Chapter 4
Fury's office was quiet in that heavy way that meant everyone outside knew better than to knock.
He sat behind his desk, one hand wrapped around a mug of coffee that had gone cold ten minutes ago, the other flipping through the tablet in front of him. Files, stills, scans. Flight footage of a black and gold blur casually hanging in the air at thirty thousand feet with three gunships pointed at his head like it was nothing.
Across from him, sitting like he was in a casual meeting and not in the middle of the most paranoid flying fortress on the planet, was me.
Cape and everything. I sat there with my hands on my knees, back straight, relaxed, like I had all the time in the world.
"So pretty much you would be working as a 'mercenary', working for S.H.I.E.L.D?" Fury finally asked, looking up from the tablet.
"That is the general idea, yes," I said. "I take jobs from you, jobs that I like and I get my fair due. The only difference between me and your regular mess is that I will be dealing with you directly and no one else and I can even vow not work for anybody else as long as we're in dealing."
He snorted. "You are a confident son of a bitch, Ill give you that."
"Comes with the bloodline."
He ignored that. "And for this to happen, you expect us to provide you with a home which has to be big enough to accommodate at least nine people. You think that kind of place just grows on a tree or something? How does it make any sense for us to give you a mansion for free with nothing in return."
I tilted my head. "Free? No, it is not for, free. I am quite certain that you would like to keep an eye on me while I am here, so this gives you the opportunity to do just that, with my consent, no less. not that I have much to hide"
His eye narrowed slightly.
"I mean," I continued, "I could have just gone to some government body, or some billionaire. maybe even a crime lord somewhere. I am sure they would provide what I require. The only reason I decided against that is because it would be too much trouble. This particular arrangement is literally just less troublesome."
He leaned back in his chair, studying me. "You walk into my ship, you break my cuffs, you flex in my interrogation room, and now you are asking me to house you plus eight people god knows what their capable of and you want to be treated like some black ops contractor with better PR."
"Basically."
He clicked his tongue. "Well, before we can even come to any sort of agreement, I do need to know what you can even do in the first place. So we will go through some tests and then we can see wh."
"That will not be happening," I said, tone flat.
His jaw moved once, slow. "Excuse me?"
"There will be no tests and no experiments of any kind," I said. "You already scanned me six ways on our way here, I felt every single sensor that tried to get a look at me. That is all you are getting. Just know that there are very few on this planet that can match me, let alone pose me any real threat."
I let that sit for a second, not as a boast but as a simple statement.
"Think of me as a walking, talking missile with some subtlety when required," I added. "You point. You say go. if if i like where your pointing and what your at. I go in, do my thing, and walk out. there will be No labs, no poking, no prodding. you wont be getting much from it anyway", 'after all the system did guaranty that my DNA would look like a useless mess to anyone who looks'.
He stared at me for a long moment, weighing that. Fury was not stupid. He had seen some of my capabilities and he'll much rather have me working for him than anyone else.
"And if we say no?" he finally asked.
"Then I leave," I said with a shrug. "Find my own place, build my own thing. You will still have to deal with me existing, but you will have no say in where I live or what I do. This way, you get at least partial control. And a very strong asset."
Silence again.
Maria's voice crackled over his desk intercom. "Sir, Council is requesting an update on the situation."
"Tell them I am still deciding whether or not this guy is about to make my life easier or a hundred times worse," Fury replied, not taking his eye off me. Then he sighed.
"Fine," he said. "No white coats. No tests. You work for me. I work with you. You take missions when I call, we negotiate payment, and you do not start any trouble on my planet without my say so."
"Agreed," I said.
"And if I find out you went behind our back to some government or crime lord or billionaire, this arrangement ends and so help me god you could be Jesus Christ for all I care, ill do anything possible to put you 50 feet deep"
"only 50?. hahaha tis just a joke"
He rubbed his forehead like he could already feel the future migraine. "Alright then. We will sort out the paperwork on our end. In the meantime, I will have Coulson find you a residence."
I smiled. "Pleasure doing business, Director."
He grunted. "We will see about that."
────────
The helicopter ride was… nice.
I sat in the back next to Coulson, headset on, watching the ocean stretch out underneath us in every direction. The mainland was long gone, nothing but endless blue and scattered clouds. The wind battered the sides of the helo. Inside was quiet.
"So," Coulson said over the headset, doing that polite small talk thing he was very good at. "First time in Hawaii?"
"First time in most places on this planet," I answered.
He gave a small smile at that. "the Director says you will be staying on a private island. Off the books. We will list it under one of our shell companies. Less questions that way."
"Works for me."
"You will have full use of the land," he continued. "House is fully furnished. We can stock it with whatever you need on request, within reason."
"Within reason," I repeated. "So no orbital laser cannon in the backyard."
"Let us start with groceries and see where we go from there."
The pilot announced our approach a few minutes later. I leaned out the open side as the island came into view.
It was not huge. Maybe a couple of kilometres across at most. A ring of rocky shore and white sand wrapping around deep green. Palm trees, clusters of dense foliage, a few gentle hills. A small dock extended out from one side with a sleek speedboat tied to it. On another side, a circular concrete pad sat near the shore, clear of trees, with the big white H painted on it.
The mansion sat slightly inland, raised up on a low rise, like it was watching over everything.
It was not some ridiculous gothic castle or cartoon villain base. It was clean and modern. Two main levels and a flat roof, all white concrete and dark stone with big glass panels facing the ocean. Wide overhangs shaded the windows, the kind of design that made sense in a place with this much sun and rain. There were open walkways, a wraparound veranda, and big sliding doors that probably turned the whole ground floor into one giant indoor-outdoor space when opened.
Behind the house, I could see a swimming pool, long and rectangular, almost merging into the view of the sea if you stood at the right angle. Around it, there was a small garden with neatly arranged trees and patches of green, more decorative than functional, but with enough space that you could easily turn it into something more serious.
Off to one side of the house, there were flat, darker patches of land. Soil that had clearly been worked or at least prepared. Farmable land. Plenty of room for fields if I ever decided to lean into the agriculture part of my divinity and start growing some corn or something.
Ten bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, a kitchen that looked like you could film cooking shows in it, and enough space to comfortably fit ten people without anyone tripping over each other. Architecturally, it made sense. Wide, low, built to handle storms, anchored into the ground properly.
The helicopter set down on the pad with a small bump. We got out, rotors still spinning above.
Coulson walked me through the place. Living room, dining area, kitchen, guest rooms, main bedroom, office space. He moved like a tour guide who was also fully prepared to shoot someone in the head if things went sideways.
At the end, he handed me a sleek, black phone.
"This will be your main line to Director Fury," he said. "Secured channel. If it rings, it is important. If you need to contact us, this is what you use. Please do not lose it."
"No promises," I said, taking it anyway.
He smiled faintly. "Welcome to Earth, I guess," he said, then headed back to the helicopter.
A few minutes later, the helicopter lifted off and disappeared into the sky, leaving me alone with the house, the wind and the sound of waves hitting the shore.
First thing I did was take a quick flight around the island.
Nothing too fancy, just a lazy loop at low altitude, checking for anything that did not belong. Hidden bunkers, extra hardware tucked into the trees. I did not find anything obvious, which, to be fair, did not mean much with these people, but still.
From where I came, this was the epitome of luxury. Private island, private dock, private mansion. Pool, garden, farm land. If my old boss could see me now he would probably choke on his coffee.
When I landed back in front of the house, I stepped into the living room and pulled up the SYSTEM.
"SHOP," I said in my head. "SECURITY. SURVEILLANCE COUNTERMEASURES."
Lines and lines of options appeared. Detection wards, jamming fields, fake feeds, kill-switches. Some of them cost more than my whole net worth.
I scrolled until I found what I needed.
ANTI OBSERVATION WARD LVL 3
EFFECT: ELIMINATES AND BLOCKS ALL SURVEILLANCE, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHIN DESIGNATED AREA.
RADIUS: 5 KM
COST: 1,900,000 SP
There were better ones, stronger ones, but this was more than enough for anything current S.H.I.E.L.D had access to. And if someone above their pay grade came snooping, well, that would be a different problem.
"BUY," I thought.
CONFIRM PURCHASE?
COST: 1,900,000 SP
YES / NO
"YES."
There was a faint pressure in the air for a moment, like the island took a deep breath and then exhaled. Something subtle rippled out from me, sank into the ground, and then it was gone.
Any bug they had hidden here just turned into a very expensive paperweight.
"Good," I muttered. "Now i can actually breath."
I sat down on one of the couches and reopened the SYSTEM, this time going to INVENTORY.
Eight Battle Maids.
On paper, the description was simple.
Eight maids. One hundred percent loyal forever, no matter what. Battle capable.
That was it. No info on who they might be, what verse they would be coming from, whether they would be super powered or just very well trained humans.
Of course, the first thing that came to mind with that title was the eight battle maids of Nazarick, the Pleiades. I would be very happy with that. But with how vague the description was, it could just as easily be eight random girls dressed as nuns and a few guns. That, would not be ideal.
"Alright," I said. "We are not leaving this to luck."
I dug deeper into the shop.
SUMMON PARAMETERS: ADJUSTABLE
ADDITIONAL DIRECTION COST: 100,000,000 SP
If I wanted to just outright buy eight specific battle maids of my choice, it would be way more expensive. But since the summon was already a thing, a hundred million was enough to lean it in my favour.
"BUY" I thought.
New options opened up.
SPECIES
AGE
ORIGIN
SPECIALISATIONS
INFORMATION PACKAGE
"All eight maids to have viltrumite abilities,all female, at least 4 none humans" I set. "At least three hundred years old. All with the knowledge and body required to be excellent servants and experienced fighters."
I added that each one would specialise in something, but all of them had to be at least adept in everyone else's fields.
One in magic, with a focus on divine and elemental stuff, so I could bounce ideas off her and not have to figure everything out alone.
One in tech and science, someone who could take apart alien gear, Earth gear, take my own ideas, and build them.
One in information, espionage and anti espionage, because this was S.H.I.E.L.D and Earth, and there were too many eyes everywhere for my liking.
One in medicine and healing, both mundane and whatever counted as Viltrumite or divine biology.
One in logistics and household management, someone who could keep everything running so I did not have to think about it.
One in strategy and battlefield control, someone I could throw at a problem and tell "fix this" while I punched the big thing.
One in construction and engineering, for when I eventually decided this island was too small and needed a proper base.
And one in training and discipline, someone who could take any recruits or future summons and hammer them into shape.
On top of that, I added an information package.
Everything about myself. My transmigration. The SYSTEM. The templates. The whole shebang. The system assured me that all summons and myself were impervious to mind intrusions and cloning, so I was not worried about leaks. I also made sure it loaded the backstory I had fabricated for this world, the whole Imperium thing, so they could play their roles without me having to brief them for hours.
"Alright," I said. "That should do it."
CONFIRM SUMMON?
COST: 100,000,000 SP
YES / NO
"YES."
A flash of light filled the living room, bright but not blinding. The air thickened, space folded, and then snapped back.
Eight girls were suddenly there, dressed in uniforms that were a blend between Viltrumite armour and maid outfits. Black and white bodysuits with reinforced plates over vital spots, short armoured skirts with utility belts instead of ribbons, high boots, and small capes hanging behind them with the Harkonnen crest at the centre. They had the classic maid frills at the collar and sleeves, but everything else said "I can clean the house and also take your head off at Mach 3."
All eight of them were on one knee, heads bowed, right hands over their hearts.
"We greet our lord and master. We greet his highness Aetherion Feyd Rautha Harkonnen the second, heir to the most ancient and noble house
of harkonnen, crown prince of the Imperium, god of the sun, might, agriculture life and music" they said in unison.