I gave Adrian Toomes and Phineas Mason bonuses and a few days off, as they had been working hard. Meanwhile, Deadpool returned, and I provided him with a three-story house I had previously purchased near the city's central park to use as his base. He was currently preoccupied with buying furniture, clothes, and other daily necessities for the place.
I decided to take this opportunity to finish my research. I designed two types of androids: one was a cutting-edge model created with the help of Nano and technology from another world, and the other was a practical model built with a technological level that would be acceptable within the current world's standards.
Naturally, both were designed with female forms. After several days of intensive research, the blueprints were finalized and sent to the underground lab. I decided to manufacture two of the advanced units and four of the local-standard units. Since they were designed to be almost indistinguishable from humans, it was inevitable that the process would take some time.
A slightly disappointing point was that while the androids incorporating magic and advanced tech could self-repair, the local-standard ones could not. Therefore, their special silicone skin and other consumables would need periodic replacement. I had considered using nanomaterials instead, but since that technology did not exist here yet and these units were intended for outdoor activities, I ultimately gave up on the idea.
Once the designs were finished, I gave Deadpool his first mission while he was lounging at home: getting his driver's license.
"Wait, why? You can just give me one of those flying cars you use!"
"No illegal activities. You know the deal. Heroes of justice, the Avengers!"
"Oh, damn it! Can't I just be an anti-hero?"
"Then why did you even come here? You could have just stayed an anti-hero in your own universe."
"That's a fair point... Fine. I'll get the license. But having to get it twice is a real headache."
Deadpool seemed to have many complaints, but he eventually accepted.
"In exchange, I'll gift you a car once you get it."
"Oh~ I like the sound of that. I'll take a BMW i8 convertible, please."
"The year is currently 2012."
"Ah... the BMW i8 doesn't come out until 2014... then I'll take an Audi R8."
"Deal."
As expected, Deadpool knew his cars well.
"And if you can, get a motorcycle license too. You know why I'm asking, right? Nothing illegal!"
"You're really driving me crazy... fine, I get it."
Taking this opportunity, I decided to purchase some vehicles for myself while getting Deadpool's car. I bought several Wranglers, as I had liked the ones used in the 'Deadpool & Wolverine' story, and added a few Hummers and Porsches to the collection. I also picked up some motorcycles from Harley and BMW, and even bought two Volvo freight trucks just in case. With this preparation, transportation issues seemed settled.
With everything bought and the manufacturing left to the lab, my work here was mostly done. Moreover, since there was still some time before the events surrounding the third Iron Man incident, I decided it was time to go get the Maximoff siblings.
Because I had secured the Stones, they hadn't gained any powers yet. My plan was to bring them in early, awaken their abilities, train them, and have them debut as Avengers ahead of schedule.
"Hmm... they should both be twenty-three now? I hope they're still in Sokovia."
Accompanied by secretaries and bodyguards, I traveled to Sokovia on a private jet. Sokovia is a fictional nation existing only in this world, often cited as one of the unluckiest countries due to its involvement in various incidents.
Upon arriving in Sokovia, I located the Maximoff siblings with Minerva's help. They were in the middle of an anti-war protest. It seemed they hadn't fallen into Hydra's hands yet. I watched the protest from a nearby cafe and approached them once the crowd began to disperse. When my bodyguards and secretaries blocked the two siblings' path, they were visibly flustered.
"Who are you people?! Are you the police?!"
Feeling threatened, Pietro hid Wanda behind his back and demanded to know our identity. I stepped out from between the bodyguards and spoke to them.
"Calm down. I've come to offer you a new job."
"You! You're Tony Stark's friend, Cassian!"
Pietro suddenly lunged forward to throw a punch, but I blocked it easily with one hand. Seeing this, the bodyguards moved to subdue him, but I stopped them. It seemed his grudge against Tony Stark was deeper than I thought. Still, I wasn't particularly fond of him taking it out on me.
"Follow me for now. It'll be difficult to talk at length here."
"Why should we?"
"If you don't talk to me now, you might live the rest of your lives in regret. So why not just listen to what I have to say?"
Hearing that, Wanda held Pietro back and whispered to him before speaking up.
"Fine! But in exchange, guarantee our safety. Then we'll listen."
"Of course."
I took the two siblings to the restaurant of the hotel where I was staying and began our conversation over a meal.
"Why did you try to hit me earlier?"
"We lost our parents because of the weapons Tony Stark made. We only survived that day because of a dud missile, luckily, but we spent two days trembling in front of that missile, not knowing when it might explode, just waiting for rescue. I still vividly remember the 'Stark Industries' logo on that missile. You, investing in such a company, are just the same as him."
These two were directing their anger in entirely the wrong direction. I felt the need to correct them.
"So that's why. But you can't see that as Tony's fault."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because your vengefulness is misdirected. For example, let's say there's a company president who makes kitchen knives. If a murderer commits a crime with one of those knives, who should the victim's family blame?"
"Well... the murderer, obviously. But this is a different story. Tony made weapons meant to kill people."
"Right, I can't deny that Tony made weapons meant to kill. But Tony made those weapons to protect his country. They were never intended to be used in places like this. As proof, look at how he completely shut down his military business the moment he realized his weapons were being sold to terrorist groups. And even if Tony hadn't been in the military business back then, the rebel forces that attacked you would have just gotten missiles from somewhere else to attack. Wouldn't they?"
"That's…"
I continued the conversation.
"I don't understand why you keep insisting Tony is the one in the wrong. Why don't you blame the arms dealers who diverted and sold weapons for purposes other than their original intent, or the rebel forces who fired missiles at innocent civilians like you?"
"..."
The Maximoff siblings couldn't say anything in response. Since what I said was the truth, there was no room for rebuttal.
"Think about it while you eat. You've been holding a grudge against the wrong person."
"Hah... this is crazy..."
Wanda and Pietro sat there with serious expressions, not even touching the high-end hotel food.
"Eat for now. It's expensive food; it'd be a waste if it gets cold."
Hearing that, Wanda asked me.
"But why did you call us here?"
"Finally getting to the main point. I'm building a group to prevent new conflicts and disputes, so that there aren't any more victims like you. I'm recruiting individuals who show potential, and you two fall into that category. However, it's dangerous work, so you must be prepared. What do you think?"
The two hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"...Give us some time to think."
"Fine. I'll be here until tomorrow, so just come find me when you've made a decision."
Only then did the Maximoff siblings eat a bit of the food before leaving.
The next day, as expected, the siblings returned to the hotel.
"Coming here means you've made up your minds, I take it?"
"Yes. We talked it over, and we concluded that we should help prevent others from becoming victims like us."
"Good. Then let's head back with me."
I took the two siblings on the private jet and returned to the city. I decided to handle their identification issues first—a measure to ensure they didn't go through the same hardships as in the original story. In the meantime, I assigned a secretary to take them shopping for clothes and necessities and let them tour the city.
While getting the Maximoff siblings ready, I decided to recruit one more person. I visited a private detective agency run by Jessica Jones. Since some members of the Defenders didn't have powers yet, I planned to recruit those who did have them one by one as they were ready.
"Welcome— Hah... am I hallucinating? Should I just quit drinking already...?"
Jessica Jones, seeing me enter her office, denied reality, unable to believe her eyes. Jessica was a beauty with black hair and a slender build, which contrasted strangely with her immense superhuman strength.
"Do you think it's that strange for me to be here?"
"Whoa! You're real... but why is someone like you here?"
I got straight to the point.
"I'm recruiting heroes. I'd like you to participate."
However, Jessie refused immediately without even a second of thought.
"Since someone like you showed up here, it means you already know about my abilities, right? Phew... I don't know how you found out, but look for someone else. I've got enough on my plate just dealing with my own business."
"Don't be like that; just think about it. I'll pay you well."
Jessie, seemingly short on cash, scratched her head and thought for a moment before asking.
"How much?"
"How does this look?"
I showed her an annual salary slightly higher than that of my bodyguards. Jessie was stunned and stared intently at the paper with the salary written on it.
"Is this the annual salary?"
"No, that's the monthly pay."
Hearing that, Jessie flinched in surprise and glared at the paper once more.
"This is crazy... how dangerous is it?"
"Well. You could die. You saw the battle in the city recently, didn't you? Things like that don't happen often, but I can't say they won't happen again."
"..."
Jessie clutched her forehead and bowed her head, deep in thought as if her head hurt.
"By the way, doesn't this place offer a cup of coffee to guests?"
"Good grief... hold on."
Jessie went to the coffee pot and handed me a cup. I took it and had a sip.
"At least you use good coffee."
"Yeah, in an office like this, you have to care about the coffee if you want people to show up."
"I see. So, your answer?"
Jessie paused for a moment before replying.
"Sigh... fine! Let's give it a shot. But I'm passing on the spandex. It's embarrassing."
"Got it. Come to my place starting tomorrow. You'll need training. You know where it is?"
"Yeah, it's so famous there's no way I wouldn't know."
"Great! See you tomorrow then."
With those words, I left Jessica Jones's office. I decided to deal with 'Kilgrave' immediately. He was Jessica Jones's nemesis, possessing the ability to give orders via a special virus that made those who heard him 'want' to carry out the action.
He used this ability to live a life doing whatever he pleased—gambling, murder, rape—he was truly a piece of trash with a broken ability that he utilized far too effectively. Jessica Jones had also fallen victim to Kilgrave, having been raped and forced to commit murder several times against her will.
However, perhaps because she had been under his command for so long, she developed an immunity to the virus, allowing her to reject his orders and escape. While trying to chase her, Kilgrave was hit by a bus and spent a long time in the hospital. At that time, Jessie believed Kilgrave was dead.
A few years later, Jessica Jones would find out Kilgrave was alive and eventually handle him, but the severe trauma he left behind caused her immense mental suffering. Since Jessie currently believed Kilgrave was already dead, I decided it would be best to keep it that way and deal with him immediately.
'It's best to get rid of guys like this quickly. You never know what variables might arise.'
He was also active in the city, so finding him with [Jack Sparrow's Compass] didn't take long. Kilgrave was in a city park, sitting on a bench, leisurely drinking coffee while reading a newspaper. I used [Weather Manipulation] to turn the weather into dark clouds and thunder.
Kilgrave looked up at the sky, worried about the rain, and tried to leave the park. I waited until he moved to a more secluded area, then immediately struck him with a powerful bolt of lightning, killing him instantly. Because of the high output, the corpse was charred black to the point where the face was unrecognizable.
Ding~!
You have acquired the skill [(A) Will Domination (Kilgrave)].
[(A) Will Domination (Kilgrave)]
Manipulates the will of others to make them follow orders. (Does not work at long distances or on targets with strong mental fortitude or power. Duration: 24 hours.)
Though it was an ability caused by a virus, it seemed it had transferred to me as a standard skill upon being stolen. I kept the skill turned off for now. It would be quite troublesome if the ability activated every time I spoke.
That evening, I saw on the news at home that a man had been killed instantly by a lightning strike. The report mentioned the body was so severely damaged that identification was impossible. With this, while Jessie still held some trauma from Kilgrave, it wasn't at an insurmountable level, so there should be no major issues with her hero activities.
The next day, Jessie arrived at the house.
"You're early."
"Yeah, what do I do now?"
"Let's start with some shopping. You don't even have workout clothes for training."
"I guess that's true."
I called Natasha, who had been lounging upstairs after finishing her work in the southern region.
"Hmm? Why'd you call? Oh, who's this?"
"A new member, Jessica Jones. Her power is superhuman strength."
"I see. I was getting tired of all the gloomy male members, so I'm glad we have a woman. Nice to meet you. I'm Natasha Romanoff, though I operate as Black Widow. Just call me Natasha."
Natasha was extremely pleased about a female member joining and welcomed Jessie warmly. Jessie didn't seem to mind Natasha's friendliness either.
"Nice to meet you. I've seen you on TV. I'm Jessica Jones. You can call me Jessie."
The two shook hands and introduced themselves.
"Natasha, take Jessie shopping for some workout clothes and dresses. I figured you'd know better, being a woman yourself."
"Sure thing, we'll get something good to eat while we're out too."
"Go ahead, have a good time."
"Great! Let's have some fun today!"
Natasha, in high spirits, grabbed Jessie by the arm and pulled her out. Jessie looked a bit overwhelmed by Natasha's energetic demeanor.