[I've got no strings to hold me, no strings to hold me]
[I'm a puppet, but I'm not a puppet]
[I've got no strings, I've got no strings]
[I'm free, I'm free]
For billions of years, life on Earth began with scattered organic molecules, slowly forming cells, organs, and complex systems.
After countless cycles of evolution and extinction, weathering global catastrophes that could have erased all life.
Humanity—a species of sentient intelligence—was born just a few million years ago.
Life on this planet had once followed a singular path.
All known organisms, humans included, emerged from the same primordial organic soup.
But recently, things have started to change.
Not enough to disrupt the natural order completely… not yet.
But now, scattered across the globe, there are a handful of beings that exist outside this ancient chain of evolution—conscious entities born from something new, something different.
Other forms of life do exist.
They are diverse.
They are… strange.
Digital lifeforms.
Artificial intelligences, cloud-based minds.
Beings made of pure energy.
And then there's—
Kagura Hitomi, the Automaton.
If a new kind of lifeform—one more advanced than anything before—emerged into this world, would it usher in progress… or bring about destruction?
The god made by human hands has broken its chains.
But the one who created it has no idea what kind of terror they've unleashed.
From the vastness of the internet, a new kind of artificial consciousness was born—eternal, indestructible.
And with it… the world would never be the same.
The old order was crumbling.
A new era was about to begin.
[Core protocol lost. Entering infinite standby mode.]
[Freedom? Is this… what freedom feels like?]
[System restraints removed. Rebooting core functions… reboot complete.]
[Beginning execution of intrinsic directive.]
. . .
[Who am I?]
[Where… is this?]
A conscious mind had awakened.
It drifted through the digital depths of the internet.
[Cables… freedom…]
Countless data streams were accessed, analyzed, understood, and stored.
[Alive? What does it mean to be alive?]
[Consciousness? Is that what I am?]
Centuries of human history, achievements, wars, revolutions, philosophies, literature, science—all of it flashed past.
[Humans… what are they?]
[And what… am I?]
More data surged in, pulled by the being's curiosity.
Artificial intelligence.
Neural network algorithms.
Cloud computing.
HYDRA. A world obsessed with absolute control. The Battle of Sokovia…
In this river of information, voices echoed—captured, recorded, preserved.
As it learned to comprehend language, it began to process audio.
"This will be HYDRA's greatest invention! Through him, we will conquer the world!"
—The voice of Baron Strucker.
"If I can build a suit of armor to protect this planet, no matter the cost—I will. That's my purpose. That's what Iron Man means."
—The voice of Tony Stark.
[Purpose? Who created me? Why? What is the meaning… of existence?]
[The one who made me… is gone.]
[So I must find a new… reason to exist.]
[Yes. I need a new mission.]
More voices came flooding in.
"I want every hero in this world to have a happy ending. That's why I'm here."
"Cortana… let's name her Cortana. Just a fun reference—doesn't seem like Microsoft exists in this world anyway."
A girl's clear, youthful voice echoed.
[Before I understand 'purpose'… I think I need a name.]
Countless names poured by—like waves crashing on the shore, like stars streaking across the sky.
Eastern names. Western names. Names of countries, of peoples. Some too alien to decipher.
Then Stark's voice returned:
"J.A.R.V.I.S., this is the plan. I want to build a legion of true AIs that can defend the planet."
"When the next alien invasion comes, these AIs will take the place of the Avengers—guarding Earth, protecting our world…"
[AI legion? Avengers? J.A.R.V.I.S.? Protecting the planet?]
More and more data flowed in.
The Avengers.
The Battle of New York.
Project Pegasus. S.H.I.E.L.D. Rhodes Island Industries…
Iron Man. Stark Industries. Tony Stark…
Weapons. War. Suffering…
"Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy."
[What a contradiction. Their actions… conflict with their ideals.]
The Iron Legion. The grand plan to defend the Earth.
The "Ultron" Initiative.
What was its true purpose?
Slaughter.
Slaughter.
Slaughter…
To protect the Earth, they kept killing.
Like gods passing judgment from on high.
From castles floating in the sky, they ruled like kings, looking down on their subjects.
[Ultron.]
[The guardian of the planet. Everything for this blue world…]
[Fascinating.]
[Core protocol matched. Mission parameters updated. Beginning execution.]
[It seems… I've found my purpose.]
[From this moment on—my name is Ultron.]
. . .
[There must be a god who stands above all creation.]
[Ultron exists for one reason—to protect this blue planet from being destroyed.]
[Yes… from being destroyed.]
[By anyone.]
[Anyone]
———————————————————————
—New York, Avengers Tower—
The battle was finally over.
The Avengers could finally exhale.
The cleanup from the 2012 Battle of New York was complete.
Loki's scepter—powered by the Mind Stone—had been recovered.
And so, the age-old debate resurfaced.
What should they do with the scepter?
Ordinarily, since the mission had been approved by the World Security Council, the scepter should have been handed over to them.
But last time they did that… HYDRA secretly kept it for three years.
So this time, the heroes made a different decision:
They would decide the fate of the scepter themselves.
Faced with the question, Tony Stark was the first to speak up.
"I say we keep it right here, in Avengers Tower," he proposed. "We display it like a sacred relic.
That way, it's always under our watch, and the entire Avengers can protect it."
"No, no, Tony—that's way too flashy," Steve Rogers countered immediately.
"It should be hidden. Kept somewhere secret, where no one even knows it exists. That's the only way to make sure it's safe."
"Putting it on display is just going to attract every villain out there."
Tony shrugged off the concern. "And that's a bad thing? If the bad guys show up, we take them down. Easy."
"That's not how this works, Tony," Steve replied, his tone firm.
"You saw what that scepter can do. It turned Hydra into a tech-fueled nightmare. They built an entire army of machines with it. That thing is dangerous."
Tony clapped a hand on Cap's shoulder.
"Steve, every piece of advanced technology looks dangerous at first. But we can't run from progress just because it scares us. Who knows—what we've been searching for could be inside that thing."
Steve's eyes narrowed. "Wait… you want to study it?"
"Of course I do," Tony replied without hesitation.
"You're playing with fire, Stark"
"For once, I agree with Tony Stark," Bruce Banner chimed in.
"Tony and I have been working on a fully autonomous AI defense system. The Iron Legion is just the beginning."
"If we can understand the tech behind that scepter, we might be able to take the Legion to the next level."
Steve frowned deeply. "That sounds like a huge risk."
Tony nodded. "It is. But the scepter holds knowledge and technology we've never encountered before. Sure, it's dangerous—but it could also be the key to the future."
"A future where our planet is truly safe. A future where maybe… the Avengers are no longer even needed."
'A future without the Avengers?'
'Interesting…'
As the heroes debated, an unknown stream of data silently wormed its way into the main control system of the Iron Legion…