A month could feel long, or short—depending on what you were doing with it.
Ryan Cole didn't rush to leave the TRON world. Instead, he threw himself completely into two freshly acquired pieces of cutting-edge tech: genetic algorithms and quantum mind displacement.
Once he fully cracked both technologies, the biggest beneficiary wasn't Ryan himself—
It was Starling.
Before this, Starling had already integrated:
Advanced AI frameworks from Elysium,
The original J.A.R.V.I.S. source code, and
The White Queen AI from Resident Evil: Retribution.
In terms of artificial intelligence alone, Starling was already on par with Tony Stark's original J.A.R.V.I.S.
But after being rebuilt and upgraded using genetic algorithms and quantum mind displacement…
In every measurable category, Starling completely outclassed J.A.R.V.I.S.
The only real problem was hardware.
Limited by physical infrastructure, Starling still couldn't operate at full theoretical capacity.
Even so, it had already fully taken over ENCOM, and through the network, quietly infiltrated the entire TRON world.
To Ryan, this world wasn't particularly dangerous.
Which made it perfect.
A resource farm.
With ENCOM backing him, R&D and manufacturing suddenly became laughably smooth.
More importantly, with Ryan's current level of power, he didn't need to tiptoe around like he did back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That was why he'd gone so far—why he'd even allowed Kevin Flynn, the creator of the digital world, to die.
All so he could use Sam Flynn as the gateway to seize full control of this reality.
With Starling 2.0 online, Ryan's own abilities, and ENCOM's corporate reach…
It didn't even take a month.
Umbrella Technologies, freshly founded, had already established itself solidly within the TRON world.
Marvel Cinematic Universe — Earth
After returning, Ryan didn't immediately upgrade Starling in this world.
Instead, he kicked off a large-scale reconstruction project targeting the former Umbrella Biopharmaceuticals headquarters.
In just two days, the building—nowhere near as tall as Stark Tower—along with all surrounding company-owned land, was completely sealed off by massive scaffolding and silver-white containment screens.
Only four entry points existed.
Every vehicle and worker passed through one of them.
Each entrance was heavily guarded.
And these guards weren't normal.
Different ethnicities. Different builds. Different faces.
But every single one wore sleek black uniforms and carried the same expressionless, machine-like stare.
At the same time, on the California coastline, Ryan's seaside villa underwent a similar transformation—just on a different scale.
With the help of newly developed intelligent construction machines, progress was so fast it would've driven any traditional construction firm straight into bankruptcy.
That said, the tech was still a bit too ahead of its time.
So Ryan kept the sites fully sealed. Otherwise, the attention alone would've caused more trouble than it was worth.
The rebuilt headquarters was officially named Umbrella Technologies Tower.
While it couldn't compete with Stark Tower in height, once you factored in the underground sections, its total volume was easily comparable.
That was with the underground portion still unfinished.
Once completed, it would absolutely dwarf Stark Tower.
The seaside villa was similar.
The entire hill beneath it had been hollowed out—reinforced to ridiculous levels.
At Ryan's request, the original villa wasn't rebuilt at all.
Instead, the mountaintop was transformed into a lush, park-like landscape.
Naturally, this kind of activity didn't go unnoticed.
Not long after construction began, Ryan received visitors.
S.H.I.E.L.D..
And Tony Stark.
"Hell," Tony muttered as he stepped into Ryan's temporary office, eyeing the two men who had arrived before him."Looks like my timing sucks."
"No," Ryan said calmly."You're right on time, Tony."
He waved his assistant out, making no issue of the unannounced intrusion, and stood to greet them with a smile.
"I heard you tore down my beach house and turned it into a park?" Tony asked flatly, ignoring everyone else.
"Tony," Ryan replied with a grin, stressing the word deliberately,"My beach house."
"…Right." Tony exhaled."Well, since you're clearly busy, I'll come back another time."
He glanced at the other two men nearby.
"No, no," Ryan shook his head."I already said it—you're right on time."
"Funny," Tony muttered."Why does this feel exactly like the time you won that villa off me?"
Despite his words, he didn't leave.
Nick Fury finally spoke, ignoring Tony's casual posture.
"Let's get to the point, Oracle. You were saying…?"
Ryan poured champagne for all three before answering, his expression serious.
"My point is this: your world is about to face a major threat.One that could overturn human civilization as we know it."
"A threat?" Fury frowned."One capable of collapsing society?"
Phil Coulson stiffened.
Even Tony sobered up.
The title Oracle wasn't widely known—but everyone in the room had experienced firsthand that Ryan earned it.
"And this concerns me how?" Tony asked, already slipping back into sarcasm.
"Come on, Tony," Ryan shrugged."You're a hero. An American hero. A superhero.How could humanity's survival not involve you?"
"…Okay," Tony smirked."That did feel good to hear."
"Unfortunately," Ryan continued, ignoring him,"one superhero won't be enough this time.We'll need serious preparation—and we'll need people."
"What kind of preparation?" Fury asked immediately."And who are we recruiting?"
"I know S.H.I.E.L.D. already built helicarriers," Ryan said casually."If possible, build more."
Fury's face darkened.
"You do know how hard that is, right?"
"I do," Ryan leaned back."Honestly, helicarriers aren't that effective anyway.Combat drones—like the ones that attacked Tony—would be far more useful."
While Ryan had spent that month in the TRON world…
New York had been anything but quiet.
Ivan Vanko, supposedly dead in prison, resurfaced—And not alone.
He brought an army of unmanned combat drones.
If Tony Stark hadn't grown far stronger than his original timeline counterpart, the outcome could've been disastrous.
Even so, New York suffered massive damage.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was still dealing with the fallout.
"Drones have firepower," Fury said,"But control is the issue."
"Easy fix," Ryan smiled, turning to Tony."Let him handle it. With J.A.R.V.I.S., infiltration risks drop significantly."
"…Ryan," Tony scowled."Are you trying to kill me?"
"Not kill," Ryan corrected."Help."
"Help?" Tony drained his glass."Yeah, not seeing it."
Fury, already unhappy, snapped:
"Is Iron Man unwilling to do his duty to the American people?Don't forget how many times S.H.I.E.L.D. cleaned up after you."
"That was your mess," Tony shot back."I didn't start those fights."
"See?" Ryan sighed."Pepper was right—you rush too much."
Then he turned to Fury.
"Director Fury, Tony isn't entirely at fault.Arguing about blame won't change anything."
"…So?" Fury asked.
"Preparation is your call," Ryan said."But recruitment? I've got suggestions."
He snapped his fingers.
"Starling—pull up the files."
Holographic screens bloomed into existence around them.
And when the first image appeared—
Phil Coulson's eyes went wide.