[Shield's Training Grounds – Nevada Desert]
A sonic boom cracked the silence.
Frank Castle shot through the air. He cut hard left, dropped altitude, and fired his repulsors to steady himself before flipping mid-air and landing in a crouch that cratered the dirt.
"Flight course complete," Legion's voice came through the comm. "Stability improving. Thrust control at eighty-nine percent efficiency."
"Better than yesterday," Frank said as he controlled the HUD before his eyes to activate the next phase of his training. He flexed his hands, nanite plating shifting across his knuckles.
"Next module: Weapon shift—advanced sequence," Legion responded.
A dozen drones zipped into formation overhead, glowing red targets locking onto him. Frank rolled his shoulders. "Alright, let's dance."
The first volley came fast. He sidestepped, armor plating thickening across his chest as rounds ricocheted off. His right arm morphed into a high-caliber pulse rifle, and he returned fire with short, controlled bursts. Three drones exploded instantly.
"Accuracy: ninety-one percent," Legion said. "Response time improving."
"Still too slow," Frank muttered. He boosted forward, jets flaring behind his boots, spinning in mid-air as the rifle shifted into dual blades. He cut through two drones like a freaking watermelon, then used a back-thrust to gain altitude again.
"Warning. Incoming heavy unit," Legion warned, pulling up the trajectory on the HUD.
A massive drone broke from the clouds above, twice his size, with four rotating cannons and an energy core glowing deep violet.
Frank grinned. "Now we're talking."
He flew straight up, letting the cannons track him. At the last second, he cut thrust and dropped. The air screamed around him. The armor reconfigured, the blades retracting as a heavy gauntlet cannon formed around his right arm. He hit full charge and fired.
The shot tore through the air like lightning, slamming into the drone's core. The explosion lit up the desert like a sunrise.
Frank landed hard, dust billowing around him. The MK-1 hissed, cooling systems venting steam. He stood there, chest heaving, helmet retracting to reveal a grin that didn't look entirely sane.
"Legion," he said between breaths, "run it again."
"You have completed this scenario twelve times. Fatigue levels suggest—"
"Run it again."
A pause. Then Legion said, "Confirmed. Resetting targets."
The hum of drones filled the air once more.
...
[4 PM]
Frank finally called it. He deactivated the training program. The nanites retracted, sliding off his body until only the black ring around his finger remained. Sweat dripped down his jaw as he walked under the shed and dropped onto the bench. His chest rose and fell hard. A Shield agent jogged over, handed him a cold bottle of water, and gave a small nod. Frank took it, twisted the cap, and drank half in one go.
"Thanks," he muttered.
The agent walked off. Frank leaned forward, elbows on his knees, catching his breath.
A few seconds later. Natasha landed nearby. She walked over and stopped in front of him as her armor retracted, forming a scarf.
"How's it going?" she asked.
Frank looked up, still breathing heavy. "Completed the advanced course," he said. "Legion says my efficiency's up to eighty-nine percent."
"That's progress," Natasha said. She tapped her bracelet, projecting a holographic display between them. Blue light formed a 3D map of Mexico with a blinking red marker in the center.
"Owl moved south," she said. "Set up in Baja. Yesterday, a large shipment of weapons went into his compound. And the Hand is on the move."
Natasha swiped through several files. Four profiles appeared in the air.
"Gorgon," she said first. "Mutant. Can turn people to stone with eye contact. Used to work for Hydra. Vanished after their collapse. Now, he's resurfaced with the Hand."
Frank frowned. "Perfect."
"Next is Kenuichio Harada. Silver Samurai," Natasha continued. "Projects a tachyon energy field through his sword. Former Hand assassin. Deadly in close combat."
She flipped to the next file. "Iron Monk: Master of chi manipulation and nearly invulnerable. Intelligence reports label him as the Hand's spiritual enforcer. There are rumors that his mastery of chi is so advanced that bullets, swords, and explosions can't hurt him."
Then she stopped at the last one. "Bullseye."
Frank's jaw tightened. "I know him."
"I figured you did," Natasha said. "Intel says he's coordinating the weapons distribution."
Frank leaned back, running a hand over his face. "That's one hell of a lineup."
"Doesn't matter," Natasha said. "The plan is still on. You'll capture Owl as planned and bring him to Emma. The rest, leave them to us. We are moving tomorrow night."
"Good," Frank said, standing up. "About time I stretched my legs outside the simulator."
"And..." Natasha took out a blue vial and set it on the bench beside Frank. "This is Aegis Serum. Think of it as an upgraded version of the Super Soldier Serum. Tomorrow's battle won't be easy. Owl could have more tricks up his sleeve, and we might encounter additional mutants and superhumans. Even with the suit, there is a limit to what the human body can endure. I'm pretty sure that creepy monk will be guarding Owl. His chi might be able to penetrate the armor. We've never fought a chi user before, so there's that 50/50 chance. So, take the serum and be prepared."
...
[Stark Tower – Mess Hall]
Anton Vanko sat alone at one of the long metal tables, his attention completely consumed by the holographic projection in front of him. Rows of blueprints rotated slowly in the air, each layer revealing another level of complexity—orbital platforms, particle conduits, energy redirection nodes. He zoomed in, muttering to himself in Russian under his breath as equations and schematic overlays flickered.
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the hologram emitters. A tray of untouched food sat beside him, steam long gone.
Bruce Banner walked in, coffee mug in hand. He looked like he hadn't slept in at least two nights, which, for Banner, meant it had been a productive week.
He spotted Anton and smiled. "You've been here for hours. Food's going cold."
Anton blinked and looked up, realizing for the first time that he wasn't alone. "Oh. Dr. Banner. I... lost track of time."
"Clearly," Bruce said, walking over. "Let me guess. Tony's orbital defense system?"
Anton's eyes lit up. "It's genius. Layered energy lattice synchronized with global satellites, powered by micro Arc Reactors. Elegant and brutal at the same time."
Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, that's Tony. Never builds anything that isn't capable of leveling a city block."
Anton grinned faintly. "Or saving one."
Bruce sat across from him, tapping his wristband. A new hologram opened between them, overlapping Anton's projection. "Since you're already in the neighborhood, maybe you can help me with something. I've been designing these for the space stations. Gamma cannons and guided payloads. The idea is to give our defense grid some real teeth against larger threats."
Anton leaned forward, studying the plans. "Gamma cannons. You're using your own research as the base?"
"Modified," Bruce said. "No raw gamma radiation this time. Controlled emissions, focused bursts. Think of it like using a scalpel instead of a bomb."
Anton scrolled through the schematics, his brows knitting tighter as he examined the power routes. "This is impressive. But… I see the problem."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
Anton pointed to a glowing section of the design, a convergence of five energy conduits feeding into the cannon's central chamber. "Here. Your power distribution line is pulling unevenly from the Arc Reactor's tertiary core. The gamma matrix is consuming more energy than the conduits can handle. It's not a design flaw; it's a flow problem."
Bruce frowned, leaning closer. "I rerouted the excess into the secondary capacitor banks to stabilize it."
Anton shook his head. "That only delays the overload. You're bottlenecking the charge instead of balancing it. You need to split the power flow before it hits the capacitor, not after."
He gestured through the hologram, drawing a new circuit in real time. "Use a dual-phase regulator here and rewire the output to feed directly into a harmonic feedback loop. It will allow the gamma charge to cycle evenly and reduce the strain on the Arc Reactor."
Bruce stared for a second, then slowly smiled. "You just solved in thirty seconds what took me three weeks to almost fix."
Anton shrugged. "Electricity behaves like water. You can't stop it from flowing, but you can redirect it."
Bruce laughed quietly. "You sound like Tony."
Anton's expression softened. "I take that as compliment."
Bruce sat back, nodding. "You know, when Tony said he was giving you a second chance, a lot of people doubted him. I didn't. People who understand power usually know what it means to use it wrong."
Anton looked down for a moment, his smile fading just slightly. "I used to think power was about control. But Stark… he builds things to protect. To change the world, not rule it." He looked back up. "I want to walk that path."
Bruce gave a small nod. "Then you're in the right place."
He closed the hologram and stood. "Come to the lab tomorrow. We'll integrate your regulator fix into the main prototype. If it works, we'll leave for the Moon base and start working on the stations."
Anton nodded firmly. "I'll be there."
Bruce started to walk away, then stopped and looked back. "Oh, and Anton? Eat something. Genius doesn't mean immune to low blood sugar."
Anton smiled faintly. "I'll keep that in mind, Doctor."
Banner left the room.
...
[Meanwhile, Horizon Base]
Tony stood before the crumbling Tesseract. He could feel the energy wave of the Space Stone. "It's time." He mumbled to himself as the final barrier cracked open. Bright blue glow swept over the containment chamber. He shielded his eyes.
After a few seconds, the glow stabilized.
Tony opened his eyes.
The Space Stone was floating right before him. He extended his hand toward it. The Stone flew over his palm, pulsating with mini vibrations. It was like the Stone had a mind of its own.
That was the least of his worries. The main concern was: Can Tony touch the Infinity Stone without harming himself or teleporting to an unknown location?
"Alright. This is it, Tony," He took a deep breath. "Hermes. Keep the medical nanites ready."
He grabbed the Space Stone.
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