Chapter 294: Ox Plus Rooster
Powerful Chaos Magic began to envelop the entire train. The locomotive continued to skid across the ground, grinding against the tracks and sending up a violent spray of sparks.
Pietro leaped off the train, sprinting ahead of the wreckage to pull bystanders out of the way, clearing a path for the runaway locomotive.
Silas rubbed his hands together, focusing his formidable telekinetic will. To the shock of everyone watching, the entire train began to lift off the ground, hovering in mid-air.
Wanda ceased her Chaos Magic, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Steve and Natasha, standing nearby, shared her bewilderment.
"I don't think we necessarily have to brake the train," Silas said, spreading his hands. "It's easier just to make it float."
Wanda considered this; it was certainly a valid alternative, but it would require an immense amount of effort to achieve. At her current level, she knew she couldn't pull off a feat of that magnitude.
Originally, Silas wouldn't have been able to do it with the Rooster Talisman alone either. However, he had just discovered a fascinating synergy: the Rooster Talisman could be paired with the Ox Talisman!
He had always assumed that the Rooster plus the Rabbit equaled flight, but he hadn't realized the Ox Talisman could amplify the Rooster's telekinesis. By combining them, his mental strength was multiplied several times over. Now, even objects weighing hundreds of tons could be moved by his will. It was a terrifying realization. Silas could now easily twist a skyscraper into scrap metal without moving a muscle.
"Alright, danger neutralized." Steve let out a long breath of relief, sitting on the floor and panting. The Captain hadn't stopped for a second, constantly battling Ultron and surviving a fall from a massive height. He was beyond exhausted.
Natasha glanced up at Wanda.
"We won't leave," Wanda said, understanding the silent question.
Natasha gave her a knowing look; the girl was at least sensible enough to know they had no other choice. Slowly, Silas lowered the train back to the ground.
As soon as they landed, Pietro rushed in, ready to take Wanda away. She reached out and stopped him, shaking her head. She signaled that there was no need to run anymore. Pietro looked at the gathered Avengers and nodded in silent agreement.
Clint soon arrived at their side, surveying the exhausted group. "Ultron took Dr. Cho," he announced.
"Dr. Cho? Why did he take her?" Steve asked, pushing himself back to his feet.
"Ultron wants to use the Scepter to create a new body. He needs Dr. Cho to transfer his consciousness into it," Wanda explained, stepping forward.
The Avengers exchanged worried glances, their brows furrowing. The situation had just turned from bad to worse.
"Our priority is finding Ultron. Now," Steve said, limping out of the train.
Wanda's eyes were filled with self-reproach. She blamed herself for letting things spiral this far. Pietro didn't carry the same emotional burden as his sister; his focus was simple: follow the Avengers, find Ultron, and defeat him personally to make up for their mistake.
"Let's go," Natasha said.
The group boarded the Quinjet and headed back to the Avengers base. They needed to regroup with Stark and Dr. Banner. The atmosphere on the flight was heavy and silent.
Once they arrived and briefed Tony and Bruce, the room fell into a deep, contemplative silence. Only Silas remained seemingly unbothered.
"I need to head back for a bit. Notify me the moment you find Ultron," Silas said. Before anyone could react, he opened a Shadow Portal and vanished.
As the portal closed, the others turned to Stark.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not that close with him," Tony said, feeling the weight of their stares.
Tony currently had a long scratch across his face, and it stung every time he spoke. After Silas had turned Banner into a kitten, Tony had suffered the most. He couldn't even touch the tiny Hulk. By the time he finally managed to subdue him, the green kitten had given him a parting scratch right before falling asleep. It was lucky the scratch missed his eye; otherwise, Tony would have ended up like Nick Fury, wearing an eyepatch and spending his days telling people he was the Director of SHIELD.
"How do we find Ultron?" Steve asked, looking at Tony. In this room, Tony was the expert.
"Finding him is easy now. Killing him is the hard part," Tony said, standing up and moving to the center of the group. "Jarvis!"
"At your service, sir," Jarvis's voice echoed in the room.
"Jarvis took a nap after Ultron forcibly shut him down. Fortunately, Ultron couldn't destroy him. We can use Jarvis to track Ultron," Tony explained.
"Then let's move!" Steve said urgently. Every second wasted felt like a risk.
"We need a plan to actually kill him, or we're just spinning our wheels," Tony said, shaking his head.
"Why?" Steve asked.
Tony didn't answer; instead, he gestured to his AI.
"Ultron can retreat into the internet at any moment before his physical body is destroyed. He can simply find a new vessel. In other words, as long as the internet exists, Ultron is immortal," Jarvis explained.
Natasha bit her lip. "Is there really no other way?"
"There is. We have to kick him out of the internet," Tony said. It was their only shot.
"How do we do that?" Clint asked.
Tony scanned the faces of his teammates. "We build another AI to kick him out."
"No!" Steve was the first to reject the idea. One Ultron was already a nightmare. Building another one? That was out of the question.
The others looked at Stark with disappointment. After everything that happened, he still hadn't given up on the idea. Only Banner seemed hesitant; he knew Stark's plan was logically sound—it might actually be their only option. Jarvis alone couldn't boot Ultron out of the web. Only a true AI could fight another AI.
Tony had anticipated their reaction. He sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs. "Fine. Then you guys come up with a better idea."
The room fell silent; they truly had no other options.
Crash!
"I agree with Stark." Thor suddenly flew into the room, finally returning from his quest.
"Why?" Steve asked.
Thor, despite his previous frustrations with Stark, spoke solemnly: "I saw someone in my vision. Someone born from Stark's hands. We have to take this gamble."
"We don't have a choice," Clint said, crossing his arms. They were out of retreats.
Elsewhere
While the Avengers were arguing, Silas was standing alone on a vast, empty plain.
"The Mind Stone is mine." Silas raised the Scepter, the gem glinting brightly under the afternoon sun.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!