A day passed, and I went to Asgard to bring Jane back. But Jane couldn't get up because her back hurt and she was in the healing room. Fell down the stairs, apparently?
"Thor, it's time."
"Yeah, I know, but Jane's back is bad."
"Let me take a look."
"You have medical knowledge?"
"No, magic."
"Oh~ You have that kind of magic too?"
"It's a secret from people on Earth."
"Got it."
Thor and I headed to the healing room where Jane was. Jane was lying on the bed in the room, wearing something like an ancient Greek-style outfit from Asgard.
"Hello, Chairman Jin."
"Ms. Jane, good to see you. I hear your back's not doing well?"
"Yes, it's not so bad that I can't get up... but yesterday I... mmph..."
At that moment, Thor hurriedly covered Jane's mouth.
"Hahaha, Jane fell down the stairs yesterday. Right, Jane?"
"Yes, that's right..."
Something definitely happened.
"Hmm... Anyway, it's probably uncomfortable, but could you turn over? Thor, help her."
"Got it."
With Thor's help, Jane turned over onto her stomach. I placed my hand on her lower back and cast.[Heal]
"Oh! It's starting to feel better."
"That's good to hear."
Jane frowned, got up from the bed, and smacked Thor hard on the back.
Smack!
"Ugh! Jane."
Just then, Frigga entered the healing room.
"Is your back better now?"
"Yes, I think I'm fine now."
"Thor, a woman's body is weaker than you think. You have to be gentle."
"Ahem... Mother! There are people here."
'Ahh! So that's what happened...'
Since today was the last day before they wouldn't see each other for a long time, the two must have overdone it last night.
"Anyway, it's time for our appointment, so we need to head back to Earth, Ms. Jane."
"Got it. Let me change first."
Jane went to change, and Frigga offered me a drink while I waited.
"You're a mage?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I was raised by witches and learned their magic myself."
Frigga was raised by witches as a child and knows their magic. She's also Loki's magic teacher.
"Loki's illusion magic is so exceptional because he had a great teacher."
"Hohoho, you're making me blush."
"Could I learn from you too?"
"Of course. Come visit anytime."
"Thank you."
While I was chatting with Frigga about various things, Jane came back after changing. Thor looked miserable because they had to part now. So I patted his shoulder and said.
"Don't worry. I'll open a portal at least once a month so you two can meet on Earth."
Hearing that, Thor's face brightened again.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know how I can repay this debt."
"Then hurry up and lift Mjolnir."
"Got it."
We went outside the palace to open a portal back to Earth.
"Well then, Jane, see you in a month."
"Yes, see you in a month for sure."
With that, I sent Jane off and returned to my house on the island. I rested and thought about what I needed to prepare with one year left until Avengers 1.
[Master, you've received a call from Agent Phil Coulson.]
SHIELD must be curious about the New Mexico incident.
"Patch him through."
I vaguely explained things. I told them the good aliens won, so they don't need to worry anymore.
"Is that true? We consider the New Mexico situation extremely serious."
"That matter is resolved now, so you don't need to worry too much about it."
"Whew... Understood, in any case. And the Director said to 'thank you for your help and that he hopes to cooperate often.'"
"Got it. And tell him I'm a busy person, so anything time-consuming is difficult for me."
"Yes, I'll pass that along. Also, the Helicarrier is complete. Should we send it to your island?"
"Yes, please do that."
"Understood."
Two days later, other ships towed the engineless Helicarrier to my island. After receiving the Helicarrier, I started the modifications and the projects I had planned.
I built artificial bio-muscle suits that multiply an ordinary person's strength by 3 to 4 times, and cars that can fly using plasma thrusters like an Iron Man suit and have bulletproof performance.
The resort ship 'Lakshmi' also drew worldwide attention and set sail for the first time. Fortunately, aside from some drunk passengers, there were no major issues. I didn't forget to occasionally visit Frigga to learn witch magic.
Half a year passed like that. Natasha and I were on a separate training island I bought, testing the artificial bio-muscle suit on Natasha in a reinforced testing facility.
"This thing really boosts strength by more than 3 times?"
"Yeah, and it's tough. Most firearms can't penetrate it. If this leaks, it could be weaponized or abused by the military, so don't tell anyone."
"Got it."
"Then let's test it. I'll count down, so jump as high as you can."
Natasha got into a jumping stance next to a wall marked with height measurements.
"You ready? Starting."
"Yeah."
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Hup!"
Natasha cleared the marked line and touched the ceiling about 10 meters high before landing back on the floor.
"Wow~! This isn't just 3 times?"
"It is 3 times. Jumping uses multiple muscles, so if your entire body's muscle power triples, your jump height can be more than 3 times."
"But my legs hurt a bit on landing."
"Hmm... Even with maximum impact absorption, that's as good as it gets. Anyway, got it. Avoid jumping down from heights like that."
We ran various tests with Natasha like that, gathered data, and made small adjustments. It wasn't quite Super Soldier level, but achieving this much power with just clothing and no body modification was very promising.
I helped Natasha get used to the suit and made various equipment for her.
"But do we really need to make this stuff? It always feels like you're preparing for something."
"I'm preparing in advance in case something like the Iron Monger incident or the hammer thing happens again."
"Hmm... Okay, got it. And when are you going to ask me on a date? Do I really have to say it first as a woman?"
Training together and getting physical had brought Natasha and me to the point of flirting.
"Ahem... Got it. I'm busy right now, so let's go out sometime."
"Good grief... You're good at everything else, but you're terrible at this."
I got an earful from Natasha like that. I guess I hadn't paid attention because I was busy building things and training.
'Dating really is hard.'
The next day, I went to Asgard to learn magic and finally saw Thor holding Mjolnir.
"Oh~ You finally lifted it."
"Yeah, there was trouble elsewhere and I almost died in battle. The seal barely broke and I survived."
"That's a relief. Now that the seal's broken, how about an arm wrestling match?"
"Oh~ Nice. There should be stakes for this. How about a drink?"
"Deal!"
I had a reason for suggesting arm wrestling. Thor is weaker than Hulk, but he fights on par with him through skill and weapons. And Hulk is similar in strength to Thanos, so this was a good way to gauge how my current specs measure up.
Word that Thor and I were arm wrestling spread, and Thor's friends and a crowd gathered to place bets.
"The prince will definitely win."
"You never know, I heard that guy's strong too. They say he destroyed the Destroyer."
"This is getting interesting."
"Prince, you must win!"
"Kyaa~! Sir Jin! Fighting!"
I figured it would be all cheers for Thor since this is Asgard, but luckily there were women cheering for me too. Looks like my looks work here as well. Thor and I sat across from each other at a stone table.
"Don't cry when you lose."
"Look who's talking!"
Woo~!
The crowd's cheers rang out, and Thor and I clasped hands. The seal was definitely broken. I could feel solid power in his grip. Fandral, Thor's friend, served as referee.
"Get ready."
"And~ start!"
At the signal, Thor and I both put power into our arms.
"Hnnngh!!!"
"Grrgh!!"
"Go, Thor!"
"Sir Jin, you can do it!"
"Jin! I bet money on you, come on!"
"Prince, fighting!"
We went back and forth for a while, and the stone table we were arm wrestling on started to crack.
Crack~!
Thor was starting to struggle, so he began to taunt me.
"Grr! Why don't you just give up now."
"Hnn! I've still got plenty of strength left!"
Crumble!!
Finally, the table couldn't take it and collapsed, ending the arm wrestling match.
"Who won?"
"Isn't this a draw?"
"Still, we need a winner."
Unfortunately, it collapsed toward my side, so Thor's hand ended up on top of mine. Seeing that, Fandral said.
"The winner of this arm wrestling match is Thor."
Woo~!
Thor stood up, raised both hands to the sky, and shouted.
"Woooo~! I won. I won, hahaha!"
Honestly, I held back a little. I knew immediately when we locked hands. I was stronger. But this is Asgard, and I wanted to let Thor save face, so I went easy. The end was just bad luck.
'I don't know exactly how strong Hulk is, but I'm probably around his level right now.'
While I was thinking that, Thor came over and patted my shoulder, as if to comfort me.
"Don't be too disappointed, hahaha."
"I lost. Let's go get a drink. Drinks on me for everyone here."
Woo~!
Thankfully, Asgard also uses gold as currency, so I could pay for the drinks. We drank heavily all day, and the next day I learned magic from Frigga before returning to Earth.
I planned to turn the Helicarrier into a drone base and supply ship. I replaced the old lift fans with plasma thrusters and added two more as backups for emergencies. I installed a large Arc Reactor as the engine. I ripped out the military-feeling interior and finished it with simple but beautiful decor. Of course, this ship also has active camouflage panels for stealth.
I also built about five flying cars with the same excellent bulletproofing, Arc Reactor engine, plasma thrusters, and active camouflage panels. Because they fly, I used a lot of streamlined design, so the interior was a bit tight, but not uncomfortably so. In vehicle mode, it looked like any other sleek regular car on the outside. Natasha drove it and was thrilled. So I modified one for her to easily deploy and equip her gear.
One day, I noticed bullet marks on Natasha's car and asked her about it. She said she'd been putting on a mask and taking down criminal groups. She said it felt like a waste not to use this equipment, so she started hero work. So I made her a mask with bulletproofing, goggles that let her see in the dark, see far away, and display various info, plus a dedicated AI for Natasha. She had a blast with it.
Doing that, she became popular enough that the beautiful hero Black Widow had fans, and our company made and sold figures, toys, and other merch that highlighted Natasha's sex appeal. Now she's famous enough that no one doesn't know her. She nearly fought Iron Man at one point, but I told him it was Natasha and the misunderstanding cleared up. After that, they'd team up occasionally. Every time she worked with Tony, she'd come back complaining.
"I can't work with Tony. We're not compatible."
Another six months passed, and it became 2012. I had learned magic diligently from Frigga and obtained [(A) Witch Magic (Marvel)], and Natasha's suit had been upgraded with many features so it now boosts strength by a baseline of 4x, and up to 5x if she pushes it. Maybe she could actually go toe-to-toe with a Super Soldier now.
"The prep is mostly done."
Just then, I got a call from Natasha.
"An old friend of mine, Barton, betrayed SHIELD. Phil Coulson just contacted me. I need to go check it out. And they asked for your support too."
"Got it. Let's go together."
Finally, Avengers 1 was starting.