I upgraded Sam's wing suit. First, I changed the material from a simple alloy to Chitauri alloy to increase durability, and added a plasma thruster to improve speed. I also added a small drone equipped with a simple AI to assist in operations.
While I was at it, I upgraded Vulture's gear as well, working on both simultaneously. Since Tinkerer and the Android Mimi helped with this work, future maintenance shouldn't be a problem.
Sam conducted a test flight at the testing ground behind Avengers Headquarters. Captain, Tinkerer, Mimi, Vulture, and I watched.
"Wow~ This is great! The speed has increased tremendously. And the maneuverability feels much smoother."
"Your wing suit technology was too outdated. I basically had to rebuild it from scratch. You'll need to practice coordinating with the drone over time."
"It was that bad? The researchers who made it said they packed it with cutting-edge technology... Anyway, got it. Can I name the drone?"
"Sure."
"Good. I'll call it Redwing."
After the test flight, I handed new suits to Captain and Sam. Both suits had bulletproofing, ventilation, and temperature control as standard. Having produced so many now, I'd accumulated a lot of know-how, and production had become much faster.
"Thanks, Jean."
"Do your best. That's how we pay the staff's salaries."
"Got it."
Just then, Tony called.
β Jean! I recruited a beautiful doctor from Korea. From now on, we won't have to worry about medical care.
"Oh~ That's great news."
Finally, he'd recruited Dr. Helen Cho, the world's best in the field of biological tissue. Helen was one of the doctors I'd had my eye on too, because using enhanced biological tissue technology could strengthen the body in a different direction from Project Zeronic.
A few days later, Dr. Cho and her medical team arrived from Korea. She was a beautiful Korean woman with black hair, a sight I hadn't seen in a while. Tony and I welcomed her warmly. I generously supported her with various devices and equipment.
"Feel free to research whatever you want here."
"Wow~ What is this... I know these devices are incredibly expensive. At our lab, we had to share them with other researchers and never got to use them properly..."
"If you need anything else, just say the word. I'll get it for you."
"Really???"
Upon arrival, Helen received a proper dose of 'financial therapy' and was completely overwhelmed. While she was still dazed, Tony, as usual, produced the black box for Dr. Cho.
"Even a doctor team can't avoid initiation. It's our tradition. It's not that old, but hehe."
Judging by his wicked smile again, Tony really enjoyed initiations.
"We'll check at 6 o'clock. Do your best."
When 6 o'clock came, everyone gathered in the dining hall. Tony stepped forward and introduced Helen.
"Our new recruit is from Korea. Dr. Helen Cho. She'll be in charge of the Avengers' medical care and research. She already knows Banner, so Banner, please look after her."
Hearing that, Banner waved his hand in acknowledgment.
"As you all know, even a doctor team can't skip initiation. So I had her draw a mission slip as soon as she arrived. I'll now announce the result."
Tony took Helen's mission slip and read it.
"Uh... 'Hug Thor for one minute and return.' Hmm... That would be hard to verify, wouldn't it? I'll have to ask Thor directly?"
As eyes turned to Thor, he said.
"Yes... She performed the mission correctly. I'll vouch for it."
At that, Helen's face turned red with embarrassment. Tony, seeing this, smiled and immediately started teasing her.
"What is this! This isn't an initiation, it's a reward! Dr. Cho, you seem to have enjoyed it way too much???"
Hahahaha~
Everyone burst into laughter at Tony's words. Thor scratched his head in embarrassment, while Helen covered her flushed face with both hands, not knowing what to do. The funny thing was that Jane's expression upon seeing this wasn't very good.
With Dr. Cho recruited, Captain and Sam began working with the other members to root out criminal organizations. Thanks to Tony's connections, cooperation with the military and police was good. Earth still seemed to have no problems.
I traveled back to Xandar to try and find Quill's whereabouts, but there was no news, so I went to Nowhere. Finally, I was able to hear something there. He had sold the stolen vibranium ingots on another planet and was living a dissolute life on Razvela, a planet famous as a resort.
I immediately flew a spaceship to Razvela. From this point, [Jack Sparrow's Compass] worked, so I took it out of my inventory and found Quill. He was playing cards in a massive gambling facility, like a casino.
'This guy... found him at last.'
I watched the gambling for a while and learned the card rules. With my [Genius] ability and Nano's help, I picked it up quickly. Just then, someone left in frustration, and I took their seat.
"Oh~ A very handsome guy this time? Got enough funds?"
"Plenty. Deal the cards."
After an hour, only Quill and I remained; everyone else had lost and left. Quill, having lost a lot, suggested raising the stakes. I agreed, and the game grew huge. The people around watched with bated breath.
"I think I have a good hand this time."
I started dealing. Suddenly, Quill grabbed my hand.
"Stop right there! Are you bottom-dealing?"
"What are you talking about!"
"You pulled cards from the bottom! I saw it! Do I look like a chump to you!?"
"Do you have proof?"
"Proof? I have proof!"
Quill flipped over his hand.
"You were going to give me a pair of Lambdas!"
True to his word, Quill's hand was a pair of Lambdas.
"And you're holding a pair of Mus!!"
"You're writing a script, you crazy bastard!"
A casino employee tried to flip my hand. I grabbed their hand and warned them.
"Don't touch my cards! Fine! I bet my entire fortune that my hand is not a pair of Mus. If you're scared, you can die."
Quill looked flabbergasted and then said.
"You son of a bitch! Who's your dealer!? Fine! I bet my entire fortune and my ship that your hand is a pair of Mus!"
"Hey, everyone heard that, right?"
I looked around. The people nearby nodded.
"It's not too late to back out."
"Who's backing out!"
I let go of the employee's hand. They slowly revealed my cards. My hand was garbage β a Delta and a Mu.
"Gasp!!! That's impossible!!! I definitely saw you bottom-dealing..."
Quill stared at my cards in disbelief, but I ignored him and swept all the units on the table toward me.
"Hey, staring at them won't change the cards. Just hand over the ship!"
"Damn it!!!"
Suddenly, Quill started to run away. There was no way I was going to let that happen. I immediately threw a nearby drink cup, hitting the back of his head hard and knocking him out.
THWACK!!
THUD!
Waaahhh~ Clap clap clap!
"That guy's amazing."
"Tell me about it."
"He's so handsome."
The people watching cheered and applauded. Truth be told, I had been using [Naked Eye] to see his cards the whole time, so it was impossible for me to lose. Plus, I'd played a few tricks to induce mistakes from Quill.
"Good game, everyone."
I stood up and said to the employee.
"Hey, buy everyone a drink."
Waaahhh~
The people cheered again. I gave the employee enough units to cover drinks for everyone and left. It was more than enough for the people around to have a drink. Then I dragged the unconscious Quill to his ship, the Milano, tied him up tightly inside. Using the turtle binding again, of course.
I searched the Milano, took all the remaining units, and was about to head to Xandar. Just then, Yondu contacted Quill via the communicator on the table. Thinking about what to do, I looked at Quill's condition and decided he was in no state to take the call. As a temporary measure, I used my [Transformation] ability to turn into Quill and took the call instead.
"Quill!!"
"Hey, Yondu."
"What about the job I gave you!? Why are you making things complicated by stealing vibranium!?"
"What job are you talking about..."
"The Orb! The Orb! Have you been drinking? Get your head on straight!? Anyway, after you're done, head to Morag. Get the Orb ready beforehand! Got it!?"
"Y-yeah."
"Get it together, you kid!!"
The call ended. As a Marvel fan, seeing the legendary Yonberry in person put me in a good mood. I canceled the transformation and thought about what to do. From Yondu's words, the timing seemed about right. Guardians of the Galaxy 1 was about to start.
To follow the original, the first condition is Quill securing the Orb and pissing off Yondu into placing a bounty on him. The second condition is Rocket, Groot, and Gamora, all after the Orb and the bounty, gathering on Xandar. They bicker with each other and eventually all end up in prison, where they meet Drax, forming the original Guardians of the Galaxy team. If all those conditions are met, I could probably pay less attention.
For that to happen, the first step is Quill securing the Orb on Morag and double-crossing Yondu. So I decided to talk to Quill.
Slap slap!
I slapped Quill's cheeks to wake him.
"Hey, wake up!"
"Huh? Gasp! Where am I... my ship... But what's with this perverted binding!? Untie me right now!!"
Quill squirmed while tied up. As expected, the sight of a man squirming in turtle binding was quite unpleasant.
"Shut up and listen! Yondu contacted you. He said to go to Morag and secure the Orb."
"Ah... I forgot because of the gambling..."
"So, how about we secure the Orb, sell it, and split it 50/50?"
Quill thought for a moment, then said.
"And why would I do that?"
"I think you're forgetting something. You know this ship is mine now, right?"
At that, Quill got angry and protested.
"That's because you cheated!!"
"Did I? Do you have proof?"
"..."
Quill couldn't say anything.
"Anyway, choose. Either become a drifting space orphan tied up like that, or sell the Orb with me and split it 50/50. If we succeed, I'll even give you back your ship."
Quill thought again and eventually agreed. In his situation, it was an inevitable choice.
"Damn it! Fine. I was planning to go independent from Yondu's crew anyway."
"Good!"
"So when are you going to untie me?"
Quill squirmed. Looking at him, I asked back.
"If you were me, would you untie him?"
"No."
"You know it. Endure it until Morag!"
"Fuck!"