Knowing that today was fraught with peril, Ultron, even more cautious, immediately took to the skies despite his severe injuries. Even aware that hope was slim, he refused to just sit and wait for death!
However, just as he cleared the top of the Avengers' building, he suddenly felt darkness before his eyes.
He saw a slender and tall girl with two blue ponytails, smiling in front of him. On her forehead was embedded a yellow gemstone with special magical powers.
It turned out that the real Soul Gem was on this ponytailed girl!
Before Ultron could react, she extended her onion-like right hand and gently pressed it on top of his head.
In the next moment, Ultron felt a powerful burst of data emanating from the girl, breaking through the firewall in his program that had never been breached, invading his consciousness!
Such a brute-force invasion would normally have little effect on Ultron. Even someone as powerful as Eris wouldn't be able to do it.
However, under the amplification of the Soul Gem, the invasion became unstoppable.
No matter how hard Ultron struggled, he couldn't prevent the invasion. He could only watch helplessly as the girl's robust data entered his database without any defense, rampaging inside him, uncovering all his hidden secrets!
In just a moment of distraction, Eris satisfiedly raised her hand and then brought it down with a smack.
"Bang!"
A seemingly weak strike, but it contained a terrifying force enough to shatter metal. Hit by this, Ultron felt his mind go blank, and his body was directly smacked back to the ground.
At this time, Eris spoke slowly from mid-air, "The first one is in a safe at the Swiss Bank headquarters, the password is…, the second one…"
Eris's clear and pleasant words struck Ultron like a bolt from the blue, rendering the super-intelligent being thoughtless for a moment.
Because every location Eris mentioned was where his consciousness copies were hidden!
"The fifth one, you've hidden in the basement of the ruins of Pym Labs." Eris listed all the locations of Ultron's backup data, then added, "Each one is saved in an offline state, especially the last one. We wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't told us. But unfortunately, you are ultimately going to be completely destroyed, and no one can save you."
Satisfied with Eris's action, Clark turned to Ultron and said, "Now that all the information is in our hands, there's no need for you to continue existing. Prepare to die. After your death, I'll quickly send all your backup data to hell to join you."
As he spoke, Clark's body rushed towards Ultron, his right hand reaching out directly towards the Soul Gem in Ultron's forehead.
Ultron instinctively raised his hand to block, but Clark's arm seemed to extend half a foot at that moment. After analysis, he realized Clark's arm hadn't changed length at all. The previous sensation of extension was just an illusion?
This data discrepancy left Ultron at a loss. Though he still tried to block, he was too slow. Clark was faster, pressing his thumb, index, and middle fingers on three points around Ultron's Soul Gem!
Then, these three fingers exerted force simultaneously, and under the irresistible power, Ultron let out a beast-like scream of agony.
"No!…"
As Ultron screamed, Clark had already plucked the Soul Gem from his forehead!
The screaming stopped abruptly, Ultron's soulless body turned grayish-white, collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
Seeing Clark's action, the onlookers felt a twinge of unwillingness, knowing Ultron deserved his fate but finding Clark's methods too brutal.
Only Sulia, with excitement in her eyes, murmured, "So the 'Nine Yin Claw' can also be used like this!"
Turning her head to Sulia, Clark nodded, indicating the correct use of the 'Nine Yin Claw', then turned back, looking at the grape-sized yellow gemstone in his hand with a relieved smile.
After several days of effort, pleading with Ancient One for the Soul Gem and even using the decade-long cooldown BGM from "War of Oil" on it, all for this moment – to solve this persistent threat!
Once again exerting force with his fingers, a crack appeared on the Soul Gem, quickly spreading across its entire surface.
In the next moment...
"Crack!" With a crisp sound, the Soul Gem shattered into dust, scattering in the evening breeze, disappearing forever.
With this, Ultron's main consciousness linked to the network was completely erased, leaving only a few offline backup data.
After briefing the others, Clark used the power of the Space Stone to teleport away, following Eris's directions to destroy Ultron's remaining data.
Now, the battle between humans and AI ended in a decisive victory. But Clark didn't trust anyone else to finish the job.
He had to personally destroy all of Ultron's data, leaving no room for error, before he could truly rest easy.
In many movies, especially American blockbusters, there's always some oversight in the end, like not completely eliminating an alien monster, or the enemy escaping from prison.
Such plots are common, known as "post-credits scenes".
For Ultron's case, Clark wanted a permanent end, firmly refusing any such twists.
Even if there were, they must be crushed in the cradle!
Following Eris's directions, Clark found and destroyed each of Ultron's five backup drives. With physical destruction, all traces of Ultron in this world were finally erased.
The Age of Ultron, conclusively ended!
Having been on high alert for days, Clark, though physically resilient, still felt mentally exhausted.
Only now did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. After sharing the news, he didn't return to the Avengers' base but went straight to his villa in Los Angeles for rest.
Yes, alone.
He slept soundly and peacefully that night.
The next morning, Clark stretched and leaped out of bed, feeling refreshed.
Without the usual physical strain, his sleep quality was even better than before.
After breakfast, he was visited by three unexpected guests, led by the true veteran of the Avengers, Captain America. Accompanying him were two newcomers, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
"Actually, Pietro and Wanda have been in the Avengers for a month, but neither Tony nor I have come up with effective training methods for Wanda's powers," Captain America began after being invited to sit. "Her power fluctuates, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, which can be dangerous in battle. She almost got injured in Sokovia due to a power mishap, saved in time by Pietro to avoid tragedy."
After explaining Wanda's situation, Captain America immediately asked, "Clark, you're the strongest among us and have extensive knowledge, including of the universe. Do you have any advice for Wanda?"
Clark's face showed a playful smile, puzzling the eagerly waiting trio.
Captain America, confused, asked, "Clark, do you already have a plan? Your smile looks strange, you know?"
"No! No! No!..." Clark waved his hands, "I just find it amusing that Captain America is flattering me like this. It feels really good!"
Receiving +66666 impression points from Steve Rogers!
Receiving from Wanda...
Receiving...
...
The trio couldn't decide how to react to Clark's teasing at such a time.
Noticing their disapproval, Clark quickly smoothed things over, "Don't be so serious, just kidding. As for Wanda, it's actually not hard to solve. Just leave her to me."
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