Roger opened his eyes, stunned.
He had been transported to another world, and not just any world, but the world of "The Boys," where the heroes are the most evil and merciless toward human life.
Roger was not a good person; he was obsessed with his own survival to the point that he had betrayed his friends so many times that no one trusted him anymore. His job, manufacturing and smuggling weapons to terrorist organizations, was his livelihood, and he lived a life of luxury.
When he turned fifty, he suffered a heart attack. His heart stopped, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he discovered he had been transported to this world. But the most shocking part was that he had arrived with what's called a 'template.'
The Iron Man Template: Superhuman intelligence and analysis + Quick wit + The Iron Man Nanotech Suit.
There were many other advantages, as his mind had merged with Tony Stark's. Memories and creative ideas flooded in. It took him roughly four hours to digest the massive influx of information, thoughts, and manufacturing techniques for various weapons and equipment now residing in his mind.
He could say he was now Tony Stark with Roger's mentality—a mentality with no limits when it came to crafting weapons.
Roger didn't know how he got to this world, and he didn't care because he had no way of figuring it out. All he could do was accept reality and go with the flow.
Roger got up from the bed and walked to the mirror to see his reflection.
White hair, blue eyes that seemed to reflect a vast blue sky, and a height of nearly two meters.
Roger couldn't help but think of a character from his previous life: Jogo Saturo, the one with the six eyes.
Roger didn't care about his appearance. In his dictionary, looks were meaningless, even if they sometimes had an impact. Even if Roger had been transferred into an average-looking face, he wouldn't care. What concerned Roger now was: How do I protect myself and grow stronger?
Roger looked at the red screen only he could see.
- System -
- Iron Man Template -
Iron Man Suit + Artificial Intelligence (J.A.R.V.I.S.)
- Dimensional Storage -
Roger looked at the golden ring on his finger and tried with all his might to figure out its function, but he was met with nothing but silence. He possessed all of Tony Stark's thoughts, creativity, intellect, and the AI he invented.
Fortunately, the Iron Man suit was already present. Otherwise, it would have taken considerable time and money to build and manufacture it from scratch.
Tony continued browsing through his memories. He realized that, at this point in time, the incident involving the death of his beloved Huey hadn't occurred yet. He estimated he was roughly two years before the main events of the series began.
The first thing Roger thought about was his capital. Iron Man isn't Iron Man if he isn't the richest man in the world.
His first task was to expand the weapons company he inherited from his father, to the point where the American government would be his lapdog, groveling and appeasing him to obtain his proprietary technology.
After that, he would think about what was to come. For now, he at least had the capability to confront super-powered heroes and escape whenever he wanted. The suit's speed exceeded the speed of sound, and few could keep up with him.
Roger picked up his mobile phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Mr. Rogers. How can I help you?"
"Hello, Bruce. I'm going to send you a message containing a list of important equipment. I need you to bring all of it to me urgently."
"Shall I bring it to your personal lab or place it in the company lab?"
"In my private lab, and preferably as fast as possible."
"Understood, sir. Is there anything else?"
"No."
Roger ended the call.
He sat in his chair, watching the TV, which was broadcasting reports of heroes foiling robbery attempts or rescuing hostages. Most of the programs talked about Homelander and how he embodied the American persona defending good and punishing evil.
He sat for about half an hour, growing bored with the dull programs. He couldn't take it anymore, so he got up from the chair, went to the elevator, and entered a secret code. The elevator moved downwards to his secret lab, known only to him—not the general lab that had its own designated place.
The elevator door opened, revealing a space equipped with tools. Although it wasn't as magnificent as Tony's personal lab in his memories, it was far better than the cave he had emerged from in that story!
The first project he would start was creating the first artificial intelligence in this world. Once completed, it would become the master of the internet. No company, government, or individual would escape its surveillance. Nothing would evade its watchful eye once his 'Sky Eye' plan—through which he could monitor the entire planet—was complete.
In truth, ever since he obtained Tony's template, he had essentially become an AI himself. Roger could perform tasks akin to an AI, but most of the time, you need a reliable assistant to manage your trivial files, monitor certain individuals around the clock, or search for any loopholes.
He didn't have time for these matters; he needed an assistant to help him with them.
Roger began inspecting the tools and equipment, gathering them, assembling and disassembling components, connecting and disconnecting electrical cables in a complex process based on what he had seen and digested from Tony's memories. He started working.
Time passed until the sun set, roughly seven hours later. Roger worked on his masterpiece until he grew tired, ate a light meal, went and lay down on the bed, exhausted. He thought that if Tony's template hadn't enhanced his muscles and strength, he wouldn't have been able to continue working.
Roger moved his hand and ran it over his chest, over the reactor that was connected to it. The strange thing he recalled was that his physical fitness had become better than the original body's condition. The personal template of Tony had merged with the template of his own person, nearly doubling his baseline physical fitness.
Although his fitness wasn't superhuman, it had become better than that of ordinary humans. He was now physically stronger than the strongest ordinary human.
Roger sat, lost in thought about what the future might hold, contemplating as time passed.
Until he drifted into sleep, still reviewing his plans and calculations in his mind.