In Cahoots

"No one is stopping you from changing things. The problem is, do you have to be so extreme?"

Steve could not help saying, "Tony, things have to be done step by step. You can’t cram ten years’ worth of work into one year.

"Besides, Super Heroes have a purpose. You can’t tear them all down just because they cause some trouble."

"Super Heroes have only one purpose: creating disasters."

Old Tony said, "Without Super Heroes, the world would be peaceful. With Super Heroes, disasters would never cease."

"You’re putting the cart before the horse and throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Nick Fury shouted, "Without Super Heroes, this world would have been destroyed long ago."

"Without Super Heroes, the world would be peaceful. Every disaster is caused by Super Heroes."

Old Tony stubbornly said, "For example, without Captain America, there would never have been a Red Skull. Red Skull only appeared to become Captain America’s stepping stone."

"What nonsense."

Everyone shook their heads at once. Old Tony had completely lost his mind.

Only Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. Could Old Tony have learned this world’s true nature?

Every villain, every disaster, existed for the protagonist. That was the essence of a cinematic universe!

Wang Bert secretly thought, Could Old Tony have broken the fourth wall, which is why he’s so desperate? That makes no sense. Even Kang the Conqueror couldn’t break it, much less Old Tony.

"I’m done wasting words on you. In short, I’ll deal with Ultron, and once I do, it’ll be your turn."

Old Tony said, "You cannot exist. The age of Super Heroes must end."

"Ultron is humanity’s great enemy. We can’t simply ignore him."

Steve sighed and said, "Tony, let’s call a temporary truce until Ultron is dealt with."

Old Tony thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. During this time, I won’t make a move against you."

Tony could not help asking, "Old Tony, why don’t you use the Reality Stone to lock onto Ultron’s location? Isn’t the Reality Stone omnipotent?"

Old Tony hesitated before saying, "The reason is simple. Ultron also has the Reality Stone. The two powers cancel each other out, so I can’t lock onto his location."

"Damn."

Everyone cursed in unison. Steve asked, "Old Tony, how many Infinity Stones does Ultron have?"

"How many?"

Old Tony gave a vague reply, then said, "You don’t need to worry too much. I’ll deal with him. I will never let Earth become his cafeteria."

With that, Old Tony directly hung up. Everyone snorted, and Captain Marvel said, "That guy clearly can’t be relied on. We have to find Ultron as soon as possible. He isn’t just a threat to Earth; he’s a threat to the Entire Universe."

Once Ultron had eaten all humanity, he would surely turn his attention to other planets.

"Hey, Iron Man is very reliable, all right?"

Tony rolled his eyes and said, "Ultron is a mechanical life-form. Technological means are almost useless for finding him. We can only rely on magic and Eternals methods."

"Our methods require the Domo’s cooperation, but the Domo has already been destroyed."

Tina gave a bitter smile. "All we can provide now is intelligence on the Deviants."

"Can’t the Domo be restored?"

Tony asked, "Since it could be transformed into Sakura, shouldn’t it be able to turn back from Sakura into the Domo?"

"Transformation of All Things changes an object’s essence. It isn’t magic and cannot be undone."

Sersi shook her head. Wang Bert thought for a moment and said, "In theory, Sersi and I could work together to build another Domo, but we would need blueprints."

"Build another one?"

Everyone shook their heads. Rebuilding it would definitely take a lot of time. Distant water could not put out an immediate fire.

"I do have some magical methods I can use."

Strange thought for a moment and said, "But I need a medium—Ultron’s former body. Druig, you mentioned before that Ultron abandoned his mechanical body in order to escape?"

Druig nodded. "That’s right. Iron Man tampered with Ultron’s body, so he had no choice but to abandon it."

Strange said, "That’s great. As long as we get that body, I can use magic to find Ultron."

Nick Fury said, "That’s good news. The problem is, that body is in Iron Man’s hands. Given his personality, he definitely won’t give it to us."

"Most likely not."

Tony shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he asked Druig and the others, "Can you have your companions help? Old Tony probably doesn’t know how important Ultron’s remains are."

Druig considered it, then answered, "I’ll relay this matter to Phastos and the others. They should agree. Killing Ultron is the most important thing right now."

"Good, but we can’t put all our hopes on that. Nick Fury, you’re the best at finding people. I’m leaving this to you."

Tony said. Black Panther added, "Director Fury, you may freely mobilize Wakanda’s intelligence network."

Wakanda had intelligence networks across the world because they were deeply worried that others might launch a war against them.

Nick Fury nodded. "All right. I’ll do everything I can to find Ultron."

Wang Bert suddenly said, "You should prepare yourselves mentally. Not only will Old Tony refuse to cooperate with us, he’ll also do everything in his power to stop us from finding Ultron."

"No way, right?"

Everyone was stunned. Spider-Man said, "Mr. Wang, Mr. Stark may be a little extreme, but he wouldn’t go that far."

"It isn’t a matter of going too far. He has to do this."

Wang Bert explained, "Ultron has several Infinity Stones. Once I obtain them, my true body will descend upon this universe. At that point, Old Tony will have no chance of winning, so he must stop me from finding Ultron."

Sersi suspiciously asked, "Isn’t your true body trapped at the End of Time?"

"That is merely an avatar, the weakest avatar of my true body. I am the Mental Projection of an avatar."

Wang Bert smiled. "Even the Celestial Group must submit before my true body."

The Eternals clearly did not believe him. They knew better than anyone how powerful the Celestial Group was.

Tony asked, "Bert, how many Infinity Stones do you need before you can descend into this universe?"

Wang Bert said, "Two can bring down a small amount of power, three can bring down part of my power, four can send an Ancient God avatar, five can bring down a projection, and with six, my true body can descend personally."

Tony said, "If that’s the case, Old Tony will never let us find Ultron. To him, Blood God is a greater threat than Ultron."

Everyone nodded. If Blood God’s true body descended, Old Tony would have no choice but to kneel and sing surrender.

Nick Fury said, "Ultron is more important than we imagined. We must find him before Old Tony does."

"Exactly."

Everyone nodded. Then, without wasting any more time, they hurriedly began searching for Ultron.

Ultron was currently receiving a guest, one who greatly surprised him. "Aren’t you dead?"

Standing before Ultron was none other than Ebony Maw, the leader of the Black Order. Ebony Maw smiled and said, "The me from this universe is indeed dead, but the me from other universes is not. Before you sealed off the universe, we traveled to this universe with the great Thanos.

"Then, unfortunately, we were sealed in. Uh, when I say unfortunate, I mean for your universe, not for us."

"Thanos is here too?"

Ultron was extremely shocked. He asked, "Why have you come to find me?"

"The reason is simple. My master wants to know Iron Man’s exact situation, including the strange power he possesses."

Ebony Maw said frankly, "My master is very interested in that power."

Ultron warily asked, "Why would Thanos know I’m here?"

"Thanos knows all."

Ebony Maw said that, with Thanos’s power, locating Ultron would not be difficult at all.

In fact, Ebony Maw felt that Thanos was being overly cautious. Thanos was a Creator God; destroying Earth would be effortless for him. There was no need to hide in the shadows.

Ebony Maw did not know that Thanos was the one in the right. If Thanos appeared, Iron Man would definitely lift the blockade immediately. Then the situation would become Wang Bert and Wanda, the husband-and-wife pair, joining forces to beat Thanos senseless.

"Knows all?"

Ultron secretly scoffed. He said, "I know Iron Man’s information very well. The question is, why should I tell you?"

"Because we can help you."

Ebony Maw said, "Thanos greatly dislikes this universe. As long as you help him obtain what he wants, he will help you obtain this universe. At that time, the entire universe will become your cafeteria."

"Really?"

Ultron felt his breathing quicken, though he did not actually need to breathe.

Ebony Maw said, "Of course it’s true. There is no conflict of interest between us. We will be the best of allies."

"I hope so."

Ultron thought for a while, then told Ebony Maw everything about the Time Variance Authority in detail. Ebony Maw was astonished. Someone could actually close up Timelines? And that Materialism Power was too terrifying—it could suppress all non-technological powers? Ebony Maw hurriedly reported the matter to Thanos. Thanos frowned. The Time Variance Authority? No wonder there were so many Infinity Stones.

"Although I am an Eternal, I also possess magical power. I wonder whether Materialism Power can suppress me? I hope it can, because if it can suppress me, it means it can suppress Blood God. The magical power in him far exceeds mine."

Thanos secretly thought. That was right, Thanos was also an Eternal. He even had a younger brother named Starfox. The specifics would be explained in detail later.

Thanos excitedly said, "Cooperate with Ultron with all your strength. The Materialism Power on Iron Man is mine."

"Yes, great Thanos."

Ebony Maw nodded, then said to Ultron, "Thanos is very satisfied with your intelligence. Ultron, what help do you need?"

Ultron asked, "I need a large amount of food. Can Thanos provide it?"

"Of course, but not life on Earth."

Ebony Maw smiled. "There are many living planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. I believe they will meet your requirements."

Ultron asked in astonishment, "Go into space to feed?"

"Yes. You need to look farther ahead. The universe is vast."

Ebony Maw said, "You possess the Space Stone. Why limit yourself to Earth?"

"Right, why am I limiting myself to Earth?"

Ultron felt as though he had been enlightened. He finally understood completely and excitedly said, "I’ll go to other planets and devour intelligent life, then return with an army of Deviants to attack Earth."

"That’s exactly it. With the Space Stone, distance is no obstacle to you."

Ebony Maw nodded. "Lord Thanos will help you fulfill your wish. At the same time, you must help Lord Thanos fulfill his. Do you understand?"

"No problem. Thanos won’t remain in this universe anyway. His target is Blood God in the Main Universe."

Ultron smiled. "Our cooperation will be very pleasant."

"It certainly will."

Ebony Maw smiled and asked, "When do you plan to depart?"

"Wait a little. I need to make arrangements. Although I’ll soon have an alien army, those subordinates are still useful."

Ultron said. Ebony Maw nodded and vanished. "No one can know of my existence. Once you are done giving orders, call my name."

"Fine."

Ultron nodded, summoned General Ross, and explained that he was leaving. Then he instructed, "Before I return, all of you are to remain hidden. Do not draw Iron Man or Blood God’s attention. When I return, Earth will become an apocalypse."

"Yes, King."

General Ross nodded first, then asked, "King, should we carry out the plans we made before?"

"Continue securing resources. The aliens may not have the materials I need."

Ultron thought for a moment and said, "As for food, remain conservative. In short, Iron Man and Blood God must not discover any clues.

"I will leave behind a batch of genetic seeds. Follow the original plan and transform America’s finest soldiers into Deviants. After that, wait for my command. It won’t be long before all humans become our food, hahaha."

Looking at Ultron laughing wildly, General Ross fervently said, "King, we look forward to that day."

After making his arrangements, Ultron took Ebony Maw and used the Space Stone to teleport to the moon. Then, the two boarded a spaceship and headed for living planets to create Deviants.

"The seeds have been planted. It won’t be long before I harvest delicious fruit."

Thanos watched the spaceship depart with excitement on his face. "That Kang the Conqueror can close up Timelines, so he must possess a Creator-level treasure. Iron Man definitely knows where that treasure is.

"In other words, after defeating Iron Man, I will not only obtain Materialism Power, but also a Creator-level treasure. At that time, Blood God will surely die!"

After thinking it over, Thanos instructed Gamora and Nebula, "Find a way to capture a Super Hero and let Supergiant possess them. I need to know the Super Heroes’ exact plans.

"Once that is done, you and the others will go to another planet to assist Ebony Maw, so Iron Man and Blood God do not discover you."

"Yes, Thanos."

Gamora and Nebula did not dare object and both nodded in agreement. Then, the two women began discussing which target to choose.

At the White House, Loki listened to everything Iron Man had said and frowned. "Tony, are you really calling a truce? Blood God could leave the End of Time at any moment."

"The End of Time is sealed by the Six Infinity Stones. He can’t get out."

Old Tony shook his head and said, "The most urgent matter is finding Ultron. He has five Infinity Stones on him. We absolutely cannot let Blood God take them, or Blood God’s true body will descend personally."