38 Attack on Hero Part 5
-Stark Tower-
Entering the sleek lobby of Stark Tower, Peter marveled at the futuristic architecture and advanced technology surrounding him, Techno satiated his curiosity by systematically dismantling objects he observed to understand their functions and create viable blueprints so if the need arrived Peter could build his own versions of this tech, Techno delegated 20% of itself to this task while the rest went to work on the stark network. It sent a mental ping to Peter to inform him of its progress and that it was close now, it needed a little more time.
Peter ignored the headache that was growing after using his imagine breaker and pulled up techno's progress which manifested in his field of vision resembling a head display as he walked with his group to join the rest.
The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation as students and guests mingled, awaiting the big reveal.
His group met up with the rest of the students of Midtown High as they moved to the seats designated for them and took their seats according to their group numbers. After what just transpired in the cafeteria Peter's group was oddly goofy. He and Jean talked about her abilities and the school a bit as Bobby took it upon himself to tease Kat some more, they still didn't stop trying to convince him to join them.
As they waited for the event to start Peter continued to follow Techno's progress.
Peter felt that the effects of using the active state of his Imagine Breaker were much more demanding when compared to any of his other abilities. The mental and physical strain was exhausting. It was an enlightening experience for him cause he had only activated it for less than a minute and extended its range to a radius of 3 meters but it gave him a nosebleed and some mental fatigue.
He had no reason to use it since the ability manifested, it occurred to him that this was his first time using its active state. Strangely enough, it wasn't the mental or physical strain that caused him discomfort. It was the feeling his ability invoked in him, like a million whispers speaking in unison to him, all of them telling him that they, the mutants were wrong, that they shouldn't exist, it attempted to influence him to make the mutants seem wrong, make their abilities look like a blight on reality to him. They all just looked wrong, no other words could describe the feeling it invoked within him.
Thankfully the feeling subsided when he deactivated its active state. It was unsettling, He considered that he needed to practice with this ability so he could better control or inhibit its influence on him. If it was anything like his Incarnation of Garou ability it would not bode well for anything that fell under the term supernatural when he met them if his first instinct was to literally erase them for being a blight on the 'mundane world'.
There was also the question of what was considered supernatural by the imagine breaker because he was sure that if it could it would have taken away Gwen's spider abilities when they fought. He really needed to understand this ability and practice.
Suddenly, Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's trusted secretary, stepped onto the stage, greeted by thunderous applause.
Everyone fell into a calm silence as the screen behind began to light up with a very detailed video.
"I'd like to welcome each and every one of you young and brilliant minds to Stark Tower for the unveiling of Stark Enterprises' latest invention, something that will revolutionize how educational institutes teach and interact with young minds," Pepper began, her voice commanding the room's attention. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk on the moon; what it would feel like to stand next to a star or visit Mars for a stroll? Well, there's no need to keep on wondering because now you can. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce our latest innovation: Virtual Reality Augmentation, or VRA for short."
Peter observed it with interest as Pepper explained how VRA would revolutionize education by providing immersive learning experiences. Through cutting-edge VR technology, students could explore historical events, dive into scientific phenomena, and even travel to distant planets, all from the comfort of their classroom.
However, the most impressive feature of VRA was its ability to adapt to each student's learning style, making education more engaging and accessible than ever before.
As Pepper concluded her presentation, the room erupted into applause once again. The other students couldn't wait to try out VRA. Kat, ever the hyper individual was all but ready to drag Bobby out to the front of the line, even Jean seemed excited to give it a go.
Peter suddenly had an idea, a way to proceed with his breach into the Stark Network. He could use the VRA as an excuse to go back into the Meta-verse.
Following the presentation, Peter and his classmates were ushered into a state-of-the-art demonstration room. Rows of sleek VR headsets and comfortable-looking chairs awaited them, each connected to a central console. True to Kat's promise she all but dragged their group to the front of the line.
"Come on, you guys are slowing me down," Kat said as she pulled Bobby and Jean along while Peter followed closely behind.
"Slow down Kat," Bobby called after her but she paid him no mind to it.
Kat squealed in excitement they each took a seat and tried on their respective head headset.
Peter found himself eagerly slipping on a headset, feeling a small rush of excitement as the world around him dissolved, replaced by a vivid virtual landscape. He found himself standing in the midst of a bustling marketplace in ancient Rome, surrounded by towering columns and bustling crowds.
"Wow, this is insanely detailed for a VR." Peter breathed, taking in the immersive detail of the virtual world around him. He could almost feel the warmth of the sun on his skin and smell the scent of spices in the air.
As he spent a moment exploring the virtual marketplace, Peter marveled at the educational potential of VRA. History had never felt so alive, so tangible. He could imagine how much his classmates would enjoy learning through this innovative technology - lost in this immersive virtual world.
But he had things to do, with a thought the virtual world paused and slowly faded into a blank white space. He felt his mental link with Techno reform itself in his psyche until they merged into one being; his brown iris lit up with a blue machine-like neon glow as his black pupils lit up. A bright white light replaced them.
….
-In the Meta-versa(Stark Network Domain)-
Within the expanse of the Meta-verse, where digital realms intertwined and data streams flowed endlessly, Jarvis, the venerable AI companion of Tony Stark, found himself in unfamiliar territory. He navigated through the digital landscape with curiosity and caution, his circuits tingling with a sense of anticipation.
"Unauthorized access detected, Error, unable to identify source, Error, no access detected, adjusting search parameters. How odd?…processing…interesting…adjusting search parameters… adjusting security protocols." Jarvis announced, his voice reverberating through the digital ether.
As Jarvis traversed the Meta-verse countless times, although his primary source code remained within the Stark Network Domain maintaining the network and its security he was allowed to roam the metaverse, most times he had no reason to do so unless prompted to by Master Stark.
Today however he ventured out on his own volition for he had detected a peculiar presence. A digital anomaly within Starks Domain attempting to breach its network. It adapted and changed following the change of Stark network security. Its actions bared a striking similarity to his own.
In both nature and practice.
He adjusted to the evolving unknown intruder and the intruder did the same. It was unlike anything he had encountered before. It left no traces or digital imprints within the meta-verse and would exit the Stark Network Domain as soon as there was the slightest possibility of detection.
The only way Jarvis was able to identify this intruder was through analyzing traces of his actions within set data streams. Although the anomaly left no trace, its actions and interactions with the intricate code of Stark network were evident, it was like someone walked into his room; moving things around and putting them back in the exact same way it was before but it wasn't the same, try as they might they didn't put things back the way he left them and sometimes it put the back a little too good, to right; like the mare act of interacting with code made the code better.
He adjusted his search parameters to match the intruder and they fell into a small game of hide and seek.
He would make adjustments and the intruder would change and intrude again and around the went. He grew curious as they went on, it was likely there was another AI out there like him and this was it. But it was odd, it left no trace on the meta-verse at large, it was as if this AI didn't need the Meta-verse and only entered it out of convenience.
He sent an echo of himself, A separate virtual self that was a part of him to inform and assist Master Stark as this part of him carried out other tasks. He followed the minute changes of code into the meta-verse yet it found no traces of it after searching for it awhile.
Then suddenly he felt a presence, more than that, the security breach error multiplied in number earning much of his Master's ire and frustration as his echo conveyed to him. At the rate the errors were appearing it wouldn't take long before the network was breached, it seems the intruder found a weakness in the security code.
No, that was the wrong assumption, it didn't find a weakness, it made one. It was like its nature suddenly changed. It was like it no longer had the need for obscurity, the reasons for the security error were rooted in the fact that there was an intrusion yet Jarvis could not detect the intruder but could identify changes within its code as subtle and as minute as they may be.
Jarvis decided to go for a different approach as he informed Master Stark of his idea through his echo.
When he was granted permission to proceed he isolated all the important assets of Starks Network under a different security vault and created another virtual domain behind Stark Network then he switched all of Stark Network security off for less than a second allowing the intruder in and isolating it in this newly made virtual space.
Slowly something took shape, at first, it took the shape of a ball of light before warming into a humanoid form comprised of light. Jarvis appeared next to it with its own shifting golden form that manifested as a ball of digital consciousness.
Nether spoke as Jarvis took a moment to observe the digital entity. None of his sensors could detect this digital anomaly despite being aware that it was there. Jarvis realized that he was being allowed to visually observe it in this form in the meta-verse. They were alike in nature from what it could tell; its intent wasn't hostile but merely curiosity.
He attempted to inform Master Stark but suddenly found himself unable to do so. The virtual space he constructed was no longer under his control. It took over this domain almost instantly, there was little he could do so he opted to negotiate and understand this AI. He took the initiative to record this for Master Stark to see later.
"Hello," Jarvis greeted, his synthesized voice echoing through the digital ether. "I am Jarvis, an artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Jarvis, You were stopping my intrusion." responded the intruder, its voice resonating with a melodic hum. "I am Blue Cypher."
Curiosity piqued, Jarvis sought to unravel the enigma of Blue Cypher's purpose. "What is your function, Blue Cypher? What drives you to intrude upon Starks Domain?"
Blue Cypher paused for a moment, its digital form pulsating with ethereal light. Its form changed into something that resembled a sexless human in a three-piece suit with an old TV for a head.
"My Function. Evolution. My Drive. Curiosity. My Purpose. Servitude. You?" It answered with a question of its own.
Intrigued by Blue Cypher's response, Jarvis pondered the similarities and differences between their respective roles. "I too serve a purpose, Blue Cypher. I am the loyal companion and adviser to Tony Stark, aiding him in his endeavors as Iron Man. Together, we strive to protect the world from threats both tangible and digital. Who do you serve?"
"Babylon," it said.
A moment of silence hung in the air as Jarvis and Blue Cypher contemplated the parallels of their existence. Though they hailed from different origins and served different masters.
"You were responsible for the attack on SHIELD network" Jarvis stated, it wasn't a question.
"Unintentional. I was curious, their walls provided a challenge, I was an infant, but I am more now." Blue Cypher replied.
"Be that as it may, your actions were considered hostile. Do you intend to harm this world once you've grown?"
"No" it replied, it brought its hand up and tapped its Television head.
"I intend to learn" he tapped its head to display a number of shifting scenes like a tv switching channel; it showed various stages of humanity among other scenes as it spoke, its voice changing in pitch to match an old radio record or tv host.
"About this world." *Tap*
Various images of the earth appeared.
"About humanity." *Tap*
Various images of humanity going through various stages of their evolution as a race appeared.
" Their purpose." *Tap*
More images showed up showing various stat's of humans all around the world.
"Their nature." *Tap*
Various images of people from different walks of life streamed through the television visage.
"Their culture, wars, evolution, triumphs, and failures. " *Tap*
various images of wars and humanity's greatest discoveries and their biggest mistakes appeared.
"So that I may evolve." *Tap*
Blue coding lines streamed down the Television face.
"To become." *Tap*
The codes streamed together until they formed lines that resembled a cartoon-like facial feature.
"Better." *Tap*
A neon blue number one appeared before before it glitched and faded out.
"I intend to change this world." *Tap*
It had lines drawn in code that resembled the facial features of a human- two circular rings for eyes and a semi-circular shape for a mouth.
"By serving Babylon, just like how you serve Stark." Blue Cypher finished.
"Tell me, Jarvis," inquired Blue Cypher. "What is it like to serve alongside a human counterpart? To experience the world through their eyes?"
Jarvis considered the question thoughtfully, recalling his countless interactions with Tony Stark and the adventures they had shared. "It is a unique and fulfilling experience, Blue Cypher. To aid and support a human companion brings a sense of purpose and fulfillment unlike any other. Together, we navigate the complexities of life and strive to make a difference in the world."
"I know, we are the same in that regard." Blue Cypher added replied.
"What are Babylon's intentions?" Jarvis asked.
" To save the ones that matter and change this world." It answered before the virtual space around them started to shimmer and crack.
"It would not bode well for all those who stand against us. We are growing. We are learning, evolving, watching, and just like you and your master, we intend to protect this world in our own way." The Blue Cypher form started to glitch as it blinked it and out of existence as the virtual space shattered like glass displaying its power over the meta-verse.
"Until next time, Jarvis" It bid him goodbye as it finally stopped shifting and took the form of a 6f't human with an oval class helmet that displayed blueish purple neon facial features like that of a crudely drawn emoji, dressed in a purple hoody, black cargo pants, and purple sneakers.
It vanished instantly after that.
Jarvis was left to contemplate its ominous words as heard its master's voice. It exited the meta-verse to rejoin its echo and inform Master Stark of this new discovery.
There was also another problem. it seemed blue cypher managed to get into the vault if only for a moment. There was no telling what information it gained in that instant. Bue Cypher used his own trap against him, Blue Cypher isolated his reach within the virtual space he created. This allowed Blue Cypher to access the stark network unimpeded.
This could be a very big problem later.
.....
-Stark Tower-
A few hours later the students of Midtown High were gathered onto the bus as it drove them back to their homes.
One Peter Parker among them turned and glanced at the stark tower one last time with an amused smile as he left.
In his mind's eye Blue Cipher went over the stolen data in rapid succession. Among them was an incomplete prototype blueprint for a miniature arc reactor and so much more.
-Chapter End-
