Marvel Cybernetic Girl

— Aegean Sea, Rhodes Island Base —

It had been two weeks since the crisis in the Dark Dimension was resolved.

Life in both New York and Kamar-Taj was gradually returning to normal.

Whether it was the world of cutting-edge science or the mystic arts of dimensional sorcery, things were finally settling down.

But one person had yet to awaken—the girl who had nearly exhausted her very life to protect the world.

At the high-tech Rhodes Island base, a red humanoid figure, cloaked in silver-gray bodysuit and a golden cape, slowly descended.

[Identity confirmed: Vision]

[Welcome]

The hatch slid open with a hiss, and the automated lift activated.

By now, Rhodes Island had become fully mechanized and intelligent.

The entire island itself functioned as the true headquarters of Rhodes Industries—an autonomous mobile city.

"Welcome, Mr. Vision."

In the depths of the facility, a figure in a maid outfit awaited patiently.

It was Cortana.

"It's been a while, my friend. All security and defense systems from this point forward are classified. Only the master and I have access."

"I see. Then I'll be in your care, Miss Cortana," Vision replied with a gentlemanly nod. "Miss Kagura still hasn't regained consciousness?"

"No," Cortana said, a tinge of worry in her voice. "We've restored her core energy through external input, but even so, she remains unresponsive."

Vision frowned slightly. "What does the quantum computer VEDA say?"

As they walked deeper into the facility, Cortana explained, "VEDA performed a full-body scan and believes the issue may lie with the Infinity Stones."

"The Infinity Stones?" Vision raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, Miss Kagura was merely storing them."

"You're not wrong," Cortana replied, "but the Stones are vast and nearly limitless energy sources. Safely containing them requires extremely powerful vessels."

They arrived at the entrance of a secluded medical chamber.

The security scanner swept over Cortana's form before the doors slid open.

"In Kagura's case, the Soul Stone's power served as the stabilizing core that allowed her to store the others."

"But as the number of Stones increased, the efficiency of her core energy began to degrade."

Inside, lying in a high-tech recovery pod, was Kagura.

"Although we've restored her core energy, the Soul Stone hasn't regained enough strength to awaken her consciousness," Cortana continued.

Kagura's soul originated from a faraway world.

What allowed her to exist in this one was the Soul Stone's power—its ability to anchor and preserve a soul.

But her core energy had dropped to a dangerously low level during the final battle, and even her secondary core had been completely drained.

Now, with four Infinity Stones stored within her body, the Soul Stone needed time to gradually regain output capacity—only then could it re-ignite and awaken her will.

Thankfully, the world had remained relatively stable in the two weeks since her deep slumber.

After the Dark Dimension was vanquished, the Avengers resumed their duty of protecting Earth.

They formed an alliance with the remaining sorcerers of the mystic arts, preparing together for potential threats from other dimensions.

The Ancient One had briefly fallen into a coma but eventually awoke.

Though she lost most of her powers as a dimensional sorcerer, she was also freed from the curse of immortality.

With the Dark Dimension fully eradicated, she returned to being an ordinary human.

Naturally, the title of Sorcerer Supreme was passed to Stephen Strange.

He joined both the Avengers and the Gryphon Security Agency, officially stepping into the spotlight as the new superhero—Doctor Strange.

In a way, he could be considered the first man in Marvel history to be jointly owned by three factions…

After passing on all her teachings and responsibilities, the Ancient One retired from Kamar-Taj and moved to the serene beauty of Norway, embracing a peaceful and quiet life.

Just as Kagura wished—this was the perfect ending for her.

The master of the mystic arts, who bore the burden of Sorcerer Supreme and safeguarded Earth for centuries, could finally live out the rest of her life in peace—as a simple, elderly woman, savoring the gentle passage of time.

Of course… she wasn't the only one spending her retirement years in Norway.

That said, it would still be a while before any of these once-all-powerful seniors decided to stir up trouble again and plunge the Nine Realms back into chaos.

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" Cortana, recalculate Miss Kagura's core energy output."

Vision had come to the Rhodes Island base to help Cortana find a way to awaken Kagura.

Kagura wasn't just the owner of Rhodes Industries or its ultimate decision-maker—she was also the hidden leader of Griffin.

The secretive global defense organization protecting Earth from the shadows.

If she didn't wake up soon, both Rhodes Industries and Griffin would fall into uncertainty—and in times of crisis, could even fracture completely.

The world might seem peaceful on the surface, but it was far from safe.

There were plenty of individuals and factions, both overt and covert, eyeing Rhodes Industries with malicious intent.

Not to mention the countless supervillains constantly scheming to bring down any and all superhero organizations.

Yes, the Avengers were still active and doing their part—but that loose alliance was notoriously unreliable.

Internally unstable, disorganized… practically a case study in dysfunction.

After all, if the Avengers had been more dependable, Kagura wouldn't have had to create Griffin in the first place.

"VEDA's recalculations are complete."

A moment later, Cortana projected a new data report into the air via a holographic display.

"It's no good. Her core energy output is still in the negative. That's due to the resonance effect of the Infinity Stones."

"Without external energy input, her core will rapidly deplete—and eventually lead to total system failure."

The root of the issue preventing Kagura from waking up was that the Soul Stone had reached its limit.

It could no longer maintain the output necessary to stabilize the other Infinity Stones and power her consciousness at the same time.

And unfortunately, this wasn't something that could be solved by simply injecting external energy.

The Soul Stone had to recover naturally.

"How long would it take for the Soul Stone to restore its output on its own?" Vision asked. "If it takes too long, we may not have that luxury—especially with Mr. Stark. It's getting harder to keep him in the dark."

So far, they had kept Kagura's condition secret from Tony Stark.

After weighing the risks, Vision and Cortana had agreed: telling Stark that Kagura was actually an autonomous android carrying multiple Infinity Stones was… not advisable.

"Let me see…" Cortana ran the calculations again, then answered, "At current estimates, at least two years."

"Two years? That's too long…" Vision bowed his head in thought. "What if we reduced her overall power consumption to speed up her recovery?"

"What do you mean?" Cortana tilted her head slightly, confused. "Lower her power consumption?"

"Exactly. Right now, Miss Kagura is like a vehicle overloaded with cargo. The engine isn't powerful enough to get it moving. But…"

Vision nodded. "Once the vehicle starts moving, the power needed to keep it running is far less than what's needed to start it."

"So if we can reduce her 'startup power requirement,' we might be able to wake her up sooner."

"That actually sounds like a smart approach… but how do we do that?" Cortana asked. "Her body's technology is far beyond anything on Earth. We can't just tamper with it."

"Hmm…" Vision fell into thought again. "Perhaps… we could use the Reality Stone. Change her body temporarily to a younger state."

"If her body is physically smaller and less complex, the Soul Stone's current output might be enough to reignite her consciousness."

"A younger version of the Master…" Cortana murmured. Then a soft, almost affectionate smile appeared on her face. "You know… that actually sounds like a wonderful idea."

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