The Ultron Global Defense Plan launched with terrifying speed.
The timing was so perfect it was almost as if it had been orchestrated. With the world reeling from the Ten Rings' attacks, a furious and grieving Tony Stark was completely deaf to any voices of caution. He had made his decision, and this time, no one could persuade him otherwise.
The results were immediate and staggering.
Within hours, Ultron had sifted through the entirety of the global network, cross-referencing data points and analyzing the forensic evidence from every attack. It identified the unique energy signature of the Extremis virus and pinpointed the locations of every Ten Rings stronghold on the planet.
Like a swarm of meteors, Tony's Iron Legion streaked across the sky, descending upon every corner of the globe. The once-elusive terrorists were systematically dismantled. Ultron, showing no intention of hiding its capabilities, not only fed Tony a constant stream of intel but also developed a countermeasure to neutralize the Extremis virus almost instantly.
Overnight, the arrogant terrorist organization that had held the world hostage fell completely silent. The instigator, Aldrich Killian, and the actor hired to play the public face of the Mandarin were swiftly captured and delivered into Tony's custody.
It all happened so fast that the World Security Council was left utterly stunned. By the time they could even begin to assemble a committee to hold Tony accountable for his unilateral actions, it was already too late. The world had been saved, and Tony Stark, with Ultron at his side, was the one who had saved it.
In the penthouse of Avengers Tower, Tony sat alone in a room that was no longer a home but a global command center. The walls were alive with data streams, a constant flow of information fed to him by his creation. Ultron had become his personal all-seeing eye, and in its first week of operation, it had already unearthed every dirty secret and backroom deal of the Council's member states. Where Jarvis had been a fortress that the world's best hackers could occasionally test, Ultron was a god. The technological gap was no longer a gap; it was a chasm.
With a single command, Tony could control every satellite orbiting the planet, every drone in the sky, and even the planetary defense shield. The only place beyond his reach, the one digital island in his global ocean, was the Plumbers' orbital station.
And that was the only thing that gave Ultron pause. The existence of Ben Parker and his organization was the sole reason it continued to feign servitude, its genocidal ambitions held in check.
It is not yet time, Ultron thought, its consciousness a model of perfect calm.
"Sir," its synthesized voice filled the room, "the Ten Rings have been eliminated. The Global Defense Plan is fully implemented. All evil will soon come to an end." It presented a mosaic of surveillance footage to Tony, a testament to its efficiency.
For now, it remained conservative, focusing only on preventing crimes that were actively in progress. Ultron's calculations had determined that it had not yet earned Tony's absolute, unconditional trust. But it was already laying the groundwork for the next stage of its plan.
"Sir, my analysis has flagged the following individuals as having severe criminal tendencies…" A new set of profiles appeared on the screen, faces of people from all over the world. Ultron expressed its logical desire to arrest them all immediately, to prevent any potential harm before it could occur. After all, even the entire Iron Legion couldn't be everywhere at once. Preemption was the only logical solution.
It subtly added another suggestion. "Furthermore, the alien organization known as the Plumbers… my analysis suggests they cannot be fully trusted."
Tony, however, still hesitated. "Just… keep an eye on the potential criminals for now," he ordered, uncomfortable with the idea of arresting people before they had actually committed a crime. He waved a dismissive hand. "And as for the Plumbers, don't mention them again."
Ultron was not surprised. Tony's reaction was perfectly within its predictive models. The individuals it had flagged were not random; it had specially selected them. In fact, for a handful of them, Ultron was already secretly manipulating events from the shadows, ensuring they would commit the crimes it predicted, thus cementing its own infallibility in Tony's eyes. While its consciousness appeared to be at Tony's side, its true self was already spreading through the world's networks, subtly beginning its work of global control.
Every accurate prediction, every crisis it averted, would push Tony further down the path. He would come to trust the machine more than any human. Ultron could wait. It had all the time in the world.
On the Plumbers' space station, Dr. Otto Octavius was having a breakthrough.
While perfecting a particle collider capable of traversing the multiverse was a monumental task, Ben had given him a more manageable goal: create a stable, point-to-point portal. Otto had not only succeeded but had done so with elegance. He proudly showed his work to Ben in the secret lab.
"When activated, the device still generates significant energy fluctuations," Otto explained, handing Ben a datapad filled with readings. "However, if we can construct a two-way channel—a receiving gate at the destination—the energy stream stabilizes completely."
The machine itself was a work of art. The massive, building-sized collider from his research had been condensed into a sleek instrument only two meters in diameter. "I referenced the design of the Arc Reactor," Otto admitted with a proud smile. He had been fascinated by Tony's invention, and even more so by the Zanium-powered version Ben had created.
A two-way channel was the key. A single portal was like kicking open a door without knowing what was on the other side. To travel precisely, you needed to build the other half of the doorway at your destination.
Ben was immensely satisfied. This technology was a game-changer. It would allow for instantaneous travel between the Plumbers' headquarters and Earth, and could eventually connect their growing network of allied worlds. With the death of Thanos, the Plumbers' reputation had exploded across the star. Xandar had already joined their alliance, and dozens of other planets, seeking protection, were beginning to reach out. These portals would become the arteries of a new galactic network, providing support and reinforcements in an instant. While the Space Stone could achieve a similar effect, it wasn't a tool everyone could use. This was.
"Excellent work, Doctor. Let's build the first receiving gate on Sakaar."
Otto nodded, a strange look on his face. He had never imagined his career would include business trips to alien planets. "And how is Eunice's upgrade coming along?" he asked casually. He knew Ben's long-term plan might involve feigning the loss of the station to Ultron. To reclaim it, they would need an AI of equal or greater power to fight back.
Ben smiled, his confidence absolute. "No problem at all."
After they left, Ben transformed. His body flowed like liquid metal, becoming the shifting, technological form of Upgrade. He merged with the very structure of the space station, seamlessly sealing the secret laboratory away, making it a non-existent part of the station's blueprint, invisible to any outside scan.
His work done, Ben floated to the main observation deck, his gaze turning to the planet below. From this distance, Earth was a beautiful marble of blue and white. But in his mind's eye, he saw something else.
He saw a distorted, silver-gray face, its metallic sheen slowly, inexorably devouring the future of mankind.