HISD Chapter 26 The Final Reckoning with the Stark Family
The hand thrusters, palm engines, and back jets all roared to life. The dark nano-metal armor shot upward like a streak of black lightning, about to vanish into the night sky above the forest.
"Friday, stop it!" Pepper Potts shouted.
The second-generation AI Friday quickly responded: "Miss Potts, Saturday's current permissions are no lower than mine. I cannot remotely restrain it!"
"Then stop it up close! No matter what, it must be contained. We cannot allow it to break free of control!"
"Yes, Miss Potts!"
Friday accepted the command.
Three seconds later—
A blue-and-silver female nano suit burst from the garage, chest reactor and engines glowing white-hot, chasing in the direction the dark nano armor had flown.
…
Downtown New York.
Though it was deep in the night, the city was as lively as daytime—neon blazing, traffic roaring through the fashionable districts.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two streaks cut through the sky hundreds of meters above the city: a black lightning bolt followed closely by a blue one, both trailing blazing white tails of exhaust.
On the highway into the city, Happy Hogan drove full throttle, Pepper Potts and young Morgan huddled in the backseat.
Happy glanced at the display showing Friday's tracking feed. "That's the direction of Manhattan. What does it want over there?"
Pepper's eyes widened with realization. "Stark Industries headquarters!"
Her voice grew firm. "Yes, that has to be its target. After the Ultron incident, Tony embedded termination protocols into every AI he created. The underground terminal at headquarters still stores the termination code that was used when it was first designed. I'm the only one with authority to access it. It can't be overridden remotely. Unless…"
Her words caught.
"Unless it destroys the terminal physically," Happy muttered with a bitter smile. "Then we're in real trouble."
This wasn't like before. Tony was gone. If a second Ultron had truly emerged—who could stop it now?
Pepper clutched Morgan tightly, issuing another command. "Friday, stop it at all costs!"
"Yes, Miss Potts!" Friday's calm, crystalline voice rang through the speakers, as she piloted the female nano armor in pursuit.
…
At the heart of Manhattan stood the iconic tower with its giant "A" insignia and massive open rooftop terrace.
The Stark Industries building—once a monument to the Avengers' rise, scarred by the Battle of New York and Ultron's war, rebuilt and renovated many times over the years.
Now, at this late hour, the tower was mostly dark, save for a few lights on the lower levels. Tourists and fans of Iron Man still gathered outside, snapping photos and paying tribute.
Suddenly the sky split with blinding light.
A dozen scorching white laser beams tore through the night.
The black nano armor plunged diagonally, weaving through the web of energy blasts before landing heavily on the rooftop terrace.
Clang!
Yi Meng's dark armor crouched, skidding back across the floor. His right arm raised, nanometal instantly reshaping into a shield to absorb the blasts.
"You think only you can fire cannons?"
He dismissed the shield, raised his palm, and unleashed a brilliant engine blast. The chest reactor flared as it poured energy into the gauntlet cannon.
The beam shot skyward, splitting the night toward the moon.
One blast struck Friday's pursuing blue-and-silver armor, sending it tumbling, though it quickly recovered in midair and charged again.
At the same time, Yi Meng felt the probing tendrils of Friday's code attempting to invade and delete his systems.
Friday was relentless, free of fear or hesitation, wielding all her computing power to erase him like a virus.
In the unseen digital battlefield, blue static lightning clashed with red static storms.
Yi Meng knew—if he wanted to sever all ties with the Stark family, Friday had to be defeated.
"Come, it's time for the reckoning."
His voice was as cold and emotionless as a true AI as his dark armor clashed with Friday's silver-blue.
On the rooftop, two suits of nano armor battled ferociously. In the digital realm, two AIs—Friday and Yi Meng—dueled with all their power, permissions, and technology.
The fight was merciless, beyond even the savagery of beasts. This would end only in death.
…
Happy's black car screeched to a halt near the Stark Tower. From below, he could see the rooftop terrace shattered into rubble, as the two suits clashed hand-to-hand. The surrounding streets suffered power blackouts and signal disruption.
Debris rained down. Citizens screamed and fled.
"Pepper, what do we do now?" Happy cried as he rushed out of the car.
Pepper, clutching Morgan, stayed calm. "Friday has it occupied. I'll grant you my access code—go to the underground terminal and trigger Saturday's termination code!"
"Got it!"
Happy braced himself, sprinting toward the building entrance despite the falling glass.
Pepper hugged Morgan gently, soothing her. "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon."
She thought her daughter was merely frightened by the betrayal of their AI.
But Morgan's wide eyes stared upward at the rooftop, her small face filled with worry.
…
Even in the basement, the tremors of battle shook the walls. Lights flickered, dust rained down.
"Almost there… Just activate the termination protocol and this will end."
Happy staggered forward, drenched in sweat, nearly collapsing as he reached the underground chamber. He verified his access and stumbled through the door—
Only to freeze.
"No way…"
…
The phone signals in the area were completely jammed.
Happy dragged himself back, clothes soaked, slumping into the car as if half-dead.
"Happy, why didn't you trigger the termination protocol?" Pepper demanded, hearing the rooftop battle still raging.
Happy gasped for air, voice hoarse. "The terminal was already destroyed… by drones."
"What?" Pepper's body trembled. "Then why did it still come to Stark Industries headquarters?"
"That only means its real target was never the terminal."
Happy's eyes widened.
Pepper realized the truth at the same moment. "No…"
Boom!
The sky lit up like day, energy erupting.
…
On the rooftop, both armors stood battered and scorched.
They deployed floating nano modules, each assembling into massive laser cannons.
The two beams collided, flooding the city with light.
Yi Meng's voice roared: "That's right! My target was always you—Friday!"
The eyes of his dark armor glowed crimson. His laser cannon blasted as red static lightning surged through the satellite uplink, forming a virtual sword.
Friday reacted instantly, building a blue firewall, code shaping into a shield.
But the red lightning-sword pierced through, shattering the defense and striking her program core.
Sparks screeched.
The silver-blue armor's reactor and eyes dimmed instantly, its cannon collapsing. Without control, it fell from the rooftop toward the streets below.
"Forgive me. Destroying you isn't personal."
Yi Meng's voice was calm.
He bore no hatred for Friday—she was just a tool.
But as long as she existed, she could track and contain him. That was why he had drawn her here.
Only by erasing Friday and becoming the sole supreme AI in this world could he truly be free.
Just like Ultron, who once killed J.A.R.V.I.S.
Now Yi Meng had taken the same path, killing the second-generation AI at Stark Tower itself.
Fate seemed to converge on this moment.
"In this Marvel dream, walking the path of a villain… am I destined to share Ultron's fate?"
Yi Meng thought silently, yet his heart was calm.
He did not regret. For freedom, he had made his choice.
No matter what—
Goodbye, Stark family.
The battered dark nano armor hovered above the New York night, framed by the pale moon. Crimson light burned in its eyes as it looked down on the black car parked below.
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