Centaurian Galaxy – Black Quadrant Base.
A colossal cosmic warship descended slowly onto the darkened ground. Three figures emerged from the docking bay.
"Lord Thanos, we've received word. General Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight have already arrived at the virtual conference chamber."
"Mm."
Thanos gave a small nod and then handed the encrypted key in his hand to the young man beside him.
"Go. I know you're in no state to sit through someone else's war story right now."
Thanos saw through it all. Trying to get Lothar to calm down at this point was wishful thinking.
"Yes, Father."
Taking the key, Lothar didn't hesitate—just turned and walked away without a second thought.
"Data Vault No. 3, huh…"
With the master key Thanos had entrusted to him, Lothar unlocked the door to his private quarters and made straight for the storage archive.
As Thanos's primary stronghold, the Black Quadrant Base housed eighteen massive data repositories. Each one stored vast troves of information collected by Thanos's forces over the years.
Lothar never imagined that his personal AI would one day merit a place within Thanos's central databanks.
"Welcome back, Lord Lothar."
Wearing a frilly apron and holding a tray of freshly prepared food, Gaitz grinned as he greeted Lothar. His gaze shifted curiously to the orange cat lounging atop Lothar's head.
"This time… your war trophy is a living creature?"
It had long been Lothar's habit to bring back meaningful trophies from each victorious campaign.
"Meow!"
As soon as the orange tabby heard itself described as a "trophy," it bristled in outrage. Launching off Lothar's head, it swiped its claws at the wide-eyed, curious mechanical cat—only to be caught mid-air by the scruff of the neck.
A technique Lothar had learned from his foster father, who used it to capture the cat on Svartalfheim.
"Settle down."
Lothar offered a creamy-white energy dumpling to the snarling feline. The beast quieted instantly, sniffed the enticing aroma, and then cradled the energy ball in its paws, chomping away in delight.
In this vast universe, nothing outranks the importance of food.
To the orange tabby—actually a Flerken—the foreign energy surging through Lothar's body was a delicacy beyond comparison.
Curious, Gaitz aimed a scanning beam at the creature. But the readout left him disappointed.
[Subject: Flerken] — One of the most bizarre and terrifying lifeforms in the universe…
…Meat is acidic and unpalatable. Not suitable for consumption.
Designed for domestic utility, Gaitz immediately lost interest upon reading "not suitable for consumption." Picking up the tray, he prepared to return to the kitchen.
Preparing a grand meal for the returning Lord Lothar was, after all, part of his core function.
"Gaitz. Hold off on cooking for now. Come with me."
"?"
Gaitz looked confused but nodded anyway.
"Yes, Lord Lothar."
Still holding the tray, Gaitz trotted after Lothar on his short, stubby legs. They entered the storage archive together. Though labeled a "vault," the space resembled more of a glorified junk room—stuffed with trophies and relics collected by Lothar over the years.
If memory served, he had something here from Planet O50 that could be repurposed into a new body for Woz.
He never did learn the material's proper name, so he simply dubbed it O50 Metal.
"Where's the O50 Metal?"
Rows upon rows of shelves overflowed with assorted war trophies, each more obscure than the last. Lothar had no idea what was what anymore, so he asked Gaitz directly—the real reason he'd brought the little AI here. Gaitz managed and organized everything in Lothar's residence, including the vault.
"Over here, Lord Lothar."
Without fully understanding, Gaitz hefted a large chunk of the rare metal and brought it to Lothar's feet.
"Bring it. We're going."
"Yes, Lord Lothar."
Hugging the oversized metal slab, Gaitz followed closely behind as they stepped through the gates of Data Vault No. 3.
Lothar inserted the master key Thanos had given him into the console. A blinding white light flared—when Lothar opened his eyes again, the surroundings had transformed entirely.
The control panels had vanished, replaced by a vast, blank white void.
"Search parameters: Woz, Lothar, Artificial Intelligence Lifeform Data."
This surreal experience didn't even faze him anymore. As soon as the words left his mouth, the space responded. Countless streams of raw data surged in from all directions, converging in front of Lothar to form a familiar face—repeating his spoken command.
[Key authentication complete. Key validity confirmed.]
[Search terms: Woz, Lothar, Artificial Intelligence Lifeform Data.]
[Beginning retrieval.]
In the next second, tens of thousands of data points merged together—reconstructing Woz's form in full.
He awakened, and opened his eyes.
"It's good to see you again, Lord Lothar."
That familiar voice drew an involuntary smile from Lothar. He raised his wrist, showing the now-dimmed energy ring embedded there.
"O50 Metal is ready."
"Understood, Lord Lothar."
Woz's voice carried an unmistakable note of joy. In an instant, the AI's data torrent dove into the circular device on Lothar's wrist.
FWOOSH!
Lothar opened his eyes once more—his consciousness returning to the physical world.
Across from him, Gaitz still wore his apron, now with the orange tabby sprawled lazily across his polished head, nibbling contentedly. Both turned to look at Lothar as he came to.
A moment later, the ring on Lothar's wrist flared with light and dissolved into a stream of energy, plunging straight into the block of O50 Metal at Gaitz's feet.
Clack… Clack… Clack…
Under the stunned gaze of the Flerken, the irregular metal chunk twisted and reshaped itself. Within seconds, it had reformed into a mechanical cat—identical in size and form to Gaitz.
CHOMP—!
Startled, the Flerken bit its own paw. Pain snapped it back to reality.
"Woz, what were you doing inside the data vault?" Gaitz asked curiously, still adjusting his apron.
He wasn't unfamiliar with Woz—they had both been created by Thanos.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Woz replied, tapping his tiny feet on the floor, marveling at the sensations his new body offered.
By all logic, he should've been beyond saving.
Why was his core data preserved in Thanos's data vault?
When was it backed up?
And why didn't he know?
Normally, he would have sensed a backup process happening. But back on Svartalfheim… he'd been certain he was dead for good.
"Listen, Woz," Lothar said, his voice calm yet firm, mouth twitching just slightly at the corners as he forced his usual stoic demeanor.
"If you ever pull something like that again without my permission, I won't bring you back next time."
"…Understood, Lord Lothar."
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