---
Elsewhere...
On the road to the seaside villa, Pepper Potts glanced at Tony Stark sitting beside her and finally spoke up.
"Tony, when I called Smith for help yesterday, I didn't mention anything about compensation."
"Last time, we provided a hundred million dollars' worth of equipment and some other conditions. What should we offer this time?"
Clearly, Pepper had only ever interacted with Smith Doyle through professional arrangements. Even though he had helped them, she felt it was appropriate to offer something in return.
She couldn't just rely on Smith's friendship with Tony—it didn't seem like a dependable foundation. Business was business, after all.
Tony rubbed his forehead when he heard her.
"If you hadn't brought it up, I might've forgotten entirely. Smith's saved me more than a couple of times."
"I do owe him something."
"But given how close we are now, money feels too impersonal. Here's what you'll do—go find Smith Doyle later and tell him I'm gifting him an AI system."
"A complete one. Fully equipped with the hardware it needs to run."
"Consider it my thank-you for all the times he's had my back."
"I remember that chief scientist of his—Bulma, right? She seemed pretty interested in AI the last time she visited."
"Building a proper AI takes tons of data and time. Even if you have the talent, it's not something you can just throw together. Otherwise, you end up with a dumb-AI."
"I mean, Dum-E sometimes feels more like Dumb-E. I've honestly considered scrapping the poor guy more than once."
"Let's see... which AI should I give him?"
"Got it. FRIDAY."
"But tell him he'll need to prepare storage space. A full AI system comes with way more components than people think."
"This isn't a movie—you can't just plug a USB drive into a laptop and call it a day. You'd need an entire building just to house the hardware."
Pepper's eyes widened in shock. A full artificial intelligence? That wasn't something you could buy for a few hundred million dollars.
Major corporations had dumped billions into AI research, only to end up with digital junk.
This gift... was massive.
Even just the hardware to run an AI—forget the software itself—would cost well beyond a few billion.
"Tony... isn't that a bit too generous?"
Tony thought about it for a moment. Then he told her what had happened at the villa.
After hearing everything, Pepper gasped.
"Oh my God, that sounds terrifying! Thank goodness Smith got there in time."
"You made the right call, Tony. If he's interested in AI, then give it to him."
"Smith is someone we can trust."
Tony gave her a proud grin.
"Of course he is. All my friends are just as reliable as I am."
"And hey, isn't the media calling us the real-world Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent?"
"What's Batman's superpower again?"
"Money."
"Alright, Pepper—have Happy take you there. Go give Smith the good news."
---
After speaking with Fox, Smith Doyle informed Bulma about the upcoming product launch, then returned to his office.
Bulma, meanwhile, was busy developing a solution to counter the pheromones in Yelena's body. She was already onto a few ideas and confident she'd have a breakthrough soon.
Smith reviewed the mountain of work ahead of him: the Stark Industries board meeting, the foundation ceremony, the product launch, organizing the scattered Black Widows, and assisting Bulma with her research.
Then there was the matter of the Dragon Balls and preparing for the second wish.
So many things needed handling—it was all cutting into his cultivation time.
He needed to wrap everything up within a week so he could focus on his training.
While Smith was busy working, Pepper arrived at the Assassin League headquarters, escorted by Happy Hogan.
The guards recognized her immediately. After notifying Fox, they let her and Happy in.
Fox greeted her with a curious smile.
"Pepper Potts. I was just about to get in touch with you—it's good you came."
"Capsule Corp's product launch is in seven days. Tony's one of the invited guests."
She handed over an elegant invitation. Pepper accepted it with a nod.
"I'll make sure Tony knows. He definitely won't miss this."
Fox asked with a grin,
"So, what brings you here today?"
Pepper replied,
"Tony asked me to deliver a gift to Mr. Smith as a token of appreciation."
Fox raised an eyebrow—she hadn't expected the League's leader to get anything in return for helping out last time.
"Smith's in his office. I'll take you."
---
Back in his office, Smith Doyle heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," he called.
Fox walked in, followed by Pepper Potts.
"Boss, Ms. Potts has something for you."
Smith nodded, and Fox quietly exited.
"Please, have a seat."
After Pepper sat down across from him, Smith smiled.
"Haha, didn't we just see each other? What brings you back so soon?"
Pepper smiled politely.
"Tony really appreciates what you did. He asked me to deliver a gift."
She opened the case she had brought and took out a sleek piece of hardware.
"This is FRIDAY—an artificial intelligence system. A gift from Tony."
"This device contains part of the program, but you'll need to prepare a space to receive the full setup."
Smith raised an eyebrow.
"This is an AI?"
Pepper shook her head.
"This is just a subroutine. The full system takes up an entire floor of space."
"Tony said once you're ready, he'll send everything over."
"If you boot it up using only this device, everything you do would be processed through Stark Industries."
"That means Tony could see everything—no secrets."
Smith nodded. He understood: this was just the front-end. The real AI would require a massive local setup if he wanted it to remain private.
But it would be worth it. He could pass it to Bulma—maybe she could even upgrade it.
"Thank Tony for me. I truly appreciate the gesture."
"I'll be there at the board meeting in three days."
---