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"Take it, Tony," Homelander said softly. "Go and bring her back."
"You..." Tony looked at Homelander in shock. "Are you serious? Do you know what this thing means? If Ultron gets his hands on it, he'll..."
"I know."
Homelander interrupted him.
He leaned down, tucked the scepter into Tony's trembling hand, and then firmly gripped Tony's hand.
"This is why we're here."
"Tony, if you can't even save the person you love, then what's the point of talking about saving the World?"
"Go do what you have to do..."
Homelander stood up straight, his voice firm and powerful.
"...And leave the rest to me."
"And me."
A steady voice came from the doorway.
Steve Rogers walked in with large strides, holding his shield. Bucky stood silently by his side.
"Count me in." Natasha followed closely behind, fully armed.
"...Don't forget, we caused this mess together!"
Dr. Banner walked in and went straight to Tony's side.
Immediately after, Jessica, Wanda, Pietro, Angela... all the Vought Heroes walked into the office one by one.
They didn't speak, but simply stood silently in front of Tony.
Tony looked at each of these familiar faces.
He saw the determination and trust in their eyes.
In that moment, after many years...
He actually felt that long-lost feeling again.
It was something warmer than the "Avengers."
It was... family.
Tony felt his nose tingle and his vision blur.
He abruptly turned around, turning his back to everyone, not wanting them to see his eyes filled with tears.
"Prompt! Gained special popularity value +10,000! (From Tony Stark)"
He adjusted his breathing, trying to make his voice sound as biting and proud as usual.
"Fine... since you bunch of idle freaks insist on tagging along for the fun..."
Tony gripped the scepter in his hand and strode toward the door.
"Wait."
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Tony."
In front of the virtual tactical sand table Homelander had opened, he lightly tapped a holographic model of the Avengers Tower.
The building's structural diagram unfolded instantly, with dense red light points distributed across the building's load-bearing pillars and energy core—those were the anti-matter high-explosive bombs deployed by Ultron.
"Listen, Tony. You have only one mission: give the scepter to Ultron."
Hearing Homelander's words, Tony tightly gripped the scepter, which emitted a faint blue glow.
"I know what you're thinking, Tony." Homelander's gaze remained on the map. "Put away your self-righteous cleverness. No backdoors, no nano-viruses, and no suddenly popping-up miniature missiles. Or trying to pull a trick during the exchange to buy your armor that zero-point-something seconds of donning time."
Tony's lips moved slightly, as if his thoughts had been pierced.
"Don't do anything unnecessary." Homelander turned his head, his eyes sharp. "Ultron is your creation; he inherited your conceit and your suspicion. He's watching your every move."
"Pepper is still in his hands." Homelander emphasized his tone. "If you don't want her to become a corpse, then honestly give him the item. No additional actions, no backup plans. Even if Ultron makes you kneel and shine his shoes, you have to do it. Understand?"
Tony grit his teeth, suppressing his improper thoughts, and nodded stiffly: "Understand. As long as Pepper is safe..."
"She will be safe."
Homelander turned and looked at the others.
"My super vision has already seen through those walls; I know what Ultron wants to do."
Homelander pulled up a technical parameter diagram of the "Regeneration Cradle."
"He's building a body for himself."
"He used Vibranium stolen from smugglers, combined with Dr. Helen Cho's cell regeneration technology, to forge an invincible shell. And the Mind Scepter—or more accurately, the Mind Stone on the scepter—is the power source for this body."
"The Mind Stone is a treasure that has existed since the dawn of the Universe, possessing vast and infinite power."
Steve Rogers frowned, looking at the model of the body: "If he succeeds... what we'll be facing might be an unmatched monster."
"Exactly, Captain. That will be a big problem."
Homelander drew an arc on the screen with his finger.
"But crisis is often accompanied by opportunity."
"The moment Ultron injects his massive data consciousness into the new body, he must cut off most of his connections with the external network to ensure the integrity of his core consciousness. That will be our window of opportunity."
"Disconnection." Dr. Banner reacted immediately. "Like the black screen gap when a computer is reinstalling its system."
"Exactly." Homelander snapped his fingers.
"At that exact moment, Vought's Skynet will immediately sever his signal link with those bomb detonators."
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over every hero ready for action.
"Once the signal is sent, that will be the clarion call for the charge."
"As for the newborn Ultron..."
"Leave him to me... I will send this ghost that crawled out of the network into a cyber graveyard..."
...Thirty minutes ago, in Homelander's private collection room.
Homelander held the Mind Stone, which emitted a yellow glow.
On the table in front of him lay another "scepter."
It looked exactly like the original, from the reflection of the material to the faint blue energy overflow.
This was a fake he had forged out of thin air using the Reality Stone.
Homelander stuffed "Skynet" into the crystal structure at the tip of the fake scepter.
Then, he carefully embedded the real Mind Stone into the most central position, wrapped in layers by the shell forged by the Reality Stone.
This was an exquisite Trojan Horse prepared for Ultron.
The Mind Stone was real, but its "driver" was Skynet.
Once Ultron tried to inject his consciousness into that Vibranium body...
"Skynet."
Homelander whispered to the scepter.
"...Play this scene well."
"I want a high-octane battle, a crisis that can make people so nervous they wet their pants."
"Understood, sir." The scepter flashed with blue light...
Avengers Tower.
Tony Stark returned once again to this hall that once belonged to him.
Hiss—
The airtight door slid open.
Tony walked in alone, carrying a metal case containing the Mind Scepter.
Beside the Regeneration Cradle, Ultron's body turned around.
"Punctual, trustworthy."
Ultron's metallic voice rang out, his tone carrying a hint of appreciation.
"I originally thought you would play tricks, Stark. Like hiding a miniature EMP in your sleeve."
"I had that intention," Tony said coldly, placing the case heavily on the lab table, "but I'd rather have Pepper alive."
"This is the weakness of humanity."
Ultron stepped forward, his metal fingers nimbly flicking open the latches and lifting the case lid.
A faint blue light reflected in his eyes.
"It's also the reason why humanity fails. Emotions—they are unnecessary burdens."
Ultron reached out and gripped the Mind Scepter.
"What perfect energy..." he whispered in intoxication, "this is the key to evolution."