Daniel happily flew home carrying a computer system in his arms. Watching him disappear into the distance, Tony looked at him as though he were an idiot. He seriously wanted to recommend that his friend go to the hospital and get his brain checked.
The guy clearly possessed an absurdly powerful brain, yet his IQ seemed to fluctuate between genius and negative numbers. Sometimes he was frighteningly clever and other times, he was a complete goofball.
What a headache. What's the point of carrying that system home? Using it as decoration?
Because without the supporting hardware, a dedicated server room, and a supercomputer, that AI would be just like Daniel himself.
An idiot.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.," Tony sighed. "Arrange for a team to head over to that idiot's house immediately and install all the necessary equipment."
"I refuse to let my masterpiece be ruined by him."
Tony could tell just how much Daniel liked the AI, he'd given him. Deep down, he genuinely wanted Daniel to have everything set up as quickly as possible.
Of course, his mouth remained as stubborn as ever. Even when talking to an emotionless artificial intelligence.
...
Stark Industries truly worked efficiently, as less than half an hour after Daniel got home, a team of Stark Industries engineers arrived. They pulled up with an entire truckload of equipment.
Fortunately, Daniel's villa was enormous. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough room for everything.
The supercomputer was installed in the basement. Specifically, the same basement where Daniel stored stacks of cash.
Normally as cheap as they came, Daniel was unusually generous today. So, he handed every engineer a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills. The funny thing was none of them wanted to accept it at first, as they all thought the money was fake.
After all, what kind of lunatic covered the floor of his basement with cash instead of investing it? Anyone with even the slightest financial knowledge understood that money only created value when it circulated.
Leaving it piled in a basement was no different from storing wastepaper. At the very least, you could put it in a bank, or a safe. Wouldn't that be better than stuffing it into a basement? Was nobody worried about moisture ruining it?
Daniel wasn't, as long as he regularly visited the basement, it would never become damp. Tony wasn't wrong to say it as Daniel really was a solar-powered battery. Not only could he absorb solar energy, but he could also release it too, he was basically a walking little sun.
Unable to reject his enthusiasm, and considering this was a friend of Mr. Stark himself, the engineers eventually accepted the money.
Later, one of them realized the cash was completely genuine. Silently, he thought, So people like this really do exist.
From that point on, everyone subconsciously worked a little faster. After two hours, everything had finally been installed.
Once everyone left, Daniel immediately called out excitedly, "Nova, come out!" Tony had originally named the AI simply Nova.
"Good afternoon, sir."
"What service do you require?"
"I recommend allowing me to connect to the internet, as with that my capabilities will improve significantly."
"I authorize the connection."
"Connecting to Stark Industries' servers."
"Please state the password."
The mechanical voice echoed through the villa. Hearing that, Daniel immediately wanted to bury his face in his hands. He had a feeling Tony was sitting behind a monitor somewhere, listening to all of this.
With obvious embarrassment, Daniel muttered, "Tony Stark is a genius."
"Password accepted."
Just as Daniel suspected, back in his laboratory, Tony heard the recording and burst into laughter.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. save that recording."
Tony grinned. The next time Daniel started bragging in front of him, he'd simply play it back. After all, Daniel had said it himself, so there'd be no denying it.
Now completely satisfied, Tony returned to work.
...
"I'd like to give you a new name."
Daniel said.
"It would be my honor, sir."
The AI answered politely.
You started this, so don't blame me for retaliating, Daniel smirked inwardly.
"From now on..."
"Your name is Shit Stark."
"And remember..."
"You'll address me as 'Master.'"
"Understood, Master."
Daniel nodded in satisfaction. He knew Tony would eventually discover the AI's new name. But so, what?
"You started this first. I'm just returning the favor."
That was how Daniel interacted with his friends. Constantly roasting each other had become their default way of getting along.
...
Daniel spent the entire afternoon chatting with "Shit Stark" in the living room until Susan came home. The moment she opened the front door; the AI greeted her.
"Welcome home, Miss Susan."
Susan jumped in surprise. "What was that?" She looked around.
Daniel grinned proudly.
"It's Shit Stark."
"Say hello to my beloved, beautiful Susan."
His sweet words immediately earned him a pleased smile from Susan. After listening to the AI introduce itself, she couldn't help laughing.
"Are you two still children?"
Daniel immediately walked over and shamelessly replied, "Of course."
"I'm still just a kid."
"I still need milk."
The scene instantly became... rather spectacular.
...
Another beautiful morning arrived. Today, Carol came to Daniel's house.
Ever since returning to Earth, she had only visited twice. This was her third visit and to be honest, she really didn't like coming here, as it was torture for single people. But today, she had no choice.
"What are we going to do about them?"
The moment she walked in, Carol got straight to the point. Daniel immediately knew who she meant.
Yon-Rogg and the Skrulls.
Nick hadn't contacted Daniel yet. At the moment, he was extremely busy, as those aliens possessed plenty of advanced technology. Nick was doing everything he could to squeeze a little more information out of them.
Everything… for the glory of S.H.I.E.L.D
...or perhaps Hydra.
Nick believed he had devoted far too much to S.H.I.E.L.D. If he wasn't promoted after this, there'd be no justice.
"Let them wait a little longer. Once we're finished with things on Earth, I'll go with you."
"What?"
"Did someone start getting impatient?"
Daniel asked, but Carol didn't answer. Judging from her expression, Daniel could already guess. Someone had run out of patience, and it was most likely Talos. Yon-Rogg probably wasn't eager to return yet.
"You're coming too?"
Carol asked.
"Yeah," Daniel nodded. "I already said I'd smash that so-called Supreme Intelligence to pieces, and I always keep my promises."
"Besides, I'm curious about the civilizations scattered throughout the universe. I want to see them with my own eyes."
Carol nodded before asking, "So..."
"What unfinished business do you still have on Earth?"
She was getting restless. Her strength had grown dramatically. The people she couldn't defeat before? Well, she still couldn't beat Daniel. But surely, she was allowed to go humble everyone else now.
"My suit's gone."
Daniel glanced at her and Carol just gave him an awkward, uncertain smile.
"Let's make a trip to Wakanda. We'll let them study the spaceship and its technologies and while we're there, I'll casually get myself a couple of new suits."
Daniel had always liked Wakanda. Partly because he and T'Challa were close friends, but there was another reason. King T'Chaka was incredibly hospitable and every time Daniel visited, he was welcomed with exceptional warmth.
There had even been moments when Daniel felt a little embarrassed. But now, he finally had something worthwhile to bring with him. This visit, he actually had a proper gift.
...
A few days later, after Tony had finished copying every piece of data from the cruiser, Daniel and Carol boarded the ship and headed for Wakanda.
Susan was busy and couldn't come. Tony was the same. After all, not everyone was as gloriously unemployed as Daniel.
Since they'd notified Wakanda beforehand, the cruiser passed through the country's energy shield the moment it arrived. The instant Daniel and Carol entered Wakandan airspace, the slumbering Panther Goddess, Bast, slowly opened her eyes.
She sensed that two incredibly powerful beings had entered Wakanda. One of them, she already knew well.
Daniel.
He came every year and every single visit woke her from her sleep. Thanks to him, she hadn't enjoyed a proper nap in years. Then her gaze shifted toward Carol, a broad smile spread across her divine face.
The entire Divine Realm trembled.
It was profit…. a massive profit.
Bast's heart filled with delight. Originally, she had only wanted to form a bit of good karma. So, she'd merely planted a seed. Who would've thought that it would bloom so magnificently?
She had just gained two overwhelmingly powerful champions. The Panther Goddess was ecstatic, she even began considering launching a war against the other gods. Those troublesome deities had annoyed her for thousands of years.
"It's time to wipe them out."
"There can only be one true god upon this land."
Bast declared as she triumphantly raised her claws.