Dr. Maya Hansen's trial was finally over. It had taken time due to the amount of investigation, but fortunately, it ended with just bail. This was thanks to the skilled lawyers and the active testimonies of the members. Instead, she was placed under protective supervision for several years.
With the trial over, Maya also began living at our house and started her research. I occasionally helped her with hints. Also, because of the Ten Rings, Maya trained in martial arts in the mornings. Since Maya couldn't leave New York for two years due to her protective supervision, it didn't really matter.
Now it was time to prepare for Thor: The Dark World. The Aether, the Reality Stone, was sealed away by Odin's father, Bor. I planned to secretly take it and put it directly into my inventory. If that happened, the Dark Elves would wander around unable to find the Aether, wasting time, and perhaps the conflict could be easily avoided without a fight.
So I had Minerva constantly monitor the anomaly in England. This was to detect early the 'Convergence', a phenomenon that occurs once every 5,000 years. Convergence refers to the alignment of the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil. Malekith planned to use this phenomenon to eliminate all light with the Aether.
To briefly explain the Dark Elves: they are an ancient race that existed before the Big Bang, when there was no light. They long for the lightless era, their heyday. They draw power from darkness, not light, and sought to use the Aether (the Reality Stone) to plunge the entire universe into darkness to restore their glory days. This was prevented 5,000 years ago by Bor, Odin's father.
I was drinking my morning coffee in my room, thinking about various things. There was still time, so I decided to prepare just in case things went wrong.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"You're awake?"
Natasha, with whom I had spent the night, got up naked from the bed, stretched, and asked me.
"I was thinking about business. Want a cup of coffee?"
"Sure~"
I handed Natasha a cup of coffee. She drank it and, since the topic of business came up, shared her thoughts on the hero business.
"I'm quite supportive of the hero business. I think there needs to be a system in place to compensate victims if we make a mistake."
"That's true."
"Besides, it seems like a good business that allows heroes to operate independently without needing support from governments or corporations. Whether they know that or not, no one seems to oppose it. And some people even enjoy the popularity."
"That's a relief, I suppose."
"Instead, it's tiring. Paparazzi follow us everywhere, and we get requests for photos and autographs. I now understand the struggles of celebrities."
As Natasha said, no one opposed it, but some people were a bit annoyed. Unexpectedly, Captain America was one of them. But knowing the business's purpose, he didn't object. I think it reminded him of when he was made into a propaganda tool for the US Army before he even got to fight in The First Avenger.
After chatting with Natasha about various things, we ate, and then I moved to the lab. I took new smartphones, home appliances, several bottles of liquor, and funds to Kamar-Taj. It was time for my regular support visit to Kamar-Taj. Every time I went, I realized how poor these mages really were.
"Oh~ Welcome! Jin."
Wong always greeted me warmly. We shook hands.
"Long time no see. Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Actually, after we fixed the showers and bathrooms, more people started living here instead of going home."
"That's good to hear. And here."
I handed the supplies to Wong.
"Oh~ This is the new smartphone they've been advertising! And liquor too."
"Yeah, the new model came out, so I brought some to share. And this is the funds."
"I'll put it to good use. Thanks as always."
Wong was always grateful for the support. Just then, Mordo and Kaecilius, finished with their training, came over to greet me.
"Mordo, Kaecilius, nice to see you."
"Nice to see you, Jin! Long time no see."
"Long time no see, Jin."
We shook hands, sat down at a table, and chatted over tea. As expected, Kaecilius was lamenting that his magic wasn't improving quickly enough. Mordo and Wong told him he was already improving quickly and not to be impatient. Seeing this, it seemed Kaecilius was not far from becoming a villain.
"By the way, where is the Ancient One?"
"She went to the Hong Kong Sanctum on business."
"I see. I guess I won't see her today."
"You're leaving already?"
"Yeah, I've been busy lately. Give the Ancient One my regards."
"That's too bad... We were hoping to have a drink. Alright, I'll tell her. See you next time."
I said goodbye to Wong, Mordo, and Kaecilius and returned to the lab. I had decided to increase the number of combat drones to fend off the Dark Elves and other alien armies. I also decided to make plenty so that I could use them in other creative works.
And now, the four androids were finished. They all had long, straight black hair, and I put quite a bit of effort into their figures. Their breasts were C-cups, not too large, to avoid hindering their movements. I named them simply: Lara, Lulu, Momo, and Mimi.
They were programmed with [Kingdom Samurai Swordsmanship] and [Gunkata], learned from Konosuba, and could also exert strength and speed beyond that of a Super Soldier. They were all dressed in women's suits with built-in bulletproof capabilities, which looked quite chic.
"Not bad."
"Master, your command!"
When I approached, the androids asked for orders. I gave them the orders I had planned.
"Lara, Lulu, I'm putting you in charge of commanding the lab's drones for defense and management."
"Understood, Master." "Understood, Master."
Lara and Lulu sat at Gundam Island's management computers, began exchanging information with Minerva, and started checking the status of the drones.
"And Momo, I'll take you to the New York house soon. I need you to manage and protect the house."
"Understood, Master."
"And Mimi, stand by for now, then go to the Odyssey-class ship. I need you to protect the ship and assist Tinkerer with equipment maintenance and repair."
During the Extremis incident, Tinkerer had been doing all the maintenance and repairs alone, and he often had to work all night because he was short-handed. So I planned to add Mimi and some auxiliary equipment. Drones connected to the Odyssey-class ship handled cleaning, so there was no problem there.
"Understood, Master."
I armed them with vibranium katanas and also provided them with pistols. It seemed unlikely that anyone but a very strong opponent could defeat them. However, there were downsides. Because they were built to a level that would be plausible in the MCU, they couldn't self-repair, and they still seemed robotic, with stiff personalities and speech.
"When nano-technology becomes available, I'll have to upgrade them first."
As for the personality issue, they had learning AIs, so I believed they would gradually improve as they lived with humans.
After finishing my work at Gundam Island, I returned home with Momo and Mimi. Natasha was surprised to see me bringing two more women.
"Who are they? More people with abilities?"
"No, they're androids. A culmination of our company's technology."
"What? They're not human? They look completely human."
Natasha, intrigued, kept touching Momo and Mimi's faces.
"Wow... they really look real..."
Momo, annoyed by Natasha's groping, warned her.
"Natasha, please stop touching me. It may be considered an attack."
"O-okay..."
Natasha seemed a bit flustered by the warning. I decided to introduce them.
"This is Momo. She'll be in charge of managing and protecting our house. And this is Mimi. She'll be on the Odyssey-class ship, assisting Tinkerer with maintenance and repairs."
"I see... They're androids, so it feels a bit strange, but anyway, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Natasha." "Nice to meet you, Natasha."
Natasha, seeing the androids greet her in unison, seemed to feel a bit of uncanny valley.
"They really aren't human..."
"And this is a secret, so when other people are around, just treat them like normal people."
"Okay. You're really amazing. First Gundams, now androids. Next you'll be making Terminators."
Natasha joked, but in fact, I was considering making Terminators. I just haven't done it yet because I'm worried about their image.
Momo looked around the house and began syncing with the security devices. Mimi moved to the Odyssey-class ship and began exchanging information with the ship's AI.
"And who might you be?"
Tinkerer looked surprised when he saw Mimi.
"This is Mimi. She'll be assisting with maintenance and repairs and defending the inside of the Odyssey-class ship."
"Ah~ I see! It's been hard doing it alone, so it's great to have such a beautiful person coming."
Tinkerer looked at Mimi with a pure expression. The androids' reactions, being beautiful women, were interesting.
"Be careful. If you do anything strange to Mimi, you might end up dead by her hand."
"Ah... I understand, Chairman."
I gave Momo one of the empty rooms in the house as her quarters, and I gave Mimi a room inside the Odyssey-class ship as her quarters. With the installation of auxiliary equipment and Mimi's support, it seemed Tinkerer would no longer have to work all night.
While building the drones and running the hero business, time passed. Minerva reported that an anomaly suspected to be the Convergence had been detected. Finally, Thor: The Dark World was beginning.
I teleported to the location of the anomaly on the outskirts of London. It was an area with abandoned buildings. Jane and Darcy were not there yet. It seemed I had arrived first. I moved to the place Jane went to in the original story and entered the spatial distortion.
Inside, I saw the Aether glowing between the gaps of a massive square pillar. As I approached, the Aether tried to attack me, but I used [Telekinesis] to stop it, compressed it into the Reality Stone, and appraised it.
(EX) Reality Stone (Bound to Worldview) β A stone created from the condensation of elemental crystals after the Big Bang. Reality manipulation, focused on matter.
With this, I had collected two Infinity Stones. I put the Reality Stone into my inventory. Then I returned to the abandoned buildings in England. If this caused the Dark Elves to wander around searching for the Aether (Reality Stone), unable to find it, and the Convergence phenomenon passed, that would be good.
Just then, I saw Darcy, Jane, and a strange man driving up in a car. If they had arrived a bit later, events would have unfolded like in the original story.
"Oh! Chairman Jin! What brings you here?"
"My darling Chairman Jin~!!!"
Darcy ran toward me trying to hug me, but I stopped her with one hand. Darcy was as energetic as ever.
"This place is dangerous right now. Various spaces are overlapping. You could accidentally get sent to another planet or universe and never return."
"We came to investigate that. We haven't seen readings like this since the New Mexico incident."
"I see. But it's dangerous, so I don't recommend it. And who is this?"
When I asked about the man with them, he introduced himself.
"I'm Ian Boothby, Darcy Lewis's intern. It's an honor to meet a celebrity."
"I see. Nice to meet you."
Darcy had been Jane's intern. Now an intern having an intern. It seemed like one of Darcy's tricks, so I just let it slide.
"Anyway, please refrain from investigating because it's dangerous. The fact that I'm here shows how serious this is. Instead, let me treat you to a delicious meal."
Despite my strong warning, Jane didn't back down and asked me,
"Um... I'm sorry... but could we do just a little investigation? We haven't seen a phenomenon like this since New Mexico..."
Seriously, in my opinion, Jane was like the female extra in a horror movie who dies first because of her curiosity.
"Jane, if something goes wrong, like an unknown virus or antimatter crossing over, all of humanity could be in danger. I'm asking you again, please be patient."
"Sigh... okay."
Jane, Darcy, and Ian, the intern's intern, got back into their car. I contacted Director Fury and informed him of the anomaly. No organization could control people better than S.H.I.E.L.D. Fortunately, he said they would send support immediately.
I waited in a Talaria for S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrive. I gave snacks to Jane and her group, who still couldn't let go. After about four hours of waiting, while they played games in the car, I saw a large number of soldiers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arriving. Director Fury was with them.
"Long time no see, Motherfucker. I didn't expect you to come personally."
"Geez... Don't you think it's time to stop with that? The 'Motherfucker' part, I mean. Anyway, we're going to investigate this abandoned building now. Please explain the situation."
"I don't know the cause, but space is warping and gravity is a mess. Some places are also connected to other realms. I found out about it by chance. So we need to be careful. If we make a mistake, we might never return."
"I see."
Fury informed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents of the various precautions and began securing the perimeter of the abandoned buildings.
"By the way, about that 'Odyssey-class ship' you built... could we order some?"
"So that's why you came personally."
"Right. I was asked to by my superiors."
As expected, Hydra coveted the ship I had built. This was why I had wanted to wait until Hydra was eliminated before revealing the Odyssey-class ship.
I pretended to think for a moment, then said,
"Hmm... Fine! But it'll take about two years. Is that okay?"
"Two years is sufficient. I'll place the order."
"You know, no technology leaks."
"Don't worry."
There was a reason I agreed to this. It would make it seem like I still didn't know about Hydra. Besides, two years from now, S.H.I.E.L.D. would already be gone because of Hydra, so there was no concern.
"Then, I'm busy, so I'll be going. And next time we meet, call me Director."
"Take care, Director Motherfucker!"
I deliberately emphasized 'Director Motherfucker'. It had become a habit, and I didn't want to call him anything else.
"This is insane..."
And so, Fury left, grumbling. As promised, I went to treat Jane's group to a meal, but only Darcy and Ian were in the car.
"Huh? Where did Jane go?"
Darcy, looking nervous, finally confessed.
"W-well... I tried to stop her, but..."