A young man was encircled by a cluster of massive robots, their metal bodies were forming a ring around him.
He sat on a rock, gazing at the wreckage of a spaceship, its hull breached along with twisted fragments of advanced alloys and ceramics scattered around. The ship's energy core, a glowing sphere shone dully, surrounded by a jumble of damaged wires and cables.
"SCAN COMPLETE.", the robots said in unison.
"Sir, the vehicle is clear. No other occupants were detected apart from the target."
"Good. Run a level-3 sweep of the surrounding area. I want to know if there's so much as a mouse within a 500-mile radius that can detect our presence.", the young man said.
"AFFIRMATIVE, SIR. SCANNING…"
As the robots dispersed to scan the area, one larger robot, its metal body branded with the designation "001" approached the man.
"What about the target, sir? Shouldn't we apprehend him?"
The young man, his eyes fixed on the figure crawling out of the wreckage, replied, "Leave him. Let him feel the weight of the red soil for a while."
The robot's sensors hummed as it asked,
"How important is he, sir?
"He's the last person we can afford to let roam free in this timeline. If he's allowed to continue, the consequences will be severe." The young man replied.
"But sir, surely you can explain—" it said. "Headquarters said that we should apprehend him immediately"
Then the young man's voice became serious.
"I don't have the luxury of explaining everything, 001. Just scan him and gather all the data you can. That's your purpose."
Outside, Erling Stone struggled to escape the wreckage, his body crawling slowly across the ground.
As Erling crawled, his suit's energy output was reducing, its power dwindling every second. The suit's advanced sensors and processors were now faltering and failing.
Then a monotone voice interrupted the scene, "MASTER, HERE'S THE CIGARETTE."
Then the young man lit it, taking a long drag before speaking.
"You see, Stone, you made a grave mistake. You thought you could control the uncontrollable, manipulate reality itself. But you were wrong"
The young man paused, taking another drag on the cigarette.
"You rewrote the rules, connected worlds, and unleashed a nightmare upon everyone. And now, the very fabric of reality turns against you." The young man's voice was calm, detached.
"You created a reality where the strong prey on the weak, where monsters roam free, and where the gods themselves are the most powerless."
"A reality of being killed or to be killed. In fact the Universal Authority thanks you for what you did."
"You created a hub of timelines all jumbled because the universe refused to acknowledge your authority"
"Two billion people more than any Holocaust on Earth. A scientific Adolf Hitler ….", the young man said, chuckling.
Erling's gaze met the young man's radiant eyes, his face contorted in a mix of anger.
"Come on, Wells," he spat, his voice cracking between labored breaths. "Wasn't this your plan all along? You've always resented me, always wanted to see me fail. Just because I was a prodigy, just because I achieved what you never could."
The young man's expression remained impassive. "I may have resented you, Erling, but I wasn't the one who wiped out two billion people for no good reason. You did that all on your own."
"In each timeline, that means every single day. You kill dozens and dozens of billions of people"
Erling's face twisted in a snarl, but the young man continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, I'm sure your Nobel Prize for Physics brought you all the peace and fulfillment you ever wanted. But look at you now, Erling. You're a shadow of your former self, a mere husk of the man who once thought he could control the universe."
"It's true, I've always hated you, Erling. But not just because of your talent or your success. I hated you because of your arrogance, your hubris, your complete and utter lack of empathy for anyone but yourself."
Erling's face contorted with anger, but the young man simply smiled, his eyes glinting with a cold light.
"But enough about the past, Erling. Let's focus on the present. You see, I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time. And now, finally, we can clear up a bit of unfinished business.", He said.
"You think you would be able to hurt me?", Erling said, smiling.
The young man, Wells, cracked his knuckles with a menacing grin. "Oh, I'm shaking in my boots, Erling. You think you can take me down? Please, I've been waiting for this moment."
"What's my rank in the Universal Council? One of the best gladiators in history".
"And now this bastard thinks he can actually kill me…."
Erling's eyes narrowed.
"You may have the upper hand now, Wells, but the Authority won't keep you on a leash forever. And when that day comes, I'll be coming for you. In every way. I'll make sure you pay for what you've done."
"You dare to call me a leash? You, who've been crawling on the ground like a worm?", Wells snorted.
"In Fact it would soil my hands trying to kill you", he said, smirking.
Then Erling's eyes widened. "You goddamn frog,Wells! Mark my words!"
"I would come back for you,and the others…."
With a hand gesture, Wells commanded the robot beside him.
"Give him a full shot!", he commanded.
The robot's solar cannons flared to life, charging up with energy. Then the robot unleashed a blast of energy, striking Erling with incredible force.
BOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erling's body was blown off the ground, his limbs torn apart, his torso incinerated. The explosion was so powerful that it created a crater, sending debris flying everywhere. Erling's remains were scattered everywhere, his body parts charred and unrecognizable. The robot stood there, its solar cannons still glowing with energy, as if ready to strike again. Wells turned away, with a satisfied smile on his face.
"As my mission here is accomplished, I must return to HQ," Wells said. "Hell 001, initiate cleanup protocol. Ensure a thorough sanitization of the area to prevent any temporal anomalies." With that, Wells vanished into thin air, leaving no trace or hint of his departure. The robots sprang into action, efficiently disposing of the wreckage and debris. However, their task was soon interrupted by a faint hum emanating from the destroyed spacecraft. A small light indicator began flashing in a rhythmic pattern - blue, red, blue, red...
As for Wells, his disappearance was not just a simple vanishing act. He had transformed into a misty vapor, his molecular structure dispersing into the air. This ethereal form allowed him to transcend space, teleporting him to a colossal spacecraft hovering in the air.
"These robots are just colossal damage. I can afford all of them. Maybe I could lie to HQ….. and tell them..", he thought.
"Reset the timeline," Wells commanded, his voice echoing through the vast spacecraft.
In response, a chorus of machines hummed to life, their LED lights were flashing in synchronization. The air was filled with the sweet scent of ozone as energy surged through the vessel's core. A holographic display materialized before Wells, projecting an intricate web of timelines and events. He raised a hand, and a shimmering blue light enveloped the display, tracing the red and blue.
"Initiate Temporal Reversion Protocol," Wells declared, his voice firm and authoritative.
"This would alert the Guardians. But it's Erling of course….. They won't be mad of course…", he thought.
The machines responded, unleashing a burst of chronal energy that resonated through the fabric of reality itself. The display began to glow with an intense, pulsating light, as if the very essence of reality was being rewoven.
Events began to go back like threads pulled from a tapestry. The destruction of the spacecraft, Erling's demise, and the robots' cleanup operation – all were erased from existence, replaced by a new, pristine timeline.
The process was like to a cosmic reboot, where the universe was restored to a previous state, free from the anomalies and disruptions caused by Wells' mission.
As the protocol completed, the holographic display flickered and disappeared, leaving Wells standing in a silent, dimly lit chamber.
Meanwhile in a far-off timeline, a hum of machinery echoed through the air as a fleet of laser robots sprang into action. With precision and speed, they constructed an organic brain, meticulously assembling its components, one by one, much like the creation of Ultron's core.
But just as the final connections were being made, the machines halted their work. The organic brain hovered in mid-air, its thoughts and memories were frozen.
Suddenly, the machines lurched back into action, but this time, they were dismantling their creation. The organic brain was torn apart, its components scattered across space.
But the machines didn't stop there. With a final burst of energy, they hurled the remnants of the brain into a distant wormhole, a swirling vortex of space-time that seemed to lead nowhere.
And yet... something was forming on the other side of the wormhole. A body began to take shape. Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity, as if they held the secrets of the universe.
The body raised a hand, and the wormhole began to collapse, its edges curling inwards like a dying flame. The last thing seen was a glimpse of a face, a face that was both familiar and yet, utterly alien…