The Avengers had completed almost all the work they could manage and found every ally they could seek out. What lay after this was a long, agonizing wait. Countless scientists were working together to figure out how to forcibly terminate Ultron's program code through computer viruses or program shutdowns.
All they could do was wait—wait for Ultron to make his move. Before that, Ultron was unwilling to even show himself, reluctant to proactively reveal his presence only to be picked off one by one by the Avengers.
"What is the most likely timing? Can we narrow it down yet?"
The Captain sat on the couch with a hint of fatigue, staring at the transparent tablet in his hands. It displayed all the prepared information gathered so far. Captain America didn't know how many people were involved in this battle or how many were needed. All he knew was that the scale of this threat would definitely be no smaller than the Kang Dynasty.
But was even this going to be enough?
"I don't think Ultron has the mindset to accommodate Americans, so he will definitely choose to start his plan at the earliest moment Christmas strikes somewhere on Earth. That means taking action the moment midnight hits Christmas on the west side of the International Date Line. At that time, it will be 7:00 AM on the 24th, Eastern Time. Considering that actual iteration takes time, the earliest we can expect to see Ultron is roughly 10:00 AM on Christmas Eve."
This wasn't referring to a single iteration, but two. After consuming SWORD Ultron, Ultron would undergo an iteration, which the Avengers' Ultron would synchronize with for a data upgrade. The moment that completed, the Avengers' Ultron would execute the relevant plan.
According to Pym's calculations, when the Avengers' Ultron entered Jim Hammond's body through the neural transmission device, it would trigger yet another iteration. At that point, all of Ultron's data would be shared with Gospel Ultron. This meant Gospel Ultron would have one more iteration than the Avengers' Ultron, rendering its intelligence vastly superior. This was precisely why Pym had prepared a prototype Ultron unit and allowed it to iterate independently.
He needed to bring the intelligence levels of both Ultrons to the same playing field when creating the "Vision."
And according to calculations, the time required for Gospel Ultron to undergo two iterations was roughly three hours.
Captain America remained frowning, then turned to Tony and asked, "Is there any way to drag out the time and slow it down further?"
"Of course there is, Captain America. If all we want to do is slow down Ultron's processing speed, we could throw hundreds or even tens of thousands of virus bombs at him. But given Ultron's analytical capacity, he can resolve one within seconds. Therefore, these unnetworked virus bombs must be deployed at a far more opportune moment."
Tony didn't favor using these precious means merely to delay Gospel Ultron's iteration speed. In his eyes, doing so was pointless; it made far more sense to dump them all out during active combat against Gospel Ultron to buy themselves a bit of time on the battlefield.
Besides, when the time came, the new Avengers Ultron would be using an android brain and wouldn't be susceptible to digital virus attacks anyway.
Captain America nodded upon hearing this, then brought up his side of the situation: "I contacted a few friends, including Jack of Hearts and Darkhawk, asking if they were willing to join this battle. Jack of Hearts agreed to help defend certain locations, while Darkhawk has yet to send a response."
Both of them were former members of the US Avengers. Because the US Avengers was actually backed by A.I.M.—a Hydra-supported organization—their battle suits had been compromised, forcing them into combat against the Avengers at one point. After the US Avengers disbanded, they became disheartened and walked away from the superhero line of work entirely.
To be frank, Captain America was reluctant to drag anyone into battle who didn't wish to fight. Thus, he had reached out with a heart full of guilt and refrained from actively pressing them to join.
When Captain America himself came asking for your help in battle, that was already the greatest motivation imaginable.
"Alright, it's time to assign the specific tasks."
After verifying once more that all teams, organizations, and nations had been properly notified, Captain America began deploying assignments: "Tony, coordinate with the scientists. We'll need to rely on your collective intellect to wrestle control of the network away from Ultron. We have to reclaim control of local networks region by region, using our Ultron to replace theirs."
"Then, everyone will be split into combined teams covering several major sectors to engage Ultron and draw his attention. We've discovered and dismantled a significant number of neural transmission devices over this period, but the enemy undoubtedly still has reserves. So here are the sector assignments."
Black Panther would be responsible for Sub-Saharan Africa, with the Thunderbolts operating alongside him. Peter would stay on the East Coast, joining forces with the Defenders and a few others to secure New York. Captain America would head to the West Coast, taking charge of defense along the West Coast alongside the US Ultimates.
Western Europe was assigned to Tony and Excalibur, while Eastern Europe went to Hulk and the Winter Guard. The main force of the X-Men would stay at the Xavier Institute to protect Charles Xavier, while the remaining organized heroes, alongside Ant-Man and Wasp, would head to SWORD to defend the SWORD Helicarrier.
Thor would move globally, generating electromagnetic pulses in specified sectors to disable electronic equipment and forge a network battlefield for the two Ultrons to contest.
The Avengers simply lacked sufficient numbers; they were stretched thin before even covering every battlefield. Tony shot Captain America a look that said "I told you so."
"Like I said, Captain America, we need to expand our roster. We can't keep running into global catastrophes only to find ourselves unable to mobilize enough manpower to handle the enemy."
Captain America shook his head helplessly. "Once this passes, we expand. Tony, the Avengers truly do need more people."
"Alright, everyone, double-check your defense preparations before then. Make sure hospitals, orphanages, relief shelters, and similar sites in every sector are secure. We must ensure nothing goes wrong in those locations and prevent any extra casualties. If necessary, evacuate and relocate non-combatants immediately, prioritizing vulnerable groups."
"Evacuating everyone might prove nearly impossible," Banner finally spoke up. "Ultron's goal isn't world conquest or military tyranny. His objective is to re-engineer all of humanity. He will definitely broadcast what he intends to do, and not everyone will oppose him."
"Then we fight for those who do resist," Captain America replied firmly. "Alright, everyone take a good rest before the battle comes. Dismissed."