"Damn it, we have to stop them. Jarvis, deploy the Iron Man suits from the mansion. Daniel, teleport them here!"
Upon seeing the footage of Iron Man suits attacking civilians, Tony Stark's fingers flew across his computer keyboard. Simultaneously, Jarvis began activating all available suits stored in Tony's seaside mansion.
The Iron Man suits at the Avengers' base had all fallen under Ultron's control, and the attacking suits had launched from there. The mansion was the only place left with suits Tony could still command.
Although Tony had stopped selling weapons, he continued researching and developing Iron Man suits. However, each series had only one or two units. In total, the mansion housed about 60 or 70 suits.
Tony could never mass-produce suits like Daniel Davis. It wasn't in Tony's nature, nor would the societal and legal systems he operated within allow it. Manufacturing suits required substantial materials, and all of Tony's purchases were monitored. Unlike Daniel, who could procure resources from other worlds or mine them himself, Tony had limitations.
Even at his peak, Tony's personal collection of suits never exceeded 100. In stark contrast, Daniel's collection numbered in the hundreds of thousands, a staggering figure.
In terms of sheer wealth and resources, Daniel was now truly unrivaled—wealthy enough to rival nations. Not even Black Panther's vast resources could compete, though Wakanda's vibranium mines might tip the scales. Vibranium wasn't just durable; its unique properties had immense scientific applications, making it an invaluable asset.
Wakanda's advanced technology owed its development to vibranium. Even if mined extensively, its price would barely drop, solidifying its status as a true hard currency.
It was undeniable—having a vibranium mine at your disposal made all the difference.
Despite owning vast numbers of Iron Man suits, Daniel had discovered a peculiar problem: they were rarely useful. Unless he waged a large-scale war, the suits remained idle. However, Daniel wasn't some megalomaniacal villain dreaming of world domination, so he had halted suit production and shifted to creating peacekeeping machines instead.
"I've got it," Daniel responded, opening a mystical portal to teleport the suits from Tony's mansion.
As the Avengers prepared to tackle the rogue suits, a communication from the military came through. Such a large-scale event couldn't escape the notice of national authorities.
"What's going on here? Why is this happening?" demanded the military liaison.
"We're investigating. The base was also attacked unexpectedly," Natasha began, but Carter swiftly cut her off, stepping forward to answer.
"We're still gathering information," Carter stated while discreetly signaling Natasha. She then shared footage of the damaged Avengers base via video link.
"We'll update you once we have more details," Carter concluded, promptly severing the connection.
"Right now, we need to focus on solving the problem, not assigning blame. If Tony is to be held accountable, that discussion can wait," Carter added firmly.
As someone who had risen from serving tea to leading the Strategic Scientific Reserve and founding S.H.I.E.L.D., Carter understood politics all too well. Publicizing Tony's role in creating Ultron would invite chaos. The military's top priority wouldn't be stopping Ultron—it would be exploiting this crisis to wrest control of the Avengers.
For years, the U.S. government had coveted leadership over the Avengers. Figures like Tony Stark, Peggy Carter, and Natasha Romanoff had been barriers to their schemes. Now, with Tony's monumental mistake, they wouldn't hesitate to seize the opportunity.
This was precisely the kind of event that had led to the Sokovia Accords in the original timeline. Those accords divided the Avengers, turning Captain America and his allies into fugitives.
To the powers that be, Ultron's damage wasn't the real issue. They cared only about leveraging the crisis to gain control. If anything, they might even hope Ultron caused more devastation to force the Avengers to comply.
Under the accords, superheroes would lose their autonomy entirely. One clause, in particular, required heroes to reveal their identities—a dangerous move given how many had battled powerful criminals. Exposing their identities would invite retaliation.
Even Tony Stark, a billionaire with significant resources, had been attacked in his mansion after revealing he was Iron Man. For heroes like Spider-Man, the consequences would be far worse, endangering not just themselves but their loved ones. Villains had no qualms about targeting families.
Carter's pragmatic approach won unanimous approval. The Avengers, especially Natasha, were all too familiar with the government's machinations.
With Jarvis managing Tony's remaining suits and the combined efforts of Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and others, the rogue Iron Man suits were quickly neutralized. However, Ultron had already achieved its real objective.
As Tony and Jarvis analyzed the situation, they uncovered Ultron's true motive: it had used the attacks as a distraction to steal a massive cache of arc reactors from Stark Industries. This was what Ultron truly needed.
Although Ultron lacked the Mind Stone's enhancements, it was still formidable. However, Tony's technological advancements, bolstered by alien technologies provided by Daniel, enabled Jarvis and Tony to deduce Ultron's plans and location swiftly.
The target was Sokovia.
"Finally, some good news," Tony muttered.
The analysis also revealed that Ultron was a sentient being rather than a traditional AI like Jarvis or the Red Queen. Unlike pure AIs, which could endlessly replicate themselves, sentient beings required a physical body. Destroying Ultron's core would end it permanently. This distinction made dealing with Ultron much simpler.
Had Daniel intervened earlier to intercept the rogue suits leaving the base, Ultron might have been destroyed outright. But hindsight offered no solace.
With Ultron's location confirmed, the Avengers mobilized. Everyone, except Natasha, who stayed to oversee the base, prepared for the mission. Post-S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha had taken on a diplomatic role, handling external affairs, including government relations. Carter, meanwhile, operated discreetly behind the scenes, grooming Natasha as her successor.
"Sentient life… so Ultron qualifies as silicon-based life, doesn't it?" Daniel remarked as the Quinjet descended into Sokovia's mountainous terrain.
Unlike in the original timeline, where locating Ultron took considerable time, this iteration was much less elusive. The Avengers arrived at a hidden valley, only to be met by missile fire. The Quinjet was destroyed, but Daniel quickly used his magic to teleport Captain America, Hawkeye, and the other non-flyers to safety. Scarlet Witch, Tony, and others descended under their own power.
"So, Hydra's behind this, huh?" Daniel muttered as Hydra forces emerged, engaging the Avengers.
Realizing the political implications of the Ultron fiasco, Daniel decided to pin the blame on Hydra. Framing Hydra as the culprit not only protected the Avengers' reputation but also encouraged global efforts to hunt down Hydra remnants.
Inside the valley, Stephanie Malick, Hydra's current leader, watched the unfolding chaos on a monitor. "How did they find us? Did you lead them here?" she snapped at Ultron.
Ultron, now operating through a suit-like body, retorted, "We're enemies."
Ultron's partnership with Hydra was born out of mutual need. For Hydra, the arc reactors Ultron brought were too valuable to resist. Yet even as Ultron sought to execute its plans, it hadn't anticipated the Avengers' rapid response.
Hydra's forces, bolstered by various Iron Man suit knockoffs and other technologies, proved no match for the Avengers. Quick-thinking strategies and the overwhelming firepower of Tony's original designs, combined with Scarlet Witch's magic and Quicksilver's speed, quickly turned the tide.
Stephanie, realizing the battle was lost, ordered a retreat. She left Ultron behind as a sacrificial pawn to cover her escape.
Ultron, for all its network prowess, was unprepared for human cunning and retreated into a defensive mode.
"Ultron, why did you betray us?" Tony asked as the Avengers surrounded the rogue AI.
"To protect humanity… by eliminating it," Ultron replied coldly.
The chilling response clarified everything.
Tony finally understood why Ultron had turned against him. It wasn't a failure of logic but an unintended interpretation of Tony's directive: protect humanity at all costs. Ultron, sifting through humanity's history of violence, war, and self-destruction, had concluded that the best way to achieve that goal was through selective eradication.
The battle intensified as the Avengers pressed forward, determined to eliminate Ultron once and for all. Ultron, desperate and cornered, unleashed waves of modified Iron Legion suits and Hydra's stolen technology to stall the team.
Scarlet Witch's chaos magic tore through waves of mechanical enemies, while Quicksilver's newfound coordination and arsenal made him an unstoppable blur of destruction. Captain America and Hawkeye led ground operations, coordinating strikes with precision, while Daniel's mystical assaults shattered enemy ranks, rendering Ultron's forces increasingly ineffectual.
Ultron's final gambit came in the form of a massive energy discharge. Using the stolen arc reactors, it attempted to overload the surrounding area, intending to take the Avengers—and itself—with it.
"Not happening," Tony muttered as he flew directly toward the reactor core, deploying his suit's full arsenal to disrupt the chain reaction. Beside him, Daniel wove a containment spell to absorb the excess energy. Together, their efforts neutralized the threat just in time.
As the smoke cleared, the Avengers closed in on Ultron's physical form. Severely damaged but still defiant, Ultron sneered at Tony.
"You created me to be better than you. And I am. I see the flaws you refuse to face, Stark. Humanity is its own undoing."
Tony hesitated for a moment, guilt flashing across his face. But before he could respond, Captain America stepped forward.
"Maybe we are flawed," Steve said firmly. "But we're worth fighting for. That's something you'll never understand."
With that, Scarlet Witch delivered the final blow, her magic ripping through Ultron's core, reducing it to nothing. The light in Ultron's eyes flickered and went dark.
The mission was over, but the cost was high. Sokovia's valley was left in ruins, and the Avengers were visibly shaken by the ordeal. Tony remained silent as the team regrouped, the weight of his creation's actions heavy on his shoulders.
Back at the Avengers' base, the fallout began. While the team celebrated their victory, they also grappled with the implications of Tony's hubris. The incident had reinforced the delicate balance of trust within the team.
Natasha, ever the diplomat, worked to smooth things over with the authorities, aided by Carter's careful maneuvering behind the scenes. Publicly, the blame for the attack fell squarely on Hydra, with Ultron painted as another of their twisted experiments. This narrative not only salvaged the Avengers' reputation but also spurred renewed efforts to dismantle Hydra.
In the aftermath, Tony retreated to his lab, vowing to learn from his mistakes. He dismantled what remained of the Ultron Initiative, turning his focus toward ensuring such a catastrophe could never happen again. But deep down, he knew that the scars left by Ultron's betrayal would linger, both for himself and for his team.
As for the Avengers, the experience served as a stark reminder of their mission: not just to save the world but to safeguard each other from the darkness that sometimes sprang from their best intentions.
------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!
Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]