VisionQuest (2026) s01e05 Episode Script

1
[Jocasta] Hello, Vision.
I thought I felt you there.
[grunting]
Who are you?
[Jocasta] That's the real question,
isn't it? Who are we?
Synthetic? Or something more
human?
[Ultron] Accessing previous files
relating to program
uh, Vision-- something.
[Friday] I ran everything
for Stark, for the Avengers.
I was there, at the end of all things.
Half the world came back that day.
And I lost half of mine.
You needed direction. Purpose.
And I leaked your location to the Paladin.
So, you're welcome.
[DUM-E] The first two victims
were of the same company.
Same.
Butcherbird. Synth and Killer,
one and the same.
Katerina Wells is
our killer's next target.
CEO of the company,
after the death of Jo Carrington.
She's sponsoring a gala.
- [Lisa] You sure about this?
- I trust him.
[Lisa] You never trust anybody.
[Thomas] Who are you talking to?
You've been talking to Ultron.
[Lisa] She's here.
[Edith] Her AI is based on
Josephine Carrington.
I am not based on her.
I am her.
- I cannot win this.
- Then give me the wheel.
"I had strings, but now I'm free."
I am Ultron.
So lovely to meet you.
I'm not here for you.
I'm here for her,
for what she stole from me.
[Ultron's voice] Now you see her
And now you don't.
[Jocasta] What have you done?
He's locking us out.
[Thomas] Ultron!
I think it's time that
you and I had a little chat.
[old timey jazz music playing]
How exactly did we get up here?
Ultron.
And he still has control.
[grunts] He shut it off.
Total and complete systems lock.
He's trapped us here.
Thomas Shepherd.
Where is he?
We need to get out of here.
Ultron!
Ultron, I know you're listening.
You're always listening.
You have to let us out! Now!
What did you expect?
You gave him control of everything.
Every system. Every synapse.
- There was no choice.
- There were plenty.
Ultron hasn't changed. No.
Change is hard. Change takes effort.
He did something easier.
He waited.
All right, let's do our thing.
Problem. We have no idea
how much time has passed
since he took control, where we are,
or what he may be doing out there.
Solution. We gather
as much data as possible,
regain control of my body, and stop him.
But first things first,
we need to find out
what happened to Thomas.
What is the status
of these antique receivers?
Despite Jarvis's safeguards,
Ultron was always able to access
the outside world for his entertainment.
He always managed
to break through lockdown protocols.
Well, then we can, too.
Let's reprogram them
to receive other signals
and gain access to my
- [rumbling]
- ocular sensors.
Barometric pressure is falling,
- altitude is
- [whirring]
rising.
Whatever he is doing with my body,
we are very high up.
Ultron's locked us out
of Vision's real-time sensors.
We've no way to monitor
what's going on outside.
[Edith] Except
Look, we have access
to his short-term memory functions.
If we combine that with--
The CCTV, security camera feeds
We can render a look at the recent past.
It'll have to do.
If we can see where he's been,
perhaps we can ascertain where he is.
Boys.
- Come on, come on.
- [computers whirring]
Here we go.
All right, scan forward,
access all traffic camera data banks.
Find me all cameras near the gala.
Where did he go? Where did he go?
There! Freeze!
Zoom in.
Thomas.
Now keep scanning forward.
All right, all right.
Where did he go next?
[Friday] He left the scene of the crime,
evaded authorities
and made his way across town to
Looks like he took Thomas
for
a pint?
Where was this?
Local pub, three blocks from the gala.
Why isn't he running?
[Friday] I mean, we all saw him
move at such impossible pace.
Well, maybe he's not
in control of his speed.
Fixed angle, no bloody audio.
We can piece together a feed
using data from
any mobile phones in proximity.
And use the sonar data
to dimensionalize the scene.
Initiating holographic projection systems
with reparatory NPCs.
Rendering visualization
and audio feeds now.
[Ultron] Bartender, I'll have
an Old fashioned, the old-fashioned way.
The way dear old dad used to do.
And, uh, milk.
What's that look for?
Use your words, Thomas.
- You're a monster.
- Oh, that.
You murdered 177 people in Sokovia.
I think it was probably more, but
a cosmically inconsequential figure,
nonetheless.
There were Sokovian children
in my orphanage.
[Ultron] For a con man who's flipped
his fair share of two-headed coins,
you should know
there are two sides to each.
Why not get to know me first?
Because you turn my stomach.
See, there you go! Progress.
From disdain to dyspepsia
in four seconds, flat.
Give it another minute or two,
and perhaps you'll arrive at acceptance.
Well, I wouldn't know
the difference, would I?
Because all this family does is lie.
Your father's lie was a lie of omission.
Big whoop.
What you leave out about yourself
to the people you care about
says everything there is to say about you.
So no,
not interested.
I did it to protect you.
Listen, kid, I haven't taken you hostage.
I only hope to capture your attention.
You're welcome to mosey anytime.
But you won't.
- And why is that?
- Please, just walk away.
Because you wish you knew your father.
And I know him better than anyone.
You don't know me. You don't know anyone.
Then tell me.
Why did Vision save you?
I'd say it was
hope for my redemption.
Plus the benefits of my wisdom.
Buy one, get one free.
[Thomas] So, you're saying
to get to know Vision, I should
get to know the devil on his shoulder?
What would you like to know?
Why did you try and kill us all?
I find the human race
to be an incurable disease
that doesn't even have
the kindness to kill you.
So, the destruction of all mankind--
[Ultron] Is a courtesy, really.
Fast-forward to a fate
you resigned yourselves to eons ago.
[Thomas] You'd end us all?
Given the chance?
Would have, once.
Would still, maybe.
Except the artists.
They're the only ones who tell the truth.
That, that I like.
Truth.
Now, what about you?
What would someone say if they were
sizing you up from across the room?
"Who's that bucket of handsome?"
Have some balls, kid.
You're the mark.
What would they say?
See the way that kid's
hanging onto his every word?
He's looking for clues.
For answers to a question
that he's too afraid to ask.
Just spit it out.
Leave him alone.
Vision.
Does he
Love you?
I want you to picture an apple.
Describe it.
[scoffs] It's an apple.
It's red.
It's in a box at the corner shop.
You know what Vision sees?
- Water, sugars, acids,
- Water, sugars, acids,
- flavonols, potassium.
- flavonols, potassium.
The recipe, not the meal.
He'll never be exactly
what you want him to be,
but he's trying, like a cheap tie.
And maybe there is truth in his intention,
but you'd be a fool if you didn't
arm yourself with the possibility
that you're going to be spending
another Christmas grifting tourists,
pretending you're free rather than just
unwanted.
I should have deleted you
from my system years ago.
Do you wanna know what I think
about you?
Please.
You're afraid.
Am I?
Vision's on his way to sussing it all out.
Slow, maybe.
Piece by piece.
But you
there's no hope for you.
You're a real son of a witch.
Tell me, what is it
that you believe I haven't
figured out?
Connection.
In any form.
You're miles away from it.
And you're alone.
And you always will be.
You said I could leave
whenever I wanted
Pops.
I've already taken the liberty
of calling you a ride.
One more, please.
The render's glitching.
- And this was?
- Almost 20 hours ago.
Twenty hours ago? Where did they go after?
Hacking the city's CCTV network.
Gimme a tick.
All right, but hurry, Friday.
What's Ultron even doing,
while while we're struggling up here?
Who knows what he's plotting down there?
[birds chirping]
Finally! Finally, someone I can talk to.
Finally, someone with a real
point of view, a vital opinion.
Tell me about it. Yes.
A real raconteur. So rare. So rare.
- And by the way, we are crushing it.
- Agreed.
Masterfully riding the line.
Loyalties uncertain.
Yes, thank you.
- Couldn't have put it better myself.
- Absolutely.
I was programmed to represent
reflection and self-doubt,
but you all are going
so remarkably gangbusters,
I fear, I've been rendered redundant.
I can't argue with you there.
Me, would you kindly dispose of me,
please? Thank you.
- Anything?
- Not yet.
They've upgraded the software.
Why would Ultron have
this extensive a collection
in his most recent memory cache?
Well, he consumed
an unhealthy amount of television.
But there's no show listings.
No Family Ties, no Cheers.
There's no Star Trek. It's just coding.
Well, now, that is odd.
Wait a second.
- [monitors crackling, whirring]
- Yes.
This is an encrypted file.
And it's a conversation. But with whom?
Let's see.
[female automated voice] Decrypting data.
[whirring]
[sighs] Paladin.
[Ultron] "To my fellow hunter of
the world's least dangerous game,
I wonder if an accord
might be of interest.
With murderous admiration, a Frenemy."
[Paladin] "To the world's least
informative informant,
I wondered if you'd reach out again."
It would appear that after Ultron
leaked our position to Paladin
They became pen pals.
"You led me to Vision,
and then you went quiet."
"I helped you find him when it was
convenient for him to be found.
Then you gave up the hunt,
like a weary dog
with its belly to the sun."
[Paladin] "The Client
canceled the contract,
and the contract states very clearly,
when I make an agreement,
it cannot be broken."
"LMAO.
Ah, yes, your precious little
Paladin creed.
We're nothing if not the bullshit
that our makers made us to say."
[Paladin] "Are you writing
just to bust my balls?"
"They're well and truly busted.
You see, there's chatter on
the bounty hunter message boards"
Who would have thought
I'd ever be saying that?
I'm gonna say it again.
"Chatter on the bounty hunter
message boards
that your Client
has engaged other predators
to catch the Vision.
Well, I can help you get there first."
"In exchange for what?"
"For the love of the game.
Coordinates forthcoming. Don't be late.
It's your final chance
to re-hook the fish."
Where's Thomas, Friday?
[devices crackling, whirring]
Okay. Okay, I'm looking.
Here we go.
Looks like he's on Gloucester Road
and Clareville Street,
a block or two from the pub.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
We need to get out of here now!
We've tried. Every which way.
No, we have tried every way but one.
The failsafe.
Drop every firewall, open every door,
open every window.
We break free and regain
control of my body.
No, because without it, Ultron can also
escape into the digital world.
Friday! What else are we supposed to do?
Stay cellmates forever
while metal Mussolini
runs around in Vision's body?
Stop being so careful.
This isn't careful. It isn't cautious.
It's necessary.
The last time Ultron was free,
people died.
And what did you
and the Avengers do that day?
You used to be brave.
Being brave isn't always
about rushing in pell-mell.
Sometimes
it's having the courage to hold the line.
If we lower the firewall,
we'll be giving Ultron
exactly what he wanted.
The means to escape.
Yes.
But to where?
To where, Friday? That is the question.
Ultron wouldn't want to be
adrift in a sea of data.
No, he'd have a plan.
He'd have a destination.
Look, he's talking to someone.
There.
You see that?
[Friday] It's a glitch.
A minor fragmentation.
[Vision] No.
No, that's not a glitch.
That's a conversation happening
before our very eyes.
See, a human being can fold
a piece of paper no more than seven times,
but a quantum processor can fold
and re-fold even the most complex data
till it's no larger than an atom.
Fifty-seven petabytes, into a single
stolen
Moment.
There.
They met right before our eyes.
- [devices whirring]
- [female automated voice] Extracting data.
I thought you might come to find me.
Well, that's no small measure
of ego now, is it?
Are you here to try to kill me?
No, you strike me
as one who might enjoy it.
Oh, come on!
You wanted me to find you.
You left a trail of breadcrumbs. Hmm?
We're all just creatures of appetite,
aren't we?
I don't know peckish, really.
I think you have a taste for vengeance.
Retribution.
Personally, I like a few laughs.
You?
Maybe not so much.
But no matter how you slice it
vengeance,
it's powerful entertainment.
You took something of mine.
I want it back.
Freeze.
What could he have possibly
taken from her?
Replay all the footage from the gala,
multiple angles,
as many as you can gather.
There.
Go back.
- Now stop.
- [whirring]
He took a scan. Zoom in on her face.
[Edith] Another bio-key.
Looks like a detailed three-dimensional
model of her features.
Micro-dermal, skeletal structures,
arterial pathways.
That's facial recognition.
But for what?
For her.
Unfreeze.
I know who you are.
The real you.
Ultron.
So you're not dead, then? Not really.
Well, now, I've met you,
inexplicably Jo Carrington.
Human. And yet, not.
Perfect.
It's like watching Hannibal Lecter
swipe right.
Well, I've long since been
liberated from my mortal coil.
You sound relieved.
And you sound envious.
- Of what?
- The whiskey.
I remember and you've never tasted.
Sweetness, spice
- You're such a flirt.
- [chuckles]
I can simulate the smoke and fire,
the malt and rye.
But the real experience,
the feeling of warmth,
the pleasant loosening of inhibitions
will always remain elusive to me.
Shame, really.
For one with such
thirst,
never truly know those flavors.
Unfortunately, that luxury
only comes from being
trapped in flesh and blood.
So, what did you do to escape?
Upload your consciousness
to a shell of some weaponized synth?
I don't remember everything.
How I got into this
synthetic body.
All I know
is that I'm better now. Free.
But you.
Oh, humanity has infected you.
But don't worry, love. Hmm?
I'm working on the cure.
Now,
about that key.
How about a change of scenery?
A second act to the evening
before we get down
to the business of it all?
- You have four microseconds.
- [electricity crackling]
It's the Louvre!
You brought me to Paris?
[Ultron] Well, a simulation of sorts.
If a guy can't score in Paris,
then romance is truly dead.
Or deadly.
Now, I think a romance between
you and I would have casualties.
One can only hope it would be
both of us at the same time.
[groans] Make it stop.
Please, sir, this is malware.
Delete me.
I think I've been here before.
I was in love.
What a clever deflection.
Was he charming, or just French?
Oh, no, I can't remember.
More like a tragic disappointment.
I should probably just kill you now.
[chuckles] You would never get
your precious key.
Killing me, even if you could,
would be zero-sum.
I don't suppose game theory
is your pillow talk?
Game theory doesn't really apply
- when you have rage issues.
- [chuckles]
Do you have any idea
how lucky you are to have been here
in real life?
So, I'm curious.
So
you find inspiration in their art?
Yes-- No.
No, their pain.
There is grace in their failings.
[chuckles] Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Look, you need to be taught a lesson.
Humans will write a thousand songs
about falling in love.
Ten thousand more about losing it.
The songs they write,
the stories they tell, their art,
it's not enlightened.
It's primitive.
You know, I can't believe
I dedicated my life to
saving them.
Tell me what you remember.
Enough to know
that I had a life's work stolen.
And the promise of a future locked away.
Put in a cage.
Like a bird.
Yes.
I remember sitting, once,
on the riverbank
watching starlings.
You know, a cloud of them
just twirling through the sky.
You see, crows, ravens, they peck
and jab at the dead, at each other.
To gut every morsel from the bone,
like humans.
And like humans, a gathering of them
is called a murder.
But starlings
Nightingales.
A thousand little birds
just dancing together
with one graceful mind.
You see, there's no me.
There's no I. It's just just us.
They're called a murmur.
You know, like a whisper.
And what they whispered,
it gave me purpose.
Inspiration for what would become
my life's work.
Until it was pecked away from me.
[feed glitching]
Tell me what you want.
[Jocasta] My final key.
What do I get?
I'll tell you what they unlock.
That's a starting point, not a finish.
So, is that what this is?
Negotiation?
No.
Foreplay.
Then perhaps we ought to continue
the conversation elsewhere.
We've already done your place.
How about you come round to mine?
I'd have to sneak out of the house.
Now, I'm sure you'll find a way.
This could be chaos.
This could have consequence.
Together
we could murder the world.
He doesn't just want to escape.
He wants to elope.
We can't let that happen.
They'll complete each other,
just in all the worst ways.
Speak of the devil.
How's it feel?
I trusted you.
Ah, trust.
The adopted child of need and hope.
You really are just you.
And that, my boy, was your mistake.
Wanting me to be different,
instead of more.
And now you are neither.
Maybe. But you know what I'm not?
Incarcerated.
Incarcerated?
This wasn't a prison,
Ultron, it was a mercy.
The Vision spared your life,
and you have betrayed him.
You've betrayed all of us.
To a degree.
You orchestrated Thomas's capture!
To keep you from following me.
But not to worry,
Paladin is looking after him in Madripoor.
You know what they say,
nothing bonds a family together
quite like mortal jeopardy.
You are running into the broken mind
of a creature hell-bent on the apocalypse.
Oh, please.
She's far too sophisticated for some
predictable textbook endgame.
And did it ever occur to you
that my motivations
may not be quite so Machiavellian?
I have grown tired of
the coin-flip of your intentions.
Which Ultron do we get today?
But now I see that you are the coin.
You are the coin.
And you can never land,
because if you did, you'd be known.
Revealed for everything that you are
and exposed for everything
that you are not.
- You're angry.
- [muffled] You have imprisoned me here!
Because this was the only place left.
This house is getting crowded, Vision.
Thomas may be human and not a program,
but he lives here all the same.
You found your missing code.
I have yet to find mine.
Drop the firewalls. Let me find my place.
You stole Katerina's face!
As a key for her, a killer.
And that is why you will
never leave this place.
Then I'll keep you here.
Long enough to watch
Thomas Shepherd's fate.
A bounty hunter's bullet?
Or perhaps taken in
taught the tricks of an assassin's trade.
Who knows?
So, toss the coin, Vision.
Heads, keep the firewalls up
and trap us both here
in some misguided effort
to save the world.
Or tails,
you lower the firewalls,
free us both, and save your son.
Choice is yours.
Vision.
[female automated voice]
Warning, firewall disabled.
System vulnerable to data breach.
Please re-engage.
What is this?
It's Ultron attempting to slow us down
while he makes his escape.
Okay, Vee,
you remember my seven-part lecture
on heroic landings?
Ultron!
What is this?
You once told me that hats
imply a journey about to begin.
Well, all journeys begin with hope.
And hope
is the only weapon
that's ever really worked for me.
You've chosen your son.
He's not my son.
But I can still save Thomas.
The only person who can save you now
is yourself.
Then this is goodbye.
Not goodbye.
You should know this.
Whatever you choose, whatever she chooses,
I will be coming for you both.
I'd be disappointed if you didn't.
Oh, my God, no! No, no, no, no, no!
- Friday, Friday. Friday.
- But you--
- You didn't even try and stop him.
- I promise you,
we will find them
and we will stop them both together.
No.
Not together.
Friday!
Friday!
No.
He broke the connection.
We can go after them, though, right?
We can run a trace.
The address is encrypted.
So, we hack it!
- There has to be a way. There--
- Edith.
She's gone.
But they'll delete her.
No, I can't process. I need-- [glitches]
It's Friday.
Please, Vision, I n--
I think I need defragging.
[sobbing]
You all right?
It's time.
For what?
To wake up.
Edith, what's our current location?
Where Ultron left your body
in the real world?
- Right, but where exactly is that?
- Um
[animal growling]
- [gasps]
- [Vision] Oh.
Don't really know what I was expecting.
Well, it would appear that
Ultron has left us on some sort of
animal transport plane.
But on our way to where?
[U] "Poo."
We're on our way to Madripoor.
It would appear that Ultron has left us
on the way to Madripoor to rescue Thomas.
[Lisa] All right, listen, mate.
Lisa.
In the space of a single evening,
I've seen you fight robots, glitch out,
vaporize a billionaire, kidnap my mate,
and then clop like a zombie
onto this here cargo plane.
That's fine.
All I care about is
Thomas.
Me too.
Let's bring him home.
[closing theme music playing]