The Main Universe Iron Man, having taken off his mecha, sat down by the window of the office. Shiller sat opposite him, gazing at the Long Island skyline.
In the Ant-Man kidnapping case, Iron Man and Doctor Strange are suspects, Hydra is a suspect, and even inter-world travelers like Shiller are suspects - but a very important figure has been overlooked, and that is Ultron.
Ultron is gone, but not dead. Moreover, for a being evolved from electronic life, leaving behind hundreds of backups in his old home is quite normal. He hides in the shadows, ready to strike a deadly blow at any time.
If, by means alone, one can't confirm the culprit as Ultron, then looking at the ultimate beneficiary makes it almost certain.
Who benefits most from Pym's kidnapping?
Of course, it couldn't be Iron Man and Doctor Strange. They would rather have Pym in their grasp to hold the advantage in early negotiations; even if not to negotiate, they couldn't let the culprit run wild. Controlling him is the most logical choice.
Nor would it be Hydra. Hydra might seek something from Pym, maybe hoping for him to improve equipment, or banking on him to develop new weapons to turn the Manfredi family's situation around. But these gains are too trivial, insignificant compared to the multiverse's major affairs, and they don't have the capability to achieve this.
As for Ultron, he is most afraid of Pym because Pym is his creator, who not long ago almost annihilated him through underlying code. The hatred between them is undying. If Ultron could capture Pym, his security level would increase by at least a third.
Moreover, as an all-seeing behind-the-scenes manipulator, he is well aware of both Batman's and Iron Man's plans and understands the conflict between the two sides.
Capturing Pym can cause strife within the Prime Universe Avengers and also intensify the conflict between the Marvel and DC Main Universes, achieving multiple ends. He has no reason not to do it.
And for a radio wave life form that comes and goes without a trace, he doesn't need to get personally involved. The Avengers have so many enemies; picking one at random is headache enough for them, while the risk he takes is close to none, making it a win-win situation.
The fact that "JARVIS might have an issue" almost became the last straw for Main Universe Iron Man. However, possibly due to long-term struggles with anxiety, Iron Man's mental resilience has been elevated to a high level, so he hasn't yet collapsed because of this.
They waited for a while, and then Doctor Strange arrived. He didn't take a teleportation portal but flew straight through the window. Shiller looked at him expressionlessly. He found that, perhaps due to setting, people in the Prime Universe appeared much stronger than those from other universes, even though they were still young, their presence was intimidating.
"What's going on?" Doctor Strange asked.
"JARVIS may have an issue, and my mecha won't work. Take me back to Stark Building; I need to conduct a full software system overhaul."
Doctor Strange frowned deeply. He didn't understand how it had turned out this way, and then he heard Main Universe Iron Man say: "You need to find Whiplash. He's not dead and has intercepted Ant-Man under Ultron's control. We need to rescue him."
Doctor Strange became even more puzzled. He didn't know how the matter had turned to an unknown criminal, but Main Universe Iron Man's expression was so serious that it was frightening, so he decided to comply.
Then, he turned his head and saw Shiller. Compared to Main Universe Iron Man, Main Universe Doctor Strange obviously knew him better and was even more shocked, almost to the point of desperation.
"Why is he here?" Doctor Strange asked.
"Luckily, he's here," Main Universe Iron Man said, "Shiller is here out of interest, Batman wouldn't be. If it were Batman showing up at our door, we'd be…"
Before he finished his sentence, Bruce walked out of the lounge. At the moment they saw those blue eyes, Main Universe Iron Man and Doctor Strange retreated a step together.
Batman's true identity can fool others, but not them. One carries a scanner in his mecha, the other uses magic, of course they know what Bruce Wayne looks like.
"What's that look on your faces?" Bruce couldn't help but ask, "Do I look like I eat people?"
"You don't? Then why do your assistants always disappear?" Doctor Strange asked.
Bruce opened his mouth and didn't know how to answer for a moment; after a pause, he said: "If I said I'm not Batman, would you believe me?"
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously showed an expression of "Do you take us for fools?"
"You still don't understand Batman," Bruce shook his head and said, "Before he is sure to completely defeat you, Batman would absolutely not show up in front of you."
At that moment, Doctor Strange gave Main Universe Iron Man a look. They obviously thought of the same thing — if there are no chips, then create chips; kidnapping a Batman wouldn't be impossible.
"I advise you not to think about kidnapping him," Shiller said, "That would just be asking for trouble."
"Why? Even if he's not Batman, he's at least some universe's Bruce Wayne, isn't he?"
"Because no one would come to save him," Shiller said honestly again, "Frankly, he's not very popular with Batman. If you kidnap him, Batman wouldn't care about you, might even give you a thumbs up."
"Why?"
"Because you helped them remove the most unstable element in their group and kept that element in your own group, greatly weakening your strength."
"Him?" Both of them looked at Bruce. Bruce spread his hands in an innocent manner.
"I have to say, this is slander," Bruce shook his head like a rattle, "I'm definitely not the most unstable element in any group. You know, cattle and sheep flock together, but predators always roam alone. Geniuses are always solitary, right?"
This statement resonated quite well with Iron Man and Doctor Strange. If the speaker wasn't wearing that face, it might have even made some sense; but if it's these damn blue eyes saying it, it always sounds like some kind of con. Iron Man and Doctor Strange wouldn't fall for it.
"I was just about to ask, what are the two of you doing here?" Doctor Strange asked.
"Of course, we're here to investigate Ultron," Shiller continued, "Let's not beat around the bush, give me Ultron's information and I'll leave. Otherwise, I could take some souvenirs back, like you two."
"So you're from over there," Doctor Strange squinted his eyes, "Why should we give you Ultron's information? This would hasten Batman's actions against him, and what we need is precisely time."
"If you don't give it, I'll find it myself, but if I make a fuss, it's not my responsibility. You know you can't stop me."
Iron Man and Doctor Strange exchanged another glance. Clearly, this was a dilemma: giving the information to Shiller might bring Batman quicker, but if they didn't and he made a mess of their base, it would be even harder to fight against Batman.
"You have to help us rescue Ant-Man," Main Universe Iron Man said, "This isn't a trade, but if you want the complete information, only he has it. We can't use those storage devices with Pym particles."
Shiller furrowed his brows slightly. Things had returned to square one again; he still had to figure out a way to rescue Dr. Pym. But if Ultron had kidnapped him, then Ultron must be dealt with, and the Ultron of this universe might not be so easy to handle.
However, in just a moment, Shiller already had a plan. After all, this was Marvel, and an electronic life form shouldn't be able to stir up too much trouble.
He turned around and left the office, with Bruce following behind him. Shiller had to stop, turn back, and point in the direction of Iron Man and Doctor Strange.
Bruce glared at him. Shiller pointed in that direction again. Bruce had a "You've got to be kidding me" expression on his face.
"Sorry, I don't want any unstable elements," Shiller said, "Go follow them."
"How am I an unstable element? And didn't you call me here to help? Now you're thinking of leaving me behind?"
"Alright, let me put it another way: I'm going to find Professor X, who can see through you at a glance, and Magneto, who you definitely can't defeat no matter what tricks you have, with the possible presence of the Phoenix which could destroy the cosmos upon explosion, and the Scarlet Witch whose words shape reality. Still want to go?"
"No thanks, I prefer the Avengers' team atmosphere." Bruce decisively ran to the safety of Iron Man and Doctor Strange.
Shiller called for the Punisher from the lounge. When the Punisher saw the duo outside, he simply nodded lightly.
Iron Man and Doctor Strange clearly didn't have time to pay attention to him—Bruce had slipped into the mecha Iron Man had left and somehow managed to start it!
"What are you doing!" Main Universe Iron Man shouted first, "Get down now, that thing's dangerous! Grab him! Stephen!"
Doctor Strange quickly reached out to use magic to control it, but Bruce, somehow knowing mecha operation, whether or not trained to fly or use the weapons, flew incredibly fast, and with a blast towards the window, whoosh, he was gone.
Doctor Strange flew after him, while without his mecha, Iron Man was anxiously bouncing on his feet, wanting to call for a mecha from Stark Building using the controller, but fearing something might be wrong with Jarvis, he dared not, so he hurriedly ran downstairs.
Shiller and Punisher then got back into the car. Shiller turned on the navigation system and headed towards the X-Men base. Just as they arrived, the Mutant Brotherhood people showed up.
A group clad in black, walking with imposing momentum, all surrounding vehicles got out of their way, except for Shiller's. It's not that Shiller didn't want to give way, but there was no room to back up, and they stood blocking the Mutant Brotherhood's inevitable path.
The silver-haired elder wearing a helmet merely inclined his head slightly this way, and the car lifted into the air. Just before it got crushed and flung, Shiller and Punisher almost simultaneously opened the doors, jumping out.
Shiller landed on the roof of the car below, while Punisher rolled onto the ground beside them, completely unharmed.
The first thing Shiller did after getting off wasn't to curse or draw a gun, but he stood on the car roof, turned to face them, and took off his hat, revealing his face.
Seeing those gray eyes for an instant, Magneto's movement froze.