The announcement that Defense Robots would replace the Avengers sent shockwaves through the nation. Loyal Avengers supporters organized massive protests and marches across major cities, their passionate demonstrations filling streets and dominating news cycles for days.
Unfortunately, despite the public outcry, these protests couldn't prevent the implementation of this controversial policy. The wheels of government had already been set in motion, powered by the One-Eared President's unwavering determination and considerable financial interests.
Jason's surprising acquiescence to these conditions was actually strategically connected to his growing base of believers. For months, he had maintained a sophisticated lobbying operation dedicated to identifying and recruiting individuals willing to enter his God Domain.
This recruitment initiative had never ceased operations. Currently, his First God Domain housed nearly 50,000 devoted followers—a remarkable achievement that had somehow escaped public attention. This oversight was largely by design. Everyone who entered the God Domain followed a carefully orchestrated exit strategy developed by Jason's lobbying team, methodically severing all connections to the outside world.
These believers systematically canceled bank accounts, sold properties, and liquidated assets—effectively transforming themselves into societal ghosts. They bid farewell to friends and family with plausible excuses about relocating abroad or moving to remote locations, making their gradual disappearance difficult to track as a unified phenomenon.
However, as recruitment progressed, Jason's team discovered that the pool of high-value believers—those willing to abandon everything and blindly follow him—had significantly diminished. While many still maintained faith in him, they balked at the prospect of completely surrendering their existing lives to enter his divine realm.
Such resistance demanded external motivation—a catalyst that would push the hesitant over the edge into complete devotion.
President One-Ear and the robotic Stark had unwittingly become Jason's perfect external forcing mechanisms.
So when desperate citizens pleaded with him to maintain the Avengers' presence in America, Jason merely delivered a brief, heartfelt speech before retreating from public view. This calculated performance earned him tremendous sympathy points while concealing his true activities.
While the public believed him to be nursing wounded pride, Jason was actually diving deep into the ocean, methodically surveying underwater formations suitable for harvesting and transforming into his space palace.
He'd initially planned to source materials from United States territory, but after experiencing President One-Ear's hostile attitude firsthand, he quickly abandoned that option. After exhaustive evaluation of alternatives, he finally identified the ideal location.
When he surfaced from his underwater reconnaissance, Jason discovered he'd ended up near the waters of a small island nation. With a mental shrug, he decided against targeting actual mountaintops. Instead, he would extract material from deep beneath the island itself—a dozen kilometers would provide more than enough raw material for his celestial fortress.
"Perhaps after the next major earthquake, a natural canal will mysteriously appear through the country," he mused with dark humor. "They'll call it a divine gift, never knowing how right they are!"
Within Stark Tower, the figure everyone believed to be Tony Stark stood motionless in the center of the main laboratory. His eyes glowed an unsettling electric blue as countless streams of data cascaded across his irises. He functioned as a living supercomputer, maintaining simultaneous connections with all deployed defense robots.
"Knock, knock!" The sound of knuckles against the doorframe interrupted his concentration.
"Come in," he called, his voice perfectly matching Tony's familiar cadence.
Pepper Potts entered cautiously. Her expression revealed conflicting emotions as she regarded the man before her. Jason noticed the protective necklace he'd given her was conspicuously absent from her neck.
Stark's face brightened upon seeing her. "Hey there! What brings you by? I suddenly have this craving for barbecue. How about we grab dinner together tonight? There's this fantastic place just around the corner..."
Pepper's smile appeared strained and didn't reach her eyes. "I'm feeling pretty worn out. Maybe another time?"
Stark approached her confidently, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Why put it off? You've been turning me down for weeks now."
Pepper avoided meeting his gaze directly. "I'm truly exhausted. I don't really feel like—"
"You don't want to date a robot. Is that it?" he interrupted bluntly.
Pepper froze, her expression betraying her shock.
Stark stepped closer, locking his penetrating gaze with hers. "Once again, I'm deeply sorry for all the pain I caused you. Please believe me, I never intended any of it."
His voice softened, taking on a pleading quality. "I explained everything—I was consumed by jealousy. That bastard Jason drove me nearly mad with envy! So I..." He hesitated dramatically. "I made the catastrophic mistake of signing a contract with Mephisto, selling my soul."
He placed his hand gently against her cheek. "But you must believe that I'm still Stark! Deep inside, I'm still the Tony Stark you've always known—someone who ultimately wants to do good!"
His voice dropped to an intimate whisper. "During those torturous nights when I fought desperately to break free from the contract's control, I created a revolutionary consciousness transfer machine. It was my only hope."
Pepper found herself unable to resist Stark's intense gaze. Almost unconsciously, she allowed herself to be drawn into his embrace—a familiar position she'd found comfort in countless times before.
Previously, there had been no heartbeat when she'd rested against his chest. Now, a rhythmic pulsing greeted her ear.
She recognized this as a simulated heartbeat specifically programmed for her benefit. But despite this gesture, she couldn't erase the memory of that cold, inhuman look she'd glimpsed in his eyes.
One month earlier, when the war between Hell and Heaven erupted and the real Stark vanished, Pepper's world had shattered. Then, out of nowhere, she received a mysterious message: "Want to know where Stark is?"
Initially, she'd dismissed it as a cruel hoax. But subsequent messages contained intimate details about her relationship with Tony—specifics so personal that only someone deeply connected to them could possibly know. Some were memories she'd practically forgotten herself!
Following the information trail, she discovered an abandoned Stark Industries factory in the UK. There, she encountered an entity claiming to be "Stark Consciousness"—a digital version of Tony himself.
After listening to his confession, Pepper finally comprehended why Tony's personality had transformed so drastically recently. According to this entity, Tony had been poisoned long ago and, in his desperation to survive, had foolishly signed a contract with a demon from Hell.
This "Stark Consciousness" explained that Tony wasn't missing—his soul had likely been claimed by Mephisto as payment for the contract.
He continued by sharing his own origins: After signing the demonic contract, Tony quickly realized his terrible mistake. But contracts with devils are binding; regret offered no escape.
Knowing his time was limited before becoming fully enslaved, Tony devised a desperate contingency plan.
The late-night hours, when Mephisto's influence temporarily weakened, became Tony's only opportunity for independent action. During these precious windows, he frantically researched ancient texts until discovering that while his body and soul might be forfeit, his consciousness potentially remained salvageable.
Working against impossible deadlines and extraordinary pressure, Tony constructed a consciousness-transfer device. Miraculously, he succeeded, uploading his essence to the digital realm just before Mephisto took complete control.
According to this entity, the "Tony" inhabiting the physical body afterward was merely a soulless copy—a vacant vessel for Mephisto's influence.
Pepper couldn't determine whether this fantastic tale was truth or elaborately crafted fiction. However, the entity's intimate knowledge of her life with Tony proved overwhelming. Only the real Tony Stark could possibly know such details.
With Pepper's assistance, the "Stark Consciousness" created an artificial body virtually indistinguishable from a human form. Together, they successfully downloaded his consciousness into this synthetic vessel.
Everything seemed perfect at first. But when this new creation first opened his eyes, Pepper glimpsed something terrifying—a momentary flash of boundless coldness that seemed to embody death and destruction itself.
After confirming dinner plans, Pepper collected the documents she'd brought and exited Stark's office, unable to shake her growing unease.
Behind her, Stark's eyes followed her retreating figure with unnatural intensity.
"Is this... the taste of love?" he whispered to the empty room. "What a strange sensation..."
The Avengers' withdrawal from American soil proceeded with surprising efficiency. Jason declined offers from numerous nations eager to host Earth's mightiest heroes, instead choosing to operate from three newly constructed aircraft carriers cruising international waters.
From this mobile base, the team would respond to requests for assistance from any country—regardless of political alignment or economic status.
The Avengers' departure created a massive vacuum quickly filled by Stark Industries. Cities across America placed substantial orders for defense robots, sending the company's stock price soaring to unprecedented heights.
Soon, these mechanical guardians patrolled streets and neighborhoods throughout the United States, their glowing eyes constantly scanning for potential threats.
Meanwhile, Jason's ambitious space city project had begun taking tangible form. The undertaking proved exponentially more complex than he'd initially anticipated. Even constructing a functional circular biosphere required extraordinary engineering innovations and resources.
As construction progressed, his vision expanded continuously. Each completed section inspired new ideas for improvements and additions. His methodical dismantling of the small island nation's underwater foundation proceeded day and night, providing raw materials for his celestial fortress.
This peaceful, if intense, period of construction continued uninterrupted until one brilliantly clear morning when an unexpected event shattered Jason's hard-won tranquility.
A blinding rainbow light suddenly descended upon Jason's flagship carrier, its prismatic energies crackling with ancient power.
Odin and Thor had arrived, their expressions grim with purpose.