After Karl finished speaking, Ant-Man Eric O'Grady immediately looked rather pleased with himself.
"You flatter me!"
"The only thing I'm worried about now is whether the Skrulls really can completely hat. And…"
Eric stopped halfway through his sentence.
Karl did not mind at all. Instead, he finished the thought for him.
"You don't believe I can take on the Skrulls by myself, do you?"
Hearing that, Eric clamped his mouth shut even tighter. He pretended to study their surroundings, clearly unwilling to respond.
Karl knew exactly what Eric was thinking.
To Eric, Karl was ultimately still a sorcerer. Whether he was the Sorcerer Supreme or merely an ordinary sorcerer did not make much difference in that regard.
In his eyes, sorcerers were people who protected the peace of their territory.
Going directly against the Skrulls seemed to require a little more than that.
Naturally, Eric did not dare say any of this aloud.
"Relax. We're just talking. You're hardly the first person to think I'm not strong enough."
"That's precisely why I brought you along."
Eric felt even more like Karl was mocking him.
After all, during his confrontation with the fake Hope van Dyne earlier, he had not even realized when the enemy had drugged him.
The more he thought about it now, the more embarrassing it felt.
"All right. Stop thinking about what happened earlier."
"You can only blame the Skrulls for being exceptionally cunning. Sometimes they'll use absolutely any means necessary to accomplish their goals."
"Be more careful the next time you fight them."
"More importantly, your abilities are exactly what they want right now. We've captured the fake Hope van Dyne, so they won't be able to obtain your DNA from her anytime soon. They'll inevitably send someone else after you."
"So you need to be prepared for the next few days."
The moment Eric heard that, his eyes widened.
"Prepared? Prepared for what?"
Karl merely smiled without answering.
That made Eric even more uneasy.
He could not shake the feeling that Karl was planning something involving him. His anxiety became increasingly obvious.
There were simply too many secrets surrounding the man in front of him. Eric felt as though he could stumble into all kinds of danger at any moment.
The more he thought about it, the more alarming it became.
"Don't be nervous. The real show is still to come."
Karl knew that Eric had become quite formidable by this point.
"As long as it isn't Ultron, I think we can handle just about anyone."
Eric suddenly paused.
"Wait. Ultron hasn't been copied too, has he?"
Karl froze for a moment when he heard that.
He did not answer immediately.
Eric's expression changed instantly.
Considering the lengths the Skrulls were willing to go to in order to conquer Earth, there was no telling what insane things they might attempt.
"No way. Your silence is basically an answer!"
"They're seriously planning to copy Ultron too? That has to be a joke!"
"If they actually reproduce him, there's no telling how powerful he'll be!"
"Those Skrulls must be insane. Copying Ultron won't accomplish anything except bringing disaster to Earth!"
"Don't tell me those lunatics have become desperate enough to gamble everything on something like that."
It took Eric quite some time to recover.
Seeing that Karl still was not saying anything only convinced him further that the situation was going to be extremely difficult to handle.
If their suspicions were correct and Ultron had already been replicated, then their real problems were only beginning.
Although Eric O'Grady's Ant-Man abilities were insect-themed and he primarily worked with ants, he also possessed a unique weapon—a light gun mounted on his hand.
Combined with Dr. Hank Pym's meticulous designs, the equipment allowed Eric to alter the size of his body.
Karl remembered that besides the glove, Hank Pym had also developed a helmet.
The Skrulls themselves were reptilian aliens.
Now that they possessed the ability to reproduce the DNA and powers of superheroes on a large scale, their objective was obvious.
They wanted to bring everyone under their control.
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
"You still haven't told me who we're going to find!"
Eric had been curious about that question the entire time.
Karl understood that if things really were as Eric had just speculated, and Ultron had already been reproduced, then it would not matter who they went looking for.
Ultron would still be their greatest problem.
He was not someone who could be easily dealt with.
As Karl was speaking, Eric suddenly noticed an enormous dark silhouette appearing ahead of them.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
How was that possible?
Why would he be here?
"I really need to stop tempting fate!"
"I mention someone once and he immediately shows up!"
A helpless expression flashed across Eric's face.
There was no avoiding something once it had already appeared in front of them.
All they could do now was grit their teeth and face it head-on.
Ultron and the Skrulls had similar objectives, but there was one crucial difference.
The Skrulls wanted to conquer Earth.
Ultron wanted to eradicate every living creature on Earth that could breathe.
The Avengers had fought him before and had even managed to defeat him.
Yet somehow, he had returned.
Karl knew perfectly well how many nightmares Ultron had brought to Earth.
He had once come frighteningly close to destroying the entire planet.
Ultron was one of the Avengers' most persistent nightmares.
And now that nightmare had appeared right in front of them again.
Whether the two of them alone could stand against him remained uncertain.
"No way, Sorcerer. There are only two of us, and you're the Sorcerer Supreme here!"
"I might be the third Ant-Man, but asking me to deal with Ultron is a bit much!"
Karl stopped in midair and stared at the figure ahead.
A moment later, the two of them landed steadily on top of a building.
Ultron descended after them.
He looked exactly as he always had.
Even so, Eric nervously swallowed.
This opponent was not going to be easy to deal with.
Worse, after everything that had happened with the Skrulls, Eric had developed a serious case of paranoia.
He had no idea whether the person standing in front of him was genuine or another impostor.
"Sorcerer, analyze him for me. Is this the real one or another fake?"
Eric's narrowed eyes were filled with suspicion.
"Of course he's real…"
Karl answered without the slightest hesitation.
For some reason, Eric actually breathed a sigh of relief.
If Karl was right, that meant there was probably only one Ultron on the entire planet.
If several Ultrons existed at once, the two of them would be in serious trouble.
"But why are you so sure?"
Since Ultron did not appear inclined to attack yet, Karl gave a brief explanation.
"If I'm right, Ultron has reached some kind of agreement with the Skrulls."
"Someone as arrogant as Ultron would never allow creatures he considers inferior to copy him."
"They're simply using one another."
"So the Ultron standing in front of us should be the genuine one."
Hearing that, Eric flexed his body a few times, preparing himself for battle.
Karl knew perfectly well that the opponent before them would not be easy to handle.
Ultron finally spoke.
"Well, well. I didn't expect the two of you."
"Those useless Avengers tried to contain me before, and in the end, they still failed."
"What's wrong?"
"Do the two of you want to experience the same suffering?"
(End of Chapter)
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