[Inside the Avengers Tower]
[Tony approached wearing a t-shirt with Bruce Lee's image on it. Banner looked up and asked, "Any word on Natasha?"]
["Haven't heard, but she's alive, or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it."]
[Barton carefully inspected the regeneration cradle, then jumped down and announced, "This thing's sealed tight!"]
["We're gonna need to access the program, break it down from within," Banner explained while supporting the regeneration cradle with his hands.]
[Tony put his hands in his pockets and didn't respond directly. Instead, he turned to Barton: "Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet? Old-school spy stuff?"]
[Barton put his hands on his hips and considered for a moment: "There are some frequencies SHIELD used that Ultron wouldn't know about. Yeah, I'll check." Then he hurried downstairs.]
[Banner operated the computer: "I can work on tissue degeneration if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."]
[Tony touched the back of his head: "Yeah, about that..."]
[Banner looked at Tony, immediately understanding his implication, and firmly refused: "No."]
["You have to trust me," Tony moved closer, trying to persuade Banner.]
[Banner spread his hands and stepped back: "I don't."]
["Our ally, the guy protecting the nuclear codes," Tony activated a holographic projection, revealing Jarvis! "I found him."]
["Hello, Dr. Banner," Jarvis greeted him politely.]
[Tony explained: "Ultron didn't attack Jarvis because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So Jarvis went underground, scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols."]
["He didn't know he was there until I pieced him together."]
[Banner touched his forehead, now understanding what Tony wanted to do: "So, you want me to help you put Jarvis into this thing?"]
["No, of course not! I want to help you put Jarvis in this thing," Tony clarified. "This is not my area of expertise. You know bio-organics better than anyone."]
[Banner appeared skeptical. After all, Ultron had previously overwhelmed Jarvis with relative ease: "And you're just assuming that Jarvis's operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"]
["Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is our chance to create Ultron's perfect self, without the homicidal glitches. We have to."]
[Jarvis added supportively: "I believe it's worth a try."]
[Banner shook his head in disbelief: "I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong."]
[Tony walked up to him and put his arm around Banner's shoulders.]
["I know, I know, I know what everyone's going to say. But they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. We've gotta own it. Make a stand."]
[Banner lowered his head and licked his lips, instinctively shaking his head.]
[Tony continued persuading: "It's not a loop. It's the end of the line."]
"So, we ended up creating Vision? A super robot created by combining Jarvis with the body that Ultron built for himself?" Tony mused, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, though he didn't seem particularly surprised.
They had been speculating that the vibranium body was destined to become Vision, and now it was all but confirmed.
"That also explains why Vision is on our side—because we prevented Ultron from uploading himself into that body! Whatever Ultron was planning, we managed to stop it in the end," Captain America realized.
Everyone exchanged glances. They hadn't expected the Tony Stark in the footage to devise such a solution to counter Ultron, but when they considered who he was—Tony Stark—it suddenly didn't seem so surprising.
If he didn't do something unexpected and brilliant, he wouldn't be Tony Stark!
"But it seems that the Captain and Wanda are opposed to this plan," Rhodes observed, crossing his arms and hoping nothing would go wrong.
"Indeed, from my perspective, I'm naturally skeptical about these advanced technologies, especially after witnessing what happened with Ultron. It only makes me more cautious," Captain America nodded, acknowledging Rhodes' point.
As someone from a different era, he often approached modern technology with understandable reservation—a generational gap that was sometimes unavoidable.
[In Sokovia]
[Ultron controlled numerous mechanical arms, perfecting his master plan.]
[Natasha lay unconscious on the floor, then stirred, slowly opening her eyes as she regained consciousness.]
[Ultron noticed her awakening: "I wasn't sure you'd wake up. I hoped you would. I wanted to show you. I don't have anyone else. I think a lot about meteors. The purity of them. Boom! The end. Start over."]
[Natasha propped herself up and realized she was in Strucker's base. Although Ultron had transformed it beyond recognition, she could still identify her surroundings.]
["The world made clean for the new man to rebuild. I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful. The world would've looked to the sky and seen hope... seen mercy. Instead they'll look up in horror because of you."]
[Natasha remained uncertain about Ultron's intentions, so she could only lean against the wall and watch as he approached while continuing his monologue.]
["You've wounded me. I give you full marks for that. But, like the man said, 'What doesn't kill me...'" Before the robotic body could finish speaking, a large metallic hand burst through its head, tearing it to pieces.]
[This sudden, violent action caused Natasha to retreat in alarm, backing into a storage area.]
[Ultron continued speaking to her from his new, upgraded body: "...just makes me stronger!"]
[With that, he pulled up the iron gate of the storage area. Though Natasha was still catching her breath from the shock, she was reasonably certain that Ultron had no immediate plans to harm her.]
[Inside the Avengers Tower, Tony and Banner were uploading Jarvis's data into Vision's body. Banner connected large data cables to the regeneration cradle one by one.]
[Meanwhile, Natasha wasn't idle. Using what materials she could find, she secretly sent a message to Barton, who was monitoring several special frequencies.]
[Barton noticed the activity and immediately grabbed his headphones to listen carefully. Natasha was transmitting her location to him using Morse code. A smile spread across Barton's face as he deciphered it.]
[His worst fear had not materialized—Natasha was still alive. As long as she lived, there was hope for rescue!]