Chapter 178: Uninvited Guest
Lynn remained silent for several seconds.
His thoughts accelerated.
Ultron.
An artificial intelligence born from the Mind Stone's consciousness, now inhabiting a synthetic vibranium body jointly created by Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne.
This was considerably more dangerous than the version Lynn remembered.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ultron initially occupied crude robotic shells before attempting to upload himself into the perfected vibranium body that eventually became the Vision. His greatest limitation had always been the incompleteness of his physical vessel.
This version possessed no such weakness.
Tony and Bruce had unknowingly completed the ultimate body first.
A fully functional synthetic organism engineered from vibranium, artificial tissue, and an adaptive neural matrix.
The Mind Stone had not merely powered it.
It had awakened inside it.
There would be no Vision.
Only Ultron.
More importantly...
The Mind Stone was permanently integrated into the body's central architecture rather than mounted as an external power source.
That meant its synchronization with the Stone should be vastly superior to the MCU incarnation.
"Where did it go?"
Lynn finally asked.
Tony rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know."
"It destroyed the laboratory..."
"...and then flew away."
"It hacked every Stark Industries satellite linked to the project."
"It erased every active J.A.R.V.I.S. backup associated with the facility."
Lynn looked toward Bruce.
"The Bat-Satellites?"
Bruce slowly shook his head.
"It anticipated them."
"The instant it departed..."
"...it released a massive electromagnetic pulse amplified through the Mind Stone."
"Every electronic system within roughly fifty kilometers was disabled."
"The Wayne satellites temporarily lost synchronization."
"When communications were restored..."
"...it had disappeared."
Lynn stood quietly.
Before him stood two of Earth's greatest intellects.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Filled with regret.
Together they had accomplished something that no one else on Earth could have achieved.
They had also created something potentially more dangerous than anything humanity had ever faced.
"What exactly were you trying to accomplish?"
Lynn asked.
Tony opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Bruce answered instead.
"The Alpha-Zero Contingency."
Lynn's expression remained perfectly calm.
Internally—
He understood immediately.
Alpha-Zero.
The masked man.
Him.
Bruce had always believed no being, regardless of intention, should exist without a countermeasure.
That philosophy had existed since the Justice League's earliest days in DC Comics, where Bruce secretly designed contingency plans capable of neutralizing every member of the League.
Now...
That same philosophy had been extended toward Alpha-Zero.
Tony remained silent.
His motivations differed.
Bruce pursued preparation.
Tony pursued security.
Ever since New York...
Then Metropolis...
Then the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D....
Tony had become increasingly desperate to create something capable of protecting Earth from threats beyond humanity's understanding.
Unfortunately—
The result had become another existential threat.
Ten seconds passed.
Finally—
Lynn spoke.
"Treat the injuries first."
His tone returned to that of an ordinary physician.
"Neither of you is dying."
"But both of you need surgery."
"Come with me."
Golden sparks burst outward.
A circular portal opened.
Without another word—
Lynn stepped through it.
Tony and Bruce exchanged a brief look before following.
The portal closed behind them.
The golden sparks lingered in the clinic lobby for less than a second.
Lynn emerged first.
Dust covered his white coat.
Small streaks of dried blood stained one sleeve.
Tony followed.
Then Bruce.
The portal vanished.
The clinic remained brightly lit.
Wanda Maximoff stood behind the reception desk arranging tomorrow's appointments.
The sound of the portal made her instinctively turn around.
Pietro Maximoff sat casually on the armrest of the nearby sofa.
In one hand he held a cookie Lynn had inexplicably ordered from Seattle earlier that afternoon.
He stopped chewing.
The room became silent.
The four newcomers and the twins looked directly at one another.
Wanda's gaze settled on Tony Stark.
Stark Industries.
The name printed on the missile that had destroyed her family's apartment during the Bosnian conflict in the MCU timeline—an event she still associated with Tony himself despite never having met him.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the appointment ledger.
A faint crimson glow flickered at her fingertips.
Only for an instant.
Then it disappeared.
Weeks of emotional conditioning finally produced results.
Lynn had repeatedly taught her to distinguish responsibility from trauma.
Tony Stark had designed weapons.
He had not personally murdered her parents.
Emotion and fact were not always the same.
Wanda remembered that lesson.
Pietro's reaction was far more immediate.
His body leaned slightly forward.
His knees bent almost imperceptibly.
Every muscle entered acceleration posture.
To anyone else—
He appeared motionless.
Lynn noticed instantly.
"Don't move."
Pietro froze.
Tony, still supporting his wounded abdomen, looked beyond Lynn.
His eyes landed on the twins.
Recognition flashed immediately.
Even weakened from blood loss, Tony's memory remained exceptional.
The Maximoff twins.
HYDRA.
Strucker.
The surviving volunteers exposed to the Mind Stone.
Their files had appeared repeatedly during Avengers intelligence briefings.
Why...
...were they standing inside Lynn's clinic?
Tony opened his mouth.
Pain interrupted him.
Only a quiet groan escaped.
Bruce recognized them as well.
His gaze rested on Wanda.
Then Pietro.
Then finally Lynn.
Several pieces of information instantly connected.
The twins had disappeared before the Avengers completed the assault on Strucker's fortress.
They had clearly received medical treatment.
Both appeared psychologically stable.
Neither showed signs of ongoing HYDRA conditioning.
Someone had intervened.
Someone...
Who possessed both extraordinary medical ability and complete secrecy.
Bruce filed another observation away without speaking.
Now was not the time.
Silence lingered.
Five seconds.
During those five seconds—
Tony continued bleeding.
Bruce refined yet another deduction.
Wanda carefully stabilized her breathing to prevent Chaos Magic from responding.
Pietro debated internally whether breaking Stark's remaining functional arm would be morally justified.
Lynn ended the silence.
"Wanda."
"Sutures."
She lowered her eyes.
The faint crimson light had completely disappeared.
"Yes."
She calmly walked toward the surgical cabinet.
"Pietro."
"Close the clinic."
Pietro frowned.
For a brief moment—
He seriously considered refusing.
Then—
A silver blur flashed across the lobby.
The front door locked.
The blinds closed.
Every outside view disappeared.
Tony watched the siblings.
"They work here?"
His voice remained weak.
"The Sokovian twins..."
"...your assistants?"
"Something like that."
Lynn corrected him.
"They're patients first."
Tony quietly repeated the answer.
"Patients..."
Bruce said nothing.
He simply looked at Lynn.
That single look contained countless unspoken questions.
Lynn met his eyes.
Neither man spoke.
Some answers were better left unsaid.
"Basement."
Lynn nodded toward the staircase.
No explanation followed.
Tony understood immediately.
Bruce did as well.
Whatever came next...
Was not meant for Wanda or Pietro.
Lynn walked first.
His pace remained steady.
Tony followed.
Every descending step sent another sharp wave of pain through his healing abdomen.
He ignored it.
Bruce descended last.
Using only his left arm, he gripped the handrail.
The motion-sensitive lights illuminated one section after another as they descended deeper beneath the clinic.
Tony casually examined the walls.
Professional habit.
His damaged gauntlet brushed across the concrete surface.
His fingertips detected something unusual.
The metallic coating embedded throughout the reinforced concrete...
Conductivity.
Vibration damping.
Energy absorption.
He immediately recognized the characteristics.
Vibranium.
Not solid plates.
Microscopic particulate reinforcement mixed throughout the concrete.
An extraordinarily expensive construction method.
His eyebrow twitched.
He remained silent.
At the bottom of the stairs—
Lynn opened an unmarked reinforced alloy door.
Tony expected an ordinary basement.
Instead—
He stopped.
The underground facility stretched far beyond the dimensions of the clinic above.
Climate-controlled.
Humidity precisely regulated.
Cool white lighting illuminated spotless metallic flooring.
The faint scent of ozone mixed with machine oil drifted through the air.
This wasn't a basement.
It resembled a cutting-edge private research laboratory worthy of either Wayne Enterprises or Stark Industries.
For the first time that night—
Even Tony Stark forgot about his own injuries.
...
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