Sue took off with Steve, Clint and Natasha, while Thor, Johnny and Tony jumped into the air after the Sentry army. Bruce roared as he crashed through buildings to grab at robots that tried to crawl away. Wanda was able to protect the core while Pietro ripped through Sentries; his speed deeming him uncatchable.

'Boss, power levels are way below opt...' FRIDAY tried to warn Tony who flew around the rock that was the city.

'Reroute everything,' he said, the bottom of the rock beginning to crumble from the pressure of the stratosphere. 'We've got one shot at this. Thor, I'm gonna need you back in the church.'

Thor made sure with Steve that the lifeboats were secure before he headed to where Tony need him. Natasha was about to begin her lullaby for Bruce, who threw cars mindlessly to defuse his violent rage. But an unauthorised jet flew low and fired bullets at The Hulk, who roared at the pricks of pain he felt through his thick, green skin.

Johnny caught sight of the jet and with Tony and Thor busy with the core, he charged forward to follow it. His trail of flames stained the sky, and he was able to reach the aircraft within seconds. He flew next to it to look inside the cockpit and saw Ultron with his hands on the controls. Johnny dropped slightly in altitude and flew to the right so he could rip through the jet's belly. But Ultron saw the inferno out of the corner of his eye and turned the controls to a hard left, propelling the plane into a spin.

'I've got Ultron in a jet! He's headed-'

Johnny's message through the intercom was cut short as the wing collided with the side of his head. The pain sunk through his entire body and blood cascaded out of the wound that sliced through his temple. A cry of pain left his mouth and his flight lost momentum. His vision blurred and Johnny was sent spiralling down towards the city. His temperature cooled drastically until his fires fizzled out completely.

'Johnny?!' Sue yelled into her earpiece after his message was left unfinished. She waited to hear a reply but was met with static. She was too familiar with the noise, and searched the sky frantically for her brother.

Steve and Sue were about to board the last lifeboat Nick sent for the team, but her foot remained on the floating rock when she heard Johnny's voice in her ear. Steve whipped around and saw the panicked look on Susan Storm's face. He also heard Johnny's last message and put his hand to his ear as he looked back into the city.

'Storm, what's wrong?' Steve called into his earpiece but only heard the same static. Sue and Steve turned to each other, exchanging the same look of worry.

On the other side of the city, Ultron flew his jet and fired a round of bullets at Clint. The man had ran to help a boy who needed to be on one of the lifeboats. Clint shielded the child and clenched his eyes shut, expecting the rain of bullets to penetrate his flesh.

Shrapnel and shells pierced through Pietro Maximoff's body, who ran in front before Clint could be harmed. Crouched over the civilian, Clint opened his eyes and saw blood seep through Pietro's shirt. The Maximoff wobbled and sent one last whip of wit to the man who he feuded with.

'You didn't see that coming?' Pietro strained a smile, before he fell to the floor, his life draining through his fatal wounds.

Wanda sensed her twin's death and fell to her knees in despair. She let out a shriek of sorrow and her red mist penetrated the remainder of the Sentries around her. But with her heart ripped in two, a single robot was able to plant its hand on the vibranium core. The magnetic field was broken, and the city halted in its ascent. It began to fall back into the atmosphere, pieces of rock crumbling from the speed at which it plunged.

Bruce jumped into Ultron's jet and received an 'oh, for god sakes!' at yet another interruption. The mechanical being was thrown out of the driver's seat and Bruce took control of the aircraft, where Natasha would try to coo him back to the helicarrier. But the man had other plans for a stress-free getaway to Fiji.

'Thor! On my mark!' Tony alerted. He followed the city's descent as it fell and fired his repulsors up at the core from underneath. Thor was in the church and would initiate the final blow that would save the planet from extinction.

'Tony! Tony, wait! Johnny's still in there!' Sue sobbed through her earpiece. She and Steve made the painful choice to step onto the lifeboat before the magnetic field was destroyed. There was no way they could find and save Johnny in time. Steve had to pull the woman back as the floating rock fell beneath her foot.

'What?!' Tony cried, but Thor conjured a strike of lightning to charge the core to detonation.

As Thor used all his strength to throw down his hammer, Vision carried Johnny and Wanda out of the city. Wanda was able to make a painful, last impression on Ultron, as she ripped out his heart of wires and metal. Coincidentally, Johnny was unconscious only metres away. Vision was able to secure Johnny over his shoulder while he carried Wanda bride-style, the entity carrying the two safely onto the lifeboat where Sue and Steve stood.

Sue let out a cry of relief as the man with the gem in his forehead lowered her brother down to the floor of the lifeboat. Tears made their way out of her eyes, and she frantically wiped them away, feeling foolish for crying. But from the emotions from the fight and seeing the city drop without Johnny confirmed to be alive, she couldn't help but lose control of her waterworks.

'Thank you... thank you, Vision,' Sue sniffled, her brother's saviour nodding to her from the gratitude. Sue dropped to her knees beside Johnny and Steve helped with Wanda, who was eerily silent after her own brother's death.

Without a word, Vision flew off to find Ultron, who was attempting to make a getaway in another Sentry host. Johnny's chest rose and fell with the sign of life, but the side of his face was covered in a thick flow of blood. His blue suit was patchy from dirt and debris and his head lolled to the side in his unconscious state. Regardless of all his wounds and bruises, Sue was grateful to have her brother, as Wanda wasn't as lucky.

Sue looked over her shoulder and judged from Wanda's blank eyes that Pietro didn't make it. She felt for the woman who she once despised. Even though Wanda had mentally damaged the team, they couldn't have fought against Ultron's army without her. The woman was extraordinary with her powers, and her change of heart showed that she was just blinded by her anger towards the Avengers.

Steve stepped aside as Sue pushed herself up to stand in front of Wanda. She encircled her arms around the brunette's shoulders and embraced the witch. Her hug wasn't accepted at first and Wanda stood rigid, jealous of Sue who still had her brother in her life. But she was grateful for the woman's attempt of consolidation and wrapped her own arms around Sue's middle. At the Storm's warmth, Wanda broke down into sobs and hid her face in her shoulder. Sue felt tears seap through her suit and held the woman who lost the only family she had.

---

'The rules have changed.'

'We're dealing with something new.'

'Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence.'

'A machine.'

'So, it doesn't count.'

'No. It's not like a person lifting the hammer.'

'It's equivalent to something that's been made to be worthy. So, surely not,'

'It's basically cheating.'

'Nice guy, but artificial.'

At the new Avengers headquarters in upstate New York, members of the team walked Thor towards the exit. Steve, Johnny, Susan and Tony bumped shoulders as they stopped at the end of the long hallway. The autumn day outside shown its mellow sunlight through the windows that lined the hall, the trees surrounding the compound flowing in the light wind.

'If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply,' Thor said to the group who stood in front of him. Their wounds were healing after the battle and Thor was proud to say that they had defeated Ultron. They lost Pietro and Bruce was yet to confirm his location. But in comparison to what they could have lost, the Avengers had succeeded in saving the planet once again.

'Hear me out,' Johnny spoke up, the cut on his temple held together by strips of medical tape. 'What if you hung the hammer from something? Would it fall?'

'No,' Sue scoffed with a roll of her eyes, but she caught Thor's stare. 'No, right?'

'But if you put the hammer in an elevator...' Steve pondered aloud.

'It would still go up,' Tony chimed.

'Elevator's not worthy.'

Thor let out a hearty laugh as the group headed out the door. Sue's hand was clad in Tony's, and she relished in the warmth of his blazer that sat around her shoulders. She stood in between him and Steve, Johnny on the end to form the line of Avengers that would be taking a short break from hero work.

'I'm going to miss these little talks of ours,' Thor chimed and smiled at his team.

'Well, not if you don't leave,' Sue suggested, and the man appreciated her desire for him to stay.

'I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position...'

'Triple Yahtzee?'

Thor went quiet and raised his eyebrows at the Stark's reference.

'Is it true that you love this man, Storm?' Thor said to Sue as he pointed his hammer at Tony.

'As hard as it is to believe,' she replied with a nod of her head.

'Then I believe you are both as ludicrous as they come.'

Sue let out a laugh and Tony cracked a smile. He turned to her and placed a kiss on the crown of her head. She beamed up at him and despite the wrinkles that sat around his eyes and the grey hairs that poked through his finely styled facial hair, he was as handsome and charming as ever.

'You think you can find out what's coming?' Steve brought the topic back to its original flow.

'I do,' Thor nodded before he nodded at Tony. 'Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained.'

Thor disappeared in a zap of lightning, and he returned to Asgard to embark on his new mission. A sigil was left in the grass where he stood, and Johnny clicked his tongue in annoyance.

'That man has no regard for lawn maintenance,' the Storm huffed, before the four turned to head towards Tony's sportscar.

'I'm gonna miss him, though,' Tony said. 'And you two are gonna miss us. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears.'

'I will miss you, Stark,' Steve said with Johnny next to him, and he looked at Sue with a knowing smile on his face. 'You too, Mrs-Future-Stark.'

'Geez, let's not rub it in,' Johnny rolled his eyes. 'Can't believe my brother-in-law is going to be tin-can Tony here.'

'That hurts, hotshot,' Tony put a hand to his chest in a feign heartache. 'I'll send you a polaroid from our honeymoon.'

Johnny's gaze turned murderous, and steam wafted off his shoulders. Sue's face grew warm at the reference to activities she would never want Johnny to see in action. She put her hand over her eyes with a loud sigh, the diamond ring that cost more than the average house glinting on her finger. Steve chuckled and patted Johnny's shoulder to calm him down, while Tony was smug that he could still get under the man's skin.

Tony and Sue bid Johnny and Steve goodbye. The Stark helped the Storm into the passenger seat of his car before getting into the driver's seat. He revved the engine and drove along the gravelled driveway, leaving Johnny and Steve to turn to see Natasha stood alone. The men walked over and brought her out of her daydream.

'I thought you guys were still discussing wedding gifs with the to-be-wedded couple,' Natasha joked. 'How do we look?'

'Well, we're not the '27 Yankees,' Steve handed Natasha a tablet showing the new team of Avengers.

'The who now?' Johnny was confused but Steve waved him off.

'We've got some hitters,' Natasha noted as she stared at the screen.

'They're good. But they're not a team.'

'Then, let's beat 'em into shape.'

Rhodey, Vision, Sam and Wanda waited for the three inside the headquarters. Johnny stood with Natasha as Steve looked down at the new faces of heroes. The Avengers needed some fresh meat and with Bruce MIA, Thor on his own mission, Clint with his growing family, and Tony and Sue planning to wed, there had to be someone else to keep the planet safe.

'Avengers...!' Steve addressed.