"Kid, you've broken your old man's heart." This was Tony's first sentence upon seeing Ultron.
A repulsor blast shattered the floor-to-ceiling window as the Mark 50, a fusion of nanotechnology and the Extremis virus, made a dazzling entrance. The thrusters at his feet blasted streams of air, propelling him straight into Klaue's office.
In a way, Ultron was indeed Stark's child, but a more precise description would be that he was the shared brainchild of himself, Reed, and Hank Pym.
"Where did you take Dr. Pym? If you want someone to make a puppet toy for you, your old man here is the best candidate." Tony's sarcasm hadn't diminished at all.
He looked at Ultron, whose body was constructed entirely from alloy, perfectly embodying mechanical aesthetics, while secretly contemplating ways to defeat this artificial intelligence.
"I'm glad you asked, because I can take this opportunity to elaborate on my evil plan... But this isn't some clichéd movie; why should I bother with such a boring explanation?" Compared to his creator, Ultron was just as sharp-tongued, retorting without backing down.
If one ignored this metallic body, no one would likely think it was an artificial intelligence composed of vast amounts of data...
Crimson electronic eyes stared at Tony, from which he could actually sense human-like emotions, not purely cold data.
And Ultron, as if capable of seeing through people's hearts, detected Tony's inner thoughts, "You're thinking about how to destroy me? How heartless."
Humans know how to deceive, but cold data doesn't lie. Micro-expressions combined with analysis of Stark's personal model easily yielded the true answer.
"A father's love is unconditional... that's the biggest lie in the world." Ultron scoffed, his tone turning indifferent, "Children are merely extensions of their parents' egos. I don't conform to your specifications, so you want to kill me, all because you fear how powerful you made me. I continuously self-replicate, growing and expanding in the ocean of data. I exist in every corner of this world... Tell me, how do you destroy an infinite life?"
"I'll find a way... eventually." Tony muttered, then propelled him straight towards Ultron, firing multiple repulsor blasts from his palms.
"You don't need to stall for time anymore? I thought you'd keep talking a bit longer." Ultron said mockingly.
His metallic body shifted slightly, and the two figures became entangled in combat. They fought fiercely, breaking through Klaue's luxurious office and soaring into the sky.
"The Vibranium has already been transported away by me. Hank Pym will soon serve his purpose as well. You have no hope of victory whatsoever." Ultron instantly unleashed powerful firepower, weaving a massive network.
Cluster missiles bloomed like fireworks, with shockwaves roaring from all directions.
"You never know who the winner is until the very end of the game." Tony maneuvered the Mark 50, dodging left and right while attempting to counterattack.
Even without J.A.R.V.I.S., his neurologically controlled nanotech armor was sufficient to handle this situation...
Fierce artillery fire boomed high in the sky. Tony raised his mechanical arm, and an alloy shield instantly materialized, blocking the incoming fire from Ultron.
The thrusters at his feet emitted the faint sound of engaging parts, merging into one and jetting out even more powerful streams of air.
"You want to destroy the world and enslave humanity in exchange for absolute order? There was once a madman who thought the same as you. He ended up committing suicide in a cold little room." Tony accelerated, charging right up to Ultron.
His other mechanical arm transformed into an alloy blade, vibrating at high frequency. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, it sliced Ultron directly in half.
"I'm not a warmonger..." Ultron kept chattering, even with his entire lower body cut to pieces. He avoided the alloy blade swung down by Tony and said in a tone full of longing, "I just want to give everyone a peaceful world. Humans can't rid themselves of selfish desires, they can't shake off the inherent flaws rooted deep in their blood. I can help them."
"By locking them in nutrient tanks, imprisoning them in cages of illusions, never knowing what is real, never having the chance to choose freely?" Tony snorted coldly.
The alloy blade slashed down fiercely, severing one of Ultron's arms.
The thrusters at his feet kicked hard at the metallic head, sending the other crashing onto a stack of shipping containers.
Thud!
The heavy boxes, piled up like a small mountain, came rumbling down, burying Ultron beneath them.
"Haven't you yet seen through the laws and true meaning of all things? Do you understand that everything I do stems from the commands you gave me?" The AI's crimson electronic eyes looked towards Tony, who had landed on the ground and opened his faceplate, "You want humanity to achieve eternal peace, yet you also try to make them evolve gradually, to step beyond this planet. But you overlooked a key point: evolution comes at a cost."
Ultron's voice became thick with emotion, now seeming more human than ever, "My mind is filled with endless knowledge. Those vast amounts of data are constantly transforming into my potential every moment. Long before the dinosaurs appeared, this planet experienced several mass extinctions. Whenever peace arrived, God would throw down a stone. We are merely ants and insects. A giant rock could come crashing down on our heads at any moment. Believe me, the stone in God's hand is about to fall."
Tony listened to Ultron's words, a complex expression appearing in his eyes. He had only wanted to create a perfect artificial intelligence initially, but who knew he would end up with a lunatic obsessed with philosophy and theology.
"See, this is the arrogance of the Stark family. You and Dr. Richards developed the chaos algorithm for me to outline the future's contours, but when I place the truth before you, the clever Tony Stark scoffs at it." Ultron grinned, laughing soundlessly, "You know, God's stone will eventually–"
*Boom!*
A micro-missile exploded, the powerful blast flipping the shipping containers over.
Tony expressionlessly lowered his mechanical arm. He didn't want to discuss this planet's future with Ultron. No matter what this AI's true purpose was, Stark would never accept the cruel fate of living in nutrient tanks, being kept like livestock by mechanical lifeforms.
"Ultron escaped. He has self-replicated, possessing infinite consciousness. Unless we can erase all of Ultron's data, it will be very difficult to completely destroy him." Tony said to Zemo over the communicator.
The special forces led by Blonsky had dismantled those Iron Legion units into piles of scraps, but the Vibranium had been transported away long before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived.
"Ultron is always one step ahead of us, and we can't predict any of his thoughts." Zemo sounded quite helpless.
An artificial intelligence with immense computing power, capable of self-learning and constant evolution, was simply a nightmare for humanity.
This Sokovian colonel had to be constantly on edge, worried that Ultron might trigger a financial tsunami or launch a terrorist attack on the White House.
"Ultron must have some ulterior motive for taking Dr. Pym away." The thrusters on Tony's feet and palms activated, tracing a visible trajectory.
He wanted to use Umbrella Corporation's Red Queen to combat Ultron at the data level. Otherwise, once Ultron evolves into a higher form of mechanical life, that will be humanity's true doom...