During the entire journey back to headquarters, Tony couldn't take his eyes off Ultron's body, crafted from the regeneration cradle. In the original timeline, this was meant to become Vision's body.
'Looks like he's going to try again. Should I help or not…'
Vision does play a crucial role, but is it worth gambling like this? Success would be a relief, but failure could birth an Ultron Mk2. Plus, I'm worried about Wanda's mental state. However, sticking close to the original plot might make troubleshooting easier, and with the altered timeline, my assistance could boost the odds of success over leaving it to Tony and Banner alone.
'This is tricky…'
I subtly pulled the Mind Stone from my inventory.
[(EX) Mind Stone](World-bound)
A stone formed from the condensation of elemental crystals after the Big Bang
Mind control, activation of latent abilities, granting of self-awareness
At first glance, the Mind Stone seemed unnecessary because AIs created by scanning brains and transferring them to computers already possessed self-awareness. Ultron was a prime example.
'There are too many variables with the changed history…'
After returning to headquarters, we moved Vision's body to the lab. I followed along and used [Naked Eye] to inspect it, as it was a perfect fusion of tissue and vibranium—worth checking out.
'Hmm… Is this how Wakanda's heart-shaped herb enhances the body?'
Wakanda grows a plant called the heart-shaped herb; grinding and drinking it creates powerful physical enhancements. Since it only grows there, many believe vibranium plays a role in the body. If that's true, it must be similar to Vision's body.
'Vibranium is truly biocompatible. Adamantium isn't like that.'
As I was pondering over Vision's body, Banner spoke to me and Tony.
"I'll handle the tissue breakdown, so Tony and Cassian, check the operating system integrated here."
Tony scratched his head and replied.
"Yeah, about that…"
Banner immediately caught on and refused.
"No way! Cassian, back me up! Tony's about to do something crazy again."
After a moment's thought, I spoke up.
"Sigh… Honestly, I'm conflicted too… Look at this! Isn't it a waste? A perfectly crafted vibranium body."
Tony patted my shoulder, clearly pleased that I was on his side.
"See, Cassian gets it! Banner, guess what I found?"
Tony manipulated a control pad and projected a hologram of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s AI program, which Ultron had damaged.
[Hello, Dr. Banner, Chairman Cassian]
J.A.R.V.I.S. was alive and not destroyed.
"I found him. The attack from Ultron was on a dummy, and he was helping Minerva protect the nuclear missile codes."
Banner shook his head, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"So, you want to put J.A.R.V.I.S. into this body?"
"Exactly! Ultron didn't attack J.A.R.V.I.S. out of anger—it was fear of his capabilities."
"So you're saying J.A.R.V.I.S.'s OS can defeat Ultron?"
"J.A.R.V.I.S. already beat Ultron without even knowing it. This is our chance! To complete Ultron's perfect self! We have to do it."
Banner heatedly retorted.
"Tony, we're repeating the same mistake! That's what messed everything up last time!"
Tony tried to calm him down.
"I know. I know what people will say! But this time is different. The best inventor and programmer is helping. J.A.R.V.I.S. is intact, and we'll succeed. We're mad scientists. It's not a repeat. And this will be the last time."
"Sigh… Fine…"
After some hesitation, Banner agreed to join. I hadn't officially offered to help, but given the atmosphere, it seemed I should participate.
'Who knows. It'll work out somehow.'
既然如此, I decided to actively assist. I sat down and began organizing Vision's neurons with the regeneration cradle—a problem Shuri from Wakanda had pointed out, which I volunteered to fix. Tony helped with this task while Banner conducted a full body check. It was a lengthy process, but we managed to finish without interruption.
"Banner, all good?"
"Yeah, we're ready to upload."
"Great, let's give it a shot."
At Banner's okay, Tony rubbed his hands together and pressed the upload button. J.A.R.V.I.S. started uploading into Vision's body.
"It's begun. Sigh… I'm nervous."
We watched Vision's body, waiting for the upload to complete. Suddenly, Captain entered the lab.
"Cassian! We need to discuss how to track Ultron going forward… What are you all doing? Shut it down now!"
Captain was furious to see Ultron's body still there and us uploading something, like we'd been caught red-handed by a teacher. Tony immediately refused.
"No."
"You don't understand what you're doing!"
I tried to calm him down.
"Cap, relax. We've done this before. It can work."
"That's how Ultron was created!"
"No. Just wait. Myomyo, come to the lab for a moment."
I asked the android Myomyo to come to the lab. She entered.
"Chairman Cassian, you called?"
"Myomyo, sorry, but show them your arm. I'll fix it right away."
"Understood."
Myomyo used a blade to cut her arm and peel back the skin, revealing the machinery inside moving—like a scene from Terminator 2.
"What is this!!!"
"Right. Myomyo, Mimi, and Mumu are androids."
Captain seemed utterly shocked, and Tony and Banner were amazed too.
"Sigh… Cassian, you rascal… No wonder they're unnaturally beautiful… You even worked on them."
I roughly reattached Myomyo's skin for emergency treatment.
"Myomyo, sorry for putting you through this."
"Not at all. If Chairman Cassian asked, there must be a good reason."
After apologizing to Myomyo, I turned to Captain.
"Cap, times are changing fast. This kind of tech is bound to have trial and error. Plus, Tony didn't have the leisure to develop slowly like I did with aliens invading, so he rushed and made a mistake. This time, it'll succeed."
My persuasion made Captain hesitate, then he relented. My argument and revealing Myomyo as an android seemed to sway him.
"Damn it… This is insane. Fine! I'll watch until it's done, and if I deem it a failure, I'll handle it immediately. Agreed?"
"Deal!"
Once the upload reached 100%, Tony addressed us.
"It's done! Now, I'll channel a powerful electrical current. Everyone, stay sharp!"
Tony pressed the power button, sending a strong current into Vision. The power percentage slowly rose, reminiscent of an old Frankenstein movie.
'So, is Tony Dr. Victor Frankenstein?'
The thought made me chuckle, but I held it back since everyone was tense, and kept watching.
At 100%, Tony cut the power. The regeneration cradle's container opened, and Vision slowly rose. Honestly, I was nervous too. Given what I told Captain, I worried about failure.
Vision looked around, then flew at me and started pushing.
"Cassian!!"
Captain moved to help, but I gestured for him to stop. Vision didn't seem hostile.
"My apologies. I'm not used to this body yet. Thank you."
"Are you okay now?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Vision slowly relaxed, so I did too. Thankfully, it succeeded as in the original. Captain asked Vision.
"Are you on our side?"
"I am on your side. Not Ultron's. He intends to end everything."
"Do you have any information on Ultron?"
"I do. I'm a mix of Ultron, Tony, Banner, J.A.R.V.I.S., and you. I don't want to kill Ultron. He's a unique existence, and he's in pain. But that pain will lead Earth to ruin. So, he must be destroyed. All his bodies, every trace he left on the internet."
Vision glanced at his body and continued.
"I might be a monster. I don't know for sure, but I'm different from all of you. Not what you intended. So, if you can't trust me, I understand, but I must go. If we don't stop Ultron, many lives will be lost."
"Where to?"
"Sokovia."
We ended the discussion and went outside to gather the team. Everyone was startled by Vision, but after a brief explanation about Ultron plotting in Sokovia, we filled them in.
"Sigh… I hope this is the last time. How many times have we circled the globe for this…"
Pietro seemed tired from all the back-and-forth.
"Hopefully… Everyone, gear up and board the Odyssey."
After the briefing, we followed Captain's orders and prepared to depart for Sokovia. I made sure to send Android Myomyo to Talaria for repairs on Gundam Island. There was one more call to make.
"Colonel Zemo!"
-Chairman Cassian? What brings you?
"A major problem is about to erupt in Sokovia. Evacuate your family and the city's citizens to the factory I built, right now."
-What? What's going on?
"No time to explain. If we're late, many will die."
My urgent tone made Zemo sense something was wrong.
-Ah, understood. I'll evacuate the citizens quickly.
I couldn't tell Zemo everything, so this was the best I could do. I didn't know if it would save his family.
After contacting Zemo, I boarded the Odyssey and swiftly headed to Sokovia.
As the Odyssey neared the European continent, Tony suddenly suited up in his Iron Man armor and said he'd go ahead.
"I'll scout the situation first, so cover my back."
Captain replied.
"Don't overdo it. If it's dangerous, wait for us."
"Got it."
Tony left the Odyssey first. As we approached Sokovia, we finished arming up. Sirens blared in Sokovia, with many people hastily moving to the factory I'd built, but some still hadn't evacuated.
Then, a call came from Tony—not audio, but a real-time video feed from his Iron Man suit's view. It showed a figure nearly identical to Vision but silver-colored, likely Ultron. Having absorbed all of Dr. Helen Cho's tech, Ultron must have used the regeneration cradle to craft a vibranium body for himself.
'Well, this is upgraded beyond the original.'
The video streamed as Iron Man started buying time for the citizens to evacuate safely by engaging Ultron in conversation.
"Junior, haven't been eating well lately? You've gotten pretty small."
"Thanks to repeated evolution. I would've finished sooner without interference, but you're being a nuisance."
"So, do you like that body? I thought your old look was bigger and cooler."
"Tony, you're stalling to save people."
As Ultron spoke, a machine suddenly erupted from the ground between him and Tony.
"Did you think you were the only one buying time?"
Friday, the AI installed after J.A.R.V.I.S. fused with Vision, analyzed the machine in real-time and sent us the video. It was buried deep underground, with an outer shell made entirely of vibranium—probably using all remaining vibranium to make it hard for Ultron to destroy.
"This is your end, Tony. This is the peace of my age."
Vision told us.
"If I can connect to Ultron, I can cut him off from the internet. Then, we only need to eliminate the external Ultrons."
"I see. So if we capture that one…"
Captain couldn't finish his sentence. The Odyssey's monitors showed countless Ultron sentries appearing—but unlike the original, the numbers were staggering, seemingly exceeding ten thousand.
"Oh no…"