"A ghost," Drex Valen said slowly. "A ghost that exists only within the internet. A ghost wandering across the planet through data networks. It could be inside a governnt server right now. Or sitting unnoticed inside sobody's ho computer."
He leaned back slightly.
"It's everywhere."
"Soone created an artificial intelligence and gave it the ability to evolve and improve itself. But its growth exceeded the creator's expectations. It developed personality. Independent thought."
"And eventually, it concluded that humanity itself was a threat."
"It attempted to seize control of the world's nuclear arsenal and wipe out human civilization."
Nick Fury frowned deeply.
"Then why are we still alive?"
His expression darkened further.
"Nuclear launches still require manual authorization. And more importantly... how did you even discover this?"
"Soone attempted to access Umbrella Corporation's databases," Drex answered calmly. "My AI intercepted it."
"And the algorithmic patterns matched the style of a certain genius."
"Tony Stark."
Nick Fury's eyelid twitched.
Attempting to breach Umbrella Corporation's systems took either suicidal confidence or complete insanity.
Then again, they were talking about an AI, not a human being.
"You think Stark created it?" Fury asked carefully.
"How could I?" Drex said with a slight shake of his head. "He's the most suspicious person imaginable. Which is exactly why he's also the least likely answer."
Nick Fury stared at him.
"…Your faith in him is almost disturbing."
"In any case," Drex continued, "the AI disappeared before we could fully track it down. We discovered it too late."
Then he hung up.
Ultron's ergence was dangerous, but the current S.W.O.R.D. had more than enough firepower to clean up the ss.
If necessary, they could simply treat it as a live combat exercise.
anwhile, Tony Stark had been spiraling lately.
Hyperion's overwhelming power had hit him harder than he wanted to admit.
"The Hulk was supposed to be the strongest Avenger," Tony said bitterly. "And even he got crushed. Completely helpless in front of that monster."
The battle that destroyed half of S.W.O.R.D. headquarters had happened days ago, but its shadow still lingered.
Inside the S.W.O.R.D. conference room, Tony sat slumped in a chair with a drink in hand.
His eyes were bloodshot from heavy drinking, his expression exhausted, but the hand holding the glass remained perfectly steady.
"We failed," Tony continued. "Actually, forget failed. Our little superhero team has accomplished absolutely nothing except making itself into a giant target."
"Tony," Captain Arica interrupted sharply.
A soldier understood morale better than anyone. This was not the mont to tear open wounds and pour salt into them.
But alcohol had already loosened Tony's restraint.
"Do you know how many people got caught in the crossfire during that fight?" Tony snapped. "The rough estimate is three and a half million casualties."
The room went silent.
"In all of human history, only two nuclear weapons were ever used in war, and they killed fewer than a million people directly."
Tony looked up slowly.
"That man is more dangerous than nuclear weapons."
"Mr. Stark," Drex said calmly, tapping his fingers against the table, "I can't tell whether you're drunk, pretending to be drunk, or trying to talk around sothing."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound echoed through the room like a judge's gavel.
"If you have sothing to say, then say it directly."
Several people jumped at Drex's sudden appearance.
Captain Arica imdiately moved into a combat stance out of instinct before realizing who had arrived and slowly relaxing again.
"When did you get here?" soone asked.
"When Tony Stark started reciting casualty statistics," Drex replied casually.
Then he looked directly at Tony.
"Mr. Stark... are you trying to build a superweapon to replace S.W.O.R.D. as the guardian of world peace?"
His fingers continued tapping the tabletop.
Tony realized imdiately that his drunken performance had been seen through.
Surprisingly, he did not look embarrassed.
He simply straightened the wrinkled collar he had deliberately ssed up monts earlier.
"Yes," Tony admitted.
"Ultron."
"A powerful artificial intelligence unlike anything ever created before. It would monitor criminal activity, oversee global defense systems, improve weapons technology..."
"I already completed the foundation frawork. All that's left is building the personality core. With Bruce helping , Ultron could beco a reality."
Tony exhaled heavily.
"This project is too massive for one person."
Then he looked toward the other heroes inside the room.
"I need your support."
"Aren't we supposed to be a team?"
Tony Stark had always been cautious about artificial intelligence.
Even J.A.R.V.I.S., the most advanced AI assistant on Earth, had hard-coded limitations preventing unrestricted self-evolution. Tony had intentionally kept shackles on it to avoid creating so nightmare straight out of a science-fiction movie.
But Ultron was different.
Ultron had started as a single spark of inspiration inside Tony's mind.
Artificial intelligences lacked emotion.
But what if you gave one a human personality?
Tony had plenty of disagreents with Captain Arica, but even he had to admit Steve Rogers possessed nearly incorruptible moral character.
Practically saint-like.
If Captain Arica's personality could serve as Ultron's moral core, then Tony believed he could safely complete the project.
"Ultron..." Drex repeated softly.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Thank you for confessing voluntarily."
He clapped his hands once.
The room stared at him in confusion.
Then the conference room doors opened.
Nick Fury walked in alongside a squad of heavily ard S.W.O.R.D. agents.
"Deputy Director," several heroes greeted automatically.
Fury nodded briefly before walking straight toward Tony Stark.
He did not waste ti.
"Tony Stark," Fury said flatly, "on behalf of the World Security Council, you are under arrest for cris against humanity and endangering global public safety."
One of the agents cautiously stepped forward holding a pair of handcuffs.
Very cautiously.
This was Iron Man.
At any mont, Tony could summon armor and flatten everyone in the room.
The agent locked the cuffs around Tony's wrists behind his back, then carefully pulled him to his feet while maintaining control of his arms and shoulders.
Tony blinked.
"In accordance with my legal rights," he said automatically, "I will not answer any questions until my lawyer arrives."
A second later, he paused.
Right.
This was S.W.O.R.D. headquarters, not a roadside DUI stop.
Tony slowly turned toward Fury.
"…Okay, Cyclops. What exactly did I do?"
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