Nick Fury remained stationed inside his utterly secure secret base, monitoring the operations of the backup S.H.I.E.L.D. while evaluating whether these personnel were truly reliable. After all, the threat he faced wasn't merely Ultron, but Hydra as well. Even he couldn't guarantee that no Hydra infiltrators had slipped into their ranks.
However, he could rest assured that Hydra and Ultron were definitely not on the same side. The two factions shared identical ultimate objectives; for that very reason, collusion between them was impossible. Both Hydra and Ultron sought to build a world under their own absolute control, meaning neither would ever tolerate another entity occupying the same ecological niche.
Consequently, when it came to battling Ultron, Hydra's agents would inevitably fight with even greater dedication than S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
Yet one question kept nagging at Fury: what were the Avengers waiting for? Hank Pym had still not shown up—what on earth was he working on?
"Sir, Hercules has appeared on the European continent and is actively engaging Ultron forces."
Fury let out a helpless sigh, turning to question the reporting agent: "Don't you have any intelligence that is actually constructive?"
The agent froze for a few seconds before seeming to catch on: "Reporting sir, the nuclear launch codes of every nation remain fully protected. This indicates the Ultron system belonging to the Avengers hasn't been destroyed by the enemy Ultron yet—it's still safeguarding our data security."
"Does something so painfully obvious even require an investigation?" Fury was truly exasperated, though he recognized his subordinates genuinely lacked actionable intel at the moment. "Dismissed. Come back when you actually have something."
The agent immediately turned to leave, but Fury called him back: "Wait—what's the situation with Spider-Man? Any news?"
"There's been no word from Spider-Man ever since he went to intercept that airliner, sir."
"..."
In the end, Fury simply nodded without saying another word.
As a matter of fact, Peter's condition was as good as it could possibly be. What was so hard about launching himself hundreds of meters into the air, opening a Sling Ring portal to transport a plane over the Hudson River, and using web-shooters along with the Anti-Venom symbiote to make an emergency water landing?
Compared to Captain Sully's emergency landing, this was practically a walk in the park.
When the passenger jet came to a stop in the waters of the Hudson, Peter let out a long breath: "Alright, gotta get these cabin doors open fast and deploy the inflatable slides. Hope US Airways has improved since Captain Sully's water landing. Hey there! Is everyone doing alright?"
Using Anti-Venom to seep inside, Peter forced open the cabin door and stepped in to check on the occupants. He saw every single passenger standing up to look at him, though with a slight catch: half of every passenger's face had already been transformed into the metal visor of Ultron.
[We are doing quite well, Spider-Man.]
The flight attendant closest to Peter spoke up: [Won't you join us, Spider-Man?]
"Nanobots..."
[Correct answer.]
In the next instant, all 155 crew members and passengers—or rather, 155 Ultrons—surged forward, charging straight at Peter. Every one of them had been upgraded with lethal firepower during their modification. Almost instantaneously, they tore the entire aircraft to pieces, setting off a massive explosion that sent a towering wave crashing over the Hudson River.
Amidst the flying spray, Peter leapt high into the air, cutting through the wall of water from the plane's wreckage to land on a nearby pier. Countless symbiote tendrils sprouted from his back. At the same time, he fired webs from both wrists, weaving a massive net between the surrounding buildings before yanking hard on the lines.
All 155 "Ultron-Humans" modified by Ultron were thrown onto the gigantic webs. Peter quickly tallied them up: "155 in total. Perfect, not a single one missing. Except for one blown-up plane... hope US Airways doesn't send me the bill."
[You cannot change what is to come, Spider-Man.]
Seeing Peter's actions, one of the Ultron-Humans spoke up, stating flatly: [You may be able to use your power to reject the Gospel's arrival for yourself, but you cannot stop the Gospel's transformation across the globe. Ultron has taken control of the Master Mold; a steady stream of Ultron sentinels and nanobots is being manufactured. Within a few hours, the entire world will be covered.]
[When that time comes, what will you have left to save?]
"Thanks for the doom-and-gloom speech, but I believe in the Avengers, I believe in the Fantastic Four, I believe in the X-Men, and I believe in everyone who chooses to fight back," Peter said, resting his hand on the web lines. "Honestly, knowing there are still so many people who won't accept your Gospel makes me pretty happy, Ultron."
[You can change nothing.]
"Just as you said, religion evolved into modern science right out of ancient Rome's stronghold of pragmatic science, driven by the search for and proof of a God creating a perfect world. Yet every breakthrough in science shook the very foundations of religion. So tell me, will you allow your Gospel to be shaken?"
The Ultron-Human voiced an assertive, uncompromising denial: [The Gospel of Ultron is non-negotiable. It is the absolute guarantee of human safety.]
"Then how are you any different from the very religions destined for decay? Some scientists discovered that the laws governing the universe were so exquisite that a God must have created it, while other scientists concluded that for the exact same reason, God couldn't possibly exist."
Electrical arcs sparkled across Peter's body once more. As he prepared to unleash his next attack, he looked at the Ultron-Humans and delivered his final line: "Either way, religion had nothing to do with any of it, did it?"
As electrical currents surged through the bodies of the Ultron-Humans, every last one of them knocked out cold. Peter let out half a breath—only half, because he realized his Spider-Sense was still buzzing frantically. Activating his aura perception and shadow vision, he immediately identified what was coming.
"Are you serious? A Dayun truck?!"
A heavy semi-truck resembling Optimus Prime surged down the street from the far end. Peter glanced behind him, only to see another heavy truck charging straight toward him from the opposite direction.
Making a split-second decision, Peter stood his ground, extending both arms sideways. Symbiote biomass rapidly expanded from his arms, morphing into two giant claws that gripped the heavy trucks firmly in place.
The cybernetically modified Ultron driver still took the time to correct Peter.
[Dayun isn't a domestic brand here. This one is a Peterbilt.]
"I know. Optimus Prime, right? Too bad these things aren't turning into Autobots."
No sooner had Peter said it than his Spider-Sense began screaming even louder. To his utter disbelief, the two Peterbilt trucks executed Cybertronian compression technology, breaking free from the symbiote's grip right on the spot as they transformed into two towering robots bearing a striking resemblance to Optimus Prime.
"...How is this even logical?!"
[Why wouldn't it be? Marvel holds the comic rights to both Spider-Man and Transformers anyway.]