Chapter 140: The Tireless Machine
After the battle, everything returned to order.
Red Queen had thoroughly confirmed that there was no longer any trace of Hive left in this world.
As for the Inhumans and ordinary people Hive had controlled through parasitic organisms, they had all been transferred to the Skynet base.
There, Doctor Doom had developed a special kind of programmable nanobot designed specifically to eradicate the Hive parasites inside their bodies.
"Is… is this my mother?" Quake stood behind a transparent glass wall, staring in disbelief at the peacefully sleeping middle-aged Asian woman inside.
"Miss Daisy, according to biological data, your genetic match with this individual is 99.99%. Biologically speaking, she is your mother," Red Queen explained calmly beside her.
Daisy suddenly found it hard to breathe.
She had never known her biological parents. Though she'd tried to search for them in the past, the trail had always ended in disappointment.
And now—when she finally stood before her mother—she was at a loss for words.
"Daisy, take a deep breath. Approach this with a calm heart," Wanda gently reassured her.
Sniffling and forcing back tears, Daisy managed a weak smile. "I know, Wanda. It's just… hard to accept all at once."
"Look," Wanda raised an eyebrow, pointing toward the woman inside. "She's waking up."
"Mmm…" The timing couldn't have been worse. Daisy still hadn't sorted out what she was going to say—but it was too late to retreat now.
Seeing her hesitation, Wanda suggested, "We could wait a little longer?"
"No need," Daisy took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "It's time to face it. Running won't help."
With that, she pushed open the door and walked in.
Jia Ying slowly opened her eyes—and the moment she saw the girl standing at her side, she froze.
She stared at Daisy's familiar features, mirrored from her own. Her mind went blank.
"You… you're Daisy?" she whispered, her voice trembling, eyes already brimming with tears.
"Yes, I'm Daisy," Daisy said firmly, locking eyes with her. "And you're Jia Ying, aren't you? My… mother."
"Yes, child… yes… I'm so sorry!" Jia Ying wept openly, tears streaming down her still-beautiful face. "Back then… because of an emergency, I had no choice but to leave you in an orphanage."
She spoke in sobbing fragments, telling Daisy the truth of what happened all those years ago.
Daisy listened quietly. After the initial shock faded, she realized the resentment she'd carried toward her birth parents all her life had suddenly softened.
"…I don't ask for your forgiveness," Jia Ying said finally, her voice almost a whisper. "I've made far too many mistakes. As long as you can live a happy life from now on… that's enough for me."
"You're right. I've already found my purpose," Daisy replied with a bright, resolute smile. "I'm going to be an agent of S.W.O.R.D.—I'll live a life that matters."
Years of emotional baggage unraveled in that moment, and Daisy felt a profound relief sweep through her body.
She felt the shackles in her heart crack and shatter. The energy that had once resisted her control now flowed smoothly through her veins.
"Miss Wanda, Miss Daisy's energy index is rising rapidly. It seems that a person's emotional state can indeed affect their powers," Red Queen noted as her digital image flickered beside Wanda.
"Humans really are strange creatures…" Wanda muttered to herself, unsure if she was talking about Daisy—or herself.
—
Time passed in a blur. Months later, New York had once again returned to its usual rhythm.
The so-called Atlanteans who had once threatened to wage war on the surface world had vanished without a trace. No large-scale incidents had occurred in the city since.
What remained were minor disturbances caused by rogue superpowered individuals.
But under the Avengers' vigilant watch, even those small sparks of chaos were quickly snuffed out before they could become anything significant.
"Sure, our New York is always in trouble," people said, half-jokingly, "but we've got the Avengers watching over us, don't we?"
That was the comfort New Yorkers clung to. After all, how many cities got to see superheroes on a daily basis?
—
Inside Avengers Tower, in a high-tech lab buzzing with quiet machinery, Reed Richards frowned as he turned to Tony Stark.
"Tony… do you really think what we're building here can solve everything? Once and for all?"
Tony shrugged. "Reed, this is the best solution we've come up with—machines that don't sleep, don't tire, and can operate 24/7. Isn't that exactly what we need with the growing threats out there?"
He added with a smirk, "Ever since I became Iron Man, I haven't even had time for a proper date."
"I'll bet Susan complains about that constantly," Reed replied dryly.
At that, Tony's expression turned mischievous. "You know her too well."
While they spoke, Dr. Bruce Banner sat quietly at the console, his fingers dancing across the keyboard, streams of code flowing onto the display.
"The final phase is complete," Banner announced as he hovered his finger over the Enter key. "Are we ready?"
Tony and Reed exchanged a look—and then nodded firmly.
Banner pressed the key.
The future of Earth's defense… had just begun.
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