From the next day, the guild was reorganized and began operating more efficiently. New recruits joined, and sales of spaceships and weapons gradually increased. Word also ca that Quill had joined the guild and was active. Thanks to that, the backlog of requests noticeably decreased compared to before. Plus, there was good news.
"We've finally turned from deficit to surplus."
Until now, we'd been spending a lot, but money was finally starting to co in. Even despite continuing to invest heavily. With only the racetrack and residential areas left to construct, I had a bit more free ti. So I decided to stay on Earth for a while. Leaving the supervision to the Androids, I returned to my ho on Earth.
"Momo, did anything happen?"
"Yes. Natasha was active with Cosmo, and Russia filed a lawsuit demanding Cosmo's return."
"Sigh... Seriously..."
Hearing the details, it turned out Natasha had planned to go on a mission, but Cosmo insisted on coming along, and since it was an easy job, she just took him. Then photos of them started being taken, and as Cosmo's popularity grew, Russia objected. Natasha felt terrible about it.
Anyway, we assembled a legal team and went to court. Matt Murdock, Daredevil, was our lawyer again.
"Cosmo is a dog that was raised by the Russian space agency... Therefore, we request that Cosmo, who is currently active with the Avengers, be returned."
After the Russian side finished their argunt, the judge looked at our side and said.
"Does the defense have a rebuttal?"
Matt stood up and said.
"The actual period of experintation in the forr Soviet Union was 1966. The current year is 2014. That would make Cosmo at least 40 years old. Do you honestly think that's possible? A dog's maximum lifespan is about 20 years. This is an absurd and frivolous claim by the Russian side, now that Cosmo has beco popular."
'Wow~ Good job, Matt!'
Matt's eloquence completely cornered the Russian side. I also took the stand as a witness.
"Where did the witness adopt Cosmo?"
"I didn't adopt him. I rescued him from a shady dealer who had him locked up and was raising him."
"Then why does that dog have the sa na as Cosmo, the test subject from the forr Soviet Union era?"
"Because he looks similar. So I dressed him similarly. It's simple cosplay."
"I see. No further questions."
The trial ended like that. The Russian side couldn't prove that Cosmo had been alive for 40 years, so we won the case. I gave Matt a bonus.
After that, Cosmo beca the Avengers' mascot. Having gained worldwide popularity through the trial, Cosmo rchandise — toys, clothes, accessories — began selling like crazy. The funny thing was that Cosmo's revenue beca comparable to Iron Man's. Plus, Cosmo fans from around the world started sending dog supplies like crazy. With such popularity, advertising offers poured in, but I declined them all, afraid of potential trouble.
Since things turned out this way, and Natasha liked him so much, I made Cosmo a suit with a translator so he could work with her. Wondering if the translator would work on other dogs, I tried it, but all that ca out was "Barkbarkbarkbarkbark! Playplayplay!" It seed to be a difference in intelligence.
A few days passed. I went to Nowhere occasionally to check the construction progress and approve docunts, but mostly stayed on Earth, analyzing spaceships and Super Soldier serum for Project Zeronic, and repairing the Helicarriers. Then it beca 2015.
I first handed over one repaired Helicarrier to Fury.
"I'm glad the repairs were fast."
"I removed all but the defensive weapons and installed active camouflage panels instead, just so you know."
"I see."
Fury had no particular complaints about my modifications. As he looked over the Helicarrier, he said to .
"There are still Hydra remnants scattered in various places. They seem to have hidden bases too. Do you know anything?"
I handed over the data I'd investigated earlier to Fury. I only gave him enough to not affect the original storyline, so it should be fine.
"I looked into it."
Fury skimd through the data I gave him and was surprised.
"Amazing. As expected of the world's best in this field. But if you knew all this, why didn't you act?"
"I've been busy."
Fury sighed.
"Phew... I assu this stays confidential?"
"Yes. And I run more than one or two companies, so I can't devote myself solely to this."
"I suppose so. Anyway, thanks. I'll make good use of this."
"Take care."
Fury was about to leave, then turned back to .
"Could you spare one Talaria RV?"
"Seriously... Wait."
I remotely called one Talaria RV from Gundam Island. Since it was nearby, it arrived quickly.
"Follow the AI's instructions at the door to register as Master, then you can use it. Take it."
"Thanks."
Fury followed the AI's instructions and registered as Master. Honestly, I hadn't wanted to give him a Talaria RV. But he showed up looking like a beggar in a beanie — whatever ordeal he'd been through — and looked so pitiful that I just gave him one.
It's true that even a basic Talaria is superior to Earth science technology, but among those in the know, it was no longer particularly special. It just required a lot of special minerals to manufacture, making it expensive.
"Well, see you later."
"Yeah. See you."
After sending Fury off, I went ho and rested that day.
The next day, I went to headquarters to check if anything was going on. Nothing in particular, but Tony and Banner were nowhere to be seen. When I asked JARVIS, who was connected to HQ, he said they were at Avengers Tower doing research. Probably, Tony and Banner were together researching the technology S.H.I.E.L.D. acquired for scanning a brain and turning it into an AI.
'Hmm... If I leave them alone, it'll beco a headache, but I don't have a good reason to stop them...'
I thought about it for a mont and decided to leave them be. Tony isn't the type to give up research just because I tell him to, and Avengers 2 is connected to several events.
'Well, it'll work out.'
A few days later, I went to Avengers Tower to deliver the last batch of five Iron Visions. The Iron Vision drones had been automatically delivered as soon as each batch of five was completed, but this ti I went in person.
Tony and Banner welcod warmly.
"Oh~ Welco, Jean. Is that the last one?"
"Yeah, these are the last five Iron Visions. The deploynt of Iron Visions at HQ is also finished."
"I see. How about a drink with Banner? It's been a while."
"Sure."
We had a drink in the living room at Avengers Tower.
"So, aliens keep invading Earth too often. We need a definite counterasure. This can't go on."
Banner, listening to Tony, said.
"Still, we've been holding them off well, and we're well-prepared."
"That's true, but if stronger aliens invade and we fail to stop them, Earth is done. That's why we need projects like the Iron Visions."
I agreed with Tony.
"The frequency of alien invasions has definitely increased lately. We do need counterasures. We stopped the New York invasion and the Greenwich incident, but civilian casualties were high."
"Right? I'm thinking of operating the Iron Visions on a trial basis. If they work well, I'll order more... no, I'll just build a production line."
Banner, thinking Tony was being too hasty, tried to calm him down.
"Whoa, whoa... Calm down. You're too impatient. Are you trying to build a tal army?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Tony's resolve was firm. Given his trauma from the New York incident, I understood to so extent, but I hoped Tony wouldn't go to extres.
"Hmm... I agree with the idea, but I think it should be a supplent, not the main force."
Banner agreed with .
"Jean is right. Ultimately, humans have to be the ones making the final decisions."
Tony thought for a mont, then said.
"Hmm... That's true. Let's test the Iron Visions first and then talk about it again."
"Agreed."
Banner and I managed to curb Tony's radical thinking for now. Though who knows how long it will last.
Starting the next day, Tony actively deployed the Iron Visions to areas needing rescue and crowd control. The public response wasn't bad either. Because in practice, rescue tis had drastically decreased, and many more people were being saved.
Another month passed.
Now, the drones lost during the Xandar incident had been replenished. Plus, all the Helicarriers had been repaired and were now operational. I had a total of three Helicarriers: one was used as a drone base, and the other two were converted into supply bases and stationed in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I had obtained permission, of course.
In the anti, sothing interesting happened: a ga company in the Marvel universe — Blizzard — released a ga featuring the Avengers as characters. The funny thing was that Natasha's special move was Cosmo. It was similar to 'Galfor' from Samurai Shodown. Since they'd been active together a lot lately, that image must have ford. My character was also in the ga, but the special move was a continuous money-bag slap to the face. I thought about complaining, but just let it slide.
Now, the racing arena in Nowhere was also completed. Large screens were installed for spectators, and caras were placed throughout the course. I then discussed the racing rules with Howard the Duck. Naturally, projectile weapons were banned. I took a lot of inspiration from Star Wars' podracing. The difference was that it used small spaceships. We put up a prize of a whopping 1 billion units and started heavy promotion. Gambling couldn't be left out, so we decided to operate a betting parlor alongside the races, like a horse track.
Howard the Duck would be the comntator. I also installed so safety asures. Sure, people find it exciting when things blow up, but I still needed to install minimum safety devices. I couldn't let the racers keep dying.
Many applicants began signing up. The competition was scheduled to run for three consecutive days. Applicants also ca from other planets, and the Ravagers joined as well.
"The competition is in a week now."
"Yeah. We've prepared a lot, so I hope it's a success."
"It will be. Even I think it looks fun."
I was worried, but Howard the Duck was confident. Whether due to expectations, tickets sold out incredibly quickly — all gone within a day. Despite selling out, we were still in the red. That's how large the prize money was. But with gambling fees and food sales revenue, it would soon turn profitable.
A week passed, and finally, race day arrived. A huge crowd flooded the racetrack. The funny thing was that Rocket also entered as a racer. I was worried he might get killed. I didn't know how the future would change if he died.
'This is unexpected. Should I save him if things get dangerous...?'
For now, I decided to watch. Howard the Duck began introducing the racers with his colorful comntary. The racers waved or posed as their nas were called, appealing their presence. The crowd cheered and rooted for them.
After the introductions, the racers boarded their spaceships. Since projectile weapons were banned, most chose sturdy, streamlined ships for physical combat, but there were also idiots who covered their ships with spikes.
– The race is about to begin. Racers, please complete your preparations.
As the announcent ca, the racers started their engines and prepared to start.
The countdown appeared on the big screen, and finally, the race began. A spaceship exploded imdiately, pushed aside in the early physical combat, causing the first casualty. I was worried the audience might dislike it, but instead, they went wild with excitent.
"Good grief..."
The first race ended. Out of 10 racers, 3 ships exploded. Thanks to the ergency escape pods, one driver survived. Of the remaining ships, about 3 were barely intact. It turned out to be a much harder race than expected.
Four races were held that day, with 10 fatalities in total. The next day, during the two semi-final races, there were 5 more fatalities. This was quite problematic. I didn't mind accidents, but I thought loss of life should be prevented, so I decided that in the next competition, ergency escape pods would be mandatory.
Finally, the final day arrived. The championship race began. Rocket had sohow made it to the finals. But he'd picked so many fights that he'd made a lot of enemies. I started worrying less about winning and more about Rocket just surviving.
'This guy, is he a fighting cock? Why does he pick so many fights...'
The final race began.
Imdiately after the start, several spaceships ganged up on Rocket. They didn't care about winning; they just wanted to take Rocket down. But Rocket didn't just take it. He skillfully used the obstacles around him to shake off his pursuers and continued the race. However, due to all the interference, his ship was heavily damaged, and he didn't win.
In the end, the winner was a pink-haired woman nad Haru from the planet Urara, who won by fluke.
"Let's hear from the winner of the 1st Annual Nowhere Space Race."
"I'm so happy! Actually, my planet is very poor with harsh conditions, so the prize money will be a huge help. Thank you to everyone who cheered for ."
Waahh~~~!!
As the crowd cheered at the awards ceremony, the Guardians of the Galaxy mbers and other racers were brawling behind the racetrack. I called security and barely broke them up. These guys, I can't deal with them.
Anyway, the competition ended, and I arranged for the winner, Haru, to return safely to Urara via the Ravagers. With such a large prize, there could be people targeting her. I also posted a notice: from the next race onward, only spaceships equipped with ergency escape pods would be allowed to participate.
Thankfully, the event was a success. For days, people talked only about the races. Plus, we made a healthy profit — the gambling fees brought in a hefty revenue. Not only that, but sales of spaceships and parts also started rising. So I gave bonuses to the employees who had helped prepare the races.
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