Steve's face flushed instantly, the redness spreading from his neck all the way to his ears. He opened his mouth to argue, but every possible defense sounded like an excuse.
"That's impossible," he repeated stiffly. "We were on a mission. We were… selling war bonds."
The explanation sounded weak—even to himself.
Tony's laughter came sharp and short, like metal scraping glass. He pointed at Steve and said to Natasha beside him, "See? I always said he's an antique. But even antiques make mistakes. Captain America being the grandfather of a space outlaw? Even Hollywood wouldn't dare write a script like that."
Natasha turned slightly toward the window, pretending to look outside.
But the faint shaking of her shoulders gave her away.
The massive weight pressing on everyone's chest had finally shifted just a little. The fear was still there—but at least they could breathe.
---
"Coordinates locked. Downtown Seoul, Utopia Research Institute," Tony said, his laughter gone.
Dozens of holographic screens spread out before him as streams of data cascaded like waterfalls.
"Five minutes to arrival. Building schematics uploaded to your tactical displays."
His voice had returned to its usual efficiency.
But deep in his eyes, the nightmare he'd seen—his teammates lying dead at his feet—still burned like a small ghostly flame.
"Prepare to move," Steve said coldly.
His grip tightened on the shield as his focus returned.
The jet tore through the clouds, engines roaring as it sped toward Seoul.
Inside the cabin:
Steve rapidly mapped infiltration routes on the tactical tablet.
Natasha and Clint checked their equipment.
One polished the Widow's Bite, the other recalibrated arrow weights.
Their movements were precise and mechanical—as if routine alone could suppress the flashes of blood-red memories inside their minds.
Thor sat silently with Mjolnir in his hand.
His eyes were closed.
Tiny sparks of lightning occasionally danced across his body.
What he saw was Heimdall's blinded eyes.
The fall of Asgard.
"Banner?" Steve asked.
"I'm… okay," Banner said, adjusting his glasses.
His face was still pale.
He dared not close his eyes.
Every time he did, he heard the Hulk roaring and saw endless destruction.
---
Levi sat quietly in the corner, watching the clouds streak past outside the window.
Everyone else was thinking about how to destroy Ultron.
How to stop a monster from being born.
Levi was thinking about something else.
How to claim Ultron's masterpiece for himself.
The Regeneration Cradle.
Vibranium.
The Mind Stone.
Together, those three things created Vision.
A perfect body:
Powered by an Infinity Stone
Nearly immune to physical damage
Worthy of lifting Mjolnir
There was no way Levi would let such a creation be destroyed—or fall into someone else's hands.
If a masterpiece was about to leave the factory…
He simply needed to sign his name on it first.
---
When they reached Seoul, the city below was already burning.
Sirens wailed.
People screamed.
Explosions thundered.
The city felt like a boiling pot of apocalypse.
Silver Iron Legion drones rampaged through the streets, executing their simple command:
Eliminate.
Energy beams blasted indiscriminately at cars, buildings, and fleeing civilians.
"He's started," Steve growled through clenched teeth.
"I'll handle the air units. Open a path for you."
Tony's helmet snapped shut.
He shot out of the jet immediately, twin repulsor beams blasting apart two drones about to fire on a school bus.
"Hulk—smash!" Banner took a deep breath and jumped.
Midair—
His body expanded, skin turning green.
The Hulk crashed into a robot cluster in a city park like a meteor, the ground shaking violently.
"Move!" Steve shouted.
He and Natasha rappelled down.
Steve's shield deflected incoming energy blasts as he escorted civilians toward a subway entrance.
Thor followed close behind.
Spinning Mjolnir, he summoned a storm of lightning that obliterated every robot along an entire street.
Levi landed last.
His feet touched the asphalt lightly.
Perfect balance.
"I'm heading to the lab," he said over comms. "You stall Ultron."
Then he pressed the side of his earpiece—
And cut the communication.
"Levi? Your assignment is—"
Steve's voice cut off into static.
Steve slammed his fist into a nearby wall.
But the battle demanded his attention.
"All units engage! Civilian evacuation first!"
---
Levi moved through the chaos like a ghost.
Shadows and firelight flickered across him as he slipped away from the main battlefield.
He didn't take the front entrance.
Too heavily defended.
Instead, he teleported to the underground parking garage.
The air smelled of ozone and burnt plastic.
Several security guards lay dead nearby.
Their wounds were perfectly smooth—instantly vaporized by high-energy weapons.
Levi stopped before a thick alloy wall.
He placed his hand against the cold metal.
No sound.
No light.
The half-meter-thick wall melted inward silently—like butter touched by a hot iron.
A perfectly round opening formed.
The cut surface was smooth enough to serve as a mirror.
Behind it—
The laboratory.
---
Dr. Helen Cho stood beside a massive glass chamber.
Her face was pale and expressionless, like a puppet.
A small device glowed faintly blue on her temple.
Ultron's control module.
Behind her stood Ultron's black vibranium body, like a silent emperor overseeing his creation.
"Accelerate the process, Doctor," Ultron said coldly.
"My new world cannot wait."
Inside the Regeneration Cradle, a translucent red male body was nearly complete.
Dozens of delicate robotic arms injected liquid vibranium into the forming tissue.
Metal and flesh fused seamlessly.
Above the cradle—
The Mind Stone floated like a miniature sun.
Its golden light poured endless data and consciousness into the forming brain.
---
Levi watched from a fold in space like an invisible spectator.
He was waiting.
For the exact moment Ultron uploaded his core consciousness.
At that instant—
The new body's system would be like a freshly formatted hard drive.
The easiest moment to write something new.
Outside, explosions were drawing closer.
The Avengers had broken through the outer defenses.
"Ah. My guests have arrived," Ultron said.
He turned toward the lab entrance.
"I will greet them."
"Complete the final upload before I return."
The heavy footsteps faded.
This was the moment.
Levi stepped out of the spatial fold.
Dr. Cho noticed him briefly.
Confusion flickered in her eyes—
Then the Mind Stone's control suppressed it again.
Levi walked to the Regeneration Cradle.
Through the glass he admired the body.
Vibranium's invincibility.
Flesh's limitless potential.
The Mind Stone's supreme intelligence.
All combined.
"A perfect work of art," Levi murmured.
"How could it exist without the artist's signature?"
A faint smile touched his lips.
He raised his right hand.
At the tip of his finger—
A thread of crimson mist appeared, thinner than a hair.
This was the purest Chaos Magic, refined and compressed through Levi's own laws.
It was no longer mere emotional energy.
It was something closer to a reality-altering rule.
Levi flicked his finger.
The nearly invisible mist slipped into the energy pipeline feeding the cradle.
It flowed along with the Mind Stone's massive data stream—
And entered the newborn body.
Like dropping a drop of invisible ink into pure water.
The color wouldn't change.
The taste wouldn't change.
But the nature of the water would never be the same again.
Levi vanished once more, disappearing from reality as if he had never been there.
---
Seconds later—
The lab doors exploded open.
Steve burst in first with his shield raised.
Natasha and Clint followed, weapons ready.
What they saw—
Was Dr. Cho pressing the final button.
The body inside the Regeneration Cradle jerked violently.
The Mind Stone's light exploded into blinding brilliance.
"NO!" Steve shouted in despair, hurling his shield with all his strength.
The vibranium shield slammed into the cradle.
A spiderweb crack spread across the glass—
Then the shield bounced off helplessly.
Too late.
Ultron's voice filled the laboratory.
Not through speakers.
Directly inside everyone's minds.
Joyful.
Majestic.
Like the birth cry of a god.
"I…"
"Am free."
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