Project Ultron

Nine.exe

Leslie and I moved into the Stark Tower. Mister Stark had practically forced us to. He said that, while Strucker was out there, we would be safer in the Tower, so we got settled on the 54th floor. It had a lovely huge apartment. I swear, walking from my room to the kitchen could be considered daily cardio.

I didn't mind leaving Hell's Kitchen. Even if Daredevil looked after me from time to time, I had never felt completely safe there. Living in the nice part of Manhattan was a welcomed change. Daredevil had slipped a note in my bedroom the same night Robert came to my rescue, saying that he had found out who was responsible for sending Rick Butcher and his guys to the hospital. It had been one day too late. I often wondered what would have happened if I had found out before then. Would I have had Robert arrested? If so, who would have saved Leslie and me? Would I be even alive right now then?

Weeks passed. I tried asking Ms. Hill when Robert would be released. I was trying to find out without letting on that I actually cared, but she never answered me with a clear date. It was very annoying.

The incident with Strucker's thugs made me realize I needed to know how to defend myself if I wanted to be involved in this world. Even having the Dietrich was dangerous now, but I didn't want to give it up. So I decided to spend at least two hours of training each day. It was one of those decisions that seem great when I was going to sleep, but the next day, when I was in the gym ready to work out, I realized I was stupid. Still, I endured and, surprisingly, made progress. I wasn't anywhere near any of the Avengers' level, but I could throw some punches that could actually hurt. And, most importantly, I learned how to deflect them instead of stopping them with my face. I thought that would be useful, knowing me.

Now Doctor Banner, Mister Stark and I were in the lab, talking about the project. We had been working on the Ultron program for the last couple of hours but we were getting nowhere.

"There are too many variables," Doctor Banner said, pessimistic. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. He was tired of doing research for the Ultron program without getting results. We all were.

Mister Stark rested on the back of his chair and crossed his arms.

"We are missing something," he said.

"We're not missing anything," I said, "We can't think of all of the scenarios right now, so we can't prepare for them," I pondered for a second before continuing, "But if Iron Man was there when it happened, he would be able to consider them at the moment."

"I think you are forgetting that the whole point of this is me not having to work that day," he reminded me.

"I'm aware," I said holding up a hand so he would wait, "What I'm saying is how you would do it."

They frowned.

"How," he humored me.

"You would observe the situation, think of all the variables and improvise a plan," I said and they nodded slowly, "You would improvise," I repeated as if it were obvious.

"We heard you," Doctor Banner said, "Where are you getting at?"

"You would improvise because you can do it. You are intelligent," I said and Mister Stark smiled smugly, taking it as a compliment. "Don't," I interrupted his moment of glory. "We need the Iron Legion to be able to do exactly that. They have to improvise at the moment. They have to be intelligent," I finished as if it were obvious.

"You're talking artificial intelligence again," Doctor Banner concluded.

I nodded eagerly. I so wanted to roll with my idea of AI. It was perfect; it was just what we needed.