"Yikes—"
Hawkeye took two steps back with a grimace the moment he heard that, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the so-called Multiversal Temporal Barrier Oscillator.
He hadn't lived nearly long enough to get himself fried into a pile of ash—or worse, blown clear into the dinosaur age.
"How do you start up that Hulkbuster, do you know?"Ethan stepped forward, gave Herbie's metal head an affectionate pat, then gestured toward the massive construct resting in the corner.
Herbie's yellow pixel eyes flickered in response to Clint's question, a low humming sound rising from within its spherical body as it clearly processed how to answer.
Moments later, it replied, "Startup protocol requires authorization from Dr. Richards or Franklin. I do not have permission to unlock it. However, if you can obtain a valid authorization code by other means, I can assist in activating the armor."
Ethan smiled faintly at that.
Authorized users? Oh, they had plenty of those.
He waved toward Clint, who had retreated to the bottom of the crater. "Time to use that brain of yours. Come over here and report your Avenger identification code."
Clint sighed, walked up, cleared his throat, and said toward Herbie, "Avenger ID code A-1-7, command code Eagle, identity confirmation Clint, access clearance Avengers, permission level Omega."
"Avenger identification verified. Authorization confirmed for Hulkbuster startup. Command confirmed. Clearance level Omega acknowledged."
Herbie's synthetic voice echoed through the laboratory. It floated toward a wall-mounted control console, two mechanical arms extending from its spherical body to link with the panel.
A progress bar appeared on Herbie's display, slowly filling as the armor's systems began to boot up, accompanied by a low mechanical hum.
For the first time in forty-three years, the backup lights of the abandoned lab flickered to life, casting pale illumination over the room.
Ethan glanced at the advancing progress bar, then turned toward the console Herbie had earlier warned Clint not to touch—the Multiversal Temporal Barrier Oscillator.
That thing was extremely dangerous. If someone tried to pass through one of its temporal rifts without proper protection, the temporal radiation would age them thousands of years in mere seconds.
In Wasteland Year 50, the storyline of Residual Starlight began—it told of an elderly Star-Lord and his imaginary companion journeying to Earth to find the Ultimate Eraser in hopes of defeating Galactus.
The Ultimate Eraser was a small, metallic device shaped somewhat like a lighter. It destroyed targets according to the user's willpower—weak-willed users would erase themselves; the strong could annihilate beings like Galactus, or even an entire universe.
But by the time Quill reached Earth, the Ultimate Eraser had already vanished—on the Day of Fallen Heroes, fifty-five years prior.
Cornered by the zealots of the Universal Truth Church, who worshiped Galactus, Old Star-Lord had activated the Oscillator, opening a rift in time.
With help from others, he managed to travel back fifty-five years, seeking the Eraser—only for Doctor Doom, who arrived to investigate the disturbance, to crush it in his hand as Quill returned through the temporal sled.
The sled's ability to travel through time came from a small shard of the Time Stone embedded in its controls. Later, Quill fired that very shard into Galactus's brain, killing him.
In short, through the Oscillator, one could obtain both a fragment of the Time Stone and the Ultimate Eraser—a considerable prize.
However, such a massive energy reaction would immediately draw Doom's attention. Especially since this was happening on the ruins of the Baxter Building, once owned by the Fantastic Four.
Doom would dispatch hordes of Doombots—or even come in person—to see whether his long-lost rivals, Reed and Susan, had somehow returned from the timestream.
Now wasn't the time to face Doom head-on, not when the super-soldier army wasn't even complete.Ethan rubbed his chin in thought.
"Beep-beep-beep-beep!"
Herbie's alarms went off, its arms retracting as it looked toward the group. "Startup complete."
The Hulkbuster began to awaken, its gold-and-crimson plates gleaming as energy pulsed through its frame. Dust and debris were shaken off, revealing sleek, gleaming metal.
Under the brightening lights, the armor's majestic form came into full view—tall, powerful, and radiating overwhelming presence.
Before Ethan and Clint, the armor's domed helmet slowly lifted, exposing a spacious cockpit within. The dimly lit interior was lined with control panels and displays.
The little robot hovered beside the armor, emitting a faint hum—as if to announce that the Hulkbuster was ready for battle.
Clint shrugged, mimed drawing a bow, and grinned. "Old men like me can't handle that thing."
The others didn't seem interested either—Pietro slapped his thigh, indicating that he relied on running; Frank simply shook his head.
As for Matt… Well, he was blind.
Ethan climbed into the cockpit. He ran a hand across the control panel, where various data and command prompts appeared on the screen, confirming each one methodically.
The interior was both comfortable and efficient—displays showed the armor's external environment in real time.
His heartbeat quickened slightly. There was a hint of excitement in his chest.
Clang!
The helmet closed over him. Blue holographic screens flickered on before his eyes as a gentle female voice echoed in the helmet:
"Unauthorized user detected, accompanied by verified Avenger identification. Would you like to register a new profile?"
Ethan immediately understood—the code verified earlier belonged to Hawkeye, not him.
Still, since the system hadn't rejected him, it must've categorized him as an Avengers affiliate, granting provisional access.
"Register. Name: Ethan." he said calmly.
A few soft tones chimed, and the armor's full permissions unlocked for him.
A few test movements were all it took for him to feel completely in sync with the machine—as if it were an extension of his own body.
Herbie hovered anxiously nearby, its pixel eyes flashing with warning lights. "Alert! Multiple life signatures detected! Multiple life signatures detected!"
Everyone immediately tensed, eyes fixed on Herbie, waiting for more information.
From the gaping hole above, faint rustling sounds drifted down—something was approaching.
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