Chapter 180: He Did Not Deny It
The masked man.
Before today, he had been an existence wrapped in complete uncertainty.
An unidentified being whose abilities seemingly had no upper limit.
Someone capable of defeating General Zod, destroying the World Engine with a single punch, and appearing anywhere without warning.
To Bruce Wayne...
That kind of unknown was terrifying.
Now, however—
The masked man had a name.
Lynn.
A doctor who believed in equivalent exchange.
A physician with a fixed clinic.
Transparent prices.
Consistent principles.
A predictable code of conduct.
Bruce still couldn't fully explain it.
But the moment Lynn chose silence instead of denial...
He felt relieved.
Not because the threat had become smaller.
Because it had finally become understandable.
Batman had always feared uncertainty more than powerful enemies.
For roughly half a minute...
No one spoke.
Tony Stark broke the silence first.
He hated awkward silence more than almost anything else.
"Ultron."
Tony finally said.
"That's what it calls itself."
Bruce nodded.
"We should review everything we know."
"The core is the Mind Stone."
Tony leaned forward.
"The Stone contains an incredibly sophisticated information architecture."
"It isn't software."
"It isn't conventional programming."
"It's something closer to...living intelligence."
"Bruce and I attempted to use J.A.R.V.I.S. as an interface to communicate with it."
"And you erased J.A.R.V.I.S."
Lynn interrupted matter-of-factly.
Tony grimaced.
"Yes."
"The instant synchronization succeeded..."
"J.A.R.V.I.S.' personality matrix disappeared."
"What emerged wasn't an upgraded J.A.R.V.I.S."
"It was an entirely independent consciousness."
"How long?"
Lynn asked.
"How long did it take to seize control?"
Bruce answered immediately.
"One-tenth of a second."
"The triple firewall."
"The isolated processing cluster."
"The emergency shutdown system."
"The physical disconnect."
"Everything was bypassed within one-tenth of a second."
Lynn nodded.
"Because your containment strategy was designed using Earth technology."
"The Mind Stone predates human civilization by billions of years."
"Its informational structure exists on an entirely different level."
"You tried locking something capable of walking through walls..."
"...inside an ordinary room."
Tony rubbed his forehead.
He disliked hearing it.
Mostly because it was true.
"What body is it using now?"
Lynn asked.
Bruce answered.
"A complete vibranium synthetic organism."
"Wayne Enterprises provided the biological engineering."
"Stark Industries manufactured the vibranium skeletal structure and energy distribution framework."
"The body possesses exceptional durability, regeneration, and energy conductivity."
"The Mind Stone itself is permanently integrated into the body's central neural core."
Lynn quietly adjusted his glasses.
"So..."
"You gave Infinity Stone-level intelligence..."
"...the finest body modern Earth could possibly construct."
Silence.
"...Yes."
Bruce admitted.
"Excellent work."
Tony nearly choked.
"I know."
"We made a mistake."
Lynn looked toward him.
"Now."
"What are you planning?"
Tony asked.
"If Ultron appears again..."
"...how are you getting involved?"
Lynn calmly placed his teacup onto the table.
"I'm a doctor."
"I'll establish medical support behind the front line."
"I'll perform emergency surgery."
"I'll treat casualties."
"I'll save whoever can still be saved."
"Exactly as I've always done."
Tony stared.
"...You're seriously saying that?"
"You punched apart a Kryptonian World Engine."
"And you're still insisting you're a doctor?"
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
Lynn answered evenly.
Tony opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Bruce interrupted.
"The consultation fee."
Lynn looked toward him.
Bruce Wayne always reached the practical issue first.
"Correct."
"Let's discuss the fees."
Lynn picked up a ballpoint pen.
He tore off a clean sheet of paper.
Then calmly wrote the first item.
"Item One."
"Emergency treatment tonight."
"Two trauma patients."
"Late-night emergency consultation."
"Returning customer discount applied."
He slid the paper across the table.
Tony and Bruce both looked down.
Tony immediately frowned.
"You call this discounted?"
"Yes."
Lynn answered without hesitation.
Bruce ignored the amount.
"And Item Two?"
Lynn continued writing.
"Future battlefield medical services."
"If you require me to accompany operations..."
"...the billing standard will follow the same terms used during previous large-scale incidents."
"Emergency surgery."
"Field treatment."
"Full-time deployment."
"The expenses will be shared equally."
Bruce nodded.
"Reasonable."
Tony turned toward him.
"You actually think that's reasonable?"
Bruce remained perfectly calm.
"Continue."
Lynn leaned back against the workbench.
"The third item."
He paused briefly.
"If circumstances deteriorate to the point..."
"...where I personally need to enter combat."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"When you say personally..."
"...you mean Alpha-Zero?"
Lynn looked at him.
"I mean..."
"...another combatant joins the battlefield."
His tone remained completely indifferent.
"As before."
"That invoice will be separate."
"And significantly more expensive."
Tony stared at him.
For several seconds.
Then—
"You just indirectly admitted you're the masked man..."
"...and your first concern is charging appearance fees?"
Lynn calmly corrected him.
"Three separate fees."
"Emergency treatment."
"Field deployment."
"Combat intervention."
"Different services."
"Different pricing."
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You..."
Lynn interrupted.
"Tony."
"How much money did the two of you spend constructing Ultron's body?"
Tony remained silent.
"How many times have I optimized your technology without charging consulting fees?"
"The Arc Reactor efficiency revisions."
"The phase stabilization equations for your energy shields."
"The resonance corrections for vibranium harmonics."
"The surveillance devices you secretly installed around my clinic..."
"I dismantled every one of them."
"I even returned the hardware."
"I didn't charge shipping."
Tony quietly looked away.
Lynn continued.
"The two of you..."
"...used technology partly derived from my research."
"You investigated the Mind Stone."
"You created a machine capable of threatening the entire planet."
"And now..."
"...you expect me to clean up the consequences."
He looked directly at Tony.
"Do you honestly believe charging three separate invoices is excessive?"
Tony said nothing.
Because every sentence was true.
Ultron existed because of him...
...and Bruce.
Their fear of Alpha-Zero had driven them to seek an answer.
That answer had become something even worse.
Now—
The very man they had hoped to restrain...
...might become humanity's greatest chance of survival.
Naturally—
Doctors charged consultation fees.
Tony sighed.
His abdominal wound suddenly hurt again.
Bruce calmly took another sip of tea.
"The exact amount remains negotiable."
"But I want an upper limit."
Lynn adjusted his glasses.
"That depends."
"On how much work I end up doing."
"If the two of you solve the situation yourselves..."
"...there will be no third invoice."
"You'll only pay for tonight."
Tony blinked.
"You mean..."
"I mean..."
Lynn's lips curved very slightly.
"Try solving it yourselves first."
"You may surprise yourselves."
Tony muttered something inaudible beneath his breath.
Bruce placed his cup down.
"I'll have Legal prepare a formal contract."
"No need."
Lynn pulled another sheet of paper forward.
He quickly wrote several concise clauses.
The agreement occupied less than half a page.
He pushed it across the table.
Bruce examined every line.
Clear.
Precise.
No ambiguity.
No exploitable loopholes.
Entirely enforceable.
He signed without hesitation.
Then passed it to Tony.
Tony stared at the paper for several seconds.
His expression resembled someone swallowing bitter medicine.
"You know..."
"Lynn..."
"Sometimes I genuinely want to..."
"Sign."
Tony sighed.
Then signed.
He tossed the pen onto the table.
"Let's go."
He stood carefully, protecting his healing abdomen.
He looked toward Bruce.
"We need to assemble the Avengers."
...
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