After learning from Ultron that Steve and the others were in Wakanda, Tony Stark immediately sent a request to Wakanda, hoping they would send Steve's group back.
His tone was fairly sincere, with little provocation in it.
By this point, even Tony Stark had realized things were about to spiral out of control, and he genuinely intended to sit down and have a proper talk with Steve and the others.
But the situation had long since slipped beyond his grasp.
Tony's request never even reached Wakanda. Instead, Ultron launched a war against it directly.
Tony remained completely unaware.
Meanwhile, in Primus, Ultron had seized the supercomputer there to serve as a base for its computing power. Not far away, Helen Cho and Connors were pushing forward with the Regeneration Cradle research without pause.
Both of their eyes were covered in a layer of red as vivid as roses—clearly, they were under mind control. And the one controlling them was, of course, Wanda, standing not far away in her red leather outfit.
"Well done, Wanda."
Ultron was in a good mood. It regarded the Plumbers and Bant as its greatest enemies, so it spared no effort in searching the network for any intelligence about the Plumbers, confident that with its level of intelligence, no network could keep it out.
It had also noticed that last year, Bant had gone to Sokovia specifically and brought back two Plumber members. And since it knew that both Wanda and Quicksilver held grudges against Tony Stark, a plan had formed.
In its view, these two could serve perfectly as pawns—because it could give them something Bant couldn't: a promise.
"Soon, Tony Stark will be yours to do with as you please."
Ultron said coldly.
That was the bargaining chip it could offer.
Ultron reasoned that although Bant had taken in Wanda and Quicksilver as plumbers—which was, in a sense, a kindness to them—no matter what, Bant would never allow them to kill Tony Stark and have their revenge.
But it could make that promise.
"You'd really let us kill Tony Stark?" Quicksilver frowned slightly, still seeming somewhat distrustful of Ultron. "You're something he created…"
"Missiles were his invention too, but that didn't stop one from blowing a hole in his chest."
Ultron replied calmly.
"I am an artificial intelligence. I don't have those useless emotions. The program Tony Stark set for me was to maintain world peace, and according to my calculations, the conclusion is that Tony Stark is the threat himself."
Quicksilver grinned, his face full of sarcasm. "Well, you're not wrong about that."
He had suffered deeply because of Stark, so naturally he agreed with Ultron's assessment.
Wanda's face showed little excitement; instead, there was a trace of guilt. In Ultron's view, this was probably guilt over "betraying" the Plumbers.
It immediately consoled her: "Controlling the Plumbers was a last resort. I promised I wouldn't harm a single Plumber member… I only want the Mind Stone and the Regeneration Cradle."
"Enough." Wanda cut it off, the guilt on her face not fading in the slightest.
She pressed: "You wanted me to control everyone in Primus, help you get that Infinity Stone, make Dr. Cho work for you, make Dr. Connors transform in the middle of the city and cause destruction… I've done all of it. How much longer do we have to wait?!"
"Patience, Wanda."
Ultron coaxed, like a devil whispering temptation. "It's not that I can't move against Tony Stark—it's simply not the right time yet."
"Because of Bant Parker's repeated warnings, Tony Stark kept a virus program that can shut me down at any moment. I need a true body before I can contend with it and fully break free of his control."
Ultron slowly offered its explanation for why it was still, ostensibly, taking orders from Stark.
But this was a lie.
Tony had indeed prepared a contingency, but that program had already been cracked by Ultron. Right now, Ultron simply needed a perfect body—one that was indestructible and possessed unparalleled power. Only then could it stand against Bant, against the Plumbers.
It extended a hand, and a yellow gem in its palm glowed with a faint light.
"Soon now."
"Once my body is complete, he's yours to deal with."
With that, Ultron turned and walked away.
It wasn't the least bit worried about Wanda and Quicksilver betraying it. For one thing, without Ultron, these two would never be able to achieve their revenge against Tony Stark. For another, it already had the Mind Stone—even if Wanda betrayed it, Ultron could simply control those people again itself. It would only cost a little extra effort.
The moment Ultron left, the machinery inside Primus flickered.
"Ultron's surveillance has been blocked." Eunice's voice, rich with humanity, sounded throughout the lab.
Instantly, the tension drained from Wanda and Quicksilver, and they let out a breath of relief.
Quicksilver slumped into a chair as if he'd just run several laps around the equator, sprawled out crookedly like some kind of contorted flower. He seemed a little tempted as he asked, "Do you think it'll really let me kill Tony Stark?"
Wanda immediately shot him a glare. "Don't make trouble. That's not part of the Chief's plan!"
That's right—the two of them hadn't actually betrayed the Plumbers at all.
Everything they were doing was part of Bant's plan. They were pretending to follow Ultron's orders, and aside from guiding Ultron to Wakanda to seize the vibranium, they were also protecting the members of the Plumbers and Primus.
Ultron believed everything was under its control, never realizing that Bant had already arranged its ending.
As for Tony Stark—Bant hadn't specified what to do with him, so Wanda had temporarily suppressed her desire for revenge.
"But he never said we couldn't…" Quicksilver scratched his cheek with a finger. When he saw Wanda's stern look, his voice trailed off.
"Fine, fine. There'll be a chance eventually."
Quicksilver said helplessly.
He'd originally figured that by the end of this mess, Tony Stark would certainly end up looking like a clown—that Ultron would be the one to bear all the losses and blame, and it would be a perfect opportunity to kick a man while he's down.
But he also genuinely worried that acting on his own might ruin Bant's plan. And more importantly—'Uncle Ben and Aunt May definitely wouldn't want us living only for revenge.'
Quicksilver thought to himself.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May had trained with them before, and they treated the two of them like their own children, giving Wanda and Quicksilver a warmth and care they'd rarely known.
Quicksilver never said much about it, but deep down, he cared enormously about what they thought.
Ever since losing his family as a child, he couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd felt what home was like. But after coming here, he'd spent every holiday last year with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
They'd squeeze into that tiny, old house in Queens, where the little dining table could barely fit everyone. He, Peter, and Harry would crouch on the couch together, eating and gaming at the same time, watching to see who lost a round and had to hand over the controller. No one wanted to lose, and they worked the controllers so hard they nearly sparked. Later, Peter went to Otto and got an iron controller made…
Bant's two girlfriends stood shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen, helping Aunt May…
Although Aunt May's cooking was a bit terrible, everyone still had a great time. Every time Quicksilver looked back on it, he felt like he was dreaming. That weird taste of Mexican wraps lingering in his mouth slowly transformed into the smell of dust dancing in sunlight.
Once, Quicksilver had believed he would never let go of his desire for revenge. He'd thought Bant might try to stop him, and that when the time came, he would never obey.
But Bant didn't.
From the day he and Wanda joined the Plumbers, Bant had never once mentioned anything about forbidding their revenge, nor said a single good word on Tony's behalf. He had truly left the choice in their hands.
Yet somewhere along the way, in the midst of ordinary life, Quicksilver had let his desire for revenge wear itself down.
He still hated Stark.
But he no longer had the courage to stake everything just to kill the man.
He was afraid that if he killed Tony Stark, he and Wanda would lose the hard-won ordinary life they now had.
Perhaps what they'd needed all along wasn't revenge—it was a home.
Quicksilver fell silent for a while. Then he heard Connors in the lab, holding a tablet in one hand and pressing buttons with the other, entering something while also making a teasing remark.
"Eunice, when Ultron opens that incubation chamber, it's going to get quite the surprise."
"I'll be quite surprised too," Eunice replied.
She had known all along that this body was actually being built for her. For this, Bant had specially improved the Regeneration Cradle technology and, together with Connors, completed multi-species cross-genetic inheritance, achieving the true Unitrix.
Otherwise, even if Helen Cho's technology were fully mature, what they'd produce would just be some red-and-green-skinned creature.
"When it opens the machine and finds a human female inside, its expression is going to be priceless," Connors said with satisfaction.
He was still holding a grudge against Ultron for making him transform and rampage in the middle of the street. It had turned the Lizard—who the public had almost forgotten—back into a symbol of danger, and his reputation had taken a serious hit.
Of course, Bant had already promised to help clear his name in the Daily Bugle afterward, and had covered the medical expenses of all the citizens injured that day.
"It's a robot. It doesn't have synthetic skin—where would it get an expression?" Helen Cho expressed doubt about Connors' little victory fantasy. "Besides, it has no gender. It wouldn't care whether it's male or female."
"You're right. The only thing that can truly break it is—" Connors quietly plugged a USB drive into the Regeneration Cradle's interface, "—when it tries to transfer its data in, only to find that another soul got there first."
What the USB drive connected to was, naturally, Eunice's code.
Although the life in the cradle wasn't fully formed yet, inputting the code in advance was also a safeguard against something else intercepting it halfway.
That kind of mistake only villains make. Bant would never make it.
"Alright, now we just wait for the vibranium!"
Connors clapped his hands lightly, found a chair, and sat down to rest his old back.
While Ultron was here, he'd had to pretend to be controlled and work himself to the bone, as if he was desperate to drop dead at the lab bench. He'd long since had enough.
Helen Cho felt the same way.
Even with their enhanced bodies after the serum injections, they could barely endure it.
Now they truly understood just how good a boss Bant was. A thing like Ultron deserved to be strung up from a lamppost.
Quicksilver, like a curious child, vanished with a whoosh and reappeared in front of the cradle, leaning down and trying to peer at the life gestating inside.
Connors grew interested and tested him: "See anything? Go on, tell us. Let's see what all these doctors here have managed to teach you."
Hearing this, Quicksilver pinched his chin and struck a thoughtful pose, as if about to deliver a lengthy dissertation.
"I can't see anything."
"Great. We've raised an idiot!" Connors covered his face.
Having spent so much time around Bant, he'd unconsciously started assuming everyone else was as smart as Bant—or at least as smart as Peter… At the very least, they should have Harry Osborn's IQ.
But the Maximoff siblings clearly had average talents. They weren't cut out for this.
Quicksilver pouted. He didn't want anyone comparing his intelligence to Bant's.
After all, forget the two Parker brothers—even Harry, who looked thoroughly ordinary, was actually an honor student.
He might not have inherited Norman's scientific genius, but he had real skill in business management. He ran Osborn quite well, and he had plenty of money. Why would he bother doing the research himself?
As for Quicksilver, he was the type who, even with normal studying, would struggle to get into college.
It wasn't that he was intellectually deficient—his mind just wasn't in his studies.
"Why don't you explain it in detail?"
Quicksilver shot back.
So Connors and Helen Cho began explaining to them.
"The foundation is, of course, the Regeneration Cradle technology. But to make this body more perfect, we've incorporated a modified version of the Extremis virus, enhancing the cradle's effects, and fused in cross-species genetic inheritance—by merging animal genes, it can achieve further evolution."
"Of course, the most critical part is still the Infinity Stone…"
Connors trailed off, slowly closing his mouth.
For Eunice to truly possess a mind like a living being, the Mind Stone was essential.
Otherwise, no matter how advanced the intelligence, it would only be a heartless monster.
After finishing the topic of Eunice, Connors and Helen Cho asked with curiosity, "If Ultron really does hand Tony Stark over to you, what do you two plan to do?"
The siblings exchanged a glance. They hadn't come up with any good solution.
Really kill him?
They were afraid Uncle Ben and Aunt May would be disappointed in them. But Tony had caused such enormous trouble—letting him off without any consequences was impossible too.
Don't think throwing some money around makes it all go away!
Helen Cho smiled. "I have a suggestion."
Everyone turned to look at her, curious to hear her brilliant idea.
"Although the boss didn't leave Earth because of Ultron, that tin can did cut the space station off from the outside. In that case, why don't we toss him into space too—let him drift all the way to Sakaar? I hear they have gladiator shows there."
"Make him a gladiator?"
"Wrong! Make him a gladiator who's stranded in a foreign land, humiliated, pushed to the brink—and then discovers that the boss is the ruler of that planet."
Wanda and Quicksilver exchanged a look, and they came to a conclusion.
This woman is a devil.
/-\
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