Susan didn't leave the house for an entire week. The lab where she worked nearly called the police, as Susan had always been a model employee.
Seeing her take an entire week off without warning made everyone suspect she'd been kidnapped, as it was far too abnormal.
After being thoroughly "tormented" for a week, Susan finally realized that if things continued like this, she'd eventually collapse from exhaustion. With great difficulty, she turned down Daniel's advances, and after a full week, she finally got out of bed.
They eventually came to an agreement. From now on, only once a week... maybe twice at most. It wasn't that Susan couldn't keep up. The real problem was that Daniel was simply too much of a beast.
Every time they got together, it turned into an all-night marathon. If Susan's body hadn't finally given out, he probably would've kept going until sunrise... and beyond.
Seriously, take it from the people who've experienced it. Five-star reviews, every single time.
....
Daniel walked out of the house feeling refreshed and full of energy. The past week had been wonderful, practically perfect.
Two more days passed before Tony finally called and asked Daniel to come over. When Daniel arrived at Tony's private lab, the playboy genius was wearing protective tinted glasses while furiously typing away at a keyboard.
Daniel had barely opened his mouth when Tony interrupted him.
"Don't talk."
"I've just had a new idea."
Tony's computer skills were exceptional. Even his computer had been personally designed by himself, making it far more advanced than anything available on the market.
As he watched Tony completely immersed in his work, Daniel had to admit that, from one man to another, this version of Tony was genuinely likable. Looking like the smartest guy in the room, he actually looked pretty cool.
Having nothing better to do, Daniel wandered over and glanced at the monitor. Lines upon lines of code streamed across the screen at incredible speed.
He could understand parts of it, as he had taken computer science as an elective before. After all, the twenty-first century was just around the corner.
It was going to be the Internet Age and without at least some technical knowledge, finding "resources" online would become rather inconvenient.
Daniel had actually studied programming for a whole hour or two. If he ever got serious, he could probably count as an experienced programmer. The problem was, he simply didn't feel like using his brain. He was too powerful and his fists could solve almost every problem, so there was little motivation to think.
After all, if one punch solved the problem, why bother thinking?
And if one punch wasn't enough… a second punch usually did the trick.
Why waste so many brain cells? He had to leave other people a chance to contribute too.
Besides, if he didn't occasionally act a little clueless, what chance would anyone have of becoming friends with him? With his looks, his strength, and that kind of overwhelming intelligence, wouldn't he just be too intimidating?
Being too perfect wasn't necessarily a good thing. Take Tony, for example. If Daniel had openly shown that he was even smarter than Tony, would their relationship have turned out the same? Maybe not.
Someone as talented and proud as Tony might have struggled with always feeling like he was one step behind. Over time, it could have created distance between them rather than the friendship they had built.
The same went for T'Challa. If Daniel never showed any flaws in his personality, T'Challa would only admire him from afar instead of treating him like an equal.
Even Susan… she probably wouldn't have fallen in love with him.
People were all the same. If someone was permanently beyond your reach, someone you could only look up to… would you really want to spend time with them? Most people would keep their distance instead. After all, who could stand being constantly overshadowed by their own friend?
So, Daniel wasn't actually lacking brains. He simply chose not to use them.
He didn't want to end up isolated from everyone around him. Having suddenly obtained power that bordered on invincibility… deep down, it frightened him.
He was afraid that, little by little, he'd begin placing himself too high above everyone else. That he'd eventually see himself as a god, looking down on everything.
Daniel wanted to remain human. Since he'd been given a second life, he wanted to become part of it.
To live freely, to enjoy every experience life had to offer. He wanted to be carefree without becoming detached from the world. A life without ordinary human experiences, sounded unbearably boring.
Did Daniel really not know how to drive? Did he really not know how to invent things?
When everyone else had been learning to walk, he'd already been flying.
If he could learn to fly, how could he possibly not learn how to run? The answer was simple. He just didn't want to.
(Seriously, stop thinking Daniel has no brains. Does this explanation work? 😭😭)
...
"Done!"
Tony's smug voice pulled Daniel back to reality.
"Nice."
"You deserve a thumbs-up."
Daniel gave him a genuine thumbs-up. Receiving praise from Daniel clearly pleased Tony. After all, Daniel's status spoke for itself. Being complimented by someone who was practically a god, who wouldn't enjoy that?
"Of course."
"I'm Tony Stark."
"Genius."
"Billionaire."
"Playboy."
"Philanthropist."
"..."
Tony proudly listed one title after another. Daniel was speechless, he suddenly realized something.
Every single one of his friends seemed incredibly narcissistic, even T'Challa. Back when they'd shared a dorm room, Daniel had watched T'Challa spend ages admiring himself in the mirror every single day.
"I wonder who they learned that from..." Daniel sighed inwardly.
"I've really chosen my friends poorly."
"An innocent kid like me has been completely corrupted by this group of bad influences."
"J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Say hello to my little friend."
Tony interrupted Daniel's thoughts.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Danvers."
"I am J.A.R.V.I.S., Mr. Stark's AI assistant."
A calm mechanical male voice echoed through the lab.
"Hello." Daniel answered with genuine curiosity. He hadn't expected Tony to create J.A.R.V.I.S. this early.
"I've wanted to build J.A.R.V.I.S. for a long time, but I just couldn't overcome the final hurdle. But your ship's operating system gave me the inspiration I needed."
"And now, I proudly announce, Earth's first true strong artificial intelligence has been born."
Daniel nodded approvingly.
"Didn't expect you to actually have some real talent."
Normally, Daniel complimented his friends by teasing them.
Oddly enough, it worked remarkably well. Their friendships only grew stronger. Although Daniel fully acknowledged Tony's incredible intelligence, he didn't entirely agree with Tony's claim that J.A.R.V.I.S. was Earth's first strong AI.
Daniel remembered there was a Hydra scientist, someone ruthless enough to abandon his own body entirely. The man had uploaded his mind into a computer and become a digital lifeform.
"Now that was one crazy guy."
Tony excitedly continued introducing J.A.R.V.I.S.
"From now on, J.A.R.V.I.S. will be my AI support system ."
"My intelligent assistant."
"It can think independently. It'll help me manage countless tasks and process enormous amounts of data."
"My research efficiency is going to skyrocket and as long as there's an internet connection… J.A.R.V.I.S. can exist."
"It's practically a nuclear weapon inside cyberspace, and more importantly, it can continue learning and evolve."
"One day, it might even evolve into a true artificial lifeform."
"So? Pretty amazing, right?"
After finishing his introduction, Tony looked proudly at Daniel.
"It is." Daniel nodded sincerely. "You're a genius."
Compliments poured out of Daniel one after another as though they cost nothing. After all, he wanted one too. An AI assistant like J.A.R.V.I.S. would be incredibly cool. The priority now was simple: Flatter Tony, make him happy and once Tony was in a good mood… what couldn't Daniel get?
"Naturally."
Tony's grin stretched from ear to ear.
"So..."
"What about my spaceship's operating system?"
Daniel asked expectantly.
"I'll make you a blank copy of J.A.R.V.I.S and I'll transfer full administrator authority to you."
"That way, you won't have to torture your poor spaceship with those horrible piloting skills ever again."
Tony waved his hand magnanimously. Inside, Daniel was already celebrating.
Artificial intelligence... acquired!
Back in his previous life, he'd envied movie protagonists with AI assistants for years.
Now, he finally had one of his own and he couldn't have been happier.
"The first thing I'll do is upgrade the house."
"Eventually, I want clothes handed to me the moment I wake up, and meals served without even lifting a finger."
After thinking about it for a moment, Daniel decided to encourage Tony to hurry up and develop all the smart-home hardware that would work alongside J.A.R.V.I.S. Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Wait..."
"What should I name my own AI?"
After a few seconds of serious consideration...
"How about..."
"Stark?"