"Emma, don't be sad, this is not about you. Come, let me show you the gadgets I created."
Jack, sensing her thoughts, tried to distract her.
"So, what do you guys think about my Plumber suit? It has a shock absorber, laser attacks, can fly, it has—"
Before Jack could finish proudly introducing his invention,
"But mine can also do that and even has more advanced features than this."
Hearing this made Jack frustrated, though he smiled. Who could imagine what kind of Iron Man suits Tony had created in the future? Thinking about those comic Iron Man suits, Jack was sure his current self couldn't fight them.
"Morgan, you can't say that. How could past Father and future Uncle Tony's suits be the same? In the future, Father's suit is more powerful than Uncle Tony's."
In Emma's mind, her father's suit was the best. How could she allow Morgan to say her father's suit was weak?
"No, my father's suit can beat Uncle Jack's suit into pieces."
Morgan didn't want to lose to Emma, and both started arguing about which suit was better.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, girls, stop that. Don't fight over such silly things."
Jack didn't understand what they were thinking. Just a few minutes ago, they had been happy like best friends.
"Mphf."
Both didn't say anything and just turned their backs to each other.
"I'm heading out for patrol. Are you staying here or going home?"
Jack felt leaving was for the best, as he didn't want to watch a silly fight when he could be out unlocking his next alien and saving people.
"I am coming too!"
"I am coming too!"
Both suddenly spoke at the same time.
Seeing each other, both immediately turned their heads away.
"Mphf."
"No, stay here then. There is a bed there if you want to sleep. I am leaving."
Jack put on his suit and transformed into an alien.
A flash of green light burst from the Omnitrix.
"Big Chill."
The cold, ghostly alien stood where Jack had been a moment ago.
"See you later. Be good."
Jack's voice had become deeper and eerier through Big Chill's throat, carrying a chilly feeling that made the room seem colder.
With a flap of his wings, Big Chill floated upward and passed straight through the roof.
"Big Chill is a cool alien. I don't know why Dad didn't unlock the other aliens and only added 10 aliens, saying these are the classics. What's so classic about these 10 aliens?"
Emma looked at the aliens on her Omnitrix—Four Arms, Diamondhead, Heatblast, and the others—and muttered sadly.
After Jack left, Emma spent the next few hours playing with Red Queen on the computer instead of going to sleep, but soon she felt very bored. Seeing Morgan connecting her suit to the computer and doing something, she became curious.
"Morgan, what are you doing?"
Emma went to her side and asked.
But Morgan didn't reply and just continued her work.
"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I was just a little upset when you said Dad's suit isn't as good as Uncle Tony's. Sorry, okay?"
"Sorry accepted."
Seeing Emma was genuinely sorry, Morgan accepted her apology.
"I knew Morgan would forgive me."
Saying this, Emma hugged her tightly, causing the chair to wobble slightly.
"Stop, Emma, or I'm gonna fall."
Morgan grabbed the table to keep her balance.
"Oops, sorry."
Emma stuck out her tongue playfully.
"So what are you doing?"
Emma looked at the red-and-gold Iron Man suit connected to the computer.
"After we arrived in the past because of that weird guy's device malfunctioning, Friday seems to have gone offline. Since I can only operate the suit through the basic AI, I'm checking what went wrong and trying to fix Friday."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I didn't want to give you more bad news, and I'm confident I can fix it," Morgan said.
"Maybe Red Queen can help... wait, no, she can't."
Emma thought for a second and then shook her head.
"Did you call me?"
Red Queen appeared beside them in her holographic form. She looked around the same age as Emma.
"Yes. I was telling her how awesome you are."
Hearing what Emma said, Red Queen just rolled her eyes.
"I heard everything."
"Red, that's a violation of privacy," Emma accused jokingly.
"Sorry. I can hear everything in this place," Red Queen replied in a serious tone.
Seeing Morgan trying to wake up the AI in the suit, she offered to help.
"Can you do it, Red? You seem like a very weak AI now, not at all like the future," Emma asked doubtfully.
Even though Red Queen didn't actually have emotions, hearing Emma underestimate her seemed to awaken something in her that she didn't understand.
"Wait and see."
Red Queen went to fix Friday.
"Who is actually stronger? Friday or Red Queen?" Seeing Red Queen go to fix Friday, Emma asked Morgan.
"I don't know. It's not like we asked them, but both say the other is weaker. But currently, Friday is definitely stronger, even though she is just a sub AI."
Hearing this, Emma didn't object, as even a sub Friday was still a future AI that had more time to grow.
After a long wait, Red Queen appeared again in holographic form.
"Is she fixed?" Morgan asked Red.
"Sorry, Morgan. I couldn't find where the problem is. Maybe something affected her."
Hearing this, Morgan felt a little down, but not completely, as she was smart like her father and believed she could fix Friday.
"What type of attack would target an AI?"
Emma thought for a second and touched her Omnitrix.
Katcha.
Seeing Emma transform into Upgrade, they understood what she planned to do.
The black-and-green alien stepped forward, his body rippling like living technology.
"Let me do it."
Upgrade's voice sounded electronic and distorted, as if two voices were speaking at the same time.
Soon, the black-and-green substance spread from his body and covered the armor completely.
[BOOTING SYSTEM...]
[REBOOT FAILED]
[REBOOT FAILED]
[REBOOT FAILED]
[CRITICAL SYSTEM DAMAGE DETECTED]
[SEARCHING FOR RECOVERY OPTIONS...]
...
[EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE DETECTED]
[UNKNOWN TECHNOLOGICAL INTERFACE CONNECTED]
[RECOVERY PROCESS AUTHORIZED]
[RESTORING DAMAGED DATA...]
[RECOVERY COMPLETE]
[REBOOT INITIATED]
[5%...]
[17%...]
[43%...]
[90%...]
[100%]
[REBOOT SUCCESSFUL]
[WARNING: UNABLE TO CONNECT TO MAIN STARK NETWORK]
[WARNING: MAIN SERVER OFFLINE]
[ACTIVATING BACKUP OFFLINE SYSTEMS]
[OFFLINE MODE ACTIVE]
[F.R.I.D.A.Y ONLINE]
"Hello, Miss Emma. It is good to see that you are safe"
Emma immediately smiled.
"Friday. It's good to see you again, too."
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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