What caught Tony's attention was the data indicating the main project of this A.I.M. laboratory.
The core of the project was the development of combat robots. It seemed A.I.M. also realized that exoskeleton armor, mecha soldiers, and the like would lead the trend and become hotspots of the new era from now on.
The robots Tony had just seen were merely byproducts of this research, experimental products developed by A.I.M. at this stage to evaluate data such as the neural networks of unmanned mechas and the level of combat intelligence.
And the true finished product in A.I.M.'s conception, which was also the name of this project currently under development, was called the "Adaptoid."
Upon seeing this name, Tony immediately lost his drowsiness. Because he remembered this name.
In the original Marvel comics, this was the name of a supervillain robot developed and designed by A.I.M., called the "Super-Adaptoid."
This Super-Adaptoid was impressive. Its birth originated from A.I.M. considering that Earth was beginning to enter the age of superpowers, with superpowered individuals popping up all over the world like bamboo shoots after rain. Thus, A.I.M., dedicated to cutting-edge technology and top-tier weapon development, came up with this bold concept.
Is it possible for us to design a machine that can copy and learn the superpowers of any superpowered individual? Wouldn't that be invincible?
Thus, the Super-Adaptoid came into being.
Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't introduced the classic villain image of the Super-Adaptoid yet, if this machine were brought to the big screen, the effect would probably be comparable to the Sentinels that appeared in the live-action movie X-Men: Days of Future Past.
In the movie Days of Future Past, the Sentinels could adapt to and copy any mutant ability, evolving almost infinitely until they eliminated all mutants in the world. In terms of ability settings, they are very similar to the Avengers villain, the Super-Adaptoid.
If the Super-Adaptoid were also brought to the live-action movie screen, its performance would probably be similar to the Sentinels.
If this thing were successfully developed, it would be an incredible invention.
And Tony's mind quickly became active because of this.
He thought that if the Adaptoid technology was fully developed, and he found an opportunity to snatch it from A.I.M., could he apply it to his armor?
If it went smoothly, he might be able to develop an Iron Man suit with the same functions as the Sentinels in Days of Future Past—able to adapt to and copy any superhuman ability. It would be cool and practical, taking his combat power to the next level.
Of course, this idea was obviously still a bit far off.
First of all, although the project he found was named "Adaptoid," he briefly scanned the research materials and found that A.I.M.'s current development progress was probably still far from the Adaptoid in his impression.
Currently, they only conceived of designing a super combat machine capable of adapting to any extreme environment and competent for any kind of mission. The concept of "copying all superpowers" had not yet been proposed.
But on second thought, Tony felt it was only natural.
The background for the birth of the Super-Adaptoid in the comics was that Earth had long since ushered in an environment akin to an explosion of spiritual energy recovery. Superhumans walked everywhere, and various kinds of superhumans kept popping up all over the world. Major world powers had even implicitly developed a new pattern of "superpower armament."
Conversely, looking at the present, this world seemed to still be relatively close to reality in terms of both superpowers and technological level. The technological level demonstrated by A.I.M. was inferior to his own, and the Adaptoid project before him was only a basic concept.
In the original movie, Tony's line "I am Iron Man" was already a milestone event of the new era. But now, the transmigrated Tony hadn't even publicly disclosed the existence of Iron Man. At least on the surface, the world was still calm, and the concept of superpowers was still relatively rare.
In such a general environment, there was no soil for the birth of the "Super-Adaptoid."
But it didn't matter. Since this project already existed, the future was promising.
"Jarvis, create a new to-do item for me and increase the priority of 'A.I.M.' on our list."
Tony ordered Jarvis as the thrusters under his feet fired, shooting him into the sky.
His mind was now full of ideas about Adaptoid technology. He wished he could drag out A.I.M. immediately. The thought of "secretly assisting and facilitating A.I.M. to complete development and then snatching it in one fell swoop" even flashed through his mind.
Various ideas and thoughts filled his mind, leaving him no heart to exchange pleasantries with the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Captain America at the side; he just ignited his thrusters and flew away.
Of course, before leaving, he didn't forget to ensure the destruction of all data Ivan's reactor left here. By the way, he fired a heavy missile that blew away the entire archive room on one side of the base, burning the paper data to ashes as well.
He was stopping the arrogance of terrorists and protecting his own company's intellectual property rights; even Nick Fury couldn't say much about it.
The disheveled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents watched the tail flames disappearing in the air, messing in the wind for a moment, all feeling that what they saw and experienced today was quite unreal.
Captain America looked up at the disappearing Iron Man, and an inexplicable strangeness arose in his heart.
This red and gold armor gave him a feeling somewhat like meeting a stranger who seemed familiar.
He couldn't say why; it was purely intuition. But he seemed to feel that they would probably meet again in the future.
...
...
Elsewhere, location unknown.
A.I.M. Headquarters.
Beside a round table emitting an icy blue cold light, an A.I.M. executive wearing glasses spoke slowly.
"Lab C-29 has been destroyed."
Opposite him, a female executive spoke: "Was it S.H.I.E.L.D.? Nick Fury is a tricky old bastard. I had a feeling before that the old bastard was plotting against us, but I couldn't be sure..."
But the executive with glasses frowned: "No, it might not be S.H.I.E.L.D."
A somewhat older voice at the round table asked curiously: "Not S.H.I.E.L.D.? Then who else could it be?"
"Before the lab system was completely paralyzed, some images were transmitted back. I don't know how to describe it... anyway, you should take a look first."
As the executive with glasses spoke, he picked up a remote control and activated the projection screen in front of the round table.
Images soon appeared on the screen.
Very blurry live footage, but one could vaguely see the red and gold afterimage descending from the sky, and the astonishing firepower that instantly erupted from that small humanoid body, smashing the A.I.M. mecha legion into scrap metal with crushing force in almost the blink of an eye.
The expressions of the other executives immediately became colorful.
"What is this?" The old man couldn't hide the surprise in his tone.
"I don't know," the executive with glasses said coldly. "But what is certain is that S.H.I.E.L.D. definitely doesn't have this level."
Are you kidding? Where would S.H.I.E.L.D. get this strength? Even they, A.I.M., didn't have it.
When A.I.M. was founded, they branded themselves as developers of world-class cutting-edge technology and experts in the frontier of science.
But now they witnessed this thing that obviously exceeded their current level, an invention sufficient to rewrite the world's military landscape.
After a brief moment of shock and doubt, the female executive said: "If it's just a laboratory, so be it if it's gone. It's not a big deal. But the key is the research data..."
She paused, emphasizing her tone.
"...Especially regarding the 'Adaptoid'."
The old voice said: "Yes, none of us want our hard work to benefit S.H.I.E.L.D. or anyone else."
"I have a very bad feeling," the executive with glasses frowned. "It feels like... like being eyed by a thief."
Even he felt strange saying this.
After all, strictly speaking... weren't they the thieves?