The maintenance shaft was a filthy, cramped sanctuary. Alex lay sprawled on a cold, rusted grate, the stench of stagnant water and burnt wires filling his nostrils. The adrenaline that had propelled him through the concrete breach and past Romanoff had finally evaporated, leaving behind a leaden exhaustion and the screaming agony of his bruised ribs. He coughed, the sound rattling deep in his chest.
His gaze was fixed on the Arc Core. It wasn't its usual steady amber. It was flickering erratically, a frantic heartbeat struggling for rhythm. The uncontrolled discharge he'd used to push Romanoff back had severely taxed the prototype.
[System Warning: Arc Core Stability at 45%. Host is bleeding internally (minor). Host requires immediate medical attention and resources. Estimated Time to SHIELD breach of current location: 8 minutes.]
"Eight minutes," Alex gasped, his voice a raw whisper. He didn't have eight minutes to climb out, nor eight hours to rest. He was trapped in the upper levels of the Tower, exposed and broken.
He pulled the Stark PDA from his pocket, his hand trembling. He couldn't risk another kinetic blast; it would flatline the core and potentially his brain. He needed to hide, but the only way to escape detection was to evolve.
If I can't build armor, I have to become the armor.
He accessed the System's menu, pushing past the medical warnings. He had a few hundred thousand in cash remaining, all digitized in a clean account. He needed to spend it on something untraceable, fast, and small.
He searched the System Evolution pathway, filtering the tech for maximum integration and minimal physical size. The screen stabilized on the only viable option.
[System Evolution Path: Nano-Tech Integration.]
The description was stark: "Utilizes advanced synthetic molecular structures for internal repair, remote construction, and subcutaneous shielding. Requires specialized delivery system and high-purity rare earth materials."
"Cost?"
[Required Materials and Delivery System Cost: $185,000. Required Host Health for Integration: 65%. Current Health: 55%.]
"I need the money," Alex muttered. "And I need to hit the easy button on my health."
He found a forgotten emergency medical kit behind a corroded panel—a relic from the Tower's construction phase. He mainlined a cocktail of painkillers and industrial-strength adrenaline. The pain dulling instantly, replaced by a jittery, false energy.
[Host Health temporarily stabilized at 68%. Nanite Integration available. Initiate?]
"Yes," Alex confirmed, his vision tunneling with the drug-induced focus.
He located a small, unused pneumatic delivery port—a system once designed to deliver blueprints to the top floor—and input a complex command sequence. He used his last available cash to purchase the required materials from a network of black-market suppliers he'd accessed using the PDA's unfiltered uplink. He routed the deliveries to a drop-off point fifty floors below, then commanded the pneumatic system to bring the small, critical package directly to him.
The Desperate Upgrade
The package arrived with a faint whoosh: a single, sterile vial and a complex, handheld injector. The vial contained a shimmering, silvery fluid—the nanites.
Alex ripped open the package. He had to be quick. He could hear the faint, echoing sound of footsteps below him—SHIELD agents, methodical and getting closer.
He aimed the powerful injector at his neck. The process would be agonizing, bypassing traditional entry points for immediate bloodstream access.
He hesitated for only a second, his human fear clashing violently with his survival instinct. This is irreversible. This changes everything.
He slammed the plunger.
A scorching, white-hot FIRE screamed through his veins, starting at his neck and racing through his entire body. It wasn't pain; it was the sensation of a billion microscopic machines tearing apart his physiology and rebuilding it. He bit down hard, stifling a cry that would give away his location. The agony was unimaginable, far worse than any broken rib.
Then, the nanites found the deepest pain—the cracked ribs—and began their repair. The sharp, internal agony receded, replaced by a strange, tingling warmth.
[System Evolution Complete: Nano-Tech Path UNLOCKED. Subcutaneous Shielding Initializing. Host Health: Recovering.]
Alex collapsed, sweat-soaked and weak, but the pain was gone. The Arc Core's amber light stabilized and pulsed steadily. He could feel the difference—an almost imperceptible layer of strength beneath his skin, the nanites acting as a secondary defense.
The relief was short-lived. A loud, sharp KNOCK echoed from the metal door at the end of the shaft.
"We know you're in there, Alex Stark," Romanoff's voice cut through the silence, calm, close, and absolutely terrifying. "Don't make this any messier than it already is."
Alex opened his eyes. He wasn't trapped anymore. He was invisible, protected, and evolving. He had just bought himself a whole new world of problems.
He smiled, a genuine, tired, and utterly dangerous grin. He didn't need to run. He just needed to hide until his upgrade was complete.
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