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"Again with Nolan?"
The Avengers could barely hide their frustration. Even though he wasn't physically present, Nolan's influence was everywherefrom the Sentinels' core technology to the upgrades in vibranium alloys, and now, even the only possible countermeasure to the nuclear threat hinged on tech he'd pioneered.
"Can we relocate the nuke like before?" T'Challa turned to Tony.
"Relocate..."
Tony let out a long breath. "We don't have a better option. If they fire, we'll have to redirect it mid-flight drop it in the Pacific."
"They probably aren't using simple impact detonation," he added. "Which means we'll need to trigger it ourselves using the suit and drones."
Tony winced at the thought. "This is going to be hell."
T'Challa nodded grimly.
---
Days passed.
The brutal confrontation had cooled into a tense silence, both sides reassessing, repositioning. But the calm wouldn't last.
Then came the order from the U.S. Congress.
Tactical nukes: approved.
To General Ross and his war hawks, this wasn't just acceptable it was profitable. The cost of the weapons paled in comparison to the unimaginable wealth buried beneath Wakanda.
A fleet of bombers soared through the sky, locking coordinates.
Ross reviewed the strike plan: some missiles aimed directly at Wakanda, others forming a perimeter to irradiate and contain.
"They don't care about Wakandans," he muttered. "They care about the vibranium."
Digging through fallout? That's what mercenaries and foreign contractors were for. Even losing lives at a 1:1 ratio for each gram of vibranium? Still worth it.
"Target locked. Fire!"
Tactical nukes launched from the mobile base, streaking through the sky toward Wakanda.
Immediately, Iron Man suits and Wakandan interceptors burst into motion.
Ross watched calmly from command.
"You really think you can stop me again?"
New York. The Pentagon. Every time the supers turned the tables. But this time, Ross had planned for that.
He didn't want destruction. He wanted victory. He wanted vibranium.
He turned to his associate. "Showtime, Mr. Klaue."
Ulysses Klaue stood by with a faint grin. The man once driven by vengeance now stood armored and rebuilt, hand restored and enhanced thanks to Nolan's tech.
"I'll handle it, General."
Klaue had no regrets about partnering with Nolan. It was smarter than all his years of smuggling combined. Now he sat at the head of Oscorp's external affairs, right beside Norman Osborn.
He opened a case.
"This is Oscorp's Beta-Series Sentinel deployment unit."
Ross raised an eyebrow. "That box? You said an army. This looks like a toy kit."
Klaue didn't flinch. "Trust the process."
He pressed a button. The case opened to reveal dozens of compact, silent Sentinel drones no larger than a toaster.
Tiny red lights blinked to life.
Then Klaue raised a rifle-like device and sprayed a beam across them.
In seconds, the drones expanded into full-scale humanoid Sentinels, each gleaming with upgraded armor and glowing visors.
Ross stared in awe. "This is… is this Pym Particle tech?"
Klaue smiled. "Professor Pickham our in-house physicist. Formerly of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ross exhaled. Oscorp's reach was deeper than he'd ever imagined.
"Deploy them. Let's show the world what we're made of."
---
Above Wakanda.
Just as the Avengers braced to intercept the nukes, the air shimmered.
Dozens of Beta Sentinels took flight, jet thrusters blazing.
Tony scoffed. "You're really pulling out this junk again?"
He recognized the chassis design instantly. It was Nolan's Life Cradle tech. The Sentinels were essentially metal-organic hybrid cybernetic lifeforms powered by a neural core but vulnerable to viral disruption.
Tony had already cracked them once.
He'd even developed a targeted e-virus capable of paralyzing their internal bio-metal systems.
"I've got this," Tony said, activating his anti-Sentinel protocol.
Inside his HUD, target locks flared to life.
Suddenly, the Sentinels' eyes glowed a blinding crimson light surging into the sky.
One beam? Harmless.
But dozens?
A massive, sky-splitting energy blade formed from the converging beams, swinging straight toward the Avengers.
At the same time, a ripple of energy spread a counter-virus wave.
Tony's smile vanished.
His systems stuttered.
"DEFENSIVE MODE—NOW!"
Cap, piloting one of the escort jets, raised energy shields as Tony shouted through the comms.
"Brace!"
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the skies.
The war had officially escalated.
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