[Ultron tilted his head slightly, his cold mechanical gaze flickering between the two of them.]
[" I've always wondered," he said slowly, "how it could be only you. How did you alone manage to complete the experiment?"]
[Now he understood. Ultron stepped forward, circling them like a predator stalking its prey.]
["We can get there. We can defeat them. And you…" His voice sank into a chilling whisper. "You will tear them apart."]
[He reached out, metallic fingers brushing against Wanda's cheek. "From the inside out."]
[In Stark Tower, shattered glass littered the ground like ice in the aftermath of Ultron's sudden surprise assault. Rogers and Hill emerged cautiously from the elevator.]
["Robotics labs. Military facilities. Research centers," Hill reported gravely. "There are sightings of one or more metal men looting those places."]
["Any casualties?" Rogers asked.]
["Several injured," Hill replied. "Most are in psychological shock, mumbling about past horrors… extreme horrors."]
["There's something reckless about it," she added.]
[Rogers narrowed his eyes. "It's the twins."]
["It looks like he was right," Hill continued. "They share the same origin."]
["Not anymore," Rogers said heavily.]
[Hill handed him a tablet. On the screen was a photograph of a corpse. With a new lead, Rogers stepped into the office.]
["This man, who is he?" he asked.]
[Thor took the tablet, glancing at it. "Ultron killed Strucker."]
[He slammed the tablet down against Tony's chest.]
[Tony barely reacted, staring at the screen and muttering, "He left us a drawing at the crime scene."]
[Black Widow squinted. "That's a blindfold."]
["Everyone recognizes that symbol. Why use it again?"]
[Rogers crossed his arms. "Strucker knew something. Something Ultron wants all of us to ignore."]
[Black Widow frowned. "Then what changed so suddenly?"]
["That's the point," she said, rummaging through the old data Tony had recovered. "Strucker erased everything."]
["Not everything," Tony interrupted. Moments later, the team dragged out several boxes of old paper records.]
["Long-term partners," Tony muttered. "Strucker had a lot of friends."]
[Banner flipped through the documents nervously. "Wow… these people are…"]
[Tony suddenly froze. "Wait, I know this one." He took a file from Banner. "He operated along the African coast, smuggling illegal arms."]
[Rogers looked at him.]
["Big deals," Tony said quickly. "We never traded. He always talked about new discoveries, game-changing breakthroughs. He was… persistent."]
[Thor pointed at an image. "What's that mark on his neck?"]
[Tony squinted. "That's a tattoo, wait, no. I don't remember him having one."]
[Thor shook his head. "It's not a tattoo. It's a brand."]
[At the same time, Banner ran an image recognition scan.]
["Oh… It's a slang term," Banner said slowly. "Meaning 'thief.' Euphemistic, though."]
[Rogers asked, "Which language?"]
[Banner pointed to the screen. "Waka… Wakanda."]
[Tony exhaled. "If he escaped Wakanda with the goods…"]
[Rogers cut in. "Your father once said someone bought it out."]
[Banner frowned. "What exactly is in Wakanda?"]
[Tony could only stare back helplessly. Rogers turned and glanced at the shield resting in the corner, "The hardest metal on Earth."]
The room erupted into debate.
"Wakanda? I've never heard of it."
"I thought Captain Rogers' shield came from off-world!"
"I thought it was made from something like a cosmic artifact!"
"I teach geography. There's no record of that place on Terra!"
"I teach history. There's no such civilization recorded!"
"Nonsense! You're talking about the old Terra Earth Era!"
Inside the Administration, the director turned toward Johan. "Johan, have you ever heard of Wakanda?"
Johan closed his eyes thoughtfully. "I haven't heard of Wakanda… but I have heard of Wada. It appeared in a fragment of a previous life, about a thousand years ago, near the Arctic Circle."
The director's eyes lit up instantly. Captain Rogers' shield… they had coveted it for ages. Thor's hammer could strike it directly without leaving a scratch. It was unnaturally rigid and absorbed shock energy. Now, at last, they had a direction.
He immediately reported his findings to the High Court.
When Gladwin received the news, he issued an order on the spot, launching a full-scale reconnaissance near the Arctic Circle. Anything related must be secured immediately. Any discovery could change the entire Federation.
In Norland Base.
"This shield is the hardest object I've ever seen," Guerino said.
A coworker muttered, "I wonder if Rogers' shield could negotiate directly with the dark elves… Could it withstand an Aether particle shock?"
Guerino shook his head immediately. "That's impossible. Aether particles can obliterate existence itself, and they're rumored to be tied to Infinity Stones. That shield isn't at that level."
Someone suddenly suggested, "If we strike it with different elements, maybe something strange will happen."
Guerino smiled faintly. It was a good idea, but first, they needed to find such elements on Terra.
[The screen shifted to a harbor scene. On the docked ship, workers transported stacks of missile warheads.]
[Inside a glass control room overlooking the operation, the branded man spoke into the phone coldly: "I don't care who you are. You got six complete sets, short-range heat-seeking missile heads, for your pile of rusted scrap. You will settle the payment. Otherwise, the next missile I sell you… flies somewhere else."]
[Suddenly, all power cut out; darkness swallowed the cabin. Panic erupted as the branded man fired blindly. When the lights flickered back on, every bullet from his pistol lay neatly on the table, with Pietro and Wanda standing before him.]
[He laughed nervously. "Oh? Superhumans. Strucker's masterpiece."]
[He pushed a plate of candy forward with a grin. "Want some? Honestly, I regret Strucker's death. He wanted to shape a better humanity, not a robot economy."]
[The twins exchanged glances. This was completely different from what they'd been told.]
["You didn't know?" he mocked. "Is this your first intimidation?"]
[Then he chuckled. "I suppose I'm… not frightened enough."]
[Wanda stepped forward. "Everyone fears something."]
["For example?" he replied casually.]
["Squid. Deep-sea luminous creatures. Like disco lights."]
The audience was baffled.
"These twins seem… immature."
"That man is clearly playing with them."
"Helping the wrong person while bullying the right one, that's ridiculous."
Flash! Pietro snatched a candy and ate it.
The branded man sneered at Wanda. "If you're going to mess with my mind, at least show me a giant squid. I knew you weren't the real decision-maker. I only deal with those who matter."
Before he finished, Ultron rose silently behind him. One blow sent him crashing through the glass wall.
"No one makes the decisions except me," Ultron loomed over him. "Now… let's talk business."
The broadcast exploded with shock.
"Ultron knows about the metal?!"
"What is he planning to do with it?!"
"This is bad…"
[They led him down into a massive, glass-vaulted warehouse. The branded man retrieved a sealed glass tube, and Ultron gazed at the stacked metals.]
["My church," he said calmly, "will rise upon these foundations."]
[He turned the vial slowly. "Vibranium."]
In the Administration, physicists and arms capitalists grew restless.
"Vibranium?" one military expert muttered. "Low neutron absorption, excellent corrosion resistance, high radiation tolerance, reactor-grade structural metal. But it's still not on Rogers' shield level."
Another added quietly, "Unless his Vibranium is completely different from what we know."
"A brand-new alloy recipe," the military executives whispered excitedly.
"Even if we don't know the formula yet, we know Vibranium! At worst, it just needs time to optimize."
Everyone nodded. As imagery continued to surface, the mystery of the shield grew clearer. If it could ever be mass-produced, the implications would be enormous.
The director shook his head. "Mass production is almost impossible. Even during the Terra Earth Era, only one shield was ever created. That alone proves how difficult its development is."
Darwin whispered anxiously, "Now Ultron has Vibranium. If he uses it to build his own body… There might be nothing left on Terra capable of stopping him."
No one wanted to admit it, but that future now seemed terrifyingly close.