Shiller sat in the bedroom of the Hamilton family's home. Aware of his unique talents with computers, the Hamilton couple had placed a fairly decent computer in his room, which Shiller often used to go online.
Of course, he mainly browsed the news or academic journals when online, and all the technical exchanges with Stark were completed by Ultron; Shiller didn't understand computer technology.
Naturally, the chatting part was still done by Shiller himself. After all, he had nothing better to do while staying here. There was still some time before the Hamilton family would be wiped out, and it was nice to have someone to chat with.
Neither side had exposed their identities, so naturally, it wouldn't affect the future. At most, it's like they had met an online friend when they were younger. The unknown identity of their communications wouldn't change the course of their destinies.
As for the main storyline, Shiller had plans. Currently, all his energy was focused on the Hamilton couple. Wanting not to wait too long in this world, and since the Hamilton couple were doomed to die sooner or later, Shiller had always been egging them on to deepen their ties with Hydra. This way, their death would come quicker, and he could finish crafting the background story.
How to deepen the ties with Hydra? Well, Shiller hadn't spent those years as Hydra's Head for nothing. Although the members of Hydra were different from those in the future, the general composition was still the same generation.
Some of the Hydra Heads, who would be powerful in the future, weren't so influential now, so Shiller hinted to the Hamilton couple to seek out these individuals and provided them with Hydra promotion strategies, which established a friendly relationship, didn't it?
This group of Heads lacked conscience. Not only would they not consider the Hamilton couple benefactors, they would see the defenseless scientist couple as a fat sheep ready for slaughter. Once they realized their value had been drained, they would naturally kill them without hesitation.
The world never lacked young ambitious men, and John Garrett was one of them. Though in this era he was still an obscure Hydra foot soldier, the good thing was that this era's Hydra was still led by the electronic being Zola.
While Zola's influence was waning, and regional Hydra leaders were starting to assert their power, leading to an impending split into feudal kingdoms, as of now, Zola's word still carried weight.
Garrett was placed in Congress by Zola, currently an unknown political consultant. Meanwhile, his contemporary Alexander Pierce was already a congressman.
Knowing he would never surpass Pierce if things continued this way, Garrett wouldn't settle for less. Being a political consultant had its perks; a lesser figure could more easily steal major secrets.
Garrett was a keen observer. He noticed that Howard Stark had been frequenting Congress lately, interacting with legislators he'd never previously associated with. Mrs. Stark had also been attending quite a few gatherings; these actions were highly unusual.
Garrett astutely picked up on this anomaly, and through his connections, he unearthed part of the truth: Congress was interested in a technology that Stark possessed. If he could acquire this technology, he might be able to secure his position in the post-Zola era.
Of course, a mere political consultant couldn't influence congressional decisions, but Garrett had another path through the Hamilton couple.
The Hamiltons, having supplied Zola with electronic armor, had already interacted with a competent new member like Garrett. Under Shiller's direction, eager to strengthen their ties with Hydra, they proactively maintained contact with Garrett, offering him numerous ideas, betting on him as their backup plan.
The relationship between the two parties was quite close, so naturally, Garrett discovered the Hamiltons' close relationship with the Starks' only son. He dared not pressure Howard in front of Congress, but he had the gall and confidence to target the vulnerable and to force Stark to secretly hand over the technology.
Garrett forced the Hamilton couple to invite Stark to their home. They were aware of what he was up to and actually didn't want to do it, but their interests were too tightly intertwined.
Once a thief, always a thief. The Hamiltons thought they were hiding well and couldn't bear being discovered by Howard as being part of Hydra. Fearing Garrett might reveal their identity, they ultimately had no choice but to comply.
At dinner, Shiller felt that something was off with the Hamilton couple. He wasn't really a child, after all, and the scientist couple had no professional techniques for controlling their facial expressions, which practically betrayed their thoughts.
At that time, Shiller just figured the Hamiltons had gotten mixed up with Hydra again, as they always looked guilty and uneasy after meeting with them.
But as the evening set in and Stark still hadn't arrived, Shiller knew something was amiss during their usual chat and greetings.
"Do you know where Tony is now?" Shiller asked Ultron.
Ultron seemed to have conducted a search before replying, "He's not in the Stark Building, perhaps he is at the mansion. I'll investigate."
After a while, Ultron added, "No, he's not at his own home either. Surveillance footage shows he left by car around 4:30 PM."
"Do you know the destination?"
"Unable to determine at the moment, I'm tracking the surveillance along the route... oh, no!"
All of a sudden Ultron exclaimed in alarm, and Shiller immediately stood up. Ultron quickly continued, "The car carrying Tony Stark has been intercepted. A group of individuals wearing masks and unidentifiable faces got out. They've kidnapped Tony Stark..."
Shiller's thoughts raced like electricity, and linking the abnormal state of the Hamilton couple at the dinner table, he roughly guessed the whole situation.
But the most important thing right now was to ensure that Howard remained unaware of the situation, as it could have a significant impact on the future. Once Hydra, who had kidnapped Tony, made any demands of Howard, Howard would definitely comply, and if both of them became entangled in this now, the future would be thrown into complete disarray.
Shiller knew he had to rescue Tony before the Starks found out about the incident, and the most troublesome part was that he couldn't even meet Tony, or else the future would remain altered.
Being an unnamed hero wasn't new to him, but fortunately, with "Gray mist" in his left hand and Ultron in his right, a combination of magic and technology, rescuing someone wasn't too difficult.
Shiller pretended to sleep but swiftly climbed out of the window and flew towards the carjacking scene, guided by Ultron. Upon landing, he immediately saw the devastation.
Circling around the rear of the car, Shiller found bloodstains at the door and his expression instantly turned grave.
That was Tony Stark's blood.
Wasn't Stark supposed to have traveled back in time? How could he have been injured?
Then Shiller considered that Stark was unlike other superheroes; his power mainly came from his battle armor. It was unlikely that he would bring a full set of battle armor back to the past, and adult-sized armor wouldn't fit him; moreover, he might not have brought the magic core with him this time and might not have had time to upgrade in an emergency.
Realizing that Stark might truly be in danger, Shiller didn't linger and quickly followed the kidnappers' trail to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town.
These people always picked predictable locations, Shiller thought. It was always some desolate abandoned structure out in the wilderness, not caring how easy it was to spot a few extra people in such an empty place, or how convenient it would be to dispose of bodies.
But their modus operandi was convenient for Shiller—if they had chosen one of Manhattan's crowded bars to hole up in, he might not even have managed to squeeze in yet.
Shiller didn't intend to coalesce into a physical form; he turned into a mist and drifted over. Before he could see anyone, he faintly heard voices talking.
"In about ten more minutes, your father will realize he's lost his little treasure, and I'll have to invite him over to discuss matters. Yes, he'll come to talk to me."
"Do you know why your father has been very busy lately? It's because Stark Industries has developed a new technology for mechanical soldiers. Perhaps you've heard about it, and what I want is the data on this technology."
"The fools in Congress are clueless about the magnitude of change this technology can bring to the world, but I know, and working with me is far better than working with Congress. Those out-of-touch old men can't offer the price your father wants."
"So you'll need to help me persuade your father later. Since it's all about cooperation and making money, why not choose us? We're much more reasonable than Congress, and we'll definitely develop his technology to its full potential. Isn't that what he wants?"
"Little Tony, you know what the right thing to do is, don't you?"
Shiller recognized the voice as Garrett's and thought to himself that letting Nick finish him with a single bullet had been too lenient, but the mist still quickly flew in that direction.
The abandoned factory was quite large. To ensure there were no other ambushes, Shiller searched the area thoroughly.
Then he realized why Garrett had never been able to handle Alexander Pierce—it wasn't without reason. For such a major operation, Garrett had brought less than ten people. Forget about completely securing the factory compound; even enclosing the room they were in was a struggle.
Just as Shiller confirmed the number of people and was circling around the room, he heard Garrett angrily say, "You damn little brat! I'll make you understand the consequences!"
"What? What's wrong? ... Can't contact Howard?! What are you idiots doing? If the phones don't work, send someone!"
"Damn it, did you little shit do something? Why is the entire network at Stark Industries Base down?!"
A muffled groan came from inside the room.
The moment Shiller flew into the room, he saw only the long wound extending from Tony Stark's neck to his chest. In the dim decay of the factory, the red of the blood was strikingly vivid.
The mist stood still.