The rumbling stopped.
For a heartbeat, nobody moved.
Homelander straightened his cape, his smug grin halfway returned but laced with something new. Annoyance.
"I swear," he muttered, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder, "every damn time I set foot on this dump of a planet, something breaks."
Deadpool threw his hands up. "Oh sure, blame the sky on yourself again, blondie! What's next, you gonna say gravity only exists when you show up?"
Homelander shot him a glare that could melt steel.
But before anyone could snap back, a crackle of comms burst through Red Guardian's earpiece.
Static. Then panic.
"—code red—multiple hostiles across downtown—mass mechanical assault—citizens under attack—"
Yelena stiffened, hand instantly on her weapon. "What the hell do you mean, mechanical assault?"
Ghost blinked out for a moment, then phased back, her voice tense. "I just scanned the nearby grid… they're robots."
Bucky's face darkened. "You've gotta be kidding me."
The air filled with more comms, more screams.The words "metallic units," "replicating fast," and "AI override" echoed through the chatter.
Alex frowned, trying to process it. "Wait… robots? As in—?"
John Walker growled, pulling out his shield. "Don't even finish that thought, kid."
Red Guardian looked between them all, eyes widening. "No, no, no… you mean the robot man who talks too much, yes?"
Yelena groaned. "Da. The shiny bastard. The one who calls himself—"
"Ultron."
The voice didn't come from any of them.
It came from a nearby screen — a news broadcast flickering to life across the street.
Every TV in Times Square went static, then synced to the same feed.
A metallic face.
Red eyes.
A chilling smile.
"Did you miss me, my creators?"
The feed glitched — an eerie chorus of synthetic laughter filling every device, every speaker.
"You learned nothing. You built towers… you crowned heroes… and you call this peace? Hilarious."
Deadpool stared at the screen. "Okay, I'm not saying this out loud, but—yeah, I missed this guy. He's got villain charisma."
Ultron's image flickered again.
"This world still bleeds from the same wound. Time to cauterize it."
And the signal cut out.
Immediately, explosions erupted in the distance.
A building toppled. Sirens wailed.
The night sky turned red with scattered flames as drones began pouring through the clouds like a metallic storm.
The New Avengers didn't hesitate.
Bucky slammed his metal fist against his palm. "We move. Now."
Red Guardian grinned, slapping his gut. "Finally! Something I can punch that doesn't bleed!"
Ghost flickered into invisibility, muttering, "Try not to break everything this time."
Yelena looked back at the group — at Alex, Butcher, and Deadpool — her eyes narrowing.
"Stay out of the way. Or help. Whatever you people do."
John Walker twirled his not-quite-shield with a smirk. "Don't die, tourists."
And with that, the New Avengers took off, sprinting toward the chaos in the city — their comms lighting up like fireworks.
Leaving behind one very tense, very annoyed group.
Homelander stood there, arms crossed, watching them fly and dash off.
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
"Robots," he said, flatly. "Why is it always robots?"
Butcher spit to the side. "'Cause you ain't the only bloody ego with a god complex."
Deadpool snorted. "Ohh, he got you there, Captain Daddy Issues."
Alex glanced around as the faint red glow of fire spread across the skyline.
"Okay," he muttered, "I think it's official… this world's gone insane."
Homelander gave him a sideways glance, that perfect smile creeping back onto his face.
"I've seen worse."
"Yeah?" Butcher cracked his neck, stepping closer. "You'll see worse again if you start somethin' right now."
Homelander tilted his head, amused.
Then looked back toward the distant chaos — explosions and burning drones lighting the sky.
"…Whatever's coming," he muttered, "I'm not cleaning up after it."
And with that, he blasted into the air, disappearing into the night sky with a deafening boom, leaving the group staring after him.
Deadpool shielded his eyes, shaking his head. "And he's gone. Great. We're down one psycho. Still got us three though — that's enough for a bad sitcom."
Alex's system flickered faintly again.
[QUEST UPDATED: ULTRON'S RETURN — ACTIVE THREAT DETECTED.]
He took a deep breath. "Looks like we're not done yet."
Butcher smirked darkly. "Yeah? Then let's go have a word with this tin man."
And with this, the endgame is coming close.