As Aether processed the SHIELD archives, a faint alert blinked on Om's screen—a signal trace, subtle but present.
"Boss," Aether's voice cut through the silence. "There's been an unauthorized ping on the system. It originated from the files we decrypted."
Om's eyes narrowed. "Hydra?"
"Possible. The script was designed to track whoever accessed their data. They might already be aware of us."
Om's jaw tightened as he leaned forward. "Can they trace us back?"
"Unlikely, but not impossible," Aether replied. "Hydra's persistent. If they noticed, they'll dig deeper."
Om exhaled sharply. "Reinforce all firewalls and reroute everything through proxies. If they're watching, they won't find anything but smoke."
"Understood," Aether said. "But this changes the game, Boss. They know someone is looking."
Om's gaze lingered on the glowing Hydra emblem on the screen. "Good. Let them wonder."
Om was confident though Aether was not powerful as he wanted but it could at least handle this much troubles.
Om after seeing the Tesseract, he caught glimpse of memories of it and related to it as dangerous and too powerful to touch now, so he pushed the thought of tesseract until he would know whom to fear.
The work on Specter 1 had been only the first step in Om's vision of the future. The design had proven effective as a surveillance tool, but he faced the problem right after he took a trial in of his drone so, the next iteration—Specter 2 was conceived in just then as it required far more than simple observation. The stakes were higher now. Specter 2 couldn't just watch; it had to be capable of reacting, defending, and engaging in ways that Specter 1 never could. It had to be a vigilant protector, as well as a scout.
Om had quickly realized that the power source was his next obstacle. The options were clear: either the arc reactor that powered Stark's suits or the Tesseract. Both sources of energy were beyond his reach for the moment. The arc reactor was locked in Stark Industries, and the Tesseract—though tantalizing—remained a cosmic enigma far too dangerous to touch without deeper understanding.
Yet Om wasn't the type to be deterred by a lack of resources. The challenge was to improvise, to innovate, and in that, Om found his true strength.
To solve the problem, vibranium became the focus of his thoughts. It was whispered about in the deepest recesses of the black market and said to have nearly mythical properties. The metal could be reshaped itself, since, its potential could be understood by those bold enough to seek it out. And Om, with his deep and unparalleled network, had managed to uncover its location. The risks were clear—the black market was treacherous, with authorities undoubtedly keeping a close watch, and the chance of getting caught in a crossfire was high. Yet, the potential reward far outweighed the danger.
He had Specter 2 in his mind, the upgrade that would transform it into something far more than just a reconnaissance drone. This version would require more than just an enhanced frame—it would need an entirely new propulsion system. Energy manipulation—on the level of Iron Man's suit in his dream—would allow the drone to glide through the air, a sleek, floating predator, able to hover and move without the need for cumbersome rotors or traditional flapping.
Just then, he heard Pietro called him, "Om its time for launch!" It seemed to be the mid noon. How quick the time was for the beings who delve themselves in the work.
Since, Om was in his lab, Pietro not able to forget his old habits asked, "did you launched that drone right? Its design is little classic."
He added with his excited tone, "but that much i can handle but if you need to make it otherwise don't hesitate to contact the designer."
Hearing his brother's usual tone Om found himself happy about it. He made a decision, even If the outer forces take his thing he will be beacon of happiness of his family, since they didn't make any sin to bear pain.
He replied, "sure, Mr. designer".
Just as they were heading out, Wanda popped out her head from the temporary kitchen which was used by the office cook for the operation of office.
She was now no longer that sad but the shadow of what happened was deeply ingrained within Wanda.
After that Om enjoyed his family time, though he could feel the absence of his mother. He suppressed the feeling to make his family forget the pain of losing their family. He was an old friend of pain but he had to save his precious family from it.
Olek seeing Om's eyes felt of injustice, he had to be the one who shielded the family but Om was the one feeding the family too. Still he was happy that he came to have the meal after 3,4 days together as before but with that thought he remembered and began to somber from the barrage of memories of Iryna.
Om feeling the fleeting moments of joy, enjoyed the time. After the launch, he got back to the lab and he began his job of surfing thorough the detailed info regarding the black market.
He found a person Ulysses Klaue, a notable character with significant connections to Wakanda and its precious resource, Vibranium.
While Om was deep in thought, Aether's voice broke the silence. "Boss, there's a load shift scheduled for mid-January. During that shift, approximately 70 percent of the vibranium stock will be transported."
Om nodded thoughtfully. "That's promising. If they're shifting, it likely means there's trouble in the region. Dig deeper, Aether—find out the cause behind their move."
With that Aether began to search, while Om resumed the detailed info of vibranium related, he saw tattoo on the body of the Ulysses and he zoned out for a sec.
He saw an animal who was killing the people, oh! they had guns in their hands, with tattoo same as Ulysses. And when he saw carefully after analyzing, he found that black cheetah a humanoid.
Just then, Aether reported, "Boss, actually they usually shift the valuables periodically to ensure its safety."
After being alerted by his ai, he began to plan for the vibranium. He had about 14 days, so he had to hurry.
Though Om wasn't lacking in resources, the black market posed a different challenge—his wealth meant little in a world where trust and connections outweighed currency. He briefly considered sabotage but dismissed the idea. Even if he had people to carry out such plans, the risks of drawing unwanted attention were far too high.
Frustrated with the limitations of conventional methods, Om turned to his strength—technology. He devised a plan to use customized drones, engineered to relay battery power between one another while recharging on the move.
A satellite-linked network would keep them connected and operational over vast distances. Fortunately, his lab had enough spare parts and raw materials to construct several prototypes.
He began the battle against time as he reengineered the circuits plus programming of the newly made Spectors. Thus, the Mini Specters were born.
These drones were small yet powerful, designed for stealth and precision. However, their design had a significant vulnerability—they all relied on a single central hub, Specter 1, as their connection point. If the hub were compromised, the entire fleet would be rendered useless. Despite this weakness, Om pressed forward. He had no time for perfection; the mission demanded results.
Realizing he needed a sustainable energy source, Om began working on a miniaturized energy core inspired by Stark's arc reactor. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to power the drones for short missions.
Eight days later, Om's meticulous preparation bore fruit. The customized drones embarked on their daring mission, silently infiltrating the black market transport. As they scouted the area, Om's screen flickered with an alert—Ulysses Klaue, the infamous black market dealer known for his dealings in vibranium, was present near the site.
Om's breath hitched for a moment, but luck favored him. Klaue left shortly after overseeing the operation, leaving the transport lightly guarded. Guided by Aether's precise calculations, the drones swiftly located the vibranium containers.
The vibranium was securely stored, shielded to prevent any reaction to nearby radiation. Recognizing the potential for disaster, Om directed the drones to handle the containers with extreme care. A single mistake could compromise the mission or worse, cause catastrophic damage.
Despite the heightened risks, the drones succeeded in extracting the vibranium without triggering any alarms. For Om, it was a triumph—not just a resource gained, but proof of his ingenuity and resolve in the face of overwhelming odds.