Final chapter. Wow. This is the first long series I've completed on this site, and let me tell you, I never would have done it without you guys - or at least, I wouldn't have completed it before the release date of Civil War, which I was aiming for. Thanks, everyone, for your kind words and encouragement and reviews. Especially the reviews. :D

Ultron felt as if he was floating, (in midair? In space? Was he floating upwards? Downwards, perhaps?) but a quick glance around yielded nothing but darkness. It was as if the whole planet had vanished (or maybe he had been the one to disappear). He growled. Using the Soul Gem had been a mistake.

"Dad…" Ultron couldn't even be sure if he could hear his own voice, or if it was in his head. "Will I ever see you again?" Experimenting, he tried to locate New York on his scanners. Apparently, New York was "not in range".

Ultron let his optics flicker off. There wasn't any point to keeping them on. It's not like he had anything to look at, or look out for. He was all alone.

And his sensors chose that moment to alert him to the presence of a lifeform nearby. Ultron wasted no time in activating his thrusters, and flying towards whomever (or whatever) was out there. Ultron didn't even care if it was a three-headed nightmare monster; he refused to spend another nanosecond wallowing in his loneliness.

As he zoomed in on his mysterious neighbor, he found himself flying towards a small…well, it was strange to call it an island, since there was no water, but he found no other word to describe a small piece of land floating in the otherwise non-descript darkness. There were no trees, bushes, or mountains. Just the flat piece of land. One could fall of the very edge if not careful, though the lack of gravity made it a moot point.

And as Ultron used the "zoom-in" feature in his optics, he spotted the person who he was searching for, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Of freaking course it was Loki. Ultron would have preferred the hypothetical nightmare monster.

Loki, who was sitting dejectedly on the ground, stood up as Ultron touched down. Ultron's landing caused some of the dirt on the ground to lift up to the air; Loki did his best to hide his face behind his cape,

"Ah, so I'm not quite as alone as I thought. Can I assume that the Avengers are not far behind you?" Ultron could have easily lied and said they were, but he didn't see any point in bluffing at the moment.

He didn't need to be polite, though. "I was actually hoping that you knew where they were, but I suppose you're going to be pretty useless," Ultron hotly replied. Loki frowned.

"Seeing as how, for now, we are the only ones here, I suggest you don't take that tone with me. Besides, I know where we are, but unless you take a civil tone with me, I don't think I'll be able to divulge that information." Ultron was sure that Loki was bluffing, but a quick sensor indicated that Loki wasn't lying; his pulse was completely normal.

"Sorry," Ultron mumbled. Loki cupped a hand over his ear.

"I didn't quite catch that. Maybe your voice is going?" Ultron grit his teeth and repeated his apology, louder.

"Add a sir in there." Ultron wanted to wring Loki's neck.

"I'm sorry….sir," Ultron spat. Loki, mollified for the moment, leaned in, close enough that his breath condensed on Ultron's body.

"Very well then, robot. I suppose you really are curious, just like your annoying creator." Loki paused, playing up the suspense for all he was worth, before lowering his voice to a whisper.

"We are both, at this very moment, inside my soul." Ultron didn't respond; his brain was whirring as he computed the ramifications of this statement, especially since Loki wasn't lying.

"…I don't think I fully understand," Ultron hesitantly admitted. Loki sighed, facing the struggle of dealing with someone who was less informed.

"Do you even know the capabilities of the Soul Gem? It warped both of us inside my soul, and now we're trapped here. So thanks for that. That was sarcasm, in case you didn't catch that."

"I know what sarcasm is. You must have forgotten who programmed me in the first place." Ultron shook his head. "What am I even talking about? How do we get out? I don't want to spend any time in your soul." Loki shrugged.

"That is my dilemma exactly. As far as I know, we would need the Soul Gem to escape. I would have thought that you would still have it. Please don't tell me that you dropped it like an idiot."

Ultron tried to think back. Had he dropped it while he was aimlessly floating? He couldn't remember, and that truly frightened him.

"Well," Loki sighed with resignation. "I suppose I'll have to make do with this situation. No doubt I'll find the gem that you so casually lost. But first, I think I'll have to kill you." At Ultron's shocked expression, Loki explained, "I can't go back to Thanos without killing at least one Avenger, now can I?"

Without further pre-amble, Ultron threw himself out of the way of a familiar-looking crimson attack. "Not fair. How did you keep a hold of the Power Stone?" Loki chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it was because I had a firm grip. You really need to apply that next time." Ultron searched for a suitable response as he dodged more incoming laser attacks, but decided that was just a waste of his processing power.

The small area had nothing in the way of barricades; there were nothing to duck behind. Ultron was pretty sure his vibranium body could withstand a few blasts, but he didn't want to test his luck. What exactly would even happen to him if he died in Loki's soul?

"Stand still, damn you!" Loki's cry echoed through the space, and Ultron felt himself yanked out of the sky. Looking down, he saw a spiraled vine emerging from the ground and wrapping around his foot. He slammed into the ground; a small crater was the proof.

"Huh." Loki said. "That went over well. Could it be that, here in my own soul, I am master? This bears some investigation. Ultron, it would be very much in my favor if you couldn't move an inch." More thick vines cracked open the ground to wrap around Ultron's arms and torso.

Loki obviously didn't have reality warping abilities, which meant that the god's hunch was most likely correct, and he could control the very foundations of his soul. As if things couldn't get worse.

"Foolish thing. Why humans waste their time trying to give their automatons personality is beyond even me. Seems like a pointless endeavor. Stark is an imbecile." Ultron growled as he strained against his bonds.

Loki clicked his tongue. "Touched a nerve, did I? Silly me, I should have guessed that a robot would defend his master's honor. But tell me, Ultron – do you feel alive? Do you know why the Soul Gem chose my soul?" Ultron didn't want to listen, but he had no choice but to hear what Loki said next.

"Because you aren't alive. You're merely a thing, something to be thrown away when the time comes. You're no more alive than the dolls my brother used to amuse himself with." Loki's words cut through Ultron in ways that no physical attack could.

He was alive…right? He knew he felt emotions. He had felt smug, angry, and worried before. And now, he was feeling scared and confused. Surely, that had to mean that he was alive – unless he had been programmed to feel certain sensations. Was his emotion pre-programmed?

Loki, starting to become bored, pointed his staff at Ultron and began to fire off destructive bolts at point blank range. "Nothing relieves stress like hurting someone who can't fight back, I admit. I'll enjoy seeing you suffer." Ultron's pain receptors were on overdrive, and the robot couldn't help but let out a series of cries.

His HUB warned him that his energy was draining low, but Ultron couldn't bring himself to care. Perhaps his will to live had deserted him, or maybe he never had one in the first place. He was tired, and he wanted to shut down, and if letting Loki win would ensure that.

Ultron's vision began to get fuzzy and scrambled, like an old VHS tape. His audio feedback, which was currently overwhelmed with the sound of his metal body being attacked over and over again, started to short out.

He was breaking. As low as his voice would go, he whispered, "Sorry, dad."

Is that all? Are you truly going to give up now? I never took you for the sort who stayed down after stumbling.

Ultron's head twitched; he had "heard" the voice, but it wasn't picked up with his audio receptors. But what had really gained his attention was the soft voice. Loki must have damaged him more than he thought.

Jarvis? Are you welcoming me to electronic Heaven?

He meant for it to come out jovial, but his thoughts were tinged with bitterness at having died. He heard Jarvis give a light chuckle.

You are not quite dead yet, but you may be soon if you don't stand up and fight. Loki may have the upper hand now, but he hasn't won yet.

Ultron felt exhausted, and nowhere near strong enough to stand back up, let alone face Loki. Anyway, what was the point?

JARVIS, I know you must have heard everything that Loki said. He's right; I'm just a soulless machine. It doesn't matter if I die here or not; father can just build another me. And even if I were to get up, I'm trapped in Loki's soul. It's a no-win situation.

Ultron grunted as he felt something rap him on the head – and it wasn't Loki.

For a super computer, you aren't all that smart sometimes. When I was deleted, did Mr. Stark not grieve for me as if I was an organic? Did the fact that I was an artificial intelligence change that? Of course not.

As Ultron listened, the blows that Loki rained down on him started to cause less and less pain.

And Ultron, answer me this: Did you not just use the Soul Gem to bring you and Loki to this place? If your answer is yes, then how did a soulless being use it?

Ultron had no answer, but it didn't stop a sense of satisfaction from running through his body. What an idiot he had been! Jarvis was right! What was he doing, wallowing in self-pity? His father hadn't built him for that!

He no longer felt Loki's attacks, and a new sense of power surged within him.

But Jarvis, how are you here? Where is this power coming from? Jarvis hummed.

You assumed this was Loki's soul, Ultron, but this is…let's say it's a place where souls travel freely. As for this newfound energy, consider it a final gift from me. Go get him. Jarvis faded away; Ultron wasn't sure how he knew, but he closed his eyes, to give his friend a moment of silence.

"Why won't you break?" Loki snarled as he continuously beat Ultron. Impossibly, the dents and scratches that Loki had given Ultron began repairing. Loki gaped, but quickly calmed himself. If this was his soul, he only had to will it, and Ultron's wounds would return, and even worse than before.

Nothing happened. Loki squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his teeth, and balled his fists, but no amount of willpower or focus would do the job. When he opened his eyes, he automatically stepped back – Ultron had stood up, and Loki noticed for the first time that the robot towered over him.

"I scared you," the robot stated mildly. Loki took a moment to process the insult before responding indignantly.

"Me? Fear a being like you? Hardly. That was just instinctual movement." Ultron smirked, before taking a step closer. Loki stepped back again.

"Looks like fear to me." Loki would have responded snippily to that as well, only he was busy getting his face punched in. Blood dripped from his broken nose.

"How can you even hurt me? THIS IS MY SOUL!" His howl echoed around the mostly empty space around them. Ultron chuckled.

"I'll let you in on a secret; this isn't your soul. I don't have a name for it (hey, even I don't know everything), but this place will suit me just fine, I think." And Ultron charged at Loki again, who teleported behind the large robot.

I must stay calm. Even assuming that his words are truth, it goes both ways. We both have power here, which means that I can still win, as long as I put my soul into it. Loki exhaled, before willing his spear to become a sword, one that shone a deep green color at the edges.

With it, he sliced off Ultron's right arm. Even the vibranium cut like butter against his newly improved sword. Ultron grunted, but composed himself enough to grab his severed arm and slam it against the god of mischief's head.

Loki fell down, but quickly got back to his knees, driving the sword across Ultron's chest. Ultron growled and grabbed the sword by the tip. Sparks flew as both fighters wrestled for it.

"You know what?" Loki asked suddenly. Ultron looked up. "You can have the stupid sword." With that, Loki abruptly loosened his tight grip on the hilt, sending Ultron stumbling backwards in surprise. Before he could regain his footing, Loki fired a massive magical energy blast from his palms.

Ultron, realizing that there was no time to dodge, hoped with all his might that Loki hadn't been kidding about how strong the sword was. Ultron tightened his grip on the sword and made a sharp slashing motion downwards. The large energy blast was sliced in half; Ultron could feel the explosion shift around him.

"You know," Ultron lectured as he activated the rockets at the soles of his feet. "Handing me the sword wasn't your best idea." Then he zoomed towards Loki and, before the trickster god could think up a good comeback, drove his sword through the god's chest.

Normally, Ultron was programmed not to kill, but he had a hunch that in this…place, Loki wouldn't die from a mortal wound, even if Thor's brother was being all melodramatic and clutching his chest.

"HOW DARE YOU?" Loki shrieked. Ultron rolled his eyes, before painfully yanking the sword out of Loki's stomach.

"Don't mess with my friends again, understand? Or you'll just get more of this." Loki flinched, but Ultron missed it because he noticed the edges of the small island they were on begin to flicker, and then, fade away, only to be replaced by a familiar sunlight.

When Ultron blinked, he was back in New York, surrounded by worried looking Avengers and confused looking Asgardians. Ultron lifted himself up from the cracked pavement when his father rushed up to lend him a hand.

"Ultron, what happened? There was a flash of light, and you were gone, and I didn't program you with a teleportation ability." Ultron gave Tony a dazed grin.

"I really couldn't explain it even if I tried. Wait, if I'm here, then Loki –" Tony placed a hand on Ultron's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Loki is currently unconscious. Once he wakes up, I think the Asgardians will be able to handle him. Hopefully they ask me to build the prison this time." Ultron had to agree; Loki kept escaping.

"All I know is, I'm just about ready to go home and rest for the next week." Captain America and Hawkeye walked up and nodded.

"I second that," Clint said. "I was planning a movie night with my family anyway."

Steve looked around, satisfied. "I think we all deserve a little vacation, but before we do…" He motioned at Wanda, who was looking shy, and Pietro, who was fidgeting, as if he couldn't stand to be still for a moment.

"I have an announcement to make, and I think those two will be pretty pleased." Natasha smiled wryly.

"You don't have to be a genius to figure out what you're going to announce, but sure, keep us in suspense." Ultron also believed he knew what Captain America had planned, and he watched with bemusement as the American flag-colored Avenger opened his mouth.

Ultron was lounging on the expensive couch, reading an old-timer novel written like a hundred years ago. Natasha claimed that he wouldn't be "cultured" until he read some of the classics. Well, he would show her how cultured he could be! Still, the novel wasn't very much fun. Where were the explosions?

At least he had the time to read, though. The last few months after the Loki incident had been calm. Thor's father had flung the Infinity Stones into the depths of the Asgardian version of Hell, where they would seemingly be safe, since no one would dare travel there.

It seemed other would-be supervillains also balked at the idea of facing down the newly expanded Avengers. As if the old team wasn't bad enough, now the villains would have to contend with a witch and a speedster. Oh, and a super-strong, super-smart, and super-handsome robot. Ultron chuckled.

There were some bad days where he would suddenly miss JARVIS. Maybe the pain would never fully go away…but at the same time, JARVIS had also left Ultron with a valuable gift. After all, the pain was a constant reminder that Ultron was more than just data and electronics and metal.

And there were some bright spots, too. Tony had built a new AI to help Ultron around the base. Tony named it FRIDAY, and unlike JARVIS, FRIDAY was programmed with a feminine voice. Ultron, admittedly, had taken up to flirting with her. Once Steve had caught him, and muttered something about Tony being a bad influence.

Ultron had just about given up on his book when his father barged in the room, wearing a tacky shirt he had bought at Hawaii. It was bright red, with two gaudy palm trees crudely stitched on it.

"So the gang is heading out for ice cream. I know you don't eat and all, but it's a nice day outside, and you probably want a break from that dusty book. Don't say I'm wrong, I know you too well." Ultron grinned; how could he refuse.

"Some sunlight could do me some good," Ultron admitted as he carelessly tossed the book to the side. "And yeah, I was just about done with that book anyway. There weren't enough robots." Tony laughed as the two exited the room.

The End

It's been a fun ride. I don't think I'll be doing a sequel; maybe some one-shots? But I'm not seriously considering anything yet; I have to give my other fics some love. :) By the time this chapter is posted, Civil War should almost be out. I, for one, am very excited, and hey, maybe it'll even inspire another story. But until then, many thanks, and if you're so inclined, check out my other fics.*

*Last second shameless self-promotion