Since Toomes and Tinkerer had worked hard, I gave them a bonus and a few days off. In the meantime, Deadpool returned. I gave him a three-story house I had purchased near Central Park in New York to use. Deadpool was busy buying furniture, clothes, and household items for the house.
I decided to use this time to finish my research. I designed two types of androids. One, developed with help from Konosuba and Nano, incorporated the latest technology. The other was a serviceable android built with a technology level that would be plausible even in the Marvel (MCU) universe.
Of course, both were designed as female models. After several days of intense research, the blueprints were completed and sent to the underground lab.
I decided to produce two units of the latest-tech androids and four units of the Marvel-universe androids. Since they were designed to be almost indistinguishable from humans, it was inevitable that they would take a lot of time.
A somewhat disappointing point was that while the androids incorporating magic and the latest technology could self-repair, the Marvel-universe androids could not.
This meant I would need to periodically replace their special silicone skin and other consumables. I considered using nano-materials instead, but since that technology didn't exist in the MCU yet, and these androids were for field work, I eventually gave up on the idea.
With the design phase complete, I gave Deadpool, who was lazing around the house, his first mission: getting a driver's license.
"Why? Can't you just give me one of those flying cars you use?"
"No illegal activities. You know that. We're superheroes, the Avengers!"
"Ah, damn! Can't I just be an anti-hero?"
"Then why did you come here? Just be an anti-hero in your own universe."
"I suppose you're right... Fine. I'll get a license. But having to get it twice is such a pain."
Deadpool looked very dissatisfied, but eventually accepted.
"Instead, I'll buy you a car once you get your license."
"Oh~ That I like. I'll take a BMW i8 convertible."
"It's 2012 right now."
"Ah... the BMW i8 comes out in 2014... Then get me an Audi R8."
"Okay."
As expected, Deadpool knew his cars.
"And if you can get a motorcycle license too, get that in advance. You know why, right? No illegal activities!"
"This is insane... fine."
I decided to take this opportunity to buy a car for Deadpool, and also purchase some useful vehicles for myself. I liked the Jeep Wrangler that appeared in 'Deadpool & Wolverine', so I bought several of those, along with a few additional Hummers and Porsches.
I also bought several Harleys and BMW motorcycles, and just in case, I purchased two Volvo cargo trucks. With this preparation, it seemed I wouldn't have any issues with transportation.
I had bought everything I needed to buy, and the production was left to the lab. It seemed like I had almost finished what I needed to do. Besides, there was still some time before Iron Man 3, so I decided to go and retrieve the Maximoff siblings.
Because I had taken the stone, they hadn't gained their powers. So I planned to bring them in early, awaken their abilities, train them, and quickly debut them as Avengers.
"Hmm... They're both 23 now? I hope they're still in Sokovia."
I brought my secretaries and bodyguards and flew to Sokovia on my private jet. Sokovia is a fictional country that exists only in the Marvel universe, often considered one of the most unfortunate nations, caught up in many events.
As soon as I arrived in Sokovia, with Minerva's help, I located the Maximoff siblings. They were in the middle of an anti-war protest. It seemed they hadn't yet fallen in with Hydra.
I watched the protest from a nearby cafƩ, and when it dispersed, I approached them. My bodyguards and secretaries blocked the siblings' path, and they looked clearly flustered.
"Who are you people! Are you the police!?"
Pietro, feeling threatened, hid Wanda behind him and demanded to know who we were. Just then, I stepped out from between my bodyguards and spoke to them.
"Calm down. I'm here to offer you a new job."
"You! You're Jin, Tony Stark's friend!"
Pietro suddenly rushed at me, trying to throw a punch, but I easily blocked it with one hand. Seeing this, my bodyguards tried to subdue Pietro, but I stopped them. His hatred for Tony Stark seemed deeper than I thought. Still, acting like this toward me was a bit unpleasant.
"First, come with me. It seems difficult to talk here for long."
"Why should we?"
"If you don't talk to me now, you might regret it for the rest of your lives. So, how about just hearing me out?"
Hearing that, Wanda grabbed Pietro, whispered to him, and then said,
"Fine! But guarantee our safety, and we'll listen."
"Of course."
I took the siblings to the restaurant of the hotel where I was staying. We sat down to eat and began to talk.
"What was that about earlier, trying to hit me?"
"Because of the weapons Tony Stark made, we lost our parents. That day, we were lucky to survive because of a dud missile. But for two days, we could do nothing but tremble in front of that missile, not knowing when it would explode, waiting for rescue. I still vividly remember the 'Stark Industries' logo on that missile. You, who invests in that company, are the same as him."
These guys had completely misplaced their anger. I felt the need to correct that.
"I see. But you can't really blame Tony for that."
"Why not?"
"Because your desire for revenge is misdirected. For example, imagine the CEO of a company that makes kitchen knives. If a murderer uses one of those knives to kill someone, who should the victim's family blame?"
"Well... they should blame the murderer. But this is different. What Tony made is a weapon that kills people."
"You're right, it's undeniable that Tony made weapons that kill people. But Tony made those weapons to defend his country. He never made them to be used here. As proof, the moment he learned his weapons were being sold to terrorist groups, he completely shut down his weapons manufacturing division. And even if Tony hadn't been in the weapons business, the rebel forces who attacked you would have just gotten missiles from somewhere else to attack you. Don't you think?"
"Well..."
I continued.
"I can't understand why you keep blaming Tony. Why don't you blame the arms dealers who sold the weapons for purposes other than intended, or the rebel forces who fired missiles at innocent civilians like you?"
"..."
The Maximoff siblings had nothing to say. My words were true, so they had no room for rebuttal.
"Think it over while you eat. You've been holding a grudge against the wrong person."
"Sigh... This is crazy..."
Wanda and Pietro didn't touch the expensive hotel food, lost in serious thought.
"At least eat. It's expensive food; it would be a waste to let it get cold."
Hearing that, Wanda asked me,
"But why did you bring us here?"
"Now we're getting to the main point. I'm forming a group to prevent new conflicts and disputes so that victims like you won't happen again. I'm recruiting people with potential. And you two are on that list. But it's dangerous work, so you need to be prepared. What do you think?"
The two thought for a moment, then said,
"...Give us some time to think."
"Okay. I'll be here until tomorrow. Come find me when you've decided."
The Maximoff siblings finally ate a little and then left.
The next day, as expected, the Maximoff siblings returned to the hotel.
"Coming here means I can take it as you've made up your minds, right?"
"Yes. We talked it over, and we've decided to contribute to preventing more victims like us from happening in the future."
"Good. Then let's go to America."
I took the siblings on my private jet and returned to America. The first thing I did was resolve their identity issues. This was to prevent them from going through the same ordeal as in the original story. In the meantime, I had my secretaries take them shopping for necessary clothes and household items, and also show them around New York.
While the Maximoff siblings were being prepared, I decided to recruit one more person. I visited the private detective agency run by Jessica Jones. The Defenders still didn't all have their powers yet, so I planned to recruit them one by one as they gained abilities.
"Welcome... ha... Am I hallucinating? Should I quit drinking...?"
Jessica Jones, seeing me at her office door, couldn't believe it and denied reality. Jessica was a beautiful woman with black hair and a slender figure, which contrasted oddly with her powerful superhuman strength.
"Do you find it strange that I'm here like this?"
"Oh! You're real... But why would someone like you come here?"
I got straight to the point.
"I'm recruiting heroes. I'd like you to join."
But Jessica refused without a second of hesitation.
"For someone like you to come here, you must already know about my abilities. Sigh... I don't know how you found out, but find someone else. I have enough on my plate as it is."
"Don't be like that. At least think about it. I'll pay you well."
Jessica, apparently short on money, scratched her head, thought for a moment, and then asked,
"How much?"
"How about this?"
I showed her an annual salary figure slightly higher than what I paid my bodyguards. Jessica fell into deep thought again.
"Is this the annual salary?"
"No, it's the monthly salary."
Hearing that, Jessica was startled and stared intently at the paper with the salary written on it again.
"This is insane... How dangerous is it?"
"Well, you could die. You saw the New York battle, right? Things like that don't happen often, but I can't say they never happen."
"..."
Jessica, looking like she had a headache, bowed her head, holding her forehead, deep in thought.
"But aren't you going to offer a customer a cup of coffee?"
"Geez... wait."
Jessica went to the coffee pot and handed me a cup. I took it and took a sip.
"Still, you use good coffee."
"Yeah, I have to pay attention to the coffee if I want people to come to an office like this."
"I see. So, what's your answer?"
After a brief pause, Jessica answered.
"Sigh... Fine! I'll give it a try. But I don't want to be embarrassed, so don't go easy on me."
"Got it. Come to my house starting tomorrow. You'll need to train. You know where it is?"
"Yeah, it's so famous I couldn't not know."
"Good! Then see you tomorrow."
With that, I left Jessica Jones's office. Afterwards, I decided to take care of 'Kilgrave'. He is Jessica Jones's villain. His ability uses a unique virus; when he gives a command, the person who hears it 'wants to' perform that action.
Using this ability, he did whatever he wantedāgambling, murder, rapeāliving like absolute trash. His ability itself was overpowered, and he used it extremely well. Jessica Jones was also a victim; against her will, she was raped several times and even forced to commit murder.
But perhaps due to prolonged exposure, she developed an immunity to the virus, was able to resist his commands, and escaped. Kilgrave chased her but was hit by a bus and ended up in the hospital for a while. At that time, Jessica thought Kilgrave was dead.
Years later, Jessica Jones learns Kilgrave is alive and deals with him, but he leaves her with severe trauma, causing her great mental anguish even afterward. Currently, Jessica Jones believes Kilgrave is already dead. Since it seemed better to let her continue believing that, I decided to take care of him immediately.
'Trash like this should be dealt with quickly. You never know what variables might appear.'
He was also active in New York, so it didn't take long to find him using [Jack Sparrow's Compass]. Kilgrave was in a park in New York, sitting on a bench, leisurely reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. I used [Weather Manipulation] to change the weather to storm clouds with thunder.
Kilgrave looked up at the sky, worried about the rain, and started to leave the park. I waited a moment. When Kilgrave moved to a quiet area, I struck him with a powerful lightning bolt, killing him instantly. The body was so badly burned from the immense power that his face was unrecognizable.
Ding~!
[You have acquired the ability (A) Mind Control (Kilgrave).]
(A) Mind Control (Kilgrave) ā Controls the will, making targets obey commands. (Does not work on targets at long distances or those with strong mental fortitude or abilities. Duration: 24 hours.)
It was an ability originating from a virus, but it seemed to have transferred to me as a simple ability when I stole it. I immediately turned the ability off. It would be very problematic if it activated every time I spoke.
That evening, when I came home and watched TV, there was a news report about a person who had been struck by lightning and died instantly. The body was so badly damaged that identification was impossible. With this, although Jessica would still have some trauma from Kilgrave, it wouldn't be to an insurmountable degree, and it seemed it wouldn't be a major problem for her hero activities.
The next day, Jessica came to the house.
"You're early."
"Yeah, so what do I do now?"
"First, let's go shopping. You don't even have training clothes."
"That's true."
I called up Natasha, who had finished her business in Mexico and was upstairs playing dead.
"Huh? Why did you call me? Oh, who's this?"
"A new member, Jessica Jones. Her ability is superhuman strength."
"I see. I was a bit worried since we only had stuffy male members, so I'm glad to have a female member. Nice to meet you. I'm Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Just call me Natasha."
Natasha, very pleased to have a female member, welcomed Jessica warmly. Jessica didn't seem to mind Natasha's friendliness.
"Nice to meet you. I've seen you a lot on TV. I'm Jessica Jones. Just call me Jessica."
The two shook hands and greeted each other.
"Natasha, take Jessica shopping for training clothes and maybe a dress. Since you're both women, you'd know better."
"Then, we'll go eat something delicious too."
"Okay, have fun."
"Great! Let's have some fun today!"
Natasha excitedly grabbed Jessica's arm and pulled her outside. Jessica looked momentarily flustered by Natasha's energetic behavior.