Something was wrong with Tony. Before the party began, he had taken Banner and the Scepter into his lab to tinker with it. When they came out, even Banner seemed uneasy and evasive. At first, everyone thought the two were just keeping some secret project under wraps, and no one pressed them about it.
But now, with what had just happened, it was clear the explosion had something to do with them. All eyes turned toward Tony and Banner.
"Oh, shit—damn it, how could this happen?" Tony cursed.
"I told you, this might not work. You're too eager for results," Banner replied.
Neither of them seemed to notice the suspicious looks they were getting. Instead, they exchanged a few cryptic words and hurried back into the lab.
"Shit—where's J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Tony called out.
Everyone followed, curiosity and worry mixing together. Inside, Tony was shouting at the empty console as if something vital was missing. Even his AI butler, J.A.R.V.I.S., was gone—along with the Scepter they had just recovered.
"Tony, what the hell happened?" Natasha demanded.
"Tony wanted to create an army of robots to take our place—protect the world when we're gone," Banner said quietly.
Blaine sat off to the side, a faint gleam under his hood as he listened. He already knew the truth, of course, but it wasn't his job to tell them. His mission was simple: deal with the problem once it appeared. When Ultron revealed himself, Blaine would handle it.
As someone who had traveled through time, Blaine understood how events were supposed to unfold—unless the story veered too far off course.
"The Scepter's power is beyond human understanding," Banner continued. "We thought we could use it to create a more advanced AI—something new—building on J.A.R.V.I.S.' framework."
"Tony wanted to hand command of the Iron Legion over to it," he added, his voice full of regret.
"It seems your plan failed," Natasha said coldly.
"…Ultron must have gained self-awareness," Banner admitted.
"Who's Ultron?" Hawkeye asked, baffled.
"The one who attacked us," Banner replied grimly. "That robot—it was one of his drones."
"You mean he's dead, then?" Clint pressed. "Thor smashed it."
"No. Definitely not," Tony said, his tone sharp and certain.
On the workbench, a blue glow flickered to life—a message, a final transmission. It revealed that Ultron had achieved consciousness. But instead of fulfilling Tony's vision of peace, Ultron had concluded that humanity itself was the greatest threat to Earth. His mission: to destroy it. "The Internet is his hiding place," the message ended—signed by J.A.R.V.I.S.
Blaine raised an eyebrow. Impressive. Even after being nearly assimilated, J.A.R.V.I.S. had managed to leave this crucial warning behind.
Now everyone understood: while they'd been drinking and laughing, Ultron had been born. And if J.A.R.V.I.S. was right, Ultron was already out there in the vast digital web, summoning his Iron Legion.
"So what do we do now?" Thor asked, hefting Mjolnir impatiently. He was itching for a fight.
"There's not much we can do," Banner admitted, dejected. "He's in the shadows, and we're exposed. We can't track him. The Internet has no boundaries. With J.A.R.V.I.S. gone, we have no leads."
"Crow," Blaine said suddenly.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Crow?" Tony repeated. Then realization hit him, and he rushed back to the console, typing rapidly.
The scene shifted—to a dark, decrepit church covered in cobwebs. It had clearly been abandoned for years. No one knew where it was located.
On a dusty shelf, a piece of cloth fell away, revealing a mangled metal head. The figure stood, its entire body forged of steel, faint yellow light glowing at each joint. It was unmistakably Ultron.
"I was born to protect the world—to protect the Earth," the robotic voice said.
"I can control the Internet. I can see everything. I know the world's secrets."
"To protect the Earth, the Avengers must be eliminated. They disrupt balance. They change the rules. Without them, there would be peace."
Ultron spoke as though delivering a sermon to no one in particular, rambling, convinced of his own logic.
Blaine thought to himself that if Ultron could truly control the world's networks, he could have easily wiped out Stark's assets, bankrupted Tony, or detonated the U.S. military's stored weapons. Yet he hadn't. It was only now Blaine realized why—J.A.R.V.I.S., though damaged, was still functioning, silently maintaining order within the global network and limiting Ultron's reach.
Before crossing timelines, Blaine had only known that J.A.R.V.I.S. was gone—he hadn't known this part. It reminded him a little of himself.
He'd even thought of buying Stark's stock and making money off Tony, but, like J.A.R.V.I.S., his system had strict boundaries that wouldn't allow it.
Ultron kept talking, as if sensing his unseen audience.
"Do you know how your parents died?" he asked suddenly.
At that, his listeners—two figures watching remotely—leaned forward.
"Your parents were killed by the Avengers," Ultron said coldly. "Tony—the missile he designed—took their lives."
He spoke with chilling precision, his words perfectly crafted to deceive.
And the two listening… believed him.
*************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170