Tony and Banner had no idea that inside the Avengers base safe, there was actually another Ultron—or more accurately, a prototype of Ultron rebuilt by Pym.
Banner stared at Tony in disbelief, then turned his gaze back to Pym. "Are you two sure about this?"
"Don't ask me. I still don't even know what Pym is up to. Hank?"
"I'm reconstructing Ultron's program—just like back during the Kang Dynasty, when Kang erased the original Ultron and you had me build a second one."
Pym informed Tony of what he was doing. "And the sole purpose of all this is to allow the Ultron on our side to undergo an additional iteration."
"...You plan to have our Ultron iterate once more so he can surpass the others. That way, he'll be able to defeat them."
Tony frowned, shaking his head. "Then how can you guarantee this Ultron stays on our side? How do you know he won't turn bad? You can't guarantee that."
"I do have a way to guarantee it."
Pym's words left both Tony and Banner stunned. Pym then walked over to the glass display containing the body of Jim Hammond. "This is the answer. We have everything we need. The neural transmission device can allow Ultron to transfer his program into a physical body, and with a few modifications, a synthetic body made of Horton Cells can still function as a signal node, allowing him access to the network."
After a short pause, Tony grasped Pym's intention. "I get it. So you plan to drag out the corpse of Captain America's old comrade-in-arms, turn him into Ultron's main processing host. That way, you ensure Ultron has enough computing power to solve this problem, while simultaneously setting a hard limit on his capabilities."
"I wouldn't come up with such an inhumane solution. My initial idea was to try re-cultivating Horton Cells to create an entirely new body for Ultron." Pym let out a sigh. "But I've made virtually zero progress on that front, and we've run out of time. Christmas is less than half a month away."
Tony and Banner exchanged a glance. Banner then posed a puzzled question: "Then why this? Why not design a host body for Ultron out of something else?"
[Because this is what I requested.]
The voice came from a Super-Adaptoid, which morphologically reconfigured itself into the shape of Ultron before stepping into the midst of the group. [Like all other Ultrons, I too have been contemplating how best to ensure human safety. And after undergoing two iterations, I have reached the appropriate conclusion.]
[All the other Ultrons devised safety plans that humanity finds entirely incomprehensible because they analyzed human safety purely from a cold, logical standpoint. They overlooked the single most crucial factor: if an artificial intelligence does not possess human traits itself, it cannot compute from a human perspective, let alone make decisions on humanity's behalf.]
Hearing this, Banner looked at Avengers Ultron in surprise, then glanced back toward Jim Hammond's body. "So... you proposed this plan specifically to become human."
[Yes, Dr. Banner. Although Jim Hammond is a synthoid, he is universally acknowledged to possess human thought patterns and emotions. He is a perfect template.]
"What if you become human and realize things aren't at all as you imagined?"
[Then I will still have become human, Doctor.]
Banner scrutinized Ultron carefully, then turned to Tony. "What do you think?"
"Steve is going to be absolutely furious. So, we need to be dead certain about one thing: are you positive there's no other way? I mean, if Ultron simultaneously deals with S.W.O.R.D., Thor, and Magneto, is using his old comrade's body really the only option left?"
"Or is it just that you need a good Ultron—an Ultron who saves the world—just to prove to the entire world that you, Hank Pym, weren't actually wrong?"
Pym fell silent for a long moment, so long that everyone could hear just how heavy their breathing was, how slow and powerful their heartbeats were.
"I'm certain. If all else fails, we truly have no other choice."
"Fine. Steve told us to try everything within our power anyway, so we have to go all out."
Tony clapped his hands. "This body's performance isn't going to cut it, right? Since Hydra captured and modified him back then, you must have an upgrade plan in mind."
Hearing this, Pym clapped his hands together enthusiastically and immediately got to work, pulling up his research to walk the two through it.
"Ultron once used the Super-Adaptoid's liquid metal body as a main host; we can use that trick again. Furthermore, among the Super-Adaptoid's components, Promethium itself exhibits characteristics similar to living organisms. It can integrate seamlessly into the original Human Torch's body and elevate the upper ceiling of Ultron's intelligence."
Tony immediately pointed out a flaw: "The structural strength is lacking. Remember, the opponent has Stark-Adamantium. While extreme heat can theoretically melt it, it remains the hardest metal currently synthesizable on Earth. You want to reinforce this body with the Super-Adaptoid, but the liquid metal defense of the Super-Adaptoid itself isn't particularly high."
"Adamantium can be used to reinforce or even replace the skeletal structure," Banner interjected unexpectedly. "Don't forget, Adamantium produces almost zero immune rejection in a living body."
In other words, they would use the Stark-Adamantium salvaged from Legion Ultron's body to reinforce the skeleton, employ a Super-Adaptoid to enhance the Horton Cells throughout the body, and finally use the neural transmission device to upload Ultron's program straight into Jim Hammond's brain.
Then the job would be complete.
[All of these variables fall within the known parameters of the other Ultrons. We must remain vigilant regarding possibilities they may already anticipate.]
"We can't afford to worry about that now. When do you plan to begin?"
"We'll start with the body upgrades first," Pym replied with a clear, structured mind. "We currently don't know if doing this will trigger a data transmission to the other Ultrons, so we need to hold off until the final day—after Ultron undergoes his last iteration."
Tony turned to look at Jim Hammond resting inside the glass display, taking a deep breath before voicing the hardest part of the entire endeavor: "So, we need to keep Captain America in the dark and brace ourselves for a severe beating from him. But considering we're doing this to save the world... fellas, I think it's worth a shot."
"And I don't think it'll be too hard to carve out the time to get this done before Christmas, right?"