Maxim stood in the center of the spacious living room, his eyes sweeping across the polished surfaces of the house. Despite Coulson's reassurances, he knew better than to trust any safe house fully, especially one connected to S.H.I.E.L.D.
The twins had already retreated to their rooms upstairs, their exhaustion from the long day very noticeable. Maxim, however, had no intention of resting just yet. His mind was buzzing with plans, an endless cascade of strategies, contingencies and innovations.
However, before he could implement any of them, he had to secure this place. No way S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him a completely clean house, not with Fury in charge.
The first step was ensuring that no one, absolutely no one, would be able to monitor his activities here.
Firstly, Maxim headed to the secure room Coulson had mentioned earlier, the one with a direct line to Fury. It was tucked away behind a locked door in the basement, a reinforced steel frame protecting the entrance.
The moment Maxim stepped inside, he felt the faint hum of the room's surveillance systems. The walls might be impenetrable, but they were also likely hiding listening devices and cameras.
Maxim stretched his fingers as he curiously looked around, calling upon the advanced technical knowledge he'd gained from Killjoy's template. His mind flooded with the schematics of typical and more advanced surveillance systems.
Hidden microphones in the corners, tiny cameras embedded in the fixtures, signal transmitters masked as harmless wires. As Maxim looked around, he expanded his senses, picking up over a dozen devices in this room alone.
"Typical," Maxim muttered under his breath, his fingers already working to disable each one. The first camera was tucked behind the light fixture in the ceiling, a small, nearly invisible lens that was positioned to record everything from above.
Maxim reached up and dislodged it, tossing it into a nearby trash bin. One by one, he found and removed each piece of surveillance equipment. The task was simple, but it required patience.
Half an hour passed as Maxim removed every piece of spy-equipment in the room. Finally satisfied, he stood back and gave the room one last scan. Nothin but dead air now. It was secure.
But that was only the basement. There was still the rest of the house to handle. So, room by room, Maxim methodically moved. First he paid a visit to Pietro's room, where the speedster was sprawled across the bed, fast asleep.
Maxim was far too skilled to potentially wake up Pietro, his abilities in stealth was basically second to none. He moved across the room like a ghost, picking apart two listening devices hidden in the wall.
Next was Wanda's room. He found only a single microphone in her room and with deft precision, he removed it.
Downstairs, the living room, kitchen, and even the training courtyard underwent the same thorough sweep. Maxim uncovered all of the devices, destroying them all.
By the time Maxim had cleared every room, the first hints of dawn were creeping over the horizon. He paused for a moment, allowing himself a rare moment of satisfaction.
The house was clean, completely secure. No prying eyes, no hidden microphones. Just as it should be.
But there was no time for rest. Now, he had to focus on preparing for the future. Maxim made his way back to the basement, where he had stashed several boxes of books that Coulson had delivered after his request.
They were technical manuals on robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical systems, artificial intelligence and more, everything Maxim would need to refine his knowledge and fully integrate the Killjoy template.
Immediately, Maxim decided to sit cross-legged on the floor. He glanced around at all of the books, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, letting his body relax.
Soon, Maxim felt the slight shift as his consciousness detached from his physical form and entered the Astral Form.
He opened his eyes again, looking at the room now bathed in an ethereal glow. The colors were more vibrant, the edges of every object softly blurred, as if reality itself was malleable, waiting for him to mold it.
Maxim flicked his hand, and multiple of the books flew towards him, shimmering as they inevitably floated around him. He focused, and his Astral fingers grasped the cover of one, lifting it tightly 'Principles of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence'.
He opened the book, pages flipping rapidly as he absorbed the information, the diagrams and equations imprinting themselves into his mind like well-placed strokes of a brush.
Without needing to glance away, another book opened by itself, this one titled 'Advanced Engineering Mechanics'.
The pages unfurled like a fan, and Maxim simultaneously read both books, his mind processing the intricate theories and applications as if it were second nature.
Time ticked away as Maxim pushed the limits of his consciousness more and more. He was simultaneously improving his integration with both the Killjoy and Astra templates, improving himself and improving his power.
Three books, four, five, six, each one floating around him, pages turning as if caught in a gentle breeze.
'Quantum Computing Fundamentals', Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics', 'Microelectronics and Computer Technology'. His mind absorbed the information like a sponge, processing each detail with inhuman speed.
The sheer volume of it would have overwhelmed a normal person, but for Maxim, this was liberation. He could see that the Killjoy template was improving at exceptional speeds.
Maxim could feel the flow of ideas overtaking him as he read more and more, ideas forming in his mind. Graphene, a material relatively unused and unknown in the Marvel Universe, yet well known in Killjoy's world and Alex's world.
Maxim could potentially use Graphene alongside Vibranium and Nanotechnology to improve himself. This was just one idea, other ideas formed. Ideas about potentially harnessing and storing energy from the Tesseract.
As he read, Maxim sketched out new designs in his mental notebook.
He planned to build not only his own suit, but Wanda and Pietro's as well. He already had ideas about the fashion designs for the suits from Alex's memories, and now he just needed to get the technological side of the suits down-pack.
For Wanda's suit, it needed to protect her much more from physical attacks, as that was her major weakness. Whereas Pietro's suit would be built for speed, having lightness, durability and systems that can help him harness and regulate his powers.
But the real masterpiece would be Maxim's own suit. With the Vibranium he had stolen from Klaue, he could construct a suit that was virtually indestructible, enhanced with Killjoy's tech and infused with Astra's cosmic energies.
He imagined it now, a sleek, dark suit, capable of shifting between solid and incorporeal states. His vision for the aesthetic design for the suit was along the lines of Omen from Valorant.
Maxim also had other ideas, like building a sophisticated AI companion to help him run and plan everything. He had the knowledge to build the AI, but a big benefit was Alex's memories.
Alex had memories of dozens of AI's from movies and TV shows in his own world that Maxim inherited. GIDEON from Arrowverse, Jarvis and Friday from MCU, Cortana from Halo, Red Queen from Resident Evil, Maxim could use all of these memories as inspiration.
The AI he was planning to build needed to be perfect. Capable of running and overseeing Madripoor, and conducting a variety of tasks.
The more Maxim read, the more ideas he gained, the more theories he had. His vision had become clearer and clearer over time.
Time lost its meaning as he read, the hours slipping by unnoticed. His physical body remained motionless on the floor, breathing steady and slow, while his astral form darted from book to book, devouring the knowledge within.
He could feel his mind expanding, concepts fusing and evolving, each new piece of information building upon the last.
And then, almost suddenly, he stopped.
The books hovered in the air, their pages frozen mid-flip. Maxim's eyes glowed faintly as he reviewed everything he had just absorbed and looked ahead to the glowing panel in his sight-line.
[ Congratulations to host for reaching 100% Integration with Killjoy Template. ]
Finally, after a long while of browsing through books, Maxim had achieved Full Integration. Now, he felt a wave of information flooding into his mind, filling in the gaps of everything he had learned.
These were the last vestiges of Killjoy's knowledge, the most important and difficult to understand bits and pieces that truly set her apart from the rest. Maxim calmly took his time as he assimilated every piece of information, understanding everything.
Finally, once he was done assimilating the knowledge, he opened his eyes, allowing the books to gently drift back to their respective places as his Astral Form shimmered, and he returned to the physical realm.
Maxim opened his eyes, blinking as the room came back into focus. The sense of clarity remained, ideas buzzing in his mind like a swarm of electric sparks.
He immediately checked the System Page, noticing a few changes that caused him to smile.
[ Name - Maxim Novikov ]
[ Race - Radiant Human ]
[ Character Integration:
- Astra: 21%
Fully Integrated Characters:
- Omen: 100%
- Killjoy 100%
As he browsed through the System Status Page, Maxim chuckled when he noticed he had fully integrated Killjoy, now that he had all of her knowledge, and a bit more, he could move onwards with his plans.
He had everything he needed, the knowledge, the materials, and the time. Now it was just a matter of execution.
Maxim stood up, stretching his muscles and groaning as he prepared for the long days ahead.
"Time to get to work," he murmured to himself, the weight of newfound understanding filling him with a thrill of anticipation.