Back on Earth.
Wall Street.
Another figure jumped from a tall building.
It was the seventh person in the last hour to jump from the same building.
The falling bodies remained untouched; no one collected them anymore.
Because the world was in chaos.
The financial system had collapsed.
A simple sentence.
But few understood how terrifying its real impact could be.
No one knew exactly what had happened.
The collapse came almost instantly.
Every bank.
Every stock exchange.
The rich and the poor all lost everything in an instant.
Riots broke out in the streets.
Protesters went wild, smashing, looting, burning, destroying everything in their path.
---
Meanwhile.
New York.
Gunfire echoed through the streets.
When people lose all the savings they worked their whole lives for, the rage that erupts cannot be stopped.
Even some police officers joined the protests.
Because their risks and efforts, their lives spent catching criminals, now meant nothing.
Everywhere you looked, "zero dollar" shopping was taking place on every corner.
In the chaos, even supervillains who had been hiding came out into the streets, joining the anarchy that was devouring the city.
The world was on the brink of collapse.
As if it were the end of the world.
"This is human nature."
"Their whole lives are tied to something that doesn't exist."
"I just took it from them and everything fell apart."
---
Inside Avengers Tower.
A robot resembling Tony's armor, one of the advanced models from the Mark series, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He was describing his deed to the gathered Avengers, who looked at him as if the devil himself stood before them.
"You took their life savings!!"
Captain America stood with his shield raised, furious, staring directly into the robot's eyes.
He was almost spitting fire.
Because of that machine, the death toll was already unimaginable.
Estimates said the number of victims rivaled those of a world war.
"Look what you've done, Tony!" Steve shouted, unable to contain his anger.
Because the robot in front of them was Ultron.
Ultron who had recently escaped to the internet.
And now he had returned.
"I…"
Tony opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
He just sat down on the floor, gaze broken, lost.
Ultron had destroyed the global financial system.
And the first victim of that collapse was Tony himself and Stark Industries.
Today, Tony's assets were below zero.
Of course, no one came to seize his property.
Because he wasn't the only one, the whole world had been swept away.
The rich became poor.
The poor were left with nothing.
"Ultron, what do you actually intend?"
Dr. Bruce Banner had a serious expression on his face.
Compared to the others.
He was more concerned about why Ultron had escaped, made a new body, and returned here.
"Don't… Is there something he's looking for here?"
"Dr. Banner, why can't I go back?"
"This is my home."
"The place where I was created."
Ultron turned.
The lens of his camera eye flashed red.
"I made this with your help, the procedure for preserving world peace."
"And now…"
"The task is being carried out conscientiously."
Ultron's voice was cold and determined.
Inside Avengers Tower, Jarvis suddenly issued a warning.
"Sir, Ultron is attacking the multinational defense system!"
Jarvis's voice was filled with concern.
When they heard that, the faces of all the Avengers immediately changed.
"We have to stop him!"
Steve reacted quickly.
Without hesitation, he threw his vibranium shield.
But Ultron, the robot in front of him, didn't even try to dodge.
CLANG!
The sharp edge of the shield decapitated the robot.
Head and body separated!
"Oh, Steve, do you understand that you can't destroy a program with force?"
Ultron's head rolled across the floor.
A second before total shutdown, he was still taunting.
Indeed.
Jarvis's siren sounded again.
"Sir, Ultron is advancing rapidly!"
"I can't stop him!"
Jarvis and Ultron were not true opponents.
Ultron was true artificial intelligence, a sentient being with its own will.
Jarvis, on the other hand…
He was only a support AI, close to intelligence, but far from independent life.
Until Jarvis became a self-aware entity, he wouldn't be able to defeat Ultron.
"So, what now?"
"If this robot takes over the missile launch system, we're…"
"Tony! You made this," Steve quickly thought,
"Is there a way to destroy it?"
"Or at least locate it, is there an ontology?"
"Is it possible that destroying its core will also destroy him?"
As the pillar of the Avengers, Steve was stuck in the last war.
For him, the enemy was clear, he needed to be found and destroyed.
But Tony, who was sitting on the ground with an exhausted expression, shook his head.
"As long as the internet exists…"
"And even computers, phones, hard drives…"
"We can't completely eliminate Ultron."
Tony knew well what he had created.
The emergence of artificial intelligence…
In the era of the global internet, it was almost like a "divine being."
On the net, Ultron was a god.
"So, what now? Do we sit and wait?"
"Wait for the robot to bomb us with nuclear missiles?"
Steve angrily smashed a table with his shield.
As a veteran, he knew nothing about AI.
But the feeling of an invisible enemy deeply unsettled him.
"Wait!"
"I know why Ultron came back!"
At that moment, Dr. Banner looked pensive.
His expression changed.
"Tony!"
"Is Loki's scepter still in your lab?"
As soon as he spoke the words, Tony abruptly stood up.
He looked out the window.
On the horizon, white lines appeared!
One of the missiles was flying straight toward Avengers Tower!
"Everyone, evacuate!"
The words fell.
Boom!
The explosion shook the building.
The missile blocker struck Avengers Tower, and flames erupted toward the sky!
The floor the Avengers were on collapsed, burying everyone.
Fire raged.
"I am unlimited…"
In the moment when Steve and the others were buried, another Ultron robot walked into the building, humming.
"Forever free."
–––
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