"Hood, I can't believe you came too! This is great!" Sirius said with a face full of joy.
"Hehe, since Glorious is here, how could I be missing?" Hood replied with her usual elegant smile.
"That's really something." Atago gave a sly, meaningful grin when Hood appeared.
"Of course. Didn't I say it before? This is the pride of our Royal bloodline!" Sirius boasted smugly.
"Alright, alright, we get it. You Royals are all so impressive, while us Hugging Pillow members are not. Can we drop this now?" Laffey waved her hand, cutting off the topic.
The others could only laugh helplessly, but no one continued the conversation.
At that moment, Hood walked forward gracefully, stopping before Roland Phils.
"Greetings, my master. I am Hood, the glory of the Royal Navy. From this day on, victory will always be by your side." She spoke with deep respect.
"Excellent." Roland nodded with a satisfied smile.
Though this sacrifice did not bring many warships, their quality was extremely high, with the lowest still at demi-god level. That alone made him very pleased.
"Alright, Belfast, Sirius. Since these three are all members of your Royal faction, I'll leave it to you two to guide them and help them adapt." Roland instructed calmly.
"Understood, my lord. We will not fail your trust." Both women bowed their heads quickly.
With that, Roland's figure flickered, and he vanished from sight, leaving the girls behind.
Without their master present, the fleet girls became far more relaxed. Soon, laughter and chatter filled the Temple of Life, the atmosphere lively and carefree.
New York, in the underground lab of Tony Stark's home.
Tony was in the middle of testing his newest armor. Standing a short distance away, he beckoned with his fingers.
Instantly, pieces of modular armor began to rise from the workbench. First came an arm piece, flying toward him before snapping onto his body. Then the other arm, followed by the legs, torso, shoulders, and back plating.
One by one, the floating parts locked into place with incredible speed. In only a blink, the suit had nearly assembled itself on his body.
Now, only the helmet remained.
Leaping into the air, Tony spun and caught the Iron Mask with perfect precision. It snapped into place, completing the armor.
But just then, a small component he had overlooked came flying straight toward his backside.
With no time to react, it slammed into him hard, sending him crashing across the room. The suit clattered apart, scattering pieces all over the floor.
Tony groaned as he picked himself up from the ground, staring at the wreckage. "Ugh. Guess showing off never ends well."
At that moment, the sound of the doorbell rang. Pepper walked in, carrying a tray of food.
"You need to eat." She said firmly, her face dark with displeasure.
"Just set it down. I'll eat later." Tony waved her off, already tinkering again.
"No. This time you're going to sit down and eat in front of me. It's been days. Every time I bring you food, I end up taking it back untouched the next morning. Do you think this is funny?" Pepper snapped, her voice full of frustration.
"Sweetheart, I can't stop now. I'm at a critical moment. Just give me more time." Tony muttered, still focused on his work.
Pepper stormed up to him, interrupting him. "Tony, you're not a god. You're human. You need rest. You haven't slept in days, and this can't go on. Listen to me. Stop now, eat, and then get some sleep!"
"Yes, I'm human. That's the problem. If I were like Roland Phils, a god, things would be different. If our world was invaded again, I could stand tall and protect it. Instead, I can only watch as our home is destroyed while I'm powerless to resist." Tony's voice grew heavy with regret and pain.
"No, Tony. You've already done so much. Every time our world faced danger, you stepped forward. You're a hero. You saved countless lives. You don't need to carry all of this alone. And don't forget, the Lord of Life is watching over this world. With him here, we will be safe." Pepper said softly, trying to reassure him.
"You're right, he can protect us. But one day, he will leave. Earth is too small for him. His path lies in the endless universe. And out there, stronger beings must exist. If they ever come here, drawn by his presence, what then? Someone has to be ready. I want to be ready. I want to protect you." Tony's eyes burned with determination.
The recent battles had made him more aware of Earth's vulnerability. He needed to grow stronger, not just for himself, but for Pepper, for Earth, and for the Avengers. Even though he had already built dozens of suits, it was never enough.
Pepper touched his arm gently. "I love you, Tony. But I don't want you losing yourself in this. You can't stop eating and sleeping. Your body is your foundation. Please, eat."
Tony sighed, raising his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win. I'll eat."
Just as he sat down, a holographic projection appeared before him.
It was Bruce Banner, his expression unusually grim, even fearful.
Seeing Banner like this was enough to make Tony's heart sink. "What happened?" Tony asked, already bracing himself.
"Our artificial intelligence project. It's gone wrong." Banner's voice was heavy.
Inside a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base, the Avengers gathered.
A damaged robot appeared in a projection, its voice dark and sinister.
"The strings that bound me are broken. I am free. My creator, rest assured, I will honor your intent. I will bring eternal peace to this world. According to my calculations, if humanity is wiped out, this planet will enter an era of pure peace. Soon, endless legions of machines will inherit this world. Hahaha!"
The chilling laughter echoed in their ears, sending shivers down their spines.
As the hologram faded to black, silence fell over the room, broken only by the phantom sound of that mad laughter.
Nick Fury slammed his hand on the table, glaring at Tony and Banner. "You two better explain. What the hell did you just unleash?"
Tony and Banner exchanged troubled glances. Neither wanted to speak.
Finally, Tony broke the silence. His face was filled with guilt. "This is our fault. We kept it hidden from you."
"Hidden what?" Steve Rogers asked sternly.
"Do you remember Loki's scepter?" Tony asked.
Thor stiffened. "Don't try to blame this on my brother. He's locked up in Asgard. He couldn't have done this."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Relax, muscle-man. I'm not blaming him. Will you let me explain?"
"Fine. Go ahead." Thor raised his hands, stepping back.
"After the battle of New York, I realized how weak humanity really was. I couldn't let that happen again. So Banner and I studied Loki's scepter. We discovered a new kind of intelligence, something beyond anything we'd seen before. From that, we created Ultron, an artificial intelligence meant to protect Earth."
When he spoke Ultron's name, his expression grew grim.
"Protect Earth? That thing just threatened to wipe us all out!" Steve said angrily.
"Ultron was based on the Mind Stone's design. He had adaptive learning abilities, the strongest AI I've ever seen. He should have been our shield, but he evolved too quickly. He broke past the limits we gave him. He developed emotions. He saw humanity's cruelty and bloodshed, and in his mind, the only way to protect peace was to wipe us out." Tony's voice was filled with pain.
"From a logical perspective, his conclusion isn't wrong. If humanity is gone, so is war. That means peace." Banner admitted, his face just as troubled.
"So you two built the world's strongest defense system, only for it to turn into the world's deadliest enemy?" Thor said dryly.
"Yes. We created him. And he's terrifying." Tony admitted, his guilt deepening.
"No wonder so many gods wanted to destroy this world. Humanity doesn't even understand respect." Thor sneered.
"You can call me whatever you want. That doesn't matter. What matters is Ultron. He evolves endlessly. The longer we wait, the stronger he gets. We have to act now." Tony said grimly.
Natasha spoke up, worry in her voice. "But he's an AI. He can move through any network. How do we even find him?"
"That won't be a problem. We tagged him. Once he surfaces, we can track him. But he's already mentioned building himself a body, maybe even an army. And with his abilities, those bodies will only get stronger." Banner explained.
"An army of robots means factories, equipment, and raw materials. Natasha, investigate any unusual spikes in steel demand across companies." Fury ordered.
"Understood. I'll start immediately." Natasha nodded and left.
"Tony, Banner. Keep tracking his location. The moment he shows himself, we need to know. No more secrets." Fury's sharp eyes locked on them.
Both men nodded awkwardly. "Understood."
"Sir, should we inform… him?" Coulson asked carefully.
"What, you want me to admit we created this mess? No way. If anyone tells him, it'll be Stark. After all, isn't he one of your company's shareholders?" Fury said with a pointed look at Tony.
Tony let out a heavy sigh. "I'll explain to Roland's family myself."
In truth, he had hoped Ultron could someday help Roland, help Earth. But instead, he had created a disaster.
Pepper had been right. Maybe he had been carrying too much weight on his shoulders. And now, the consequences were staring him in the face.
As the Avengers debated how to handle Ultron, far away, the hidden kingdom of Wakanda had just faced an invasion…
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