The meeting with Dr. Connors had ended, leaving Sam alone in his office once more. The holographic displays still glowed softly, charts and data streams painting a picture of a company on the brink of revolutionizing the world. But Sam's mind was no longer on energy density or corporate rivals.
His thoughts were on Kyle—safe now, armed with a weapon of her own. His father's shop. His own life in Brazil.
And Atlas Biotech.
That, more than anything, would be the first target. Hydra, AIM, Oscorp—predators would circle like vultures once the invasion began. They wouldn't just come for him. They would come for his company, for the scientists who worked here, for the innovations that threatened to reshape the balance of power.
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, eyes hard. They won't get the chance.
"AetherLink," he said. His voice cut clean through the quiet hum of the office. "Scan all global architectural and materials databases. Find the strongest, most resilient building material currently known to man. Focus on composites, experimental alloys, anything designed for extreme pressure or energy resistance."
The AI obeyed in silence. A moment later, dozens of molecular structures hovered in the air—graphene, nanotubes, exotic composites. One glowed with a faint highlight.
Material: Carbynium-Carbonite Composite
Developer: Rand Corporation (Dormant Project)
Properties: Tensile strength projected at 50x diamond. Designed for orbital platforms and abyssal habitation.
Status: Prototype synthesis failed due to instability. Shelved.
Sam's lips curled. A failed prototype. Perfect.
"Location?"
A schematic appeared—New Jersey, high-security storage, cryo-vault Lot 42, Aisle 9.
Reality folded with a thought.
The chill of the warehouse hit him instantly. Dust, silence, forgotten projects locked in endless sleep. His eyes locked onto the cryo-unit labeled 7-C. He touched the lock, willed it to open. The mechanism sighed and yielded.
Inside, resting on inert gel, was a dull, blackish-grey brick. Small. Unremarkable. Forgotten.
Sam placed his palm on it. Cold. Dead.
"This will do."
The world folded again, and he was back in his office. The block sat on his desk like a paperweight.
He closed his eyes, both hands pressed to the inert surface. Not just strength. Purpose. Not just material. Concept.
"System. Strengthen this material one hundred times. Maximize defensive properties. Define its purpose: absolute protection. Make it impervious to all harm—physical, energy, dimensional, conceptual. Make it a perfect, undying shield."
Silence. Then, change.
The brick began to devour the light. Not glowing, but erasing illumination around it, a pocket of absence. Then, at saturation, the effect inverted.
A deep blue radiance pulsed outward. Silver fractals etched themselves across its surface, living circuitry that shifted and danced. The block was gone. In its place was something alive. Something eternal.
The system's tone was solemn.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have strengthened a failed Carbynium-Carbonite prototype 100x.]
[You have obtained: The Aegis Core.]
[Note: The Aegis Core is not a material, but a manifested concept of protection. It generates a passive, spherical barrier within a user-defined radius (Current Max Radius: 5 km).]
Barrier Properties:
Absolute Immunity: Cannot be breached by force, energy, magic, or dimensional incursion.
Conceptual Filtering: Filters based on owner's will. Air, light, comms may pass. Weapons, toxins, intruders cannot.
Reality Anchor: Interior immune to warping, time distortions, or spatial interference.
Infinite Operation: Draws power from vacuum energy. No maintenance required.
Command Link: Directly slaved to the owner's will.
Sam opened his eyes. The Core hummed faintly in his grasp, warm with promise.
A single thought carried him to the rooftop of Atlas Biotech headquarters. The night spread around him, the city glittering below. He held the Core above the building.
"Anchor here," he commanded silently. "Protect everything within these walls."
The Core pulsed once, a blue wave rippling outward faster than sight. To bystanders, nothing changed. The wind still blew. Lights still flickered in the city.
But Sam felt it. An unbreakable dome now encased Atlas Biotech. A fortress invisible, untouchable.
He looked down at the glowing building, alive with the work of his people. Scientists who thought they were just building the future. Workers who had no idea how dangerous that future made them.
Let Hydra come. Let AIM crawl out of the shadows. Let Osborn scheme. His company—his vision—would stand unbroken.