"I just realized something," Wolf said as he watched the other group leave the safety area.
"What?"
"This mission is only 7 days. If they get recruited before us, we won't have anything to do."
"No, they still need to return to this timeline and eliminate the nest located in Russia," Gwen said. "If they succeed, we will need to arrive in Russia before them so we can participate in the last battle."
"True, but I was hoping to get some future tech that I may sell for some points," Wolf sighed. Although the level of technology in this world appeared low, it was not given that they mastered time traveling.
"No one is stopping you from infiltrating one of the bases with future people and stealing their technology," Gwen sneered.
"I'm good," Wolf declined. As a werewolf, he had superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and unparalleled regeneration. However, he was still peak Tier 1, maybe Tier 2. As such, a well-trained army can take him down. And that's not mentioning the use of tanks, bazookas, and missiles.
"Let's move," Gwen said before shooting a web through the window and swinging away.
"Hold on, and not so fast." Wolf turned into his werewolf self and started jumping from one building to another.
…
"Lieutenant Colonel Wang?" Edward asked.
Melissa Wang was a medium-height Chinese American woman with an intimidating aura. She stared at Edward's armor with well-hidden twinkling eyes. "I read your file. When Command sent me to meet you, I thought this mission was a joke."
"Is that why you're so unprepared?" Edward asked as he looked at the five soldiers accompanying him. Based on his analysis, the person receiving him would have come with a small army.
"Would it have mattered?" she asked.
"No."
"In that case, my lapse in judgment can be considered as a good thing." Melissa then looked at Jake and Qon before pausing on the latter: "What can he do?"
"Qon, show her."
"My pleasure." The Jedi waved his hand and moved all the soldiers' weapons away from their bodies, alarming everybody. These soldiers were elite and quickly drew their backup weapons, pointing them at the team.
"Stand down," Mellissa said. "Telekinesis? Fascinating. Maybe, there is hope yet."
"How bad are things?"
"Less than 20% of the soldiers sent came back alive, and 15% of the survivors are disabled in one way or another. The news will be revealed tomorrow, and the world is about to enter a period of darkness."
These words did not faze Edward. However, they did allow him to get an idea of that period in the movie they were in. The first group of soldiers sent into the future was military elites from all the nations in the world. However, the result was disastrous, leading to the decision to recruit regular people.
'The plot won't start for at least 2 weeks. Which is more than enough time,' Edward thought.
"Alright, let's move." Melissa took the team to a military chopper before flying to a base in Seattle. Edward understood why the US didn't directly bring them to the future people. First, they wanted to understand his research. Second, they wanted to take credit for this special team and further increase their soft power in the world.
Once at the base, Edward allowed them to do minor tests. He wanted to show them their weapons meant nothing to his armor as a deterrent. His eyes also lusted after Qon's blood to see if he could study the Midi-Chlorian, but the latter refused any blood tests.
Once the tests ended, his old friend — Dr. Ollstein — came to receive him. The doctor was a short, bold, middle-aged man, wearing a cashmere sweater. However, he had a polite smile on his face that reminded Edward of politicians.
"I knew you would do great things in the world, but I never thought you would be this successful."
"Don't act like we're friends," Edward said. "If you didn't meddle in my affairs, I would have used state funding to finish my projects long ago, and go on to pursue higher things."
Dr. Ollstein's smile faded. "If you had cooperated, the outcome would also be the same."
"I was willing to cooperate, but you greedy people wanted full control over my research. Your contract wouldn't even allow me to use it on myself."
Dr. Ollestein exhaled. "Now, it's pointless to argue about this. Before I take you to the Future Base, there is something I need to confirm first." He activated the tablet he was holding in his left hand to show Edward a short but blurry video. A woman in a Spider-Man costume swung along the buildings of New York, while a wolf-like beast more than 3 meters long followed behind her.
"What's your question?" Edward wanted to roll their eyes. These idiots didn't think a Satellite would capture their movements in broad daylight?
"I remember one of your research projects was the fusion of animal and human DNA. Spider and wolf, huh? Not what I would expect to be the successful case. Anyways, are those two with you?"
"You can say that."
"Why aren't they with you?"
"They were not willing to cooperate," Edward replied succinctly.
"And you didn't force them?"
"You seem to have the wrong idea about me."
"Do I?" Dr. Ollstein sneered. He saw the data of this suit. If this man wanted to bring these people with him, he would. "Then, you won't mind us capturing them, right? After all, we can't have two superhuman individuals running wild in the streets of New York."
"Have at it, but don't expect me to help you," Edward replied. These two appeared to be elite among lower-tier reincarnators, so they should already have a small space artifact and access to powers that allowed them to evade tracking. So, even if Edward were to reveal their identity, he doubts the US government would be able to find them anytime soon.
"That's fine by me."
"What about the materials I requested?" Edward's cooperation did not come cheaply.
"They will be delivered in three hours. But why do you need so much titanium? We will ship out tomorrow."
"That's for me to know."
Once the materials arrived, Edward headed to the lab where he had been granted temporary access. Morgana took control of the cameras and fed the viewer a false feed of what he was doing. Then, he drew alchemy symbols on the ground. With the titanium, he built three more suits; specifically, he created three Doom Bots, or power suits controlled by Morgana.
He currently did not have access to nanotechnology, which made transportation a pain in the ass. Without much of a choice, he opted for the best solution. The bots were designed to be similar to Tony's armor in Iron Man 2. They were the size of a suitcase — which can be placed inside his extended bag — and, with the right command, they could morph to their regular size. The last thing he built with the material was a miniaturized satellite.
Edward did not trust these people. So, when sleeping, he had his armor activate the force field to protect his entire room. His caution was wise because in the middle of the night, a team of soldiers silently approached his room and only retreated after seeing the force field.
Edward did not mention last night's incident and traveled to the Future Recruit Base, where he met Lieutenant Hart. She was remarkably young for someone of such high status, but that was not important. Most important was the hope in her eyes when she met Edward's team.
The group had to be tested once again, but after receiving the results, the Lieutenant wanted to deploy them immediately. However, that's when the problem arises. People in the future used a technology called Jumplink to teleport to and from the present. The Jumplink was a massive machine located in 2051, and people in the past needed to wear a vambrace to harness its power.
However, the vambrace is not just a means of time travel. It's a way to monitor the draftees and prevent them from running away. Edward made a fuss about the vambrace. He insisted on studying it before utilizing it. The politics involved in the exchange of future technology between the people of the future and the nations of this timeline were already complicated, but his demand exacerbated the situation.
However, after revealing the three other Doom Bots, he was soon granted access to the information about the vambrace.