However, when the robot pressed the scepter to her forehead, she suddenly went limp and obedient.
Needless to say, the droid was Ultron—fleeing through the internet—and the scepter he held was the Avengers' lost Loki scepter, set with the Mind Gem.
The research hospital where the female doctor worked was an open facility. Under Ultron's control and in full view, he not only kidnapped the doctor but also hauled away a variety of plastic-surgery equipment.
On the plane: Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, the captive surgeon, and the stolen Vibranium. In one sense, everyone involved in Ultron's resurgence was here.
"I need you to build me a new body from this stuff."
"3D printing—should be in your wheelhouse…"
"No problem."
The Avengers were crushed after the chatty Crow's Vibranium heist. Each of them looked listless—strong people thrown into disarray by a terrible start.
"Mr. Hunter, what do we do next?" Tony asked bluntly. No matter how messy things got, he expected the man in front of him to have an answer.
"Two paths," Blaine said.
"How so?"
"First: I lead you straight to Ultron."
"Second: you rest and recuperate, wait for news, or wait for allies."
Blaine definitely hoped they chose the first. Lead the Avengers to Ultron, snatch his body, wake Vision, take control of Ultron, and annihilate him in one stroke—mission complete. Clean and efficient; everything he disliked about delay.
Still, his task was to shepherd these chickens. Right now, they were all injured chicks. Looking at the team's morale, Blaine worried one or two might be picked off by Ultron. After all, even Quicksilver—whose speed reached six—died at Ultron's hands. He wasn't optimistic about the people around him.
"Obviously we choose the first. Go, go, go."
"My hammer won't agree until I beat that little witch out of him." Thor had had enough of Scarlet Witch's torment the past two days. When Blaine suggested they go find Ultron, he nearly vibrated with eagerness.
"I'm gonna pin that fast boy to the wall and see if he dares to move me." Hawkeye Barton narrowed his eyes and said icily. Blaine read something almost like fondness and rivalry between the two—like love and death in the same breath.
"All right—no time like the present. Let's go."
With the spiritual seed, Ultron's location could be pinpointed anywhere he went—unless he left the galaxy. So Blaine knew exactly where to aim.
Meanwhile, under the hands of skilled professionals, Ultron's physical body was being assembled.
Now came the intense, nerve-wracking data-upload session. The doctor—controlled by the scepter—helped Ultron connect to the port. Ultron lay inert, unable to move except to speak; only a severed connection could stop the process.
Inside a large metal cabinet lay a red-bodied humanoid with the Mind Gem inlaid on his brow. This was Ultron's new body.
Drip, drop, drip—
Minutes ticked by. A holographic display on the cabinet showed upload progress.
Current Data Transfer: 10%
Current Data Transfer: 20%
Current Data Transfer: 30%
Current Data Transfer: 40%
The transfer was rapid; at this rate, full input would take less than an hour.
If Blaine and the Avengers didn't arrive in time, Ultron might truly usher in a new era. Because Ultron had the Avengers with him—he'd brought them aboard an aircraft. Though it used SHIELD-level tech, the plane wasn't especially fast—roughly the same speed Tony could reach in his armor. If the distance had been longer, Blaine wouldn't have tolerated the slow pace. He feared arriving too late to snatch Ultron's body—and that would change everything for the Marvel world.
Besides the doctor, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver remained on the plane with Ultron. Perhaps after the prior battle, Ultron no longer saw them as adversaries; perhaps he regarded them as useful subordinates. In any case, the upload proceeded in their presence.
Ultron assumed they were compliant. Some of them were—some weren't.
Scarlet Witch slowly placed her hand against the cabinet near Ultron's head. Quicksilver noticed but didn't intervene.
Remember: Scarlet Witch's chaos magic had been endowed through the Mind Stone. The significance of the Mind Gem is enormous; it contains—and channels—concepts the size of cosmic energy. From that, Scarlet Witch's power is vast: not only can she influence minds, she can probe them, detect thoughts and feelings…in some ways similar to Blaine's mind-reading, like a blend of mind control and telepathic insight.
"…Oh."
When Scarlet Witch glimpsed Ultron's thoughts, she gave a soft gasp and involuntarily stepped back. Quicksilver—helped steady her.
"What did you see?"
"A plan. An evil plan."
"He wants to destroy all of humanity!!!"
Shock widened Scarlet Witch's eyes.
"You can read me?" Ultron noticed she was probing his mind.
"You're all clever, like me. You have—big ideas," he said. "You want vengeance for your parents, don't you?"
Ultron did not want to lose two useful allies. He began to speak sweetly, attempting to brainwash them again.
"Hmph. Don't think I don't see the tricks you use on us." Scarlet Witch's voice was icy—she had seen through him. Ultron felt exposed, almost embarrassed. But he had to keep stalling; the data transfer continued.
Current Data Transfer: 50%
"Then you should also know the Avengers' viciousness from my thoughts," Ultron continued. "If they are not eliminated, Earth will never be at peace."
"A long time ago, Earth was a gentle home where mankind and nature lived in harmony. Now the world is ravaged… I—"
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