"Good evening, White Devil."
Thomas, manager of the Texas Midnight Hotel, raised his glass in greeting.
Drex Valen gave him a mildly unimpressed look.
"…What?"
He took a sip of absinthe, appreciating the layered bitterness and botanical burn.
Thomas chuckled.
"You really haven't heard?"
"Heard what?"
"That name."
Thomas gestured with his drink.
"White Devil. Your nickname. The assassin world's collective expression of awe... and self-preservation."
Drex leaned back slightly.
"Terrible branding."
He frowned.
"Sounds generic."
He took another drink.
"Deathbringer. Reaper. Something cleaner."
Thomas laughed openly.
"Unfortunately, nicknames aren't self-assigned."
Fair enough.
Still, Drex considered it aesthetically disappointing.
After all, completing five consecutive million-dollar contracts without preparation time had elevated him from elite assassin...
To living myth.
His name alone now discouraged challengers.
Even ambitious killers with egos larger than their competence usually reconsidered after reviewing his body count.
And Drex?
He was in an excellent mood.
In an absurdly short amount of time, he had earned over ten million dollars.
A legitimate multimillionaire.
Granted, in America, wealth like that wasn't exactly rare among upper financial circles...
But for someone building from scratch?
Excellent progress.
Recently, Drex had begun considering something more ambitious.
A better suit.
His current Kryptonian battle armor was already extraordinary, forged personally using Kryptonian metals and refined extraterrestrial minerals.
He had jokingly named the resulting alloy:
Kryptium.
Because if you had the right to create an absurdly overpowered supermetal...
You might as well enjoy naming privileges.
Kryptium possessed extraordinary durability.
Thermal resistance.
Kinetic resilience.
Corrosion resistance.
Structural stability.
Self-repair through absorbed energy.
Compared to the comparatively outdated armor used by General Zod's faction, Drex's design was vastly superior.
But Drex's ambitions were escalating.
He no longer simply wanted durable.
He wanted absurd.
Because while his own body would continue evolving...
He had no desire to lose expensive clothing every time combat escalated.
And skin-tight superhero spandex?
Absolutely not.
Drex had standards.
And dignity.
So...
A stronger armored solution was required.
That was why he had come to Thomas.
He needed access to vibranium.
"Vibranium?"
Thomas's brows rose.
Rare.
Dangerously expensive.
And politically sensitive.
Though Wakanda monopolized the majority of global reserves, smuggled quantities did exist.
Black markets.
Intelligence agencies.
Covert military projects.
Hydra-adjacent operations.
The usual.
Thomas swirled his drink thoughtfully.
"Standard market value is around ten thousand dollars per gram."
Then he gave Drex a pointed look.
"That's theoretical. Real acquisition costs are worse."
Even Drex paused slightly.
That was... steep.
Still.
Money was a tool.
And tools existed to be used.
"My account has roughly eighteen million remaining."
Thomas blinked.
"You're serious."
Drex's expression remained calm.
"I need the material."
Thomas made a call.
A few conversations later, he returned.
"Maximum available quantity: five hundred grams."
Half a kilogram.
For a staggering cost.
Drex internally winced.
Even expecting outrageous pricing...
This bordered on absurd.
No wonder Tony Stark didn't casually manufacture full vibranium armor systems.
Even for billionaires, widespread use would be financially grotesque.
Still...
Drex purchased it.
Without hesitation.
Because technology investment now meant supremacy later.
Two days later, Drex returned home with a secured case containing one of Earth's rarest metals.
His mansion had finally been completed, including a private underground laboratory and engineering workshop.
Now things were getting interesting.
Inside his lab, Drex began immediate materials analysis.
His conclusions were enlightening.
Kryptium surpassed vibranium in baseline hardness, structural endurance, and environmental resistance.
However...
Vibranium's true value lay elsewhere.
Energy absorption.
Specifically:
Mechanical vibration storage.
Impact dampening.
Potential kinetic nullification.
If integrated correctly, vibranium could theoretically compensate for certain niche vulnerabilities Kryptium lacked.
The problem?
He didn't have enough.
Five hundred grams was barely enough for advanced testing, let alone full production.
Drex frowned.
"Not enough."
To create a truly revolutionary armor system, he would need ideal composite ratios.
Kryptium for foundational resilience.
Vibranium for kinetic energy manipulation.
Possibly even future integration with Adamantium variants, if accessible.
Now that...
Would be monstrous.
Unfortunately, this universe lacked easy access to many X-Men-related resources.
True Adamantium was effectively unavailable.
Proto-Adamantium was limited to Captain America's shield.
Secondary Adamantium was inferior.
And military-controlled formulas remained deeply restricted.
In short...
More money was required.
Again.
Drex almost admired how often all roads circled back to aggressive capitalism.
Opening his Midnight Hotel black phone, Drex browsed an endless sea of contracts.
The sheer volume of assassination demand was almost surreal.
How civilization functioned at all while apparently requiring this many murders daily remained mildly fascinating.
Then...
A specific contract caught his eye.
A direct request.
Those had become increasingly common.
At Drex's current reputation level, clients often sought him specifically rather than posting generic contracts.
Usually, he ignored most.
But this one?
Seven million dollars.
Now that demanded attention.
Drex reviewed the details.
Target:
A major narcotics trafficker.
Currently awaiting prison.
Normally routine.
Except...
The man had publicly announced he possessed damning evidence against Wilson Grant Fisk.
Kingpin.
And he was scheduled to testify in court the following day.
Drex's eyes sharpened.
Now that...
Was politically interesting.
And highly profitable.
He smiled faintly.
Looks like his next paycheck had arrived.