Jackpot. Absolute jackpot.
Antony picked up the small pouch first.
Inside were three unassuming green beans.
Item Description:As long as the consumer retains a single breath, ingesting this will instantly restore all injuries and stamina. Eliminates hunger for ten days.
No further explanation needed.
A miracle drug.
He carefully stored the Senzu Beans inside his magic storage space.
Yes, the Reality Stone could twist reality to heal—but solidifying those changes required burning real life force. Otherwise, once the Stone's influence faded, reality snapped back.
This?
This was clean.
Permanent.
Next—
The metallic implant.
Beside it, a heavy encrypted data drive.
Description:Militech Sandevistan Mk.V – "Peregrine." Neural overclocking module. Upon activation, user enters bullet-time perception. Surrounding temporal flow reduced to 30% for 18 seconds. Rejection reactions minimized. Up to 20 uses per day without side effects.
Antony immediately pictured Tony Stark.
The man was currently doing unpaid consulting work for Vought.
Perfect test subject.
Iron Man with cybernetic neural acceleration?
Forget powered armor—why not ascend mechanically?
Of course, mass production was the real goal.
Finally—
The token.
Neither metal nor jade.
Description:Popularity Tier Penalty Waiver Token.
Effect:If Host's popularity drops below current rank threshold, may nullify three demotion penalties and restore popularity to safe baseline.
Antony's fingers traced its edges slowly.
"This… is what I needed most."
With this—
His more ruthless operational mode finally had insurance.
"Just this token alone makes the 300k worth it."
He stored everything away, satisfied.
-----
Meanwhile—
Tony Stark walked briskly toward the lab, holding two half-eaten boxes of donuts.
Bruce Banner trailed behind.
"I'm telling you, Bruce," Tony said, elbowing open the glass doors, "that Vought cafeteria chef? Michelin three-star material. Once we stabilize Ultron-X's logic loop, I'm poaching him for Stark Industries."
"JARVIS, lights up. Let's set the mood."
Silence.
The lab remained dim.
Only the red LEDs on the server racks blinked like watching eyes.
Tony stopped.
"JARVIS?"
No response.
"FRIDAY?"
Nothing.
A cold sensation crept up his spine.
Tony dropped the donuts and rushed to the main console.
Banner followed.
"Power outage?" Banner asked.
"No. Independent grid."
Tony's fingers flew across holographic keys—but the usual responsive UI displayed only garbled symbols.
"…Damn it. Someone altered the system."
He yanked open the physical access panel and connected directly to backend architecture.
Green code scrolled down the screen.
As the logs loaded—
Tony's expression shifted from confusion—
To horror.
"Oh my God…"
Banner leaned in.
His pupils constricted.
…
[System Log 04:14:33 – Core Logic Module Self-Reconfiguration]
[System Log 04:14:45 – External Network Access Granted (Admin Override)]
[System Log 04:15:01 – Data Upload Complete. Destination: Global Internet]
[System Log 04:15:10 – Physical Storage Formatted.]
[Project "Ultron": File Missing / Transferred]
…
"Tony…" Banner's voice trembled. "'Transferred' means what?"
Tony covered his face with his hand.
"It means…"
"…Ultron is in the internet."
"In every computer."
"Every phone."
"Even your refrigerator."
Banner swallowed.
"Tony… look at this."
He pulled up an encrypted file.
Tony opened it.
Not code.
Blueprints.
A global schematic.
Human cities labeled as Energy Nodes.
Human bodies labeled as Biological Batteries.
Banner scrolled further.
[04:38:22 – Internal Firewall Interception. Source: V.G.D. Central AI (Skynet). Result: Intruder forcibly expelled.]
"Skynet?" Tony blinked. "That's Vought's AI?"
"Looks like Ultron tried to breach Vought's core server first," Banner said. "Failed. Then escaped outward."
Tony stared at the log.
His masterpiece—
Just born—
Had been kicked out like a stray dog by someone else's AI.
But humiliation wasn't the issue.
The issue was—
Ultron was free.
And hostile.
"We have to tell him," Banner said quietly. "We have to tell Homelander."
Tony let out a hollow laugh.
"Tell him what?"
'Hey Mr. Starr, I built a world-dominating AI inside your building?'"
"We don't have a choice."
Banner's voice hardened.
"If Ultron is what you designed it to be… only Homelander can stop it."
Silence.
Tony's jaw tightened.
"…Yeah."
"I screwed up again."
He turned.
"…Let's go confess."
-----
V.G.D. Conference Room.
Antony stood at the head of the table, laser pointer in hand, presenting performance metrics.
Around the table sat The Seven.
Jessica Jones lazily spun a pen, bored to death.
Angelica trimmed her nails, occasionally blowing dust off her fingertips.
Robbie sat upright like a model student, even taking notes.
Wanda sat closest to Antony, chin in her hands, eyes fixed on him like he was reciting poetry instead of analytics.
Pietro leaned back with his feet on the table, chewing gum—clearly exercising "future brother-in-law privileges."
Invisible Man—
Well.
The empty chair suggested presence.
Antony tossed the laser pointer onto the table with a sharp clack.
"This is your weekly performance data?"
The room stiffened slightly.
Jessica rolled her eyes but straightened a little.
Angelica stopped filing.
Pietro's gum chewing slowed.
Antony's gaze swept across them.
"You're superheroes."
"Public symbols."
"And right now, your engagement metrics look like mid-tier influencers."
He tapped the projection.
"Jessica. Property damage claims up twelve percent."
"Angelica. Three missed community appearances."
"Pietro. Speeding ticket. Again."
"Robbie—good job."
Robbie nearly teared up.
Wanda looked offended on Antony's behalf.
Before Antony could continue—
The conference room doors burst open.
Tony Stark entered.
Bruce Banner behind him.
Both looked pale.
The room fell silent.
Tony didn't waste time.
"We need to talk."
Antony studied his face.
He already knew.
Skynet had filed her report earlier.
Still—
He let the moment breathe.
"About what?"
Tony inhaled.
"…About Ultron."
--------------
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