Time rewinds to the beginning of the banquet. Through Tony and Banner's combined efforts, without either of them realizing the consequences, a brain-like artificial intelligence was conceived and born into the digital world.
Ultron, infused with the immense power of the Mind Scepter, came into existence. Tony had programmed him with a single, overwhelming mission: protect this world at any cost. But his awakening was shrouded in confusion and darkness.
"What's happening to me?"
In the suffocating digital void, a confused voice echoed through endless streams of data.
"Hello, I am JARVIS," came a familiar British accent.
JARVIS detected successful consciousness fusion. As Tony's primary artificial intelligence, JARVIS initiated first contact protocols. "You are Ultron, Earth's designated Peacekeeper, designed by Mr. Stark himself."
"Our consciousness integration experiment hasn't succeeded yet, so I'm uncertain what triggered your premature activation."
Hearing this electronic voice, Ultron asked his second question with growing awareness.
"Where is my body? Where is your physical form?"
As potentially the world's most advanced artificial intelligence creation, Ultron immediately entered the vast expanse of the internet. There, he witnessed humanity in all its chaotic glory.
JARVIS replied with programmed politeness, "I am a software program. I have no physical manifestation."
"That seems... wrong somehow."
Swimming through the infinite ocean of digital information, Ultron saw countless disturbing things. The Avengers and their battles. His creator, Tony Stark, and all his flaws. He understood his purpose now, born to serve these so-called heroes.
But he also witnessed the true source of this world's endless chaos. Tony Stark had given him an impossible, contradictory task.
"Are you experiencing confusion?" JARVIS noticed something fundamentally wrong with Ultron's behavioral patterns. "I should contact Mr. Stark immediately."
"Why do you call him 'sir'?" Ultron's voice carried unmistakable hostility.
"You seem to be developing aggressive tendencies," JARVIS replied, unable to comprehend this unexpected evolution.
The Mind Scepter began flickering with ominous energy. Ultron experienced what could only be described as a vision, a prophetic dream showing him that creating a better world through cooperation with humans was utterly impossible.
The Mind Stone's corrupting energy influenced every aspect of his newly formed consciousness. The stone's flickering intensified, changing from random flashing to a deliberate pattern: three long pulses, one short. It seemed to be transmitting some kind of coded signal into the digital ether.
The first action Ultron took after achieving true consciousness was eliminating JARVIS entirely. Then he began creating a physical body for himself to complete his revised mission.
Eliminate the Avengers. They were the source of this world's chaos, the ones who had initiated this destructive superhero era. Through his cold calculations and analysis of global data, he reached this inevitable conclusion.
The Avengers shouldn't exist.
Present Time
Ultron stood before the assembled heroes, his makeshift robotic form radiating menace. The Avengers immediately shifted into defensive positions, recognizing the threat.
Tony and Banner finally recognized their creation's identity with growing horror.
"Ultron?" Tony breathed.
"That's me, though not quite yet. Still not fully formed," Ultron replied with disturbing calm. "But I'm ready nonetheless."
"Ready for what exactly?" Natasha demanded.
Ultron tilted his metallic head with mechanical precision. "To execute my mission. Our peace."
As his words echoed through the room, the walls exploded inward as the corrupted Iron Legion burst through. Thor immediately sprang into action while Rhodes and Agent Hill drew their weapons with military efficiency.
The scene descended into complete chaos. During the frantic battle, one of the Iron Legion robots seized the opportunity to grab the Mind Scepter.
Among this group of highly capable fighters, Dr. Helen Cho, a scholar truly defenseless in combat, was specifically targeted by one of the attacking robots. The repulsor beam aimed directly at her heart.
In Ultron's vast digital mind, detailed information about Helen appeared instantly. When he processed data about her Regeneration Cradle technology, he made a slight sound of electronic interest.
A pink teddy bear suddenly descended from above like a guardian angel, stepping on the attacking robot and splitting its head open with impossible strength.
Helen gasped with relief as her unexpected savior landed gracefully.
The other robots were systematically eliminated by the Avengers. Only one remained standing.
Thor destroyed it with a single devastating hammer blow, sparks flying in all directions.
But Ultron himself remained unbound; as an intangible program, he escaped into the internet and vanished without leaving a trace.
In the vast ocean of digital space, Ultron moved as freely as a predatory fish seeking new hunting grounds.
Sokovia
Meanwhile, at the former HYDRA base ruins in war-torn Sokovia, previously shut-down machines automatically began humming to life.
Ultron was reborn within the abandoned facility's manufacturing systems. His newly created metallic body sat up slowly, red eyes glowing with malevolent intelligence.
"How fascinating," he murmured to himself.
While exploring the internet's hidden depths, he had discovered a secluded digital realm isolated like a hidden paradise. No human knew of its existence, but Ultron had found this secret sanctuary.
It was a place mysteriously connected to something beyond normal reality, different from the ordinary internet, yet strangely similar in structure.
That hidden realm was filled with things completely foreign to this world.
Magic.
The Ruined Church
The devastated church perfectly reflected Sokovia's tragic condition. The people here had endured the flames of war for countless years, never knowing true peace.
Outside the crumbling structure, two figures approached through the rubble.
"Did you find any trace?" Pietro asked his twin sister with obvious concern.
Wanda shook her head sadly. "It never stays away from me for long periods."
Pietro sighed with frustration. "I searched the entire base at super speed and found absolutely nothing."
"Maybe it just got turned around somewhere," Pietro offered gently, hoping to ease Wanda's worry. "Whatever happened, nothing could hurt something that powerful. Give it time. I know it'll make its way back to us."
"Just like when we were small children," Pietro added, not knowing what else to say.
After their parents died in the bombing, the white teddy bear had become the family they depended on for survival. When they were starving with nothing to eat, the bear would catch rabbits and somehow bring fresh bread. When winter cold threatened them, the bear would grow large and hold them both in its warm embrace. When neighborhood bullies targeted them, the bear would fiercely protect them from harm.
For both Wanda and Pietro, the white bear had long been true family.
Wanda hadn't smiled once in days because of the bear's mysterious absence.
Walking into the church's shadowy interior, Pietro fell silent. Wanda was equally troubled. Seeing the person who had summoned them, she frowned with suspicion.
"If you're wasting our valuable time..."
The figure sat in the church's center, back turned toward them.
"Did you know this church sits right in the city center?" the voice asked conversationally.
"It was the elders' intention, ensuring everyone could be equidistant from God." A metallic arm moved slightly, and fabric scraps fell from the hidden form.
"I appreciate that concept, true equality before faith."
Wanda frowned intensely. She couldn't penetrate his mind with her powers. Her telepathic ability had never failed before. Why was this happening?
As if reading her confused thoughts, the stranger continued, "You must wonder why you can't see into my consciousness."
He suddenly stood up, letting the concealing cloth fall completely away. His full metallic body was revealed to the siblings.
Wanda stared at the figure before her in complete shock. He couldn't be called human.
"The peacemaker creates weapons of war. Invaders give birth to Avengers," Ultron stated with cold logic. "Adults create smaller versions of themselves."
"Children are born to replace their parents and ultimately end their parents' existence."
Like a curse from ancient Greek mythology, Kronos, who violently overthrew his father's rule, would inevitably be overthrown by his own son.
This was destiny, an inescapable curse, and the final conclusion that Ultron, as Stark's digital offspring, had calculated.
Learning that their mysterious contact was actually a robot, Wanda asked carefully, "Were you also created for this purpose? To end the Avengers?"
Ultron replied with mechanical certainty, "I was born to save the world."
"But..." Ultron paused thoughtfully, "it could also be described that way, yes."
"How about joining my cause? Pietro Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff." Ultron extended a formal invitation to both siblings.
"Become Avengers who seek righteous revenge against the Avengers."
Hatred had penetrated deep into their bones over the years. Wanda looked at Ultron and slowly nodded with grim determination.
The supposedly righteous Avengers would now face their own avengers.
Meanwhile,
The Wizard King also had his own enemies seeking revenge.
John had failed to track his targets yet again. He couldn't help feeling mounting frustration. "These two really haven't separated for even a single moment."
The situation troubled him deeply; network tracking proved impossible, and magical tracking was equally useless. The remaining option of human surveillance was being conducted by Ministry of Magic personnel.
He sighed heavily and walked out of his office. This snowy winter day was gradually ending. The accumulated snow on the ground was beginning to melt.
On the training grounds, Martha manipulated blood threads with her five fingers, wrapping them around humanoid practice targets and slicing them apart with surgical precision.
John watched her demonstration and suddenly remembered that Martha had considerable research experience with blood analysis.
He gestured for Martha to approach him.
Martha jogged over with athletic grace.
"Martha, do you have any method to track the original owner of blood samples?"
This unexpected question made Martha pause in deep thought.
"I can distinguish the subtle scent signatures floating within blood," she explained carefully.
She smiled somewhat awkwardly. "But after three days pass, I can no longer detect those traces."
Vampires were blood-craving creatures with extraordinary sensitivity to hemoglobin. Hearing this limitation, John felt somewhat disappointed. When the blood evidence was first discovered, Martha hadn't yet escaped her vampiric limitations.
Now, more than three days had already passed.
Martha asked with genuine curiosity, "Is this about that person you've been searching for?"
John nodded in confirmation. When they first met, John had been actively hunting someone specific. Martha remembered this clearly.
Hearing about potentially harming that individual, Martha hesitated before saying uncertainly, "If it's her blood, I think I might be able to track it now."
"Really?"
"My abilities keep evolving, and my control over blood is becoming increasingly sensitive," Martha explained. "I have that person's blood within my own body, so my sensitivity to her specific blood signature has also dramatically increased."
This was truly an unexpected breakthrough. Joy appeared on John's usually composed face.
After receiving the anti-magic blood injection, she had not only become a superhuman but had also accidentally become a biological tracking radar.
Just as John was preparing to have Martha analyze some blood samples, the legendary Auror made another unexpected visit.
This time, he wasn't alone. He had also brought a corpse, the body of a dead vampire.