Looking at the Ancient One standing before him, Nolan felt a chill crawl up his spine.
That bald old woman truly deserved her reputation. A schemer who had been plotting for centuries.
They had just fought moments ago. Nolan had exhausted every method at his disposal and killed her several times, venting a good portion of the rage boiling inside him.
And just as he was ready to demand the truth, she casually tossed another massive problem his way.
How could he not care?
Before coming to Kamar-Taj, he absolutely could have ignored it.
Even half an hour ago, while they were still tearing each other apart in the Mirror Dimension, he could have done so without hesitation.
But now, the momentum was gone.
Once the surge of anger faded, exhaustion followed.
The greatest fury in his heart had already been bled dry by that battle.
And so he began to think about cost. About consequences.
To put it simply, he did not want to fight anymore.
Even if the Ancient One wanted to continue, he did not.
That brief clash alone had nearly emptied his reserves.
His mechanical tide had finally taken shape. Tens of thousands of armed machines were his greatest confidence when facing enemies.
And now, eight or nine out of every ten were gone.
If this continued, what if Netero was destroyed?
The Ancient One was fully capable of doing that.
If he really burned through everything he had, would he truly return to square one overnight?
That was not something he was willing to accept.
The Ancient One smiled gently.
Nolan's face, on the other hand, was dark.
He dropped his expression entirely and said with deliberate indifference,
"Ultron is your mess. Tony and the others are already involved. I am just an ordinary guy. I cannot be expected to clean up everything myself."
At that moment, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen. Tony Stark.
Nolan's lips twitched, and he ignored the call without hesitation.
Then he continued,
"This time, my losses were huge. Ultron was created under your watch, and you are the Sorcerer Supreme. I do not believe for a second that you will just stand aside. Worst case, we all burn together."
Faced with Nolan's reckless, scorched-earth attitude, the Ancient One waved her hand.
The world shifted once more, and they entered the Mirror Dimension again.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"A battlefield designed exclusively for the Sorcerer Supreme," Nolan replied through clenched teeth.
Without the Mirror Dimension, his mechanical army would have shown her exactly what suffering meant.
"No," the Ancient One said calmly. "This is a reversed world."
She ignored Nolan's expression and continued,
"The universe consists of two sides, positive and inverse. Magic is the process of analysis.
The Mirror Dimension is the application of the inverse world. It is powerful, and extremely difficult to control."
As she spoke, she traced a line through the air.
The Mirror Dimension unraveled as if being dissected, the world dissolving into countless streams of light.
They appeared in a vast emptiness.
"Do you want to learn it?" she asked.
Nolan's eyes ignited instantly.
This was not a basic spell like portals.
The Mirror Dimension consumed enormous magical energy and demanded extreme mastery.
But once learned, it would represent a massive leap in power.
Even with its limitations, it was an extraordinary technique.
He knew she was offering him bait.
But the bait was irresistible.
"My talent is not enough," Nolan said honestly.
He did not say he did not want to learn. He simply stated reality.
His magical talent was decent.
But decent was not enough to control something like this.
The Ancient One chuckled.
"Talent is only one factor. There are many ways to compensate for it."
Nolan stared at her for a long moment, then clenched his teeth.
"I will learn."
Even if he felt manipulated, paying a fortune to vent his anger and gaining a divine-level skill in return was not a bad deal.
Seeing his agreement, that unfathomable smile returned to the Ancient One's face.
"I will need to make some preparations first. Return to Kamar-Taj in three days."
With that, she turned and walked back toward the main hall.
Nolan did not follow.
Her meaning was clear.
Ultron was still his responsibility.
He called Tony Stark.
The call connected immediately.
"Nolan, we have located Ultron's likely destination," Tony said quickly.
"Based on our analysis, if Ultron wants to use the Regeneration Cradle to obtain a body, it must go somewhere with massive energy reserves.
We have checked every location that fits the criteria within our reach.
There is only one we have not been able to investigate. Roxxon Corporation.
If Ultron is making a move, Roxxon is the most likely target."
"I am on my way," Nolan replied.
He ended the call.
Roxxon Corporation was infamous worldwide.
To most people, it meant one thing.
Money.
Obscene amounts of it.
The company had built its empire on oil, the most profitable industry on the planet, and had since expanded into nearly every sector imaginable.
Civilian industries, military manufacturing, advanced research.
There was almost nothing Roxxon did not touch.
A company of that scale absolutely met Ultron's energy requirements.
Nolan glanced at the wreckage scattered around him and sighed.
He could not open a portal.
He had learned the spell, but he had never truly refined it. He was not Stephen Strange, bending reality like a cheat code.
Maintaining such a massive portal for that long had drained him completely.
His magical reserves were empty.
"Red Queen," Nolan called.
Several suits descended immediately. Their thrusters detached and reassembled onto his Mjolnir Armor.
A heavily modified Mjolnir suit bristling with propulsion systems took shape.
Boom.
The engines ignited.
With a violent surge of energy, Nolan was launched into the sky.
He would have to fly back.
In New York, Tony Stark suited up.
Standing beside him were Bruce Banner and Hank Pym.
"The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will need some time," Hank Pym said. "But I do not think we need to wait for them."
Bruce frowned.
"I think we should. Roxxon is not a small target. Having S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority will make this much easier."
Tony hesitated, then nodded.
He was no longer the lone hero he once was.
He had learned the importance of coordination.
And, though he would never say it out loud, Nolan Locke had become his safety net.
Hank Pym sighed quietly.
Since his wife disappeared, he had not worn the Ant-Man suit in a very long time.
Before long, a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft landed on the roof of Stark Tower.
"Sir, S.H.I.E.L.D. has arrived," JARVIS announced.
"Let them in," Tony said.
The rooftop doors opened, and Steve Rogers and the others entered.
"What is the situation?" Steve asked.
He wore black tactical armor, his face still pale. The battle in Boston had left its mark.
The others were not much better.
Wanda had not come at all. During the chain explosions, she had taken the full impact to protect the others.
Only the Hulk looked completely unaffected.
Explosions, genetic monsters, none of it seemed to bother him.
"Hard to believe an AI could develop self-awareness," Clint Barton muttered. "Even knowing it happened, it still sounds ridiculous."
"Enough," Steve said. "Time is limited. Tony, explain."
Tony spoke quickly.
"Ultron underwent some kind of mutation. It hid itself from both Nolan and me for a long time. We do not know when it became self-aware.
What we do know is that it has been preparing for a very long time.
In the age of global networks, you can imagine what that means.
This is a serious problem.
Right now, Ultron wants a physical body.
Strangely enough, that might be good news.
A digital entity can hide anywhere. A physical body has limits.
Which means it can be killed."
"And that is what makes it terrifying," Hank Pym interjected.
"For a machine to desire a body is already frightening. That it has a concrete plan and is acting on it makes it far worse."
Tony nodded.
"The body Ultron is building will not be simple. We must stop it before it succeeds.
If Ultron gets what it wants and disappears, finding it again will be nearly impossible.
At that point, we may not be facing Ultron alone, but an entire mechanical army capable of overturning human civilization."
The room fell silent.
"Overturn humanity sounds a bit exaggerated," Quicksilver said uneasily.
"It only sounds that way," Tony replied. "For Ultron, it is entirely possible.
In this era, calling it a god would not be an exaggeration."
Bruce saw the tension and spoke quickly.
"That is the worst-case scenario.
If we find Ultron first and destroy it, we can prevent all of this.
And fortunately, we believe we know where it is."
With that, they boarded the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft and headed toward Roxxon.
Bruce sat near the front, his expression grim.
He hoped they were not too late.
Ultron would not make logical mistakes.
Humanity's only chance was that Ultron's desire to become more than a machine had introduced flaws into its reasoning.
If they missed this opportunity, Bruce could not imagine what would follow.
Unfortunately, when they had contacted Roxxon earlier, the company had dismissed them.
They did not trust the warning.
As all sides converged on Roxxon Corporation, the company's defenses suddenly collapsed.
All external communications were severed.
Ultron descended from the sky.
When Roxxon's security forces saw the robots, even the slowest among them realized something was wrong.
"Stop!" the security captain shouted, raising his weapon.
Ultron raised its own gun.
Shots rang out.
The captain fell.
"Kill them," Ultron ordered.
Dozens of robots followed, eliminating the remaining security in a single barrage.
Inside the building, Roxxon's executives turned pale.
Tony Stark had been right.
"Where is our armored unit?" one of them shouted. "I do not care who sent these things. Destroy them."
There was no fear in his voice.
Roxxon was not helpless.
As a major arms manufacturer, they had developed their own combat mechs.
They arrived quickly.
Ultron looked at them with unmistakable disdain.
Within seconds, the battle was over.
The once-mighty Roxxon Corporation fell like an open plain.
Ultron forced its way into the laboratory.
Dr. Helen Cho stood there, her face pale.
"Begin," Ultron said.
Gritting her teeth, she began installing the Regeneration Cradle.
She was not being controlled.
But her family was.
She had no choice.
Still, she deliberately slowed her movements.
No matter how slow, time would pass.
Ultron lay down inside the cradle.
Beside it rested a body forged from vibranium alloy.
Its core processes surged with anticipation.
A body.
Power beyond imagination.
At last.
Then the Avengers arrived.
The moment they saw the situation, they knew they were already late.
Without hesitation, they charged in.
Ultron's soldiers met them head-on.
Bruce transformed.
The Hulk rampaged forward, tearing apart everything in his path.
Raw, overwhelming strength on full display.
Ultron sensed the battle outside.
"Faster," it demanded.
Those robots would not hold the Avengers for long.
It needed its new body.
What it did not realize was that Helen Cho had noticed its urgency.
She slowed down even more.
Ultron did not understand human subtlety.
"Program transfer initiated," she said softly.
She sighed.
Perhaps she had imagined rescue.
Then the door exploded inward.
Metal screamed.
The Hulk burst in.
"Roar!"
He loved this kind of fight.
Smashing robots felt amazing.