Research on time travel in the Sewer Laboratory was in full swing.
Hank Pym had naturally joined the Sewer Lab, becoming a key collaborator of the Justice League.
As for Pym Industries, it was now under the leadership of Hank Pym's daughter, Hope van Dyne.
Since Hope had been involved in Pym Industries from the beginning—having transitioned from Claus Technology back to Pym Industries—her rise to leadership did not cause any unrest. The smooth transfer of power stabilized the company completely.
After Hank Pym joined the Sewer Laboratory, the strong collaboration between the two sides led to strengthened ties between Pym Industries and Wayne Enterprises. This move significantly boosted Pym Industries' stock price.
Although the company could not return to its peak, the current situation satisfied both shareholders and investors.
To outside observers, however, the biggest winner was not Pym Industries but Wayne Enterprises. Once again, Wayne had avoided the spotlight during a major corporate shake-up, only to emerge unscathed, cleaning up both the beginning and the end of the ordeal.
They noticed that Wayne Enterprises always had a way of turning crises into mere inconveniences.
From Stark Industries to Hammer Industries, Osborn Corporation to Claus Technology, and now Pym Industries, Wayne had outmaneuvered all of them.
This was especially true in the military sector. Wayne had established an unshakable position, and no so-called arms giant dared to challenge its dominance.
With the media frenzy settling down, Anton sat in his office as usual, handling routine matters.
"How's the progress on Shazam?"
He glanced at Betty, waiting for her to update him on the company's activities.
"It's nearing completion," Betty reported. "Filming Thunder Shazam hasn't been difficult, and both the script and character arrangements are well-executed. We believe it has the potential to be a major hit."
"Good."
Anton nodded. "Let me know when filming is done. Arrange the screening as soon as possible. The rest follows the usual process."
He wasn't too concerned about the movie's progress. As long as Thunder Shazam hit theaters, it would generate enough fan engagement to make redeeming Shazam worthwhile. Beyond that, he didn't need to micromanage.
"By the way…"
Betty suddenly added, "Tony Stark just sent an invitation. He wants you to attend Stark Industries' latest product launch. Interestingly, this new product is Tony Stark's own latest invention."
"His latest invention?"
Anton squinted slightly, intrigued. "What is it?"
"No idea."
Betty shook her head. "Stark Industries has locked down all information about it. No one has been able to uncover any details—not even Eddie."
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Anton's curiosity grew.
Tony had been unusually quiet lately, rarely making media appearances. Anton had a feeling Stark was planning something big.
Especially considering what Harry had told him—after the Avengers disbanded, Tony formed the Illuminati…
Ever since then, Anton had become even more convinced that Tony was operating on a grand strategy.
Now, it seemed that Tony had finally put his plans into motion.
"What the hell is this guy up to?"
Anton pondered. He couldn't yet see how Tony intended to stand against the Justice League—a team of superheroes beloved by the entire world.
But he wouldn't underestimate Tony Stark.
As Iron Man, Tony was undoubtedly the Marvel Universe's golden child—favored by fate itself. His eventual death had only been a necessary step for the plot.
Until that moment arrived, Anton had no doubt: no matter what obstacles arose, Tony Stark would always find a way to come out on top.
It was easy to imagine that Tony Stark—favored by fate before the key plot point—was like an unyielding force, always standing at the center of destiny.
"When does the conference start?" Anton asked.
"Tomorrow," Betty replied.
The Next Day
Anton accompanied Daily Bugle 's interview team to Stark Tower in Manhattan, New York.
After the events of the Battle of New York, Stark Tower had been fully restored, once again standing as the tallest building in the city. It was a fitting reflection of both Stark Industries' wealth and Tony Stark's flair for grandeur.
A sleek yet sophisticated venue had been set up for the event.
At the center of it all stood a woman everyone recognized—Tony Stark's trusted confidante, Pepper Potts—efficiently giving instructions to the staff.
"Hi."
Pepper soon noticed Anton and the others arriving.
"Anton, long time no see."
She smiled as she greeted him, then turned her attention to Eddie Brock and the rest of the Daily bugle team.
"Your seats are in the front row," Pepper informed them. "As discussed, since Daily Bugle is the nation's top media outlet, you'll have the first opportunity to ask Tony a question. Afterward, we've scheduled a face-to-face interview—you'll have thirty minutes."
"No problem," Eddie quickly agreed.
With that, Pepper moved on to oversee other preparations, leaving Anton, Eddie, and their team to settle into their seats.
Anton glanced at Eddie. "Tony Stark personally holding a launch event for a new Stark Industries product? That's not his usual style… unless he believes this product is on the same level as his Arc Reactor."
He watched Eddie's reaction.
After receiving the invitation yesterday, Anton had reached out to Eddie for information, but even Eddie, despite communicating with Stark Industries, had learned nothing.
According to him, even Stark Industries employees had no idea what Tony—formerly their chairman and still a major shareholder—was about to unveil.
It seemed only Pepper knew the full details.
Of course, given Tony's stature, no one dared pressure her into revealing anything.
"That's what makes this interesting," Anton murmured. "No one knows what Tony Stark is up to."
As he spoke, Tony Stark finally appeared on stage. Anton's gaze lingered on him for a moment, his curiosity deepening.
Finally, the moment arrived.
Unlike his usual habit of arriving fashionably late, this time Tony was punctual.
With steady, confident strides, he took the stage. His signature mustache and unmistakable self-assurance remained unchanged.
As he stepped forward, the audience fell silent.
At the same time, the countdown on the screen hit zero.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference has officially begun!"
Tony's gaze swept across the audience, pausing for a second when it landed on Anton before continuing. Then, he spoke.
"Today, I'm introducing an epoch-making product from Stark Industries… an artificial intelligence assistant: Ultron."
For a moment, there was no reaction from the audience.
The term artificial intelligence assistant was broad and easy to grasp, but nobody yet understood what Ultron truly was or what made it groundbreaking. They waited for Tony to elaborate.
Except for Anton.
He froze for a split second, wondering if he had misheard.
Ultron?!
His eyes shifted to the confident Tony Stark on stage. Then, without thinking, Anton gave him a silent thumbs-up.
You really went for it, huh?
Of all things, Anton hadn't expected Tony to unveil Ultron—one of Marvel's most infamous villains—framing it as a revolutionary AI assistant for the public.
Tony hadn't provided details yet, but just hearing Ultron's name at a Stark Industries press conference was enough for Anton to put the pieces together.
Clearly, Tony planned to introduce Ultron as an advanced AI product designed to integrate into everyday life—something akin to Apple's Siri.
In the Marvel Universe, artificial intelligence had already progressed faster than in Anton's previous world.
However, because Tony had developed J.A.R.V.I.S. so early, audiences might not fully grasp how monumental this advancement truly was.
Still, as Tony had said—this was, without a doubt, an epoch-making product.
At this moment, it was clear that Tony intended to promote this so-called epoch-making product as a new cornerstone of Stark Industries' business.
As for his true purpose? Anton wasn't sure yet.
But anyone who thought about it logically could see that Tony wasn't just trying to boost Stark Industries' stock price.
Wealth meant little to him now.
Instead, Tony's real goal was to lead the Illuminati—the secretive group he had founded—to surpass the Justice League. He wanted to reclaim his reputation, erase past failures, and establish himself as the world's most credible and influential superhero.
These thoughts flashed through Anton's mind as he continued listening to Tony's explanation.
Sure enough, as expected, Tony revealed that Ultron—his artificial intelligence assistant—had countless potential applications.
Through these, Ultron would seamlessly integrate into daily life, just like smartphones and computers had in their respective eras. It would become an indispensable part of society.
Tony then demonstrated multiple functions of Ultron in front of the audience.
The intelligence level of this version was roughly equivalent to one-tenth of J.A.R.V.I.S. from Iron Man 1, and its computing power had been drastically reduced—less than one-thousandth of the original.
Of course, these limitations were deliberate.
Even with those restrictions, Ultron's capabilities were still enough to leave the press conference audience stunned.
Then, a reporter spoke up, questioning Tony in public:
"With this level of computing power, Ultron could replace many human jobs. This will inevitably impact employment in several industries. Mr. Stark, what do you think about the job crisis that your artificial intelligence assistant, Ultron, may cause?"
Tony remained composed.
"Ultron does surpass humans in certain capabilities," he admitted, "but it lacks one key trait—creativity. Humans are still irreplaceable. With creativity, we can adapt to change and create new, meaningful jobs. For example, fulfilling the spiritual needs of humanity—something no machine can ever truly replicate."
He continued:
"Furthermore, although Ultron has immense commercial potential, we've categorized its services into three levels—civilian, public, and military. Each category represents a different level of computing power. Civilian Ultron will be fully accessible to the public, while public and military versions will be tailored to the specific needs of authorized users."
Despite this, the reporter remained dissatisfied with Tony's response.
However, Tony paid no further attention to him, leaving the man at a loss.
In reality, Tony had already been more generous than usual.
Under normal circumstances, the old Tony Stark would have ignored the question entirely—or even had the reporter escorted out of the event.
Anton, listening to all of this, remained calm.
Tony's answer didn't surprise him. It was the perfectly polished, official response one would expect.
But in a public setting like this, there was no way Tony would reveal his true intentions.
Anton fell into deep thought.
Could it be… that Tony wanted to monitor people's lives?
If Ultron was integrated into society at the level Tony envisioned, then as its creator, Tony would effectively control a global network of data.
With this, he could build predictive models—identifying where crimes might occur, pinpointing potential threats before they even happened.
It was eerily reminiscent of Hydra's Insight Project from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Only this time, it wasn't Hydra—it was Tony Stark.
And he genuinely believed he was changing the world for the better.
Suddenly, Tony's voice snapped Anton out of his thoughts.
"Well, that concludes today's press conference."
Immediately, reporters erupted in a flurry of questions:
"Mr. Stark, can you elaborate on your vision for Ultron?"
"Why did you create an AI like Ultron? I heard you already have a super-intelligent AI called J.A.R.V.I.S. Was that your inspiration?"
"Mr. Stark—"
The chaotic voices filled the venue.
Anton watched as Tony completely ignored them, stepping into an elevator without so much as a glance back. Moments later, he vanished from sight.
Anton then turned to Eddie.
Eddie gave a slight nod.
That was their cue.
Led by Pepper Potts, the Daily bugle team made their way to the highest level of Stark Tower—Tony Stark's private penthouse.
Anton followed. As the Daily bugle's boss, he naturally joined Eddie and the others in the meeting.
Inside the penthouse, Tony Stark stood waiting for them.
When he saw Anton, his expression remained unchanged.
He had expected him.
Tony understood Anton well enough to know that he wouldn't pass up the opportunity for this interview.
In fact, that was exactly why Tony had sent Anton an invitation in the first place.
….
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