Chapter 5: A New Beginning in Miami
New York was a lot of things. A city of dreams, a city of heroes, a city of impossible possibilities. But right now, for Adam, it was just a city of bad memories and a whole lot of debris. He needed a fresh start. He needed a place where the air wasn't filled with the scent of burnt Chitauri armor and shattered hopes. He needed a place where he could build his team, his legacy, without the constant reminder of the day the world almost ended. He needed to go to Miami.
It was a calculated choice. He knew, from his meta-knowledge, that the timeline was about to get a whole lot crazier. He had to prepare. And Miami was a good place to do it. It was far from the major events, a bit of a backwater for the superhero community. It was a place where a guy like him, with a shady new past and an even shadier-looking Gu system, could set up shop without attracting too much attention.
He used his coins to buy a one-way ticket, a cheap apartment, and a set of office furniture that looked like it was from a yard sale. It was a big hit to his bank account, but it was a necessary one. He was no longer just a guy. He was a guy with a mission. And his mission needed a home base.
He found a small, dusty storefront in a quiet part of town. The sign above the door was peeling, the paint was faded, and it looked like it hadn't been in business since the 80s. It was perfect. He used the rest of his coins to get the paperwork done, to get a business license, and to get a new sign. "Stiels Investigations." It was a good name. It was simple, it was a little cliché, and it was a good cover for what he was actually doing.
He set up his office, a single desk, a single chair, and a surprisingly fast Wi-Fi connection. The rest of the room was just... empty space. He sat down in his chair, and he looked around, a wry smile on his face.
"Okay, so I have a detective agency. It looks like a private eye's office from a bad 80s movie, but with better Wi-Fi. It's the perfect setup for a guy who's about to start recruiting a team of superheroes. I'm going to be like Nick Fury, but with more sarcasm and less eyepatch. And a lot less moral ambiguity, I hope. My first recruit is going to be Sky. Daisy Johnson. The one who can hack the planet. She's going to be the brains of this operation. I'm just the brawn... and the sarcasm. And the loophole-finding."
He felt a new system message pop up in his mind.
[Main Mission: Find and Recruit your First Team Member. Reward: 20 Coins.]
There it was. The first real step. The first real mission. He was no longer just a guy trying to survive. He was a guy with a purpose. He was going to find a team, and he was going to prepare for the future. He was going to use his Gu, his meta-knowledge, and his sarcastic wit to make sure the world didn't end. Again.
He leaned back in his chair, a sense of grim determination settling over him. It was a long road ahead. The world was full of danger, full of threats he couldn't even imagine. But he had a plan. And a system. And a lot of sarcastic one-liners. And that, he thought, was a pretty good start.