Dr. Arnim Zola's soul wasn't particularly strong. Even if absorbed, it wouldn't grant Garus any additional power. Still, after some consideration, he decided to imprison Zola's soul within Frostmourne—it might come in handy later.
With the matter at hand resolved, Garus opened another portal leading to Tony Stark's mansion. He needed Tony's help to locate all remaining Hydra bases.
J.A.R.V.I.S., despite being an advanced AI, was still no match for Dr. Zola. Several hours had passed, yet the virus Zola implanted into the system still hadn't been fully eradicated.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., is communications still down?" Tony asked while rapidly typing on his computer in Breakwater Bay. These few hours of radio silence had been agonizing.
He could infiltrate even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems without a trace, yet this time, he had been hacked, and even his Iron Man suits had been hijacked. It was humiliating.
"The virus is still being purged," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, its tone devoid of emotion.
Five minutes later, J.A.R.V.I.S. reported, "Sir, communications have been restored. However, we can no longer establish a connection with your Iron Man suits."
Hearing this, Tony grew concerned. If his security measures had been compromised, there was a real possibility someone could gain control of his suits.
For someone who always prided himself as the smartest person in the room, he now had to admit that—aside from Reed Richards—another mysterious individual had surfaced, rivaling his intellect.
"Tony."
A familiar voice suddenly called from behind him. Startled, he turned around to see someone standing inside his home.
"Garus? Weren't you trapped on the other side of the wormhole?"
Garus felt a twinge of frustration. He couldn't entirely blame Tony, though—it was those damn World Security Council members who had pulled the strings.
"I found my way back." He held up a hard drive. "But I'm not here for small talk. I need your help."
Tony took the hard drive and asked, "What's in this?"
"It contains the Zola Algorithm—an advanced AI program. I need you to use it to track down every remaining Hydra operative."
"The Zola Algorithm? Where did you even get this?" Tony didn't doubt Garus' words but found it hard to believe. A program of this magnitude would have taken an unfathomable amount of time and effort to create.
"A lot happened today. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been all but destroyed, and the Zola Algorithm was the root cause. Oh, and by the way—your Iron Man suits were hijacked by its creator." Garus noticed Tony's concern and reassured him, "Relax. He's dead. He won't be using your suits for anything anymore."
"Well, that's a relief." Tony exhaled. The last thing he needed was a hundred Iron Man suits running amok in New York. Angry citizens would tear down his company in no time.
He already knew Hydra was responsible for his parents' deaths. Given the chance to expose them, he had no hesitation. He had been gathering intelligence on Hydra for some time, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s compromised records made finding them nearly impossible.
Inserting the hard drive into his computer, lines of code filled the screen. As he analyzed them, Tony found himself completely absorbed.
"The Zola Algorithm… combined with my Iron Legion!" Tony's excitement grew. "With this, we can eliminate every threat to humanity before they even arise!"
Garus suddenly had a bad feeling. Something about this scenario felt eerily familiar.
After spending so much time in the Marvel universe, coupled with his time in Azeroth, some of his past memories had started to blur. But now, a crucial one resurfaced.
"Tony, you want to create machines to handle your work?"
"Exactly! What do you think? With the Zola Algorithm, my vision is finally within reach." Tony's face lit up with enthusiasm. He had grown weary of his responsibilities as Iron Man, but he couldn't abandon his duty as an Avenger.
"Not a good idea." Garus had no interest in dealing with another Ultron. "For now, just help me locate Hydra. As for your robot army—don't get your hopes up."
"Fine, fine. This will take some time, though. And I'm exhausted—I need some rest first." Tony had spent hours purging Zola's virus, and before that, he had pulled an all-nighter designing the Hulkbuster armor.
Garus saw the fatigue on Tony's face. Fair enough. He could wait.
With J.A.R.V.I.S.'s assistance, the Zola Algorithm was transformed into a three-dimensional data visualization. Garus, however, couldn't make sense of it.
"Let's run the program and see where Hydra's operatives are hiding."
A massive influx of data was processed. Stark Industries' satellites began scanning the entire United States.
By analyzing people's daily interactions and cross-referencing with satellite surveillance, the algorithm pinpointed disguised Hydra operatives. Soon, dozens of red dots appeared on the computer screen—far more than expected.
Tony was stunned. "This… this can't be right. That's too many. Did we make a mistake?"
Clusters of at least fifty red dots appeared in certain areas, meaning there were at least fifty Hydra bases still operational.
"No mistake. Hydra is more widespread than you think. These guys are master infiltrators—without the Zola Algorithm, tracking them all down would've been nearly impossible." Garus reminded Tony of how Hydra agent Grant Ward had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. for years without anyone noticing.
"Alright. Help me. I'm taking Hydra down tonight." Garus summoned Frostmourne and donned the Helm of Domination. He was preparing to unleash his undead army under the cover of night.
As the temperature in the room plummeted, Tony shivered involuntarily. He glanced at his computer's temperature readings—no change.
When he looked back at Garus, the warrior was clad in his full armor, his eyes glowing with an icy, ghostly light.
"Looks like I'm staying at your place tonight," Garus said. Working from Stark's mansion would be much more convenient for his operation.
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