Bant had always wanted the Super-Soldier Serum. Not to use on himself, and not even for the serum's superhuman abilities, but because the serum could enhance a person's physique and slow the aging process.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May were both getting old. After a lifetime of hard work, their health honestly wasn't good. The healing serum could handle injuries, but it did little against illnesses.
Yet among the legacy S.H.I.E.L.D. left behind, there wasn't a single incomplete sample of the serum. That left Bant more than a little frustrated.
Now, things were looking up. Harday had the formula Dr. Erskine left behind stored in his mind, and with a photographic memory, he could perfectly replicate the original Super-Soldier Serum one-to-one.
But Bant didn't plan to replicate it exactly. Erskine's serum wasn't perfect. It amplified a person's original personality, making the good better and the bad worse.
That wasn't a problem; with a sample, modifying it would actually be easy.
However, Harday wanted to go home first. Bant naturally respected his decision. He originally planned to accompany Harday, but at that moment, Norman sent him a message saying he had acquired some vibranium for him and was asking for the design plans for four satellites and a space station.
Bant wasn't in a rush for the vibranium, but the satellites and space station were far more urgent. With only one year left until the Chitauri arrived, he needed to launch four satellites and equip the space station with a powerful weapon to greet his enemies.
Harday could easily tell Bant's identity was no simple matter, so he didn't try to persuade him to stay. Before parting, Bant left him an address.
"Primos Technologies, that's my company. When you're ready to make the serum, come find me."
Then Bant left in a hurry.
John Harday, with an uneasy heart, was escorted to New York by an agent. After lingering outside the Harday home for a long time, he finally gathered the courage to knock on the door.
"May I ask who you are…?"
Felicia opened the door, about to ask who it was, when Harday's face, with a full head of white hair, overlapped with the image of her father from her memories.
"Dad?"
Felicia thought she was dreaming, but Harday had already burst into tears, calling out her name with all his strength.
"Felicia! You've grown up!"
"Dad, is it really you?"
They embraced, weeping uncontrollably. It took a long while before Felicia dared to believe this wasn't a dream.
"Dad, where have you been all these years?" she said, almost trembling.
"That… we'll talk about that later." Harday wiped his tears, grabbed Felicia's arm, and then said, "But you, Felicia, don't you have anything you want to tell your father?"
"Like what?"
"About that boyfriend of yours?"
Felicia's face instantly flushed scarlet, feeling like she was about to smoke.
Meanwhile, Bant returned to the Skyhammer Bureau. Norman handed him the mining agreement.
"The Security Council passed it unanimously."
The Security Council was essentially like the five major powers. Since it was unanimous, it meant the Skycraft Guild's mining operations in Antarctica would go unhindered. However, nominally, it was still the Skyhammer Bureau doing the mining.
Bant was a bit surprised. "I didn't expect it to go this smoothly."
"Compared to an interstellar war, permission to develop Antarctica is nothing," Norman said.
"True."
"What's down there in Antarctica?" Norman asked.
"A special metal, another type of vibranium, I guess." Bant gave Norman a brief explanation of Vibranium B, or anti-vibranium.
"I had no idea something like that existed." Norman nodded. "So you want to use vibranium and anti-vibranium to build the satellites?"
"No, the satellites don't need such high-grade material. With energy shields protecting them, there's nothing to worry about unless someone sabotages them from the inside."
What really needed vibranium was the Skycraft Guild's space station. Bant planned to concentrate Earth's firepower on the space station, using it as a cannon platform. If it hid inside a protective shield, it wouldn't be able to do its job. In that case, a sturdy outer shell was absolutely necessary.
"Antarctic vibranium isn't suited for construction; it's better for making weapons. Because it can destroy almost all metals, including adamantium."
"In that case, the amount of vibranium we have is probably far from enough." Norman's brows furrowed. He had done everything he could to help Bant search for vibranium, but so far, what they had found was limited. Forget building a space station that could hold hundreds or thousands of people, it was barely enough to make a single battle suit.
"See if we can find a man named Ulysses Klaue."
"Ulysses Klaue?"
Norman gave Hill a look, and the former deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately started a global search. Soon, countless people with the same name appeared before Bant.
"There are quite a few people with that name," Hill said. "Any other distinctive features? Nationality? Education?"
"I remember he has a prosthetic hand." Bant recalled Ulysses Klaue's appearance from Black Panther, but he wasn't sure if Klaue had already lost his arm at this point.
With that feature, Hill quickly zeroed in on one person's information. A familiar face to Bant was displayed on the large screen.
"That's him."
Norman nodded and gave the order: "Find this man immediately."
A small matter like finding someone naturally didn't require Bant to go personally. Otherwise, why had he gone through all the trouble of taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. and building the Skyhammer Bureau with Norman?
The agents began to move, and Bant, for his part, planned to hand over the satellite blueprints to Norman. The tech level of the four satellites was actually quite high. Fortunately, their main function was simply an enlarged version of an energy shield generator, so Bant could draw up the plans even without transforming into his Little Trooper form. Beyond that, they also needed the ability to receive and release the Cube's energy.
"Considering we need to receive the Cosmic Cube's energy, the materials do need to be durable. Let's use a vibranium alloy."
Actually, vibranium alloys were stronger than pure vibranium. Bant planned to melt down the vibranium Norman had collected so far.
"How do you plan to mine the Antarctic vibranium?" Hill asked.
There were plenty of scientific expeditions in Antarctica, but so far, none had discovered large amounts of anti-vibranium metal, indicating that prospecting and mining it was quite difficult.
"The Skyhammer Bureau has three helicarriers. Lend me one," Bant said.
"A helicarrier doesn't have mining capabilities."
"I have my own methods."
Bant's method was to transform into a shapeshifter, then merge with the helicarrier, turning it into a giant Barbarian Mech, the kind of colossal machine the Red King used on Sakaar.
After sending the satellite structural plans to Norman, it was already night. In a single day, Bant had traveled to several places. Given how late it was, he didn't plan to head back, so he simply stayed overnight at the Skyhammer Bureau.
Norman was even busier than him. After returning from the Security Council, he threw himself back into work. His body looked a bit fatigued lately, but his overall mental state was quite good.
As expected, Norman Osborn was suited for the grind.
"Once the modified Super-Soldier Serum is ready, I'll have to give him a shot too," Bant thought. Otherwise, he was genuinely afraid Norman might drop dead from overwork. Not just Norman, Harry could get a shot too.
The next day, Bant found he had to return to New York, because Felicia called him, saying she wanted to set a time for him to come over and have dinner at her home. Over the previous day, Harday had reunited with his family and given an explanation for his disappearance.
Mrs. Harday did know her husband was the Phantom Cat, but she didn't know where he had been all these years, nor about the serum formula. Regarding that, Harday had been vague. The fewer people who knew about the serum, the better, even his wife. He simply told Felicia that he was the infamous thief, the Phantom Cat, and that he had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone and the Skyhammer Bureau's prisons were overflowing with Hydra prisoners, Bant Parker had learned of his situation and pleaded with the Bureau's director to secure his release. For this, both Felicia and Mrs. Harday were immensely grateful to Bant.
Actually, Mrs. Harday hadn't been fond of Bant at first. At the Stark Industries expo, she had even looked down on him a bit. But as Primos Technologies gained more and more fame, she came to regret it. Now, knowing that Bant could speak directly to someone as powerful as the director of the Skyhammer Bureau, she regretted it even more.
Luckily, her own daughter had good taste!
When Bant returned to New York, it was still early. He had arranged dinner with the Harday family for the evening, so during the day, Felicia came out to meet him first. As soon as she saw him, she rushed over, hugged him, and said through tears, "Thank you, Bant. I never imagined I would see my father again."
"Don't be so formal with me."
Bant reached out and patted her head; Felicia ducked her head like a kitten.
They wandered around all day. During that time, Felicia kept being mysterious, looking at Bant with a slightly smug and amused gaze.
"What's up?"
Felicia let go of Bant's arm, clasped her hands behind her back, and spun around in front of him. She wasn't wearing a skirt, but her golden hair flared out like a skirt. Felicia pursed her lips to keep from laughing, her face clearly hiding a pleasant secret. Then she tilted her head slightly, golden locks sliding off her shoulder, and said brightly:
"Nothing." Her bright eyes darted away, and she pointed to a distant shop. "I want ice cream."
The truth was, ever since last night when she found out her father was the famous thief the Phantom Cat from decades ago, she had begged him to train her, hoping to acquire the same skills and become a superhero. She had thought up a name for herself: Black Cat.
When her father asked her why Black Cat, she said it was because darkness and the night always gave her a comfortable feeling.
She lied.
The truth was, it was because Hacker Spider-Man's suit was black.
Felicia figured that since Bant wouldn't tell her he was Hacker Spider-Man, she would keep her own secret from him. When the time came and she became the Black Cat, she would definitely find Hacker Spider-Man and deliberately flirt with him a little.
Just imagining that scene made Felicia beyond excited.
/-\
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