Deep beneath the ruins of the Hydra castle, a tall metal robot paced slowly through the underground hall.
It was Ultron.
His eyes now glowed red, and he had already constructed a new body—one forged entirely from an extremely durable alloy.
In front of him stretched a massive production facility.
Countless robots worked nonstop, assembling parts and constructing a far more advanced and durable mechanical army.
---
Back at Avengers Tower.
"He's scattered network nodes all over the world," Skye said while staring at the flood of data on her laptop.
"Robotics labs, weapons depots, jet propulsion research centers… anywhere related to AI or robotics."
"He's been everywhere."
The abnormal code markers on her screen numbered over a hundred.
And the number kept growing.
Ultron was clearly doing this on purpose, spreading his signals across countless locations.
Skye rubbed her temples.
Her head felt like it was about to explode.
Ultron was basically playing with them.
---
"I've got some intel," Hill said from beside her.
"I just received a report from Coulson."
"Earlier today a laboratory reported that a group of metal men broke in and emptied the entire place."
"They took everything."
The Avengers had inherited all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old intelligence networks, so their information arrived much faster than Skye working alone.
---
Karl, who had just woken up, walked over.
He casually picked up one of the stacks of documents and flipped through it.
Then suddenly—
He froze.
He had seen a name.
A name that instantly triggered a forgotten memory from his previous life.
Ulysses Klaue.
Seeing the file reminded him of a key plot point from the original Avengers movie timeline.
In the film, Ultron had gone to Klaue to obtain vibranium.
But in this world, things had changed.
Wanda was already on their side.
Erik Killmonger had killed Klaue long ago.
Because of that, Karl had subconsciously ignored this storyline.
But now, seeing Klaue's file again—
The missing piece clicked.
"I've got it!" Karl suddenly shouted.
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
---
"What did you find?" Steve asked.
Karl looked at Tony.
"Tony, remember who Ulysses Klaue was?"
He tossed the file over.
"The arms dealer?" Tony said while reading it.
"Exactly," Karl replied with a mysterious smile.
"Now imagine you're Ultron."
"What material would you use to build your own body?"
"What could withstand almost any attack?"
Tony answered instantly.
"Vibranium. There's nothing stronger on Earth th—"
He suddenly froze.
"...F**k."
He understood.
"You mean Wakanda?"
Karl nodded.
"Exactly."
"Ultron needs vibranium for a body."
"Klaue is dead—Erik already killed him."
"So if Ultron wants vibranium now…"
"There's only one place left."
"Wakanda."
Tony's expression darkened.
Even his own armor was made of vibranium.
An AI like Ultron would obviously think of the same solution.
---
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tony said.
"Let's go to Wakanda right now!"
He was about to summon his armor when Karl stopped him.
"You forgot Wakanda's situation," Karl said quietly, giving Tony a subtle look.
Tony immediately understood.
To the outside world, Wakanda was still a poor agricultural nation.
Only a handful of people—Karl, Tony, Natasha, and a few others—knew the truth.
Without T'Challa's permission, they couldn't expose Wakanda's real identity.
---
"I'll go first," Karl said.
"I'll investigate and contact you once I confirm Ultron's location."
"That's too dangerous," Wanda said immediately.
"I'm going with you."
She had no intention of letting Karl face Ultron alone.
Karl nodded.
"Alright."
"You three come with me."
He looked at Gwen and the others.
"Skye, contact Shuri and explain the situation."
Skye nodded and immediately started the call.
Because Gwen and the others possessed Chocobo space crystals, they could teleport directly to Wakanda.
Karl wanted them nearby just in case.
"Tony," Karl added, "stay ready here. I'll notify you as soon as I find something."
---
Moments later—
Karl and the girls vanished instantly.
Using the Chocobo dimension portal, they appeared inside Shuri's laboratory in Wakanda.
At the same time, T'Challa had already arrived.
"What's going on?" he asked immediately.
"You called me here in such a hurry."
Karl dropped onto a sofa.
"Short version," he said.
"Tony created a new artificial intelligence."
He briefly explained Ultron's birth and the danger it posed.
Then he revealed Ultron's likely next move.
"His target is Wakanda," Karl said.
"More specifically—vibranium."
---
"Klaue is dead," T'Challa said, frowning.
"I can't think of anyone else who would be trafficking vibranium."
He had always kept strict control over vibranium exports.
But occasionally small amounts went missing during mining operations.
He had assumed it was normal loss.
Now he wasn't so sure.
---
"Maybe we should ask Cousin Erik," Shuri suggested.
Erik had calmed down considerably.
His hatred toward Wakanda had mostly faded.
At the very least, he could now get along peacefully with Shuri.
---
"I already know who it is."
A voice came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
Erik Killmonger walked into the room.
He still dressed like a mercenary, completely different from T'Challa's royal appearance.
But he was now allowed to move freely within Wakanda—though he still couldn't leave the country.
Erik sat down beside Karl.
A Wakandan communication bracelet circled his wrist.
"The smuggler is probably Simon," Erik said casually.
"He used to work for Klaue."
"After Klaue died, Simon took over the vibranium smuggling business."
---
T'Challa's expression darkened.
"So you knew someone was smuggling vibranium?"
"Why didn't you report it earlier?"
It seemed the two cousins simply could not get along.
Erik rolled his eyes.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Stopping smugglers is the king's job."
"I'm just a civilian."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Don't forget," T'Challa snapped, "Wakanda is your country too!"
Erik shrugged lazily.
"If you say so."
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