The next day, after the Maximoff siblings' identity issues were handled and they returned from sightseeing, I decided to awaken their powers right away. I took them to a property I'd purchased on the outskirts of New York, planning to use it as an Avengers base in the future. With only a few empty warehouses on site, and no real concern if they got damaged, it was the perfect choice.
"So, you're going to give us powers, right?"
Pietro kept asking, as if he couldn't believe it.
"Not exactly. I'm awakening the latent power within you. Let's do it one at a time. Who wants to go first?"
The two exchanged glances, and Wanda stepped forward first.
"I'll go."
Pietro grabbed her shoulder and said,
"No, I'm the older brother, so I'll go first."
Wanda looked at him, baffled.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Hey, I was born twelve minutes earlier!"
"What difference does that make?"
It seemed like their argument would never end, so I decided for them.
"Let's just start with Pietro, who was born twelve minutes earlier."
"Great!"
Pietro was delighted. Wanda looked at him in disbelief. I used the Mind Stone I'd previously taken from the Chitauri Scepter to awaken Pietro.
"Huh, is it over?"
"Yeah. I can't tell what ability you've gained either, so check your body slowly."
"Oh, okay. I thought it'd be really painful or something."
Pietro seemed a bit deflated that it ended so anticlimactically. Anyway, he checked his body. I knew from the original what ability it was, but I couldn't tell him.
"I don't feel any different."
"Then try moving around a bit."
"Alright."
Pietro walked slowly, tried jumping, and then attempted to run. Instantly, incredible speed kicked in, and he lost control, tumbling across the warehouse floor.
"Ugh!!!"
Crash!!
Wanda and I hurried over to check on him.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Pietro brushed the dust off his head and got up from the floor, seeming fine.
"I-I'm okay."
I pretended to ponder and said,
"Hmm... Looks like super speed is your ability."
"Yeah, that's it! Cool, right?"
Pietro smiled, pleased with his power, and looked at his body before asking us,
"Can I try running a bit more?"
"Run slowly. You can't control it yet."
"Got it."
Pietro started running slowly, gradually increasing his speed to adapt. Soon, he was moving so fast it was hard for my eyes to follow.
"Wahoo~~~!!!"
The problem was, since we were inside the warehouse, all his fast running just kicked up dust from the floor until it was blinding, and Wanda started coughing heavily.
"Cough! Cough! Stop!"
"Hey, take it easy!"
When I shouted, Pietro finally stopped.
"Ugh... dust... cough!"
We quickly opened the warehouse door and went outside. Dust was pouring out through the doors and windows as if there was a fire. Our hair and clothes were all covered in white dust. The Maximoff siblings and I brushed off the dust, but Wanda, perhaps angry, slapped Pietro's back.
Slap!
"Ouch!"
"You should've been more careful! Look at my clothes, I just bought them yesterday."
"Haha, sorry... I got too excited..."
We roughly brushed off our clothes and hair, and since the first warehouse was dusty, we moved to another one to awaken Wanda.
"Do I get super speed too?"
"Don't know. It might be the same or different."
"I'm kind of nervous now."
"Anyway, let's begin."
I took out the Mind Stone again and awakened Wanda. Like Pietro, there was no major change.
"Is it done?"
"Yeah. Check it out."
Wanda checked her body, walked around, and even tried running.
"Huh? I don't have that speed."
Watching this, Pietro started teasing her.
"Maybe you got a dud? Seems like I'm the only one with a cool power."
"What did you say!"
Wanda got angry, and suddenly, a red aura swirled around her, spreading and sending dust flying everywhere. We got covered in dust again and hurried outside.
"Cough! Cough! Oh, come on!"
"You dust-making siblings!"
Wanda saw us covered in dust again and laughed awkwardly, apologizing.
"Ahaha, sorry..."
"Sigh... Anyway, Wanda seems to have telekinetic abilities. You've both awakened and know your powers, so let's head home and plan your training."
"Alright."
We returned home. Natasha and Jessica, who were at home, were shocked to see us covered in dust.
"Where did you go to end up like that? And who are these two?"
"Oh right, I didn't introduce them. Let's shower first and then talk."
The Maximoff siblings and I showered, then joined Natasha and Jessica in the living room.
"These are the Maximoff siblings. This is Pietro—his ability is super speed. This is Wanda—she has telekinetic powers. More members for us."
"I'm Natasha, and this is Jessica. Nice to meet you. But Cassian, where do you keep finding these powered people? Are there more?"
Natasha greeted the siblings and asked me if there were more.
"There are. But it's not time yet. I plan to recruit them later."
"Seriously... Anyway, got it."
Natasha seemed tired of asking and just accepted it.
"First, since the Maximoff siblings just got their powers, the goal is to train them in control."
"Understood." "Right."
"And Jessica, you've had your powers for a while, so skip control training. We need to see how well you use your strength, so let's go outside and spar a bit."
When I said that, Jessica looked very worried.
"Cassian, I hate to say this, but you could get hurt. My strength isn't normal."
"Don't worry about that. I'm not normal either."
We went to the open backyard. Jessica and I faced each other. She still looked concerned.
"Let's start. Try attacking me."
"Okay, I'll go easy."
Jessica ran at me and threw a light punch. But I caught her fist. She seemed utterly shocked.
"That won't do. Give it your all."
"..."
Jessica must have felt my powerful grip, realizing I wasn't an easy opponent, and started throwing punches with full force. I stood still, deflecting and blocking her punches while observing her. After a while, Jessica seemed tired, breathing heavily, so I raised my hand to signal stop.
"Hmm... For a super-strength user, your power is good, but your fighting form is terrible."
"Huff huff huff... How is this possible."
Jessica looked incredulous.
"Jessica, I blocked and deflected all your attacks using less strength. You're not using your power effectively."
"Sigh... You're right. Sparring made it clear."
From the spar, I gauged Jessica's strength—much stronger than an enhanced soldier, but not as strong as Hulk or Thor.
"First, you need to know there are many powered people stronger than you. Relying only on brute force could get you in trouble."
"Yeah..."
"So, starting tomorrow, Jessica, you'll learn martial arts. Natasha will be your instructor."
Suddenly named, Natasha was taken aback.
"Huh? Me!?"
"Yes. Time to teach a junior. I didn't just buy Jessica's stuff yesterday—I got a lot for you too. Work for what you spent."
Yesterday, Natasha went out with Jessica and bought not only Jessica's things but also items she wanted.
"I bought a bag because it looked cute, and now this happens."
"Was it just a bag? There was a dress, shoes, and..."
"Okay! I get it! Stop talking!"
Jessica couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Pfft... Ahem... Sorry..."
"That's it for today, we start tomorrow. Jessica, you probably have a place in New York, but stay here. I'll give you a room."
"Alright."
The next day, everyone gathered at the gym. Natasha taught Jessica modern martial arts, and I bought several large Lego blocks and gave them to Wanda.
"What's this?"
"Assemble this. Don't use your hands—follow the manual. I'm watching with cameras, so if you use your hands, no dessert tonight!"
"Seriously... Fine."
"And focus, even with the martial arts training going on next to you. That's part of your training too."
"Got it."
"Pietro, come with me."
Pietro and I went to the hill behind the mansion. I had drones with balls attached.
"See those? The balls hanging from the drones."
"Yeah. I see them."
"The drones will scatter quickly. Your job is to collect all the balls."
"Looks easy."
"Really? Just so you know, if time runs out, the drones will fly up and signal failure."
According to Nano's calculations, with Pietro's speed, it was impossible to catch all the balls in time. Plus, the forest had many obstacles.
"Give it a try."
"Alright! I'll show you how easy this is."
As Pietro warmed up, I gave the start signal. The drones scattered madly, and Pietro started collecting quickly, but as expected, he couldn't even get half in the time limit.
"How was it?"
"Wow, this is really tough! The balls are one thing, but the forest has too many obstacles."
"Right? Your goal is two-thirds. If you fail, this monitor will show how many you missed."
"Got it, I'll try."
I left them to train and moved to the lab to start making custom costumes.
The next day, Toomes and Tinkerer returned from vacation. They greeted the training members and then moved to the island to begin testing the Vulture suit after modifications.
Several months passed, and winter came. Training progressed smoothly. Jessica still had a long way to go, but her fighting started to become systematic. Wanda easily assembled difficult Legos with telekinesis. And Pietro, even with added obstacles, achieved a 70% success rate in ball collection. Amusingly, Deadpool still hadn't gotten his driver's license. How he managed it in his universe was a mystery.
By now, two Talaria campers, a carriage, five horses, and Odyssey 2 were complete. Plus, the ordered vehicles all arrived and were stored in my Inventory. But the androids weren't ready yet. I also started producing more standard Talaria vehicles.
It must be the timing of Iron Man 3, as news reported daily about Ten Rings terrorist attacks led by the Mandarin across the country. So, Natasha stopped teaching and, with Vulture, began traveling around the U.S. to stop them. It was Vulture's flashy debut.
I'd warned Tony and the Motherfucker brothers about Vulture, and they reported that Captain America had joined to help. Jessica took over training from me.
Later, they all came to our house for maintenance, and Captain was with them.
"Long time no see, Cap!"
"Long time, Cassian!"
We shook hands and sat in the living room.
"How's the terror situation?"
"Well, the guys with guns aren't a problem, but sometimes there are weird ones mixed in, making it tough."
Natasha agreed and explained further.
"Yeah. Their bodies turn red and they exert superhuman strength, even melting metal with high heat! And when we finally catch them, they suddenly explode."
"Hmm... I see."
I asked Vulture about his first activities.
"How's the Vulture? Any issues?"
"Boss, it's all good, but running out of supplies and having to come all the way here for maintenance is a serious problem."
Natasha agreed again.
"Me too. It's a hurdle when operating far away. I felt it traveling nationwide."
With Vulture and Natasha having more gear, supply issues seemed common.
"Hmm... Really? I'll try to fix that. For today, rest up."
"Alright."
They relaxed with some drinks, and the training kids came up to greet Captain and join for a drink. Captain was amazed at all the powered people. I asked him to keep it secret for now.
While they rested, I prepared the Odyssey. I planned to reveal it after Hydra was dealt with, but not wanting Natasha or Vulture to get hurt from lack of supplies, I decided to introduce it earlier.
The next day after meals, I took them to the island, bringing Tinkerer along for maintenance.
"Where are we going?"
Captain asked while riding in the Talaria.
"To my lab. I have something to show you."
"You mean the Gundam Island."
"Yes."
We arrived at the island and showed them the Odyssey at the dock. Everyone looked stunned.
"Whoa~ When did you prepare this?"
Natasha asked, so I answered.
"I've been preparing it for a while. Thought we needed a mobile base. But it's unarmed—just for lodging, meals, and maintenance, with active camouflage for stealth. Think of it as a moving house."
"So that's why you brought Tinkerer."
"Exactly. So use it like a home, and don't operate it in dangerous areas. It's pretty expensive."
"Understood."
I looked at Captain and said,
"Cap, you know?"
"Yeah, secret. Cassian, you're impressive. Natasha has reason to boast."
Hearing that, Natasha smiled and linked arms with me.
"He's my boyfriend, of course!"
We boarded the Odyssey. I immediately taught Natasha how to manually pilot it. The ship was similar to the Talaria, so she learned quickly. It usually runs on auto, but I taught her just in case.
"Well, good luck."
I gave Natasha a quick kiss, got off the Odyssey, and waved goodbye. The Odyssey slowly rose, activated stealth mode, and flew away. I watched for a moment, then teleported back to the New York house. I trusted they'd handle things well.
[Master, A.I.M. CEO Aldrich Killian has contacted us, wanting investment.]
"It's finally starting."