Hulk bursting into the room shattered Ultron's plans completely. At this point, no one was going to give it time to finish the data transfer.
Dr. Helen Cho made her decision instantly and shut down the regeneration cradle.
"Damn humans!"
Ultron roared. Its plan had been destroyed at the final moment.
"Stop it!" Tony Stark shouted.
This time, Ultron could not be allowed to escape.
Tony did not need to explain further. Everyone already knew what had to be done.
Facing the combined assault of the Avengers, Ultron had no chance of retreat.
Moments later, Hulk smashed half of Ultron's body apart with a single punch.
"It's finally over," Tony said, letting out a long breath.
"That felt easier than expected," Steve Rogers remarked.
"Easier?" Tony glanced at him. "It only looks easy. We did a lot of work before cornering Ultron. If not for that, with its capabilities, this would never have gone so smoothly."
Steve did not argue. This was not his field. As long as the crisis was resolved, that was what mattered.
"You must be Dr. Helen Cho," Tony said as he noticed her, his eyes lighting up as he approached with a friendly smile.
Tony had high standards, and Helen Cho was absolutely the kind of woman who could catch his attention.
Unfortunately, his heart already belonged elsewhere.
Tony sighed inwardly. No matter how exceptional Helen was, she could not compare to his Pepper.
Helen nodded.
"Thank you for saving me," she said. "But Ultron still has control over my family. Now that its main body has been destroyed, any remaining subroutines could put them in danger."
"Do you know their location?" Steve asked immediately.
It was a serious problem.
Minutes later, the Avengers boarded the aircraft. There were still things they had to deal with.
As soon as they were airborne, Tony received a call from Nolan Rock.
Nolan had rushed back as fast as possible, but Kamar-Taj was far from the United States. That was why he had relied on Tony to act first.
"It's already resolved?" Nolan sounded surprised.
Ultron had prepared for so long. It should not have been this easy.
Still, this was not the time to dwell on that.
"Did you rescue Dr. Cho?" Nolan asked.
"We did," Tony replied. "But her family is still being held. Be honest. Is there something going on between you two?"
Even if he had left his reckless bachelor days behind, that did not mean Tony had lost interest in gossip.
Nolan scoffed.
"Do you think I'm you? I'm Nolan Rock. A man known as a responsible hero. Where is Dr. Cho's family?"
"Aris," Tony said. "I'll send you the coordinates."
"Understood."
Nolan ended the call.
So Ultron had been dealt with, at least on the surface. It seemed Tony Stark had grown after all.
Poor Tony. It really had not been easy for him.
After receiving the coordinates, Nolan raised his right hand.
With the mana he still had, he could use the Mystic Ring here.
The combination of magic and technology truly was fascinating.
It was a pity he had not obtained Ultron's core program. Otherwise, he might have been able to reshape it into an entirely new kind of artificial intelligence.
The Red Queen was powerful, but even she had limits.
Nolan understood this well. A truly advanced artificial intelligence required self-awareness. Everything else was, at best, a lesser form.
The Mystic Ring rotated.
A portal opened.
Nolan crossed hundreds of kilometers in a single step, arriving in a remote city.
Following the coordinates, he found a factory on the outskirts. Inside, machines hummed endlessly.
Just as he arrived nearby, a group of robots suddenly emerged from the factory, moving openly without the slightest concern for exposure.
Something was wrong.
Nolan realized it immediately.
If Ultron had truly lost control, these robots would not be acting independently like this.
Tony Stark had been fooled again.
If Ultron had survived and failed to obtain the vibranium body, what would it do next?
A chill ran through Nolan's chest.
It would start a war.
Sokovia.
As the realization struck, Nolan charged forward while contacting the Red Queen.
"Red Queen, activate all Sokovia defense protocols. Prepare for a full-scale Ultron assault."
Based on Ultron's logic, Sokovia was the most likely battlefield.
Fortunately, Nolan had already made preparations back when he dismantled HYDRA's operations.
At Nolan's command, the Red Queen executed immediately.
All Rock Technologies personnel stationed in Sokovia received an emergency order to remain inside company facilities and initiate contingency protocols.
To their shock, countless robots appeared throughout the complex.
Some had been manufactured on their own production lines. Others came from unknown sources.
One thing was certain. Their numbers were overwhelming.
It looked exactly like the opening of a war.
And that was precisely what it was.
The Avengers had failed to eliminate Ultron completely.
Ultron had returned as pure code to its stronghold. With its original plan ruined, it chose the only remaining option. War.
And the first targets were any forces that posed a threat.
At the top of that list stood Rock Technologies.
Explosions thundered as robot armies clashed without warning.
"Sir, Sokovia is under attack," the Red Queen reported.
At that moment, Nolan had just rescued Dr. Cho's family.
He rubbed his temples.
"I know."
So Ultron had escaped after all.
Nolan immediately contacted the Avengers.
When they received the call, everyone's expression darkened.
"Ultron escaped? That's impossible!" Tony exclaimed.
"There's no mistake," Nolan said. "Ultron has already started a war in Sokovia. If we do not destroy the real Ultron, this conflict could spread across the entire world."
"Damn it," everyone cursed in unison.
This had escalated badly.
"We need to get to Sokovia immediately," Steve said.
The next second, a portal opened and Nolan stepped through.
After ending the call, Nolan addressed them.
"There's a Rock Technologies branch in Sokovia. Because of the unstable situation there, I stationed a large number of automated weapons on-site. The Red Queen is already directing them against Ultron's forces. But they won't hold forever."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Steve said eagerly. "Open a portal and send us there."
Nolan shrugged.
"Unfortunately, I can't open a portal that far right now."
Sokovia lay deep in Europe. Opening a portal over that distance required far more mana than he currently had.
The room fell quiet.
They had assumed Nolan's portals had no limits.
Natasha Romanoff quietly exhaled. It should not have mattered, but knowing there were limits felt reassuring. A power like that without constraints would have been terrifying.
Steve, Clint Barton, and even Tony Stark shared that same unspoken relief.
"Looks like we're flying," Bruce Banner said, shaking his head. "Let's hope Sokovia holds out."
The aircraft changed course toward Sokovia.
It was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fastest vessels, but even so, the journey would take at least an hour.
Meanwhile, in Sokovia.
A colossal robot strode through the streets.
Countless civilians stared in horror.
Surrounding the giant machine were innumerable humanoid robots, laying waste to everything in their path. Buildings collapsed into dust.
Ultron advanced step by step, each footfall bringing destruction.
Although it had failed to obtain the vibranium body, it still had a contingency plan.
The body it now used had been prepared long ago.
Inspired by the Titan armor Nolan Rock had revealed during the Battle of New York, Ultron had constructed a massive war machine.
Enormous size. Devastating firepower.
It was simple, but Ultron believed this form to be invincible.
"Eradicate humanity. Purge the world."
The mechanical voice carried an eerie emotional weight as it echoed through the streets.
Ultron's army followed behind it.
Sokovian forces responded immediately, deploying troops and reconnaissance aircraft to assess the threat.
Several generals watched the live feed in silence.
One of them murmured, "What is that…"
On-screen, the ground looked like a sea of metal.
"How can there be so many robots?" another whispered. "Are those from Rock Technologies?"
Though Sokovia was poor, these generals were not. Many of them owned Rock Technologies products themselves.
"No," one officer said grimly. "They're different. And we've just received confirmation. These robots are fighting Rock Technologies' machines."
Before they could process what that meant, alarms blared.
Gunfire erupted outside, followed by the roar of tanks.
Combat had begun.
They could even hear the distinctive sound of their APU combat mechs engaging.
Suddenly, one stream of APU gunfire cut off abruptly.
A malfunction, perhaps. It happened often enough.
But then more APU units fell silent. Then tanks. Then everything else.
That could only mean one thing.
Aboard the aircraft, Nolan reflected grimly.
Ultron was alive.
In his estimation, Ultron's ultimate plan still involved lifting Sokovia into the sky and wiping out life on Earth. Machines had no need for a livable environment.
But before that endgame, Ultron would execute countless smaller plans.
Its methods would shift with circumstances, even if its goal remained unchanged.
"This is going to be a brutal fight," Nolan murmured.
Tony stepped beside him.
"Did you figure it out?"
Nolan knew what he meant.
"I did," Nolan replied. "And honestly, I wish I hadn't."
The Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme, charged with protecting Earth. That was the one reason Nolan trusted her. And also the most terrifying one.
She was not Stephen Strange.
Strange was new to his role and firmly human in perspective.
The Ancient One was different. To her, protecting humanity and serving cosmic balance were not always the same thing.
Some humans versus all humans were two very different calculations.
She had not intervened during the Chitauri invasion, nor had she stopped Ultron's creation, regardless of the casualties involved.
That frightened Nolan more than anything else.
Tony noticed Nolan's expression but did not press further.
"Whatever the answer is," Tony said, "right now we deal with the problem in front of us."
Nolan nodded.
"Yes. One thing at a time."
Without Thor or the Mind Stone, Vision would never be born.
It was a shame, but perhaps also a mercy.
"We're almost there," Nolan said.
"We've only been flying for half an hour," Tony replied.
"True," Nolan said. "But I can open a portal now."
Ultron did not know about Nolan's portals. That advantage mattered.
Tony grinned.
"Perfect. I've been dying to have a talk with that metal bastard."
His eyes burned with cold fury.
Once everyone was ready, Nolan did not hesitate.
The Mystic Ring spun, and a portal opened.
"Everyone," Nolan said calmly, "let's move."