— Late Autumn, 2012
Three months had passed since the Battle of New York.
The scars of war were slowly healing, and the city was returning to its usual vibrancy.
While the alien invasion left an indelible mark on people's minds, humanity had always been resilient.
Even after enduring setbacks and disasters, people would dust themselves off and move forward.
Of course, honoring the fallen and celebrating heroes had become a common practice in the months that followed.
"They are heroes. They saved the world. We should be grateful for these superheroes!" declared TV host Eddie Brock.
"This world needs more heroes. They make us feel safe—even against extraterrestrial threats."
"You know, if you had asked me who I admired most before, I probably would've said a singer."
In a barbershop, a young man grinned as he got his hair cut.
"But now? Look at my hairstyle and beard—my idol is Tony Stark!"
"I appreciate what they've done, but I still believe these secretive individuals should reveal themselves," a corporate worker said during an interview.
"This is a world of transparency, a world of justice and law. We shouldn't have to rely on so-called 'heroes.'"
"Miss Flashblade went whizz! through the air! Then BIU! BIU! BIU! lasers fired everywhere! The big green guy was like ROAR! smashing everything, and then Thor went RUAAAAA!—lightning all over the place!"
On the streets, a child animatedly imitated the Avengers, recounting the battle scene with excitement.
"Superheroes? Don't make me laugh," an old man in sunglasses scoffed at the park, waving dismissively before turning back to his chess game.
...............…..
— New York – Kagura Hitomi's Residence, Basement
Kagura Hitomi lounged lazily on her couch, a holographic display and control panel floating before her.
In this era, remote work was entirely feasible.
With her fully equipped underground lab, she had no need to step foot in an office.
More importantly, working from home meant she could slack off and play games!
As for the public's mixed reactions to superheroes, Kagura wasn't too concerned.
She had already thought it through.
Her superhero alias, "Flashblade," could be a public figure.
Statues could be erected in her honor, paintings auctioned off at high prices—but the connection between "Kagura Hitomi" and "Flashblade" had to remain a secret.
Revealing her identity would invite endless trouble, and unlike Tony Stark, she had no interest in a high-profile, luxurious lifestyle.
She simply wanted a place of her own in this world, to live peacefully after ensuring its survival through the upcoming crises.
That being said, she had work to do.
If she wanted a peaceful life, Earth had to be fortified—turned into an unbreakable fortress of security.
The universe was a dangerous place, and she knew future threats were inevitable.
Her "Argos Project" had been a success.
The preliminary "Global Defense System" was in place, capable of monitoring extraterrestrial threats and internal dangers.
With the collaboration of Stark Industries, the worldwide wireless energy network was progressing smoothly.
The era of wireless electricity was approaching fast.
Her efforts over the past year had paid off, and these initiatives would continue.
Besides restoring orbital defense stations damaged in the Battle of New York, the next key advancement—CTOS Ver. 0.1—was nearing completion and would soon be ready for small-scale deployment.
New research projects were also in motion.
The combination of Uru metal and "enchantment" was still in its theoretical phase.
Weapons like Thor's hammer, with their own consciousness and special abilities, were beyond modern technology.
True progress in "enchantment" would have to wait until Cortana fully decoded the scientific principles Asgard had shared.
Meanwhile, Cortana was also analyzing data extracted from the Tesseract.
This knowledge was the greatest treasure Kagura had acquired from the New York incident.
If combined with dark energy research, it might unlock spatial warping, time manipulation, and other seemingly fantastical technologies.
Of course, such advancements required time. In the short term, Rhodes Island Industries was already developing the next generation of tech-based equipment.
During the battle, the gear provided to the heroes performed well but suffered significant damage due to the intense combat.
Even her own "White Moon" combat suit had sustained wear and tear.
The worst casualty? Her Akira motorcycle, which Natasha had outright abandoned.
"Hmph! Wasteful woman!" Kagura pouted.
"That bike was expensive!"
Which brought her to a new problem.
The Self-Repairing Equipment Dilemma
Was there a way for her gear to self-repair and self-reconstruct?
If her equipment could harness energy and materials to autonomously restore itself, she could eliminate many tedious maintenance procedures.
A great idea!
But how to achieve it?
As an automaton, Kagura herself possessed self-repair capabilities.
She could even use a skill derived from Sekiro's Resurrection to rapidly recover from near-death states.
But her cold, lifeless equipment didn't have such luxury.
The Infinite Concept Skill System was too complex to analyze.
Extracting her self-repair mechanisms for external use seemed nearly impossible.
The only feasible solution, even years into the future, was nanotechnology.
However, this was still 2012—nanotechnology wasn't anywhere near ready.
Even if she wanted to develop it herself, there was no existing foundation to build upon.
And her system's marketplace wasn't handing out free nanotech solutions either.
'Sigh…'
If only her equipment could repair itself just like she could—without needing any scientific explanation…
Wait.
Self-repair… DNA self-recoding?
What if she designed her equipment using biological encoding principles?
Could she make it self-repairing?
After all, nature was filled with creatures capable of regenerating limbs.
Some species could even divide and create two separate organisms, achieving near-immortality through extreme healing capabilities.
DNA repair and editing.
Yes. This could be the key!
Now, which company had the most advanced DNA repair technology?
Several names flashed through her mind.
A.I.M., Aldrich Killian, Extremis Virus.
She glanced at her holographic UI, checking her mission list.
[Assist Tony Stark in thwarting the Mandarin's plans / 20QP]
"Oh wow."
A wicked smirk spread across her lips.
Some people were about to have a very bad time.
[New Side Mission Added]
[Obtain and Perfect the Extremis Virus / 10QP]
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