Marvel: Rise of the Ultimate AI-Chapter 91: One Month of Research, Researcher Doom

"Yeah... I'm sorry."

The words were like molten lead on Doom's tongue. Only God knew how he managed to force them out.

All this time, he had believed—no, known—that with his intellect, his mastery of both science and magic, he would definitely save his mother.

The praise from colleagues, the admiration from military officials, had only fueled his pride.

He thought he was invincible.

But today… today shattered that illusion.

Everything he witnessed—the clash of gods, the sheer gulf in power—ground his pride into dust.

All his efforts? They amounted to standing in place. He wasn't even close to being capable of rescuing his mother from Mephisto's hands.

Especially not after what he'd just seen.

Was it even appropriate to call the being before him "human"?

Doom lowered his head. "I only wanted to save my mother," he said softly. "But I let ambition blind me."

His eyes lit up with a desperate glimmer of hope as he looked at Gene.

"You're going to teach me, aren't you?"

Gene's voice was calm, almost indifferent. "I have no obligation to teach you anything. At most, I can guide you."

"I'll take it!" Doom said quickly, afraid the opportunity would vanish before his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Gene's voice echoed slightly with a hint of mockery. "Do you even understand what that means? It means obeying my every command—no matter what I ask you to do."

"Yes," Doom nodded without hesitation. Right now, he craved strength more than anything else.

"Good." Gene nodded. "Looks like you've accepted my invitation."

Then his voice dropped, colder, sharper. "To be honest, you don't have much choice. The military thinks a dormitory explosion took you out—a freak accident during one of your experiments. As far as they're concerned, the genius student Victor von Doom is dead."

"That's convenient," Doom said flatly. "Saves me the trouble of explaining anything."

Gene gave a rare smirk. "Come. Time to see your new lab."

He snapped his fingers. Instantly, space twisted around them, and in the blink of an eye, both figures vanished.

All that remained in the room they left behind was a small, silent bomb.

Its red timer ticked down.

When it hit zero, the entire school building exploded in a violent, controlled detonation—obliterating everything from the center outward.

__

Doom followed Gene into what would be his new laboratory.

And what a lab it was.

Doom's jaw nearly dropped. He had never seen anything like it. Many of the machines and devices here had only ever existed in theory—or rumor. Some he couldn't even name. Others defied everything he currently understood about science.

"This is your lab from now on," Gene said. "Here's your ID card. Keep it safe. Without it, the security bots won't recognize you."

"You've also got a few teammates here. Get to know them."

Gene turned to leave. "Your first project will be uploaded to your computer soon."

With a wave of his hand, he exited, leaving Doom alone with a room full of jaw-dropping tech.

Doom's fingers twitched with anticipation as he reached for the equipment—but before he could begin experimenting, there was a knock at the door.

He blinked. "Already?"

He opened the door.

Sure enough—a crowd of strange faces stood on the other side.

"Yo, new guy?"

"You look kinda young!"

"Hey! Name's Pietro. What's yours?"

"Welcome to the S.W.O.R.D. Strike Squad!"

The chatter hit him like a wave. Doom barely had time to respond. He felt like his brain was about to short-circuit from the sensory overload.

Victor von Doom, once a genius student of New York City University, a rising star of military R&D… had now completely disappeared from public records.

Back at the site of the "accident," the military had found only a half-destroyed lab. At its center, a scorched metal chair with wires running from it. No sign of Doom's body.

Witnesses said he never came out.

The official assumption? Victor von Doom had been killed in a freak experimental explosion.

A tragedy. The military mourned the loss of a promising young genius… for about ten minutes. Then they moved on.

After all, people die every day on Earth.

__

Soon, Doom received his first scientific assignment from Gene.

Design a flight system capable of round-the-clock operations, with seamless travel between space and atmosphere.

The moment Doom saw the specs, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You want to maintain these performance stats… and cut the price per unit to $200,000?!"

Gene nodded calmly. "Of course. You should understand—this isn't the military. You can't just toss out a gimmick and expect applause."

"Besides, that's why I brought in the genius Victor von Doom."

Doom's chest swelled with pride at the compliment. He felt like a balloon inflating with joy.

"Give me one month. You'll have your prototype."

And with that, he dove into the work headfirst.

__

Elsewhere, a voice rang out in Gene's neural network.

"Sir, this human is far too weak," said the Red Queen. "When I scanned his energy earlier, he didn't even meet the minimum metrics for the Strike Squad."

Gene shook his head with a smile. "You'll see soon enough."

What a joke. This wasn't just any recruit. This was the future Doctor Doom.

The man who, in the comics, could rip apart Thanos and kick Mephisto in the teeth.

He already had a spot saved for Doom—center stage, top tier of the Sharp Blade Squad.

He just needed a little guidance.

Being a superhero?

It really had its perks.

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T/N:

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