POV Rio
I stop as I notice I have finished assimilating Han Solo. The new template was not that interesting in terms of skill, but the items were really good.
[Han Solo: 100%]
[Getting New Template]
[New Template Found ---> Captain Jack Sparrow]
[Captain Jack Sparrow: 59%]
The gear started out fine and decent. I got a Blunderbuss, A Musket, A Cutlass, His Messy Hobo Pirate Outfit, and some doubloons. But that was the ordinary stuff, the things I would only rarely use and were interesting to look at.
'Well, I guess I can say I own a Musket for home defence just as the founding fathers intended. Now I just need a cannon mounted at the top of the stairs.'
But the really cool stuff came next. First was the Black Pearl, a true pirate ship with sails and everything. Sure, it was debatable if it was useful, but that would be true for the normal version; this ship was magical. Not only was it indestructible, but it also had unlimited ammo and could maintain up to 50 knots without wind, which, in perspective, makes it one of the fastest ships on the seven seas. Even modern warships top out at about 30-40 knots. As for a crew? I don't have to worry about that either, as it's made up of ghost pirates that have no real sentience or sapience. They are basically constructs meant to operate the ship. The only downside is that it still uses old Black Power Cannons. Specifically, it had 32 24-pound cannons. Which was not that great, as most ships could shrug off the damage.
The last item was arguably the best. Tia Dalma's compass, which could lead me to whatever my heart desired most. And with immense mental control, I could use it to pretty decent effect. Sure, there were some issues, but it should work overall.
'Hmm, maybe I could use this to locate some people first.'
My idea was fairly simple. I could use the Compass to locate Captain America and even maybe recruit him. The only issue was convincing him to join me completely. I could let him join Shield, but I didn't feel like letting him. Since I had gotten the Batman template, I had been thinking of forming a Justice League. Or something similar to it. And to do so, I needed more members. I had thought of possible members. Tony, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Hulk, Selene, Captain America, Spiderman, perhaps a few X-Men, and Batman as the leader, which would be an alter ego of mine. There were definitely more options, but for now, that was good enough.
I had the space station and space travel to pull it off, but I still didn't have the needed members to make any sort of group. I would also have to consider what they should be allowed to do. I planned to unite Earth, or, if that isn't feasible, at least form my own faction that doesn't answer to anyone but me. There was a lot of unclaimed land now, so that was an option. Then you have the collapse of much of society and the economy due to the mass elimination of fossil fuels, sending the world into crisis. Though, despite the crisis, they have done well enough to adapt.
There weren't mass starvations, and power was stable enough, thanks to many nations having some form of fuel stockpiles in case of an emergency. Then you have Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries expanding rapidly to meet the massive energy demand. Though the current situation was soon to change, as I have already seen the signs of movement. Several nations clearly have plans to start expanding their territory. With a strong focus on nations that still have fossil fuels. Mongolia is a massive target.
Mongolia has a large oil supply and a pitiful army when compared to its neighbours. Russia and China both want their resources, though it is possible they might not strike right away. North and South Korea are also targets, but less so, as North Korea already gives up all its resources to China, not by choice but rather because they have to. South Korea and Japan, on the other hand, are working closely with each other and, to some extent, the US to ensure they are safe from invasion. Though even that agreement is a bit rough due to Japan and Korea's mutual dislike for each other and the USAs difficultly in assisting them.
I'll be honest and say I am a bit confused and disappointed that, after such a massive global population decrease, the world's leaders' first thought is to expand rather than rebuild. Even now, the Xenomorph threat hasn't been fully dealt with. Most of it has, but there is still the main hive to deal with.
'I wonder how Tony is doing with that?'
POV Shift Tony Stark
I walk into the main hive entrance after we bombarded the crap out of the place and start scanning for enemies. I had been stuck with the awful job for weeks now, and I truly hated this hive. I'm not usually one to be xenophobic, but I hate Xenomorphs with a burning passion.
Rumble
"Sigh. Well, let's get this over with," I mumble to myself.
A flood of Xenomorphs comes rushing out of various wall sphincters and rushes at me. I open with several mini missiles and repulsor blasts, but for every Xenomorph I kill, three more take their place.
"Suit Integrity at 83%," Jarvis warns.
I lift off and push back towards the entrance, but as I get near it, the door slams shut.
'That's new.'
I hit the wall and attempt to breach it, but it's pointless.
"Fine! So be it! You want me! Come get me!" I yell at the approaching horde.
I shoot every weapon I have at them, and when ammo runs out, I switch to repulsor blasts, and when power runs low, I start using my metal fists to fight them off. But by then, my suit was just about done anyway.
"Suit Integrity at 11%, I strongly suggest a dead man switch," Jarvis warns.
The suit barely responds to my orders, but I still make sure to activate the final failsafe to make these pests suffer.
"Suit Integrity at 3%," Jarvis warns through garbled sound.
Right before the suit fails completely, I release the energy built up.
"Bomb Voyage!" I scream as the fission reaction goes critical and my suit detonates.
"Connection with suit lost," Jarvis says.
"You don't say," I mock as I take off my remote control helmet.
I take a seat and think about what I learned from the battle. I had started using remote-controlled suits after one too many close calls, and it seemed like I had made the right choice.
"Jarvis, compile the combat data and analyse it for any changes from previous engagements," I order.
"Yes, sir," Jarvis replies.
"Oh, and contact Shield and request more fissionable material. I just used up the last bit of Uranium I had," I add.
"Yes, sir, and might I suggest calling Ms Potts?" Jarvis replies.
"Huh? Why would I call... Oh shoot!" I start to ask and then realise what I forgot to do.
'Pepper's gonna kill me.'
POV Shift Rio
"I'm sure he's fine. If he needs help, he will ask," I say with a shrug of my shoulders.
I take out the compass and think about it for a moment. And the compass starts to swing rapidly for a few seconds before pointing to the northeast.
'Okay, let's assume I can find Rogers, what then?'
I had a few options ahead of me. I could recruit Rogers the long way with some discussion. I could recruit him to fight Hydra. I could also just leave him where he is, and Shield would likely eventually discover him. Then there was the final option that was the trickiest. Peggy Carter could easily convince Rogers to join my group. The issue with that was that she was a dementia-riddled woman living the last of her days. Now, I could help with that, but it was not the cleanest way.
'Sigh. Let's just go and ask her. It's not like she would remember me even if I didn't have memory magic.'
The compass spins again, and I start following where it leads. To speed things up a bit, I did teleport around a bit to narrow down where she was. Thus, I ended up at a retirement home in the UK.
'I expected more security.'
The retirement home had barely any security to speak of, and finding Peggy Carter's room was easy.
"Huh? Who are you?" Peggy says with confusion and a small amount of caution.
I don't answer right away and scan the room for bugs, and find several and pull them out. She looks shocked at their presence, so I place them in a sound-isolating box and then take a seat.
"W-What's going on here?" Peggy says while keeping her distance.
"I'm Rio Pines, and I am here to talk," I answer.
"About what?" Peggy asks with narrowed eyes.
"Do you want to live longer?" I ask with a calm voice.
"I-I don't follow," Peggy answers.
"It's simple, do you want to live a longer life? I can give you that," I reply calmly.
"Why? For what reason and at what cost?" Peggy asks with growing caution and confusion.
"I could use a woman of your skills, and I know where a certain Captain Rogers is. I figure you could spend another 40-50 years with him or however long I can give you," I reply with a shrug.
"What? Steve? Steve's dead. I've long since known that," Peggy says sadly.
"No, he's alive, can't say for how long, but he's still alive. It's truly impressive how effective his body has managed to survive frozen for this long, but then again, cryostasis isn't a foreign technology. The question is, what do I do with him?" I say with uncertainty.
"What do you mean? If he's alive, why don't you rescue him?" Peggy says with a genuinely confused tone.
"I suppose I could, but I figure I would come here first to discuss with you, as he will be lost in this world," I reply.
"I... Yes, I suppose he would. He's been gone for a long time. But why talk with me? And you still haven't answered my questions," Peggy says with a more relaxed tone.
"You're right. I am offering to extend your life in exchange, I would like you to help me convince Steve Rogers to join me. You two would get your happily ever after. And don't worry, I'm not trying to trick you or enslave you or whatever other nonsense idea in your head. If you decline, then that will be the end of this, and you will forget we ever talked," I answer.
"I don't believe that there won't be some greater cost to this; immortality comes at a price," Peggy says.
"Yes, it does, but this isn't immortality. Not even close. As I mentioned earlier, you would get at most 50 years out of this deal. As for the cost, you don't have to worry about that. I will basically be draining the time from evil people and adding it to you. You would regain your youth, but I can't be certain how much time you would truly gain, as after doing it too many times, the returns diminish more and more," I explain.
"How does that even work?" Peggy asks.
"Magic, the sort of magic you might see used by evil mages, but despite that, few magics are evil, just those who use them. And again, I would only be using it on those who deserve it," I reply.
"Okay, let's assume I believe you can use magic. Why would I trust what you say?" Peggy asks.
"We could sign a binding magical contract. It would lay out the terms we each want, and we could further decide the punishment clause," I offer as I take out a scroll of golden paper.
Crafting a magical contract isn't that hard, though it does cost a pretty penny. The paper doesn't just look golden, it is golden. Magical gold, to be precise, but luckily for me, I have nearly unlimited gold from the Nether, which can then be transmuted into magical gold.
What comes next is a long and arduous process where we both discuss what we want out of the agreement.
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Author's Note:
There is a second chapter that was posted today, it is called Political Turmoil, and it is right after The Council Meets. I realised a bit late that I was supposed to post that chapter a while back, but I'm fixing it now, so you get two chapters today.