Minerva inford that Vision had made a backup before entering battle. Knowing that Ultron was using the regeneration cradle to create a body, Vision must have foreseen this future. So Minerva used Vision's backup, which she had been storing, to create another body, upload Vision, and wake him by applying a powerful electrical current in the sa manner.
Vision rose from the box containing the regeneration cradle. Perhaps because he had experienced it before, he calmly stood up, walked over to , and greeted .
"Hello, Jin. The fact that I've been reborn ans things went as expected."
"Yes. That's how it ended."
I showed Vision the footage of our battle. After watching for a while, Vision asked a question.
"Jin, are you familiar with the Ship of Theseus?"
"Yes. It's a thought experint: 'If the wooden planks of the Ship of Theseus rot and are replaced one by one until none of the original planks remain, is it still the Ship of Theseus?'"
"Am I truly Vision?"
Vision seed montarily confused about his identity.
"I consider you Vision, at least. You have Vision's mories, and your body is made from the original Vision's parts."
"I see. So rather than new planks, my body was reconstructed from the original planks."
"That's right."
Vision thought for a mont, then asked for a favor. I didn't hesitate to grant it.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Got it. Here's a card. Buy whatever you need."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Vision and I stopped by headquarters to greet the mbers. Naturally, they were shocked to see the new Vision. So I explained to them.
Banner asked Vision.
"I see. Thank goodness. Then should we remove the headstone we placed for you behind headquarters?"
It seed the mbers had erected a headstone for Vision while I was busy.
"No. Leave it. Though I am the sa Vision, I am also different from the Vision who sacrificed himself. Not a completely different being, but rather a branched Vision, I suppose."
Vision seed to define his identity that way. I showed Vision to his quarters. After looking around, he went into town, bought a few necessities, and decorated his room. The mbers were still startled by the sudden reappearance of the deceased Vision. Tony, busy with aftermath work, wasn't around, so Vision's initiation ceremony was forgotten and passed by.
I decided to upgrade Vulture's gear and Hawkeye's new bow, along with Tinkerer and Android Mimi. For Vulture's gear, to improve the issue of excessive consumable usage, I decided to install a plasma cannon and also made him a plasma rifle. For Hawkeye's bow, I worked on improving its stability.
While doing this work, the Nu Gundam was also being repaired. Tinkerer, upon seeing the Nu Gundam, helped passionately with the repairs, so it was completed quickly. After the repairs were finished, Tinkerer, declaring that an AI-piloted Gundam wasn't a 'Mobil Suit,' suddenly locked himself in his workshop and began researching sothing, not erging for a while.
'What is that guy doing? Is he really trying to put a human pilot in the Gundam?'
I'd known Tinkerer was very interested in Gundams for a long ti, but I didn't know he was this serious. The mbers were on vacation anyway, and there was no work, so I just left him to it.
Anyway, I handed the upgraded bow to Hawkeye. The new bow was made as a belt-form weapon that transford into a bow with the push of a button when needed. He seed quite satisfied with it. But he didn't discard the old bow, citing loss of stealth due to the light. So apparently, he would now carry two bows.
With things settled, I ca to Gundam Island after a long ti. This 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' incident had been damaging to in many ways. Of the 1,500 combat drones I had made for Earth use, only 100 remained. So, from now on, I decided to produce combat drones equipped with shields and plasma cannons, like the ones in Nowhere. I judged that aside from Thanos's invasion, I wouldn't need to use drones again.
Then I moved to Nowhere and teleported up to the secret production space to check on the Lumina (spaceship) and Arcadia (production base). Arcadia was already complete, but Lumina seed to still need so ti. So I stored Arcadia and the drones produced so far in my inventory.
Other than an increase in incoming population, nothing much seed to be happening in Nowhere. The residential construction was also progressing without issue.
'Hmm... When the hell is 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' going to start...'
This was truly frustrating for . There was no way to know when important space events would occur. Even asking the Ravagers, or Carina and Karuna, I was told they hadn't heard any particular rumors.
'I thought it happened in 2014, but still no news... Has the future changed? I'd feel more at ease if I could deal with 'Ego'...'
No matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing I could do now, so I only handled important approvals and returned to Earth. But a situation had blown up at Avengers Headquarters. A huge crowd of reporters and onlookers had gathered in front of the building, clamoring to see the Gundam.
"What the hell happened?"
I asked Myomyo.
"Tony Stark uploaded footage of the Nu Gundam in action, along with videos taken at headquarters, to his social networking service."
"What???"
The Nu Gundam, having completed repairs, was indeed at Avengers Headquarters. While I was away, Tony had apparently fild videos with the Nu Gundam. Minerva even helped with posing.
'Tony, you son of a bitch!'
Just then, I received a call from the Japanese Pri Minister.
"Yes, Pri Minister."
"Chairman Jin, please ensure the pilot is Japanese."
I didn't know what to make of that. I vaguely answered sothing like "okay." But the problem grew.
– The story of the Nu Gundam is red-hot worldwide. They say you told the Japanese Pri Minister that you're considering a Japanese pilot for the Nu Gundam. Apparently, Japan is in a near-festival mood.
Every ti I turned on the TV, it was nothing but this news. It was already too late to explain.
"This is insane... What do I do..."
As I was thinking, Natasha offered an opinion.
"Just recruit a pilot. That'll solve it."
"That's not the problem. Anyone who can withstand being inside a Gundam needs a body stronger than a Super Soldier. Otherwise, they can't handle the G-forces and will just die."
Just then, Tinkerer burst through the door, showing various mathematical formulas and exclaid.
"I found it! A way to reduce the G-forces on a giant robot!!! The answer lies in Evangelion!!!"
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"So we fill the cockpit with fluid to reduce G-forces."
"You an 'Perfluorodecalin'?"
"Yes. According to my calculations..."
Tinkerer explained at length, but the conclusion was to fill the cockpit with fluid like in Evangelion to reduce G-forces. There was logic to his opinion, but that was for low-acceleration movent.
"You have a point. But subrged in fluid, reaction speed would be significantly slower. And you couldn't breathe rapidly — if sothing went wrong, it could damage the lungs. With current scientific levels, it's impossible."
"Ah... I see. I didn't consider viscosity..."
Tinkerer, being smart, understood my explanation imdiately. I think the only thing that would work is the LCL from Evangelion. But that liquid is impossible to make without actually going to the Evangelion world, because LCL is the blood of Lilith.
'But in the actual Gundam worlds, how do they handle the G-forces? I have no idea.'
Tinkerer, looking dejected, said to .
"So the only way is to strengthen the pilot's body."
"That's about it."
"Then... if we use the Super Soldier serum we took from Hydra..."
Tinkerer carefully broached the subject. Natasha got angry at him.
"What??? Tinkerer! You must not know this, but Hydra's Super Soldier serum has a very low success rate. Failure can be fatal!"
Hearing Natasha, I chid in.
"No... actually, I've eliminated the side effects. Enhancent is possible."
"W-what???"
Natasha was flustered, and Tinkerer's face lit up.
"Besides Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a lot of research data on the Super Soldier serum. So I studied it. But the problem is the potential for misuse and the ethical issues. And frankly, I don't really want to use it. The Gundam fights well as it is. I wonder if we even need to put a person inside."
Natasha was relieved.
"Phew... Hearing that puts my mind at ease."
But Tinkerer passionately argued that the Gundam needed a pilot.
"I will find another way, I promise!"
He then locked himself in his workshop again.
"Seriously..."
A few days passed, and another call ca from Japan. They asked to co to Japan as a judge for the Gundam pilot selection. I said I would personally select the pilot, buying myself so ti.
"Wow... I'm going crazy..."
While I was pondering how to handle this, Tinkerer, having grown a thick beard, ca to again. He slled awful from being in his workshop so long.
"Chairman!!! What do you think of this G-suit?"
Tinkerer showed his designed G-suit. Before looking at it, I said to him.
"Tinkerer, go shower and change first. You stink! How many days have you been locked in your workshop?"
"Haha! Sorry. I was so focused. I'll be right back."
I sent Tinkerer off and examined his G-suit blueprints. In essence, it was a suit that, the mont sensors detected G-forces, would partially inflate to cushion the impact. The blueprints were highly refined. The suit could be sold to air forces for a huge sum, demonstrating just how passionately Tinkerer had worked on it.
'They say Western fans truly show the ultimate devotion to their hobbies...'
But unfortunately, my calculations showed it would be insufficient to handle the G-forces generated by a giant robot.
A little later, Tinkerer returned, cleaned up.
"Chairman, what do you think of the blueprints?"
"Sigh... Fine. You win. Let's try putting a person in it."
Impressed by Tinkerer's dedication, I said I would try to find a pilot. At my words, Tinkerer, tears and snot streaming down his face, was overjoyed.
"Thank you, Chairman!"
But I had to choose soone trustworthy, so I decided to decide carefully.
'Hmm... Who are the Japanese Marvel heroes...'
The reality was there weren't many heroes of Japanese origin. There was 'Sunfire' (Shiro Yoshida), a hero who can absorb solar radiation and fire energy blasts. But if soone with that ability existed, they'd already be famous, and I couldn't think of anyone.
And there was Peni Parker. She's a Spider-Man from a different universe, a hero who pilots a chanical suit to fight enemies. Peni has a unique backstory: she can only pilot the suit if she's been bitten by a radioactive spider inside the suit.
'I wonder if either of them exists here.'
I asked Minerva to search for them. There were a few Japanese people nad Shiro Yoshida, but they were either very old or kindergarteners. As for Peni Parker, there was exactly one. She had lived in New York but moved to Tokyo, Japan. Interestingly, she was a distant relative of Peter Parker. But she was only a 14-year-old girl.
"The original version was young too... I'll have to et her and see."
I took my private jet to Japan for the first ti in a while. When I arrived, Japan went wild, saying I'd finally co to select a Gundam pilot.
I stayed at a hotel and looked up information on Peni Parker. Her father was alive, but her mother had died in an accident five years prior. She attended Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School in central Tokyo. She was outgoing, had many friends, and enjoyed playing video gas as a hobby. Nothing particularly problematic.
'I wonder if I'm about to take a perfectly happy child and put her in a Gundam...'
I lazed around at the hotel for a day, then started moving the next day. First, I went car shopping. Because there are many good Japanese creative works, and Japan's alleys are very narrow, making it difficult to drive large cars. I visited a Suzuki dealership, liked the Hustler, and ordered about ten of them.
The funny thing was that reporters followed like crazy from the ti I bought the cars until I returned to the hotel. When I simply bought the cars and went back to the hotel, they looked quite deflated. After shaking off the reporters and giving my bodyguards a break, I went to my room, teleported, and waited for Peni in front of her house.
Peni Parker's house was modest, suggesting they weren't well-off. Since I arrived around the ti school let out, I didn't have to wait long before I saw Peni coming ho. I recognized her imdiately — she looked exactly like the Peni Parker from 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.'
I approached Peni and spoke to her.
"Hello? You're Peni Parker, right?"
"Huh? Who are you? Gasp!!! Jin!!! Is this a dream?"
Unable to believe it, Peni kept pinching her own cheek.
"Ow ow ow! It's definitely not a dream... Why would you, I an, that is, uh..."
Face red, Peni waved her hands in the air and stamred. I smiled at the sight. She didn't seem like a bad kid.
"I heard you're good at gas. I ca to challenge you."
"Oh... is that so? I am pretty good at gas, hehe."
"Want to go play so gas together? How about it?"
"Sure! I was bored, so that's great."
She followed without hesitation, even though she didn't know .
"What if I were a bad guy? You shouldn't follow strangers like that."
"You're an Avenger. That ans I can trust you."
"I suppose."
Being an Avenger, I had nothing to say.
"By the way, your Japanese is really good?"
"I'm fluent in all Earth languages."
"Co on, liar."
"It's true. For a genius like , it's easy."
"You sure have a big ego. I didn't peg you as that type."
"I only speak the truth."
Walking and talking with Peni, she seed much less tense than when we first t. We arrived at an arcade. Peni didn't have much money, so I offered to pay. People in the arcade were surprised when I entered, but they didn't bother us; they just watched from a distance.
"Pick whatever you want."
"Okay. Let's start with sothing light — Tekken."
"Alright."
Just like with Conan, I didn't lose a single round. I won almost every match perfectly.
"No way... How is this possible... I've even competed in national tournants."
"Really? Then I guess Japan's gaming level is about that."
"Ah, man... Let's play sothing else!"
Other gas produced the sa results. I crushed her.
"This is insane..."
Peni looked at in disbelief. She was definitely skilled. But her opponent was just too strong.
"If you're done playing, let's head ho."
"O-okay..."
She looked disappointed and seed to want to say sothing, but gave up and followed out of the arcade. Before taking her ho, I bought two ice creams from a nearby shop. We ate them as we walked to Peni's house. Peni ate her ice cream and asked .
"Um... how are you so good at gas? Your reaction speed is unbelievable."
"That's because I'm an Avenger."
"Co on! Really!"
Peni, seemingly annoyed by my answer, stabbed her ice cream with her spoon.
We arrived back at Peni's house. The lights were on, so her father seed to be ho.
"Honestly, I lost all the gas today, so it wasn't much fun, but it was still nice to et a celebrity."
Peni said goodbye in front of her house, but my business was just beginning.
"Let's go in together. I need to speak with your father too."
"Huh? I thought we were saying goodbye here?"
Ignoring the flustered Peni, I rang the doorbell. Peni's father, Richard Parker, opened the door.
"Who are... Gasp!! Jin from the Avengers???"
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