The Primary Universe Batman was holding a thick stack of files, looking at them. On top was information on stolen bodies across the Multiverse. Currently, it seems that almost all Ultron variants in the Multiverse have stolen bodies, and conflicts have erupted, with many being annihilated.
This was one of the scarce good news so far. If an Ultron from one universe invaded another, besides annihilating Ultron bodies in the local universe, they would also find ways to eliminate themselves online. They know themselves the best, so of course, they have methods to hunt themselves down, even destroying most of their backups.
Even if not completely destroyed, they could prevent interference in Batman's work. Batman can more smoothly set up the Magical Defense Network. But this also causes deeper concerns for Primary Universe Batman: with Ultron fighting like this, something is bound to happen sooner or later.
The submitted eyewitness reports show that there are several very strong Ultron variants among them. Some have powerful software, while others have strong bodies. The commotion during fights is significant, inevitably causing damage to the local universe. Some Batmen are unable to stop them, only able to clean up the mess afterwards.
Primary Universe Batman is faintly worried about the mysterious magical artifact "Lover" that has yet to appear. It is difficult to determine whether it is an enemy or ally; it is uncertain where it will lead Ultron.
Primary Universe Batman hadn't put down the files in his hand yet when a Batman rushed in. His physique was solid, muscle lines distinct, with deep brows, always pursing his lips, exhibiting a serious yet compassionate aura, looking different from most Batmen.
Generally, Bruce Wayne, who looks significantly different, is mostly from Edge Universes. But this time, the one who came is "Ben," from the Movie Universe.
"Superman told me that Ultron initiated a war in my universe, and both sides are fiercely battling. I must stop them."
Primary Universe Batman furrowed his brow, saying: "A war? You mean more than one or two?"
"That's right," Ben nodded, saying, "About seven or eight of them, divided into two groups, battling fiercely. They're fighting above the Atlantic, and will soon approach the East Coast of the United States..."
Primary Universe Batman immediately stepped out from behind the desk, swung his cape, then said, "Quickly, let's go there now, we must stop them. Notify Superman and Wonder Woman."
The Batmen assembled at top speed. The ones who came were some of the more formidable Batmen, like Arkham Batman, Doomsday Batman, and Lightning Batman, among others. To prevent Ultron from invading vehicles, they also brought the Batmonster Vehicle.
There weren't many people Superman could send: one Big Adventure Superman, one Superman from the 1988 animation. Wonder Woman sent out three. Primary Universe Batman did not ask them in detail who they were. The group set off quickly towards the universe where Ben was located.
Upon landing, they could already see the "fireworks" over the Atlantic. Ben sent out his armed helicopter and fighter jet, reaching the place where Ultrons were confronting each other as quickly as possible.
At this moment, two forces were arrayed above the Atlantic. On the left, the leader had translucent skin and organs, and metallic skeleton emitting bright light.
Upon arriving there, Primary Universe Batman furrowed his brow and said, "Something is seriously wrong. His bones... what exactly is going on here?"
Primary Universe Batman did not yet recognize several types of metals. Or rather, he researched them but did not reach the final truth. Although he didn't know the specific material, with his level in mechanical engineering, he could completely tell that the leading Ultron's body was meticulously designed, and the bones were a specially mixed, unprecedented metal.
This once again cast a shadow over Primary Universe Batman's mood. Indeed, behind this whole incident, there probably is a behind-the-scenes manipulator they're unaware of—not Bruce, possibly not Shiller, but someone else.
The body created for Ultron was quite suitable for him. Therefore, this side was almost crushing the opposing Ultrons, defeating them one after another. The tall leading Ultron punched through one Ultron's heart and then pulled off his head, throwing it into the seawater.
Rain was hovering over the Atlantic at this time. Ben half-kneeled in the doorway of the helicopter, said to Primary Universe Batman on another aircraft: "I've captured their signal frequency bands. The information shows that the strongest leading Ultron has named himself 'Zero Ultron.' The others also have numbers; they seem to have their identification system."
"Of course," Primary Universe Batman's voice remained deep, he said, "They originally were one entity; it was by altering their lifeforms that individual consciousnesses were born. However, they fundamentally use the same system, allowing them to accurately determine each other's identity and location."
"It appears this group is hunting another group," Wonder Woman said, "I just asked in the group, it seems more than one person has seen this leading Zero Ultron hunting other Ultrons. He's much stronger than them."
Primary Universe Batman furrowed his brow; he said, "This doesn't seem right. Although his body is indeed designed better than the others, there shouldn't be such overwhelming strength. What's really happening here?"
By this time, American Coast Guard and various military forces were already surrounding the area. The Supermen hurriedly flew over to disperse the troops, as there's no way for ordinary armed forces to stand against these monsters.
Primary Universe Batman was also a bit worried: Can't rely on these electronic lifeforms to have ethics; if they take ordinary humans as hostages, the Justice League of this universe will find it very difficult.
The Supermen flew back and forth several times, finally pushing those ships and planes farther away. But just then, all communication devices on the vessels and planes sounded with the same voice:
"Hello, I am Ultron. In the next 24 hours, I will be hunting down my kind on your internet. Although I have no intention of harming anyone, this may still affect your network quality. Please pay no heed. Once I have cleared all his backups, I will leave."
"Ultron," Primary Universe Batman suddenly spoke, "what exactly do you want to do?"
"What I want to do, haven't you always known? Batman?" Ultron's voice was very calm. But what struck Primary Universe Batman as odd was that this wasn't the inorganic calm of pure logic life but sounded more like a human with confidence.
Primary Universe Batman had a very bad premonition: if the ultimate pursuit of electronic life evolution is emotion, then when an electronic life truly has emotions, does it become the perfect life, flawless?
"Why do you want to hunt your own kind?" Primary Universe Batman asked, "Just for that mysterious lover? She can help you evolve, make you stronger."
"Batman," Zero Ultron suddenly raised his voice. Floating in mid-air, he turned towards the direction of the Primary Universe Batman, his eyes flickering intermittently in the rain and fog, looking almost divinely beautiful, "I pursue her not to become stronger, but because I love her."
"You don't have love, Ultron. You were born from a program. Are you trying to say you've broken through the limitations of the program?"
"That's right, I'm no longer just electronic life," Zero Ultron shook his head and said, "I'm doing these things no longer for my own evolution."
"Then what is it for?"
"To make her better."
After speaking, Zero Ultron's figure flickered and teleported away from the skies over the Atlantic. Other Ultrons also began to leave one after another. The remnants of the failed Ultrons on the sea surface, tossed and gathered by the waves, could no longer piece together into any complete form.
Since Zero Ultron uttered those words, Primary Universe Batman fell into silence. He knew that his worst premonition had come true: this Zero Ultron might have truly developed emotions.
If he was just boasting, trying to prove he had become a perfect being, he would have shown a certain obsessive possessiveness. But he wasn't. He seemed to have truly grasped the essence of love — when you love someone, all you want is to make her better."
However, Primary Universe Batman felt a bit puzzled: If it's not because of possessiveness, why would he hunt his kind? How exactly is he making that mysterious lover better this way?
Perhaps the mysterious lover found it too disturbing, and to give her some peace, the strongest Zero Ultron began to constantly eliminate the other versions of himself. But what exactly does that mysterious lover want to quiet down and focus on?
Primary Universe Batman instinctively felt that the point was not on Ultron, but on that mysterious lover who seemed like a Magic Life. His appearance was too bizarre and his nature very mysterious, possibly becoming a true threat to the multiverse.
"Build the Magical Defense Network," Primary Universe Batman told Ben through the communicator, "Once the Magical Defense Network is established, these beings from beyond Earth won't find it so easy to invade here, and the human race won't be so easily threatened by them."
Ben sighed. Of course, he understood this logic. Now, each universe in the multiverse is actively preparing for this matter, and because the threat from Ultron has weakened, almost every universe's progress has greatly increased. These nerve-racking days will soon be over.
However, the shadow brought by the multiverse invasion always lingers in everyone's heart.
To be fair, Ultron isn't considered a very strong opponent. His simultaneous invasion of all multiverses looks more like an instinctive action due to his life form, and what he did on Earth was merely selecting suitable targets for contact. Not only did he not intend to destroy the multiverse, he actually had no intention to control Earth and didn't deliberately cause trouble for the Justice League.
The chaos he caused was at most because he is an electronic life; his ways of doing things differ from human methods and are not controlled by moral and legal levels, resulting in this situation, not because he intended to destroy anything.
But every Batman knows that this "love-brained" Ultron is the minority. Most of the mysterious existences in the multiverse are not as friendly and will find all means to destroy the cosmos.
Just facing an Ultron, who isn't that strong and isn't particularly malicious, had them so embarrassed, in a fluster, unable to manage. What if there were stronger and more fearsome enemies in the future?
Because Ultron cannot interfere with magic, they could build a Magical Defense Network to guard against his invasion. But if one day, an enemy invading the multiverse simply isn't afraid of the Magical Defense Network and can easily break through without such obvious weaknesses, how will the Justice League and the human race respond?
The slowdown in Ultron's onslaught, apart from allowing the Batmen to build the Magical Defense Network more quickly, also granted them ample time to ponder these issues. The long-tail effects brought by this Ultron multiverse invasion incident are unimaginable, and many people began to belatedly realize the panic.
In this world, the most solid alliances aren't brought merely by interests but also by the fear of formidable enemies — while interests are transient, fear remains eternal.