81 A Perfect Strategy for the Final Battle

As dawn broke, the girl slowly opened her golden eyes.

Humans are naturally drawn to light.

When night falls, emotions tend to sink, giving way to melancholy, fear, and pessimism.

Yet no matter how dark the night, the moment sunlight streams through the window again, the heavy shadows in the heart begin to dissipate.

The world, bathed in warm light, rekindles the beacon called "hope."

Even though her body had transformed into an automaton, with an energy core in place of a human heart, Kagura Hitomi's soul remained that of an ordinary girl.

The instinctive human yearning for light still held power over her.

She had moments of weakness, just like anyone who walked alone.

But as a new day dawned, she smiled once more and turned her gaze toward the promising future ahead.

"Cortana, compile and analyze the data. Let's start planning our course of action."

After freshening up and having a simple breakfast, Kagura descended into the underground command center, ready to finalize the strategy for the upcoming Hammer Industries weapons showcase.

The intelligence-gathering phase was complete.

The objectives and positions of all key players were clear. The showcase was set to be the stage where everything came to a head.

Kagura wasn't sure if Hydra would abandon the shadows and confront her openly.

However, given their usual methods, they were unlikely to expose themselves.

For one, Hydra's goal—or at least part of it—was to establish an extreme form of order.

Until they amassed enough power and influence, they would remain hidden.

For another, Kagura doubted Hammer Industries or Ivan Vanko were valuable enough for Hydra to risk breaking cover.

Their previous attempt to assassinate Natasha Romanoff at Hammer Industries had been a bold move, meant to weaken S.H.I.E.L.D., but that was likely their limit.

Even during the Hammer Industries lab operation, they had carefully avoided revealing too much under Natasha's probing.

Clearly, Hydra wasn't ready to step into the light just yet.

As long as they weren't backed into a corner, Hydra would have no choice but to swallow this loss in silence.

That left two major threats to deal with: the remote-controlled Iron Drones of Hammer Industries and Ivan Vanko himself.

The Stark Expo was a crowded venue, with thousands of civilians attending.

If Ivan did hijack the drones and unleash havoc, the casualties could be catastrophic—something Kagura absolutely wanted to prevent.

On the other hand, logic dictated that Ivan would have likely built himself a new version of his Whiplash armor.

Finding and capturing him before he could escape was another pressing concern.

Kagura assessed her allies. On her side, she had:

Iron Man, Tony Stark, who had just completed his new arc reactor upgrade.

Natasha Romanoff, the highly skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Bucky Barnes, now working with Griffin Security Services.

Herself, Kagura Hitomi, operating under her alias "Flash Blade."

As for S.H.I.E.L.D., their compromised status due to Hydra infiltration meant they could hardly be counted on.

The best-case scenario was that they didn't leak critical information to the enemy.

"Cortana, present the operational plan."

Cortana compiled all available data and applied advanced predictive modeling to generate the optimal battle strategy.

Two main combat zones were identified:

The Stark Expo – The primary battlefield, where multiple Iron Drones would likely go rogue. In the worst-case scenario, all of them would turn hostile and attack indiscriminately.

Ivan Vanko's Hideout – Kagura planned to neutralize Ivan before he could make an escape.

With these considerations, the plan took shape:

Tony Stark would take center stage at the Expo, acting as bait to lure out Ivan. Once Ivan initiated his attack, Rhode Island Industries' technical team would quickly triangulate his location.

Drones stationed around the Expo would deploy electromagnetic interference, limiting the effectiveness of the rogue Iron Drones.

S.H.I.E.L.D. would focus on evacuating civilians according to the pre-established contingency plan.

Natasha and Bucky would storm Ivan's hideout as soon as his location was confirmed. If Ivan was wearing his new Whiplash armor, the "Halo" transport ship patrolling New York would deploy "Flash Blade" directly to engage him.

If Ivan's capture went smoothly, Kagura would instead be deployed to the Stark Expo, assisting Iron Man in subduing the drones.

Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. would apprehend Justin Hammer and seize control of Hammer Industries, securing any arc reactor or Iron Man suit technology before it could fall into the wrong hands.

Kagura reviewed the plan, added contingency measures for unexpected developments, and forwarded it to Natasha and Bucky.

She specifically instructed Natasha to hand-deliver the plan to Nick Fury—under no circumstances should it pass through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s usual channels, lest it fall into Hydra's hands.

S.H.I.E.L.D., after all, was hardly trustworthy.

As for Tony Stark, he didn't need a plan—he would naturally do what he did best.

She could leave him to put on his usual grand performance.

With that, the pieces were in place, and the stage was set. The final battle was about to begin.

Still, Kagura couldn't shake the feeling that their numbers were too thin.

Given the scale of the crisis, she was beginning to see the urgent need to recruit more superheroes into Griffin.

Her thoughts drifted to War Machine.

Wait… where was he?

Ever since Tony had handed off the Mark II suit to James Rhodes, there had been no further updates on him.

"Cortana, has Rhode Island Industries received any modification requests for the Mark II?"

"In the past weeks, there have been no such reports or requests, Master," Cortana replied.

Huh?

Kagura frowned. That was odd.

If the military had any intention of upgrading the Mark II into the War Machine configuration, they would've sought help from Rhode Island Industries.

"So… does that mean War Machine won't be making an appearance?"

If Rhodes showed up in an unarmed, stock Mark II suit… that would be pretty disappointing.

Something about this situation didn't sit right.

She made a mental note to look into it later. For now, the battle ahead demanded her full attention.