Demon Engine Legion (Part Two)

Clack, clack, clack—

The humanoid Demon Engine's limbs jerked in an eerie dance. The flame in its chest began pulsing rhythmically again, like a heart, while its mangled right arm regenerated at an accelerating pace. It twisted and swelled grotesquely, as though something beneath the metal armor were growing so fast it might burst through at any moment.

"God, what the hell are those things?" Hawkeye's face went pale. He instinctively nocked an arrow, though his fingers had begun to tremble.

"This is a Demon Engine." Ultron's voice rang out like a judge delivering a verdict. "A machine for a body, a demon for a soul, pain for fuel, hatred for power. And here—"

He swept his outstretched arms across the tide of steel behind him: more than ten thousand machines, some hovering motionless, others poised to strike.

"Here are ten thousand Demon Engines. Each houses a different kind of demon. Some excel at close combat, others at energy attacks—but they all share one talent: making their prey taste the ultimate fear before they die."

Ultron's crimson electronic eyes swept over Tony Stark and the others as they braced themselves below. With the taunting amusement of a cat playing with mice, he said, "So, esteemed Avengers, so beloved by humanity, are you going to stop my Demon Engine Legion with the same tired old tricks?"

"Demon Engine? That name's a little over the top, don't you think?" Tony Stark sighed helplessly. "But if Rogers were here, I bet this is where he'd say—'Stand together!'"

Then he drew a deep breath, and every weapon on his armor deployed. "Rogers may not be here, but the advice still works for us. All right, people, get ready for company!"

"Stand together?"

Ultron mimicked Tony Stark's tone and gave a dismissive snort, every word