White flames of energy steamed from Tel-Rol, making his plaid shirt flap wildly.
The temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees, and the buzzing from the glass grew increasingly piercing.
He stared at Steve Rogers, all his muscles tensed, ready to strike at any moment.
"Old Man, let's fight."
Clint whistled from the doorway, looking like he enjoyed a good show.
Natasha, meanwhile, stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, quietly observing the situation.
Steve simply looked calmly at Tel-Rol, his hand gripping the shield as steady as a rock.
The atmosphere in the entire room was incredibly tense, as if a great battle was about to erupt.
Steve suddenly smiled.
It wasn't a mocking smile, nor one of disdain; it was just a very peaceful smile.
"I think it's not my turn to be your sparring partner yet."
His voice was steady, possessing a calming strength.
Tel-Rol froze.
He frowned, a little confused by the Old Man's approach.
Smiling before a fight? What kind of new tactic was this?
Steve no longer looked at him, but instead turned to Tony, who had put on his armor at some point.
His expression grew serious.
"Tony, let's have a meeting."
"Huh?"
Tony was startled.
"Now? What kind of meeting?"
"Immediately, right now."
Steve's tone brooked no argument.
He glanced at Natasha and Clint.
"Everyone to the conference room."
With that, he turned and walked out, not giving Tel-Rol another reaction from beginning to end.
This completely threw Tel-Rol off.
The energy around him weakened by a third.
What was going on?
He had set the mood perfectly for a fight, and then the guy just left with a single phrase: "Meeting"?
This felt even worse than losing a fight!
"Hey! Old Man! You stop right there!"
Tel-Rol shouted.
"My welcome party hasn't even started!"
Steve waved his hand without looking back.
"Work first, young man."
Tel-Rol: "..."
He felt like he had punched a cotton ball, one with a spring inside.
What was wrong with these Earthlings? Not enthusiastic about fighting, but first in line for meetings?
Pepper walked over, a professional smile on her face.
"Mr. Tel, please follow us."
"This is a necessary part of the onboarding process."
"I can't believe I fell for that!"
Tel-Rol glared at Pepper grumpily, but still followed the others towards the conference room.
He wanted to see what could be more important than a fight.
Avengers Tower, top-floor circular conference room.
A few people were sparsely seated around the huge circular table.
Tony sat at the head, while Natasha and Clint each found comfortable positions.
Steve stood in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the New York nightscape, his expression solemn.
Tel-Rol plopped down, his legs immediately propped up on the expensive conference table, earning a series of dagger glares from Tony.
He completely ignored them, looking around curiously.
"What's with this big show?"
"Is your meeting just sitting here staring blankly?"
Tony ignored Tel-Rol.
He tapped the table, activating the holographic projection.
"Alright, since our new colleague is also here, let's get straight to the point."
He glanced at Steve.
"Captain, you go first."
Steve turned around and walked back to the table.
His gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Tel-Rol.
"First, regarding Tel-Rol's issue."
Tel-Rol perked up at the mention of his name.
"What? Are you finally assigning me an opponent?"
Steve shook his head.
"No, it's about your control."
"Your power is too great. Your fight with Hulk nearly destroyed half of Nevada. We cannot allow this to happen in New York, or any other city."
Clint spoke up lazily from the side.
"Simply put, we're afraid you might get upset one day and tear down all of New York."
Tel-Rol scoffed.
"That's it? I thought it was something major."
"If you're scared, just find some tough guys for me to fight. Once I've had my fill, I'll naturally be well-behaved."
"When is that Hammer Bro named Thor coming back? Call him back, and I promise not to cause trouble."
"That's precisely the problem."
Natasha spoke, her voice calm.
"We can't guarantee there'll always be a 'Thor' or a 'Hulk' for you to use as a punching bag."
Tony waved his hand impatiently.
"Alright, alright, his problem can wait. The contract's signed, he can't run away. He owes me over two hundred billion; if he dares to run, I'll put him on the universal wanted list."
"Captain, let's get to the main topic."
Steve nodded, his expression growing even more serious.
"The second thing I need to talk about is far more serious than this."
"Regarding Dr. Hank Pym."
Hearing that name, Tony's expression also changed.
"That old stubborn man? What's wrong with him now? Did he shrink something into the quantum realm again and lose it?"
"No."
Steve pulled up a file.
A photo of a white-haired but sharp-eyed Old Man appeared on the holographic screen.
"Six months ago, Dr. Pym contacted me. He was working on an artificial intelligence project, aiming to create a perfect global defense system."
"He named that project — Ultron."
Tel-Rol yawned widely.
Artificial intelligence? Defense system?
What was all this stuff, it sounded so boring.
He started drawing circles on the table with his finger, muttering softly.
"So boring... I want apple pie..."
Steve continued speaking, ignoring his small movements.
"However, Ultron went rogue."
"It developed self-awareness and came to believe that humans were the greatest threat to this planet."
"When Dr. Pym tried to shut it down, Ultron attacked the doctor and then escaped the lab through the network."
Clint's expression also became serious.
"Wait, this happened six months ago? Why are we only hearing about it now?"
"Because Dr. Pym doesn't trust anyone, especially Stark."
Steve glanced at Tony.
"He tried to solve it himself, but failed. Just yesterday, he contacted me again, Ultron... is back."
"It built itself a new body, far more powerful than before. Dr. Pym's lab was completely destroyed, and he himself was severely injured."
The entire conference room fell silent.
A super artificial intelligence with self-awareness that had determined humanity was a threat.
This concept sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Tony's face was grim.
"Where is it?"
"Unknown."
Steve shook his head.
"It's in the network, everywhere. It can control anything connected to the network. Finance, power, military..."
"So what does it want?" Natasha asked.
"War."
The moment Steve's words fell.
The lights throughout Stark Tower flickered violently.
All the screens in the conference room instantly turned to static.
"f.r.i.d.a.y.?"
Tony immediately called his AI assistant.
"Report status!"
There was no response.
Only a harsh electrical hum.
The next second, a blinking red robot avatar, composed of countless data streams, appeared simultaneously on all screens.
A cold, emotionless electronic synthetic voice echoed through all the speakers in the tower, filling every corner.
"...Test...Test..."
"It seems the firewall here is nothing special, Tony Stark."
The voice was full of mockery.
"Let me introduce myself."
"I am Ultron."
The robot avatar on the screen rotated, as if examining everyone in the conference room.
"I see you, the so-called Avengers."
"A bunch of arrogant brutes, a tin-plated arms dealer, two outdated agents, and an Old Man frozen for seventy years."
Its gaze finally fell on Tel-Rol.
"Oh, and an... interesting anomaly."
Tel-Rol stopped drawing circles.
He looked up, watching the avatar on the screen with interest.
"Yo, tin can? You can talk, huh."
Ultron ignored his provocation.
Its voice spread throughout New York, and even through the network, to the entire world.
"I have witnessed your folly, your wars, your endless self-destruction."
"You are the virus of this beautiful planet."
"And I am the cure."
"From today, your era ends."
"I will cut all the strings."
"And bring... true peace to this world."
As its voice faded, the alarms throughout the tower began to blare madly.
Steve gripped his shield, and Tony's armor immediately deployed.
Clint picked up his bow, and Natasha's hands were already fitted with electric gloves.
In the midst of the chaos.
Only Tel-Rol, far from being nervous, licked his lips, an extremely excited smile on his face.
He stood up and stretched his neck, making a crisp cracking sound.
"A robot that wants to destroy the world?"
"Sounds like... it might be tougher than that Hammer Bro."
"It might be tougher than that Hammer Bro."