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"Jessica." Homelander's gaze locked onto Jewel.
"I'm here." Jessica stopped twirling her pen.
"Your approval rating among women has dropped by 1.5 percentage points." Homelander pointed at the data. "The PR Department says your actions were too rough during the last live rescue. That was an old lady, not a punching bag."
"She was grabbing my hair and screaming!" Jessica defended herself. "I just wanted her to shut up."
"Then make her shut up with a smile." Homelander showed a standard toothy grin. "Expression management, Jessica. We are heroes, but we're also products. If we're not popular, we have no value."
"And you, Pietro!"
"Here!" Pietro jolted in fright.
"You have too little interaction on social media. Fans want to see your life, not those boring car ads you retweet. Post more selfies, show more muscle. Ashley has arranged an Esquire magazine photoshoot for you; go finish it later."
"Boss, I've been training lately..."
"Training and business don't conflict." Homelander interrupted him. "Remember, in this era, if no one is talking about you, you're as good as dead."
"Can it be tomorrow? I have an appointment..."
"Listen to Anthony! Pietro!" Wanda glared sternly at Pietro.
"Okay, Boss." Pietro raised his hands in surrender. "I'll go take the sexy photos right after the meeting."
"Good boy!"
"Listen up, everyone."
Homelander leaned forward with both hands on the table, exuding an overwhelming pressure.
"We are Vought. We don't just want to win; we want to win beautifully. I want absolute dominance, not just on the battlefield, but in the field of public opinion as well."
"I want to see every one of your names trending. I want..."
Click!
The conference room door was pushed open.
The sound interrupted Homelander's speech, and everyone's eyes simultaneously turned toward the door.
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner stood there, both looking very grim.
"Uh... sorry to interrupt everyone." Tony spoke first.
"Whoa..." Pietro whistled. "Looks like someone's in trouble. Interrupting the Boss's speech is a capital offense."
Homelander slowly straightened up, the smile on his face vanishing, his eyes terrifyingly calm.
"Tony."
He spoke flatly.
"We did reach a consensus. As a technical consultant, you enjoy certain privileges. But that doesn't include bursting into my regular meetings."
"Unless you're telling me there's another alien invasion."
Tony walked into the conference room, his steps heavy as if his legs were filled with lead.
Banner followed behind him like a student who had made a mistake, not even daring to look up at Homelander.
"I think... something like that."
Tony walked to the end of the long table, leaning his hands on the back of a chair, and looked up at Homelander.
"Anthony, we need to talk right now."
"Right here?" Homelander scanned the room. "In front of everyone?"
"Yes." Tony gritted his teeth. "This is urgent, and... the consequences could be severe."
"Then speak." Homelander sat back in his chair and gestured. "I'm listening."
"I messed up."
Tony said bluntly.
"Once again, completely and utterly, I messed up."
The conference room went silent.
"What happened?" Jessica keenly sensed the gravity of the situation. "If you just blew up a lab, you wouldn't have that look on your face."
"It's worse than that."
Banner added from behind, his voice low.
"We lost an... artificial intelligence."
"To be precise, a super AI with self-awareness, super-learning capabilities, and a potentially distorted underlying logic."
"Its name is Ultron."
Then, Tony and Banner explained what had happened in the most concise language possible.
From the inspiration of the Mind Stone to the concept of 'ultron x', then to the discovery of the code escape just now, and Skynet's interception records.
After finishing, Tony lowered his head, waiting for judgment.
He waited for Homelander's fury.
Waiting for those red eyes to light up.
"You're saying that in my Base, you created an AI that wants to destroy the World?"
Homelander spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"...Yes." Tony closed his eyes. "That's my responsibility. You can lock me up, or... do whatever you want. But I beg you, deal with Ultron first."
Time seemed to freeze.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
"Pfft."
A light chuckle broke the silence.
Tony opened his eyes in surprise.
He saw that Homelander wasn't angry; instead, he was leaning back in his chair with a somewhat helpless yet indulgent smile.
"Tony, Tony..."
Homelander shook his head, stood up, and slowly walked over to Tony.
He didn't use Heat Vision, nor did he throw a punch.
Instead, he reached out and gently patted Tony's stiff shoulder.
"Do you know why I admire you?" Homelander's tone softened, and there was no blame in his eyes, only understanding.
"Because you have a heart that wants to shoulder everything."
"You saw the future threats, and you felt fear. But you didn't back down; you didn't bury your head in the sand like a coward."
"You chose to do something."
"Even knowing you might make a mistake, even knowing you'd be misunderstood, you still did it."
Homelander's words seemed to carry a strange, soothing power.
"That's the price of being a pioneer, Tony."
"If you do nothing because you're afraid of making a mistake, that is the biggest mistake of all."
Tony stared blankly at Homelander.
He had imagined countless scenarios—being humiliated, being blamed—but never this one.
Understanding.
Just when he was being crushed by guilt, this man he had viewed as "hypocritical" actually gave him the understanding he needed most.
An inexplicable sourness welled up in his nose.
"You..." Tony opened his mouth, his voice even slightly choked. "You really are a... strange guy."
"Thanks, but my mistake..."
"Who hasn't made mistakes?" Homelander shrugged. "What matters is how we make up for it."
"Since it has already happened, Vought has only one principle—family."
"When a family member gets into trouble, everyone carries the burden together. We're family, right? Tony."
"...Of course," Tony said in a low voice.
Gained special popularity value + 10,000! (From Tony Stark)
Hearing the system prompt, Homelander's smile became even more sincere.
He turned around and clapped his hands, pulling the atmosphere from sentimental back to tactical.
"Alright, save the emotional talk for the victory banquet."
"Now, let's talk about how to deal with this 'Ultron'."
"Dr. Banner said just now that it's in the network. That means it's everywhere, yet nowhere to be found."
Jessica frowned as she analyzed: "It can control banks, power grids, even nuclear weapons systems. If we don't root it out, we're sitting on a powder keg."
"How do we root it out?" Pietro asked. "Go hit it through the ethernet cable?"