'I was too late...this was Ultron's attack.'
Immediately, I turned around to flee, flying away at my fastest speed. My TK aura flared at its brightest, the rainbow glow leaving a trail behind me.
Faster! Faster! Come on!
Heat bloomed at my back. The rate of devastation quickly catching up to me and causing my costume to start smoking. Through my Psionic range, I felt minds get snuffed, one after the other.
I felt the fear, desperation and shock of it all, as people disintegrated all around me. I should have tried to save them...
Should have- but even safeguarding my own life seemed like an impossible endeavor at that time.
And so I urged myself to move even faster, pouring all my Psionic energy into speed and slowly depleting my reserves.
I left the city limits, the clouds around me getting pushed away by the pressure wave.
This revealed an even scarier scene.
"Oh god..."
Directly to my front, more large missiles were descending from the sky, the sight enough to steal my breath away.
Solomon's Wisdom came in clutch, almost sending an ethereal slap at my brain to knock me out of my surprise.
There was danger behind and danger ahead, so I changed my trajectory, flying straight up to escape the zone of the blast.
The intense heat at my back intensified once the new missiles begun to land on target.
More mushroom clouds manifested on the ground, sending a large shower of water up before it evaporated into steam.
The air screamed, vibrating with a massive shockwave that I only survived due to my TK aura. In return, I was sent spinning and spiralling out of control.
Next came the hot temperature, a flare of thermal energy that finally reached me and burned through my TK aura. The heat seared the fabric of my costume into my skin.
Agony rippled through my entire body as my flesh cracked and bubbled, being cooked by the intense heat.
I lost my hair and sight and eventually my ears popped, sparing me from having to listen to my howls of pain.
They say when you die your entire life flashes across your eyes. Nothing like that happened.
There was only a final spike of intense pain and then it all went dark.
(General P.O.V)
Right after stopping Ultron from leaving with the Scepter, The Avenger's hadn't even had time to regroup.
A massive pressure wave had spread out across the whole city. Falcon who had been doing rounds above the smoking remains of Stark Tower was the first to witness the end.
"Oh my god..."
The ex military gaped in outright shock.
"Aah guys...this is bad."
He spoke into his comms.
At the roof of the building they were on, the rest of the Avengers were realizing that something was very wrong.
Tony's repulser glove unfolded into a portable wrist computer.
"Radiation levels have spiked across the world... we've lost Nairobi, Ontario and Hawaii."
He turned to the Avengers.
"It's the third world war."
Tony delivered the news grimly, pain and regret flashing across his eyes.
"And I think it's my fault."
Then a wave of light consumed them.
*******
(Elsewhere)
"I need an update on the damage!"
Fury yelled out into the operations deck, which was a flurry of movement.
"We've lost contact with Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Houston. More reports coming in-"
A techie begun only to be interrupted by a sudden rumble.
The whole Helli-carrier trembled as a shockwave hit the craft.
The aftereffects were reaching them this high up?!
"Take us higher!"
Fury yelled, grabbing onto the railing on the deck.
The pilots of the massive craft complied and the helli-carrier soon ascended, breaking past the lower levels of the atmosphere.
"My god..."
Maria Hill muttered, covering her mouth in horror. She stood behind her boss as they managed to catch a wide view of what was happening on Earth.
A wave of disbelief and shock similarly spread out across the entire Helli-carrier.
Every single notable place on Earth had a mushroom cloud rising above it. It was a nuclear war.
An existence-ending level event.
This was the fall of the world as they knew it.
"It can't be..."
An agent said in despair, losing strength in his legs and falling to his knees.
"It's all burning. How could it have happened so fast?"
Another one asked.
"Everyone! Hey, it's not over yet."
Hill spoke out into the room.
"The Avengers-"
"Are probably dead."
Fury cut in blandly.
Hill blinked, staring at the back of her boss's head. He was supposed to be encouraging at this time.
Then again, why was she surprised? This was Nick fuckin Fury. If this couldn't move the man...then nothing ever would.
Said man turned around, adjusting his coat before walking past her.
"Get me a ride. The Avengers might be dead, which means I have to get my own hands dirty with this one."
******
Unseen by all due to the bright flashes of light from the explosions happening on Earth's surface, the light of the bifrost cut through the blazing sky...
Right before the blast of light and heat could consume them, the Avengers found themselves stumbling out onto a different scene.
Gold encased walls and celestial metal glowed across the entirety of the chamber. Past that was the rainbow bridge which was connected to the rest of Asgard.
"What just happened?!"
Falcon asked, landing on the ground and removing his mask while breathing harshly. His eyes were wide and unfocused.
"Did we almost die?"
There was a click as Heimdall turned his sword.
"Yes. You almost did."
The All seeing Asgardian replied bluntly.
"Heimdall."
Thor called out, strapping Mjolnir to his hip while approaching his fellow Asgardian.
"You saved our lives my friend, thank you."
"Prince Thor, Avengers." Heimdall nodded in greeting.
"There was no time to explain. I had to pull you away as you're the only hope Earth has of undoing this. The All father awaits."
Heimdall said, his voice commanding.
Tony tapped on his repulser glove.
"Damn it! It's fried!"
His shoulders were roughly grabbed by Cap, turning the billionaire to face the rest of his team.
Steve didn't waste time,
"Tony, what the hell did you do?!"
He asked the question that was in the minds of everyone.
*****
"Ah and so the Asgardian watcher makes his move."
Ultron mused to himself, the satellite he was in managing to pick up on the cosmic radiation trail left behind by the radiant glow of the bifrost.
"It's only natural I respond in kind."
The reason he was in this satellite was due to two major things. One, this was one of Tony Stark's 'Special' projects. The satellite was equipped with the best scanning technology that a genius like Tony could create.
And by using this functionality along with a small enhancement to it's operating system, Ultron figured out the exact spatial coordinates of Asgard.
"And so to get rid of the thorn on my side that is the Avengers."
The A.I begun sending out a signal across the entire cosmos.
A signal with one message, Asgard's exact positioning.
*****
Billions of light years away in the fringes of Kree airspace, the beautiful world of Kandor was facing a crisis.
Thousands of Armadas were in a losing battle with a silver colored individual.
The Silver Surfer, Herald of Galactus dove in and out of the onslaught, evading every single attack with ease.
He tore through another spaceship, leaving behind a fiery mess of destruction. He'd done this for so long that it was second nature by now.
These mortals thought they could fight against something integral to the universe. No one could escape Galactus' hunger.
"""Herald"""
'Speak of the devil', the Silver Surfer thought as he slowed his speed down.
The scene changed from the thousands of spaceships surrounding him, distant shining stars, the red and blue planet that was meant to be his master's next meal and the dull glow of the sun in the middle of the star system.
The Surfer found himself looking at a new sight. A terrifying darkness that covered his sides.
And before him, gazing down with an impossibly heavy presence, was Galactus.
The World Eater's eyes glowed.
"Yes, master."
The Silver Surfer took a knee on his Cosmic surf board.
"""I have need for you, my Herald. Go forth and prepare Asgard for my arrival.""""
"Asgard?!"
The Silver Surfer looked up in disbelief.
But the World Eater's presence had already disappeared, leaving the Surfer floating in open space, surrounded by thousands of Kree Spaceships.
"In the end... nothing can escape Entropy. Not even gods."
The Surfer said to himself, turning around to face his enemies.
With a silver glow, he tore past every single ship before disappearing into the universe, moving past galaxies in seconds.
*****
In an inconspicuous Satellite above a dying world, the A.I responsible for it, knew that it had achieved the first phase of it's plan.
The Fantastic Four had been devoured by the annihilation wave, the X-Men had been dealt with by the Sentinels, the Avengers had tried to escape but Ultron had been ready for that.
As a consequence, both Earth's mightiest heroes and Asgard were doomed as the World Eater's herald was on a direct course for the realm of the gods.
And any other hero or military force that could mount an attack had met a fiery end due to the nuclear missiles that had torn apart the planet, leaving the surface an irradiated wasteland.
90% of all living things were dead.
And the small pockets of humanity that weren't, soon would be.
To aid in that endeavor, Ultron turned it's attention to the other special thing about the Stark Industry Satellite he had hijacked.
The Hulk Buster suit contained in it.
The release sequence begun as it took control of the Armor's system.
The latches unlocked and a red pod fell from space, cutting through the burning air as it headed towards a certain technologically advanced nation in the African continent.
The one nation that had escaped the nuclear fall out due to their insane level of technological advancement. An advantage they held over the rest of the world due to a miracle metal, Vibranium.
A metal made for Ultron.
