Urd walked along the road toward home. Ever since Blade Tech Industries relocated from New York to Washington, her family had moved as well.
Still, the security in Washington's wealthy districts was decent, so she never worried much about danger on her way back.
But targeted danger was a different matter.
Before she could react, a black sedan screeched up beside her. A pair of hands yanked her inside, and the car sped off.
Moments later, Zod received a message—a video showing Urd tied up. She clearly had never experienced anything like this before; panic was written all over her pale, terrified face.
Zod lifted a brow. For a Kryptonian with a functioning brain, it would be impossible not to foresee something like this. Naturally, he had prepared for the possibility.
"Black Queen, do you know where Urd is now?"
After completing the Black Queen A.I., he'd instructed it to monitor Urd at all times.
His super hearing was strong, but nowhere near the level of locking onto a single person's location across the city. He still had a long way to go.
"Sir, Miss Urd is currently at Stark Industries, but is already being transferred. Their expected route leads to a junkyard."
The Black Queen's voice came through. In the ransom video, the kidnappers demanded that Zod come alone and forbade him from contacting the authorities—any idiot could see they had malicious intentions.
What puzzled Zod was why Urd had been kidnapped. Did they really think he would risk everything to save a secretary just because she was pretty?
"Stark Industries… Obadiah?"
Knowing the plot of this world, he identified the mastermind almost immediately. The rescue operation he handed off to the Black Queen.
It was time to test the advanced AI's capabilities. He would watch closely and intervene if needed.
The Black Queen flagged four War Machines stationed in a warehouse—elite security units built by Blade Tech Industries. Despite being classified as "security models," their firepower far surpassed the standard versions sold on the market.
The Ten Rings terrorists had no idea they'd been located. The Black Queen silently tapped into several U.S. military satellites for auxiliary surveillance. Once the War Machines reached position, they locked onto targets inside the junkyard. Using scans and predictive modeling, the A.I. built trajectories, enemy reaction simulations, and optimal kill paths.
After evaluating all possible outcomes, the Black Queen selected the plan with the highest success rate and lowest margin of error.
"Open fire."
Following the synthesized command, all four War Machines fired their sniper systems. Bullets punched through rusted metal walls and dropped ten terrorists instantly—clean, precise kills.
"There are snipers!"
"Fight back!"
"Grab the woman! Now!"
"Find cover!"
…
The terrorists tried to form a defensive line, ready to hold out until police charged in to rescue the hostage. Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with the Black Queen. There was no siege warfare here—just firing through walls and killing every marked target with surgical accuracy.
Urd heard the gunshots and immediately guessed her boss had come for her. The two terrorists guarding her cursed in a language she didn't understand and moved to grab her.
The moment they stepped closer, the wall exploded inward. A steel arm shot through the dust, snatching both men before dragging them out at inhuman speed.
A War Machine.
Urd recognized it instantly—and so did the terrorists.
Panic-stricken, they spun around and sprayed bullets wildly in her direction, not caring if the hostage died. Urd screamed and squeezed her eyes shut—
—but a War Machine stepped in front of her, its armored frame deflecting every bullet with metallic pings.
"You're safe, Urd."
The Black Queen used Zod's voice; it couldn't reveal its existence yet.
"I'm fine… thank you."
She'd expected something like this, but gratitude still welled up inside her.
"I'll take you home first."
The Black Queen didn't want to risk exposure. Urd had more she wanted to ask but had to swallow her questions for now.
Just then, two War Machines with different paint jobs burst onto the scene and began attacking, disrupting the Black Queen's operation.
"Zod, why do they have War Machines too?"
Urd was stunned. Stark Industries having them made sense, but why would terrorists?
Zod, however, knew exactly why—because he had sold some War Machines to terrorists himself.
They had offered six hundred million dollars per unit—two hundred million above market price. So Zod had simply disguised himself as a Blade Tech insider and made the sale. Of course, all profits still went to the IRS. Otherwise, a tank would be parked on Blade Tech's front lawn by morning.
"Don't worry. They must've gotten them through… certain channels."
The Black Queen answered vaguely.
Urd was sharp. With that one sentence, she immediately connected the dots—America secretly funding terrorist factions, supplying money and weapons. Maybe these weren't even real terrorists but foreign operatives trying to capture Zod.
That explained everything.
Before the two enemy War Machines could fully engage, both went dark—their screens blacking out.
The Black Queen had shut them down.
Every War Machine Zod sold came with a hidden backdoor. The Black Queen now had full control. Once disabled, only she could reactivate them, and the armored suits became sealed cages with helpless terrorists trapped inside.
The Black Queen lifted Urd into its arms and flew her out of the junkyard. A few seconds later, several anti-materiel missiles rained down on the site.
BOOM!
The explosion flattened the entire junkyard, turning it into a blazing sea of wreckage. All traces were erased. The remaining terrorists were captured—fated to become experimental material for beast-soldier conversion.
But things weren't over.
Zod believed in revenge.
So when Obadiah Stane was enjoying his night with a young model, two bullets pierced his right hand and left leg. The rounds were laced with toxins—not lethal, but enough to force amputation if he wanted to live.
Naturally, Obadiah chose to amputate. The most frustrating part? He had no clue who attacked him. There wasn't even a target for revenge.
Zod? Impossible. His secretary couldn't possibly know it was him.
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