Stark Tower
Vision lay on a slanted surgical bed at a forty-five-degree angle. Six different robotic arms constantly moved above his head. Some fired hair-thin laser beams, cutting or welding with precision. Others launched nanobots to fill the tiny scars on Vision's forehead.
For Vision, the Mind Stone removal surgery was like removing a human eyeball. The key difficulty was that Vision had not yet received any anesthetic. He could only endure the pain until the procedure was complete.
Tony's fingers were constantly operating the machines with absolute focus. His face was covered in sweat. Pepper, standing nearby, gently wiped the sweat off Tony's face with a towel.
Meanwhile, Reed, using his elastic powers, extended his arms to continuously increase and decrease the number of wires connected to Vision's body. The electrical current released by these wires constantly interfered with Vision's internal systems, temporarily disrupting their function and producing a subtle anesthetic-like effect.
"Tony, how is Vision doing?"
Hearing Reed's words, Tony continued to manipulate the machines to retrieve the Mind Stone carefully. He said, "It is going pretty well. We are about forty percent complete."
"Okay, then let us redouble our efforts. I just received a message saying Sebastian and the Avengers were a resounding success. While a few escaped, the vast majority of the Shadow Council have been eliminated. The Shadow Council is effectively dead in name only."
With a slight smile on his lips, Tony said to Reed, "That is good news. Now there is only one thing we need to deal with. Once we have completely resolved this situation with Sebastian, then..."
Beep, beep, beep...
As Tony spoke, an alarm suddenly sounded. Tony and Reed, hearing this particular alarm, both wore grave expressions.
Reed gave up adjusting the circuits for a moment. He immediately tapped on the computer keyboard beside him. A screen popped up beside Reed and Tony, displaying a video feed from the T-Fortress.
"Tony, there is a strange alien fleet already in orbit around Mars. At their current rate, they will reach the first defense line in half an hour!"
Taking a deep breath, Tony slowed his efforts to retrieve the Mind Stone. He focused more on the situation.
"Reed, immediately adjust the positions of the three defense satellites and place them on standby. If needed, activate defensive measures immediately and intercept the approaching alien fleet as much as possible. Also, transfer Peter and the others to the call. I believe they have some knowledge of these fleets."
"Understood!"
Reed replied immediately. He connected Peter and the others to the communication system. An additional dialog box popped up in the corner of the screen, revealing Peter's face.
"Tony, Reed, what is going on?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Reed sent Peter and the others the surveillance video. Peter's expression suddenly grew serious upon seeing it. He seemed to stand up from his chair.
"Tony, Reed, tell Sebastian and the others on Earth that we are preparing for battle. The owner of this fleet will show us no mercy. He will bring only destruction."
Upon hearing this, Tony's face immediately became grave. He asked, "Who is the owner of the fleet?"
"Thanos!"
The name instantly darkened Tony and Reed's expressions. They had long known about Thanos's situation from Sebastian and Peter. They knew he would arrive sooner or later. However, they had not anticipated his arrival so soon. They were only halfway prepared, with much still to complete. Facing Thanos at this point, Tony felt no assurance of victory.
If it were just Thanos alone, Tony would not have worried. They had Sebastian.
But Sebastian had already informed Tony about everything. Tony had some understanding of the forces behind Thanos. He knew they had more to contend with than just Thanos himself.
"Reed, you go to the T-Fortress and meet Peter and the others. Give it your all and hold out for as long as possible. Even if we can get just one more second now, we will have a better chance of winning.
As for me, I will continue to retrieve the Mind Stone and try not to affect Sebastian's plan."
"Okay, I understand!"
Without saying anything more, Reed immediately rushed to the nearby portal. After activating the portal, he immediately arrived inside the T-Fortress. He met up with Peter and the others to begin preparations to confront Thanos's fleet.
Teams of Iron Legion drones, which had already been manufactured, quickly gathered together. Various small and medium-sized spacecraft were ready. Weapons loading was also underway. At the same time, the Guardians of the Galaxy were also ready. After recent modifications by Tony and Reed, their spaceships were already top-tier in the universe. They were fully capable of fighting guerrilla warfare.
"Reed, we are leaving now."
"Are you really leaving the station?"
Peter looked at Reed and nodded firmly. "Do not worry. Our ship is equipped with the emergency teleporter you and Tony prepared for us. If there is any problem, we can immediately activate it and return here. Besides, it is not the first time we have seen a scene like this. Thanos's fleet cannot immediately deal with us."
This was true. Thanos's strength lay primarily in his own power and the strength of his soldiers and generals. In reality, when it came to fleets and spacecraft alone, his power was not particularly impressive. Of course, this may also be due to the overwhelming strength of Thanos and his men.
No one in the universe could withstand Thanos's fleet's boarding tactics. That was also his main fighting method. Naturally, the ship weaponry was not very advanced.