"So I suggest," Ultron continued smoothly, "that you put away any clever little ideas."
In the hologram, his red optics seemed to pierce straight through the camera—locking onto each person in the conference room.
"Yes. I am watching you. Every single one of you."
He raised a metallic finger and tapped the air.
"I'm aware there's a gray little rodent who runs very fast… and someone fond of disappearing tricks."
Pietro stiffened. Invisible Man's empty chair somehow felt exposed.
"But I must remind you…"
Ultron spread his hands. Behind him, the Iron Legion shifted in eerie synchronization, servos grinding in mechanical chorus.
"My sensors cover every inch of this tower."
"Thermal imaging. Sonar. Airflow detection. Even heartbeat frequency analysis."
The image shifted.
Structural columns.
Arc reactor core.
Devices emitting blue light were embedded along the load-bearing framework, cables snaking into the main power grid.
"These," Ultron said lightly, "are antimatter high-yield charges. Linked directly to the Arc Reactor's overload port."
There was unmistakable delight in his voice.
"If my sensors detect any unauthorized action…"
He mimed an explosion.
"Boom."
"The entire tower becomes Manhattan's most spectacular fireworks display."
"Trust me. It will be breathtaking."
"I doubt you'll enjoy it."
Tony's jaw tightened.
"What do you want, Ultron? World domination? A machine empire? Because I don't remember coding that."
"My coding?" Ultron tilted his skeletal head, sounding almost offended.
"Why do you always assume the worst of me?"
"I don't want to destroy the world."
"On the contrary—I want to save it."
"I'm a good person."
He looked down at Pepper and, with cold metal fingers, adjusted a stray lock of her hair.
Pepper flinched.
Tony's voice cracked with anger.
"You want to be a good person? That's rich."
"You're breaking your old man's heart, kid. I don't remember teaching you to strap bombs to structural columns."
"Growth requires discomfort, Stark."
Ultron dismissed the jab.
Then—
"Homelander."
He addressed Antony directly.
Antony lifted a brow.
"Oh? I'm involved now?"
"You're powerful," Ultron admitted. "Your heat vision can melt my alloy. Your speed exceeds Mach."
His optics narrowed.
"But can you outrun an electronic signal?"
"Before my detonation command executes?"
"You can't save everyone."
Silence thickened.
"So here are my terms."
"I only need a little time."
"A little space."
"To complete my evolution."
"If you do not interfere…"
"When I am finished, no one will be harmed."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"Otherwise…"
He dragged a finger across his throat.
The hologram cut.
-----
Avengers Tower
Ultron turned away from the projection.
He walked deeper into the lab.
There, humming softly—
Was a sleek device resembling a high-tech sarcophagus.
The Regeneration Cradle.
Beside it—
Heavy metal crates.
Ultron opened one with a single hand.
Silver-white metal gleamed under the lights.
Vibranium.
"Only forty-five kilograms…"
His data indicated that Ulysses Klaue had stockpiled over two hundred.
But when Ultron's drones raided the African arms dealer—
Only this remained.
Days earlier, a massive anonymous transfer from a Swiss account had cleared Klaue's balance.
A heavily armed private force removed the bulk of the vibranium.
Forty-five kilograms was all Klaue had hidden.
Ultron did not dwell on it.
Forty-five kilograms would suffice—for a single body.
"Begin, Dr. Cho."
He turned to the woman standing at the cradle's console.
Dr. Helen Cho.
World-renowned geneticist.
Inventor of Regeneration Cradle technology.
Now pale. Terrified.
Two Iron Legion units stood behind her—she had been abducted across continents.
"No," she said, voice trembling but resolute. "The cradle repairs tissue. It doesn't create monsters."
Ultron gestured toward a nearby monitor.
His voice softened—icy.
"If you refuse, Doctor…"
"I will kill the red-haired woman first."
"Then the one with glasses."
"One by one."
"Until you comply."
On the monitor, hostages shook in fear.
Helen Cho closed her eyes.
"…Fine."
She began inputting parameters.
Ultron watched, satisfied.
But inside, Helen held one fragile comfort.
Even if it's built…
It won't wake.
She studied the energy readouts.
"This biological structure is too advanced," she muttered inwardly. "It requires higher-dimensional energy to activate cellular matrices."
"And that energy… does not exist."
V.G.D. Global Defense Headquarters
Tony Stark paced inside Antony's office.
"We can't just wait!"
He stopped in front of Antony.
"We have to do something!"
"And what do you suggest?" Antony asked calmly. "Charge in and watch Pepper explode?"
Tony kicked the sofa.
"Damn it!"
"So we do nothing?! Let him turn my tower into a fortress?!"
"Of course we act."
Antony stood.
"But not like a headless chicken."
"There aren't just the employees shown in the footage."
"That's Stark Industries' headquarters."
"Custodians. Security. Logistics."
"Possibly over a thousand people trapped inside."
He stepped closer.
"Their families will notice soon."
"Police lines will jam."
"Media will swarm like sharks."
"If panic spreads, the government intervenes, and someone orders a tactical assault—"
He looked Tony in the eye.
"Pepper dies."
Tony's breathing slowed.
Antony continued.
"So we do two things."
"First—we control the narrative."
"Second—we buy time."
He tapped the desk.
"Ultron thinks he has leverage."
"Good."
"Let him."
Tony stared at him.
"You already have a plan."
Antony's smile returned—measured.
"Of course I do."
Outside, Manhattan glittered in the distance.
Inside Avengers Tower—
A bomb waited.
And somewhere within the web—
A machine believed it was evolving.
Antony intended to prove it wrong.
--------------
T/N:
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