As the night wore on, the party thinned out. The models, reporters, and other hangers-on eventually departed, sensing that the true purpose of the evening was about to begin. Tony wouldn't keep irrelevant people around for the main event, and with Norman Osborn in attendance, it was clear this was more than just a celebration.
Ben, of course, already knew Tony's purpose and was waiting with patient amusement. He watched Norman and Tony, two titans of industry from different generations. Though only a few years separated them in age, Tony's incorrigible prodigal-son persona made them seem worlds apart.
It was Steve, predictably, who broke the quiet tension. He had danced for a while, a bit stiffly, but had remained sober, unlike T'Challa and Rhodey, who were now snoring peacefully on a nearby sofa.
"Tony, what's this really about?" Steve asked, his voice steady. "I'm assuming it's not just to celebrate the new tower."
Tony pointed a finger at him. "See? That brain of yours, seventy years out of date, can still put two and two together." His eyes then flickered to Ben, who was sitting silently on a sofa, a small, knowing smile on his face, waiting for the performance to continue. Tony had secretly hoped Ben would be the one to ask, as it would have made the eventual reveal that much more impactful. But since Steve had opened the door, he had to walk through it.
Hearing that business was about to be discussed, Norman Osborn loosened his tie and leaned back. The earlier party atmosphere had made him deeply uncomfortable. It was one thing to be surrounded by fawning young models, but it was another thing entirely to have it happen while his son, Harry, and the other boys were watching. Norman had a reputation as a stern, respectable elder to maintain.
Speaking of the boys, Norman's gaze drifted to Peter, who was sitting on a lone armchair, his posture strangely confident, almost arrogant, as if he were sitting on a throne. During the party, Peter had seemed like a different person, his movements looser, more provocative. Norman chalked it up to Ben's influence; at least he had stayed sober. A little more confidence wasn't a bad thing. He pushed his lingering doubts aside and addressed Tony directly. "Alright, Stark. What's going on?"
As Director of H.A.M.M.E.R., he had a right to know what the Avengers' primary consultant was planning.
Tony took a slow, dramatic sip of his drink, walked to the center of the room, and began his speech. "I told you all before," he said, his voice ringing with conviction, "that I could protect the Earth. By myself."
The words instantly transported them back to the tense war council meeting before the counter-attack on Thanos. Steve sighed, knowing Tony was still nursing a bruised ego, but he felt he had to intervene before the tension between Tony and Ben could fracture their fragile alliance.
"Ben helped us a lot, Tony," Steve said gently. "The planetary shield, the Iron Guard, the Plumbers… if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have won so easily."
Tony drained his glass and slammed it down. "Please," he scoffed. "Do you really think I'm that petty? That I hold grudges over trivial matters? That I'm the type of person who needs to get even for the slightest offense?" He looked around the room, his face a mask of wounded indignation. "Am I really that sarcastic?"
He was met with a profound, telling silence. Everyone in the room—Steve, Norman, Natasha, Clint—suddenly found the floor, the ceiling, or their own shoes intensely fascinating. Silence, in this case, was the loudest possible answer.
Tony's chest heaved. "Come on! Is that really the image you all have of me?"
"Not entirely," Natasha drawled, looking up from her phone. "You forgot narcissistic, petty, and a bit of a pervert."
Tony sputtered. "Who told you that?! That's slander! It has to be a rumor!"
"Sir," JARVIS's calm, disembodied voice echoed through the room's speakers, "stating a verifiable fact is not considered slander."
"You're on thin ice, JARVIS!" Tony snapped. "One more word and it's back to the workshop for a full diagnostic!" The threat was so empty it broke the tension completely. The room erupted in laughter, a wave of much-needed levity washing over them.
Steve, a man with professional training in suppressing his emotions, managed to stifle his laugh and gestured for quiet. "Tony, I know you're upset, but Ben did a good job. He defeated Thanos. He solved the problem."
Tony knew it was true. He had thought it through in the lonely hours after the battle. Ben had done nothing wrong. He wasn't even an Avenger; he had no obligation to save the Earth. If anyone was to be blamed, it was Tony himself, for his own inadequacy, for leaving the planet's protection in the hands of a teenager. That bitter realization was what had driven him to obsessively complete his grand project. But apologizing directly… that was a bridge too far for his pride. This party, this grand gesture, was his apology.
"Fine," he said loudly, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm over it. That's in the past." He let the words hang in the air, his version of a white flag. "But my core mission hasn't changed." He looked from Steve to Norman, and finally to Ben. "Thanos is dead. You did good work, I admit it. But we can't let our guard down. The universe is a big, dangerous place. We can't just rely on the Plumbers. We saw it ourselves—Thanos tied them up on one front while attacking us on another."
His words were harsh, but even Ben had to admit he had a point. Self-reliance was the only true security.
"Tony, that's why we're the Avengers," Steve said.
"The Avengers?" Tony let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Without the Hulk, what are we, really? A joke. Our drone army is better at clearing out fodder than most of our team." He quickly added, "Present company excluded, of course." He gestured dramatically, and an entire wall of the lounge retracted, revealing a cavernous hall behind it, lined with dozens of Iron Man armors in various shapes and colors. "Behold, my improved Iron Legion!"
Clint scratched his head. "It's impressive, Tony, but Primus has more drones than that. What can these do?"
"How can you compare the junk Primus inherited from Hammer to my work?" Tony shot back, offended.
"No matter how many suits you have, you can only wear one at a time," Norman pointed out. "Are you planning to donate these to H.A.M.M.E.R.?"
"And let the Security Council fight over them like vultures? No thanks," Tony sneered. "My plan is to arm the Earth with an army that requires no human intervention." He held up a hand to stop the inevitable interruptions. "I know what you're going to say. Primus has an unmanned control system. But it's not enough. At scale, any remote system gets bogged down. You can't exert fine control. They just become consumables. What JARVIS can't do, Ben's E.U.N.I.C.E. can't do either."
Norman's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you created a more advanced artificial intelligence?" He was a scientist. He knew that to go beyond JARVIS or E.U.N.I.C.E. was to approach a dangerous ethical threshold.
"I call it the Ultron Global Defense System," Tony announced, his voice filled with pride.
It was exactly what Ben had been expecting.
"Through Ultron," Tony continued, his voice swelling with the passion of a true believer, "we can monitor the global network, analyze every individual's behavior, determine threats before they happen, and neutralize them. Not just external threats, but threats here on Earth. Ultron will end all wars. It will bring peace."
The room was silent, but this time it was a heavy, horrified silence.
"You want to monitor the entire world?" Norman asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Tony, are you insane?"
"Why not?" Tony shot back, his frustration boiling over. "Because you all want to be the Avengers, we're always reacting, cleaning up the mess! Why can't we be the Preventers? Why can't we nip evil in the bud?" He looked directly at Ben. "Isn't that what your Plumbers do? I didn't get it before, but now, I'm all for it."
"The key is, how do you tell the good guys from the bad guys?" Natasha said, her voice like ice. "Don't tell me you've forgotten Project Insight."
Tony laughed, a sound devoid of humor. "The underlying algorithm of Project Insight was brilliant. H.A.M.M.E.R. used it to gut Hydra. I've simply perfected it and programmed it into Ultron." He spread his arms, a messianic look on his face.
"I brought you all here tonight to witness this moment," he declared. "The moment we make the Avengers obsolete. The moment we secure peace in our time."
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