**
"Welcome to the Avengers, Peggy!" Link said, greeting Peggy Carter on behalf of the Avengers.
She had just finished an emotional reunion with Captain America, feeling rejuvenated after regaining her youth. "Thank you, Link!" Peggy replied. "I can hardly believe I'm young again!"
Link smiled and said, "It's nothing. The key is, not many people get to mend their regrets, and now you two have that chance." He then added with a teasing tone, "Alright, I'll give you a few days off, but then it's back to work. We'll continue constructing the space headquarters, and you'll be the director there, as well as the commander of the warship. There's a lot for you to learn, but for now, enjoy your vacation."
After finishing, Link gave them some space and led his team away. They had plenty to do. While Link was in Asgard, Tony Stark had already completed the construction of the second batch of module chambers.
Link needed to pilot the warship and transport the modules to space to begin assembly. Once this was done, the headquarters would be habitable, and recruitment efforts could proceed.
The recruitment campaign, with Captain America as the spokesperson, had drawn a flood of applications. The first round of filtering was done by Alfred, followed by Natasha and Clint, and the final round was handled by Link himself.
He had a lot on his plate.
The warship once again cut through the atmosphere and stopped near the space headquarters. Wearing his space battle armor, Link released the modules and began connecting them one by one.
Once the internal corridors were opened, air started to circulate through the facility. After checking all systems, Link confirmed everything was in working order, and the space station was now livable.
The middle-ring living quarters had been assembled, but the outer-ring modules would take more time. In addition, a tower would be installed on top of the main structure to serve as the command center of the entire space headquarters. Below, various communications and monitoring systems would be placed to oversee both space and Earth.
Stark, besides overseeing the construction of the headquarters, was also in charge of negotiating with the World Security Council. Link had left this task to him, as Stark's influence and intelligence gave him an edge.
The plan was to trade basic scientific knowledge in exchange for funding from the World Security Council, ensuring that the Avengers wouldn't be under their direct command. The Council had mostly agreed, and now the two sides were haggling over the specifics of the funding.
The Avengers' warship didn't cost them any money, saving the largest expense. The construction of the space headquarters wasn't overly expensive either, since it was a joint venture between Stark and Link's companies, meaning they were getting materials at wholesale prices, including the Yan-class fighter jets.
The total cost came to only a few billion dollars, which both companies could easily cover. However, this would slow the growth of their businesses, which is why they wanted the World Security Council to contribute financially. After all, they were offering to share essential knowledge to accelerate the Earth's development.
…
"Welcome, T'Challa!" Link said, greeting the Wakandan king, who had come to join the Avengers as a representative of his nation.
"When will I get to see the space headquarters?" T'Challa asked, though he seemed less interested in the ground headquarters they were currently touring.
"Don't be so eager," Link laughed. "Once you're up there, it won't be easy to come back down. We'll take turns guarding space, ensuring no alien fleets ambush Earth. The key point to defend is the spatial jump nodes, which we'll have to protect at all costs."
Link continued, "Also, we might need to support some alien allies in battles. So far, the only ones we've worked with are from Asgard."
T'Challa listened attentively. Initially, he had been critical of Stark and Link's actions, but after learning more, he had changed his mind.
He had brought his sister, Princess Shuri, and the leader of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, with him. Link explained further, "Right now, the inner core module and the middle-ring living quarters have been assembled and are operational. The next step is to install the outer-ring workstations. Once those are in place, you'll be able to come along for the ride."
"We'll also bring along supplies and leave some personnel for adaptation training. It shouldn't be a problem since there's a gravity system installed up there."
"Life in space will be similar to here on Earth, except for the different view. Of course, there'll also be extravehicular training."
"We don't use regular spacesuits; we wear space battle armor. It's fully powered but requires a vacuum environment to function."
Link then led them to the armory, which was stocked with a variety of gear. Firearms were just the basics; there were also various nano-bracelets designed for different environments.
After giving a detailed introduction to each piece of equipment, Okoye asked, "If you have such advanced technology, why are you still using guns?"
Link smiled at her and replied, "Believe me, we've done our research. Follow me, please."
They entered the combat room, which was equipped with holographic displays. "Alfred, bring up Thanos's profile," Link said.
A hologram of a massive purple figure appeared. Link continued, "According to what we've gathered, the biggest threat is this Titan."
"The Titan civilization was destroyed, and Thanos is its last survivor. Do you know how Titan was destroyed?"
Princess Shuri chimed in, "Based on the information you provided, Thanos commands a massive army and fleet, which suggests that Titan had reached an interstellar level of development. Even if the planet was destroyed, couldn't the people evacuate?"
"That's exactly the issue," Link replied. "In my research in Asgard, I found that all advanced interstellar civilizations share a fatal flaw: arrogance."
Okoye raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you talking about us?"
"All of them," Link clarified. "Every advanced civilization has this problem. It's almost pathological—an arrogance that convinces them they've mastered everything."
"Some even avoid addressing their issues, which is terrifying—it's like a disease."
"Thanos noticed this problem with Titan and proposed a solution: randomly killing half the population, regardless of status."
(End of Chapter)