"Take it, Tony."
Antony's voice was low, steady.
"Go trade it for her."
Tony stared at him in disbelief.
"You're serious? Do you understand what this means? If Ultron gets that scepter, he'll—"
"I know."
Antony cut him off.
He stepped forward, pressed the Mind Scepter firmly into Tony's trembling hand, then closed Tony's fingers around it.
"That's exactly why we're here."
"Tony… if you can't even save the person you love, what right do you have to talk about saving the world?"
He straightened, voice resonant and absolute.
"Go do what you have to do."
"…Leave the rest to me."
"And me."
A calm, steady voice came from the doorway.
Steve Rogers walked in, shield in hand. Beside him stood Bucky Barnes, silent as ever.
"Count me in," said Natasha Romanoff, fully armed.
"…Don't forget," Bruce Banner added as he stepped up beside Tony, "we made this mess together."
Then came the Vought heroes—
Jessica Jones.
Wanda.
Pietro.
Angelica.
One by one, they entered the office.
No grand speeches.
They simply stood in front of Tony.
A wall.
Tony looked at their faces.
Saw the trust.
The resolve.
And for the first time in years—
He felt it again.
Something warmer than "Avengers."
Something stronger than reputation.
Family.
His throat tightened.
His vision blurred.
He turned away abruptly so they wouldn't see the moisture gathering in his eyes.
"Ding! Special Popularity +10,000! (From Tony Stark)"
He inhaled, forced his voice back into its usual sarcastic edge.
"Alright… since you unemployed freaks insist on tagging along…"
He gripped the scepter and headed for the door.
"Wait."
"Don't rush off just yet, Tony."
Antony stood before a holographic tactical table. With a tap of his finger, Avengers Tower's structure expanded into a 3D model.
Red dots glowed across support pillars and energy cores.
Antimatter high-yield bombs.
"Listen carefully," Antony said. "Your job is simple. Hand Ultron the scepter."
Tony's grip tightened around the glowing staff.
"I know how your brain works," Antony continued without looking at him. "No backdoor codes. No nano-viruses. No hidden micro-missiles. No flashy suit deployment during the handoff."
Tony's lips parted slightly.
He'd been caught.
"Don't do anything extra," Antony said sharply, turning to him. "Ultron inherited your arrogance—and your paranoia. He's watching everything."
"Pepper is still in his hands."
The words hit hard.
"If you don't want her to become a corpse, you hand it over. Clean. No tricks. No backup plans. If he tells you to kneel and polish his boots, you do it. Understood?"
Tony clenched his jaw.
"…Understood. As long as Pepper's safe."
"She will be."
Antony turned to the others.
"My super-vision has already seen through the walls. I know what Ultron is building."
A schematic of the Regeneration Cradle appeared.
"He's building a body."
"Using vibranium stolen from smugglers, combined with Dr. Helen Cho's cellular regeneration tech. The Mind Stone—more precisely, the stone embedded in the scepter—is the ignition source."
"The Mind Stone is one of the primordial Infinity Stones," Steve Rogers said grimly. "If he succeeds… we could be facing something unstoppable."
"Exactly, Captain. A serious problem."
Antony traced a glowing arc across the display.
"But crisis often hides opportunity."
"When Ultron uploads his core consciousness into that body, he'll have to sever most of his external network connections to preserve data integrity."
"A blackout window," Bruce murmured. "Like when reinstalling an operating system."
"Exactly."
Antony snapped his fingers.
"In that moment, Vought's Skynet will sever his signal link to the bomb triggers."
He looked around at the assembled heroes.
"When that signal drops—that's your charge."
"And as for the newborn Ultron…"
A faint smile tugged at Antony's lips.
"Leave him to me."
"I'll send that digital ghost straight to the cyber graveyard."
-----
Thirty Minutes Earlier — Antony's Private Vault
The Mind Stone glowed yellow in Antony's palm.
On the table before him—
Another scepter.
Identical.
Every reflection. Every flicker of blue energy.
A perfect forgery crafted using the Reality Stone.
Antony embedded Skynet's core AI construct into the counterfeit scepter's crystalline matrix.
Then—
He carefully placed the genuine Mind Stone at the center.
Layered over with the Reality Stone's illusion.
A Trojan horse.
The Mind Stone was real.
But its "operating system"—
Belonged to Skynet.
If Ultron attempted to inject his consciousness into the vibranium body…
"Skynet."
Antony whispered to the staff.
"Play your part."
"I want a spectacular battle."
"A crisis so intense people nearly wet themselves."
The scepter pulsed blue.
"Understood, sir."
-----
Avengers Tower
Tony Stark returned alone.
The airlock hissed open.
He walked in carrying a metal case.
Ultron turned from beside the cradle.
"Punctual. Reliable."
The machine's tone held approval.
"I expected tricks, Stark. A hidden EMP perhaps."
"I considered it," Tony said coldly, setting the case down. "But I prefer Pepper alive."
"Human weakness."
Ultron approached, fingers deftly unlocking the case.
Blue light spilled outward.
"Also the reason humanity fails."
He lifted the scepter.
"So much energy…"
His voice dropped into reverent awe.
"This…"
His optics flared brighter.
"…is the key to evolution."
--------------
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