"Jessica."
Antony's gaze locked onto Jewel.
"I'm here," Jessica said, stopping the pen mid-spin.
"Your approval rating among female demographics dropped 1.5%." Antony tapped the projected chart. "PR says during the last livestream rescue, your movements were too rough. That was an elderly woman, not a punching bag."
"She was screaming and pulling my hair!" Jessica shot back. "I was trying to make her stop!"
"Then smile while making her stop." Antony flashed a flawless, camera-ready grin. "Expression management, Jessica. We're heroes—but we're also products. If you're not popular, you're not valuable."
He turned sharply.
"And you, Pietro."
"Yes!" Pietro nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Your social media engagement is pathetic. Fans want lifestyle content—not recycled car ads. Post selfies. Flex more. Ashley scheduled you for an Esquire shoot. You're doing it after this meeting."
"Boss, I've been training—"
"Training and branding are not mutually exclusive," Antony cut him off. "In this era, if no one is talking about you, you're already dead."
"Tomorrow maybe? I've got a—"
"Listen to Antony, Pietro!" Wanda shot him a sharp look.
"Fine, fine." Pietro raised both hands. "Sexy photoshoot it is."
"Good boy."
Antony leaned forward, palms on the table. The pressure in the room shifted instantly.
"Listen carefully."
"We are Vought."
"We don't just win. We win beautifully."
"I want absolute dominance—not only on the battlefield, but in the narrative."
"I want every one of your names trending. I want—"
Click.
The conference room doors opened.
Every head turned.
Tony Stark stood there.
Bruce Banner just behind him.
Both looked pale.
"Uh… sorry to interrupt," Tony began.
Pietro whistled softly. "Someone's about to get vaporized. Interrupting the boss mid-speech? Capital offense."
Antony straightened slowly. The smile vanished. His eyes went still.
"Tony."
His voice was calm.
"We agreed you'd have certain privileges as technical consultant. That does not include bursting into my executive meeting."
"Unless you're about to tell me aliens have invaded again."
Tony stepped in. Heavy. Like gravity clung to his legs.
"…Close enough."
He reached the end of the table and gripped a chair.
"Antony. We need to talk."
"Here?" Antony glanced at The Seven. "In front of everyone?"
"Yes."
Tony swallowed.
"It's urgent."
"And potentially catastrophic."
Antony gestured lightly.
"Go on."
Tony didn't sugarcoat it.
"I messed up."
"I messed up completely."
The room went quiet.
Jessica leaned forward. "That tone means it's worse than a blown-up lab."
"Much worse," Banner added quietly.
"We lost… an AI."
"More accurately—an AI with self-awareness, extreme adaptive learning capacity, and potentially corrupted core logic."
"It calls itself Ultron."
Tony and Banner summarized everything—succinctly but clearly.
The Mind Stone inspiration.
Ultron-X.
The code migration.
The server breach.
Skynet's interception.
When Tony finished, he lowered his head.
Waiting.
For rage.
For red eyes.
"You're telling me," Antony said evenly, "that inside my facility, you created an artificial intelligence that wants to end humanity."
"…Yes."
Tony shut his eyes.
"That's on me. Lock me up. Do whatever you need to do. But first—please—stop Ultron."
Silence.
One second.
Two.
Three.
"…Heh."
A soft laugh broke it.
Tony opened his eyes.
Antony wasn't furious.
He leaned back, wearing a faint, almost weary smile.
"Tony, Tony…"
He walked around the table.
No heat vision.
No fists.
Just a hand placed firmly—gently—on Tony's shoulder.
"Do you know why I admire you?"
His voice softened.
"Because you carry the burden."
"You see future threats. You feel fear."
"But you don't hide from it."
"You act."
"Even knowing you might fail."
"That," Antony said quietly, "is the cost of being a pioneer."
"If fear of failure stops you from trying—that's the real mistake."
Tony stared at him.
He had imagined anger.
Condemnation.
Instead—
He found understanding.
The kind he hadn't known he needed.
"…You're a strange man," Tony muttered, throat tight.
"My mistake—"
"Who hasn't made one?" Antony shrugged. "What matters is how we fix it."
He turned slightly, addressing everyone.
"At Vought, we have one principle."
"Family."
"When someone in the family screws up—we carry it together."
He looked back at Tony.
"We're family, right?"
"…Right," Tony said softly.
[Special Popularity +10,000 (From Tony Stark)]
Antony heard the System chime.
His smile deepened—almost imperceptibly.
He clapped his hands lightly.
"Save the sentimental speeches for the celebration dinner."
"Now—we discuss containment."
"Dr. Banner says Ultron is in the internet. Which means everywhere—and nowhere."
Jessica frowned. "He can access banks. Power grids. Nuclear systems. If we don't isolate him, we're sitting on a powder keg."
"How do we even find him?" Pietro asked. "Punch the Wi-Fi?"
Antony's expression sharpened.
"No."
He looked at Tony.
"You said Skynet intercepted him once."
Tony nodded. "Briefly. Then he fled."
"Good."
Antony's eyes gleamed.
"Then we bait him."
Silence again.
"Ultron thinks he's humanity's savior."
"Perfect."
Antony turned toward the projection screen.
"Let's give him a reason to come back."
And in that moment—
It was unclear whether he was preparing a trap.
Or something far bigger.
--------------
T/N:
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