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Returning to the Red Room, Peter flew Bee into the hangar. As the yellow Autobot ship touched down, Peter hopped out of the cockpit, and in a swift, fluid motion, Bee transformed back into his towering humanoid form, his servos and gears whirring with energy.
Peter started walking towards the hangar doors, fully aware that the Red Room wasn't exactly designed to accommodate giant robots like Bee. He glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see Bee awkwardly kneeling down, trying to crawl through the door behind him.
"Bee, what are you doing?" Peter chuckled, amused by the sight of the massive Autobot squeezing his shoulders through the doorframe, causing a metallic scraping sound as he tried to fit.
Bee's expressive blue eyes blinked with determination as he continued to push forward, his frame too large for the doorway.
Peter couldn't help but scoff out a quick laugh at the sight. "Sorry, buddy," he said, shaking his head with a grin. "But the Red Room's not exactly built for Cybertronians. You're going to have to stay in the hangar for now."
Bee hesitated, clearly unwilling to be left behind. "Can't I come with you?" he asked, his voice conveying a hint of disappointment.
Peter sighed, feeling a bit guilty. "Not this time, Bee. I promise I'll work on getting this place expanded as soon as I can. It seems like we'll be working with Cybertronians a lot more in the future, so we'll need to make some adjustments—bigger hallways, bigger rooms, you know, to make space for you and the others when they arrive."
Bee looked dejected but nodded in understanding. "Alright," he replied reluctantly, pulling back from the door. "I'll stay in the hangar for now."
"Thanks, Bee," Peter said with a reassuring smile. "In the meantime, can you get in touch with Optimus? Let him know about the Decepticons' arrival and their little robbery. That info could be vital to the Autobots. Also, try to find out how much longer it'll take for them to get here."
Bee straightened up, his massive form casting a long shadow across the hangar floor. "Understood," he said, his tone now more resolute. He turned and walked back into the hangar, the floor shaking slightly with each step.
…
Peter made his way through the winding corridors of the Red Room, his thoughts focused on finding Rocket. If anyone could figure out how to track down the Decepticons, it was Rocket. The raccoon was a tech genius and the brains of Peter's crew, though no one would give him the satisfaction of admitting it.
After a short search, Peter arrived at the security/control room, the heart of the Red Room's operations. Inside, he found Rocket, Teefs, Lylla, and Floor all busily engaged in upgrading the systems.
Rocket was clearly in charge, barking out instructions as he worked at the main console, his fingers flying over the keys with practiced ease.
"Teefs, run the diagnostics on those secondary circuits! Lylla, make sure the external sensors are calibrated—Floor, stop messing around with that wire, or you'll blow us all up!" Rocket snapped, his focus unbreakable as he worked.
Peter cleared his throat to get their attention. "Hey, Rocket, sorry to interrupt, but we've got a situation," he said, stepping further into the room. "We need to find the Decepticons. They've already hit Stark Industries and made off with some valuable items. Tony wasn't too pleased with what they stole either."
Rocket's ears perked up at the mention of the Decepticons, and he immediately turned his attention to the main console. "Alright, let's see what I can do," he grunted, his hands moving even faster across the controls. A large holographic image of the planet and its surrounding space appeared before them, displaying a detailed map of Earth and its orbit.
Floor, her curiosity piqued, tilted her head and asked, "What're you doing Rocket?"
Rocket, without taking his eyes off the console, replied, "Scanning the planet and its surroundings for any sign of their ship. If they came here in one, we'll find it." With a decisive tap, he initiated the scan, sending a sonar-like wave across the holographic image. It spread outwards, covering the entire representation of Earth and its surrounding space.
For a few tense moments, they watched as the wave expanded, but to their confusion, not a single signal appeared. Rocket frowned, his brow furrowing. "Nothing… Not a single blip," he muttered, perplexed.
Lylla glanced at the screen and offered, "Maybe they didn't come with a ship?"
Peter nodded thoughtfully. "Or perhaps they parked it further away," he added. "If they knew the Autobots were coming too, it would make sense to hide their ship. It'd be a prime target to strike, stranding them on the planet until they could fix it or build another."
Rocket grumbled, "Yeah, that makes sense. But it still doesn't help us find them. We need another plan." He paused, thinking hard. "We could try the AI…"
Before he could finish, Jarvis's disembodied voice chimed in over the speakers, "Would you like my assistance?"
Rocket jumped slightly, startled by the sudden intrusion. He spun around, looking at the speakers as realization dawned on him. His surprise quickly turned to anger. "Wait a second—how the hell did you get in here?!" he barked, glaring up at the ceiling as if Jarvis himself were floating above them. "We weren't talking about you, you overgrown calculator!"
Peter chuckled softly, knowing Rocket's temper all too well. Jarvis, ever polite, replied, "I apologize for the intrusion, Mr. Raccoon. I was integrated into the Red Room's systems as a precautionary measure by Mr. Stark. I am here to assist in any way necessary."
Rocket's eyes narrowed, his fur bristling with irritation. "Integrated without my permission, huh? I'm guessing your master didn't think to mention it to us?" he snapped. "And who the f*ck are you calling a raccoon?!"
"Apologies, Mr. Raccoon, but your name was designated by Mr. Stark himself, and I cannot change it. I'm also not authorized to disclose the full details of my integration," Jarvis responded calmly.
Rocket's frustration only grew. "Well, ain't that convenient?" he growled, stomping over to the main console. "You know what? If you're not gonna talk, then we might as well get rid of you. Can't have a Stark spy snooping around in our systems."
Peter watched with a mix of amusement and concern as Rocket began typing furiously, his fingers moving with impressive speed. Jarvis's voice crackled as he tried to speak, his words becoming choppy and distorted. "Please… Mr. Raccoon… there is no need to—"
But Rocket wasn't listening. He continued working, his focus unwavering as he purged Jarvis from the Red Room's systems. The holographic displays flickered momentarily as Rocket fortified the system, adding layers of security to prevent another unauthorized integration.
"Good riddance," Rocket muttered under his breath, finally stepping back from the console, his irritation fading as he focused on the task at hand. "What I meant earlier was using our own AI to find those Decepticons. The one we've been working on. We can have it scour the internet, access every CCTV camera, tap into satellites, and even sift through private communications channels. Heck, it could even infiltrate defense systems and track energy signatures. Basically, anything and everything that could help us locate those overgrown tin cans."
Peter's eyes widened with interest. "That's… actually a great idea, Rocket," he admitted. "But are we sure the AI is ready? We haven't fully tested it yet. The last thing we need is it going rogue or crashing the whole system."
Rocket waved his hand dismissively, clearly not sharing Peter's concerns. "Come on, we've done all the testing we need. It's about time we let it loose and see what it can do in the real world. Besides, we're sitting on that creep Zola's consciousness. He's not useful anymore. We've studied all we can from him. With the new AI, he's just taking up valuable hard drive space."
Peter considered Rocket's words for a moment. He understood Rocket's eagerness to unleash their creation, but his cautious side still lingered. "Alright," he said finally, "but let me look it over first. I want to make sure there are no complications or potential errors that could bite us later."
Rocket nodded, and Peter walked over to the main control panel. Placing his hand on the surface, his fingers began to glow as he tapped into his Force abilities, specifically Mechu-Deru. The console responded to his touch, screens lighting up as he accessed the AI system they had been meticulously building while studying Arnim Zola's digital consciousness.
Peter's eyes scanned the data rapidly, sifting through layers of code, firewalls, and security protocols. He double-checked, then triple-checked, and even quadruple-checked every aspect of the AI.
He ensured that all failsafes were in place, making sure the AI had strict loyalty protocols to them. They had programmed it to avoid going down the path of rogue AIs like Ultron or Skynet.
The last thing they needed was their creation turning against them…
After several moments of intense scrutiny, Peter retracted his hand, the glow fading from his fingers. "Alright," he said, his voice steady with confidence. "Everything looks good. We can boot it up."
Rocket's face lit up with excitement. "Finally!" he exclaimed. "Let's see what this baby can do!" But then he hesitated, asking, "What about Zola?"
Peter glanced back at the screen and smirked. "Oh, right. Almost forgot about him." With a few quick taps, he brought up the folder containing Zola's trapped and dormant consciousness. Without a second thought, Peter selected the file and hit delete. "Good riddance. Like you said, he was just taking up space."
But just as he turned away, feeling satisfied with himself, Teefs piped up, his tone innocent yet curious. "Did ya empty the trash?"
Peter froze, his eyes widening in realization. He turned back to the screen, quickly opening the recycling bin-looking folder…
Sure enough, there it was: the entire digital consciousness of Arnim Zola, still intact and very much alive. The moment hung in the air, and Peter felt a slight blush of embarrassment creep up his neck, especially as he heard Rocket snickering behind him.
Rocket couldn't help but chuckle. "Nice one, Cap."
Feeling a bit sheepish, Peter quickly selected the files again, this time making sure to empty the trash completely. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he muttered. But he wasn't taking any more chances. Tapping into Mechu-Deru once again, he swept through the entire system, making sure no bit or binary digit of Zola remained. He needed to be absolutely certain.
After a thorough sweep, Peter finally stepped back from the console, his shoulders relaxing. "Alright, it's done. Time to boot up Alfred." He said, his fingers dancing over the console as he initiated the startup sequence.
It was finally time to bring their new AI to life. Peter couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and anticipation. This AI was unlike anything they had ever created before, a culmination of their combined expertise and countless hours of work.
Rocket rolled his eyes, still not entirely on board with the AI's name. "Seriously, Quill? Alfred? Out of all the names, you went with that?"
Peter grinned, unbothered by Rocket's disapproval. "Yup, Assistant for Logic-based Functions and Real-time Evaluation and Decision-making. Alfred for short. Plus, it reminds me of the butler from Batman. Besides, if Tony gets to have Jarvis, I should get to have Alfred."
Rocket huffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, yeah, whatever..."
Peter chuckled, his eyes focused on the console as the initialization bar slowly filled up. "Oh, come on, Rocket. You'll get used to it."
The screen flashed, and a voice—polite and refined—filled the room. "Good day, Master Quill. How may I be of service?"
Peter's grin widened. "See? Isn't he great? Alfred, this is Rocket. He'll be working with you too."
"Ah, Master Rocket," ALFRED's voice replied, calm and courteous. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. How may I assist you today?"
Rocket groaned softly but couldn't help a slight smirk from forming on his face. "Alright, alright, I'll admit the voice is kinda growing on me."
Peter laughed. "I knew you'd come around. Alright, Alfred, first things first—we need to run some diagnostics and make sure you're functioning properly. Just a few tests to get you warmed up."
"Understood, sir," Alfred responded promptly. "Commencing diagnostic tests now."
The room hummed softly as the AI began running through its internal checks, testing everything from its processing power to its ability to access various networks and databases.
Peter and Rocket watched closely, their eyes scanning the data as it streamed across the screen.
A few moments passed, and the tests came back positive—everything was working perfectly. Peter let out a sigh of relief, satisfied with the results. "Alright, Rocket, looks like we're good to go."
Rocket nodded, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Great. Let's see what this fancy butler can do. Alfred, your first assignment: use all available resources—internet, CCTV cameras, satellites, anything you can tap into—to locate an alien robot race currently hiding on Earth. They're called the Decepticons. Find them."
"Understood, Master Rocket," Alfred replied smoothly. "Beginning search protocol now. Utilizing global surveillance networks, hacking into private and public camera systems, monitoring energy signatures, and scanning satellite imagery for any unusual activity."
Peter watched as the holographic display updated, showing countless data points and lines of code as Alfred began its task. The AI moved swiftly, accessing various databases and systems with ease, its digital fingers reaching into the vast expanse of Earth's information network.
For a moment, the room was filled with the soft hum of machinery and the glow of the holographic screen. Peter and Rocket exchanged a glance, both feeling a mixture of excitement and anticipation. This was the moment they had been working towards—their AI was alive and already hard at work.
…
As Alfred continued to sift through vast amounts of data, the holographic display pulsed and flickered with streams of information, each line representing another network accessed, another camera tapped, and another satellite scanned.
Peter watched for a few moments, impressed by the AI's efficiency and speed, but he knew it would take some time for Alfred to cover every possible avenue.
"Looks like it's going to be a while," Peter said, turning to Rocket. "Keep an eye on things here. Let me know the second Alfred finds anything."
Rocket gave a mock salute, a grin spreading across his face. "You got it, Cap. We'll keep things under control. Go take a break or something."
Peter chuckled and headed toward the door, leaving Rocket, Teefs, Lylla, and Floor to monitor Alfred's progress.
As he stepped out into the corridor, Peter paused, eyes landing on a familiar figure. Leaning casually against the wall just outside the control room, her arms crossed and her expression one of irritation, was Natasha Romanoff.
A/N: 2519 words :)
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