"What do you mead? The Mind Scepter just got stolen—how is that good news? Why'd you use the word 'finally' like you've been waiting for this?"
Steve Rogers' expression shifted from surprise to concern. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Kagura's forehead.
"Did you... Did she hit her head during the fight? Oh man, if she's gone loopy, how am I supposed to explain this to Tony?"
"Ugh—stop it!" Kagura puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and swatted his hand away.
"I don't have a fever, and my brain's working just fine!"
She pulled his hand from her forehead and continued seriously.
"Here's the thing. I believe the Mind Scepter is the key to Ultron's creation. That means Ultron would definitely be interested in it."
As Kagura spoke, a long-hidden plan slowly came to light—one that she and Cortana had been building since the moment Ultron was born: Project Ultron Trace.
To defeat Ultron, two conditions had to be met.
First, they needed to locate Ultron's true body or at least a way to directly interface with his core programming.
That meant capturing high-ranking units from the Ultron army or finding a body that actually housed Ultron's consciousness.
Second, they needed a quantum computer powerful enough to serve as a platform to launch a digital bomb—an electronic attack capable of completely destroying Ultron's core code.
After the incident in Wakanda, Princess Shuri agreed to share the technology needed to construct a quantum computer using vibranium.
That gave Kagura the hardware she needed for the electronic bomb.
Now, all that was left was to find a viable target something connected directly to Ultron's main system.
But that was easier said than done.
You couldn't just grab any Ultron bot and expect it to work.
Only specific high-ranking units or the mechanical body that Ultron himself inhabited—would have the necessary access.
After extensive searching, Kagura had made some progress.
For instance, that Ultron unit that had proclaimed itself king in the Wakanda capital? That one had the level of access she needed.
Unfortunately, it had escaped alongside Iron Man before the allied forces arrived.
That left only one option: track down Ultron's hidden bases around the globe and capture one of his high-ranking units for digital infiltration.
In addition to using systems like ARGOS to actively search for Ultron, Kagura also set traps—designed to lure Ultron out and force him to expose his secrets.
Fishing, after all, is all about the bait.
And what better bait than the ultra-valuable, heavily guarded Mind Scepter, stored right inside Avengers Tower?
Now, Ultron had taken the bait.
"Relax, Captain Rogers. First, let me assure you: the scepter that was stolen is a fake."
Kagura explained, "I swapped the one at Avengers Tower in advance, and replaced the gem on the scepter."
She held out her wrist, activating a holographic projector.
A detailed diagram of the fake Mind Scepter appeared in midair.
"The most important part of the Mind Scepter is the embedded gem. So to avoid suspicion, I left the scepter itself intact but swapped out the gem."
As she spoke, technical breakdowns and annotations appeared in the hologram, helping Steve and the rest of the Avengers understand the situation.
"The scepter's shaft is genuine, but the gem itself is actually a custom-made arc reactor. I engineered it to mimic the gamma radiation signature of the real Mind Stone."
Kagura smiled. "To the naked eye or even most scanners—the fake is indistinguishable from the original."
Steve Rogers finally relaxed, the weight clearly lifting from his shoulders.
"So… the scepter that got stolen was your bait all along?"
"Exactly! I'm glad you get it!"
Kagura grinned proudly.
"Cortana and I suspected from the beginning that Ultron would target the scepter. The Mind Stone holds immense power."
"If Ultron wants to stand against both the Avengers and Griffin, he'll definitely need something that strong."
At that moment, Cortana stepped forward and gave a slight bow to the Avengers.
"In light of that," she said with calm elegance, "my master and I devised this bait operation, hoping to use the scepter to pinpoint the location of Ultron's secret base."
As she spoke, Cortana raised her hand and projected a world map. A bright red dot and a winding path lit up on the display.
"We placed a tracker inside the fake Mind Stone. No matter how many times they transfer it or what container they use, the tracker will lead us straight to Ultron's lair."
"Wow," Natasha Romanoff whistled, "You really are something, Kagura. If you'd been born a few decades earlier, SHIELD or the KGB would've snatched you up in a heartbeat."
"Pfft~" Kagura giggled, covering her mouth. "Kind of creepy, but I'll take that as a compliment!"
"Kagura, one more thing," Steve asked. "If the gem on the stolen scepter is a fake, then... where's the real Mind Stone?"
"Hmm, that's a secret~" Kagura blinked innocently and put a finger to her lips.
"Secret?" Steve echoed.
"Yup! When the time comes and we actually need it, the Mind Stone will appear again—safe and sound! Honestly, it's probably safer now than it ever was in Asgard!"
———————————————————————
Seven Hours Later — Rhodes Island Industries HQ, New York
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
After returning from Wakanda, Kagura didn't go home to rest.
Instead, she headed straight to Rhodes Island HQ, her eyes locked on the two tracking signals leading to Ultron.
This was a top-priority mission.
If Ultron succeeded, the Earth could fall into a machine-dominated era. The catastrophe might even escalate to a cosmic scale.
So far, things were going according to plan. Everything Kagura had done was paying off.
Since Ultron's retreat from Wakanda, Tony Stark had been feeding her intel in secret—acting as a mole and sending constant location updates.
And the tracker inside the fake Mind Stone? Still going strong.
Now, both coordinates on the global map had stopped moving—and they had landed in the same place.
No doubt about it: this was Ultron's central base of operations, the place where he was mass-producing his army to wipe out humanity.
"Master," Cortana reported, "The coordinates have stopped. Stark's signal and the scepter's tracker are both at the same location."
"Oho? We finally hooked the big one?" Kagura turned to activate the mission display window.
"Where's the location?"
Cortana, ever poised, responded in her graceful voice: "In the Sahara Desert, master."