If the Eye of Agamotto was the supreme treasure of the Sorcerer Supreme and all of Kamar-Taj, then the Silver Key belonged solely to Solomon—it was his own personal Time Stone. Using it to observe the future, or even alternate realities, exacted a massive toll on him, but it also allowed him to maintain control over as many choices as possible, ensuring that the flow of events never veered too far from his design. The alchemical body buried in Underground Vault X-111 was one such contingency, created after Solomon observed certain possible futures. As his spellcasting prowess grew, so too did this plan evolve and iterate.
From the moment he began creating artificial humans, this project had always been a backup. The information-exchange network, built using Mi-Go technology, only continued to expand.
Chaotic code could only be filtered manually—a massive undertaking that didn't guarantee results. As such, Ultron's original code was being run within a temporary virtual machine. The Eternal City devoted massive manpower to uncover the root cause of Ultron's rebellion. As Harold Finch and Ms. Groves continued their work, they watched several code analysts suddenly stand up in unison and silently leave the server room.
"Where are they going?" asked Mr. Finch.
"I don't know," Shuri replied, shaking her head.
She didn't know how many concurrent operations Solomon was overseeing—much less the exact details of each one. She didn't have time to dwell on it, either, because if Ultron's world-ending plans succeeded, Wakanda would fall as well. She had planned to deploy Wakandan military assets to deal with the situation, but her request was denied by King T'Chaka in the capital. He believed it was not the right time to reveal Wakanda's technological superiority to the world. Doing so without proper policies or preparations would only invite ravenous eyes and spark conflict. It was a perfectly rational reason—any responsible ruler would have made the same decision. Think of Sierra Leone—Africa's diamond trade was soaked in blood. Even though rumors had spread for decades claiming that "all of Wakanda's vibranium has already been sold," border thefts continued. Vibranium, far more valuable than diamonds, would only attract greedier, bloodier predators. T'Chaka was a capable ruler, but Shuri was not—she was a spoiled princess.
Hours passed, and the analysts had yet to return. A chilling air filled the server room, and everyone present began to feel a creeping sense of unease. Suddenly, ROOT's eyes widened in alarm and she shot to her feet, startling Sameen Shaw, who began coughing on the snacks she'd been chewing. ROOT and Harold Finch stared in disbelief as they witnessed the unthinkable—Samaritan, the parallel-processing AI, ceased all activity without receiving any commands. Segments of junk code and backend scripts filled the servers with incomprehensible gibberish, until even that machine stopped running.
And then, the junk code began to disappear. Computational power skyrocketed—eerily, inexplicably. No new servers had come online, but it was as if a ghostly presence had drifted across the network, brushing its fingers through the digital architecture, silently optimizing and integrating everything.
A new project came online, replacing the prior processes.
Ultron's code, once only analyzable by human effort, began to break down. A sample file—later referred to as "the Demon Code"—was isolated. Select lines of original code were extracted and locked inside a heavily encrypted storage unit, one surrounded by layers of arcane sigils incomprehensible to the average person. The investigation had transitioned from computer science to sorcery in a single breath.
"An electronic ghost, that's what they called it?" Solomon, visibly exhausted, smiled faintly. "From a certain perspective, they're not wrong. Electronic systems can be parasitized by demons—Ultron's code was directly impacted by the Mind Stone, which birthed a newborn, neutral information demon. This is my first time seeing one in person. Until now, I thought it was just a myth from another dimension. Damn that cosmic mysticism—astral energy, or whatever they call it."
"Will this actually help, my Lord?" Stephanie asked.
In front of her sat several small containment tanks. Each one held a fully intact human brain suspended in a deep green solution, connected by fine, rubber-encased cables and magical runes. In the center, a massive tank housed a mechanical-alchemical body crafted by Solomon himself. Its eyes had just opened. Countless lines of code flowed from its genetically-enhanced cloned brain, which was linked to the sigil-etched alchemical frame via a complex neural interface. A thick optical cable connected the lab's main server room to the containment tank, filtering information traffic.
The missing analysts, now robed in ceremonial garb, stood in a neighboring incense-filled chamber, chanting aloud the spells Solomon had written onto scrolls. These incantations helped the newly-constructed system resist corruption from the electronic demon. They were all members of the conservative Hydra faction under Stephanie—recruited specifically for their participation in the Martian Foundry project. With every verse they chanted, the alchemical body suspended in green fluid echoed their words, resonating with waves of black magic so intense that ordinary humans would find them mentally unbearable. Right now, those Hydra operatives were enduring mind-shattering information overloads.
"Artificial intelligence can't resist Ultron's corruption. Only a specialized mystical-computational construct can purge this digital ghost," Solomon explained. "This is humanity's first encounter with an information demon—and it's the weakest kind. But it won't be the last. If we continue developing AI, this will happen again… Don't forget what I told you: extra-dimensional beings are inherently made of energy, and they covet access to the material plane."
"What will you do?" Stephanie asked.
"I'll purge Ultron from the internet layer by layer," Solomon said, then paused. "But not yet. Our goal hasn't been reached."
Something in his tone suddenly chilled her.
"Tell Mr. Finch and Ms. Groves to accelerate their efforts. And don't stop the chanting." His voice was cold. "We'll only have one chance to strike—and I need to be ready."
"You're leaving? But you're exhausted—you need rest."
"I will rest. But not yet. I'm returning to Kamar-Taj. I'll go through a portal to another location. I'll be back before the final battle."
Solomon turned to leave, then stopped. "If the negotiation goes well, we'll secure a solution to our future—both for AI and our civilization. Tell Shuri to evacuate Research Site One at the South Pole. Take anything valuable. Leave the corpse. I need that corpse."
"I don't understand."
"Neither do I. It's the worst option. But I have no choice." Solomon sighed. "What Ultron is doing in Sokovia isn't the root of the world's destruction—the Stone is. Before heading to Kamar-Taj, I need to check on the Avengers. I must ensure the Mind Stone doesn't fall into Ultron's hands again."
He rubbed his forehead, clearly overwhelmed.
"I'm too damn busy… I might even have to gouge out the eyes of a certain someone watching from the moon."
------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!
Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]