CH 5: Future Plans

A few days passed since Marcus had signed a contract with General Ross. And now, Marcus was getting ready for the upcoming press conference which was about to start in a few hours.

"Young Master, I think this would suit you the best."

"Thanks, Grandpa Albert, for helping me dress for the occasion."

After helping Marcus dress up, when Albert glanced at him, he could see Thomas' image overlap with Marcus'.

Which brought back both the happy and sad memories, Albert wiped his eyes behind Marcus', although hiding his grief didn't matter because Marcus could see what Albert was thinking and both of them shed a few tears of grief hidden from each other.

Suddenly, Marcus turned around and hugged Albert.

"Thanks, Grandpa Albert for everything you have done. You have helped me all my life, you have been there for me every time I needed you along with my parents. But unlike them, I won't let you go. I need you, grandpa, I don't have anyone else in this world except you."

Marcus didn't have anyone else left in this world except Albert, and after his parent's death, he had decided that he wouldn't let any more of his loved ones die, not anymore.

Albert was unprepared for such a thing to happen, but he still hugged Marcus back. He knew what Marcus was going through but Albert also knew he wouldn't be there for Marcus forever after all he was already old and death was the eternal truth.

"Don't worry young Master, in the future, you will find someone you can love and trust and you won't be lonely anymore. And I am still here for you, aren't I? Hurry up now, we still have to attend that press conference."

Marcus smiled at Albert and released him from the hug.

In the press conference…

"Mr. Marcus, are you also entering the weapon industry?"

"Are you ready to compete with the Stark industries?"

"Uhmm! I will answer your questions one by one but before that, let me present to you our first product…Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor aka M.U.S.H.A Mark I"

Following Marcus' que, the cloth draping the Armor was pulled off, showing the M.U.S.H.A in its full glory, with Hunt Industries painted on its chest plates.

The click of the Cameras increased instantly, the reporters started to fire questions one after another.

"Calm down please, like I said, I will answer your questions one by one. Alright, you gentleman in the back, yes you, ask your question."

A spectacled man stood up with a reporting mic in his hand, "Mr. Marcus, Now that you have decided to enter this industry, what are your future plans?"

"I will say that currently, we are going to develop in the field of Armor and non-lethal neutralization of targets to help our police officers better. But we will also not be limited to it, my future goal is to incorporate biological research. I want our research to reach even the poor and worldwide, that's why we are going to try and develop cheap and better alternatives for the treatment of many deadly diseases, including and not limited to different types of Cancer. Alright, next person, yeah you, the lady in the front."

The news reporter stood up, "How strong would you say this Armor is?"

"Well, according to the tests we ran, it can take a .50 bmg round on its Armor plates and that will destroy the exoskeleton but the user will be well protected. But if we talk about rifle rounds then it can easily tank most of the AP (Armor-piercing) rounds. Meanwhile, the ballistic fiber, that is underneath the exoskeleton can protect the user from even 7.62mm Ak rounds. And not to forget that fragmentation grenades don't work on the Armor. So I would say, overall it's quite strong."

Marcus patiently answered different questions, some of the reporters also questioned General Ross about how the Armor would help the soldiers. He also said good things about the Armor and Marcus at the same time, praising such a young genius and his goal of helping the country.

Just after the press conference, Hunt Industries stocks shot up sky high, and Marcus became a billionaire overnight.

Luckily for Marcus, his company shares weren't much diluted and his parents still owned 65% of the company which fell in his lap.

And now, Marcus decided to focus on his main goal. He wanted to steal the Oz serum and modify it for his use. And hopefully, make another serum out of it.

But for that, he needed to upgrade his AI partner and make an Armor for himself, but he still had one missing component, the arc reactor.

Even though Tony hadn't created it yet, Marcus knew where to find it, Russia.

But the problem was, he couldn't tell Albert about it, so he did the other best thing, he decided to hire a mercenary group, especially one composed of mutants.

And after scouring the dark web with the help of No. 2, Marcus finally found what he was looking for.

He hired a group of Mutant mercenaries and decided to meet them face to face. Marcus especially looked for the ones without any psychic powers, yeah the mercenary list showed the mutants and their powers although not any weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Marcus designed a new prototype, an upgraded version of M.U.S.H.A Mark I, this one had a better targeting system and identification of targets. Also due to the addition of No. 2, the Armor was a literal aimbot. After identifying the threat, the user could enable AI assistance mode which enabled the AI to control the exoskeleton and easily kill the targets.

Marcus changed its aesthetics a little, and the outer design of the Armor was also different so that it didn't look much like Mark I.

"Status"

A blue box appeared in front of Marcus.

{USER/ADMINISTRATOR: MARCUS

HUNT.

STATS:

STRENGTH: 2.1

STAMINA: 2.3

AGILITY: 1.9

DEXTERITY: 1.9

ENDURANCE: 2.0

INTELLIGENCE: 3.0

CHARISMA: 5.5

WILL: 11.0

SKILLS LEARNED:

OBSERVATION HAKI: 10% PROGRESS (Able to sense the direction of attack 0.5s before it happens.)

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND HACKING: 38%( a normal programmer is at 10% and one able to create an AI of his own will be at 40%.)

ENGINEERING AND ASSEMBLY: 25% (TONY STARK at the start of the iron man movie was at 30%. So he could make his iron man suit using only missiles and batteries.)

BIOLOGIST: 8% ( There are many species in the multiverse. So 8% could be called a genius.)

PSYCHOLOGY: 10% (Can manipulate a person to do something for the user as long as it doesn't directly pertain to self-harm or harm of loved ones. This skill also increases Charisma and is more potent as Charisma increases.)

TELEPATHY: 10% (proficient enough to manipulate people's thoughts, enough to plant a seed of hatred, passion, mercy, anger, or loyalty.)

TELEKINESIS: 6% (Able to lift a 100 kg object at full focus.)

MIND SCRAMBLE: 20% (Able to turn a person into a vegetable.)

MMA: 10% (A professional fighter is at 25%)

MEDITATION: 33% (can Meditate anywhere and anytime, it helps restore the energy lost using Mind-related skills. Replaces the need to sleep.)

KI CULTIVATION: 8% (can generate a little amount of ki, enough to slowly temper the body to become stronger with time.)

ABILITIES: SKILL CREATION

SKILL SLOTS LEFT: 10

(You can save unused skills you are learning here. You can't make a new skill unless a slot is free.) }

After his parent's death, Marcus had increased the intensity of his training, if he wasn't working on his project or eating, Marcus would be training day and night. Meditation helped him at night to increase his telepathy and will and also helped increase his KI a little.

The next day, Marcus decided to meet the mercenaries; he had asked them to meet him at a hidden location at night.

At midnight, the mercenaries appeared at the specified location.