Chapter 20 Vegapunk

"Your Majesty, How exactly am I supposed to create that satellite in this backward world exactly?" Tony asked looking at Augustus as soon as they appeared on the training field.

"Ah, we are not done" Augustus said as he opened another portal infront of him.

"If you created it alone, no doubt it would take a while; you don't know the materials in this world, you don't have any tools, and you don't have the manpower to build it,", Augustus said as he walked right in front of the portal.

"So let's get someone who has all that,", Augustus said, turning his head back to Tony, and then he stepped through the portal.

Tony raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "And who exactly are we talking about?"

"The smartest mind in this world," Augustus said, his voice echoing slightly as he spoke from the other end of the portal. "Dr. Vegapunk."

"Well, this should be interesting,", Tony said as he walked through the portal leaving behind Godfrey, who didn't follow cause Augustus asked him to train.

As they emerged on the other side, they found themselves in a high-tech laboratory, filled with advanced machinery and strange devices. 

The laboratory was a marvel of modern science, a stark contrast to the medieval setting of the outside world. Humming machines, flashing lights, and complex gadgets filled every corner of the room. The air was thick with the scent of metal and ozone.

At the centre of this technological wonderland stood a tall, thin man with oval eyes, a long tongue that often stuck out, a large forehead that gleamed under the lab's fluorescent lights and an apple-like cap floating above his flat head.

He wore a long white lab coat over a set of utilitarian clothes. His eyes were curious, darting to each piece of equipment around him as if calculating their potential improvements.

Dr. Vegapunk turned to face the newcomers as Augsutus and Tony walked into the main lab where Vegapunk was standing, his expression a mix of surprise and intrigue when he saw Ausgutus and Steve.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, his voice smooth and calculated. "It's not every day that strangers appear in my lab via a magical portal." He said, his eyes gleaming with intrigue, somehow knowing that Augustus came from a portal even if they were in different rooms.

"Dr. Vegapunk, I presume," Augustus said, stepping forward with a confident smile. "I am Augustus, King of Glofield. We've come seeking a partnership."

Vegapunk adjusted his glasses, peering intently at Augustus. "A king, you say? And what could a king possibly want with a scientist like me?"

"We need your help to create a satellite," Augustus explained. "We have the vision and the knowledge of how to make it, but we lack the means," Augustus said extending his hands out.

"Tony Stark here is a genius in his own right, but he needs someone with your knowledge of this world's resources and technology." Augustus smiled and patted Tony, nudging him a little forward.

Vegapunk's eyes flicked to Tony. "Tony Stark, you say? I've never heard of you before; also, what is this Satellite thing you mentioned." Vegapunk quickly asked looking at Augusus.

"It's a machine that will be launched into space to provide a bird's-eye view of the entire planet, enabling navigation through the seas without needing a log pose," Tony explained.

"And what is space?" Vegapunk asked, his tone filled with intrigue.

"It's the vast expanse above the sky," Tony replied, stepping back slightly from Vegapunk's intense curiosity.

Vegapunk's long tongue flicked out thoughtfully, his lips curving into a curious smile. "Interesting, very interesting"

"We will give you many more interesting technologies that this world may not have even thought of.

In exchange.

I propose a long term collaboration between us," Augustus said, catching Vegapunk off guard for a second but soon he spoke.

"Let me hear Tony out; then I'll decide," Vegapunk said, not really caring about the fact that he was talking about Betraying the World government.

Vegapunk knew that if Augustus could come here and try to collaborate with him, Augustus would have the confidence to stand against the World government.

Anyway, Vegapunk didn't care about all this; he went and did whatever interested him, and right now, Vegapunk had already lost interest in working for the World government.

But no one else could top the resources the world government provided, which enabled him to invent things he was interested in, so he had stuck around until now in exchange for building what they asked of him.

But if Tony could truly intrigue him, he wouldn't mind immediately leaving the World government.

"Alright then, I will give guys some space to discuss," Augustus said as he opened up the Portal again and left.

The room fell silent for a second after the portal closed before Vegapunk spoke "Very well, Go on" he said.

Tony began explaining the concept of a satellite, its functions, the conditions of space it would need to withstand, and the material properties required for its construction. Vegapunk listened intently, soon he began scribbling notes frantically.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's begin our testing. We need to establish the full effect of space and how we will launch the satellite as the first order of buisness. There's too much work to be done" Vegapunk said impatiently, his excitement clear once Tony had finished explaining everything.

"So you agree to the long term cooperation?" Tony asked.

"I agree, I agree. Now let's start!" Vegapunk said to Tony, who couldn't help but smile seeing the burning desire and impatience within Vegapunk's eyes.

...

Within the Throne room, a phone bug close to Augustus rang.

When he picked it up Stephen's voice came through.

"Your Majesty, Crocodile seems to be getting more and more reckless with his actions after I destroyed his collection of dance powder. I'm afraid he might do something drastic, and I won't be able to prevent it due to my lack of Haki", Stephen voiced his concerns to Augustus.

"Alright, I will deal with Crocodile" Augustus said as he cut the call.

He put the phone bug away as he dialled a set of numbers into the Phone bug that was given to him by Stephen on his request a while back, specifically for this moment.

It rang for a while before it was picked.

"Big news, Morgans, who is this?" A voice came through.

"Hello, Morgans; I have a tip that might interest you,", Augustus said with an evil smirk.