The people attending the hearing broke into murmurs after hearing what I said.
"Has to be a lie, right? He's joking."
"After Tony Stark built Iron Man, if it's Jinā¦"
"It's plausible."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Order! Order! This is a hearing."
Senator Stern rapped his gavel, quieting the chamber. The room fell silent again.
"Mr. Jin, is that true?"
"No. I took the joke too far. But I said it for a reason: the government is surveilling private citizens and corporations. They're mobilizing satellites to watch us like this."
Stern hesitated for a moment, then spoke again.
"Mr. Jin, this concerns national security. With the enormous capital and materials poured into that island, the government has a right to know what's being built there."
"Fine. I'll tell you."
I pulled my smartphone from my pocket and held it up.
"This is the new model from our company. You've all seen the ads. Products like this come out of that research facility."
That wasn't a lie.
"That lab drives development for every product our company makes. The smartphones and appliances you all use are researched there. And yes, it's registered as a research facility."
I hacked the monitor like Tony had done and displayed the registration documents.
"As you heard, the island is critical to our company and our subcontractors' livelihoods. It's where we develop smartphone technologies. If those technologies were ever stolen, I couldn't guarantee the security of every customer worldwide who uses our products. That's why we have to take security so seriously."
I emphasized why the island's security was non-negotiable.
"And yet, an organization claiming to manage international security broke into it."
I put another video on the screen. It showed Natasha infiltrating the island, only to be caught by drones firing electric nets. I pointed at Phil Coulson.
"Surely you're not going to claim that agent wasn't one of yours, Agent Coulson?"
I leaned toward Phil Coulson and said quietly,
"If not, I'll reactivate Baby Shark."
Coulson shuddered, clearly traumatized by Baby Shark, and answered.
"Yesā¦ that was our agent."
Seeing him admit it that easily, it was obvious the trauma ran deep ā and that servers or computers with critical data had probably been infected too.
"As you heard, they deployed an agent to steal corporate technology. You all know security is everything for smartphones. This is no different from trying to steal smartphone tech to surveil the public."
The crowd started murmuring again. Phil Coulson hurriedly grabbed the mic.
"That's not true. We had no intent to surveil citizens."
I looked at Coulson and gave a slight smirk.
"I'm curious. What kind of organization sneaks into a private corporate lab to steal information?"
"That'sā¦ classified."
"It seems to me that this hearing isn't needed for Tony or me. It's needed for the organization this agent belongs to. Honestly, how is anyone supposed to run a business in America with this going on?"
Just as people started showing interest in SHIELD's identity, Senator Ben Stern tried to change the subject.
"We understand it's a corporate research facility. Then explain the massive ship next to the island."
"I can explain, but if I do, it'll expose a major corporate project and cause catastrophic losses. Who takes responsibility for that? Will you, Senator Stern? Or will the government compensate us?"
"Wellā¦"
"The public is watching. You're surveilling companies as you please, and now you're demanding trade secrets that could define a major business. Don't you think that's going too far? I'm not letting this slide. Senator Stern, and the World Security Council's international security agency that leaked critical corporate secrets and attempted tech theft ā I'm preparing lawsuits. Get ready."
When I pushed hard, Stern broke into a cold sweat.
"Please, calm down, Mr. Jin. This is about national security, so we'd appreciate your understanding."
"It's too late. Satellite photos, senator statements, and witness testimony have already told everyone we're preparing a major project. Prepare for the lawsuit."
Stern looked like he was about to cry.
"Th-this concludes the hearing."
Tony laughed and raised his hand for a high five. I slapped it.
After the hearing ended, we left the Capitol to a storm of camera flashes. Reporters swarmed us, but security held them back and we got into the car safely. One reporter shouted, "Are you building a Gundam? Japan is in an uproar. Tell us the truth!" I ignored the nonsense.
"We should party tonight. Where to?"
Tony was in a good mood after the hearing and wanted to celebrate.
"Tony's place and mine are too far. Let's rent out a club nearby."
"Sounds good!"
We rented an entire club and partied hard with Tony, Rhodey, Pepper, and my secretaries ā drinking, dancing, and having a blast before moving to a luxury hotel. Tony hit it off with a pretty secretary and they went to the same room, but this is America, so I let it slide.
It's been over ten years since I came here. Maybe I should get a girlfriend.
The next day, I ordered room service for a light meal. While waiting, there was a knock at the door. I checked with [Observation Haki] ā it wasn't room service. [Enemy Detection] didn't trigger, so whoever it was didn't mean harm, and I opened the door.
"Nice to see you, Jin. You really gave us hell."
"Long time no see, motherfucker. Come on in."
"Huh? Have we met? And motherfuckerā¦?"
"You look exactly like someone I know. My mistake."
This time, SHIELD sent Nick Fury himself. I made two cups of coffee, set them on the table, and sat down. Nick Fury took the seat across from me. He got straight to the point.
"Jin, how much do you know about us?"
"I know things even you don't. Had a rough time with the green monster lately, didn't you?"
"How do you know thatā¦"
"Anywhere with internet is my domain. Now you see why they call me the Emperor of IT?"
"I thought it was Prince Charming?"
"Ahemā¦ anyway! Why are you here?"
"Drop the lawsuit and let's end this cleanly. You know we can't afford to be exposed."
They were worried the high-profile lawsuit from the hearing would blow everything open.
"You shouldn't have poked first, right? Why go digging around someone else's house?"
"SHIELD responds to every threat to humanity! That island of yours with no intel, that giant ship, and you ā we see all of it as threats."
"You're talking awfully reckless to a businessman living in America."
"This, then. Explain this."
Nick Fury laid several photos on the table. They showed me fighting Iron Monger.
"So what? People have a superpower or two these days."
Fury's expression twisted in disbelief.
"You call that an explanation?"
"Then what about Carol Danvers? Bruce Banner? And the Skrulls you're using?"
"How do you knowā¦"
"Didn't I tell you? Anywhere with internet is my domain."
"Jin, you're a dangerous entity."
"Why? Have I killed anyone? Committed terrorism? I don't get it. I'm just a businessman."
"If we wanted, your company could be ruined in an instant."
I laughed. "Cute. Let me flip that. One word from me and SHIELD disappears instantly, Nick Fury."
"You're saying you'll take us on?"
"Who started it?"
Silence fell for a while. Fury was threatening me, but I could see the sweat on his face.
"Damnā¦ I lose. Honestly, I know the US economy would collapse without you. Even ignoring that, I have no idea what abilities or information you have."
Fury broke the silence first. He'd done his homework and knew my impact on the US economy and the size of my capital.
"You know your stuff."
"Is it true? That you can erase SHIELD with one word?"
"It's true."
"How? An ability?"
"No. I could do it with an ability, but I don't need one. One word is enough. Want me to do it now?"
"Ahemā¦"
It was simple. I just release the Hydra intel. SHIELD would erase itself.
"Any other questions?"
"Will you answer if I ask?"
"Sure, within limits."
"What's your goal?"
"Make a lot of money, marry a beautiful, kind woman, and live happily."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
In the Marvel world, that was true. That's why I used it as a supply depot and made so much money.
"Then what about the island and the ship?"
"The island is a legitimate corporate lab and my home. The ship is an integrated resort vessel. Not some weird weapon like you think. We'll be recruiting crew soon. There'll be promotion too."
"What's your ability?"
"That's a secret."
"Are you going through with the lawsuit?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty pissed. I thought about wiping SHIELD out entirely, but since you handle annoying jobs for me, I'll just go with a public lawsuit. I'll use the best lawyers and judges in our pocket to squeeze an astronomical amount out of you. And I'll release the information."
"Sighā¦ can't we just compensate you directly?"
"With what?"
"What do you need?"
Honestly, I didn't need anything from SHIELD.
"You're working on the Helicarrier project. Build me one and send it over."
"How do you know about that? And you think that's possible?"
"Yeah, I think it is. Your tech is garbage, so remove the engine, remove the lift fans, remove the entire two-level upper deck."
"SHIELD tech is garbageā¦ well, that would make it possible."
"Then it's settled. I want it within a year."
"I hope we can work together next time."
"That depends on SHIELD. I upgraded Baby Shark with choreography too, so think carefully before you mess around."
"Ahem, I'd appreciate it if you held back on that."
With that, Nick Fury left the hotel.
That day, when I returned to the island, every news outlet and paper was in an uproar claiming Chairman Jin was building a Gundam. Japan, especially, exploded ā "Don't touch Japan's Gundam," "The pilot must be Japanese," and other nonsense. Even Bandai in the Marvel universe contacted me about a collaboration.
"Did I screw up by saying that? This is insaneā¦ Nano!"
[Yes, Master.]
"Can you build a Gundam?"
[It is possible, but I do not recommend it. It would be extremely inefficient.]
From what Nano said, if a giant robot like that walked, the pilot would be sitting three stories up, getting tossed up and down. No human could endure that. If the robot jumped, the pilot would become ground meat. And adding anti-gravity tech to prevent that would risk tech leakage in this era.
[The issue can be solved by installing an AI instead of a pilot, but a beam saber cannot be replicated with this era's technology.]
"Got it."
A few days passed, and Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey visited our island. Naturally, I hid all critical equipment in locations only accessible by teleportation.
"Wow, Jin, these drones are amazing. Give me one."
"Sure. Take one when you leave."
Tony wandered around the lab, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?"
"The Gundam."
"..."