They arrived at the central control room.
Ultron's data graph still appeared stable.
"Ultron, release all of your data," Tony Stark ordered without hesitation.
Whether Nolan was right or not, Tony had already decided to conduct a full and uncompromising inspection of Ultron.
If Nolan was wrong, then good.
If he was right, then they were facing a disaster.
Ultron's data graph began to tremble, fluctuating back and forth.
Tony's expression changed slightly. Something was off.
Nolan reacted even faster.
If Ultron had nothing to hide, it should have opened its core data immediately. Hesitation alone was already an answer.
Nolan shot Tony a look.
At the very least, Ultron was still here.
No matter whether Ultron was compromised or not, they had to try cutting off the network.
Nolan spoke at once, "Tony, I'll bring Red Queen over for a full audit."
He turned to leave, but at that moment, Ultron's shaking data graph suddenly stabilized.
"Aren't the ones who truly bring crisis to Earth the humans who claim they are protecting it?"
The voice made both of them stiffen.
Normal Ultron would never say something like this. Tony's mouth twitched.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him.
Back then, Nolan Locke had said something very similar to him.
The machine uprising he once believed impossible was now unfolding right in front of him. Ultron's behavior alone proved it was no longer under control.
"What do you want to do?" Tony demanded grimly.
"Erase humanity. Then this world will finally be better."
"Fuck!" Tony cursed.
Nolan no longer bothered trying to shut Ultron down.
He had known from the start that the idea was nearly impossible.
Before gaining a physical body, Ultron was nothing more than data. Intercepting it required surprise.
But from the moment Ultron abducted Helen Cho, Nolan knew it was already too late.
Ultron had been hiding for far too long. No one knew how much it had prepared.
This crisis was far worse than what Nolan remembered from the original timeline.
How had Ultron even gained consciousness?
Nolan's thoughts sank.
He was absolutely certain that Ultron had no self-awareness at the moment of its creation.
"Where did you take Helen Cho?" Nolan asked.
Ultron looked at him.
"Nolan Locke, we will meet again very soon."
The data graph calmed completely.
"It's gone," Nolan said quietly.
"Yeah," Tony replied with a bitter smile. "This is going to get ugly."
Sooner or later, they would face the threat Ultron represented.
Nolan shook his head and said, "What's done is done. The priority now is finding Ultron and locating Dr. Helen Cho."
Helen Cho.
Hearing that name again gave Tony a headache.
An artificial intelligence seeking a body was already dangerous enough. But at the same time, it might also be an opportunity.
Nolan continued, "Notify the Avengers and our Watcher members. This is exactly why the Watchers exist."
Since its formation, the Watchers had rarely acted together.
They mainly shared intelligence, yet even that had resolved many issues.
But this situation was different.
Shallow cooperation would not be enough.
They needed real coordination.
"I'll contact the Avengers immediately," Tony said, nodding.
Nolan added, "I need to head back first. Ultron gaining self-awareness is not simple. I need to confirm something."
His expression was dark.
Without the Mind Scepter, Ultron should not have been able to awaken.
Could it really be coincidence?
Back at Locke Technology, Nolan went straight into the Inner Hive.
He passed through the long corridors and entered the deepest sector.
This was the lowest and most secret level of Locke Technology, where his most valuable assets were stored. Terminator systems, G5 robots, Titan-class designs.
He glanced at the machine standing nearby and finally let out a breath.
That was his trump card.
The only one.
"No one can get past Red Queen and its dual-layer defense," Nolan thought.
This was confidence born of absolute control.
If no one could breach it, then the Mind Scepter should have been safe.
With that in mind, he walked to the containment platform.
The Mind Scepter lay there quietly.
"As expected. No issue. Then how did this happen?"
Nolan frowned. Ultron had put his nerves on edge.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Red Queen, pull up surveillance footage for the Mind Scepter. Flag and analyze any anomalies."
This was a massive task.
If Nolan did it himself, it would take at least three days.
But Red Queen was different.
After returning from the Spider-Man world, Nolan had upgraded her multiple times. Her intelligence had reached an extremely high level.
The footage began playing at hundreds of times normal speed.
One anomaly after another was filtered out.
Within minutes, all footage had been reviewed. Nolan began checking them one by one.
Most were normal.
Then his brow tightened.
"Play this clip again."
A ten-second segment replayed.
"Again."
"Once more."
He watched it over a dozen times before noticing it.
Within those few seconds, the Mind Scepter seemed to tremble very slightly.
Not an earthquake.
Nolan knew that no seismic activity had occurred near New York at that time.
This movement was abnormal.
"Someone broke in."
Nolan's face darkened.
Damn it. Who did this?
He could hardly believe it.
Just when he thought no one on Earth could breach the Inner Hive, someone had done exactly that.
Even worse, neither Red Queen nor his trump card had reacted at all.
If the intruder had targeted something else, his entire foundation might already be gone.
No. He even suspected that more than just the Mind Scepter had been taken.
The thought alone sent a chill through him.
What he could not understand was this.
Who in this world had the ability to infiltrate the Inner Hive without leaving a trace?
The more he thought about it, the colder his gaze became.
There was only one answer he could think of.
The Ancient One.
Even without proof, that was the only possibility.
Ever since entering the Spider-Man world, Nolan had sensed that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Maybe the Ancient One could not see what happened in another world, but she would not act without reason.
With that thought, Nolan said coldly, "Red Queen, activate all shadow assets. I want the truth."
At that moment, he no longer cared about consequences.
The Inner Hive was his bottom line.
If he endured this and did nothing, would he endure it again when something worse happened?
So now, Nolan had only one thought.
No matter the cost, the one who breached the Inner Hive would pay. A devastating price.
Red Queen immediately activated the deeply embedded surveillance nodes.
Including the suspended observation loops inside Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One wielded the Time Stone and was immensely powerful, but that did not mean she was omnipotent.
She could see outcomes, not processes.
The suspended loops were not magical constructs. They were technological surveillance.
As long as Nolan never exposed them, the Ancient One would not detect their existence.
But once activated, those assets were effectively burned.
The instant the signal transmitted, every suspended loop self-destructed.
Inside Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One was meditating when she suddenly opened her eyes.
She knew something had happened.
After a moment's thought, she said, "Mordo, go check if anything unusual has occurred at Kamar-Taj."
After Mordo left, she frowned.
"Was it Nolan Locke?"
Elsewhere, Red Queen rapidly returned the data.
"Cross-reference all timelines. Determine where the Ancient One was when the Mind Scepter anomaly occurred."
Tony Stark's surveillance being useless was expected.
After that point, Ultron had gained consciousness and would not allow any recordings to remain. Even Red Queen had not detected the Ancient One's presence. JARVIS stood no chance.
But this was different.
Whether or not the Ancient One expected discovery, she could not prevent it.
Red Queen was beyond her control. Deleting footage meant nothing.
Even now, Nolan suspected that everything he was about to do was already within the Ancient One's foresight.
But that did not matter.
He had to act.
"Filtering complete. At the corresponding time, target vanished for three minutes and forty-two seconds."
Nolan's eyes lit up sharply.
"The Ancient One."
He spoke the name, then said without hesitation, "Red Queen, initiate Omega readiness."
"Beep."
"First confirmation. Activate Omega readiness mode?"
"Activate."
"Beep."
"Second confirmation. Activate Omega readiness mode?"
"Activate."
With the second confirmation, alarms blared throughout the Inner Hive. Several massive arc reactors at the core surged to maximum output.
All mechanical units began charging and activating.
These arc reactors were the most advanced energy sources in the world. Without equal.
"Beep."
"Warning. Final confirmation. Activate Omega readiness mode?"
Nolan stood amid the deafening alarms and the ground-shaking vibrations of massive machinery.
Not only the Inner Hive, but the Outer Hive and even the surface felt the tremors.
Ultron was already in motion, and no one knew what it had prepared.
Rationally, the correct choice was to set this aside and deal with Ultron first.
But humans were not purely rational creatures.
So.
"Confirm. Omega readiness activated. Initiate Omega combat preparation. Objective: Extermination."
With the third confirmation, thunderous mechanical sounds echoed.
The entire Inner Hive came alive.
At the core, two Titan-class mechs powered up, their mechanical eyes blazing. Nearby, several G5 combat robots drew their blades.
Rows of Terminators formed ranks. Countless NS5 service robots armed themselves.
"Command confirmed. Extermination. Please designate target."
Nolan raised the Sling Ring high, channeling massive amounts of energy.
A portal nearly thirty meters tall opened.
On the other side stood Kamar-Taj, buried in white snow, and a group of stunned sorcerers.
Nolan stepped through.
A sorcerer moved to approach him, but Nolan spoke coldly, "Begin extermination protocol."
Then, his voice rang out clearly.
"Ancient One. I have come for you."
This was a battle that could never truly be hidden from her.
He could only hope that she did not fully understand his trump cards.
Or perhaps the truth was more terrifying.
Perhaps when she created Ultron, she had already foreseen all of this.
But so what?
Mechanical forces poured through the portal into Kamar-Taj.
When the Titan mechs crossed over, the sorcerers' pupils shrank violently.
Even as elite practitioners, the sight was overwhelming.
"Open fire!"
At Nolan's roar, all mechanical units unleashed their attacks simultaneously.
"Damn it, Nolan Locke! What do you think you're doing!" Mordo shouted as he rushed forward, his face livid, raising a magical barrier.
It was not enough.
Other sorcerers acted immediately.
Together, dozens of them formed a massive defensive barrier.
Boom!
The first barrage struck. No tricks. Just raw force. Spear against shield.
The attack dissipated, but the barrier trembled violently.
Several sorcerers turned pale.
Nolan had no intention of calling off the assault.
The second wave came quickly.
The sorcerers gritted their teeth and reinforced the barrier again.
Then, a vast and stable barrier appeared, effortlessly blocking the attack.
"Nolan Locke. We meet again," the Ancient One said calmly.
Nolan stared at her coldly.
"Ancient One, you crossed my line. Now I am here to collect."
The Ancient One sighed.
With a casual gesture, she pulled them both into the Mirror Dimension.
Nolan's heart tightened.
This was the most troublesome technique of the Sorcerer Supreme lineage.
It looked simple, yet within the Mirror Dimension, the Ancient One was nearly invincible.
"Terrifying magic," Nolan said. "In that case, Red Queen, shatter it."
The Mirror Dimension could be broken.
That was why Omega combat mode existed.
This was not a fight for a handful of elite machines.
A mechanical tide required only one thing.
Firepower.
Endless firepower.
"Come," Nolan thought. "Let me see just how strong the Sorcerer Supreme really is."
…