[AN: Think of this as an interlude chapter. Basically a press conference.]
The battlefield still smelled of scorched metal. Forge lay unconscious in containment, his armor reduced to inert fragments sealed in a secured vault. Across the ruined plaza, Brotherhood mutants and hired mercenaries were shackled, escorted into reinforced cells by the Shield agents. None resisted. Without Sublime whispering in their heads, they were hollow, confused, some even weeping.
Many of those who had been freed clutched their temples. When Sublime's control lifted, a portion of their memories went with it. Years of servitude wiped clean. For some, it was a mercy. For others, a haunting blankness they would carry forever.
The Ultimates regrouped. Johnny still grinned at the memory of Forge's humiliation. Natasha leaned against a stair rail, chewing a bubble gum. Wanda sat on the top stairs. She watched the sky return to normal. The others just stayed there till the agents finished their jobs. Elena remotely controlled the robots from the Horizon Base to surround the perimeter and clean up the area.
Tony said nothing that night. He only stared upward, the faint golden residue of the Sublime-killer still drifting in the sky like the last sparks of a dying fire.
[The Next Morning: Press Conference]
The world was watching. Reporters jammed into the hall, cameras lined the stage, and every global network was carrying the feed live.
Tony stood at the podium, the Ultimates behind him. He wore a black suit. His expression was calm as usual.
"Last night, we were attacked. I'm pretty sure some of you experienced sudden memory loss, and some even witnessed the battle from afar. Let me make one thing clear. It wasn't humans or mutants who were responsible for this attack. It was something far older. An ancient bacterial entity known as Sublime."
He pressed a button on the podium. Screens lit up around the hall. Recordings played of Forge's possession, Sublime's voice thundering through him, ranting about enslaving mutants and humanity alike, and how he had manipulated both sides for centuries. The crowd murmured in shock.
"For centuries," Tony continued, "Sublime has manipulated us. It whispered in ears, twisted events, and created wars. It fed on hate. Human against mutant. Mutant against human. Every riot, every massacre, every broken treaty—none of it organic. All of it pushed by this parasite to keep us divided."
Gasps rippled through the room. Some reporters shouted questions, drowned out by the sheer weight of revelation.
Tony's gaze swept across the hall, steady, unblinking. "The Ultimates stopped it. Last night, we destroyed Sublime's hold on this planet. For the first time in history, that voice is gone. Mutants and humans are free from it. But freedom alone isn't enough."
He let the words settle, then leaned forward.
"We can't keep living as if we're enemies. That conflict was never ours. It was engineered. And it's time we ended it. Which is why today I'm announcing something new. A second line of defense for Earth. I call it the X-Force. A team led by mutants."
The name flashed across the screens. Whispers spread like wildfire.
"They won't answer to governments. They won't play politics. Just like the Ultimates, their only mission will be to keep this world safe. From invaders. From threats like Sublime. From anything that endangers life on this planet. Humans. Mutants. Everyone."
He paused, then raised his chin slightly, the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth.
"Because after last night, we should all understand something. The real enemy was never each other. It was what wanted us divided."
The room erupted in a storm of flashes and voices. Some reporters shouted questions about membership, others about whether mutants could be trusted with such power. Tony ignored them all.
Behind him, Wanda, Lorna, and Pietro exchanged glances.
Tony continued. "Earth now has two guardians."
The flashes didn't stop. The noise rose like a wave. Tony let it crest, then raised a hand. The room stilled, a thousand voices reduced to scattered murmurs.
"Alright," he said. "I see the vultures circling. Let's make this simple. Questions. Keep them short. I'll keep the answers shorter."
A woman in the front row shot up, microphone in hand. "Maria Ortiz, Global News Network. You said the X-Force will be mutant-led. Can you confirm who's leading it?"
Tony glanced over his shoulder. Wanda, Lorna, and Pietro stood silently. "Well, let me build a base for them first, gather a team, do some training, and then we'll see."
Maria nodded, satisfied.
Douglas sputtered. "So you admit you're creating a rogue force."
Tony's grin widened. "Rogue? No. Effective. Which, in politics, probably feels the same thing." Laughter broke out across half the hall.
A woman with glasses raised her voice next. "Li Na, Asia Broadcast. Can you share how you chose the name X-Force?"
Wanda actually chuckled softly behind him. Tony tilted his head. "You can call it a coincidence. Or a tribute. Or maybe it just sounded cool. Doesn't matter. The point isn't what you call it. The point is what it will do in the future. And what it will do is keep this world from falling apart in case something happens to the Ultimates."
The next voice was colder, barbed. "Graham Voss, Empire Times. Aren't you afraid this announcement will embolden mutants who already see themselves as superior? Last night, you gave them a spotlight. What if they decide they don't want to share the stage with humanity at all?"
The question landed like a challenge.
Tony's eyes hardened. "You mean, what if the victims of centuries of manipulation suddenly start acting like their oppressors? You're asking the wrong question. The better one is: how do humans step up so that mutants don't feel they have to carry the burden alone? Because if you're waiting for fear to solve this, newsflash—it never has."
The hall buzzed. Graham sat down, red-faced.
Another hand shot up. "Jacques Moreau, Paris Daily. Mr. Stark, how will the Ultimates and X-Force work together? Separate missions? Or joint operations?"
Tony's smirk returned. "Think of it like two fire departments. Sometimes they'll handle different neighborhoods. Sometimes the blaze is too big, and they'll join forces. Either way, the fire goes out."
The metaphor landed well. Nods moved across the rows.
One last question cut through. "Shinji Okada, Nippon News. You've fought that glowing girl, aliens, and now an ancient parasite. And you said there are more threats out there in the universe. Do you really believe Earth can stand on its own against what's coming?"
Tony paused, then gave a slow smile. "That's the question I like. Here's my answer. For the first time in history, humans and mutants have a shot at fighting on the same side. That makes us stronger than we've ever been. And if something's coming? Well…" He glanced at the team behind him and then back to the camera. "We'll be ready to slap it in the face."
The room broke into noise again. Reporters shouting, flashes blinding, questions overlapping. But the message was already planted.
A new chapter is about to begin...
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