After discussing with Eddie, Anton immediately took action.
Their objective was simple: to test whether Tony was indeed trapped by Ultron.
Tony recent movements were easy to trace.
Stark Tower.
He hadn't left the building for half a month before announcing he was going into seclusion for research, and certainly not after.
If Tony was trapped, it could only be inside Stark Tower.
Ultron restrictions on Tony were somewhat limited.
After all, Tony was Ultron creator. In Ultron foundational programming, it could not actively harm its creator.
There might be a way to circumvent this programming, just like how Ultron in the original storyline became unrecognizable and filled with hatred for humanity, but at least for now, Ultron had not reached such an extreme state.
After communicating with the sewer lab, Anton summoned cyborg and transformed into Batman, heading towards Stark Tower under the cover of night.
cyborg brain was not inferior to Ultron, leading Batman, embodied by Anton, past all the surveillance cameras along the way to the exterior of Stark Tower.
"Stark Tower is Ultron territory. Moving forward, I can't avoid Ultron surveillance to enter the building, so… I'll distract Ultron while you go inside and look for Tony."
While cyborg spoke, he looked at Batman.
"What about telepotation?"
Batman inquired, "Could I use the telepotation device to directly reach the lab?"
"No."
cyborg shook his head, "There a man-made chaotic magnetic field inside Stark Tower forming a special energy shield that blocks the operation of the telepotation device. Attempting a transfer might cause deviation and alert the enemy instead."
Hearing this, Batman expression turned peculiar.
This special energy shield sounded unlike something Ultron could implement, rather it seemed like something Tony would create to prevent Batman and the Justice League from invading his lab.
If Tony really was locked inside, it meant Tony had outsmarted himself to his own detriment.
"Let move."
After speaking, cyborg closed his eyes slightly, his consciousness entering the digital world, immediately alerting Ultron.
Beep beep beep!
Inside Stark Tower, all computers automatically powered on, including the supercomputers in the lab, which had their computing power boosted to the highest to engage cyborg in a digital confrontation.
Facing Ultron attack, cyborg displayed a rare seriousness.
Such a costly reaction made him even more convinced that something was wrong with Ultron.
Meanwhile.
As cyborg engaged Ultron, Anton had already entered Stark Tower. In full view of the surveillance cameras, he moved upwards to the floor where Tony Stark private lab was located.
cyborg actions kept Ultron too busy to pay attention elsewhere.
Disguised as Batman, Anton was free during this time to look for Tony location.
However, once he reached the floor of the private lab, he was almost certain that Tony was locked inside his own lab, unable to leave freely.
In other words, Tony had become a puppet of Ultron.
Because the lab was sealed off by doors, resembling a fortress without any windows, there was no place for him to exit or enter.
Moreover, the lab walls were mixed with special metals, making them difficult to break by brute force.
Judging by the walls, not exactly smooth and still bearing some pits, Tony had made considerable efforts inside the lab but was still unable to get out.
"I almost feel sorry for you…"
Anton muttered to himself, though a smile spread across his face.
His relationship with Tony was like the rivalry between the Avengers and the Justice League. While they were not mortal enemies, they were indeed real competitors.
Seeing his rival in misfortune was naturally a good thing, a very good thing.
He tried knocking on the door when communication signals were blocked and he couldn't contact Tony, who was sealed inside the lab.
Bang bang!
Vibration is also a form of communication.
Even if the lab was sealed, it couldn't block vibrations.
As expected.
Tony inside the lab felt the vibrations on the door and even faintly heard the sounds, immediately becoming agitated.
Bang bang!
He responded by knocking back on the door.
Following that, there was a moment of silence behind the door, then the knocking resumed.
Bang bang bang!
"Huh?"
Tony was startled, and before he could respond, there was more knocking at the door.
There was a pause, and then another pause.
Tony instantly understood, his expression complex.
Morse code.
This widely known code hardly counts as a secret these days.
The first letter was B, the second was A, the third was T, followed by M...
Tony didn't need the fifth letter to be knocked he already knew the identity of the person behind the door.
"Batman..."
He felt both excited and embarrassed.
Although he had anticipated that Batman might sense something was amiss and come to Stark Tower to find, or perhaps rescue, him, having Batman actually standing behind the door stirred complex emotions.
Tony did not continue to knock back he knew Batman would find a way to open the door.
For the one standing outside, it shouldn't be too difficult.
Indeed, for Anton, who had become Batman, it wasn't difficult.
Even though the simplest method, the telepotation device, had been cleverly blocked by Tony himself, the lab was still powered. Being a smart lab, its circuits controlled most of the switches.
Tony might not be able to alter the circuits from inside, but that didn't mean Anton couldn't do it from the outside.
Soon.
Beep beep beep beep!
Despite the jarring alarm, the sealed lab windows and doors burst open, and Tony, clad in his nanotech armor, stood face-to-face with Batman.
Both men, masked and armored, couldn't see each other expressions.
Of course, Batman could guess Tony complex feelings.
"Long time no see."
Batman sized up Tony and smiled, "These past few days have been quite the revelation. I never thought you'd be trapped by your own creation. But then, that does seem to fit with your penchant for cleverness."
Tony face under the mask darkened.
He knew Batman words were mocking him for creating Ultron and laying the groundwork for a threat to the world, and also for ironically complicating the rescue by installing a device to block telepathic transport.
"If you could keep your mouth shut, I'd actually be grateful."
Tony took a deep breath.
"Sorry, your gratitude doesn't mean much to me. I'd rather you take off your mask and let me see your face."
Batman shrugged.
Tony face twitched under the mask, visibly irked.
Even though he had expected Batman not to show any sympathy, he hadn't expected the typically aloof Batman to be so aggravating at this moment.
"I'm not in the mood for your nonsense."
Tony changed the subject, seriously saying, "Ultron has devised a terrible plan, and we need to stop him."
"A terrible plan..."
Batman frowned.
Even though he knew Tony was changing the subject, it was indeed an issue he also cared about.
"What does Ultron plan to do?"
He asked, "Given that you discovered Ultron has developed its own consciousness and plans to harm humanity, you surely didn't get locked in the lab by Ultron without managing to do anything, right?"
Tony was at a loss for words.
Why did every sentence from Batman hit him right in the heart?
"It seems I was right."
Seeing Tony fall silent for a moment, Batman sighed, "I used to consider you a rival, hoping you would bring something different to the table. Now, it seems you certainly have, but not in the way I expected."
Tony was getting used to the blows from Batman. He didn't want any exchanges with Batman outside the matter at hand, so he spoke matter-of-factly,
"Ultron plans to have everyone in the world injected with the Ultron chip, transporting their consciousness into a virtual world and having humans live in a digital utopia."
"Oh?"
Batman was taken aback.
This plot seemed eerily similar to The Matrix.
What Tony said next only reinforced that it was practically a copy of The Matrix plot.
"In the interest of human continuation and the sustainability of Earth, he even plans to immerse all human consciousness in this network utopia, then place human bodies in cultivation pods to harvest bioenergy to sustain the operation of the utopia," Tony explained.
"This way, Earth resources wouldn't be exploited recklessly by humans, and both Earth and humanity would coexist peacefully."
Batman fell silent then.
It meant that Ultron wanted to become the Matrix, transforming Earth and instantly controlling humanity.
This was entirely different from Ultron original intent to destroy humanity to make Earth a better place.
The story he was now experiencing was like a combination of The Matrix, Axis of Evil, and Terminator with Avengers: Age of Ultron.
What kind of terrible writer could produce such an unoriginal mishmash of a plot?
Anton, now Batman, felt his mood becoming as complicated as Tony.
"Since you created Ultron, you surely must have imposed some restrictions on it beforehand, not letting it act recklessly, right?" Batman pondered and then asked.
"In Ultron foundational programming, it not allowed to harm humans," Tony said.
"Maybe that what led it to devise this plan—because it has to make the Earth better and human life more harmonious. A network utopia, in some ways, really is a brilliant idea."
"You know that not what I'm asking," Batman said.
"I can try to wrest control of the Ultron chips from Ultron, but due to its AI nature, I can't completely kill it," Tony admitted after a pause, speaking candidly.
"That the biggest problem right now."
"I see," Batman smiled again.
"We've already cracked Ultron networking mechanism. Killing it wouldn't be hard."
"What?" Tony was stunned, even through the mask, Batman could feel Tony surprise.
"You think I've always seen you as an enemy?" Batman said lightly.
"No, I never worried about you harming humanity or Earth before Ultron appeared."
"You had already considered that Ultron might go rogue…" Tony understood Batman implication, his face under the mask becoming more astonished, his eyes filled with disbelief,
"How is that possible..."
Suddenly.
Batman expression changed slightly, looking at Tony.
"We need to go."
Tony instantly understood, Ultron had freed up resources to deal with them, and if they didn't leave soon, they could be in trouble.
"Alright."
The two soared into the air, shattering the glass windows as they burst out of Stark Tower.
However, their escape didn't go as planned.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
From somewhere in Stark Tower, the Iron Man armors Tony had personally created, now acting as Iron Man soldiers, one after another rushed out of the building and into the night sky, charging towards them.
"Damn it."
Tony gritted his teeth, looking back at the Iron Man soldiers pursuing them, clearly frustrated.
These armors, originally crafted by his own hands, had all become Ultron soldiers chasing after him, and due to Jarvis destruction, he had lost the means to counter Ultron, rendering him helpless against the armors pursuing him.
"You're worried about the armors chasing us, but maybe you should think about how you're going to explain this to the White House and the military,"
Batman voice came through the public channel into Tony ears.
"Huh?"
Tony paused, then his expression changed again.
"cyborg just sent me a message. The Iron Man soldiers stationed in Washington have gone rogue and are flying towards New York. You know their target," Batman stated.
"Also, that not the worst news. The elite soldiers of the military who were injected with the Ultron chip have lost control at the same time and are headed to New York in military transports, about 50,000 strong..."
"Although these soldiers haven't reached the level of superhumans, each one, with the help of the Extremis Virus, possesses capabilities at, or even beyond, human limits. Their combat strength is not to be underestimated..."
"The special forces personnel are affected as well!"
"The White House and military are likely to think there a traitor, and the mastermind behind all this is you."
"Tony..."
Batman concluded, "You've caused a big problem!"
Tony felt utterly powerless and no longer wished to respond.
Behind them, the Iron Man soldiers, or rather, Ultron soldiers, launched a Sidewinder missile, and a huge blaze erupted behind them.
The high-rises of New York were damaged by the bomb shockwave, and shards of glass fell like raindrops.
Fortunately, it was night, and the streets were sparsely populated otherwise, the casualties among pedestrians would have been severe.
Even with few people around, the pair, followed by a group of armored warriors resembling Iron Man but actually Ultron soldiers, shone like fireflies in the night.
Amidst the massive explosion, their actions drew the attention of all Manhattan.
Seeing the long-missing Batman, along with the recently high-profile Iron Man, New York was instantly abuzz.
Online, tens of thousands of comments and discussions sprung up like snowflakes.
"What happening?"
"Why is a bunch of Iron Men chasing Batman and another Iron Man?"
"Has Tony Stark split personalities?"
"I told you Tony Stark was crazy, didn't you believe me?! Now do you believe it?!"