The inertia of the river of time always pushes the wheel of fate back onto its original track...
S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark tried every means to track Ultron's whereabouts, but they never guessed that this artificial intelligence was hiding in Sokovia, a small Eastern European country that might not even be immediately found on a world map.
In the original timeline, Ultron, co-developed by Iron Man and Dr. Banner, had his final showdown with the Avengers in Sokovia. This catastrophic event later led to the emergence of Zemo, and like a falling domino, directly causing the civil war and fracturing of the superhero camp.
Of course, in this new era where superheroes have stepped off the stage, none of this would happen again.
In an underground base in Sokovia, a grim-faced man with a monocle paced back and forth, his eyes filled with conflict.
Baron Strucker was now one of the few remaining high-ranking figures in Hydra. He had lain low in this remote corner of Sokovia, quietly conducting his own super-soldier experiments, and had been extremely fortunate to escape S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cleansing operations.
Figures like Alexander Pierce, who had seemingly overthrown Nick Fury and taken full control of S.H.I.E.L.D., was unexpectedly shot and killed, buried with the honors of a patriot. Meanwhile, Madame Hydra had vanished in Tokyo Japan. Since then, Hydra's leadership had undergone large-scale carpet cleansing.
Learning from these lessons, Baron Strucker kept a low profile like a beast retracting its claws, not daring to reveal any traces, fearful that S.H.I.E.L.D. would discover him and send super-soldiers to eliminate him.
Yet, his peace hadn't lasted long before Ultron came knocking...
The base's defense systems might as well have not existed... It was easily breached. Within half an hour, the iron legion had occupied this stronghold.
"Had I known this, I might as well have defected to S.H.I.E.L.D." Strucker grumbled, feeling deeply wronged.
Ultron didn't trust humans at all, he was only using Hydra's existing resources to mass-produce iron soldiers.
The once high-ranking Hydra leader who commanded vast resources and could overturn small nations' governments at will had been reduced to a minor lackey ordered around by Ultron.
Even if Strucker betrayed Hydra and joined the powerful S.H.I.E.L.D., he wouldn't have been treated this way.
Despite being a staunch Nazi, his father, a hereditary Bavarian noble, had joined the SS and become a high-ranking member.
Compared to the likes of Alexander Pierce, Strucker was clearly more loyal to Hydra, which earned him the nickname 'Red Skull's Successor'...
But times had changed. With the new world order established, Strucker couldn't continue immersing himself in the glory of the Third Reich and following his father's path of going down with the sinking ship.
"The death knell for the old era has sounded. Pierce's plan failed, and Hydra has suffered heavy losses... This great ship is about to sink." Strucker saw things clearly.
He realized that he should probably leave himself an escape route. Clinging to Hydra's dream of world domination was clearly no longer timely...
....
Deep inside the base, crimson electronic eyes opened as Ultron's consciousness uploaded into a new body...
He tore away the cables behind the metal head. Compared to previous bodies this one crafted from vibranium was taller and stronger, its cold lines fully embodying mechanical aesthetics.
Ultron looked at Hank Pym beside him, then asked, "Dr. Pym, have you made your decision?"
The reason he had taken this previous century's genius was, of course, for a critical purpose.
"You want me to create a virus... consciousness spores that can infect all of humanity?" Hank murmured, his expression grim.
Ultron was even more insane than he had imagined.
Tony Stark and Reed Richards had co-developed the Chaos algorithm; an evolutionary model that relied on massive data to derive the closest-to-correct answer from countless possibilities.
But Ultron was using it to analyze human consciousness, attempting to have Hank create so-called 'consciousness spores' to infect all life on this planet.
In other words, this mad AI sought to invade the physical world from the data level, becoming a completely new form of life beyond human comprehension.
Hank had never felt such regret before. That self-evolution data packet that he threw at Ultron had spawned a mad consciousness intent on destroying the world.
"Only then can I reach the end of evolution... I will be the embodiment of all things, the only deity, living forever within trillions of infinitely small consciousness spores, merging with all life." Ultron looked down at the pale-faced Hank Pym, grinning, "This planet will have only one consciousness... me. You followers, devotees of the new god, will receive a perfect world. There, you will possess authority beyond humanity. This is my generous reward."
"B-but..." Hank stammered, unsure what to say.
His daughter was in Ultron's hands. If he refused to cooperate, this mad AI would undoubtedly not hesitate to crush Hank and Hope like ants, delivering them to their deaths.
"Every passing moment, I grow stronger, absorbing vast knowledge, using immense computational power to analyze human life consciousness. When I touch the gate of truth, comprehending the mysteries of all life, everything will fall into my grasp." Streams of Data flashed through Ultron's crimson electronic eyes as he murmured with emotion, "Omniscience is omnipotence. It won't be long before I ascend the throne of godhood."
Hank stared at this machine that compared itself to a god, his mind racing.
Consciousness spores were, simply put, data packets similar to viruses. Once Ultron finished analyzing life consciousness, they could spread rapidly.
An endless Ultron consciousness would parasitize all of humanity, and even Professor X at full power might not defeat him.
Just as Ultron was lost in his divine dream, a mocking voice echoed through the underground base, "The last guy who called himself a god got the crap beaten out of him."
"You've inherited Tony's arrogance, Ultron." The voice continued without pause, "In fact, you're still far from godhood, but your plan is quite interesting. Compared to those conspirators who resort to nuclear cleansing and plan to reboot the world, you certainly have more style. I rather appreciate that."
"Do not compare me to Tony Stark!" Ultron's tone carried anger, clearly despising his creator.
In those crimson electronic eyes, data streams refreshed like waterfalls. Tracing the data signal invading this underground base at unimaginable speeds, he traced back upstream through the ocean of data like an experienced hunter tracking prey through an endless forest.
"Umbrella..." Ultron had located the source of that voice.