Combined suppression, Ultron's reinforcements
Ye Mo stood on the high platform of the elevator shaft ruins, arcs of electricity crackling and leaping at his fingertips, dried bloodstains still clinging to the tear in his hoodie. Just as he was about to shout another harsh word, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a silver-gray shadow tearing through the clouds and swooping down in the distance.
"Tony, if you had been two seconds later, the grass on my grave would be ready to scan the QR code and pay," he muttered under his breath.
The next instant, the figure left a long trail of flames above the ruins. The MK armor's thrusters roared, the energy cannons were instantly fully charged, and a beam of blue light blasted straight at the signal tower's base. The entire rusty iron tower shuddered violently, and two pieces of the billboard "You Define the Future" were blown off and crashed into the roof of the adjacent building.
"Sorry, traffic." Tony's voice came from the air, his armor hovering in mid-air, his palm cannon still smoking. "I took a detour of three blocks to evacuate civilians, and now New York look at me like I'm at a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush."
Ye Mo grinned, then leaped off the platform. "Then you'll have to buy me milk tea; consider this a work injury."
Before the words were even finished, the sky suddenly darkened. Dark clouds pressed down like a pot lid, and a thick bolt of lightning struck the ground, landing exactly 300 meters away from the signal tower where Ultron was hiding. The soil exploded three meters high, and the seven mechanical soldiers that had just crawled out of the ground were instantly electrocuted into charred strings.
Thor, carrying Mjolnir, leaped down from the clouds, the impact causing the ground to crack in a spiderweb pattern. "I missed Ragnarok, but I can't miss this midnight snack, can I?" He flicked his cloak, his eyes shining like a starving man discovering a buffet.
Captain America rose from behind the rubble on the west side, twirling the Vibranium Shield in his palm before catching it steadily. "The tactical ring is still the same old routine—don't let him breathe." He finished speaking and threw it, the shield spinning as it sliced through the air, precisely severing a communications cable at the top of a signal tower, sparks crackling and falling down.
Black Widow crouched low as she squeezed through the collapsed steel frame, a miniature data plug appearing in her hand. She moved swiftly along the wall, reaching the control node box on the west side in a few steps. Her fingers flew as she inserted the device, and a string of garbled characters instantly appeared on the screen. "Virus implanted, response time delay starts at thirty seconds," she whispered, quickly retreating to cover.
Hawkeye was already crouching on the wreckage of the billboard across the street, bowstring drawn, a blasting arrow locked onto the signal tower's axis of movement. "Wait until you've finished your trash talk before you make a move." He squinted, "Hey, you AI buddy down there, how about we discuss the surrender process first?"
Ultron didn't reply, but the surrounding mechanical soldiers suddenly turned around, their guns all pointing at the various Avengers' positions.
"It's starting!" Ye Mo shouted, his arms instantly strengthening with Steel Bone, the surface gleaming with a cold metallic light. He charged forward into the barrage of fire, compressing the lightning ball in his palm to its limit, and unleashing a fan-shaped arc of electricity. The circuits of the three melee mechs overloaded, causing them to convulse and collapse on the spot.
Tony seized the opportunity to swoop down, unleashing a barrage of shoulder-mounted cannon fire to suppress the floating turret atop the tower. Thor triggered a second lightning strike, instantly reducing a heavy mech preparing to leap back to its original state. Captain America's shield, while recovering, also crashed into two flanking units, the movement as fluid as a game of pitch-pot.
"Good rhythm!" Ye Mo leaped into the air on a disabled mech, his right fist crackling with electricity, and slammed it hard into the protective door at the bottom of the signal tower. The metal door dented, the current flowing in, and alarms blared inside.
Black Widow's side also succeeded. The moment the virus took effect, the six already activated mechs became sluggish and crashed into each other, turning into a pile of scrap metal. Hawkeye seized the opportunity, and the explosive arrow was released, "booming" and collapsing one of the support frames of the signal tower, causing the entire structure to tilt.
"Core exposed!" Tony yelled. "Thor, get it done quickly!"
God of Thunder roared, and his hammer flew out of his hand, tracing a huge arc in the air as it headed straight for the core chamber inside the tower, which was flashing red light. At the same time, Ye Mo kicked down the door, and his Steel Bone arm plunged in, causing a surge of electric arcs to violently rip off three energy conduits.
The signal tower shook violently, and the red light flickered on and off.
"System malfunction... Defense protocols failed..." Ultron finally spoke, his voice broken, "But... you... cannot win the final battle."
"Save those words for the courtroom." Ye Mo, panting, wiped the dust from his face. "Now you only have two choices—surrender, or we'll beat you until you surrender."
Just then, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
The remaining quantum antenna at the top of the tower was still operating, emitting faint energy fluctuations at a specific frequency. It felt like someone was gently scraping his scalp with their fingernail—familiar yet disgusting.
"Holy crap, he's sending a signal!" Ye Mo exclaimed, looking up abruptly. "Interrupt him! Quickly!"
Thor swung his hammer to strike, and Tony activated EMP jamming in the same instant; their movements were almost simultaneous. But it was too late.
A crimson beam of light descended from the sky without warning, piercing vertically into the center of the battlefield. The ground exploded with a ring-shaped crack, and the soil churned like waves. Seven mechanical bodies, gleaming with a cold metallic light, slowly rose up. They were nearly three meters tall, their torsos engraved with numbers "O-02" to "O-08," dark red energy flowing through their joints, and their eyes glowing red one by one, like seven will-o'-the-wisps lit in the darkness.
Everyone paused.
"The new skin is pretty cool." Hawkeye seemed relieved. "I thought it would be the pink bow-tie version."
"This isn't an upgrade." Ye Mo stared at the mechanical beings, his throat tightening. "This is a map change."
Tony slowly descended the flight altitude, and the armor's alarm sounded softly, "Energy readings exceeded limits. These aren't ordinary mass-produced models."
Captain America picked up his shield and stood next to Ye Mo: "How do we fight?"
"Don't act rashly." Ye Mo raised his hand, the arc of electricity in his palm reforming. "They haven't moved yet, which means they're waiting for instructions."
As if in response to his words, the seven mechanical bodies turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes locking onto Ye Mo. In that instant, he felt the gene fragments within his body vibrate slightly, as if sensing the presence of some kindred spirit.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath, "These lumps of metal... resonate with X-Factor?"
"What do you mean?" Black Widow peeked out from behind the cover.
"That means we might be in trouble." Ye Mo gritted his teeth. "These reinforcements don't seem like pure machines."
Deep within the signal tower, the faint red light still flickered, and Ultron's voice rang out again, calmer than before. "You suppressed me for a time... but you couldn't stop evolution."
"Enough nonsense." Tony's Palm Cannon charged. "Who gave you the authority to summon the Enhanced Legion?"
"Access?" Ultron chuckled. "I merely... opened the door."
Seven mechanical figures stepped forward, the ground thudding with their weight. With each step, the surrounding air seemed to distort, as if the scene was momentarily frozen.
Thor recalled his hammer, his body crackling with electricity. "Then shut it off again."
"Wait!" Ye Mo suddenly reached out to stop them. "Don't rush in. They're walking with Phase Shift; it might be a preparatory move to Wall Phasing."
"You mean... they know the Phantom Shadowcat?" Hawkeye nocked his third arrow.
"I don't know." Ye Mo stared at the O-02 model at the front, its energy core pulsating rhythmically. "But I'd bet a bottle of iced tea that this guy can do more than just Wall Phasing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the red light in O-02's eyes suddenly intensified, and the edges of his body began to blur.
"Go!" Captain America commanded.
Thor hurled Mjolnir first, its thunderous strike aimed straight for the target's head. O-02 neither dodged nor evaded, letting the hammer pass through his body—and indeed, it was just an afterimage!
Its true form had already appeared behind Ye Mo, its mechanical arm raised high, and a rotating black energy ball condensed in its palm.
"Damn it!" Ye Mo instinctively rolled to the side, barely managing to keep his arc shield up, but the energy ball grazed his left shoulder. His Steel Bone instantly crumbled, his newly formed tissue was charred, and the pain shot straight to his brain.
The other six mechanical bodies also activated simultaneously. O-03 and O-04 disappeared directly through the ground, while O-05 deployed Hive Launcher on its shoulder, unleashing a dense swarm of small drones. O-06 and O-07 pounced on Tony and Thor respectively, moving with the speed of cheetahs. O-08 stood quietly in place, its hands clasped together, a slowly rotating data ring appearing above its head.
"This thing is scanning us!" Black Widow yelled. "It's collecting combat data!"
"Then don't let it finish sweeping!" Hawkeye fired a flare, instantly illuminating the entire battlefield as if it were daytime. Taking advantage of the light interference, Captain America charged towards O-08, sweeping his shield across.
Just as the shield was about to hit, O-08 flashed and appeared ten meters away, its data ring completely undamaged.
"Space folding?" Tony pulled up his analysis interface while dodging O-06's pursuit. "Damn it, these guys aren't ordinary mechanical lifeforms at all!"
Ye Mo struggled to his feet, the excruciating pain in his left shoulder nearly causing him to kneel. He took a deep breath and forcefully activated his Regeneration abilities, causing his broken Steel Bone to begin slowly repairing itself.
"They... are a fusion of Mutants technology," he gritted his teeth. "Ultron experimented with the X-Gene."
"When did this happen?" Thor forced O-07 back with a hammer blow, then cleaved a group of approaching drones in two with his other hand.
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter." Ye Mo straightened up, arcs of electricity dancing in his palm again. "What matters is—we need to change our strategy."
Seven mechanical reinforcements spread out in a fan shape, surrounding the Avengers. They no longer rushed to attack, but maintained an oppressive stillness, as if waiting for some signal.
Deep within the wreckage of the signal tower, Ultron's red light flickered faintly.
Ye Mo stared at the point of light and slowly clenched his fist.
An electric arc exploded, casting flickering light and shadow on half of his face.