Dr. Eric Selvig is walking inside a narrow hallway. He has been making right and left turns so many times that he doesn't remember where he comes from. An ordinary agent is walking next to Dr. Selvig, in which he flinches and puts up his guard until the agent passes by him.
"Dr. Selvig," an authoritative yelled out to the scared doctor from the end of the line.
"So you're the man behind all of this?" Dr. Selvig is summoned to the secret base by the man wearing an eyepatch in front of him.
Fury is thankful that Selvig accepted the summon, but he didn't show it to his face. He knows Selvig has a big man behind him. Shield has to politely summon the doctor instead of putting a black bag on his head and pushing him inside a van.
"It was quite a labyrinth," Dr. Selvig complimented honestly. The base security is impressive. When the agents come, he is fearful. He thought they wanted to silence him because he saw something he shouldn't have seen. The living God, the earth's guardian, the robots, and the aliens.
"I was thinking you brought me down to kill me," Dr. Selvig chuckles as he joked with Fury. However, the man's face didn't change and it makes Selvig wonder if he really brought him here to kill him. Selvig collected himself and is mirroring the man to become more serious.
"I've been hearing about the New Mexico situation. Your work has impressed a lot of people who are much smarter tonight," Fury said. A classic agent wording. To make sure that he complimented Selvig and at the same time, put him down to his place so that he didn't become egoistical. If Selvig is going to work with Shield, Fury needs to make sure that they are starting on the same footing.
"I have a lot to work with. The Foster theory. A gateway to another dimension," Dr. Selvig said with a humble tone. His worldview has changed since he met Thor. It's like knowledge is pouring into his mind. The knowledge that Shield desperately needs right now.
"It's unprecedented… isn't it?" Selvig thinks the type of thing he faced is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. But he became puzzled and surprised as Fury didn't show that much of a reaction. The situation Selvig faces is just another Tuesday for Fury.
"Legend tells us one thing, history another." Fury turns his back on Selvig and leads him deeper into the maze. There, he stops by the place he stands initially, where a silver briefcase is waiting for them.
"But every now and then we find something that belongs to both," Fury opened the briefcase with its contents facing the doctor. A Blue glow shines on Selvig's face. A cube filled with tremendous energy is displayed to Dr. Selvig. There is a keypad near the edge of the briefcase to unlock the cube and circuitry around the cube to mask its energy from being sensed by another.
"What is it?" Dr. Selvig asks.
"Power doctor. We can figure out how to tap it. Maybe unlimited power," Fury said with a hint of excitement in his tone. He works very hard to get the world security council to approve the project. If he can succeed, then Earth will have a fighting chance in the universe.
A silhouette of a man in green and black armor with his long hair slicked backward appears behind Dr. Selvig. His investment in guiding the old man with his knowledge is proven useful. It has led him into the Tesseract. His true body isn't on the planet, but aboard a hideous-looking alien mothership in space. Using ancient Asgardian magic, he cast a spell to allow his projection to latch onto Dr. Selvig.
Loki: Well I guess that's worth a look.
Dr. Selvig: Well I guess that's worth a look.
…
"Why on earth will I want to build a suit with you?" Ryan said with disdain. He can guess what the metal man is thinking. Distract him by building a suit so that he won't continue collecting PhDs.
"Come on. I will hold your hand and guide you slowly if you're afraid," Tony landed on Ryan's balcony and opened his face cover.
"Is that what you always say to the girls who you brought home?" Ryan plops back on the couch watching TV. Tony walks into his house still in his armor.
"Haven't you figured out how to take off the armor without the help of your robotic arms?" Ryan said to the man in the metal suit who is sitting next to him.
"Maybe in a year or so. If you help me I can do it a lot faster," Tony said. Till now, he can only retract back his face part of the armor into the helmet. He can do it on his own, but it will take some time to path through new knowledge in the world. The knowledge that Ryan already bought from the system a long time ago.
"Are you still using the gold-titanium alloy for your suit right now?" Ryan pours a glass of drink only for himself. Then, he handed the entire bottle to Tony.
"Could you be a little more civilized and use a glass? That alloy is the most suitable for my suit. Others can be tougher, but it will heat up in a high-speed flight."
Another reason that Tony came here today is that Gwen called him. She says Ryan needed a friend right now. Tony doesn't understand why the man in blue spandex is bothering Ryan that much. He doesn't know how to pry into the matter or how to make someone feel better about it.
Usually, he uses girls, booze, and a nihilistic lifestyle to numb him from his pain. He didn't think the same kind of solution would work with Ryan. Therefore, he uses his last method to distract himself. To throw himself into inventing something that will give him a sense of accomplishment and feeds his vanity.
"I have created a new alloy. Want it?" Ryan suddenly asks. He has a lot of formulas for new alloys using the current element on earth. He adapted a lot of the alloy from the knowledge he bought on Xandar and from the system. For example, the alloy he is selling to Tony right now is used to make a spaceship in another universe.
"How much?" Tony knows the kid is selling things to him again. He wants to discourage the behavior, but he is a sucker for new things. Not that he has ever regretted buying things from the kid.
"3 schools in Sokovia. 3 in Latveria. 3 in Symkaria." Ryan named his price. They are at the level where money is no longer important to them. But to build a high-level education in these countries will be so much hassle for the company doing so. Sokovia is in a civil war. Latveria is under a dictatorship. Symkaria is okay, but the ruler holds too little power in the country.
"Deal. so you're in?" Tony catches the kids thinking about his offer. Cooperation between the two geniuses in the country. A monster will be born.
♪♫♬Back in Black by AC/DC is playing
"Only for a week," Ryan agrees. The research he wants to do is postponed yet again.
…
"How is this possible? Two of the most egotistical people on the planet are working together?" Phil Coulson, the handler for Tony, is shaking his head. He didn't think they would make it one week together. Geniuses always fight. Unknown to him, Ryan never considered himself a genius.
First day.
Ryan and Tony are at the Malibu mansion, trying to upgrade Tony's brand new suit. Swiveling in the rotating chair, Ryan pushes the chair direction toward Tony as he brings a ream of paper with him.
"This is the calculation and requirement to get a retractable helmet," Ryan said. He calculated after checking the details of Tony's manufacturing process, the size, and the material.
"Throw it," Tony isn't looking at the source of the voice. He is tightening the bolt on the leg part of the Mark 6 with one hand. The other hand is preparing to catch the USB drive of the new calculation.
"Are you sure?" Ryan asks. This is a very thick ream of paper.
"Yeah I'm sureeEEEE…" *Bamph* He turns to look at Ryan, and is caught off guard when the paper comes. It hit his face perfectly. The paper seems to be sticking on his face for a second, before it falls to the ground, revealing Tony Stark with a bruised nose.
"You said to throw it," Ryan swiveled back to his spot on the messy table, tinkering with the palm repulsor.
"Haaaa…" Tony sighs. It is his own fault for working with a maniac. He rubs his nose, alleviating the pain.
Second day.
"The rate of spinning isn't stable. You need another support for the cycle," Ryan said to Tony who is testing the new flight stabilizer. Tony is in a metal frame, floating 2 meters in the air. They are increasing the maximum speed of the new Iron Man armor to Mach 7.
"Crank it twice," Tony said. He doesn't believe it.
"You will fly backward," Ryan said with a sigh. He had made this mistake before. He crank the power as Tony wanted.
"Oh SHIT!" Tony was slammed into the wall, just like Ryan predicted. *Click* Ryan takes a picture of the old man who is stuck in the wall.
"Delete that you bastard!" Tony yelled as he poured himself out of the wall. Gwen and Pepper are upstairs drinking tea together in the living room when Ryan ran out from the basement and shared the view with the ladies.
"Damn it, too late…" Tony arrives 3 seconds later. The girls are already laughing at him.
Third day.
"Weapon?" Ryan is done with the design of the new fully mobile armor. Tony can come in and out of the armor anytime he wants, like in Avenger Age of Ultron. It is a major improvement, but the manufacturing process is slow as they are using the new alloy.
"Laser, missiles, palm repulsor, chest repulsor,...." Tony laid the weapon out on the table. This part is Tony's specialty, so he takes the lead. They are adding lethality to the weapon. The calculation is done smoothly as both of them know what they are doing.
"We need an AoE attack to deal with a large army,'' Ryan chimes in. With the upcoming war, it's good to be prepared.
"EMP field and resonance explosion." Tony figures it out after a while. It can fry the electronics of the enemy and if that doesn't work, the resonance explosion that he can make using his chest and palm repulsor can create a devastating explosion.
"Wait, there is another," Ryan remembers something awesome he saw on the trading site a few months back that he bought instantly.
"What?"
"An incineration cannon," Ryan said with excitement. It is from Genos' first-generation cyborg body. He takes out a piece of paper and starts to draw. The knowledge is all in his mind.
"Fire? No, this is!!!" Tony is shocked when he reads the design. He will have to add a little layer to the suit but it won't become too bulky. After all, Genos the cyborg didn't have a human arm. It had to be modified a little bit for the Mark series armor.
Fourth day.
"I added a life support system on the suit so it can make you survive in space or inside the ocean," Ryan said in a tired voice. He and Tony didn't sleep last night.
When he gave the design for the incineration cannon yesterday, he didn't expect him to make this much progress. Tony already figured out how to use the AoE for the incineration cannon. A max power that can devastate the enemy within a 100-meter radius. Genos core power is 100% compatible with the arc reactor as its replacement.
"Seems unnecessary, but okay," Tony is puzzled by Ryan's insistence on him adding the features. It's not like he is going to space. He drank his seventh cup of coffee this morning to stay awake.
Ryan smirk as he can guess what Tony is thinking about. He wonders if Tony will be thankful when the time comes.
"The hacking system is ready," Tony said smugly. It was suggested by Ryan yesterday. The new suit can act as a supercomputer to hack into enemy systems with Jarvis' help. Tony didn't have to get out of his suit and plug in a USB anymore. Controlled by Jarvis, a hacking cable extension will move automatically to enter a computer or an alien system. The connector cable will come out from his arm.
"Why don't you put it around the crotch area. Then, you will finally have a usable thing in that area," Ryan teases as the way the cable moves remind him of something.
Tony shows his middle finger to Ryan. "Mine works perfectly well."
Fifth day.
"An add-on weapon system that can be delivered by drones." Ryan pitched in. Tony's suit is focused on mobility. He couldn't use a large weapon because of it. But if he can make the weapon detachable or can operate on its own, then this weakness will be gone.
"How about a rocket booster on the elbow so I can do a rocket punch?" Tony ignored Ryan. The arm design that Ryan gave him had opened up a lot of possibilities for him.
"That will work. If you can upgrade your reaction speed, then it is possible for multiple arms blows. A machine gun blows if you will," Ryan said. Then he continues. "However, your human body is too weak for it to happen. Jarvis is too low-level to do it. Maybe after a decade?"
" I can do it in two years," Tony said confidently. He didn't realize how difficult it was going to be.
"Sure you can… back to the drone…"
Sixth day.
Ryan and Tony are drinking a glass of whiskey while waiting for the code to compile.
"You know the work will be done a lot faster if you upgrade the 3-D printer," Tony said. If they use a gold-titanium alloy like how he used to, then the suit can finish in just 10 days. Based on his calculation now, he will need until the new year to finish it.
"I will make a new one in half a year," Ryan said. Tony rolls his eyes.
"You have learned how to make a suit on your own right? Will you do it?" Tony asks. He opened up all the data to Ryan for him to learn. He even let Ryan study the arc reactor. Ryan is very surprised by the decision.
Tony is very possessive of the armor. Why did he suddenly decide to share it with Ryan? It is very simple actually. When he is dying before, he gives armor to Rhody for him to carry out his legacy. His mind changes after the nuclear explosion. Even without a suit, Ryan is a hero. Tony is in awe of this, but he will never tell to anyone.
He believes if Ryan can have a suit on his own, his legacy will be undefeated. That's why he wants to be the one who paves the way for it.
Even after a few years, Tony still believes that the one who wears the suit will become Iron Man, not Tony Stark who built it.
"I don't know. I will think about it later." Ryan skirts off the topic. He didn't want to be the new Iron Man right now.
Last day.
"It's finally done," Tony said while looking at the holographic projection of a suit that was made in this collaboration. It wasn't Mark armor, but a 3-meter-tall disaster-level suit that Tony and Ryan made just for fun.
"You're thinking what I am thinking?" Ryan, who is looking at the same thing, narrowed his eyebrow looking at the thing.
"Yes…It is very ugly," Tony said honestly. Ryan nodded as he agreed to it. The combination of their aesthetic taste is horrible to look at.
"For a movie director I thought you would have a much more aesthetic sense," Tony mocked.
"You're the one responsible for it, not me," Ryan pry his sight away from the mini-Megatron on the hologram. He shakes his head and walks to his table to sit down.
"Let Jarvis make some adjustments. I couldn't bear to watch it," Ryan said, giving up on the collaboration. The improvement for the Mark 7 armor is almost that during the Age of Ultron storyline. Tony is greatly satisfied by this.
Ryan too, as he learns a lot from Tony. He might have the knowledge, but he lacks inspiration. Working with Tony has greased up the rusty gear on his mind, making it work again. He couldn't wait to get into his research again.
"I will come by when it is finished," Ryan said. There are a lot of things that need to be done. In their collaboration, they have discussed a lot of aspects of the futuristic city, not just making armor.
Shield is having a headache right now. Ryan has upgraded many security protocols in ensuring his work with Tony isn't being monitored. They have no idea what the geniuses are up to.
Fury thought this was a good thing. Tony is a Shield consultant. For sure he will talk Shield up to Ryan, right?
Ryan gets back to his home. Gwen finally eases her concern as Ryan is back to how he used to be. After making up for one week apart from each other, Ryan presses the key to his quantum displacement room.
"The Kree bodies are a treasure trove. If I can figure out how they made the inhuman, maybe I can find a way to reverse the terrigenesis process. Or to eliminate the side effects such as body morphing. or being turned into a dog."
He takes out a piece of paper and jots down the focus of his research.
"Xandar knowledge, the technology from the Mass Effect world, the Kree Warship, Jotun body, the Destroyer,..."
After listing out the focus, he takes a deep breath.
"I couldn't do it in 3 months. Maybe 4 months?" He calculated the time required for each topic and put it all on a timetable. This is just to digest the knowledge and do research. If he wants to create a new technology or a new serum, it will take longer.
"Should I search for the shadow clone jutsu? I think I saw it somewhere before…"
Gwen hugs him from behind as he is in deep thoughts. She is helping with the research on Xandar's technology and is still researching the plant growth on Mars via a robot. Unlike Ryan, she focuses on one thing at a time.
Ryan is snapped out of his state as another stimulus needs his focus right now, "Gwen, I think we need to research far away from each other."
"Why is that?" Gwen asks teasingly. She knows exactly what she is doing wrong… She couldn't help it. She misses him so much when they are apart.
"For one thing, your hand is in my pants…" Ryan said without any intention of stopping what she is doing.
…
5 months later, during the chat group session.
Mythic: Hey, does anyone know what KickBaal is doing? He hasn't been online for months.
Vampire Kid: Last time he was here he said he was going to war.
Greenwitch: Fighting the demon named Baal right?
Mephisto: I think so. The demon is very strong. Stronger than the Marvel world's devil.
Hydra: He is okay, right? @Queenelf, you always chat with him, did he tell you something?
RedWidow: Queenelf please respond. What happened to him?
TheDoctor: I don't think she can reply. KickBaal is her best friend… 3 days ago…his name is grayed out…
The group chat is silent. Most of them know what it means. Well, most.
Hydra: Why is his name grayed out? Somebody please tell me!!