The Savior of American Comics? I'm the Subspace Evil God!

Chapters 533-983: [The Avengers] Internal Strife: Who is the Real Threat?

"Ah, this..."

Bruce Banner opened his mouth, then closed it with difficulty, and looked at Tony Stark next to him again, his eyes questioning, as if to say: Um, Tony, can I talk about this?
But Tony Stark remained silent, neither admitting nor stopping it, as if it were a silent acquiescence.

After a moment's hesitation, Bruce Banner took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision. His voice was dry and heavy, and every word seemed to be squeezed out of his throat.

He truthfully stated, "Tony... after the basic code architecture of [Ultron] had initially stabilized, he uploaded a partial scan of his cerebral cortex neural circuits to the core personality architecture of [Ultron] for 'deep collaboration'..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire banquet hall fell into a deathly silence.

You can hear the needle drop!

Everyone stared at Tony Stark in disbelief, as if they were looking at a hopeless madman.

This is really an outrageous opening to outrageous things - it's outrageous to the extreme!

Damn it, Tony, how could you do this?

Please, do you have some kind of unclear understanding of your own personality?

Although no one spoke, various doubts echoed in everyone's hearts.

"Although I cannot yet confirm whether Ultron's current state is directly related to this matter..."

Bruce Banner's voice trailed off, and he continued with some difficulty:

"But I warned Tony back then that this was too dangerous. His arrogance, his desire for control, his subconsciously powerful desire for control, and even his obsession with 'only I can save the world'... these deep-seated personality traits, once absorbed, amplified, or even distorted by Ultron... could very likely trigger unpredictable 'personality distortions'!!"

He said no more.

But for everyone, that was enough.

Everyone present already understood what was going on, and their faces showed a variety of complex expressions, such as "Look, the case is solved," "So that's how it is," and "It really was you who did it."

In addition to these feelings, there was also shock, anger, helplessness, and even a touch of absurdity.

"Tony..."

Reed Richards spoke first, his face filled with immense disappointment. He slowly shook his head, his voice filled with heartbreaking grief:
"I truly have no words to describe your selfish actions... You're playing with fire and getting burned... No! You're dragging the whole world down with you!!"

"Damn it, I knew it would be like this." Hawkeye, who had been holding back his anger, couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

James Rhodes covered his forehead, his face showing a pained expression that said, "See? I knew it wasn't that simple," and "Dude, how dare you do this?"

But as a friend, he would never do something like kicking someone when they're down.

Others familiar with Tony Stark also wore less-than-elegant 'emoji' expressions.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party usually contributes money and effort, they would have stood up and said a few words.

The atmosphere at the scene immediately fell into a slightly oppressive silence.

call--

At that moment, a fiery meteor streaked across the dark night sky of New York, crashing through the already precarious glass curtain wall on the other side of the banquet hall with a sharp whistling sound, before landing steadily.

The flames quickly subsided, revealing Jonathan Stone, the Human Torch, who had been sent by Captain America to track down Ultron and the Iron Legion.

"Jonathan!"

Captain America immediately stepped forward, eagerly asking, "So, did you catch up with Ultron and the Iron Legion? Where did they go?"

"Sorry, Captain." [Thunderbolt] spread his hands, shrugged helplessly, and then said in an inappropriate, half-joking tone:
"I tracked them westward for nearly a hundred kilometers, and then these guys vanished into thin air, disappearing into the night. I searched several times but found nothing... Captain, it looks like we're in big trouble this time!!"

"Hmph, Lighter Kid, you've finally told the truth this time." Ben Grimm, the Stone Man, let out a deep, cold snort, like the grinding of rocks.

His massive frame slowly turned toward Tony Stark, his enormous eyes filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.

His voice was rough and laced with sarcasm, as he said disdainfully:
"Now the genie has escaped from the lamp, and it seems to be a genie who hates the lamp maker. You can imagine what will happen next, but most importantly... it can now do whatever it wants!!"

This statement was clearly made on behalf of his friend Reed Richards.

Everyone knows that Ultron was the brainchild of Reed Richards and Tony Stark, not the work of the latter alone.

But now, due to Tony Stark's reckless and even arrogant actions, an irreparable disaster has been caused.

Anyone would be annoyed by this.

Also, it would be good if they could rectify this mistake in time.

However, if Ultron were to cause a major disaster worldwide, Reed Richards, as its developer, would likely face accountability.

Therefore, the Thing naturally wouldn't give Tony Stark a friendly look.

"Hey, Grime!!"

Upon seeing this, Captain America frowned and quickly spoke up to stop this internal accusation, which was clearly detrimental to unity, and to prevent the situation from escalating further.

His gaze first swept over the Thing and Tony Stark, then swept over everyone present, and he whispered a reminder:
"Now is not the time to talk about these things. We are all in the same boat now... The most urgent task at hand is to take immediate action and find Ultron's whereabouts as soon as possible."

"Then stop it before it causes even more damage! Finish this mess completely!!"

“Wait a minute, Captain, I still don’t quite understand.” James Rhodes looked at Tony and Bruce Banner with a puzzled expression, struggling to ask a question that had been bothering him since earlier:

"Tony, Banner, you two activated Ultron together, didn't you?"

"Even if Tony... well, he 'contributed' a bit of his unique 'personality' to it, why does Ultron hate all of us so much? Where does its hostility come from?"

Before the two people being asked could speak, the [Stone Man] couldn't help but sneer again, his voice booming with sarcasm: "Is that even a question? If certain people hadn't been messing with things they couldn't control, things wouldn't have gotten to this point where they're completely out of control!"

He emphasized "certain people," then gave a somewhat proud thumbs-up, pointed to the silent Reed Richards beside him, and added:
"Putting everything else aside, Reed would never cause such a world-destroying mess... When he's doing research, he at least knows what 'safety procedures' are!"

This contrast was like the last spark that ignited the explosives, completely enraging Tony Stark.

"Hehe...hahaha..."

Tony Stark, who had been silent until now, suddenly burst into laughter.

His laughter was abrupt and shrill, filled with a kind of madness and hysteria, instantly drawing all eyes back to him.

The stone golem's face scrunched up, revealing a fierce expression, and it taunted in a gruff voice:

"What? Tin Man, do you find what I said funny? Or do you think that everything that just happened is nothing more than a trivial joke to you, the one who started it all?"

"I'm sorry... hahaha... I'm so sorry..."

Although Tony Stark kept laughing, there was no smile on his face, only cold mockery and long-suppressed anger.

He completely ignored the fierce glare from the [Stone Golem] who was about to rush up and kill him, and fearlessly walked straight towards the [Stone Golem], who was several times taller and stronger than him, and said coldly:

"But I have to admit, I really think what you just said is... utterly ridiculous!!"

He stopped in front of the [Stone Man], raised his head, and stared directly into the other's eyes, which seemed ready to breathe fire at any moment.

Then he suddenly looked around at everyone present, his voice abruptly becoming sharp and cold.

"You, and all of you... still don't understand why we need Ultron? Don't you understand why we have to take this risk?!"

"Tony."

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become tense, Bruce Banner, who was used to being a peacemaker, quickly spoke up to mediate:

"Perhaps now really isn't the right time to discuss this, you..."

But to everyone's surprise, Tony Stark suddenly turned around, like an enraged lion, and rushed towards him in a few steps, almost roaring as he interrupted:
"Really? Then when would be the right time? Hmm?! Banner, please tell me!"

Whether blinded by rage or not, he pointed a finger at Bruce Banner's nose, his words flying out like a machine gun, his pent-up emotions finally exploding as he scoffed and roared:

"Why are you always like this? The moment you see a conflict or someone getting angry, you immediately jump in to act as a peacemaker... humbling yourself! Making peace! Pretending nothing happened?"

"Is it because the 'other guy' inside you has used up all the bad temper you've ever had in your life?!"

Bruce Banner was speechless, choked by the sudden and fierce accusation. His face flushed red and then turned pale. He wanted to defend himself but couldn't find the words. In the end, he could only helplessly spread his hands, bitterly pursing his lips and saying:
"But... but the fact is, we did develop a killer robot that wants to wipe us all out..."

“No, that’s not it.” Tony Stark clearly disagreed with this statement, his chest heaving as he retorted sharply:
"Ultron wasn't something we requested to build. It was Nick Fury and Stark Pentecost who gave the order. They asked Reed and me to create a 'global defensive AI system' to manage the Titan Hunter mechs and deal with potential alien invasion threats far exceeding the scale of the Battle of New York!"

His voice was filled with barely suppressed agitation and a sense of incomprehension: "Moreover, we didn't write hate code into it! Nor did we implant kill commands! Its core logic is 'protection'!!!"

"It was it itself, it absorbed all of mine... In short, it came to that damned conclusion—that humanity itself is the greatest threat to Earth, and we, the 'Avengers' who protect Earth, have become the embodiment of the greatest 'threat' in its eyes..."

"Tony!!"

Captain America's voice was as steady as a rock, calm yet carrying an undeniable power, interrupting Tony Stark's agitated explanation.

His tone was extremely serious, even carrying a hint of warning, and his face was grim as he reminded him, "I admit that your initial intentions, your approach of considering the future, may have its merits..."

"But I always maintain my point of view: the Avengers should not, and must never, do what S.H.I.E.L.D. once tried to do... to take control of the entire world!"

"And to maintain so-called 'peace' through an unregulated, super AI that reigns supreme over all nations? That in itself is the greatest danger!!"

"Ha, Captain, you're telling me this now?"

Tony Stark seemed to be provoked by these words, which were full of positive energy and morality, and the anger in his heart was ignited instantly.

He abruptly turned to the 'moral exemplar' opposite him, angrily opened his arms, and loudly questioned:

"Does any of you remember that just over two years ago, right above this city... who carried an H-bomb, passed through that damned wormhole, and flew towards the Chitauri mothership?!"

"And who was it that risked their life to save New York when everyone else was helpless?! Saved you?! Saved the world?!"

His voice trembled with overwhelming emotion, and his eyes flashed with past trauma and obsession.

"At that time! Countless menacing alien armies rushed out of the space [wormhole] and wreaked havoc, while we could only wait for them to fly down from the sky to the ground before we could start fighting... Although we won in the end, it was a pyrrhic victory!"

Tony Stark's gaze swept over everyone present, as if he wanted to remotely transmit these memories into their minds.

His voice suddenly rose, almost roaring: "That's right, we are the Avengers... We can help S.H.I.E.L.D. and governments around the world capture terrorists and arms dealers every day... That's good, but it's far from enough!!"

"In my view, the Battle of New York more than two years ago was a warning to all of us, a rehearsal for the ultimate operation!"

"So, can anyone tell me now what would happen if those Chitauri armies emerged from the wormhole again, or if another alien invader emerged that was several times, ten times, or even a hundred times more powerful than them..."

What will we use to stop their invasion? Will we still rely on just a few of us? Will we rely on our flesh and blood to fight against the interstellar fleets of those powerful civilizations?!

"Is this the perfect excuse you're making for your 'slackness'?"

“Uh, Tony, don’t get too worked up…” James Rhodes seemed to want to ease the tense atmosphere, so he said half-jokingly:
"While I think what you said makes a lot of sense and your emotions are spot on, perhaps... we could really consider ordering a Didi ride-hailing service from [Subspace Group] now?!"

"I heard they're quite professional in dealing with this kind of alien invasion threat."

Although his words were somewhat of a joke, they also reflected a part of reality.

Through its numerous world-saving exploits, the Subspace Group has already left an indelible and powerful mark on the minds of most people.

(End of this chapter)