The Burning Hand
Meanwhile, just as the battle between Owen and Alexei was beginning, Tony—who was increasing his flight speed—was alerted by Friday, his new artificial intelligence that had replaced JARVIS after his destruction.
"Sir, the proximity scanners are reading something approaching at high speed from the east," Friday reported.
"Oh, maybe Owen finished all the work and is coming back to tell us we can turn around and have a 'good job' party," Tony said with a grin. Though obviously, he didn't believe it; he was just saying it to convince himself.
"Unless Mr. Colt has somehow managed to split himself into several pieces, that is unlikely, sir; we are detecting twenty-six identical signatures… twenty-seven… twenty-eight," Friday added as the counter increased with each new signal detected.
Tony was genuinely surprised by the sarcasm of his artificial intelligence, but he didn't say anything when images began appearing on his visor. There were nearly two dozen robots that looked very familiar to him; after all, they belonged to the Iron Legion, his own creation. Although they had some differences, it was clear they had been built to be nearly indistinguishable copies that no one except Tony would notice.
"What…?" Tony managed to say before the robots suddenly accelerated. They opened fire quickly toward him, forcing him to react instantly. Tony veered away and, with evasive maneuvers, began dodging the projectiles, missiles, and laser bursts with precision.
"Hey, can I sue Ultron for copyright infringement?" Tony asked as he raised a hand and fired at the closest robot. It dodged perfectly, almost using the same maneuvers Tony used—as if it were learning in real time.
"Highly unlikely, sir. Do villains care about such things?" Friday replied.
"You just have to play along with me," Tony said at his assistant's response, clearly missing JARVIS's personality.
"I see. Then I will prepare the data and send it to your lawyer so he may draft the lawsuit," Friday said.
"You know what? Forget it," Tony said, rolling his eyes.
At that moment, the group's private jet approached. From the rear hatch, which opened while still in motion, Thor jumped out, his hammer pulling him through the air. Nicolas, strapped to the jet with a belt, stood at the ramp with his rifle ready, firing a projectile that completely destroyed one of the robots.
Thor smashed through another with his hammer, but it exploded with far more force than it should have. Even Tony was surprised when the blast threw Thor off balance in midair. It didn't harm him, but it did shake him.
The robot Nicolas shot also blew up in a massive detonation.
Even Tony widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Sir, I've detected that the core of the enemies contains C4; they will detonate when damaged beyond a certain point," Friday added.
"Yeah… I think I noticed," Tony replied.
These robots were clearly designed to be disposable; even when destroyed, they caused damage all around them.
Hawkeye also joined Nicolas at the jet's ramp, firing arrows. But now they had to be more careful; if one of those robots exploded too close to any teammate, it could be dangerous.
That was the problem. The robots weren't a real threat by themselves; the explosions were. And the need to keep their distance would drag the fight out far longer than necessary.
At that moment, Steve Rogers tried calling Owen; since not many of them could fly, his help would have been crucial. But Owen was currently occupied with his opponent.
Just then, they all witnessed a massive explosion in the distance, right in the direction they were heading. When they all looked up, they saw it—a huge robot standing like a leader, staring directly at them.
Ultron.
…
Tss.
The laser beam passed by Owen's side again, this time following him as he ran, dodging it. Everything in its path was destroyed by pure heat, reduced to ash before the beam finally dissipated.
Owen threw one of his daggers, powered by his repulsion energy to increase both its speed and force. The blade flew straight toward Alexei's neck.
Alexei managed to see it coming; he had enough skill to dodge something traveling that fast, so he tilted his head slightly. However, his eyes widened when he felt the dagger slice his face at the last second as it spun. Orange blood, like liquid fire, spilled from the cut before sealing itself again.
Owen looked at him with a mocking grin as he pressed his wrist lightly, never taking his eyes off Alexei.
Alexei grew more and more furious; he felt that, as they fought, Owen kept mocking him, as if he weren't trying or didn't even need to.
His face twisted with rage, but suddenly he felt something and turned. Owen's dagger was returning to him. He moved again, but not fast enough; this time it left another mark on the opposite side of his face, which healed instantly.
Although this time, perhaps for only a single microsecond, he had been slower.
Owen watched him intently.
Yes. He was studying every detail of Alexei's ability, from beginning to end. He knew he couldn't kill him; he had literally torn his head off moments ago, and it had regenerated.
It was an ability even more advanced than Logan's or the merc with a mouth's; perhaps even a combination of both. But Owen had the feeling that, unlike them, this one might actually have a limit.
"Damn you, stop playing with me!" Alexei shouted as his entire body began filling with fire. His face, twisted with fury, burned intensely; his red skin seemed to bubble before an explosive burst of flames propelled him at full speed toward Owen.
"Aaaah!" Alexei screamed when he was barely a meter away from Owen. Then a massive stream of fire erupted from his mouth; enormous, like the roar of a dragon. It might have had less heat penetration than his concentrated fire, but it covered far more distance, scorching a wide area with devastating explosive power.
Even Owen widened his eyes as he saw the flames approaching while his mind worked at extreme speed; he needed to figure out how to protect himself from the fire that, thanks to his reflexes, seemed to advance slowly toward him. Owen lifted his right hand—the same one that had been bothering him throughout the entire fight. The glove had stopped functioning, and Owen felt the temperature rising more and more. But he also knew something else: that hand had the greatest defense and resistance to fire.
After all, the damage caused by Black Phoenix was still there; a constant annoyance since that confrontation, a burn that never truly faded and had strengthened his body in strange ways. His mind had gained an absurd resistance to mental intrusion because of that same pain… and for that very reason, his hand should be the most heat-resistant part of his body.
So he raised his hand directly against the flames. And as if it were absorbing the fire itself, a protective field formed. But this also made Owen feel his arm burning more and more. The scars left by Black Phoenix began to blaze violently, destroying the glove completely as the marks glowed with vivid red flames.
"Owen…" he heard a whisper. A soft voice saying his name, but filled with entirely different intentions: murderous; greedy; destructive; controlling.
That made Owen open his eyes and look at his hand. But while still within the reach of Alexei's flames, he was distracted for an instant… and that instant was enough to send him flying at full speed. His body slammed into the ground several times before he managed to use his other hand to grab onto the terrain and stop his sliding, leaving deep marks in the dirt.
"Hahahahaha! Come on, Colt, how's your face now, bastard?" Alexei shouted. But he noticed Owen wasn't looking at him; he was staring at his hand, covered in bright red burn marks, with a faint red flame burning over the scars.
Alexei lifted his upper lip; he could feel that those flames weren't coming from Owen. They had nothing to do with him.
"What is that?" Alexei asked, confused.
Then Owen raised his gaze. This time his eyes were cold as ice; deadly as death itself.
"Sorry. I can't keep playing with you. I need to finish this quickly; I have more important things to worry about," he said as he shifted his feet slightly.
Alexei only had time to hear several sonic booms… and then felt a hand clamp around his neck. Suddenly he saw the sky. His back hit the ground with such force that every bone in his body shattered instantly. The impact threw the earth to the sides, forming a massive crater with him at the center.
And there he saw Owen, owner of the hand that had thrown him. His gaze remained just as cold as he released him.
In a flash, Alexei saw both of Owen's hands charge with red repulsion aura. And then the torture began. He felt at least a thousand hits… no, a hundred thousand… perhaps a damn million punches. From the outside, anyone would have seen only a red blur striking at a speed so absurd that even Owen's arms couldn't be discerned. The crater grew wider and deeper with every impact, and the rumbling grew even louder as Alexei's body was buried under an endless rain of blows.
For Owen, it was seconds.
For Alexei, it was a hellish eternity; destroyed and regenerated nonstop, over and over again.
Alexei's golden blood splattered across Owen's face and his torn clothes. The liquid burned like acid, releasing small puffs of smoke… but still, it didn't leave a single mark on Owen's skin.
Finally, Owen stopped and looked down. What remained of Alexei's body was nothing but a pulp of red flesh mixed with golden blood. Owen made a face of genuine annoyance and then looked up toward the sky.
"Damn it… he escaped. I didn't know he could do that. If I had known, I would have destroyed that head instead of sending it who-knows-where," he growled, truly irritated, before turning around and leaping out of the enormous crater, which looked as if a meteor had struck the ground.