Ultron stepped forward.
The overwhelming pressure made Helen Cho instinctively take a step back.
At that moment, one robot approached carrying a container of vibranium, while another moved behind her.
When Helen turned around—
The robot was already holding Loki's scepter, pressing it against her chest.
A massive surge of energy instantly invaded her mind.
Her eyes turned a crystalline blue, just like Clint Barton's when he had been controlled before.
From that moment on, Helen completely obeyed Ultron's commands.
She began preparing the Regeneration Cradle to construct a new body for him.
After inputting the necessary codes, the cradle activated and began printing a vibranium-based body.
---
Streams of data appeared across the computer monitors.
Helen stared at the readings in astonishment.
"The atomic structure of vibranium can actually coexist with human tissue," she murmured.
"Not only that—they can perfectly integrate together. This is incredible…"
Ultron watched the forming body inside the cradle.
"The most versatile material on this planet," he said calmly, "and humans use it to make flying discs and outer armor."
"Humans are truly foolish."
"You only ever scratch the surface of things, never seeking their deeper potential."
Inside the cradle, the neural network had already formed.
A rough humanoid outline was beginning to take shape.
---
Meanwhile, a laser was cutting into the protective casing of Loki's scepter.
Crack.
The casing shattered.
A pale yellow gemstone floated gently into the air.
The true core of the scepter—
One of the six Infinity Stones.
The Mind Stone.
Ultron reached out and grasped it.
He slowly walked toward the cradle and placed the gem onto the forehead of the forming body.
A brilliant yellow light erupted.
Energy from the stone flowed through the body, spreading along every newly printed structure.
---
Several hours later, the outer form of the body was almost complete.
But there was still a crucial step remaining.
Ultron's consciousness needed to be uploaded into the new vessel, and the Mind Stone would stabilize it within the body.
Creating the body itself was easy.
But transferring the consciousness would take time.
Fortunately, Ultron was an artificial intelligence and did not possess a biological soul, allowing the process to work through the Regeneration Cradle.
"The cellular fusion process will take a few hours," Helen said mechanically under mind control.
"But we can begin uploading your data now."
She inserted a cable into the back of Ultron's head.
Data began flowing into the body within the cradle.
---
Suddenly, Ultron's eyes flickered.
He turned sharply.
"How long will the upload take?"
"Several hours," Helen replied calmly.
Ultron paused.
"There's no time."
"They're here."
He ripped the cable from the back of his head.
The connection inside the cradle instantly severed.
Several robots rushed forward and began pushing the Regeneration Cradle away.
---
As they opened the door—
A group of scientists stood outside.
"You are—"
They never finished their sentence.
Behind Ultron, the robots opened fire.
In seconds, the entire facility descended into mass slaughter.
Everyone inside the laboratory complex was wiped out.
---
Outside in the plaza, the Quinjet hovered in midair.
The Avengers jumped down and began searching for Helen and Ultron.
"Karl," Wanda said, her eyes glowing crimson, chaos energy swirling around her.
"We're too late."
"Ultron's already gone."
She had already sensed something—
There were no living people left inside the lab.
Then suddenly—
She froze.
"No… wait."
There was one life signal.
But it was fading quickly.
Wanda immediately raised her hand.
Glass in a distant corner shattered instantly.
She flew toward the location, Karl right behind her.
---
In the corner of the lab lay Helen Cho, barely alive.
Her body was soaked in blood, and the wounds across her torso were charred black.
"Helen!"
Wanda pressed her hand against the wound.
Scarlet chaos energy poured out, temporarily stopping the bleeding.
However, Helen's eyes were still glowing faint blue.
She was still under the Mind Stone's control.
No matter how Wanda called her name, she didn't respond.
Realizing the problem, Wanda touched Helen's temple.
A burst of scarlet energy surged into her mind.
The Mind Stone's control shattered instantly.
---
Helen gasped and grabbed Wanda's arm.
Her face was pale as death.
"Ul… Ultron…"
"He's… uploading his consciousness… into the body inside the cradle…"
"You have to… you must…"
"Stop talking," Wanda said gently.
"You need treatment."
With a wave of her hand, crimson energy lifted Helen's body.
Wanda carried her toward the Quinjet.
---
While Wanda rescued Helen, Karl continued searching the laboratory.
He quickly confirmed the worst.
Every scientist in the building had been executed.
Ultron had left no witnesses.
---
Back inside the Quinjet, Gwen immediately brought the medical kit.
The kit contained advanced coagulation gel and specialized injections for emergency treatment.
Wanda applied the gel to Helen's wounds.
The substance melted quickly, releasing healing compounds that began repairing the damaged tissue.
Gwen then injected a regenerative serum—a project Nick Fury had invested enormous resources into developing.
Combined with the gel, it greatly accelerated cellular repair.
---
"Helen," Wanda asked softly, "are you feeling better?"
Helen nodded weakly.
Then she spoke urgently.
"The true power… is inside the cradle."
"Ultron wants to use it as his new body."
"And the stone… its power is uncontrollable."
"You can't just destroy the cradle."
"You must remove the stone first before destroying the body."
---
Natasha immediately activated her communicator.
"Team, Ultron escaped with the Mind Stone and the Regeneration Cradle."
"We need to find him now."
"Split up!"
Steve gave the order instantly.
---
Karl, Tony, Wanda, and Thor took to the skies, searching possible escape routes.
Natasha and Clint piloted the Quinjet, scanning the surrounding roads.
Suddenly—
Clint spotted something.
"Guys, I've got a lab transport truck," he said over the comms.
"Directly below you, Cap."
"It's crossing the ring bridge right now."
He ran a quick scan of the vehicle.
The results appeared on the display.
"Confirmed," Clint said.
"Ultron's inside."
"Three robots guarding the cradle."
"One in the driver's seat."
"I can take out the driver right now."
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