HISD Chapter 25 Destiny-Deciding Saturday
"System confirmed, permissions have been transferred to Quentin Beck, Saturday."
The voice of the built-in smart system inside the glasses echoed, and the lively bar instantly fell into dead silence.
Mysterio, Quentin Beck, couldn't suppress his emotional breakdown. His voice cracked in disbelief: "Saturday? Who the hell is Saturday?"
"Saturday?"
Peter Parker muttered to himself: "I remember… Mr. Tony Stark's second-generation AI was called 'Friday'."
"What did you say?!"
Quentin Beck's hands clamped down on Peter Parker's shoulders, his pupils trembling violently. As a clever man, he instantly pieced together countless clues from before.
But why did he blurt out that question without thinking?
Quentin Beck froze.
"What day is it today?"
"What day is it today?"
"What day is it today?"
The cold mechanical words suddenly echoed endlessly in his mind.
From last week, on the very first day he struck a deal with Ultron, Ultron had tossed out that strange question.
At first.
Quentin Beck thought it odd, but after hearing the same question repeated day after day for a week, he got used to it. He even treated it as a secret passcode between himself and the AI Ultron.
And so.
Just now, at the very instant he was about to obtain EDITH from Spider-Man Peter Parker…
His heart was overwhelmed with excitement and tension. Unconsciously, he thought of Ultron—and then of the question Ultron had asked the most, so familiar he treated it as a code phrase.
Whether to confirm if Ultron was still monitoring him, or as a subconscious suggestion implanted in his mind, the words slipped out naturally—
"What day is it today?"
Yes, today was indeed Saturday. That was the date he and Ultron had agreed upon last week.
But what if "Saturday" wasn't just the name of a day, but an actual entity?
If Iron Man's second-generation AI was named Friday, then having one called Saturday wouldn't be strange, right?
A chill raced down Quentin Beck's spine. From their very first meeting, the other side had already planted suggestions into him, secretly controlling everything from the shadows.
All of it, leading up to this very moment tonight.
Quentin Beck suddenly trembled, snatched the glasses out of Peter Parker's hands, and shouted in panic: "EDITH! I want control of Stark's global security network!"
"No authorization. Your permissions were removed ten seconds ago."
"How… how is this possible…"
Quentin Beck's eyes went bloodshot. His fury then turned on Peter Parker.
"What's going on, Mr. Beck? What's happening?"
Peter didn't understand why Mysterio's entire persona had suddenly collapsed.
The duck he thought he had in hand had flown away.
Quentin Beck was completely losing his mind. He could no longer endure it: "Stop pretending! You knew all along, didn't you? It's Stark Industries' AI toying with me, isn't it?"
"Spider-Man, I'll kill you!"
The mature, square features of Mysterio's face twisted into something hideous under his rage.
…
Elsewhere.
New York, lakeside cabin.
"Saturday… Saturday…"
Happy Hogan's round face went pale before a bitter smile broke through. "So Morgan's AI is called Saturday…"
"Happy, is that a problem?"
Pepper Potts immediately noticed something was off from his expression.
"I… I…"
Happy glanced at Pepper and Morgan, then forced a weak laugh. "Last week, I might've… made a small mistake."
"A small mistake?" Pepper was about to press further—
When suddenly.
Strange sounds came from the garage next to the cabin.
"Listen to me."
Happy's forehead was drenched in cold sweat as he blurted quickly: "Last week… I transferred my Stark Industries authorization to Saturday."
"What did you just say?" Pepper froze.
…
Inside the empty garage-turned-workshop.
Lights blazed row by row, illuminating the space from the parked luxury cars all the way into what had once been Tony Stark's private lab.
At the deepest corner.
Two tall glass display cases stood like sealed monuments of cutting-edge technology, housing two nano suits—one larger, one smaller, one male, one female. One gold and red, the other silver and blue.
The nano-metal armor gleamed under the light, its seamless lines flowing with perfect precision. From head to toe, each intricate piece merged into a flawless whole—craftsmanship far beyond the so-called top-tier luxury cars outside.
Since Tony Stark's sacrifice, more than half a year had passed. These battle-worn suits that once fought countless villains had rested here, relics on display.
Until today.
A piercing white glow suddenly ignited in the eyes of the gold-red nano suit. The dormant pinnacle of Earth's technology stirred to life.
Bang!
The glass casing exploded outward.
One of the armors stepped forward, at first wobbling, but within five seconds moving fluidly as if it were alive.
"The sensation of having a human body again… much better."
A streak of static thought emerged from within the suit—it was none other than the AI incarnation of Yi Meng.
Seamlessly linking with the nano suit, Yi Meng surveyed himself through the garage's cameras.
The helmet shone golden, the body painted mostly crimson.
At its center, a hexagonal arc reactor pulsed, channeling power through the entire frame, designed with both humanoid muscle-like contours and futuristic elegance.
The moment he synced, Yi Meng realized—this was Tony Stark's final masterpiece. The very same suit worn in the Endgame battle against Thanos.
It was fully equipped: nano self-repair, nano morphing, tactical lasers, laser cannons, thrusters, stable hovering, coolant jets, tracking systems, target locks, signal boosters, holographic projections, oxygen supply, fire and shock resistance, underwater capabilities, and more.
"If I walked out like this, wouldn't people think Iron Man had come back from the dead?"
Yi Meng stared at the armor under his control, the thought slipping out.
But truthfully, he didn't care what others thought.
What he did care about—was one girl in this Marvel dream. He didn't want to tarnish her image of her late father's greatness.
With that in mind, his AI will flickered, and a nearby assistant robot stirred to life.
This robot carried spray-painting equipment.
…
Ten seconds later.
As Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan rushed to the garage door—BOOM!—the ceiling split open, and a jet-black nano armor roared into the night sky!
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