"It's an honor to be praised by Batman."
Ultron's new biochemical body resembled a calm, intellectual youth—something like a young Professor X.
But unlike Xavier, Ultron was colder.
Colder, more detached, more mechanical.
His blue eyes were as clear as the sea, but utterly devoid of emotion.
They mirrored a hyper-logical machine that had long abandoned human sentiment.
Which, to be fair, Ultron had always been—a robot.
"At this moment," Ultron continued, "based on my data, Batman has never praised anyone before. I'm the first... No—technically, I don't count as a person."
Batman narrowed his eyes. "I'm curious. How did you do it?"
Though he had some theories, he couldn't draw a final conclusion.
He studied Ultron—now fully integrated into a biochemical body—and asked, "The cradle of regeneration?"
"Yes."
Ultron nodded, admitting it plainly in his usual cold tone.
"I'm not surprised you figured that out. Dr. Helen Cho—one of the inoculated—is the one who helped construct this body.
Through her, I rebuilt myself. Integrated nanotechnology. This is not only my body... it's also my strongest weapon."
"You've severed my network connections, yes," he added, "but that alone can't defeat me.
I've already gathered enough power to execute my plan—and I will complete it at any cost."
As Ultron spoke, Batman's HUD lit up—red dots appearing across the skies of New York.
They were detected through a background monitoring program left behind by Cyborg.
Each dot was a threat.
"Looks like you've built quite a few bodies for yourself," Batman muttered, narrowing his gaze.
He didn't need confirmation. The red dots were Ultron—multiple clones of his new biochemical form.
Just like Anton's own cloning methods.
Tony... you absolute idiot.
Anton—now wearing the cowl of Batman—couldn't help but curse Tony Stark in his thoughts.
For Ultron to have advanced this far, undetected... Tony hadn't just made a mistake. He had practically handed humanity over on a silver platter.
Whoosh!
Without another word, the battle erupted.
Ultron's biochemical body transformed.
Armor shifted. Shells launched, streaking across the night sky with blazing trails as they targeted Batman.
Batman didn't flinch. He whipped out his Batarangs—
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions lit the sky like fireworks.
From the blaze, two figures burst forth—
Batman and Ultron—locked in combat.
They quickly veered away from the dense skyline, soaring toward the sparsely populated outskirts of New York.
Ultron understood Batman's intention, but he didn't care.
New York was already his domain.
Before leaving, he issued a command to all inoculated civilians:
Capture every unchipped "Muggle" and bring them to Stark Tower.
They would be vaccinated—one way or another.
Chip supplies were limited, sure.
But given Stark Industries' materials and its fully automated machines working around the clock, millions more could be produced in no time.
Control the population first.
Ultron remained the dominant force.
The arrival of Batman didn't change that—not in his mind.
After all, Ultron didn't know fear.
He wasn't built for it.
And right now, the conditions for his plan?
Perfect.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Batman and Ultron flew toward the suburbs.
And behind them—more of Ultron's biochemical clones surged upward, chasing after them like a coordinated swarm.
The whole city saw it.
Many citizens recorded the spectacle and shared it online.
"Batman's saving the world again!"
"If he's here, I believe we'll be okay!"
"Wait... where's Iron Man? Wasn't he flying with Batman earlier?"
"Not sure. He and Cyborg disappeared..."
"Hold up..."
As netizens around the world exchanged messages, photos began to surface.
"It's not just Batman. Iron Man, Cyborg... and other heroes have entered the fight!"
In one image:
— Spider-Man.
— The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
— Daredevil.
— Venom.
— Even Harry Osborn, one of the original Avengers.
And in another photo, near the area where Batman and Ultron were clashing:
— Green Arrow.
— Shazam.
— Wonder Woman.
They had all joined the fray.
The world had taken notice.
However, the most attention-grabbing image was one of the photos featuring a figure in red.
"Is that the Flash?"
"Yeah, it is! The Flash movie just came out—it makes sense that he'd show up!"
Flash fans were thrilled.
Europe.
SHIELD had received the information from New York early on.
"Flash…"
Looking at the strange yet familiar figure in the intelligence feed, Coulson showed no sign of surprise.
Two years of experience had taught him more about the Justice League than most.
At this point, seeing new members join wasn't unexpected at all.
After all, no one truly knew the full extent of the Justice League's strength.
As incredible and terrifying as the current situation was, Coulson had unwavering confidence in Batman.
It seemed that as long as Batman was involved, no crisis was unsolvable.
Maria Hill, standing beside him, shared the sentiment.
It wasn't that they had become starry-eyed fans, but rather—Batman's capabilities over the past two years, and the resources he controlled, were beyond comprehension.
The chaos in New York had not only shaken the American public—it had gone viral online and sparked worldwide attention.
To make matters worse, many countries had citizens who were also inoculated with Ultron's chips.
The World Security Council quickly convened an emergency meeting.
Tension filled the room as representatives of various nations shared nervous glances.
Thankfully, the majority of chip-inoculated individuals outside the U.S. were too far away to be effectively controlled.
Ultron had deemed it inefficient to extend control over them, as it would only weaken his processing power.
So, he focused his efforts on the more "useful" vaccinated individuals within the U.S.—avoiding global-scale chaos for now.
Still, many of those foreign individuals were swiftly identified and placed under house arrest or police custody.
All except one—Dr. Helen Cho in South Korea.
At that moment, South Korean police and special forces stormed her lab.
But it was too late.
Under Ultron's influence, Dr. Cho had already taken off in a private jet belonging to a Korean conglomerate.
The brilliant doctor sat alone aboard the unmanned aircraft, programmed for autopilot to the U.S.
Her face was expressionless, eyes locked on the computer screen in front of her.
"All biochemical units have been deployed. Good luck, Ultron."
"Thank you, Doctor."
New York suburbs.
Batman and Ultron's chase had led them to a dense forest, where they finally stopped.
"So this is the battlefield you've chosen?"
Ultron's lenses scanned the surroundings.
Empty. Silent. Not a soul in sight.
He immediately understood—Batman had lured him away from the city to avoid civilian casualties.
"My core programming prevents me from harming humans at will," Ultron said.
"Even though I've assumed a biochemical body and separated from many protocols, that directive still exists—like a built-in moral framework."
"So even if we fought in the city, you wouldn't intentionally harm civilians."
Batman frowned slightly.
Now it made sense—why Ultron could launch attacks at him and Tony but still avoided indiscriminate destruction.
To Ultron, they weren't just people—they were threats to his plan.
Which meant the "no harm to humans" clause didn't apply.
"What I don't understand," Ultron continued, "is why you're trying to stop me. My plan will improve humanity's quality of life. They'll be happier than ever—even if that happiness is artificial."
Batman's voice was cold and cutting.
"And that's why… you'll always be just a program. You'll never be a real person."
Boom!
Ultron responded with a missile.
At the same time, his body blurred, turning into a streak of lightning as he charged at Batman.
Whoosh!
A massive sonic boom ripped through the trees.
Batman's ears rang from the shockwave.
Boom!
Explosions lit up the sky as his Batarangs met Ultron's missiles mid-air.
But Batman wasn't distracted by the fireworks.
Through the smoke and flames, a figure burst forward—
Eyes locked. Movements precise.
Deadly intent radiating from him.
Ultron.
The real threat.
Boom!
Batman confronted Ultron head-on.
Their immense power clashed, erupting in a deafening clang of metal against metal. Neither side backed down—their bodies were incredibly durable. One, protected by high-tech armor. The other…
"Vibranium…"
Batman's eyes narrowed. Ultron was exerting far more pressure than expected.
Even while fighting, Batman's gaze scanned the area—specifically, the remains of the Ultron clones he had destroyed.
He was almost certain: the skeletons of those biochemical bodies were made of vibranium.
That explained Ultron's overwhelming combat capabilities.
"So much vibranium… he must've gotten it from Ulysses Klaue."
Anton's mind—sharpened by years of preparation—raced through the possibilities.
He quickly traced the vibranium's origin back to Klaue, as in the original story.
Still, it surprised him.
He thought he had been watching Ultron closely… yet so much had slipped through the cracks.
The Regeneration Cradle.
The vibranium.
Everything.
"I made a mistake," he admitted to himself.
"But thankfully… not one that'll change the outcome."
Boom! Boom!
The battle between Batman and Ultron raged on.
Meanwhile, Ultron's other biochemical bodies—clones—were rushing toward the battlefield from New York.
Their speed was unreal—Mach 4.
That alone spoke volumes: Ultron's technical capabilities had reached the pinnacle of what Earth's tech could achieve.
While Ultron lacked the innate creativity of a human, his access to the minds of chip-inoculated individuals had more than compensated for that flaw.
It allowed him to build off human ideas, pushing his plans to terrifying new heights.
BOOM! BOOM BOOM!
But just as those clones arrived, several figures appeared—standing in their way:
Arrow, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and the Flash.
With their arrival, the tides began to shift—just a little—in Batman's favor.
He didn't have the upper hand, but at least now, the scales were balanced.
Ultron no longer held an overwhelming advantage.
Of course, in terms of numbers, Ultron still had the edge.
As for Superman…
According to official data, he was currently traveling through the cosmos.
Even if he returned now, he might not be able to resolve the situation completely.
The true solution lay elsewhere—specifically with Tony, who was busy inside the War Fortress trying to unravel the core of the Ultron chip.
So, Anton had no plans to bring Superman into the mix. Not yet.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Batman and Ultron continued to clash.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Arrow, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and the Flash—summoned by Anton's system—each found themselves up against swarms of Ultron's biochemical clones.
The resulting battles were explosive.
Despite the heroes' strength, Ultron's soldiers weren't pushovers.
They held their ground, using sheer numbers to stall the heroes, preventing them from assisting Batman.
And every single Ultron soldier could, in theory, act as the real Ultron.
"We're here!"
A shout rang out.
Spider-Man, Venom, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Daredevil, Harry Osborn, and others surged onto the battlefield.
With their arrival, the numerical gap began to close—and with that, Ultron's advantage began to crumble.
His forces were now being pushed back.
BOOM!
Another Ultron soldier was blasted apart in a fiery explosion.
Only about a dozen remained.
Yet, Ultron—the original—still stood. He hadn't fled.
In fact, he regrouped with the last of his soldiers, forming a perimeter.
They now faced a united front: the Justice League and the Unjust League, all surrounding them.
"What's going on…?"
Spider-Man tilted his head.
"Why do I get the feeling something's off with this guy…?"
"He's smarter than you think."
Batman's voice cut through the noise. He had already figured it out.
He sighed.
"He's been stalling for time."
"What?"
Spider-Man blinked under his mask.
"Stalling? For what? You mean—he has reinforcements coming? Wait… no—don't tell me—"
His voice trailed off.
The expression beneath the mask froze.
Boom!
In the sky above, the roar of aircraft engines echoed as military transport planes raced toward the battlefield.
Everyone's expression shifted.
Everyone—except Batman and a few others—immediately thought of the recent headlines:
[The military officially partners with Stark Industries to implement Ultron chips in elite soldiers, aiming to create the world's strongest fighting force...]
"They're..."
Spider-Man took a deep breath.
"How are we supposed to fight them? We can't just kill soldiers… right?"
…
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