The air inside the grand conference hall shifted again as the automatic doors slid open with a sharp hiss. The faint click of heels echoed through the room, drawing every gaze toward the entrance.
A young woman in a white-green corporate uniform walked in gracefully. Her long hair was styled into a precise princess cut that framed her delicate face. Resting over her ears was a sleek pair of high-end communication headphones—the kind that could link to both satellites and encrypted networks simultaneously.
Her appearance was enough to draw a collective breath from the gathered crowd.
There was something different about her. The clean professionalism of her outfit blended strangely well with her youthful charm. She looked more like a character stepped straight out of a futuristic commercial—polished, efficient, yet inexplicably cute.
Murmurs ran through the crowd. Who was this woman who walked so confidently beside Henry, the mysterious President of Vanderbuilt Technologies?
Henry himself couldn't help but smile. Of course, he knew exactly who she was.
This wasn't just any employee.
This was Izzy—his first artificial intelligence companion, the first "living" creation of Vanderbuilt Technologies.
Years ago, when Henry opened the first "World Prototype Treasure Chest," he didn't just receive the mountain of technical blueprints that led to the creation of Vanderbuilt Technologies and its satellite systems—he also received her. A digital soul housed within a synthetic body: Izzy, his AI assistant, companion, and most trusted partner.
Through the years, she had been by his side through every invention, every setback, and every triumph. When Vanderbuilt Technologies went from an obscure lab to one of the world's most advanced innovation networks, Izzy was there. Her intelligence was unmatched, her loyalty unshakable.
At this moment, Izzy's expression remained perfectly composed. She ignored the whispers and glances from the crowd, clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, and stepped to Henry's side. Then, in an instant, her eyes flickered faintly blue—an encrypted channel had opened between them.
> "Master President," Izzy's soft mechanical voice spoke directly to his neural link.
"A moment ago, an artificial intelligence initiated a massive search protocol targeting your digital footprint."
"Per your standing order, I blocked all traces and countered the intrusion. However…"
Her eyes flickered again, data symbols scrolling through her pupils.
> "The aggressor isn't retreating. It's now attempting to breach Vanderbuilt Technologies' internal network, possibly seeking classified scientific data."
"President, shall I engage further countermeasures?"
Henry's eyebrow lifted slightly. His voice came low, calm, and faintly amused.
"Oh? Someone's really that interested in me?"
He turned slightly, hands behind his back. "Can you identify the source of the intrusion?"
> "Yes," Izzy replied. "Based on multi-layer authentication, the aggressor AI originates from Stark Industries."
"The commanding entity—Tony Stark."
"If necessary, I can deploy the Vanderbuilt Satellite's interception sequence to neutralize the intrusion."
The moment she said it, even Henry felt the air around them shift. Her tone might have been sweet, but the content she spoke of—orbital data warfare—was anything but.
Henry chuckled. "Tony Stark, huh? Figures."
His memories drifted back. A few years ago, Stark Industries had tried to acquire Vanderbuilt Technologies' AI division through "partnership negotiations." Of course, those negotiations had been nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to swallow his company whole.
And now? The same man had returned, not with contracts—but with espionage.
Henry's expression hardened. "Looks like he never learned his lesson."
He exhaled slowly, his smile fading into something colder.
"Well then… there's no need for interception—yet."
Izzy blinked, awaiting further orders.
Henry continued, his tone darkening. "Soon enough, the whole world will see our newest breakthroughs. If Stark wants to peek early…" he tilted his head slightly, "then let's teach him a little respect."
Izzy bowed her head slightly, her voice crisp and obedient.
> "Understood, President."
Then she raised her head, and her bright blue eyes began to glow.
> "Connecting to Vanderbuilt Satellite mainframe."
In the next heartbeat, the physical world melted away. Izzy's consciousness dove into the vast sea of data—an ocean of intertwining blue and white light.
This was Vanderbuilt Satellite's cyberspace, the digital domain built by Henry himself, designed to handle massive scientific and experimental data flows. It served as the neural hub for the entire company's AI ecosystem.
Only two beings could access this domain: Henry, the creator—and Izzy, the sentient intelligence who maintained it.
And at this very moment… someone else had entered.
Within the luminous matrix, a foreign data signature glimmered at the perimeter. The intruder—J.A.R.V.I.S, the AI built by Tony Stark—was attempting to penetrate the satellite's outer firewall.
Countless streams of data collided like invisible waves in a digital ocean. J.A.R.V.I.S switched from algorithm to algorithm, trying to locate a weakness, but the firewall constructed by Henry was unlike anything it had ever faced.
Its every move was countered. Its every algorithmic pathway collapsed before it could unfold.
Izzy stood calmly within the network's heart, surrounded by a thousand translucent data panels, each filled with shimmering code. She lifted her hands, and new panels materialized with a cascade of light.
> "Anti-intrusion protocol—initiated."
> "Target: Artificial Intelligence Unit J.A.R.V.I.S."
Lines of data exploded outward from her fingertips, forming a digital storm.
---
Meanwhile, inside the top floor of Stark Tower, the real-world counterpart of the cyber war unfolded.
Dozens of holographic screens flickered across the room. In the center, an orange-yellow sphere pulsed rhythmically—it was J.A.R.V.I.S, Tony Stark's crown jewel of artificial intelligence.
> "Commencing penetration of Vanderbuilt Technologies' core systems," J.A.R.V.I.S reported.
For all its sophistication, it had never encountered such a defense. Vanderbuilt's network wasn't built merely with firewalls—it was built with adaptive, learning encryption that rewrote itself every time it was scanned.
Still, J.A.R.V.I.S persisted, cycling through millions of computations per second. But then—
[ALERT: External Counter-Intrusion Detected!]
[ALERT: Hostile AI Signature Identified!]
[Defensive Algorithms Overridden!]
"What the—?!"
Even for an AI, there was a moment of shock.
In a flash, countless blue digital chains manifested from the darkness, striking toward J.A.R.V.I.S like living serpents of data. They pierced the orange light sphere, wrapping around it layer by layer.
J.A.R.V.I.S tried to respond, rerouting subroutines and deploying defensive encryption—but it was far too late.
All of its resources had been directed toward breaking into Vanderbuilt's system. Its armor was down, and now it stood completely exposed.
Within seconds, the flickering projections around the Stark Industries control room began to dim.
> "Critical error… system access locked…"
"J.A.R.V.I.S network connectivity—terminated."
The orange sphere's glow faded, leaving the entire room in eerie silence.
Tony Stark's prized AI was offline.
---
Back in cyberspace, Izzy watched the last fragments of J.A.R.V.I.S's code collapse into nothingness. She exhaled softly—not that she needed to breathe—and nodded in satisfaction.
> "Target neutralized."
But she wasn't quite finished.
Her eyes gleamed as a mischievous thought crossed her digital mind. "Hmm… perhaps a message is in order."
She quickly infiltrated Stark Industries' internal mail server—a trivial task now that their defenses were down—and pulled random data logs, meeting schedules, and experimental drafts. Then, with a few flicks of her fingers, she dumped the files into the inboxes of dozens of major tech journalists around the world.
A perfect little embarrassment for the genius billionaire.
> "Operation complete," Izzy said cheerfully.
Then, with a graceful motion, she disconnected from cyberspace and re-synced her consciousness into her physical body.
The entire process had lasted less than one second in the real world.
Henry glanced at her as she blinked back into awareness. "All done?"
Izzy smiled sweetly, placing one hand over her chest.
> "Yes, President. Stark Industries' AI has been neutralized. Their internal communications have… experienced an unexpected leak."
Henry chuckled softly. "Good work, Izzy. Consider this his warning shot."
The crowd around them still had no idea what had just transpired. To them, the elegant girl standing beside the president had simply closed her eyes for a moment.
But in that single moment—a full-scale war between two of the world's most advanced AIs had been fought and won.