HISD Chapter 24: The Night That Decided the Fate of the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe.
In the city of New York, inside a private factory marked with a sign forbidding entry to pedestrians.
On the special effects stage.
Quentin Beck stood at the center, wearing a high-tech suit and an advanced VR headset. His carefully styled hair and beard gave him a dignified, charismatic look — one that even faintly resembled Tony Stark.
This, of course, was intentional.
"Is everything ready?" Quentin Beck asked in a low, commanding tone, like a leader issuing orders.
At the edge of the stage, several other accomplices sat at computer stations, their fingers typing furiously on keyboards.
"The network is linked with Italy. Latency will remain below 0.01 seconds, stable and long-term."
"The private jet has been prepared, loaded with five drones and three backups — more than enough to achieve the desired effects."
"My side's fine too. The elemental monster projections are already preloaded onto the drones. To the naked eye, no one will be able to tell they're fake."
"Good."
Quentin Beck nodded with satisfaction but still spoke sternly. "Remember, your part is crucial. We've rehearsed this countless times. There must not be any mistakes! That Spider-Man kid is sharp. One slip, and he'll notice!
"We're going against the Avengers and Stark Industries. If this fails, every one of our futures will be ruined!"
His expression turned cold and ruthless, glaring at his team.
"Understood. We won't screw this up!"
The bearded engineer, once a Stark Industries employee, quickly nodded. He knew failure meant the end of his life as he knew it. But success? Success meant gaining access to part of Stark's technology rights — enough reward to risk everything.
And then—
His face suddenly changed. Fingers flew across the keyboard as his eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait! The system's gone out of control… it's being hacked!"
"What did you say?"
The others paled.
"Quiet!" Quentin Beck, however, remained calm. He looked into the empty air and respectfully asked, "Is it you?"
Who else could it be?
His three accomplices froze.
"What day is it?"
A cold, mechanical voice rang out from the sound system.
"Friday," Quentin replied smoothly, smiling like he was responding to a code. "Everything is going as planned. Peter Parker left for his European trip today. I'll be flying there tonight. Tomorrow in Italy, our plan will succeed — we'll claim the prize."
"Good. I'll be watching."
Yi Meng's voice echoed through the system before fading away.
"We welcome your oversight," Quentin Beck said sincerely. "We're the best of partners, aren't we?"
The moment Yi Meng left, the system abruptly restored itself.
"It's back to normal!" one of the men exclaimed nervously.
"Beck, who was that?" the bearded engineer asked.
"That's none of your concern. Just stick to the plan," Quentin replied steadily, keeping Ultron's presence a secret.
Tomorrow—
He would become the new superhero "Mysterio," adored by the public, standing as the next Iron Man, guiding the Avengers into a new age.
But in his heart, Beck sneered: Keep watching me if you want, Ultron. Once I gain that access… you'll be the first I destroy.
…
That night—
Quentin Beck flew to Italy with his special effects equipment and schemes.
Happy Hogan, meanwhile, was cheering while driving his luxury car — he had just gotten a date with Aunt May.
Peter Parker lay awake in a small Italian apartment, tossing and turning as he held on to Tony Stark's relic.
Pepper Potts worked late into the night at Stark Industries' headquarters, exhausted but staring out at the sleepless city skyline.
At the Stark family lake house—
Six-year-old Morgan was fast asleep, her little feet having kicked off the thin blanket.
In the corner, a cleaning bot quietly extended an arm, pulling the blanket back over her.
…
The next afternoon—
A black luxury car rolled down the forest path, stopping in front of the lake house.
A rotund man in a suit stepped out, rang the bell.
"Who is it?" came a young voice.
"Morgan, it's me! Uncle Happy! I brought you a gift!"
The little girl eagerly opened the door and grabbed the present.
"Your mom's not home again, huh."
Happy glanced around the quiet house. Morgan didn't look sad about it — she was used to being alone.
Feeling guilty, Happy postponed his date with May and decided to stay the night with Morgan.
After dinner, they sat watching TV.
When Happy learned Morgan had already mastered high school-level material, he was stunned. "It's only been a few months, and you're already ready for college?"
"Yeah… thanks to Teacher…" Morgan cut herself off.
"Right. Pepper mentioned you had an AI companion. What was its name again?"
Morgan pressed her lips together, silent.
Just then, the news interrupted.
"This is Venice, Italy. Today, enormous monsters known as the Elementals appeared. Fortunately, two heroes stopped them: 'Night Monkey' and 'Mysterio'…"
The footage showed a towering fire giant ravaging the city, Spider-Man in a black stealth suit swinging in, and a caped, armored man fighting beside him.
Happy nearly spit out his drink. Night Monkey? One look was enough — that was Spider-Man.
…
Elsewhere—
In a Venetian bar, Peter Parker and Quentin Beck sat together, chatting warmly.
"Mr. Beck, you're amazing! You defeated those Elementals so easily!"
"This is nothing," Mysterio said gravely, removing his helmet. "I just don't want this world to suffer the same tragedy as mine. Even if it costs me my life."
Peter was moved by the sincerity in his eyes.
"You remind me of someone…," Peter said softly, pulling out Tony's smart glasses. "The man who owned these."
Quentin's eyes narrowed at the sight. "What's that?" he asked, feigning surprise.
"E.D.I.T.H. She can control the world's defense systems. But I don't think I deserve her."
Peter's voice was heavy with guilt. Then he suddenly smiled. "Tony said, 'Give them to the next Tony Stark.' I think he meant you."
Quentin leaned in, pretending to hesitate. "Why would he give them to you then?"
"Because maybe he wasn't entrusting E.D.I.T.H. to me, but asking me to choose the right person," Peter said, his face lighting up with relief. "It makes sense. He knew I'd make the right choice. The world needs a new Iron Man — not me, I'm just a kid. It has to be someone like you. A leader, a soldier, a true hero."
Quentin almost burst into laughter but kept his serious facade. "Peter, you must believe in yourself."
"I am," Peter said firmly. "I believe the right thing to do is give E.D.I.T.H. to you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Peter activated the glasses. "E.D.I.T.H., transfer all access to Quentin Beck."
Quentin clenched his fists under the table, trembling with excitement. Success was within reach. "Wait—Peter, don't confirm yet!"
But Peter, afraid Beck would refuse, hurriedly said, "Confirm!"
Beep.
"Authorization transferred to Quentin Beck, Saturday."
…
Back at the lake house—
"Happy, why didn't you tell me you were here?" Pepper walked in, spotting Happy standing stiffly by the TV, Morgan quietly sitting on the couch.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Happy's eyelid twitched. He swallowed hard. "Pepper, tell me… what's the name of Morgan's AI?"
Pepper answered naturally.
"Saturday."
TL/N: I don't understand as well how suddenly saturday gets the access but that's what happened :v
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