After finalizing his selection, Marcus began shaping Ash.
Soon, a dark gray warframe emerged from the energy cocoon. Its arms appeared to be wrapped in a woven, fabric-like armor.
Marcus suddenly raised his hand and swung it toward the wall. Two rapidly spinning shuriken flew from his grasp.
A moment later, both projectiles embedded themselves deeply into the wall.
These shuriken had been thrown with minimal force. Had Marcus used his full strength, they would have pierced the wall entirely.
"The projectiles pack sufficient power," he noted. "If the target were human, they'd likely be pinned to the wall."
He had barely exerted himself, yet the shuriken still sank deeply into the solid surface—a testament to their devastating potential.
Studying his reflection, Marcus suddenly laughed.
"This really does resemble Bruce's future Batsuit."
The parallels were striking—both relied on throwing weapons and specialized equipment. Apart from teleportation and Ash's signature Blade Storm that could eliminate multiple enemies simultaneously, the aesthetic wasn't dissimilar from Batman's—though the combat capability was significantly enhanced.
"Speaking of which, it's been quite some time since I visited Gotham. I wonder how Bruce and Selina are doing, and whether Clark has begun his training."
After dismissing Ash [Shadow Assassin], Marcus stroked his chin, recalling the youngsters.
"Once the battleship transaction concludes, I should pay them a visit."
He'd return to Gotham soon. With no immediate priorities demanding his attention, it seemed an ideal time to reconnect with Bruce and the others.
While Marcus had been shaping his warframes, the others had been far from idle.
Tony spent his days in the laboratory, studying Chitauri and Asgardian technology. Occasional explosions echoed from his workspace.
Had he not developed the ability to deploy his nano-suit instantaneously, these incidents would have landed him in intensive care.
Compared to Tony's intensive research, Dr. Banner enjoyed relative peace. He no longer needed to evade pursuit.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had vouched for him, making him—like Steve and the others—an official Avenger protecting Earth's security.
Of course, he joined primarily as a research scientist. The combat duties could be handled by the Hulk within him.
Among all the Avengers, Banner had the most leisurely schedule. Everyone else maintained their regular occupations when not on Avengers missions.
As someone who had been hunted for years, what employment could he claim? He simply studied his condition daily in the Avengers facility.
Meanwhile, Fury, who had established the Avengers Initiative, remained constantly busy. Lately, he had been mediating conflicts between several World Security Council directors.
The representatives from China, Russia, and the United States had acted decisively, leaving the other two directors without opportunity to acquire battleships.
This created significant discord. The excluded directors now argued with the three successful nations, demanding shared access to the warships and collaborative study of their technology.
Such requests met unanimous rejection from the three directors, who felt no obligation to share their acquisitions.
After continued disputes, the date for the battleship exchange was finally established.
"The directors have reached a decision," Fury informed Marcus immediately. "The transaction will take place on the high seas of the Pacific."
The bureaucratic inefficiency made Marcus shake his head repeatedly.
For mere Chitauri warships, negotiations had dragged interminably. Their choice of the high seas as neutral territory came as no surprise.
Soon the transaction date arrived. Several aircraft carriers from different nations positioned themselves on the Pacific, maintaining careful distance from one another.
They awaited the battleships' arrival. Once the vessels appeared, they would complete the transaction and escort their acquisitions home.
The sea sparkled in the sunlight as everyone anticipated the alien craft.
Marcus didn't keep them waiting long. Three warships rapidly descended from the sky, casting shadows over the assembled carriers.
"Who's signing for these deliveries? Don't forget the shipping fees," Marcus's voice called from the lead battleship.
One of the warships opened its lower compartment, projecting a tractor beam toward one of the carriers.
This battleship positioned itself above China's aircraft carrier. When the tractor beam activated, it lifted all the technical materials and special resources accumulated on the deck.
He repeated the process with the Russian and American carriers, collecting their resources and technologies.
None of the nations attempted deception. All offered sincere exchanges—equivalent technology and resources for alien battleships.
The significant quantity of special resources and technical materials all went into the Chitauri command ship he planned to convert into a Railjack.
"I'll store everything here for now—no one will discover it anyway."
Retrofitting a Railjack represented a major undertaking that would require substantial time.
Since he had no immediate need for the vessel, this seemed an ideal opportunity to visit Gotham and reconnect with his former students.
As Marcus prepared to leave the Avengers' world, conflict nearly erupted on the high seas.
The two nations that failed to secure battleships had secretly dispatched naval forces, attempting to seize one by force.
But they severely underestimated the vigilance of the three successful countries. These nations had anticipated such a possibility—when they sent carriers to escort their new acquisitions, contingency plans were already in place.
The joint fleet from the two excluded countries found itself surrounded from all directions before it could take action. The heads of state for both nations received stern diplomatic warnings.
In the end, this premeditated operation collapsed before it began.